Alright then. Going to give this a whirl, and then get into answering questions. Sorry for the delay, had some things I needed to deal with this morning. I'm going to break this down into the three main sections, and then give you what a rundown of the candidates involved in as brief a pros/cons manner as I can. Hopefully it works.
Adamant Systems
This choice represents the additional systems that you can have added to the
Adamant to supplement its capabilities. All of these rooms open up options or increase the chances of success in their relevant fields. Some also grant rerolls. Briefly:
- Expanded labs.
- Pros: Significant bonus to research rolls in that a field and lets you reroll failures.
- Cons: You already have labs, this just increases the bonus. Supplies no further options.
- Synergy: Multiple expanded labs will generate synergy between them. There are also opportunities for synergy with research outposts that a Trailblazer Forge could construct.
- Lagless Computing Matrix
- Pros: Bonus to network based actions and rerolls when predictive circuits would apply. This bonus essentially lifts the processing capacity limit that Iris would normally be running under.
- Cons: Of limited use when presented with non-virtual problems, or threats humanity has never encountered before.
- Synergy: Little direct synergy, but increased processing power is rarely (if ever) a bad thing.
- Advanced Cyberwarfare Suite
- Pros: Opens full infowar options for use, and provides a bonus on those rolls.
- Cons: Single-issue system, that requires the Lagless Matrix to install.
- Synergy: If Marcus Romero is chosen as a Specialist, grants esoteric cyberwarfare techniques.
- Focusing Choir
- Pros: Allows the Adamant to carry a Potential Working Group.
- Cons: Potential Working Groups are rarely subtle - expect in the case of an Insight Circle.
- Synergy: Depends entirely on the Working Group chosen. See below.
- Trailblazer Nanoforge
- Pros: Removes maintenance concerns. Allows for the construction of Outposts on worlds of interest. Outposts can add considerable bonuses.
- Cons: Requires the construction of Outposts to be truly effective. Each Outpost will create a minor risk of detection.
- Synergy: Research actions, especially if time is invested into Outpost construction.
- Upgraded Defensive Systems
- Pros: Adds a bonus to escape and physical security engagement rolls.
- Cons: Highly limited functionality, most useful if the mission is already blown.
- Synergy: Advanced Cyberwarfare Suite. Kalilah Mishra.
A Note on Potential Choices: All options on these lists are available because it is believed that humanity can survive without them. This doesn't meant that there won't be consequences, but Adriana is not someone who would ever offer up humanity's means to survive its next encounter with the Shiplords. Now yes, there are different meanings to the word survive. But there are also very limited ways in which a Potential, even a Unisonbound, can directly fight a War Fleet. This is the reason that Marcus is placed as more important to the defences than Vega.
Harmonic
The Harmonial who will act as the core of the
Adamant's stealth systems. Required for the ship to use its Fifth Secret drive without being instantly detected. Once in a secure orbit, the Harmonic will be able to aid in other tasks.
- Vega Cant
- Pros: Will supply superlative stealth. Elite Unisonbound and skilled Speaker.
- Cons: Leaves Sol reliant on Vega's Seconds. Selecting her for this position leaves her chained to the Adamant during covert insertions.
- Synergy: Lowers Practice Trance and Miracle breakpoints. Minor bonus to all synergy effects. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
- Gennadiy Aleksov
- Pros: At minimum a match to a notable specialist. Means that Vega is present for the Fourth Battle of Sol.
- Cons: Not as experienced in some matters as either of the other candidates. A Harmonial above anything else.
- Synergy: Minor bonus to all synergy effects.
- Notable Specialist
- Pros: Trained operator. Ensures that any Harmonial Specialist chosen for this mission will be accessible at all times.
- Cons: Will lack the depth of experience of Vega or Gennadiy. Primary focus will always be on the stealth systems.
- Synergy: Roll-based chance of Harmonic bonuses.
Seeker
An Insight Focused that works alongside the Harmonic to avoid active sensor systems that could risk the
Adamant's detection.
- Veda
- Pros: Provides major bonus to all stealth and counter-detection rolls. Supernal analyst.
- Cons: Selecting her for this position leaves her chained to the Adamant during covert insertions.
- Synergy: Research, exploration and infowarfare rolls.
- Elil Acharya
- Pros: Provides signficant bonus to all stealth and counter-detection rolls. Elite Unisonbound.
- Cons: Seeker usage restriction, as Veda.
- Synergy: Extreme synergy with Vega Cant if she is selected as Harmonic. Research and exploration rolls. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
- Notable Specialist
- Pros: Trained operator. Ensures that any Insight Specialist chosen for this mission will be accessible at all times.
- Cons: Will lack the depth of experience of Veda or Elil. Primary focus will always be on the stealth systems.
- Synergy: Roll-based chance of Insight bonuses.
Working Group
The various Potential Working Groups available for selection if the Focusing Choir system is selected. All open up different decision paths for mission completion.
- Harmonic Accord
- Pros: Lowers Practice Trance and Miracle breakpoints. Massive expansion in the scale of Miracles conducted by the Adamant. Allows the Adamant to maintain an active drive field with the Harmonic not aboard.
- Cons: Rarely capable of being subtle. Most effective when supporting a singular, focused working.
- Synergy: Yes.
- Insight Circle
- Pros: Peerless analysis and decryption capabilities. Will allow the Adamant to maintain full stealth capacity without the Seeker aboard.
- Cons: Removes one of the Insight Groups from Sol, potentially weakening the backup measure if the Orrery proves ineffective.
- Synergy: Research and infowarfare rolls. All Insight Focused.
- Speaking Chorus
- Pros: Opens more extensive Speaking options. Increases effectiveness of Speaking.
- Cons: Active use of a Speaking Circle when boosting a Speaker will be nearly impossible to conceal.
- Synergy: All Speakers.
Specialist Candidates
Potentials Specialists. These will either add to rolls, or open up options. None of these choices are
bad ones
, they just do different things.
- Aya Yuuki
- Pros: May be able to access or manipulate racial soul-structures in a way that no other can. Amanda's Apprentice.
- Cons: Taking a half-trained Potential into the middle of a potentially lethal combat scenario.
- Synergy: Unknown. Further development required. Likely to be considerable.
- Alvar Gudrun
- Pros: Well-Trained Speaker. Extremely versatile for the creation of options.
- Cons: None of great consequence.
- Synergy: May be able to create synergy effects. Roll dependent.
- Elil Acharya
- Pros: Elite Unisonbound and a skilled analyst - if not of Veda's calibre.
- Cons: None of great consequence.
- Synergy: Research and exploration rolls. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
- Kalilah Mishra
- Pros: Elite Unisonbound. Provides a massive bonus to overcoming physical security measures.
- Cons: Single-issue choice. Highly limited applicability outside of conflict scenarios.
- Synergy: Provides Heartcircle synergy.
- Lea Halwood
- Pros: Elite Unisonbound. Skilled Mender. Provides a useful counterpoint to Amanda.
- Cons: None of great consequence.
- Synergy: Maintenance (if applicable), repair and physical conflict rolls. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
- Marcus Romero
- Pros: Peerless infowarfare asset. Skill in covert infiltration.
- Cons: Leaves Sol reliant on Marcus' Seconds. Limited applicability outside of infowarfare scenarios.
- Synergy: Infowarfare and (minor) analysis.
- Mir Hayes
- Pros: Skilled Speaker. Focus of Peace may allow for bypass of certain conflict points. Skilled Unisonbound.
- Cons: None of great consequence.
- Synergy: Conflict avoidance/resolution rolls. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
- Veda
- Pros: Supernal analyst. Will provide major bonuses to research and discovery operations.
- Cons: None of major major consequence.
- Synergy: Research, exploration and infowarfare rolls.
- Vega
- Pros: Elite Unisonbound. Skilled Speaker. Matchless skill as a Harmonial.
- Cons: Leaves Sol reliant on Vega's Seconds.
- Synergy: Lowers Practice Trance and Miracle breakpoints. Bonus to all synergy effects. Will provide Heartcircle synergy.
A Note on Heartcircle Synergy
The Heartcircles are the squad analogues of the Unisonbound, Potentials paired with artificial intelligences born from an imprint on their own souls, and possessing incredible personal and Practiced capabilities. the Unisonbound were leading factors in humanity's victories over the Shiplords, and work best when in their Heartcircles. Splitting Heartcircles is possible, but doing so reduce synergy between the components of the group, and make them less than they necessarily could be in situations were they need to move as one.
Full Heartcircle Synergy is a considerable bonus, but it requires equally considerable sacrifices by a plan to access it. The only way to do so permanently is to select a Working Group that allows the Harmonic or Seeker candidate to act freely, and then select Heartcircle members as all four Specialist candidates.
For the Faithful steed, our Adamant, I chose thusly:
[] Expanded Laboratory Complex [Archeology, Xenolinguistics]
[] Upgraded Defensive Systems
Basically, if Shiplords see us, and more importantly, figure out where we are headed it is WAY too easy for them to ambush us. And I don't trust we can survive War Fleet to the face without an Orrey to see them coming. And Humanity's Orray is back at home. No to the shiny TrailBlazing out a path for humanity to follow! Not when the Past is what we want and are going to need quite a good amount of.
If you want to put forward this plan, please use the format described in Future Proof - it's at the very bottom.
Could you include my write in for Aya Yuuki in your outline?
Done.
That's important, because as we've seen at both Second and Third Sol, there is a large amount of Practice power that gets directed at the leaders that the masses can see and identify with. Not only is Vega well-positioned to receive a lot of that power, as a member of Amanda's Heartcircle and a Potential who has had a clear role at the center of Humanity's defense system, but as a Harmonial with Speaking experience she is also well-positioned to use that power to devastating effect, something we may need of the Orrery doesn't quite match up to its expectations.
Not so much anymore, on the first point. Practice is now getting directed through the Circles, at this point, and they've worked out how to do so in a way that you just need to be able to connect properly to access it. Vega and Amanda are certainly the ones with the most experience doing this, but they're far from the only one capable of doing so. More, the ability of Speaking against a War Fleet is rather limited if you can't actually
aim properly. This is why Earthgov places a higher priority on Marcus and Insight Focused than Vega for the Fourth Battle of Sol.
The other reason I opted not to take Vega as our Harmonial driver in particular is because, to the best of my knowledge, she hasn't been part of the stealth program; she is not "a notable specialist". When it comes to the people running our stealth system, I don't want a powerful novice who's been given a crash course on how to drive over the course of a couple of months; I want someone who's been doing it for years, and knows the ins and outs of the system. Nightmare Red crams novices into both the Harmonic and Seeker positions in an attempt to cram as many "big names" onto the ship as possible, without regard for what their actual role is supposed to be. That means we're probably trading away the Adamant's stealth for these extras, which could really come back to bite us.
This really doesn't matter as much as you think it does. The stealth systems available are designed to interface with the Focus of the Potential using them, but all they really require
is that component. Deeper training with the system helps, yes, but the sheer skill of Vega as a Harmonial (or Veda as an Insight Focused) will win out. If it would trade away stealth, they wouldn't be candidates. I don't believe in offering trap options, especially when there's absolutely no sense to them existing - like this scenario.
I'm assuming no one on the list is essential to Earth's defense.
Else they wouldn't be on it.
This is true. Some would certainly be much more useful, but no one is
essential. Humanity isn't that stupid.
The one thing I'm really unhappy about is leaving Lea behind.
It's a long distance trip behind enemy lines with no backup; you don't want a situation where you have only one personnel option for critical roles like Mending. And I suspect that having a full Circle conveys non-obvious benefits.
But I can't think of who we can afford to leave behind in order to squeeze her in.
See the section on Heartcircle Synergy above. I deliberately made it difficult to access that.
Has Marcus picked up a Unison Platform?
Not as yet, no. He could attempt the process - any Potential chosen for this will - but there's no guarantee of success. In his case, it's actually pretty low. The way his Focus works makes that sort of connection...complicated.
I have to go work now. Any futher questions will be answered this evening. Hope this all helps.
