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Tinker Quest (Current Character: Ajax Washington)

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Randino Treviani said:
Hmm. Back towards the drawing board then. What if I combine Hyperspecialist, Focal, and Alter + Alter?
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Hyperspecialist x Focal mean you focus on a single type of item, that can be a gun, two handed sword, jetpack really whatever you want that it's just that item is your main focus. You can still have other small things but those will be very minor and designed to assist your focus.

Alter x Alter ontop of the above is pretty much a multitool on steroids. Whatever your focus is it is going to be able to do so so much, think Armsmaster's halberd but better in every single way. The downside of course is that your focus is going to be more finnicky and require more maintenance. Because your entire methodology is around that type of item they won't break as easily but you will have to perform more maintenance than normal.
 
[X] Plan: Architect of oneself

Architect X magi, Life X Ego

[X] Plan: Community Dreams

Hyperspeclist X architect, Data X Artifice

@Witherbrine26 what would these plans get in terms of tech?
 
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[X] Plan: If Angels Fall, can Demons Rise?
[X] How does your tinkering work? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice.)
-[X] Multithreaded: Most tinkers have a field of expertise, but you get two. Maybe even three. Each one's pretty okay on its own, but when you put them together, all kinds of fun can happen.
-[X] Free: You have a special trick like every tinker, but it's not about how you do it. It's about how it holds you back. You get to build all the things, but you don't get them easy.
[X] What does your tinkering do? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice)
-[X] Data: Knowledge is power, and you've got both. Computers, tactical communications, surveillance, artificial intelligence... whatever it is, they're probably putting you on mission ops.
-[X] Psyche: Your tech's about getting into people's heads. Whether it's hypnosis, dream manipulation, mind control rays, or the classic brain-in-a-jar, you're great at making new friends.
[X] What do you value most? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice)
-[X] Harmony: You value a world where everyone can live together and enjoy their lives to the fullest. A little bit of moderation, a little bit of balance, and a little bit of trust.
-[X] Community: You know the value of a little generosity, a little happiness, and a little hope. What we give to each other lets us all rise higher, and you've got a lot to give.
[X] What's your backstory? (write-in vote; no trigger events!)
-[X] The result of a poorly thought-out night of passion between two College kids in the wake of an Endbringer attack, Evan Andrews didn't have an easy home life. He had a rough home life with his parents uncomfortable around each other, and highly argumentative. No physical violence ever occurred, but the tension was constantly high, and the stress left him a quiet and nervous child. After the college graduation, his parents married officially- mostly for his sake, even if they'd come to rely on each other- and they moved to a relatively small town with stable work. Once he started making friends, others in the town started noticing how often he'd spend at their homes to avoid his own, and- after getting to know the parents- everyone started working on helping the family through their issues. The sheer lengths the community went through to help the young family out were obvious to the young Evan, and made a major impact on him, as did the slowly growing sense of sincere affection between his parents. Things turned for the worse when they returned from a week-long family camping trip to find their former home had been swept through by the Nine. Evan didn't see much before the parents turned around and fled, but what he saw haunted him after that day. His mother called her brother, one Daniel Hebert, and he helped their family move over into Brockton Bay, a wildly different setting than Evan was used to, and he has lived there ever since.
[X] And... where are you, exactly?
-[X] Brockton Bay: One might suspect this city was made to tell the stories of heroes and villains. And, well, they're probably right.


The goal and hope here is to build out someone who focuses on manipulating minds, being a master, and doing so from a distance via programs and computer tech. His main goal would be flying under the radar while trying to subtly improve society as a whole by changing the people inside it. He sees Simmy and wonders if he could someday be her opposite- causing ripple effects of good to echo through society, where she causes psychosis and mayhem. He sees broken people and capes, and decides he wants to put them back together and make them heal.

Sure he's still Mastering people, but he only has his own specialty. Can he really afford to wait so someone with a better set of skills can step up and fix things? Society is crumbling, and people seem to be getting more jaded and less kind with every passing day... so if no one is going to get out of the crap and start making the world better instead of worse, he'll just rip out the problem at the root. The world doesn't have time for anything else, after all.

And if he has a relationship with the MC and therefore an excuse to step in and help her, then that just feels like a fun extra bit tossed in for flavor.


At least, that's my hope and view on it. I don't think it'll be a winning plan, but I like the idea of the character, and I hope you guys will too!

[X] Plan: Master of the Tower
Venerable! The fudge! You have such incredible ideas!
It really isn't fair. XD
 
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[X] Plan "Worlds Best Mug" Mug
-[X] How does your tinkering work?
--[X] Focal
--[X] Hyperspecialist
-[X] What does your tinkering do?
--[X] Alter
--[X] Alter × 2
-[X] What do you value most?
--[X] Introspection
--[X] Opportunity
-[X] What's your backstory?
--[X] Your a simple young man whose always been fascinated by doctor who, so you set out to try and build the ultimate tools for experiencing life to the fullest. Time Travel was probably asking a lot, and not something you entirely trusted yourself with anyways after a good think on it, but a sonic screwdriver. That you could make, and by the time your done with it, it's be truly amazing.
-[X] And... where are you, exactly?
--[X] London

Witherbrine26 said:
Hyperspecialist x Focal mean you focus on a single type of item, that can be a gun, two handed sword, jetpack really whatever you want that it's just that item is your main focus. You can still have other small things but those will be very minor and designed to assist your focus.

Alter x Alter ontop of the above is pretty much a multitool on steroids. Whatever your focus is it is going to be able to do so so much, think Armsmaster's halberd but better in every single way. The downside of course is that your focus is going to be more finnicky and require more maintenance. Because your entire methodology is around that type of item they won't break as easily but you will have to perform more maintenance than normal.
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Based on the above description. The name just came to me. Other names lacked emphasis. We probably aren't going to actually make all powerful Omni too that puts Ironmans suit to shame in the shape of a coffee mug.
 
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[X] Plan IT'S ALIVE!!!
-[X] How does your tinkering work? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice.)
--[X] Controller: You know those tinkers who make robots, and not much else? That's you. You're the robot tinker. Good news is, you're really good at making robots.
--[X] Focal: You have a favorite kind of tool or weapon, and you make them very good. You're really only good at that one toy, but good gravy are you good at it.
-[X] What does your tinkering do? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice)
--[X] Life: You know those stories about bio-tinkers? You're a biotinker. You work with living systems, whether it's the leafy greens, chimeric abominations, or the science of life itself.
--[X] Impulse: You make tech to do stuff for you. Robotics, automated security systems, monster hatcheries, tech-gardens... whatever it is, it'll do its own thing while you do your thing.
-[X] What do you value most? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice)
--[X] Aspiration: You aspire to greatness and personal success, and you measure your worth by your accomplishments. Yours is a road paved with milestones.
--[X] Foundation: You know a good life is built on a good foundation, and every wonder needs a rock-solid one. Build stable now, and you can build taller later.
-[X] What's your backstory? (write-in vote; no trigger events!)
--[X] Grew up in a military family, tried to join the army but was rejected due underlying congenital health problems - something recessive, no one could've predicted it until he got checked. Ended up a serial part-time worker at any place that would hire.
-[X] And... where are you, exactly?
--[X] Brockton Bay: One might suspect this city was made to tell the stories of heroes and villains. And, well, they're probably right.
 
[X] Plan: Master of the Tower
-[X] How does your tinkering work? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice.)
--[X] Focal: You have a favorite kind of tool or weapon, and you make them very good. You're really only good at that one toy, but good gravy are you good at it.
--[X] Architect: You have a plan, and it's a big plan. In fact, it's so big, you could probably take over a city with it! You're on the fast track to building a megaproject.
-[X] What does your tinkering do? (pick any two; result combines the two, you can pick the same option twice)
--[X] Element: There's a whole world of power out there, and it's yours for the taking. Tectonics, hydraulics, cryogenics, atomic power... whatever it is, you're about tapping into that natural force.
--[X] Impulse: You make tech to do stuff for you. Robotics, automated security systems, monster hatcheries, tech-gardens... whatever it is, it'll do its own thing while you do your thing.
-[X] Aspiration: You aspire to greatness and personal success, and you measure your worth by your accomplishments. Yours is a road paved with milestones.
--[X] Foundation: You know a good life is built on a good foundation, and every wonder needs a rock-solid one. Build stable now, and you can build taller later.
-[X] What's your backstory? (write-in vote; no trigger events!)
All your life you've been fascinated by the subtle wonder of scale. Everything from the great old sycamore tree you grew up with, to towering stratocumulus clouds in the summer sky, to the concrete and glass canyons of the big city. Things like that have always had a way of making you feel small, not in a bad sense, but rather in the way that makes the world feel even larger, the sky held up and the horizon pushed back by marvels manmade and natural. It's no surprise you picked the career you did, after spending your childhood reading all about magical towers and historical architecture it was pretty inevitable that you went into:

Now that you've recovered from (Enter Trigger Here) you can feel, something, an impulse to build. You can feel it, the sky's not the limit, there's no limit at all, you'll build a marvel like a mountain, rooted in the earth and rising above the clouds. This Tower of yours, you dream of it and the things it can do, clean energy and material resources will be the least of its marvels, the higher you rise the brighter the horizon.
-[X] And... where are you, exactly?
--[X] (Write-in): Somewhere else, not among the other places. Unfortunately municipal zoning laws don't play well with, creative building proposals. And that was before you decided to build a structure to rival the mythic Yggdrasil Tree! No, if you were going to have the freedom and room needed to build your grand edifice right you'd have to get away from all those petty bureaucrats and "civil" engineers complaining about aggressively expansionistic foundations and Tinker-forged building materials.

Fortunately, with the world the way it is the economy's not exactly healthy, and there are plenty of abandoned ghost towns that have been left to rot and molder. A desert wasteland for the average machinery-dependent Tinker, but your tower can excavate all it needs once the work is begun. Yes, this old mining town is perfect, just you, an abundance of material, and that endless blue sky.

It's time to break the earth.



You ever just feel like building a really huge tower? Like, I'm talking one of those vast "dungeon in a tower" bigger-on-the-inside deals where the thing is subtly and blatantly extended into multiple other realities and nobody actually knows how tall it is. With Element and Impulse we can make it self-powering and self-managing, we can make it do nearly anything and we won't be beholden to scrabbling around in a junkyard for parts.

My friends, the Tower must Rise.

Edit, after much discussion I decided to swap out Hyperspecialist for Focal in order to better reflect the core fantasy of building an improbably huge Tower.
 
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[X] Plan: Community Dreams

[X] Plan: Architect of oneself

[X] Plan: Master of the Tower
 
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I should probably check... @Witherbrine26, will this scheme do what I'm describing? Namely allow for the construction of an unnaturally huge tower that at some point will be able to contribute to its own construction and tap into progressively esoteric energy sources and materials?
 
Venerable Ro said:
I should probably check... @Witherbrine26, will this scheme do what I'm describing? Namely allow for the construction of an unnaturally huge tower that at some point will be able to contribute to its own construction and tap into progressively esoteric energy sources and materials?
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I think doubling up on impulse might be better? You could probably get a perpetual motion engine going as part of the tower in terms of powering the tower in question, which would fall under impulse, and extra impulse would build the tower faster. Since your planning for it all to be one, singular tower machine, Focal might be more beneficial than hyperspecialist.
 
[X] Plan: Sword-Logic
-[X] How does your tinkering work?
--[X] Focal: You have a favorite kind of tool or weapon, and you make them very good. You're really only good at that one toy, but good gravy are you good at it.
--[X] Combat: Most tinkers can build tech for combat, but not like you can. In fact, you're so good at combat tech that you're not much good at anything else!
-[X] What does your tinkering do?
--[X] War: You're all about that military tech. Maybe you're guns, radar, artillery, tanks, flamethrowers, chemical weapons... whatever it is, you've got the art of war down to a science.
--[X] War: You're all about that military tech. Maybe you're guns, radar, artillery, tanks, flamethrowers, chemical weapons... whatever it is, you've got the art of war down to a science. x2
-[X] What do you value most?
--[X] Authority: You know a person is shaped by the world around them, so you shape the world in turn. Maybe not everyone will appreciate it, but not everyone has to.
--[X] Courage: You know the value of personal strength, and what it means to test your resolve. When the going gets tough and others turn away, you press on.
-[X] What's your backstory?: When Dad immigrated to the US after Kyushu, he did two very important things: he opened a Kendo dojo and fell head over heels in love with Mom. You were their very happy accident. Much to Mom's fond exasperation, you were every bit your father's child with him training you in Kendo moves while you were still in diapers. Ever since Kendo's been a central pillar to your life, both as a sport and to connect deeper with dad's culture and homeland (which you know despite what he says he still misses deeply). You were planning on joining a professional tournament when it happened.
-[X] And... where are you, exactly?
--[X] New York City: Somewhere in the general vicinity of greatness, that's for sure. Better bring your A-game to this one, pally.

I created this plan as an homage to one of my favorite new Destiny/Worm crossover fics: Applied Ontology and Other Practical Considerations which I very much recommend even for people not familiar with Destiny cosmology.

Edit: I've just realized I made a tinker version of Black Kaze. I sort of want to rework the backstory to include a few allusions to her (maybe even a familial relation?). On the other hand, I want this character to be their own person and not a riff of another parahuman. Additionally, I'm including a couple of approval votes. Architect of oneself for the cool concept, and Community Dreams for how Witherbrine described its synergies.

[X] Plan: Architect of oneself
[X] Plan: Community Dreams
 
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Randino Treviani said:
I think doubling up on impulse might be better? You could probably get a perpetual motion engine going as part of the tower in terms of powering the tower in question, which would fall under impulse, and extra impulse would build the tower faster. Since your planning for it all to be one, singular tower machine, Focal might be more beneficial than hyperspecialist.
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I picked Hyperspecialist over Focal because it references a field of expertise whereas Focal seems to be about say, making the absolute best possible halberd. Since The Tower will be an exceedingly complex working I felt it would be better to claim "Architecture" rather than just a specific sort of building. This way The Tower can incorporate everything from mines to workshops to generators while remaining solidly in our sphere of expertise.

That's also why I picked Element, since it definitely deals with ways of powering all of this, and quite possibly extends into materials "science" as well under the general umbrella of "There's a whole world of power out there, and it's yours for the taking."
 
Some_guy_161 said:
I created this plan as an homage to one of my favorite new Destiny/Worm crossover fics: Applied Ontology and Other Practical Considerations which I very much recommend even for people not familiar with Destiny cosmology.
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First of all, thanks for the recommendation, it's so cursed rare to find Destiny fanfiction that manages to grok the vibe. This is fascinating.

Secondly, this looks like a fun character concept, not least because we'd get to muse on the esoteric philosophy of the Hive. The Worm setting is, almost an ideal scenario really.

[X] Plan: Master of the Tower
[X] Plan: Sword-Logic
 
-[x] Liberty: You don't quite play by all the same rules other tinkers do. No special benefits to what you build, but one of the usual 'being a tinker' problems isn't your problem

-[x] Free: You have a special trick like every tinker, but it's not about how you do it. It's about how it holds you back. You get to build all the things, but you don't get them easy.

-[x] Control: Your tech's all about being in charge. Fortifications, battlefield suppression, administration, strategy, absolute domination of free will... whatever it is, you're the boss of it.
.
-[x] Safety: The word's out to get you, but that's okay. You're ready for them. Underground bases, life-support systems, power armor... whatever it is, you're a tough nut to crack.


-[x] Foundation: You know a good life is built on a good foundation, and every wonder needs a rock-solid one. Build stable now, and you can build taller later.
.
.
-[x] Community: You know the value of a little generosity, a little happiness, and a little hope. What we give to each other lets us all rise higher, and you've got a lot to give.



-[x] Brockton Bay: One might suspect this city was made to tell the stories of heroes and villains. And they are probably right.
 
How exactly is the tower supposed to help us with things outside said tower? I don't really see the appeal of "Build big thing in the middle of nowhere."
 
alexthealright said:
How exactly is the tower supposed to help us with things outside said tower? I don't really see the appeal of "Build big thing in the middle of nowhere."
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How does Factorio's Factory help the player with things outside the walls? Or for that matter, how does The Castle help the Heterodyne family with things outside the town?

Honestly I just want to build a gigantic Tinker tower thing and use it to do as many different things as we can persuade the DM to consider plausible. Figuring out a narrative around "strange Tinker builds huge tower in abandoned strip mine" is Witherbrine's job, and I'm very confident in his ability to make something interesting of a megalomaniacal fixation on building a stratoscraper tall enough to be seen from both coasts.
 
Venerable Ro said:
Or for that matter, how does The Castle help the Heterodyne family with things outside the town?
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It doesn't? It's just a very secure home base, and I will note that we lack an army of minions with which to capitalize on that advantage.
Venerable Ro said:
Figuring out a narrative around "strange Tinker builds huge tower in abandoned strip mine" is Witherbrine's job, and I'm very confident in his ability to make something interesting of a megalomaniacal fixation on building a stratoscraper tall enough to be seen from both coasts.
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Feels kinda rude to throw something like that at the QM and just assume they can figure out something interesting, for goodness sake you purposely cut off the most obvious possible sources of conflict while giving them the most restrictive possible power, either its in our tower, in which case, we probably win, or its not in our tower, at which point we're a normal human.
 
blankmask said:
Hyperspeclist X architect, Data X Artifice
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Hyperspeclist x Architect have a few tricks that let you ape at being Breakers, maybe some armor that shifts them out of reality slightly or something of that sort. But what they are really got at is a megaproject that lets them warp space, with that you'll be able to warp reality around you to the point you'll practically be a god within the range of your megaproject.

Data x Artifice is all about skills, teaching people them, sapping them and just generally that intangible thing that makes people talented at things. With the above your megaproject may look something like instant skill gifting to you, or with the right set up could even be a set of self evolving tinkertech, albeit not to the point of the true runaway tinkers.
blankmask said:
Architect X magi, Life X Ego
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Architect x Magi is all about the self, you are the focus of your very own megaproject, focused around yourself. This can by anything from making you immortal to shutting down powers around you the point is that you are going to cyborg yourself with the best damn tinkertech anybody can build.

Life x Ego is all about vitality, that can be something like blood or even more abstract things that revolve around that vitality. You'll be real focused on immortality and healing, or simply making yourself better when combined with the above. Your megaproject may be something like an endless motion machine of vitality, just pure immortality running through your veins.

Venerable Ro said:
I should probably check... @Witherbrine26, will this scheme do what I'm describing? Namely allow for the construction of an unnaturally huge tower that at some point will be able to contribute to its own construction and tap into progressively esoteric energy sources and materials?
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Yup, your build is going to be very much able to do that.
 
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alexthealright said:
It doesn't? It's just a very secure home base, and I will note that we lack an army of minions with which to capitalize on that advantage.
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Well either we recruit some proper minions from the local villagestowns or the [Impulse] feature will let us build, serviceable, minions. Not as good as a dedicated Tinker could perhaps, but something that can do the lifting/carrying/smashing.


alexthealright said:
Feels kinda rude to throw something like that at the QM and just assume they can figure out something interesting, for goodness sake you purposely cut off the most obvious possible sources of conflict while giving them the most restrictive possible power, either its in our tower, in which case, we probably win, or its not in our tower, at which point we're a normal human.
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I don't think so, the narrative flow of "local madman builds ominous fortress/structure up in the hills much to the consternation of the countryside" is a well established archetype, quite respectable. Personally I'd say a lone Tinker suddenly building a mysterious Tower in the middle of nowhere would likely draw all sorts of attention, we'll have to put up signs! If anything, one might argue that a deliberate move away from 50 Shades of Powered Armor in the direction of a fundamentally different paradigm might be a narrative breath of fresh air. Certainly if the author considers the idea untenable he'd say so (and I mean that in a practical "this is why your idea won't work" kind of way)


Witherbrine26 said:
Hyperspeclist x Architect have a few tricks that let you ape at being Breakers, maybe some armor that shifts them out of reality slightly or something of that sort. But what they are really got at is a megaproject that lets them warp space, with that you'll be able to warp reality around you to the point you'll practically be a god within the range of your megaproject.
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Witherbrine26 said:
Yup, your build is going to be very much able to do that.
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Well would you look at that, not-at-all-eldritch Tower-shaped Tinkertech god-machine is a go!
 
[X] Plan: Vault-Tec Calling
-[X] How does your tinkering work?
--[X] Architect
--[X] Resource
-[X] What does your tinkering do?
--[X] Safety
--[X] Impulse
-[X] What do you value most?
--[X] Foundation
--[X] Community
-[X] And... where are you, exactly?
--[X] The Suburbs
-[X] What's your backstory?
--[X] Growing up, you were terrified at the threat of nuclear war, now you are certain the endbringers will kill us all before we can wipe ourselves out.
 
Another fun plan, though I won't vote for this one:
[]Plan: How to train your Dragon
-[] How does your tinkering work?
--[] Hyperspecialist
--[] Controller
-[] What does your tinkering do?
--[] Data
--[] Data
-[] What do you value most?
--[] Authority
--[] Commitment
IMO this seems like the way to hijack Dragon. I wouldn't go for it, but it was fun to think of.
 
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