I was simply so amazed by the violent success that I had it burst through the helm...
He's done.
The others got lucky thus far.
Should I add a new Enemy to my list, GM?
I have to admit, I am at the edge of my seat right now as to what happens.
Same here, although part of me wonders if I should be thinking about rolling a new character.
Yeah...Add "The Squire and The Baron" To your enemy list. No point gain, but Jean will have the face about him.
Well, you do have a brain computer, so maybe you can give us an image link and receive information directly to your brain?
Or maybe you can connect to the on-board computer somehow, and we can hack the shuttle. We're a brainy bunch, you know.
Hm, we do actually know where you are, considering that APRIL has that thing on the bracers. We'll wait and see.
EDIT: Does that mean we'll have to FACE OFF at some point?
*dodges rotten vegetables*
She took that off when she put the skinsuit on. She doesn't have wireless either, so just waiting on the GM to rule on whether she can hear you call her or not.
oh, no wrist thing for nedora?
Nope
Ill go fix that
She does have a communicator in her helmet.
Nothing they can see.
Oh man. Nedora, are we going to have to put a tracking chip in you after this?
Also, I've got a plan. If we can coerce one of the guards into calling their shuttle with a lie (or mimicked voice?)...
Can APRIL connect to her helmet?
Yeah, I can... but if it's just a radio headset, there's no way to monitor your vitals, and if you don't talk back I can't get a read on your status.
Woah. Busy weekend, I'll post tonight.
Regarding the soldiers, I suggest we leave them in the park, after they're out of any immediate danger. Regarding the shuttle, I think we don't know what happened, but I think we know that Nedora probably tried to take it.
Hmm. Feel free to have people make decisions for me/try things using my software, this next week is my busiest of the year and I'm having trouble writing out more than small posts.
I realized this morning that I used the wrong character when I posted. I'm playing an android in a cyberpunk campaign and I accidentally used that character's profile when I last posted. I space and out do that occasionally. I'll try not to let it happen again.
It's fine. It happens sometimes. I was just teasing.
I realized this morning that I used the wrong character when I posted. I'm playing an android in a cyberpunk campaign and I accidentally used that character's profile when I last posted. I space and out do that occasionally. I'll try not to let it happen again.
Emphasis added. I'm three robots over here!
Although I was thinking of spending my XP (we're getting a lot!) on a new, cooler chassis. Would need to buy it as well, which is a bit more limiting... but I could get something like a smartcar or passenger mocha that the party could ride in. Plus then I could nest each of my robots inside a smaller robot.
Although I might just save up for additional mind copies, or other silly computerthings. That sounds more reasonable, yeah. (Hmm... I could also bolt additional gun arms onto my bots, or get really silly and go for some spooky ghost stuff)
Ghost in the Shell, do eeet!
On another note, you could always do what Han and Luke did episode 4 to rescue Nedora. Alternatively, I could ask the GM about rolling a new character.
April, if you're "three robots" (does that mean 3 computer programs?), then you should leave one of your copies in-ship at all times, so we can have access to better intel from the ship's sensors...
I was thinking something along those lines, too, Nedora. Leaving the soldiers there to submit a full report on what happened would be a bad decision, so I imagine the soldiers being under the watch of Gilligan in the Cargo Bay, with a stunner ready and treated fairly, while we discuss our reckless attempts, though. But they can be on comms!
Trade would be ideal, and we can convincingly play the "Well, we just really don't want to be purged, please, so give us back our pilot, and we'll give you your stuff back." Though, we're not really coming from a position of power, and that'd mean revealing ourselves.
I think the problem with that is Nedora is technically property that has stolen itself. Depending on how the baron wants see it, Nedora isn't a person and therefore he no rights. Legally, she's not Nedora but a piece of wetware.
I'm going to drop out guys. You all have a really good game with faster pacing than I can effectively support.
I appreciate the opportunity. Should the game ever slow down to a post or two a day, please consider me.
Good gaming to all.
Regards,
Sorry to see ya go. :(
Sorry to see you go too, Aster! I can understand your position, though. I feel that the combat went down a bit faster than it should've, and half the party didn't get the chance to shine :(
We'll send you a PM if it goes slower!
Regarding Nedora, I see some options below:
-Contacting the ship, and tell them it was all a big misunderstanding, have your crystal and guys, and we'll be on our merry way.
-Letting the guys go, tracking them when they contact for evac, then swoop down and get the shuttle. That would require some serious SWAT tactics, though, but it's definitely the cooler option.
-Trying to tell the ship that we're the marines that are coming on board. Might require skills we lack, and there'll possibly be checks. Then we have to outrun that thing with the Turing, and while I don't doubt Nedora's piloting skills, I doubt the Turing's capability to be piloted.
-Leaving Nedora there, and going for a rescue mission by following the Silusmobile (sorry, forgot the ship's name), and doing something when it lands on a planet/port. If it goes to space/restricted area, we're screwed, and I'd rather not leave Nedora there that long, for a plethora of reasons.
-Leaving Nedora there and doing the reasonable thing. It's the final option, and I'd rather explore all other ones.
I prefer either one of the first two, if I have to be fair. Can't really think of anything else, but at all means, chip in. We can't outfight them, we'd have to outsmart them.
Ah, one down :(
Sorry about pacing guys. I can get a little ridicules at time >//<
Alrighty... So are the soldiers to be in the cargo bay as prisoners then?
April, if you're "three robots" (does that mean 3 computer programs?), then you should leave one of your copies in-ship at all times, so we can have access to better intel from the ship's sensors...
Err... I have two copies, and three robot bodies (plus two "bonus" computer body options for extra processing power). But one of my copies needs to be on the ship at all times.
So, I know I did it to myself, and I'm enjoying what's going on, but if Nedora's going to be out of pocket for a while, maybe I should get started on a backup character.
So, any ideas on what would be best for the group?
You can take Aster...
I could, but I don't know if I could run him. I'm not at all familiar with psionics, and honestly, I just feel uncomfortable taking over someone else's character. I don't ever feel like I'm getting them right. I even feel that way about characters I haven't played in a while.
Besides, what happens if things slow enough for you to be able to come back?
And to be honest, I think I came up with an idea that's too cool to pass up. Starfighter pilot that is a folk hero on Mars and in the Belt, but the government vehemently denies she exists. Signature Gear, Reputation, and Zeroed would be her key advantages, while piloting would be her key skills. Also thought about giving her some umph on the ground. Maybe anti-material rifles and call her Overkill Blackjack?
Though to be honest, I'm probably jumping the gun.
I'm plenty able to run both Nedora and the group spate as I have been.
Its adding a little more flavor to the entirety of this badguy anyway...so we'll see how it goes.
Regardless, if you want to scrap her, you can.
Nah, I'm just thinking in case it's going to be awhile before Nedora joins back up.
FWIW, I like this fast pacing (but sorry to see Aster go)! When I ran PbP games, I tried to post several times a day. And the games I'm in now with maybe one post total per day (or less) are like "ho hum, nothing happening here today..." to me.
I don't think that Nedora wants to scrap Nedora, it's more like having something to do with the party while we go and find her.
I'm suggesting the following plan of action. We try and get some people on-board from around the center, to save them from purging. Jack keeps a hold of the crystal, since I'm feeling we might need it later, and he can keep a shroud on it.
APRIL can fly the ship to a certain extent, and we set course for Mars, where we assume the ship would go after. On the way, we use the extra-net to dig on information, and when we arrive, we'd have a plan on how to infiltrate, grab Nedora and exfiltrate.
Though, if the GM's fine with it, you can play another character and they buy them as an Ally for Nedora? Not everyone's cut out for service on the Turing, and you'd have a certain amount of XP. I can clearly see the effort that went into building/writing Nedora, so I'd hate to see someone lose so much work.
EDIT: I'm buying Tactics with 4 XP for 15, Leadership with 2 XP for 16, and Battle-Suit with 2 XP for 11.
EDIT 2: I'm also saying we leave as soon as possible, trying to get some people on-board while the checks and whatnots are in place. Trying not to stall things too much, and to get Nedora the chance to pick up a new character, which I assume can wait when we sort the people out.
Wouldn't be the first time.
And that's the gist of it. It's more that I want to be involved with the party than any desire to scrap Nedora, or any doubts that you could run a split party. It's just that realistically, there's not going to be a way for the group to rescue Nedora and the odds of Nedora escaping are slim at best. I'd still like to play this out. It's been great so far for getting Nedora solidified as a character and I am enjoying, I'd just like to be a part of the group, and if you can trust me to play two separate characters, it could be a lot of fun. Besides reimagining Jaq as a fighter pilot is turning out to be a fun exercise.
Several posts a day is one thing, but I played with one group where I would post in the morning, and check again at noon and find 15 posts. I'd post and check again before going to bed and find another 12 posts. In this case, several of the players and the GM apparently had jobs where they could check for updates and make quick posts regularly and these advanced the plot while those of us who posted once and then were AFK for a half day found ourselves playing catch up and not feeling an integral part of the action.
As for Nedora, if I allowed myself to meta-game, I'd say we, the free players, will need to be met half-way and given something from the GM that would allow us to confidently initiate a rescue operation. Maybe we do a scan and discover a one of their sensor arrays is down and this creates a blind spot we can use to get close and then ...
But it would be difficult as players to commit to a rescue attempt without some sense that we had a way that could succeed. This is Space Opera and Han and company did rescue Leia from the Death Star, but they were forced into the situation by the tractor beam and had to improvise from there. If Han were aware of the capabilities of the Death Star and considering things from a safe vantage point, he would have judged a rescue attempt as suicide and never would have attempted anything.
The key is keeping things moving. We know this crystal is dangerous to life, so our first priority becomes deep-spacing/destroying it. That gets us nearer to Nedora and if the GM can give us some help, we can mount a rescue. Otherwise, Nedora's on her own. She did violate one of the cardinal rules of roleplaying, to never split up, never embark on a solo action without alerting others to the plan, etc.
If she had stuck with the group or monitored things from the ship, we might have been able to surprise the shuttle as a group and made away with it.
That said, my character has the charitable and Sense of Honor (to crewmates) disadvantages, so she's gung ho to attempt a rescue, just completely unable to do much to make that a success.
Never pretended that what I as a player was doing was smart for even a moment. :)
That said, If Nedora had been able to pull it off, it would have been cool. She's supposed to be immature, emotionally and socially, so behaving like an impulsive kid comes with the territory to a certain degree. In short, I am fully aware I broke that rule, and I'm okay with anything that happens as a result.
Ha, Doc raises a valid argument for breaking the rules of RP. And common sense, too, but that's why it's so fun! Main problem is that I can't picture Jean rushing in without a plan or at least a reasonable idea. If I was playing a space grunt, I'd be all over for trying to go on a suicide mission!
But yeah, I quite like the general non-combative tendencies of the party. Now we'll just have to make PLANS and outthink them, which, for me, is fun. Though I have greatly enjoyed playing unstoppable war juggernauts, too!
I think the plan for now is go to Mars (ugh.), and mount a rescue mission. If they're staying there longer, we might even organize something bigger, add some anarchist organizations, all that jazz. We want Nedora back, because leaving someone behind isn't cool.
Fedora, if you want to be really silly, I've got a few extra robots you could take over one of for a while...
@Jean: If you're trained in tactics, and everyone is wearing a HUD helmet, my tacnet software gives a big bonus to the skill.
Work snagged me.
Ill try and keep my posts to 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening, that way I can get EVERYONE (or at least try to get everyone) involved in a giant text blob of NOMS.
Now, onward to the Gameplay I go...dear god...
I'll just have to put a leash on my impatience. I wanna see where this is going! I am really intrigued by what's going on here, and I really want to see what you have in store.
@APRIL, wow, Tactics at 17 will be awesome!
@Nedora, I'll be doing my best to get some people on-board. If you're planning on getting another pilot, I might advertise for one, but if you want to try something different, go right ahead!
@Plan, Jean's trying to get all the hangar bays unlocked, and have a station-wide evacuation issued. I wonder if the bays were locked remotely, or someone in the hub did it for them.
Oh definitely another pilot. I was planning on seeing if she could get a custom fighter as a piece of signature equipment, but I don't actually know how feasible that is.
Hmm, looks like it's Tactics +2, yeah—but that's only if everyone's hooked up to the same holographic HUD, and it's updated with current enemy info/positions/etc. (basically free at this TL, we could manufacture one)
Yeah, quality tools are pretty good and people always forget they exist. (See: APRIL rolling carpentry at 20, analog lockpicking at 24, and Detect Lies at 19; the older and less useful skill/tools are generally easier to acquire with absurd bonuses at this TL/wealth)
Okay, just started trying to build the fighter I was going to have my maybe new character use, and lemme just say that Signature Equipment is not going to be feasible. Just to cover the armor and the comms array, I'd have to spend 100 points. ($50,000 * 50% = $25,000 *100 = $2.5M which is the cost of the high tech armor for the hull and the tactical sensors. I haven't added in the cabin or the cockpit, which are the only other systems I have added.) So yeah, Multimillionaire is an option, I can get $50M from that for 75 points, but that's still too rich for me, since I would like to have her skills up high, and she's easily going to have more than Neora.
So, I think I'm going to go with plan B, Still awesome Pilot/Folk Hero/Does Not Exist person, but how she does business is different. A Battlesuit is only $80,000 +$10,000 for the helmet and 4 points of Signature Equipment gets me $100,000, so throw in a signature weapon, and I think I have the beginnings of Blackjack with $50,000 left over for other highly illicit goodies. (Nabbed off pirates and military that tried to do some privateering on the side.)
So, now that I've got that start, I'm going to be busy with the first pass on the stats.
I hope you guys aren't too annoyed with me with this rambling on about a new character. I have a couple of questions for the GM, though.
1. Would a reputation among the common folk of Mars and the Belt for standing up for the little man result in a cost of 0 points if every pirate and cut-throat in the solar system wanted her dead?
2. She's going to be Zeroed, and I have a story to explain that, so I was wondering if it wouldn't be a stretch to have the Terran government actively deny her existence.
3. Would it be possible for her to get all of the piloting skills lumped into a talent?
Again, hope I'm not getting one anyone's nerves with this.
Answer for 1) Sounds about right.
Answer for 2) Hmm...Normally Id say that's a bit to vague. Id like to hear your rationalizations.
Answer for 3) You mean akin to the skills SCIENCE! and WILD! ? Yes...I suppose this setting should have a standard Ship pilot talent... Call it Starship Handling Talent? Go for it. I'm a bit too tired to dispute the nit-picky details on it...but just assume that it only applies to Starship op and only skills used in the operations of piloting and handling...
I have no idea why you think this would be nerve wracking to the others?
Ill wait till the morning to post the next bit.
Though Jean...well played.
Paranoia, to be honest. I tend to worry that I'm ticking everyone off and getting on their nerves. It's just something that I've learned to work around.
So, Brook Xi Cho is a Belter. From what I've gathered of the setting, while the belt is patrolled to keep ships from going beyond it, it's still a relatively lawless place full of pirates and other ne'er-do-wells. That also happens to be the kind of place that independent-minded folks wind up, like Brook's great-grandparents.
Fast-forward a bit, and Brook is born to her parents on a ice hauler heading for the family run fueling depot, her birth never becomes part of the record, and twenty some-odd years later, you have a zeroed person picking fights with pirates that try to take over the family's business or whatever tramp freighter she's hitching a ride on. As her reputation in the belt and on Mars grows, the Terran government becomes more and more frustrated that they can't find anything on this supposed Blackjack Cho. Eventually, they begin to deny she exists, or ever did exist, when she comes up. Given that she's a Martian and Belter folk-hero, they really don't want her to be real. After all, if she wanted, she could incite a costly war, or worse, create enough havoc that people start slipping out through the Gate Mechanica and establishing colonies beyond Terra's influence.
It's just an idea and if you want, I can drop the government denial thing. It was just supposed to be flavor that made her being Zeroed more of a problem if she is ever caught.
Also, regarding 3, would this mean that Pilot Low-performance Spacecraft, Pilot High-performance Spacecraft, and the skills to operate the comms and sensors would all be grouped together? it may be moot point anyway. We'll see when I can work on this again tomorrow. Now, I gotta get to bed and go to sleep.