The Paralysis Incident

Summary

The Paralysis Incident occurred in Session 6 when the party launched an unprovoked attack on Nick Silver. Cat shot an arrow at Nick's head while both Cat and Sucks attempted to restrain him. In response, Nick tapped his staff on the ground and froze all four visible party members—Cat, Sucks, Vasso, and Safia—in place. The paralysis was accomplished through a swarm of nanite-like machines that altered the density of air molecules around the party, rendering them completely immobilized and unable to speak. Nick lectured the frozen party about their unprovoked aggression, stated he was forgiving them for attempting to take his life, and walked approximately a mile down the path without looking back. Once at a safe distance, he released the paralysis effect. The incident demonstrated both the dangerous consequences of the party's aggressive paranoia and revealed crucial information about the technological nature of magic in this world.

Details

The incident began when the party attacked Nick Silver without provocation. Cat shot an arrow at Nick's head while both Cat and Sucks attempted to physically restrain him. Nick responded by tapping his staff on the ground, immediately freezing all four visible party members in place.

The paralysis was total and absolute. The party members could not move or speak. During the paralysis, Sucks involuntarily urinated on himself. While the party stood frozen, Nick delivered a lecture about their unprovoked attack on him, explicitly stating that he was forgiving them for attempting to take his life. After his speech, Nick walked approximately a mile down the trail, pointedly refusing to turn around and look at the paralyzed party.

While still frozen, Safia attempted to hack the staff using her communion of whispers ability. She successfully rolled a 10, receiving a clear and helpful vision about how the staff operates. According to the vision, the paralysis effect was accomplished by activating "some sort of swarm of similar machines in the air around you that altered the density of like, the air molecules to keep you in place." The vision revealed that Nick "did it sort of the same way that you do it with your implant. Like he just connected with it and then went through its like, file directories and got it to produce a PI for him."

As Safia observed the distant figure, the GM noted: "And he is. You can see. You can see silver in the distance. Still walking down the trail. He very pointedly has not turned around to look at you." The GM added that "Saviour, you get the idea that he is very experienced at this kind of thing," indicating that Nick has used this method of dealing with threats before.

Once Nick reached a safe distance of approximately a mile down the path, he released the paralysis effect and the party could move again.

Participants

Nick Silver — Used his staff to paralyze the party, lectured them while they were frozen, and walked away
Cat — Initiated the attack by shooting an arrow at Nick's head and attempting to restrain him; was paralyzed as a result
Sucks — Attempted to restrain Nick alongside Cat; was paralyzed and involuntarily urinated during the paralysis
Safia — Was paralyzed along with the others; successfully hacked the staff with Communion of Whispers while frozen, rolling a 10
Vasso — Was paralyzed along with the rest of the visible party

Consequences

The party learned that Nick Silver possesses significant power through his staff and is capable of neutralizing multiple attackers simultaneously
Safia's successful hack revealed that the staff operates through technological means similar to Communion of Whispers, using nanite-like machines and file directories
The incident demonstrated that magic in this world functions through technology, specifically through swarms of machines that can manipulate physical properties like air density
Nick's method of paralysis proved to be similar to what Goober does, suggesting a common technological foundation for these abilities
The party learned that Nick is "very experienced at this kind of thing," suggesting he has dealt with similar threats before
The unprovoked attack failed completely, with Nick choosing to forgive the party rather than retaliate more severely
Sucks suffered the indignity of involuntarily urinating while paralyzed