...I just realized something.
Kessler got rid of his mullet... after becoming a mythic thread. What exactly happened to the thread?
Kessler got rid of his mullet... after becoming a mythic thread. What exactly happened to the thread?
Panopticon: A Game of Posthumans, Perniciousness, Paranoia, Politics, and Plasmaguns
The mullet is a hairstyle, not a truly intrinsic part of Kessler.
Wakka
Shadow Cabal Man in Black
- Location
- California
Remember the sage wisdom of Captain Carrot: "Personal is not the same as important." If Alice Aristide is captured and turned against the party, Jamelia has sufficient maturity to be hurt but to cope and get the job done (as does Harlan). Further, though she is presumably a fairly strong mage, Alice is not a breaking point. What Jamelia's superiors think of her could easily make the difference between getting a good response to our inevitable Shockwave Code needs or getting a "sorry, support has been re-prioritized. Here, have some mooks in a car instead of a gunship squadron."
[x] Senior Operative Jaron Belltower: Anomalies (Interlude)
[x] Senior Operative Jaron Belltower: Anomalies (Interlude)
I wonder if Jaron's interlude might end up being helpful by potentially giving us a quick warning of Ms. Clock's actions before we get hit, if we play it right. Alternatively, fucking it up might lead to Jaron mistaking things Ms. Clock does for Jamelia and becoming suspicious of us. Or worse, Jaron dying in a suspicious way.
But if it goes right... then this might be a first strike against Ms. Clock, since she's currently working within the Union/Panopticon -- or, has access to resources from the Union and can move through it -- and this might be the first step on the path to removing her access to resources and freedom of movement in the union. If it goes right.
... Although I wonder how Bastion might react to Jaron reporting "Jamelia has an evil twin." How cliché.
But if it goes right... then this might be a first strike against Ms. Clock, since she's currently working within the Union/Panopticon -- or, has access to resources from the Union and can move through it -- and this might be the first step on the path to removing her access to resources and freedom of movement in the union. If it goes right.
... Although I wonder how Bastion might react to Jaron reporting "Jamelia has an evil twin." How cliché.
- Location
- The end of all things
The level of resources being used against Alice show that she is clearly of critical importance to Ms. Clock's plans. Any insight there will undoubtedly be useful, just as further insight into Jaron will be useful. It also gives us a chance to see a character who has long been only hinted at.
Given that we have the choice to skip any interludes entirely, I think this is more a question of interest than optimization, though I could be wrong.
Also remembering to water them regularly
Acatalepsy
Firewall Proxy
- Location
- The Diamond Age
[x] Senior Operative Jaron Belltower: Anomalies (Interlude)
Because we just had a soul-searching giant robot arc, and I'd like some tactical cybernetic action. Because Jaron Belltower is cool. Because we need every edge we can get in the internal fight against Panopticon, and having a highly placed cyborg operative is way more important than some reality deviant.
Because we just had a soul-searching giant robot arc, and I'd like some tactical cybernetic action. Because Jaron Belltower is cool. Because we need every edge we can get in the internal fight against Panopticon, and having a highly placed cyborg operative is way more important than some reality deviant.
- Location
- in the trash
Why tactical cyborg action, and not creepy psychic action?
Syndicate Grimoires
Syndicate Grimoires
How To Win Friends And Influence People, Unredacted Edition (Dale Carnegie)
Like the sleeper-published book, the unredacted edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People is a self-help book that builds social influence ability. Unlike the sleeper version, the chapters have not been redacted, providing hyperpsychological advice and theories. A reader who carefully reads and understands its advice will learn Mind 2 at reduced cost. This book is fairly popular across the ranks of the Syndicate but the New World Order thumbs its nose at the "pop-hyperpsych" that it teaches, and claims that the paradigm it enforces on its learners is low on theory and makes it more difficult for its students to understand the more advanced forms of hyperpsych.
A Unified Theory of Wealth (Adam Smith)
One of the writings of Adam Smith that was not eventually published for public consumption, A Unified Theory of Wealth is a somewhat archaic but still perfectly valid treatise which sums up the theoretical underpinnings of Primal Utility in economic terms. A reader with Science (Mathematics) and Academics (Economics) at 2 may fully comprehend the treatise and how it defines 'value' as a fundamental constant in the world and how to evaluate, make use of, and transfer said value, learning Primal Utility 1. More interesting is that A Unified Theory of Wealth is a Primer-if a Sleeper reads it, they may learn both Primal Utility 1 and Enlightenment 1. A Unified Theory of Wealth is mandatory reading in Damian classes on advanced economics.
Programmable Reality-Quantifying and Manipulating Aphysical Markets (Thomas Laredo)
Grimoires which teach high-level spheres are rare due to their generally high requirements and limited audience, but Laredo's work is one of them. Programmable Reality-Quantifying and Manipulating Aphysical Markets is one of those rare beasts. Intended for experienced hypereconomists (Primal Utility 3, Computers 4, Academics (Economics) 4, Science (Mathematics) 4) there has been little effort made to make the textbook comprehensible for anyone without the required academic knowledge. Furthermore, it is paradigm-limited-only Syndicate Quants and (in theory) Virtual Adept Reality Hackers with the spheres may even be able to mesh its writings with their paradigms and understand it. However, the Grimoire teaches Primal Utility 4 and Matter 3, allowing for the creation of objects via instantiation of hypereconomic modeling.
How To Win Friends And Influence People, Unredacted Edition (Dale Carnegie)
Like the sleeper-published book, the unredacted edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People is a self-help book that builds social influence ability. Unlike the sleeper version, the chapters have not been redacted, providing hyperpsychological advice and theories. A reader who carefully reads and understands its advice will learn Mind 2 at reduced cost. This book is fairly popular across the ranks of the Syndicate but the New World Order thumbs its nose at the "pop-hyperpsych" that it teaches, and claims that the paradigm it enforces on its learners is low on theory and makes it more difficult for its students to understand the more advanced forms of hyperpsych.
A Unified Theory of Wealth (Adam Smith)
One of the writings of Adam Smith that was not eventually published for public consumption, A Unified Theory of Wealth is a somewhat archaic but still perfectly valid treatise which sums up the theoretical underpinnings of Primal Utility in economic terms. A reader with Science (Mathematics) and Academics (Economics) at 2 may fully comprehend the treatise and how it defines 'value' as a fundamental constant in the world and how to evaluate, make use of, and transfer said value, learning Primal Utility 1. More interesting is that A Unified Theory of Wealth is a Primer-if a Sleeper reads it, they may learn both Primal Utility 1 and Enlightenment 1. A Unified Theory of Wealth is mandatory reading in Damian classes on advanced economics.
Programmable Reality-Quantifying and Manipulating Aphysical Markets (Thomas Laredo)
Grimoires which teach high-level spheres are rare due to their generally high requirements and limited audience, but Laredo's work is one of them. Programmable Reality-Quantifying and Manipulating Aphysical Markets is one of those rare beasts. Intended for experienced hypereconomists (Primal Utility 3, Computers 4, Academics (Economics) 4, Science (Mathematics) 4) there has been little effort made to make the textbook comprehensible for anyone without the required academic knowledge. Furthermore, it is paradigm-limited-only Syndicate Quants and (in theory) Virtual Adept Reality Hackers with the spheres may even be able to mesh its writings with their paradigms and understand it. However, the Grimoire teaches Primal Utility 4 and Matter 3, allowing for the creation of objects via instantiation of hypereconomic modeling.
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- Location
- in the trash
So, could we acquire any of these example grimoires?
I'd like to see how thats not hilariously vulgar.
ArchAIngel
Sorcerer Supreme.
- Location
- Right behind you.
I paid someone to paradrop this rocket launcher to me?
Gun store clerk: "Wait, I don't remember that being in stock."
Syndicate Enforcer: "Well, check your inventory list. Is it there? You probably just missed something in the paperwork."
Gun store clerk: "Well, yes. But I thought we didn't stock those kinds of weapons here. Do you even have a license for that?"
Syndicate Enforcer: "Obviously. Here's my license. And why wouldn't you have it in stock? There's obviously a market for it if I'm buying..."
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NWO Grimoires
Yes, I am already assuming you have access to them, it's why people can develop their spheres without Mentors. Technocrats have systemized libraries of this stuff, Traditions magi tend to have more difficulties seeking mystic knowledge. Most grimoires only give slight XP discounts, rather than free sphere dots.
New World Order Grimoires
The Twelve Habits of Highly Effective Operatives (Johnathan Bastion)
First published in 1920, The Twelve Habits of Highly Effective Operatives is a guide for new Operatives which teaches vital skills at a low level. Mandatory reading for anyone in Operative training (O-School), care has been taken to make this book easy to read and comprehend, with basic techniques and theory interspersed equally. The Twelve Habits of Highly Effective Operatives teaches Athletics 2, Alertness 2, Firearms 2, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 2, and Style 2, as well as Entropy 1 and Time 1.
Advanced Close Quarters Combat Techniques (Jack Boss)
A training manual for combat Operatives, this field manual requires an Operative to have 10 total dots in physical attributes and Brawl/Athletics/Medicine 3. Teaching various martial arts intended to rapidly kill or incapacitate, as well as techniques to ignore pain and injury, Advanced Close Quarters Combat Techniques teaches Brawl 4, Forces 2, and Life 2 to its practitioners. A sparring partner is required to make use of this manual. Furthermore, it paradigmically only works for martial artists-in theory, an Akashic could use this grimoire, but in practice most Akashics think its brutal fighting style, which includes things such as point-blank small arms usage, eye gouges, and crippling blows, is uncouth and almost blasphemy to the enlightening and sacred nature of martial artistry.
Media Influence, 4th Edition (Professor Michelle Watkins)
Written for the Ivory Tower and the Watchers, Media Influence is a basic text on large-scale manipulation of human psychology that has unintentionally become very popular amongst the Syndicate as well. To understand its techniques, one must be well-versed in sociology and psychology (Academics (Sociology) 2, Academics (Psychology) 2). This grimoire teaches Mind 2 and Correspondence 2 to someone who already has Mind and Correspondence 1. It is highly recommended reading for anyone in the Watchers or the Ivory Tower. The primary paradigm restriction is that it teaches Ivory Tower Mind-its focus is primarily in large-scale, resource intensive media manipulations and is difficult to use for Traditions magi. For this reason, it is one of the NWO grimoires which is widely available to the Traditions, some say entirely deliberately.
Oh, it is, outside incredibly tightly controlled circumstances in contained environments where every variable is accounted for and vast amounts of dedicated computational power is thrown towards the simulation of the economic scenario. Small defects in the simulation - as chaos theory predicts is inevitable outside of those controlled circumstances - results in a Market Correction.
Admittedly, sometimes this Market Correction takes the form of an Iterator seeing you doing it and shouting at you for being a Reality Deviant.
Yes, because he lacks the Life or Matter to create said drugs, thus they can't be magical by definition.
If he had Matter and Life and created them via magic, it would possibly be consensual, depending on what drugs he finds. If it was like, a personal stash, sure. If it was 10 kilos of super-cocaine, that'd probably be vulgar.
Also, Donald isn't a quant by his paradigm, so he could only find a stash in a place where he often stores his stashes and where he isn't certain that there are no drugs in there. So even if Donald had the spheres to "make" drugs, he could only have them appear in places they could have been already and he just legitimately forgot about them being there until his Genius reminded him about them - and just as well, because he was feeling depressingly sober. People who are quants can literally actualise the potential that there's something here when there wasn't something there before and they know it.
It's the same thing Jamelia does. She can't teleport a weapon into her pocket, because that's... just not a thing she can do. But she can always carry lots of weapons on her, hidden in the many secret pockets of her suit, and since she always has lots of weapons on her, she can ensure via Corr 2 Matter 2 that she has an extra weapon in a hidden compartment - even when she's been disarmed or someone's patted her down (without using a Corr 3 patt-down ward). But she can only make compact or hideable ones which she usually loads herself out with appear that way. By contrast, Harlan can just tear holes in spacetime with his mind and grab one of the guns tagged with a psi-beacon back in the arsenal, although that tends to give him a headache.
It's one of the many reasons Jamelia hates missions at fancy parties where she has to wear a cocktail dress. There are far fewer places for her to hide things in a cocktail dress - and it's also much harder to hide body armour (and tactical corsets just aren't as protective). And even the high-heeled shoes don't compensate, and then when things go wrong she has to murder people with her shoes. Stupid dress standards. Why do male agents get to dress so much more conveniently for parties?
Hyena: "... please can I wear a burqa to this party? It'll be great! I can even wear a suit of power armour underneath and no one will notice."
Ratel: "No. Get in the cocktail dress, Jazmin."
Hyena: "But it's a cultural thing!"
Ratel: "Have your culture in your own time."
Hyena: "... can't I at least have one with a higher neckline? And a back? I can't even wear an armoured corset underneath that."
Ratel: "Part of the focus of the Entropy 4 effect I've got running is that everyone will be staring at you and Squid and thus things will go very badly for them. This dress is a carefully calculated part of the plan."
Hyena: "Mutter mutter mutter." *snatches the dress*
Cut to the present day
Jamelia: "... and that's why I'm glad that social standards have changed in the past thirty years."
Henriette: "I'll say! That sounds horrible!"
Jamelia: "Well, okay, social standards haven't changed much. And flashing cleavage is still a part of a lot of plans of superiors. But now I am the superior. So Rose. Get in the cocktail dress."
Rose: "Yay! I like the colour!"
Henriette: "You aren't even going to give her an armoured corset?"
Rose: "Why would I need one?"
Henriette: "... no reason."
@MJ12 Commando
Is Smith's Primer sufficient to Enlighten a Sleeper on it's own? Because that sounds like a very important development.
Is Smith's Primer sufficient to Enlighten a Sleeper on it's own? Because that sounds like a very important development.
Primers are a thing. They help Awakenings, but are far from sufficient on their own. Think of them as an equipment bonus for your metaphorical Awakening roll. They're how both factions in the Ascension War manage to recruit people directly - when a Hermetic finds someone who's curious about the occult and carefully spends a few months mentoring them and getting them to read books which explain Hermetic philosophy, etc etc etc, they're probably using Primers. Same as the Union's university programmes where they find the elite and then put them in specialist classes to push them to their limits with advanced modules.
Most people who read a Primer don't Awaken. If they reliably Awakened people, the Ascension War would look totally different.
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
Primers in general can Enlighten Sleepers who're "ready" (in Mage canon they waive the experience cost of Enlightenment/Arête 1). They don't force the matter, because that never ever ever ends well.
ArchAIngel
Sorcerer Supreme.
- Location
- Right behind you.
Speaking as someone who has no clue on Mage, does "Never ever ever ends well" go towards the "Go insane" category, the "Headsplosion" category, the "Summon Cthulhu, eats 1d4 Awakened personnal a round" category, or the "Everything in a 10-mile radius is gone" category?
NonSequtur
a body
Marauders: All of the above, and more, is entirely possible!
Primers are generally capable of Awakening mages. They are not reliable. If someone's ready to embrace the paradigm the Primer espouses, they have a chance of Awakening. Damien makes people read Primer after Primer in their core classes and puts them through the kind of schooling that makes every Damien grad an excellent paragon of human achievement and there's a sizable number who graduate without Enlightenment-they're still useful, because the kind of stuff you go through in Damien (and the access to retrovirals, smart drugs, and other performance enhancers) means that you're generally a fit, intelligent, and skilled credit to mankind who can succeed almost anywhere (especially because the Technocracy will find you a good job where you can help them). Hermetic Hogwarts does the same thing and you still get linear magi graduating.
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
"Go magically insane" is the usual result, i.e. going Marauder, which means they're to a greater or lesser degree in their own little world. Most to all of the Paradox they would normally get for doing Vulgar things bounces off them and onto everyone else around them (Mages first).
Sometimes, that little inner world becomes an outer world, and you get little bubbles of Equestria or Lovecraft or Twilight or Marvel Comics intruding on reality. Or other similarly horrifying nightmare worlds.