Editing The Simurgh (section)

====Blind Spots====
The Simurgh cannot directly perceive the [[Entities]]<ref>“No, listen.  The Simurgh?  This guy said she has a weakness.  Two ways where she ''can’t'' see the future.  Two ways to break free of her cause and effect.”<br><br>Noelle didn’t say anything.<br><br>“The first way, you’ve got to be basically immune to powers.  ''Scion'' is.  He’s immune to precognition, throws everything out the window when he shows up.  I saw it when he fought the Simurgh.  She couldn’t automatically dodge his stuff, because she either couldn’t read his mind or she couldn’t see the attacks before they happened.  So he hit her, a bunch of times.  I saw it.” - [[Migration 17.8]]</ref> and [[shardspace]].<ref name="II18.z eQuick" /> For example, she describes [[Scion]] as having no apparent past or future.<ref name="28.x e10" /> [[Eidolon]] is also a blind spot;<ref name="18.z eReserve">“Against the Endbringers, there are really only two individuals who can stop them, drive them away.  Scion is one.  I’m another.  Each of us is worth a hundred other capes, if not more.  I’m not boasting when I say this.  But my powers are getting weaker every day, little by little.  Whatever vast, improbably deep well parahumans tap into to use abilities, I suspect mine is running dry.”<br>[...]<br>“When I fight, Mrs. Yamada, I feel as though my lost power is somehow within reach.  Reserves I have not yet touched, maybe.  Or a fresh well.  It is something, but it is ''there''.  The problem is that I rarely get to truly ''fight''.  Do you understand?” - [[Interlude 18.z]]</ref><ref>The Doctor spoke, “I should have listened to her sooner, but there are too many blind spots around this situation.  The Endbringers, the End of the World, the formulas.  Things she can’t see.  I held on, told myself I wouldn’t cut you off until we had another Simurgh attack, to ensure you could minimize the damage, that you’d be able to recuperate and adjust for at least a few months before she showed up again.” - [[Interlude 27.x]]</ref><ref name="28.4 e3" /> by design, he is capable of stopping the Simurgh in combat.<ref name="reddit eProduceNew" /><ref>'''Running an Endbringer fight'''<br><br>'''Wildbow:''' As Wrandm suggests, I'd treat this as a mass combat - except against one foe. The objective as GM isn't to drop a huge unkillable monster on the board and expect them to kill it, but to have a list of objectives and scenarios.<br>[...]<br>Hit them with a briefing, and outline the rules for what's going on. Win conditions: get through to the end. There's no guarantee the major players (like Scion) are going to show up, but after X segments there's a d20 die roll: on a 20+ Scion shows. On a 18-19 Eidolon shows.<br><br>Rule for Eidolon - Survive through 3 objectives from the time he arrives to win. If an objective is completely failed, doesn't count for progression. Continue to roll for Scion.<br><br>Rule for Scion - survive for two more 'rounds', no more objectives except for surviving. - Wildbow on Reddit</ref><!-- https://redd.it/arsedt --> [[Shard]]-derived sensory powers cannot perceive [[Mantellum]] (i.e., he blinds shards);<ref>Mantellum	'''Case 53.  Blocks out sensory aspects of powers progressively more with proximity.'''	Irregulars - Parahuman List, bolded edit by Wildbow</ref><!-- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pgn9rgYutpBqJg1lSBP3NHnq9WK4ToLq9K4ys_I4cRc/edit --><ref>'''ReekRhymesWithWeak: ''' Edit: Can we also have clarification on whether Mantellum could beat Cherish or not?<br><br>'''Wildbow: ''' Mantellum operates in a different way than Hatchet Face, blocking all power use into or out of his radius. It becomes a contest of strength. Make your decision accordingly. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit</ref><!-- https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/32y8lk/comment/cqfwj5i/ --><ref name="Reddit eBlindShards">'''Torrieltar:''' How do you nullify a power in Wormverse? Would any old power nullifier from another universe work, or does it need to be done in a specific way? Similarly, what would it take to duplicate a Wormverse power?<br><br>'''Wildbow:''' Depends, really. Mantellum was a power nullifier who basically blinded shards. He arguably wouldn't have any effect on a sensory power that wasn't a Worm power. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/5jmo6d/_/dbnr64k Conversation] with Wildbow on Reddit</ref> he and anyone in his radius are presumably a blind spot as even [[Contessa]] cannot perceive him with her [[All-or-Nothing]] power.<ref>Fog approached.  A wall of it, moving down the corridor.  She could see normally, but the effect on her powers was absolute.  It was impossible to make out any steps that moved within the fog.<br>[...]<br>She ducked.  “-have a perception blocker, beware.”<br>[...]<br>“Cornered.  They’ve got a thinker, I think, they planned this ahead of time, knowing I wouldn’t pick up on their presence.”<br>[...]<br>This ‘Mantellum’ had been close enough that he should have been able to block her power.  He hadn’t.<br><br>Because he’d been on the other side of the portal.  The power didn’t cross dimensional boundaries.<br><br>She’d been lucky. - [[Interlude 29]]</ref><ref name="Reddit eProcessingPower">'''Torrieltar:''' How fast can Path to Victory react to unforeseen changes?<br><br>'''Wildbow:''' All changes are foreseen, as a rule. Can't cite anything, but there's a line that sorta appears in the story, where you run into the perfects (perfect defense, perfect offense) and stuff gets fucky - and the rule of thumb is that 'unless your ability beats -everything-, it doesn't beat this'. For processing power Contessa's ability would be on this level (as with Flechette's Sting, Clockblocker's inviolability, Siberian's invulnerability). - [https://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/5jmo6d/_/dbnr64k Conversation] with Wildbow on Reddit</ref>

She cannot see a [[trigger event]] directly;<ref>“We’ve heard of incidents where one person became a very large-scale effect.  The kind that would cover this whole colony, and then some,” I said.  “I think the catch is that most precogs and danger sensers can’t see triggers coming, even broken ones.” - [[Gleaming 9.12]]</ref> it took her several hours before she noticed [[Dauntless]] had a [[broken trigger]].<ref>Better not to move.  To wait.<br><br>It took nearly eight hours.  But Dauntless’s son came.  The boy drove in a truck, and he reached the perimeter that capes and other forces had gathered as a just-in-case measure.<br>[...]<br>After a couple of hours, they decided to leave.<br>[...]<br>It remained where it was, waiting.  It waited and watched even as the forces arrayed around it readied for an assault, panicked, then retreated.<br>[...]<br>The reason for the panic and the imminent assault hadn’t been ''him'', but another guest.  She settled on one arm, comparatively tiny, a weight on one arm and on one shoulder.  Feathered wings draped his arm. - [[Heavens 12.none]]</ref><ref name="II13.2 e1" />

The Simurgh's precognition/postcognition is not [[All-or-Nothing]];<ref name="24.4 c1" /> other [[precognitive]]s can interfere with her power.<ref>Krouse was getting more excited, had to press his hand flat against the floor to stop it from shaking.  “And the other way?  There’s thinker powers that mess with her ability to influence events. If another precog gets a hand in events, the Simurgh automatically shuts them down and vice-versa.  The way this guy said it, the precogs get overloaded with the second-guessing the other precog, on top of having to figure out all the quantum possibilities and split paths.  And this guy?  He has a power that messes with precogs some, and the ''precog working for him'' has a power that will help circumvent the Simurgh’s power.  Get it?  So long as we work for him, we’re free of it.  No more cause and effect.  No more feeling like we’re doomed no matter what choice we make.  We go from that kind of safety to ''home''.  ''To our world''.“ - [[Migration 17.8]]</ref><ref name="28.x eUncertainty">She can see the events as they would unfold, and carries out her activities in plain sight.  Another subject, having left earlier, is going to finish her routine.  Most likely sequence of events, accounting for future-viewers obscuring possibilities, is that she finishes her journey in the ensuing ten minutes.  Unclear whether she finishes her note or writes something lengthier. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/interlude-28/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 28]]</ref><ref name="E.5 eTeacherPrecogs" /><ref name="II19.z eLobbyDecipher">In the lobby of the headquarters, before Dinah Alcott’s use of her power made deciphering the following events difficult, before the heroes started strategizing about this battle, he would watch Dragon offer a helping hand to a heroine he had bumped into.  It would cross his mind that if circumstances were different, he would be attracted to someone like the heroine, followed by the thought that he could think that way because his -or Lab Rat’s- sister was as different from the heroine as was possible, while still being a girl.<br><br>He would wonder momentarily at his place in the world, then dismiss the thought, pushing it away by filling his head with resentment. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/02/23/infrared-19-z/ Excerpt] from [[Infrared 19.z]]</ref> She is unable to directly perceive [[Contessa]],<ref name="II18.z eSilence" /><ref name="II18.z eSmile" /> [[Dinah]],<ref name="II19.z e16" /><ref name="II20.6 eDinahBlindSpot" /><ref name="II20.7 ePsychicImmune" /> and other precognitives (e.g., applicable [[Teacher]] thralls,<ref name="E.5 eTeacherPrecogs" /> [[Shamrock]]<ref>“Why ''are'' you here?  You’re insane, coming to a place like this.  You know what the Simurgh does.”<br><br>“We do,” Faultline said.  “But we have a friend, she’s got a bit of precognitive talent.  Enough that it should clear us of any schemes the Simurgh is pulling.”<br><br>Eyes went wide.<br>[...]<br>“A thinker power.  Precognition?  No, that wouldn’t work with your power.  Fuck!” - [[Interlude 18.f]]</ref><ref>Her power looks like luck manipulation but is actually microtelekinesis and precognition/butterfly effects at work. - Wildbow on Reddit</ref><!-- https://redd.it/2fbpza --><ref>'''Shamrock''' – A case-53 (typically monstrous parahumans, amnesiac, with a specific tattoo) with no monstrous features.  Combines microtelekinesis and an unconscious precognition into an effective ‘luck’ manipulation, altering outcomes on a subtle level. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free/ Cast (spoiler free)]</ref>). When a precognitive uses their power and interacts with individuals, these other individuals become temporary blind spots.<ref name="28.x e4">One target comes into full focus, and their existence is now visible, from the moment of their birth until the time they disappear from sight.  Often, this is the point of their death.  Other times, they disappear into darkness, obscured by another power. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/interlude-28/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 28]]</ref><ref name="28.x e11">She requires access to particular information.  This can be arranged by positioning targets carefully.<br><br>She requires resources.  This requires patience.  She will have access to them soon enough, provided things aren’t cast into darkness by the obstacle. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/interlude-28/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 28]]</ref><ref name="II20.6 eDinahBlindSpot" /> Thus, a precognitive's range of influence can make deciphering the following events difficult<ref name="II19.z eLobbyDecipher" /> and obscure possibilities from her sight.<ref name="28.x eUncertainty" /> Note that [[Scion]]<ref>“Scion sees the path to victory?”<br><br>“Or something close.”<br><br>“You’re sure?”<br><br>“The evidence, his attitude, as far as he has any attitude at all… yeah.  None of the limitations like Contessa has, I don’t think.  No blind spots.  Just… yeah.” - [[Cockroaches 28.6]]</ref> and [[Eidolon]]<ref>“Right.  He’s using supercharged gravity to try to pin her down and simultaneously take out any of the clones she spits out.  He’s staying out of reach with flight, and he said something before about a danger sense.  Precognition, I guess?” - [[Queen 18.7]]</ref><ref>His powers were adapting.  He’d been holding on to them, but the anger and circumstances were apparently enough to force a shift.  A perception ability, an offensive ability that would let him move objects violently along strict paths that were dancing across his field of vision, and a future-sight ability that was making the world change colors, identifying points of high future stress and danger with colored blotches.<br>[...]<br>The telekinetic smash would let him move her aside.  Contessa… he couldn’t beat Contessa.  The precognitive power he’d gained wasn’t one he’d used before, but he knew. - [[Interlude 27.x]]</ref> can also use precognition if needed.

Given enough time, she can work around blind spots to some extent. To handle a temporary blind spot, the Simurgh can use prior information to guess their likely course.<ref name="28.x e5">''Often'', this is not a true obstacle, if she has had time to ''look''.  There are the fulcrum points.  Crises, themes, decisions, fears and aspirations are clearly visible.  The individual is understood well enough that their actions can be guessed after they disappear from view.<br><br>A stone is thrown into darkness.  It can be safely assumed that it will continue traveling until it hits something. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/interlude-28/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 28]]</ref> For non-temporary blind spots, although she cannot directly perceive them, she can potentially observe the aftermath of their actions after they occur in real time by looking at the reactions of visible individuals; she can then guess the blind spot's location using this context.<ref name="28.x e10" /><ref name="II19.z e16" /> Thus, she appears to favor the shotgun approach when confronting blind spots.<ref>Then she fired the guns.  Hers and Kid Win’s.<br><br>''The shotgun approach''.  Cover as wide an area as possible, cover as many ''bases'' as possible, in the hopes that ''something'' hits. - [[Venom 29.2]]</ref> According to [[Tattletale]], the Simurgh knows she will be blind sometimes; in a fight, the [[Endbringer]] collects and stacks pieces to ideally reach a point where she has so many factors on her side that she can make blind moves and still win.<ref>“It’s not that easy.  She knows she’ll be blind, here and there.  She collects and stacks the pieces.  At a certain point, she’s got so many factors on her side she can make blind moves and still win.  That’s where she’s at now.  There’s no king for us to take, no weak point to capitalize on, no silver bullet or special trick,” Tattletale said. - [[Last 20.6]]</ref>

The Simurgh can be overconfident against sufficiently powerful [[precognitive]]s, such as the [[Contessa|first]]<ref name="Reddit eProcessingPower" /><ref name="II18.z strength" /><ref name="II18.z eTesting" /><ref name="24.4 c1" /> and [[Dinah|third]] most powerful ones in-universe.<ref name="14.1 c1">Not so much that precogs are rare, but that they’re limited. The future is awfully big.<br><br>Look at Dinah – her ability crippled her early on, and if Coil hadn’t kidnapped her, she might have abandoned it, avoided using it, because it was that hard. As it stands, she has to search the myriad futures to prune away realities until she finds the answers to very specific questions. AND she’s the third most powerful precog in the setting. - Comment by Wildbow on [[Prey 14.1]]</ref><!-- https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/prey-14-1/#comment-4025 --> During their precog duel, Fortuna and Contessa agreed to work in concert to quickly execute a path without investigating it too much, which forced the Simurgh to leave.<ref name="II18.z eQuick" /> Despite being unable to see the remainder of [[the Wardens]]' meeting because of Dinah, she erroneously believed there was no reality where the eventual end result was not entirely in her favor.<ref name="II19.z e16" /> After the disabling of [[the Mathers Giant]] confirmed Dinah as a genuine blind spot,<ref name="II20.6 eDinahBlindSpot" /> [[Victoria Dallon]] asked her one last question before extending Dinah's range of influence to every cape present in the immediate area using her aura.<ref name="II20.6 eLastQuestion">“''What question!''?”<br><br>“Kick her ass, or kick her ass ''more''?” I asked, quiet.<br><br>There was a pause.<br><br>“Just kicking her ass will suffice.”<br><br>I used my aura, putting every iota of violent, righteous, angry sentiment I was feeling and transmitting it to every cape present.  Dinah directed, it gave us what we needed to make a final set of moves without ''her'' seeing them coming. - [[Last 20.6]]</ref> The appearance of so many temporary blind spots flowing from Dinah temporarily stunned the Simurgh.<ref name="II20.7 eStatue" /> It also opened a window of opportunity afterward: the discombobulated [[Endbringer]] could only leverage prior information about the surrounding facility<ref name="II20.7 ePsychicImmune" /> and had to restart her warm-up information gathering phase once this temporary blind spot effect disappeared.<ref name="II20.7 eScreamRamp">The screaming was finding its way back into my head.  Small, slow, steady, but it was creeping in, building up, and it was doing it faster than it had initially done.<br><br>''Our window is closing''. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/03/17 Excerpt] from [[Last 20.7]]</ref><ref name="II20.7 eMoreEffective">“Come on,” I murmured.  The screaming was getting worse.  I saw the Simurgh block Crystalclear’s thrown crystal with a bit of debris.  She wasn’t even facing him, though I wasn’t sure how much that mattered.  Had he been here when I’d used my power?  Or was she getting to the point where she was one step ahead again? - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/03/17 Excerpt] from [[Last 20.7]]</ref><ref>The Simurgh was blocking three out of four of our moves now.  We had enough big guns that she was still taking a beating, but it didn’t feel like enough.  I could believe she was one or two steps ahead of us, but it didn’t feel like we were fighting a sea of toppling dominoes, wondering where they went or what the end result would look like.<br><br>Not yet. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/03/17 Excerpt] from [[Last 20.7]]</ref>