Aberrant: Ba'alt - Re: Nova?'s, Power levels, and superpowers

[Narrator]

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Can't it be they have the power because they just do???)

You should know better to say something like that in my reality. EVERYTHING in Ba'alt / Frahndolyn has a quantitative value and everything is categorized and arranged according to value and place.

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I am of the theory that it all depends on your paradigm. Maybe that is because I spent so many years playing in the WOD and that has really molded my RP experience.

It does not matter in this instance what you perceive or feel about the laws and paradigms, this game is not one of any of your paradigms, it is a twisted representation of all of my paradigms. In this case, perception is not related to reality.

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I think it would be cool to stumble into the Star Wars Galaxy and see how the Jedi react to Richard.

And as far as I know, the 'Force' does exist in this universe. Richard could have played a Jedi instead of a Nova with delusions of being a Jedi.

By a slightly varied name but yes,,,

[Rama]

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Whatever, Weaver Child =)

I believe you are using a computer as well, Ms. Rathien, hmmmm?????

[Narrator]

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<!--quoteo(post=587:date=Aug 1 2006, 02&#58;56 PM:name=Kara Rathien)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kara Rathien &#064; Aug 1 2006, 02&#58;56 PM) ←</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Whatever, Weaver Child =)

I believe you are using a computer as well, Ms. Rathien, hmmmm????? <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Kara Rathiene might be a Weaver child but the player is definately lending favor to the Wyld. They often ask if I can lend them some spiders to help out now and then..(I just wish they helped my typing improve..)

[z-Kara]

It is true that some things of the Weaver are beneficial, it's people being consumed by the Weavers web that I fear for you all. Naming is a divine gift and their is nothing wrong with it. Digging through the weavers webs only leads to one spot, The Wyrm. So having to know the mechanics on every little detail just leads to destruction.

I feed my spiders regularly thank you very much...

Paradigms can shift and sway with the right amount of influence...

[Rama]

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It is true that some things of the Weaver are beneficial, it's people being consumed by the Weavers web that I fear for you all. Naming is a divine gift and their is nothing wrong with it. Digging through the weavers webs only leads to one spot, The Wyrm. So having to know the mechanics on every little detail just leads to destruction.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

you are coming from the WoD of darkness perspective that says that the Weaver caught the Wyrm in its webs and drove it mad. Keep in mind that that world is a reality seen through a mirror darkly and that not all realities are so spiritualy imbalanced. The Wyrm, unfettered and uncorrupt is as necessary to the proper functioning of reality as carrion and bacteria are for recycling a healthy ecosystem. The Hindus recognized this in their concept of Shiva. And don't fear for us...fear for Paril...its Corruscant landscape is covered in Weaver Webs. Rama is fond of outer space, where the Wyld is ever-strong. More importantly however is understanding that all of us have a little of all three...indeed everything does for together they make up the ever changing patterns of reality. If you want to get even more White-Wolf, then underneath all is the spirit of Gaia, although even in the many musty tomes of White-Wolf Lore upon my shelves, it is still debated whether she came first and created the Triad or if the Triad created her...

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

Weaver, Wyrm, I get none of it.

Fortunately, that's mostly because I'm waiting to see what happens next, and which world we all get assigned to storm from the war planning thread.

Actually, Chronos' comment of "maybe we won't want to get rid of the Ban" reminds me a great deal of a Muppet sketch that was done on the Ed Sullivan show. I'll post the name once I'm back home with my DVDs.

[Dr. Chronos]

As far as I can tell originally the Ban was created by the forces of good with good intentions. In a way it reminds me of Star Wars 3 with the creation of the Empire.

[z-Kara]

Very astute of you to get the White Wolf concepts. The triad fits very well in this universe as well. They may go by different names but the balance of the three is a common goal amongst many players in this game. I as a player understood the need for the balance. I just feel that some of you anal-ytical players ask too much about mechanics instead of enjoying the story. I am not talking about you specifically, Rama but there are a lot of people that get turned off by mechanics instead of paying attention to the story. That is annoying to me.

[Rama]

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As far as I can tell originally the Ban was created by the forces of good with good intentions. In a way it reminds me of Star Wars 3 with the creation of the Empire.

er...when was the last time you watched Ep. 3? The transition from the Old Republic, where the Jedis had been keepers of the peace for 20,000 years to the Imperial Galactic Empire was carefully manipulated by Darth Sidious with the not-anywhere-near-good intentions of domination, power, genocide, slavery and unbridled militarism. Lets hope that Balaans intentions are/were/will be a bit more noble.

Its a good point however...has anyone in the game tried to contact Balaan and reason with him? I understand OOC that you all were mentored by Asche but did everyone just take his word for it (no offense Asche, just curious)??

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Very astute of you to get the White Wolf concepts. The triad fits very well in this universe as well. They may go by different names but the balance of the three is a common goal amongst many players in this game. I as a player understood the need for the balance. I just feel that some of you anal-ytical players ask too much about mechanics instead of enjoying the story. I am not talking about you specifically, Rama but there are a lot of people that get turned off by mechanics instead of paying attention to the story. That is annoying to me.

And here I was simply enjoying a philosophical discussion on the nature of fictional realities!

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

<a href="http://paizo.com/store/apparel/tShirts/offworldDesigns/v5748btpy7e5s" target="_blank">This t-shirt</a> was so designed for people like me, Kara. Just be glad that I don't understand the DC rules ... but then, it's harder to bog down an IC thread when there are OOC ones for arguing the rules to death.

[Narrator]

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Its a good point however...has anyone in the game tried to contact Balaan and reason with him? I understand OOC that you all were mentored by Asche but did everyone just take his word for it (no offense Asche, just curious)??

I was wondering when someone would suggest this...

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

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Its a good point however...has anyone in the game tried to contact Balaan and reason with him? I understand OOC that you all were mentored by Asche but did everyone just take his word for it (no offense Asche, just curious)??

As I see it, one of two things happens:

1) Asche was telling the truth. Balaan kills the messenger.

2) Asche was lying. Said messenger either joins Balaan, or dies.

[Dr. Chronos]

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<!--quoteo(post=598:date=Aug 1 2006, 07&#58;37 PM:name=Rama)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rama &#064; Aug 1 2006, 07&#58;37 PM) ←</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Its a good point however...has anyone in the game tried to contact Balaan and reason with him? I understand OOC that you all were mentored by Asche but did everyone just take his word for it (no offense Asche, just curious)??

I was wondering when someone would suggest this... <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Are we going to tell him that he's oppressing Billions or Trillians of people? Do you really think he doesn't know?

Are we going to threaten to use the orbs on him? Do this or I'll do that? Lets rephrase that, unless you kill me and take the orbs from me right now (which you can easily do), I'll kill you and end your life's work. Giving those kinds of warnings from a possition of extreme weakness where the other guy can react to your threat and negate it isn't a good idea.

At a guess, he knows people are getting crushed in the machinery that he has built, he just figures the cost is worth the benifit. In any system of government, there will be some people who get crushed through no fault of their own. That little fact goes hand in hand with life's not fair.

There are lots of alternatives, maybe he's selfish, or insane, or obsessed... but he's already got an empire and he's already at war with the rest of the ban defying universe. I don't think anything we can say is going to help unless we have something backing up our words.

More importantly, ignorance is our best defense and surprise our best offense. At the moment these are pretty near our only tools. Before we toss those away we had better have a darn good idea on what happens next.

[Rama]

I was just thinking two things.

1. Maybe he really does consider Ban breakers criminals. Maybe he really doesn't understand. Of course you are right that if he doesn't understand he may just wipe us out. On this level I completely agree with all of your points Chronos. However what I was really getting at was this:

2. More importantly, from some subtle things that narrator has said, I have the impression that the group doesn't know everything about Asche and his motivations...how do you know that everything is as he says it is? True there is some effect we call the Ban, that sends Pultytes and Dark Fae after people, but how do you *really* know that its someone called Balaan in the far future? Or if that IS true that you know the whole story?

I have this feeling that not all is as it appears...

[Kaelan]

I know that Ba'laan is real because I have met Ba'laan. I have tried to reason with Ba'laan. There is no reasoning with him. Because of his mega intelligence, he suffers from the worst case of hubris and other mental disorders like megalomania. He does not think that there exists a better way than his own. And anyone who has the potential to develop into a power that can defy him, he wants destroyed.

My major problem with Ba'laan, other than the genocide that he has done on countless races including my own is that he is not subject to his own laws. He brakes his own rules that he has set in place to achieve his own selfish goals.

Other than that, he is a great guy!! I have had a number of drinks with him. If you ever want to meet a funny drunk, Ba?laan is your man/god/deity. He let us stay in his box seat while we were watching the tournament in Star Haven. We had all you can eat and all you can drink. I was really surprised that he flipped the bill for me and my companions. We were all heckling Mordred (Kayne?s son) (you will probably meet them too) while he was trying to crush this mortal. We heckled so loud, we actually got in his head and he lost the challenge. You had to have been there to get the laugh. Anyways, afterwards, Ba?laan is stumbling drunk. I had to carry his heavy arse to his suite and he says to me, ?You know Kaelan; you?re not half that bad. I want you to have a stylish ride. And man, if you need ANYTHING, call me and I will be right there.? So he hooks me up with a Spaceship that is tricked out better than ?Pimp My Ride?. I am flying around from Planet to Planet. It was literally like having my own World Serpent Inn. I just told the AI where I wanted to go and in a few minutes I was there. Well, it turns out, the bastard tricked me. The ship was sweet but it carried with it Ban seeds. Every planet that I visited became subject to the Ban and literally millions lost their lives as they were adjusting to the Ban. I had to ditch the ship in the Void. So, I had to spend a few centuries rectifying the damage that I did. Guilt is a heavy burden to shoulder. So, I guess my point is that he is very untrustworthy.

Still, I have suspicions that all of this is just some love triangle on a cosmic level. It doesn?t justify the actions but at least I can sympathize.

Soon enough, you will meet him too. You will just have to be at the right place to meet him.

[Rama]

Scary I know, but I can't tell if he's joking...

[z-Kara]

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2. More importantly, from some subtle things that narrator has said, I have the impression that the group doesn't know everything about Asche and his motivations...how do you know that everything is as he says it is? True there is some effect we call the Ban, that sends Pultytes and Dark Fae after people, but how do you *really* know that its someone called Balaan in the far future? Or if that IS true that you know the whole story?

I have this feeling that not all is as it appears...

I am not speaking for Narrator but what do you want to know?
What reason do you have to be suspicious of Asche?

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

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What reason do you have to be suspicious of Asche?

Inborn paranoia? Well, that's my reason, at least, OOC.

[Rama]

I dont really yet, and have never heard of Asche IC. However there used to be a section on the old site about how aliens traveled back in time to earth, one stayed behind and got a little overzealous or too attached to his work. Its pretty obvious from the new info up that the being in question is probably Asche. Then there was a PM conversation where narrator said something along the lines of the status quo being shaken up and that some of the things the PCs have taken for granted, such as who is on what side with what agenda, are going to go topsy-turvy...

[z-Kara]

So, how deep is your inborn paranoia? Are you always on guard?

[Rama]

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So, how deep is your inborn paranoia? Are you always on guard?

Hey! Richard can speak for himself!!!

Rama is both inteligent and shrewd, so while that doesn't mean he's on guard, he will definitly apply his critical thinking skills to any information he is presented...just because hes shy doesnt mean he is naive!

However,I, as his player am just having fun, though I have found in my many years of roleplaying that its good to have a healthy paranoia whenever an ST says something like. say...."everyone make an awareness/initiative check."

BTW Kara, one of the more enjoyable aspects of forum gamiing for me so far has been not having to roll dice. When the ST handles the mechanics it IS much easier to just let the story flow. You're not still annoyed at this thread are you?

[z-Kara]

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I dont really yet, and have never heard of Asche IC. However there used to be a section on the old site about how aliens traveled back in time to earth, one stayed behind and got a little overzealous or too attached to his work. Its pretty obvious from the new info up that the being in question is probably Asche. Then there was a PM conversation where narrator said something along the lines of the status quo being shaken up and that some of the things the PCs have taken for granted, such as who is on what side with what agenda, are going to go topsy-turvy...

These were necessary sacrifices and once your clerance level gets high enough, you will get to hear the complete story and get answers to the why. The problem is that the group as a whole has had a sense of fleeing for their lives. They were under attack by a murderous Nova, a beautiful dead Alien, an encounter with the Pultytes, etc. The group fled to an alternate universe that was ruled by a super Nova. They got ambushed in the World Serpent Inn (mistake on the Narrators part) and now they have fled here.

This has been extremely frustrating for me as an older player because my cadre would stand our ground and fight back. When we started, none of us were remotely as powerful as any of you and we stood our ground against Primals and Ba'laan himself. I don't understand the reasoning...

Asche has been an intricate part in Nova kinds development. He helped found a different way to get rid of excess quantum. If people knew how much has been done on their behalf, their perspective would definitely change. But Asche is rather humble and does not bring too much attention to himself. He has trained Novas and baselines to be saviors. And you distrust because of your inborn paranoia??? Madness!!
=)

[z-Kara]

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<!--quoteo(post=609:date=Aug 2 2006, 02&#58;36 PM:name=Kara Rathien)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kara Rathien &#064; Aug 2 2006, 02&#58;36 PM) ←</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
So, how deep is your inborn paranoia? Are you always on guard?

Hey! Richard can speak for himself!!!

Rama is both inteligent and shrewd, so while that doesn't mean he's on guard, he will definitly apply his critical thinking skills to any information he is presented...just because hes shy doesnt mean he is naive!

However,I, as his player am just having fun, though I have found in my many years of roleplaying that its good to have a healthy paranoia whenever an ST says something like. say...."everyone make an awareness/initiative check."

BTW Kara, one of the more enjoyable aspects of forum gamiing for me so far has been not having to roll dice. When the ST handles the mechanics it IS much easier to just let the story flow. You're not still annoyed at this thread are you?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I reconizes that everyone finds different fun in different ways. When I game, I am enthralled by the story and could care less about the mechanics. The mechanics have changed so many times for me that I don't really try to understand them. I used to look at my character sheet everyday and have a list of skills that I wanted to learn and blah blah blah. Now, I just like the story.
Most of this was not towards you... I was just venting to all you people out their stuck on the rules. I am just letting my siren call out to all of you who can't function without having dice in your hands.
I am not taking any of this personal and I hope none of you are either.

The narrator will accomodate to whatever you need to know.

[Rama]

Hey now! Richard is the one who brought up "inborn paranoia"...go ask him about that. Jedi Richard is NOT his brothers keeper (and Im not his bro anway...he plays in a different game )

I know Kara has alot of history with Asche but I will reserve judgement for if and when I meet him IC. If Im right about the hints narrator was dropping it will become clear in time. In the meantime, on with the show...

[z-Kara]

Just rememer this saying from one of my mentors, Charlie Kim: Believe nothing what you hear and only half of what you see.

Don't be quick to judge...

Example: Why did that monstrous Garou attack that nursery? Those cute little kids were cannabalistic fomors that infected everybody they touched with flesh eating diseases.

[Rama]

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Just rememer this saying from one of my mentors, Charlie Kim: Believe nothing what you hear and only half of what you see.

Don't be quick to judge...
Example: Why did that monstrous Garou attack that nursery? Those cute little kids were cannabalistic fomors that infected everybody they touched with flesh eating diseases.

ewww....gross!

[z-Kara]

Yeah! Tell me about it. My Silver Fang had to do the right of cleansing for a week to get the smell off. Falcon brought her a chalise of cleansing to make sure that there would be no lasting effects of contamination. Good thing we haven't faced much of this in this universe.

[Narrator]

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2. More importantly, from some subtle things that narrator has said, I have the impression that the group doesn't know everything about Asche and his motivations...how do you know that everything is as he says it is? True there is some effect we call the Ban, that sends Pultytes and Dark Fae after people, but how do you *really* know that its someone called Balaan in the far future? Or if that IS true that you know the whole story?

I have this feeling that not all is as it appears...

I saw this error in perspective some time ago and I keep failing to address it;

<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><!--coloro:#ff0000--><span style="color:#ff0000"><!--/coloro-->Ba'laan is in this time here and now.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style=color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->You are all from a time 14,847 years in the past. The game settingt hat Chronos and the team are from is in the past and when Asche spoke of Ba'laan existing in a time in the far future, he was speaking of the time you are now in. It has been just over 70 years since Ba'laans entrance into this existence from his reality. You are all acting under a shroud of discretion and secrecy in that he does not know who/what/where any of you are. Yet. <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->Just beacuse you are in a time where he is and rules does not change your attack plan. He is still laid back save for the Ban.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro--><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->Rough timeline<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->all times are relative to the true line, or where Asche and House Rathien call home.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->16,881 (404 CY): Ba'laan enters into this existance and forms StarHaven (interdimensional space station where he rules and trains from).<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->16,889 MI or AD (412 CY): House Rathien wars with House Augustus Hayes causing House Rathien to go back in time to time before mans civilization on earth (approximately 6000 BC). House Rathien erests a temporal frontier around earths system to prevent further temporal tampering. Asche discovers that he has to stay on Earth and calls Eve and several Keepers and Assembles MoonDark (a cloaked space station) orbiting the dark side of the moon.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->1420 BC: Pax Concordat is formed.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->2085 AD: Nova's erupt.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->2088 AD: The team travel to an alternate "side" reality to train and escape the Ban for awhile. The experiment is set up as a way to study the newly formed Universes and existences given birth by the colloapsse of the temporal frontier. Experiment goes awry and team is lost forever from Pax Concordat and Asche.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->2089: The team breaks free from lost reality where the Super Nova rules. They leave because they fear that the Pultytes are coming. They find themselves in The world Serpent in the year 16,936 AD (474 CY).<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->16,938 AD (476 CY): Rama and Richard are awakened along with the rest of the 'hitchhikers.'<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

[color:"#000000]<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

[Dr. Chronos]

RE: Asche

IC you will *never* hear Doc use his name to any newcomer, and he will strongly suggest that none of the older players use his name either. Asche is our founder, our leader, our creator, our teacher and his timeline is linked to to Ba'laan. Putting it another way, if Ba'laan is willing to pay the price for retroactively killing him, it can be done. That is really a choice Doc doesn't want Ba'laan to know he has.

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The problem is that the group as a whole has had a sense of fleeing for their lives....

This has been extremely frustrating for me as an older player because my cadre would stand our ground and fight back. When we started, none of us were remotely as powerful as any of you and we stood our ground against Primals and Ba'laan himself. I don't understand the reasoning...

Did it work well for you, this "standing your ground"? Considering Ba'laan and the Ban are still around and you are on the run, my impression is that the answer is "no".

Problems with fighting (a brief list).

#1: If we lose then the entire revolt may lose with us.

#2: If we win then we may lose our advantage of Ba'laan's ignorance.

#3: I don't want to fight the good fight and go down in a blaze of glory. It's a lot less honorable to kill Ba'laan while he's a sleep than by doing a standard full attack. I'm good with that. He doesn't fight fair, I see no reason why we should.

#4: We aren't ready to win yet.

#5: Divis Mal is Q8, and I've been in long talks over whether or not it's even possible for any number of Q6 types, working as a team, to beat him. The general conclusion is the answer is "no". Creating the Ban implies a Q of 10. Ba'laan created the Ban.

#6: Whether or not Ba'laan maps well onto a Q of 10, the Goddess certainly did... and she lost against his minions.

#7: We have extremely high powered weapons that we don't know how to use yet... meaning if we think we are bad-asses today, with the orbs we should be much worse. I'd really rather pick a fight when I'm "worse".

#8: Any fight runs the risk of the other team summoning reenforcements and changing the rules until they win.

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

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So, how deep is your inborn paranoia? Are you always on guard?

You've never had a GM offer you a ring of wishes, huh?

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This has been extremely frustrating for me as an older player because my cadre would stand our ground and fight back. When we started, none of us were remotely as powerful as any of you and we stood our ground against Primals and Ba'laan himself. I don't understand the reasoning...

I, the player, am paranoid of the entire situation; it smells far too much of a setup by Asche, as though we are his stalking horses that he'll use to get Balaan in a position where he can be taken out, Asche can take over, and the Ban can continue as is. I, the character, am quite confused at this strange new world, which is what happens when you wake up in the morning to find yourself on another planet with the entirety of a fictional universe downloaded into your head while you slept.

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#3: I don't want to fight the good fight and go down in a blaze of glory. It's a lot less honorable to kill Ba'laan while he's a sleep than by doing a standard full attack. I'm good with that. He doesn't fight fair, I see no reason why we should.

While I the player fully support this, I the character must strenuously object to such dishonorable methods. If I'm not mistaken, Doc Chronos has enough Mega-Intelligence to know better than to tell me.

[Jack-in-the-Green]

Jack lost his entire world, along with everyone and everything he knew, to Ba'laan, who personally intervened in that destruction (something about Divis Mal being a tough nut for the Pultytes to swallow). He's not particularly inclined toward conversation, regardless of whether it's possible or not.

[Narrator]

Mmm....crunchy...

,,

And richard, I am cracking up at your last post about trust and especially the ring of wishes...but thats another topic entirely....

[Jedi Richard Thorne]

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And richard, I am cracking up at your last post about trust and especially the ring of wishes...but thats another topic entirely....

I remember GM'ing a D&D game, where they opened a treasure chest, and I told them "Inside, the chest looks to be packed with at least a thousand gold pieces, and laying on top of them is a deck of cards." Two of my three players fled the room! But then, they had experience with a Deck of Many Things ... even though that wasn't one.

[z-Kara]

Did it work well for you, this "standing your ground"? Considering Ba'laan and the Ban are still around and you are on the run, my impression is that the answer is "no".

Well, let me clarify things for you Doc. Our "failure" was not against Ba'laan and the Ban. We underestimated the hatred that one of our enemies had for us. Ba'laan took advantage of this. Kara is not on the run. This is a tactical regrouping spanning thousands of years.

[Dr. Chronos]

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Kara is not on the run. This is a tactical regrouping spanning thousands of years.

I'm really going to have to remember this phrase.

[z-Kara]

I was pretty proud of it myself.