We always thought we would be lucky enough to make first contact. Heh, how little we knew. When they came, it was terrifying at first- the ships flying over head, the observation pods descending. It seemed that we were the lower life forms to be exterminated and they were the higher, something that had been feared since the first thought of extra terrestrial life. Luck favored humanity in our first contact, even if We didn't get to directly initiate. As it turns out, the pods fired into space containing our great literature and our language had been found. The first communication was a question of our biochemistry- how did we evolve on such a cold planet with such little silicon? Why had we moved from Venus to Earth?
Everyone who had theorized about silicon life had been right. When We responded that We were carbon based, and We were different then They were, they asked for an over view of our biology. We were lucky that they were so curious and benign. They asked why our atmosphere was becoming so thick, when it was useless to such an arcane lifeform to do so. We responded that it wasn't our plan- it was a problem that we needed to remove. They asked if We could come to Their ships to meet them- if We had the insulators and the ability to withstand Their natural atmosphere. We told them that it was impossible, but They understood. Direct contact wasn't needed- the radios worked fine.
And so came the trade agreements. They were polite enough to consider the solar system ours- as they had been gifted in their first contact. They made deals to colonize Venus and remove the pollutants from our atmosphere with Their machines, and Their chemistry. They had not only discovered the island of stability, They had claimed it and controlled it. As They removed Our thick hydrocarbons to add to other planetary atmospheres, gifted Us with Their knowledge and their materials, and even built colonies in exchange for atmosphere thickeners- large, thick platforms floating space, docked to near by celestial bodies, places for Us to work, to live, to study and gather materials from.
But we couldn't help but wonder- what happened when we ran out of Our resource, and They had been established in our solar system. What would We do, a race clearly inferior to Them? Would They destroy Us after we became useless to Them? Or, would We, with our innovations and Our new technology, be able to stand strong against Them?
Only time will tell. A decision made by the new scientists of Earth, Our last hope.
It's obvious your work hasn't been overtly popular with the Board of Directors at the Chicago Institute of Research. Just what was it you have created?
I'm running a Mad Scientist RP! It's going to use a bastardized system that I've kludged together (and there will be balance issues, make no mistake. If any GMs would like to help with a rolling system, send me a PM with your ideas. I have no experience with anything outside of the RtD system, but I think I can do this pretty well. The crafting will probably be a bit wonky for a while, but I'll get it to work out. Skills might also be weird, and I'm open to suggestions on rolling.
SCIENCES
There are six SCIENCES currently. They are, in no particular order:
CHEMISTRY- the study of chemistry. This will allow synthesis of harsh, useful chemicals and a general knowledge of such use for conversation. Inventions are typically one use but cheap to craft.
LASERS- Ah, good 'ol lasers. Unconvential you might say? Not with new lenses crafted with better materials! Lasers are common place, although hard to make. They are powerful weapons and are mostly used to destroy things. They are also mildy fragile, and should be handled with some care or reinforced. With a bit of research in ENGINEERING, your knowledge of waves could extend to kinetic waves.
NUCLEAR- Who needs these new stable heavy elements when you've got radiation!? Nuclear power is now common place in many batteries and radiation is a constant hazard with any improperly disposed batteries, but someone with the right know-how could potentially focus the radiation with dangerous results.
BIOLOGY- the manipulation of life has become commonplace, and experts in biology are no stranger to creating monstrosities or altering current life to be more useful. With a bit of organic chemicals, one could create quite a few things with a good life synthesizing machine...
PSYCHOLOGY/PSIONICS- Psychology, the most ridiculed of the science until recent innovations in headset technology. With the discovery of the ability to manipulate the weak electromagnetic force in atoms and new wetworks software, a psionics implant can lift things simply by thinking about it, with more powerful technology being able to manipulate more things. Even without implants, a good psychologist knows a thing or two about brain chemistry or can use his knowledge of how humans work to manipulate those around him with persuasion.
ENGINEERING/ROBOTICS- You don't need the fancy stuff! You've got your wrenches, welders, hydraulic lift arms and ability to build dangerous robots out of rudimentary parts. Engineering deals with building things like guns, robots, armor, and other useful tools. Your equipment is quite cumbersome however.
Skills- These aren't sciences, but they'll be important for crafting, clever escapes and accessing some difficult to reach areas along the way.
Lockpicking- The low tech hacking, being able to get past man's greatest barrier.
Programming- Well, a robot's AI can't just be some piece of crap you slapped together in DreamWeaver, can it? (Yes, I know dreamweaver is for websites)
Speech- The ability to talk your way into, out of, or around things. (Increases Heavily with PSYCHOLOGY)
Stealth- How to NOT be found. Good for theft, not so much for disasters.
Guns- Who says a scientist type can't shoot a gun? Not you, provided you can. (Increases Slightly with ENGINEERING)
Melee- Using swords, pipes, and, in a pinch, a frozen leg of lamb. (Increases heavily with STRENGTH)
Unarmed- Nothing shuts someone up like a broken nose and the fist that caused it.
First Aid- How to patch someone up with a needle, thread, and maybe a little bit of super-healing salve. (Increases heavily with BIOLOGY)
Cooking- The ability to create food that isn't really gross. (Increases slightly with CHEMISTRY)
Literary Arts- Being well read and being able to recognize quotes. How will this even be useful? Goddamit you're a scientist, not an English major. (Increases slightly with PERCEPTION)
STATS- a quick word here- Your characters are supra intelligent scientists, and thus Intelligence isn't a stat. I'm assuming that all of your characters are, due to their ascension to higher learning and taking relatively similar classes at the same school, all of the same intelligence level.
STRENGTH- How much you can lift and carry. It also factors into your HP level and boosts melee skill.
DEXTERITY- Your agility level, it governs your ability to dodge and do acrobatic feats.
CHARISMA- Increases your base speech skill and opens up certain dialog options that would normally not be accessible. Low CHAR characters will have a hard time communicating.
PERCEPTION- Noticing things in your surroundings and things other people are doing or saying. You will be able to find more things when scrounging for parts, and notice extra things when you enter an area.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Bio (needs to be at least a good paragraph, I want some depth here so it's fun to write):
Stats(twenty five points to apply, CHAR is useful!):
Your major (you will start with 4 points in this Science)
Minor (two points in this science, no double majors):
Why you were kicked out of the Institute (your starting invention):
Skills (fifteen points to apply, don't list skills you have at 0):
Now, sign-up for an adventure through time and space....
The Mighty Boosh! to convince the people of Earth and the Flats that they need your science, by any means necessary!
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Topic: Mad Scientist RPG- turn 2: The landscaping is designed to foil players (Read 7356 times)