Okay, found the post, I have 18 XP total. Right, let's go shopping.
I'd like to add a Shoot specialisation in Imperial weapons. Do I have to pick something specific? I mean, whap guns and needlers operate differently, on the other hand there's not many different weapons the Imperium actually uses....
Oh, and upgrade Fight to d8. Close combat training ftw.
Gatac
Jade Imperium - OOC 9
Davis is also upping his Fight skill to d8 with his 14 XP (getting his clock somewhat cleaned by Ngawai in the airlock wasn't fun). Also, if that "Trade 1 wild die for 2 XP offer still stands, I might go for an upgrade to his Tech skill, so he could be our backup's backup on the hack.
Imperial Weapons will count as a single specialization. Max has it too.
And yeah, I can give you Wild Dice trade-ins. 1 WD traded in for 2 XP.
And yeah, I can give you Wild Dice trade-ins. 1 WD traded in for 2 XP.
I'm debating between a few things, and could use some advice.
First, I'm thinking of spending 10XP to pick up a specielization either in Imperium Weapons (Shoot), or some kind of Imperium Tech thing (Tech). Not really sure which one would be better, since they both would help the mission, just in different ways.
Then, I'm trying to decide between saving the last two XP, buying abck the Wild Die I sold to pick up Pilot, or selling another Wild Die and picking up some kind of Aspect at d4 playing with the whole "Teamwork, yay!" thing Luis has going. Leaning toward one of the first two options, but the last one keeps bouncing around in my head.
First, I'm thinking of spending 10XP to pick up a specielization either in Imperium Weapons (Shoot), or some kind of Imperium Tech thing (Tech). Not really sure which one would be better, since they both would help the mission, just in different ways.
Then, I'm trying to decide between saving the last two XP, buying abck the Wild Die I sold to pick up Pilot, or selling another Wild Die and picking up some kind of Aspect at d4 playing with the whole "Teamwork, yay!" thing Luis has going. Leaning toward one of the first two options, but the last one keeps bouncing around in my head.
Other ideas and advice:
- You'll probably get more statistically-useful results out of raising traits and specializations at this point rather than adding Aspects.
- Spend 10XP, raise Drive to d10 (and with it its subsequent specializations). Spend the last 2 XP on a Wild Die or save 'em or something.
- Raise your Delta Force Training aspect to a d10 for 10xp. At that point you really don't need specializations, just spam multiple attacks all the time. And since aspects aren't affected by penalties it's a better buy than getting a specialization in Imperial Weapons.
- Raise your Tech to d12, taking your System Ops and Demo specializations with it. OTOH, it's technically cheaper to pick up a Computers specialization now and operate on a slightly more reliable 2d10 rather than having a d12.
- Of your original options, I'd go for the Tech specialization more than combat. Just call it "Computers", it'll cover just about everything you need (and your Systems Operation should cover the rest). Only things they won't cover are invention/fabrication/repair tasks.
- You'll probably get more statistically-useful results out of raising traits and specializations at this point rather than adding Aspects.
- Spend 10XP, raise Drive to d10 (and with it its subsequent specializations). Spend the last 2 XP on a Wild Die or save 'em or something.
- Raise your Delta Force Training aspect to a d10 for 10xp. At that point you really don't need specializations, just spam multiple attacks all the time. And since aspects aren't affected by penalties it's a better buy than getting a specialization in Imperial Weapons.
- Raise your Tech to d12, taking your System Ops and Demo specializations with it. OTOH, it's technically cheaper to pick up a Computers specialization now and operate on a slightly more reliable 2d10 rather than having a d12.
- Of your original options, I'd go for the Tech specialization more than combat. Just call it "Computers", it'll cover just about everything you need (and your Systems Operation should cover the rest). Only things they won't cover are invention/fabrication/repair tasks.
- Upped Max's "Man of Action" to a d8.
- Added Liska Scientist* at d4.
*A Liska Scientist is any scientist who chooses to use his brain power and superior intellect in order to screw over all those who oppose his endeavors.
- Added Liska Scientist* at d4.
*A Liska Scientist is any scientist who chooses to use his brain power and superior intellect in order to screw over all those who oppose his endeavors.
After diliberation, I'm adding a Computers specielization with 10XP, then spending the last 2 on a Wild Die.
Pondering
I'm to Colorado till next Tuesday. Amusingly, I should have the webs while I'm there and I'll probably be able to keep up with posts more than normal.
Angel, if you're pondering might I offer some options?
1. For combat prowess, probably the best thing to take would be to increase your Steady Shot aspect to d10. You've maxed out your natural rifle skill already, this would be upping your "PC badassery".
2. You -probably- would find Stealth more useful than the tracking/scouting skills - bumping your Move to d10 in this case is far better than upping your Ghost aspect. Your Stealth specialization raises along with the associated Trait, plus you get a boost to initiative.
Angel, if you're pondering might I offer some options?
1. For combat prowess, probably the best thing to take would be to increase your Steady Shot aspect to d10. You've maxed out your natural rifle skill already, this would be upping your "PC badassery".
2. You -probably- would find Stealth more useful than the tracking/scouting skills - bumping your Move to d10 in this case is far better than upping your Ghost aspect. Your Stealth specialization raises along with the associated Trait, plus you get a boost to initiative.
As Gatac will attest to, I'm getting a little neurotic about doing a lot of the posts. I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I also want to see what's going to happen next. Does anyone feel like I'm stepping on them?
No. You're fine. I, too, like seeing what happens next, I'm just less creative about finding ways to push ahead.
I'm hoping to have a post up soon.
Hey, out of curiosity, could we get some data on how the government of the Imperium trickles down? We know there's an Emperor, we know about his Avatars, but what's the planetary-scale stuff like?
Also, some specific details about Boronai could be nice:
1. How many people live there? What's the breakdown like (civilians, military, scientists, ect)
2. Is it a net food importer or exporter? How long can we seal off the system post-occupation without needing rationing or a supply airlift or anything?
All of this is basically trying to answer a question I've been thinking about: what happens to Boronai once it's under our control? We're occupying it, yes, but will it be a military-controlled zone, or will we put in some kind of civilian government? What kinds of services does the planetary government provide that our occupation will need to worry about continuing (power, police, mass transit, weekly trash pickup)? We want to make this occupation as smooth as possible--it's a political move as much as a tactical one. If we have massive looting, large civilian casualties, or a lack of services, a successful invasion could end up as a strategic failure.
EDIT: To put it more simply, we need to make sure this goes down in history like the occupation of West Germany or Japan, not like the occupation of Iraq or East Germany.
Also, some specific details about Boronai could be nice:
1. How many people live there? What's the breakdown like (civilians, military, scientists, ect)
2. Is it a net food importer or exporter? How long can we seal off the system post-occupation without needing rationing or a supply airlift or anything?
All of this is basically trying to answer a question I've been thinking about: what happens to Boronai once it's under our control? We're occupying it, yes, but will it be a military-controlled zone, or will we put in some kind of civilian government? What kinds of services does the planetary government provide that our occupation will need to worry about continuing (power, police, mass transit, weekly trash pickup)? We want to make this occupation as smooth as possible--it's a political move as much as a tactical one. If we have massive looting, large civilian casualties, or a lack of services, a successful invasion could end up as a strategic failure.
EDIT: To put it more simply, we need to make sure this goes down in history like the occupation of West Germany or Japan, not like the occupation of Iraq or East Germany.
Then I suggest we actually follow through with our promises to improve infrastructure, rebuild the planet, and otherwise improve their lives, instead of letting discontent fester by blowing everything up and then not fixing what we blew up.
Also, as far as the post goes, I'm operating under the assumption that there's some way for him to eat without taking off the helmet entirely, like a retractable bottom portion. Having a full-head helmet's great for security, but having to choose between having the helmet on but not being able to eat or drink and being able to do the aforementioned things and talk to another person directly but then having to expose your head doesn't seem like something the Imperials would overlook.
Also, as far as the post goes, I'm operating under the assumption that there's some way for him to eat without taking off the helmet entirely, like a retractable bottom portion. Having a full-head helmet's great for security, but having to choose between having the helmet on but not being able to eat or drink and being able to do the aforementioned things and talk to another person directly but then having to expose your head doesn't seem like something the Imperials would overlook.
And I'm still trying to figure out some vaguely-plausible impacts these shenanigans are going to have on Earth. I mean, 3 Army companies are going to another planet. There's no NDA, no classified level strong enough to keep that secret. Even if they buried the Gate and stranded you all just to cover it up, it wouldn't work.
The easy answer to Punkey: Yes, the Turai helmets' faceplates slide up in case you're not fond of the baby paste you get from the suit feeds.
Imperial governance (thus far) trickles down on a planetary level to several different options, but Boranai is led by an Imperial Steward; a sort of governor-king who adjudicates planetary issues. He's got advisors, and settlements and cities have their own local governance.
Boranai is a net importer, to be sure. It's arid and habitable across a narrower latitudinal band than Earth. And now I'm back to work before I can expound further.
The easy answer to Punkey: Yes, the Turai helmets' faceplates slide up in case you're not fond of the baby paste you get from the suit feeds.
Imperial governance (thus far) trickles down on a planetary level to several different options, but Boranai is led by an Imperial Steward; a sort of governor-king who adjudicates planetary issues. He's got advisors, and settlements and cities have their own local governance.
Boranai is a net importer, to be sure. It's arid and habitable across a narrower latitudinal band than Earth. And now I'm back to work before I can expound further.
Well, as far as Earth goes, I was thinking that this would be an excellent time to give the people of Earth the run-down of what's going on in some kind of international forum. Get all the consultant nations involved, have it be done by a neutral party like the Secretary General of the UN, make it clear that this isn't some territorial pissing match between the US and someone else. Start out with what exactly the Imperium is, what races and technology we have found, draw the picture for what's really out there, and then go into the fact that they want to kill or enslave us all. Make it clear through witness testimony from whoever we can get that was at Bashakra or other examples of Imperial "pacification" that the instant they knew who we are, they were dedicated to wiping us out to capture Earth, that this is a fight for our very survival. Finally, state that we've already made a major impact, that we've successfully captured one of their major technology centers and that we have successfully raided their central library of knowledge, in the middle of their capital planet. Emphasize that it's going to be tough, and that we need to work together as a planet if we're going to survive, but if we work together, we can win.
Of course, there will be panic and dissent, it's not going to be pretty, but the major players, the US, the EU, Russia, Japan and the like already know what's up, and while the people might not be pleased, the governments already know the score. I suspect that the number of nations on the planet will get smaller by a dozen or so in the months immediately afterwards, as a few of them try to rise up and either fight the rest of us for "starting the war" for whatever reason they come up with, or to surrender to the Imperium right away, but after that, we can focus on the war.
Basically, it'll be our singularity moment, with all the social and governmental upheaval that implies. We'll lose a lot of nations, either through infighting or a need to put them down (I'd be surprised if half the nations in Africa and the Middle East survive more than a year) and terrorism will definitely spike, but the rest of the world will be spending that time getting up to speed with the new technology and working on establishing relations and contact with our friendly contacts in the Imperium, and once everything has stabilized under whatever government we wind up under (some kind of really loose planetary republic, probably, a UN with some teeth and ability to gather funds), we'll be ready to start large-scale construction projects, like spaceyards for a fleet, and possibly developing more advanced versions of Imperial tech or new applications of it. Of course, the PCs probably won't be there for much of this, we're gonna be knee-deep in whatever covert actions and attacks will be going on in the Imperium. Hope they took a souvenir from Earth, it's probably the last time they'll see it for a few years.
Of course, there will be panic and dissent, it's not going to be pretty, but the major players, the US, the EU, Russia, Japan and the like already know what's up, and while the people might not be pleased, the governments already know the score. I suspect that the number of nations on the planet will get smaller by a dozen or so in the months immediately afterwards, as a few of them try to rise up and either fight the rest of us for "starting the war" for whatever reason they come up with, or to surrender to the Imperium right away, but after that, we can focus on the war.
Basically, it'll be our singularity moment, with all the social and governmental upheaval that implies. We'll lose a lot of nations, either through infighting or a need to put them down (I'd be surprised if half the nations in Africa and the Middle East survive more than a year) and terrorism will definitely spike, but the rest of the world will be spending that time getting up to speed with the new technology and working on establishing relations and contact with our friendly contacts in the Imperium, and once everything has stabilized under whatever government we wind up under (some kind of really loose planetary republic, probably, a UN with some teeth and ability to gather funds), we'll be ready to start large-scale construction projects, like spaceyards for a fleet, and possibly developing more advanced versions of Imperial tech or new applications of it. Of course, the PCs probably won't be there for much of this, we're gonna be knee-deep in whatever covert actions and attacks will be going on in the Imperium. Hope they took a souvenir from Earth, it's probably the last time they'll see it for a few years.
What do we do about nations that try to surrender to the Imperium?
Who are they going to surrender to? I think rather than nations going belly up in favor of Imperial rule, you'll have cases where organizations and groups try to sneak, steal, or negotiate technology and such to get legs up on competition, whether that be industrial espionage or terrorism or what have you.
Well, I was thinking that they would attempt to get "wins" for the Imperials when they show up, something like Cthulhu cultists, trying to be spared or at the very least, eaten last.
But really, such a revelation would throw everything into chaos, with the big names who already know about the Imperial invasion plans banding together, getting allies to their side and collectively dealing with the problems, both on Earth and in space, while a good part of the rest of the world goes to hell for any number of reasons. Your industrial espionage/terrorism plan sounds perfectly plausible, so does terrorism based around the idea that the Imperials are bringing about the Rapture, or some country making a power grab by setting up an alternate world government with themselves at the top, or any number of scenarios. It'd just be really hectic for a few years, but it would definitely steel the resolve and the commitment to a one-world government by the rest of the nations.
But really, such a revelation would throw everything into chaos, with the big names who already know about the Imperial invasion plans banding together, getting allies to their side and collectively dealing with the problems, both on Earth and in space, while a good part of the rest of the world goes to hell for any number of reasons. Your industrial espionage/terrorism plan sounds perfectly plausible, so does terrorism based around the idea that the Imperials are bringing about the Rapture, or some country making a power grab by setting up an alternate world government with themselves at the top, or any number of scenarios. It'd just be really hectic for a few years, but it would definitely steel the resolve and the commitment to a one-world government by the rest of the nations.
Quote:Davis flicks his helmet over so he can view the cybernetic action going on with Luis and Jonno and watches, since there's a good chance he's going to have to be joining in soon enough, and any pointers he could pick up might be a big help.
Innocent and perfectly prudent opportunity for learning, or excerpt from the upcoming Jade Imperium romance novel?