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OOC Black Knights/Byakuren Discussion

I'm afraid there's nothing I can really do to further the Celine side of what you're roleplaying, Blas.

I'll explain:
part of the inherent experience I wanted to provide for this scenario was a feeling of uncertainty, being bottled up, isolated, cornered. I meant for you guys to be experiencing a fish-in-a-bowl perspective.

Basically, you don't know what is going on outside. The rogue samurai could have come as part of a large invasion fleet, keeping the Star Army at bay. They could be cooperating with Mishhu invaders in a Second Battle of Yamatai. Or the Star Army could already be onsite, in force, just about to defeat the attackers. Indulging Celine means in part answering that - I won't.

I also don't want to have to decide how far in Yamataian security she can go up. I can take responsability for my bad guys in regard to Yamatai's defenses; but ruling on Celine opens a Pandora's box of how nepleslian civilians (and not the intel branch of their military) can fare against Yamatai's cyberdefenses at a high state of alert. It's probably also ideal to not place her in a situation where SAINT could eventually track her down as a potential perpetrator.

Make no mistake, your roleplaying of the Claymere family present a pleasant window into the world Nyton comes from, but Nyton is your 'hero', not Celine. I'm going to focus on him.
 
Yeah I understand being uncertain on how to proceed with computers and virtual matrix situations. These really isn't much guidance in these things. I've looked it up and we have a really good framework and description of the network. I'm reading the SYNC, PANTHEON, PANT-IES, Nodes, Network, etc. We don't have a story precedent on how it works outside of star ship operations. Since this is a star ship based RP I can't find much about hacker wars. It all reads like a really powerful, stable, and highly connected futuristic internet. Unfortunately, just like today, the bigger the system, the harder it is to defend everything.

Long exposition short, for the sake of application to the story, I think at best Celine would only be able to offer maybe a +2 Luck buff to the crew, maybe an extra saving throw. She doesn't have to know everything nor would she really change or be able to affect the fish bowl mentality. The more she tries to interact with the greater the chance of detection. If she wants to be able to affect devices (whatever it may be) she'll want to keep her interaction to a minimum. Especially if she's not there looking to dig up military secrets or act as a hostile entity.

Long exposition long, no system is perfect. From what I've read and from the direction I'm seeing just modern day technology going, the dangers of interconnected systems are just as severe here as they are today. There are tons of ways for someone to find a back door or less guarded access point. Even if you guarded everything, some things would need to connect with others and to restrict it removes it's ability to function. As for how its possible to hack just about anything, from everything I've read, the system is very interwoven. It's like super universal wi-fi. If we want things to work how they do, it would be needed so wires are no longer as much of an issue except where isolation is needed.

You know what, I found a better way to explain things. From my time working with security, I can say a lot of this is pretty legit and the guy on Game Theory does his homework. And yeah, I understand Watch_Dogs is..... contrived and we don't have convenient high pressure pipes and devices everywhere. No guarantee the links work. >_>



 
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Next GM post up!

The promised stabbings are at hand!
It's a chaotic thing to keep track of. It's not exactly obvious to make sure one stealth neko is actually the same or another moments later. In the meantime, you have visible samurai crashing into your numbers, trying to overwhelm your defenses which are unfortunately not that good at point-blank range.

Fortunately for the PCs, the attention is not directed solely at them... but there's only so many skilled samurai that other samurai can keep at bay. Even more so for the SSS people that are more astronauts than they are soldiers. Fortunately, Himiko does show she's not as defenseless as people think she is.

@Tom @Nyton @Doshii Jun @Khasidel
Again, keep the replies active. We have some good momentum going, keep it up :)
 
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I have work today and no access to a real keyboard so holidays and Black Friday sales (ugh) are keeping me busy. Have my post rough in my head but no time to virtua type it. Should be able to get it out tomorrow.
 
Another GM post; looks like things may be looking up!

The group resist the stabbings. Nyton's mind over matter got him this far, but when he was about to reach his limit, Reika came in and showed the Shadow Vipers just what she'd been training to do for the past 3+ years. There you go Reika: all those times Reika restrained from making out with Kotori while training were actually worth it! Hakushu hakushu!

In the meantime, Yukari shoots all the devices and, given a moment to aim, shows that she can actually headshot the things she can see. Suzume shows that eating brains wasn't part of her gastronomic ambitions. And Tom - as the most ordinary guy around - is like a low-budget Startrek movie: he manages to do a good job with a tiny budget. He also notices that if they stay, they're pretty much very badly fucked.

But then, Kotori brings in her samurai-killing giant robot with laser eyes (batteries sold separately). So, what are they supposed to do when the GM sends mixed-signals?

@Tom @Nyton @Doshii Jun @Khasidel
Post more to find out! :p
 
Question; was the Viper Nyton was fighting dispatched by the attempted point blank fire or is he still fighting her? Doesn't matter to me if she evaded or he's getting overrun by others, just trying to get an idea on how many he and Reika are dealing with this second. The numbers don't really matter since outnumbered is still outnumbered.
 
Well, given that what happened was:
- Nyton tries to shoot enemy in the face to afterwards have the maneuvering room to go see Reika
- Reika gratefully accepts Nyton's help

I kind of figured the best flow for writing was to imply Nyton had succeeded to keep things moving along. So, I figured best to give Nyton that victory, especially given how Reika was looking good too. A cookie for everyone! (except Suzume, she gets semi-crispy brain matter)

@Tom is in an odd spot for me, because he's oddly the less super-human person involved in a fight full of powerhouses (the seed ironically makes Nyton kind of super-human himself, Reika's an Eihei that practiced a long time to perform better in this kind of fight, Yukari's a flying/gun genius, Kotori is her usual OP). Given that, I try to put his focus on where it mattered to him in the past: alertness, teamwork and how to apply the little strength he has where it can make the greatest difference. Tom's heroics aren't glamorous, but I felt him working to give others breathing room while remaining unassailable was the best way for him to compensate for your group still being badly outnumbered.
 
We would be F'd without Tom. (The opposite for Yukari. HAW IS GOOD JOKE)

We need someone to remind us to get in gear and keep together. With the personalities we have, inevitably we'll need Tom to ground everyone in what's important.

"Uh guys, save the Empress AND Kotori, right?"
 
Shoot, it ain't about the kill count, it's cool. Cookies are cool. Brain cookies not so much.

Just wanted clarity to know how 'clear' Nyton and Reika were to maneuver for retreat. Besides, Tom has star power. After all the blood is said and done, everyone swoons for Tom.
 
Tom's just tryin' his best in this mad, mad world we live in. Y'all are such sweeties! XD

Been working on some new VA auditions which is why my last post was a bit late. Sorry!
 
Next post is up.
@Tom @Nyton @Doshii Jun @Khasidel
That went south quickly.

Ebi Nadeko just managed with a gun something more easily than all the power armored Black Knights grouped together, or an entire SAINT power armored fireteam, could achieve.

If your next post for your character doesn't somehow contribute to leaving the bay, it likely will constitute in certain death.

Also, translation:
Nigete Kudasai: "Get the fuck out! Please."
 
She's too far away. With the sheer amount of opponents around (5 to 1 odds against) you're likely to get cut down before reaching her, even if you're a fast flyer.

Even assuming you reach her, you'd need to deal with Ebi Nadeko. Who has shown a remarkable proficiency at stabbing.
 
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