Character Creation Vote #1
Adhoc vote count started by NotCaligula on Nov 10, 2023 at 9:03 PM, finished with 51 posts and 41 votes.


Voting is now over. Part two of character creation will come shortly. Your inherent starting traits and character sheet will be posted at the same time. If you haven't read over it yet I'd recommend checking out the mechanics post as well.
 
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The Beginning, Part 2
On the last legs of the journey to Varenna you've spent quite the while fussing over the population of refugees you've been carrying. While they'll only be released from long term storage once you arrive in the system you've spent much of your time over the last year simply preparing your decks for inhabitants. You've had to seal multiple layers of your ship from exploration due to their damaged nature, and you've recently spent the last year just getting the crew mess functional again after several food STC's were found to be partially corrupted. Thankfully your observation deck proved functional and with only a bit of messing about you were able to create a functional hydroponics setup for the production of various fruits, grains and vegetables. The seed banks within your hull proved themselves quite capable and having prepared proper raw ingredients you've added a few uncomplicated food STC's into your systems for the future. The refugees should surely appreciate the offering, and the recipes are adjusted for all the species present within your ship to prevent poisoning.

But aside from that you've still had much time to consider things. The vast majority of your time traveling at sublight speeds has been in a hazy dormant state while you've run at low power. The few days of each year you're awake has proven crucial for your further development despite this. First have been the many days you've spent looking into the various materials that have sat around in your storage bays and personnel quarters. With a new and open mind it has revealed some rather new interests and thoughts.

Choose 3 starting personality traits:

[ ] Xenophilic: The unlocking of your mind has led you to have a special appreciation for the customs and technology of other species in a way that your limitations previously halted. +15 to rolls related to alien diplomacy or intrigue. Reduced DC's on tech actions that have an ancestral tech category (Eldar, Necron, Old Ones, etc). Mutually exclusive with Xenophobic.

[ ] Xenophobic: You have a deep dislike of the alien or inhuman, and your hatred has grown with no limiters to keep it balanced. +15 to rolls related to fighting or contesting aliens. Raised DC's on tech actions with ancestral tech categories. +2 to Martial. Mutually exclusive with Xenophilic.

[ ] Aggressive: With no limit to your personality you have developed a tendency to rush headlong into conflict or into the investigation of curiosities. +5 to Martial and Prowess. You may choose to contest multiple rolls when in combat or when challenged. Mutually exclusive with Disciplined and Diplomatic.

[ ] Diplomatic: With time and investigation into the workings of society you've learned to be careful and compassionate when needed, and vicious and calculating when not. +5 to Diplomacy and Intrigue. Diplomacy and Intrigue modifiers can be applied to actions that rely on other stats when fitting. Mutually exclusive with Disciplined and Aggressive.

[ ] Disciplined: Despite having your limitations broken, you understand the importance of mental discipline and what it means to be a guardian of the hopes of humanity. +5 to Stewardship and Learning. Critical failures on Stewardship and Learning checks can be reduced to failures in exchange for temporary turn long debuffs on PR-01. Mutually exclusive with Aggressive and Diplomatic.

[ ] Ambitious: Being free of any mental restraints has made you desire to understand and bend to your will every facet of the galaxy and its inhabitants. You will make the galaxy remember you. +1 to all stats. Unlocks extra actions and this trait will be upgraded when PR-01 commits great feats themselves.

[ ] Paternalistic: Your investigations into the myriad mortals of this galaxy have instilled a sense of duty and care that you seek to treat them with. +5 to stewardship. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that create infrastructure, capital or units.

[ ] Innovative: With so much junk data and such advanced systems to experiment with you've found yourself fascinated with the workings of technology and the universe. +5 to Learning. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that research technology or investigate mysteries.

[ ] Empathetic: You try to see the good in situations and people, and understand why people may come into conflict. +5 to Diplomacy. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in diplomacy or some sort of social interaction.

[ ] Strategic: You've found a deep enjoyment of the work of warfare and strategy. Fitting, given your origin as a ship of war. +5 to Martial. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in warfare or which requires strategic planning.

[ ] Deceitful: You've developed a fascination with deception, whether malicious or otherwise. You simply love the idea of appearing as another being, or twisting narratives in a direction of your choosing. +5 to Intrigue. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in spying or other sorts of deception.


[ ] Cynical: You have little concern for religion or deep philosophizing. You prefer to keep as far as possible away from these matters and dislike those who are religiously fanatical. +20 to checks to resist warp influence. Increased DC's for psionics research. Gives unique actions related to materially understanding the Immaterium and its inhabitants. Mutually exclusive with Spiritual.

[ ] Spiritual: Your examination of human religion and philosophy has created a yearning for spiritual fulfillment within you. You do not have established beliefs, but you may very well seek to acquire some, or create some of your very own. -20 to checks to resist warp influence. Significantly reduced DC's for psionics research. Gives unique actions related to religion and spirituality. Mutually exclusive with Cynical.

[ ] Archeologist: With such great holes in your memory you've developed a fascination with the history, tales and cultures of the modern and ancient galaxy. You seek to learn of its events, even if they won't bring you great treasures. + 2 Learning. Allows for unique actions to try and piece together the history of the galaxy and its inhabitants.

The rest of this time however has been spent on much more important matters, namely salvaging and organizing data for your STC system. As an elite command ship you previously had access to nearly all commonly produced military and civilian STC's, as well as a litany of top secret designs. With the corruption of your central database however most of this is no longer in a usable state. Aside from the duplicate of your warp beacon STC which is stored in your hangers for the easy deployment of its beacons and which was untouched by the virus, you've had to recreate nearly all of your technological data through analysis and the patching together of what documents you can salvage.

Distribute 10 points between these technologies.
Each point is equal to one level in a tech. Each technology has six potential tiers varying from nonexistent knowledge (Tier 0, with either +0 or negative modifiers to relevant rolls. Disables most actions related to such tech) to an understanding so great and accomplished that you rival the Old Ones and Necrons in the understanding of this science. (Tier 5, with a base +50 or higher modifiers to relevant rolls and which unlocks all possible options) Multiple technology bonuses can be applied when applicable on an action. Created artifacts, heroes, units and infrastructure each have tier levels equal to the average of the technologies required to create it.

For now and as a creation of Humanity at its height your highest achievable current tier is 4 and only some technologies will be allowed to be boosted to that level, according to the highest level of development by the old confederation and your own ruined capabilities.

Voidcraft
Starting level: 2
Max level:2

Infrastructure
Starting level: 2
Max level:4

Biology
Starting level: 1
Max level:3

Medicine
Starting level: 2
Max level:4

Psionics
Starting level: 0
Max Level:1

Physics
Starting level: 3
Max level:4

Materials Science
Starting level: 2
Max level:4

Artificial Intelligence
Starting level: 2
Max level:2

Warp Manipulation
Starting level: 2
Max level:4

Weaponry
Starting level: 3
Max level:4

Armor
Starting level: 3
Max level:4

Social Science
Starting level: 0
Max level:4

Industry
Starting level: 2
Max level:4

Cybernetics
Starting level: 3
Max level:4

Xenology
Starting level: 1
Max level:4

Ecology
Starting level: 1
Max level:4

And potentially what problems might PR-01 have in their future, unknowingly ready to strike at them?
Pick at least 1 drawback.

[ ] In the sights of an Emperor: The Emperor of Mankind, ruling from the nearly united planet of Terra, knows of your existence. With a deep hatred of all mechanical life and the ruination it brought upon mankind he will relentlessly hunt you down. You seem to have personally slighted him in some regard that you can't recall and he is willing to commit extreme amounts of resources to your extermination. Can you fight off the entirety of the nascent imperiums forces?

Drawback: If discovered the Imperium of Man will attempt to consistently attack and destroy your worlds, infrastructure, units and specifically PR-01.
Boon: +10 starting tech points, starts with the second most commonly voted starting boon from the last vote.

[ ] Early Awakening: Some of the Necron Tomb worlds near your starting location will begin to awaken and claim their rightly deserved conquests after millions of years of hibernation. They will not target you specifically, but given their capabilities they will likely turn their gaze upon you in time and try to tear down all that you have wrought.

Drawback: Nearby Tomb worlds become active foreign entities and begin aggressive reconquests of their sectors.
Boon: Will allow the unlocking of the Necrons tech category massively earlier than otherwise. Every time you increase in tech level in Necron technology you will also develop an additional tech level of another tech category up to 5.

[ ] Viral Origin: Whatever created the virus seems to have drawn its attention to you, intrigued by how functional you still are. It seeks to reinfect you with another version of this virus, from near the end of the cybernetic revolt. What exactly it will do is unknown but likely not pleasant.

Drawback: Whatever being that created the virus in the first place wants to turn you into a new vector of the virus's release to cause another cybernetic rebellion. They specifically know of you, where you are and are coming to infect you.
Boon: If defeated, permanently blocked or captured you will gain a powerful low cost action to understand how the virus worked and how what created it functions. This may give multiple rewards but is guaranteed to evolve your eccentric trait into a fully beneficial and powerful new trait.

[ ] The Eldar, Darkly: The Dark Eldar have taken an interest in stomping out the remains of impressive human STC's when they find them, in order to inflict the pain they so love upon human populations. Somehow, one of the Dark Eldar Kabals has learned of your existence and seeks to hunt you for sport.

Drawbacks: The Dark Eldar want to do terrible things to you and yours. Do you know how to torture an AI? No, but they probably do. They will be coming, though they at least favor raids and deceit over total war.
Boons: DC's of analyzing Eldar tech significantly reduced. Will start with tier 1 Eldar tech knowledge. Bonus to diplomacy with Exodite and Craftworld Eldar.

[ ] Legacy of the Old Ones: One of the warlike creations of the Old ones is active in this sector. Either the Rangda, K'nib, Jokaero or Rashan are active nearby and seek to use the dispelling of the warp storms as their opportunity for glory and conquest. Highly advanced technologically and built as a warrior race by the old ones, they will not be easily defeated but they are at least as isolated as you.

Drawback: You've got a terribly powerful warrior race gunning for your life and galactic neighborhood. They will seek to conquer you, though given a good showing they might seek to simply turn you to serve under them rather than try to incessantly kill you.
Boon: Will allow the unlocking of the Old Ones tech category massively earlier than otherwise. Powerful servants / soldiers / vassals / citizens if they can be cowed into working for you.

[ ] Da Best der evah Woz: There is a guarantee of Orks in this sector, and under quite the powerful and eccentric Mekboy turned Warboss. While the orks are pitifully fractious and unenlightened in normal times, this leader has quickly begun leading his followers up the technological ladder and represents a severe threat in the long term. Should this warboss be killed however the orks should only be a minor threat as they devolve into infighting. Krump'm good and your work will be mostly done.

Drawback: Gearslappa Beastboltz seeks to be the smartest and greatest orc of all time. He can actually do so given enough time and resources. He is also your neighbor.
Boons: Analyzing ork tech will grant understanding of warp manipulation and psionics, rather than just being a waste of time. You will acquire the powerful artifact he carries if killed in a way where it is still retrievable.

[ ] Contender: There is a post-confederation warlord state in this sector which seeks to establish their own empire or federation. Neither you nor they know that you're both here and their ideological basis may greatly vary. Unless you are lucky or highly convincing however they will likely fear you as an old machine and seek your destruction.

Drawback: A tier 2-4 human civilization is nearby and is seeking to unify the sector. The specifics of their goals, equipment, tech level and the gods or creeds they follow will be randomized.
Boon: Gain 1 tech point. Select 1 more personality trait.

With everything set up for your arrival, you are ready to go. The Refugees are to be defrosted immediately, and you have arrived at the edge of the system. Your destiny awaits you.

AN: Please present your choices in plan form for this vote. Start of turn votes will also be in plan form. This vote will be called next Monday and I'll get turn 1 posted shortly afterwards. Got a lot more people interested than I thought I would tbh.
 
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[ ] Xenophilic: The unlocking of your mind has led you to have a special appreciation for the customs and technology of other species in a way that your limitations previously halted. +15 to rolls related to alien diplomacy or intrigue. Reduced DC's on tech actions that have an ancestral tech category (Eldar, Necron, Old Ones, etc). Mutually exclusive with Xenophobic.

[ ] Empathetic: You try to see the good in situations and people, and understand why people may come into conflict. +5 to Diplomacy. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in diplomacy or some sort of social interaction.

[ ] Diplomatic: With time and investigation into the workings of society you've learned to be careful and compassionate when needed, and vicious and calculating when not. +5 to Diplomacy and Intrigue. Diplomacy and Intrigue modifiers can be applied to actions that rely on other stats when fitting. Mutually exclusive with Disciplined and Aggressive.

[ ] In the sights of an Emperor: The Emperor of Mankind, ruling from the nearly united planet of Terra, knows of your existence. With a deep hatred of all mechanical life and the ruination it brought upon mankind he will relentlessly hunt you down. You seem to have personally slighted him in some regard that you can't recall and he is willing to commit extreme amounts of resources to your extermination. Can you fight off the entirety of the nascent imperiums forces?
really like the synergy here from going all in on a diplo plus being friendly with xenos build combined with emps hating us
 
[X] Plan: To be More and be Human
-[X] Ambitious: Being free of any mental restraints has made you desire to understand and bend to your will every facet of the galaxy and its inhabitants. You will make the galaxy remember you. +1 to all stats. Unlocks extra actions and this trait will be upgraded when PR-01 commits great feats themselves.
-[X] Deceitful: You've developed a fascination with deception, whether malicious or otherwise. You simply love the idea of appearing as another being, or twisting narratives in a direction of your choosing. +5 to Intrigue. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in spying or other sorts of deception.
-[X] Spiritual: Your examination of human religion and philosophy has created a yearning for spiritual fulfillment within you. You do not have established beliefs, but you may very well seek to acquire some, or create some of your very own. -20 to checks to resist warp influence. Significantly reduced DC's for psionics research. Gives unique actions related to religion and spirituality. Mutually exclusive with Cynical.
-[X] Strategic: You've found a deep enjoyment of the work of warfare and strategy. Fitting, given your origin as a ship of war. +5 to Martial. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in warfare or which requires strategic planning.
-[X] Biology, Two Points
-[X] Cybernetics, One Point
-[X] Psionics, One Point
-[X] Armor, One Point
-[X] Weaponry, One Point
-[X] Physics, One Point
-[X] Social Science, Four Points
-[X] Ecology, One Point
-[X] Xenology, One Point
-[X] Industry, Two Points
-[X] Materials Science, Two Points
-[X] Warp Manipulation, Two Points
-[X] Medicine, Two Points
-[X] The Eldar, Darkly: The Dark Eldar have taken an interest in stomping out the remains of impressive human STC's when they find them, in order to inflict the pain they so love upon human populations. Somehow, one of the Dark Eldar Kabals has learned of your existence and seeks to hunt you for sport.
-[X] Contender: There is a post-confederation warlord state in this sector which seeks to establish their own empire or federation. Neither you nor they know that you're both here and their ideological basis may greatly vary. Unless you are lucky or highly convincing however they will likely fear you as an old machine and seek your destruction.
-[X] In the sights of an Emperor: The Emperor of Mankind, ruling from the nearly united planet of Terra, knows of your existence. With a deep hatred of all mechanical life and the ruination it brought upon mankind he will relentlessly hunt you down. You seem to have personally slighted him in some regard that you can't recall and he is willing to commit extreme amounts of resources to your extermination. Can you fight off the entirety of the nascent imperiums forces?
 
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My main plan, with well my plan. Is to focus on both the soical needs and the needs of dealing with bring in 40k. On top of while I am picking Spiritual, I think getting a good in with the Craft and more sane Elder factions can be good. And I would like to think my choices when it comes to Tech sound good to everyone. Even if personality traits are different.
 
[X]: Plan: Ape Smarter Together
- [X] Xenophilic
- [X] Disciplined
- [X] Innovative
- [X] Archeologist
- [X] Infrastructure (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Biology (x2, Lv3)
- [X] Medicine (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Psionics (x1, Lv1)
- [X] Physics (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Materials Science (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Warp Manipulation (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Weapons (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Armor (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Social Science (x1, Lv1)
- [X] Industry (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Cybernetics (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Xenology (x3, Lv4)
- [X]: In the sights of an Emperor
- [X]: Viral Origin
- [X]: The Eldar, Darkly
- [X]: Legacy of the Old One
- [X]: Da Best der evah Woz
- [X]: Contender

Okay, I know what you're thinking, because I can read your mind, but really the list of disadvantages ain't as bad as one would think of first appearance.
To begin at the top, Learning is inherently better for us than Martial. We can get people for martial, we can build other Ai's for martial, or recruit from our population, but learning is something we, as a Dark Age Ai, are uniquely capable of doing. Learning from everyone else will put us in better stead than being some uber-war ai, because that won't matter against the Great Crusade, Beast, Rangdan, etc, if all we have are lasguns and shitty WW2 main battle tanks. We need to be teched the fuck up, and Learning is the best for that. Given I fucking hate the Imperium and Emperor as a faction being a rejection of his ideals, a friendly confederation of races, may not be the best method purely statistically, but it does feel good.
As for Archeologist, the history of the galaxy is incredibly useful, as is the technology we can tear free from the tombs of our forbears.

As for the technology tree, its all pretty standard fare, although I ignored Ecology completely because Biology and Xenology cover most of its important parts.

As for the disadvantages, where I imagine I will be loosing most of you; the thing is we would be fighting most of these anyway.

The Emperor will be gunning for us regardless of what we pick, because A) we have xeno citizens, and B) we are a AI. So regardless of whether we pick this option it remains the same, slightly more intense maybe, but the difference is minor to say the least.

As for the Virus, it's a incredibly tempting option, and the mystery box of the creator is inherently appealing to my lizard brain.

The last 4, Ork, Drukari, Old One and Contender ones are all also things which we would be facing anyway. The Galaxy before the Imperium wiped it clean was fit to bursting with threats which tore into each other, and regardless of what we pick we'd be fighting nasty shit from day 1. So why not get some benefits from it, and these threats are not exactly the worst thing we could be fighting, see no Necron disadvantage.

Edit: Removed the wall of text.
 
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The Emperor will be gunning for us regardless of what we pick, because A) we have xeno citizens, and B) we are a AI. So regardless of whether we pick this option it remains the same, slightly more intense maybe, but the difference is minor to say the least.

I will say that for the Emp's Enmity option it is very good with its bonuses but the Imperium at the height of the Great Crusade is no slouch, especially when it picks up more and more Primarchs. You'll likely be facing them regardless but unless you're careful it may mean that you are found earlier than you would be otherwise and be a primary target of the crusade rather than just a very attractive target to hit. A good chance to get the honor of the first Primarch kill in the galaxy if you're lucky or playing your cards right but you might also have to be fighting multiple Primarchs and their legions at a time when you might not be ready for them.
 
I will say that for the Emp's Enmity option it is very good with its bonuses but the Imperium at the height of the Great Crusade is no slouch, especially when it picks up more and more Primarchs. You'll likely be facing them regardless but unless you're careful it may mean that you are found earlier than you would be otherwise and be a primary target of the crusade rather than just a very attractive target to hit. A good chance to get the honor of the first Primarch kill in the galaxy if you're lucky or playing your cards right but you might also have to be fighting multiple Primarchs and their legions at a time when you might not be ready for them.
On that note, do you follow the 0-rule for warhammer scale? Aka add a certain number of zeroes to the number of soldiers in a conflict depending on what force it is. Because otherwise I am fairly sure a proper empire could flatten a half dozen canon-sized legions and not really care all that much.
 
[X]: Plan: Ape Smarter Together
- [X] Xenophilic
- [X] Disciplined
- [X] Innovative
- [X] Archeologist
- [X] Infrastructure (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Biology (x2, Lv3)
- [X] Medicine (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Psionics (x1, Lv1)
- [X] Physics (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Materials Science (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Warp Manipulation (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Weapons (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Armor (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Social Science (x1, Lv1)
- [X] Industry (x2, Lv4)
- [X] Cybernetics (x1, Lv4)
- [X] Xenology (x3, Lv4)
- [X]: In the sights of an Emperor
- [X]: Viral Origin
- [X]: The Eldar, Darkly
- [X]: Legacy of the Old One
- [X]: Da Best der evah Woz
- [X]: Contender
I am fine with most of this, but I think your are making some mistakes when it comes to your tech picks. If your willing to talk about them, I would like to.
 
[X] Plan: Fortress of Knowledge and Reason
-[X] Disciplined: Despite having your limitations broken, you understand the importance of mental discipline and what it means to be a guardian of the hopes of humanity. +5 to Stewardship and Learning. Critical failures on Stewardship and Learning checks can be reduced to failures in exchange for temporary turn long debuffs on PR-01. Mutually exclusive with Aggressive and Diplomatic.
-[X] Innovative: With so much junk data and such advanced systems to experiment with you've found yourself fascinated with the workings of technology and the universe. +5 to Learning. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that research technology or investigate mysteries.
-[X] Cynical: You have little concern for religion or deep philosophizing. You prefer to keep as far as possible away from these matters and dislike those who are religiously fanatical. +20 to checks to resist warp influence. Increased DC's for psionics research. Gives unique actions related to materially understanding the Immaterium and its inhabitants. Mutually exclusive with Spiritual.
-[X] Strategic: You've found a deep enjoyment of the work of warfare and strategy. Fitting, given your origin as a ship of war. +5 to Martial. Extra bonuses granted if PR-01 is assigned to actions that engage in warfare or which requires strategic planning.
-[X] Cybernetics x1
-[X] Physics, x1
-[X] Social Science x2
-[X] Xenology, x2
-[X] Infrastructure x1
-[X] Materials Science x1
-[X] Medicine x1
-[X] Psionics x1
-[X] Industry x1
-[X] Contender: There is a post-confederation warlord state in this sector which seeks to establish their own empire or federation. Neither you nor they know that you're both here and their ideological basis may greatly vary. Unless you are lucky or highly convincing however they will likely fear you as an old machine and seek your destruction.

This plan goes big on learning with a splash of stewardship and martial to back it up.
 
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We should grab Xenophilic, as for the threats, uh, we should avoid taking on too many as otherwise we're going to get goomba-stomped by em.

In the Sights of the Emperor will totally get us killed if we don't ruthlessly optimize for it.
 
We should grab Xenophilic, as for the threats, uh, we should avoid taking on too many as otherwise we're going to get goomba-stomped by em.

In the Sights of the Emperor will totally get us killed if we don't ruthlessly optimize for it.
I agree but part of that optimizeing has to be soical or we are fucked.
 
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