With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Siskulous]

You know what absolute monarchs would love? Paranoia, the rpg where you're not allowed to know the rules.


(That was meant to be sarcasm, to be clear).

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Correction: The RPG where letting anyone know you know the rules, or letting anyone know that you know that someone knows that the Computer knows the rules for that matter, leads to summary execution for conspiracy. But only if the executioner is in on a conspiracy to kill all conspirators.

Seriously though if you can get through a session of Paranoia without laughing your ass off you should probably think about having the stick surgically removed.

 

[Vaermina]

I've only ever actually played D&D once, and I wasn't really all that impressed. He's mostly going to be talking about computer-based systems, so Morrowind is more likely to come up.

Or something a little stranger.

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D&D is a game system not a game itself.

So if you had a bad time that's on whoever was your GM and whoever you played it with not on the system.

 

[Aeess]

I've only ever actually played D&D once, and I wasn't really all that impressed.

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Still mad that you couldn't be a pony or that low level necromancers cant summon zombies?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Still mad that you couldn't be a pony or that low level necromancers can't summon zombies?

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Well remembered, and yes.

 

[Mquz]

So, what was so special about Morrowind as an rpg? I mean, I get that the world it creates is quite unique and all, but most of the systems are kind of not great and the physics engine was quite simple, compared to, say, Oblivion.

 

[Gilhelmi]

So, what was so special about Morrowind as an rpg? I mean, I get that the world it creates is quite unique and all, but most of the systems are kind of not great and the physics engine was quite simple, compared to, say, Oblivion.

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But it was the many peoples first RPG. It was rather well written and deep into lore.

The physics engine was AMAZING (for 2002....... my God, it has almost been 20 years). It just didn't age very well, and is missing thing we take for granted nowadays (like fast travel and quest markers).

But she was still my first romance, and she brought me into Sheogorath's grace. (I became a nerd because of that game, hence the madness)

 

[LazySloth13]

I can't help but imagine that once the game developers meet the Tamaranians troupe that someone insists that there be a romance option in the game, with someone asking Paul what the other alien races in the Vega system look like, and large portion of the player base choose to destroy the Citadel forces mostly in order to romance a specific character while a small portion chose to side with the Citadel in order to form their own slave harems.

 

[Mr Zoat]

So, what was so special about Morrowind as an rpg?

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I played it a lot.

(like fast travel and quest markers).

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It had fast travel. You had three different teleport spells you could cast yourself, plus boats, stilt striders and Mage Guild teleporters.

 

[Ganurath]

So, what was so special about Morrowind as an rpg? I mean, I get that the world it creates is quite unique and all, but most of the systems are kind of not great and the physics engine was quite simple, compared to, say, Oblivion.

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Consider the previous game, Daggerfall, and how that compares with Morrowind. Coming out from below decks to the port of Seyda Neen was the gaming equivalent of Dorothy stepping into technicolor.

It had fast travel. You had three different teleport spells you could cast yourself, plus boats, stilt striders and Mage Guild teleporters.

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Also, the Scroll of Icarian Flight could function as a poor man's fast travel, if you had a way to cast Slow Fall and good timing.

 

[Coda]

Still mad that you couldn't be a pony or that low level necromancers cant summon zombies?

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Well remembered, and yes.

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Starting necromancers can sense the undead, interfere with existing undead, conjure a minor spirit, and instill a semblance of life into an object. At level 3 they can CONTROL undead and steal the life from a dying victim to power themselves up. It's quite wise that they should learn sensing, controlling, and empowering before learning how to CREATE undead at level 5 (cleric-based) or 7 (wizard-based).

Besides. Zombies are just too strong for starting characters to be able to summon at will.

Not being allowed to be a pony... that's just a buzzkill DM. There's an entire first-party sourcebook dedicated to playing as nonstandard races.

 

[Stsword]

Just wanted to point out that in pathfinder (ugh first edition, don't get me started), third party publishers produced Ponyfinder.

As for zombies at first level, the spheres of power magic system totally has your back on that one.

So Twilight Sparkle who makes friends the necromantic way is a completely viable character concept....

 

[NightmareWarden]

What other properties, if we stay in the industry, could Paul's company work on? I can imagine a simple digital personality test to determine A) whether someone is worth testing for an Orange ring and B) whether someone is equipped to act as a handler for orange lanterns when senior lanterns and trained officers are indisposed. I'm pretty sure there is already a screening process for the first category.

And more importantly what is this company called?

 

[Mquz]

What other properties, if we stay in the industry, could Paul's company work on? I can imagine a simple digital personality test to determine A) whether someone is worth testing for an Orange ring and B) whether someone is equipped to act as a handler for orange lanterns when senior lanterns and trained officers are indisposed. I'm pretty sure there is already a screening process for the first category.

And more importantly what is this company called?

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Problem is: digital personality tests don't work. People lie on them without supervision, or don't get questions, etc... and with supervision you might as well have Paul there. If you're talking about interplanetary recruitment, programming probably works quite differently there.

 

[Whenever Possible]

So, what was so special about Morrowind as an rpg? I mean, I get that the world it creates is quite unique and all, but most of the systems are kind of not great and the physics engine was quite simple, compared to, say, Oblivion.

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It was hilariously broken in a lot of fun ways, it had depth and polish beyond pretty much anything that came before it, and Oblivion got rid of the levitation spell.

 

[TheEyes]

"Role play game? I understand the words, but I suspect that you are referring to a specific artefact."

"Ah, how to explain it..?"

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Makes me think Paul should make and market a "Welcome to Earth" game. Introduce the Galaxy to Earth-crazy.

 

[Mquz]

It was hilariously broken in a lot of fun ways, it had depth and polish beyond pretty much anything that came before it, and Oblivion got rid of the levitation spell.

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If you're playing on PC, just use tcl to get the same effect.

 

[Whenever Possible]

If you're playing on PC, just use tcl to get the same effect.

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The maps on Oblivion aren't structured for 3d movement, what with walls and separate areas.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Starting necromancers can sense the undead, interfere with existing undead, conjure a minor spirit, and instill a semblance of life into an object. At level 3 they can CONTROL undead and steal the life from a dying victim to power themselves up. It's quite wise that they should learn sensing, controlling, and empowering before learning how to CREATE undead at level 5 (cleric-based) or 7 (wizard-based).

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"Troops! When you leave here, you will be the best trained riflemen in the world! And to ensure this, here is a javelin. Once you have mastered it, you will advance onto slingshots!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

8th February
18:22 GMT

Oh… Dear.

Using the burned-out wreck of a gordanian battlecruiser for concealment, I have my ring give me a more detailed picture of near-Karna space than my own eyes could give me while simultaneously trying to piece together the contents of the ship's computer. Sadly, gordanians aren't big fans of automation or centralisation. The data I want is spread out across a dozen local data stores, at least some of which were critically damaged during the fighting which slew the ship. There aren't any backups onboard the ship and most gordanian clans don't do off-site backups either. They also don't seem to think that keeping a historical database onboard their ships is worthwhile…

Extraction complete.

Ah. Not unexpectedly, once word got out that the Tearing Bite clan had lost most of their warfleet, the Gizzard Spiker clan decided to finish the job. Rather than simply absorb their fellow Citadel allies, or support them for favours later, they decided to annihilate the competition. But that broke pax domum, which was all the other clans who wanted Gizzard Spiker taken down a peg or two needed to justify weighing in. And then some idiot blew up the Citadel, which threw every alliance into confusion... And then, just when things were starting to die down…

My ring shows me a construct image of the Karnan fleet currently raining fire down in support of the slave uprising currently taking place on Karettah, Karna's northern continent. That part of the Gordanian fleet which survived the internecine conflict is staying quite firmly on the opposite side of the planet to defend their older holdings on Gordane. The Karnan fleet appears to consist largely of ships which fled the original Gizzard Spiker led take-over, but not exclusively. There are new builds there, based on the designs of the other ships. And clearly they've had access to raw materials. Most of the old fleet didn't leave without being severely damaged, and there's little sign of their old injuries now.

How do I want to handle this?

Honestly, I don't. Gizzard Spiker deserve pretty much everything they get, but a lot of the other clans aren't that bad. And the Karnans certainly aren't blameless for creating the situation which led to the original war. Yes, Karnans are formally enslaved to Gordanian clans in a way that the Gordanians were never slaves to the Karnans, but the difference between a well-treated slave and a poorly treated villein isn't particularly great. I don't know any of these people, and there's no obvious route that doesn't involve slaughtering one side or the other… Or at the very least forcibly relocating far more people than I could move. Best case scenario… Some sort of rerun of the partition of India, moving each people to their continent of origin when some of them have never lived there and don't actually want to move.

But since I'm here, I should at least see if I can make the situation less bad.

"Ring… Contact…"

Who? Who? The only contacts I might have would be surviving members of Tearing Bite, and I doubt that they actually want to hear from me. I could ask Amalak to try taking the area, or… Providing a neutral force…

"Contact the Karnans. Find me whoever's in charge."

Compliance.

"What?"

"Orange Lantern here. Please put me through to whoever's in charge over there."

"Orange-? Please hold."

Not like I'm paying by the minute. He should be able to get hold of the Supreme Commander… Gaharrugh I think his name is, reasonably quickly. If they've got any sort of intelligence at all then they know what I'm capable of, and a Supreme Commander doesn't really need to do all that much when the attack is ongoing. There just aren't any strategic level decisions that need to be-.

"Why are you here?"

"Supreme Commander Gaharrugh?"

"Mini-Beast the spider-fucker."

"That's uncalled for."

"Is it? When the Citadel Complex was destroyed, I held out a small hope that whoever did it would liberate my own home at the same time. And yet, here we are. You did nothing to help us, we begin the process of liberating ourselves-"

"Blowing up the Citadel Complex was 'nothing to help you'?"

"-and now here you are. Don't even think about-"

I raise my right hand to my forehead.

"-trying to intimidate us into leaving-"

I appear in his ready room, and-.

"-because you-."

Queen Kalista and Sir Pren look up from their position to Gaharrugh's right. Sir Pren raises his hands from the table slightly, the air between myself and the three of them shimmering faintly as he generates a telekinetic shield. Good reflexes. An officer of the Crown Imperium was sitting on Gaharrugh's left but has now jumped to her feet and drawn her pistol. The soldiers behind me are a little slower on the uptake, but their… Crown Imperium-made grasers.

"So you're sponsored by the Crown Imperium. Generous of them. Though I suppose that proxy-fighting is the only way to prevent Vega acting in concert against them."

Kalista nods. "Until recently. Your actions have been both a help and a hindrance. By destroying the Citadel, you have created a situation in which this intervention could happen-."

"Destroying the Tearing Bite war fleet probably helped as well."

"That was-." Pren frowns. "Our reports say that the Beast destroyed it."

"Yes, because I lured him in to attack it while I evacuated the slave workers at the facility it was guarding."

"You also created an alliance between the worst of the pirates and slavers in Vega."

"I felt it was better than your plan, as it was explained to me. The level of collateral damage that would have happened if the fighting on Raggashoon had continued in the way you hoped it might would have been appalling."

Kalista glances at Pren for a moment. "What happened to Felicity?"

"I took her on a brief sightseeing trip on Tamaran and then left her with a slave rehabilitation charity in the Crown Imperium. I don't know what she's done since then, but that was where I last saw her."

There's a sort of rumble from Gaharrugh, and the navy officer next to him lowers her sidearm. "The alliance you created is the reason why the Karnan Fleet is trying to take back our homeworld without the Crown Imperium's overt aid. What do you plan to do to make up for all of the Karnans who died because our strongest ally is forced to keep their fleet back to guard against your pirate friends?!"

Not a trace of red. His words are pure posturing.

"Nothing, actually. If you ask nicely I might do something for you, but I don't consider myself even slightly obliged to you." I turn around and regard the soldiers with contempt. "Put those down before I insert them in you."

Behind me, Gaharrugh nods. The guns are lowered and I return my attention to the table.

"What exactly are you trying to achieve here?"

"We're liberating our home, and destroying one of the remaining centres of the Citadel Alliance."

"Exactly how many gordanian civilians are you planning on 'liberating'?"

He glowers. "As many as it takes."

"I prefer low body counts. With the clans most closely allied to the Citadel largely gone, I don't really bear any sort of grudge against those who remain. And from the sounds of things… Are you planning on going after Emana after this? And the Wombworld?"

Nods.

"I'm not exactly thrilled with-."

Gaharrugh bears his teeth.

"You allied yourself with pirates, slavers and cannibals. If you aren't going to help, then go! Before I kill you myself!"

"Not just yet." I raise my right hand to my forehead once more. "See you shortly."

 

[Ganurath]

But since I'm here, I should at least see if I can make the situation less bad.

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I never liked that song. Bad memories of childhood.

 

[Ej190]

Not gonna lie, I'm kinda lost ..

 

[Buggy123]

I... don't remember this situation well enough to tell what's going on. Is this commander is the guy in charge of the freedom fighter sorta-guys who sent Felicity to assassinate the spider queen?

I never liked that song. Bad memories of childhood.

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I tried listening to it, and then a few seconds in I got a painful earful of badly compressed saxophone. Maybe it sounds better in-person or when recorded properly.

 

[hance1986]

You actions have been both a help and a hindrance.

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should be ' your '

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Using the burned-out wreck of a gordanian battlecruiser for concealment, I have my ring give me a more detailed picture of near-Karna space than my own eyes could give me while simultaneously trying to piece together the contents of the ship's computer.

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Quite a mess, eh?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Sadly, gordanains aren't big fans of automation or centralisation.

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Sadly, gordanians aren't big fans of automation or centralisation.

The data I want is spread out across a dozen local data stores, at least some of which were critically damaged during the fighting which slew the ship. There aren't any backups onboard the ship and most gordanian clans don't do off-site backups either. They also don't seem to think that keeping a historical database onboard their ships is worthwhile…

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How inconsiderate...

Ah. Not unexpectedly, once word got out that the Tearing Bite clan had lost most of their warfleet, the Gizzard Spiker clan decided to finish the job. Rather than simply absorb their fellow Citadel allies, or support them for favours later, they decided to annihilate the competition. But that broke pax domum, which was all the other clans who wanted Gizzard Spiker taken down a peg or two to needed to justify weighing in. And then some idiot blew up the Citadel, which threw every alliance into confusion... And then, just when things were starting to die down…

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Ah, snowball effects. lovely stuff.

I don't know any of these people, and there's no obvious route that doesn't involve slaughtering one side or the other… Or at the very least forcibly relocating far more people than I could move. Best case scenario… Some sort of rerun of the partition of India, moving each people to their continent of origin when some of them have never lived there and don't actually want to move.

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And we've seen how well that worked out, multiple times in multiple places...

Who? Who? The only contacts I might have would be surviving members of Tearing Bite, and I doubt that they actually want to hear from me. I could ask Amalak to try taking the area, or… Providing a neutral force…

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That'd be like letting the fox into the henhouse and saying "Take your pick."

"Mini-Beast the spider-fucker."

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No, OL, you aren't going to live that down, ever.

"Is it? When the Citadel Complex was destroyed, I held out a small hope that whoever did it would liberate my own home at the same time. And yet, here we are. You did nothing to help us, we begin the process of liberating ourselves-"

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Very sloppy, OL.

"So you're sponsored by the Crown Imperium. Generous of them. Though I suppose that proxy-fighting is the only way to prevent Vega acting in concert against them."

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Oh boy, Vega's turned into Space Afghanistan. Well Done, OL.

You actions have been both a help and a hindrance.

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Your actions have been both a help and a hindrance.

"I felt it was better than your plan, as it was explained to me. The level of collateral damage that would have happened if the fighting on Raggashoon had continued in the way you hoped it might would have been appalling."

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"Admittedly, it could have been handled better... but I wasn't as high a level then."

Not a trace of red. His words are pure posturing.

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Bit hard to intimidate someone who can see you're not serious about it.

"Nothing, actually. If you ask nicely I might do something for you, but I don't consider myself even slightly obliged to you." I turn around and regard the soldiers with contempt. "Put those down before I insert them in you."

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Heh, little bit Renegade. Getting annoyed?

He glowers. "As many as it takes."

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Ah, not planning on leaving survivors then.

"You allied yourself with pirates, slavers and cannibals. If you aren't going to help, then go! Before I kill you myself!"

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Cannibalism only counts if they eat their own species. The Spider guild are simply carnivorious.

Well... That went well... Always interesting to see the fallout of earlier questlines...

Not gonna lie, I'm kinda lost ..

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All of OL's actions first time he was here are coming home to roost. And it's not pretty.

 

[DrThoth]

This individual Karnan doesn't seem actually angry or hateful about things (besides anything Gordanian) but I agree enough with the points he's making.
I thought Adam Blake and the princesses were looking out for all of Vega though- seems like something at least Blackfire would want to do.

 

[Mr Zoat]

should be ' your '

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Sadly, gordanains aren't big fans of automation or centralisation.
Sadly, gordanians aren't big fans of automation or centralisation.

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Thank you, corrected.

All of OL's actions first time he was here are coming home to roost. And it's not pretty.

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There was never going to be a pretty solution. Don't assume that the Renegade got one just because the slaughter took place off-screen.

 

[B.B. Rain]

There was never going to be a pretty solution. Don't assume that the Renegade got one just because the slaughter took place off-screen.

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Wait, so this is actually happening in-story? I thought you jumped right into an in-character test of the Vega-based RPG without a segue, given how the prior post ended.

 

[Buggy123]

There was never going to be a pretty solution. Don't assume that the Renegade got one just because the slaughter took place off-screen.

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I mean... He had a body count in the millions, including the extinction of at least two entire races. Even if they were generally acceptable targets, that's still quite ugly right from the start.

Wait, so this is actually happening in-story? I thought you jumped right into an in-character test of the Vega-based RPG without a segue, given how the prior post ended.

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Oh, that would be pretty clever. I didn't even think of that possibility.

 

[Pinklestia]

Oh, that would be pretty clever. I didn't even think of that possibility.

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Oh El seema to get in way too many "simulations".

I guess Grayven tends to avoid that due to his mental shields?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Wait, so this is actually happening in-story? I thought you jumped right into an in-character test of the Vega-based RPG without a segue, given how the prior post ended.

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No, this is actually happening.