In the Shadows of Olympus [Eclipse Phase FATE, Non-Con: Exotic] [Closed]

[ReijiTabibito]

Is your Will so high because you're planning to be an async, or...?

For your remaining two skills, Eye Rep and Credit could both be useful, although you might also want Somatics so that you'll have 3 stress boxes, rather than 2.

I also feel like Indiana Jones would have Athletics and Shoot both at slightly higher ratings, along with Fight...  I suppose you're not literally supposed to be Indiana Jones, though, so they're probably alright where they are.

Will is high because I assume that stuff like encountering exsurgents or going through the process of reinstantiating after you die.  In short, Will is high because EP is a game of conspiracy and horror.  Now, if I've gotten that wrong, then I'm more than willing to change it around, maybe swap it down a level or 2 (though I would really like to keep it at 3+ for the extra mental stress box), so please keep me enlightened.

I know.  There's a lot of skills that could go into those last 2 places - it's hard when, even with the 'broad' configuration for skills, you only actually get about half the skills on the list.

He would, but Indiana Jones also would have something like a skill cap of Great, 50 points to spend on skills (so he could have nearly every skill), and a refresh of 10+.  He's a single hero, whereas we're a group of them.

I've also got a Stunt in mind that would let me use Xeno-Contact in place of Shoot when encountering stuff like exhumans, exsurgents, or other similar threats

[FarFetched]

As for doing work on erasure squads...  Well, here's a quote from the Firewall sourcebook on those:

Oh that's perfect, actually. Jane doesn't have much trouble killing things, and I'd love to give her a foreboding, dangerous aspect to her that would offset the fact that she's just an unmodded Flat. I mean, what kind of skills would a regular, unassuming Flat have to warrant doing Erasure jobs? The kind of things that only gene-modded freaks of nature can do?

That's just plain scary.

I think I'm gonna mention that in my Bio.

[ThisOneGal]

here's a quote from the Firewall sourcebook on those:

Wait, a quote from the what?

...

Ooh, they've released a new book since I last looked! Huzzah! :D

[Kunoichi]

Will is high because I assume that stuff like encountering exsurgents or going through the process of reinstantiating after you die.  In short, Will is high because EP is a game of conspiracy and horror.  Now, if I've gotten that wrong, then I'm more than willing to change it around, maybe swap it down a level or 2 (though I would really like to keep it at 3+ for the extra mental stress box), so please keep me enlightened.

There's a paragraph or two in the 'Running the Game' section of the playtest rules that explains that the Fate rules don't handle the kind of horror that the standard Eclipse Phase rules are built around particularly well.  I think they specifically call the Fate rules more of a 'high-octane technothriller', and that the horror is more of an occasional, in-the-moment thing.

Having Will at +3 will still be helpful for defending against people using the Provoke skill against you, as well as psi sleights and psychosurgery and things like that, and of course the extra stress box will give you a very durable mind, so if you'd like to keep it at that rating, it will certainly not be a poor mechanical choice or anything like that.  I think you probably won't get enough of a benefit to justify having it at +4, though.

I know.  There's a lot of skills that could go into those last 2 places - it's hard when, even with the 'broad' configuration for skills, you only actually get about half the skills on the list.

He would, but Indiana Jones also would have something like a skill cap of Great, 50 points to spend on skills (so he could have nearly every skill), and a refresh of 10+.  He's a single hero, whereas we're a group of them.

I've also got a Stunt in mind that would let me use Xeno-Contact in place of Shoot when encountering stuff like exhumans, exsurgents, or other similar threats

I'd at least spend one slot on Somatics, for sure.  You want the extra morph stress box.

Oh that's perfect, actually. Jane doesn't have much trouble killing things, and I'd love to give her a foreboding, dangerous aspect to her that would offset the fact that she's just an unmodded Flat. I mean, what kind of skills would a regular, unassuming Flat have to warrant doing Erasure jobs? The kind of things that only gene-modded freaks of nature can do?

That's just plain scary.

I think I'm gonna mention that in my Bio.

The thing is, Firewall agents on erasure squads are generally on erasure squads because they either don't want or aren't able to handle any other Firewall duties.  They don't go on regular Firewall missions, they're literally only good for being sent out in situations where Firewall wants to sanitize the area, but can't afford to explain away the massive smoking crater that an antimatter warhead would leave behind.

To put it another way, having Jane go off to join an erasure squad would be a good way to write her out of the game if you decided that you didn't want to play her any longer for whatever reason.  Her attachment to her original Flat body is probably more the only reason she isn't on an erasure squad already, rather than something that makes her particularly scary.

[FarFetched]

Aw. Alright.

[ReijiTabibito]

There's a paragraph or two in the 'Running the Game' section of the playtest rules that explains that the Fate rules don't handle the kind of horror that the standard Eclipse Phase rules are built around particularly well.  I think they specifically call the Fate rules more of a 'high-octane technothriller', and that the horror is more of an occasional, in-the-moment thing.

Having Will at +3 will still be helpful for defending against people using the Provoke skill against you, as well as psi sleights and psychosurgery and things like that, and of course the extra stress box will give you a very durable mind, so if you'd like to keep it at that rating, it will certainly not be a poor mechanical choice or anything like that.  I think you probably won't get enough of a benefit to justify having it at +4, though.

I'd at least spend one slot on Somatics, for sure.  You want the extra morph stress box.

Ah.  So noted.  Okay. If I can cycle Will down to just a +3, then I can either cycle one of the +3s up to +4, or I can basically do a chain of step-downs which will result in one of his skills going up to +4.  Any suggestions?

Alright.  I'll take that +1 for Somatics, then, just so I can have the 3-stress box.  But given that it's the lower of Somatics OR Durability, I'll probably just leave it be there.

Quick question - I was looking over the Programmer-Armsmench stunt.  Would that be useful if I wanted combat to be handled by, say, a couple of gun-equipped saucer drones?

[FarFetched]

Alright, I expanded on Jane's bio in that respect, thanks for the help! I guess I just need to wait until our GM goes over everyone.


EDIT:
Also

Quick question - I was looking over the Programmer-Armsmench stunt.  Would that be useful if I wanted combat to be handled by, say, a couple of gun-equipped saucer drones?

It would be for Jane; she'd get a +2 to infiltration wherever those drones are looking (If she's ever without her surveillance drones.)

[Kunoichi]

Ah.  So noted.  Okay. If I can cycle Will down to just a +3, then I can either cycle one of the +3s up to +4, or I can basically do a chain of step-downs which will result in one of his skills going up to +4.  Any suggestions?

Well, let's see...

+4 Survival, Xeno-Contact
+3 Willpower, X-Risks
+2 Athletics, Investigate, Notice
+1 Civ Rep, Eye Rep, Medicine, Shoot, Somatics

Though if you don't mind spending a point of Refresh on +2 skill points...

+4 Survival, Xeno-Contact
+3 Investigate, Willpower, X-Risks
+2 Athletics, Medicine, Notice
+1 Civ Rep, Eye Rep, Shoot, Somatics

Survival can be used to defend against attempts to get the drop on you with Infiltrate, and to defend against ranged attacks if you hunker down in a defensible position.  It also covers wilderness survival and things like that, so it seems like a pretty solid skill for your character concept. ^^

Tack on the Combat Awareness stunt and you could get even more use out of the Survival skill, too, from what I'm reading.  It's on page 36.

Edit: Survival also appears to cover basic, field-medic-style first-aid, so you could probably ditch Medicine in favor of taking some other skill or bumping up Shoot to +2 and filling in a new +1 skill, too.

Alright.  I'll take that +1 for Somatics, then, just so I can have the 3-stress box.  But given that it's the lower of Somatics OR Durability, I'll probably just leave it be there.

Quick question - I was looking over the Programmer-Armsmench stunt.  Would that be useful if I wanted combat to be handled by, say, a couple of gun-equipped saucer drones?

The rules for drones aren't really all that clearly laid out, unfortunately.  I think there's probably some way you could make that work for you, but I don't know the exact actions and stunts you'd want to take to make it happen. ^^;

[FarFetched]

I already have a high survival though; so I've got the field medic stuff covered. What we need medicine for are the sorts of things that no patch job can really prepare someone for.

[Kunoichi]

True, so I suppose that there would also be reasons to keep Medicine on the list, in that case.

[ReijiTabibito]

Well, let's see...

+4 Survival, Xeno-Contact
+3 Willpower, X-Risks
+2 Athletics, Investigate, Notice
+1 Civ Rep, Eye Rep, Medicine, Shoot, Somatics

Though if you don't mind spending a point of Refresh on +2 skill points...

+4 Survival, Xeno-Contact
+3 Investigate, Willpower, X-Risks
+2 Athletics, Medicine, Notice
+1 Civ Rep, Eye Rep, Shoot, Somatics

I'd probably be willing to spend 1 Refresh point in order to get those 2 extra skill points.  Just to be clear - everyone gets a free Ego stunt, and then they have 6 Refresh on top of that to spend, right?  (Technically, it's only 5 as you need at least Refresh 1, but.)  My goal is to hang around Refresh 2-3, which means I get 3-4 Refresh to spend on Stunts, and those +2 skill points - while probably worth it - would mean 1 less stunt on hand.  As it stands, I'm already ditching the one Gear stunt I planned on having (Reactive Rounds) to focus on Ego Stunts like TITAN Intel (which is one I plan on taking) as well as the previously-mentioned 'Use Xeno-Contact instead of Shoot for exhumans/exsurgents' stunt.  (Currently titled Anti-Exotech Training)

Survival can be used to defend against attempts to get the drop on you with Infiltrate, and to defend against ranged attacks if you hunker down in a defensible position.  It also covers wilderness survival and things like that, so it seems like a pretty solid skill for your character concept. ^^

Tack on the Combat Awareness stunt and you could get even more use out of the Survival skill, too, from what I'm reading.  It's on page 36.

So Survival would be useful in a cover-based sort of way - you've having a shootout in the street and using the buildings as cover rather than standing out in the open?  As for Combat Awareness, we'll see.

Is there some sort of Medicine Stunt I could use, something similar to Genehacker, but for patching people up in the long-term rather than what Genehacker covers?

[Kunoichi]

I'd probably be willing to spend 1 Refresh point in order to get those 2 extra skill points.  Just to be clear - everyone gets a free Ego stunt, and then they have 6 Refresh on top of that to spend, right?  (Technically, it's only 5 as you need at least Refresh 1, but.)  My goal is to hang around Refresh 2-3, which means I get 3-4 Refresh to spend on Stunts, and those +2 skill points - while probably worth it - would mean 1 less stunt on hand.  As it stands, I'm already ditching the one Gear stunt I planned on having (Reactive Rounds) to focus on Ego Stunts like TITAN Intel (which is one I plan on taking) as well as the previously-mentioned 'Use Xeno-Contact instead of Shoot for exhumans/exsurgents' stunt.  (Currently titled Anti-Exotech Training)

No free Ego stunt, unfortunately.  You get 6 refresh to spend, and that's it.  I'd recommend taking the +2 skill points, and then settling on a grand total of 3 stunts for yourself.

So Survival would be useful in a cover-based sort of way - you've having a shootout in the street and using the buildings as cover rather than standing out in the open?  As for Combat Awareness, we'll see.

Is there some sort of Medicine Stunt I could use, something similar to Genehacker, but for patching people up in the long-term rather than what Genehacker covers?

You could probably come up with something if you wanted to, but I'm not sure if a stunt like that would fit your character concept.  You're planning to be a university professor who takes frequent trips into the field, right?

[ReijiTabibito]

No free Ego stunt, unfortunately.  You get 6 refresh to spend, and that's it.  I'd recommend taking the +2 skill points, and then settling on a grand total of 3 stunts for yourself.

Bleh. 

You could probably come up with something if you wanted to, but I'm not sure if a stunt like that would fit your character concept.  You're planning to be a university professor who takes frequent trips into the field, right?

There's two current ideas on the table right now for an origin, so to speak.  I did some research into higher education on Mars, and there's none to really speak of in Olympus, per se, aside from the University of Mars.  Most of the big educational institutions are in Valles-New Shanghai, or the place I would prefer as my stomping ground, Noctis-Qianjao.  The data entry on Olympus does note there is a huge railyard in Olympus that holds maglev trains going to and coming from N-Q, so would it be reasonable to say that while my professorship is at one of the universities there, I frequently travel to Olympus as part of my work?  (It would also help explain why the hell it is a university professor doesn't have a whole lot of resources on hand.)

The other idea, if that doesn't work, is one of a retired expert gatecrasher who has spun their experience into a consultant's paycheck.

[AndyZ]

Info

Handle	Hachi
Name	Krysta
Refresh	2

Aspects

High Concept	Bodyguard and Protector
Trouble	Hero Complex
Other 1	Lead by the Heart
Other 2	Loyal to a Fault

Skills
+4 Athletics, Shoot
+3 Civ Rep, Notice, Somatics
+2 Credit, Eye Rep, Fight
+1 Provoke, Rapport, Willpower, X-Risks

Stunts
Ego Willpower Brave
Ego +2 Skills[/i]
Morph Reflex Boosters
Gear Underbarrel Seeker Launcher
Refresh
Refresh

Morph

Aspects	Futanari Fury; Too Sexy For Her Own Good
Traits	Essential Biomorph Traits
Custom Traits	Circadian Regulation, Environmental Adaptation (Cold), Environmental Adaptation (Thin Atmosphere)
Stunts	Armor, Enhanced Senses, Medichines, Reflex Boosters, Structural Enhancement
Durability	Good (+3)
Stress Boxes	4-Stress
Refresh	1
Cred/Civ Rep Cost	Great (+4)

Muse
Name Smiley
+2 Infosec
+1 Investigate
Stress Boxes 2-Stress

Background

Background

Krysta has an interesting perspective on pain.  She's died a total of seven times, and remembers each one in detail.  Two of those were a desire to see what a particular experience was like: suffocating in the vacuum of space and falling from a tremendous height.

It's not something that most people are willing to deal with, but her acceptance of it makes her a valuable commodity in a system where the only safety comes from the sweat and toil of those willing to accept and deal with pain.

Her existence tends to be that of a bodyguard, dying to keep others alive.  The pay tends to be very good, you make all kinds of friends, and she gets to experience a part of existence that most people aren't willing to handle.  Does it make her crazy that she considers that fun?

Anyone who spends more than a few days with her soon learns that she's impeccably loyal.  Death has no permanence anymore, but the bonds of one's word and the value of credits all maintain a strong power in the current age.  So long as her Cortical Stack is retrieved, all is well.

The sharp contrast to the loyalty of spoken words is her capricious heart, and any who spend the night with her should understand that her passion burns brightly but can fade just as quickly.  After a few failed attempts at romance, she's learned that she just can't maintain any sort of natural relationship, and often finds herself between the legs of anyone who catches her eye and shows interest in the pleasure that two bodies can share.

Of all the morphs she's tried out, her favorite is that of a Fury with a Futanari aspect.  Not only does she feel uncomfortable with the bulk and size of a male form, but the excessive amounts of testosterone cause the known problems of hyper-aggression which are beyond her control.  By contrast, while female bodies feel comfortable enough, sex in them just doesn't seem to be quite as enjoyable in her experience as when she's futanari.

Krysta works well with Firewall due to a natural desire to keep transhumanity safe, loyalty to her species and a willingness to die for the good of all.

Her handle, Hachi, is the Japanese word for eight, based on the saying "Fall down seven times, get up eight."

Stress and Consequences

Ego Stress	1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ]
Morph Stress	1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ]
Muse Stress	1[ ] 2[ ]
Mild Consequence (2)	---
Moderate Consequence (4)	---
Major Consequence (6)	---

Brave

You don’t scare easily, and will face threats, intimidation, and certain bodily harm without flinching. You gain +2 with rolling to defend against intimidation and similar manipulation.

Situational Awareness

You’re  very  good  at  maintaining  continuous  partial  awareness  of  the  goings-on  in  your  immediate environment. You have +2 to Notice rolls and other situations where this awareness is crucial, and cannot be given aspects like Distracted.

Reflex Boosters

The morph has lightning reflexes and is physically fast thanks to modifications to its nervous system, adrenal glands, or, if a synth, to its neural circuitry.
You can activate reflex boosters to gain a +2 to physical actions where enhanced neural speed and reaction time come into play.

Underbarrel Seeker Launcher

You have an underbarrel cradle for antipersonnel micromissiles. Once per conflict, you can designate one of your  Shoot  attacks  as  an  explosive  micromissile.  Everyone  in  the  zone  you  pick  defends  against  this  attack  (see Attacking with Explosives, p. XX). Although explosive, this isn't a devastating attack.

Kinks
Krysta is really only interested in females, and does a terrible job at attempting any sorts of actual relationships.  None of that seriously affects her lusts, though, and most people who end up with her understand that a serious relationship isn't going to form as a result.

Sometimes, though, she likes to play around.  The System is a serious and unforgiving place in her experience, and the chance to escape into fantasy (dressing up, dominatrices, etc.) can be fun and stress-relieving.

[wander]

Seems a shed-ton of things happened last night whilst I was in bed!  XD

I shall therefore place Mark 22 on the table to see what links and crossed paths others may want to take with him and how I can maybe adapt some more into his backstory. I've mentioned through their backstory already a few specific events they've been involved in, so feel free to make up a prior relationship with him, I do like to keep involved even if I have been a lil quiet recently... I'mma just waiting for the main game to start! ^^

[Hexed]

No free Ego stunt, unfortunately.  You get 6 refresh to spend, and that's it.  I'd recommend taking the +2 skill points, and then settling on a grand total of 3 stunts for yourself.

If I remember right the GM nixed the +2 skills for a refresh!

And yes, talk always goes at a fast pace when everyone's asleep it seems. :D

Edit: And now I feel stupid. O.o  As the +2 skill points are allowed. I could have sworn they were cut out. Sorry.

[AndyZ]

My sleep schedule is off, because it's literally too cold at night for me to sleep.  I have crappy lungs, and if I try to sleep during the night, I get woken up around 3-4am by it.

The only real changes I made to the sheet involve adding in a Firewall handle (Hachi) and swapping out the Non-Lethal Fighting for the Underbarrel Seeker Launcher.

[AnneReinard]

I will say the recommendation that everybody take that option is making me regret going back on my instinct. Nonoptions are bad game design. Still, not changing anything this late now.

[AndyZ]

Wait, is the option for +2 skills for a refresh point open?  I thought it wasn't.

[Hexed]

If it helps the +2 skill points may be recommended so much because it's one of those things that will stay even if you lose your gear and morphs!

If Forklift's pod is destroyed that's three stunts down and needing replaced while something like extra skill points would be an ego stunt and not lost.

With that mentioned... I really need to stop napping so much and get Forklift rewrote. :(

[wander]

I never took the +2 skills option. I simply picked four Stunts and have 2 refresh, I figured for my specialisation my character had enough points, plus 25 is higher than the regular 20pts in FATE anyway.

Also Morph and Gear stunts can be swapped in to things that are applicable if you lose your Morph or Gear. You may lose your current Stunts but sleeving into a new Morph swaps the refresh you spent for the last one to ones the new Morph has. Ego Stunts are constant also, no matter what you sleeve in.

So you don't lose Stunts, they just get replaced to something more applicable, it says so in the rules.

[Kunoichi]

I will say the recommendation that everybody take that option is making me regret going back on my instinct. Nonoptions are bad game design. Still, not changing anything this late now.

I wasn't recommending that everybody take that option, I was just recommending that Reiji take that option.  Both of his character concepts are for individuals who are highly-trained and well-educated.

There's two current ideas on the table right now for an origin, so to speak.  I did some research into higher education on Mars, and there's none to really speak of in Olympus, per se, aside from the University of Mars.  Most of the big educational institutions are in Valles-New Shanghai, or the place I would prefer as my stomping ground, Noctis-Qianjao.  The data entry on Olympus does note there is a huge railyard in Olympus that holds maglev trains going to and coming from N-Q, so would it be reasonable to say that while my professorship is at one of the universities there, I frequently travel to Olympus as part of my work?  (It would also help explain why the hell it is a university professor doesn't have a whole lot of resources on hand.)

The other idea, if that doesn't work, is one of a retired expert gatecrasher who has spun their experience into a consultant's paycheck.

It sounds like the latter of the two options would be easier to work with in general, for this particular game.  That said, a Firewall sentinel who commutes could certainly be interesting...

[FarFetched]

*Fidgeting noises*

I can't wait for the game to start!

[AnneReinard]

Well, the good news is that my personal life things have cleared up considerably. The bad news is that it has been a particularly busy week at work for me again.

Though I expect I'll get something up by this weekend. DUN DUN DUN!

[AndyZ]

Being busy happens.  We can wait ^_^

If anyone wants to plan out stuff with Krysta, let me know.