How much detail?

[David Lunking]

How much detail do we want to put into describing/writing the Daedalus and the survivors of the Technosphere?

I ask this because I am torn between hand waving much of the description for simple ease, and obsessive levels of detail. With only 10,000 civilians and 30 other Technomages, that's almost a short enough list to give everyone a name and description. Almost. Yet it seems impersonal to simply say there are 4 main factions (Technomages, Concerned Citizens, Hippies, and Gamers) without naming some of the important figures, and determining what capabilities we have and what people want and are willing to accept. 

This is important because we must not lose sight of the long term necessities of the Daedalus. Assuming we manage to secure our society with a police force, representative government, social order, etc., we still need to find energy and material resources, as well as a physical place to live. To accomplish this, we are going to need more than just ourselves. Our skills and prowess are legendary, but there are only 4 of us. Nor can we rely on just the other PCs, though they can certainly help. We will need to motivate and mobilize our own population to assist us, but with only 10,000 refugees, we are minuscule compared to Penn State, ENY, Malaysia, or The Hive. Or, honestly, anyone left.

And if all of our own problems are so difficult, how can we help the world? Destroy Apophis? Oppose Malaysia? If we cannot, then the Technosphere died during Reunification.

But I refuse to accept such defeatism.

We can give our refugees tasks. We can give them training. Perhaps most importantly, we can give them hope. But in return, they must help us, and they will have to work. I helped make the list of who should be saved and why, and Zeta has the current list of all survivors and their records. Surely there are some amongst them who are willing to risk themselves to save their family, friends and ideals.

The only questions are: how many, and what are their names?

Thoughts?

~D

[Carolyn Grodt]

OOC:

Let's secretly work to raise the tech level of Oregon.

And steal it.  It's very close to our climate.

~C

[David Lunking]

OOC:

 

We could do a bunch of things:

• Take Oregon - it's a nice place, if low TL. We'll need more TL7 generators. And they're very expensive.
• Restore our manufacturing base in LA - probably requires 'fixing' at least some of the LA politics.
• Get an oil drilling deal with Texas - they have oil, not much use for, they like us, and wouldn't mind a cut if it helped against Apophis.
• Mine Uranium in parts of the PPOC - though we may not have enough people to ensure security.
• Start a huge waste recycling program with ENY and Jeffersonia to convert leftover biomass into energy
• Steal. Everyone's. Econ.
• Acquire the Hand of Vecna to power our Artifurnace (sorry Kirt ;))

But doing any of these things on a scale sufficient to support a state will require more than just 4 PCs, i.e. support from the citizens of the Technosphere. And the question for us, the writers and players, is how much hand-wavium do we want to use, now that unobtainium is harder to get and we no longer shit econ?

 

Kirt - would it be easier for you if we decided what 3 major things we wanted to do? Or do you have additional input/commentary that would be useful before we commit?

 

 

~D

--

"A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world's torrent."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

[Tom Bethards]

This is all interesting.  Dr. Sim is especially interested in taking Oregon.  He was there before L.A. moved in, and he could easily team up with the hippie faction to, er, restore it.

He also received an offer from the Patron of Sydney for an oil deal, with access to maritime Gates in the Technosphere as payment.  Is this right, Kirt?

Tom

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to threads-daedalus+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject.

[Kirt Dankmyer]

> He also received an offer from the Patron of Sydney for an oil deal, with
> access to maritime Gates in the Technosphere as payment.  Is this right,
> Kirt?

I'm not sure what you mean by "maritime Gates in the technosphere as
payment". He'd be willing to let y'all used Sydney's gates, if that's
what you mean. He would trade oil for other things as well.

--
Kirt "Loki" Dankmyer -- http://ivanhoeunbound.com -- xiomBRAG on AIM
cats * hats * RPGs * love * Eris * Agent Patriot * anime * Dada * poetry
"Only ONE MAN can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me!" -Death

[Kirt Dankmyer]

Re-reading this, he wasn't interested in the Gates in the nuked
Technosphere, he was more interested in a technology for oil trade.
Remember the conversation more now, he was mostly interested in things
of "symbolic value", like things that mean a lot to the Technosphere.

[Kirt Dankmyer]

> I ask this because I am torn between hand waving much of the description for
> simple ease, and obsessive levels of detail. With only 10,000 civilians and
> 30 other Technomages, that's almost a short enough list to give everyone a
> name and description. Almost. Yet it seems impersonal to simply say there
> are 4 main factions (Technomages, Concerned Citizens, Hippies, and Gamers)

Well, there were more factions than that in the sheet I posted on the
list based on Carolyn's material. It's just I was limited by the
number of cast I could get in that scene.

> without naming some of the important figures, and determining what
> capabilities we have and what people want and are willing to accept.

Well, you have some important figures from that scene, so that's a start.

I think a balance can be struck beteween too much and too little
detail, and introduced over time through BGAs and scenes.

[Kirt Dankmyer]

> Kirt - would it be easier for you if we decided what 3 major things we
> wanted to do? Or do you have additional input/commentary that would be
> useful before we commit?

It's probably slightly easier for me if y'all co-ordinate on BGAs so
that a lot of you are working on a short list of things rather than
everyone working on different things, shattershot-style, but on the
other hand, scattershot individual projects are also very
"in-character" for the 'Sphere and I certainly don't want to constrain
your freedom.

I WILL note that the more players you bring into projects the more
successful they will likely be. This has always been the way BGAs and
plot development have worked in Threads, it's just y'all have been
insulated by the... special circumstances... that used to exist. I
want to encourage y'all to reach out as much as possible and get
involved in issues outside as well as inside the Daedalus, and
possibly bring non-Technomages into the Daedalus plots.

[Shaun Pal Smith]

Okay, so this brings up something I've been thinking about.  We can do what we usually do, which is create 3-4 Daedalus BGA's, one for security, one for politics, one for finding a new home and one for finding new raw materials, then have each of us spend 1-2 on each of those BGA's for the next 2-3 games and we'd have 20+ BGA's spent on the Daedalus and it's problems, or we can create the omnibus 'fix the Daedalus' BGA and each spend 1 or 2  and then I could ask for help from others on that BGA, and still have BGA's left over for interacting with other players.  

On that note, here are places I was thinking about spending BGA points:
1. Daedalus - Security, Governance, Shore Leave, New Home, Training/Work, Raw Materials, Create Mech's to maximize energy usage of each civilian
2. Researching Apophis's/Pogugu's Weaknesses (I got a crazy idea to feed Pogugu a tainted body, Gordon didn't think it was SUCH a good idea, but he said it was possible)
3. Researching Venezuela (I went to Curacao and met a smuggler there who didn't seem to like Venezuela too much)
4. Investigate TL7 Flies from Camp Century (Mechanical flies tried to drop acid on the Nuc Reactor in Camp Century and blow it up)  (Speaking of which Camp CEnturay is TL7, AND might even have room for us...  But I still think the CoG is a very reasonable place to put people...
5. What do you guys have?

--
To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.

[David Lunking]

I'm willing to sacrifice a little scatterbrained scheming for more effectiveness and GM face time. Now, we might be scatterbrained as a group, but at least we should scatter in the same direction.

 

Regarding the technology trade offer from Australia: Some time ago we discussed the idea of trading technology for energy/resources, and one thing that came up was the ability to redirect and interdict gates. In this newly reunified world, the ability to be (mostly) safe from nuclear first strike is an asset we should bestow upon our closest ally or allies... in exchange for some continuing energy or material resource, as the interdiction requires constant power and maintenance. It's not absolutely perfect, as it can be bypassed by important plot elements, or by determined and well-funded effort, but I'm sure ENY or Danzig would love to have an added sense of security...

 

~D

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 10:03 AM, Kirt Dankmyer <xiom...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.

[Carolyn Grodt]

I need to find out what was up with all the tachyons during the Daedalus scene.

Sam buckman asked us to find out what happened to all 3 nukes stollen from the sub - and to check any leftover records to see if we had evidence that one of those as used to nuke the technosphere.  I told him this was unlikely - as we lost a lot of our data with monarch.

[Meredith Peck]

With regards to BGAs, I am not planning on filing them as Zeta just yet, because she's already overwhelmed with keeping the ship from sinking, er, falling out of the sky.  However, if you'd like to use her as a resource - as Bethany did for the broadcast in the Daedalus Revolt scene - please do so.

[David Lunking]

As far as BGAs go, I have 7+1 points this round, so plenty to help. I suggest a long list, and we allocate points to the most important.

 

Things I would like to do:

1. Daedalus Security - Investigate sabotage, particularly the woman (Aurelia) who was emitting too many tachyons.
2. Daedalus Government/Institution - once we have a police force, we will need civilians with Preserve Tech and Practical Technomancy to help run our efforts in the world.
3. Research/Fix the items returned to us by SGM Masters - Toscani engram board, the Eye, and Random Black Box.
4. Research the tachyon devices from 'Misgates' - the poor hypertech analog and the chessboard.
5. Investigate the Church of the Nazarene, where the Dog King was kidnapping people and making them behave like dogs (very low priority).

~D

[David Lunking]

If Zeta files a single 4x BGA that says, 'Keep the Daedalus safe and not adrift in the void', I would consider it time and effort well spent.

 

~D

[Kirt Dankmyer]

Void? Dude, this the Tween. It's crawling with EBEs. :)

I should have had a space whale attack you while your weapon systems were down.

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 12:21 PM, David Lunking <david....@gmail.com> wrote:
> If Zeta files a single 4x BGA that says, 'Keep the Daedalus safe and not
> adrift in the void', I would consider it time and effort well spent.

--

[Meredith Peck]

Or a pot of petunias.

[Kirt Dankmyer]

There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The "big BGA"
approach dilutes the results, but frees up more points. Breaking it
down into more focused BGAs can eat more points, but gets things done
faster and more effectively.

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 12:04 PM, Shaun Pal Smith <spwor...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Okay, so this brings up something I've been thinking about.  We can do what
> we usually do, which is create 3-4 Daedalus BGA's, one for security, one for
> politics, one for finding a new home and one for finding new raw materials,
> then have each of us spend 1-2 on each of those BGA's for the next 2-3 games
> and we'd have 20+ BGA's spent on the Daedalus and it's problems, or we can
> create the omnibus 'fix the Daedalus' BGA and each spend 1 or 2  and then I
> could ask for help from others on that BGA, and still have BGA's left over
> for interacting with other players.
>
> On that note, here are places I was thinking about spending BGA points:
> 1. Daedalus - Security, Governance, Shore Leave, New Home, Training/Work,
> Raw Materials, Create Mech's to maximize energy usage of each civilian
> 2. Researching Apophis's/Pogugu's Weaknesses (I got a crazy idea to feed
> Pogugu a tainted body, Gordon didn't think it was SUCH a good idea, but he
> said it was possible)
> 3. Researching Venezuela (I went to Curacao and met a smuggler there who
> didn't seem to like Venezuela too much)
> 4. Investigate TL7 Flies from Camp Century (Mechanical flies tried to drop
> acid on the Nuc Reactor in Camp Century and blow it up)  (Speaking of which
> Camp CEnturay is TL7, AND might even have room for us...  But I still think
> the CoG is a very reasonable place to put people...
> 5. What do you guys have?

--

[Kirt Dankmyer]

That would just be silly. :)

On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 12:28 PM, Meredith Peck <mep...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Or a pot of petunias.

--

[Shaun Pal Smith]

I forgot about the stuff from SGT Major Masterson, those should definitely get some love.  I also had a couple of random pieces, a large yellow ball thingy and a key fob type thing.  I think one BGA for all of those is likely appropriate.

[David Lunking]

Space whales don't often attack, they typically only seek to mate. And if she's not moving away, she's not saying no.

 

RE: Big vs. Little BGAs - Why don't we fund a large Group BGA that covers most of the concerns for general security and representative government, and file smaller or personal BGAs for specific things we would like to see.

 

For example, I know that training people in Preserve Tech will likely be very important, and takes time and effort. Also we cannot forget those who were in school to be the next generation of Technomages. Why not combine the two and teach Preserve Tech and Practical Technomancy to a broader segment of the population? Those who will become true Technomages still retain the exclusive knowledge and training of how and why it works and how to innovate, while more people get to use it. Of course we'll need to vette the new trainees, and there will likely be political concessions, but that's a rapid means of increasing our applicable TL7 workforce. And from there, they can train the rest of our population.

 

And I promise not to call myself Muad'Dib.

 

That would be a good use of a personal BGA that follows the themes of the group BGA, but accomplishes a single, specific goal. Is that a fair use, Kirt?

 

~D

[Shaun Pal Smith]

It's so interesting how our brains work. 

I wasn't thinking along those lines at all.  I wanted to focus on gathering some new resources so we could build things for our people to work or fight with ;)  And your idea is a great one.  So my personal BGA could be creating training simulators for skills.  IE learning how to pilot mechs, shoot guns/lasers, or fix the Daedalus.  On the other hand, both of our ideas sorta fall into the same category so maybe it's better to file them together.  Kirt, would your rather have 1pt BGA's detailing a bunch of different things in the same general vain of stuff?  Or 1 BGA that is supposed to be a catch all for a specific category?

-Sp

[Kirt Dankmyer]

That's fair, but try to mention everything you're covering in a given
broad BGA.

--
Sent from my mobile device

[Kirt Dankmyer]

Either way is fine, each has their advantages and disadvantages, as
mentioned earlier.

--

Sent from my mobile device

Kirt "Loki" Dankmyer -- http://ivanhoeunbound.com -- xiomBRAG on AIM

[David Lunking]

On the training sim vein, I'm certain there's already an existing game in the TS similar to MAG (initial ref.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAG_(video_game)). In MAG, you can only progress up ranks and be put in charge of additional soldiers by playing well as a team. Basically, you have to be a team player to reap the addictive rewards of the system, rather than just button mash or sniper camp. However, it's no substitute for real combat - after training in simulators, we would then want to have on the ground, hands on training with another military (say, Rising Sun or ENY) - which is a convenient way to include other PCs. And if it includes mechs, all the better.

 

I would say that anything we want to do that could involve other PCs, or that you would want to talk about in specifics to other PCs probably deserves its own, distinct BGA. Anything that would fit in the general restructuring of society would probably be better served as part of a big, group BGA. We should still hash out the new Constitution at a congress sometime in the near future, as well as the general order of society, but that's a more nebulous than a specific broad spectrum TL 1-to-7 training regime.

 

 

~D

[Tom Bethards]

Yes that was it. I was probably mixing this conversation with another. There was somebody interested in leasing our see gates, but I don't remember who, now.

[Tom Bethards]

I mean sea gates. See Tom. See Tom take antihistamines. See Tom type badly.