Fat Gandalf's Bar & Lounge (OOC Chat) - Chapter Eight

[Purr]

"But before we do that, anyone have any real experience in dealing with extreme cold and possible blizzard conditions of the Antarctic? I'd rather learn a few tips and tricks on how to survive before the bullets are flying around us."

Hmm. Given the backgrounds you guys and gals have provided me, I'd say no. Nobody mentioned anything like the South Pole (or North) in their backgrounds. Ylva would certainly know about cold and snow and mountains, but not "deserts of solid ice" like the South Pole.

Forgive me if my last post was, well, less. My head has been a mess all day (as in since before I normally go to bed last night "all day").

Also, how does Sherwood's idea of "movie night" with a great horror film like The Thing sound to you?

 

[Sherwood]

I was also wondering if Scary Jerry's team of badasses had any chops in weather like that. Just curious. If things work out the way that they should, we won't have to worry about it.

 

[Purr]

Heya Gang! I plan on posting later today in both of my games (and in Sherwood's games too). Stay safe! =)

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus (Tag!)

What would the Wild Cards like to do with their 24 hours?

Perhaps I should I have asked this in a different manner and perhaps further, I should have asked it in Fat Gandalf's. What I was going for was a declaration of intent before going out and doing it - how did you want each of your characters to pass the next 24 hours? This is because Shirley has something she wants to tell you all before you either watch The Thing or not.

I'm not quite sure what else to do except go ahead and have her say it while the Wild Cards are still within hearing (so, Hercules hasn't left quite yet or he won't be part of the conversation). I'll post that now.

EDIT: Huh. Having reread the IC posts, it seems the Wild Cards haven't yet dispersed except for Hercules. Hmm.

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus Kaerri Psychie Sherwood Silanon

Aaand I think it's time to have an OOC conversation of some importance concerning these undiscussed in-game details rising up from some of your posts.

Disclaimer: Were this a tabletop game, each of you could hear my positive tone and see my well-meaning body language. But since this is a Play-by-Post, just know that I mean the following post in the warmest manner I can convey! Everyone in my eyes here is blameless; I am just trying to put a stop to the strong possibility of future misunderstandings (on my end). =)

The subject? Character or Story additions made without discussing them with your friendly neighborhood Game Master. Before you add details to the game that might change my world (even in some seemingly small ways), do me the favor of asking either here or in Conversation. I have had games where this sort of thing has led to misunderstandings down the road. Misunderstandings I'd rather avoid.

Take a look at the next few examples and I'll show you what I mean. =)

Mario spends the two week period of time learning more about the workings of the UEEF mecha, especially the Cyclone and Cera's creation, the Mjolnir.

Learning about the UEEF mecha as a new Broadsword crewmate, especially a pilot? Sure! Cyclones? Even Silverbacks? No problem! But Mjolnirs? Those are Cera's creations - though Broadsword-produced, they are technically not UEEF mecha but Ura-Meltrandi-made. Cera would rather not have every last interested human crawling along in their insides without her knowing it (lest they mess with things). So do the Mjolnir belong to the Broadsword? Sure seems like it, but nobody knows these brand-new Traverser-friendly hovertanks like she does. Therefore, not even Captain Sharp is likely to jump in one without Cera wanting to be involved.

My point? If this were brought up in OOC as a request, then I can provide details you as Players might not know. The request doesn't have to be anything more than, say: "Hey, Mario would like to spend the next two weeks learning about the UEEF mecha including the Mjolnir. That O.K.?" Then it becomes a conversation I'm involved in. It might seem minor and even nitpicky, but stuff like this can have repercussions none of my wonderful Players can possibly see coming. So... request of me, please.

Over time, he improved his combat techniques, ranged, melee and unarmed, to the point that he could last toe-to-toe with the biggest and toughest of the SF troops for a full three minute bout, no punches pulled, not holds barred.

Forgive me, but I think this is... simply untrue. Why? Consider this. The Wild Cards have been active as a squadron for less than a month's time. Put another way, they were raw recruits when we started this game years ago. Because of my roleplaying style, less than a single month has passed since we started the game. Before this, yes, some of the Wild Cards had some military experience prior to the Assembly, but they were still 1st-level characters at that time.

Contrast this with Adamantium. In terms of experience level, longevity, and pure fighting ability (including hand-to-hand), they are (to me) bar-none the deadliest human beings on the ship. Period. They have been doing their Special Forces thing not for weeks or months but for years. Fighting, capturing, killing, subduing, facing near death, mission after mission after mission. A 7th-level Character like any of the Wild Cards who could take any of them no-holds-barred for 3 minutes? At best, I think this statement might be true for maybe 20 minutes at best. Why? Because Adamantium is very, very good and experienced at figuring out and implementing solutions. If somebody (anybody) came along and could do this to all of them, they would make it their group business to study that person (especially Cal and Scary Jerry, not to mention the other 10 of them) until they found weaknesses to put themselves back on top. But a guy who spends most of his time behind tank controls is able to take on everyone one-on-one in this particular Special Forces team to a stand-still? Even one as big and strong as Hercules? Sorry, really. I just don't see it.

Plus, I am firmly convinced Cap'n is not the kind of Player who would purposely plant such a seed to try and turn it into something down the road. (This is NOT the case with at least two tabletop Players I used to run games with - it is they I am thinking about when I think of wrongdoing). =)

My point? I don't mind Players wanting to improve their Characters or provide mention of "demons conquered" or victories made. But if they involve my Characters or my story, then I feel I need to be involved first. Because if we don't, then one sentence turns into another and down the road becomes the gospel truth (I've seen it in tabletop games. Ask me about what I call the X-Men's "Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler Syndrome" involving that Character's Real Life origins sometime for a good story).

He also enjoyed the time training and learning about his Traversing powers, learning how to manipulate equipment with the force of his will and charisma was enlightening to him. Professor Stein's work was as mentally challenging as the combat training was physically and, while he had made some good progress, he still felt he wasn't on par with the other Traversers in his team.

She did enjoy the Technopathy training and practice. Anything she could do to further her knowledge there, she was definitely for, 100%. She wished she could get some more experience in the Blue World, but that didn't seem to be on the table for now.

This is great! Posts like this tell me the Character was putting themself (is that word?) into studying and greatening themselves that in no way changes or alters Characters or stories. If brought up in OOC, I might be able to provide in-game ways that the Character has improved. But if not brought up in OOC, I may miss the statement entirely (thanks to ADHD or long day or what have you) and therefore miss the opportunity to provide maybe something a little special. =)

Mario sits for a moment, the gears in his mind turning. Antarctica. Hmmm. That's a new one for me. The closest I've gotten to 'Artic' training was driving my Spartas around the training fields of Monument City in the winter, and that hardly counts.

Stuff like this, I can see because Sherwood explained (I believe in Mario's Background) that Mario had lived in Monument City after his life onboard the SDF-1. Good stuff!

Never been there. I know Swedish winters; but the polar night's a different beast."

Same here. This was known to me because Silanon wrote it in his background for Ylva.

When Mario asks about if anyone has had any experience with the extreme cold conditions of the place, she shakes her head. "No. The closest I ever came to that was when I was much younger and my family was stationed in Brazil fighting the Malcontents. Ask me about the tropics and I can help you out, but the snow? Not so much."

But this? I don't recall this at all. I reread Toph's background and see nothing in there about where Toph was raised. We know in-game that Toph's father, Hiroshi Kirin, died in Brazil. However, Brazil is a warzone. In my Real Life experience, as someone who grew up beside armed forces, there was no way in hell any military dependents were allowed anywhere near a warzone. In all of my time reading first-hand accounts, I've never even heard of dependents being allowed to live in bases in say, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These are far-off countries to our (more or less) United States-based upbringing I thought Toph had all this time.

My point? Unlike the other Wild Cards (all of them, I think), I don't think we ever discussed where this Character grew up. Now, in a recent post of mine, I have made it known that there is a mission right smack in that very part of the world, and what do you know? The Wild Cards have a possible edge (however seemingly small) because one of them was raised in that very part of the world?

I mean this in the most-positive tone, folks! =) Talk to me about these things first. What might seem to each of you as small, perhaps insignificant details, either are or can become, much different down the road. Also consider that if I miss some statement of yours that you type out without our talking about it, and then you bring it up later, I might have no clue what you're talking about and I'll have to strike that part out of the game as a result. I'd rather not do that. So let's chat about it instead! =)

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

 

[Purr]

Oh! And one more very important example I meant to bring up:

Hercules paused a moment and gave a sigh. He reached down to his pocket and pulled out the hand-held comms unit issued to all Broadsword crew and paged out.

Help! Did I add hand-held comm units (basically walkie-talkies) to every Broadsword crew member and then completely forget about it? Can someone show me where I did this? I don't remember doing this. I remember your mecha/Cyclones being able to do this, your Technopathy nexuses, and high-ranking officers (like Piper) having this option, but not everybody. Did I add it to everybody somewhere and... just forget I did it? I R Confuzzled!

EDIT: I'm afraid I can't post in-game yet until I know that.

 

[Sherwood]

Learning about the UEEF mecha as a new Broadsword crewmate, especially a pilot? Sure! Cyclones? Even Silverbacks? No problem! But Mjolnirs? Those are Cera's creations - though Broadsword-produced, they are technically not UEEF mecha but Ura-Meltrandi-made. Cera would rather not have every last interested human crawling along in their insides without her knowing it (lest they mess with things). So do the Mjolnir belong to the Broadsword? Sure seems like it, but nobody knows these brand-new Traverser-friendly hovertanks like she does. Therefore, not even Captain Sharp is likely to jump in one without Cera wanting to be involved.

My point? If this were brought up in OOC as a request, then I can provide details you as Players might not know. The request doesn't have to be anything more than, say: "Hey, Mario would like to spend the next two weeks learning about the UEEF mecha including the Mjolnir. That O.K.?" Then it becomes a conversation I'm involved in. It might seem minor and even nitpicky, but stuff like this can have repercussions none of my wonderful Players can possibly see coming. So... request of me, please.

That post was more a way of in-game justifying me taking the MECT skill for the Mjolnir tanks instead of just saying, "I know it without having spent any time training in it because I spent the skill." I didn't think I was crossing a line, and I apologize for that.

 

[Purr]

No worries, really. Nobody's crossed a line. I'm just trying to talk about this before somebody quite accidentally does (because we didn't talk about it). =)

Huh. I didn't know you took MECT Mjolnir or I would have created a short scene with Mario and Cera getting into that (training creates RP possibilities, often bringing people closer). =)

 

[Sherwood]

Yeah, I took both the MECT skill for it and the Cyclone for his level 7 and 8 selections.

 

[Purr]

Guess I'll have to make sure you guys get good use out of that stuff then. =)

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Oh! And one more very important example I meant to bring up:


Help! Did I add hand-held comm units (basically walkie-talkies) to every Broadsword crew member and then completely forget about it? Can someone show me where I did this? I don't remember doing this. I remember your mecha/Cyclones being able to do this, your Technopathy nexuses, and high-ranking officers (like Piper) having this option, but not everybody. Did I add it to everybody somewhere and... just forget I did it? I R Confuzzled!

EDIT: I'm afraid I can't post in-game yet until I know that.

Sorry for the errors. Both edited out.

Captain Hesperus

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus

Thanks but, I'm not trying to get things deleted; I'm trying to improve/increase OOC communication.

So... they don't have to be errors. How about we say Hercules helped out Adamantium by teaching them a few Pankration tricks? Nobody in Adamantium knows Pankration. Or maybe you have another idea, Cap'n? =)

 

[Purr]

And, uh, what was the second error?

 

[Captain Hesperus]

And, uh, what was the second error?

My assumption that the crew would have some means of personal communications other than using a ship-wide page just to ask what gear everyone would be using.

EDIT TO ADD: My assumption came from the fact that most UEEF O.C.C.s have a ‘wrist radio’ with a range of 8 miles as standard equipment. However, as you stated, it’s not in Hercules’ gear, so I edited the post.

Captain Hesperus

 

[Purr]

Ah! So that wasn't a goof off on my part. Okay.

That's something I'd like some advice on. In the Robotech series (Southern Cross, during our timeline), did everyone in military positions have some way of communicating with each other? Or did they have to resort to using landlines and intercoms like they do in the first Robotech story?

Also, what about the UEEF? When they were gallivanting across the stars, did they have a setup like the Star Trek: The Next Generation or something else?

I'd like to go with whatever is most accurate.

 

[Psychie]

For my part, I had been operating under the belief that with both her parents in the fight against the Malcontents, they would all three be living in the region and not have Toph living somewhere else. According to the books, Brazilia Base is/was a major RDF base in the area, and it seemed plausible for the three of them to have been stationed there. If that was overstepping, I apologize. You are right in the fact that stuff like this is much easier to address over the tabletop than over a PbP board.

 

[Purr]

No, no. I don't see any overstepping. I just see things that aren't being talked about and probably should be for the sake of good communication between everyone at our virtual table here. =)

Re: Dependents living on a military base in an active warzone. The military bases I grew up around were just that - military. Away from the borders, no problem. Civilians could come and go as they pleased. But close to a border? Let me just say I sure as heck never saw any day cares, schools, or playgrounds if you catch my meaning.

But hey. Is there anything in Robotech series or Palladium books that mention they would do this? I mean, mom and dad, sure! They're combatants. But why would Brazilia Base have any civilians there that weren't directly part of the war? I mean, a (roughly) eight-year-old little girl? During wartime when the base can be under enemy attack at any time?

Also, anyone have any idea about hand-held communications in Southern Cross? I haven't seen any Southern Cross episodes yet.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

I haven’t watched Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross/Robotech: The Masters Saga in a while, so I can’t remember if any of the characters carried a personal communicator.

Also, to clarify, Hercules was fuming, so the minute Sharpe dismissed him, he took himself off to the armoury. He was in a mood to do something constructive to burn off his annoyance.

Captain Hesperus

 

[Purr]

Heya Gang! I plan on posting within the next 24 hours (with a Shirley-centered post) and more. I know what I want to post, but my body is asking for sleep, and as my one and only Earthly vessel, who am I to deny this wonderful gift of being born human? =)

 

[Silanon]

Purr What's the exact timing of Shirley's call? Is it immediately once the meeting ends, or a little later? Just wondering if there was time for Ylva to leave after her last response; she'd be eager to, but it depends on how quickly Shirley acts, I reckon.

Edit: "Now that we're out of the briefing" sounds like there should've been time to leave, just making sure.

 

[Purr]

Silanon Since I replied to Hercules going down to the hangar bay, I think it's fine if Ylva wanted to be wherever onboard she wants to head. Shirley wanted to be quick about talking to her Wild Cards, but your Game Master wasn't so quick on the draw this time. So yeah. No worries! Where would Ylva rather be? =)

 

[Silanon]

Somewhere on the way to the gym - if there's an empty hallway or an empty room where she can take a phone call undisturbed, that'd do the trick. Is the regular video call via phone? Because I don't think I have one on my character sheet right now... guess that's the question about the communicators again, right?

 

[Purr]

Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I have to look up Southern Cross. Until then, I have no problem with saying a Sam/Samantha walked up and showed Ylva she had a message via the Sam's arm-mounted laptop. That would be enough.

 

[Silanon]

That'd work. I'll try to get a post up and see if it feels better than keeping things simple and just being present in the same room.

 

[Kaerri]

Just to be sure I understand correctly: the video call (whether via hand-held device or Sam-held device) is just to facilitate a face-to-face view so that Mack can inititate the group-wide Nexus? And the call ends as soon as the Nexus is established, so that anything that is actually said is via Nexus and not voice?