PROGENITOR: WORM (A Wormquest AU)

DragonCobolt · Nov 29, 2021

SUSPICION	TECHNOLOGY	ECONOMY	WARFARE
2	3	3	2

THE METRIC DATA IS NOT AVALAIBLE TO YOUR CHARACTER UNLESS THEY HAVE SUPERHUMAN (10+) DICE IN MIND.
YOU MAY CHECK THE METRICS, BUT YOU MUST NOT ACT UPON THEM.
IF YOU START DOING MONKEY BEESKNEES, THEN I'LL REMOVE THESE.
BUT THEY'RE NEAT, SO DON'T MAKE ME DO THAT.

THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE STONEWALL NINE

TEAM MORALE: Dissolved (1/4), Fraying (1/2), Bad (3/4), Average (x1), Good (x1.5), Excellent (x2), Found Family (x3)
TEAM HEADQUARTERS: Yggdrasil, the World Tree
TEAM ALLIES: NYPD (Grudging), Stan Lee (Eager), Cam Nguyet (Whether You Want Her Or Not), Amanda Sykes, Abe Sykes
TEAM ENEMIES: Don Crawler (Nemesis) [IN JAIL], Glasshead (Nemesis) [IN JAIL], Miss Eyes (Nemisis) [IN JAIL], Zipperneck (Rival) [IN JAIL],
Cam Nguyet (Whether You Want Her Or Not)

TEAM WARDS: Tina Shaw, Amy Sykes, Cassie the Humanoid Force, Sloppy Joe, Aisha Laborn, Camilo Vera, Jill Danning

Lily Satō, Head of the Stonewall Nine

AGE: 19 (DOB: 1951)
PASSION: Girls [7], Fuck the Cops [4], Superheroing [1]
LOYALTY: Queer Rights [7], Your Friends [5], , A Better World [1]
BASE WILL: 25 | XP: 1

Lily has seen nothing but hassle from New York's finest and is damn sure not going to let them push her around. And now, finally, a queer woman can hit back harder than the patriarchy does.

BODY	CORD.	SENSE	MIND	CHARM	COMMAND
1d+1wd	6d	3d	3d	2d	2d

Lily, before becoming a metahuman, was perceptive and smart, but had the strength and endurance of a sixteen year old girl after a bad cold. Afterwards, she could become incredibly strong if she manipulated the physics of the items she touched, or the clothing she wore to augment herself. Her max press was five tons without any additional effort, a top speed of 40 MPH for running, and a vertical jump of 8 yards. Also, she can dodge bullets.

SKILLS (Broad, Flexible, Influence)
[Any] New Yorker, Japanese-American, Delinquent (B/F/-): 3d
[Any] Being a Lesbian in the 1960s (B/F/-): 3d
[Any] Superhero (B/F/I): 1d
[Coordination] Sneaking (-/-/-): 2d
[Coordination] Lockpicking (-/-/-): 2d
[Mind] Speak Vietnamese (-/-/-): 1d
[Mind] Speak Russia (-/-/-): 1d
[Mind - Hyperskill] Intuitive Physicist (B/-/-): 6hd
[Charm] Voice of the People (-/-/I): 1d
[Command] Stubbornness (-/-/-): 3d

Lily, before becoming a metahuman, was the bad apple of her family. A second generation Japanese immigrant, she doesn't like or respect her parents - if only because she's grimly determined they'd freak out if they found out what she...felt about other women. She's good at sneaking out and has spent more time at Stonewall than she has at school, as her grades will attest. She's got a stubborn attitude and is about ten years early for punk and ten years late for the Beatniks. She makes do.

ARCHETYPE: METAHUMAN
Source: Unknown | Permission: Super
Intrinsics:

Immutable: Barring superhuman assistance, gadgets, or something wildly unexpected, Lily's powers will not change or improve.

Infectious: Lily is either a strong, stable or weak vector (she doesn't know which.) If she's strong, she has a 100% infection rate until she reaches power equilibrium. If she's stable, she has an 80% shot (the joy of being a Tier 3.) If she's weak, she's got a 10% shot. Infection passes when she uses her powers on anything sentient.

POWERS

Not So Little Anymore...
Dice: 1wd

Hyperbody (+4), No Physics (+1), Booster [2] (+2), If/Then [Must Be Wearing Clothes Over The Parts Used] (-1), Obvious (-1)

Cost per Die: 5 | Total Cost: 20

By adjusting, in minute and gross ways, the physical properties of either what she carries and her own clothing, Lily effectively has her very own suit of strength enhancing exoskeletal structures. This imparts incredibly precise control to her blows, her athleticism, and her jumping. This isn't a subtle effect - her body emits strange flashes and odd noises as air and light interacts unpredictably with her physics alterations.

Fast as a Thought
Dice: 4d

Hypercoordination (+4), No Physics (+1), Go First [2] (+2), If/Then [Must Be Wearing Clothes Over The Parts Used] (-1), Obvious (-1)

Cost per Die: 5 | Total Cost: 20

Just like with her body, but this covers her reflexes as well. She can dodge bullets! ...not that she HAS too. The flashing and eerie hissing makes stealth hard, so she prefers to turn it off when she's sneaking anywhere.

Intuitive Physicist
Dice: 6hd
Hyperskill [[Mind]General Physicist (B/-/-)] (+1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 12
She's intuitively a PHD equipped physicist on par with Albert Einstein. Maybe better, actually. She literally can't NOT know the exact right answer to any physics question. This really helps, considering her powers.

Everything is a Gun
Dice: 8d+1wd
Range: 2,560 Yards | Mass: Knockback = Base Damage + 6 meters | Base Damage: Width in Shock & Killing

Attack (+2), Area [1d] (+1) Spray [1d) (+1), Heightened Capacity [Mass] (+1), Penetration [2] (+2), Power Capacity [Mass] (+2), Speeding Bullet (+2), If/Then [Must Touch an Object] (-1), Obvious (-1)

Cost Per Die: 9 | Total Cost: 108

By touching an object (any object, really) and canceling their mass and lateral motion relative to the planet Earth, she can turn anything, from an apple to a doorknob to a manhole cover into a projectile. By touching a lot of objects (I.E, using spray), she can hit as many times as she gets sets. By making sure to touch relatively fragile objects and creating deliberate fracture points, she turns the weapon into a kind of kinetic shotgun (using Area.) People hit by this tend to go flying (using the Power Capacity [Mass]), but she can just use narrow blades if she just wants to do the slicing and slashing. The only problem is if she can't touch things with her skin (it has to be a skin to skin contact) it won't work. Oh. Also, the sonic booms.

No
Dice: 10hd
Range: 512 yards

Defends (+2), Power Capacity [Range] (+2), Spray (+1), Obvious (-1), Limited Capacity (-1), If/Then [Must have a Medium to Manipulate] (-1)

Cost Per Die: 3 | Total Cost: 40

By glaring at the air around her, she can render it impenetrable to whatever is coming her way. Maybe the air molecules suddenly lose the ability to move at all and become an impenetrable wall that simply bounces a kinetic projectile off, or negating an explosive's ability to undergo chemical interactions that lead to detonations, or making the air molecules ahead of her simply non-conductive to whatever energy blast is heading her way. This is not subtle - producing bright flashes, loud booms, and strange changes in local atmospheric conditions as the interactions become chaotic beyond the immediate radius. The maximum number of people or places she can protect at once is five people, but the more people she tries to protect, the less effective the defense is. It's literally impenetrable when she's just protecting one person, but if she's protecting five at once, a fast shot or lucky hit might get through.

Physical Fuckery
Dice: 5wd

Range: N/A | Mass: N/A | Speed: N/A

Attacks (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Must Be Related to Repressing a Physical Law] (-1), Locational [Head, R. Arm, L. Arm, Body, R. Leg, L. Leg] (-6)

Defends (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Must Be Related to Repressing a Physical Law] (-1), Locational [Head, R. Arm, L. Arm, Body, R. Leg, L. Leg] (-6)

Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Must Be Related to Repressing a Physical Law] (-1), Locational [Head, R. Arm, L. Arm, Body, R. Leg, L. Leg] (-6)

Cost Per Die: 6 | Total Cost: 120

Whenever she puts her mind to it, Lily can do something. If it can be done by suppressing a physical property or law, she can do it. Needless to say, once she realizes how her power works, she starts studying the hell of out physics. This is really easy, thanks to her intuitive understanding of physics. However, this power requires her to be able to use every SINGLE iota of her body's contact with the surrounding universe. If she has taken any trauma to any part of her body, then these powers short out. If she gets a chance to refocus, she can reestablish her control...unless the body part in question is too damaged to be used (I.E, filled with any combination of shock or killing damage.) In which case, she simply cannot tap into this ability to manipulate the universe. She simply lacks the holistic connection to the universe.

Seriously, Though, everything?
Dice: 1d
Range: Self Only

Attacks (+2), Attack Quality [10] (+10), Augment (+4), Area [10d] (+10), Booster [10] (+10), Burning (+2), Engulf (+2), Penetration [10] (+10), Radius [5] (+10), If/Then [Augment Only] (-1), If/Then [Cannot Spend Use Augment for anything but "Everything Is a Gun"] (-1), If/Then [Must Be Manipulating Matter On A Scale Permitting The Impacts She Wishes] (-1), Self Only (-3)

Cost Per Die: 54 | Total Cost: 54

Hey, what if she touches a mountain face and she negates its inertia and lateral motion for a flash of a second and turns Everest into a five kilometer high rock shotgun? Well, uh...take your pick! Add all of the above! If she uses a chemical tanker, it might explode. If she uproots an oil derrick, it will set things on fire. Anything justifiable in the scene, she can do it. She will have to spend a willpower point to do this. Oh, and be willing to accept the consequences.

Confident as Hell
Dice: N/A
Base Will (+3), Attached [Hyperbody] (-2)
Cost Per Point: 1 | Total Cost: 26
Lifting five tons over her head, running as fast a car, and being aware she doesn't have to be afraid anymore all combine to create a staggering, preposterous level of raw confidence. This is good, cause it makes her good at fighting supervillains and changing the world. The only problem is that if that hyperbody ever goes away...poof. There goes the confidence. Good thing that won't happen! ...right?

Andy Richter, Time Thief and Genius Gadgeteer

Andy's Powers

ANDY HAS 11 BASE WILL.

Hypermind
Dice: 4wd
Hyperbrain (+4), If/Then [Must be within 10 meters of any form if electrical equipment) (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted by wrapping his head in a Faraday cage] (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted with any form of non-physical radar jamming too] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 12

More Hypermind
Dice: 2wd
Hyperbrain (+4) If/Then [Must be within 10 meters of a pretty hefty chunk of computers) (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted by wrapping his head in a Faraday cage] (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted with any form of non-physical radar jamming too] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 8

Even More Hypermind
Dice: 2wd
Hyperbrain (+4) If/Then [Must be within 10 meters of even more computer components) (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted by wrapping his head in a Faraday cage] (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted with any form of non-physical radar jamming too] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 8

Dear God, Sir, How Much More Hypermind Do you Need!?
Dice: 2wd
Hyperbrain (+4) If/Then [Must be within 10 meters of a pretty hefty chunk of computers) (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted by wrapping his head in a Faraday cage] (-1), If/Then [Can be disrupted with any form of non-physical radar jamming too] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 8

When Andy is within ten meters of any kind of electrically conductive material harnessed for human ends – lamp posts and microwaves, toasters and hair driers – he becomes smarter than the smartest human being in the world. If those electrically conductive materials are arranged into a computer of some kind, then he becomes a lot smarter, and he gets more and more smarter the more and more computers are around him. Eventually, he hits the four way tie for smartest monkey on this marble. Unfortunately, unlike some metahumans, Andy's "exocortex" is suspended on physical matter and communicated to him via electromagnetic signals, meaning they can be blocked or removed by his enemies.

Time Snatch
Dice: 2hd
Mass: 2.5 kg or less
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Limited Capacity (-1)
Cost Per Die: 5 | Total Cost: 20

Andy has a fascination with electrical gizmos and computers. But the 1960s was not enough for his subconscious. He is able to reach forward in time into parallel universes and, uh...steal stuff. The stuff can only come from other universes, and he can't do more than 2.5 kilograms at a time, making the stuff he REALLY wants (quantum computers, spaceship engines, laser guns) slightly tricky.

I Can Make Whatever You Want
Dice: 5hd+10d+5wd

Attacks (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), Delayed Effect (-2), If/Then [Variable Effect Requires at least 6wd of Hyperbrain to be active] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect is only for Technology] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Any Gadget Made Must Have the Manufacturable Extra] (-1), Willpower Investment (-1)
Defends (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), Delayed Effect (-2), If/Then [Variable Effect Requires at least 6wd of Hyperbrain to be active] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect is only for Technology] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Any Gadget Made Must Have the Manufacturable Extra] (-1), Willpower Investment (-1)
Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), Delayed Effect (-2), If/Then [Variable Effect Requires at least 6wd of Hyperbrain to be active] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect is only for Technology] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Any Gadget Made Must Have the Manufacturable Extra] (-1), Willpower Investment (-1)
Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Delayed Effect (-2), Touch Only (-2)
Cost Per Die: 7 | Total Cost: 280

Hokay. So! Andy can make gadgets. He's, in fact, one of the better gadgeters in the world – in part because he doesn't NEED A LABORATORY. He doesn't NEED supplies. Because he just...uh...borrows them from the future. (Note, if he chooses to not borrow things from the future, then he will need a laboratory, but won't get a rebate in points.) The gadgets he makes can be, eventually, learned to be recreated by non-metahumans. Now, it still takes him some time to actually build a gadget! Now, there is one tiny problem: He needs to be smart enough to do any of this, and that means that if he's in a Faraday cage helmet, then he's shit outta luck.

Oh, also, the last useful ability is the ability to deconstruct other people's foci. So, if he finds a gadget in the wild, he can take it apart and gets all the Willpower used to build the device in the first place. This is why gadgteers tend to HATE one another. He can also deconstruct any device he's built to get the willpower he invested in it back.

Base Will
Dice: N/A
Base Will (+3), Attached [Hypermind] (-2)
Cost Per Point: 1 | Total Cost: 14

He's a driven, focused guy.

Sabah Attar, Girl Who's Under Your Skin

SABAH HAS 8 BASE WILL

Puppets
Dice: 2hd+8d
Range: Touch/5,450 Yards
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Delayed Effect (-2) If/Then [Needs Materials To Make Them From] (-1), If/Then [Can only use hard dice with skin] (-1), Touch Only (-2)
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Attached [Telekinesis] (-2)
Cost Per Die: 4 | Total Cost: 48

By using her telekinesis to sew together, uh, material - don't tell people it's skin, please don't tell people it works best with skin - Sabah is able to make incredibly useful puppets. With a 2x10 result, she can make 10 of them. They last forever and are perfectly loyal to her! ...so long as they're within about three miles. Once beyond that, they act on their own recognizance. She CAN make it with non-skin and she's even pretty good at it, but it is kind of tricky and doesn't always make the best minions. (a 2x1 to 2x3 result produces Rabble, while a 2x4 to 2x6 makes trained minions, and 2x7 to 2x8 makes professionals. 2x10 make Elites.

Matterkinesis
Dice: 9d+1wd
Range: 510 Yards | Mass: 1.28 Tons| Speed: 128 Yards
Attacks (+2), High Capacity [Mass, Range] (+2), Power Capacity [Mass, Range] (+4), Spray [1d] (+1), If/Then [Only Manipulates Unliving Matter] (-1), Limited Capacity (-1)
Defend (+2), Power Capacity [Range] (+2), Spray [1d] (+1), If/Then [Only Manipulates Unliving Matter] (-1), Limited Capacity (-1)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), High Capacity [Mass, Range] (+2), Power Capacity [Mass, Range] (+4), Spray [1d] (+1), If/Then [Only Manipulates Unliving Matter] (-1), Limited Capacity (-1)
Cost Per Die: 19 | Total Cost: 247 points

This is the big shebang. Sabah is able to manipulate non-living matter to move it around. She's pretty weak. For...a tier 4, meaning she can "only" lift a 1.2 ton boulder off the ground from a "mere" 510 yards and "barely" throw it at 128 MPH. Guh. What a chump, right? This power can defend, attack, and manipulate matter. The matter that she manipulates tends to "stick" to what it was doing for about an hour - so if she flings a rock upwards at 128 MPH, then it'll keep going straight up at that speed for an hour before falling down.

Specialty Puppets
Dice: 2hd
Range: Touch
Attack (+2), Duration (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Attached [Puppets] (-2), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only Is Attached to Puppets] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Can Mimic Expert Minion Abilities] (-1), Touch Only (-2)
Defend (+2), Duration (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Attached [Puppets] (-2), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only Is Attached to Puppets] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Can Mimic Expert Minion Abilities] (-1), Touch Only (-2)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Attached [Puppets] (-2), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Only Is Attached to Puppets] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Can Mimic Expert Minion Abilities] (-1), Touch Only (-2)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 4

When she makes puppets, the puppets can do stuff that they would reasonably be able to do. If she makes a bunch of ninja costumes, they get the Elite Ability: Stealth, allowing them to do what minions normally cannot (sneak into buildings without being spotted.) She can attach any elite ability she wants to these puppets!

Armed Puppets
Dice: 2hd
Range: Touch
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Attached [Puppets] (-2), Touch Only (-2)
Cost Per Die: 2 | Total Cost: 8

...is that a puppet? HE'S GOT A GUN!? BLAM BLAM! If this power is used after the puppet power, then the puppets have guns and can do their damage in S/K damage. The guns look like they're made of felt cloth or bone depending on if Sabah is making them out of which cloth - but no matter how impossible the gun looks, it still can kill.

Immune Puppets
Dice: 2hd
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Variable Effect (+4), Attached [Puppets] (-2), If/Then [Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect is for Immunities Only] (-1), Self Only (-3)
Cost Per Die: 3 | Total Cost: 12

These puppets don't need to breathe, cannot be poisoned by gas, cannot get cancer, radiation, "live" I guess, forever, and are immune to pretty much whatever would kill a normal human other than straight out physical damage.

Self Stitching
Dice: 2hd
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Engulf (+2), No Physics (+1), Self Only (-3)
Cost Per Die: 6 | Total Cost: 24

Sabah hopefully doesn't learn about this for a while. But the instant her own flesh dies, she can control it and can instinctively stitch it back together again. This effects her entire body. At the most extreme case, if she is completely atomized, she will reconstitute herself in approximately sixty seconds. She will not enjoy doing this, but she can do it. Death for Sabah now requires some equally permanent effect or for her to lose her powers.

Touch Up
Dice: 1d
Hypercharm (+4)
Cost Per Die: 4 | Total Cost: 1d

Like most teens of any gender or sexuality, Sabah has a few hangups about her body. A few wrinkles gone, a bit less sag here and there. Most people won't notice, but they're gone.

Base Will
Points: 1
Base Will (+3)
Cost Per Point: 3 | Total Cost: 1

She's just a bit more confident. Also, I had 3 points to spare

Lisa Wilbourn, Nose Who Knows

LISA HAS 12 BASE WILL

Become a Foxgirl
Dice: 2hd
Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Self Only (-3)
Cost Per Die: 2 | Total Cost: 8

Lisa becomes a fox girl!

Elementary
Dice: 5wd
Hyperskill [Broad, Flexible] (+2), No Physics (+1), If/Then [The wild dice must be set to the value of the normal die rolled] (-2)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 20

Why, it's elementary, my dear Watson! This is a broad and flexible skill that covers all manners of detective and investigation sneakery. It has no physics, allowing for preposterous levels of information to be drawn, far beyond what would normally be available from a mere glance. The only problem is that it is somewhat dependent on her own mind (5d.) So, if she rolls a 4, 3, 2, 1 in her normal mind dice, she'd HAVE to get a 5x4 - a fast, but not necessarily correct deduction.

Bang
Dice: 10wd
Hyperskill [Broad] (+1)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 40

She's quite possibly the best shot on the planet with any gun or gun like object. This is a byproduct of her incredibly focused intellect.

Coordinated Like A Fox
Dice: 10wd
Hypercoordination (+4), Attached [Fox Girl] (-2)
Total Cost Per Die: 2 | Total Cost: 80

When she is a fox girl, she is able to preform feats of physical coordination that defy imagination. Dodge bullets? She can CATCH bullets. She can shoot bullets WITH HER OWN BULLETS.

Can't Touch This
Dice: 1d
Hyperskill [Narrow] (+0), Interference (+3), Duration(+2), Attached [Fox Girl] (-2)
Total Cost Per Die: 4 | | Total Cost: 3

Remember when I said she can dodge bullets? Say she gets shot at. She rolls a 10x10 using her coordination+ this skill. This now on for the rest of the battle. She can dodge all the bullets forever until the battle is over.

The Nose Knows
Dice: 10wd
Hypersense (+4), Attached [Fox girl] (-2)
Cost Per Die: 2 | Total Cost: 80

Her senses are so preposterously attuned to the world around her that she can see in the dark, read by touch, identify targets by smell, differentiate between distinct sounds in a symphony by their subtle differences, and can sense movement up to a quarter of a mile away.

Oh Shit
Dice: 2hd
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), No Physics (+1), Radius [13] (+26), Self Only (-3), Uncontrolled (-2), Attached [Fox Girl] (-2)
Cost Per Die: 26 | Total Cost: 104

This is a power no one knows she has. Because it's not really a power exactly. It's a combination of her incredible senses and her deductive reasoning. Here's how it works. If anything catastrophic happens within 12 hours - the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, a space station knocked out of orbit and smashed into the ground - and it happens somewhere within 50 miles around Lisa, this power triggers. The game resets to that point with her waking up from a prophetic dream put together by her subconscious, aware of exactly what she did during that day. Once she realizes this power exists (and, also, the 50 mile limit to when it triggers) she is going to be INCREDIBLY CLINGY.

Base Will
Points: 5
Base Will (+3)
Cost Per Die: 3 | Total Cost: 15

She's confident, like most of you, because she has superpowers.

Theo Anders, Arm of the Resistance

THEO HAS 7 BASE WILL

Limb Field
Dice: 8+2wd
Hyperbody (+4), Booster [+8], No Physics (+1), On Sight (+1), Endless (+3), Power Capacity [Range] (+2), Radius [1] (+2), Spray [1] (+1), If/Then [Only for arms] (-1), If/Then [Requires Local Materials] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 20 | Total Cost: 320

So! Everything within a 3 mile range can be touched by Theo by manifesting an arm made of local materials (air, if nothing's there, but he can also use cloth, bits of stone, metal, anything that he can use to reach through.) This does mean it doesn't work in a vacuum, but it can work in an extremely thin atmosphere or with local dirt if he was, say, on the Moon. Anywho, he can make as many arms as he want (for example, if there were twenty people in a ten yard radius, he could make 20 arms to grab each of them by the scruff of their necks.) What is more, he can use this power through screens to cheat the distance. If he sees someone on TV, he can manifest an arm there and pants them! Cool!

Anywho, these arms can lift 1.28 trillion tons, last forever unless he is killed or runs out of willpower. They can throw a 1.6 ton object nearly a tenth of a mile. They can punch someone so hard that they'll go flying 48 yards BEFORE you figure for any extra damage. And did I mention they defy the laws of physics - so, he can pick up a building without spilling the coffee cups inside? Cool!

Tougher Than He Looks
Dice: 3hd
Defends (+2), Endless (+3), Hardened Armor (+2), Armored Defense (-2)
Cost Per Die: 5 | Total Cost: 30

He's tougher than he looks. He has 3 levels of Light Armor, which reduces shock damage to 1, then converts 3 levels of killing damage to shock. So, if he was thrown into a wall for 5s/2k like poor Ned, he'd take 1s/2k, then the 2k would be turned to shock, so that's a total of 3s - a bad bruise, not a potentially life threatening spine snap.

Rachel Lindt, Houndmistress Extraordinaire

RACHEL HAS 9 BASE WILL

Pet Their Heads And They Wag their Tails
Dice: 2hd+2d
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Touch Only (-2)
Hypermind (+4), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), If/Then [Does Not Provide Hard Dice To Canines] (-1)
Points Per Die: 5 | Total Cost: 30

When Rachel pets a dog, the dog wags their tail! Also, she can now talk to this dog, forever, at any time, using normal conversational English. She can also understand the dog's response. Oh! Also, the dog gets +1d to its mind as hypermind, bumping it from an animalistic 0d to a human level 2d. Good dog! Who's a good pupper?

Make My Doggy GROW!
Dice: 3hd+6d+2wd
Range: 5,120 yards
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), On Sight (+1), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Obvious (-1)
Hyperbody (+4), Booster [2] (+2) Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make My Doggy Grow] (-2)
Hypercoordination (+4), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make My Doggy Grow] (-2)
Defends (+2), Duration (+2), Armored Defense (-2), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make My Doggy Grow] (-2)
Defends (+2), Duration (+2), Interference (+3), Armored Defense (-2), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make My Doggy Grow] (-2)
Attacks (+2), Penetration [5] (+5), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make My Doggy Grow] (-2)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), Engulf (+2), Attached [Pet their heads] (-2), Attached [Make my Doggy Grow] (-2), Self Only (-3)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), Attached [Pet their Heads] (-2), Attached [Make my Doggy Grow] (-2)
Points Per Die: 13 | 260

If a dog that Rachel has petted is within range - or even just visible through a screen, or...she can talk to it over a phone (note to self: Invent radio collars for her dogs that she can work through), she can make the doggy GROW! This only lasts for a short time, but the dog will become much larger, much tougher, and much stronger and much faster. Basically, they get +3hd+6d+2wd to their Body, their Coordination, AND they'll get (effectively) 5 levels of light and hardened armor and +5 health levels on each area, making each dog a literal walking tank! ...also, they get laser eye vision. Which can cut through tank armor. Cause, you know. They're dogs.

...the dogs can also fly. At 640 MPH.

Cause they're dogs.

Power Collar
Dice: 2hd
Range: Touch
Useful (+2), Permanent (+4), Attached [Pet Their Heads] (-2), Always On (-1), Automatic (-1), Touch Only (-2)
Point Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 4

The dogs, once she pets them, cannot gain dark energy powers despite being sentient. It's an instinctive byproduct of Rachel's will to both connect with dogs and 'keep them safe' - wild, uncontrolled dark energy powers spreading unchecked through the doggy population terrifies her subconscious. And so, her subconscious makes sure to lock that off.

Healing Touch
Dice: 2hd
Range: Touch
Useful (+2), Useful Quality [5] (+5) Engulf (+2), Touch Only (-2)
Points Per Die: 7 | Total Cost: 28

Though terrified at first this power only works on Dogs, Rachel is relieved to learn it actually can work on just about anything. She touches them, and they glow a little, and then heal 7s/7k to every single part of their body instantly. No muss, no fuss. It, sadly, cannot bring people back to life unless she pushes herself (she will have to permanently burn 1 Base Will to do so.)

Base Will
Total Points: +2
Base Will (+3)
Point per Will: 3 | Total Cost: 6

She's determined. Not as much as others, but enough.

Marsha P. Johnson, The Queen of Stonewall

MARSHA HAS 11 BASE WILL

Flower Power
Dice: 9d+1wd
Attacks (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [All Effects are Plant Themed] (-1)
Defends (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [All Effects are Plant Themed] (-1)
Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [All Effects are Plant Themed] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 21 | Total Cost: 273

A powerful and incredibly flexible ability, Marsha is able to create and utilize plant growths (most people think she can only do flowers, but she can do trees, she can do vines, she can do thorns, oh boy.) These plants often defy physics and understanding - if she wants, she can make a thorn that can cut through tank steel, or a tree that can grow powerfully enough to uproot a building, or an apple that, when eaten, can cure sickness. While her power isn't as "rawly" strong as some other abilities - if she got into a tree V arm wrestling contest with Theo, Theo would win - her powers are so staggeringly flexible that she is an amazing asset. However, her powers do need to be "formatted" - meaning that if she isn't prepped for combat or defense, she is terrible vulnerable.

Queen of Stonewall
Dice: 8hd
Defend (+2), Endless (+3), Radius [3] (+6), Delayed Effect (-2), If/Then [Only Works in an building she owns and operates and has become in, some metaphorical and metaphysical sense, hers] (-1), No Physical Effect (-1), Exhausted (-3)
Cost Per Die: 4 | Total Cost: 64

So long as the Queen is in her domain, no harm shall come to any who are there. This power is an endless effect centered on her, radiating out approximately 40 yards (meaning an exceptionally large building won't be entirely protected.) The effect is entirely psychological - people simply cannot bring themselves to harm anyone while in the field - this includes her allies, she can't shut it down for them.

Beauty Without Compare
Dice: +4d
Hypercharm (+4), Obvious (-1)
Cost Per Die: 3 | Total Cost: 12

She is luminous, with total of 7 dice in Charm.

Fabulous Performer
Dice: +1d
Hyperskill (Broad, Flexible)
Cost Per Die: 1d | Total Cost: 1

This is a mild improvement, but it was all I could think to spend her last point on. Sue me!

Tori Heflin, The Telekinetic Smuggler

TORI HAS 8 BASE WILL

Invisible Telekinesis
Dice: 3d+1wd
Attacks (+2), Booster (+4), High Capacity [Mass] (+2), Non-Physical (+2), Power Capacity [Mass] (+2), Subtle (+1), Spray [1d] (+1), Locational [head] (-1)
Defends (+2), Controlled Effect (+1), Duration (+2), Interference (+3), Power Capacity [Range] (+2), Radius [1] (+2), Subtle (+1), Locational [head] (-1)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), Booster (+4), High Capacity [Mass, Speed] (+2), Power Capacity [Mass, Speed] (+4), Subtle (+1), Locational [head] (-1),
Useful (+2), Booster (+4), Engulf (+2), High Capacity [Mass] (+1), Power Capacity [Mass] (+2) Attached [Telekinesis] (-2),
Cost Per Die: 45 | Total Cost: 315

By focusing, Tori is able to create telekinetic fields. Unlike many, these fields are completely, one hundred percent invisible. She can protect people in bubbles (selectively, if she wants!) bout 10 yards wide, so long as they are within about 80 yards of her. Her attacks are incredibly narrow stabs that then balloon in the target - they can only be dodged, not resisted with armor (hence the 'non-physical' extra.) If she's feeling exceptionally vindictive, she can just grab your heart and punch it as hard as she can from within your ribcage too. Her max range for her TK attacks is 800,000 yards. That's 450 miles! It can send people flying pretty goddamn far too.

Next, she can pick up and carry stuff. Anything within 450 miles, and her max weight is 2,000 tons. Not as stupidly huge as some people, but nothing to shake a stick at. What is really amazing, though...is this.

Anything she picks up - anything at all - becomes invisible TOO. This includes her own self, if she's using TK to fly. This includes the ENTIRE PARTY if she's carrying everyone. This includes jets. This includes buildings. Anything she grabs, she can turn invisible!

Adaption
Dice: 4hd
Useful (+2), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect For Immunities Only] (-1), Self Only (-3)
Cost Per Die: 4 | Total Cost: 32

Thanks to telekinesis, she can also breathe in space. With telekinesis.

Base Will
Points: 1
Cost Per Point: 3 | Total Cost: 3

You know the drill by now. Powers, better will, had points hanging.

Brian Laborn, The Power in Obscurity

BRIAN HAS 7 BASE WILL

Grueclouds
Dice: 9hd
Attack (+2), Daze (+1), Duration (+2), Radius (1) (+2), Non-Physical (+2), Spray [1d] (+1), Limited Damage (shock) (-1), Limited Width (-1)
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), Radius (+1), Attached [Dazing Cloud] (-2), Automatic (-1)
Cost Per Die: 10 | Total Cost: 180

When activated, this power is a bit slow and sluggish - effectively going off last on every round. However, you have to know it is coming, and this requires a Resistance roll of Sense+Perception to spot where Brian is looking (he just need to glare to do it.) If the resistance roll fails, then you get hit with 5x10 attack in a 10 yard radius. Due to limited width and limited damage, this only does 1 shock to the head. ...it also removes FIVE DICE from their next turn. If a character has no dice, they can't do shit. This happens each round they're in the cloud, so if they're completely debilitated, they take 1 shock to the head every round until the cloud is dispersed or they slowly and painfully die. Since, 1 shock per 6 seconds for an hour is going to kill you. Even better, the cloud also gets a 4x10 useful effect that obscures visibility, chokes out EM frequencies, and negates all but the best dark energy perceptions. That's what the useful is, the jamming field.

Power Thief
Dice: 1d+2wd
Attacks (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Endless (+3), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Is For Mimicking Powers Only] (-1), If/Then [Target Must have been exposed to the Gruecloud at all! Ever!] (-1)
Defends (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Endless (+3), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Is For Mimicking Powers Only] (-1), If/Then [Target Must have been exposed to the Gruecloud at all! Ever!] (-1)
Useful (+2), Variable Effect (+4), Endless (+3), If/Then [For Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect Is For Mimicking Powers Only] (-1), If/Then [Target Must have been exposed to the Gruecloud at all! Ever!] (-1)
Cost Per Die: 18 | Total Cost: 162

If a target has been exposed to the dark energy cloud that Brian can produce, Brian can replicate that power. In himself. Now, usually, it will be a great deal weaker, and it may require expending some willpower, but he can do it. What's more, as he hits more people (or more people volunteer for the admittedly unpleasant whammy), his power catalogue just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

Ghost Recall
Dice: 2hd
Useful (+2), Duration (+2), If/Then [Subject must have been exposed to the Gruecloud] (-1), No Physical Effect (-1)
Cost Per Die: 2 | Total Cost: 8

Powers aren't the only thing that Brian can copy. He can also recreate the memories and personality of a person in a ghostly, shimmering cloud of darkness roughly in the shape of the person. Their personality-clone cannot form new memories and only exists for a short time, but has pretty accurate information. If you can convince them to give it up. Is this ethical? Anyway, that's Brian's power set!

Brian's Library

Every Single Power From the Stonewall Nine
THE EYEBALL POWER SUITE (note, as this is multiple powers, it would take Brian a total of 5 rounds and 81 WP to make one permanent eye with each of these powers. However, he doesn't need to make an eye with every part. He can just have an eyeball that flies for 18, or an eyeball that can access the Eyeball Zone for 18 WP (18 to make it, 0 to make the Zone) Fortunately, due to Permanence, each of these WP expenditures does last forever. Or, uh...until the eyeball is squished...

Eye Eye, Sir!
Dice: 1d+2wd
Defends [Evasion] (+0)
Useful [Exists] (+0), Permanent (+4), Touch Only (-2)
Points Per Die: 2 | Cost: 18

By focusing, an eyeball grows inside of Brian's body, then pops out. It's gross.

Why Is It So Tough, It's An Eyeball!?
Dice: 1d+2wd
Useful [Health Boxes] (+0), Permanent (+4), Attached [Eye Eye, Ma'am!] (-2)
Willpower Cost: 2 | Cost: 18

When he creates the Eyeballs (which, as a note, he currently cannot), Brian can only give them 3 extra health levels, making them much smaller.

Eyebeam
Dice: 1d+2wd
Attacks [Eyebeam] (+0), Spray [5d] (+5), Attached [Eye Eye, Ma'am!] (-2)
Willpower Cost: 3 | Cost: 27

The Eyes have laser beams. Because they're eyes. Brian's eyes will have a total of 6d+2wd, rather than 9d+1wd.

Eyeflight
Dice: 1d+2wd
Defends (+0), Attached [Eye Eye, Ma'am!] (-2)
Useful (+0), Permanent (+4) Attached [Eye Eye, Ma'am!] (-2)
Willpower Cost: 2 | Cost: 18

The Eyes have it! ...flight, that is. Brian's can soar along at a mere 10 MPH. They are slightly better at dodging though.

Into the Zone
Dice: 1d+2wd
Useful [Traps Target In Horrifying Nightmare Dimension] (+0), Endless (+3), Traumatic (+1), Attached [Eye Eye, Ma'am!] (-2), Touch Only (-2)
Willpower Cost: 0 | Cost:0

Brian's eyes, like Miss Eye's eyes, have access...TO THE EYEBALL ZONE.

Your Attack, Foreseen
Dice: 1d+2wd
Hyperskill [Dodge] (+0)
Willpower Cost Per Die: 0 | Cost: 0

Formatting his power this way does let Brian dodge better.

Mistress of All Eyes See
Dice: 4hd
Hyperskill [Tactics] (+0), Power Capacity [Range] (+2), Booster [5] (+5), No Physics (+1), If/Then [Can Only Command Eyes] (-1)
Points Per Die: 7 | Cost: 63

For a staggering 63 GODDAMN willpower, Brian can get the STAGGERING ABILITY to command Eyeballs with his mind at a range. AMAZING!!!!!

GADGET ONE: The Gaia Engine

Useful [Gravity Control] (Mass: 500,000,000 tons| Range: 200,000,000 meters| Speed: 50,000,000,000 meters per round [74 times the speed of light])
Dice: 2hd
Useful (Free, Gadget) | Duration (+2), Booster [10] (+10), Power Quality [Mass, Range] (+4), High Capacity [Mass, Range] (+2), No Physics (+1), If/Then [Requires Metamaterials Produced by Lily to Function] (-1), Foci [Fragile, Bulky, Crew x4, Manufacturable] (-5), Obvious (-1), Slow (-2)
Cost Per Die: 10 | Total Cost: 40 WP (1 Base Will To Free Up)

Costing 40 WP from your pool (representing the metamaterials that you provided to construct it), the Gaia Engine is a remarkable device. Requiring the attendance of sixteen trained professionals - among the first hires that Andy ever made - the Gaia Engine is capable of gravitational manipulation at an obscene scale and speed, with ludicrous precision. How absurd? Well, from orbit, you can snatch up the entirety of Manhattan - island and all - and rip it into space and then fling it towards Alpha Centauri at 74 times light speed without damaging a single thing on it, nor causing it damage when it lands on Charon. Cool! You officially can't bitch about me spending 40 of your WP on this fucking thing, you goddamn maniacs!

The duration is approximately a day, so once per day, the crew have to make sure the gravity field that keeps Yiggy in the air is 'reupped.'

GADGET TWO: The Aegis
Defense [Gravity Shield]
Dice: 5hd
Defends (Free, Gadget), Endless (+3), Interference (+3), Attached [Gravity Manipulation] (-2), Foci [Bulky, Manufacturable] (+0),
Cost Per Die: 4 | Total Cost: 40 WP (1 Base Will to Free Up)

Feeding off the Gaia Engine, the Aegis is an attached chunk of material that projects a defensive field around the entirety of the Yiggy's superstructure. Incoming weaponry, unless it goes faster than 5x10, is simply swatted away. This includes beams of light, the rays of the sun, solar flares, and other nasty things.

GADGET THREE: Room Service
Useful [Room Service]
Dice: 3d+1wd
Useful (Free, Gadget), Endless (+3), Variable Effect (+4), Attached [Gaia Engine] (-2), If/Then [Variable Effect Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect is for Room Service Only] (-1), If/Then [Variable Effect only applies within the Yiggy's superstructure] (-1), If/Then [Room Service must be Requested] (-1), Foci [Bulky, Manufacturable] (+0)
Cost Per Die: 1 | Total Cost: 7 WP (1 Base Will To Free Up)

Also feeding off the Gaia Engine's powers, Room Service is simple as hell. You ask for tea, earl gray, hot. Then the fucking tea shows up! This also covers very attractive P-zombies that look like dead celebrities, medical aid, giving you lucid dreams, creating illusions, playing movies, and translating languages.

Here's some basic rules for gadgeteer who want to make powers

---

GADGEETING RULES FOR GADGETEERS

STEP ONE
Decide what power does. All powers can either ATTACK, DEFEND, or be USEFUL. Each thing costs (+2)

Example: I want to make a ray gun that can also heal people. It Attacks [Ray Gun] (+2) and is Useful [Heals People] (+2)

STEP TWO
Apply modifiers for extras and flaws to each power capacity. The full list is found in the Wild Talent's core rulebook. Add them all up into a total cost per die. The minimum point value is always 0 (you can't get extra for going below your maximum.)

Example: This ray gun can fire very fast. It has +3 Spray. This ray gun heals all of you! It has Engulf (+2). Both attack and useful has the Foci (-1) with the Fragile (-1) and Accessible (-1) flaws. This means it costs 2+3-3+2+2-3 for a total of 3 points per die.

STEPTHREE
Count up how much it costs based on how many dice. If it has hard dice, the hard dice are "base cost x2" and if it has wiggle dice, then they cost "base cost x4."

Example: This ray gun has 5d+1wd. It costs (5x3)+(3x4) for a total of 27 willpower.

STEP FOUR
Use your gadget. The gadget can then be taken apart to regain your willpower back. If you want to, you can burn 1 base will to make it a gadget that exists permanently (freeing up those dice for later.) If the gadget has the Manufacturable extra, then it can be made a common, household device that anyone can buy for a cost of 1/2 the willpower it costs to make in base will, taking 1 month per base will spent to make it ready for manufacturing.

Example: Pretend the raygun has manufacturable (even though it doesn't.) It costs 14 Base Will to make it buyable at any street corner, and takes a year and change for the final designs to be completed. Once done, the inventor gets the 5d+1wd that they put into the gadget back into their gadgeteering dice pool.

---

HOW TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE WITH YOUR INFLUENCE SKILLS

There's a big old table from the Kerberos Club book! Here it is!

DragonCobolt · Dec 29, 2021

I pretty much agree with your points, @Torgamous - my personal interpretation is that no matter how smart someone is, they're not immune to the emotional input of their lives and experiences - and Cam basically came up with pretty much all of her ideas that she then spent years of her life working to fulfil (sunk cost fallacy...yay!) in the several day walk from her burned out village while trying to not bleed to death from an American bayonet after everyone she knew and love died at the age of fifteen.

And then she got a bucket of base will (something like, 60 goddamn points) that further helps to reinforce that.

My thinks...

Being that I'm the QM, I suppose my thinks might have more weight, considering I'm writing the characters. But I'm still gonna share em!

Parzival95 · Dec 30, 2021

Reading her entry I totally got the vibe of a way more sympathetic Lex Luthor. He's a narcissistic billionaire asshole who's got some decent points about humanity learning to stand up for itself but is neurotically obsessed with Superman's superiority and earths weakness to alien threats. Also, it should be him that's uplifting mankind.

There's vibes of that with Cam, but exactly like DC said, she formed her xenophobic worldview as an extremely traumatized fifteen year old spared by an eldritch being after the invaders butchered everyone she ever knew while she could do nothing, and worse, got a worm level monkeys paw in her ability to actively suppress her own emotions.

As written, she's trapped in her own metaphorical "dark forest" and goes to to some really dark places in her obsessions with safety, and in a very Taylor way too, as she can only truly be safe by being in complete control. (She can never be safe enough in her mind).

And so Cam (and Amanda too, but that's a different story), is this fascinating sympathetic character that we will inevitably come into conflict with but which I can't in good conscious label a villain. I'd much rather be her friend then her enemy, but again, she can't even bring herself to trust her friends (in canon the only one who didn't abandon her after she was revealed to be manipulating them got killed, once more leaving her alone.)

Also I really don't think she's totally wrong about hostile aliens, because A) that's a popular comic book trope and this is superhero fiction B) the Unsided drive two of her people to suicide from even observing them.

But even so, while it's necessary to be prepared you really can't go total war at every possible threat. Helping her recover from her trauma is likely to be an ordeal and a half if we even make an attempt, trying to get past that titanic obsessive willpower.

I dunno, the only idea I've got given how her power seems to work is to actually brain up Lily and write that dissertation on unified field theory as a gift, besides generally trying to mitigate her course of action and provide alternative solutions. Like, don't just reject her out of hand but continually try to engage with her position.

Spoilers obviously. Totally my favorite character from go reading the book.

10ebbor10 · Dec 30, 2021

CyberEnby said:
While the vote rolls in, lets talk about gadgets some more.

Specifically, the order of rolling them out. I still think the Buzzing should be first in line - my original justification about the anti-telepathy defense being the priority because that's been a pretty consistent threat to us so far still holds but there are two more points to be made. Firstly there's the element of antagonizing Cam, right now ProgHarm is still in it's infancy so something that undercuts one of its foundational elements isn't as big a blow - I want to release the Buzzing as early as possible to limit the ill will it will generate from Cam. Releasing it now is less 'direct attack on Cam's baby' and more 'Cam learns a valuable lesson about unintended consequences'. The third reason is that the Buzzing isn't just an anti-telepathy and anti-memetic defense:

The Buzzing

The Buzzing is a superintelligence that computes on substrates ranging from a single human brain to (by diverting a portion of a host mind's processing power in a manner not dissimilar to what occurs in a plural system), to executing complex programs through the emergent complex behaviors of large numbers of interacting sophonts. 10d of hypermind.

It's secondary mission is to guard against coercive mental influence in excess of a human's ability to withstand. It's not meant to make people unwilling to change their minds, just prevent abuses of more-than-human power. It's also loaded from the outset with an incredibly extensive ethical primer and thanks to it's hypermind it can be relied on to figure out how it should use its power responsibly and react to new developments. For instance, it has the presence of mind not to protect someone like Jarvis West from getting mind whammied by Hoover.

It's actual primary mission is to collect, safeguard, and disseminate knowledge. Farming techniques, classical music, historical accounts - the Buzzing will do its best to curate the constant flow of knowledge generated by Humanity and it's offshoot branches, get the relevant information to the people who can make the most of it, and ensure that a critical baseline level of information is always retained.

Immutable - don't want Cam getting her hands on it and making a ProgHarm mirror version.

The maximal version of the Buzzing uses 5wd+5hd+20d. This is too much for Andy alone to build, so the Buzzing would ideally be made cooperatively with Jason Weeks, who can contribute another 10d to Andy's 5wd+5hd+10d. If Jason is unavailable, we can drop Hypermind and Education protocol to 5d each.

Native Power - we don't want the world getting used to having this around and then have it suddenly conk out if metahuman powers stop working.

The Education Protocol

Variable effect power limited to information effects. Used to propagate the Buzzing via information transfer, aid in learning new information, skill transfer, translating languages - an entity made of ideas is very good at imparting and communicating information. 10d.

The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm

Interference on defense, stops telepathic scans without host's informed consent and mitigates effects of Hypecharm. 5wd+5hd.

Hypercharm is debuffed to 5d (peak human ability). If Dionne for instance tries to use 10d of hypercharm to convince a groupie to sleep with him, and said groupie has been exposed to the Buzzing, 5 of those dice will be automatically gobbled. If the late LBJ tried to use his 10hd to do something similar, not only would 5 dice get gobbled, but the remaining 5 dice would be turned into regular dice instead of hard dice.

If this is a viable build, then the Buzzing can tackle one of the biggest root causes of poverty and suffering: lack of education. It wouldn't be fast, but it would disseminate knowledge very effectively indeed - we threw around ideas of how to use memetic to help with education and this is the logical end result (Ok, it's the logical end result of a Belkan aircraft engineer deciding to try their hand at education reform, but the rest of point stands).
We're going to put in motion some of the most dramatic changes to human society ever experienced in all of history, so it behooves us to try to smooth the process as best we can, and education is a key part of that.

Having said that, I'd love to hear some feedback on the writeup, because I don't want to release this and then realize there's a glaring flaw that we can't fix now because we made it Immutable.

TBH, the Buzzing to me seems like it is increasingly turning into the foundation of a dystopia just with a positive spin on it. It has turned from "anti-brainwashing system" into "actually brainwashing is cool if we do it".

It's hunter seeker algorithm demands that telepathic scans without informed consent are stopped, but this conflicts with it's primary mission of universal knowledge gathering and distribution. So you're creating an intelligence which from the outset will be at war with itself, forced to destroy parts of it's own being continuously. After all, humans like having secrets so the protocols will perpetually run into one another.

Secondly, saying "incredibly extensive ethical primer " is a cop out because there's no universal set of ethics. It's not a scientifically solved matter. Your ethics are a function of culture and upbringing and experiences, and different sets of ethics can lead different people to mutually incompatible conclusions. The result is that your intelligence will end up brainwashing humanity on a massive scale according to whatever set of ethics we happen to pick. The constant provision and dissemination of information through one specific moral lens can't help but manipulate societies in a way most of them will find unethical.

Third, while you have the presence of mind to note that Cam shouldn't meddle with this thing, she doesn't need to. Because "hyperminds plan and control society via low-level mind control" is literally her plan. This buzzing suits her perfectly in it's present form. All she needs to do is talk to it and convince it of the merits of progressive harmony (not via a brain-washy way, we've already demonstrated that people can be convinced ordinarily) and your buzzing will eventually manipulate society to fit.

Also feels pretty out-of-character for Lily to order made.
'Fuck the cops' doesn't really mix with creating a singular Super-Cop that controls the world's access to information.

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

10ebbor10 said:
TBH, the Buzzing to me seems like it is increasingly turning into the foundation of a dystopia just with a positive spin on it. It has turned from "anti-brainwashing system" into "actually brainwashing is cool if we do it".

It's hunter seeker algorithm demands that telepathic scans without informed consent are stopped, but this conflicts of universal knowledge gathering and distribution. So you're creating an intelligence which from the outset will be at war with itself, forced to destroy parts of it's own being continuously. After all, humans have secrets so the protocols will perpetually run into one another.

I don't think this necessarily follows - for instance while both telepathic scans and talking are fundamentally about transferring information, there's a difference of degree so large that it becomes a difference in kind.
People already gather and distribute information my reading, writing, talking to each other. The sort of information gathering and dissemination the Buzzing is supposed to do is similar to that?

Secondly, saying "incredibly extensive ethical primer " is a cop out because there's no universal set of ethics. It's not a scientifically solved matter. Your ethics are a function of culture and upbringing and experiences, and different sets of ethics can lead different people to mutually incompatible conclusions. The result is that your intelligence will end up brainwashing humanity on a massive scale according to whatever set of ethics we happen to pick. The constant provision and dissemination of information through one specific moral lens can't help but manipulate societies in a way most of them will find unethical.

Two parts to this: while there isn't a truly universal ethical system, there are elements that seem pretty universal (ie: murder bad), so broad agreement can be achieved IMO. (It's also suggests that a universal ethical calculus is indeed possible, and humanity might simply lack the computational and information parsing capabilities to figure it out.)
On the topic of brainwashing, I think it comes down to difference in degree. We are about to end death via disease and aging, and were planning to end material scarcity. Both of these will irrevocably alter the fabric of human existence - arguably it would do more to alter people and society than the Buzzing could achieve because they would change the material conditions that ethics arise out of.
We shape our tools and our tools shape us, and I don't think it's reasonable to call that process brainwashing?

Third, while you have the presence of mind to note that Cam shouldn't meddle with this thing, she doesn't need to. Because "hypermind plan and control society via low-level mind control" is literally her plan. This buzzing suits her perfectly in it's present form. All she needs to do is talk to it and convince it of the merits of progressive harmony (not via a brain-washy way, we've already demonstrated that people can be convinced ordinarily) and your buzzing will eventually manipulate society to fit.

Also feels pretty out-of-character for Lily to order made.
'Fuck the cops' doesn't really mix with creating a singular Super-Cop that controls the world's access to information.

Two things make it difficult for Cam to pull that off: First, she would be limited to 5d of persuasion, good, but not superhuman. Second, there's nothing stopping Andy, or Weeks, or even the aggregate population of Earth from trying to exert their own influence on the Buzzing, leading to everyone's efforts mostly cancelling out.

I'm also confused where you're getting the characterization of the Buzzing assume sort of super cop? That implies a level of coertion that I don't think is there in terms of how the Buzzing works?

10ebbor10 · Dec 30, 2021

CyberEnby said:
I don't think this necessarily follows - for instance while both telepathic scans and talking are fundamentally about transferring information, there's a difference of degree so large that it becomes a difference in kind.
People already gather and distribute information my reading, writing, talking to each other. The sort of information gathering and dissemination the Buzzing is supposed to do is similar to that?

Two parts to this: while there isn't a truly universal ethical system, there are elements that seem pretty universal (ie: murder bad), so broad agreement can be achieved IMO. (It's also suggests that a universal ethical calculus is indeed possible, and humanity might simply lack the computational and information parsing capabilities to figure it out.)
On the topic of brainwashing, I think it comes down to difference in degree. We are about to end death via disease and aging, and were planning to end material scarcity. Both of these will irrevocably alter the fabric of human existence - arguably it would do more to alter people and society than the Buzzing could achieve because they would change the material conditions that ethics arise out of.
We shape our tools and our tools shape us, and I don't think it's reasonable to call that process brainwashing?

Two things make it difficult for Cam to pull that off: First, she would be limited to 5d of persuasion, good, but not superhuman. Second, there's nothing stopping Andy, or Weeks, or even the aggregate population of Earth from trying to exert their own influence on the Buzzing, leading to everyone's efforts mostly cancelling out.

I'm also confused where you're getting the characterization of the Buzzing assume sort of super cop? That implies a level of coertcon that I don't think is there in terms of how the Buzzing works?

The buzzing has 10 dice as a variable effect power for the purposes of information transfer.
That comes across as far more powerful than mere talking, it's an insidious mind virus that can infect you through any means of information transfer, that steals everything you know, and if it decides that other people would be helped by knowing the things you don't want it to know, then it'll make it happen regardless of whether you want it or not.

Given the extent to which this system encompasses all information transfer, and is seemingly capable of reaching anyone infected at any given point with what might as well be direct read/write access to the brain, I think it's absolutely fair to call it mind control.

-------------------

And the buzzing is basically a supercop.
It controls information transfer and psychic defenses. It's access to information and people is so absolute, it's ability to shape conversations and cultures so great that you can hardly call it anything but that. With a remit as wide as "get relevant information to those who can make the most of it", it's basically a God AI created to shape society.
Even if it does not operate via coercion, it can lie with the truth. There's so much information out there that by showing a specific selection of it, it can reach whatever goals it comes up with.
And heck, if it wants to it can just lie.

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

10ebbor10 said:
The buzzing has 10 dice as a variable effect power for the purposes of information transfer.
That comes across as far more powerful than mere talking, it's an insidious mind virus that can infect you through any means of information transfer, that steals everything you know, and if it decides that other people would be helped by knowing the things you don't want it to know, then it'll make it happen regardless of whether you want it or not.

Given the extent to which this system encompasses all information transfer, and is seemingly capable of reaching anyone infected at any given point with what might as well be direct read/write access to the brain, I think it's absolutely fair to call it mind control.

-------------------

And the buzzing is basically a supercop.
It controls information transfer and psychic defenses. It's access to information and people is so absolute, it's ability to shape conversations and cultures so great that you can hardly call it anything but that. With a remit as wide as "get relevant information to those who can make the most of it", it's basically a God AI created to shape society.
Even if it does not operate via coercion, it can lie with the truth. There's so much information out there that by showing a specific selection of it, it can reach whatever goals it comes up with.
And heck, if it wants to it can just lie.

I could add a requirement for the information transfer to require informed consent? I can't imagine people would mind sharing 'how to fix a tractor gearbox', but it would explicitly prevent sharing something they deem private?

10ebbor10 · Dec 30, 2021

CyberEnby said:
I could add a requirement for the information transfer to require informed consent? I can't imagine people would mind sharing 'how to fix a tractor gearbox', but it would explicitly prevent sharing something they deem private?

That would help, I think.

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

Hmmm, as an infomorph the Buzzing probably doesn't require Body or Coordination stats, and it absolutely needs a Mind stat, but what about Charm and Command? Would those be necessary to make it able to interact and empathize properly?

Parzival95 · Dec 30, 2021

It's kind of ridiculous but hey, if the Buzzing turns into a villain that's just thematically Progenitor.

Also it probably is a super unethical invasion of privacy so that means we probably shouldn't ask Weeks to collaborate unless we're willing to downgrade it to something more acceptable Cyberenby.

DragonCobolt · Dec 30, 2021

Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Dec 30, 2021 at 11:26 AM, finished with 44 posts and 7 votes.

4 people have voted
[X] "Artie, listen, I know you want this to do well. But like...how much money have you made today? Tell you what, I'll top off your profits and match your total because I'm rich and money is a pointless social construct for me so I might as well do good with it. I do that, Everybody else, they get in free for the rest of the show long as they ain't causing problems. I think you're a great guy, but I can't keep doing this Artie, I'm here to relax and be the worlds most famous lesbian since Sappho, not be your metahuman troubleshooter." Put your hand out. "so, what do you say?"
2 people have voted
[X] Fuck this, you don't even like money, go tell Artie to fucking chill already!
- Torgamous
- CyberFemme
1 people have voted
[X] Despite previous appearances to the contrary, you're not actually part of festival security. At least, not this kind of security.
- 10ebbor10

Lets see if we can get Artie to just...ya know...

Chill?

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

Parzival95 said:
It's kind of ridiculous but hey, if the Buzzing turns into a villain that's just thematically Progenitor.

Also it probably is a super unethical invasion of privacy so that means we probably shouldn't ask Weeks to collaborate unless we're willing to downgrade it to something more acceptable Cyberenby.

I mean, that part was pretty accidental.

We can tweak it pretty easily to require informed consent on information release.

The other question is whether it's ethical to have it spread indiscriminately. On one hand it is a foreign infomorph hitching a ride an human civilization. On the other hand, I don't think I need to explain herd immunity to anyone here, and making it transmissible is the fastest way to ensure robust coverage.

We could make it a voluntary vaccine type thing, but that would mean ProgHarm still gets on the memetic musical mindwhammie train, and I'm hoping to derail that. This last point means unilateral action in our best bet if we want to force Cam to make ProgHarm less reliant on that form of coercion without coming across as targetting her specifically.

Parzival95 · Dec 30, 2021

No, if we want an anti-meme vaccine type thing it can't be voluntary, herd immunity isn't reliable for conventional illness and memes spread much more easily.

Like you mentioned way back, have Lily buzz the frequency worldwide if she can do that. Or with Yggdrasil or whatever.

DragonCobolt · Dec 30, 2021

You look up at the people flying around. One of them has a beach ball and is passing them back and forth, and a few of the early risers are laughing and pointing up at him.

"Okay, Theo, take me to Artie," you say, adjusting your big witchy hat.

"Artie, listen, I know you want this to do well," you say thirty seconds and two jumps later. You lean in close, whispering confidently to him as he rubs at the new beard fuzz he's grown. "But like...how much money have you made today? Tell you what, I'll top off your profits and match your total because I'm rich and money is a pointless social construct for me so I might as well do good with it. I do that, Everybody else, they get in free for the rest of the show long as they ain't causing problems. I think you're a great guy, but I can't keep doing this Artie, I'm here to relax and be the worlds most famous lesbian since Sappho, not be your metahuman troubleshooter."

"You're gay?" he asks, sounding shocked.

"Jesus Christ, Artie, yes, I don't even...yes!" You splutter, looking at him. "I came here with my girlfriend!"

"I just...I guess I thought you were friends."

"Yeah, GIRL friends!"

"I'm not offended or nothing," he says, holding up his hands. "I just...you know, I...wow. Okay, cool!"

You sigh.

"Listen, I'm sick of this shit too," he says. "I just...I don't want to mess up Woodstock. Er. Wallkill. I read some of that Wiki stuff that your buddy Andy's printed out - you know, the public source stuff."

You nod.

"And, like, I don't wann fuck it up," he says again. "I guess I've just been too antsy."

You nod.

"Sorry for waking you up," he says, blushing. "I'll make an announcement before today's set."

"Who's playing?" you ask, rubbing your neck.

"Dioenne Bright," he says, grinning. "Then? The Who. God. I bet people are going to be saying who after Bright, have you heard him play?"

"Nah."

"It's outta this fucking world."

***

Dioenne Bright's fingers slid along the neck of the guitar as he let loose with a wailing guitar solo that cured cancer, solved the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and put men on the moon all at the same fucking time, it was so outstandingly good. You were enraptured, standing next to Rachel as she lifted her arms above her head, screaming her head off along with nearly four hundred thousand other listeners who were utterly enraptured. The fact that Dionne's lyrics and singing voice weren't quite on par - but even that was less of an issue than you'd think. Him rasping into the mic about love and war, hope and hate, gave you time to psyche yourself up to the next lick. It was fucking incredible.

He strummed, then lifted his hand up, stepping away from the mic, then kicking it back, then catching it with his foot and leaning in - a flashy, showy move that let him croon into the mike. "Give it up, WALLKILL!"

Everyone cheered, even you. The fliers swooped around in excitement.

Bright stepped backwards, then paused as his backup drummer - who was playing his goddamn heart up, put on a little ratta-tat tat to cover as Bright fiddled with his guitar.

And then someone scrambled onto the stage. You thought it was a fan, until you saw a poof of wild hair and a ratty old jacket, army surplus, and remembered seeing him from a picture. A grainy, black and white picture.

"Ah shit," you say.

Abbie Hoffman, according to Andy, was part of a political organization that you'd never heard of called the White Panthers. Less racist than it sounded. He'd also managed, somehow, to ignore Dioenne's fucking insanely good music and throw himself onto the stage. He grabbed onto the mic and started to shout into it. "This? This is a pile of shit!"

Everyone shut up.

Dioenne gaped at him, looking like he could hardly believe that this was happening.

"Right now, John Sinclair rots in prison and we have actual goddamn superheroes on our side-"

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Bright shouted. "Get off the fucking stage! Right fucking now, get off! Get off!" He grabbed Hoffman, and Hoffamn glared back - you realized, while Dionne was a great charmer, he didn't really have lock on the whole angry shouting thing. He just had human levels of that. And human levels of shouting wasn't enough to get Hoffman to do anything but shout louder into the microphone.

"We have to take a stand against the fascist-"

Dionne stepped forward, lifting his guitar. Hoffman dragged the microphone away from the furious rockstar, still shouting.

"-Humphry administration and-"

This was going to get ugly.

Well.

Uglier.

---
What do you do?
[ ] Write In

CHECK: Charm+Lesbian+Superhero to talk Artie into being more chill
ROLL: 2x8
RESULT: Artie chills!

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

Like, he's got a point, but we should probably talk him down to get off the stage and come talk to Lisa's lawyers about getting Sinclair out of prison. That's kind of what they're for.

10ebbor10 · Dec 30, 2021

The guy doesn't really seem like the "work within the system and through lawyers" kind of guy.

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

10ebbor10 said:
The guy doesn't really seem like the "work within the system and through lawyers" kind of guy.

Probably because working within the system won't do much when you don't already have power. The calculus changes when you've got a superhero backed megacorp behind you - then you get into the sorts of legal chicanery that only the rich and powerful can afford to wield.

ThatGazzer · Dec 30, 2021

DragonCobolt said:
"You're gay?" he asks, sounding shocked.

"But you're such good friends!"

omg thats so good.

[X] Signal to Brian that you might need his help with a Gruecloud if things get ungroovy.
-[x] Separate them with a wall of air, and ask that they both calm down, neither of them are getting anything they wants doing it like this. To Abbie Hoffman, gently try and suggest he come back on after the song in between sets. Everyone pretty much agrees with what he has to say, they just don't like that he interrupted a song to do it, and that would make them less likely to listen to the content of his words. When/if the show gets back on the road, remind Dionne again to not summon the devil. Take Hoffman aside and offer the services of Grue Security Consultancy (totally not a front for militant activism, wink wink, nudge nudge) and Lisa's finest investigative reporters to get the word out and get Sinclair out the slammer.

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

[X] Teleport unto the stage. "Whoa! Put the fucking guitar down Bright! And Abbie, I'm pretty sure everyone here agrees with you? But getting your guy out of prison is really more Lisa and Brian's area - you wanna come talk to them?" Then put up your anti-zonk field in case Bright does anything unwise with hypercharm.

Lord Ultimus · Dec 30, 2021

Artie in this:

Parzival95 · Dec 30, 2021

[X] Get Brian and Lisa or whoever is immediately available and throw up your audio-visual filter in case Bright loses his shit and tries to mind-whammy his way out of this situation, get up on stage and promise Stonewall will put it's resources behind Sinclair, because his imprisonment is a load of shit, and then firmly escort him backstage where he's not screaming at half a million people.

ThatGazzer · Dec 30, 2021

Speaking of Hoffman we should publish Steal This Book at a loss.

I want it everywhere.

Lord Ultimus · Dec 30, 2021

BTW, is there anything that can decrease our Passions/Loyalties?

ThatGazzer · Dec 30, 2021

Lord Ultimus said:
BTW, is there anything that can decrease our Passions/Loyalties?

Trauma, lots and lots of directed trauma, iirc

DragonCobolt · Dec 30, 2021

No, you can burn base will at any point for the following effects!

•Immediately gain 10 Willpower points.
• Increase the width of any roll by 1.
• Increase the height of any roll by 1.
• Add 1wd to any pool.
• Keep yourself alive (but comatose) for one hour, even if you've taken otherwise lethal damage to your head or torso.
• Negate the effects of a failed Trauma Check (see page 63).
• Negate the effects of mental control or coercion, such as by a very high Charm Stat (page 46) or Command Stat (see page 46) or a mind control power (see page 151).

CyberFemme · Dec 30, 2021

@DragonCobolt, can Andy make a focus that augments their gadgeteering - essentially burning a paint of base will to create a 5wd+5hd+10d focus with Augment for gadgeteering?

I ask because if the rules as written allow that then Andy could do that a few times and... while I appreciate that Wild Talents has mechanical support for a hard takeoff singularity, I think we need to agree to not do that?

PROGENITOR: WORM (A Wormquest AU)

DON'T PANIC

DON'T PANIC

DON'T PANIC

DON'T PANIC

Minds Eye Bind

Beautiful...

Minds Eye Bind

Beautiful...

Minds Eye Bind