Qualia: Steampunk Spies, School Life Scandals, and Eldritch Spice

[ERode]

>everyone speccing under the assumption of combat
>but no one prepared for the chess arc


@Dog For purposes of aesthetic, I would prefer not to have combustion engines. People get free wireless electricity anyhow due to the Telesma System, so you don’t really need it. As for the mechanics of it, I’ll say that right now, it can function as a flash light that creates a wall of light with durability akin to a normal window. It doesn’t work as a bubble and the range will be fairly low due to how light naturally diffuses. Could be a magnum opus that your character’s figuring out though.

@Click ThisPretty sure I already told you about it, but you’ll need some way to send your constructs instructions in order for them to act. Otherwise it’s good. Nice to see an organization that isn’t just WARTIME BBY.

@SgtEasyYes. Heat Dynamicism is how you get cool fire bender bros doing BBQ during summer frat parties. Remember though that you must be physically touching that thing to pull heat out of an object. So it’s not like you can remotely freeze something…and if you’re in the area of something that’s rapidly dropping in temperature, that’ll be bad for you too. Generally the more you try to take something out, the harder it becomes. Imagine it like hauling out a net of fish. The more fish you haul, the better, but also the heavier it gets. Absolute zero through heat dynamicism is possible but so far only in theory.

@SilverPaw The limits of electricity is basically vaguely being within civilization. You’ll want the Steam Core if you plan on adventuring into the deep sea, but if you’re just swimming in a touristy beach, you’ll have electricity there.

[SilverPaw]

@SilverPaw The limits of electricity is basically vaguely being within civilization. You’ll want the Steam Core if you plan on adventuring into the deep sea, but if you’re just swimming in a touristy beach, you’ll have electricity there.

@ERode

Hm, then I'll have it as a hybrid model, since if I get the occasion, I would go for the deep sea option.

[Click This]

@ERode Ah, right. Added in a line to reflect that.

[stone]

amogus

[Izurich]

@SilverPaw The limits of electricity is basically vaguely being within civilization. You’ll want the Steam Core if you plan on adventuring into the deep sea, but if you’re just swimming in a touristy beach, you’ll have electricity there.

@ERode

This jolts my brain to a pretty good point to confirm. Are batteries a thing?

If yes, Lucy may want to put a few in Schwarzritter to enable it to function without the Telesma network for a limited time. It'll automatically recharge whenever the electro-wireless connection is established.

If no, well, no network, no metal doll to play with, which would result in a sad Lucy. :'(

[Dog]

Does my specialty have to be combat-focused? Could I take up something that is wholly civilian? Like power efficiency or civil engineering?

[SgtEasy]

So through heat dynamicism, someone could technically smoke a shisha while simultaneously heating up the room through the water in the air (or through the vapour you create from the shisha?), creating a smoker’s sauna?

Nice, I could use that to destress from work

Edit: @Dog as you can see, my focus is NOT on combat at all

2nd Edit: Also realised you can technically heat or extract heat from the particles within a space to increase kinetic energy within those particles, allowing for control over the vibration within that space. Possibly creating a field where sound (vibrations in the air) is nullified or morphed? Maybe within a given area certain sounds at a certain frequency can be amplified with increased vibration? But that would take a considerable amount of energy I wager

[Dog]

Salim Basha

Salim Basha

سليم باشا

Thirteen | Male | One-Hundred Fifty-Six Centimeters | One-Hundred Twenty-Five Pounds
Ottoman Empire | Technologism | Industrial Engieering

Their Story
Salim Basha (سليم باشا) is a Kurdish-born man, albeit his name is not actually Kurdish but Iraqi in nature. Poor and unable to afford any form of proper education, Salim had little else but to do hard labor to make means-end for his family and himself. It was not until the age of ten that his grandfather, Khayru Ahsan, came into Basha's life - having been released from prison - that things quickly changed for young Salim. Ahsan was a former Technologist and a decent one at that. Hoping to improve the life of his grand-son somehow, Ahsan educated Salim on how to do math, read, write, and more importantly taught Salim about Formulization and Technologism. Things were starting to look brighter for Salim as he used his newfound skills to better the local village community. In turn, he was more respected and gained a fair bit more money and support for his efforts. While that might be, life was quite hard. The Ottoman Empire, while granting the Kurdish peoples more autonomy and freedom, still greatly restricted the rights of the Kurds due to the material resources within the region and for nativist-political reasons that favored the Turks.

A few months after, he was making a decent name for himself as a promising person within his own field of Technologism. This caught the attention of the Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa, or Special Organization in English, a paramilitary organization heavily tied to the Ministry of War and National Intelligence Organization that acted as a de facto internal security agency within the region. Interested in the work of Salim, the Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa paid a visit to the household. Their request was simple: come with them or face imprisonment. Without much choice in the matter, Salim was forced to follow the orders. The Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa then handed Salim to the Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı for analysis. After a series of tests, Salim was found to be a fledgling learner in Polymath. Given that fact, Salim was hurried off to the Imperial School of Engineering in Istanbul. From there, Salim spent the next two years of his life studying industrial engineering and plenty of other courses in relation to said subject. At the age of thirteen, Salim, after having proved himself very capable in his own major, was given the chance to move into the Academic City of Bermuda by the Ottman government...albeit under the watchful eye of the National Intelligence Organization and Special Organization.

Specialty Explained
Salim specializes in the field of industrial engineering; optimizing complex processes and systems by the development of improvements and then the implementation of the organizations into the industrial operation. In simpler words, Salim is someone that seeks to optimize how items are made. Production engineering, logistics engineering, and human factors engineering are the three sub-fields of industrial engineering that Salim is currently pursuing. Manufacturing engineering concerns itself with the practices of manufacturing. What is the most effective, efficient, and economic way possible to turn raw materials into a product. What are the machines, equipment, and tools involved and how are they used within the manufacturing process? Etc. Logistics engineering is the scientific organization of how to best use transports, storage, and distribution methods in a logistical supply chain to efficiently get products to where they are needed and at the right time done at a reasonable price. Lastly is human factors engineering, also known as ergonomics, which involves a fair amount of psychological and physiological principles. The main focal point is how do humans interact with machines and other objects of interest and how to ensure that human error is kept to a minimum, increase productivity, and ensure safety and comfort for the operating human.

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Organization: Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa (مخصوصه‎ تشکیلات) | Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı (منظمة المخابرات الوطنية)
Current Mission: [Secret]
Secret: [Secret]

[GreenGoat]

Alright. Time to slap down a cs.

[ERode]

@IzurichBatteries are a thing, but they’re fairly clunky and pointless. Easier to get a Steam Core and have it generate electricity through SCIENCE rather than store a shit ton of heavy batteries with limited lifespan.

@DogYes, your specialty can be something unrelated to escalating the arms race. I don’t know why these spies think they’re gonna be starting in a hack and slash or something kekekek. Most Technologists will be speccing in things that aren’t obviously attached to warfare.

Anyways, backstory is ok. Becoming a Polymath, even in a small village, is something that would immediately catch the attention of the rich and influential, because Polymaths are actually much rarer than an RP cast full of them would suggest. Might need to adjust the timeline of his life to accommodate for that.

You’re missing a picture for his appearance though.

@SgtEasySound shenanigans via heat dynamicism is a fresh idea. I like it. Wouldn’t allow for total sound nullification, but it’s otherwise pretty interesting to have in your pocket. Remember that there’s the whole thing where cold air vacuums in hot air though (I think). Your character will be constantly needing to gather up more and more heat to compensate for the vacuum effect, unless he’s working with the dynamicism of wind too.

[SgtEasy]

I've changed my mind from a polynesian character and went towards the Mughals

Kalil

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16 | Male | 5' 11" | 155lbs
Mughal Empire | Dynamicism | Thermodynamic Manipulation

Their Story
Growing up in Dhaka could have been much worse for an orphaned boy. Abandoned at the dead of night as a babe, he was fortunate enough to be left in front of the door of one of the Mughal Empire's most profitable merchants. Muhammad Gharbi, an opportunistic tradesman thriving in the heart of Mughal industry, saw history come full circle. He himself had been abandoned and orphaned at a young age and within a young, mewling babe, he saw potential. Now Muhammad was not the ideal father, instead much too busy with travelling and matters of trade than to take care of his adopted son. Instead, the young and newly named Kalil was surrounded by wealth, a plentiful amount of servants and given a great education. As befitting the heir to a rich merchant. History, mathematics and economics were taught to him but he had always had a growing interest within the slowly advancing realm of physics. The study of the natural world down to its basics, the energies which surrounded us and, in particular, the study of the relation between work and sound. Sensing the potential within his adopted son grow, Muhammad, on the boy's 13th birthday, proposed to let his son join him on a trading expedition towards Abya Yala. On this trip, certain events would occur that would drastically his lot in life.

Within Abya Yala, Kalil encountered one of the great Edenic Beasts which roamed the continents, gaining its favour with charm and sharp, natural intellect. Charging his ability to perceive the formulae of the world. To create a greater understanding of the inner workings which fascinated him. To unlock the seemingly mystic arts of dynamicism. To Muhammad, upon learning of his son's feat, saw money rain down from the heavens. The opportunity and prestige this could gain him, the fostering of an upcoming polymath genius who could major in one of the rarer specialisations within the Empire! Celebrations were needed and the return to Dhaka was hastened to facilitate them quicker.

Upon return, the Gharbi duo would see a manor in flames and servant's bodies strewn across the lawn. Muhammad was not a perfect man and could often dabble within the more criminal underside of the world's largest city. He had promised a certain share of wealth from a different trading expedition to a local drug lord, mysterious head of the Golden Bengals. This was in exchange for funding for the duo's own expedition towards Abya Yala. Upon the shipwrecking of the other half of Muhammad's trading fleet, the Bengals sought their share of promised wealth. Through the plunder and slaughter within the Gharbi manor, the seizing of Muhammad's assets and funds as well as his adopted only son. The so-called prodigy of Dhaka, rumoured to have gained the knowledge needed to pursue the seemingly magical dynamicist arts. This was in a time where the layman Mughal had little knowledge of the science behind the formulae of the world. In exchange for his and his father's life, Kalil would be branded with a tiger on his chest, sworn to the service of the Bengals and could only pursue further education in the aspect of furthering the Bengal's riches. Muhammad would be kept prisoner until his son's 18th, whereupon his son must bring the Golden Bengals an equivalent wealth to the share lost in that shipwrecked trading fleet.

Without this, his father will be killed and Kalil made a permanent slave to the crime syndicate. He sets his sights upon Bermuda, where opportunity laid itself in front of him. Where his cursed gifts could bring him and his father to freedom.

Abilities
Here included is a description of "abilities" that Kalil is capable of:

• Thermal Manipulation - Kalil is able to, within certain limits, control the heat flow between objects or between an object and its surroundings. Certainly enough to vaporise water within a given container though only through his growing resistance to heat. He has better control over heat flow within solids and liquids than gases. This does wonders for his stress, in the form of his own pocket shisha without the need for charcoal. In combination with relieving stress, it helps with making heat manipulation into something second nature to him.
• Wind Manipulation - In an incredibly rudimentary way, Kalil can control the movement of differing gases and different temperatures of air. Within spaces where he knows the gaseous properties within, where gases can leak in or out, he can have greater control. However, outside of these carefully studied places, he can only control sound within a certain radius around him. He does not have the expertise to accelerate air, merely move it.
• Sound Manipulation through thermal and wind dynamicism - Through observations and experimentation, Kalil has found the connection between the energy of the air around us and the sound which propagates through it. Through the excitement of particles in the air, he can increase the amplitude of a given sound wave to increase volume. Similarly, he can siphon heat from the air to decrease volume of a given sound wave. He is constantly working towards furthering his abilities in this area, believing greater strides in unique sound manipulation could bring his own and his father's freedom. Potentially by manipulating the frequency of the sound waves to manipulate what they sound like

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Organization:
The Golden Bengals, under the front of his father's Gharbi Trading Co.

[Vega7285]

I went ahead and edited in some notes on what Hana can do, and also how she's inhuman. Really, I'm open to suggestions there, too.

At least as far as I see her, she's not really meant to be good for open combat and fighting. Like, thinking in traditional RPG terms, she'd be more a party support role by tossing around buffs, debuffs, and healing, than anything. That's the goal, anyway.

[Dog]

Redid the last section of my backstory a bit.

[Jumbus]

Thought I would throw my hat into the mega mix here. Got a non-combative mesmerologist. Wrote it up a bit quickly so let me know what you think of the concept. I'll probably get on and edit it up tomorrow.

Franz Steiner

Franz Steiner
16 | Male | 6'1" | 75kg
Austira-Hungary | Mesmerology | In Development

Background

Franz grew up in poverty in a farming town outside Vienna. Not much is to say about it. Everyday was a struggle to keep the essentials and Franz was too young to help out his parents in the labour. However, he did display astounding potential in his academics. From a young age, most subjects he tackled were a breeze. While it was generally chalked up to being a sizeable fish in an incredibly small pond, he eventually garnered the attention from the main city.

Vienna is known as a world capital for the arts. Making massive contributions to art, music, and theatre. A pianist from a Vienna academy is one that is unmatched in their skill and grace. When Franz got recruited to study in a Vienna academy, he had thought he would be going to study the violin. But instead he was taken to the Vienna Young Polymath Academy.

While the study of Mesmerology is very underdeveloped, the Vienna Young Polymath Academy has made far greater strides than the rest of the world. They view the study of Mesmerology to be more of an art than a science. When it came to the study of it, Franz was almost unmatched.

Franz was outclassed in most ways by a noble's son, who had been studying from a far younger age. When it was announced that only one Mesmerologist from the academy would be able to attend the Academic City of Bermuda, Franz poisoned the noble's son. While there was suspicion that Franz had been the poisoner, nothing could be proven. The noble tried taken action against Franz but the academy defended him. As if they valued his ability to subtly harm someone.

"There seems to be a notion that people from poverty don't take advantage of their wealthy position. On the contrary, I intend to take every advantage I can."

Powers and skills

Franz is a born Dyanamicist, however he did not specialize this ability to instead pursue Mesmerology.

Franz's main ability is memory manipulation. This is harshly limited by the lack of available literature and the complexity of the subject. Despite Franz being an unmatched academic, he finds himself continuously grasping at straws for the power of this field. He hopes to find more at the Academic city.

Franz's ability seems to directly relate to how much understanding he has over the subject's mind. He can affect his own mind with considerable success and, because of their reduced complexity, has shown the ability to affect insect minds. However, Franz seeks to fully understand another person so he may test on them.

Above all, Franz seeks to finally crack Mesmerology and attain the power and pretige that comes along with it.

In terms of academic achievements, he is one of the top literature and music students in Austria. While he is above average in other subjects like mathematics and science, it is nothing noteworthy.

In terms of combat, he is untrained entirely. He had a few rudimentary fencing lessons but he saw no reason in continuing them.

Organisation: Vienna Young Polymath Academy
A government program to develop espionage agents using Mesmerology.

[Izurich]

@IzurichBatteries are a thing, but they’re fairly clunky and pointless. Easier to get a Steam Core and have it generate electricity through SCIENCE rather than store a shit ton of heavy batteries with limited lifespan.

@ERode

Oooooh, okay~ I'll add a "backup steam core generator" to Schwarzritter then, enabling it to function at a reduced performance in the absence of the telesma network.

[ERode]

@SgtEasyThat’s some good fucking food. Anyhow, the only real correction to make is that the Edenic Beasts don’t teach how to perceive the Formulae of intangible substances, but rather work to supercharge your ability to perceive instead. It’s very much a gift that changes the way you view the world, as opposed to like, just special training/knowledge. That’s why a big portion of being a Dynamicist that HASN’T been favoured by an Edenic Beast is like, being ridiculously talented and lucky.

@Vega7285Cute to think of parties in terms of RPG, when the only real parties out here are social events filled with enough innuendo to cause a flower garden lass to faint from the debauchery.

@DogStill missing dat appearance, dude.

@JumbusTragically, the implication behind Mesmerology in the OOC is that there’s not a single Mesmerologist in the world that can actually do what they claim to be able to do, as the very nature of this particular Major works against the most difficult parts of Formulization in general, due to requiring you to essentially alter the properties of the intangibles (memories/thoughts) of a living being (which is difficult enough to do when it’s yourself). The hurdle to Mesmerology is high enough that everything about it is theoretical and there’s no systematized method of actually attaining it. So a school that can produce Mesmerologists (that aren’t just scam artists) is out of the question. Either find another Major, accept that Franz is lying through his teeth, or make him a real genius of geniuses.

Otherwise, the backstory is good enough. You’ll want to talk to Dog about how Austira-Hungary exists when the Ottoman Empire also does. Qualia isn't anything relevant to the world though.

[ERode]

@Psyker Landshark@Click This@Vega7285@Shovel@banjoanjo@Izurich
@Liotrent@Robocat@Medili@Greengoat@Dog@Zombehs@Silverpaw@SgtEasy@Sir Cheems@Jumbus
Your mission, enclosed, if you choose to accept.

If you've got a CS that I had no further issues with, post it in the Character Tab. Feel free to join the Discord too, for instant communications. If everyone ends up joining, that'll be 16 people, but this is fine.

[Jumbus]

@JumbusTragically, the implication behind Mesmerology in the OOC is that there’s not a single Mesmerologist in the world that can actually do what they claim to be able to do, as the very nature of this particular Major works against the most difficult parts of Formulization in general, due to requiring you to essentially alter the properties of the intangibles (memories/thoughts) of a living being (which is difficult enough to do when it’s yourself). The hurdle to Mesmerology is high enough that everything about it is theoretical and there’s no systematized method of actually attaining it. So a school that can produce Mesmerologists (that aren’t just scam artists) is out of the question. Either find another Major, accept that Franz is lying through his teeth, or make him a real genius of geniuses.

Otherwise, the backstory is good enough. You’ll want to talk to Dog about how Austira-Hungary exists when the Ottoman Empire also does. Qualia isn't anything relevant to the world though.

@ERode

Hi yeah fully understand. I was going for a 'some countries might have secretly developed it more' but I get that isn't the direction you want for Mesmerology. I do find it curious that Mesmerology is an option when it is hamstrung this significantly. However, my original concept for this character was to have no power at all so I'm certainly not complaining. I quite like under powered characters who use their brain over their power. I have reworked multiple parts of his backstory to fit the advice:

-The Vienna Academy is now just a Young Polymath academy that happens to have an interest in developing Mesmerology past the theoretical phase.

-Franz's powers got reworked to be his experimental progress in the Mesmerology field. Hopefully thats a good power level for it. If it isn't, I would appreciate some clearer guidelines with it. As its a bit rough to gauge it at the moment haha

-I would say Franz is a mix between genius of geniuses and scam artist

-I mistook Qualia for being a shorthand name for the academy sorry

Edit: The first edit was not saved so I have only just got those changes up

[ERode]

I’ll say that he’ll find his best successes with hive-minded insects like bees or ants right now, just in terms of being able to perceive the Formulae of their minds. As a Polymath, he’ll also have the potential/ability to perform fairly well in all other Majors, because that’s essentially the prerequisite you need in order to pursue Mesmerology as more than a meme. With no encounters with Edenic Beasts, he’ll also be a natural born Dynamicist, which is also pretty rare to begin with. Basically, the dude’s fame would easily stretch beyond Vienna, and he’ll only be held back by his choice of Major.

He’ll definitely be able to modify his own memories with ease, because that can easily just be a pure-Egoism feat. He won’t be able to transfer at all though. I’d say he can direct hive-minded insects to go places if he has their queen with him, and he can vaguely affect how aggressive vermin are.

I established Mesmerology as part of the world building and as a meme option. Those who can pursue it with any modicum of success will be extremely capable individuals though, while those who can’t actually succeed in that field are funny little trolls.

[SgtEasy]

@ERode

Changed it:)

Within Abya Yala, Kalil encountered one of the great Edenic Beasts which roamed the continents, gaining its favour with charm and sharp, natural intellect. Charging his ability to perceive the formulae of the world. To create a greater understanding of the inner workings which fascinated him. To unlock the seemingly mystic arts of dynamicism. To Muhammad, upon learning of his son's feat, saw money rain down from the heavens. The opportunity and prestige this could gain him, the fostering of an upcoming polymath genius who could major in one of the rarer specialisations within the Empire! Celebrations were needed and the return to Dhaka was hastened to facilitate them quicker.