Eclipse Phase: Frosted Glass Discussion

[PhoenixFlame]

manipulate stuff? I'm a giant cyborg crab, using those, what do you call them, doors? Yea screw that, I go kool-aid man on that wall. Whose gonna stop me? I'M A GIANT CYBORG CRAB

A bravery 10 rookie with a hand grenade. Probably on accident.

Sorry, I've spent the morning playing X-Com: Enemy Unknown to come up with some suitably thematic inspiration.

Demo skill covers the planting, maintenance, and use of explosive devices of all colors from grenades to shaped charges to thermite bombs to... But, as the game so handily points out in all the other weapons entries, you need seperate skills (most notably, hardware: explosives, or suitable field, academics: chemistry or suitable field, a nanofabricator and the programming skill, or a researched blueprint for that nanofabricator via the research skill.)

MOST nanofabricators are modified to not make military hardware, but a lot still can. As for equiptment, most of the bombs come with the equiptment to arm and use them.

Of course, it's still fairly trivial to make homeade bombs... I imagine thermobarics are particularly popular.

[Geminex]

you need seperate skills (most notably, hardware: explosives, or suitable field, academics: chemistry or suitable field, a nanofabricator and the programming skill, or a researched blueprint for that nanofabricator via the research skill.)
...
Qua?
Where does it say that in the manual? The section on making explosives just says:
A character trained in Demolitions can make explosives from raw materials. These materials can be gathered the traditional way or they can be manufactured using a nanofabricator. Even nanofabbers with restricted settings to prevent explosives creation can be used, as explosives can be constructed from all manner of mundane chemicals and materials. The timeframe for making explosives is 1 hour per 1d10 points of damage the explosive will inflict. If a critical failure is rolled, the demolitionist may accidentally blow himself up, or the charge may be extremely
weaker or more potent than expected (whichever is more likely to be disastrous).
No mention of needing a hardware skill, no mention of needing chemisty (though my muse has that), no mention of needing even a nanofabricator, except for ingredients. Hell, when you look at the entry on hardware, it doesn't even have "Explosives" as a sample field. One of the reasons I got explosives was that, as far as I could tell, it'd actually let me make the bombs, not just plant them. You say I can't, without spending another 90 skill points on assorted skills?

[Dracorion]

I'm worried I made just made a huge mistake having Ellen tell everyone she's an async, but if admitting that outright doesn't earn her some serious trust, nothing will.

[Geminex]

Wow. Bitch be manipulative.
And coming from me, that's practically a compliment.

Anyway, honesty and forthrightness aside, the fact that she told us about being an async really doesn't guarantee that she won't use said powers. So not too much trust there.

[PhoenixFlame]

Derp, my mistake. I thought demolitions had the same caveats as all the weapon skills. Nevermind, you're right, though chemistry is an adequate link skill.

In other news, welcome to X-Com! I mean, Firewall! Please check your sanity at the door.

[Dracorion]

It should earn her a lot. She could've kept it hidden. Her abilities are subtle enough that the team probably wouldn't notice she was an async without a brain scan. Whether or not she'll use them is an entirely different matter, but I think the fact that she was open about it should reassure the team that she won't be manipulating them.

That, and they also don't know what her sleights are.

[Aerozord]

speaking of, I want to hack/modify/whatever my nanofabber to create weapon grade explosives

[krogothwolf]

Well, I Desmond doesn't really care what Ellen is, just that she can handle herself fairly well :D But I guess it's a big step for her to admit it in Dez's eyes.

[Krylo]

think the fact that she was open about it should reassure the team

Did you read the sections on asyncs?

Most people don't know about psi, at all.

Of those who do, most of them think that asyncs are just exsurgent monster sleepers just waiting for the right stimulus before infecting everyone around them with exsurgent and/or killing them in the name of the TITANs.

Saying you're an async is not a good way to reassure anyone of anything.

[PhoenixFlame]

Of those who do, most of them think that asyncs are just exsurgent monster sleepers just waiting for the right stimulus before infecting everyone around them with exsurgent and/or killing them in the name of the TITANs.

They aren't?

[krogothwolf]

So, we can totally think she has some crazy disease then?

[Krylo]

A crazy disease that makes her want to kill all humans, even.

[Geminex]

I find this highly enjoyable.

I am torn between taunting Drac for his mistake, or giving him a chance to edit his character's admission. Because he really screwed himself over. What do you all think?

[krogothwolf]

It would be really entertaining if we all acted like she was some diseased human killer.

[Krylo]

Well, I kinda planned on Lind not really knowing about asyncs and shit, as that's more common, but either way Nyx/Johanna, can correct any misunderstandings had on the Watts-MacLeod strain.

I'd rather let Drac edit, though, 'cause other than not actually realizing how big of a secret being an async is, this was the closest I've seen him coming to Ellen actually being emotionally manipulative and not just creepy.

[Geminex]

Considering that his entire character is based on "get your allies to trust you, screw them over when it's convenient", it would certainly force him to rethink his strategy.

Drac has basically screwed up royally, we can either exploit that and be all condescending to him, or we can decide to give him another chance, and still be all condescending to him.

Yeah, y'know what, if he admits to having made a mistake, to being at fault, let's let him take it back.

Edit: Because, even if Nyx told us how Watts-Mcleod does not automatically make for murderous killers, I believe Ellen is a socialite. Meaning she is at least to some degree well-known by her peers. And I think that Fame would be significantly less inclined to listen to words of reason than our little group.

Mind you, there's no guarantee that the information would get out...
But honestly, is there any that it won't?

[Arhra]

Right... Though how can you get our sense filters to ignore an object? Doesn't the command to do that have to come from us?
It did, in much the same way you don't have to manually request every single picture and piece of text on this page to load. If you had to personally say yes or no to every publicly streamed AR feed pointed your way, you'd go crazy!

Anything being done maliciously should get caught by your AR filter or, failing that, your muse. Usually.

So yeah, you'd see it unless you were some kind of luddite who walked around with your mesh inserts turned off or (god forbid) didn't have any.

In which case Tyrfing's entrance would be completely invisible and inaudible to you anyway!

[Overcast]

I'm all for not being a total prick, just because in this case it isn't all that fun as much as it is bastardly.

At any rate the only people who might even attempt to challenge her reputation and spread a rumor about her psychovirus would be Daniel, and he isn't keen to do it. If Spectre tried she could likely get his ass black marked.

[Geminex]

Can't get any worse than level 3.
And the best thing about the Mesh is that you can easily remain anonymous. Especially when releasing classified information to the public. I mean, hire a public account? Fairly cheap. Buy a cheap ecto? Not too much of an investment. Hell, if you can anonymously hack into a hypercorps' private network, where's the difficulty in anonymously releasing a 5-second sound file, maybe with video as well?

And besides, he's black-marked already. Doesn't get much worse than that.

[Dracorion]

Well, fuck me. Yeah, in retrospect, having Ellen reveal she's an async was a royal fuck up. My bad.

Thanks for giving me a chance to edit that out, guys.

[Geminex]

May I interpret this edit as an admission of your being at fault?

Edit: As for something actually relevant:
It did, in much the same way you don't have to manually request every single picture and piece of text on this page to load. If you had to personally say yes or no to every publicly streamed AR feed pointed your way, you'd go crazy!
Fair enough. But, assuming that later, Spectre for some reason decides to jump on the chair. Or just walks past it. Will he know that the chair's just AR? I don't think the manual's really specific on that.

[Dracorion]

I can't believe you're bringing Umbral crap into this RP, but yes.

And the chair is real. The illusion was Tyrfing moving it.

[Krylo]

May I interpret this edit as an admission of your being at fault?May I interpret your face as an admission of you being ugly?

Fair enough. But, assuming that later, Spectre for some reason decides to jump on the chair. Or just walks past it. Will he know that the chair's just AR? I don't think the manual's really specific on that.

The chair isn't AR. The chair is real.

What is AR is that the chair moved out.

As for how real it seems: Very. AR illusions, like XPs, can affect all your senses, sight, sound, smell, and even touch to an extent, because your mesh is wired into your brain.

As proof of this you could check out the AR Games section of the fluff starting on page 53, where it describes what basically amounts to super future LARPing. However, it also explains that some AR Games have resulted in injury/temporary death due to people being unable to tell what, exactly, was part of the game.

For example: "A few unscrupulous AR game designers used their game as a cover for an actual robbery or act of terrorism that was abetted by unwitting players who thought their actions were simply part of a game."

Though the section on AR illusions kind of describes this, as well, which you can check out on page 259.

"The best illusions are, of course, crafted in advance, using the best image and sensory manipulation tools available. Such illusions are hyper-realistic. Anyone making a Perception Test to identify them as fake suffers a –10 to –30 modifier (gamemaster’s discretion)."

And an example of how it affects all your senses:

"For example, dark illusory clouds can obscure vision, ear-wrenching high-volume noises can make people cringe, and a persistent tickling sensation might drive anyone crazy."

HOWEVER, as that she's wearing impossible clothing, I think we can all assume we know Tyrfing is an AR illusion, and as such, it would be a simple matter to tell your AR to filter out her illusions and see the chair where it really is, quite empty.

[Geminex]

I know that the chair's real. But it's displaced. It's not where it appears to be, since she moved the AR-version.
I'm not objecting to AR, of course, but the fact that other users can edit our AR. I was under the impression that AR was meant to be a mix between entertainment system (with music and skins) and information relay system. So sure, edit her own AR. But where does it say that she can edit ours?

Edit:
Ok... right. Still bugs me, but fine. Isn't it possible to tell our muse to filter all external AR illusions?

May I interpret your face as an admission of you being ugly?
You can take my freedom! You can take my dignity! But you cannot take my right to be petty!
Especially about claims to infalliability!

Edit2:
Actually, wait! The part you're referring to, that discusses the creation of illusions in others' AR. But to insert an AR illusion into a mesh, you need to hack and invade said mesh. If she were to hack all our meshes, sure, she could make us see the chair however she wants to. But she hasn't hacked us, she's just creating said AR for herself and is somehow... broadcasting it?

[Krylo]

I know that the chair's real. But it's displaced. It's not where it appears to be, since she moved the AR-version.
I'm not objecting to AR, of course, but the fact that other users can edit our AR. I was under the impression that AR was meant to be a mix between entertainment system (with music and skins) and information relay system. So sure, edit her own AR. But where does it say that she can edit ours?


Page 248 gives a pretty good hint of this describing the AR mist. Your AR is CONSTANTLY being acted upon by outside forces. You are seeing advertisements floating in mid-air for Joe's Crab Shack down on Deck 13 (assuming your filtering let an ad for that through, because you like crab), when you go down to the Crab Shack, Joe doesn't have a physically posted menu, instead there is an AR illusion overlaid next to the tables you sit at that reads out everything you could order. On your way down there are no physical directory signs on the walls, but the Station has put up AR illusions of arrows and read outs directing you (and you can pull up a map overlay using your own mesh as well).

Adjusting to the lack of this is actually explained as one of the hardest to deal with things when exploring an exoplanet.

Edit: Isn't it possible to tell our muse to filter all external AR illusions?Yes, but it would be comparable to say, gouging out your ear drums in the real world because you didn't want to hear your MP3 of Barbie Girl anymore, instead of just shutting off the player.

[Geminex]

Ah... fair enough. I should have read that bit more thoroughly. I take it we can also use mist to our advantage?

[Arhra]

I meant to suggest that the chair was in the exact same place as it had started. Basically so far in under the desk that you could sit in it, but you'd have to pull it out to get seated.

On the subject of how real it is, it's not intended to be duplicitous, so Tyrfing would be clearly tagged as a virtual construct.

I assume that if you were about to run into something your sense filters were blocking from your view or do something like sit on a chair that's not there, the filter program or your muse would step in to warn you.

Like trying to touch that AR window in this room for example. Not only is there no cityscape, there's probably no recess in the wall for there to be a window at all. If you tried to put your hand on the glass, you'd hit the invisible barrier that is the blank bulkhead that's really there. You might hurt yourself by thinking the surface is still several centimeters away, so it'd probably warn you.

(Well, unless it was an AR game and duped your sensory input to make you think you'd extended your arm further. But AR games are much more intrusive than regular mesh AR.)

[Geminex]

Kaaay...
Just lemme consider the combat implications of this. Like, could I make an enemy ignore the flash of my barrel by telling him that it's not there? Because it'd make sense, randomly flashing lights would just distract a securty guard!
...
Ok, not the most inspired example, but I can't help but think that if there's a way to make people perceive reality differently without their noticing, necessarily, there's got to be a way to exploit that for killing people more easily.

[Krylo]

Problem is you have to make it appear to be a 'legitimate' AR Illusion and route it through the public mesh to get them from the outside.

Lind, Henric, and Tyrfing all have the programming abilities to probably do that, and the infosec to hack someone's mesh (given time) and implant more devious ones.

Spectre? Not so much. (Edit: Apparently he does have pretty decent infosec, but beside the point)

This is, however, why 'tech guys' are good to have. Even multiples of, because we could say... hack the spimes (where more of us would be good) or hack the database where the spimes are kept and upload a facial recognition/deletion program designed to erase all traces of you (who would be using infiltration to get wherever) from the public record and then delete itself.

Just as a for instance.

[Geminex]

This is, however, why 'tech guys' are good to have. Even multiples of, because we could say... hack the spimes (where more of us would be good) or hack the database where the spimes are kept and upload a facial recognition/deletion program designed to erase all traces of you (who would be using infiltration to get wherever) from the public record and then delete itself.
Yeah, tech guys are definitely good. Hence my infosec skill... I had, I think, freerunning instead, initially, but I thought infosec'd be more useful. I hope to expand on it when I get Rez. Though I can't actually use it offensively, yet, I don't have the appropriate program. Can I copy that from one of you, or is it assumed to be copy-protected?

Anyway, back to what we're discussing. From what I've gatherd from your replies, and the manual... Basically, we assume that everyone can use... let's call them "cosmetic" AR illusions, but for anything with an actual impact on the game, you need to hack someone's mesh? Is that about right? I'd be fine with that.

[Dracorion]

Gem, you still need to edit Spectre's search for asyncs out of your post. Then all evidence of my mistake will have vanished.

[Krylo]

Yeah, tech guys are definitely good. Hence my infosec skill... I had, I think, freerunning instead, initially, but I thought infosec'd be more useful. I hope to expand on it when I get Rez. Though I can't actually use it offensively, yet, I don't have the appropriate program. Can I copy that from one of you, or is it assumed to be copy-protected?Well even if it was copy protected I'd be a pretty shitty hacker if I couldn't remove that, wouldn't I?

However, I'd guess giving you access to Lind's elite self-programmed exploits would probably cause them to degrade faster (more people using them means greater pressure to patch the holes they exploit), but maybe an older back up (that still works, just without the +30) could be wrangled out of Lind for free.

Anyway, back to what we're discussing. From what I've gatherd from your replies, and the manual... Basically, we assume that everyone can use... let's call them "cosmetic" AR illusions, but for anything with an actual impact on the game, you need to hack someone's mesh? Is that about right? I'd be fine with that.

Basically!

This doesn't remove their combat applications, however, despite the fact that combat hacking is basically impossible (1 minute to do it fast as possible, which translates to 20 full rounds of combat).

You've just got to use a bit more planning and be a bit more insidious.

[Geminex]

Gem, you still need to edit Spectre's search for asyncs out of your post. Then all evidence of my mistake will have vanished.
Oh, yeah. Sure, sorry.

Well even if it was copy protected I'd be a pretty shitty hacker if I couldn't remove that, wouldn't I?
I'm not sure, but I think somewhere in the manual I read about that being a task action with a timeframe of 2 months.
Yep, page 248, software.
These restrictions may be defeated, but it is a time-consuming task, requiring a Task Action Programming Test with a timeframe of 2 months.
Talk about DRM...
Though if you've had your software for a while, I guess it'd be reasonable to assume you've freed it of copy-protection.

You've just got to use a bit more planning and be a bit more insidious.
Sounds like fun. You just need to hack into wherever you want to be beforehand...

And hey, would it be at all possible to crash the mesh? Just locally?
...
Not that I intend to, just wondering.

[Krylo]

Well, the mesh is powered by distributed computing so... I guess... maybe if Spectre, Lind, Henric, Tyrfing, and all our muses all got together, started hacking every wall, small object, piece of food, clothing, and person in a habitat, installed back doors in all of them, and were never caught we could, maybe, get into all their back doors and crash them all in a cascading fashion to bring down the mesh?

It'd probably take years and would most likely go down in history as one of the most impressive computer terrorism attacks ever, though.

[krogothwolf]

Well, the mesh is powered by distributed computing so... I guess... maybe if Spectre, Lind, Henric, Tyrfing, and all our muses all got together, started hacking every wall, small object, piece of food, clothing, and person in a habitat, installed back doors in all of them, and were never caught we could, maybe, get into all their back doors and crash them all in a cascading fashion to bring down the mesh?

It'd probably take years and would most likely go down in history as one of the most impressive computer terrorism attacks ever, though.

You would need a distraction to assist in it of course, a more obvious attempt, or even clumsy, or even just a person preforming regular terrorism to draw attention away from your little scheme.

[PhoenixFlame]

On AR: The channel (Or group of channels) you're experiencing are part of a public beautification/psychological comforting project designed to make the cold steel, low light minimal habitat appear livable enough so that people don't go eventually insane, and to allow infomorphs to interact with people in meatspace.

In combat, you generally turn this off. I assume you all have it on because that's what normal people do.

Krylo's plan, while cunning, would sadly fail spectacularly due to unknown outside forces.

As for combat hacking: The best way to do it is to infiltrate the system ahead of time, and then manipulate it during combat. However, the window for use is extremely small, because once someone realises their smartlink has been compromised, they'll simply turn it off. Granted, this prevents them from enjoying the smartlink's benefits, but it does stop you from making them say... Kill all their allies.

[Aerozord]

What is AR is that the chair moved out.

As for how real it seems: Very. AR illusions, like XPs, can affect all your senses, sight, sound, smell, and even touch to an extent

ok Aizen

[Overcast]

I believe that Daniel would be turning off the AR more often than usual, he is the kind of guy who finds beauty in flaws. His favorite word is atmosphere, because regardless of if you are looking at a painfully barren and ugly landscape marred by constant abuse from the destructive nature of the universe if you apply the word atmosphere to it you can find some small tragic beauty in it.

Has it on now though, made it easier to find the room and he figured if there was a presentation going on no one uses projector slideshows anymore.

[krogothwolf]

So does that mean Daniel finds Desmond's face beautiful?

[Dracorion]

That would rely on Desmond bothering to put up an AR image of a gorgeous face over his hideous mug.

[Overcast]

I'll let you know as time goes on, for now it lacks any kind of atmosphere. With all luck he can end up just like that paladin from way back when. Only sans hotness.

[krogothwolf]

That would rely on Desmond bothering to put up an AR image of a gorgeous face over his hideous mug.

He said he was going to have his off, so I'm just assuming he's going to look at my hideous mug! And Desmond doesn't care what other think of his ugliness, he likes it!

So not only is he going have to worry about manipulative Ellen trying to lust after him, but now Daniel enjoy his flawed face!

[Dracorion]

If Ellen decides Desmond is great as a meatshield, she's going to try to secure his loyalty. Pretending to lust after him and his face is going to be a last resort, however.

[Overcast]

Depends on Desmond. Ellen will be chasing after him because her personal Loa is trying to be evil. Daniel on the other hand needs to get some quality to find amusement in. Like Lind's twitchiness. Apologies in advance to Krylo.

[krogothwolf]

I'm not really sure how much Desmond is going to trust Ellen from the start, people who right out say they aren't shallow without any prompting usually are lying about that.

[Dracorion]

Really? I'm pretty sure the common assumption about socialites is that they are, in fact, shallow. Regardless of whether or not they lie about it.

[Geminex]

For that matter, claiming non-shallowness does seem to indicate shallowness, since she obviously cares enough about what her peers think of her to want to appear non-shallow in their eyes.

[Dracorion]

True. But that's all part of the plan. Ellen's got to get on these people's good graces. Insecure young girl is the way to go. I wouldn't be surprised if she times her OCD so she can get caught doing something embarassing somewhere along the line.

EDIT: Besides, Ellen didn't say she wasn't shallow. She just said she wasn't as shallow as other people.

[krogothwolf]

Yeah, but knowing someone is shallow(or assuming) and that person claiming they aren't already indicates to the others that she is more the willing to lie to teammates she just met so yeah, she's going to look bad because of that. There really was no point in drawing attention to it right off the bat.

[Overcast]

These are some rather bold assumptions to start tossing when you've just met someone. If Daniel wasn't already throwing accusations in his head I might say that you are being a little too zealous in trying to find a good reason for your character to be suspicious of Ellen.

[Geminex]

We won't necessarily be using this criticism in-character. Or I won't be, anyway. We've only just met, like you said, there's no reason for our characters to be immediately suspicious of each other. Though Daniel seems to be expecting betrayal from Spectre.

[krogothwolf]

I'm not actually going to be, I'm just pointing out a problem with a character like her's making those kind of statements. It makes no sense for her to mention things like that or lie about it just brings attention to things not really important and would make people more cautious when dealing with her suspicious.

[Overcast]

If you know your background you might try to separate yourself from it. You only have one chance for a first impression, so why not try to stem the stereotyping early?

As I always say, "It is only blank if you want it to be." Only in this case blank is replaced with suspicious.

[Dracorion]

Hey, Ellen was technically telling the truth. Sort of. From a certain point of view.

She's more ambitious, anyway. And come on, she's a socialite. You're telling me your character wouldn't suspect she was shallow even if she hadn't said it? People were going to be suspicious of her regardless. But she's going to be working hard to prove to everyone that she's not shallow.

[Geminex]

Better be a good actor, then. And leave her dignity at the door.

[krogothwolf]

yeah, but calling attention to it is silly, you;re just putting it out there for something to get caught in. You should have just left it, do you really think you're in a group of people who care if you're shallow or not? doubtful, you would have had to prove your not shallow naturally, but now you have to really make sure you prove you're not shallow by drawing attention to it. Desmond doesn't care, he ignored what you said. Knowing you're playing a manipulative character, you have to keep your lies to important things, the less lying about silly things, the less likely to get caught in one is all.

[Dracorion]

Ellen doesn't have a lot of dignity. Really, the only thing she won't do is repeatedly blow rich assholes with disgusting fetishes in order for a little bit of access to one of the already discovered Gates.

Remember, Ellen is trying to get in with your characters. That means looking human and accessible. She's going to pretend to get embarrassed and sad and happy and connect with everyone and shit. That means telling an obvious lie so that when someone calls you on it you can tell a better lie that makes you look more accessible. Like "well, see, it's just... I guess I'm just really insecure about myself". Obviously it'll be better than that, but you get my point.

It's like her "I... wish I had more to offer for that purpose" line. She's trying to look like she's not perfect, which she is. And along the line she's still going to prove herself a valuable member of the team, so there's no real doubt about her usefulness.

Lind, having his own crippling faults, shouldn't have much problem with her. Tyrfing and Henric neither, I think. Dez doesn't care, so her biggest problems should be Daniel and Spectre.

[krogothwolf]

Just warning you about lying to much about little things, or even trying to hard on little things, you don't want to have to watch every little step of the way. No one's going to be suspicious of anything you do off the get go, but if you draw things out to much it might make it harder for them to trust you. Lying to cover a lie can also back fire because then you screw that up you're now lying to cover a lie to cover a lie. It'd be better for Ellen to try not to lie about so many things just to fit in, manipulative or not, you'll end up getting caught eventually if you keep lies complicated. Make em short and sweet and far enough between that no one will notice.

[Dracorion]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. She's just making a couple of little lies now to sweeten up the nicer members of the team.

[Geminex]

Question:
Enhanced senses give you bonuses to perception checks, yes?
Enhanced vision gives you bonuses to perception involving vision, enhanced smell gives you bonuses to perception involving smell, you get the picture.

Well, Spectre has enchanced vision, hearing, and smell.
If a test uses more than 1 sense, would those bonuses stack? Like, say he's trying to detect a camoflogued enemy. He'd be looking for him, primarily, but he could be trying to smell him as well. Or even listening for said enemy's movements and breathing. Would I just get the +20 bonus for one enhanced sense, or would I actually get +40, or even +60?

[Overcast]

I'd say yes if it didn't seem like some kind of metagaming. In the end I am going to take each enhanced sense much like a specialization rather than a proper bonus, and that if you are using your enhanced senses to try to find someone you should be concentrating your efforts or you may end up in a sort of sensory overload as you try to hone all your enhanced senses to their perfect degree.

That is just me though.

[krogothwolf]

Yeah, Desmond won't care as long as you don't try to screw him over, he's used to people being shallow around him so he would just ignore you being shallow like everyone else, doesn't bug him.

I think it's you'd test each sense, maybe. not sure but that's what it seems.

Like you'd test to see the guy, hear the guy, smell the guy. Each one is its own separate roll

[PhoenixFlame]

Question:
Enhanced senses give you bonuses to perception checks, yes?
Enhanced vision gives you bonuses to perception involving vision, enhanced smell gives you bonuses to perception involving smell, you get the picture.

Well, Spectre has enchanced vision, hearing, and smell.
If a test uses more than 1 sense, would those bonuses stack? Like, say he's trying to detect a camoflogued enemy. He'd be looking for him, primarily, but he could be trying to smell him as well. Or even listening for said enemy's movements and breathing. Would I just get the +20 bonus for one enhanced sense, or would I actually get +40, or even +60?

Relevant or highest. I suppose you could make multiple rolls for each sense if you really wanted to, but they don't stack. It's hard to get accurate targetting data by audio or olfactory senses anyway.

However, visual stacks with optics, so your average specs and enhanced vision make you very hawkeyed. This is actually fair since stealth in this game is HILARIOUSLY good.

[Geminex]

Ok, right.

This is actually fair since stealth in this game is HILARIOUSLY good.
*grin*
...
Faaaascinating. How so?

[Krylo]

Daniel on the other hand needs to get some quality to find amusement in. Like Lind's twitchiness. Apologies in advance to Krylo.

S'Cool. Lind is twitchy. He will generally be less so than this, but he's nervous right now and that makes it worse. He'll only get like this when he's in a social situation that makes him uncomfortable or when he's not running any tasks in the background with his extra mental actions.

[Dracorion]

I do believe Spectre 3 just moved to the top of Ellen's manipulate list.

[Overcast]

I swear there is no degree that Daniel does not find him adorable. He believes in his ability to do, but the twitchy nature is just playing to him.

Though his personal Loa(as in to say myself) is not so keen to trying any sort of romantic actions that might complicate things just far too much. It shall be reserved to omake, if there is such a thing.

[krogothwolf]

How often does Ellen's manipulation list change? you seem to move someone new at top everyday.

[Geminex]

Could be worse. She could actually be focusing on someone. Imagine! She might actually be effective!

No, it's much better if she just keeps chasing after a variety of individuals, depending on how powerful and influential they seem at the moment, like a magpie running after glitter.

[Dracorion]

Man, I don't know what you're talking about. Ellen's list has changed all of once.

First Tyrfing was at the top, for the bodyguards, and now Spectre is. Tyrfing was moved down to number two.

And hell, Ellen doesn't have to dedicate herself solely to one person. She's an equal opportunity manipulator, manipulating everyone equally, regardless of gender, faction or skillset!

[PhoenixFlame]

Faaaascinating. How so?

Mainly because of how easy it is to get bonuses to, and the number of penalties you get for firing on a target you've located but can't see. You also really can't take cover if you don't know where they are.

That and the fact that you can sneak up on people and trump their init/shoot them when they can't dodge, and throw in a little nonlethal weapontry (like a stunstick) and you can take people out quite silently.

Edit: For example, the relatively cheap armor chameleon coating gives you +30 to infiltration while moving. If you stand still you are invisible, as in people don't even get to try to see you to begin with. I suppose you still show up on motion sensors and audio amplifiers, provided you move fast enough or make enough noise for them to detect you.

[Geminex]

Oh, that. I actually got the chameleon cloak instead. Same effect, isn't it? I was gonna get invisibility cloak first, but I thought screw it. Not worth 5000 credits. Because all the cloaks/invisibility devices are vulnerable to x-rays and t-rays, and considering how cheap those are, I'll probably be relying on inherent stealth skill more than anything else. Because what else is there that gives you a stealth bonus?

And yeah, the whole sneak-up-on-people-to-kill-them-before-they-can-react thing was really gonna be my plan. Though how silently can I do it? I have cyberclaws with eelware, so I can shock them, but wouldn't that still let them notify their allies to my presence? I was just going to sneak up on them and give them two automatic bursts from my heavy rail pistols. That should be very capable of killing almost any minor guard.
And if not, do I actually have to grapple someone to use a prisoner's mask on them? Because said mask stops Mesh access, right? Meaning that if I manage to put it on someone, they'll be able to call for help?
Of course, I could just ignore guards and get on with my objective, but where's the fun in that?

And I see. So there's a difference between actually being located and actually being seen. That's useful. How likely is muzzle flash to give me away? And does distance negatively modify my enemy's perception checks?

You really need to give me some sort of stealth role in the first mission, I want to test this out.

[Arhra]

The tendency the higher powered ones have of setting the air on fire may be a slight issue. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1q_rRicAwI)

[Geminex]

Not necessarily. That was a far bigger projectile (if that's the video I think it is, I can't acutally watch it). Besides, gunpowder weapons instead project a plume of heated gasses from the muzzle. Not much better.

[Dracorion]

Hey, Ellen totally asked about the mission!

EDIT: Why is everyone suspicious of Ellen? They've known her for like five minutes and all she's done is be nice!

[rapter200]

Damian is suspicious of most everyone who is not an uplifted, it is just that Ellen and possible Spectre strikes him as most suspicious.

[Dracorion]

Sure, but you didn't explain why.

I mean, I get that Daniel and Spectre are paranoid assholes. Where's Tyrfing's naivete, hmm?

[krogothwolf]

Dude, Desmond isn't suspicious of anybody yet. He'll only be so if you do something to screw him over, otherwise he'll not be suspicious of you. He just thinks you're a fop is all.

[Dracorion]

Sorry, when I said "everyone" I meant "most people".

[krogothwolf]

Desmond asked about certain aspects of missions in general. Transportation, Freedom of action, getting weapons into tight situations. Those sort of details. He figures the mission information itself will come later.

Plus I've been debating whether Desmond should seem like a slightly gullible character when it comes to his team mates. He's not going to be suspicious of people he doesn't know(unless they know his enemy then you are in trouble!). I always find it funny when everyone is wary of new team mates right off the bat seems silly.

[PhoenixFlame]

Though how silently can I do it? I have cyberclaws with eelware, so I can shock them, but wouldn't that still let them notify their allies to my presence? I was just going to sneak up on them and give them two automatic bursts from my heavy rail pistols. That should be very capable of killing almost any minor guard.
And if not, do I actually have to grapple someone to use a prisoner's mask on them? Because said mask stops Mesh access, right? Meaning that if I manage to put it on someone, they'll be able to call for help?

And I see. So there's a difference between actually being located and actually being seen. That's useful. How likely is muzzle flash to give me away? And does distance negatively modify my enemy's perception checks?

You really need to give me some sort of stealth role in the first mission, I want to test this out.

Maybe, but it'll be more overhearing a "UAAGHAANEAHGHAKE" than them calling for help.

Sneaking and "Automatic bursts from mach 6 weapons" does not compute. You could try this in vac... MAYBE. Hey, those 'useless' lasers don't make noise and have stun settings, don't they?

Yes, if you knock out their communications by throwing a high tech (space age!) paper bag over their head, they can't communicate. Just be sure they aren't Wolverine first. (I have it on good authority that grappling an angry fury is bad news)

Pretty likely unless you have a suppressor. Distance... Not so much. Anyone with specs or enhanced vision (IE: Anyone who has business carrying a gun) has 75x zoom anyway. Provided they don't see you though, it's -30 to -60 to blind fire a location, if they're not smart enough to just pepper it with seekers. When in doubt, level everything.

HM! Stealth... Well, I was going to let the diplomats and beaker heads have the spotlight for now, but we'll see what happens.

I like Spectre already. He's a direct guy, and I think I can be direct back without hurting the feelings he doesn't have.

[Dracorion]

Ellen and Tyrfing scored questionably on the psych evaluations, but Lind didn't?

[Krylo]

Lind is the sanest motherfucker in that room.

[krogothwolf]

He really does seem that way, aside from his odd little quirk. he's not exactly insane.

[PhoenixFlame]

Ellen and Tyrfing scored questionably on the psych evaluations, but Lind didn't?

Tyrfing's lucidity is low, and Ellen's got a higher psi rating than Lind.

But really you're all pretty batshit, honestly. I've seen Malkavians that talked less than Lind does.

[krogothwolf]

Well if we're all pretty batshit to the start, that means it can only get worse as it moves along eh. This'll be fun

[Dracorion]

Does Johanna already know that Ellen and Lind are asyncs and she's just keeping it a secret?

Then again, I doubt she'd be drawing attention to Ellen if that was the case.

[PhoenixFlame]

Does Johanna already know that Ellen and Lind are asyncs and she's just keeping it a secret?

Then again, I doubt she'd be drawing attention to Ellen if that was the case.

Yes. You've all been interrogated already.

Edit: You don't know that, though.

[Dracorion]

... Firewall is the most badass organization ever.

[Overcast]

Included in post is Daniel's excuse for not being batshit crazy, he is good at resisting the terrible urges(or lack thereof) of manic depression. Not to beat a dead horse but ya...willpower.

[PhoenixFlame]

... Firewall is the most badass organization ever.

We have your backup, don't we? I mean, you never cared about that fork anyway.

[Dracorion]

It's a shame Ellen was too worried about making an entrance. If she had arrived early to the meeting, she'd know more about the rest of the team and then I could do a post about each of their usefulness.

I've been dying to do that post.

[Geminex]

I find Johanna's respone to Spectre's question a bit strange. I was under the impression that this was the first time we learned anything about firewall, the first time we've had any significant contact with them. Isn't it? If so, how do they have Ellen's backup? If not, what do we already know, what are we going to learn in later briefings?

Edit:
Oh and:
And when she did, she had to make sure to plant an idea into a disgruntled employee to kill the person she had taken information from and to destroy their cortical stacks.

Either Drac is massively overestimating Ellen's abilities or Psi is fucking over-powered.

[Dracorion]

I find Johanna's respone to Spectre's question a bit strange. I was under the impression that this was the first time we learned anything about firewall, the first time we've had any significant contact with them. Isn't it? If so, how do they have Ellen's backup? If not, what do we already know, what are we going to learn in later briefings?

Like you said, this is the first time we've had significant contact. Doesn't mean there couldn't have been an interview beforehand. They probably have Ellen's backup because they're badass like that, because she's an async, and so they could conduct a more intensive interrogation, not to mention scan her brain, without her remembering.

Either Drac is massively overestimating Ellen's abilities or Psi is fucking over-powered.

Don't you start bitching, Mister "stealth-is-hilariously-good".

It's entirely possible I'm overestimating Ellen's abilities, but I don't think so. See, here's Subliminal's description:

The Subliminal sleight allows the async to influence the train of thought of another person by implementing a single post-hypnotic suggestion into the mind of the target. If the async wins the Opposed Test, the recipient will carry out this suggestion as if it was their own idea. Implanted suggestions must be short and simple; as a rule of thumb, the gamemaster may only suggestions encompassed by a short sentence (for example: “open the airlock,” or “hand over the weapon”). At the gamemaster’s discretion, the target may receive a bonus for resisting suggestions that are immediately life threatening (“jump off the bridge”) or that violate their motivations or personal strictures. Suggestions do not need to be carried out immediately, they may be implanted with a short trigger condition (“when the alarm goes off, ignore it”)

Hence why: disgruntled employee. Probably severely disgruntled. Not to mention, she has to win the roll first.

[Krylo]

If so, how do they have Ellen's backup

PROBABLY because they found out who had all of our backups, electronically raided them, copied them, and then performed invasive psychosurgery interrogation on them to vet us.

[Overcast]

I'd like to see if all that willpower was a reasonable investment just by seeing how long it took them to get anything out of Daniel's backup. Because really...that is his main stat.

[Geminex]

Ok, fair enough on the psi. But still, I think they'd get one hell of a bonus to resist committing murder. And "kill x and destroy their cortical stack" doesn't seem so complex until you realize that, to do it successfully, you need quite a bit of planning. I mean, sure, maybe flat-out, walk-into-the-next-cubicle-with-a-letter-opener (I'm pretending that "cubicles" still exist, as well as letters) murder might be sufficiently simple to be covered by the command, but successfully killing somebody, that requires planning, unless you're in their immediate vicinity and are holding a heavy weapon. Trust me, I know.

My point is, that murder is too complex to be implanted through subliminal sleight.

Edit:
Wow, Firewall are assholes.

[Aerozord]

wanted to say I'm still following everything, Just Henric is currently sitting quietly and listening

[Dracorion]

I was thinking more like "take this gun, go through the door and shoot the guy in the head", quickly followed by "destroy his cortical stack".

[Geminex]

Fair enough. Still, destroying a cortical stack takes a bit of effort.
And besides, if said murderer fails, or even if he's successful, you'd look suspicious to say the least.

[Aerozord]

I was thinking more like "take this gun, go through the door and shoot the guy in the head", quickly followed by "destroy his cortical stack".

NO are you mad, I can hack that thing.

[Dracorion]

Fair enough. Still, destroying a cortical stack takes a bit of effort.
And besides, if said murderer fails, or even if he's successful, you'd look suspicious to say the least.

Why should she? The murderer would think it was all his idea. Ellen can hang back and pretend to be horrified if they fail. Or hell, just bolt.

[Geminex]

Why should she? The murderer would think it was all his idea. Ellen can hang back and pretend to be horrified if they fail. Or hell, just bolt.

Well, firstly, if you thought-browse someone, they know they've just been thought-browsed. And they're probably going to mention that to people around them. So really, if you want to thought-browse them without you async-ness getting out, you'll have to kill them quickly. Now, they're already going to be all like "Ellen invaded my mind!". If you fail, they're also going to be all "Ellen invaded my mind and Bob tried to kill me!". And since subliminal is a touch technique, right before Bob tries to kill your previous victim, you are going to have rested your hand on him for a while. And they will know about this, because of more-or-less constant surveillance. So, if you fail, they'll know that you managed to mind-read someone, and they're going to deduce that you also had something to do with Bob trying to kill said individual. And if you succeed, they'll still know "Ellen rested her hand on bob's shoulder, and then he decided to kill X".

I don't know, but I just don't think it's safe.

[Dracorion]

Deep Scan. The sleight is Deep Scan.

And the guys that Ellen used it on were people who liked their privacy, and she couldn't get what she wanted any other method.

I figure what would happen is: the guy goes "holy shit! what the hell did this bitch just do to me? HEY GUYS ON THE MESH THIS BITCH JU- *shot in the head by disgruntled employee*". What surveillance would see is Ellen casually brushing against the employee who then decides to murder his boss. Then Ellen going "oh dear, was that a gunshot?" and rushing back in the room to check things out.

Now, the employees that Ellen used Subliminal on suceeded, because fuck you my backstory. Even if they didn't, there's no surveillance around so she can finish the job herself and pin it on the guy.

[PhoenixFlame]

I find Johanna's respone to Spectre's question a bit strange. I was under the impression that this was the first time we learned anything about firewall, the first time we've had any significant contact with them. Isn't it? If so, how do they have-

It was intended to be a bit strange.

This is what you're supposed to be thinking.

Edit, Gem: Wow, Firewall are assholes.

Not anymore than the enemy. The Hypercorps and most 'civilized' stations require you to submit your ego for interrogation before letting you EVEN BOARD some habitats. Or did you not read that part?

[Geminex]

Ooooh, riiight. This is a "DM is a sneaky bastard" kind of game. You should've warned us, I'd have been less polite in the previous pages.

Just so we're both on the same page, though, what I think is strange is the following:
Spectre's question was mostly ignorable, seeing as it would either get resolved in the briefing, or was evidence that he wasn't paying attention.
That is what I'm supposed to be finding strange, yes?

Because I understand the bit about the psychological evaluations, I would've thought that hacking backup-storage facilities would be harder, but Firewall has a lot of resources, they can use them however they want. Though, as far as resource allocation goes, I don't think it's very efficient, but that's just me. I just thought it strange that she'd expect him to know some of the general information he asked for already.

Edit:
Not anymore than the enemy. The Hypercorps and most 'civilized' stations require you to submit your ego for interrogation before letting you EVEN BOARD some habitats. Or did you not read that part?
Yes, but there you generally don't get interrogated without knowing that your ego is gonna get interrogated. Like, you can stop ego-interrogation from happening by just not attempting to enter said habitat. Whereas you have no control whatsoever over getting interrogated by firewall. Though at leas they're going to tell us about it.

[krogothwolf]

Well, the flaw with your line of thought is Subliminal seems to have a greater chance of being resisted if it violates their motive or personal strictures. So there's a chance she'd fail before the guy could get off the warning. It seems that there is very little room for error in getting the outcome you desire. Plus how did disgruntled employee have a weapon so quickly?

[Dracorion]

Hence why: disgruntled employee. Wants-to-kill-his-boss type. No resistances, see? There's bound to be one. As for how they get a weapon: Ellen conspicuously gives them one as she uses the sleight.

This is all stuff that Ellen's already done, and it went perfectly. This way, she has no idea that her sleights can even fail. Except for Subliminal, she's used that one often enough to know that people can resist it when she tries to make them do something completely against their character.

[PhoenixFlame]

Ooooh, riiight. This is a "DM is a sneaky bastard" kind of game. You should've warned us, I'd have been less polite in the previous pages.

Awh, don't be cute. "Conspiracy and Horror" should have been enough to warn off all the people who wanted to play cutesy games. This is the post apocalyptic future with cthulthu as the enemy, you didn't expect it to be fair, did you?

What you found unusual was Johanna's opinion that Spectre asking "What do we do" right after being told what the organization does is evidence of not paying attention.

She did say she wouldn't repeat herself, after all.

A more OOC, and polite response might have been "You do whatever you have to do."

[Geminex]

But I like being cute! It gives people a false sense of security which I can then exploit.

Though he didn't just ask "what do we do".
He asked:
- What degree of effort will they need to contribute to Firewall("What is required of us?"). Ideally, a response to this would have told him that he'd be expected to be completely loyal to Firewall, maintain absolute confidentiality regarding Firewall and be prepared to risk his morph and current ego on a regular basis. I know this, but there wasn't any reason Spectre would. From what he's seen of Firewall so far, they could just be an overzealous association of neighborhood watchmen.
- The type of tasks they'd receive from Firewall. (What range of missions will we be employed in?). Ideally, an answer to this question would've been something along the lines of "anything from industrial sabotage to expeditions into TITAN-infested areas". I don't even know what kind of stuff you're going to give us, I didn't read past page 354. Spectre also doesn't know what kind of missions he'd be getting from Firewall and with him being something of a professsional mercenary at the moment (albeit a sneakily murderous mercenary), he'd appreciate some degree of information before he actually accepts employment.
- What tools will they get to complete said missions? Once again, I know that Firewall is very powerful, with a lot of resources. Spectre? He has no idea. He knows nothing about Firewall, these questions are really designed to give him an understanding of the people he'd be working for. And, of course, this is again professionalism. Before he accepts a mission to protect humanity, he wants to know what backup he's going to have, who's going to help him out when things to wrong, who's going to reupload his backup if he dies on a mission, who'd be providing the morph.

And Johanna hadn't really given us any of this information yet, had she? She'd very broadly outlined our general mission, but how should Spectre have known any of this?
Unless I missed some post you made , he had none of this information. I know some of it, he just didn't. And it's completely in-character for him to ask.

[krogothwolf]

Gem, no commander is ever really going to answer those truthfully, the most you'd get is "We do the jobs assigned to us." Do you really expect a liason/handler/proxy/cpmmander to answer those questions considering the range of stuff we might be required to do and the range of equipment we might need? No bloody likely.

[Geminex]

"Not bloody likely"?
How so?
I mean, sure, Johanna probably won't be answering them.
But are you saying that it's unreasonable for Spectre to ask them?

Because see, if I look at the situation:
We have a variety of individuals who are being employed by an agency that claims its purpose is fighting threats to humanity. They give very little other information
Now, there are those who just go along with this, without demanding any more info other than what they're supposed to do. And there are those who decide that before they go a step further, they're going to demand more information, because why the hell should they trust this organization, they know absolutely nothing about them!

Now ignore the fact that this is an RP, and that we can trust our GM not to screw us over. (Probably... right?).
Just see it from an in-character perspective. Which of the above groups seems more... believable? The one who trusts blindly or the one who asks the questions?


I'm not saying that OMG I WANT ANSWERS NOOOOOW, god no.
I'm saying that
a) The reason Johanna didn't answer these questions (That Spectre had not been paying attention) doesn't seem valid, since they haven't been given answers to any of Spectre's questions yet.
and
b) The way I see it, it's actually good roleplaying for a character to have asked these questions, since it makes no sense for them to blindly trust an organization just because it claims it's working for the good of mankind. The very least our characters should be doing is asking for this kind of information.

And honestly, I think that, in-character it's also reasonable for Spectre to expect an answer here. He's not asking for the darkest secrets of their organization. He's asking for some basic, general information, to decide whether or not he actually wants to be working here, and to prepare himself for operations with this organization. Is that some sort of mistake only amateurs make? Did I miss some section in the manual where it says that everyone is a gullible idiot who'll accept employment in a shady organization, put his life in their hands, without any way to guarantee that they won't screw him over utterly?

I mean, conspiracy and horror, sure, but "no commander will ever give you any information, ever, you are at their mercy, deal with it", that is not, I think, the mindset you're supposed to be playing this with. You have some degree of freedom, some degree of power over yourself.

Edit: Mind you, I'm not saying that answers to these questions will be enough for anyone to reasonably trust Firewall. But it'll be a start, at the very least.

[Overcast]

As a merc I figure Spectre should know by now that no matter what you are doing if you are working for a paramilitary group you will be risking morph and ego to get what they need done. If he wants to maintain any reputation for himself or to the organization he plans to work with he should be loyal. Confidentiality should be considered, particularly for his own safety and to build rep, but even if it isn't there are sure to be people who will maintain it.

Missions and tools are a need-to-know thing. You are barely an employee, and if he has the background you are painting he is difficult to trust. Compare to someone like Daniel who has extensive XP evidence of him following through on any mission he has been assigned. What tasks are they getting? Protect Transhumanity, that is the mission statement. That is all you need to know until you are given your specific briefing. What tools will you get? Depends on what you are doing, so wait for your mission briefing.

Spectre not responding well to this is fine. I figure he is just another denizen on this place and only contributes to what fits his interests, Daniel isn't so different. Daniel is former Navy though, so he might be a bit more used to this kind of treatment, both in figuring what is expected of him and being kept out of the loop and simply be asked to do and hope it is contributing to something greater.

I'm hoping PF is absolutely evil to us though. Why else would I take bad luck?

[Geminex]

Missions and tools are a need-to-know thing. You are barely an employee, and if he has the background you are painting he is difficult to trust.

Well, they've already revealed their existence. They might as well give him a bit of other information.
Because hey, no matter what, he's not going to be in a position to broadcast this information.

Either he accepts their offer of employment, in which case it really wouldn't be in his interest to break firewall confidentiality.
Or he doesn't accept their offer of employment, in which case they're going to have to take measures to ensure that what he knows (existence of firewall), newest members doesn't get out. And if they're going to take said measures anway, they might as well also ensure that the details he's asked for don't get out as well. I'm thinking that, if he doesn't accept, they'll either just kill his morph, destroy his cortical stack, or edit his memories. And if they're going to do that anyway, where's the harm in giving him some more information in the hopes of securing his trust?

And like I said, he's not asking for details.
He's not saying "What is the inventory of your arsenal, PRECISELY?". He'd just like to know, say, that they'll be making backups for him, they can provide effective morphs should his current morph be destroyed in their service, that they can provide credits and weapons.
He's not asking to know what the last mission that Johanna co-ordinated was like. He's just asking what kind of stuff he could be expecting to do.

That's the sort of general information he's asking for. Is that too much to ask, do you think?

[Overcast]

The information he is asking for is likely going to come in the form of the mission brief or were already given. They will be offering backup insurance, they know the kind of morphs we like and are ready to pander to that particular interest, they are giving Rep for your services which means you can use their resources. The question of how deep their resources go should be notable by how much information they can dig up around our characters, but that is a wild assumption so I won't figure Spectre to take that into account.

In the end, no it isn't too much to ask for. But it is ultimately irrelevant.

[Geminex]

Well, are you saying they'll start briefing our characters before they've accepted employment? Because Spectre is still in the "Should I work for these guys?" phase. I mean, sure, they'll get more information during the briefing, but before they can be briefed, they have to become part of firewall. And before Spectre is given more information, he'll be very reluctant to become part of firewall.

So no, I wouldn't consider it that irrelevant.

Edit:
But we've spent too much time discussing this, let's leave it at that, I'll see how PF responds.

[Krylo]

He's just asking what kind of stuff he could be expecting to do.


"Pay attention, because I'm not going to say this twice. We're Firewall. We are a multi-national, multi-factional conspiratorial paramilitary group self-tasked with the location, determination and neutralization of existential threats to mankind as a whole. I'd ask if anyone here knew what an existential threat was, but if you didnt, you've probably already looked it up. Nukes, Nanoplagues, Worms, TITANs, Factors, ETs and Unknowns are all out there ready to wipe our little pathetic asses right out of the stars."

Spectre's 'what, roughly, are we expected to do?' has been answered.

We are going to be locating threats to the existence of mankind, which include, but are not limited to, Nukes, Nanoplagues, Worms, TITANs, Factors, ETs, and Unknowns.

That's your job.

You find them, you figure out if they're a threat, if they are you neutralize the threat.

Past that everything is, obviously, fluid and dependent on mission briefings.

As these are threats to mankind, the answer on how far you are expected to go is ALSO obvious. As far as it takes.

[Geminex]

Unless Spectre is borderline retarded, his 'what, roughly, are we expected to do?' has been answered.

We are going to be locating threats to the existence of mankind, which include, but are not limited to, Nukes, Nanoplagues, Worms, TITANs, Factors, ETs, and Unknowns.

That's your job.

You find them, you figure out if they're a threat, if they are you neutralize the threat.

Past that everything is, obviously, fluid and dependent on mission briefings.

As these are threats to mankind, the answer on how far you are expected to go is ALSO obvious. As far as it takes.

I had understood that much, actually. But see, you mention mission briefings. I had assumed that these briefings would exist and that, regardless of our self-taskedness, there would be some sort of control that our proxie (and, through her, PF) exerts upon us.

And I don't think that our choice in mission would be entirely situational. "Whatever it takes" is nice, but when there's more than one way to complete a mission, which I'm sure there will be, and it seems like they all could be equally effective, which I'm sure it will seem, there has to be some sort of preference that Firewall has.

But like I said, we've discussed this too much. Let's leave it? I don't think Spectre's questions were stupid, or that he could be expected to know what he asked for, but ok. I'm willing to drop this. Can we?

[Krylo]

I had assumed that these briefings existThey do.

We haven't had one yet.

You seem to be dissatisfied with not knowing everything that will be required of you in every mission before your briefing.

"Whatever it takes" is nice, but when there's more than one way to complete a mission, which I'm sure there will be, and it seems like they all could be equally effective, which I'm sure it will seem, there has to be some sort of preference that Firewall has. Which will likely change dependent upon the mission--and therefore be contained within our briefings. IF they have a preference.

I'm willing to drop this. Can we? If you promise to stop being so damned confrontational in the discussion thread toward everyone.

[Geminex]

You seem to be dissatisfied with not knowing everything that will be required of you in every mission before your briefing.
No! Of course not! This isn't about demanding the information. Just about establishing that his decision to ask these questions shouldn't reflect badly upon Spectre, since
a) he hadn't yet been given this information
and
b) it would make sense for a mercenary to ask for such details before beginning employment.

I don't demand this info. I'm just defending my character here.

And at this point I would normally argue that I'm not being confrontational, but that would be counter-productive, wouldn't it?
I will say that my interactions with Drac are usually pure confrontationalism that actually never amounts to anything because neither takes the other seriously.

As for interacting with the rest of our players, I'll try to be more self-aware of how I'm acting. Becasue I don't actually mean to be confontational...

Edit:
Hoping that's behind us (and hoping I didn't offend anyone, honest apologies if I did), question regarding "Stressfull experiences": It says that "Extreme violence: Committing" typically incurs 1d10 SV. Which seems fair. Question is, what is "extreme", in this case? Visceral murder? Massacring several individuals at once? Shooting someone in the head at point-blank range in cold blood?

[Dracorion]

I don't even know what kind of stuff you're going to give us, I didn't read past page 354.

Aha! He read the spoilers! He can't be trusted!

BURN HIM! BURN THE WITCH!

By the way, I'm assuming Ellen found some minimal info on Firewall beforehand. Mainly because I don't want to edit my post. Someone from the Hypercorps has to know about Firewall, so she called in a major favor for some information. She probably only got as much as "they're everywhere, and they've got resources like you would not believe", or less.

If Firewall really interrogated her from a backup, she's going to be in trouble. They probably know she only cares about transhumanity insofar as they cater to her every whim. So that'll hinder her climbing higher up the ranks. Not to mention her asyncness, which she doesn't even know about.

Maybe she can get a better offer from Project Ozma or something.

[PhoenixFlame]

Posted by Nyx, in her own thoughts:
"Spectre's question was mostly ignorable, seeing as it would either get resolved in the briefing-"

You haven't been briefed yet. Demands that you be briefed before you are briefed indicate a high degree of zealousness. Krylo basically answered everything already.

By Gem:
"Now ignore the fact that this is an RP, and that we can trust our GM not to screw us over. (Probably... right?)."

I'll have you know I specifically altered the tools at my disposal(TM) to make the game... Shall we say... Winnable? Suffice it to say, if you ever manage to get to earth (Unlikely, the way RPs tend to die), you might get the chance to actually... Well, win. Insofar as you can do that.

Claims that I am out there to screw you over only serve to irritate me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Extreme violence is just what it says on the tin. Blowing someone into meaty chunks would count, as would mowing down a bunch of people with automatic fire at a close enough range to see the effects. Engaging civilians because you have to (Yes, this may come up, not at first, at least.) might also count.

There's a very good reason for the psychological evaluations. People who panic or go berserk are liabile to endanger not only their team, but the mission as a whole.

[Geminex]

Claims that I am out there to screw you over only serve to irritate me.
That's just what you want us to think. But I'm onto you!

As for the rest, fair enough. I was really only defending Spectre; if I really, REALLY wanted info I'd read the spoilers. Which I didn't. And if anyone call me witch again I'll turn them into a newt! With my not-a-witch powers.


And regarding extreme violence, cool. So I should be fine with assassinating people?

[PhoenixFlame]

Provided it's not extreme, I guess?

I mean, you can rack up SVs from a lot of things, but I guess casual, businesslike murder shouldn't be one of them. Especially if people shoot at you first!

[Dracorion]

Yep, Nyx has just made her way into Ellen's kill list. Congrats, Nyx.

By the way, I think I've decided that Butler's voice is Morgan Freeman. Because everything is better with Morgan Freeman.

[PhoenixFlame]

It is a bit hard to do, seeing as you're all the least likely people to be picked for this sort of thing, but I have run with the plays I'm given.

At no point did I encourage anyone to make selfish, people-hating sociopaths.

[Dracorion]

Where's the fun in playing normal people?

Besides, the game practically encourages you to play crazies and psychopaths, considering Psi and the fact that you get extra CP for negative traits. Sure, you could take a trait that doesn't make you crazy, but that's no fun either.

[PhoenixFlame]

Besides, the game practically encourages you to play crazies and psychopaths, considering Psi and the fact that you get extra CP for negative traits.

No, no NO! >_<

A serious mental disorder, which means you have taken traumatic stress is 10 points out of a THOUSAND. Hardly significant by any system's standards. Psi involves serious mental disorders, a backdoor in your head for the primary enemies in the game, requires you have a meat puppet, and costs a significant amount of your resources to even be competent at, seeing as sleights alone are useless without high levels in exclusive skills they run on.

This is what happens when you try to powergame a system you're unfamiliar with.

[Overcast]

Jeeze, if Daniel could see how much of a drama queen Ellen was he'd beat her back down to mars. Okay maybe not, but he definitely wouldn't be working with her.

But seeing as he isn't really good at researching the local situation, nor investigating the scenery for hints, he is going to start browbeating the locals.

[Dracorion]

No, no NO! >_<

A serious mental disorder, which means you have taken traumatic stress is 10 points out of a THOUSAND. Hardly significant by any system's standards. Psi involves serious mental disorders, a backdoor in your head for the primary enemies in the game, requires you have a meat puppet, and costs a significant amount of your resources to even be competent at, seeing as sleights alone are useless without high levels in exclusive skills they run on.

This is what happens when you try to powergame a system you're unfamiliar with.

Okay, okay, calm down. I am clearly an idiot.

[PhoenixFlame]

By the way...

You're all rather capable people. About several magnitudes more capable than you know, considering Ellen's considering murder over something as trivial as being asked to look up something in an encyclopedia. (Granted, she is a psychopath.)

Some of you already have some leads; They are as follows. I did some secret rolling and took into account your backgrounds and skills.

Tyrfing; a native Fenrian and an infomorph at that: Station mesh use has spiked 5% in the last week, even after accounting the local 'visitors'. That's unprecendented, and probably not something coordinated by multiple people. It's not enough to effect transmission speed at any noticable level... Yet. You're sort of exceptional at feeling these things, though.

Lind; The scum barge that dropped off with you earlier is home to at least as many people as the station, and they'll be staying for at least a few weeks, if not longer. You've got a lot of familiar faces who could help with locating basically anything suspicious, both on and off the barge. Since the market has arrived, it might coincide with the 'event' you're looking for. Better check those transactions.

Ellen; Once she calms down, might be interested to note there've been three news stories on disappearances in the last two weeks, on the station. That's extremely high, even for out-system habitats like these. More disturbing, the victims were all biomorphs. One story was never published, though you know the person who wrote it, he simply neglected to distribute it. Says he's afraid he might be next, but he's always been paranoid.

Daniel; One of your immortal friends is out here working on extreme morph conversion. It's pretty bleeding edge stuff, but he doesn't touch the mental augmentations because they're very difficult and tend to fail catastrophically due to how the human brain tends to react to implants. Mentioned to you awhile back that somebody was quite adamant in inquiring about those, and he had to blacklist him to finally get him to stop. Heh, amateurs.

Henric; One of your associate's nanofabricators went missing recently. Probably nothing major, but worth looking into. He wrote it off as a lab accident and has since ordered another one, unwilling to persue the issue for fear of endangering himself or worse, losing research time.

Anyone else; Nothing major right now, or so it seems.

[Aerozord]

should we just leave the meeting now and explore these things or mention them to the group first?

[PhoenixFlame]

That's up to you, but I'd probably pool your collective knowledge first.

[krogothwolf]

Whelp that bites! I was hoping to be a bit more useful the not knowing anything.

[Krylo]

You know the art of the sword, Desmond.

[krogothwolf]

You know the art of the sword, Desmond.

Yeah, but that won't help with finding information...well maybe interrogating people it might help with, but actually finding the information first.

[Krylo]

You must take your sword and cut through to the the truth.

[Overcast]

Come along with Daniel, they can flex their individual muscles together and by extension increase their overall intimidation.

[krogothwolf]

You must take your sword and cut through to the the truth.

Man, Desmond's going to need to get some Zen Mastery skills then.

Yeah, he could probably assist with Daniel, help break some bones and teeth and such.

[Dracorion]

Aerozord, PF said it was your friend's nanofabber that dissappeared, not your friend himself.

[Aerozord]

my bad I'll edit, and thanks for letting me know, otherwise this would make no sense

[Dracorion]

Gah. Where the hell do you get this stuff?

Could you explain how Henric knows that Ellen has a superiority complex? Or is he just being a jerk because she's a socialite?

[krogothwolf]

Ellen has a superiority Complex?I always thought she was just a stuck up bitch :p

Awww :( Desmond is unloved!

[Dracorion]

Sure, but your character shouldn't know that.

I mean, I guess they could assume she's lying about being nice because she's a socialite. But the last person I'd expect to pick up on that is the guy who was oggling the naked girl neo, decided to strike up a conversation with her like a goddamn pimp and thought there was nothing wrong with that.

[krogothwolf]

Yeah, well, least he's not being mean to poor little Desmond! Thinking there is a better meat shield, man I am so not going to be using Henric's body to shield you now!

[Dracorion]

Well, she has to think that. The alternative is to accept that the best meatshield is butt-ugly.

[krogothwolf]

Well, she has to think that. The alternative is to accept that the best meatshield is butt-ugly.

Hey, the ugly may just mean he's taken a few licks and kept on going! Honestly, damn shallow socialites and they're judging people on whether their face looks like an ass or not.

[Arhra]

Sure, but you didn't explain why.

I mean, I get that Daniel and Spectre are paranoid assholes. Where's Tyrfing's naivete, hmm?

Just realised I never did explain this.

Despite naivete, Tyrfing does have a gigantic computer-brain and the equivalent of a PhD in psychotherapy and psychosurgery, plus substantial background knowledge on psychology and sociology. So she's good at behavioural analysis, and is good enough at digging to get past the whitewashing a PR agent could have done for information about Ellen on the mesh.

It's kinda a character point that she tries to overcome any potential deficiencies in face to face interaction by researching the crap out of everything.

The naivete is the fact she just went "Hmmm, there's some discrepancies here between her record and how she's acting right now and I don't have enough information to know why" instead of jumping to any conclusions.

Next, I hope I covered everything in that little summary of what we know.

Also, you can blame Tony Stark and his nifty as hell 3D holographic design software for the AR whiteboard notepads.

Pictochat of the fuuuuutuuuure!

[Overcast]

OH NOES Daniel has been caught! Nah but I think the suspicious stares from Tyr were a nice addition, I'm halfway sure that unless it aligned with some of the already released information(and it may, doing a check on that now) he would have kept it to himself. Now though he has to be open about it if only to be polite.

[Aerozord]

hey I was just thinking, do nanofabbers have their own power source, or do they still have to tap into a grid

[Overcast]

Daniel is so going to punch Spectre in the snout for that one. Nah, but for the most part the most armed looking fellow is Desmond, Daniel just looks armored. Though either way he is just a remade, not entirely noticeable compared to some of the massive quantities of people creeping off the barge. Like Jackie, that lovely slice of woman. Might bring it up in post but might also just have Daniel blow the effort off and look to his own personal searches.

Though he definitely has as little faith in Spectre's leadership as he has in Daniel's.

Also I got this feeling a new discussion thread might be necessary...

[krogothwolf]

None of us are even close to being heavily armed right now. I do really enjoy Lind's drawing of Desmond though.

[Arhra]

OH NOES Daniel has been caught! Nah but I think the suspicious stares from Tyr were a nice addition, I'm halfway sure that unless it aligned with some of the already released information(and it may, doing a check on that now) he would have kept it to himself. Now though he has to be open about it if only to be polite.
I guess the lesson is do not come between Tyrfing and information.

hey I was just thinking, do nanofabbers have their own power source, or do they still have to tap into a grid?
My understanding is they're grid powered. Nanofabrication requires an abhorrent ammount of energy.

And somewhere to dump all that waste heat too!

Even if you were to run one on battery power, it'd still be detectable except maybe if you took a lot of care and ran it a lot slower than normal.

Oh yeah, does anyone outside of Tyrfing actually have any knowledge of implants?

[Overcast]

I actually looked over that before I had Daniel speak. No, no one else knows anything about implants. There are others with medical knowledge, but not in that particular field.

[Geminex]

I think Spectre's poor social skills are going to be characterized through said over-eloquence. And Spectre doesn't actually want to lead. He's just making recommendations.

And what's going to happen next? Do we just keep discussing until we've agreed on a course of action, and then follow through with that? Or will PF (through Nyx) take some kind of action to prevent us from stagnating?

[krogothwolf]

I'm not sure Copy and Sharing is actually going to work that way with the TacNet software. Unless PF allows TacNet software to be able to have that happen it was explaining that it's difficult to copy and share the software itself and it requires time to do so with protected software.

How does the TacNet Software work? Does each Participant need the software then then link together? as that's what it seems to me but I could be wrong.

[Dracorion]

Well, it was nice knowing you Daniel.

[Krylo]

I was also going to mention that, ironically, our face person (Ellen) is actually the least safe person to be having meeting people face to face currently, but Lind wouldn't have known this as he's not doing background checks on everyone like a lot of people.

Henric/Tyrfing--Apparently been living on Fenris Hab for awhile now. No one is going to think much of them tooling about.

Spectre--Been here about a month, probably arrived in some low key manner, if he was being watched they've probably slacked by now.

Lind--Arrived with 5000 other people. It'd be basically impossible for anyone to try to track and watch all of them.

Desmond/Daniel/Damian (From here on referred to as the triple D's)--Arrived recently and alone, which is kind of suspicious because I doubt Fenris Hab gets three new people on seperate ships often. However, they all at least arrived low key, and though they've got some rep each, none of them are really 'high profile'.

Ellen--High profile inner system socialite arriving at an outer station dirt ball hub on a privately chartered ship. Chances are she's got eyes on her.

[Dracorion]

Hence the invisible bodyguard.

[Overcast]

Daniel's decision isn't really meant to be smart, nor sound. Though I'm hoping it'll give me a good idea of exactly how prepared for survival in this place I've made him. Also if he ends up coming back with someone in tow it'll prove his point about being unreasonably hard to get rid of. If not he'll capture the whole thing on XP and send it back...he should really get his farcaster entangled back at the base if it is at all possible to facilitate that. If there is somewhere to do that in there I might get that edited in.

[Geminex]

I'm not sure Copy and Sharing is actually going to work that way with the TacNet software. Unless PF allows TacNet software to be able to have that happen it was explaining that it's difficult to copy and share the software itself and it requires time to do so with protected software.
Considering that this is the version he got from his Mercurial backers, back when he was still working for the, I just assumed that copy protection had been broken already.

As for the rest, fine. Everybody, do what you want. Pirates are free. YOU ARE PIRATES.
...
Shall we start the actual mission? Everyone announce their intentions and leave/set up operations?

[Dracorion]

You know, I would hate it if this died before we could get into a proper fight.

Seriously, I'll have Ellen kick Spectre in the balls if that's what it takes.

[Overcast]

Be calm now, we're all just waiting for PF to get back. It has been a while since she has done anything around the forum and while we can get pretty far by ourselves we do need direction else we end up waxing idiotic the whole way through. Just chill, saving something terrible this should pick up once she returns.

[Aerozord]

plus doubt she'd be looking forward to 5 pages of posts

[Krylo]

Guys, PF sends her deepest and most heart felt apologies for the delay. Her family decided to haul her off on an unscheduled vacation to a very interesting place given current world events.

She has access to neither her books nor any real privacy to make posts for us at this time.

She'll be back, PROBABLY on Sunday, so be expecting a post sometime early next week.

Keep yourselves busy/interested in the meantime. Read through the fluff again, make some characters just for fun.

Because if you guys let this die while she has been hauled off I will personally murder all of you.

[Overcast]

Like I haven't been doing that already. Revamped Daniel the persuader but changed him into Div the philosophical master of disguise. Made a(incredibly inefficient) character who uses three synths, skinlink, three particle beam rifles and a swarmanoid to participate in beam spam on his opponents. And for amusement I even game them all modular design so when all else fails they can mighty morph their asses into one terribly large superbot. All while personally roleplaying random actions and backstories for each with only myself and my infinite imagination to spur me on.

I'm more amped about continuing on this thing than I have been about any RP for a long while.

[Geminex]

And speaking of continuing the RP, since when is it my turn to post? I had completely missed that. You people need to tell me about these things. Or alternately, I have to check the RP board as well as the RP-discussion board, but that'd take actual effort, so fuck that.

Anyway, posting.

[PhoenixFlame]

Hey, sorry about my delay... Agh, you know how it goes, you're in bed and you wake up, and your mom comes in and goes "Hey Ashley, we're going on a trip to the gulf!" :D

And you groggily slap your head agaisnt your hand and, recalling the gulf is a freaking mess, go "Right, have fun." and then freeze in TERROR as she responds "What do you mean, you're coming with us! :D" wearing a rape face.

Right.

Riiight. Because vacation to the gulf is so cheap right now when everyone else is cancelling their reservations on account of the largest natural catastrophe in the history of... Well, gulftastrophes. Whatever.

Anyway, I'm back, and I'm going to clench my teeth together and read everything again.

EDIT: I don't think I have enough LSD to keep this all straight. Someone, a list of what everyone's trying to do, please?

[Overcast]

Since the last post...

Situational questions included whether or not Spectre could just start handing out his tactical software. Also for me if there was a communication area that Daniel could entangle his farcaster.

Nobody seems confident in anybody being the leader of the outfit when they aren't in proxy control. We discussed the law background to public nanfabber use, the possibility of making a sting for whoever might be trying to buy mental implants, the asking about of the scumborn, Daniel has convinced himself that his mesh usage might have made him noted by the enemy and so he is going to try to get himself targeted all by himself, and keep trying to get in contact with his buddy. Ellen and Spectre are going to head off to that contact that isn't reporting about abductions.

I'm a bit flighty mentally right now but I think that is what is happening.

[Arhra]

To summarise the critical dice rollings/equipment reshuffling:

Ellen's muse, Butler, is Researching Security AI's and Ghostrider modules.
Ellen instructed Butler to do a background check on her teammates.
Daniel's muse, Anthony, is trying to get in touch with Dr Syren to arrange a meeting.
Lind's muse, Riza, is Researching the station's exact laws concerning the CM.
Lind's still working on upgrading firewall and exploit programs. (not important in this time frame)
Spectre's muse, Kerrigan, is sending copies of the tactical network software around.
Tyrfing is Researching info on the missing biomorphs.
Tyrfing's muse, Helvor, is doing a preliminary search on traffic patterns (see if activity surge can be linked to a small number of ID's or a physical location).


Information we might already have that needs more detail:
- The two news articles
- Anything Henric already knows about the nanofabricator.


ACTION PLAAAAN
Ellen: Seeing her friend, Milo. Will help with body language analysis in case missing biomorphs are in different bodies.
Spectre: Stalking Ellen, hiding nearby to monitor.
Lind: Walking around asking about any strangeness on the barge, researching traffic spike and missing biomorphs (including spime database) on mesh.
Tyrfing (Alpha): RESEARCH EVERYTHING. First priorities are anything on missing biomorphs and traffic spike.
Tyrfing (Beta): Hanging around to provide implant technobabble for Daniel with her relevant degrees.
Henric: Contacting friend about missing nanofabricator.
Daniel: Contacting Dr Syren about blacklisted guy. Showing off his shiny Remade body as bait.
Desmond: ???
Damian: ???

I have a partially done more complete thing, but it is late and I need sleep.

[krogothwolf]

Desmond is just sticking with Tryfing and Henric since they aren't movie. Just support if needed.

[Overcast]

As a note Daniel doesn't expect a meeting with Syren as much as he would just like the information he knows. But yes thanks Arhra my mind could not organize quite long enough to do anything that pretty.

[Arhra]

Desmond is just sticking with Tryfing and Henric since they aren't movie. Just support if needed.
Lind IS moving around. Remember his big spiel about the guys we're looking for potentially being able to backtrace the location of searches?

As for Tyrfing, she's not even present. She could be anywhere.

Schrodinger's server!

[krogothwolf]

All I know is, Desmond really has nothing to go on and everyone seemed to want to do their own thing without my ugly mug with them. :(

[Krylo]

without my ugly mug with them. :(

Can you blame them?

[krogothwolf]

Can you blame them?

No, I can't really blame them at all.

[Overcast]

Daniel tried, but then it was suggested by the general pop that he ditch for a defensive purpose. Hence he is ditched alone with the octopus that already hates people. Watch for the ink in your tea.

[Arhra]

NYX: "You're here on Fenris for a reason. I want to test your intelligence gathering abilities, and see if you can locate something that I suspect is going to heat up shortly. I'm sure a lot of you were expecting a briefing, with intelligence, and maps, and battle-boards. That's a job for grunts who aren't paid to think."

HENRIC: "Could you give us a clue?"

ELLEN (thinking): "A test? That little bitch, I'll kill her! ...Someday."

DESMOND: "Nyx, do we have any leads at this point? I'm a bit out of touch."

TYRFING: "A test is not a test if you are told the answers."

HENRIC (to ELLEN, condescending): "Even I've heard of something, recently a nanofabber went missing. Surely you've heard of something that might point you in the right direction?"

ELLEN (thinking): "KILL ALL NEOTENICS."

ELLEN: "As a matter of fact, I have. Three news stories about dissappearances on Fenris in the last two weeks, all biomorphs. One was never published but I know the guy who wrote it."

HENRIC: "See, I knew you weren't all show. So we got a nanofabber and some missing biomorphs. Perhaps you can find out more about these biomorphs? I can help if you'd like but, well I'm no beautiful socialite."

LIND: "I'll ask around on the barge about anything strange. Wait, a nanofabber?!"

*LIND talks why they might want it - to make something off the record, or some special quality about that particular one*

LIND: "Waish, why ish da cookish classhified? Dey're okash ta eash, righ? They aren't poisoned, or made out of missing biomorphs or anything are they?"

DESMOND (to ELLEN): "Can we get more info from your friend? I say we hunt down any leads, splitting into groups of two or three if needed. I've nothing to do so I can help with anything."

ELLEN: "He's paranoid, so I'll need someone more subtle. SPECTRE, could you come with me?"

SPECTRE: "We should assign jobs based on skill, not on this thing you call 'friendship'. If it's the most useful thing I can do, I'll go with you. My initial instinct would be to set up a static research force, and several more mobile teams. The static squad would do mesh-based research and analysis. The mobile squads would do everything in person. We must assume our opponent is a threat and they will become aware of us. I think having static and mobile teams should minimise risk, particularly if the mobile guys are warbastards.

*DANIEL goes to leave. He's planning to ask his immortal contact, Dr Syren, about the blacklisted guy who was asking about mental implants*

TYRFING (to DANIEL): "You know something." *DEATH GAZE*

*TYRFING makes some virtual whiteboards. She summarises info so far. Needed: build profile on missing people, find commonalities, search spime records for them, missing person news articles, analysis of mesh surge (egocasting/forked egos/large downloads?), traffic patterns (location/IDs), nanofabricator (size, make, specialisation, time of theft, owner)*

TYRFING: "Currently we don't know if any of these events are related. Keep that in mind. Once we know what this person or group wants, we can lay some bait."

DANIEL: "Alas I am caught, indeed I do know something. I have a friend who's a bioware specialist. He was getting pestered by someone about mental implants, which he doesn't deal in because of their instability. That guy managed to get black listed. Might be a connection to the missing people? The kidnappers must want the morphs, not the egos. Otherwise they'd be snatching infomorphs. If you can try to get some information on any major purchases of bioware based mental implants. I figure that should be all the help I need, my maneuverability on the mesh is a little bit woozy."

ELLEN (to TYRFING): "Unfortunately, I only have two of the three. My friend is keeping the other one. Of course, I can acquire it from him, as well as any other information he might have. After that, I would be happy to gather data on their mannerisms. Although, perhaps my skills would be better put to use helping Lind gather information from the people on the barge instead."

ELLEN (to DANIEL): Could you find out exactly what implants they were looking for? And perhaps, could you get a description of what this person looked like from your friend? And if he has any recordings, acquire them too."

DESMOND (to ELLEN): If only you and Spectre are needed for this, it does mean a few of us should follow a few other leads so we can cover more ground. If we head out in groups of 2 or 3 it'll give each person a backup and also allow us to cover more ground."

LIND: "I'll aks if my friends know anything about people buying mental implants. Oooh, we could set up a sting! You know, put out information on the networks that we're selling some high quality mental implants, and then watch the people who come through."

LIND (to ELLEN): "Oh, they're my friends and neighbors, after a fashion. I don't know that I really need help asking them to keep an eye out for me, but I guess if you want to come along you can. I don't have any problem with the company... and a few of them might like to meet you. You have some non-standard biosculpting and a few folks on the barge are really into that kind of thing. Like Jackie"

*LIND draws the best picture ever (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showpost.php?p=1048894&postcount=51).*

DAMIAN “Well I don't even have a clue where to begin searching, but I'll help anyone who needs it. If there's fighting, I'm a real pushover though.”

DAMIAN (thinking): "Why couldn't this have been a mystery involving obscure ancient history?"

*DANIEL is talked into taking DESMOND with him by his muse. He also needs someone with knowledge of medical implants.*

SPECTRE: "We have to be discrete. We should use mesh-based communications, and if we travel physically, we should go individually.
By my estimate, only Ellen should have to physically meet a contact. In any case, I should accompany her. Asides from us two, the rest of us should remain static."

LIND: That is dumb. *LIND explains why being mobile is good with regards to mesh tracking*

ELLEN: "Captain [LIND], Spectre, how about a compromise? I do agree that if this person knows someone is after them that it would be better to conduct our inquiries in person, so they can't be tracked as easily. Henric and Daniel can go around physically. Tyrfing and Damian should stay here and look into the mesh spike. Tyrfing, can you tap into the grid and find out where there's been a spike in power usage? That could give us the location of the missing nanofabricator."

*ELLEN and SPECTRE disagree over mesh contact versus in person.*

DANIEL: "My friend's a jerk. Meeting him in person won't happen. I'll be off. Continue communications with my friend, ask a few questions around town, perhaps even attract attention to the fact that I am a biomorph with many high quality implants. They'll also know about my Immortal connections, and since I have basically no Firewall ones as of yet they will likely tie my activity around here to them instead of you. With luck they will try to capture me. With more they will fail. It was nice meeting with you all, I'll be in touch."

*DANIEL leaves*

SPECTRE: "Let's start. As long as you complete your tasks, it's none of my business how you do it."

DESMOND (to Spectre): "You're not in charge and quit acting like you are. And stop being an asshole."

ELLEN (to Spectre): "Once we get to my friend's place, stay hidden nearby, keeping an eye on the place. I'll contact you if I need help." *sets off*

So yeah.

I'd suggest Desmond and Damian pair off with Lind and Daniel. Actually, where is Raptor?

[Dracorion]

Send Desmond with Lind, Damian with Daniel.

And rapter is... around, I think?

[Overcast]

And he shows off more of that proper immortal spirit. Really he is not going to the polarizing influence that ends up making Damian like humans when he ditches the poor fellow to make use of his many arms while he tries to get in good range to shoot somebody.

[PhoenixFlame]

To summarise the critical dice rollings/equipment reshuffling:

Information we might already have that needs more detail:
- The two news articles
- Anything Henric already knows about the nanofabricator.


ACTION PLAAAAN

Rollings: Supply relevant skill ranks for all requested rolls.

Standing by on the informaiton, once sufficient ROLLZ are made.

Action Plan: PROCEED.

EDIT, TL;DR: In effect, you are all trying to say that I have successfully mustered the typical NPF party, where everyone is crazy, nobody can agree on a leader, everyone wants to passive aggressively hurt one another, and by the way Ellen wants nukes and a pony and HOW DARE she have to pay for them?

Awesome.

[Aerozord]

does she intend to load the nukes onto the pony? if not I will be very disappointed

[PhoenixFlame]

does she intend to load the nukes onto the pony? if not I will be very disappointed

Insufficient missile mounts.

[Aerozord]

aww I wanted to see the ponies fight :(

[Geminex]

does she intend to load the nukes onto the pony?
Metal Gear Equine?

And like I said, I think we should only have as many people in-field as is stirctly necessary. But eh, it's not likely to matter much.

[Krylo]

Rollings: Supply relevant skill ranks for all requested rolls.

Standing by on the informaiton, once sufficient ROLLZ are made.

Action Plan: PROCEED.

Ellen's muse, Butler, is Researching Security AI's and Ghostrider modules.--Research, 40
Ellen instructed Butler to do a background check on her teammates.--Research, 40
Daniel's muse, Anthony, is trying to get in touch with Dr Syren to arrange a meeting.--Research, 40
Lind's muse, Riza, is Researching the station's exact laws concerning the CM.--Research, 40
Lind's still working on upgrading firewall and exploit programs. (not important in this time frame)--Programming, 70. Potential bonuses from; Academics: Comp. Sci., 75, Interest: Technology, 60 (Questionable)
Spectre's muse, Kerrigan, is sending copies of the tactical network software around.--No roll needed.
Tyrfing is Researching info on the missing biomorphs.--Research, 80. Not sure what, if any, potential bonuses are applicable.

Tyrfing's muse, Helvor, is doing a preliminary search on traffic patterns (see if activity surge can be linked to a small number of ID's or a physical location). --Research, 40

[Overcast]

WHAT YOU THINK MEANS NOTHING!

Nah, but what I mean is that Spectre may think this a good idea, but nobody else is listening to that because they believe they know better in some fashion or way. Mostly prior experience in such endeavors.

[Dracorion]

Some of us only want nuke-wielding ponies. Is that so wrong?

[Krylo]

Some of us only want nuke-wielding ponies. Is that so wrong?

Of course not:

http://www.marty.com.au/images/stories/scifi/my_little_pony_sci-fi_art_bobafett.jpg

[Aerozord]

Ellen's muse, Butler, is Researching Security AI's and Ghostrider modules.--Research, 40
Ellen instructed Butler to do a background check on her teammates.--Research, 40
Daniel's muse, Anthony, is trying to get in touch with Dr Syren to arrange a meeting.--Research, 40
Lind's muse, Riza, is Researching the station's exact laws concerning the CM.--Research, 40
Lind's still working on upgrading firewall and exploit programs. (not important in this time frame)--Programming, 70. Potential bonuses from; Academics: Comp. Sci., 75, Interest: Technology, 60 (Questionable)
Spectre's muse, Kerrigan, is sending copies of the tactical network software around.--No roll needed.
Tyrfing is Researching info on the missing biomorphs.--Research, 80. Not sure what, if any, potential bonuses are applicable.

Tyrfing's muse, Helvor, is doing a preliminary search on traffic patterns (see if activity surge can be linked to a small number of ID's or a physical location). --Research, 40


while you are at it, also toss in Henric searching for any referances to stolen nanofabber (not limited to the one he knows went missing) or unusual power draws. Interface 80, and infosec 70

[Krylo]

while you are at it, also toss in Henric searching for any referances to stolen nanofabber (not limited to the one he knows went missing) or unusual power draws. Interface 80, and infosec 70

Actually, pretty sure that would be research, which you don't actually have skill points in, so you'd default to your COG score. Which is 25.

So, Research, 25.

Though, interface/infosec might help with your research roll, maybe? Up to PF.

[Arhra]

Hmm, actually, your sheet's really screwy Aerozord.

I went through and edited it to to properly calculate in morph bonuses. It was a bit of guesswork, and you're 15 points under by my maths after correcting everything. (Would have been hundreds of points over if I'd raised things instead).

Also, added a specialty hive for the dissassemblers. Those poor nanites will die alone and unloved if left homeless, you know!