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White Wolf's World of Darkness

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ManusDomine said:
Okay, I had expected something like this. Do you have a list of some different JB names, like I believe Belltower is what you get when you someone who is exceptionally good at operating independently and being extremely resourceful. But what about the others like Blanc, Bastion, Blade, etc.
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Okay, the real purpose of the NWO surname scheme is to let your characters make up shit about their rank, and then getting stuck with the consequences of the things they asserted to be true when it shows up later.

Also, to serve as stunt fodder for bullshitting why you outrank someone who has a nominally equal rank. That's also important.
 
EarthScorpion said:
Okay, the real purpose of the NWO surname scheme is to let your characters make up shit about their rank, and then getting stuck with the consequences of the things they asserted to be true when it shows up later.

Also, to serve as stunt fodder for bullshitting why you outrank someone who has a nominally equal rank. That's also important.
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MJ12 Commando said:
Nope! You see, the trick is to have just enough to hint at additional depth while not actually making use of any of that additional depth. There are some names which mean something. There are others which are meaningless. Only ~nwo~ knows which is which.
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This revelation may, or may not have shaken my worldview and sent me on a Seeking. :V

More seriously, thanks for the help.
 
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MJ12 Commando said:
Basically, throw out most of the ranks in the book. Rather, use how real-life analogies to the system tend to rank themselves. Note that these ranks do not relate at all to Enlightenment except in some special cases. The Enlightened tend to get promoted much higher, but that's as much a factor of competence as it is bias. Talented and dedicated non-Enlightened personnel can get at least minor leadership roles, but most of them tend to be either unranked support personnel who aren't formally aware of the Technocracy-"Friendlies," or stuck around the lower end of the rank scale. Friendlies are the most common type of Technocratic agent-guys who don't know much about what they're doing but are aware enough to listen to the guys who know their stuff and are in charge. Technically anyone can order around a Friendly. However, a wet-behind-the-ears Shock Corps corporal trying to tell a senator or member of Parliament or whatever what to do will likely find out that this, like many other things, is only technically true.
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Also, to expand on this, remember that there's also the "Technocratic" rank and the "Convention" rank, and the two might not be the same.

You can, for example, wind up with situations where a relatively junior NWO Senior Watcher is leading an amalgam as a supervisor and administratively has a senior Progenitor assigned to them as a specialist. Technically the Progenitor reports to the Senior Watcher for things that are inside purpose of the amalgam, despite their Progenitor ranking being considerably higher than the NWO's NWO ranking.

Sensible Senior Watchers treat the Progenitor as an external consultant in such cases, but that does risk the Progenitor getting too much leeway.

The moral of this story is that Technocracy games should have some mix of in-amalgam rank-bitching, cross-amalgam rank bitching, and cross-Convention rank-bitching. Because you're playing characters in a bureaucracy which tries to present a unified front facing its enemies while engaging in mild-to-moderate backstabbing and not letting the enemies see that.
 
ManusDomine said:
...Stupid EarthScorpion, it's not like I find you funny or anything! Have my funny rating you stupid person!
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Actually, much like humans, the cats are split between two sides in the Ascension Claw. There's the Technocatic Union, the side which believes they need to conceal their powers from humans and keep human society structured to benefit them. They're split up into five Catventions.

The Purrgenitors conduct studies on the tastiest forms of animals to eat, and are carrying out eugenics programmes where they systematically murder less tasty animals, allowing only the yummiest to breed. That's why cats kill things even when they're not hungry - they're removing less tasty creatures from the breeding pool. The Purrgenitors are also the biggest supporters of the Purrgrom, where they seek to wipe out dogs (who are part of the Woofandi).

Hisseration X study machinery and tools, such as door handles and cat flaps. Their ultimate goal is to devise a way to open tins of catfood without human help, which will lead to what they dub the Nomgularity.

The Syndicat are responsible for keeping the humans on side using bribes. That's why they drag in dead animals. Other Catventions believe they may be too obsessed with their pet theories which don't work as well as they think, but the Syndicats (aka, the Fat Cats) control the best gardens and the best bathing spots and allocate them to other Catventions as they see fit.

The Furred Engineers explore the farthest reaches of space, like next door's garden. They're always looking for new places to bury their waste. Unfortunately, their mission puts them in unsafe places and the forces of the Carauders and the Woofandi mean they take heavy casualties.

Finally, there's the Mew World Order (Also known as the NYO), whose job it is to keep the humans not suspecting what they are and be cute and adorable. They're broken up into different ranks - Black Cats keep the streets safe for catkind, Grey Cats interact with humans, and White Cats oversee the entire conspiracy (that's why they're usually found sitting on the laps of villains).

The Council of Nyan Traditions is less known about...
 
So I guess that this means I am so low on the Technocratic Union's ranking system that my clearance isn't even high enough to know the ranks.

@MJ12 Commando you are the beeb boop soulless Technocrat here. Can you confirm this?

Or is my clearance not even high enough to know that either? :V
 
Okay, I just learned that oWolf has something called the Metis.

...why?

Like, holy fuck, that's the actual name for an actual group of people you're ripping off as a term for something else.

Oh wait, Gypsy magic. Carry on.
 
The Laurent said:
Okay, I just learned that oWolf has something called the Metis.

...why?

Like, holy fuck, that's the actual name for an actual group of people you're ripping off as a term for something else.
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The implications are awkward, but they may simply have used the Greek word "Metis", or even the older "métis" which refers to any person of mixed ancestry, from which the ethnic group "Métis" gets its name.
 
The Laurent said:
Okay, I just learned that oWolf has something called the Metis.

...why?

Like, holy fuck, that's the actual name for an actual group of people you're ripping off as a term for something else.

Oh wait, Gypsy magic. Carry on.
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Considering Metis are like the opposite of mixed race, I think that might be unintentional.
 
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You know, I wonder if American Nosferatu have to worry about getting shot by the police. I mean, not because 'being shot' is a death sentence or anything, but just because it causes a lot of complications that they have to deal with.

But, I mean, you have powers that make you scary, and then you have a police force that reacts to 'being scared' by shooting it, often at the drop of a hat.

And you're an ugly, inhuman-looking, unnerving-seeming vampire.
 
MJ12 Commando said:
Basically, throw out most of the ranks in the book. Rather, use how real-life analogies to the system tend to rank themselves. Note that these ranks do not relate at all to Enlightenment except in some special cases. The Enlightened tend to get promoted much higher, but that's as much a factor of competence as it is bias. Talented and dedicated non-Enlightened personnel can get at least minor leadership roles, but most of them tend to be either unranked support personnel who aren't formally aware of the Technocracy-"Friendlies," or stuck around the lower end of the rank scale. Friendlies are the most common type of Technocratic agent-guys who don't know much about what they're doing but are aware enough to listen to the guys who know their stuff and are in charge. Technically anyone can order around a Friendly. However, a wet-behind-the-ears Shock Corps corporal trying to tell a senator or member of Parliament or whatever what to do will likely find out that this, like many other things, is only technically true.
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It's worth mentioning Technocratic sorcerers can be promoted but usually find themselves rather segregated from Awakened.
Still better than Sorcerers who affiliate with Traditions who never have any chance of advancement whatsoever.
Your two sphere Technocrat can find still find herself answering to six path sorcerer on a mission.
Meanwhile in Traditions no mage shall ever be answering to any sorcerer.

MJ12 Commando said:
If you're in a leadership position and military you have a military rank which is, due to the Technocracy's connections, valid for any Sleeper military. They're still limited by what the military can actually do, but you are technically a Sleeper military leader, even if nobody knows who the fuck you are.
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That's far less applicable in less officer heavy militaries.
If a nation only has a handful of command officers it can be harder inserting yourself.

EarthScorpion said:
Okay, the real purpose of the NWO surname scheme is to let your characters make up shit about their rank, and then getting stuck with the consequences of the things they asserted to be true when it shows up later.

Also, to serve as stunt fodder for bullshitting why you outrank someone who has a nominally equal rank. That's also important.
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I've always kind of suspected NWO lacks any ranks of real meaning.
Just everyone bullshitting each other and pretending to know about what's really going on.

The Laurent said:
Okay, I just learned that oWolf has something called the Metis.

...why?

Like, holy fuck, that's the actual name for an actual group of people you're ripping off as a term for something else.

Oh wait, Gypsy magic. Carry on.
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Eukie said:
The implications are awkward, but they may simply have used the Greek word "Metis", or even the older "métis" which refers to any person of mixed ancestry, from which the ethnic group "Métis" gets its name.
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There was a lot of unintentional racism in Old World of Darkness.

The Laurent said:
You know, I wonder if American Nosferatu have to worry about getting shot by the police. I mean, not because 'being shot' is a death sentence or anything, but just because it causes a lot of complications that they have to deal with.

But, I mean, you have powers that make you scary, and then you have a police force that reacts to 'being scared' by shooting it, often at the drop of a hat.

And you're an ugly, inhuman-looking, unnerving-seeming vampire.
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Your hypothesis certainly sounds legitimate.
I suspect plenty of American supernaturals find themselves getting shot by police.
 
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