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Adventure! RPG - Stalwarts & family matters


Sprocket

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Ever since I helped put out Aberrant: A Breed Apart, I've been wondering how the kids of the surviving Adventure! Era stalwarts would turn out. Granted not all of them *do* survive to have kids, & most of those have neutral or possibly daredevil spouses, but still.

Here's my take on the situation: stalwarts who breed w/ the non-Inspired will simply produce offspring with the latent M-R coding. Any breeding w/ mesmerists would result in stillbirths or sterile offspring. Those who breed w/ daredevils could produce offspring of either Inspired type. Stalwarts who breed with other stalwarts *might* produce full-blown 2ndGen nova offspring, although probably low-powered specimens of such.

I'm unsure of how this would interact with the "Inspiration as the middle ocean between Quanta/Taint & Psi" concept, so YMMV.

Do I have something usable and/or plausible here, or are there one or more mistakes lurking in the concept?

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Here's my take on the situation: stalwarts who breed w/ the non-Inspired will simply produce offspring with the latent M-R coding.
I agree with this.
Any breeding w/ mesmerists would result in stillbirths or sterile offspring.
I don't agree with this. While Stalwards have things in common with novas, and Mesmerists have things in common with Psiads, they are not their counterparts - and even if they were, the latency gene sequences are still the same. I would say that they have a 100% chance of breeding latents (minus whatever the normal chance for birth defects is).
Those who breed w/ daredevils could produce offspring of either Inspired type. Stalwarts who breed with other stalwarts *might* produce full-blown 2ndGen nova offspring, although probably low-powered specimens of such.
I doubt that two Stalwards would produce a nova, because then Divis would have competition stretching back decades. I suppose you could do so for an NPC/plot reasons, but personally I don't like it. I would say that they could produce Stalwarts somewhere between a normal Stalwart and a nova, maybe.
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I don't agree with this. While Stalwarts have things in common with novas, and Mesmerists have things in common with Psiads, they are not their counterparts - and even if they were, the latency gene sequences are still the same. I would say that they have a 100% chance of breeding latents (minus whatever the normal chance for birth defects is).
So you're saying that neither the stalwarts nor the mesmerists have advanced enough in mastering their respective energy sources - Quanta & Psi, respectively - for the issue of Quanta/Psi conflict to be an issue? That does sound likely, given the "Inspiration as ocean" concept.
I doubt that two Stalwarts would produce a nova, because then Divis would have competition stretching back decades. I suppose you could do so for an NPC/plot reasons, but personally I don't like it. I would say that they could produce Stalwarts somewhere between a normal Stalwart and a nova, maybe.
Well, it was never outright *said* just when Caestus Pax and/or Sophia Roussaeu were born IIRC. Also, we have Jeremiah Scripture and Pedro "the Mathematician" Santiago as strong candidates for pre-N-Day novas.

That said, if two stalwart parents can give birth to nova offspring, said rugrats would likely be first generation novas. I just can't see Scripture or Santiago (much less Pax) as being 2ndGen.

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So you're saying that neither the stalwarts nor the mesmerists have advanced enough in mastering their respective energy sources - Quanta & Psi, respectively - for the issue of Quanta/Psi conflict to be an issue? That does sound likely, given the "Inspiration as ocean" concept.
That was my thinking.
Well, it was never outright *said* just when Caestus Pax and/or Sophia Roussaeu were born IIRC. Also, we have Jeremiah Scripture and Pedro "the Mathematician" Santiago as strong candidates for pre-N-Day novas.
IMO it would make more sense if they were Stalwarts who became better-than-normal novas on N-day.
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IMO it would make more sense if they were Stalwarts who became better-than-normal novas on N-day.
That doesn't make sense from my POV - the APG has rules for novas prior to N-Day, & they would seem to have applied to the people in question quite well - but YYMV.
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Here's my take on the situation: stalwarts who breed w/ the non-Inspired will simply produce offspring with the latent M-R coding.

Agreed.

Any breeding w/ mesmerists would result in stillbirths or sterile offspring.

I liked what BN said. They haven't entered the "Q vs. Pi" yet, or at least not fully.

Those who breed w/ daredevils could produce offspring of either Inspired type.

I have mixed feeling on this. History is full of great men/women with less great offspring. On the other hand we also have the whole "generations of supers" thing.

I think I suggest they be "latent" with the possibility of being triggered by their parent by ST's whim.

Stalwarts who breed with other stalwarts *might* produce full-blown 2ndGen nova offspring, although probably low-powered specimens of such.

There is no such thing as a "low-powered 2nd Gen". The issue is access to the exp table. A zero point nova with 50 points of experience and lax theme rules is still a near god.

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That doesn't make sense from my POV - the APG has rules for novas prior to N-Day, & they would seem to have applied to the people in question quite well - but YYMV.
Yes, the APG has rules for it, but as you look at it, novas don't seem to appear until Divis (who has spent a century building his power up to the level) does a massive quantum explosion, and psions don't appear until the Doyen gift humanity the dunk tanks. It makes far more sense if the various superior people are Inspired (with the occasional Psiad). Novas and Psions, in the actual setting, need an artificial trigger to generate them, while Inspired and Psiads don't.

If we grant that Divis and Mercer were already Inspired when hit with the Hammersmith explosion, thus propelling them up to their next step (nova and TimeTraveller), then the same thing would have happened to Pax, Rousseau, Scripture, and whoever else is supposed to have had powers prior to N-Day. Pax and Scripture would have been Stalwarts (or Scripture, possibly, a nova courtesy of Divis) with Rousseau either being a Stalwart or a Daredevil (I mean, if she's got mad entropy powers, Daredevil almost makes more sense than Stalwart for her).

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Now *that* is an interesting question. What does happen to a Stalwart who goes through N-Day?
IMO, if someone became a Stalwart on Mar 22, 1998, then went through N-Day on Mar 23, 1998, they would convert their Knacks into matching powers/enhancements, starting Quantum equal to half their Inspiration, add 30NP, and continue life as a nova. A Mesmerist/Psiad who gained their power on Mar 22, 1998, would probably see their Inspiration/Psi drop by a point, and/or face added difficulty on their Knacks, but would then continue life as normal.
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If we grant that Divis and Mercer were already Inspired when hit with the Hammersmith explosion...
I think we pretty much have to, regardless of any other considerations. Max's pre-Hammer bio reads that way. Divis we know less about but Max apparently thought he was the smartest guy around (again, before Hammer).

This is less twinky than it sounds since they were invited to Hammersmith *because* they were already movers and shakers in the world.

Which implicitly means an Inspiration 9-10 stalwart, would pretty much head straight to Q5 demigodhood, do not pass go, do not require 200 XP.
Yes and no. If he's a PC then he can build himself with 30 (or whatever is standard for N-day novas) and has a serious excuse for using bonus points to buy quantum.

If he's an NPC... then I seriously doubt Divis was built on 30 points.

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Yes, the APG has rules for it, but as you look at it, novas don't seem to appear until Divis (who has spent a century building his power up to the level) does a massive quantum explosion, and psions don't appear until the Doyen gift humanity the dunk tanks. It makes far more sense if the various superior people are Inspired (with the occasional Psiad). Novas and Psions, in the actual setting, need an artificial trigger to generate them, while Inspired and Psiads don't.
Are the 2 novas mentioned in the Project Proteus fluff (AB:PU, pp. 97-98) figured into your reasoning there? What that speedster/superstrong guy accomplished in the 1960s was a good deal beyond what *any* Stalwart should be capable of, no matter what his or her Inspiration rating. As for the unfortunate soul who erupted with heavy Taint in the 1980s (and may have been euthanized as a result), Stalwarts do not face the problem of Taint simply by their very low levels of power.

As for artificial triggers being required for psion/nova Inspiration? Agreed that Divis Mal's quasi-Hammersmith vortexes were required for novas to erupt at Nova-Age power levels (30 np & up, as the decades go by until the 2060s & Exodus Day), but otherwise that's hogwash. As for the psionic side of the coin, psiads do exist as a canon part of the Nova Age, & they certainly did not require any alien/artificial intervention to gain their Inspiration.

Sorry, but I am not buying that premise.

If we grant that Divis and Mercer were already Inspired when hit with the Hammersmith explosion, thus propelling them up to their next step (nova and Time-Traveler), then the same thing would have happened to Pax, Rousseau, Scripture, and whoever else is supposed to have had powers prior to N-Day. Pax and Scripture would have been Stalwarts (or Scripture, possibly, a nova courtesy of Divis) with Rousseau either being a Stalwart or a Daredevil (I mean, if she's got mad entropy powers, Daredevil almost makes more sense than Stalwart for her).
That sounds pretty dubious, although I grant that Donighal could have been dynamically Inspired before the Hammersmith Incident. But as I read it, it was more a matter of their placement (in addition to genetics, personality etc.) before the Hammersmith Engine that resulted in their resulting extreme power levels. IIRC Donighal became a 15 np nova them & there, while Mercer was likewise blasted up past the Inspiration scale for daredevils into Plot Device territory.
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Which implicitly means an Inspiration 9-10 stalwart, would pretty much head straight to Q5 demigodhood, do not pass go, do not require 200 XP.
Well, yes, but since Pax and Rousseau are Q6, I would accept that. That makes sense with them being among the first Q6+ crowd.
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Are the 2 novas mentioned in the Project Proteus fluff (AB:PU, pp. 97-98) figured into your reasoning there?
I don't have the books in front of me, but I usually interpret the fluff stuff as optional-canon.
What that speedster/superstrong guy accomplished in the 1960s was a good deal beyond what *any* Stalwart should be capable of, no matter what his or her Inspiration rating.
IIRC he wrecks a train to push a pickup out of the way? I can see that being done with Inspiration - double dice pool for Might roll to move the truck, dramatic editing for something to wreck the train. Admittedly I'm going on shaky memory on this, PU isn't my most knowledgable book.
As for the unfortunate soul who erupted with heavy Taint in the 1980s (and may have been euthanized as a result), Stalwarts do not face the problem of Taint simply by their very low levels of power.
I don't remember that one at all.
As for artificial triggers being required for psion/nova Inspiration? Agreed that Divis Mal's quasi-Hammersmith vortexes were required for novas to erupt at Nova-Age power levels (30 np & up, as the decades go by until the 2060s & Exodus Day), but otherwise that's hogwash. As for the psionic side of the coin, psiads do exist as a canon part of the Nova Age, & they certainly did not require any alien/artificial intervention to gain their Inspiration.
Psiads exist naturally, Psions do not. Psions require the dunk tanks to reach the maximum rating in psionic disciplines. Divis required being at point-blank range on the Hammersmith, along with (probably) being Inspired beforehand, to become a nova - and we know he was performing experiments as far back as the 60's-70's. However, it's just my opinion, I certainly don't remember anything in the books to back up or solidly refute my position.
That sounds pretty dubious, although I grant that Donighal could have been dynamically Inspired before the Hammersmith Incident. But as I read it, it was more a matter of their placement (in addition to genetics, personality etc.) before the Hammersmith Engine that resulted in their resulting extreme power levels. IIRC Donighal became a 15 np nova them & there, while Mercer was likewise blasted up past the Inspiration scale for daredevils into Plot Device territory.
I read it that they were previously Inspired (Maxwell at least; Donighal likely) and then got even better. But it's just my opinion.
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  • 8 months later...

Love the discussion in this thread! I agree that the evidence suggests that Dr. Primoris erupts as a low-level Nova and Max Mercer transforms into a time-traveler due to the Hammersmith event. Primoris/Mal clearly uses Inspiration, so either Inspired that transform to the next 'form' keep their Inspiration & Knacks or Inspiration is equivalent Quantum and maybe Psi.

Pseudo-science theory:

Inspired people have a specific genetic mutation that, when activated by the presence of certain stimuli, codes for one of three protein strings. The genetic mutation is a double-redundant double-copy of a neuro-structural gene complex that also affects bone marrow. The normal gene gives humans Willpower. The mutation provides the structures to channel energy through the nervous system, although this doesn’t become possible until a Transformation happens. The protein string causes a cascading protein/prion reproduction cycle that converts and transforms the entire body. Afterwords the cascading protein string system is used to store and release energy.

In other words, everyone has the Willpower gene complex; copy-errors cause a redundant brain boosting version to spread to most people; eventually copy-errors result in an intellect enhancing double-redundant version that spreads to a smaller percentage of people. It is only when two double-redundant gene carriers mate that Latent genetics can occur; it is a copy-error that is rare.

The way I see it, the latency genes themselves are generally not altered by the Transformation except in a very slight way. The RNA-Protein complex does all the work and any DNA alteration is side-effect. Inspiration may not have any effect, Psi has a slight effect, Quantum has a moderate effect and Taint has a large effect. So, the Inspired are just Latents for breeding purposes. I don't think Stalwarts/Mesmerists would have problems breeding, but I bet a Psion/Psiad and Nova wouldn't work without IVF and then you'd just have a 50/50 chance of Psionic/Quantum genetics.

Novas are best classified by their node-generation.

1st Generation Novas have M-R nodes that have erupted in their brains. Latents exposed to Quantum energies and their children can express this way.

2nd Generation Novas have M-R nodes distributed throughout the body, sometimes unnoticeable. These Novas include Novas who have undergone the Chrysalis, the children of 2 Novas, and ‘low-taint’ Novas.

3rd Generation Novas have M-R nodes erupt in their brains, but these nodes are larger and more strongly affected by Taint. These include the children of quantum-latents that were exposed to Taint energies and the children of Novas and humans who are not ‘taint resistant’.

I think it's supposed to be a 'blank slate' of power that adapts to the surrounding energies, but you still have Psi-latency, Quantum-latency, and Taint-latency.

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