[Recruitment] Cthulhutech: The Borderlines of the World

[Kurald Galain]

We're opposite. Cool.

I greet you, my interparty nemesis.

[Academia Nut]

The party negotiator is unfortunately currently surrounded by a depressed hacker and a lazy yet obsessive technician/soldier/sorcerer, sure to drive her nuts.

For those of you who posted some interest, looks like we could still use either a dedicated combat monkey who can use weapons that don't level the building or some sort of investigator to go along with Erik's hacking skills. Perhaps an occult investigator or some such character. Although we probably have enough that we can fill out the team with expendable red shirts who bite it shortly after we arrive at the target location.

[Kurald Galain]

We do need at least one more fighter, otherwise anything that can challange you is going to slughter us, I think.

[Losonti Tokash]

We're opposite. Cool.

I greet you, my interparty nemesis.

High five! :p

[frigidmagi]

could still use either a dedicated combat monkey who can use weapons that don't level the building

Like an infantry grunt maybe?

[Academia Nut]

An infantry grunt would definitely be useful, someone who can keep the cowardly hacker and the ambitious psychic safe without drawing anti-mech fire at the same time.

Also: three round bursts with the AP cannon. For those times when you aren't quite ready to move up to the plasma cannon but don't want to just indiscriminately spray the area. 9+ dice of Vitality damage is nothing to sneeze at (unless you're on Integrity scale and have armour, but that's when Mr. Plasma comes out).

For those of us with characters written up, a little pre-mission banter session might be useful. Perhaps encourage others to join in.

[LadyTevar]

could still use either a dedicated combat monkey who can use weapons that don't level the building

Like an infantry grunt maybe?

I wonder what goodies the Marines have here?

[Kurald Galain]

An infantry grunt would definitely be useful, someone who can keep the cowardly hacker and the ambitious psychic safe without drawing anti-mech fire at the same time.

Seconded.

For those of us with characters written up, a little pre-mission banter session might be useful. Perhaps encourage others to join in.

I would be on board with this, though EarthScorpion needs to rank us so we know where we start with each other. Usually there is a team leader in these kinds of games, though that role might of course be religated to a short lived NPC, or perhapes the Charter is more Egalitarian. Either way we need to know before we can have in character interactions.

[EarthScorpion]

The character looks good, Losonti Tokash, and I can't see any errors in character creation. Although (not as any kind of criticism), Tenacity 7, 9 and 4 have together a potential to be... interesting. I'll have to be careful with the Fear ratings at times, and not default to the Engel Pilot/Tager/Sorcerer/Parapsychic level of "Ah, they'll be fine with at most minor counselling".

Although we probably have enough that we can fill out the team with expendable red shirts who bite it shortly after we arrive at the target location.

*Coughs guiltily*

Erm, yeah. Genre emulation, from pretty much all the sources. It would be preferable to actually have someone who can deal with combat in a major way, though, as pure NPC combat is rather dull.

I wonder what goodies the Marines have here?

Infantry weapons are a mixture of rail/gauss electromagnetic firearms (very much like Mass Effect, reliant on firing small needles very fast, and are silent apart from the supersonic crack of the gun), gas-powered needlers (only really pistols, fire similar ammo to the railguns, but are subsonic and thus completely silent apart from a slight hiss of gas), and more classical firearms (but caseless ammo is common). They haven't managed to overcome the energy requirements of functional small energy weapons, so things like plasma cannons and lasers are vehicle mounted only. There are some nice smaller things, though, like the EMP grenades that reduce a vehicle's actions by 2 for d5 minutes (and a combat round is 6 seconds), and the 20mm anti-vehicle heavy rail gun that does hybrid damage, and so can really screw over vehicles.

I would be on board with this, though EarthScorpion needs to rank us so we know where we start with each other. Usually there is a team leader in these kinds of games, though that role might of course be religated to a short lived NPC, or perhapes the Charter is more Egalitarian. Either way we need to know before we can have in character interactions.

The team leader will be an NPC; below that, you're all equal. It's not exactly a military squad, but you all hold an official-but-not-used-in-Charter-business rank of E-3 (Lance Corporal) in the New Earth Army, with the exception of Academia Nut's character, who holds a rank of E-4 (Corporal) because it simplified the paper work for issuing him with a suit of power armour. The individual in charge of the mission is an official sergeant, but people are recruited by the Charter for their individual skills, not their military rank. Of course, when the skills involve shooting people, military experience is a benefit.

[Kurald Galain]

Infantry weapons are a mixture of rail/gauss electromagnetic firearms (very much like Mass Effect, reliant on firing small needles very fast, and are silent apart from the supersonic crack of the gun), gas-powered needlers (only really pistols, fire similar ammo to the railguns, but are subsonic and thus completely silent apart from a slight hiss of gas), and more classical firearms (but caseless ammo is common). They haven't managed to overcome the energy requirements of functional small energy weapons, so things like plasma cannons and lasers are vehicle mounted only. There are some nice smaller things, though, like the EMP grenades that reduce a vehicle's actions by 2 for d5 minutes (and a combat round is 6 seconds), and the 20mm anti-vehicle heavy rail gun that does hybrid damage, and so can really screw over vehicles.

You know, speaking of equipment - most professions start with some gear, but the Para-Psychic does not. I guess it's assumed I would just stick with my Psychic Powers as sword and sheild, but...

Could you let me start with a gun and some body armor - I don't want to be instantly gacked. I would also find surveillance gear (for use with the skill of the same name) useful, though of course not at quite the same level of Idontwantadieness that going into the game unarmed inspires.

[EarthScorpion]

I put in the OP;

Likewise, you start with the starting gear for your profession, but you can ask me, for anything you think that would be appropriate, and if it's reasonable, it'll probably be granted.

The so-called "Standard Issue" weapons are on p112 of the Core Book, but I'll probably grant most reasonable requests. You're a fairly well outfitted team, so, while I might not (read "won't") all give you any Bling Blang guns (See p69 for Cthulhutech stuff, you're competently equiped, with body armour (Spectrashield Light Combat armour or Sentrytech Mk-V, based on player choice), and the appropriate gear for your specialisations (so a sorcerer will have their ritual components, a comms guy will have radio gear including interception stuff, and the like).

You will have to specify it, though. The Uncertainty Principle works well in some games, like SotC. Cthulhutech, I suspect, will be less compatible with magically appearing gear.

[Academia Nut]

I would figure that the starting kit for a mecha pilot (minus the mech of course) would probably be appropriate for anyone who isn't a soldier in this sort of scenario. So concealable armour and a pistol, plus some stuff for the specific occupation.

If I had to put forward a rough list of what Alex would have it would be:

Mk-5 Crusader w/ plasma cannon and AP cannon
Tool kit w/ materials for fixing tech or casting spells
Personal computer w/ library of occult and technical works
UT-7 Hornet as a back up side arm

He could probably also take some armour, but he has Ward of Corporeal protection, so he just wears a jumpsuit while on mission. More comfortable. Does that sound reasonable?

[Kurald Galain]

Well, here's my equipement requests. Better to ask to much and be turn down then to little and find out you needed more.

So I’ll ask for a RG-3 Armorcorp Aslt Rail Rifle–Lt with a High Power Scope for my main weapon, and a MP-6A1 Heckler Koch & Sig Machine Pistol as my backup. I’ll opt for the Spectrashield Light Combat Armor.

I’m the only one who’s dropped points into stealth or Surveillance, so that makes me the scout at the moment. I’ll ask for Night Vision Goggles with IR Illuminator and Binoculars with Built in Directional Compass to fulfill that role.

Since we're partly funded by Ashcroft, we've probably been given computers with relevent information - maps and similiar things, so I'll ask for a Personal Central Processing Unit with AR Eyeglass Monitor Display and a Wireless Communication Earpiece. We should really have radio's as well, I would think.

[frigidmagi]

Okay I'll make a grunt. Give me a bit to track everything down.

[Losonti Tokash]

I figure this stuff is probably reasonable and should meet the given mission paramaters:

CS-40 Defender
Concealed Holster
Laser Sights
Spectrashield Light Armor (Failing that, Sentrytech light ballistics armor)

PCPU
AR Eyeglass Monitor
Wireless Communication Earpiece
Portable HIU

Medkit
Painkillers

I'd like some kind of trauma scissors but I'm not sure if that comes in the medkit or not.

[frigidmagi]

We're surrounded, outnumbered and our armed forces only number 4 million? Where's the universal draft? Rationing? Wartime measures and powers? The NEG doesn't seem to be treating this as a real war of survival.

Let me put this way, at the end of World War II? The US alone had nearly 12 million men under arms... In Europe alone. North Korea maintains an army of 4 million men as well.


No wonder we're fucking losing.

[Academia Nut]

frigid, I just had a brainstorm. You should totally be the bitter grunt who is constantly railing at the stupidity of the brass and demanding that they deploy more troops.

Although from his writing I get the feeling that EarthScorpion isn't afraid to overrule stupid pieces of fluff that don't actually fit with the tone of the setting. The best case scenario I can come up with is that that 4 million figure only represents the 'tooth' part of the logistics train and excludes all logistical support elements from the count. Still woefully undermanned by at least an order of magnitude, but nowhere near as bad.

Although for wartime measures the NEG does have the right to detain anyone at any time for any reason. Oh, and to get around 'human rights' they can declare anyone nonhuman until declared otherwise, so they do at least have that going for them. As for rationing I think they might be trying to hide the true extent from the public, but they are pretty close to a post scarcity society with their power generation and nanotech, so there's not a whole lot they can ration exactly.

[Kurald Galain]

We're surrounded, outnumbered and our armed forces only number 4 million? Where's the universal draft? Rationing? Wartime measures and powers? The NEG doesn't seem to be treating this as a real war of survival.

Let me put this way, at the end of World War II? The US alone had nearly 12 million men under arms... In Europe alone. North Korea maintains an army of 4 million men as well.


No wonder we're fucking losing.

As Academia Nut pointed out - the world of Cthulutech is approaching something like post scarcity for certain goods and services.

I’ll state this one several times, because it crops up a lot, but there's the risk of insanity - you probably can’t use most troops nearly as long as you can in the real world without them eat bugs and switching sides; you want a steady recruitment rather then a huge number under arms right. Of course, this means that your dumping large numbers of (at best) semi-sane ex-soldier back into the work force.

Plus, due to the corrupting nature of many enemies, police and intelligence agencies must be absorbing huge numbers of personal - including many that are for most intents and purposes armed forces.

Even ignoring both the cults and ignoring the barbarians at the gate - there is a form of casualty that happens at factories and labs. Arcanotech drives you mad when you work with it. That means that you both need more security at many workplaces, and that you need a greater employment flow as people become unable to work far fast and more often then in our world.

With skyrocketing rates of insanity effecting the population and weird bioweapons and curses being thrown about the medical industry must also grow tremendously.

Of course, even with that 4 million under arms is ridiculously minimalistic.

[General Havoc]

Nations can deploy 10% of their population as armed forces without too much trouble, 12% with minor disruptions, 15% if it's an absolute emergency and they need everyone on the front lines to avoid extermination. Those figures here are all on the order of many hundreds of millions. Even given all the factors cited above, why there is not a force of at least a quarter BILLION under arms at this moment is totally beyond me.

[Kurald Galain]

Nations can deploy 10% of their population as armed forces without too much trouble, 12% with minor disruptions, 15% if it's an absolute emergency and they need everyone on the front lines to avoid extermination. Those figures here are all on the order of many hundreds of millions. Even given all the factors cited above, why there is not a force of at least a quarter BILLION under arms at this moment is totally beyond me.

Author brain bug. Of course, in a roleplaying setting it doen't take much to fix something like that - the GM just 'oh but there's x peoople under arms."

[Hotfoot]

I've got a concept of an investigator running now. He won't be nice, but he should be good.

[Kurald Galain]

I've got a concept of an investigator running now. He won't be nice, but he should be good.

Cool. I'm the social fu character, so we'll probalby work togather alot. I'm of course an idealist, so we should hit it off instantly .

[Academia Nut]

I've been helping out Hotfoot with his character. Let's just say that my character's lazy apathy and perhaps dorky leering may be the best treatment your character gets in this game. Don't let that scare you off though, should still be fun. Just remember to roll with the punches. Because there's probably going to be a lot of them.

A lot. Seriously, invest in ice packs.

[Kurald Galain]

I probably should pick up a rank of intimidate. My high pressence would at least let me give pause to all the needling I'm in for.

That, or buy Gravikinesis. I am only 80 experence points away from the most destructive Psychic power in the game. Of course, if I swiched swiched out for Telekinesis as my starting power, then it would be 60 instead.

What. You should always think big.

[Academia Nut]

Well, I know that Losonti and I are currently quivering like heroin addicts between a hit of smack waiting for the game to start, so what is the status of our GM and the others who have mentioned a desire to play? I know Hotfoot has a mostly completed character sheet.

Also, the urge to get some pre-mission smack talk in is high.