Rats in the Mall (A Nation Rp, now with Rats!)

[ClocktowerEchos]

@Elgappa Get ready for the Most Serene Ratpublic of Origlio!

Thinking of having something like Venice with a lot of trade outposts and stuff with the main place being a watch and jewelry store that gave the rats living there the art of coggery to build some clockwork stuffs and lots of gold. They're also probably one of the few Clans who can regularly read and understand timekeepers and able to keep track of things like how long it takes caravans to get between places because money.

They aren't the strongest martially and rely on Condonttieri mercenaries to guard their stuff but they have a lot of information on the other packs due to their trade network and schemers due to politicking within the Ratpublic. Their motto is: "Muscle is strength yes-yes, but gold-gold is Power!"

[Drakey]

I'm liking the idea of having literate mice, which mine would need to be as they are mostly engineers, scientists, technicians. THey build for purpose, not beauty, and yet they find that which is purposeful to be beautiful.

[ArenaSnow]

Initial concepts from my end are along the lines of...
> controlling certain convenient pathways. Not all, by any means, but a number of those safe from sets of dark evil outside beings (cats and dogs)
> occupation of a decent food supply and a little "mining" section where the group is basically able to sustain itself for a good while
> subfactions forming into "religions"
> fairly populous group in relation to others, at the cost of individual quality and unity.

[Enigmatik]

Got an idea here:

A group of rats that have, instead of using existing areas within the mall, found loose brickwork, etc, and are masters at not only genuinely mining for raw materials, but also tearing bits of old tech apart and building crude but effective tools and machinery. Perhaps they could even subcontract to @ClocktowerEchos

[Drakey]

Got an idea here:

A group of rats that have, instead of using existing areas within the mall, found loose brickwork, etc, and are masters at not only genuinely mining for raw materials, but also tearing bits of old tech apart and building crude but effective tools and machinery. Perhaps they could even subcontract to @ClocktowerEchos

@Irredeemable

Hey, based off of what you're thinking, our two clans would get along. Want to have a trade alliance between the Rats of the sky and and your group?

[ClocktowerEchos]

Got an idea here:

A group of rats that have, instead of using existing areas within the mall, found loose brickwork, etc, and are masters at not only genuinely mining for raw materials, but also tearing bits of old tech apart and building crude but effective tools and machinery. Perhaps they could even subcontract to @ClocktowerEchos

@Irredeemable

The Ratpublic hires mercenaries regularly so hiring contractors and other skilled peoples is also highly likely.
I will say that the ratpublic only has a certain amount of interest in technology which isn't actually based on clockwork or steampunk. That said, it could be that they're using you to try and "evolve" form clockwork to steampunk namely since they think it will be a massive net gain if they can get stuff like engines working.

[Enigmatik]

@Drakey

Sure! I imagine they'll basically be dorfs rather than gnomes. Solid, difficult to break machinery that has function prioritised, rather than looking pretty or not being loud as shit.

[CaptainBritton]

I am indeed interested. Despite the absence of the understanding of gunpowder, would the presence of fireworks be possible? Perhaps utilizing roman candles as some sort of crude bombard or cannon, and perhaps pike and shot formations using wadding-firing firecrackers?

[ArenaSnow]

Little things that explode being put to practical use sounds possible.

[Enigmatik]

I imagine opening up firecrackers for 'boom powder' wouldn't be too hard.

[Drakey]

oh, and being the scientists of the rat world, manufacturing this so-called 'boom powder' can be a long term goal of mine.

[Enigmatik]

We'd probably specialise in making boom powder cannons.

Step one: Make a barrel using whatever.
Step two: *CAREFULLY* pour boom powder down barrel.
Step three: Take matchstick and jam it into boom powder.
Step four: Place ball bearing into barrel.
Step five: Light matchstick. Run like hell.

[Drakey]

@Irredeemable

Want to start that? My clan manufactures Boom-powder while your clan builds the cannons and we can trade them equally?

[ClocktowerEchos]

The thing is that even if we know what gunpowder is there's no saying we actually know how to use it properly. The Chinese didn't just start pumping out guns the second they found gunpowder.

Also @Elgappa could we have a tech run down to prevent tech creep?

[Enigmatik]

@ClocktowerEchos They know it explodes. They know things caught in explosions go flying. Sending bad things flying at people they don't like is perfectly valid.

[Drakey]

@ClocktowerEchos

tech creep? what's that?

[ClocktowerEchos]

@Irredeemableagain, china didn't just start making cannons. Hell it took them a whole before they realized they could shoot fireworks at people.

@Drakeyits a common thing in NRPs where players keep trying to push how technologically advance they are and thus the setting to try and get some advantage over everyone else. Also happens with military where people keep try to make their army larger and larger in what's basically a dick measuring contest.

[Drakey]

@ClocktowerEchos

ahhhhhh, well that was what my guys are going to be doing. Though I'll make sure to have lengthy IC content for my technological advances.

[ClocktowerEchos]

@Drakey I mean tech creep is more common in the phase where everyone is making NSs; advances IC is rarely an issue unless you are making major break through every other day.

[Enigmatik]

@ClocktowerEchos Very true, but they did make fireworks fast, and when you're under attack constantly by dragon-sized creatures, big explody things would be handy.