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[HALP] me! (WORM quest)

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I don't want Taylor to start a company! I want her to sell her patent so she's have some money! And containment foam is till tinkertech. Dragon runs some factories in Texas, and that's it. It's finicky and expensive. Spider webbing is simple chemistry and mechanics engibeering if Marvel is anything to go by.

The idea is that you can make it in a garage with a high school chemistry set. The mechanical engineering is so that it has some range, doesn't have to be a wrist gauntlet, could be a grenade or some kind of launcher.

If it's somthing we as a shard knows how to do, we don't even need to make her a tinker. We just shownhow to do it in a dream, she makes up some notes to show how she developed it (got the idea from a dream) since she's really smart now, she can brush up on chemistry at least, and get it tested, but you're right this is way too complicated and I'm sure we fuck up somehow.

Anonymous internet tinker it is.

I just wanted to get her some legal income that doesn't come from Coil, but fine.
 
KidFromPallet said:
Personally, I have a different view: "If you're considering the morality of Worm you're doing something wrong, because everyone is terrible." :p
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I'd dispute that. I actually like and agree with MOST of the heroes. Dragon in particular, but even Eidelon is still at least trying to be helpful. I empathize with him a lot (maybe sharing a name helps). Collin in particular gets a far worse rap than I believe he deserves. Personally, I get the impression people judge Worm characters more by how well they get along with Taylor than by how they actually deserve to be judged by what they objectively do.
 
Sereg said:
I'd dispute that. I actually like and agree with MOST of the heroes. Dragon in particular, but even Eidelon is still at least trying to be helpful. I empathize with him a lot (maybe sharing a name helps). Collin in particular gets a far worse rap than I believe he deserves. Personally, I get the impression people judge Worm characters more by how well they get along with Taylor than by how they actually deserve to be judged by what they objectively do.
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Sorry, didn't mean to insult your choice in characters or anything, that's why I put the :p at the end. It's just that I've seen a whole bunch of people say different things about every character. I put that up there because every character will have someone who's willing to shout why that character is/isn't terrible, rendering Worm Morality Discussions useless.

I just used "Everyone is terrible" because Worm is memetic for being filled with terrible people making terrible decisions while terrible. :p
 
Worm is like Game of Thrones in that it's not white hat/black hat, morality arguments won't get us anywhere. Like when we meet Jamie he's an incetuous, arrogant, honorless prick who threw Bran off the tower. But then we spent several season following him and Brienne, watch him struggle with Cersei and see why the betrayed the king to save the city. And he's probably gonna kill Cersei this last season. He's an awful, shite person, but you still empathize with him and want to see him be better.

Like Geoff and the Dragonslayers are awful shits, thieves and mercenaries constantly messing with Dragon. And they're in the wrong in the end. But they don't know that. When you describe the situation, they sound like heroes. A bunch of plucky underdogs who fight back against an AI who's wormed it's way into the echelons of Power!, trying to stay one step ahead.

That's Cauldron in a nutshell. These people are crazy mad scientists and Illuminati. They have a sociopathic ex-serial killer who runs the super villain banking system and single handedly prevents the global economy from draining down the toilet.

If you judged and impriosned everyone by their fuckups, mistakes and misdeeds, they would all be in the Birdcage, and the world would be doomed. The truce isn't just for the Endbringers, it's a narrative metaphor for the failure of modern society to account for shades of grey and circumstance. It's all social commentary.

That's my interpretation anyway
 
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I'm looking through the Worm wiki to find more sense-sharing targets, and we might want to sense-share with Empower-Dauntless soon. He's a Striker-Trump. Trump info is useful for research projects, and we're a bit low on Striker info, though we might get some more from Gaea-Panacea.

I'm pretty sure that the page is using the PRT classifications instead of the actual power classifications because Bitch is listed as Master instead of Striker-?. Someone suggested contacting her Shard as well to hopefully prevent the disasterous meeting between the Undersiders and Spitfire. It would probably be a good idea to see what's going on with her, and if the ? is Changer or Brute, then sense-sharing would be really useful.

Eating Clone is looking like a really good idea if we can safely pull it off. Echidna is listed as Master, Striker, Brute, Changer, Thinker, and Trump, all info types we could really use more of with the possible exception of Striker. I'd like to aim for getting at least 200 of each info type so that we can give Level 10 powers for each type if we want.

We might want to specify that we have Memetic Proxy Filtering up when contacting Shards in the future, especially after our encounter with Singular. I'll edit that in to my suggested plans now.
 
[] Skittertrump
-[] Master 200, Thinker 200 - Canon powerset with increased range and easier interpretation of the bugs' sensory feedback. Add in Multitasking, of course.
-[] Changer 50, Breaker 200 - Can dissipitate own body into insect swarm and reassemble herself at will from any controlled lifeforms. This transformation heals her and can be used even after the original body is dead to "resurrect" herself. Whether any changes are carried over on reconstitution of the body is determined by the shard (that's us!).
-[] Trump 250 - Power copying on touch, while all insects she controls count as part of her body for the purpose of her powers. Can use copied powers through bugs she controls. Restricted number of power slots (number dependant on her weird superbrain, likely more than 10 - we gotta use the space QA left), all powers she copies are backed up shardside. Can "forget" or "remember" powers with a 10 minute cooldown, respectively.
 
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Oh I like how you got around the slot limit, that's even better then Ciara. She'd be in the top 10 op capes in the world, and be top 5 once she had enough powers. I like.
It might need shaker though, I think that's where the range increases are. I'd want to have massive Shatterbird city range to go maximum "Ha! I win."
 
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I suppose it could use Shaker, but I just thought "Well, it's a Master power, throw Master data at it and it'll work out."
 
Metoto said:
Restricted number of power slots (number dependant on her weird superbrain, likely more than 10 - we gotta use the space QA left), all powers she copies are backed up shardside.
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I think that we need to get either Stronger Trigger or Advanced Host Modification (Human) for extra power slots. Vhalidictes said that the extra space is restricted to memory storage currently and that we have to study animal brains and the brains of hosts from previous cycles in order to repartition it.
 
I really like this power, especially if we decide not to go tinker. But maybe we should give it thinker immunity so we can talk to her more safely. Maybe master immunity such that no no master power can effect her, as she's really the overmind, not the body.
 
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Vhalidictes said:
[ ] [Research Recovery 1]: 350 Thinker Information, 1000 Research. The capability to gain an additional research roll the turn after a critical failure. This skill can only be used if the same research option that failed is studied again on the next turn.
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Vhalidictes said:
[ ][Temporal Mechanics 1]: 0 Tinker Information, 2000 Research. This skill allows you to understand and contemplate Temporal effects, up to and including the possibility of noticing Temporal alterations. Note:This skill on its own does not allow Time Travel. Warning: Researching Temporal Mechanics 1 leads to researching Temporal Mechanics 1. "Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think — I think it might be us!"
  • [ ][Time Travel (Past)]: 700 Tinker Information, 3000 Research. This skill allows you to execute limited Time travel into your own past. Note: This skill on its own does not for general targeted Time Travel. Warning: Not all effects of the 'previous timeline' are affected by this skill. "Don't drive angry. Do not drive angry."

  • [ ][Time Travel (Future)]: 700 Tinker Information (Already paid, but still must be allocated), 3000 Research. This skill allows you to execute limited Time travel into your own future. Note: This skill on its own does not for general targeted Time Travel. Warning: Not all effects of the 'existing timeline' are affected by this skill. "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today."

  • [ ][Temporal Mechanics 2]: 0 Tinker Information, 2000 Research. This skill allows you to understand and contemplate actual Temporal effects, and allows for more detailed understanding of Temporal 'changes'. Note:This skill on its own does not allow Time Travel. Warning: Researching Temporal Mechanics 2 leads to researching Temporal Mechanics 1 again. "Look out for your shadow there, buddy."
    • [ ][Time Travel (Actual)]: 5000 Tinker Information, 5000 Research, Lack of Propriety and Common Sense. This skill allows you to travel through time at will. Warning: Warning - There is not enough space in this post, or in the local universe, to show all warnings. "Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible." - Stephen Hawking
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It looks like we've gotten some new research projects. I don't think that any of them are worth focusing on now, but Temporal Mechanics 1 and 2 sound useful considering that Negotiator got future Lisa's memories somehow.
 
Then we can just make do with less power slots and switch out more often until we've done all the necessary research and add more - by the time we've done that, possible aberration from modifying an active power will be really easy to bounce back from. Alternatively, we can also roll for using the brainspace without all the research and burn a critical for maximum awesomeness.
On the topic of talking to Taylor: If I understand this right, we can use our host's powers through them. Using that, couldn't we use bugs to form writing in order to communicate with her?
Anyway, Master/Stranger immunity sounds like a good idea regardless of what power we give her. It should just be some kinda add-on we add no matter what.
 
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Oh man using the power to communicate is good. Writing with bugs. Assembling our own tinkertech nearby, etc. good idea

Also: let's not get stuck in a time loop, time travel is such a headache.

Also when describing the breaker state, make sure she can choose what changes are allowed to remain across bodies. So she can get Panacea upgrades but reject Bonesaws.
 
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True, we can just take control of some of her bugs and build up our own tinkertech independently. Didn't Wildbow state that QA has a pretty good tech archive once? Then again, not sure on that one.
What we definitely could build, though, would be tinkertech from copied Tinker powers. Especially once we use Panacea's power to create bugs specifically for tinkering. Who needs to build tools when nature provides all the tools you need?
(Imagines giant cockroach in a lab coat with an integrated blowtorch, natural-grown tweezers and a drill making Tinker-toys for agent Perry.)
On the Breaker state: We decide what changes are carried over on reintegration. That could be used to slip in us using Host Modification with Zion being none the wiser, essentially adding bio-mods on demand. Not sure if that's worth the bother, though, once we get Panacea on the Taylor-train. Definitely nice to have, however, as a pseudo-power not using a power slot. Really shouldn't make changes to Taylor without asking her first, though.
 
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Hmm. Given that time travel is obviously possible (and quite possibly has already happened), I wonder if we can use the Bootstrap Paradox to give our Past Self time travel without having to research it all the way...?

[X] Commit to coming back to now and sharing Time Travel with your past self if/when you acquire Time Travel in the future.
 
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Gino said:
Well yes Number Man and Coil would be better, but we need ADC and stranger to do that safely.
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If it gets enough votes, I would enjoy writing "Great Teacher Coil". I guess it would be Plan: ADC Private Tutor?
Redshirt Army said:
Hmm. Given that time travel is obviously possible (and quite possibly has already happened), I wonder if we can use the Bootstrap Paradox to give our Past Self time travel without having to research it all the way...?
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How do you know you haven't already?
 
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Not for Taylor but

[] Alma
-[] Multitasking
-[] Thinker 200 + Master 200 Telepathic/Clairvoyant over a large range, can read and manipulate the minds of all creatures in range.
-[] Shaker 300 Spacial manipulation and telekinesis over a large range. Similar to Vista and Labyrinth, can reshape environment. Using data from creatures in range can adapt environment on the fly to create shifting labyrinths filled with horrors.

Might need more data, and maybe some trump and breaker.

To recreate FEAR, Alma's hallucinatory/reality warping power. Some true lovecraftian nightmare shit. Even better with psionics.

So I don't want this for Taylor, cause I want her to be a badass hero, genius, world savior.

But as an example, there was fix where she got Alma's power like this in the locker. Twisted the school into warped funhouse of horror, Armsmater goes in, corridors don't line up and change as he goes around, sees things that aren't there and can even touch them. Feels real, partly is real. Can read your mind to customize it to each victim.

Also, time travel is such a bad idea, it only ends well in comedies like Back to the Future.

And yet
[X] Commit to coming back to now and sharing Time Travel with your past self if/when you acquire Time Travel in the future.

If it works I'll take it. Although this isn't a voting period, so we'll have to do it again tomorrow.
 
Gino said:
Not for Taylor but

[] Alma
-[] Multitasking
-[] Thinker 200 + Master 200 Telepathic/Clairvoyant over a large range, can read and manipulate the minds of all creatures in range.
-[] Shaker 300 Spacial manipulation and telekinesis over a large range. Similar to Vista and Labyrinth, can reshape environment. Using data from creatures in range can adapt environment on the fly to create shifting labyrinths filled with horrors.

Might need more data, and maybe some trump and breaker.

To recreate FEAR, Alma's hallucinatory/reality warping power. Some true lovecraftian nightmare shit. Even better with psionics.
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This is a good Avatar idea (note: not an endorsement). One way to deal with the Slaughterhouse 9 is to be more pants-crapping than they could ever be. (Bonus points for finishing researching Psionics first)

Gino said:
Also, time travel is such a bad idea, it only ends well in comedies like Back to the Future.

And yet
[X] Commit to coming back to now and sharing Time Travel with your past self if/when you acquire Time Travel in the future.

If it works I'll take it. Although this isn't a voting period, so we'll have to do it again tomorrow.
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You'll have to do it again, again. Yes.
 
@Vhalidictes, is there a set time when you hand out the research points for omakes? Sorry to bother you, but I never know whether you're waiting for a specific time, or if it would be a good idea to remind you.

Also, here's my attempt at a research project to copy the specialties of the Shards we eat:

[ ] Specialty Comprehension: 250 Thinker info, 250 Trump info, 500 Research. The ability to copy the specialty of any Shard that you eat. You can then use the specialty to a limited effect, but it is much more effective to either give out powers or create a bud with that specialty. May not work if the Shard is too badly damaged. Research on budding must be done separately. "Get more out of what you eat!"
 
Ducats said:
The best way to do it, would be to give some low tech, but high demand product (like medicine)
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And now I'm not going to debate you anymore.
You just said that patenting the next generation of cell phone processor wouldn't work, because somehow we lack the infrastructure for that, which is what everyone else is suggesting. Low tech, but patent-able because it hasn't been patented yet.
But you suggest medicine, which has tons of regulations and requires years of clinical trials and testing to vet, and which can't be easily looked over to verify it works, or sell the patent to someone else who could hold payments until they've verified they work. Medicine.
Gino said:
He's an awful, shite person, but you still empathize with him and want to see him be better.
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Yeah, after he loses a hand and has all his arrogance stripped away from him.
He comes to understand that he was wrong, and decides to own it and try to improve himself.
Gino said:
A bunch of plucky underdogs who fight back against an AI who's wormed it's way into the echelons of Power!, trying to stay one step ahead.
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No.
Look, if you replace AI with "kids these days" and your argument doesn't make sense, you don't have a good argument.
Dragonslayers: "Kids these days will take over the economy! They'll control everything and we won't have a say in it!"
"Yes, that's called growing old."
Dragonslayers: "Kids these days could take over the military, control all our Nukes, do whatever they want with them!"
"Again, the solution to this is teaching them ethics and proper decision making, not murdering children."
An AI is dangerous when it directly goes against humanity. Which usually happens because paranoid humans decide to make it choose between fighting humans or dying.
Mount. Elements said:
Vhalidictes said that the extra space is restricted to memory storage currently and that we have to study animal brains and the brains of hosts from previous cycles in order to repartition it.
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For Taylor to use it. We could just turn large quantities of it to Gemma and have it run powers.
She doesn't exactly need. . . I dunno, centuries of perfect recall? More?
 
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