Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

It was inevitable

15 (42.9%)

Winners don't do drugs

6 (17.1%)

I'll be back

2 (5.7%)

Drink the Kool Aid

6 (17.1%)

Groovy

3 (8.6%)

Insane in the membrane

3 (8.6%)

Total Members Voted: 35

[Xantalos]

(Huh. Funny how the most ordinary character is one of the more dangerous.

Of course, the most powerful character obviously goes to Xantalos. Fear the whisk summoning.)

((I can also shoot needles, blenders, and knives out of my hands.
Fear the psychoathic fat manchild.))

Fuggen hand powers grumble grumble.

Follow along with my teammate.

[Parisbre56]

((@DAF: Sure, I just need an answer to this purely hypothetical scenario that I just thought of on the spot and have in no way included as part of the backstory or in a future mission.

Imagine there was this crystal, that grew in an alien world, like a plant but very very slowly. That crystal was created by aliens a long time ago. They created this crystal to be used in computers. The crystal was designed to processes information as light signals and grow according to those signals and based on the existence of certain chemicals. The crystal sometimes creates "cores" based on certain light signals that act as the seeds for more crystals and produce a faint light pattern of their own. In the alien world I mentioned earlier, the right chemicals exist in the planet's atmosphere for the crystals to grow continuously to the point where they blanket the surface of the entire planet. The cores near the bottom die out, like corrals in a corral reef, but their "light circuits" remain, continuing to guide light through them. The entire planet is pulsing with dim light, despite the fact the sun is never seen due to the constant cloud cover, as each light signal created by a core is propagated by the others, making the planet look covered in a sea of light, waves emanating from every core. (Of course, the waves travel close to the speed of light so you'd need to see with a high FPS to truly appreciate them.)

So right now, that simple hypothetical crystal and its unnecessarily convoluted backstory have created many questions, foremost of which is this: would the light emitted by the crystal be acceptable for your power, under which circumstances and why?
The crystal was created by aliens. So that would make it artificial. Yet it wasn't created by humans. Would that make it acceptable?
The crystal was originally created as a piece of technology to serve a purpose. Yet the crystal can also grow naturally. Would that make it natural? Was the act of growing on its own what differentiated it? So would that mean that the original crystals (the ones that were created) were unacceptable, but their "children" aren't?
The crystal can be used in computers. So would that make it unacceptable? Or would the crystal light only be unacceptable when used in a computer? If so, does that mean that your powers are somehow "allergic" to technology in general, so simply the addition of technology in the creation of any light would render that light unacceptable? If so, would any type of technology do? Or is DF level of technology acceptable? Does the technology allergy include steampunk or is it just electricity and electronics?
The crystal producing the light is living. Would that make the light artificial? If that's the case, would any bioluminescent animal be out of the question? What about cloned bioluminescent animals?
What about light captured and redirected by the crystal? Would that count as a reflection or would the crystal somehow "taint" the light?

You previously said light from lightning can work. What about light from electrical sparks? What about guiding natural lightning with a plasma channel created by a laser?
What about the light created by something very hot but not with the intent of creating light? Like brakes or a blacksmith hitting a piece of metal?
Is it intent that taints the light? So if I light a lamp or cause an electrical spark or heat a metal with the intent to provide light, that light gets "tainted"?

What about magically created light? Would it make a difference if the magic light was naturally part of that place or if the magic was the cause of a wizard?

Unless of course your power decides what qualifies at random or the entity that gives you your powers decides. So in that case, if there's uncertainty, the decision would be up to me and the d6.

I'm asking this and trying to come up with a way your powers work so that we lessen the chance of ending up with a Thor's hammer kind of debate erupting here. I want to limit the times I have to say "I'm the GM and my word is law and I say it works like that, so if you wanted it to work some other way, you should have declared it from the start."
That's why I prefer people giving me powers, not characters.
Completely irrelevant, but I was reading your RTD and noticed that you have 11 players as your cap. And right now there are eleven entities watching the challenges. I've got more vaguely thought out in case I need them, but I considered 11 to be just perfect. Fun coincidence, huh?))
((Sorry, a bit busy, I'll see if I can get a turn done later tonight but no promises.))

[GreatWyrmGold]

11? That's ridiculous. It's not even funny.

Anyways, the real question is this: What is the boundary between natural and artificial? Lightbulbs on robots don't sound like they would count, but fireflies probably would...but what about cyborg/GM fireflies?

[DarkArtemisFowl]

11? That's ridiculous. It's not even funny.

Anyways, the real question is this: What is the boundary between natural and artificial? Lightbulbs on robots don't sound like they would count, but fireflies probably would...but what about cyborg/GM fireflies?

Fireflies are natural, so they count, but they provide little light on their own. A swarm, however, could provided interesting results, ergo, sufficient light. Cyborgs are.. fine, as long as they don't alter in any way the original light source.

Spoiler: The Mediums Backstory (click to show/hide)

11 is the perfect number. All of these RTDs I've entered come in with a unique character, who were once Guardians or Mediums. Zechariah was the first Medium ever; before, there were only Guardians. Ten Guardians every generation. One Medium... and one unknown character who plays an important part also. Together, there have been Forty-four Guardians and Mediums together who fought off the armies of Heaven and Hell. Zechariah, Katherine, Danielle, and Haextov being the four Mediums, who bridge and interweave and lead the Guardians. Some prominent Guardians are Artemis, Apollo, Fhior, Calypso, and Seth, among others. All of them were around the teen ages (or at lest the equivalent on their planet) when the Medium was constructed and all of the shenanigans started. Roll To Medium takes place much after these four generations, once again constructing a new Medium and starting more story arcs.

Spoiler: Paris' Questions (click to show/hide)

These lights crystals would work as a power source. I see it akin to the Green Sun in Homestuck, really. Since Zechariah and the other Mediums aren't sure who yet is running the Medium Worlds and this game, the alien crystals are considered natural. Of course, Zechariah doesn't have direct exposure to these crystals, at least not yet. This simply powers him, the Guardians, and the other Mediums. The crystal reflecting light would not taint the light, but probably boost the light considering the crystal is a major source of power. And since it grows naturally it still is natural. It would be like scientists engineering bioluminescent plants and creatures, which would work as a very low power source still, so long as there's no robotic parts involved within the bioluminescence itself. As long as the technology doesn't touch the light source itself, it's fine. Steampunk technology still counts as tech, except for fire and whatnot, which is still natural.

Electric sparks made from artificial sources like cables and whatnot are still considered unnatural. Even if they were natural, though, the power given from them is very small. One spark provides about the power of a crystal shard the size of your palm. Lightning CAN be redirected, and if contained as so, could provided very interesting results. Do keep in mind that as Zechariah draws power from contained sources, the contained source slowly loses its own power. Intent is not the cause, but rather the human production of it at its core. Nature has very strict rules on life.

Magic light is considered natural because it's still produced by a natural being, so long as the being producing it is not a robot or something. If it still has an organic mind it's still natural. And soul and heart, but some of us don't have  souls anymore.

The 11 coincidence is indeed coincidental... Although it does provide some really interesting plot explosions

[GreatWyrmGold]

((What about if you cloned a firefly, or genetically engineered its genes into a bacterium or mouse or something, or if you artificially enhanced it?
What about putting fireflies into a jar, or breeding fireflies for maximum brightness over several generations?))

[DarkArtemisFowl]

Again, genetic engineering the bioluminescence to be transferred to other creatures is okay, and cloning too (ethical standpoints excluded ). Putting them into a jar is okay. Selective breeding is also considered natural, but then again, do we have a lab to do all this ?

[GreatWyrmGold]

What about a hybrid of von Neuman machine and light bulb, or a firefly-like organism made from scratch?

[Parisbre56]

Get up to the roof, don't let Eria have the grappling hook gun. I need it.

You get the bag with the grappling hook and the rope and enter the building. The receptionist looks up at you as you pass by her.
"Hey, you! Where are you going? You don't look like you work here."

Use bolt-cutter to pass the fence

You walk up to the fence and begin trying to cut it. The fence is sturdy and you're unfamiliar with the cutters, so it goes along slowly.
You're about half way through when you finally notice an expensive looking black car approaching from the north.
It's really close. You were so focused on cutting the fence you must have missed it.
You've only got seconds before you're noticed, if you haven't been already.

"Uh-oh. Subtle won't work..."

Attempt to use janitorial powers to douse the flames.
If unsuccessful: Hurry up the stairs, locating the director guy and hurrying to his location. Use janitor powers to locate the most efficient route to his location.
Is somehow successful: Calmly push the janitorial cart up the ramp.

To Angel:<Fire... Distraction. Leave it.>
Blindly, and without moving physically, use my fire control to lift the excess flame from the blaze beyond what it needed to keep the core of the fire burning, and form it into a ball that I roll along the base of the walls of the room, moving it along once it has ignited more of the area, and overall just carefully maximize the speed the flames spread inside the closet, but keep them from flicking outside. once the entire room is ablaze, continue to draw off the excess flames and form them all into the ball, which I'll leave floating in the middle of the janitorial closet, constantly under my active control, and collecting lots of fire as fast as I can for use later.

Angel tries to extinguish the flame with a nearby fire extinguisher. Irene tries to expand it with her fire manipulation. In the end, Angel manages to reduce the fire to about half the size it was before the fire extinguisher runs out. She's about to go for another when the smoke alarm starts beeping. Time to get out of here.
"Don't you love it when the entire team is working together in harmony?"
Angel starts pushing the cart up the ramp.
Irene tries to boost the fire a bit, but the increasing distance, lack of fuel and fire extinguisher foam means the fire doesn't get any bigger.

You manage to get to the top of the stairs quickly and without problem.
The entity guides you north through the earpiece, telling you to go to the rec room there.
As you turn your cart to follow his directions, you notice a guard calmly exiting a door opposite the stairs (that's East). The sign on the door reads "Security Station B".

To Stellar:<What... happened?>
((Note that I'm not using the interface. I'm attempting to communicate directly.))

You try to communicate with the entity with your limited telepathy. You feel your power reaching something but it's like there's a barrier in the way. You try pushing through it, but something... it's a very strange feeling. Like someone is taking your thoughts and returning them to you. You think you could push through it if you pushed hard enough, but you aren't focused enough to do it right now.

You hear (or more accurately feel, since it's not actual sound) a voice coming from your interface.
"Don't try to break the rules kid."
"What was she doing?"
"Trying to speak to her through the Barrier."
"Private communication with an entity is forbidden during a challenge. Someone could gain an unfair advantage."
"Are you okay? Do you need something?"
"Yeah, yeah. Always helping others, aren't you?"
He sounds very annoyed, both with her and you. More with you for some reason.

John sighed.  "Hey entities, who is supposed to be in charge of this place?  I need a name to drop."

Set the timer for it to go off a few second before we hit the gate.  Drive up and request entry, pretending to be couriers delivering to the head honcho.

"Okay.. Let's see... it's a guy named 'Borislav Kuznetsov', Director of the Skrytyy Mech research facility of the Red Army's Special Research Division." comes the answer from your earpiece.

You turn the dials and flip a switch. That must be it. You get in the car.

Fuggen hand powers grumble grumble.

Follow along with my teammate.

You get in the car along with your buddy, holding a hand over the place the whisk hit you.

You start the engine and drive towards the entrance. You check your wristwatch. Any moment now. You reach the gate. Any moment. The guards look at you surprised. Any moment. One of them gets out of the guard post, clearly unhappy to be forced out in the cold, and approaches your window. Any moment.
"This is a restricted military installation. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"We're here with a package for..." You pretend to read from a piece of paper. "Director Borislav Kuznetsov."
He seems convinced by that.
"Really? You are? Govno, they don't tell us anything these days. Still, I've got to see the proper authorization before I let you in. Beurocratic bullshit, I know, but they'll be after my ass if I don't fill the paperwork out properly."
The device in the trunk continues to refuse to produce any smoke. Well, there goes that plan.

Take the north stairway near the loading area. We're wasting no time here.

Stealthily proceed along with Zech. If anyone asks, we're going to clean upstairs.

You move northwards, towards the furthest stairway. Along the way, you come upon the two office workers. They look up at you and stop talking as you pass by them, but they resume talking once you're out of earshot, now whispering to each other.

About halfway to the stairs, you hear faint voices from the security guard's radio, its volume reduced.
"We've got a fire alarm near the West stairwell."
"Roger, probably some idiot from Records who thinks he can smoke in the bathroom. I'll go reset the alarm."
"Well, tell them to control themselves. We can't keep running around just because they're too bored or cold to go outside! Idiots."
"Yeah, yeah. Going now."
@DAF: I think I understand what you want. Okay, I'll work on rebalancing your powers a bit when I have some more time. And work out some explanation. I already have something in mind, but I need to work a bit on it.

[Harry Baldman]

"You are indeed correct, miss! I do not work here! I am but a humble, unassuming *roof inspector*, working for the good of the Party. You wouldn't want to interfere with the affairs of the Party's *roof inspectors*, would you? It would be so dreadfully inconvenient. I might even require to mention you in the *roof inspection* report."

Explain.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

Zechariah's internal time clock slowed down as he processed these turns of events. He spoke silently using the device to Jordan.

"Wait... west stairway. We don't have a west stairway on this level. Could it be one of the other teams?

Nnh. Let's continue. I don't want to get sidetracked with other things, unless things start to derail very quickly."

Proceed up the stairwell we were already headed to.

[scapheap]

Stand up, cross arms(1) and look like I'm waiting for someone.
If car passes, carry on cutting after it goes.
If car stop, (1) Arms are in place to freeze anyone getting out and then the car doors of anyone else not out yet.

[Lenglon]

Silently cry under the rags and wallow in self-pity, hoping that Angel has a plan since she shot down mine
Stellar doesn't trust me, none of the entities trust me, not even Angel trusts me, or she wouldn't have done that. my own body is betraying me, and I can't privately ask stellar why. if I ask her publicly i'd end up hurting her, making her look foolish. My fire control is so weak now. my home... I've just got to get through this. I've got to stay strong for the mission. Just last through the end of this mission...

[GreatWyrmGold]

((You had a plan?))

[Lenglon]

((Are you even reading my posts? of course I had a plan, I spent two turns purely on setup, remember? - several variations of plan that depended upon the exact reaction, but a plan nonetheless. the biggest advantage is the way you "call for backup" against a fire is to call the fire department, not a swat team. It doesn't matter now though.))

[Parisbre56]

((You had a plan?))

((I know there are captain obvious awards but are there captain oblivious awards?
Cause when someone says they have a plan, most of the time, it's because they do.
The rest of the time is usually them trying to sound smart or reassuring. But I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case here.))