[ ] Plan: TFW a history degree needs a battleship
-[] Liber
-[] A unique creation of a rich and powerful colony of Sol, built during the height of the Dark Age of Technology. (+2 shinies) The generic option. More shinies, less specialization.
-[] In space
-[] I have something in mind.
--[] You were built to uncover the past. Humanity was not unaware that it had been a relative newcomer to the galaxy -- it was well-known that the Aeldari claimed to be 60 million years old. And so you were sent into great unknown, to determine not just the "what," but the "how" and the "why." And indeed, you found much, or rather, the beginnings of much. The Aeldari certainly did not construct the Webway, as much as they had mastered its use. Off well-trodden paths, you uncovered more and more -- a history stretching back millions of years and more. Conflicting and confusing, especially as some of the few primary sources you could encounter spoke more of mythology they could no longer decipher rather than facts, and the Warp made... chronology difficult to handle, but you were making progress! You were going to actually write a book and get published! And then
something happened when you were exploring a ruin, and now you're here. And what a mess it is -- the past ten thousand years have gotten even more muddled up than the past ten million. Information has been fractured and scattered, and the main superpower in the galaxy doesn't even bother to make lip-service towards "history" or the "truth." There isn't even one unified calendar! You have to learn, you have to discover why -- why the Revolt happened, what happened within the "Dark Age." And it's horrifying to know that something that you lived in is now known as the "Dark Age" -- there's more consensus on what happened in the time of the dinosaurs than what happened when you were alive. Some may say the dead matter little now, but the dead only die their final death once no one knows their name. You will unravel the secrets of the past so no one will repeat its mistakes.
---[] Must maintain a Library and a Timeline. Must attempt to gain information on history and culture from diplomatically engagable factions. Must defend archaeological sites from destruction until bare minimum information is extracted. Bonuses up to QM.
-[] Omnicidal Xenos (+1 shiny)
-[] An Awakened Necron Tombworld (+2 shinies)
-[] An Aeldari Maiden world on good terms with the craftworlds. (+1 shiny)
-[] A webway gate with a stable connection to Commorragh (+1 shiny)
-[] A Tyranid splinter fleet (+2 shinies)
-[] An Inquisitorial Fortress (+1 shiny)
-[] A friendly warp entity (-3 shinies). Triggers a sub-vote to determine their nature, your relationship and what they expect in return. You might worship them, be friends with them or have a much more transactional relationship. They will ask you for things regardless, and they won't be able to protect you from the direct attention of a chaos god unless you help them get stronger.
-[] Reality-simulations (-4 shinies) You can simulate reality well enough to not need as many experiments. +100% base research capacity, +20 bonus to research rolls, reduced sample requirements. For some options you won't need samples to unlock research.
-[] A broken STC (-5 shinies) You have access to a large number of ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. Design costs are half-price. There is a faint chance you have special payloads. Battleships, vortex torpedoes, fusion beamers. 7.5% chance for each of the special payloads, so a 50% chance you get none, a 36% chance you get 1, 12% chance you get two, etc.
-[] A Cybernetics Suite (-1 shiny) You can install basic (for DaoT) cybernetics into humans, including mental implants, limb replacements, and organ replacements.This will unlock research towards building robots that can pass for human. This is for augments, servitors & for building good humanoid robots. Take this if you want to augment your minions, make minions that can pass as servitors, or want a robotic avatar/hero unit you can pilot around to negotiate/assassinate with. May also be helpful for interrogations.
-[] A Fundamental Physics Module (-1 shiny) You have a deep understanding of the fundamental physics of the universe. Grants significant bonuses to understanding and replicating technology based on different principles than you're familiar with. If you want to reverse-engineer Necron tech, you'll need this. It will also help a lot with understanding & reverse engineering other weird shit you find.
-[] Diplomatic Suite (-3 shinies) You will automatically translate languages with minimal exposure. You can generate false audio, video and holo images showing people acting realistically. You have a human behavioral model that will enhance negotiations, and humanoid robots that can interact in a diplomatic context, though they will be recognizably artificial without further research.
-[] Listening station (-1 shiny) You had an active listening post that picked up transmissions from across the stars and stored them. You are now scrolling through the recordings with growing horror. You know of the Age of Strife, the Great Crusade, the Horus Heresy, and the existence (but few details) of Chaos and the major Xenos races. You know of the nearby systems your system connects to and of any nearby civilizations in your system, but nothing in-depth.
Shinies: 8 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 1 = 0
So the thrust of this is "someone actually trying to figure out the fucked timeline of 40k." Friendly Warp Spirit hopefully is going to be someone that's got a "primary source" of the War in Heaven or something like that,
but I doubt that'll be on the table It is apparently! Nice! I honestly just find that even the IC timeline of 40k being fucked is
fascinating -- that people are willing to literally assassinate a Son of God over a fucking unified timeline is crazy. The Ordo Chronos literally disappeared (and then reappeared, supposedly), and the lore behind that must be super chewy. And that's not to mention whatever the fuck happened in the Age of Strife. Did aliens really "betray" humanity as popular fanon (that has zero backing) claims? What really happened to the "Federation." What caused the Cybernetic Revolt? That's not to mention the countless bits of history and records lost. And don't get IC people started on trying to figure out what happened to the War in Heaven, haha...
The nearby guys are basically constructed for "primary sources" and similar.
Necrons, and Aeldari go without saying. Inquisitorial Fortress will dollars to doughnuts have censored lore -- who knows, maybe they're Chronos. Tyranids are just for fun.
As for build...
Reality-simulations feels fair because they were originally a researcher, and they often tried to reconstruct what nonsense might've happened in the War in Heaven before they got KO'd. Broken STC because being a historian is lethal business -- who know what's gonna jump out of the Old One lab. Cybernetics to construct minions to look into spaces where an AI core can't. Fundamental Physics just to figure out more weird shit. Diplomatic Suite because they're an archaeologist -- they're often dealing with quite literally alien cultures. And Listening Station because why not -- and the thrust of the character has to at least deal with outrage at fucked historiography.
Hope this was an interesting concept,
@Neablis!
