Nephilim's Requiem: The Game

Started by ZK, June 21, 2007, 11:09:11 AM

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Ryvaken

That tells me that it's possible. Not the idea that I was considering, but perhaps something more interesting. OK, I think I have a design in my head. Nanotech in the high and sapient robots means a limited application grey-goo scenario is not entirely beyond rationale. I'm thinking I want to make Helios. Or, rather, Daedalus. I never liked Icarus that much, but Daedalus is another story entirely.

I'm going to assume that you have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm considering a character, a Byt I suppose, with nanotech components allowing the creation and recreation of non-eutectic materials to form the macroscale body. Such a character would have considerable control over his appearance. That would be either a Dynamic Power or, for a cheaper and more limited option, a series of Alternate Forms and Identities, reflecting a limited number of programmed forms. Elasticity, Regeneration, possibly Size Change, and Swarm are also key abilities. Any remaining points would likely go into features or combat abilities. Stats would be heavy on the soul and mind, lower on the body.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

While that is all fine and dandy, I see problems in it already. A fully weaponized Byt with those sort of capabilities would be owned purely by the Government and would be on far Bleeding Edge in technology. Nanotech has more of a biological and medical usage in NR. If you were to make a Byt with that and then went Awakened and rogue, you'd be a power-house that would have no equal which would make it kind of pointless to have any other players.

Technology takes a back-drop and isn't a main focus of the NR series. Al La Blade Runner and Ergo Proxy respectfully. While in Ergo Proxy one of the main characters was quite powerful and had nifty abilities, the key factor was that he wasn't human and he wanted to be it. Internal conflict of what he was and what he wanted to become.

The series uses technology as a back-drop and a plot device, not as a key component to the story to be used actively, it's a passive part. Out of the scope of all the players.

Thus saying, abilities and such that Byts, Nephilims and Humans have will be low grade at start and progress forward.

Story and Intrigue are the key components of this series, not how many people you can kill before you get hurt, if at all.
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Ryvaken

#27
Actually this character is better suited for stealth and recon, not combat. It would be an experimental unit which may or may not mean cutting edge -- the right defects could easily make it more of a hack-job.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

Still, nanotechnology in NR is mainly focused on organic material as opposed to synthetics of any sort. Regardless of the abilities on either stealth or combat, that Byt is far too weaponized to be considered a PC. It's far too powerful to be a starting character.
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Ryvaken

Ok...considering there isn't a single weapon in the design I label that as a confusing analysis but you're the boss.

My original idea was to use a similar nanotech augmentation on a human host, granting regeneration and a degree of control over appearance -- skin, hair, simple tissues like fat, enough control on the bones to alter his appearance but not enough to, say, grow an extra arm or something. This idea has the advantage of being limited to an organic shell rather than pure technology, but has the disadvantage of incorporating nanomechanical processes into a human body. Your statement seems to indicate that such an idea is more plausible, however.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

It'd be more suited for a Nephilim then a human as their genetics permit such rapid transformation to the whole of the body more readily then a human does. As they already have regeneration as it is from their genetics. Byts are always "robot" centric in design, they always have a distinguishing mark [even in their closest companion model designs] that separate them from humans and keeps them from being accidentally thought of as a human.

As for weaponizing. I don't mean as in having offensive abilities, but abilities that can be considered a nuisance to the government if they do not have control of. Fighting a Byt with body armor and energy weapons is much easier then trying to track one down that can assume the forms of another human.

Nephilims on the other hand, considering that they are new, have different capabilities, including a few things they're finding now, like psionic abilities. All are low key at first, but are capable of growing potentially powerful. Nephilims have a bigger and stronger chance of gaining unique abilities that around your specifications then a human or a Byt would.
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Ryvaken

OK, then I guess I need to learn about the Nephilim. Because right now all I know is that they have a biological regenerative capability and psionic powers, the latter of which is strike one against that race.
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Creeper

Dammit, now I have a bajillion ideas. Would my mob-lawyer idea still work? Or were you looking for resistance-oriented characters?

Edit: Also, do bytes have to be completely mechanical? Or are they allowed some living parts?
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ZK

Byts are all completely mechanical and synthetic for those who have "life-like" features and are companion models.

Some factions, mainly that of the dying Yakuza [near completely gone] do aid the Resistance while being able to keep up with their usual rackets, although they seem to be as they were when they first originated before falling into the world of pure organized crime.


So if you were "mob" related, the Yakuza would be the place to be a part of. Awakened Companion Model Byts do have sensors and other things and when they Awaken, they do feel pain, pleasure and what naught.
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Creeper

Yesss... a high-priced Yakuza lawyer! How is the plot going to be handled? Is it individual plotlines, or will all the PC's be thrown together?

Boo on complete androids. Feels a bit too much like masturbation to me. Ah well, that's what illegal technology is for!
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ZK

*chuckles* Heh, why do you think Nephilims were made? Not just for their other applications. ^_~ They're complete Androids and robots. They have "flesh" well, the companion models. It's cultivated like real flesh, but it doesn't bleed. And yes, it's possible for a companion model to orgasm, just when they're Awakened. They do it because they find a release, it's no longer a program. ^.^
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Ryvaken

*poke* Nephilims were made? You have approached the smallest part of my capacity to be confused. Few people manage to get that far. Commendable. Could you give some background on what, exactly, these nonhuman races are?
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

Nephilims were made in the same sense a human of a regular regulated city would be. But with genetic alteration and modification in the embryos and actual human genome structure. Traits were written into the coding which made them "naturally" prone to certain traits. As well, were docile due to the fact of the removal of certain enzymes were left out of the process. The first Nephilim was actually created by a mistake with "relic" technology combined with the new age biological nano-technology. Nephilims are a basically a byproduct of a mistake that the organization decided to simply profit off of due to the "citizens" it produced were more like well bred slaves.


As to what the relic technology and how the procedure happened, that's left to the "unknown" as it's used as a plot device in my actual written series. The end of it, actually shows what it is all about.
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Creeper

Yeah, but the 8 year old in me also kinda wanted 'Terminator' style body guards. Like Arnold. Man that was an awesome scene where he cuts his arm off to show the mechanically goodness inside.

Still, the reasoning makes sense from a societal standpoint. If you want to control the amount of cybernetic enhancements in society, you're not going to put parts in your servants that could possibly be harvested then adapted for human use. A genetically engineered organ would probably be even harder to steal and adapt to a human.

That doesn't mean there aren't a few crackpots and criminals trying anyways, rught?
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ZK

*chuckles* I see, well weaponized Nephilims are basically like Evil T-1000 in a sense, well, given on what form of special ability they take that is.

As for the other statement. Humans were -vastly- advanced in the past as they were in the current time in the series. Far superior...a tasteful hint.

As with various other things, cyberwear tends to be rejected by living hosts easier then it does "dead" ones. Bioware is easer to obtain and has a better usage. Sure, not saying you can't replace a limb or so, but, more non-human adjustments tend to work better with a "living" body and not a human. That's basically the type of Byt you'd be looking for, but I wouldn't use them as they've been mainly discontinued, considered horrific and such.

Basically, they are what the Strogg are in the Quake series.

But that gives me an idea of a nice antagonist. :D
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Ryvaken

...that's bad. I was close to having a workable character, but at this point the concerns I have about this setting have advanced to the flashing red lights and unpleasant klaxon-like noises stage.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

Hrm, if you've read the lexicon, well, growing lexicon it should have helped some.

To clear up some concerns. It's simply this, the world was devastated to nearly being completely uninhabitable for an experiment gone awry that was suppose to aid the earth. They failed at countless times escaping [as historians will tell you the official notice] and the domed and underground cities were built. Having lost a lot of technology in their efforts, they focused primarily on life support and hence advanced in biomechanics and nanotechnology as a whole.

Time line goes as this.

Our Time -----> Humanity advanced in technology ------> Planetary Conditions Worsen -----> Solution thought to be found -------> Apposed Solution Backfired, New Dark Age ----> Grey Area [Supposedly Lost Records]------> Current Age.
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Creeper

Just looked up Stroggs and hey, I approve. I'm on board for when you start this thing.
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Ryvaken

Great. Everything that didn't make sense in IW with precious little of what did. Now, what the heck is a strogg...oh lord that's your idea of cybernetics? I think I'm going to bail out now. No wonder you thought a strategic application of technology was overpowered; screwdriver beats hammer every time.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

#44
No, it's not my idea of cybernetics, it's my idea of what happens when you weaponize cybernetics in Nephilim's Requiem. Replacement parts can be done, but when you add weapon systems and other things to it, the body tends to reject it unless the host was under a lot of augmentation and becomes far less human then before. Known as recycled soldiers.
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Ryvaken

Rejection is absurd. Assuming nerve-computer integration is used to control prosthetics -- not far fetched considering there are successful experiments in doing exactly that now -- any functions of the implant can be utilized by simple force of will, no different from commanding a muscle. The mind is incredibly adaptive in this regard -- control is not an issue.

As for autoimmune response, the precepts of genetic engineering allow for complete control over such issues. Simplest solution is to wipe out the immune system. No immune system, no rejection. You're putting machines into the body already, and you have the nanotech to alter human bodies, so creating the robotic equivalent of white blood cells and antibodies is trivial. You build the things out of carbon and iron, easily obtained from the blood stream, and power them off the metabolism. The augmented human has different dietary requirements than the rest of the population and has one of the most powerful regenerative and immune systems possible.

So the only real question is structural support. If you're putting rocket launchers on your back, you deserve to look like an idiot. It's a lot more effective to alter the dermal layer with carbon plates and add a semiautomatic handgun into the forearm behind a trick wrist. It doesn't take much to make an agent rather than a soldier with all the technology you've devised, so the only question is why it seems like none of it is used.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

Not to explain myself and ruin a lot, but they're using technology they have little to no knowledge of. As it was there before they were. A lot has happened in the gray period of time that no one really recalls. As if a lapse in history happened between those x' numbers of years. In primarily of things, it's simple as this. There is no demand for that sort of body modification with the readily available Byts to use it.

Nephilims on the other hand, cannot use cybernetics or bio-tech at all, their body rejects it regardless of the measures. As they do exist, you need to have quite a lot of influence and money to fund it. And forget about getting it installed on the black market. They may might be able to steal it for you, but getting it in you is an adventure of it's own. Now, the only thing that is really readily available is prosthetic replacements. Black market variations would possible have stronger limbs, perhaps something as you'd state, a secret compartment or perhaps electrified attacks, but nothing completely drastic.

Someone could run faster, kick you across the room and electrocute you with a punch, but no shape-shifting or shooting energy bolts out of their hands. As modifications as it is is far and few between unless necessary [as they're expensive regardless, unless on the police force or military, it's in the pension to get replacement parts.

As for other things, having such parts is considered a rather strong social stigma, sure you may have Byts and Nephilims as servants, but now you want to be one too? Type attitude.

But, some things don't work like they do in other games. If I wanted a hard cyber/bio punk type game, I'd run Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 202X.

The genre that NR would fall under would be a mixture of Post-Apoc, Cyber/Bio Punk, Mystery and Horror.
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Ryvaken

That development of technology only exists if someone made it exist. You have humans using machines they don't understand to reproduce and humans concerned about the purity of the human condition. It's a contradiction. It is only maintainable by an outside force. Now, that could set the stage for an interesting RP, but only if there is room to play with the limits of what is possible. Instead, you've given bizarre restrictions and a massive amount of largely conflicting information to the point where I'm not entirely sure that you're not making it up as you go along. A few examples.

Alternate form is unnecessary as modifications are subtle unless designed not to be. Modifications carry significant social stigma. If they aren't noticeable, how do they generate stigma?
Nephilim are best for unusual concepts, but they can't be modified.
Humans are grown using genetic manipulation, but the knowledge of how to manipulate genes is lost. The gene pool continually shrinks, genetic defects appear in random mutations, everyone dies.
The lack of demand for body modification. That in and of itself tells me that you aren't thinking this through. With all the steroid abuse in professional athletes, all the cultures that involve tattoos, scars, piercings, all the mythology and ritual around making the body stronger by any means possible, and you honestly think a viable method of human modification would have no interest?

I dunno. Maybe these things need to exist for this kind of world. I figure you would have not made the choices you made unless you were sure they fit into what you were trying to make, and I can respect that. But, unless everything in this post registers as a genuine error, oversight, or misunderstanding of some kind, it's not a world I want to RP in. Which is a shame, since there really are similarities to the absolute best games I have ever played.
In creativity, meaning.

ZK

#48
I'm not honestly going to bother to explain the entirety of it as it would ruin the entirety to the plot of the whole series as it is. But you are looking over various portions. There are contradictions in the world, PURPOSEFUL contradictions that the characters will come to disagree with as some of the characters have already done in their backgrounds.

I'm tired of this debate over a setting in a series that I've designed.
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Ryvaken

It's not a debate. Never has been. You could call it an interrogation, a lecture, an exploratory discussion. A debate assumes that two people have their opinions and try to convince the other to change his mind. My premise in this conversation has been to learn as much as I can about this setting to determine whether or not it is one I would enjoy playing. My latest posts have been geared towards explaining why I believe it is not an enjoyable prospect for a simple reason. Half of what you say confuses me, and that tells me that there is missing information, which could radically alter my analysis. There is enough here that I'm going to regret the decision not to join this game, but I believe I would come to regret joining it more. I wish you success and happiness, farewell.
In creativity, meaning.