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Aircraft Design Company- Matsura's Planes Are Always Fastest!

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Character Sheet
  • Informational


    • ​
    Stress
    0​
    Office Stress
    0​
    XP
    5​

    Matsura Asuka
    Head Designer for Ohara Airworks
    Age 24 (Legally 25)
    Year 12 AF (After Flight)

    Design Stats
    Aerodynamics Engineering - +2
    Structural Engineering - +2
    Chemical Engineering - +1
    Mechanical Engineering - +1
    Ballistics Engineering - +1
    Electrical Engineering - 0

    Personal/Political Stats
    Social Skills - 0
    Politics Skills - 0
    Importance - 2
    Income - 1
    Investments - Ohara

    Resources
    Power - 0
    Wealth - 2

    Designs
    Type 1 Series - Military Variation (Designated T1M1)
    Type 2 Racer (World Speed Record October 1910-April 1911, 180kph)
    Model 2 Scout (Designated T1M2)
    Navy Scout Prototype (Drowned Rat)
    Dive Bomber B1M1 "Duck"
    Machine Gun Carrier R1A "Dragonfly" (World Speed Record May-July 1911, 200kph)
    Naval Rescue Water-Landing Supply Plane NR1M0 "Dolphin" (World speed record 240kph)
    Rhino Demon Train Hunter
    The world's first airliner
    The world's first pulsejet airplane

    Assets
    Slide Rule
    Computator (1 Reroll per Routine)

    Languages
    Albian
    Gallian

    Familiar Vices
    Drinking
    Prostitutes
    Dancing

    Family Life
    - Engaged to Arita Yachi, formerly the leading Ace in the Imperial Army. Designated #1 Cutest Army Boy, he's having some serious problems with PTSD right now.
    - Taking a second try at dating Mikami Kiho, ex-dockerwork from the south.

    Upgrades
    - 3 XP to upgrade a stat.

    Ohara Airworks
    Start Up, Imperial Capital, Akitsukuni

    Owner
    - Mr. Ohara, Rich. Aircraft Enthusiast. Business guy.

    Engineers

    Kibe Koume, 26, Office Manager
    Tiny & angry, Kibe went to school in Albia, picking up the language, the religion, and a fuckload of swear words. Speaks Albian.
    Mechanical +2, Ballistics +1
    Office Manager: If Kibe is not assigned to a team, the Office Stress is reduced by 1.

    Sakane Jun, 26, Second Team Leader
    A soured patriot, Sakane is married and has a young child being raised gender-neutrally. His two brothers who fought in the war.
    Structural +2, Aerodynamics +1
    Team Leader: If there are any additional projects, Sakane will lead them.
    Joinery: Sakane has training in the traditional Akitsukuni carpentry art of joinery, creating complex self-supporting joints with no fasteners or glue. When working with non-monocoque wooden spars or ribs, +1 Structural.

    Tezuka Kenji, ???
    A stoner with occasional flashes of insight. Nobody really knows what he does, but he's probably useful?
    Aerodynamics +2, Chemical +1
    Flashes of Brilliance: Each natural 10 rolled by any team Tezuka is assigned to gives +1 forward to the next research roll.

    Hasegawa Morio, 26
    A hopeless nerd with a photography habit, mostly on account of developing his own film, Hasegawa seems to do nothing but work and stack card houses, but somehow has an incredible attractive boyfriend. Speaks Gallian.
    Chemical +2, Ballistic +1
    Silent Workhorse: Hasegawa can work on two different projects at once for no cost to Office Stress, providing they use different stats.

    Kawamura Yosai, 25.
    Serially successful womanizer and incredibly attractive, Kawamura doesn't seem to have much of a personality outside of seducing women. Well, except for that time he seduced Asuka, which nobody talks about. Speaks Dyske.
    Structural +2, Electrical +1, Social +1
    Easily Distracted: If Kawamura is working on the same team as a female or non-binary employee, the team is at -1d10.

    Koide Hatsu, 24.
    One of the few female graduates of an Akitsukuni engineering school, Koide is brilliant and incredibly driven, but her first job at Akibara was both humiliating and exposed her to an abusive coworker. Her father is a rich businessman with factories in Joseon, and she's engaged to Ken from Castles of Steel. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +2, Structural +1
    No Sleep: If you let her, Koide will work herself to death. She can work a second project for no Office Stress, but all her stats will be reduced to 1 for the routine.

    Kobayashi Ayao, ???
    Disowned heiress of the Kobayashi family, all Kobayashi wanted was a career and to be a modern woman. For her trouble, a cousin threw acid on her, scarring her face, neck, much of her torso, and her left arm. Despite appearing serene and above it all, she's actually an avowed communist activist and baseball player.
    Aerodynamics +2, Social +2

    Adachi Ren, 24
    Adachi learned chemistry from her father, one of the most famous chemical engineers in the country, rather than through formal schooling. She's married, has a kid, and takes spirituality very seriously. Yes, you did the math right, she had Yuki when she was 17. It's 1912, folks.
    Chemical +2, Electrical +1
    Young Mother: Adachi will cause double Office Stress if she has to work multiple tasks.

    Uyeno Sei, Ballistics Engineer, 31.
    The oldest member of the crew, this is Uyeno's second career. Her first was as an officer in the Imperial Navy with specialized technical training: her very promising career was cut short by her transition. Her work in a naval arsenal on machine-guns landed her the job here. Briefly dated Satomi (the age range is a bit creepy but again, 1912), she's missing a piece of her ear and is deaf on that side, from an exploding cannon. Recently returned from Varnmark from experimental surgery, she's known for her skill navigating gendered bureaucracy.
    Ballistic +3

    Mi Kyung-Jae, 23
    A recent graduate of the Imperial College of Heijo, Mi is from the recently annexed territory of Joseon. For those keeping track at home, that means he's a Korean national living in Imperial Japan in 1912. We haven't seen much of his personality because he's rightfully terrified of everything around him. He has a specialty in endurance engine design and modification. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +1, Chemical +1
    Endurance Engines: Mi has an excellent understanding of metallurgy and tolerances. Any engine he works on gains +1 Reliability if a 16+ is rolled.
    Pulsejet Wizard: Mi is now one of the world's leading experts on the pulsejet engine. He can be given his own project to custom-craft pulsejet engines, and he gives +1 to any pulsejet-related project.
    Joseon National: Mi does not have security clearance to work on any top-secret projects.

    Miyoshi Shigeri, 23.
    A non-binary person and admirer of Asuka's work, they were in an support role in the Army before joining the company.
    Structural +1, Mechanical +1, Aerodynamic +1
    Mechanic: Miyoshi has some experience repairing and refurbishing aircraft. They get +1 if assigned on the clean-up phase.


    Other Employees
    - Ohara Satomi, 22, Mr. Ohara's niece and the company test pilot, Ohara is a general lesbian disaster. She's good at flying planes, driving cars, and kissing girls. She's bad at being patient, being respectable, and sticking to literally anyones conceptions of gender roles. Deeply in lesbians with Coralie D'Amboise.
    - Fujkikawa Sotatsu, old, modelmaker. He's an old man and toymaker and we don't see much of him because he locks himself in his workshop a lot. He's friends with Kawamura?

    Assets
    - Engine Test Rig (Allows engine tweaking and optimization.
    - Wind Tunnel (+1 Aerodynamics)
    - Rapid Prototype Lab (+1 Clean Up)
    Expanded Cast

    Akitsukuni Industry
    - Homura Mohoko: Head Engine Designer for Kobayashi. First female engineer in the country. A lot of sex appeal.
    - Okumura: Head of Akibara aircraft design.
    - Yamanaka Hajime: Kobayashi engineer. Young and eager.
    - Igarashi Masazumi: Kobayashi engineer. Reserved and experienced.
    - Admiral Akibara Toru: Imperial Navy Admiral. Maximum nepotism. Maximum douchebag.
    - Lt.Cmnd Akibara Shinzo: The above's son. A hottie but very forward.



    Character Families
    - Matsura(?) Mizuko: Asuka's sister. Was paralyzed in an accident in Asuka's first flight. Lives Elsewhere and is married now. Can't forgive Asuka, even though she's tried.
    - Adachi Motoki: Adachi's husband, an accountant. Legally blind.
    - Adachi Yuki: Adachi's 7 year old daughter and wannabe pilot. Very adorable.
    - Yachi's Brother: Exists.
    - Sakane's Wife: Exists. Drives him a bit crazy, but he loves her.
    - Yachi's Brother's Wife: Exists. Is statistically likely to be pregnant.
    - Lt. Coralie D'Amboise: Gallian pilot in exile. Satomi's girlfriend. 25. Accomplished bisexual duelist. She flew in the war for a single day, and for her troubles got a hole blown in her cheek and had her left arm paralyzed.

    Akisukuni Army & Ex-Army
    - Lt. Torio Tanaka: Yachi's former observer as an enlisted man. Was jumped up to fly Ducks and lost a leg on his first mission. A trained painter, married to Torio Saya.
    - Captain Amari Shiro: A Dragonfly pilot who ended up flying as Yachi's partner. Kind of delightfully twinky. They sorta slept together at one point, which wasn't great. He lost his previous boyfriend in the April Offensive and turned his plane into a shrine. He was shot in the gut and is still recovering.
    - Major Izuhara: Logistics officer, Imperial Army, this bespectled officer stood up to the Caspian Crown Prince and accidentally kicked off the Akitsikuni-Caspian War. The guilt was so much that, after almost a year of running Army procurement, he shot himself in a phone both.
    - Captain Nakai Sekien: Army scout pilot. First person to drop a bomb from an airplane, later head of the Duck Squadrons.
    - Captain Teshima: A Desk pilot that fought with Yachi. Lost an arm in the process, took over for Major Izuhara after his death. Seems cheery despite it all.
    - Captain Nashio: A real piece of shit dude and probably a rapist, he's also a war hero as the second-highest scoring ace on the Akitsukuni side. He was a young shitty kid in way over his head but it's no excuse.
    - Lt. Kinjo: Kind of a dumb lump and Nashio's friend, one of the desk pilots. Dead at 19.
    - Lt. Okazaki: Yachi's friend from before the war and pilot, he died in a spin in his dragonfly. His death probably hit Yachi the hardest.

    Westerners
    - Rose & Antoinette Sears: Pioneers of flight. Sisters. Black in 1910s not!America. Yikes.
    - Timina Guasti: Famous aircraft designer from Otrusia. Likes big planes and green.
    - Prince Protasov Vasilyevich: Crown Prince of Great Caspia. Real dick. You gotta hand it to him though, a decent flier.
    - Count von Zeppelin: Invented rigid airships. Runs a successful airline business. Damned impressive.
    - Bennhold: Aircraft Engineer. Experimenting with metal aircraft.
    - Aileen Middlemiss: Albian reporter for the Artimis Times. Well meaning and oblivious.
    Available Tech
    • Materials: Wood, Duralumin, Molded Wood, Wood & Silk Composite, etc
    • All engine mounts
    • All wing types
    • Basic reinforcement
    • Wing warping and ailerons
    • Basic water radiators
    • Flying Wings
    • Semi-Monocoque design (requires at least half the slots have frame pieces)
    • Valved pulsejets
    • Basic weapon mounts and turrets
    Tech not Yet Developed
    • Custom engines
    • Monocoque construction
    • Cantilever Wings and associated tech
    • V and T tails
    • Tailless designs
    • Aluminum and titanium
    • Cellulose surfacing
    • Any kind of radar
    • Weapon accessability mods
    • Interruptor gear
    • Geared propellers
    • And Maybe Other Stuff
    Akitsukuni
    Island Nation

    Government
    Constitutional Monarchy
    - The democratic portions of the government are dubiously legitimate.
    - The head of state is the Empress of Akitsukuni. She gives her blessing to newly formed governments.
    - The Navy and a small number of families have undue influence on politics.

    Economy
    Developing Mixed Market
    - Most industry is controlled by a small number of wealthy, family-owned companies.
    - The state provides most contracts to industry. Consumer good market is anemic.
    - Exports are few, mostly cultural.
    - Imports are raw minerals, food, oil, and expertise.
    - Currently suffering an economic crash after the last war.

    Politics
    The Diet is currently ruled by a Constitutional Nationalist government. It has a system of nonlocal proportional representation, with representatives appointed by the party in accordance to their share of the vote.
    - Constitutional Nationalists: 50%
    - Purity Club: 9%
    - New Independents: 26%
    - Fairness Association: 11%
    - United Communist League: 2%
    - Monarchists: 1%
    - Assorted Fringe Parties: 5%

    Demographics
    Akitsukuni is mostly very ethnically homogeneous. Around 5% of the population are various minorities, most from nearby countries. Roughly .1% are westerners here for business or in advisory positions.
    - Population: 55 Million
    - Religion: Mostly Kodo. Roughly 2% of the population follows western religions.
    - Wealth: Most wealth is concentrated in the top 5% of the country. Nearly 20% of the population lives in conditions indistinguishable from peasantry.
    - Urbanization: Heavily urbanized for a small economy: 35% and rapidly growing.

    Military
    At Peace
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Navy (IAN): The 6th largest in the world, and the most experienced.
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Army (IAA): 150,000 highly experienced soldiers, and a considerable reserve.

    Aspects
    - Poor Resources: Aluminum costs +1.
    - Damn Akitsukuni Engines!: Engines have -1 Reliability.



    The Main Character Of This Quest Is Nonbinary And Uses They/Them Pronouns.

    I Am Putting This Here Because The Next Person To Misgender Them Is Getting Yeeted Into The Trash

    Also here's the Gayaverse TV Tropes page, because why not.​
     
    Last edited:
  • Informational
    • plotvitalnpc said:
    Question: is the adding machine we bought actually useful for any non-stress mechanics?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I think I recall computing giving rerolls during design?

    Edit: Some further thoughts on the designs. If there's any chance at all, looking at the Monocoque plane is a no-brainer. What would also interest me is the plane with ovoid wings; It might be possible to develop those into winglets, which both reduce drag and increase lift efficiency.
     
    Last edited:
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    3-4
  • Threadmarks
    • The engines turned over slowly, the sound pained, but they started, and the RPM gauges leap to life. The crew pulled the chocks and the plane started rolling.

    All around you, engines were roaring to life. Most machines were starting, but not all. The Dysklandic plane took a few swings before starting, while the Albian machine was choking out and failing after every pull. The Cathay machine roared to life and started blasting down the runway with a horrifying whining roar. Burgandy's plane had an engine down and broke free of its chocks, spinning in a small circle before cutting the engine and restarting. The Gallian machine roared with a high-pitched buzz and was in the air just behind the Sears machine, which took off within about ten feet of its starting position. The Caspian plane was right behind them. It was chaotic mix of planes starting, dying, choking and rising and then you were suddenly past it in and in the air.

    You had enough time to look at the spectators cheering faces one last time before you focused on gaining altitude and sailing out.

    The race would have four legs. First, the race to the channel, where everyone would sort into packs on their speed. The race across the water, where wind and lack of landmarks would be in an issue. Then, over the Gallian countryside, and a final stretch into the landing.

    After the first two kilometers, leveling out at 300 meters, you checked your speed. 150 kph, roughly keeping pace with the Caspian, Gallian, New Alleghany, Hesperian, Ganjay, and Cathay machines, and ahead of the second rate aircraft. The throttle was open 3/4ths.

    [ ] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)
    [ ] Open it up a bit and show them what this thing can do. (2 RPM rolls)
    [ ] Break your old speed record for all to see! (3 RPM rolls)​

    ---

    The planes took off in a tight pack, and you cheered as you saw your plane off the ground in a smooth and rapid motion. Not the fastest off the ground, not the quickest climber, but it was already booking and the engines weren't even warm yet.

    There was a few minutes as the planes that didn't get off the ground cleaned themselves up and attempted restarts. After about a minute, the Ganjay's colonial machine started and took off, but the rest didn't move and crews rushed to check on them. The Albian machine was surrounded by a small crowd trying to help get it into the air. After a final throw of the propeller, a cloud of black smoke came out the engine with a bang and it shuddered to a final halt. Wincing, one of the race officials stood up before the attendees.

    "Alright everyone, the train is waiting! Come along!"
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [x] Cruise here to be safe

    Let's not blow it early. We can save the serious dice rolling for the end, where we can get a better idea of what actually needs to happen.
     
    [X] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)

    Steady as she goes, we can open it up when we have a better idea of what's going on around us.
     
    [X] Open it up a bit and show them what this thing can do. (2 RPM rolls)

    Let's get a leg up on the competition in case we get lost or get a bit of the most optimal route during the channel crossing.
     
    open_sketchbook said:
    There was a few minutes as the planes that didn't get off the ground cleaned themselves up and attempted restarts. After about a minute, the Ganjay's colonial machine started and took off, but the rest didn't move and crews rushed to check on them. The Albian machine was surrounded by a small crowd trying to help get it into the air. After a final throw of the propeller, a cloud of black smoke came out the engine with a bang and it shuddered to a final halt. Wincing, one of the race officials stood up before the attendees.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Ouch. This has to be a major blow to the Albian's pride. They're the one hosting the race, and their entrant can't even make it off the ground.

    [X] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)
     
    [X] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)

    This is partly an endurance race. We can go crazy on the later legs, but I don't know how much wear our engines can take before we'd need to land for repairs. (If I did, I'd have a much better grasp on the odds). I'd prefer to try and not abuse our engines until we cross the channel. I'm also sort of assuming that "cruise here" is about keeping pace with the current pack.

    Also did it not happen as I foretold, that Albia would have engine trouble? (Though I did not imagine it would be that impressive) The New Alleghany plane must have a low stall speed and a high thrust to pull off that short of a take-off roll.

    Is it bad that I'm happy the Cathayan plane didn't explode?
     
    So were any of our main competitors among the 'lel, it fekkin broke' group?
    Edit: rolling for engine #1
    plotvitalnpc threw 1 10-faced dice. Reason: 1 Total: 4
    4 4
     
    How much Wear can our engines take? I'm not seeing it on the sheet for the Racer. If I'm reading the rules right we would normally have a track of boxes to cross out as we accumulate Wear.

    We have Burnout 1, so we would roll 1 + RPM = X # of dice, and for every die that comes up equal or less than X gives us a point of Wear. Is that right?

    Are the engines affected by accumulating Wear, or is it just a working/broken binary?
     
    Here's the relevant rules text, for reference.
    Instrument Check
    When you glance down at your instruments, roll 1d10 per RPM, +Burnout.
    Every result equal or less than the number of dice being rolled results in 1 Wear on your engine. Roll for each engine separately.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The important thing to note is that rolling more dice increases the difficulty of each roll.
     
    Nice to be pleasantly surprised. Maybe we will see this to its conclusion before the sub game is finished.

    [X] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)

    I'm tempted to speed up a little here, but on reflection we really don't need to, at least unless someone else is also holding back quite a bit and decides to be more aggressive sooner than us.

    samdamandias said:
    Is it bad that I'm happy the Cathayan plane didn't explode?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Pulsejets don't really explode. Since it started at all, the main failure modes to be watching for are either a valve failure, where it would just stop working, or it getting hot enough that something important melts/softens/fails/bursts into flames, in which case expect it to fail more or less spectacularly once it has been running for a little while.
     
    Ach, good thing we didn't push it yet. That's below average (albeit barely). Let's definitely save that re-roll (and our luck, such as it is) for a bit.

    A little surprised the Not-ITalian plane isn't up front, considering the designer was pointed out to us and the design seems so similar. Then again they may have the same idea as us.
     
    3-5 (Yuki's Airplane)
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Cruise here to be safe. (1 RPM roll)

    You left the throttle where it was and focused on cruising, letting the engines warm up and listening to them purr as the wind whipped over the cylinders. The first leg was simple; you just had to follow the road to the coast. Speed was good, but winning was important too.

    You mostly kept up with your competition, jocking for first place. Every once and a while somebody would rev up and slide into first place, but then cool down and settle back. The frontrunners were the Caspian and Gallian machine, while you had a feeling like the Hesperian machine was, like you, biding its time.

    The Cathay plane... you weren't sure. The sound it was making was mystifying. It would scream like a demon for about ten seconds, then sputter and glide, before restarting, which inevitably caused a huge bang as backed-up fuel ignited. When it was on, it was outrunning everyone, probably pushing 170. When it was off, it would fall back to the rear of the pack. You realized the driver was frantically blipping the engine to prevent overspeeding, which... probably wasn't healthy in the long run.

    In any event, the coast was ahead. The Gallian and Cathay machine sunk for a refueling before they crossed the channel, and you sailed over them onto the next leg. You kept your eye on your compass as the plane passed over the water.

    [ ] Keep up this pace. (1 RPM)​
    [ ] Overtake the other competitors. (2 RPM)​
    [ ] Leave them in the dust and open a long lead. (3 RPM)​

    ---

    Everyone was huddled onto a train for the trip to the coast, and you found yourself sitting opposite of Adachi's five year old daughter Yuki. She was looking at you quite seriously like she wanted to ask you something. Finally, she worked up the courage.

    "Mama said you designed one of those airplanes."

    "Your mama helped."

    "I know, but she doesn't draw airplanes like you. Can you make me an airplane please?"

    "Hmmmm." You pretended to be deep in thought. "That's a tall order. Airplanes are complicated machines, you know."

    "I know. Mama said they cost a lot and that's why there are so few. I've been saving up all trip."

    She extended a small hand, in which was a pair of tiny coins, about a twentieth of a yen.

    Well, a job's a job, Asuka. You gotta pay off that calculator somehow.

    Yuki's Airplane​
    Budget: 4錢 500厘, and a penny candy wrapper.​
    ​
    Priority: Prettiness, Coolness​
    Requirements: The plane needs to be the fastest plane ever ever. It has to carry Yuki and her stuffed duck toy, it has to win all the races and fly up to the moon.​
    ​
    "Alright Yuki, first question. What's you're airplane made of?"

    [ ] Write In.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Keep up this pace. (1 RPM)

    Too early to pull ahead, I think. Wait for the Cathay one to die?

    And for a cool material...

    [X] Lacquered Wood

    Although honestly I have no idea. :p But at least that can be pretty?
     
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