Futuristic A Purpose Under Heaven - OOC

[welian]

Out-of-character discussion for A Purpose Under Heaven, a role-play about giant robots reclaiming their glory after a thousand years of sleep mode.

Thread Rules:

1. I don't know, I didn't think this through
2. Anarchy, I guess?

 

[Epiphany]

Don't guess with your anarchy.

Commit to it!

 

[welian]

 

[welian]

It's quiet in here... too quiet...

 

[Epiphany]

It's Halloween weekend. Come Monday, I expect you'll see more butts in seats.

Or at least more butts, if you're lucky. Or unlucky. There is the internet after all...

 

[Stars Above]

I think it's a bit unclear if we allowed to post character sheets now, I mean like... are we?

 

[welian]

I think it's a bit unclear if we allowed to post character sheets now, I mean like... are we?

I was waiting to see if we might get two or more people for the RP, but since I think we've gotten the people we're going to get right now, might as well get started on character sheets!

Are there any other details you'd like to know before you start making a character? Since we have a small group atm, I'm perfectly willing to ease up on some of my rules.

 

[Stars Above]

I was waiting to see if we might get two or more people for the RP, but since I think we've gotten the people we're going to get right now, might as well get started on character sheets!

Are there any other details you'd like to know before you start making a character? Since we have a small group atm, I'm perfectly willing to ease up on some of my rules.

Maybe you could try tag everyone from the interest check?

So I do have one question: did the descendants of the humans who went to mars come back to earth, or have their just being humans chilling on earth for the last thousand years?

 

[welian]

So I do have one question: did the descendants of the humans who went to mars come back to earth, or have their just being humans chilling on earth for the last thousand years?

They have not yet returned to Earth. As far as most present-day humans know, those ancient cousins live in Heaven or something now. As far as the robots know, the debris field surrounding the planet that seems to be blocking interplanetary signals is probably also the reason the Martian colonists haven't returned yet.

Neither is 100% true or false, but that's something for you all to discover in-character!

 

[welian]

Epiphany Stars Above Zahzi Girouette Jenrir123 Senhara argotNaut Knight boi

Look alive, bots! If at least four of you can post a half-complete character profile by the end of Tuesday (or two people post completed profiles), we can get started then!

 

[Epiphany]

First sheet up!

Might have gone a little overboard...

 

[Purr]

Background: Describe your character's backstory. It can be as short as the overview, but any more than 500 words and I will personally go to your house and unplug your keyboard.

welian Hey, you! This cracked me up! Ha ha ha!

First sheet up!

Might have gone a little overboard...

If Welian shows up at your doorstep, Pips, you'll know for certain. Hah! =)

 

[Epiphany]

welian Hey, you! This cracked me up! Ha ha ha!


If Welian shows up at your doorstep, Pips, you'll know for certain. Hah! =)

Darn it, Dannigan, you're not supposed to catch me when I'm shamelessly ripping off Robotech!

 

[welian]

If Welian shows up at your doorstep, Pips, you'll know for certain. Hah! =)

If only a brave warrior would join to keep her in line!

 

[Purr]

welian Wha? Don't you already have, like, eight Players? I don't know what your limit is, good Welian, but that's over mine! =)

 

[welian]

welian Wha? Don't you already have, like, eight Players? I don't know what your limit is, good Welian, but that's over mine! =)

It was 100000% worth a shot.

Also, my limit is like, two dozen players. I'm a professional cat herder.

 

[Purr]

Heh! Thanks, you - I think I know a pair of compliments and sincere invitation when I see them.

Thing is, I'm at my limit (of 5 games, 2 of which I'm running). But one of those games is on hiatus. I can't tell if it's permanent or temporary because the GM hasn't told us (they probably don't know yet themselves).

Plus, there's the added irritation that I think I may have gotten on some of my own Players' nerves with this ADHD-brain of mine. See, we can be really empathic and really curious, but with our Ferrari brains with bicycle brakes, I can't really tell sometimes (Kaerri is a huge helper to me in these regards).

*Sigh* So... I tell you what - I'll consider it? Just give me some time? Maybe there is room for my life for a 6th game...

 

[welian]

Oh, huh, didn't expect that to work!

Don't consider it TOO hard - work/life/hobby balance is very important. But, DO consider this your official standing invitation to hop in sometime!

 

[Purr]

Yes, that's good advice!

Thanks, Welian! For what it's worth, the forming of a Character concept began within minutes after reading the information you posted about it. =)

 

[Stars Above]

Oh! Um, one last question: the internet is down right? (Trust me this is relevant to my character.)

 

[welian]

Oh! Um, one last question: the internet is down right? (Trust me this is relevant to my character.)

Yup! The internet has been down for a long time. If we meet a network engineer in the story, "self taught" will be a generous term.

 

[Purr]

I've got some questions:

1. How long have the giant robots been reactivated?

2. While lasers and plasma weapons are a great start, what's the ceiling as far as technology is concerned?

3. How intelligent are our giant robots allowed to be?

4. How self-sufficient are they? Do the giant robots require regular maintenance, refueling, etc. that they cannot provide on their own? Do they need the humans for this?

5. How old are the giant robots allowed to be in terms of years in active use (Battlemechs in BattleTech were sometimes over 100 years old)?

6. If we choose ammunition-based weapons (like missiles and Gatling gun rounds), just how hard are these to replenish?

7. Do giant robots have to be created from military bases and huge corporations or is this the kind of game where a private project created by a team of skilled-but-possibly-not-sane engineers might invent an addition?

 

[welian]

Disclaimer: I'm open to suggestions for creating a more cohesive and/or believable world.

I'd like to start the RP a couple minutes after the main group of robots have reactivated. However, solar flare events can last a few days, and there's also the possibility that some robots have been able to maintain repairs over the last millennia (this detail is the one based heavily on AIVAS from Pern). As long as your character is in the vicinity of other characters such that they can have a meaningful RP interaction, and you can give a plausible explanation, I'm happy to allow wiggle room on reactivation dates.

Tech levels will vary based on location. Everything averages out to a steampunk-esque level, since metals can be recycled without too much hassle. The lack of a robust, global petrochemical industry is the real bottleneck - oil and virgin plastics are going to be a big oof to manufacture. I think if you look in the large, rebuilt cities you could find some 1960s ish tech, but it would definitely be the crown jewel of that city and they'd be hard pressed to part with it! Your medium to large villages may have one or two landline telephones that are still maintained, plumbers have probably regressed to clay or iron pipes, and cars are for rich people.

IMO the robots will be as functionally intelligent as a human being perpetually plugged into the internet. I assume that all robot characters will have encyclopedic knowledge of mathematics and physics on account of being large sentient computers, however, they may not have a good handle on softer sciences outside their wheelhouse. Without the internet to download this data from, they'll have to share knowledge with each other or recalculate it from scratch.

Moderately to mostly self sufficient. By the time WW3 broke out, most robots were designed with energy-saving sensibilities. It would be reasonable to assume that your characters all have methods of dealing with poor conditions, from running off of biofuel and solar panels in a pinch, to being nuclear-powered like ships. If you can find or build a generator, you can also plug into that and have a nice nap. Many of you will be able to perform repairs on yourselves or others, although you might not be small enough to get in and fix everything. That's what nanobots are for, but it seems after a thousand years of runaway machine learning, the little fuckers are going to need to be re-trained. With force, if need be.

If she runs, she runs - there were plenty of older robots in use at the time of the war, although from a military perspective, the robots are mobile supercomputers, and computers should be upgraded and replaced often to maintain a competitive edge over the enemy. I would not be surprised if some robots have been in service for several decades, especially in non-vital roles. That said, yearly OS updates are good for the soul! Probably! You don't want to end up like the batty ol' Warlock...

Good news - there are still guns, because there are still hunters and soldiers. Bad news - you probably won't have quite the volume of large bullets you'd like to have for a giant robot, so you'll have to cozy up reeeeaaalll nice to the gunsmith or be prepared to pour your own lead.

Giant robots come from anyone who can afford to commission them! Just like vehicles, the amount of factories for making robots drops off significantly as size and specialty increases. Less giant robots can be built from kits, just like a computer. Fun fact - there was a period of time in our alternate future in which governments had to ban crypto-mining in order to free up resources for robots.

Hmm.... I wonder if there's bitcoin in the year 3100....

 

[welian]

Second disclaimer: I prefer softer sci-fi over harder settings, but do let me know if there's something that's breaking immersion too much. I just wanted an excuse to explore a potentially solarpunk post-apocalyptic setting through the lenses of obsolete war machines.

 

[Damafaud]

Lurks