Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Yes, you can do that. You can do that, while having a totally different conversation with the person out loud. You can, in fact, have a different conversation with every person in the group, while still talking out loud.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Sweet!

But woudn't having several conversations at once be very confusing? I mean, unless you have Compartmenalized Mind for some reason.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I suspect this is really a learnable skill. I don't have any problems following a conversation that's going on in the room I'm in while I'm talking on the phone, so I forget that other people don't do this as well as I do.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

If my IC post posits too much about Binf, I can edit.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

"Inverse-synchronizing Isolinears"? I looked up Isolinears, but is the rest gobbledy-****? XD

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I used an online random technobabble generator. :)

As far as I know, no part of it could actually apply to any real-world technology.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Oh, I beg to differ!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolinear

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

If he looks up "Rusev" on his implant or has heard of it, it was a small multi-planet empire that was torn apart by civil war. Many of its refugees went to Caran, a two-planet empire two jumps away with very liberal refugee laws.

ETA: That war was about 8 years prior.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Information on the Mining Company: Considering I made it up on the spot, I'll be making this up on the spot, as well. :P

Bagley & Paine Mining Company was started by Franz Bagley and Julia Paine; it hasn't been around for long, only for about a decade. However, it's still a somewhat sizable company, although it's not able to really handle high-end contracts. It ain't no megacorp, to say the least. :)

It only has a presence on a few planets, mostly uninhabited worlds, and uses remote mining almost exclusively.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

"Well, I hear there's a bunch of snakes/robots/aliens attacking."

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

"We got aliens on the motherfriggin' plane!"

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Wow. I just realized that two players have taken up 2+ pages with ... conversation. Simple conversation, at that. I don't think this forum was made with lots of posts in an RP in mind. :o

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

If we really want we could collapse it into fewer posts. :P

ETA: But I think multiple pages of dialog aren't problematic -- they're quick enough to read, anyway.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I don't see a problem with it. (Also, under User Settings, you can increase the number of posts on a page. If you've got a fast connection, that makes it much easier to read long threads.)

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I assume no one is going to do anything on this leg of the trip. I'm going to skip to arriving at the next station, where there is to be a short layover for fueling.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I'm back. :) Posting my next IC post now. I'm glad to see that nothing much has been happening, action wise, whilst I've been away.

A map!
 

That's going to change!

I've posted a map of the lounge bar at
http://www.panix.com/~dscheidt/radivan/lounge_map.jpg
I apologize for the low quality. I'll post a clearer version when I can figure out why my scanner doesn't work...

Some notes: Each hex is two meters. The central hexagon is the main interior core of the ship. It runs the whole length of the ship, with an interruption at the stern where the fusion drives start, and one at the center, where the Choi drive is. It's 10 meters on a side; doors out of it are heavy duty, and will stand up to hard vacuum. The four X'd out rectangles in the central part of it represent lift tubes. In free fall, like right now, the cars taken to the ends of the shafts, and the doors left open, so it's a set of long corridors. There are pressure doors every twenty meters.

The lounge itself has two entrances into the core, one in the center of each of the two sides. Each is 1.5 meters wide, and about 2.5 high. The squares in the top bit of the lounge are tables. They have chairs, not shown, about 6 or 8 per table. Everything is clamped to the floor, but there's a grid of supports in the floor to allow things to be moved easily, and they can be unclamped entirely without tools. The bar is about bar height. It's got a bunch of stool,s. There are two vid screens on the outside wall, (the heavy lines) currently showing outside. There's a very large screen video display with a bunch of couches and small tables facing it at the bottom left wall.

In the bottom left and bottom right corners there are spiral stairs leading to the exercise area (down, aft) and to the social ballroom (up, forward.) There's enough space in the stairs so that you can move through the center in freefall. The floor and ceiling of the bar level are temporary, made of some sort of folding material. Ceiling height is 4 meters.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Aha, things are starting go get interesting. I wonder whether the emergency start was caused by someting on the ship or by something on the refilling station.

How strong are the main engines? Is it possible to act, or is everybody pressed flat against the floor?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

The ship is nominally rated for just over 1 G. Actual acceleration depends on how heavily loaded it is. It only made about 0.75 on the last leg, but you don't know if that was because it couldn't pull 1 G, or because they didn't want to. Delta V of the ship is about 10,000 km/s, at 1 G. (limit acceleration to 0.1 G, and it goes up by a factor of 4 or so. )

The ship isn't yet under power. My whole IC post covers about 2 seconds of real time.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

This is achronological, but during dinner Julia would have asked the captain where he was from.

ETA: Also, is there any datacom signal to be had from the station?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Whilst Xerxes is seated, he'll study the scene (ie, he'll get ready to use his Tactics skill to give him and his fellow passengers an edge, if they do decide to attack the nervous guy).

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

As some of you have no doubt guessed, there's going to be some combat here. Well, I suppose you could sit still, and let whatever happens happen, but that doesn't seem very fun. So, my question is, at what rate do you want that to progress? Something just a touch faster than GURPS RAW, where each post is a couple turns (or more, if there's a lull or a Long Action), or something faster than that, where each post represents several turns?

My preference is towards the first, but I can do the second. I'd like to move a bit faster than I would in a tabletop game, because the lag for posting is so long, it'll take a week to play a turn...

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I vote for the first. I'm assuming we're at 0.1 gravity at the moment. How much heft does a bounce stick have (it's the only thing resembling a weapon that Xerxes has at the moment)? Is the guy pointing his shotgun at anyone in particular? Also, is there anything on the table that could be used to distract him (hot coffee or water in face, that sort of thing)?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

0.1G, yes. The bounce stick is about a pound. Unextended, it's a decent imitation of a baton or nightstick sort of thing (use shortsword, DX-5 default does SW or TH crushing damage). Extended, it's about 2.5 feet long, so a short staff, or a longer sword or a mace, but doesn't have the heft to do any more damage that way. There's nothing on the table you're at. The room was in freefall, before this started, remember.

the guy with the gun can't quite work out what to do with it. He keeps alternating between having it pointed in your general direction at the waist, and having the stock at his shoulder and the barrel down at an angle. He may well never have pointed one at a person before.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Okay, how far is the guy from where we (Xerxes, Pierre, and Julia) are sitting, and is there any cover between us and him?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Do you have the map? Each hex is two meters. He's just to the left of the door, a foot or so away fro mthe wall. you're behind the table nearest him; it's about 4 meters or so. You can probably jump that far, but it would take a second or so in the air to cover the distance. The only cover is the table between you and the guard. It's clamped to the floor. It comes loose, but you'd have to crawl under it and spend some time figuring out how to make it do so.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I vote for the first option. It's no use to describe the actions of several turns, only to have your plan foiled by a missed die roll or a unexpected reaction from the enemy.

So, both Xerxes and Pierre are willing to show these militia guys that they can't simply storm the ship bullying and shooting people. Together they shuld have a good chance to take out the guard. Sadly though Pierre's unarmed fighting skills are a joke and Xerxes, sitting between Julia and Pierre is in a bad position for a surprise attack. I think it would be best if Pierre drew off the guards attention, giving Xerxes a chance (and a path) to attack.

That leaves only one problem. They don't know about each others plans, and, since the guard is so close, they can't talk to make a plan. :(

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

See my IC post, monsieur..

ETA: dscheidt: What at the penalties for actions at .1G?

Times
 

So, I'm down with whichever combat system y'all want, so it looks like the first option is what's goin' down.

But, that means that it could take FOOORRRREEEEVVVVEEERRRRR to get through more than the shortest combat. Unless, that is, our schedules sync up.

Fleckenzwerf, Lonewulf, and I are all in Germany, t@nya's in Australia, and dscheidt doesn't have location listed. Not that that's terribly pertinent.

So, I've got a fairly flexible schedule, and my only definite restriction is that after midnight my time (GMT+1) my internet goes all funky.

If there's any time that we all tend to be online, that'd be handy to know, so we can make use of that for this whole combat thing.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

For those of you with a home gravity of ~ 1G (which is all of you, as no one claimed differently, it's 4 G increments, so -4 to DX for skills that require calculation of trajectories -- melee skills mostly, not things like Guns or Basket Weaving.

Re: Times
 

I'm in UTC-5 (US eastern standard time). I'm online for a little bit morning my time (between 1500 and 1700 UTC ) for a few minutes, and then again from 2300 UTC until I go to bed. The times vary a lot, though, depending on my schedule.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Hmm, I've read through the OOC thread again, to find out how the computer implants are working. When I wrote my previous post, I was under the impression that the implants rely on the ship's net for communication and that net is down. So I'll wait for dscheit to verify that the implants can communicate directly before I answer.

Gah, I just thought of something else. It's entirely possible that the hijackers are connected in a similar way, possibly using a transmitter one of the hijacker is carrying or using the ship's net after having thrown out everybody else. If that's the case then we'll be swarmed by a unknown number of hijackers no matter what. If we kill or knock out the guard they'll lose contact with him and if we take him prisoner he could actually provide his comrades with a live feed of what we are planning. The only solution to that would be to incapacitate the guard in one way or another and flee from the lounge ASAP.

Comms tech
 

Radio communications is done by a pretty nifty system of self-healing ad-hoc mesh networks. The radios find another radio that's advertising itself as a relay device, and use it to reach their target. If the target is reachable directly, then they'll talk directly. So it's perfectly possible to reach the person sitting next to you without needing the infrastructure relays, it's the usual situation. There are lots of things that are only reachable by direct communication. For instance, a sign that shows a map of the ship would provide that same information to any receiver in range, but wouldn't relay it out farther.

The radios in most things are very low-powered. The implant radios put out something on the order of a pico-watt, with a bandwidth of a couple gigahertz. that gives them a range of a few meters, for high speed comms, and a bit longer for lower speed ones. It's strictly line of sight, though. A piece of aluminum foil is enough to b block signals.

The bad guys in constant communication is an element of nearly every thriller made in the last 1000 years ofr so.

Re: Times
 

So you'll be posting from midnight on for us here in Germany. That's no problem for me, but I don't think that I'll be able to post more often than once or twice during the night, because I usually go to sleep between 1 and 2 a.m. UTC+1.

Regarding the the number of turns covered in one post: We can use method 2 if that's better, but I fear the posts could become rather complicated with a lot of if ... then ... else statements.

Outch! That calls for AoA (Determined) even for a simple punch. It's definitely the wrong person holding that shotgun.

edit:
True, true. But in past times you probably had several minutes or even hours before the alarm is sounded, and then the enemy leader first had to find out what was wrong before he could start issuing orders. With the ultra-tech available in this campain the same process only takes a few seconds. It's kind of scary.

Re: Times
 

I meant in last 1000 years in the Radivan universe. It was major plot point in Die Very, Very, Very Hard 2,345, for instance. One thing to remember -- and I have a hard time doing it, too -- that while it's a new thing to you the player, it's not at all new to the character. They've got a hard time imagining that there was a time when you could take out a guard and not have his cohorts know.

On the other hand, if they wanted you dead, all they have to do is pump the air out of the room. You're first class passengers; that means you're worth money to someone....

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Lord Xerxes doesn't have an implant computer. Probably too important for one.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Damn. Well, then I'm gonna try to read his Body Language to predict his actions -- he seems like our best bet [not OOC knowledge, he's just very apparently of some sort of military background]. And if I notice his gesture (Per?) I'll try to guess it's meaning (Gesture?).

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

And In-Character, the military background and no implant don't mesh well. It's the sort of thing people join armies for, the "free" implant computer.

Oh, yeah. I'm going to advance the plot when I get home tonight. I was going to do it last night, but my Internet connection died, and started working 10 mintues after I went to bed.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I didn't know that. :(

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

No, it fits *Lord Xerxes* pretty well -- if I hadn't thought so, I'd have said so during character creation. It just looks weird to an outsider. Remember, the other characters know nothing about you -- they only met you a couple days ago. They don't know your backstory -- and I don't think you're going around blabbing about the details, somehow.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Well, that's alright then. And you're right, I'm not going to be telling the details of my life, especially to people I've only just met.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I'm going to assume Pierre is smart enough to guess what Xerxes means with his gestures. If not I can still change my next IC post to fit the story.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Well, the first part of the plan worked well, maybe a little too well. Now if Pierre keeps his mouth shut but still backs away (hoping for a second warning), would that still be overconfident or already on the edge?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Rule of thumb: When someone points a gun at you, and says "Do X, or I'll kill you." do X.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

That's what I thought. But I'm a little confused. You suggested fighting it out instead of waiting for a wonder. Given the situation though, waiting for a wonder seems to be the only option. And now Pierre has gone and turned the guard nervous and alert.

Maybe I've had him act to rashly. I couldn't think of something better to try though. I'm sorry if I made the situation worse for everybody.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Well, to continue the meta-gaming, he didn't actually say we shouldn't wait for a wonder.. just that combat would be a good thing eventually. So, given that, perhaps we were to wait for some helpful NPC activity that would make bounding over a table and weaponlessly engaging an armed enemy while at -4 to all DX skills a good idea.

Come to think of it, being ransomed can't be that bad, can it?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

You're right, it was a stupid idea. My only defense is, that I have a lot of things on my mind right now and didn't get much sleep this week. But I don't want to bore you with my personal problems. I'll try to put more thought into my posts from now on.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

You're standing up still when my last plot post takes place. You can take an action during it (you're last, by speed, I think, so it won't change anything that's happened.) You can't quite cover the distance.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Well, it's us or him now. So Pierre will move towards the guard, close enough to start an AoA next turn. I'll have to sleep over this, but I guess the best he can do is trying to grapple the guard. Assuming Pierre doesn't get shot before he reaches the guard, naturally.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Been busy.

I hope I didn't miss too much. x.@

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Naw, I wasn't saying it was a stupid idea -- I figured we were expected to act, too, and without meta-gaming it seems like the best idea -- just given where things had gotten, it seemed the likely solution.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Xerxes will attack with karate (the bounce stick is in his left hand to keep his main hand free) as soon as he's able to. If the guard swings his shotgun at him he'll swing the bounce stick and try to knock it aside.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

If the Stun Gun is approved, Julia will AoA:Determined with Brawling once possible. Otherwise I'll edit my IC post.

By the way, info for Stun Gun:
TL:8 LC:4, Dam:HT-3(0.5) aff Reach:C,1 Parry:0 ST:2 Skill:Brawling, DX Notes: [5] On a failed HT roll, victim is stunned for as long as weapon is in contact plus (20-HT) seconds longer, and then can roll vs. HT-3 to recover.

ETA: That attack is gonna be targeting nervous guy's face.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Isn't the bonus for AoA Determined +4 (page 324 of characters book)? I think that the +1 is for ranged attacks.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Yes. It is +4. Duh. Stupid GM. Look things up. Don't rely on failing memory. Does it change anything? (Probably means Xerxes hits the guy, huh?) I'll fix things when I get home. Or tomorrow morning, which ever comes first.)

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Thanks. :)

Xerxes does hit the guard when the extra +3 is taken into consideration.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I've made the correction.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Thank you. :)

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Xerxes next move will be to attempt to grab the guard's pistol from his holster.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

shotgun would probably be easier. the guard is drawing his pistol, Pierre has both hands on his wrist trying to stop him. The guard has his back to the wall, so you'd have reach around Pierre. the shotgun doesn't have anyone grabbing it.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Okay, I'll grab the shotgun then, put the barrel against the guys chest, and fire, as long as there's no risk of hurting one of my allies. If there is, I'll just train the weapon on him, looking for an opening.

When I fire I'll do an AoA Determined (for a +1 to hit). I'll need it, since Xerxes is going to have to default from his rifle skill (giving him a -2).

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

At muzzle contact range, I don't roll, except to see if you critically miss. If the gun goes off, there's just no where else for the slug to go....

Julia will have stunned him before then, though.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

In that case, Xerxes will just keep hitting him, keeping him off balance so there's less chance of him successfully drawing his pistol. As soon as the guard is stunned, Xerxes will arm himself with the shotgun.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Out of curiosity, is it at all possible to retrieve any firearms at this point? There are more of these guys to handle, after all.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I just want to let you know that I'm still here and will be posting again in the IC thread this evening. Real life has kept me from posting but for once it was for a positive reason. My sister gave birth to her first baby and we're all very excited about it. :)

Dscheidt, I'll send you a PM.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I'd also like to get my weapons (pistol and rifle) out of storage.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Pierre would feel much more comfortable with one of his rifles, too.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Is it just me, or do we have an army on board? o.O

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

It's just you. But if we do crack open the storage somehow, Julia'll get her sidearm as well.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Your weapons are in a container, along with the other passengers equipment that liner companies don't like their passengers carrying. That means it's past the coach section, which is about a hundred meters long, and had several hundred passengers. Ship's security usually has an arsenal, which is likely forward. What's in it depends on the ship. The guy in the space suit likely knows a bit about the arsenal, and the tactical situation as well. (Suits have a longer range radio booster.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

It'd also be good if Xerxes could get back to his cabin and get relevant stuff he's left there: his nanoweave suit, for example. I'd imagine Pierre is eager to get to the cabins as well, to make sure his wife is alright.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

If appropriate given the suited guys answer, Julia will enquire about returning to the cabins.

"Is the distance from here to the cabins passable? I have body-armor in my cabin, and I'm sure Monsieur Ardain would like to check on his wife."

If he explains Pierre's wife to be secure, Julia will omit that part, and in the unlikelihood that he offers Julia armor, she won't ask at all.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

See the IC thread. You can get to your cabins -- they're on this level, or the level below (even with with bottom level of the lounge.) That's where the pressure doors in the elevator shafts are, and presumably, that's where there's vacuum. That's steward's spaces, and then coach passengers.

Questions? Comments? Complaints?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Out of curiosity, is Renee standing with Pierre? Fleckenzwerg's IC post said she is, but yours says she isn't.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Whoops, my bad. I should have consulted dscheidt before assuming Renee is still in the cabin. Ignore my post and replace Pierre's last sentence in dscheidt's post with: "I need to go and find my wife."

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Without. She wasn't in their cabin.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

My IC posts assumes there are plenty of pistols to go round.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

There are enough pistols to go around, and then some. Each pistol is packed in sealed bag, in a holster on a lightweight pistol belt. Each pistol belt has two spare magazines, half a dozen plastic handcuff strips (glorified zip ties). The pistols are ETC versions of the Heavy Pistol on UT 137
(4D+2 P+, acc 2, ROF 3, shots 20, ST 10, bulk 3, rcl 3) Range won't matter, there's no where with that long a shot aboard ship. They've got the standard weapon electronics package -- laser sight, tactical flashlight, HUD link, diagnostics. That means, if you've got a HUD -- if you've got an implant computer, you do, otherwise you need a pair of googles or a helmet with one -- you can point the gun around a corner, and see what it's pointed at. It also means the gun keeps track of what it's fired at. It weighs 2.5 lbs, each magazine is 0.7 lbs. The belt, including the gun and magazines, and cuffs is just over 4 lbs.

Shotguns are standard, caseless guns. The Close Assault Weapon on UT 138 is close, but they're not autofire. They're also loaded with buckshot. (1D+2 PI+ times 9 per shot). They've got the standard electronic package. There's an essentially unlimited supply of ammunition for them, packed in disposable magazines. There's also birdshot magazines, if you'd rather have that for some reason.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Looks like everyone but the GM is online right now.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

It's nearly 3am here and I can't sleep.