Aberrant RPG - Where heaven ends.

[Wakinyan]

Next year based on the current playing timeline will be the year of the story "Where heaven ends" In World Wide Phase 2. Many of the PCs here could be involved in the riot and it could be an earth shaking moment for the Forum in general. My question is.

How if at all would you like to see "Where heaven ends." be portrayed here.

[kestrel404]

All of the above.

[Singularity]

Stop that, you're stealing my answer!

[Hugin]

Make it one of the contests, like the 24 Hour Day contest.

[Sir Gaedal Glas]

Make it all of the above and damn Roberts fer bein' the first ta speak the word unvarnished.

And yah, some of us manage to return now and again.

[Wakinyan]

The contest is a good idea. The question is when would we start it? Run the contest for six months and end on May 28th of next year. When all of it would become cannon to the board and we could play the repercussion out?

[Singularity]

I agree regarding the contest but I'm uncertain on the timeframe. Obviously, we'll have to set some boundries to it, setting some things off limits. For example, the big ol' space gun (a'la Akira) is something all of us might want to leave alone.

[Matryoshka]

Well, Signy is making a contruction base in an astriod. This would just give her workers more reason to build faster. But in the end,I think the most interesting things from characters would either be what Blue or Anee does.

[Gentle Giant]

OK, I'll bite. I was going to let stuff happen, and just react IC, but you've gone and gotten my curiosity up. What happens in the "Where Heaven Ends" scenario?

[Singularity]

It's a gigantic cluster f*ck. I don't have my Phase II with me here at work, but here's the Cliff Notes:

Team Tomorrow attacks the Amp Room and all hell breaks loose after some Teragen big guns show up. Ibiza(sp) ends up being a super powered war zone for a few days and the event could be considered the clear "beginning of the end" of the golden Nova Age.

[Wakinyan]

It is a full on Nova riot.It starts as a standard T2M being pushy job but then everyone comes in to start settling scores with each other. Toward the end someone is using a Orbital rail cannon to get rid of some Novas.

[Singularity]

Quote:

Originally posted by Totem:
Toward the end someone is using a Orbital rail cannon to get rid of some Novas.

Thankfully that part is a vignette. Man, anything that does 50L from heat and 50L from impact is f-ing disgusting.

[Gentle Giant]

Oh. Uh-oh, I'm a big target. I think I'm going to need more soak dice.

[Kirby1024]

Quote:

Originally posted by Franklin 'Singularity' Alden:
Thankfully that part is a vignette. Man, anything that does 50L from heat and 50L from impact is f-ing disgusting.

Oddly, when I was reading that, I was thinking "I have to contact my Exalted-playing friends - I don't think I have enough dice for that...

But seriously, I found the funniest part about the whole thing was how it was deployed. Imagine this:

"Yo, man"
"Who, me?"
"Yeah. Hey, how'd you like to help us with something?"
"Woah, hang on, who the hell are you guys?"
"Doesn't matter. Just take this."
"What, like this?"
"NO!!! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK! Thankyou. You're supposed to wear these gloves with it."
"OK, so who are you guys?"
"It doesn't matter. Look, here's what we want you to do. We want you to take this here thing, and point it at a few of the novas around."
"You want me to point this thing at a nova. Any particular reason?"
"We need to test something."
"Uh huh. So, who are you guys?"
"It. Doesn't. Matter. Just point it at the nova, then push the trigger. Oh, we recommend you be as far away as possible when you do that."
"Why?"
"Umm. There'll probably be a big boom. You might want these earplugs."
"So I can stay close then?"
"Hmmm... Probably want to stay away anyway."
"Right. So, aim at nova, push trigger, might be a bit of loud noise."
"Yep, pretty much it."
"Ooookaaay. So, when do you want it back?"
"Oh, don't worry, we'll find you somehow. Just make sure you test it reeeeal well, OK?
"Sure, why not?"
"That's the spirit. Now, go get 'em!"

I'm fairly certain that'd be an accurate representation of that bit...

[Gentle Giant]

Just out of curiosity, is that 100 dice of lethal (resulting in ~50 health levels of damage) or 100 levels? If it's 100 dice, that is potentially soakable (through freak coincidence or a completely soak-based character). Otherwise, it's just nuts to bother rolling.

[Singularity]

It's dice not just levels. According to statistics, three out of every ten dice rolled would be successes, so 100 dice equals 30 damage. And that's assuming you didn't apply soak.

So we'll take a good soaking nova, say 20 lethal soak. That's still 80 dice, resulting in 24 health levels of damage, killing just about any nova without a bunch of Body Modifications. Unless you would consider the heat and impact two separate sources, making it two sets of 50 dice, meaning it'd only be 18 total health levels of damage to that poor nova.

[ronin]

And I am doing the 'Teleport-with-the-Combat-Extra-Havin' shuffle.

Heh. Come to think of it, I wonder if Deflect could work on that thing...

"Hit me? No, let's see how well Pax over there deals with it..."

[Gentle Giant]

Hrm. The way I'm reading it, it's one damage pool. If it hits you, thats 100 dice. If it comes close, you just take 50 dice from the shockwave/heat.

[Hugin]

The way I look at it, it's 50 and 50, not 100. Two seperate attacks, one from impact, one from heat, so soak applies seperately.

Most people are still a puff of greasy smoke though.

[ronin]

Insofar as the rules are concerned, I agree with you. That's two seperate attacks. No different than some hulking motherfucker grabbing you for a crush attack and then immolating.

[Singularity]

Quote:

Originally posted by James 'Prodigy' Meehan:
Most people are still a puff of greasy smoke though.

Exactly. Talk about a disgusting weapon...

[Preston]

Here ya go:

It is a projectile traveling at Mach 25 (not 2.5).

When it hits, thats over a 250 meter radius. Yes, you could teleport away, but if you only got two success, you would still be hit.

Now, here is the damage it does:

50 dice bashing or lethal-

The lethal damage (depleted uranium arrows) are armor piercing. The lead pellets are blunt (dont' ask me why).

50 dice of lethal damage from the heat.

50 dice Strobe attack(auditory)

50 dice Strobe attack(visual)

25 dots in Thunderclap

25 dots in Shockwave

The attack does half damage out to Area Effect x2.

And, it gets worse:

The Area of Effect can be expanded out to x5 (thats 1250 meters)

Each expansion of the area give it +4 accuracy.

Each expansion of the area costs it:

-3 Shockwave and Thunderclap

-6 dice to all damage and strobe effects.

So, if set for a 1.25km radius strike, it would do 26 dice of B/L physical, L energy, Strobe (audio), Strobe (visual), and 13 dots in Shockwave and Thunderclap.

That would do 13 dice damage in both physical and energy out to 2.5 km.

Also, dice successes come out to a 40% success rate (7,8,9, and 10 being success), so out to a 2.5 km radius it could do 10 (5+5) levels of lethal damage, killing any baseline not in body armor.

The strobe attacks would also certainly blind and deafen anyone in the area for the scene (5+ successes on an unresisted roll, baby). Even sensory shield (5) would only drop the attacks successes down to 10!

The Shockwave has everyone making Str.+3 checks to remain standing and does 25 more dice of bashing damage. You can avoid this by being off the ground.

The Thunderclap does another 25 dice of bashing damage.

Well, the good news is that you get to soak each attack seperately.

Ronin, Deflect/Redirect won't help, as it is a Block manuever and you can't do that against an area effect attack. You can't dodge, unless your movement would take you out of the area of effect.

[Singularity]

Wow, the wonders of technology.

What's really freaky is in the vignette there's a nova that actually takes two hits from it before going down.

Hey, those disgusting numbers reminded me: what year does that DeVries group try to take over the Ukraine?

[Preston]

Singularity, I thought that was you!!!

[Singularity]

Quote:

Originally posted by Preston:
Singularity, I thought that was you!!!

Ugh, no thank you. That'd be a real chump way of going out.

Still, does anyone remember what year that rouge elite story happens in? It could make a good OpNet story and background/flavor for the board.

[Matryoshka]

Sandy could Dodge this.

It really makes you wonder what Ohman is going to be like.

So, who wants to Join Signy on her star ship project?

[Preston]

Starship? What Starship? The resources needed for such an endeavor are so immense that it is bound to be detected.

BTW, I don't believe FTL technology isn't possible in the Aberrant environment, so are you going to Warp the whole damn thing about the Universe?

Oh, yeah. You can count Preston out. He has far to much loyalty to the earth's human and nova populations to just pull up and leave.

[Wakinyan]

What couldn't Sandy Dodge?

What couldn't Sandy kill?

What couldn't Sandy do really?

All Hail Sandy!!!

[Singularity]

Quote:

Originally posted by Totem:
What couldn't Sandy Dodge?
What couldn't Sandy kill?
What couldn't Sandy do really?

All Hail Sandy!!!

I, for one, welcome our new Sandy overlords.

(sorry, the Farker in me couldn't resist)

[kestrel404]

Quote:

Originally posted by Totem:
What couldn't Sandy Dodge?
What couldn't Sandy kill?
What couldn't Sandy do really?

All Hail Sandy!!!

::Plays 'Hail to the Chief' on a kazoo::

[Matryoshka]

One, Sandy can do this because she has hyper flight.ANyone with a good hyper flight could dodge this.I could list three board posters who could beat her in a straigh out fist fight.Jager,Ashnod,Apep.I think I could list more, but I do not know what every other nova can do.For example I wouldn't say Ronnin, Jordan, or a few others could or could not.

Jager, At the stages she is working at right now,it takes three novas do to the work. The resourses needed to build a hole in a rock,and mine rock in space over years is not the biggest of deals.And warping is being used.Also the faster than light drive was built before the anti-precog bubble went up.Both types in fact.

[kestrel404]

::Moves on to playing 'Smoothe Operator' on his kazoo.::

[Wakinyan]

So your saying your Hyperflight which could mean your doing around Mach two or three is capable of dodging an incoming projectile of speeds on excess of Mach 25?

That is an impressive feat.

[Singularity]

Quote:

Originally posted by Glenn 'Alchemist' Roberts:
::Moves on to playing 'Smoothe Operator' on his kazoo.::

Play some Skynard, man!

Quote:

Originally posted by Totem:
So your saying your Hyperflight which could mean your doing around Mach two or three is capable of dodging an incoming projectile of speeds on excess of Mach 25?

That is an impressive feat.

Yea, I was a little confused by that one too.

Buuut, at a certain point the projectile is "locked" on a target and really can't change its tragectory(sp), but how fast is fast enough to cover 250 meters and avoid the affects Preston posted above?

[Wakinyan]

Right I think many people could "Dodge" this if they new to get the hell out of Dodge before it was fired. But more likely is it is going to hit you before you have a chance to react to it.

[Kirby1024]

The other thing is if the target is moving, AFAICT, the Rail Gun begins tracking as well as it can. If it starts to lose tracking, it starts increasing the Area of the attack. Just to make sure, ya know?

This is just in aiming. Once it actually starts attacking you... Let's see. At Mach 1, the projectile would be going about 350m/s (assuming the temperature's a warm 30C by then), multiplying that by 25, it's going at 8750m/s, which, if we take the 1 round = 3 seconds gig, is 26250m/turn.

Now, if we harken back to an old thread I did about the upward limits of Hypermovement , The maximum amount of space a person could cover in that time would be 5550m/turn. It's slightly inaccurate, as the commentary on the thread suggests. However, yes, at maximum speeds, that's enough to get out of the area. However, this assumes that you won Initiative. It's faster than you will ever be.

[Alex Craft]

I don't think it is possible for a depleted uranium slug to track, so the projectile would be in simple projectile motion from the time it left orbit. Even if it's moving at Mach 25, a speedy nova could probably get the hell out of there in the time the projectile takes to get to the ground. And if you'd noticed the ground man in action before then, you'd have plenty of warning (after all, he does have to paint you with the laser targeting system).

Even aside from that, it's only an ambush weapon, since the ground man has to keep you in his sights for several seconds.

[Kirby1024]

This is in-game, however. If we actually take into account how high up Geo-synchronous orbit is (35,790km above sea level) it'll take about an hour for a slug from the railgun to hit Ibiza. This is assuming that it's speed is constant throughout it's journey down. I'm not good enough at calculus to determine it's ETA if it's speed is increasing. I also don't have enough numbers to crunch that, either, and I suspect that it won't reduce the time by that much. However, it's going insanely fast, but that's a lot of time to drop. the so-called "5 turns" is somewhat ludicrous, but we'll wing it, as that's what's written in the book. For the slug to actually hit Ibiza within 15 seconds, it'd have to be going at just over Mach 6800! And somehow Signy, I doubt you're that fast...

This, my friends, is why you don't assume super-realism in your Aberrant games...

[ronin]

I was just joshin' about using Delfect on the thing, Preston. I'm fairly well certain that Deflect won't do a whole lot against a projectile bigger than you are twice over with a payload that could level a city block.

Getting out of the area, though, is a distinct possibility, if ronin was having a good day. His Teleport has the Combat extra, and his range is more than enough to take him outside the area of effect if he rolled well enough.

And sorry, but I don't think Sandy would stand against ronin. He's been active for a long, long time, and while the consequences of some of his more recent actions have dramatically reduced his overall power level (by TWO points of Quantum and a really useful power, if nothing else), his dots still add up to an appropriate reflection of a Titan-class threat.

[Matryoshka]

That is my point.Sandy verus other novas is not nearly as scary as Sandy verus cities. Witch with a little luck she could cause small nukes to go off in every major city in just about cost range.But would Ronin fight her?Would he risk the collateral damage that battle would cause?And who would have the power to threaten her would risk that?