Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

[Koraan]

Thanks for update!

The problem with the naturally occurring warlords is that they happen in rather unstable and usually underdeveloped places

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Unstable - yes. But underdeveloped? I don't think so.
The problem is - it's kind of useless to see "how parahuman can take over the relatively stable place", because after The Fight there rather unlikely to be any stable places.

Also, most isolated areas don't have the most modern technology

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I'd say CUI could be the good example to study - entire country ruled by parahuman (do anyone really believe that's not the case?). Or maybe Japan - i bet there was at least some warlords that rise after the Kyushu.

I think you get my point?

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I did, after you explained it in the next comment. But that answer ("Like, government response? Well, I don't think they really interested.") was before you explanation.

an isolated city

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To really see that scenario they'd need to wall off the city. Because BB is not isolated. The city is still a part of the US, and people, even most of the villains, acts accordingly. They think that too bold move can bring response from the PRT or National Guard, or even the visit of the Thriumvirate member. Piggot would've act differently. Empire would've act differently. Coil, of all people, would've likely to act differently with the knowledge that position of PRT director won't give him access to the strenght of the PRT as a whole.
Maybe the experiment was about "can parahuman seize control over the city without it descending into despotism", btw. Although, again, the quotes from canon on Reddit suggests that they thought that experiment might give them solution for the chaos of the aftermath of the battle with Scion.

And now I'm going to read the chapter.

 

[The Froggy Ninja]

So. This is Fiat-backed 'You can teach anyone whatever you know.' Good god he is fuuuucked.

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Yeah. There are a fair few perks that are fiat backed or require metaphysique that baseline humans don't have, but this is still insanely potent.
Unrelated rambling on the topics of potential capstone perks. I'm curious if Lord plans to use the updated Girl Genius capstone booster Exemplar or if he's just going to stick with Strong Spark in the normal pool. I feel safe in betting that Chosen of Death is gonna build off The Divine Machines, and probably bring Attribute Inducement and Aspect Cultivation as freebies. I'm somewhat curious as to how the Asura's Wrath perks will work, and what, if any, freebies they'll come with. Divine Atelier probably includes schematics for stuff like the Mantra Transmitter but will Cyborg Hindu Godbody also provide Mantra Affinity? What about Mantra Techniques? Mantra Affinity is a freebie for demigods and without it he wouldn't be able to use Mantra without ritualized prayer which I feel safe assuming he'll never do, so that's something of a gimme. And, of course, without Mantra Techniques, he's gonna be hard pressed to actually utilize his godbody powers, leading to him presumably fumbling around like he did with Harry Potter magic at first.

 

[Leafy503]

Brian seemed to realize he was now an unwilling witness to things as they played out in front of him. The reaction was one familiar to anyone who's seen a sibling get chewed out.

Okay, I did not like the role that though cast me into. The dislike wasn't enough to give Tattletale a free pass, but the realization that you have basically become a parent figure with almost no authority for a pack of destructive teenage villains wasn't a pleasant one.

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That cringe must have been real.

 

[Gooey]

Personally, I am unbelievably hyped about Professor Aperion becoming a thing more than anything.

Picture the following, if you will:
A traditional classroom, with Joe at the front, dressed like a college professor, and an impossibly massive blackboard behind his back that is filled with 5th dimensional equations and alchemical arrays that don't immediately cause your brain to leak out of your ears only because they are fiat-backed.

Sitting in front of him, in a large array of divinely hand crafted school desks in all manner of shapes and sizes, we have:
-A fleet of tiny vehicles
-A hyperintelligent holographic projection of an office lady
-An actual full-sized Gundam
-A crimson mink-shaped parasitic apex predator alien lifeform
-A sapient bipedal cat (Soon™)
-A bunch of souls-in-a-jar
-The literal manifestation and spirit of the concept of Fashion
-A punk teenage schoolgirl

Now dress them all in Japanese schoolgirl uniforms for maximum effect.

"Welcome to Professor Aperion's introductory course for applied Spiritual, Magical and Technological Bullshit. Glad to have you all here."


In all seriousness though, I just really wanna see Joe teaching the workshop gang everything he knows. It'll be really wholesome seeing everyone eventually able to help Joe with his projects. And it also makes the whole "Aisha, inheritor of the Forge" scenario a much more real possibility.

 

[AdvenTheThird]

Couldn't Joe explain this away as a Trump effect he attached to his name, to make identifying him easier, instead of a Master effect that works on everyone?

I feel like that would significantly lower the screaming that everyone is doing right now.

It would be way easier to think of Apeiron trumping 1 person/name than mastering ∞ people

 

[Leafy503]

I nodded. "I have some hyper-fibers from a week ago that I can use, so the costumes will be bulletproof and flame resistant. Oh, and self-repairing on the same timescale as the knives." I assured them. "Standard stuff, nothing crazy."

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Frankly, NOT putting Taylor in a completely bulletproof suit might possibly encourage some restraint, but I wasn't convinced. Maybe some enchantments with less overt defenses would be a good idea.

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So a replica but brimming with some 'modest' upgrades?

 

[Bob Saget]

Oof. A 2,000 word conversation (at most) ballooned into an 8k one due to repetitive internal dialogue that doesn't add anything we haven't heard many times before.

And another problem, Coil, with an extremely simple and potentially identical solution. Spy drones to gather data that no one for thousands of miles has a chance of either noticing or gathering anything from. Don't know how to deal with him? Have Survey gather the information. Literally her purpose.

Global master effect backlash is brewing, and Joe is, what, concerned about spying on a couple of villains, in a way that no one could hope to catch? I can't be invested in the drama if the main characters self-defeating mental deficiencies (despite countless mental upgrades) are the only thing stopping him from resolving 80% of the immediate issues.

Even ignoring the internal inconsistencies of the situation, it's comparable to rooting enthusiastically for a sports team that isn't even trying.

 

[Subrosian_Smithy]

Couldn't Joe explain this away as a Trump effect he attached to his name, to make identifying him easier, instead of a Master effect that works on everyone?

I feel like that would significantly lower the screaming that everyone is doing right now.

It would be way easier to think of Apeiron trumping 1 person/name than mastering ∞ people

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Sure, but that still essentially implies he can use Tinker technology or Trump abilities to create anomalous memes.

If he can tie the title "Enigmatic Artificer" to his cape name, why can't he tie in other ideas as well? Like "trustworthy", or "sovereign planetary authority".

Joe knows the limits of his abilities. The PRT does not.

 

[Anaja]

Couldn't Joe explain this away as a Trump effect he attached to his name, to make identifying him easier, instead of a Master effect that works on everyone?

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The point is what effect it had. He just changed things so that everybody now has a new thing in their minds, and it's context sensitive. It's going to be terrifying no matter how he tries to frame it.

 

[TitanFrost]

Agent 1: Okay, time to wall off Brockton Bay.

Agent 2: Exactly what do you think a wall will do in the face of a global master effect, dumbass?

Agent 1: Okay, time to fire the nukes and glass Brockton Bay.

Agent 2: The thinkers already went over that idea. 100% chance it won't do anything but piss off Apeiron.

Agent 1: Okay… Okay… I guess we'll have to send in the Triumvirate and trust them to work something out.

Agent 2: Just got a call. No triumvirate support. Apparently they're sending in Special Agent Fedora.

Agent 1: Jesus Christ.

(I present the above comedically, but that's basically how I think the government/cauldron going through their options would play out. This is fucking serious and cannot be ignored. The idea that any authority on earth would just wimp out and let this slide is pure insanity, even limited as they are in what they can actually do.)

Couldn't Joe explain this away as a Trump effect he attached to his name, to make identifying him easier, instead of a Master effect that works on everyone?

I feel like that would significantly lower the screaming that everyone is doing right now.

It would be way easier to think of Apeiron trumping 1 person/name than mastering ∞ people

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That doesn't really change anything though. A "name" isn't something that actually exists beyond a state of abstraction. Maybe that kind of explanation could be believed in a more magical world, like Harry Potter with Voldemort's whole name taboo thing, but absolutely nobody in Worm is going to think of this in that kind of framework. Whether they call it a master effect or not, they will see this as a global scale mind altering effect.

 

[theaceoffire]

Honestly? For a while now I've been quite annoyed with Joe's constant lack of self-awareness(?), naivety(?) can't really think of a good word to describe Joe and how handles and reacts to things. At same time, can't really blame the guy for fucking up because of how ridiculously volatile the situation is which made his 'minor' mistakes at the start of the story lead to a catastrophic cascade of ever worsening scenarios that basically made it so that he was doomed to fail unless he took drastic measures that we by now are well aware he is very reluctant to use.

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Yeah! Why isn't he better at this!

After all, he's had his power for... Uh. A week? Maybe less?

 

[Cheetored20]

Dang that's going to cause complications! I was hyped for the glove and didn't even realize that this could happen. I loved the rest of the chapter too but this is the part that is in my mind the most because of the potential repercussions.... Would joe revealing his power and how it functions calm people down or freak them out even more after this?


(Also YAY ADVENT. Wonder if it will still take a week like in game or be significantly shorter due to not having to improvise.)

 

[Acolyte]

Why is the chapter so easy to read. I need MOAR.

 

[Koraan]

Woooo!
I really, really like Joe's interactions with Tattletale with her .

ADVENT! One of the perks I really looked forward to!
I didn't played Fallen London, so don't know Avid Glove and don't sure why people THAT excuted. But the "Amateur Academic – Trivia" and "Dabbling Academic – Fool Proof" looks really cool, especially the latter.
"Crucible of Eight Trigrams"... Don't sure how it works. If he only need samples of, say, metal created by Kaiser to be able to replicate his power (with time and research, of course) - that's pretty cool. But there's not much parahymans that create/empower/enhance/alter matter/items. Although, one of them is Flecette.

Uppercrust, if he's there, is just going to make an appearance and probably push for some kind of non-interference with his work in the event of a conflict

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After the meeting:
"Tattletale, you said..."
"Ehehe... Woopsie?"

 

[Subrosian_Smithy]

That doesn't really change anything though. A "name" isn't something that actually exists beyond a state of abstraction. Maybe that kind of explanation could be believed in a more magical world, like Harry Potter with Voldemort's whole name taboo thing, but absolutely nobody in Worm is going to think of this in that kind of framework. Whether they call it a master effect or not, they will see this as a global scale mind altering effect.

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Well, it's not the "global scale mind altering" that's problematic, IMO. For example, August Prince is a Stranger with no geographic limitations on his reach, but he's not an existential threat because the effects of his power are sharply delineated.

Joe's new power is scary because he's a Mad Scientist Tinker, and thus it's reasonable to infer that his Stranger effect is variable and upgradable, just like any other part of his Tinker loadout.

That's "Stranger. Don't worry about the number. Just run." territory.

 

[Carrnage]

Well, it's not the "global scale mind altering" that's problematic, IMO. For example, August Prince is a Stranger with no geographic limitations on his reach, but he's not an existential threat because the effects of his power are sharply delineated.

Joe's new power is scary because he's a Mad Scientist Tinker, and thus it's reasonable to infer that his Stranger effect is variable and upgradable, just like any other part of his Tinker loadout.

That's "Stranger. Don't worry about the number. Just run." territory.

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Also there's a precedent with a similar effect, Mama Mathers, those that know of her will be freaking out.

 

[Eman Resu]

It's actually 200 CP. It's this one.

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The one you are saying he still needs to get, where any single piece of armor applies its protection to his entire outfit is like one of the first powers he got way back in the day. I remember chapters where he had a bunch of different pieces with different properties, some resistant to heat or electricity, others to withstand impact, etc.

 

[Leafy503]

There were a series of nervous looks exchanged before Brian replied. "Um, you don't have to do that. I mean, with the way you work, and seeing as we're trying to establish ourselves as separate…"

"And appearances aren't just important for me. You're still connected with me, and how you arrive is going to reflect on me. You're not going to be showing up in rush modified costumes scrounged from what stores are open post-disaster." I explained.

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Hmmm, by the way.... what is Coil doing right about now? I mean he clearly wants to be seen as apart from the Undersiders but how does he feel about the whole affiliated with Apeiron thing going on?

 

[TitanFrost]

Hmmm, by the way.... what is Coil doing right about now? I mean he clearly wants to be seen as apart from the Undersiders but how does he feel about the whole affiliated with Apeiron thing going on?

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Coil is using the Undersider's connection to Apeiron to string along the Travellers into doing shit for him. Well, I say string along, but I bet some attempt at contact will be facilitated… eventually.

Though honestly, the only thing protecting Coil and thus allowing him to play puppets with Joe-interested people right now is the Passenger's overinflated view of the danger he poses. It seems to have lead to Joe thinking of Coil and Tatteltale's Boss as separate entities. I'm thinking an in person meeting, even with a body double due to traceable tech or other such elements, might help iron out that misunderstanding and get the Coil Show on the road. And Somer's Rock is coming up soon…

 

[Tankrider]

One thing I don't like about your MC is that he is very reactive, always reacting to events happening and not making any kind of plans or setting goals. Does he even have any plans on what he wants to be? Rogue or Hero? his whole arc with Undersiders is because of his power telling him they are important due to their association with Taylor and his fight with ABB is because of him rescuing Undersiders and then consequences from it.

Even after all the shit that happened and having a national or international spotlight on him, he is still not used to the power he has in his hands.

 

[Talmian]

These updates are the highlight of my week, thanks for another great update. One thing that stood out to me is how cautious tattletale is.

 

[Akira D.]

Man, this chapter was so fun. Maybe Joe could mean into the "more than one parahuman" theory for explaining the Stranger effect away?

Honestly, the concept of Apherion whipping up a global-scale Stranger effect (bc it really isn't controlling anyone, and he should really push that angle) just to make sure everyone knows his fancy new title is really funny to me.

He could always blame it on another cape... and hey, he wouldn't even be lying! "I have a Stranger ally who can wrap the perceptions of people in a global scale. Unfortunately, their sense of humor is... questionable."

 

[Pyrotech51]

Even after all the shit that happened and having a national or international spotlight on him, he is still not used to the power he has in his hands.

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He's starting to realize... But you don't seem to have realized that for all the fic is huge... He's not even had his powers for a fortnight yet, and they are constantly escalating at a ridiculous rate.

I'm pretty sure that no one is going to be used to that, nevermind someone with what looks to be an extremely toxic family situation as a background to everything else.

 

[BlueArcher]

As always the dice Gods are sentient and know about Worm memes, lunch time is always when something chaotic comes around.

 

[Acolyte]

That was a great chapter Lord.