[OOC] Worlds of Fire

[Dorin Thorha]

I just realized that those Weapon Adaptations aren't legal. I'll change that.

[KS Pathfinder]

Sentinel-IV Project: Subject: Mark-315

Lone Wolf No More:

People sometimes want to know about the story of my origins, well there’s not much to tell really, of course at this point Serena would bop me around the back of my head if she could have, stating I need to work on my people skills some more. So all right, you want to know how I came to be in this place, well here goes...

My name’s Mark and I was your ordinary average human being, a citizen of the Confederation. I had a mother and father, and an older brother called Nathan who’d joined the Confederation military as soon as he was able.

Things would have stayed the same, with Nathan doing his soldier thing, and me dawdling around trying to figure out where my future lay, but that all changed when our parents were killed in a rebel bombing campaign, claiming it was done in the name of freedom...Yeah, right.

Just like that my parents were gone and there was nothing left to fill the void, except my older brother Nathan, and a sometimes overwhelming anger and bitterness towards the so-called freedom fighting rebels. So, with not much left to lose, I joined my brother Nathan and enlisted into the Confederation military.

After nearly a decade of service, and driven by a desire to inflict my own personal vengeance on the rebels who had caused the deaths of my parents I was eventually transferred to the Confederation militaries Special Forces, ironically in the same such forces as my older brother Nathan.

It was during my time with Special Forces that I first became aware of the Sentinels Project, a project to create superhuman soldiers who would initially be used as surgical strike weapons and tools against the rebels; a fact which appealed to me. I wondered whether it’d be possible for me to do more against the rebels if I volunteered to undergo the procedure, as opposed to the rumoured involuntary nature of subjects for the Sentinel Project.

When I voiced my musings to Nathan he was less than receptive to the idea, balling me out and doing whatever it took to dissuade me from such brash action etc. Nathan was my older brother, and although I hated to admit it at the time, I guess he was right. So I didn’t look into the Sentinel Project again after that, and things would have stayed that way had the Kreyt not started a war against humanity and Nathan not killed in action during the Kreyt’s attack on North-By-North-East.

The Kreyt were humanities first contact with a sentient alien race since journeying amongst the stars from Earth centuries before, it was not a peaceful first contact. They just showed up out of nowhere and for no reason we could fathom started attacking us and destroying our colonies, and just like that the first human-alien war began.

We still know next to nothing about the Kreyt, other than the fact that they’re four metres tall, have four legs and two arms, and are technically speaking more technologically advanced than us, hell, we know for certain their FTL travel is more advanced and accurate than ours. For the first time I came to the shocking truth that our human squabbling was irrelevant if it meant the eradication of our species. Thankfully, as much as I hate the Kreyt, there’s got to be more friendly alien races out there, I just hoped humanity could survive long enough to find out.

Due to the nature of FTL travel and the vastness of space the war dragged on for years, and I found myself on the frontlines of it, somehow managing to survive and distinguish myself, and although humanity fought hard, we were inevitably little by little losing. It was at this point I crossed paths with a Sentinel-III, by the name of George-052, a meeting which would change my life forever.

Although involuntarily pressed into service in the Sentinel Project his background as an orphan roaming and growing up on the streets eventually made him realise he was better off as a Sentinel. At least he had a purpose now, was paid and fed, had something akin to a real home, so what if some of his freedoms had been taken away, especially now that he had a chance to prove his worth by fighting for humanities survival against the Kreyt.

I came to like George-052, and through him learned of the Sentinel-IV project. So with no family left to dissuade me, I volunteered myself to the Sentinel-IV project and underwent the arduous process of becoming a Sentinel-IV, and continued to fight in the war against the Kreyt, serving the Confederation, and eventually being partnered with the AI calling herself Serena. I miss George-052; his death still grieves me, especially since I was there when it happened. I still have his dog tags, which he gave me before his death and no matter what; I’ll honour him in my own way and make him proud.

That’s only half the story however; it explains only where I came from and how I became a Sentinel-IV, not how I came to be lost with Serena and jumping from universe to universe in a vain hope of getting back home and ultimately in the place I now found myself.

For a long while the Confederation had been trying to figure out how it seemed that the Kreyt were seemingly able to bypass our defences so easily at times, well, as it turned out, it had everything to do with the device attached to my upper arm armour.

It turned out the Kreyt were using this form of technology to literally teleport themselves passed our defences, or to be more precise around our defences by teleporting out of our universe and back in again but at a different location.

After managing to kill one of their commando teams I obtained the very device they were using and watched with some alarm as it attached itself to my own armour, seemingly uncaring that its previous owner was dead and that some altogether different species was now using it.

After helping defend the colony world I was on at the time of acquiring the device I ended up in a tight spot, surrounded by angry Kreyt, and as a last ditch attempt to survive and return with my findings on how they were getting passed our defences I took the calculated risk of activating the device, and for my troubles I survived, but now found myself lost, and having no recourse but to blindly jump from universe to universe in order to get home.

After jumping around for a several years I received a message addressed and sent to me by person’s unknown, promising aid in getting home and prolonging Serena’s life. Not normally the type of person to trust unknown and cryptic messages I decided to take a chance nonetheless, and now here I, you, and others are.

- Style of character: Soldier, enhanced, TL10, AI as backup.

[Totem]

A few questions while we wait.

Originally Posted by ErhnamDJ

Tentative character sheet here. Still working on it.

Presumably this is still coming.

Originally Posted by ErhnamDJ

Jumper (Psi, Requires 5 FP) [0]
Payload 10 (External, -50%) [5] (Allows him to carry twenty-nine pounds outside his body that don't count as encumbrance)

How is the Payload being defined here? Is it a bag?

[Totem]

A few questions while we wait.

Originally Posted by Dorin Thorha

Atlantean Compass ([46], SM 6 -10%, Can Be Stolen By Stealth or Trickery -20%) [33]
-Danger Sense (Nuisance Effect: Eerie hum -5%)
-Luck
-Serendipity
-Perceptual Filter

No problem with the Compass, just a quick question about the abilities: Is that meant to be Perceptual Filter (i.e. a disguise) or was it intended as Heightened Perceptual Awareness (an accompanyment to Danger Sense)? I'm good with it either way, but it seemed an odd choice for a Human character.

Originally Posted by Dorin Thorha

Enemy (Baron Von Kaputt -20, 6 or less x1/2) [-10]

Presumably the creditor mentioned in the original posting. Could I request a few more details?

Originally Posted by Dorin Thorha

QUIRKS [-5]

Hates Monkeys [-1]
4 more quirks TBD

PERKS [4]

Convincing Nod [1]
Weapon Bond (Whip) [1]
Weapon Bond (Machete) [1]
2 perks TBD

Any further thoughts on these? There's no requirement for all quirks/ perks to be used.

Originally Posted by Dorin Thorha

Indestructible Hat $2,000 (Sig Gear)

You'll forgive me, but I've got to put that to the test sooner or later.

[Dorin Thorha]

No problem with the Compass, just a quick question about the abilities: Is that meant to be Perceptual Filter (i.e. a disguise) or was it intended as Heightened Perceptual Awareness (an accompanyment to Danger Sense)? I'm good with it either way, but it seemed an odd choice for a Human character.

It's a perceptual filter, calculating point cost as sig gear. The compass doesn't exactly mask your appearance, but it helps keep people from wondering why the "Arab" never seems to speak Arabic, or whatever. I originally built it with Heightened Perceptual Awareness, but then I thought that Danger Sense fit the character better. Pretty much the defining thing about Indigo is his ability to adapt to unknown situations, rather than the ability to know what is going on.

Presumably the creditor mentioned in the original posting. Could I request a few more details?

He's a weathy figure who backed Indigo's last adventure. He's one person, 150% of Indigo's power. A lot of that power is his Allies: he has connections with several criminal groups. What his motives were in seeking the island is unknown. Some possibilities are:

He'd heard about the existence of items of power like the Compass, and was seeking it. In this case he could very well be using some such artifact to follow Indigo himself.

He was merely interested in the treasure and knew no more about it than Indigo did. In this case his following Indigo would depend on him having a similar coincidence to Indigo's.

He was the tool of some higher organization, maybe even one with worldjumping capabilities. In this case he probably has a powerful Patron, a particularly scary prospect.

The low frequency of appearance is due to the small chance of him finding a way to track Indigo through the worlds.

Any further thoughts on these? There's no requirement for all quirks/ perks to be used.

I plan to fill in the quirks during play, and to finish choosing the perks soon.

You'll forgive me, but I've got to put that to the test sooner or later.

It was obligitory for a cinematic treasure hunter/archaeologist...

And that's a good quirk: Places Great Value On His Hat.

[ErhnamDJ]

Originally Posted by Totem

Presumably this is still coming.

Yeah, it is. Sorry about the delay. I had actually finished the character sheet, but the forums ate half of it. So I'm having to piece it back together now.

How is the Payload being defined here? Is it a bag?

It's him being able to carry more stuff without being encumbered. He's been carrying around the same gear for so long that he's gotten used to the weight.


I would have bought Lifting ST, but that would have made him a world class weightlifter, which I didn't want.

[Totem]

Okay, we're up to four players. There are three who've submitted character concepts but no character sheet. I'm aiming to open the IC thread on the 11th/ 12th. Those wishing to join should get a character sheet in before then.

Further details will be posted in the near future. For now the prologue to the campaign can be found here.

[GnomesofZurich]

I've got a character concept for this, thought I'd run it by before proceeding with full on creation (and realizing that there might not be any open slots left).

My character is human (or post-human) from a very advanced society (TL12) from the far future. At this point, they have mastered many technologies, including teleportation, time travel and dimension travel. There's is a largely post-labour society, with most needs being take care of by robots and artificial intelligences, leaving the human population to only engage in those pursuits they want to. Many people have taken advantage of the ability to travel anywhere, anywhen, carefully regulated, to visit various points in history, explore alternate histories, and visit alien cultures.

The regulation of this travel is mostly done by A.I.s, although some humans do so on volunteer basis. It was noticed not long ago that many of the people who made these trips were coming back with strange delusions. They maintained that things had changed. They claimed that important people in their lives were missing, and they could find no record of their ever having existed, or that political lines between the various nations had been altered, and even that major historical events which were common knowledge had never happened. Both the monitoring A.I.s and those self-styled experts who monitor such things on a volunteer basis were baffled - they came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the technology, and have tried to put a stop to it, for the sake of the sanity of those making use of it.

A small group of the volunteer monitors have come to a different conclusion: by using sophisticated sensors to monitor their home timeline from a neighbouring one, they determined that these travelers were not delusional - events were altering and people were being erased on their home timeline. And the effect seems to be getting worse as more people travel. A few people have been dispatched to try to find an answer to this problem, knowing that even as they travel in search of answers their actions cause further changes to propagate in their home timeline, but what choice do they? My character is one of them.

Edit: I realize after writing this that, although it sounds like an interesting concept, I am unlikely to be able to get this character ready in time for the deadline.

[Totem]

Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich

I've got a character concept for this, thought I'd run it by before proceeding with full on creation (and realizing that there might not be any open slots left).

At present I'm aiming for five (six maximum) characters. It's on a first-come basis, based on submittal of character sheet (I'll allow a bit of fiddling with quirks and perks during play if this makes things easier), though I reserve the right to judge based on character 'depth' if necessary for final slots. So there's still time.

Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich

My character is human (or post-human) from a very advanced society (TL12) from the far future. At this point, they have mastered many technologies, including teleportation, time travel and dimension travel. There's is a largely post-labour society, with most needs being take care of by robots and artificial intelligences, leaving the human population to only engage in those pursuits they want to. Many people have taken advantage of the ability to travel anywhere, anywhen, carefully regulated, to visit various points in history, explore alternate histories, and visit alien cultures.

A society like that... I can see a few possible issues, but it looks good. Certainly it should lend itself very well to the cultural adaptability side of things.

Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich

A small group of the volunteer monitors have come to a different conclusion: by using sophisticated sensors to monitor their home timeline from a neighbouring one, they determined that these travelers were not delusional - events were altering and people were being erased on their home timeline. And the effect seems to be getting worse as more people travel. A few people have been dispatched to try to find an answer to this problem, knowing that even as they travel in search of answers their actions cause further changes to propagate in their home timeline, but what choice do they? My character is one of them.

Interesting... The technological side of travelling presumably means some kind of vehicle. You may end up being the team's designated driver (making you, let's face it, almost indispensible, so no problem there).

Backstory for the society sounds good. Are you going to want to visit this in more depth during the campaign? I can work it in if you want to look into such things (same goes for the homeworld/ backstory of any character in theory). Or will this be simply a case of hoping for an answer to solve it and otherwise ignore it?

I'd need something more on the character to comment further, but it sounds good thus far.

[Talosian]

I'm pretty close to done, but it's taking me awhile to work out the loose ends. The exponential price increase for equipment from a higher-than-campaign-standard TL is a *profane word of your choice*