fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
So if we bring our guys out and they die it should be fine so long as they ghost because we can bring the ghost back.
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
Thats just doing too much and actively drawing attention to the kid, the same way an overly obvious security force draws attention to the building they are guarding.
And I dont think its a realistic expectation for any guards to stand off the caliber of enemy we are attracting.
Personally?
I'd gift the boy a dog or two, something seemingly innocuous like a Labrador or a Golden Retriever. Maybe even a poodle or a corgi, breeds that are popular as a US family pet. Then imbue the dog(s) with Inner Devils Unleashed to make them bakemono.
COMMENTARY
Boo. I was hoping to
Ramirez meeting Charity in particular was shaping up to be a hoot and a half, and it would have been useful to calibrate her preconceptions to meet a wizard who is basically in Molly's age bracket. Maybe on the way back out.
Dresden didnt even wear a beanie? In a Chicago winter? While its snowing?
Man's just being a masochist at this point.
Points to Wu Mei(Wu Min?) for noticing Black Knight; Im reminded that Kattrin didnt. Then again, she does have the advantage of having spoken to the Merlin's guards and being forewarned of Molly's affinity for technology spirits, so a car spirit shouldnt be unexpected. Points lost for that hilariously bad botch though.
Morgan is Willpower 9, Wu Min is Willpower 7, Ramirez is Willpower 6.
Harry, for reference, is Willpower 8.
Broad spectrum.
Surprised they all fit comfortably in Black Knight.
Morgan is almost the same height as Dresden according to Storm Front, but significantly heavier in build, and Ramirez is maybe an inch or two shorter than canon Molly and more normally buily.
Counting Dresden, that's two guys that are around six foot nine inches, a third guy thats maybe five foot ten or eleven, plus an average sized lady.
I would have thought squeezing all of them into a Mercedes C219 CLS would have been an adventure.
This is why our next personal car project should prioritize rebuilding Beige Wagon into either an SUV or an estate/stationwagon , by the way, for when we need to move people around.
No we dont.
The same way they track arms movements across the world: human intelligence, eyewitness reports of weapon use, battlefield examinations and lots of bribes.
I suspect that proliferating use of helltech weaponry on Earth is precisely the sort of shit that draws natsec eyes right quick.
Those guns that Molly's people were offering, for example, look very much like they would be categorized as plasma weapons in both the Old World of Darkness and the real world.
And man-portable directed energy weapons are kind of a big deal.
Im not sure why?
If we wanted to, there's nothing in the rules I can see stopping us driving a not!semi truck with 20 tons of materiel in the cargo bay right out of the Brass Courts and into Chicago. Or a transport aircraft, or a gunship, as long as Molly was at the wheel.
Our limitations are tracked on the number of people we can move, not materiel.
And given that we can move 20 people for 2m, we can bring ~140 troops, the equivalent of a US Army company of soldiers through in a couple minutes as long as we were willing to burn most of our Essence in the process and spend the subsequent couple hours soaking in bleach.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Because of the convenience factor. It is way better to have a RPG style inventory.
- Location
- washington
I don't see how the portable weapons unless just left around would leave any more evidence then wizards blasting shit with magic. The wizards teleport across the world essentially and have their own bases.
There's a bag of holding in the World of Darkness as a Level 1/Level 2 Fetish: Magpie's Swag.
And I think Exalted 2E had both Cache Eggs and Moonsilver-pattern Infinite Resplendence Amulets.
But a charm-based general RPG inventory wasnt really a thing for anyone not an Alchemical.
I think.
Because the wizards dont just blast shit indiscriminately with magic, and no two wizards casts magic alike. No pattern.
Technology is a lot harder to write off.
And man portable DEWs implies fundamental breakthroughs in everything from energy storage to material science.
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I am playing a bit fast and loose with the car probably, I do not have all the measurements to hand. You can assume there was some squeezing involved and maybe some minor magic used to make sure everyone is comfortable, their legs to not fall asleep on the journey etc...
Since no one has brought it up I think this is worth spelling out, the reason why Molly might wish to keep this informal is that it humanizes your ghoul and vampire gathering here. In either case it would not be Molly springing guests on them, though if you choose the 'act normal version' they will have been told to act casually. And in both cases anyone who does not wish to meet visiting wizards, because you know wizards are quite scary for people on the lower rungs of the supernatural world, can simply choose not to
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Not surprised, but even Exalted usually didn't have a huge extra space inside of their soul. Making charms to take advantage of that seems like an obvious next step.
They're electro lasers. The way the real life idea works is that you use a laser with just enough power to ionize a small pathway to a target, then dump a significant amount of energy into it by tapping the pathway with electrodes. At a basic level anyway, there's significantly more to making it workable.
It's only technically a plasma weapon, they'd more accurately be described as lightning guns with a power setting ranging from stun to fry.
I disagree. Strength 7, Dexterity 7 flying spirit with Brawl 5 should at least be able to get the kid out of harm's way, and deal with most street level hostiles. It also has a benefit of being always there, because it's normally not materialized. The attention, if any is going to be drawn to the kid, is going to be drawn no matter what bodyguard we make.
A human-level spirit is just much more practical as a guardian than a dog (and no, making them a bakemono doesn't suddenly grant them human-level intelligence at all).
Fair.
But conversely, I dont think it would be credible for Molly to do the informal thing with Last Station.
If nothing else, Ramirez is young enough to have personal experience of cellphones, and given the state of Last Station and its facilities, there's no reason Molly would not have been able to call ahead.
And I dont think the Jade Dogs are good enough actors to pull off a casual meeting.
Business casual, but not informal.
*checks*
Nah, these do Agg(fire) with no stun option.
They're not electrolasers as we understand the term; they're plasma cannon.
EDIT
Even if the were, they'd still be man-portable DEWs. Natsec interest remains unchanged.
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It is a bit more complex than that, they do indeed work on that principle, but no one has yet managed to get the setting down to 'stun' because part of what makes these things work is magic, specifically the fact that the factory machines that make them tap directly into the spirits of the Great Storms, which are not known for their controlled nature.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I imagine that in the brass court where all tech includes a spirit the words temperamental technology has a whole different meaning. Also that there is no such thing as complete standardization.
For example the auto aiming guns the spirits likely all go through the same standardized training course and the guns have the same programing, but when you buy a new gun it is likely just considered good sense to practice with it to make sure you and the spirit are on the same page about what things you want to aim at.
Also stealing someone's else's gun can give you very suboptimal results.
For example the auto aiming guns the spirits likely all go through the same standardized training course and the guns have the same programing, but when you buy a new gun it is likely just considered good sense to practice with it to make sure you and the spirit are on the same page about what things you want to aim at.
Also stealing someone's else's gun can give you very suboptimal results.
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Yeah, industrialization does exist obviously, there is no way you could have that kind of economy without some level of it, but there is also a lot more understanding that things not only are distinct, but must be so. For instance there is far more variation in architecture than Molly is used to seeing because if you make buildings too similar to one another and one of those buildings happens to awaken a spirit it will take umbrage at the imitation of its glorious self
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I expect that there are also cases where people are very loyal to their tech. Replacing a car or a phone is taken just a bit less seriously then replacing a pet or is even thought of using the same head space. Repair until you can't anymore.
1) Spirits cant cross thresholds without being invited in by a resident with the authority to extend that invitation, they can be banished, and they are vulnerable to various vectors that embodied minions are not.
They have their place; bodyguarding a normal mortal child in a variety of situations is not one of them.
2) Street-level hostiles can be deterred by a mundane medium-size dog from the local pound with a loud bark and sharp teeth, let alone something from one of the serious guard dog breeds like a German/Eastern Shepherd or a Malinois.
If the issue was just street-level minions, I'd vote to get him a normal Great Pyrenees and be done with it.
3) Immaterial spirits dont appear to roll around with Strength and Dexterity ratings anyway.
Certainly nothing that high.
And that doesnt support an ability to get away while carrying a child anyway.
EDIT
4) We use normal animal-smart dogs to guard children and livestock IRL.
Livestock guardian animals literally live with their flocks with weeks at a time and keep them safe in the absence of the farmer.
We have service animals, that, and I'm quoting the Wikipedia article here:
Animal-smart dogs can be very, very smart at the high end.
Furthermore, intelligence-augmentation is supported in the fomor-building process.
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[X] Just another day among the Jade Dogs. Some people would be watching TV, some would be reading or playing
Keep that in mind the next time people talk about proliferating spirits on Earth.
That was precisely one of the major issues that Creation had leading to its broken state in Exalted 2E: spirits are people with opinions and goals of their own, not inanimate mechanisms.
Rent-seeking behavior, empire-building and obstructionism is common.
A spirit of an existing building thats no longer up to code is going to object strenuously to attempts to tear it down to build a new one in its place. Your 1990 Camry's spirit will have opinions about you wanting to junk it and replace it with a 2010 model with better gas mileage and safety features. Your Nokia 3310 refuses to be replaced by a new Iphone.
That forest you are looking at building a road through might just say no and make it stick, or demand exorbitant tolls.
A major river like the Mississippi might demand yearly bribes in order not to flood the plains and wreck billions of dollars of infrastructure. The spirit of the Colorado might shatter the Hoover Dam.
Even those guns we just mentioned: what happens when a new model with better performance is invented?
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Imagine a world where cars never replaced horses. Instead better cyber-horses were made and breed.
Actually this makes me wonder if their are tech abuse laws right next to animal abuse laws. Yes devices are clearly tools and treated as such, but the same can be said of a herding dog.
The gun spirit have to retrain themselves on the new equipment or be replaced by spirits that will.
Actually this makes me wonder if their are tech abuse laws right next to animal abuse laws. Yes devices are clearly tools and treated as such, but the same can be said of a herding dog.
The same thing that happens to humans when automation makes their skills and education obsolete.
The gun spirit have to retrain themselves on the new equipment or be replaced by spirits that will.
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Imagine if we were still using covered wagons because the god/spirit of horses and wagons campaigned to strangle motor vehicles in their cradle. Or the god of passenger ships sabotaged air travel.
Or if the god of New York tried to sabotage the growth of Chicago because it wanted to spike a potential rival.
And then you realize why a major job for DBs and Sidereals post-Usurpation was beating gods and spirits the fuck up.
Spirits generally arent interchangeable.
Cant just train one and plop it into just any new tech; a spirit that awoke in an apartment building isnt necessarily going to translate to a warehouse. Molly being able to HMP shit is an Exalted miracle, not the norm.
And even if they could?Do you really have any interest in working through a major social upheaval every time you need to change a phone model? Even ignoring individual phone models, we've passed through five generations of cellphone technology in the last two or three decades. Imagine doing it every five to seven years.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I am awake of the problems in creation. Those problems seem like the same problems you see whenever their is a large imbalance of power and a lack of willingness to work towards the common good.
Incidentally I feel like smartphone now a days aren't really improving the manufacturer are deliberately making their products have a limited lifetime to enforce obsolescence and make people buy their new side grades or even downgrades.
- Location
- At Home
The attention to detail you put into this quest is amazing...
[x] A gathering prepared to receive envoys. Even Isabela is here and she has roped Augustus into explaining to people how these things work
A vast majority of our spirits aren't sapient and won't be for centuries if they ever will be. They're more like dogs than anything else.
Its very easy to make a determination of common good for other people when it doesnt affect you personally.
See all the Westerners who are unwilling to alter their way of life in the face of climate change. The billionaires who bend over backwards to avoid paying more taxes. The ideologues who oppose public healthcare services. Or masks in a pandemic.
If you are making plans based on the idea that creations of a human will only think of the common good, you'll be very disappointed.
5G was only introduced in 2019.
Many people dont even have 5G phones yet, many networks havent rolled it out fully, and 6G is expected to roll out by 2028.
I dont recall anywhere where that was stated.
But the ones we bring to Earth sure as fuck are. And noone is talking about raising non-sapient spirits on Earth.
When people talk about, say, raising a god of Chicago, its worth recalling that it will have its own goals as a sapient person, and they do not necessarily overlap with ours, or anyone else's.
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The basic tech description:
I find this habit of trying to inject as many restrictions as possible after the fact by twisting the fluff annoying.