Lutalica

Star Heresy

With the IC fast approaching I figured I'd throw up some incidentals on Vulma for any interested parties. Feel free to veto any of them @AmongHeroes

Misc

◤ Vulma is not a 'brain in a jar' style cyborg, even though there wouldn't be enough of her to fill a trash bag without those prosthetics.
Like the only good scene from this movie. As such she requires a quarter ration of food and water when deployed, consolidated in a tube of grayish toothpaste like material. Ingesting anything else is problematic.

◤ Her high performance body does not exceed the capabilities of the other 7-5, as all its members are in some way enhanced. Like her peers it has its strengths and weaknesses. She does however fatigue at a much reduced rate comparatively. Likewise, apart from perhaps a skinned knee here and there, it's no more resistant to harm.

◤ In deployment she's a bit of a workhorse, her long slog through the ranks molding her into the sort of soldier that's comfortable following another's lead. Though a wizard with an O-blade she only draws when its tactically sound--which is rarely. You'll never see her abandon cover or rush a position when a bullet could do the job better.

◤ It's not the sort of thing she'd boast about or bring up, but when people tell her they were raised in a slum it's like telling a child soldier you were in the reserves. They're not the same, it's not common ground and no, you don't know what it was like for her.

◤ She's an iron patriot. In her own words "I owe the army my life twice over now, by my count debt's only half paid."

◤ She will and does bet on just about anything and though she keeps tabs on what each member of the 7-5 owes her she makes it a point not to collect. "Never let money come between family I say."

◤ Considers herself the 7-5's unofficial morale officer.

ⒸRⒾMⒺ PⒶRⒶDⓄ✖

Worldwise I'm leaning towards the planet (I welcome name suggestions) being many times larger than earth. I know that such an environment wouldn't be likely to support the sort of ecosystems we'll be playing in but for the sake of the setting I'll be hand-waving it away; Orendo keeps things habitable. Full stop.

I'm attached to it being super massive for several reasons, not least of which to allow for an unfettered decadence of architecture. Consider it the norm for this world's wealthy elite to rely on trains or passenger aircraft to navigate their gargantuan estates. Secondly, fantasy worlds need monsters to slay (Even if our roleplay doesn't focus on that fact), and a world of such scale allows for animals that are to us what we are to ants. With their existence nature is more adversarial to the common man, though it's not with these giants that they'd most often contend. Artillery, fortifications and human ingenuity are more than enough to keep these giants at bay, a fact that is inherently problematic in that the safer our settlements are from such predators the more inviting they become to for their prey. Creatures great and small are always seeking to slip passed (Even over or under) a city's defenses and eke out a living best then can, to the peril of those that already reside there. More on this in the IC.

In regards to technology the setting will be much like the real world, more advanced in some ways and less in some (No internet!) The crux of it being with the existence of magic EVERY problem looks like solving it should start with the orendic sciences; never having to do without meant that more mundane solutions were often overlooked. As an example, they don't have an analog to the space program. Their own world is so massive that few have had the ambition to set their sights towards the stars. Likewise computing technology is primitive at best and certainly not very conducive to entertainment. Guns however do exist, though it's a toss up on whether they'll be conventional fare or if I'll be relying on magic here as well. Something I have decided however is that military grade rounds are Tsuked (Henceforth referred to as seeker rounds), deploying fins mid flight for limited homing capability. Though illegal for civilian use wildfire rounds are an (even more) unsanctioned alternative ever in high demand. Assembled and sold in shady basements or warehouses (To munitions what a meth lab is to pharmaceuticals) they're at best unreliable, almost always crafted from abused animals as it's easier to make a Tsuk mean than motivated.

Returning to the topic of Tsukumography, it is possible to use a human being as a basis for the imprint and graft them to an object. However--doing so is murder. Souls and the afterlife are no more evidenced in this world than in ours; as such it's the old 'Star Trek Teleporter' scenario. The original is destroyed and a copy (in this case imprint) is created elsewhere, moreover it is by this process that a disembodied mental construct is created, so you're getting even less. Some optimists maintain that in time the process may be perfected; allowing for infinite copies to be printed from a single donor animal.

Being the foundation of much of the world building orendo sorely needs to be squared away with a cut and dry explanation. (I'm not quite there yet.) It doesn't have a molecule or particle associated with it; so though it's often thought of like a substance by the laymen it's more properly classed as a natural phenomenon, like gravity. Orendo will in its natural state 'saturate' its surroundings, becoming attached to conventional matter or in its absence energy. Objects with more mass attract more orendo and as such solids 'sap' the magic from surrounding liquids, gasses or plasma. Gravity has no effect upon its distribution, this is what allows it to escape stars; slipping away as easily as light. Matter and energy may also become oversaturated, displacing already attached orendo as more arrives. Because of this it has a tendency to 'sink' into the earth.

Orendo, as magic, is utilized to structure matter or energy in a way that would not be normally possible. This happens naturally as the little tugs and pulls of its presence that fill reams of textbooks in setting. An artificial lattice can be constructed however, and such is the basis of Tsukumography and other orendic sciences. To dumb it down (Or rather not flesh it out any more than needed :P) a medium much denser than the surroundings is used to coerce the flow of orendo in and out of an object; usually mercury, basalt or osmium powder. This forms the foundation of the ritual and is the most critical component--the destruction of which 'kills' a Tsuk, as it's the only thing 'holding' its imprint together. Such paths are likewise used in construction and agriculture to support or stymie plant growth, with rock and metal requiring a harsher hand.

I think I may expand on the 'drugs for magic' idea I had awhile back by way of an inhaled substance called 'surge', essentially just orendo saturated mercury vapor used in conjunction with osmium lattice implants. I'll pick through this idea later.

Star Heresy

@AmongHeroes When two O-blades connect is it a 'don't cross the streams' scenario where both weapons fail catastrophically, or are we going by lightsaber rules? (They cut everything -but- each other)

Also, as I feel it's better to get these sort of things out in the open; I do have some concerns after reading @TK421's application. Is this going to be the sort of roleplay where characters can dual wield katanas and cut bullets out of the air?

ⒸRⒾMⒺ PⒶRⒶDⓄ✖

I'll have some more sit down and write time after tonight to keep building this idea up folks

Star Heresy

I wouldn't worry too much about the POCs, I'm working under the assumption that any HRES, exo-suits or POCs we'll be assigned will be by a mission to mission basis. Think of it like if you drove an APC around, sure you may be assigned to that particular vehicle (and be responsible for it), but if you install some underlighting you're going to end up in hot water.

Star Heresy

Two questions @AmongHeroes:

Does YETI stand for anything?

Is it alright if we refer to oscillating blades as O-blades? Furthermore, what sort of shape is standard issue spec-ops fare? I'm partial to a kukri or combat knife design myself, if only to avert the 'infinitely sharp' katana trope.

Star Heresy

Vulma Vhyrd

Name: Vulma Vhyrd

Age: 39

Gender: Female

Rank: Command Sergeant Major

Appearance:

History / Background: Born to a hive world of Scorpius' Ptolemy cluster Vulma drew the peasant's lot in life, her adolescence spent without so much as glimpsing the sky through the forest of slumscrapers she called home. In her own words:

"It was never ugly, if that might surprise you. Can only ever seem so outside of it; like so much else looking down is a luxury. Could I tell you I've done things I'm not proud of? Yes. And certainly there are things I'm proud of that were worse. I'm grateful I can say that, that I know better. That I am better. Growing up? That was my first war; not everyone made it."

Drugs, crime and violence saturated the bleak cityscape, the unofficial currency of Orion's underbelly, a second empire ruled by gang regime. Without a trade or prospects Vulma's choices were few; become fodder for the factories, submit herself to the streets or enlist. In her own words:

"Most people guess I had a good reason for choosing the latter, but you don't strike me as most people. Let's just say I was young--and we'll take a moment to remember what that was like--and move on."

Her career was not a storied one. No heroic triumphs or strokes of luck propelled her forward. Vulma was just another grunt for the meat grinder, shuffled from fray to fray at the behest of greater powers. At the end of this ordeal she stood maimed, modded and paradoxically more whole. Opting to slog through the middle echelons of OSOC's more dangerous task forces as the opportunity presented itself. Eventually the sum total of her hard won expertise saw her assigned to what would later be known as the NGC 6475 Martyrs, where a then First Sergeant Vulma Vhyrd gave her life for her empire.

Fortunately, the extensive cybernetic enhancements the deployment entailed (Having been a real risk trial of said augmentations) saw the bulk of the unit in salvageable condition, herself included. Bestowed a prosthetic body and promotion upon regaining conscousness the newly minted Sergeant Major has her own score to settle with Red Oath, those responsible for her current state.

Personality:

Patriotic

Sensual

Valorous

Gambler

Mechanophile

Specialties:

Brings a Sword to a Gunfight: A requisite of her special forces training Vulma is extremely well versed in the use of oscillating blades. Moreso her unenviable upbringing provides her certain insight into 'fighting to win' they don't teach you at the academy.

Criminal Element: Lowlives don't get much lower than peasants. Yulma knows her way around the sort of slums, dives and dens of ill repute most people take pains to avoid. A trait which continues to present itself as an unlikely boon.

Misc

◤ Vulma is not a 'brain in a jar' style cyborg, even though there wouldn't be enough of her to fill a trash bag without those prosthetics.
Like the only good scene from this movie. As such she requires a quarter ration of food and water when deployed, consolidated in a tube of grayish toothpaste like material. Ingesting anything else is problematic.

◤ Her high performance body does not exceed the capabilities of the other 7-5, as all its members are in some way enhanced. Like her peers it has its strengths and weaknesses. She does however fatigue at a much reduced rate comparatively. Likewise, apart from perhaps a skinned knee here and there, it's no more resistant to harm.

◤ In deployment she's a bit of a workhorse, her long slog through the ranks molding her into the sort of soldier that's comfortable following another's lead. Though a wizard with an O-blade she only draws when its tactically sound--which is rarely. You'll never see her abandon cover or rush a position when a bullet could do the job better.

◤ It's not the sort of thing she'd boast about or bring up, but when people tell her they were raised in a slum it's like telling a child soldier you were in the reserves. They're not the same, it's not common ground and no, you don't know what it was like for her.

◤ She's an iron patriot. In her own words "I owe the army my life twice over now, by my count debt's only half paid."

◤ She will and does bet on just about anything and though she keeps tabs on what each member of the 7-5 owes her she makes it a point not to collect. "Never let money come between family I say."

◤ Considers herself the 7-5's unofficial morale officer.

FRAMEs: Chapter II [Reboot] (Mech combat, politics & corporate intrigue)

Lut, I don't think flamethrowers are as effective as you may think.

Massasauga

For starters, fire can disable even modern military vehicles. That's why they have suppression systems in place. Secondly, as FRAMEs are powered by nuclear reactors I'd assume heat mitigation would be even more of a concern, especially when one considers the heaviest starting FRAME weighs 'only' a tenth of an M1 Abrams.

Speaking of vulnerabilities, I've been meaning to ask @Aristo, are the air intakes, reactor and such housed in the torso as well as the cockpit? Or are the distributed across the FRAME's whole? Likewise is there enough interior space to house ammunition or would it be mounted externally as part of a weapon system? Do pilots enter from the front or back torso? Finally if the external cameras were disabled or destroyed do FRAMEs have any sort of fallback system, like a periscope or other low-tech solution? Given how you describe them being operated I'm not sure they could be driven with an open or ajar cockpit.

ⒸRⒾMⒺ PⒶRⒶDⓄ✖

For starters, characters will possess too little orenda to 'do' anything spur of the moment. It is simply impossible in this setting to brute force magic. It's all ritual, to the point where it's considered just another branch of science in universe (and likewise best left to teams of professionals) But that doesn't mean you won't have magic. It just means it will be less something you 'do' and more something you 'own'

A player could as an example own a length of Tsukumographed rope. Being alive it could slither around, tie or untie itself at will or prove useful in any number of ways, able to follow simple commands (As long as the animal it was made from understood them.) I'll pretty much allow for most things to be Tsuked.

Another type of magic I'm leaning towards is construction being more or less guiding the environment to arrange itself in a particular fashion. So buildings are mostly natural formations made more cozy by the addition of human comforts. As this is again, very comparable to the time and effort that goes into putting structures up in real life that's not much use to a player.

I'm still fleshing out a few ideas, but I may allow for a more reactive form of magic that relies on players injecting themselves with a substance derived from extracted orenda before each and every 'spell', but the mortality rate of that will be so high that they only get a set number of uses for the entire roleplay.

Enduwin: Act 1 - The Dark Awaits

To be honest I was hoping for a larger development than disembarking a boat to another form of transportation. Is it fine if I wait until the plot starts to move along before posting?