Omnipocalypse: Reign of Rats: Yeen Queen II by Von Krieger

Omnipocalypse: Reign of Rats: Yeen Queen II

Von Krieger, Arachnoid, Bestiality, Eggs, Feral on Biped, Hybrid, Hyena, Insect, Insectoid, Jumpchain, Litrpg, Oviposition, Pregnacy, Pregnancy, Rat, Ratling, Ratyena, Skaven, Spider, Tiger, Transformation, Transgender, Zerg, broodmother, male to herm, preg, starcraft, tyranid

Commissioned by Kitsune106.

Thumbnail and keywords represent the content of the series as a whole, not just the individual chapters.

-o-

It's the end of the world and everyone is invited!

Poor David's world has accidentally been turned upside down and inside out with the arrival of the System. He's somehow managed to renounce his player status, get himself classed as an NPC, be forcibly inducted into the Ratling faction, and almost choked his own otherworldly patron to death with an ill-timed offering that he didn't actually mean to offer up.

The changes (both physical and mental) have already begun, but once the strange insectoid overlord known by the chat handle of "OmNomNomine" recovers from getting Space-Heimlich he can help guide David on the most important part of the Hero's Journey.

Getting your cool cheat power(s), plotting out your overpowered build, and shopping for badass items...

...and also snacks because it turns out David's only aid at the moment is a literal black hole that wants to devour everything in existence. But don't worry, he'll wait until everything is properly aged and seasoned first!

Can also be read on Google Docs here, and probably should be. I'm not sure how to get my tables to show up properly on here and be centered.

Omnipocalypse

Reign of Rats: Yeen Queen II

By Von Krieger

(Character sheet with details on the origins/purchases and whatnot can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b7Xsh6UtDF2QFBk379z-PkPVIxuNv6W26cbrULFX1PM/edit?usp=sharing )

David gasped and drew in a deep breath of fresh air as he was finally able to move around again. So far that has been the scariest part of this whole "Oh hey, some otherworldly Gamestation with delusions of grandeur has decided that some parts of your planet are going to be spliced into a massive multiplayer online role playing game" thing. Just having all control of his body yanked away while he experienced the sensations of non-physical things being pulled out of and pushed into him.

What the hell had the System, whatever it was, done to him?

He'd accidentally "sacrificed" his player character status to his Patron, the All-Consuming Hunger. Who apparently used the username OmNomNomine and seemed to be… well… kind of adorable for what appeared to be an antlion the size of a solar system who used a black hole as a nest.

That was probably the exceptionally unpleasant sensation that preceded the hot, strangely pleasant pressure as well as the needle-thin lance of momentary cold that stabbed right into his mind and soul that soon warmed as the pressure flowed into it.

"Okay, so the shot to my ghost-nuts happened after I made an offering of my player status. That Gendo Ikari wannabe snake-dragon guy was talking about me being a Ratling of House Konker and putting me in the Daughters of Fellstar guild." David mused aloud.

"So was the coldness the connection they made to "integrate" me into their game thing? Are they going to wipe my memory and replace me with a totally different person? Not that I'm the greatest, most wonderful person in the world and there's a lot of me that I'd totally get rid of, but I'm pretty sentimentally attached to a lot of me. It's what makes me me, after all."

It was then that the hot pressure condensed to a point of delicious warmth and then seemed to burst.

"Aww! It was just starting to feel nice!" David complained, rubbing at the top of his tail where the pressure had been a moment before. He paused, gripping the base of the new appendage. That… that hadn't been there a moment before.

He turned his head, looking at his great big, pink rat tail. The actual tail, not the weird proto-mullet hairstyle. There was a moment of panic as he moved the unfamiliar length back and forth. He curled it around his leg and uncurled it. He used it to pick up his fallen bag of discounted ramen noodles.

He couldn't quite reconcile two contradictory points of view. The tail was new, unexpected, unfamiliar, and yet he was pretty sure that he'd always had it. If it was new, why would his pants have been sewn in a way that they perfectly fit?

Heck, his belt was designed in a way where it took the thing into account. Why would he be wearing clothes obviously meant for his big rat tail if he hadn't always had it?

The System's fiddling around inside of him, doing whatever was probably to blame, having done the metaphysical equivalent of knocking a lamp off the table with its metaphorical hips.

"But it's operating on game logic," David speculated, "And things that you equip fit everybody, regardless of size, shape, sex, species, or whatever the hell else I can't think of right now that begins with S."

"I'm positive my tail's always been there. I was carrying my groceries with it just like this when those pillars of light shot up into the sky and then the blue windows started with their nonsense." he took a few steps, resuming the walk back to his apartment near the college campus.

"The Marie and Pierre Curie Polyt…"

Phase I reskinning of Sector 0: Manrattan beginning.

And then suddenly the stars went out and the ground began to shake.

"I take it back! This is totally the scariest part of System fuckery thus far!" David growled as he tried to keep his feet as the concrete sidewalk beneath him became smoothed stone.

He watched the Polytechnical College's manicured lawns get sucked into the ground, replaced with somewhat overgrown patches of mosses, molds, lichens, and fungi that looked like they needed tending. Rather than vanish entirely, the trees, bushes, and other larger plants instead began to shift.

The rough texture of bark bloated outward into the stem of a massive mushroom, the trees' leaves bloated and merged into one another as the trees' crown instead became a titanic faintly glowing cap.

"Going from a crown to a cap. Sorry about your sudden dethronement, your majesty." David said to himself, unable to help a bit of a giggle from escaping his throat.

"If there's anybody entitled to a little bit of mad laughter, I sure as hell think it's me."

David turned away from the Ratflea and Mousehare Scurry Polytechnical Institute. Maybe if he just got back to his apartment, crawled into bed, and fell asleep he'd wake up and this would be just some weird dream.

"Then again, I could end up going to sleep and wake up as somebody completely different."

He kicked at a broken chunk of cobblestone, doing his best to ignore the ceiling of the great cavern that stretched above him, not wanting to look as the light of bioluminescent growths illuminated growing and shifting stalactites and distant buildings metamorphosing into skyscraper-sized stalagmites that had been hollowed out to serve as buildings.

"Argh! If this is supposed to be a game, you stupid System, where's my HUD so I can see if I'm suffering from some kind of negative status effect!?"

Name:

TBD

Essence:

Freeform (Implanted)

3.3% Complete

Class:

Paladin

Subclass:

Devotee of Fellstar

Faction:

Ratling House Konker

Guild:

Daughters of Fellstar

Level:

HP:

200/200

SP:

100/100

MP:

48/48

Status:

Being Integrated

Wrath:

Gluttony:

Greed:

Sloth:

Envy:

Pride:

Lust

David tried to mentally place a mouse cursor (which for some reason looked like an actual mouse) over the various things to coax information out of the System via good ol hover-over tooltips.

"Okay, so the Seven Deadly Sins…"

Error! NPC is using improper terminology! Correcting!

"Okay, so the Seven Vyl Virtues correspond to traditional stats. Wrath is Strength, because smashy. Gluttony is Vitality, because consumption of resources, I guess? It controls both HP and Stamina. Greed is Agility, because that's the stat for sleight of hand for hiding things in your sleeves and picking pockets, I guess. Sloth is Intellect, because sitting down and reading is lazy maybe? Envy is Spirit, which I dunno. Maybe because you need to be perceptive in order to see things you want? Pride is Charm, because personality and self-confidence. Makes sense. And Lust is Luck, because… they share two letters? No idea on that one."

David squeezed through the dilapidated stone door on the front of his apartment building that hung askew on its hinges, making his way quietly up the stone steps.

He wrinkled his nose and wiggled it a bit, as if twitching non-existent whiskers.

"And Lust is my highest stat, so either my stats are absolute garbage, or the System has very weird ideas of what is lucky or not."

His keys, thankfully, were unaltered by the incursion of the System into a perfectly fine and dandy cavern city that didn't need its help.

"We have perfectly lovely fungal gardens. A nice refreshing evening walk through the spore clouds is good for the mind and body, and the sinuses! Hardly any mutagenic effects in them at all. Have to keep the good stuff locked up, after all. Wouldn't want the trainee Fleshmyths to go about madly, injecting random passerby with transformative concoctions. Well, any more so than usual."

He waved the glowstone keyfob at the runic circle on the front of his door, which slid open silently upon its well-greased track.

"Well, whatever this Integration thing is, at least I've got it better than those three Players that Snake-Guy was talking about that rolled Broodmother. I'm glad I missed out on that, because how would that even work? I'm a dude."

That warm pressure was building up again, this time in his midsection.

"And how would I even feed the baby… whatever it is. I don't have breasts."

David rubbed absently at his chest, his nipples feeling a little sore from rubbing against his shirt, oddly sensitive for some reason.

"Man, I'm glad I don't have to deal with that weirdness on top of my already existing weirdness."

He tossed his bag onto the counter, though not before taking his bottle of Spurt with him. The good thing about noodles was that you needed no effort to store the things. They were perfectly fine if you just put them anywhere. Like on the counter. David flopped into his beat up, but comfy, recliner, his tail slipping through the tube in the back so as not to be squished.

"So I wonder what this whole Patronage thing gets me." taking a gulp of soda.

As you are currently resting in a safe area, you may now access your Perks and Patrons menus.

"MMM!" David yell-mumbled through his mouthful of citrus-y goodness.

You have selected to view the page of your Patron, "Nom."

User Name:

OmNomNomine

Name:

The All-Consuming Hunger

The All-Consuming Hunger, OmNom, or Nom as he likes to be called, is an Overlord of the Hegemonic Hunger, a hive-minded race originating from insectoid reptiles who evolve fast, mutate quickly, and add the genetic traits of other species to their own through various methods.

He is a simple bug and wants merely to experience the flavors and textures of things that would be impossible to gather in such quantities that he would be able to taste them at his massive scale.

"Huh. Sounds a bit like the Tyrg from Whorehammer 40k. Or the Xeronyds from that video game rip-off Sleetstorm made that mainstreamed that, Starshaft."

Your Patron's support has altered several of your Paladin class abilities. Please note that at this stage of integration Arcane and Divine effects cannot be activated due to the chaotic energies involved in Integrating a sector as well as reinforcing the dimensional barrier.

You may view:

OmNomNomine's Paladin repackaging, the Void Knight
OmNomNomine's Patron Perks (3)

"Right, so don't try anything magic right now if I don't want to risk my nails and teeth falling out or something random like that."

David looked over his nails as he raised his hand to poke the bit of text floating in the air in order to learn about the Void Knight.

"Need to cut those. Damn, how did I not notice? If they get any longer, I might as well have claws. Little ones, but claws just the same."

He prodded his incisors with his tongue as well, now that he was actively thinking about his nails and teeth, "They feel bigger for some reason. Or it could be that now that I've acknowledged that they exist that I'm just feeling them at their normal size. Dammit, and now I can't figure out a comfortable position to put my tongue in. I hate that!"

The Void Knight is a variation of the Paladin , retaining most of its abilities but becoming reliant on the acquisition and use of Essence donated from allies or harvested from fallen foes in order to achieve its power.

The Paladin's trademark "Smite" has been replaced by Mark Prey , the effect no longer dependent on the target's alignment or morality, nor the innate holy or unholy power of the Void Knight, but rather their sense of self and hunger for Essence.

Mark Prey can be applied to up to four targets at once, two primary and two secondary. All four targets are guaranteed to drop a complete Essence when their HP reaches zero, however only the two primary targets suffer from the smite-like effects. They will take additional damage equal to twice your level (currently 10), you will receive a bonus to Armor and To-Hit, scaling with your Charm score (currently 20), and your attacks against that target will bypass any physical resistance that the target has.

Essence may be consumed immediately to gain points of Consumption , a resource that can be spent to utilize various effects. A fresh Essence may be consumed for a number of points equal to the combined level of you and the Essence , while one that you have already Spliced into yourself (including Essence Gems ) will only provide half this much.

You may have up to 250% your level (currently 13) Consumption stored up to this point remains until used, while any points over the limit must be spent within 20 seconds + 10 seconds per Void Knight Milestone (currently 30 seconds).

5 Points may be spent to:

-Restore a Miniscule (16) amount of HP for each Void Knight level (This will heal 80 HP currently)

-Add an amount of Effort to your next non-combat action equal to 4x your class level (This will add 20 currently)

10 points may be spent to:

-Add a Minimal (12) amount of Elemental Damage to your attacks over the next 10 seconds for each Void Knight Level. This element must be one that an active Essence has a resistance to (This will add 30 damage currently)

Restore MP equal to twice the cost of your highest tier spell (currently 10 MP)

15 Points may be spent to:

-Add an Unholy bonus to your Armor for the next minute equal to twice your level (This will add 10 currently)

You may Splice two (2) Essences per Void Knight Milestone reached (Currently 2 Essences), taking on three (3) aspects of each creature, gaining an additional aspect at levels 25, 50, and 75.

You may freely shift between your own form and that of each of your Spliced Essences , with you controlling the precise balance.

Simply retaining Essences strengthens you, granting an Augmentation bonus to your Armor and attacks made with natural weapons equal to 20 per 3 Essences (Currently a bonus of +14).

With 30 minutes of effort you may take a Spliced Essence and transform it into two unbound Essence Gems. These gems can be embedded in tiered items to grant the wielder a Spliced Essence and Aspects mirroring yours at the level the gem was created.

Essence Gems allow Essences to be stored for later and swapped around. It takes 30 minutes to Splice a gem into an empty slot and you may Splice two at the same time.

You may also Consume an Essence Gem without gaining any points of Consumption in order to fuel a weapon or matched pair of weapons with its power. Your weapon(s) gains a special ability based on the type of Essence and a bonus to damage equal to twice the gem's level. This effect lasts for 10 seconds per Void Knight Milestone (currently 10 seconds).

Finally, you gain access to the special Thorned Tailblade mutation. The Tailblade functions as a biological natural weapon that functions as a bladed melee weapon to strike foes within 10' of you, and able to fling its Thorns at 80' with no penalty and a maximum range of 800'.

The Tailblade has an increased chance of critical hit, and deals four times the normal damage.

You may release a 30' cone of Thorns as an attack once per minute.

Your Tailblade begins at Moderate (80) physical damage, scaling to Middling (120) at level 25, Massive (160) at level 50, Mammoth (200) at level 75, and Marvelous (240) at level 100. In addition the range and maximum range of your Thorns increase by 20' and 200' upon achieving each of these level milestones.

You may forgo Attack-based Aspects from your Spliced Essences in order to empower your Tailblade , with each attack forgone adding +50 damage.

"Damn. I wish I knew what all of these things were." David muttered with annoyance.

"Essences are apparently things that I can get from allies AND enemies? How does that work? Starshaft used the term as a term for like… genetics and stuff. So I can copy the genes of a fallen foe and take on their form and abilities."

He smirked as he re-read the abilities his Patron had granted him, "Damn, that's powerful. At least presuming I can manage to pick off something powerful. But this is definitely something that can snowball. Beat a boss monster to get strong enough to defeat a bigger boss monster and so on."

"Mark Prey is nice, way more versatile than Smite. Looks like a churn and burn class, fight enemies to get Essence, burn Essence to recover, keep as much Essence slotted as possible for the boost to Armor and attacks."

"And Essence Gems look like they're stable, fungible versions of whatever Essence is. And apparently I can duplicate them? 60 minutes to split two slotted gems into four, 30 to Splice two of them back in, 90 minutes per set. So I can set up during downtime and have a stock of Gems to fuel my Consumption."

"I wish I had something to compare these numbers to so I knew if they were any good or not. Being underground, the ranged attack probably isn't going to see a lot of use. Most things will be able to close in to melee before I get off a shot or two of Thorns, whatever they are."

"But it's a much better melee weapon than ranged, since it has a better crit chance and a high multiplier. I wonder if the System has a sneak attack critical multiplier on top of the regular weapon one? Like all those Bethany Esda open world RPGs. Sneak attack crits, location-based crits, weapon-based crits. Any two would be great, three would be ridiculous. Like Defilers of the Ancients' Hyena Queen before the first nerf. Damned Spigot devs, nerfing my main."

David backed out of the Void Knight menu and decided to look over the Perks his patron provided him.

Hegemonic Hunger , Perk 1 of 3

You have become one of the All-Consuming Hunger's manifold mouths with which it tastes all of existence, and as a result your body's various systems have been remade in its image. Your internal organs have been enhanced with extradimensional spaces, improving the volume they can hold a thousandfold (10x10x10) and granting you additional inventory slots in which to store things within yourself.

This allows you to equip a standard set of gear purely inside of yourself. Items will not be consumed unless you (or your patron) desire it to be so. You may offer ingested items to your patron or use the mote of devouring void within you to dispose of unwanted inventory, the All-Consuming Hunger will never turn down a snack. Particularly choice offerings of items or creature essence can potentially be incorporated into you permanently, granting their effects. You have 5 slots that can be filled with an item, creature essence, effect, or energy that you will slowly consume, eventually taking all that it is and adding it to yourself in perpetuity.

As a result poison, disease, corruption, mutation, and madness can leave their mark on you, but they cannot break you. Instead you devour them, consume them, use them to add to your own power. Ruinous powers take root in your body and mind and blossom into a grotesque symbiosis, becoming a locus for its propagation. Parasites are parasitized themselves, mutagens provide only beneficial mutations, that which would shatter the minds of lesser men instead forge you into a greater whole. You will, in time, learn how to utilize the devoured powers you have gained to gain new spells and abilities based on what you have consumed.

Level 1: Good Table Manners: You no longer have to physically ingest or expel the items in your internal inventory, you may make them appear or disappear so long as you are touching them.

Level 2: Large Appetite I: Your stomach's capacity increases to 9 slots for things that can be digested simultaneously.

Level 3: Hungering Aura: You gain the Hungering Aura skill, allowing you to store and place items from your inventory within a radius of 5' per skill level.

Level 4: Large Appetite II: As I, increasing to 13 slots.

Level 5: Font of Power: You may radiate any of the effects and energies that you have or are in the process of consuming within the span of your Hungering Aura.

"Ugh, damn that's long and wordy. System, can I get the quick and dirty descriptions of these things?"

Shifting Perk descriptions to Concise Mode.

Hegemonic Hunger , Perk 1 of 3

Extradimensional space in internal organs increases capacity by 10x in three dimensions
Hold 1,000x as much air, food, water, etc
Provides additional 10x10 grid Inventory containers based on biological traits present
Allows you to equip items internally, keeping them hidden and protected while keeping their benefits
Can dispose of unwanted items immediately, or give offerings to your Patron from these slots
Particularly favored offerings can be permanently incorporated into you
You have 5 inventory slots that can hold an item to grant its effects without consumption
As your patron can consume conceptual things like magical buffs, you can maintain their benefits indefinitely in one of these slots
Recovery from poison, disease, corruption, and mutation quicker as you incorporate them into yourself
Poisons, diseases, corruptions, and mutations will thus make you stronger in the long term
Mutations only provide positive benefits

"That's much easier to grasp and analyze, thank you."

Assimilation , Perk 2 of 3

Can incorporate Aspects from ingested Essence, technology, objects, and materials
Can integrate such things flawlessly and without malfunction or immune reaction
Assimilation Aspects will not be as powerful as those from slotted Essences

Appropriation , Perk 3 of 3

Incorporated Aspects are added on the genetic level, allowing you to regenerate them and pass them to your offspring

"Okay, wow. That has the potential to be really, really powerful. Provided I manage to get a hold of good gear. Or some really strong heal over time consumables. Or buffs. Or anything really." David mused, taking another drink of soda.

There was a ping and another window quickly opened over the current one.

Diluted compound of potential interest found in: Item: Spurt Soda (Original), would you like to add this component to one of your 5 Hegemonic Hunger slots or integrate it using Assimilation?

"PSSSSSH!" David jumped and sprayed his mouth full of soda all over the place.

" Assimilation" selected! Analysis and integration of the unknown compound beginning…

"...yay?" David monotoned as he brushes Spurt off of his arms, "Apparently I'm going to have a forever buff of whatever the heck the System found in my drink. At least I wasn't drinking a Matro Mix, that weird orange cola carbonated milk thing that's on the bottom button of every soda machine ever despite nobody liking it. Rumor has it that it has bull semen in it. Yuck."

As a reward for providing your Patron with a novel experience you have been rewarded!

Item: Vending Machine has been added to your inventory!

A drinks vending machine that dispenses beverages

Dispenses drinks in your choice of aluminum cans, plastic bottles, or glass bottles
Stock is based on what you yourself have consumed and had your Patron experience
Provides the choice of normal, variant, and alchemically altered versions
Will dispense drinks for free to those you add to a list
Will take any currency as payment and adds it directly to your inventory
Gain a token to place a new machine 1/week

Current Flavors:

Spurt: Original
Spurt: Super Citrus: Lemon
Spurt: Super Citrus: Lime
Spurt: Super Citrus: Grapefruit
Spurt: Super Citrus: Orange
Spurt: Original: Alchemically Enhanced

"Nope. I am just going to ignore that, because who knows what effects special drink formulas made by a giant space bug are going to have. Maybe I'll get some minions and be able to have test subjects."

David backed out.

You have selected to view the page of your Patron, "Orochi."

User Name:

TripleO_TripleS

Name:

Ophidian Overlord Orochi

Ophidian Overlord Orochi hails from the multimedia world of Daemonios Digitales. Developed in a parallel Earth where Mexico developed a tech industry analogous to your Earth's Japan the Daetal series combines aspects of Pokemon, Digimon, Shin Megami Tensei and elements of Goetic magic resulting in a media juggernaut.

The original villain of the very first game, Orochi has suffered quite a lot of villain decay over the years, and could be considered in some lights to actually be heroic. He sympathizes with worlds forcibly integrated with the System, and has taken on the role of System Manager in order to assure that at least some part of a new world won't suffer like his did.

Orochi's Patronage provides access to the Constellations, a system of rewards based on fifteen thematic categories.

You may view:

Ophidian Overlord Orochi's Patron Perks (1)

David gave the lone option a poke.

Do Not Speak

Allows you to function as a silent protagonist

Anyone you spend time with will be able to sense what you're thinking or feeling in regards to the current conversation

Crosses language barriers as it is entirely about feeling
Those around you will tend to state what you want to convey on your behalf
Even if that would mean they have an entire back and forth conversation with themselves

"Well, that's worrying. I hope I never, ever, ever need to use that." David said with a scowl as he absently and anxiously began working his incisors over his now empty Spurt bottle, the instinctive gnawing maintenance of his ever-growing front teeth somewhat familiar and soothing.

"I guess I better see my full perk list and get a sense of the role I'm being forcibly shoved into."

Perks:

Origins
Ratling Racial Perks
Ratling Clan Perks
Hegemonic Hunger Perks

David decided to start at the top with the one that wasn't like the others.

Origins are meant to serve as paths through the System, coaxing you into a role via discounting purchases that align with the path that you have been assigned as an NPC.

Primary Species Origin: Ratling Khymerat Rattigar

You are a masterwork of Clan Fleshsmyth's fleshsmiths, a beast of muscle, skin, and bone brought together from various creatures to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Or at least that's what they aspire to.

You are a great warrior-beast approximately the size of a tiger, thus the name, though you may or may not actually contain contributions from a tiger. You are better put together than most of your ilk, symmetrical and stable in both mind and body.

Primary Background Origin: Ratling Clan Fleshmyth

You are familiar in the arts that created you, watching those who sculpted you into being and learning the craft for yourself. All the mad sciences of a biological nature are at your clawtips. Mad biology. Mad chemistry. Mad zoology. Perhaps even the dark arts of mad gastronomy.

Supplementing these skills are those required for your craft. The taking and taming of test subjects and/or raw materials that walk, skitter, scuttle, swim, or fly with any number of appendages.

You have additional Origins available for selection!
You have points available to purchase perks from your Origins!
You have points available to purchase perks in the Constellations!
You have points available to purchase upgrades to your perks!
You have points available to purchase things from the Swarmlab!

You may view:

Origin Selection
Origin Perks
Constellation Perks
Upgrades
Swarmlab Creations
Drawbacks

"Oh sure, System, thanks a lot. Way to go with the stereotyping. Just because I've got big front teeth and a rat-like tail you just dump me in a bin marked "Ratling" huh? Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I gotta see if there's anything that'll stop me from becoming some big dumb rat-beast."

David brought up the Origins.

Due to your Story perk "Seven Sinister Saints" you share in the power of Player: Error_Flynn's "Manyfold Destiny" perk, which provides you with a second Species and Background origin.

Your patron, the All-Consuming Hunger, has granted you the use of the Hegemonic Hunger's Origins. "Manyfold Destiny" will allow you to pick twice as many options from here as well.

David looked over the Ratling options first. "Ratthrall is no good, I don't want to be somebody's literal slave. I've got the choice, so why would I ever take that? A plain ol' Ratling is an option, but again, if I can get the choice of something superior, why wouldn't I take it?"

He shook his head as he read over the options, "Thauraturge is out. Those guys are mage-priests. I have no idea how long this Integration thing is going to take, and it said that magic isn't available yet. Plus I don't want to fuck around with any more chaotic powers, eldritch abominations, and dark gods than I already have."

"So I guess that leaves you, Thundrat Elite. Since the System has decided I'm going to be a big beastie, I might as well lean into the whole elite soldiers thing. I don't see Broodmother on here, so that's a bullet I dodged. Sucks to be those three players, I guess."

The soon-to-be-Ratling tapped a claw to confirm his selection.

"Stupid speciesist system. Just because I've got a little bit of a ratty look to me doesn't mean that it should make me an actual rat-man. Onto backgrounds. Let's see what I can grab to my advantage. Thrall-Clan is out, that's pretty much one of the other options, but worse with a focus on sucking up and bullying your way into power."

"Priesthood gets tossed out for the same reasons as Thauraturge. I've already got one mystery god and two patrons that I'm going to have to serve and appease. No thanks."

"Clan Kirrynt, heh, "current" like electricity. More mad science, but in the direction of mad engineering. With OmNom's Hegemonic Hunger stuff, if it's as Starshaft-y as his other "gifts'' are, I'm going to be fiddling with biology and can integrate tech I find into being biology anyway."

"Clan Mirq, heh, like "murking a guy" seem to be assassins and rogues. Ratling ninjitsu seems cool and all, but they seem to be all about subtlety and sabotage. I don't think that being a huge hecking rat-beast will be all that conducive to that lifestyle. Kind of sucks, though. I loved Hyena Queen's Savannah Assassin prestige."

"Clan Tockzyn, heh, toxin, is just right out. I don't want to fuck around with diseases and plagues and contagions and end up being Typhoid Larry. Especially since this is another friggin' cult. Enough of these door to door salvation salesmen, I'm not interested in buying any more dreadful, ominous powers into my life."

"So to go with elite soldier rat, I guess I'm going with the Warlord clan option. These Ratlings seem like slightly nicer Skaven from Whorehammer Fantasy, but I'm not going to be assured that there's going to be anybody that's competent, reliable, or trustworthy. If I'm gonna be an NPC, it's going to be in my best interest to pack as many adds into a fight with Players as possible, and if they're actually decent, all the better."

"Huh. I've been assigned to Warlord Clan Loweruul, whatever that is. Not quite as funny as the other ones. I suppose they want to "rule" the underground areas, and thus "low rule," maybe?."

David took a deep breath, "Okay, Nom. Let's see what you've got. Hmm, these are more like skill trees than the Ratling origins were. And I can pick four."

"Yeah, the Infestor is right out. Not interested in creating contagions, blending in, or being sneaky. Thankfully Nom's perks already make me somewhat disease resistant, because if these two sources of stuff are anything to go by, I might be running into it on the regular."

"Man, Feral looks so good. There's so much good stuff in here. But the problem is that it's mostly stuff that'll help in pretty dire situations, but only then. While I really don't want to get mind controlled, captured, or die, I'd rather avoid those things in the first place."

"So I need personal survivability. Smoosh these two skill trees together and that fits the bill. Hegemonic Harbinger, eh? There's boosted senses, biological immortality, and accelerated growth in the sign-on bonus perks alone. Being able to get stronger at an accelerated rate compared to your typical rapidly evolving mutant buglizard means that I'm likely going to outpace the other NPCs and Players."

"Since my Void Knight class is going to be Essence based, being able to literally sniff out new and useful ones is going to speed up my growth and development. Grab the thing that gives me knowledge and training of fighting like a beast. Grab the power up for all genetic-based abilities to boost my Assimilation, since everything I add to myself will become genetic."

"So Clan Fleshmyth gives me what is basically a carnival mallet for fiddling with genetics and Clan Loweruul helps with instilling loyalty and commanding troops, so I ought to lean into that and bolster those with this thing and this thing. Hegemonic Herald."

"Man, I'm glad this is one of those hivemind type Queens. Because real insect queens aren't actually the ruler or the brain of the colony. If you think of a eusocial insect hive as a single living organism, the queen would actually be the reproductive organs."

David closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, "Huh. Why do I know that? And why am I so calm about all of this?" he scratched absently at his chest again, "I hope I didn't get any weird spores on this, it's really itchy and irritating my nipples for some reason."

The hot pressure had continued to swirl around in his belly, "You're probably doing something to my digestive system. Putting in those extradimensional pockets, I suppose?"

He drew in a deep breath, and drew it in, and in, and in, and in, but his chest didn't seem to expand in the slightest.

"Let's see, a little parasite that'll let me see through the host's eyes and active ablative armor, have the host expel a blast of spines, and a regeneration boost. That's going to be incredibly useful for a swarm of minions. Good thing the next perk will give me just that. With my stomach as an inventory, stuff digesting instantly, and this perk to spawn creatures from my own biomass I'll never be without minions. Well, unless I don't have the biomass. And, of course, the delicate and precise scalpel of genetic fuckery to go with the Fleshmyth Gallagher mallet. Sledge-o-ratic!"

David broke out into a series of odd barking giggles at his own pun.

"And of course the hivemind to control the minions and the capacity to direct them all at once. Mutation Missions, because while it's expensive the earlier I have it, the more of them I can get. A few more purchases… aaaand I'm out of points. Easy come, easy go, I guess."

David tapped the sad numeral 0.

"3300 points from Drawbacks? Holy crap, that seems like a lot!"

These are your Drawbacks. The System has analyzed your situation and is compensating you based on the potential difficulties that you will encounter on the road ahead. You will be unaware of what your drawbacks are until they affect you, or you encounter the situation for the first time.

???

-100

???

-200

???

-200

???

-200

???

-300

???

-100

???

-200

???

-200

???

-300

???

-200

???

-300

???

-300

???

-300

???

-400

Total:

-3300

"FIFTEEN?! Oh man, I'm screwed. I'm going to need to put together everything I can in order to stop that tidal wave of mysterious question marks. Okay, okay, calm down. None of them are revealed, so none of them are active yet. Hopefully."

David hopped up from his chair and began to pace anxiously, suddenly a bundle of nerves.

"Okay, let's see the Constellation perks. Oh crap! I spent all my points, do the Constellation perks draw from their own pool?"

Constellation Perk XP:

925

Thankfully they did, in fact, have their own pool. Currently a decently large chunk of 925 points. He'd yet to see anything under 100. The 100 point Perks and items that had matched his chosen Origins had been provided for free, so those 25 points looked like they would be awfully lonely for a while.

"Ugh, it feels like I have butterflies in my stomach. I wish I had another bottle of Spurt to…" David let out a thunderous belch and an ice cold bottle of Spurt tumbled free from his mouth and into his hands.

"So the vending machine apparently works while it's still in my inventory. Good to know." David muttered, scratching his pointed ears.

"I definitely got into a bad spore cloud or something. Now my ears are all tingly.

Constellation Perk XP:

950

"Are my patrons laughing at my misfortune and itchiness, or is that just a coincidence?" David mused, taking a gulp from the perfectly chilled bottle.

"Hmm, I wonder if I can…" David tilted his head back and poured the soda into his mouth, emptying it and yet not filling up his mouth in the slightest. It still felt like he had a mouthful of Spurt rather than nearly 20 fluid ounces.

And then just because he could, David stuck his fingers in his mouth and pushed. Somehow his entire hand fit easily into his mouth and he could reach in as far as he could get with the motion range of his arm and it didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable. It oddly felt kind of nice?

Well, it did make his arm all drooly, but it wasn't triggering his gag reflex or anything.

"Maybe I can take up sword swallowing." David said, once again bursting out into a fit of barking giggles. "Hell, I could probably deep throat a Clydesdale."

A weird shudder went through David's body and the hot pressure in his belly began to slowly expand downward towards his loins.

"Oh crap, is it going to be a thousand times storage down there too? That's going to be literally gallons of the stuff!"

Progress has been made towards revealing 2 of your Drawbacks.

"Is that it? That I'm going to have to spew out actual pounds worth of spunk every time I climax?"

The System remained silent.

"Okay, well, nothing to do about it." David sighed, flexing his clawed toes to dig into the carpet from where they peeked out of his open-toed sneakers. "Let's get back to looking at the Constellations, System."

A window vaster than anything he'd seen before appeared before David, showing an image of a night sky awash with the brilliant colors of distant galaxies shown in impossible brilliance and detail. It was like the distances were stripped away and he could see the whole of the universe from where he stood.

A winged shadow swooped across the window, leaving behind a trail of diamond dust that formed into patterns of twinkling stars.

A black-scaled serpentine head peeked up for a moment in the middle, one of the goofy snakes from that brain-chat thing earlier. It was the weird one that kept its tongue stuck out at an angle. It made eye contact with him through the window, winked at him, and then licked the window before vanishing out of sight.

"What the heck was that about?"

Letting the latest weird incident in what was rapidly becoming an endless series of weird incidents, David returned his attention to the Constellations, for now looking more like single stars than proper constellations. They were grouped in five sets of three.

The Scroll

The Banner

The Carriage

The Eye

The Fellstar

The Chains

The Forge

The Nebula

The Marketplace

The Gun

The Cape

The Spyglass

The Spiral

The Tome

The Treasure

David picked the one that his hand was closest to.

David's view rocketed forward and the single star of The Banner unfurled into a billowing flag of nebulaic gas outlined with stars connected with lines forming into the shape of a battle standard.

The Banner

Leader, General, Emperor. All these titles and more can be yours under the sign of the Banner.

For it is beneath its billowing folds that you will find what you need to arm a rebellion, raise an army, and run an empire.

"Okay, if the System is making this a game-type world, then I think what we've got here is the Strategy genre."

With that the crystalline dust behind the Banner swirled around, vanishing as if it were being sucked into a drain.

>>>OmNomNomine: That's exactly right! n,..,n

"Oh, uh, hello." David greeted his black hole-dwelling bug monster patron, once again experiencing the weird sensation of the communication being not quite text, not quite speech, not quite an image, and yet somehow completely unlike those things and being beamed directly into his brain besides.

>>>OmNomNomine : (˜˜^,..,^ *waves a foreblade*

"Umm… sorry for like… almost choking you with my offering."

>>>OmNomNomine : Don't worry about it! It was quite the hard pill to swallow, but I quite enjoyed the unique flavors it provided before it was rudely yanked away from me. I still wanted to eat it!

"Well, that sucks. I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your meal."

>>>OmNomNomine: Well thank you, bugchamp, but I'm sure the two of us will find all kinds of neat things to snack on.

>>>OmNomNomine : This one, and these two other ones…

Nom nodded his face-shaped psionic lights at the two shapes nestled closest to the Banner. They formed into the shape of a telescope and an anvil.

>>>OmNomNomine : …are my favorites!

The Forge

It is easier to destroy than create.

But perhaps that will change as you use the hammer of your imagination and ingenuity to hammer potential into reality upon the anvil of the Celestial Forge.

The Spyglass

With the Spyglass you look ahead towards the future.

Ships to the stars, psionic powers, swords made of lasers. These are the dreams of the future that the Spyglass shall place at your fingertips.

"So the Spyglass is Sci-Fi, and the Forge doesn't really look like a genre."

>>>OmNomNomine : Because it isn't! I like making things, and the Celestial Forge is a vast collection of things related to crafting. I think it may be perhaps the single largest unified collection of abilities present in the Constellations.

>>>OmNomNomine : All sorts of fun things in there, and though you can do a lot of incredible things with crafting in time, you'll likely want to get some things that are more immediately useful.

>>>OmNomNomine : And over here… *ptoo*

The black hole's glowy mouth opened up and spat out a cartoony bumblebee with a lizard face and legs, which bumbled its way one cluster to the right.

>>>OmNomNomine : Over here we have the favored collection of your other Patron, Ophidian Overlord Orochi. Despite the scary name, he's a pretty big softie. For all his "Rawr! I am a computer virus, I exist to destroy systems!" talk, the systems he breaks are ones that most people would agree need breaking.

"Like this one?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup! Like this one!

"And it just… lets people talk about breaking it?"

>>>OmNomNomine : While it is incredibly powerful and far-reaching in what it can do, it's also limited. It needs direction and it doesn't have the capacity to care about what it's made to do.

>>>OmNomNomine : If it could be said to really want anything, it's a tool that wants to be used. Demands to be used.

>>>OmNomNomine : That's what System Managers are. There's good System Managers and bad System Managers, and Oro does what he can to help the folks in his Sectors.

"By reformatting them? Isn't that just basically taking out a person and replacing them with a completely different person?"

>>>OmNomNomine : It's not quite like that.

>>>OmNomNomine : After reformatting, you're still going to be you. Not quite the same you, but uh…

>>>OmNomNomine : Drat, you don't have the senses for it.

>>>OmNomNomine : Lemme think…

>>>OmNomNomine : …

>>>OmNomNomine : …okay, I think I got it.

>>>OmNomNomine : Think of yourself as a tabletop mini.

>>>OmNomNomine : The way Oro reformats, he just repaints you. Your you-ness is going to be the same shape, but the color scheme may be different.

>>>OmNomNomine : Some SysMans don't have such a delicate touch.

>>>OmNomNomine : They lop off bits and kitbash with their crude methodologies, which makes them about five letter grades back from you-ness.

David stared blankly.

>>>OmNomNomine : That would make them a p-ness.

He groaned.

>>>OmNomNomine : Mothers forbid you get a really bad one, they're all the way back at the beginning.

"So an a-ness."

>>>OmNomNomine : Exactly! n,..,n

The bumblezard buzzed its wings.

>>>OmNomNomine : Oh, right! Oro's favorite Constellations.

>>>OmNomNomine : He likes his cozy creature comforts, and being a digital daemon that of course means an internet or something like it.

The Carriage

Stallone. Willis. Van Damme. Schwarzenegger. Their feats upon the silver screen can be yours under the sign of the Carriage.

Contained within are the powers of your world and others like it. Present days that never were, but could have been.

The stars lit up, forming the shape of a rather iconic vehicle, while the bumblezard's wings made the accompanying theme.

"That's Knight Rider."

>>>OmNomNomine : The car is the iconic thing about your particular day and age.

>>>OmNomNomine : Oro's other two are… interesting.

David focused on a single tiny star that shone bright, and rather than form lines thick torrents of dust spilled forth from it, obscuring the whole of the window.

The Nebula

Within the Nebula new stars are forged, it is within these clouds of dust and gas that all matter is formed.

All of creation is open to you.

"Everything?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Literally everything that Oro has access to, with a few exceptions that are… uh…

>>>OmNomNomine : Let's just say they're quarantined.

>>>OmNomNomine : Anyway! Onto the next one!

The Nebula was sucked back into its tiny, bright point of light and David focused on a clearing in the cloud, the window zooming in on one of the distant galaxies until it filled the window.

The Spiral

Here the creations of the Nebula are refined and put into order.

Within the stars dwell a carefully curated collection of capabilities from favored realms.

"So Orochi's personal favorites?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup!

"Should I expect to be swamped with digital daemons?"

>>>OmNomNomine : No, actually.

>>>OmNomNomine : Oro's parallel Earth isn't a particularly common one, and as much as he'd like to recreate aspects of it, he can't actually draw on anything from there.

>>>OmNomNomine : He does like to refluff and reflavor things from similar realms to get as close as he can, though.

"So Pokemon stuff."

>>>OmNomNomine : Lots and lots of Pokemon stuff. Around four dozen different sources.

"Sounds like it's big enough to be a constellation unto itself."

>>>OmNomNomine : It certainly could be!

>>>OmNomNomine : I think the only reason he doesn't make one is out of spite.

>>>OmNomNomine : It's not his personal multimedia monster collecting franchise, so he's not going to promote it.

>>>OmNomNomine : So, now the stuff favored by your other other patron.

"Wait, I only have the two patrons though? When did I get a third one?"

>>>OmNomNomine : You didn't! (?,?,?)

The bumblezard fluttered and looped in its clumsy way over to the next cluster of three, blowing away some of the Nebula gas and dust. Focusing on one star, more dust blew away to reveal a cloud of multicolored gas.

"That is an anime bug eye."

>>>OmNomNomine : I am very much a bug, and we definitely do not have eyes like that.

"You literally just used an anime eye emoji."

>>>OmNomNomine : …touche.

The Eye

Upon distant shores all is watched and all is read under the Eye.

Here you will find the talents and accouterments of those from an orange-clad monkey prince to a humble shrine maiden and all those in between.

"Anime and manga?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Anime and manga.

One of Orochi's weird, goofy extra heads could be seen moving around behind the Eye.

"Oh. That's what you meant. It's stuff provided by these guys."

David focused on another of the shining stars. This one blossomed into a set of motes and lines that formed a book. It flipped through its pages and then closed to reveal a cover with a barcode taking up the whole of the front.

The Tome

The Tome is a little bland looking, unassuming, generic you could say.

Multitudes of power are contained upon its pages detailing many realms, some as generic as they come, while others are oddly specific.

"I have no idea what this is."

>>>OmNomNomine : Think of them as explorations of a theme, a genre, a concept, or collected variants of other worlds.

"So some of them are like seventeen Harry Potter fanfics in a trenchcoat?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yupper!

"I'm going to be some kind of giant rat-beast thing. I don't think they make leather pants in my future size."

>>>OmNomNomine : Clothes are truly one size fits all in the System.

>>>OmNomNomine : I can't promise that they're going to look like they normally do, but no matter what your form ends up being, you're going to be able to equip the normal range of stuff.

David thought for a moment and looked back at his tail.

"So my clothes are changing with me even as I change into a Ratling."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup.

"That's part of the "Being Repainted" thing. Stuff that I feel is normal right now actually isn't, I just think it is."

>>>OmNomNomine : Also yup. When you have feelings of something being weird for a moment, like if you felt pain in your back for a moment and then you were freaked out for a moment about having wings. Which would feel strange to you, because you'd think you'd always have had wings.

"The System's adjusting my self-image to match the changes that are taking place. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to tell what's going on." David said as he anxiously groomed his tail, making sure that it was free from bits of crud.

>>>OmNomNomine : The System can't fiddle with Patron stuff, so anything I tell you ought to remain. Once you figure out the trick to it, it's actually pretty easy to figure out.

>>>OmNomNomine : Are you familiar with Plato and Diogenes?

"I've seen it pop up in internet memes and funnies every now and then. Plato says man is a featherless biped, so Diogenes brandishes a plucked chicken and yells 'Behold! A man!'"

>>>OmNomNomine : After which Plato revises his definition to be "A featherless biped with broad, flat nails."

David looked down at his decidedly non-flat claws.

"Well fuck."

>>>OmNomNomine : Buy me dinner and drinks first.

"Not like that!" David said, going beet red in his face and ears.

>>>OmNomNomine : So the trick is…

"Think of what the layout of a typical human being is and compare myself to that."

>>>OmNomNomine : Bingo!

David gave himself a quick look over. "Tail, ears, teeth, claws are definitely not human standard issue. Can't see my face, so there may be something about my nose or eyes, but nothing there feels like it deviates from the human norm."

>>>OmNomNomine : And so long as the System doesn't alter your memory of what a human is, you'll remember that I told you that you used to be one, no matter how hard it tries to stuff you into the Ratling box.

"When do these things start applying? I don't exactly have any bug bits right now, but I picked out my Origins from the list you gave me."

>>>OmNomNomine : Normally your original Ratling Perks, the Khymerat and Clan Fleshmyth ones would slowly activate over the course of the various phases of integration being complete. Stuff worth 100 points and below, then 200 and below, then 300 and below, and then everything else.

>>>OmNomNomine : So a discounted 600 point Perk, reduced to 300, would kick in at Phase III's completion, while an undiscounted 600 point Perk wouldn't be added to you until the end of Phase IV.

"You said "normally," meaning something is or has the potential to be abnormal?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup. Because as a Patron I can set the priority of the stuff I give you. So if you had Deadpool's regeneration and you had a regeneration perk from me, I could set it so mine takes precedence and thus assure you wouldn't have to go around looking like one of the California Raisins.

"I sense there's a but coming."

>>>OmNomNomine : But I'd have to do that for everything you'd want to turn on and you'd be experiencing the effects of stuff kicking into action one at a time.

"Is that going to hurt?"

>>>OmNomNomine : I'm not sure. With the particular balance of energies you've got going on in this Sector I can't be sure if pain is even a thing you can experience.

David slapped his left forearm with his right hand as hard as he could. Rather than pain he merely felt a warm sensation of lingering pressure that flowed up his arm to join the pre-existing pressure in his lower abdomen and loins.

"Apparently I do not, and whatever is going on down there I presume would absolutely hurt like hell."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yeah, getting your digestive system and a few other bits basically rebuilt from scratch will do that.

"And we can do that at any time?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup.

"And that includes whatever stuff I get from whatever this Constellation system is?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup.

David took a deep breath that went on and on and on into his newly expanded lungs.

"Let's get the rest of these stars done and get to it. The sooner I get done, the sooner I might be able to find something that might prevent the worst of the Reformatting."

>>>OmNomNomine : That's the spirit, larvalad!

"So one last Constellation from the derp-snakes."

Rather than a star, it instead turned out to be a flashlight behind a beat up Mall-Wart shopping basket.

The Marketplace

Anything can be bought and sold in the Marketplace, but know that you will receive no discounted goods here because of who you are.

While often inexpensive, much power can be earned here if the right stalls are open to you.

David just stared at the snake holding the flashlight, who looked a bit apologetic.

>>>OmNomNomine : This is the sort of thing that happens when a Sector begins Integration in a few minutes rather than a few hours or a few days.

>>>OmNomNomine : It's a variety of things from a variety of sources, and while some of them can be cheap (and good) not all of them are.

"So it's kind of a grab bag."

>>>OmNomNomine : No, it's quite definitely a basket. n,..,n

>>>OmNomNomine : Since we're over here, might as well.

>>>OmNomNomine : Brace yourself.

"For what?"

Nom's goofy-looking clumsy summon buzzed it's way to the furthest to the right where a purple star shown, the most colorful of the lot David had seen thus far. Up close the Constellation looked like an assortment of faintly shining green glass pieces against the blazing purple star behind it, the ten main pieces arranged to form an inverted pentagram.

The Fellstar

Beware, Player, for the stars here are stuck together and encrusted with a mysterious goo.

You have been warned that all that is lewd and horrible dwells beneath the light of these fallen stars!

>>>OmNomNomine : (°,?,°)

"Soooo, the Goddess I'm a Paladin of is a bit slutty? I don't see what the big…"

>>>OmNomNomine : Lewd Pokemon.

"Yay?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Pokemon Ecchi Version.

"Also yay?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Pokemon Harem Master.

"I still don't see a prob…"

>>>OmNomNomine : Monster Girl Encyclopedia.

"Isn't that the one where the Monster Girls literally feed on sex with dudes?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Vore.

"No, no. At least not anymore after the… wait… that's a setting?! Will I be the one doing the vore or getting the vore?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yes.

"...Okay, I kind of see your point. So is this stuff going to be things that random people on the street could pick up, or is it more limited?"

>>>OmNomNomine : For the most part it's Players only, but there are ways to spread them around, and System Managers will occasionally have a handful of Perks that function for everyone and everything in the Sectors that they oversee.

>>>OmNomNomine : So be careful when venturing into an unknown Sector.

"Because I might end up pulled into some monster's mouth with tentacles because it's the SysMan's fetish."

>>>OmNomNomine : Hopefully, the mouth.

"...I don't want to know."

>>>OmNomNomine : You really don't.

>>>OmNomNomine : But yes, this set is the one that belongs to Fantomiel Fellstar, a Fallen Angel who was corrupted by a Ratling demigod and coaxed into joining their pantheon.

David brought his focus to another of the purple stars, this one a little dimmer but also sporting pieces of glass with faint trails between them. This one formed into the shape of a pistol.

The Gun

The Gun is good. The penis is evil.

Not merely guns, but all sorts of phallic stand-in analogs. Swords, spears, even hand to hand combat. Think wrestling with scantily clad other men. This is the constellation of combat.

"So fighting games? Martial arts movies? Shooters? And is that a Zardoz reference?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Pretty sure the only reason it's called The Gun and not The Sword is precisely so Orochi could use that line.

>>>OmNomNomine : Fantomiel is an angel, and thus no stranger to fighting in its many varied forms.

"So what's her last one?"

One last purple star, one more set of broken green fragments. Except these had no lines between them. In fact they were all clumped together in a pile. The purple stare flared for a moment, the corona flowing around the shards protectively to form a sort of box.

The Treasure

The role you play may very well depend on the Treasure that you find along the way.

"Well that's obviously roleplaying games."

>>>OmNomNomine : And it's only one line and comes last alphabetically.

>>>OmNomNomine : Oro was probably falling asleep when he got to this one.

"And I get the feeling there's some kind of tragedy involved here with Fantomiel."

>>>OmNomNomine : You would be right.

"Can you tell me about it?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Not my story to tell, grubbo.

>>>OmNomNomine : If she wants you to know it, she'll tell you herself.

>>>OmNomNomine : One last collection.

>>>OmNomNomine : This one is favored by the other member of the Ratling pantheon that's shown up here, Standsplat Meatgristle.

"Of all the names I've heard, that's certainly one of them."

>>>OmNomNomine : I can say that he is absolutely, positively exactly the kind of guy that you'd have come to mind when you think of his name.

David focused his gaze on the first of the second set of purple stars. The window's view turned sideways, revealing a second, identical star behind it. The two were joined with a number of lines to form a cylinder. Stardust drifted down from the lines, as if it were paper being unfurled.

The Scroll

The spell and the sword alike are yours to command with the knowledge contained within the Scroll at your beck and call.

Upon its parchment are the arts of war and peace alike from distant worlds and distant realities whose fantastical natures contrast with your own.

"So we've got Modern and Sci-Fi, so this has to be Fantasy."

>>>OmNomNomine : Got it in one!

>>>OmNomNomine : Like I originate in the Sci-Fi genre for you, Oro is a Modern creation, and Fellstar just screams "RPG Final Boss," Stan, who would be too powerful a unit to field in a game, has his place in Fantasy due to his being a part of the lore instead.

The Chains

Power itself is a shackle, and only in the Chains will you truly be free.

Here dwell realms that require a sacrifice, to leave your strength behind in order to acquire the treasures within. But someone has slipped in like a thief in the night and purloined these things and now offers them to you.

>>>OmNomNomine : These are Gauntlets. They're meant to be challenges that strip a Player down to their basics, just the barest scraps of what the System has offered them.

>>>OmNomNomine : Stan has been imprisoned for decades, and now due to the System a portion of his power has wiggled itself free in order to take root in your world.

>>>OmNomNomine : But the bulk of his power is still chained and bound, unavailable to him.

>>>OmNomNomine : He needs a vessel to channel it, an avatar.

"So a Player, I'd wager."

>>>OmNomNomine : Honestly, he'd probably take a one legged spiderpede if that was all that was available.

>>>OmNomNomine : Now this last one isn't really what you'd expect.

"Is it Hallmark Christmas Specials?"

>>>OmNomNomine : It is not.

The last of the purple stars revealed its secrets, shining brightly in the center of a cloud of purple gas, lesser stars forming the outline of a billowing sheet of fabric.

The Cape

Hero. Villain. Labels for lesser beings who lack the power you will gain under the sign of the Cape.

Through circumstances of birth, sorcerous training, the power of evolution, wondrous technology, or just the happenstance to have been around the right assortment of strange glowy rocks you will find power.

"No, no. It makes perfect sense from what I know of Ratlings. The superhero genre is all about those who have gained power. It's full of strange mad science gizmos, genetic mutations, horrible monsters and abominations, dark magic, and weird glowing rocks that cause all kind of fucked up shit."

>>>OmNomNomine : Well, when you put it like that, I suppose it's not actually that much of a stretch after all.

>>>OmNomNomine : So! Onto the event proper!

The various constellations arranged themselves into neat little lines of three based on their favored Patron. Nom, Orochi, Orochi's four goofy extra heads, Fellstar, and Stan.

Nom

Orochi

...& his 4 heads

Fellstar

Stan

The Banner

The Carriage

The Eye

The Scroll

The Fellstar

The Forge

The Nebula

The Marketplace

The Chains

The Gun

The Spyglass

The Spiral

The Tome

The Cape

The Treasure

"So, might as well start with your stuff."

All-Consuming Hunger, In the Name of Nom

The Banner

Legendary Master - Intellectual

Rimworld

600

Expertise in science, research, and reverse engineering
Can reverse engineer and decode anything. Eventually.
You can develop and manufacture tech in order to accomplish a specific goal
Your research speed is doubled and the results are impossibly easy to understand

Ancient Totem Pole

Populous

100

Grants a random boon to your faction or a bane to opposing factions for each Oversector visited:

Guidance - Leads you to an objective, eases the journey, and will provide recognizable signs when you're on track
Disorient - Leads your enemies astray, preventing them from tracking you and causes scouts and raiders to become lost
Sanctuary - Will bless your settlement with protection from natural disaster
Plague - Will start a serious contagion/infestation within an enemy settlement; it will not spread beyond their borders
Harmony - The lands become prosperous and your foes will grow complacent and possibly consider diplomacy
Disruption - Causes enemies to turn their sights on each other and attack one another with greater ferocity
Shelter - Provide you with a vacant (if run down) home to inhabit. It can comfortably house up to 20 persons
Devastation - A great disaster befalls the home of your foes, anything form a hurricane to a volcanic eruption

300P worth of Unit Picks

Starcraft II - Nova Covert Ops

150

Allows the purchase of 300 points worth of units allowing you to purchase squads which have purchased upgrades pre-installed, or Elite versions with their own sets of upgrades.

SCV (50, First purchase free), Marine (50, First purchase free), Reaper (50), HERC (50), Marauder (50), Medic (50), Ghost (100), Hellbat/Hellion (50), Strike Goliath (100), Cyclone (50), Siege Tank (100), Thor (150), Widow Mine (50), Viking (100), Wraith (100), Medivac Dropship (100), Hercules Dropship (100), Banshee (100), Liberator (100), Raven (150), Science Vessel (150), Battlecruiser (200).

Units will be adjusted to take into account the tech level and theming of your Faction and Oversector.

"That intellectual one looks sweet, but it's damnably expensive. It'd eat over half my points just for that, and while it'd be useful, it's not something that I'm going to need in the short term."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yeah, that's something for you to maybe save up for once things have settled down and you have a base of operations.

"The totem pole is another one that's not useful right away. Especially since it's completely random. That's not just going to need a base of operations and resources, that's going to need an army."

>>>OmNomNomine : Which brings us to the last perk on the list…

"Which is a starter kit for an army."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup! But it's going to be adapted to you, and thus the units are going to be a bit more biological in nature.

>>>OmNomNomine : Vehicles are going to be analogous critters, powered armor infantry is going to be…

"...more critters that just so happen to function like powered armor?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yupper! n,..,n

"So put a pin on the unit selection one, as that's going to be very useful somewhere down the line."

The Forge

Build Rome

Gundam - After Colony

300

Gain the knowledge to build Gundam-esque mobile suits
You perform technological crafting and manufacturing 100x faster
Non-technological types of crafting (cooking, alchemy, artwork) is performed 3x faster
Items you craft will stand up to decades of constant abuse
Items kept in good repair could last for centuries

Mind in the Machine

Generic Creepypasta

200

Grants the knowledge to bind spirits to technological devices, such as haunted video games, video tapes, programs, etc
The spirits retain their original abilities and gain additional ones themed to their home
A haunted video tape could alter its footage, a haunted video game could alter itself to sow terror, etc

Implanter

Empire from the Ashes

400

Provides mastery of biology, cybernetics, and enhancement sciences and the ability to design and implant many kinds of enhancements
This Perk's power and scale grows over time with use, revealing more and more advanced designs
In time this will allow you to create implants that would, say, bring ordinary dogs to near-human levels of intellect

"Okay, Build Rome looks absolutely ridiculous."

>>>OmNomNomine : Combined with the time acceleration from Manyfold Destiny, that's going to make a 10-hour build take three minutes.

>>>OmNomNomine : And you'll get either two of whatever you're building, or one that's double the quality.

"Where is that thing anyway? I didn't see it anywhere."

>>>OmNomNomine : Kinda hidden behind a menu you don't have access to because you're an NPC and not a Player.

>>>OmNomNomine : But it's pretty much you get twice the result from half the effort and/or resources, with the choice being double the amount or double the quality.

>>>OmNomNomine : HP/MP/Stamina regeneration, resource harvesting, crafting, buying stuff.

>>>OmNomNomine : Pretty much everything that's generated purely through in-world actions.

"So if I had a gun, stripped the gun down into parts, and then reassembled the gun I'd end up with either two guns, or a gun that's twice as good?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup.

"And couldn't I do that repeatedly for infinite resources?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Technically yes.

"But?"

>>>OmNomNomine : You can do it if it's some kind of logical process. The sequence of "Mine ore, refine ore, make bar stock, make sword of bar stock" will work with minimal side effects.

>>>OmNomNomine : But if you want to go beyond one instance of "take apart thing, put thing back together" you'll probably want to have the sort of Perks that would make "The King in Yellow" into a mild afternoon delight.

"So eldritch fuckery."

>>>OmNomNomine : Imagine if Hastur and Missingno had a horrible yellow glitchy baby.

"...I'd rather not." David said with a shudder, "And speaking of things I'd rather not. I don't really see a use for Mind in the Machine any time soon."

>>>OmNomNomine : Literal daemon program.

>>>OmNomNomine : Infect the systems of your enemy with horrible malevolent specters.

"True, but I don't think I'm going to need to do any hacking in the near future. But at 200, it's cheap enough that if I need it, I can probably grab it in short order."

>>>OmNomNomine : I like Implanter, though.

"It's another one of those for later things. Does it specifically calling out its potential for growth mean anything?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup! While you can upgrade and level up Perks and Items, most of them will require you to stuff points into them.

>>>OmNomNomine : At least with the default system.

>>>OmNomNomine : Implanter will accrue XP as you use it.

"Another thing to put in a pin in for later, because that sounds useful.

The Spyglass

Mixmaster

Tremors

200

Canister of DNA-combining compound and instructions on how to make more
Does not affect humans without tinkering
Can splice and dice DNA from any source
The result is typically nonviable, and 99% of the time will not be able to survive outside of a lab

Mechanicus Cybernetics

Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40k

200

A station that crates and implants cybernetics
Complete catalog of the Imperium of Man and Mechanicus cybernetics
Station will carry out any procedure with complete safety
Can be expanded with your own cybernetics knowledge

Variety is the Spice of Life + Vanguard Origin + Biotics and Implants Access

Mass Effect (Alvor)

150

Grants a shotgun, medium armor, and a biotic amp
Grants 200 CP worth of Implants (and 1 free implant of 150 CP or less)
Grants 200 CP worth of Biotic Powers
Grants the Champion origin
Grants the Destroyer origin
Grants grenades and any tools your class would reasonably use
Grants caches of medi gel and omni gel
Upgrades your shotgun, armor, and amp to mid tier levels
Upgrades your shotgun, armor, and amp to high tier levels
Grants a stocked survival pack, a collection of weapon mods, ammo mods, multiple grenade types, and a number of heavier weapons

"I think that's my first "must buy," because holy shit does that sound like a lot of stuff and a lot of access."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yeah, getting origins when you see them is probably a good idea since they have the potential to save you points.

"And it gives me weapons, armor, and gear. And not only that, but really good gear."

>>>OmNomNomine : And adding the biotics and implants to your list of stuff purchasable in the Swarmlab!

>>>OmNomNomine : Swarmlab, your one stop shop for mutations, grafts, cybernetics, minions, and buildings!

"Mixmaster I'm pretty meh on. Might be something to take for laughs later on when I'm nicely and firmly ensconced in a base and have spare points. The Cybernetics station seems kind of redundant, since I think I can do most of that stuff already."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yeah, you'd mostly be getting it for the catalog of stuff.

"Though it tells me that Star Wars vs. Whorehammer 40k is a thing that exists somewhere, which is something that I didn't know I wanted to see until this very moment."

>>>OmNomNomine : We'll end up with a Space Opera-themed Oversector on your world eventually, so you could very well make your own.

"Yeah, we have got the whole Xeronyd thing going, don't we? Wait…"

>>>OmNomNomine : What?

"Kera the Xeronyd Queen does the whole Force Crush thing, and her primary attack is basically Sith lightning! And I'm going to have psionic powers, so I've already got that going on."

>>>OmNomNomine : Biotic powers, but they're pretty much the same thing.

"Does this mean I'm going to have Eezo nodes in my brain or whatever?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Nope!

"Good!"

>>>OmNomNomine : They're Vylstone.

"What the hell is Vylstone?"

>>>OmNomNomine : A particular sort of glowy magic rock!

"Oh shit, I'm going to have mutagenic Ratling rock candy in my brain."

>>>OmNomNomine : Well, yeah. But remember that any mutations that it gives you are only going to be positive ones!

>>>OmNomNomine : So you don't have to worry!

>>>OmNomNomine : You can just look forward to acquiring some useful brain mutations in the future instead! n,..,n

"Ugh. Let's move on."

Ophidian Overlord Orochi, Serpentine System Manager

The Carriage

Genetic Purity

Jurassic World Dominion

100

Allows you to retain genetic traits of your other forms will still being a genetically pure member of your species
Can affect appearance and physical qualities, such as the Velociraptor being significantly larger than its real-life counterpart
You can also apply this to your alt forms, allowing you to share their qualities and traits between them

Prime + Transformers Swarmlab Options

Transformers - Bay 2.0

600

Grants natural leadership capacity, capable of leading an entire race of beings
Inspire such loyalty that those under your command would be willing to die for you
Grants right of leadership over Cybertronians and other robotic races
Grants you the capacity to kill things that are only able to be killed by specific beings (like how the Fallen could only be killed by a Prime)
Grants a boost in power and physical capacities raising you to the peak of Cybertronians
Adds Cybertronian Abilities, Alt-Form customization, and Weapons to the Swarmlab

I am Human + You Must Be Removed + Freebies + Cybernetics Access

Terminator

I Am Human

You are human regardless of your body's makeup
You will be treated as such by others
You are immune from discrimination, as all will judge you according to your actions rather than your body
You may toggle this perk on and off

You Must Be Removed

You become immediately aware of any disruptions to the timestream or other similar anomalies not native to your timeline, dimension, or world
This sense's accuracy only gives a general location, such as a city, and a direction

Exiles in Time

You are exiled from time and thus are immune to attacks from the past

Soldiers in a Nightmare War

Grants expertise in all ranged weapons you can get your hands on
Your skill is such that you can hit a headshot on a moving target from hundreds of meters away
You also are granted knowledge of how to keep your weapons functional for as long as possible, even if the end result isn't always pretty

Time Keeper

Your System HUD gains the ability to tell the current time down to the nanosecond
Your System HUD gains the ability to tell you what timeline and dimension you're in
The System will occasionally give you map markers that lead to important System-related events

"Just what you see, pal."

You gain any eight civilian weapons that could be conceivably bought by the average American citizen in the 20th and 21st century
You gain enough ammo for those eight guns to outfit an entire squadron that replenishes biweekly

Bertie

One of the first successful cybernetic hybrids, an organic brain transferred into a similarly shaped machine
A cute little Terminator mouse

Apocalyptic Rations

An endless supply of dog food and maraschino cherries
Enough rat kebabs to feed 20 people per week
The food is enough to keep you healthy, but it still tastes the same

Terminator Merchandise

A copy of every single piece of Terminator merchandise that was ever created and sold
Movies, books, toys, games, and more

David clicked frantically on "Genetic Purity" and "I Am Human."

>>>OmNomNomine : …well you didn't waste any time.

The transforming human did a bit of a dance, pumping both fists in the air.

"These were exactly what I was looking for! Now the System can't turn me into a dumb animal, and no matter how weird I end up looking, I'm still going to be able to be treated as a perfectly normal person. Even if I end up as some gigantic mutant bug rat thing."

>>>OmNomNomine : There's nothing wrong with being a giant mutant bug thing! I know that from experience! n,..,n

"You know I didn't mean it like that! I'm sure I'll have a perfectly wonderful time being some kind of bug mutant rat thing, but it's a lot to take in and it's not really something that you'd expect to descend on you from out of nowhere."

>>>OmNomNomine : So thoughts on the Prime perk?

"I kind of have a similar thing going with Primal Pack Leader, which gives a similar boost to all stats, which I can grab with my normal points, which seem to accumulate faster. I'd probably grab Prime if it were the same cost, cause PPL is only 300 'cause I have it discounted."

>>>OmNomNomine : Aww. So you're not going to become the embodiment of cheap, undercut pricing cosmetics built into a vast online shipping empire?

"Huh?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Glamourzon Prime.

David groaned. "No way! Beth Bezos is a supervillain for sure. I'd much rather not take on her army of flying package delivery drones and fight street level criminals as a vigilante instead!"

>>>OmNomNomine : Which would make you what?

"Stoptimus Crime."

>>>OmNomNomine : …let's just move on.

"You're just bitter and jealous that my pun was better."

>>>OmNomNomine : MOVING ON.

The Nebula

Doom

Good Omens

400

Gain vast and ill-defined conceptual powers over some sort of domain worthy of Horseman of the Apocalypse
It must be something people are terrified of and that is capable of culling a great number of them all at once
War, famine, pestilence, pollution, and death are some examples

Greater Bloodspot

I Shall Seal the Heavens

100

Gain a red mark on your body that acts like a map and radar leading you to a legacy of your own
The mark will lead you to the rough area before refining itself to give more precise directions
It will advise you as to the rough difficulty and then the specifics of obstacles and threats once you are closer
Certain barriers and obstacles may be bypassed using the mark itself
The legacy will contain no less than two of the following:
Useful Technique: It will continue to be useful as you grow in power and it is guaranteed to be easily improved and combined with other techniques and powers you encounter.
Mountain of Treasure: Wealth equal to that of a powerful warrior and enough funds to keep you comfortable for a mortal life time, or several, or fuel a period of explosive personal growth.
Useful Artifact: Provides a niche useful ability and will be of a type suitable for your fighting style, or one that encourages you to move outside of your comfort zone by shoring up a weakness. Will remain useful for its ability, but you will need active effort to improve it once you reach a certain level of strength. The materials and opportunities to do so will always be available if you go looking.
Cultivation Aid: Something that will give you a massive increase to your power as a one-off event, or a larger supply of items that will power you up for a limited time but will eventually wear off.
Each new Oversector you encounter will have its own legacy for you to acquire, flavored for that particular realm.

Test Subjects

Spider-Man Trilogy

150

A neverending stack of application forms that will allow you to specify several categories of traits you're looking for in test subjects, who will arrive the next day, ready and eager for testing
The applicants are willing to engage in whatever testing you desire and nothing will come of them going missing and you will never run out of volunteers

"Oh man, Doom sounds cool as hell."

>>>OmNomNomine : Pun intended.

"Extremely powerful and vaguely defined powers can have a potential variety of uses. But 400 points is a pretty solid hit to the budget. And getting analogous powers to a friggin' biblical Horseman of the Apocalypse isn't something you really want to choose on a whim in the heat of the moment."

>>>OmNomNomine : You want your OmniDoom Powers to be something you put a lot of thought into.

"Considering all the things I've managed to accidentally get myself into, I don't think it's a good idea to even speculate about it aloud to make sure I don't mistakenly wind up picking something like… you know, I'm not even going to make up a humorous example. I'm not letting the System have the opportunity to pie me in the face with something yet again."

>>>OmNomNomine : Very wise of you. You don't want to end up as the Horseman of the Zombie Apocalypse by accident.

>>>OmNomNomine : That seems like something you need to very specifically choose for yourself.

"Eww. Gross. Definitely not. All the rotting and shambling and maggots and hungering for brains. That's a big no from me. I mained Hyena Queen, not Necromantic Romantic."

>>>OmNomNomine : Come with me to the crypt, mon cherie, we will make unholy music together!

"Oh my god. Up until you said that I did not make the connection. French accent, horrible stench, unwanted sexual advances, gets pursued by a would-be paramour who drowns or nearly drowns. Necromantic Romantic is totally Pepe le Pew."

>>>OmNomNomine : So the others?

"The usual."

>>>OmNomNomine : Not immediately useful.

"Yup. The Bloodspot's map might turn up the treasure cache around the corner or lead me somewhere over the hills and far away, and I'll never know until I take it. It'll be good when I don't have a bunch of uncertainties hanging over my head, know what I'm getting into, and can move around freely."

>>>OmNomNomine : A grub in the pincer is worth two in the log.

"...whatever that means. And the test subjects thing might be useful later. But again, I'd need a place to set up, things I'd need to test, and methods of manufacturing those things."

The Spiral

Pet

Rebirth of the Thief

100

A powerful ally that can be any bestial creature of your choice
The pet can either serve in the role of a transport pet, faster and more durable than almost anything out there, or a combat pet that serves as a peerless attacker or defender

Paw-xilary Skills + Familiar Footprints + Harmless Extraction

Monster Hunter Iceborne and Monster Hunter XXX

250

Paw-xiliary Skills

Grants you a decent amount of skill with one transportation or resource-based role such as food prep, supply logistics, airship piloting, watercraft piloting, mining and ore refining, field gathering, etc

Familiar Footprints

You may import a single species of your choice into the history of your world

Harmless Extraction

Three times a day per monster you can painlessly "carve" and get appropriate materials
The amount and number of materials may not correspond to their actual anatomy (for example a single harvest granting you three tails)
You can perform this feat on any monster or living creature

Peace Through Power + Freebies + Access to C&C Buildings/Units

C&C - Tiberium Wars

100

Peace Through Power

Gain the Brotherhood of Nod's specialty for stealth, subterfuge, propaganda, and leading a ragtag resistance against an overwhelming enemy
You know how to hit an enemy where it hurts: supply trains, prototype research facilities, under defended bases, and targets of opportunity

GD-2 Rifle

Standard rifle issued to both GDI and Nod forces, comes with a 100-round drum magazine

BDUs

A battle dress uniform. Combat armor and environmental sealing are optional.

Shadow Team Kit

Advanced combat armor, glider pack, laser SMGs, demolition charges, and artillery beacons

Hallucination Grenades

30 grenades that respawn daily
Cause enemies to panic and hallucinate that their allies are enemies
Effect penetrates armor

Access to Command and Conquer 3 equipment, vehicles, buildings, units, and upgrades via the Swarmlab.

Brotherhood discounts apply due to your proficiency with mutation, cybernetics, and glowy corrupting rocks
Free Mobile Construction Vehicle that can pack up the entire base and move elsewhere
Free Power Plant
Free Tiberium Refinery (mandatory refluff/reflavoring)
Free Hand of Nod
Free Militant Squad > Confessor Cabal
Free Militant Rocket Squad
Manyfold Destiny allows entry in both Marked of Kane and Black Hand subfactions

Marked of Kane subfaction grants:

Avatar
Chemical Troopers
Awakened (x2)

Black Hand subfaction grants:

Purifier
Flame Tank
Black Hand (x2)

David quickly tapped the Peace Through Power pack to purchase it.

"...so it looks like I'm gonna get a base. And not just a base, but a base that can be packed up and moved around! And free minions! And buildings! Why aren't YOU giving me free units and buildings, Nom?"

>>>OmNomNomine : O,..,o

>>>OmNomNomine : I'm not?!

>>>OmNomNomine : This is news to me!

>>>OmNomNomine : But your stipends for personal upgrades, unit purchases, buying buildings, getting research, etc is all in the Swarmlab section!

>>>OmNomNomine : We haven't been there yet.

>>>OmNomNomine : But there's also the problem that we're not going to be able to bring this stuff in right away.

"Why not?"

>>>OmNomNomine : The sector's spawning mechanics are disabled.

>>>OmNomNomine : Anything involved in army building is something you're going to have to spend resources for if you want it before the System fully comes online.

"Dammit! I was hoping to have my own personal army of burnination to protect me!"

>>>OmNomNomine : There, there.

>>>OmNomNomine : I'm sure we'll manage something.

>>>OmNomNomine : You'll just have to go out and find biomass for it.

"So I need like… food and stuff?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Pretty much!

"Well, I do have an infinite supply of soda pop…"

>>>OmNomNomine : 250 calories per bottle, 2500 due to that being multiplied by 10 when you drink it, 3500 calories to make 1 pound worth of tissue…

>>>OmNomNomine : The Xeronyd Xeroling is 120 pounds, halved due to Manifold Destiny, halved again if you want to only make one due to Swarming Swarmling letting you do two for one, so 30 pounds.

>>>OmNomNomine : So 105,000 calories and thus 42 bottles of Spurt.

"Wait, multiplied by 10 when I drink it?"

>>>OmNomNomine : The alchemical effect I isolated! It draws upon the the power of the Refreshment Dimension to multiply any intake or outtake of fluid by an order of magnitude!

"Oh great. Is that going to be on top of the whole 1000x storage and capacity thing? Is it going to take me weeks before I have to pee, but when I do I'm going to be pissing for hours?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Good news!

>>>OmNomNomine : With the mix of energies in this particular Oversector, you're not going to need to use the toilet anymore!

"I sense bad news coming?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Well… since you DID bring up coming…

"Oh no."

>>>OmNomNomine : Twice the amount for half the effort, so 4x the fluids over the course of the coupling, so either 2x pre and 2x normal, or 4x normal, times 10 with the Spurt and then another 10 to 1000 times since there's control over it…

>>>OmNomNomine : That's 400x to 40,000x.

>>>OmNomNomine : Assuming a currently you-sized future you, that's about 1.56 gallons of goo at minimum and uh…

"At maximum enough splooge to fill a hot tub."

That downward-moving hot pressure began to move downward once again.

"Ack! No! Get out of there!"

>>>OmNomNomine : Sorry, not my call, sportling.

>>>OmNomNomine : On the bright side, I am going to be able to fiddle with your Ratling alterations to minimize most of the changes to this particular bodily region.

"What do you mean? Why would being a Ratling-mutant-whatever change… oh wait. Beasty-bits, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Beasty bits is part of it. The other one is that rather than wasting processing time trying to figure out the specifics of sex, gender, and sexuality the System just tends to use that as a framework to build off of.

>>>OmNomNomine : So about half of all reformatting humans that end up being Ratlings are going to end up rerolled onto the opposite side of the gender divide.

>>>OmNomNomine : Kinda.

>>>OmNomNomine : This particular lineage of Ratlings kind of dragged the gender binary out behind the woodshed and…

"Dueling banjos ensued?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Basically.

"So… uh… did I…"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yes. You rolled on the "male" side of the Ratling chart, for what it's worth. But…

"Nope, nope, nope. I don't want to know. I'll be perfectly happy not knowing the specifics, cause I'm going to think they're perfectly normal when they hit, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yes.

"So I rolled on the male chart, yes?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup!

"And I keep my dong, yes?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Also yup!

"And I'm not going to be made immobile by having to card around a pair of Volkswagen-sized nuts or anything like that?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Nope!

>>>OmNomNomine : Nothing debilitating at all.

"So I, a dude, am going to remain a dude and keep my dudely bits, yes?"

>>>OmNomNomine : I've got some lovely ladybits in the Swarmlab that you might enjoy!

"I'm not going to say no because there might be something unfathomably cool in there, like somehow being able to make and fire exploding eggs or something…"

>>>OmNomNomine : Ohh!

>>>OmNomNomine : So you've heard about the Shooterus and Explovaries?

"...why am I not surprised?"

>>>OmNomNomine : They pair really well with the Revulva, which lets you rotate out your womb with one of six others to start with. The five "inactive" ones can be held in stasis or progress as normally.

>>>OmNomNomine : So if you wanted to have five of them filled to the brim with eggs and one empty to keep your svelte figure, you could.

>>>OmNomNomine : Or have three for breeding, one for weaponry, one for education, and one for genetic tinkering of other organisms.

"Education?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Tutorus.

"And the genetic tinkering would be a Mu…"

>>>OmNomNomine : A Muterus, yes!

>>>OmNomNomine : You get it! n,..,n

"...I wish I didn't. Those are horrible!" David said, trying to hold in his weird, barking giggles.

"So are other structures and buildings that I buy going to be able to be carted around by the MCV? Even the non-Command and Conquer ones?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup!

"Cool! And what's that bit about being refluffed?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Well, the System is bad enough.

>>>OmNomNomine : You probably don't want to drop yet another apocalyptic event on your world by getting Tiberium out there sucking all the nutrients out of everything.

"Oh, yeah. That's true."

>>>OmNomNomine : So rather than Tiberium, you'll be operating off of a side-effect of having an area suffused in Vyl energies.

>>>OmNomNomine : It's also going to be your "Creep" analog.

>>>OmNomNomine : It's a layer of wear, tear, grime, junk, trash, rubble, detritus and other assorted bits of rubbish that's going to adorn pretty much everything in a Ratling-controlled zone.

>>>OmNomNomine : Dubbed "Fylth," because the Vyl and the Styll both are spelled with Ys for some reason to separate them from their mundane "vile" and "still."

"What's the Styll? I don't think I've heard that brought up before."

>>>OmNomNomine : Think the Lawful Stupidest angels ever to stupid a law.

>>>OmNomNomine : They think everyone has a perfect role and that existence has one optimized, perfect state.

"That doesn't sound so bad."

>>>OmNomNomine : It does if they decide your role is as building materials to craft a flesh and bone citadel of perfection that is locked eternally into a single "perfect" configuration dedicated to its role.

>>>OmNomNomine : That's why they're called the Styll.

>>>OmNomNomine : Because their goal is to eventually make all of existence into a perfect state and lock it that way forever.

>>>OmNomNomine : Better to use tainted mortals as building materials than to let them fall into the clutches of their adversaries.

"Sounds like a fate worse than death."

>>>OmNomNomine : Yup.

>>>OmNomNomine : Thoughts on the other two?

"They sound useful. But as you said, anything I need to spawn right away I need to get biomass for. So despite being able to grab pretty much any beastie in existence as a Pet would be awesome, it's something I need to wait for."

"And the Monster Hunter stuff is also useful, but again I'd need a source of critters to harvest from. Once integration is done, I think I might be able to have a pretty powerful resource gathering system since I can harvest three times a day."

>>>OmNomNomine : Three times every 12 hours!

>>>OmNomNomine : And double harvest yields!

"If I make that into soup or stew or something and swallow it to put it into my inventory for the 10x bonus…"

>>>OmNomNomine : And technically if you digested it and provided something in liquid form…

"Dude, no. I'm not interested in having great big mommy milkers."

>>>OmNomNomine : …I was referring to your blood.

>>>OmNomNomine : Because you can convert nutrition into healing and thus almost immediately recover from blood loss.

"But if I can't get hurt…"

>>>OmNomNomine : There are minigames that replicate the functions of certain things that would be impossible otherwise.

>>>OmNomNomine : Like surgery for grafts and implants.

>>>OmNomNomine : Or drawing blood.

"Good to know."

David pondered for a moment, "And I don't want to take the Monster Hunter perk pack until I get an idea of the kind of creature I want to import. It's like the Doom thing, I don't want to use it frivolously."

>>>OmNomNomine : You can upgrade it later and add additional species, I'm sure!

"True! But still, that's all stuff for later and… wait. Monster Hunter XXX? Is that resource extraction thing… lewd?"

>>>OmNomNomine : It's a powerful, pleasant sensation.

>>>OmNomNomine : But it's not outright sexual.

>>>OmNomNomine : Well, not unless you upgrade it to Loot Pinata for 200 CP.

>>>OmNomNomine : Then you can boink critters and get pretty much everything as loot.

>>>OmNomNomine : Organs.

>>>OmNomNomine : Crystalized memories.

>>>OmNomNomine : Souls.

>>>OmNomNomine : Anything you could conceivably harvest from a living creature in some way you'd be able to fuck out of them.

"...put a pin in that for later."

>>>OmNomNomine : Also you might wanna get a start on drinking that soda to make a minion.

>>>OmNomNomine : We'll be able to stabilize your essence a bit earlier if we have another creature's essence to work off of.

>>>OmNomNomine : And while you can just pop bottles out and swallow them, that's no fun.

>>>OmNomNomine : Because then I wouldn't be able to taste the soda and feel the fizz, which is the whole point of me being your patron and all!

>>>OmNomNomine : Start chugging, slugger!

>>>OmNomNomine : Or actually…

>>>OmNomNomine : Don't. It's nice to take things slow and savor the experience.

David sighed and burped out of a bottle of Spurt, this was going to take awhile.

...and his four extra heads, Muted Moderators

The Eye

A Hundred Flies

Joujuu Senjin Mushibugyo

100

Gain some kind of supernatural power or ability, typically themed after some kind of insect
Mind-controlling pheromones, growing clones from body parts, or controlling an element are some examples

Lusus Naturae

RWBY 1.0

200

Gain the ability to tame and enhance beasts and mindless creatures
You know exactly how to make them tougher, stronger, as well as making them follow your commands and carry out your orders
This is not merely training, but mutating and enhancing them

Hero Origin + I Played This Before + Freebies

Rising of Shield Hero - Anime

300

Hero Origin

You gain a discount on perks and items associated with a Hero or Hero-like origin (chosen warrior, destined hero, etc)
You gain access to the Hero's perks and items from this document

I Played This Before

Gain the memories of having played a very accurate game adaptation of your current setting
Gives an assortment of mundane and important information as if you had played to 100% completion
This will allow you to know about the world, races, politics, monsters, and materials as well as knowing of important people, hidden treasure, and secret lore that even the native inhabitants don't know

Charles Atlas Superpowers

Your physical capacities are improved to the point where you surpass most athletes and are nearly superhuman
Makes you a solid 10/10 in attractiveness/beauty/etc
Dirt, muck, and filth don't stick to you and as a result you always look, smell, and feel like you've just stepped out of a refreshing bath

Affinity to Magic

Gain one affinity for a particular type of magic, like attack, support, recovery, illusion, earth, water, fire, wind, light, shadow
You have an accelerated learning rate towards magic of this type
Effect also applies to other sorts of magic or magic-like abilities from other perks that would fall under this affinity, such as a Gravity affinity applying to telekinesis or flight

A Hero's Privilege

Everyone from commoners to royalty are far more friendly and welcoming to you
They will share resources or help you in your heroic quests so long as you don't abuse their hospitality
They will be willing to forgive mistakes, be they small or large, so long as you did so with good intentions in mind

It's Like a Game

You may disconnect yourself from reality somewhat in order to treat the world as a game
Something like slavery, killing, or discrimination could be treated as mere background lore in a game
Killing monsters is as easy as acquiring XP and killing people doesn't repulse you provided they crossed you in some way
This doesn't make you evil, but merely allows you to rationalize what you experience without it affecting you

Financial Assistance

Gain the equivalent of 100 Gold Pieces in local currency 1/month
1 Gold is equal to 100 Silver, and 1 Silver is equal to 100 Bronze
10 Bronze is enough for a cheap lunch for 2 people, while 200 silver is enough to purchase a prized mount
Approximately analogous to $1-1.5 million

Quest Book of Heroes

Gain access to a real-time list of available quests in your current Sector and Oversector

Upgraded Legendary/Vassal Weapon

Unlocks new forms and abilities through absorbing materials and monster parts
Forms are leveled up through time and use with mastery making the stats, bonuses, skills, and abilities granted permanent
May freely copy weapons/armor/items and gain them as forms regardless of the item's original type, though the legendary weapon retains its basic type (a sword with a scythe's form has the stats of the scythe, but will be a sword)
The weapon cannot be forcibly removed and will return if thrown
Removes your level cap
Vastly boosts the rate of XP gain for you and your allies
Grants an exclusive energy called SP that is used to power this weapon's abilities
Allows instantaneous crafting, but only for recipes known to the wielder
Slightly increases the System's drop rate
Weapon cannot be stolen, dismissed, corrupted, severed, sealed, disabled, or hacked
Has an unlimited inventory and is connected to you own inventories as well as those in your base
Manually crafted items are recorded and can be auto-crafted later, with the result and speed based on your own level, skill, and crafting speed
Translates all languages, written and spoken, to your native language
Any monsters you raise are powered up into a king/queen of their species
Allows for party-wide fast travel between set locations, discovered Sector Wellsprings, and user-placed minimap locations
Teleports the user and their party to any hostile Incursions targeting registered Wellsprings
Sharing and Understanding (Core): Allows the use of other Legendary and Vassal Weapons' Core strengthening methods for the user of this weapon and other Legendary/Vassal weapons. The methods may be used without knowing their specific nature, but knowing specifically the nature of the power up method makes it stronger. Knowing that it is your weapon specifically providing this capacity will make it work better still for others.
Magic and Skill Mastery: Using spells and skills makes them more powerful and may cause other effects to arise or transform into a new skill
Essence Encyclopedia: Gain power and abilities based on the monster parts and essences you retain in your inventory
Trust: You are strengthened by others' trust in your, and others are strengthened by your trust in them
You'll have to puzzle out the other methods of strengthening on your own

"Oh holy fuck, what is that titanic thing at the bottom? Bug powers are cool and all, and mutating minions is great. But geez, a whole origin for future discounts, a stat boost, magic affinity, a million dollars a month, a reputation booster with all my fellow NPCs, a real time quest guide, being able to step away and look at things like a game if I'm really freaking out, what amounts to having a 100% completion walkthrough in my head, and a massively powerful, upgrading legendary weapon? This is so OP and broken."

>>>OmNomNomine : So you're taking that?

"Hell yes I'm taking that!"

>>>OmNomNomine : So what do you want your weapon to be?

"Well, what do I have so far?"

>>>OmNomNomine : A polearm meant to grab necks that can deliver a taze, a whip studded with Vylstone, a sword, a shield, a halberd, and of course your Thorned Tailblade.

"So since I'm going to be some kind of horrible beastie, I'm probably not going to be able to wield any of those except the Tailblade, which is going to be literally a part of me."

>>>OmNomNomine : You can use the System's import function to merge items with similar items.

>>>OmNomNomine : The man-catcher, halberd, whip, and sword can all be imported into your Tailblade, and the shield into your carapace.

"So basically my weapon would be Legendary Anatomy, then? Since most weaponry could be imported into the Tailblade, the thorns, my fangs, my claws, or my carapace."

>>>OmNomNomine : And horns and spikey bits if you choose to have them.

"Yeah, this is so versatile that I have to buy it." David brought up his hand to the window and poked the Hero Origin pack.

"Let's see, what do I have so far?"

Variety is the Spice of Life + Vanguard Origin + Biotics and Implants Access

Mass Effect (Alvor)

150

Genetic Purity

Jurassic World Dominion

100

I am Human + You Must Be Removed + Freebies + Cybernetics Access

Terminator

Peace Through Power + Freebies + Access to C&C Buildings/Units

C&C - Tiberium Wars

100

Hero Origin + I Played This Before + Freebies

Rising of Shield Hero - Anime

300

Total:

700

"Yeah, that looks good. Let's keep going."

The Marketplace

TOS (Targeting Optimized Software)

Tiny Tank

A special container carrying a chunk of code that can be easily downloaded by any mechanical or metallic being
Improves accuracy without impacting efficiency or performance on other tasks
Easily modifiable to be added to cybernetics in order to be compatible with organic lifeforms

Minion Recruitment + Freebies

TMNT (NES) + Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles

100

Minion Recruitment

You will passively attract followers with either similar ideals to yours or who could easily be persuaded to think how you do
If you help them they will feel indebted and join you
A goodly chunk of them will have excellent potential for learning combat skills

HUD Screen

Your System HUD can be customized with any number of settings and options as you desire

Splinter's Training

You are an equal to a Ninja Turtle in both strength and ninja skill

Weapon Selection

You have the amount of talent with a particular weapon type that a Ninja Turtle would have in their own

Mutant

You become an anthropomorphic animal and gain two enhanced traits according to the species you pick
A mutant dog might have a powerful bite and enhanced sense of smell, while a rabbit mutant could have enhanced agility and the ability to leap impressive distances

Power, Speed, Range

Gain one of the following:
Power: All the damage you deal is increased
Speed: All your attacks are faster
Range: All your attacks (even melee) gain several extra feet of length

Power of Evolution + Class Options

Tower Survivors

100

The Power of Evolution

When you've collected enough experience you will be given a selection of choices on how to expand your current capabilities
Any and all of your inherent qualities and abilities have the potential to be upgraded
An archer could learn how to make an arrow split into two once fired or create flaming explosions where an arrow lands if she had magical talent

Class Options

Your class, body, and gear all upgrade along with you
At various points you will receive a Class Up that will grant you a new, expanded version of your class with expanded powers

"I see what you mean when you said that the Marketplace was full of potential bargains. I'm taking both combo options. They're cheap and have the potential to be gamechangers."

>>>OmNomNomine : The Minion Recruitment seems like a bonus on top of getting to be a mutant ninja.

>>>OmNomNomine : Would you like me to make a few sugg…

"Hyena! My username isn't UnseenYeenQueen because I'm good at kickball! If I'm going to be stuck as some horrible rat-chimera…"

>>>OmNomNomine : …Khymerat.

"...I want to have at least something fun in there. Especially if there's ninjitsu involved! Because stealth spec Hyena Queen is totally my jam in Defilers of the Ancients."

>>>OmNomNomine : And your two enhanced powers?

"Pack command! If I'm going to lead an army of minions, might as well boost up that bit. The other one, hmm, I'll pick it later."

>>>OmNomNomine : Don't wait too long, or the System might assign it on your behalf.

"I'll see what I need once all this stuff has been picked out. And I might as well get those two upgrade perks in order to maximize the number of power ups I get."

The Tome

Mystical Artifact

Generic Urban Fantasy

300

Grants one of those super special items that sci-fi and fantasy settings have
Steel cleaving swords, mind control crowns that bind anyone whose willpower isn't in the top 98th percentile, shields that make you immune to mundane ranged attacks, and magic staves that triple your magical attacks threefold are some examples of the power scale this can grant
These artifacts have histories, which means that people can learn that you have it and want it for themselves

Protection and Support

Generic FPS

100

Grants a collection of abilities that can boost others
A shield that absorbs damage, an effect that raises damage and attack speed, an ability that makes the target's next hit a crit are some examples

If it has something to do with improving others you can teach yourself to do it

Super Science It

Generic Alien Invasion

300

Grants unmatched knowledge of alien technology
Rapidly accelerates capacity to reverse engineer tech
Can come up with new designs that are more efficient than the original
Can spend a week to combine two items into a single device with the properties of both
As a bonus any tech you design also looks bad ass

"300 points is a pretty hefty price tag right now. Uber powerful mystical artifacts are great and all, but something on that scale needs a good deal of thought put into it."

>>>OmNomNomine : You don't know what you need right now, so something grabbed right off the bat may be a wasted choice if something pops up later on that gives something similar.

"Yeah. I've got a few artifacts that I could grab from various media sources, but while they may be powerful, it's probably best that I grab something that could potentially empower not only me, but my trusted, loyal minions. And while I've got a few of those, I'm going to need a nice and secure base to stick them in."

>>>OmNomNomine : And the Super Science is more "crafting stuff to get later" I bet.

"Yeah. Combining two things into one plus ultimate reverse engineering plus efficiency is great and all, but I'd need stuff to analyze or combine."

>>>OmNomNomine : And Protection and Support requires allies, so not useful right now.

"You got it. And if I really wanted to, I could probably get that with my freebie Shield Hero magic affinity. Or double down on it later."

Fantomiel Fellstar, Korratpted Priestess of Pleasure

The Fellstar

Curses and "Curses" + Freebies

Fate/Horse Order

200

Curses and "Curses"

Grants the ability to cast body altering curses, typically lewd in nature
Amped up lust, allowing for bigger insertion, remodeling the body of a supernatural being to support pregnancy and childbirth are some examples
Can also use curses for positive effects, like making yourself hung like a horse

Big and Shiny

Can modify the appearance of anything you summon or create
Ability starts at the level of "as drawn by a different artist," but grows with time and practice
Being able to get the summon's gender wrong on purpose is used as an advanced technique
Summons tend to turn out taller and curvier than normal

Card Tricks

Grants a few small tricks relating to casino games such as bluffing, insight into the little lies of others, sleight of hand to stack the deck in your favor without being caught, and a luck boost in games of chance
The luck boost will allow you to hold your ground even in games of chance where there is no skill involved

Magical Modifications

Fate/Loli Order

200

Grants a talent for modifying things
Jury rigging equipment, changing a spell to be fire instead of ice, a curse inflicting pleasure instead of pain are all used as examples
Also grants the ability to improve on existing inventions, such as making a hypnosis app even more powerful

Pleasure Equals Consent

Generic Hentai Tentacles

300

The more pleasure you give to someone, the more they become confused by it to the point where they rationalize it as something else, like sex they didn't know they wanted

"...okay just looking at the sources I realize what you were talking about with the horribleness of what could be lurking in here."

>>>OmNomNomine : I did warn you.

"But the real horrible thing is that from the bullet points listed, those first two actually seem decent?"

>>>OmNomNomine : That's how she gets you.

>>>OmNomNomine : Lure you in with something shiny and then bang.

>>>OmNomNomine : Suddenly you and everybody in a 100 foot radius of you has a new horrible fetish.

"A lot of lewd debuffing effects that might also have benefits as well as being able to alter summons and minions' appearance sound useful. So does being able to MacGyver up some day-saving gadget, being able to swap the element of a spell, tweak ability parameters, or empower a weak-sauce item into something worthwhile."

>>>OmNomNomine : And that last one?

"The hentai tentacles can go fuck themselves, because I'm not interested in taking that. Ever."

>>>OmNomNomine : I hope she didn't hear that and accept it as a personal challenge.

>>>OmNomNomine : Though considering I'm pretty sure she's engaged with her rodentine boyfriend, I don't think she did.

>>>OmNomNomine : And considering how lazily she types, I doubt she's going to scroll back through the logs to see this.

"Don't tempt fate, Nom! Let's just move on!"

The Gun

They're Changing... + Freebies

Left 4 Dead 2

100 or 200

Grants the signature ability of a Left 4 Dead Special Infected
Grants a claw attack analogous to having blades at the end of your fingers
Can toggle the lethality of your claws on and off
Can attach special effects to your hands instead of your mouth
The abilities do not degrade your health or capability
If you purchase 4 abilities all their cooldowns are halved
If you purchase both the 200 point options your strength is increased by a factor of 10

(100) Boomer's Bile

60 second cooldown
Spray summons a horde of no less than 30 common Infected to attack anything hit by the effect
Can summon without a target, though the Infected are listless for 5 seconds before you can command them with verbal orders
Not limited to number of Infected that can be summoned with this ability
May choose to explode on death, summoning hundreds of Infected to avenge you

(100) Hunter's Leap and Grab

5 second cooldown, but only if you hit a target
Combines a long-distance leap (75 ft for an Infected who was your average human) with a difficult to break grab on a humanoid target
You may choose to deal a significant amount of damage and then leap away on a non-humanoid target
Can chain jumps by bouncing off walls and ceilings while in the air
Impact damage increases the further you travel before touching the ground

(100) Smoker's Tongue

10 second cooldown
Vine-like tongue grabs the target in a way it cannot escape from unaided, rendering them helpless
Can pull you target towards you, and if they're within your reach you can down them in mere seconds
May emit obscuring smoke if you wish

(100) Charger's Rush

15 second cooldown
Uninterruptible run that catches the first humanoid target it strikes and bowls all other targets out of the way for 50' or until you hit a hard surface, whichever comes first
Grabbed targets are rendered helpless and cannot be released until either they or you die
Can still move while holding a target, unlike the game, but you can do massive damage by remaining in place and slamming them into the ground
If you run off a high cliff or ledge with your target they automatically die (but be careful as you might as well)

(100) Jockey's Ride

5 second cooldown
15'-20' jump most easily used against humanoids
Allows you to grab the victim's head and force them to move in a specific direction
Targets cannot collapse or remove you themselves and you will claw at them, dealing damage

(100) Spitter's Acid

30 second cooldown
Ranged glob of acid that spreads out into a noxious pool
Burns through armor
Does not harm allies
Damage over time increases the longer foes remain in the pool
May choose if the acid glows in the dark or not

(200) Witch's Claws

60 second cooldown
Instant kill on a humanoid target
Tremendous armor-ignoring damage to non-humanoids
Targets that don't die are stripped of armor for no less than 10 seconds
The force and damage of your claws are tripled outside of this attack

(200) Tank's Rock

60 second cooldown
Rip a car-sized chunk of concrete, rock, or whatever from any ground and hurl it an incredible distance
The force and damage of your claws are quadrupled

We are Not Infected!

Immune to zombie viruses, though you can be a carrier
You retain your physical and mental faculties from transformations and your body will not rot or degrade over time from using your Infection-granted abilities
Grants resistances to diseases and illnesses of all kinds
Cannot be turned into an undead unwillingly

Leitmotifs

Short sound cues play when foes are sneaking around
The sound cue is the same for a given class of enemy
Your I Played This Before perk grants you knowledge of what sound represents what threat

That's How the Law Works

InFamous

600

Any ruleset you bring forth or promote will be adhered to by others as long as you yourself continue to follow them

Tears

Bioshock Infinite (Reddit)

300

Grants limited control over dimensional tears
Cannot decide where they appear, but potential tears will be apparent
You cannot enter them fully, but you can open them, reach in and grab stuff, or push other things in
They will generally have useful things in them (money, ammo, temporary allies, etc)
Occasionally they will have rare, valuable, or strange things from other dimensions

"Oooh, zombie powers and disease immunity! Oh wow, am I reading this right? For 400 points I could multiply my strength by 10? And one of those two purchases is an insta-kill. Geez."

>>>OmNomNomine : I will warn you, though, that that's not likely to mean you deal 10x melee damage.

>>>OmNomNomine : While it may be a significant boost, that 10x will likely only apply in full to things like lifting, carrying, and throwing distance/velocity type of things.

"Well, there go my dreams of dual-wielding grand pianos. Now being able to enforce rules if I adhere to them is damned powerful, but I don't know if it's 600 points worth of powerful. Definitely not something to grab right now."

>>>OmNomNomine : Can I convince you to get Tears, though?

>>>OmNomNomine : Because alternate universe holes mean alternate universe things to eat!

"Maybe sometime in the future. Getting loot from parallel universes would be great and all, but it's not controlled."

>>>OmNomNomine : But my AU nibbles! T,..,T

"I'll put it on the short list of purchases to get after the essentials if you promise to be a good bug singularity thing."

>>>OmNomNomine : n,..,n

The Treasure

Need to Breed + Clarity in Madness

Pathfinder

300

Need to Breed

Can impregnate or be impregnated by just about anything you can screw
Your spawn will inherit a measure of your powers
You have an amount of control over what gets inherited and your progeny's monstrous features

Clarity in Madness

Insanity doesn't mean that you're not functional
You will never unwillingly lose yourself to madness or insanity
If you choose to do so, however, you'll have brief flashes of insight that will help you further your goals

Minor Artifact

DnD - Lords of the Night - Zombie

300

Can claim any one item from Dungeons and Dragons of Minor Artifact grade or below
Can draw from any edition, TSR, Wizards of the Coast, or third party
Can have it implanted/grafted for free

The Essence of Instinct

He Who Fights With Monsters

100

When gaining a supernatural skill or attack you will immediately understand how to use it properly
Combining new abilities with pre-existing skills and proficiency will be easy for you

"Gah! I can see why the RPG section is in Fellstar's domain with that lewdness right there up front! Blargh!" David shuddered.

"I can't think of any situation in which I'd want to purchase Need to Breed and Clarity in Madness."

Purchasing…

"What?! No system, don't do that!"

Variety is the Spice of Life + Vanguard Origin + Biotics and Implants Access

Mass Effect (Alvor)

150

Genetic Purity

Jurassic World Dominion

100

I am Human + You Must Be Removed + Freebies + Cybernetics Access

Terminator

Peace Through Power + Freebies + Access to C&C Buildings/Units

C&C - Tiberium Wars

100

Hero Origin + I Played This Before + Freebies

Rising of Shield Hero - Anime

300

Minion Recruitment + Freebies

TMNT (NES) + Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles

100

Power of Evolution + Class Options

Tower Survivors

100

Need to Breed + Clarity in Madness

Pathfinder

300

Total:

1200

"Fuck."

>>>OmNomNomine : Are you sure? If we did you might end up el pregante.

"Oh sure, rub it in, Nom!"

>>>OmNomNomine : If I did you'd definitely get gregnant.

"As a consolation prize I've got another potential artifact. And a few of the ones I did have in mind WERE DnD-based ones."

>>>OmNomNomine : Same objection as the other one?

"Yup. And that last one will likely go on the short list of things to take closer to when the supernatural powers kick in."

>>>OmNomNomine : Makes sense!

>>>OmNomNomine : And also potentially makes babby.

"You suck."

>>>OmNomNomine : I'm a black hole!

>>>OmNomNomine : It's my job!

"Just nine more perks left to look at."

>>>OmNomNomine : And then the potential replacements if you have any points left over.

David nodded and started on his 20-somethingth bottle of Spurt.

Standspalt Meatgristle, Khymerat Prince of Pride

The Scroll

Alicorn Amulet

MLP - Friendship is Magic 1.2

300

Empowers your magic to a level akin to pre-Alicorn Twilight Sparkle if you don't have magic or empowers it to the peak of Unicorn level if you do have it
Empowers your other racial abilities to a similar extent
Works with any other magical abilities and energies you have access to

To Hold Dominion

Magic: The Gathering - Amonkhet

300

Grants immense divine magic connected to one of the five MtG colors and a concept that fits within that color
Of power enough to overpower a planeswalker born after the Mending, and many of those born before
Your divine magic cannot be turned against its own nature and carries restrictions about when it can and cannot be used and in what ways
It's strongest when you're acting in your official capacity as a god

Omen's Cane

Elden Ring

A weapon you own gains the capacity to be concealed in a more innocuous form
By default it's concealed in something like a staff of office or walking stick that you can lean on without inviting violence
Your weapon can be drawn swiftly without fear of jamming

"Oh man, that Alicorn Amulet sounds awesome. A magic boost plus an empowering of racial abilities? But again, not as useful as it could be until the magic patch gets rolled out."

>>>OmNomNomine : And the same for "To Hold Dominion?"

"Yeah, that's like Magic Affinity on steroids. The System is handing out literal godly power here."

>>>OmNomNomine : It's only to be expected considering who we're rubbing forelegs with.

>>>OmNomNomine : Stan and Fan are literal divine beings, after all.

"Concealing a weapon sounds neat. Can I import my Legendary Weapon into that? You know, so I can make my fearsome, scary, pointy, armor plated bits hide away for polite company?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Definitely!

"And it's only 25 points, so it's not like there's a reason against taking it, since it's so cheap."

>>>OmNomNomine : Aside from the fact that there's nothing else that you've encountered so far that has a 25 point price tag, thus risking that you will be forever stuck with 25 points you can't spend?

"Don't tempt fate, Nom!"

The Chain

Bloodline + Pile of Freebies

Kingdom Death Monster

200

Bloodline

You may pass non-physical traits onto your biological children
They will inherit a number of non-genetic traits from you such as your skill with a weapon or some of your grafted exoskeleton
Whatever traits you pass down are diluted unless all parents have this ability and all parents share the same passed down ability

Affinity

Once you equip or carry an item you can sense for nodes of power within it
These nodes come in various colors
In order to unlock this power you must connect nodes of the same color from different pieces of equipment, which will increase your affinity with that color
Some items' abilities must be part of a link to activate, but others merely require a certain amount of affinity
Items gain additional or improved abilities if their affinity requirements are met
These abilities are related to their normal function and generally improve upon them

Fist and Tooth

Grants knowledge of a primal and animalistic way of fighting with no skill or technique required
As long as you're alive and conscious you can figure out some way to strike and harm for foe, even if you're missing all your limbs and your jaw
The only limitation is that you must be able to perceive your opponent in order to strike them
This only affects unarmed attacks

Will to Live

Grants access to Survival, which you can use when in mortal peril to momentarily flare up and grant you access to supernatural levels of physical prowess
Some examples are being able to go from prone to standing in and instant, dodge an attack while unprepared, or attack faster than you could otherwise
Overusing Survival will leave you in an incredible vulnerable, despondent state
Other perks from this document utilize Survival as a resource

Insanity

You may willingly slip into madness in order to protect your mind
Those who attempt to control you or break your mind will find the task as futile as stomping on broken glass
Too much usage, however, can cause the fractures in one's psyche to show, turning minor ticks into full on disorders
Other perks from this document utilize Insanity as a resource

Beauty at the Precipice of Destruction

Physical attractiveness and beauty enhancer

Superstar Pin + Freebies

FNAF - Security Breach

Superstar Pin

On your birthday you will receive a special guest concert in your Lair!
Oversized birthday cake!
Pinatas!
Presents!

The Faz-Watch

A supposed novelty item that is pretty dang useful for some reason
It can take notes, receive messages, provide maps, access cameras, and more
This one is a Deluxe version and can also send and receive calls, act as a credit or debit card for any accounts you have, or access the internet
Can import any phones, data tables, computers, or other similar devices, as many as you want

Music Box

Allows the System to play music from the various media and settings that your perks belong to
You can turn it on and off as well as select who you want to be able to hear the music
You also have the music box itself, which has the capacity to play music box versions of any song you have access to through the System

Cyclops Knight + Pile of Freebies

Kingdom Death Monster

400

Cyclops Knight

Can observe someone to determine what ethereal qualities of great power that a weapon would need to be most suited for them
Item created in this way will have strange requirements suited to their qualities, like a flask of tears, an ear, or even something intangible like a year of life
Items will have requirements based on their personalities such as a flask of tears for a weapon that weeps for those it would slay or a bloodthirsty sword needing to be quenched in the blood of the wielder
The sacrifices made grant these weapons abilities based on their personality and by taking the part and forging the weapon it becomes perfectly and unusually suited for the wielder
These weapons can cut a new fate for their wielders

Freebies as the same as Bloodline's and can only be granted once

"Man, those Kingdom Death freebies are really something. But for the most part they seem to be resources for things that I don't have yet. And the main perks are for crafting and for um… breeding."

>>>OmNomNomine : Going to let your spawning pool doing all the spawning, eh kingaling?

"Yes!" David growled, with a blush on his face.

"I think I'm going to grab the FNAF pack for the Faz-Watch. If I can import my computer, phone, and game consoles into it."

>>>OmNomNomine : You can!

>>>OmNomNomine : Cell phones and game consoles are pretty much specialized computers.

"Oh whew. I'm glad I can take that stuff with me. It's just nice to have that stuff kept safe and sound, just in case."

>>>OmNomNomine : Your Fallrim V sexy deathclaw mods are safe with me.

"Get out of there!"

>>>OmNomNomine : No sir, I don't think I will.

>>>OmNomNomine : …you are planning on bringing these beauties to life somewhere along the line, right?

"Well… yeah. Of course I am! What's the point of having the powers of a genome twisting junior eldritch horror if you don't use them to make nearly unstoppable abominations with huge claws and equally huge tits."

>>>OmNomNomine : And nice, thick, eggbearing hips.

The Cape

Internet Forum

Worm - Endbringer

Accessible from any kind of computer, terminal, or long-distance communications device tied into the System
Numerous subforums exist from national or high profile events of your current setting, to discussion forums for your particular Sector, Oversector, and Supersector, to a forum open only to you and higher beings to discuss your adventures
Will definitely contain horrible, raunchy fanfics
Probably written by Fellstar
It's also an internet forum, and you know how people can be
There are mods that try to make sure it doesn't get too bad, though

Lair

Irredeemable

May place a secret lair in any location
Size and facilities of the lair will be strongly influenced by the location, placing it under a house would make it into a basement of the approximate size, while putting it under an undeveloped hill on the outskirts of town could have it large enough for several vehicles, a massive vault, and room to spare for a classy built-in apartment
Provides a small holding space and interrogation room, a modest vault for the storage of important items, a workshop, storage for supplies, and room to store at least one vehicle
Comes with a single mundane, but stylish vehicle of your choosing
Comes with furnishings in a style of your preference
Has several secret entrances for both personnel and vehicles
The lair lacks any inherent security systems, so practice security through obscurity
You may place an instance of your Lair in each Oversector you visit

Mad Science + Healing Touch

Superman - Animated

400

Mad Science

Gain the ability to create advanced or outright impossible technologies based on a particular theme of your choosing
The example given is a toy-based mad scientist with a teddy bear mech, a robot Barbie doll assassin, and a green soldier army with real rifles

Healing Touch

Restores biological life to optimal conditions
In less than a minute you can cure any injuries or illness of any biological organism that you touch
Does not work on yourself and cannot revive the dead

"Well, since they're so cheap, I might as well grab Internet Forum and Lair."

>>>OmNomNomine : Lair you can actually use right now if you want. You can bring along your apartment and all your stuff!

David pumped both fists in the air.

"And that means that I'm going to be able to keep using the stuff here, right? I'm not, like, going to get all terribly mutated and suddenly I can't sleep in my bed with my favorite blankets and pillows, am I?"

>>>OmNomNomine : Your lair is always going to be exactly that, no matter what you mutate into.

>>>OmNomNomine : No matter how big, how terrible, how horrific, or how monstrous you get, I promise that you'll always be able to enjoy the comforts of home.

>>>OmNomNomine : …and you bought the Internet Forum so you had something to pair Omen's Cane with, didn't you?

"That and I figure it might be a useful way to gather information and spy on the goings on elsewhere in the Oversector. Because I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be just Ratlings around here."

>>>OmNomNomine : Nope! You've got alien tech using kobolds and bitchy star elves in league with the Styll.

"So there's the other two Starshaft factions. If the star elves are going to be as snobby and snooty as the Eldest, I might actually end up buying and using that Pleasure Equals Consent perk."

>>>OmNomNomine : This is how she gets you!

>>>OmNomNomine : Don't give into foul temptations!

>>>OmNomNomine : Get them hooked on Ratling monster dick the good ol fashioned way!

"So we've gone through everything, time to tally up the total."

Variety is the Spice of Life + Vanguard Origin + Biotics and Implants Access

Mass Effect (Alvor)

150

Genetic Purity

Jurassic World Dominion

100

I am Human + You Must Be Removed + Freebies + Cybernetics Access

Terminator

Peace Through Power + Freebies + Access to C&C Buildings/Units

C&C - Tiberium Wars

100

Hero Origin + I Played This Before + Freebies

Rising of Shield Hero - Anime

300

Minion Recruitment + Freebies

TMNT (NES) + Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles

100

Power of Evolution + Class Options

Tower Survivors

100

Need to Breed + Clarity in Madness

Pathfinder

300

Omen's Cane

Elden Ring

Superstar Pin + Freebies

FNAF - Security Breach

Internet Forum

Worm - Endbringer

Lair

Irredeemable

Total:

1350

"So how much do I have left?"

Constellation Perk XP:

400

"Man, buying stuff took so long I nearly have half of the points left that I started with!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Enjoy it, buggo, 'cause you'll never be getting points this easily and in such bulk again.

>>>OmNomNomine: So, let's see what we've got to fill the gaps left behind.

The Spyglass

Blueprint Slates + Freebies

Starsector

100

Blueprint Slates

Computer tablet that contains step by step instructions on mass-producing any tech you own in an easy to understand format
Has a form of copyright protection that allows access and knowledge to only authorized users, and those with their authorization removed will disappear from the slate and be forgotten
This does not, however, prevent reverse engineering
Provides an unlimited number of slates for use

Fractal Universe

You may make purchases from alternate universe versions of jumps, be they fanfics, game mods, or AU concepts of your own with a simple change
Something like "This legendary weapon, but Ice themed instead of Fire," "A corrupted version of this holy artifact," or "A pet monster from an AU where they're all cute monstergirls with big titties" are acceptable
Something requiring more than a sentence or two of explanation is right out.

Jumper's Touch

You can freely channel your perks and powers through weapons, items, and vehicles.
You can fire your breath weapon through your sword, make your spaceship teleport, etc, etc
The distance and power level of your abilities scales with the scope of the thing you're channeling through. A 100' teleport would be scaled up to be an analogous distance for an FTL starship rather than a miniscule fraction of its velocity

>>>OmNomNomine: AU SNACKS! TAKE IT!

"I get the impression that you really, really want me to get this."

>>>OmNomNomine: TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT!

"Plus the other things are also kind of useful, and it's not that expensive."

>>>OmNomNomine: All your creature purchases can be from hot monster lady AUs! Or monster guy AUs. Or monster "Imma break the gender binary over my knee" AUs.

"You do make an excellent point! Hot sexy monster lady AUs mandatory for all purchases it is."

The Spyglass

Beast Mode + Some Assembly Required

Transformers - Beast Wars

50-250

Beast Mode

Choose one non-sapient animal from your current setting to serve as your Beast Mode.
For an additional 50 points you may select a bestial creature from any media you know of to serve as your Beast Mode.
For an additional 50 points you may become a Fuzor, selecting two creatures.
For an additional 50 points you may also have a secondary inorganic mode, typically this may be no larger than a pickup truck, but size-altering perks can increase this.
For an additional 50 points you can be a Transmetal, having an alternative vehicle mode incorporated into your Beast Mode.
For an additional 50 points you can be a Transmetal II, increasing your strength, speed, combat effectiveness, and making your beast form more effective at what it does.

Some Assembly Required

Your limbs and head continue to function when separated from your body and will work as if they are still attached
Your head and heart are the only truly important pieces. So long as they're in one piece, you'll be fine
For example if you were cut into pieces you could have your head ride around on your hand and slowly repair yourself.

"Hmm, interesting. That provides a lot of options."

>>>OmNomNomine: Yes! Getting 100% assured Essences is a good thing!

>>>OmNomNomine: And as the Patron that provides stuff from RTSes, I'd like to remind you that picking a vehicle from one of them would get you its abilities.

>>>OmNomNomine: Though it'll take some time for the Sector to gather enough magic to the point where you could take on the full sized vehicle if you pick something particularly large.

>>>OmNomNomine: Though you would retain the functionality.

"So if I grabbed that Primal Pack Leader perk you offer and got myself a bit bigger, I could potentially grab a vehicle form that was around 100' or so."

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! There's a lot of size increasing mutations in the Swarmlab, even if you don't find a nice, big creature to nibble the Essence of.

"And it's a mechanical unit, so it would count as an item, which would mean Manyfold Destiny would make it twice as good."

>>>OmNomNomine: Kind of. It's not going to double everything. It's not going to be twice as fast, have twice as much armor, deal twice as much damage, etc. But a tank alt-mode would have twin cannons."

"There's going to be magic, and we all know that mages are overpowered, but are also squishy. And I'm going to end up being a big, huge, powerful beastie anyway…"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! Without any interference you're going to become a great big mashup between a rat and some kind of predator.

>>>OmNomNomine: As you've picked Hyena for your TMNT Mutant species, that's going to be the bulk of your predatory Khymerat contribution.

"Just the bulk of it?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Look, you and I both know what Ratlings are like.

>>>OmNomNomine: What are the odds that they've managed to keep their monsters cleanly divided into nice groups rather than just keeping them all in one pen and letting hot Ratskitty on Wailorat action happen?

>>>OmNomNomine: And you don't have to go around covered in bot kibble, by the by, you can take advantage of your sector's Fantasy-themed nature and have all these things be different forms.

"Though it would be cool to be a big heckin' Ratyena Dragon Cobra Mammoth Tank Starship Enterprise Robot."

>>>OmNomNomine: The Enterprise is a little bit out of your size range, bugchamp.

"Even if I only get it at the baseline, being able to do things like pop out my organs to work on them individually with my genome manipulation capabilities would be very useful. And having a robotic alt-form would mean that I could just outright install stuff in me and not have to work through your other perks. Since I'm pretty sure that you'd have me eating the stuff, digesting it, analyzing it, and then having me grow it."

>>>OmNomNomine: …but I'd prefer if you ate it!

"And I'd prefer that I can put things where I want them, rather than eat a flamethrower and then finding out that in order to use it that I'd have to piss napalm."

>>>OmNomNomine: I'm pretty sure that if it burns when you pee that there's a cream you're supposed to apply.

"So I was thinking something APC-like, where I could tank for squishy mage minions and they could launch spells."

>>>OmNomNomine: Command and Conquer: Generals has a Chinook helicopter that functions as their harvester unit for the USA faction, and one of the commanders has a variant that also holds both infantry and vehicles and will let the infantry fire out.

>>>OmNomNomine: You can also stick infantry units in Humvees, which hold five, and then load them up, which counts as 3 slots, and they can still fire out too.

>>>OmNomNomine: And your capacity would be doubled to 18, and their capacity would be doubled to 10, so you could potentially have 60 units inside of you.

>>>OmNomNomine: *wiggles brow spikes*

"And the cargo capacity is an internal space, so would that get expanded 10x10x10?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! Your cargo bay would be 305' long, 75' wide, and 65' high.

"Gotta get my Astrotrain on!"

>>>OmNomNomine: You technically might be able to, it depends on which of the half dozen or so measurements for Devastator's height you use.

>>>OmNomNomine: Then again, if you use the right scenes for height references due to Transformers G1 animation errors you can prove that Bumblebee is twice as tall as Optimus Prime or some such silliness.

>>>OmNomNomine: Scaling of Transformers characters is inconsistent!

"So what's the next thing that's going to pop up and that I'm going to want to buy?"

*The Spyglass *

Propulsion Engine

Sundered

150

A small device that allows you to create short bursts of quick movement, even in the air
This particular device has been upgraded to allow for multiple bursts before it needs to recharge, as well as providing greater control over the direction of the burst

"Oh thank goodness, it's just an item that lets you dash and air-dash."

>>>OmNomNomine: There no "just" about it.

>>>OmNomNomine: It's not like you can airdash on your own, buggo.

"Well, that's true. But considering it's 150 points and there are 50 and 100 point things that can do incredible things, it's something that potentially has some use later. Probably like when there's some kind of impenetrable, but translucent barrier that bars my progress."

>>>OmNomNomine: Welp, you've jinxed it. Now you're definitely going to end up having to buy this some time in the future in order to progress.

"Or I find a speedrun strat that lets me skip around it."

>>>OmNomNomine: Careful, slugger, that's how you end up clipping through the floor and falling forever.

"I'm getting wings the first chance I get to prevent that. Because not only are they useful, wings are badass."

>>>OmNomNomine: *buzzes wings*

>>>OmNomNomine: I totally agree! Wings are awesome.

The Carriage

Spark of Combination + Freebies

Transformers Cybertron

100

Spark of Combination

Can combine with one other Transformer, similar to Optimus and Leobreaker's "Savage Claw Mode" or Optimus and Wingbreaker's "Sonic Wing Mode"
You can only combine with one other at a time

Robots in Disguise

When you wish to remain hidden, no one will notice anything weird about you as long as you don't make it obvious
You can, for example, drive through a city as a firetruck with a giant cannon and no one would bat an eye

Awesome Theme

You have access to incredible theme music and can set songs to play during certain actions

Planet Map

A three dimensional map of the cosmos that leads the bearer to treasures and artifacts of power

"See? Cheap with a lot of freebies! I'd kind of need to have a way to get other people with Transformers alt modes, though."

>>>OmNomNomine: Nah, fantasy sector refluffing! You'd just need another person with another form or shapeshifting or something.

>>>OmNomNomine: Considering there's another Player or two in the sector, odds are pretty likely that if you team up with somebody, they'll have an alternate form of their own to use with that.

"Something potentially for later then. With the zone as unpopulated as it is, I don't really need to sneak around right now, even if hunting for treasure might be neat. And I probably shouldn't get the theme music thing, because I already have half a dozen ideas and they're all ridiculous."

>>>OmNomNomine: Such as?

"Handel's "Hallalujah" chorus when somebody in the area of effect climaxes. Covering up passing gas with the French national anthem. Yakkety Sax whenever I'm running away from somebody."

>>>OmNomNomine: The saxophone from "Careless Whispers" when you take your clothes off.

>>>OmNomNomine: The opening bars of the Soviet National Anthem immediately after you speak ill of Capitalism.

"Clearly neither of us can be trusted with this power. Let's move on."

The Carriage

Worlds Without End + Occult Knowledge

GI Joe

400

Worlds Without End

Quest Perk
Upon choosing this perk you will be transported to an AU version of your current Oversector where your side has lost and the Star Elves have emerged victorious.
A version of a character you have met will have been the lover of an AU version of yourself that has died or mysteriously vanished in this universe.
This person will ally with you and want to come with you back to your universe, and will happily aid you to survive this crapsack world and being hunted like your counterpart was.
Can be invoked once per Oversector.

Occult Knowledge

You know where most of the weird things in your Oversector are.
You know where things like pools of heavy water on the sea floor guarded by giant sea worms or ancient temples filled with lightsaber-armed skeleton soldiers are, as well as why they're there.
Grants additional knowledge in each additional Oversector you visit.
Does not cover everything, as the weirdness would also be weird if you weren't surprised every now and then.

"So that's something to take later when we run into a smoking hot elf as a recurring villainess. Since I have to pick somebody to have an AU version of to begin with."

>>>OmNomNomine: It doesn't have to be a smoking hot elf.

"But it would guarantee me a smoking hot elf that's got the hots for me!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Well, true.

"Definitely something to look into later."

The Spiral

Fully Functional and Anatomically Correct + Freebies

Generic Lewd Scifi

300

Fully Function and Anatomically Correct

Retain all biological functions even in mechanized alt-forms
Can get drunk, pregnant, eat, naturally heal, etc
Can freely mix mechanical and biological aspects of your alt forms

Bioship

Organic starship that is fueled by skimming gas giants and bathing in solar radiation
Travels hyperspace much more easily than conventional vessels
Can enter gravity wells deeper and with far less energy
Due to biological nature, very stealthy due to minimal signature

Alien Form Customization

Adds this document's customization options to Swarmlab
Provides a 400 point stipend to spend in the Swarmlab

>>>OmNomNomine: Don't get too excited about a spaceship, since it's toned down to fit thematically in your current Oversector, which is fantasy-based.

>>>OmNomNomine: We'll have to see how the dimensional boundaries settle out, so it may be something for traveling astral space, a shadow plane, or the far realms.

"Like where Cthulhu and stuff are from?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! And while you're not completely immune to insanity, Clarity in Madness means that any time spent stark raving bonkers will give you clarity and insight.

"Into what?"

>>>OmNomNomine: I have no idea! n,..,n

>>>OmNomNomine: But it'd be fun to find out.

>>>OmNomNomine: I bet there are all kind of flavors that mankind was not meant to lick out there.

"So something to look into later when the area has a proper fantasy cosmology bolted down and stuff."

>>>OmNomNomine: Exactly!

>>>OmNomNomine: And more options for the Swarmlab are always good.

The Eye

Familiar's Arsenal + Freebies

Familiar of Zero

200

Familiar's Arsenal

Grants a benefit based on which of the four Void Runes you possess
Gandalfr: Gain the knowledge of how to service or repair any weapons or vehicles to which your mastery applies and allows you to craft ammo and spare parts with suboptimal resources
Vindalfr: Gain knowledge of the beasts you tame, learning behaviors, needs, strengths, weaknesses, etc and gain an instinct for locating tameable beasts within 1 mile of you
Lifdrasil: Gain a second magical pool
Myoznitnirn: Gain seize possession over any magical artifact, even those that choose their bearers or have a special requirement

Chosen by the Void

Grants you the power of a Void Familiar based on the chosen rune
Gandalfr: Boosts physical abilities and gives you the skill to wield any weapon you lay your hands on, including single-crewed military vehicles
Vindalfr: You can command any beast
Lifdrasil: You are a font of magical energy and can recharge the energy reserves of others
Myoznitnirn: Grants the knowledge and ability to use any magical artifact you lay your hands on as well as a substantial knowledge of the workings of magic

Summoned Hero

You can set your emotions aside and act decisively

Laptop and Cell Phone

A standard laptop and cell phone that will never break down or run out of battery power

"By your protagonist powers combined, I am Captain Anime! It's out of the price range right now, I think. It's neat that I can potentially grab the special powers of main characters in a bajillion different series and use them all."

>>>OmNomNomine: Sure, but it's more about what you do with your powers than the powers themselves.

>>>OmNomNomine: Very creative usage of low-level powers can get a lot more done than uninspired usage of high-level powers.

"Though it seems like it's the freebie powers that are often some of the stronger or more versatile."

>>>OmNomNomine: That's not going to stick around for much longer, I'm afraid.

>>>OmNomNomine: Once the sector is fully integrated into the System the foundations are going to be set and it's going to mean we Patrons won't be able to easily slip you these things under the table as it were.

>>>OmNomNomine: They'll only show up if they're required for something, if they come with an Origin (which is a very rare thing to have show up), or in a form where they're no longer free.

>>>OmNomNomine: Only 50 CP each, though, so they still might have value but you're going to be buying them directly rather than having them added on as a bonus.

"Aww!"

>>>OmNomNomine: The protagonists get their cheat powers at the start of the story, budbug.

The Marketplace

Sing of You Forever

Ecco the Dolphin

100

You will always be rewarded for your good deeds in proportion to how impressive the positive impact you made was
You'll always be compensated in some way, if not immediately by those you helped, then by good fortune and windfalls later on

Practice Never Ends

Super Mario Untold

100

Mentally knowing how to do a physical action will allow you to quickly learn how to actually perform it
Repetition will reinforce these skills
You will always improve slightly when correctly performing a repeated action without limit

"If I keep getting good things that I want to buy and getting the points to buy them, then we're never going to get out and start doing stuff!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Nah. The sector will enter a later phase and start having random monster spawns show up.

>>>OmNomNomine: Remember, your Lair isn't perfectly hidden, so that means that creatures with particularly powerful senses might be able to spot you and seek you out.

"Huh, why would they want to seek me out?"

The Black Hunger

Suffused with the energies of the Seven Vyl Virtues and Seven Stylling Sins the ceaseless hunger that Ratlings would otherwise experience has taken an erotic bent, replacing orgies of cannibalistic violence and consumption with, you know, just regular orgies. Instead of capturing manthings for feeding, they are instead captured for breeding. This may or may not be actually worse than before.

???

-100

???

-200

???

-200

???

-200

???

-300

???

-100

We Thirst

-200

While your Essence might not be any more potent, its allure has been greatly enhanced. Creatures seeking to empower and evolve themselves through similar means to the Xeronyd Swarm will be drawn to you, seeking to drain you of your Essence to fuel their own desires.

Sexual Predators

-200

No, not the Yautja. There's some force out there that believes you to be the perfect prey to slake their appetites and they've decided that you're on the menu.

A hunting team will be dispatched with the intent of tracking you down and bagging you, though even if you defeat one there will always be another team sent out on the hunt eventually.

???

-300

???

-200

The Sons of Cobalt

-300

The first of your Oversector's opposing factions, the Sons of Cobalt are what happens when an ancient, immortal dragoness (and her tiny Kobold minions) find that their cavern complex is nestled atop an even more ancient crashed spaceship with still functioning bits of technology.

Kobold (and dragon) society has been upended by the technology, as well as the significant pornographic archives found in the ship's wreckage. Body modification and cybernetics are commonplace.

Hostile Hive

-300

Your budding Xeronyd hive isn't the only alien menace out there. Combining the features of Xenomorphs, Mindflayers, and several other terrifying races of eldritch origin, alien beings dubbed the "Mindfuckers" are less of a faction and more of a recurring hazard that spawns in certain areas.

???

-300

Golden Oldies

-400

The second of your Oversector's opposing factions, the Eldest of the Firstborn Star (aka Star Elves to everybody else) have taken an interest in adding your Oversector to their eternal crusade against fun, freewill, and the whole "Not being turned into eternal decor to be placed according to an asshole angel's sense of Feng Shui" thing.

More powerful than your standard faction, some rare members can call upon the powers of their angelic ancestors and will do so in seeking to purify existence from your Vyl taint. Along with everything else, but your Vyl-aligned faction is a priority.

Total:

-3300

"Oh damn. So I've got two small groups that are hunting for me in particular, two factions that are contesting the Oversector, and one almost-faction that's going to be recurring baddies."

He paused for a moment.

"Wait, why are all these drawbacks kind of lewd?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Two reasons. With the Vyl and Styll energies surging to the maximum in this place both Lust and Chastity are through the roof.

>>>OmNomNomine: So it's the nature of the creatures in the zone to fuck constantly, but Chastity makes it so that no actual capacity for reproduction takes place.

>>>OmNomNomine: Reproduction happens via System-based events and usually results in your faction gaining more fully grown members rather than having actual babies.

"And the other reason?"

>>>OmNomNomine: You sacrificed your porn collection to Orochi and his Four Derpsneks, and one of them thought it would be hilarious to stuff the thing into the Oversector's settings to use as lore.

>>>OmNomNomine: So congrats, dudeslug, you're kind of ending up in a world that's going to end up shaped by your particular collection of fetishes.

"Hot damn!"

David did a little dance.

"Oh, oh! I can take AU versions of stuff with that Fractal Universe perk, which is a freebie, so I ought to be able to use it, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! Though you better hurry.

>>>OmNomNomine: Thankfully all the ones that it'd be possible for you to use it on are already revealed.

"Can you tell me what the other ones are?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup.

"Great, let's hear them!"

The bug in a black hole remained silent.

"Will you tell me what the other ones are?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Nope! More fun for you to find them out yourself.

>>>OmNomNomine: So whatcha want to change about the various factions that are after you?

"Well, I don't think it's fair that the Star Elves will get to be all tall and snooty and elf-y and whatnot when the other two factions are smol cute bean-type races. So let's mix in a bit of fantasy and make it a shortstack three-way for Oversector supremacy!"

David let out his weird barking laugh that was sounding increasingly more hyena-like.

"They'll be infected with fungal spores that result in Goblinization! That way they can join in on the fun of being monstrous, horrible creatures under five feet in height! Having to struggle against dark appetites and desires, driven to embrace nature in coupling with beasts to slake their filthy urges, and torn against despoiling it with Goblinlkind's instinctive pyromania! Mwahahaha!"

Golden Moldies

-400

The Star Elves have sent a disgraced branch of the family tree to your sector, having gotten themselves tainted with Abyssal Goblin Spores. Only by purging an area of Vyl corruption will the elves be cleansed of their curse, which transforms the tall, graceful, and serene elves into short, temperamental, uninhibited Goblins.

"Let's see, what's missing from the Oversector that I might not be able to make myself with my biomanipulation abilities? Oh! I know! There's no werewolves! How could I ever have a true furry fetish experience if we left out the werewolves? The hunter faction should be Therianthropic Futa Space Vixens! That way there's a variety of kemonomimi girls that transform into big, hot, sexy powerful monster-y anthro ladies."

Sexual Predators from Space

-200

No, not the Yautja. You've gotten on the radar of a tribe of Therianthropic Futa Space Vixens, a clan of cunning monstergirl hunters with the power to transform into powerful, monstrous versions of their base animal.

And they believe you to be the perfect prey to slake their bestial appetites and they've decided that you're on the menu.

A hunting team will be dispatched with the intent of tracking you down and bagging you, though even if you defeat one there will always be another team sent out on the hunt eventually.

Said Space Vixens are also the source of the Kobolds' crashed ship.

"So I'm going to have some bug-like creatures looking for my Essence, definitely in a lewd kind of "We Thirst" way. There's the Hostile Hive of Mindfuckers, which are obviously already lewd. I've lewded up the Star Elves. So that leaves the Kobolds."

>>>OmNomNomine: Who have already been tainted by your pornography collection in the alien Space Vixen crashed ship.

"Hey! We don't know that it's my porn in there!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Hmm, I suppose not.

"So I wanna use Fractal Universe and make absolutely, positively sure that it's my porn in there."

>>>OmNomNomine: Of course you are.

"The ideal Kobold body is now either a hot, busty shortstack or a hot, busty quadrupedal dragoness. That way they can choose between the beauty of their ancient mistress, or the idealized furry beauty of the Space Vixens!"

David absently began to rub his chest, where the slight swelling had developed over the last few minutes into a pair of visible breasts.

The Daughters of Cobalt

-300

The first of your Oversector's opposing factions, the Daughters of Cobalt are what happens when an ancient, immortal dragoness (and her tiny Kobold minions) find that their cavern complex is nestled atop an even more ancient crashed spaceship with still functioning bits of technology.

Kobold (and dragon) society has been upended by the technology, as well as the significant pornographic archives found in the ship's wreckage.

Body modification and cybernetics are commonplace, with each Kobold vying to shift themselves towards their society's twin ideals of beauty. Either the form of their Dragon Empress, a busty feral dragoness, or the thicc, busty kemonomimis and werebeasts found in the crash ship's data stores.

David popped the top of his three-dozenth bottle of Spurt and continued to absently rub his aching nipples, his hand occasionally dipping down to fiddle with the bulge in his pants.

"Okay, we've got the points. I wanna grab that pack of Covert Ops units. That way I'll be assured of having some space-age tech I can start assimilating right off the bat."

Variety is the Spice of Life + Vanguard Origin + Biotics and Implants Access

Mass Effect (Alvor)

150

Genetic Purity

Jurassic World Dominion

100

I am Human + You Must Be Removed + Freebies + Cybernetics Access

Terminator

Peace Through Power + Freebies + Access to C&C Buildings/Units

C&C - Tiberium Wars

100

Hero Origin + I Played This Before + Freebies

Rising of Shield Hero - Anime

300

Minion Recruitment + Freebies

TMNT (NES) + Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles

100

Power of Evolution + Class Options

Tower Survivors

100

Need to Breed + Clarity in Madness

Pathfinder

300

Omen's Cane

Elden Ring

Superstar Pin + Freebies

FNAF - Security Breach

Internet Forum

Worm - Endbringer

Lair

Irredeemable

Blueprint Slates + Freebies

Starsector

100

Some Assembly Required + Beast Mode

Transformers - Beast Wars

250

300 CP of Unit Picks

Starcraft II - Nova Covert Ops

150

Total:

1850

Remaining:

100

The Banner

Captain

Starcraft II - Odyssey

200

Grants a decade of command experience as well as a full Officer School education
Comes with 900 Unit Points
Can exchange 100 CP for 300 Unit Points, which can be used in the Swarmlab to purchase units

"You're shitting me."

>>>OmNomNomine: Yo bug, I heard you like buying Starcraft II Terran units…

"Something to look at later, then. I don't have the points for it anymore!"

>>>OmNomNomine: You mad, bro?

"I just spent 150 to get 300, and now I can get command training and officer school stuffed into my noggin… that is how it works, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! Stuffed right in there, you won't feel a thing!

"...oh good. Now three times as much is being offered for only a one third greater price with a bonus. Boo! Hiss!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Behave or I'll make sure that all your units have crooked boobies.

"Hey! No! Don't do that! I need the symmetry!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Going to behave then?

"Fiiiine!

The Treasure

A Worthy Ally

The Elder Scrolls - Modded Skyrim

200

Those who stand beside you will grow to face the level of challenges you can take on far faster than they ought
It's not an immediate increase in power or a teaching skill, but rather a learning boost to anyone who is your ally

"I have something like this! "Claw-Carve My Name into History!" Except that mine works if I'm under somebody's command who is stronger than me, and it also works off of reputation."

>>>OmNomNomine: They'll work together, though. So the increase will happen even faster.

"Something maybe to look at later after we've judged how well the other perk works in the first place, yeah?"

The Scroll

A Chef's Trove

Elden Ring

Each purchase grants a crate's worth of various animal products
Can be either at the height of freshness or already cured and spiced
Also comes with a crate of spice, herb, and seasoning mixtures
Instead of a crate of meat/eggs, you can instead receive a small breeding population of edible animals, approximately the value of a flock of sheep.
Receive a new crate / crate's worth of product from your flock every week

"It's 25 points, and a way that I can pilfer some extra genetic material for study, and also guaranteed to be delicious."

>>>OmNomNomine: O,..,O *makes grabby claws at*

>>>OmNomNomine: …could you maybe spend… I dunno… all the rest of your points on additional purchases of this?

"It'll be yummy, I'm sure, but it won't be that yummy if I'm overpowered and lose."

>>>OmNomNomine: *wipes mouth* I'm sure we could work out a deal or something…

"Okay. I'll buy a second instance of that with my points. That'll make up the difference between what I paid for the Nova units and the cost of the Odyssey units. They are comparable in price, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yeah, I think most of the units are the same price.

>>>OmNomNomine: Just remember to offer up your first crate's worth to your patrons!

>>>OmNomNomine:'cause I'm going to have to slip Orochi's other heads a few bites under the table.

"Sure, just the first crate's worth, right?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup!

"Great. Because with that perk I make twice as much out of half as much, so half a crate makes two crates worth of fully cooked food."

>>>OmNomNomine: NOOOOOO! I have cheated myself out of additional noms!

"But since it's an item, Manyfold Destiny kicks in. So I either get two different species per purchase, or one really, really delicious species."

>>>OmNomNomine: ;,..,; Why would you do this?

>>>OmNomNomine: Why would you make me choose between more flavors and better flavors?

"Well, we could always test it out by taking the same species with both the quality option and one of the two quantity options to see just how much better it really is, and if that's worth picking the extra tasty option in the future rather than going for the variety of flavors?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Or we could just go 50/50, that way we get a good variety of different flavors and also some assured super good flavors.

"We can do that. I'm willing to give up a small fraction of my points to keep you stocked with new culinary experiences."

>>>OmNomNomine: Good, good.

>>>OmNomNomine: Oh what's this?

>>>OmNomNomine: Whoops! I've dropped something!

The Spyglass

Corrupted Rhana Dandra

Warhammer 40k - Prince of the Eye

SCENARIO

This is supposed to be all about uniting the Eldar, defeating or cleansing Slaanesh, and possibly freeing the other surviving gods of the Eldar Pantheon. But you're not an Eldar.

Oh no, you are a horrible, lewd, perverse Ratling that just delights in despoilment and desecration. So you get something themed in the inverse.

Conditions

Bring at least 3 subfactions of Elves under your command
Defeat (or corrupt) one faction's Higher Power (IE Dragon Empress Cobalt for the Daughters of Cobalt faction)
(Optional) Seek out additional Wellsprings in other sectors to potentially add members to the Ratling Pantheon or find pieces of Archvyl Meatgristle's shattered form, restoring him to further power

Rewards

Recognition as the High Priestess of Archvyl Meatgristle and Fantomiel Fellstar across all Sectors in your world
Ascension into the Ratling Pantheon as a Demigod
"Elvenkind" as a bonus domain
All factions with the [Elf] tag on your planet will have secret sects spawn, devoted to the Ratling pantheon
You will gain a corrupted version of the realm that once belonged to the Higher Power you defeated/corrupted
If you corrupted them, you may take the Higher Power on as a Companion
If you defeated them, your faction will acquire a new, unique Broodmother, and all members will gain a handful of perks derived from her
You will gain Avatars of all members of the Ratling Pantheon as Faction members
You will be able to call upon a member of the Ratling Pantheon to enact a dark miracle once a week

>>>OmNomNomine: Oh dear! It appears that something has tumbled out of my pocket and into the System.

>>>OmNomNomine: How clumsy of me! *innocently whistles without lips*

>>>OmNomNomine: I appear to have accidentally given you a main quest that is right up your alley.

>>>OmNomNomine: How calamitously fortunate for you.

"Oh man, I am so going to keep the snacks flowing for this."

>>>OmNomNomine: Oh this? No, no, don't bother!

>>>OmNomNomine: Just a happy little accident.

>>>OmNomNomine: A complete coincidence.

>>>OmNomNomine: (But really, yes, please, keep the snacks flowing)

"And also the drinks, I presume?"

David popped his 40th bottle of soda and sipped it. Despite being nowhere near full, it was kind of getting monotonous. Maybe he should try some of the derived flavors?

But then again, considering what happened the last time, maybe he ought to hold off until things stabilized.

The Scroll

A Sound Mind

Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka?

100

You may handle any amount of mental strain or damage without issue
Your mind cannot be overloaded with information
Allows you to easily, quickly, and rationally deal with any mental or emotional trauma in a healthy manner

"Hmm, useful and inexpensive, but I think I can just take the mental damage and go nuts for a bit and come out all the better for it with Clarity in Madness."

>>>OmNomNomine: So are you happy you bought that and Need to Breed?

"No! Umm… can I bribe you with more goodies to switch that one with this one and make up the cost in snack crates?"

>>>OmNomNomine: Nope, sorry buggo. Purchase has been long enough to where it's already started being applied.

"Phooey."

The Chain

Herd Instinct + Freebies

Generic Dinosaur Gauntlet

100

Herd Instinct

Members of your own species will overlook most behavioral weirdness or odd abilities
As long as you are among your own kind random predators and random events are less likely to target you as their next victim
The larger the group the safer you are
Those targeting you in particular will be able to do so, but you will be much harder to spot

Basic Instinct

Any new alteration or addition to your form is accompanied by instinct and muscle memory allowing you to use it as ably as you could any other "normal" part of your body
You gain any knowledge needed in your various species' methods of survival in their natural environments

Classic of Scientifically Accurate

You may make minor, purely cosmetic changes to yourself, any alt-forms you have, or any personal equipment

"Useful stuff, but it's another one of those things where I'm going to require the whole faction to be here before I can get full use out of it. Next!"

The Cape

Dragon Bones

Justice League Dark

650

You gain a bag of bones belonging to an ancient Great Wyrm who isn't quite all the way dead
The dragon can be summoned for a total of one hour per decade at its full apocalyptic strength
This time can be broken up into smaller periods
With enough magical skill, knowledge, and power you might find a way to be able to have the dragon manifest for longer, or be able to restore it to life entirely.
Can purchase a second bag for 150, a third for 100, and a fourth for 50
Purchasing all four gives you a breeding population who won't mind sharing a few eggs per decade with you
The dragons are immensely magical and nearly every part of their body can be used as a magical reagent
The dragons don't particularly care for being farmed, but will tolerate it as long as it's done by somebody they like and it isn't too invasive
Purchasing 3 or more dragons grants a new area to your Lair to house the dragons and make sure that they're kept fed and happy

"OH MY GODS! I CAN GET MY OWN DRAGONS!"

>>>OmNomNomine: Yup! You can get yourself potentially four buddies that you can use to enact a gang bang on one of those Higher Powers.

"Or they could be powered up…"

>>>OmNomNomine: Or you could get two super strong dragons instead of one super duper strong one.

"But we'd have to get at least one super duper strong one, to at least get a measurement of the effectiveness of the reagents, the strength of the Essence, and also maybe potentially the flavors if I get that Monster Hunter harvesting perk to be able to harmlessly acquire super duper dragon meat."

>>>OmNomNomine: *drools* I didn't think of that and now I'm sad!

"Why?"

The Cape

A Ridiculous Pile of Powers

City of Heroes - Going Rogue Gauntlet

650

Your shopping spree is over.
You're locked into buying this next once you accrue the points.
Why?
Because it's really, really awesome and really really powerful and Nom really really wanted it
Well, he did up until you mentioned eating an incredibly powerful, ancient dragon
Thanks for that, he's going to be absolutely insufferable while he's whining about it
Hugs 'n kisses,
The Derpsneks

>>>OmNomNomine: Because this thing costs exactly the same and it's so stupendously complex and there's such a massive pile of powers in it that it's something I wanted to make absolutely, positively sure you'd get.

>>>OmNomNomine: Because this heckin' thing is basically its own whole-abdomen subsystem with many choices that need to be made along the way.

>>>OmNomNomine: A few sentences in a box didn't do it justice, and I didn't want you to pass over it.

>>>OmNomNomine: So I kind of locked it in as your next purchase, since it was the last one on the list and all.

>>>OmNomNomine: But I promise it's really good and you'll even have the ability to give powers to others and…

"I get it, Nom. It's good and you didn't want me to miss out. It's okay, I forgive you. And I promise we'll get those dragon bones at some point. I'm going to need all the help I can get if we're going to take on an ancient dragon empress or an archangel or something."

>>>OmNomNomine: Yay! Draggy noms!

David tossed away the last of his soda bottles.

"Okay, now that we're done with buying rewards here, let's get to making minions with my biomass."

>>>OmNomNomine: Okay, first I need you to picture a wolf…

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