[OOC] The Spirits Within

[Rockette]

On the topic of spirit feedback: Magdalena's spirits would be naturally drawn and comfortable with those associated with anything of fire of darkness; example beings Aaron and Emily. Whilst her spirits would have the "weird feedback" if she came into contact with Thael or even Kat because of light and ice.

In generalization of "sensing", her spirits would deliver sensations of touch, her shadows heavy and smothering and almost humid in their sheer amounts, her fire similar but hot in pure heat. They'd be able to hear the "hounds" as Mag calls them, their sounds they make in response to her emotions. They'd feel her isolation and her empathetic shadow would probably cling and merge with their own. I suspect that it would vary from person to person and their own spirits, like Oz mentioned, sheer opposites would be much different whilst some she probably wouldn't feel anything strange.

Her shadow and the heat of her skin [Empathy and Dragon Touch] would be the most obvious in the sense of reactions and feedback.

[Ex]

So I'm pretty busy tomorrow, but again, for those of you looking to JP with me - shoot me a PM!

[Archangel89]

Change of plans it doesn't look like I'm going post till Monday. I will make sure the post is up to snuff

[JJ Doe]

Phew! Posted in time.

[Ex]

Working on my post - have we talked at all about the uniforms they wear (what they look like, components, etc)?

Edit - also, seeing as I need to post tomorrow... if I don't hear from the two people who said they wanted to do a JP by then, I'm just gonna post without you guys. Sorry.

[Rockette]

Oh the one I want to do with Mags and Emily would be later on. It's an idea I have that will be some ways off when we branch out. Circumstances provided we get the opportunity of course. d:

[Ex]

Okay, sure. Let me know when you'd like to do it.

[Mirandae]

Ex said
have we talked at all about the uniforms they wear (what they look like, components, etc)

No. If you have something in mind, post it here!

I realize that people have lives, and that it's summer, (and it's really good that you guys say when you can and cannot post) but try to keep the seven day marker in-between posts. I'm nearing that limit for my second post and only 1/4 of all players have posted.

[Insatiable]

I'll have my post up by tomorrow dontcha worry Prisk ;) and unfortunately, it isn't summer here ):

[Ex]

Personally - I don't know why - I keep thinking of the systems alliance uniform from Mass Effect 3, though with a blue beret instead of that hat.

Also, what about ranks? How do those work?

Edit: Another question - why does calling for airstrikes, backups, etc., cost the squad credits? That doesn't really make sense to me.

[Mirandae]

Where is here, if you don't mind me asking Insatiable?

The military academy thing was merely a plot device to bring our characters together. I haven't spent any time on its details because the majority of the story is outside of the academy anyway. If that's the kind of uniform you imagine, then imagine it that way. As for ranks, there probably is some kind of hierarchy system, but within SWARG I imagine that they would have less of an impact or meaning, as it's a covert group and their activities are not always legal. And, those assets (airstrikes, etc) certainly cost the academy a great deal of currency, as they're an independent specialized military force, or it could simply be a device that prevents us from calling in support at every turn.

[Ex]

OK, a couple thoughts:

It would be great to have a basic rank structure. Within the "team" it can be ignored, but it adds a level of realism. I can come up with one if you'd like.

I don't think it makes sense to discourage soldiers, especially elite soldiers, from calling in vital support if they need it - really, bearing the cost of such things is the government's job anyway. I think it makes more sense to say "you have resources, but don't call them if you don't need them, you're expected to do this on your own as much as possible, that's what WARG does" as a precautionary measure, and leave it at that. But that's just my opinion.

[Adorabadass]

I think our group would be kinda meant to not need that support. I mean, right out of the gate, we have characters that can more or less do what a combat tank could. Our characters are superhumanly strong, fast, and durable. Most of us wield melee weapons, archaic ones, and we can do more with them than a well trained gunman. As we gain more spirits, we'd likely trivialize most standard military armor and vehicles.

At the same time, though, we should probably have the authority to direct soldiers we meet and whatnot if necessary, like when trying to get civilians to safety without splitting the party.

[Ex]

I agree - but if we needed to call in support for some reason, I don't think it makes sense to be penalized for it unless it was a bad call.

I also think it would therefore make sense for WARG personnel to have some kind of commissioned rank structure.

[Ozerath]

Just realized I haven't posted in a week, yikes! I'm mostly done my post, should have it up tomorrow.

[Mirandae]

@Ex, go ahead and write a Codex entry for the Oakridge Military Academy Rank Structure.

Oakridge is not funded by the government, they are entirely independent, which is why they have to fund any and all external military support. Oakridge has one or two aircrafts themselves, but fuel and ammunition is acquired elsewhere. This is why they charge a symbolic sum when their soldiers call in heavy and expensive support. However, whenever WARG soldiers are in the field, they come by or often work with other military forces funded by the government or city-states, and can call on support through them. It's only when there is no other options and the soldiers have to call support though the academy that they have to help pay for the fireworks.

[Insatiable]

@Prisk: I live somewhere in Southeast Asia or might as well be known as 'the other side of the world' where summer starts at April and school at June

[Adorabadass]

This place sounds mystical, yet terrifying, Insatiable. How do you guys keep attached to the other side of the world? Do you tether yourselves to the Earth so that you don't fall off?

[Ex]

@Ex, go ahead and write a Codex entry for the Oakridge Military Academy Rank Structure.

So based on what you've said, I'll say Oakridge probably don't have non-commissioned personnel (enlisted; think foot soldiers, airmen, etc.), only civilian employees, ranked officers, and cadets (students). I've based this rank concept on West Point/US Naval Academy internal ranking system.

While they are studying at the Academy, students would hold the rank of Cadet. Cadets would then be separated into class based on year (fourth class = freshman, third class = sophomore, and so on). In school, cadets would be organized into a school-wide Cadet Brigade, which has its own organizational structure. We don't need to worry about that now, but our characters would all have been in one company together (dunno who would have lead it).

After graduation, ranks would likely be determined using something similar to a traditional commissioned officer system. I've made it a little simpler, since it's not a full-military organization and it's not as large as one would be, but here's what I'd suggest:

Second Lieutenant - most students graduate and begin at this rank.
First Lieutenant - most graduates are promoted to this rank after a couple years of service. WARG officers begin at this rank.
Captain - graduates given command assignments begin at this rank (i. e., Olivia).

The rest of the ranks would be determined based on position/duties, time served, and performance, and are as follows:

Major
Lieutenant Colonel
Colonel
Field-Marshal
Major-General
General

So all of our characters would be first lieutenants, except for Olivia, who would be a captain.

It's only when there is no other options and the soldiers have to call support though the academy that they have to help pay for the fireworks.

That makes sense - the thing I felt was less reasonable was what I read as a suggestion that WARG officers should be worried about calling in support for that reason. It's not their job to deal with those headaches, IMO, it's their job to survive and accomplish the objectives.

[Mirandae]

@Insatiable, that sounds far away, indeed!

@Ex, I'm impressed by your enthusiasm regarding this subject. All of what you suggested seems logical to me, well done. Write all of that stuff as a Codex paragraph and I'll add it to the ooc-text.

I read all the new posts on the subway today. I love the feeling of just escaping into the world of these characters and forget about all the bullshit in the real world. I almost missed my stop! I wish there was more to read in each post, so that I could get to know your characters even better, but... I dream...