Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Thanks for the reference.



Might be fun to add a level of ST and skinny at the same time, to indicate "Shooting up". And active teenagers are notoriously skinny.




Dang, that's a really old post! I'd forgotten a lot of that stuff.



In lost in dreams I've always treated the package a little differently than purchased abilities, kind of feeling my way through how it works. When I do it for 10 years, that means I can forget things.



You're right, he's worked off drifting at this point. And I've been playing loose with Unconscious only, now its more like unreliable (which is weirdly usually a higher limitation than unconscious... lets set the activation at 11)


I'm surprised I thought naked would be gone so soon. I'll have to figure something out...

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I made so many changes, I decided to delete and repost.

I could certainly see Peter being low weight for his sprouting height. We could add 3 inches to his height and keep his weight constant.

ST is not the first attribute I would raise tho. Peter's Will and Per are meant to be kind of prelude to his adult IQ, and with all the new perspectives and ways of thinking he's been exposed to, I'd probably start there. Followed by his HT or increasing His Fit to Very Fit from the constant high level of physical activity Peter's been under for over half a year. I'd consider that catching up, Then ST, IQ, ST, buy off BS Penalty, ST and a point of DX over the next year to two. I see those as Peter's base adult Attribute build pattern as pretty much the plan from character creation (everything except the Fit improvement that is).

I have quite the growing list of backlogged skills I would like to add to Peter at this point, (And I really want to by him a Destiny point too) so given the scale of the game, updating attributes really doesn't seem to be in the cards. (I still think the easiest solution is to find a way to stop Peter from aging...you may recall I once suggested that we find a way to contrive that when I realized the timeline wasn't working. :D )

If you want to intervene and make changes, I'm cool with that! If you want to balance it by adding disadvantages, it's not hard to come up with a menu of possible options for a rough adolescence:

• Teens are notoriously Lecherous.
• Gluttony from wanting to be stocked up in case he jumps and savoring food when he has the chance and doesn't have to eat grubs (not to mention the teenagers always eating trope).
• As a result of his evolving dream powers he might start Sleepwalking.
• His habits of mental exercises might give him headaches or he might develop insomnia which could potentially slow his travels down quite a bit.

Additionally, I could see Peter as having a never written down Selfless disadvantage.


I get that it is more of a campaign setting than a typical advantage possessed by the character, and I will stop asking about the package, it's contents, when and if it can be updated, modified, manipulated, or used with Extra Effort or Stunts. I get the picture.

Peter's Overconfidence ensures he will be convinced he can use his power on command anyway ...unless he cannot.
Forget what I said before, and I apologize if I am coming off any sort of way (or did before editing this post). Please don't think any erroneous expectation on my part constitutes my taking any issue with your choices or storytelling. I adore the game and refresh the page regularly for another morsel, and any limitation you like can stay on there forever... You don't really "have to figure something out" any more than you did before, we can totally play it by ear.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I think I saw the original. I read long before I post. Its all good.

Done.


That's good input. It might go well with some of the stuff I have planned for Peter coming up. And Lost in dreams is supposed to be "Zero to Hero". Or perhaps coming of age/powers, which is currently reinforced by the young teenage condition of our cast.

I think I want to make changes. I'll keep that list in mind. Plus skinny. When we increase ST or HT we need to add skinny. We can do IQ first though. At least the first part of it.


He leaned that way to start with, but I'd think he's really transformed that way over his journeys are acquired that in play. Before he was just kind of helpful and kind. Now he actively goes looking for who he is supposed to help. He might also qualify for Delusion (A higher power guides me to help people).



Go ahead and Take selfless in conjunction with +1 IQ!



We haven't explored where you guys come from much yet, or what you look like in alternate universes (though I think Peter has confirmed his parents are childless on clock-work adjacent earth). I've certainly thought about it.



There is ummm... another source of twins though.


Please don't, Its good for me to go back and keep my promises. Working towards keeping clothes and pocket contents is interesting


And most the time he's trying to follow the active effect anyways...


You didn't come off in any sort of way. I'm just astonished I'd forgotten I intended naked to come off. Its nice to keep the worlds sanitized, though obviously magic leaks between them.



Go ahead and mark that drifting and uncounsious only are gone, and add unreliable CR 11 to the sheet. And selfless and +1 IQ.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I was just thinking that if we did want to do a crossover, we could do something where they had to pull off a criminal enterprise since it is an area Peter would be a total novice in, but Julian would navigate with practiced skill.

But now that seems a bit sad...

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Well, we haven't, but I have (ohoho). I'm half divided between Julian being unique (on account of being from a weird close parallel or because his mother was also a dreamer who got yanked away after giving birth), or having alternate versions. I came up with a few alternate possibilities, including:
- A version where he wasn't orphaned (or was perhaps adopted)
- A version where his carer (Wyatt Beatty) isn't a monster. Probably make Julian think he's gone mad.
- A version where he was unable to pay Beatty and he got sold off to "extract value"

If you really wanted to break Julian you could have him not be orphaned on Homeline and only bring it up after he gets used to Homeline's idea of "We're the real timeline".

Ah, yes. Send in the clones. Though given that there's no blip tricks going on that seems to be a longer term thing.

It's probably not worth a lot less than -30%, but "some clothes" and "clothes, but no load" are probably good incremental steps in-between. No encumbrance

Well, it's part of the tension of the character.

Julian doesn't particularly like being a thief. This is why when he was on Riask he didn't even consider shoplifting clothes. Then, when he was being dragged off to some fate by Reslin, he was all, "Yeah, I'll steal his watch and change the time."

The same thing applied for the Starpus heist. He didn't really think of it as "stealing" the Starpus. He was "rescuing" the Starpus from their poor deal. He was doing this because it was the right thing to do, not because he didn't want to be dumped off in a creche flat broke with no skills. Royal and Co. made it real easy for him not to confront this problem, so when someone actually wants him to feel bad about his decision, they smash right through his self deceptive ******** and make him feel bad.

The key disadvantage in all this is Low Self Image. He can't say, "I'm bad at stealing things" because that's obviously untrue. Instead he says, "I'm good at stealing things, so I'm bad." To some extent, that's actually true. When he's pushed (by the world, or maybe eventually, himself), he decides, "I guess I have to be a bad person now" and steal anyway.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian is so dang dark...

Mom was a dreamer? was that signed off on? Do we know that's been around for a generation in the game lore to even be possible?
The limitations are maxed out by the permanent limitations anyway, so none of the removable limitations coming off will impact the point value. If enhancements come along, the price will go up tho... Not sure we would have to actually pay it, but the value would increase.

Low Self Image is kind of a self fulfilling prophecy to make that the case, isn't it? He is bad at things, because has a -3 whenever the pressure is on or if it's hard. That's not a small penalty. A -3 penalty pretty much whenever it really counts? That is a Nasty disad there. Self-Loathing isn't inherently a part of the Low Self Image disadvantage, but it's a fine roleplaying choice. IMO

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Nah, I'm just spitballing things. It could be, it might not be. I toyed around with a few ideas as to why Julian was orphaned, and that seemed to be a plausible answer. Others I came up with were:
- Julian dreamt as a baby and ended up where he did.
- Julian's parents gave up their child during the great recession. (I fixed his birthday to when Lehmann Brothers went broke)

To be fair, I think it's been treated more like Laziness, where it's basically ugly quirk and not -3 to everything.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

To be clear, I have a very specific answer to this question.

Different clones have different "Cook Times". Slick's facility is a lot faster than the panogans.


I'll need to look up the rules for unmodified jumper.


If you've got Peter working as part of a heist, there is probably at least a sympathetic reason for it (I'm curious if he would have helped out with the starpus project or not).

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Sweet... I thought going home for Christmas might mean I needed to return for more training before I could invest.

There are 6 Yaka skills... As you let Peter use them at default, can he take improved defaults for the ones he does not put a full point into with dabbler perks?
Updated!


I have been concerned about Slick making a copy of Peter, but somehow I don't think that special something that makes Dreamers unique and gives them their powers is genetic.

Or maybe it is and it doesn't copy right... watch out, it's Bizzaro-Jumpers!
I'm going to have to go read it again to form that opinion, but sharing it would be a bit like monday morning quarterbacking...

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Cool. I will probably latch on to the barest traces of foreshadowing and continue to speculate.
That does make sense; they wouldn't be shooting cloned dinosaurs if it took months to make a baby dino. Then again, if Slick (or given that he's probably in prison now, his colleague Slippy) decided to make clones of Peter, I imagine it would still take like a week. Fast for Peter (who has a lot of gloss over and montage sections), Slow for Julian (who's been on the same day since last November).
True, though it's not utterly implausible that Peter might go a little more grey. Like, if Peter decided he needed a bunch of money to feed starving orphans or something, maybe he would feel slightly more morally grey options could go on the table.
I wonder what would have happened if Julian didn't get scared of the Starpus's telepathy at the beginning there. I have this feeling Peter would have responded more enthusiastically, and that would have (?) kept Royal off the table.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I like where I set Peter's Birthday...
Peter was born on Leap Day 2000. So he's about to be 15 years old, but his actual 4th birthday won't be until 2016. Peter will be 84 years old on his 21st birthday.

Gonna have to find a way to take advantage of that in a contract somehow...

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Peter is overdue for a point in Administration.

Adding

• Administration (12) [1]

________________________________________________

I would like to ask for a custom perk! It is in the flavor of "Classic Type" and "Photogenic" and "looks good in uniform" Perks that give a situational +1 to effective appearance level.

Nice Physique - Your body is well cut possessing little body fat and a pleasant musculature. You look great in a bathing suit and when in a state of partial to full undress, you function as one Appearance level higher.

A little something to justify Peter's recent confidence when appearing naked in strange places. I didn't want to invoke that OTHER perk... he's a kid and it's just unseemly.

If Approved, I will add -

• Nice Physique! [1]

________________________________________________

If I can Dabbler perk those three points for Yaka... (I know they likely usually have no default, but they do for Dreamers, so...)

If they are Will/Average and default to Will-5 for a dreamer, using four selections of the perk's 8 gives default +3, or Will-2, (the equivalent of the 3rd Ed half point, as that is one worse than the Will-1 you get for a point in an average skill. Thank you dabbler. Welcome back half point.)

I'll do that and take all 6 for 3 dabbler points (I will be just listing them as half point skills in the spreadsheet for ease) if that works for you.


If Approved, I will add - Dabbler 3 [3] AKA:

• Yaka Healing (12) [0.5]
• Yaka Shield (12) [0.5]
• Yaka Voice (12) [0.5]
• Yaka Armor (12) [0.5]
• Yaka Blade (12) [0.5]
• Yaka Portal (12) [0.5]

________________________________________________

Peter has two unspent points before the Mars award, so that leaves him with 5. My pending skill list is glaring at me angrily, but I am thinking I want to pull the trigger on a level of Destiny.

If I do not, I could either put a bit more into Yaka, or go to my pending skills, the next 5 in no particular order are Research, Merchant, Camouflage, Observation and Search. They are all skills he has used quite a bit at default so picking them up is not a big stretch...

I'm leaning towards Destiny now and skills later, but do you have an opinion?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Yes, dabbler perks approved...I hope they don't stay dabbler perks though.

Isn't that half the fun?

Peter is very different than Julian. At risk of stating the obvious.



That varies though. "New Phase" Peter has not done much gloss over or Monotage: I bet he's done more in 2024 than in 2023 and 2022 combined, I'd think. His long periods are with Kumar and Rider. My experience with the time discrepancies in Corco's villa tells me TGLs is more likely to use time as a disposable resource, and Matrix is more likely to move quickly and directly.

A full level of appearance is probably too powerful, but a perk to ignore social penalties for being naked is probably a good idea


That works for me. half points make sense here. Healing is Per-based, not Will, and portal is IQ-based.

I have a preference for skills, but if you want Destiny, go ahead and buy it. I think with game time you get 1 point back every four days.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

If I use them, I'll put more points in them... I like the idea of Peter getting a broad understanding of everything he was shown in the time allotted however, and this represents that well.
Okay, I figure Peter would be backing the leader of the Starpus Revolution about now.

I'm not sure what the default social penalties are, but that sounds way more cinematic and powerful than my version!

(I'm imagining a character strolling through normal activities with no one reacting to their nakedness (not what you meant, I'm sure.) lol.)

Okay, sweet. Are there functional differences between the Broken World healing and the Yaka? Does either cure disease, or is it just structural?

((Any notes on ability details will be eagerly quoted to the Scout's Guide thread!))

I DO want Destiny... but I can wait until you have a preference for it.



Has Peter's experience and studies brought him to to the point where he can have self taught himself a point in Thaumatology?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Gonna chime in and say...

Yeah! Twist!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Cool.


Or at least trying to start it. Yeah, that sounds like Peter.

Ok, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound right, does it? I suppose the assumption would be that it only applies when he hasn't had the chance to get clothing, sort of "Everyone accepts your excuse".



I suppose the thing I object to in your version is that it would apply almost all the time if shirtlessness is normal. So maybe it only applies in situations where people would normally object?

Both cure disease. Yaka requires a working copy of what you are trying to fix, and of course Broken Clockwork healing requires incense.
((Any notes on ability details will be eagerly quoted to the Scout's Guide thread!))

You've got this huge skill backlog!



I once complained about how variable "Session" was, and Kromm said the expected number of hours in a "Session" is four. I'm not going to try to sell that to my 7:30 to 9:30 group, but I can use it elsewhere.



That's an interesting build! quite powerful. My first thought is that its too cheap, but when I use alternate advantages, that only ups the price to [18].



It feels especially appropriate for someone who is officially "In-Universe-Lucky"


I understand Peter really wants this, and I suppose it makes sense for him to eventually get some sort of deep understanding of all this phenomenon. What do you want this Thaumatology to do?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Just skip it... it was more of a color thing and I went for the full appearance level since there were relatively close precedents and I wanted to get good value out of the point.

>I KNOW<
I'm right there with you, and have been part of similar discussions.
I'm a fan, for sure. I'm inclined to just say it should just work that way by default to prevent too much wasted luck ;)

It doesn't really make sense that luck goes away whenever detailed narration does.I really don't have a clear answer to this... I just want Peter to be especially at home with magic and have an understanding of the things he encounters and is fitting them into some kind of a bigger picture.

So mostly color and future option when you feel like Peter being awesome with a magic trick...

I kind of toy with the notion of his someday bringing it all together to perhaps invent his own branch of magic ...someday (which kind of ties into the Destiny thing as well). I've considered the idea of a Dream Magic Talent for something like "Thaumatology, Dreaming, Meditation, Mental Strength, Ritual Magic and Symbol Drawing or something like that...

Maybe he can determine some required rote from ritual, or find ways to improve magic he learns over the original version from time to time, or figures out his own way to foul a spell... But that's all optional, whatever, bonus kind of stuff.

I'm not expecting Peter to get a lot of actual utility out of it.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

eh, lucky events per sentence makes sense, I think. just from conservation of detail. but switchable/alternate build works really well.

Hmmm.... What would I expect it to do?


First off, it'd be a nice skill for "I can tell what the magic I sense is doing." He's seen a fairly wide swath at this point, enough to start guessing what the magic is actually doing.


Second, he could use it to figure out effects in a magic system he knows about but hasn't seen.


Third, it might let him discuss magical theory with practitioners and actually follow what they're saying and win arguments or make predictions


Fourth, it might let him predict what will happen if he tries to use a magic effect on another magic effect


As for combining magic systems... The closest I could see happening so far is the "bond substitution" you're looking into for Helmut. Its honestly nice to have that a quest item, but after you learn it once Thaumatology as the skill to apply the theory on the ground or in future cases makes some sense.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I totally follow. And yeah, he could have gone either way. Its a good twist.

The moral implications and growth of the action are interesting as well. Julian is choosing to betray the people who have treated him best... but he's also choosing not to be a criminal. Which action would have really showed more courage or agency?

And is anyone going to point that out to Julian?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Note that the Detect Power already does this as part of it's basic analysis on an IQ roll, so as a VH skill he would have to have 12+ points in it before it was an improvement...

Edit: I'm wrong there now that I give it some thought... it's a different perspective giving different kinds of details to the information.


I'm having trouble parsing this sentence... could you rephrase?


.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

The more I think about it, the more this has echoed, as Peter absolutely thinks this and is making all his life-choices based on it.

But although Delusion says it's based on how it affects your behavior, the point value seems to be tied to the reaction modifier when the character makes their delusion obvious with outlandish situational behavior and that doesn't really make sense for this. Peter does not advertise this belief, and anyone who he knows him well enough for him to tell it to probably won't think it's a delusion. So if it is a delusion, it's no more than a quirk.

But the point does remain that he takes radical and dangerous actions on an ongoing basis, is giving up high school, etc, I think the proper disadvantage for the behavior we are talking about may be Obsession or Compulsive Behavior (more in line with the code of honor/sense of duty framework than the reaction modifier based disad dynamic with delusions and the like) as his belief instructs his choices and motivations and rather than impact the way others see him.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I dunno about that... He comes off a little forward to me.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I stand corrected!

It's no surprise a lot of nuance is lost between imagination and character sheet.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Is it possible to use some form of extra effort stunt to repurpose the Detect Supernatural Phenomena to detect the psychic ripples that draw Peter's visions or perhaps otherworldly things?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

That's a good question


Are you hoping to trigger the visions, or are you hoping for some sort of analysis that will let you sense the "triggering cause" directly?


Triggering the visions should be doable. I'm more skeptical about getting an answer like "you were brought here because Mr. Pundell is a scumbag who is going to try rob Anil of his rightful inheritence" If for the very least "rightful inheritence" is something I intentionally leave vague.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I was looking for more on the triggering cause.

The template has Clairvoyance, but it is certainly not random... it appears to be guided by an unspoken enhancement, (Guided, "Detect: Tipping Point Events", +xx%), or some intelligence...

Accessing the basic Analysis of that unspoken Detect is the real goal.
I was trying to improvise with Detect, as you can't really improvise away your limitations, and the Clairvoyance requires an hour of sleep, so I think by GURPS RAW, trying to manipulate the visions ability would require the standard preparation for its "use". Fancy tricks with Jumper and Clairvoyance are possible, but only when those abilities would otherwise be available.

He might be able to push his meta sense to look for magical creatures rather than phenomena or perhaps detect items from other worlds by adapting the sense that let's dreamers sense panachronic conveyors as stunts. As Peter is a Weirdness Magnet, so perhaps we're tapping into that wavelength and using the meta sense as Detect "Weirdness," which, Provided something weird was going on, might reveal that these guys are extra-dimensional, or there is a artifact or some other focal point or object, that might provide clues without short circuiting your plot.

I totally get that we're wandering toward the place where dangerous ground meets the thin ice, and I don't want to go that way any further than hint territory. During a vision, Peter has occasionally gotten result asking the ether "why are you showing me this?", He's pretty much trying to do that after the fact here.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I mean, I guess, but I don't know what the missiles have to do with anything.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Granted, Guided and Homing (and it should be Homing) are generally for attacks, but Homing can use a nonstandard scanning sense for targeting, and I think a Detect can fit the bill.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I mean, I was less thinking the kind of modifier, and more along the lines of how these missiles (see below) relate to anything.
If there was such a modifier guiding the clairvoyance, then it sure picked something tangentially related to the conflict to focus on. A starship arriving, a creche, or even a political talk show would have gotten across the whole "clones and FTL" thing more immediately.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

You have a point... Most of the time it is setting establishing, but there is some licence in there to include the other narrative elements when you squint right I guess.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

The last two worlds Julian and Peter swapped predictability*. Peter did pretty much what was expected, and Julian has been an absolute wild card in this world.



The missiles are Paulis Tatim's normal Job, if that helps with context.



*Julian has had two worlds total, so he might not be as predictable as advertised.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

And his jump circumstances were not exactly what you'd call typical.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Interesting thoughts... Peter has been referring to this as "The powers that Be", rather than assuming he can detect "Weirdness"--- but experiments are useful.



Ok, thanks, that helps.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

True, the "PTB" is an idea he's got in his head, but he feels the magic and corresponding sense as his own, despite the potential paradox.

If he has a feel for magic and conveyors, he thinks maybe he can push the sensitivity to adjacent effects to pick up otherworldly things or more passive magic.

"Weirdness" is more of a meta discussion term than one Peter would use obviously, but it might be appropriate as a detect category in its own right.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

This situation is very interesting. With the pressure of "real world" ramifications and the natural deference to his parents, we're seeing a very different Peter than we're used to.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I see. So Paul was always in the plot. I got the crazy idea that the Starpus were related to the missiles (like maybe they Kamikaze piloted them), but that doesn't seem to have materialized.

I don't think you expected Julian to sell the knives in the spears and not mention them, or to just surrender to Tarbreth, so how predictable is he really?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

These are some interesting ideas. Some of the implicit questions have really firm answers and some are more nebulous. And what assumptions are being taken for granted.


You specified that his parents were fairly hands off and defferential and let him have a lot of trust independence, and I've been trying to play that... but there are also limits to that.



Also, Great Uncle Bob is fun to play.


Perhaps Julian is not predictable. Where DID I get that idea?


I noticed the starpus idea being thought about before.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

How else will he figure it out other than probing at the edges?
I did say Peter's parents both work, so he has always been very "free range" and they've given him lots of latitude in his life choices, but when they are in the room, they are calling the shots, especially in matters that involve the family safety. This isn't whether or not to get a paper route. Feel free to firm them up... Peter will need something to rebel against soon enough ;)

I've actually been a bit surprised his parents haven't been a bit bolder, given that they are the role model's for Peter's confidence!

I understand (and appreciate) the desire to maintain player agency, but Peter is a good son, and the grownups are here.

I'm delighted that there's a "Grunklebob" and I'm sure we will be seeing more of him... Starting to think we might start driving there now...


Peter wanted to get back to the Broken World after Christmas, but it looks like there is a mess to untangle at home. Cue Peter's anxiety they will go back to mistreating peasants and kidnapping Earthlings without an Emissary to keep them in line.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Yeah, that bit is news for Peter, but not for you.

I'm surprised that Peter hasn't dealt with Aliens or demihumans (or whatever you want to call fantasy species) yet. Some of that is perspective though: I've found that if you describe radically different cosmetic features on a humanoid its not deterministic if the player thinks they're a new species or just a different looking human.


By contrast, Julian has seen both in two worlds. Though he's been short on Gods and Spirits.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I fixed it.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

The boys and their adventures are certainly an interesting contrast on many levels to be sure!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I had forgotten the dream god Kal-Mor said this... Peter must be skeptical of it with his talking about the PTB...

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I was tempted to put them on the same world here, but I don't think Julian's story here is quite done... though it probably is wrapping up. I'm also not sure if Julian is ready to meet with Peter yet.


Must be. PTB isn't a bad theory.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian is a seeker, a screamer, and an astropic all in one.

He'll be able to name his price!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Well, on a logical level, he could understand that's why he's being treated this way, but emotionally he can't understand it. His perception of his self worth is broken, even in very lopsided situations like this. So instead he needs to other reasons that aren't "you are special" to justify why he's being treated. And this is directly at odds with that; he didn't do anything morally good, nor did he do the concordance a service.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Interestingly, Ypress is going to do his best to overcome this, but for completely self-serving reasons.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Peter dreams of a magnificent city on a great river in the desert, surrounded by farmlands. The city, with few metal tools used by the general public. A darkness runs throughout the streets, as people seem to fear they're being watched, despite no sign of anyone near by. A guard armed with a spear strolls by, paying minimal attention to his surroundings.

A spear sways by and suddenly Peter sees inside a tavern. Men whisper hushed oaths as they plan something. His point of view moving backwards, a woman dressed in strange robes comes into view, in a very different place. She speaks to a man armed with a spear about something, and he rushes off.

As he shakes his spear as he runs, Peter sees a man on a throne, taking cruel delight in the suffering of a prisoner brought before him. He is surrounded by men and monsters, though he does not seem concerned for his safety. He even allows the prisoner to strike him, though the prisoner somehow misses.

The prisoner is killed with a spear, and the dream shifts again as the spear shakes. This time though, the dream feels different. The man on the throne has been stabbed with a spear, his face twisted with shock and terror. To him, being stabbed with this spear is as if the sun did not rise...

TL;DR: The shiny new world is Bel-3. That's the joke.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I saw the grumpy Cat GIF, and I liked it!


Julian is awarded 5 points. Panogos has been wrapped up, and he'll be moving to a new world one way or another. This story is wrapped up, or at least this chapter of it is.



I'm curious if TGLS wants a brand new world or Wants to go to Koru


I've figured out all the finicky bits on Peter's next world. Sorry about the delay.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

>refresh<
>refresh<
It gave me a giggle, but thought maybe it was too grumpy. lol

Send in the clones!

Koru? Should I know what that is? (I presume TGLS does...) EDIT! Found it, The Starpus Homeworld! Cool!

No >refresh< Worries!

>refresh< I know you're the hardest working man in Play-by-Post! Your efforts are appreciated!

>refresh<



>refresh<

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I will spend these later, but just a couple questions:

• Are there any skills to use any of the Astropic and Astropic related abilities?
• How much of a limitation would "Not on powers" would be for Low Self-Image?

Some scattered thoughts:

• I'm kind of curious what the Concordance wants to do with Julian. I suppose they might want to try to have Julian teach other Astropics, but I imagine that won't work. I suppose he could be studied, but as it stands he's basically a curiosity. The Concordance (seemingly) doesn't like cloning, and I doubt they'd entertain alternatives that would let them use his genetics.
• I kinda want Julian to be yanked to a new world when he seemingly dies, just to mess with his head.
• I'm pretty sure Julian's only been in the Astropic universe for three/four days now. I think that's a pretty short period of time on a given world.
• It's up to you, but not jumping to another world avoid disoriented adventures to secure pants and new powers (well, maybe on the second one). I don't see these as crucial but I think it's worth noting.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Great question. I've been letting you use them using raw stats, though requiring a little bit of practice. I'd say scream, seek, and telepathy can be improved as easy skills based on will, per, and IQ, though I see a lot of potential for floating seek or telepathy. I'm not sure about TK: I think the skill if it existed would only be used to pull off stunts with it.


I'm sure you've noticed this about telepathy, but it works more like a racial only telesend, with a funny definition of "racial".

Its either -40% or -60%. As the powers list grows, -60% is probably more appropriate.



Ok, that's not conclusive, but it is helpful.



You've got a point about world-jumping being generally something we want to happen, and another about wanting to know what the concordance is going to do with Julian.



The day count is interesting, but not a big deal, and we could handle that in just a few posts. making him think he's dying every time isn't a high priority, but he could freak himself out into thinking he died.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

This turn of events is interesting, VERY VERY interesting.

Peter got swept up in the storm he was dreaming of with his body not there, which is crazy enough, but it grabbed Goliath too, even though Peter was not the one doing the jumping. Funky!

Great dream post BTW, thank you! A lot of fascinating stuff to investigate! I wonder how many are tied in beyond just being touched by the same storm.

Yrth is exciting... I was always quite envious of the dragon storyline and Tereza's storyline in general! The Sultan-1 (or whatever it was called...) was super interesting with dreamscapes that are a great tie in the campaign dream powers.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

It seems to have been much quicker than that in the Beast Village situation when he swiped some incense from Gerwin's spell... but's all fuzzy til it's not!

It's super useful at whatever casting time you decide to give it!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Lets fix it at 10 seconds. Its obviously not the full minute, but its longer than two sentences and a finger wag. And yeah, its really useful... I love how you managed to get a source of smoke.



I tried to give you a big tangled mess here... we'll see how things play out. There are a lot of actors and I've only got goals for them, not a scripted plan. Even if they aren't tangled before the storm, they're quickly going to end up tangled anyways.


Welcome to Yrth... we'll see how it goes this time.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

It is now later:
Added:
1 Point to Running
1 Point to Astropic Telepathy
1 Point to Astropic Seeking
1 Point to Streetwise

1 Point Saved (Towards buying off Disads eventually)

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Thank you! have you updated your sheet?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Yes, though the dropbox may be late.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian: "So for like the next week or two, until something else kills me."
I can't speak for matrix_walker, but even if I hadn't it'd be so much of a campaign shift that I wouldn't believe it personally. Though Julian would play along with it

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian might be curious if he's leaving corpses behind when he "dies" or not.



fair.



Though maybe I could dangle an alternate way out and introduce some doubt...



But yeah, Teresa blew Yrth and Coventry wide open.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian will also probably drop the idea if any of:
1) He's injured/sick and remains so when he reawakens elsewhere
2) He doesn't experience near death before his next dream elsewhere. The dream to Riask being deemed caused by death is Julian making the reasonable assumption that something happened while he was asleep. If Julian's sleeping in a safe bed in a Concordance facility when he jumps, he might drop the idea

It'd be kinda cheap, but you could call Teresa and all the other pre-2021 dreamers legends and only count their events as canon if you choose to bring them up. Or maybe Teresa is/was in a different multiverse from Peter and Julian. You could even get really fancy and have Julian and Peter in different multiverses entirely ("What is this, a crossover episode?" "Wait, how are we talking to the same person in the same place and not see each other?"). Or maybe Teresa was on a different Yrth that is escapable, while Peter is not. Or maybe Teresa retroactively had a different Jumper advantage that could escape.

Lots of tricks, though some may feel cheap.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Peter thinks this guy probably doesn't know what he's talking about and doesn't know about jumpers and conveyors.

If he meets up with the Conveyor occupants who understand such things better, he would be more likely to be concerned.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Peter IS a pre-2021 dreamer. (I'm always a bit saddened when I look back to the original thread and Peter neve made the dreamer list in the OP for some reason) but Peter started jumping in 2014 on our calendar (and we're not to 2015 yet).

Maybe their game worlds are actually the same, or have the same year and Peter is in his 20's by Julian's time-frame!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Yeah, I know that. I picked 2021 because that's when you resumed after the most recent dead period. The idea is, "Things that happened before 2021 don't necessarily need to be canon." Obviously, everything that happened to Peter is canon. But things that didn't happen to Peter don't need to be canon. i.e. Yrth is escapable by dreamers, specific worlds existing, Infinity having some awareness of Vasic magic, Elves and Lizards making peace, the exact specifics of Mars and Yaka, etc. Like, at some point, Teresa or Graham or Jordan or whomever might be alluded to, even some of their major changes, but that doesn't mean everything that ever happened to them is also true.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Eh, there's no guarantee every dreamer's talent and manifestation is the same, or that any version of the same worlds are in fact the same worlds.

Every repeat trip Peter has made to Thuroma could be another one so similar that it was simply not noticeable that it is not the same one, and the Peter they talked to last time was not the same Peter who came this time.

I don't think Eric needs to consider any thread cannon for the others... even in a crossover, we may be free to interpret things a little differently, and we may be right! Our characters could both meet NPC's so similar to our PCs that we THINK our PCs have met, but really each is meeting a close parallel.

Kinda spoils the idea by sharing it, but a crossover where it plays out and at the end Eric sent us back to our original thread will messages that indicate the other died and the PC survived, only to have another crossover because the guest star in each thread was just a parallel. :)

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

OK, here are my notes:
3417-02-16: Julian arrives, goes to the hospital, and gets collected by Royal's people. Worldbuilding!
3417-02-17: Julian has first dream about and later first encounter with Paulis Tatim. Plans are made to capture the Starpus.
3417-02-18: Starpus kidnapping.
3417-02-19: The longest day. Seekers, confusing Reena, chase with Tatim, betrayal, recovery, and a new deal via Ypress.
3417-02-20: A starship ride to Koru.
3417-02-21: I guess that's the day after the exercise?

And in terms of keeping time:
Bumundo, Riask: 2023-01-28 through 2023-02-17
Panogos: 2023-02-18 through 2023-02-21
Koru: 2023-02-22 (and counting)

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Yeah, it looks like the 21st is the day of TK analysis.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I generally prefer to roleplay than make will rolls for things not related to specific disadvantages and whatnot, but some kind of will roll may be called for...

If Peter walks off on his own without his alien troop, he is probably going to relax the guard on his composure enough to let in the creeping existential horror of all this and freak out to the verge of a panic attack.

He's running on adrenaline and bravado... and it's running out.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Matrix was asking about Standard Magic and lost in dreams...

When I started lost in dreams the plan was to not use the standard magic system. This has changed, but that means some of the things I was glad to not have to work out now need to be worked out.

At the very least, Dreamwalkers will ignore magery requirements for learning spells. I might consider them to just have magery 3 for the purposes of the standard magic system, but I haven't decided yet.

Matrix has shown particular interest in recover energy, given Peter's fondness for a spell that spends 10 ER to create a puff of smoke (never thought that would be so useful) . This will be a 5 point advantage that's basically the counterpart to Fit.

Matrix has also asked about ignoring the prerequiste chain. I'll think about this. The idea is that Dreamwalkers are naturally good with magic, but that's usually done by granting expensive powers-based magic and a skill-based magic won't work quite like that.

On the other hand, this is our first really unchained magic system that can do almost anything other than maybe whatever the gods use (but that's much more energy hungry and they basically don't use it at the moment). That's probably covered by asking for a different skill for each spell though. It might be worth using ritual magic (with the penalties being based on magery prereq rather than prereq chain).

You do not need to roll will in order to roleplay a mental breakdown.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

And perhaps I'm jumping the gun... Peter has not yet encountered Yrths magic. But I wanted to have a framework ready for if he does. Hopefully he meets someone willing to apprentice him.
I have always been surprised that Magery was not on the dreamer template, but then I've always assumed it contained secrets. It is explained by your original intention of not using the basic magic system.

Noted. So that would be the 5 minute recovery akin to skill 15?

Since I usually use it for smoke anyway, maybe I'll just take an incense censer accessory power-perk instead so that he's mastered that one.

Aside of clarifying your general intent for dreamers...

I would enjoy Peter having an added level a savant-ism related to his always trying to combine the things he learns about the different flavors of the supernatural, so what we choose to do with Peter here does not have to be a standard setting precedent for dreamers, and rather can something special to him.

True enough! Luckily the pressure lightened considerably with Chorniveebi's last statement.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Well, just directly comparing to Vasic Operation:

VO (Energy Stone): 1 Minute to "cast", usable at melee ranges, no energy needed, 1 cp to generate enough heat to boil water or light a dark room at IQ-1.

Magic by the spell: 1 second to cast, usable at short distances, energy needed, mana effects, 3 cp to generate a light as bright as a candle, create a fire and either seek a source of fire or start a fire at IQ+1.

Magic by the college: per Magic by the Spell, 1 cp to create a fire at IQ-1 and shoot a flame jet from their fingies at IQ-3, 1 cp to create a light as bright as a candle at IQ and turn invisible at IQ-6.

Given how many restrictions that standard magic gets compared to other systems, I think "magic by the college" is fairly priced. I'm less sure about allowing taking spells without prereqs. Like, for the examples I gave, it's fairly priced. On the other hand, invisibility at 2 cp instead of 7 cp seems unfair.

That's the whole ER reserve, right?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian: "I wouldn't say it was a 'nice' house."

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Julian would have a very different relationship with these people.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Oh, sure. I figured as much. I just find some things said in the Peter's thread just perfectly cued up.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Thus concludes 2023-03-03? / 3417-02-28 (a week from the Telekinesis day). Funny that this is going to look like Julian hated conditions here and somehow escaped when (as elaborated on in his diary) he felt like he shouldn't have blown up like that and felt bad about it.

ED: Moved to right thread.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Maybe Julian is about to get banestormed too! Then we'll find out!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I will be very slow posting for the next week. Thank you for your patience, and see you on the other side!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Thanks for letting us know.

I hope things go as painlessly and pleasantly as possible!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

If so, color me super jealous... Dang you are getting the good stuff.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

The update was really slow. Try again. And look for the link I added.



The Men also have the effect, I just forgot to talk about it. sorry. Its a subtle effect.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Tried this morning on different device. Still doesn't seem updated.