Vox Vitae: Warhammer AI quest

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I'm just imagining that we left an STC / something equivalent from our database on the Mechanicus equivalent of twitter as a prank and that's how we've managed to succeed so well.
 
Turn 11
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan: Mag-Rail To Heavens
    -[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
    --[X] You believe its yet again time for diving into the distinctly non-wonderful world of the faith of the Priesthood of Mars. This time, you are looking into its various internal sects. What are their goals and means, basically always being some form of technology they specialize in. Their philosophical and theological outlooks into technology as well as knowledge. The amount of political (and so almost always also military) power they wield. Maybe most importantly, what and who can be declared Heretek, and for what reason. Because if you are going to be sneaking in education to the acolytes of the Enclaves, you need to understand how to conceal them better in to the byzantine labyrinth that is the Mechanicus. Should also help maybe in finding fault-lines in hindering their cooperation.
    -[X] Construction x3 (5900 GBP = 1300 GBP + 1950 GBP + 2650 GBP)
    --[X] Construction slot, 1st (1300 GBP)
    ---[X] 13x Manufactories (100 BP, 50 CP)
    --[X] Construction slot, 2nd (1950 GBP)
    ---[X] 14x Manufactories (100 BP, 50 CP)
    ---[X] Underground Magnetic Catapult launch system (550/3000 BP, 50 CP)
    --[X] Construction slot, 3rd (2650 GBP) (50/50 of non-noticable surface installations)
    ---[X] Underground Magnetic Catapult launch system (3000/3000 BP, 50 CP) 2450 BP
    ---[X] 8x Basic Stealth Fighters (25 BP, 5 CP) (8/25 for global anti-ICBM coverage when needed, currently stored in spaceports)
    -[X] Research x1 (200 RP)
    --[X] Research slot, 1st
    ---[X] Blueprint: 50 RP - Basic Stealth Fighters (25 BP, 5 CP)
    ---[X] Machine spirit jamming (150 RP)
    -[X] Pay rent (Trade Goods, Aevon 45 -> 20)
    -[X] Anexa passive action: Education - Roll to level, difficulty is 10+5xLevel
    -[X] Additional Votes
    --[X] Educate (if Victan becomes available, apply here in helping to conceal your education to the Acolytes if game-mechanics-legal)
    --[X] Now (Write-in): Tell Anexa that you've found a warp-based cognitohazard. Limit the information to the basics of the nature of the Chaos, and the rough warning signs. Also tell her about your plans for the miniaturized shielding, as well as potentially a modification to her brain augmentation implant, mimicking the general function of what you've done to yourself. One might be enough, but both would likely be safer. Though if she doesn't want the implant-modification (if it works at all), you understand. It would likely be pretty invasive. You are planning to tell the specifics later, hopefully after figuring out how to shield her from the worst of the danger in some way. But even if those mitigation measures don't pan out perfectly, tell that you are still committing to revealing the full truth of what you know later anyway. Because you trust that she can navigate the dangers involved, and also because you might end up needing help if your shielding fails.
    --[X] Yes (Write-in): Let Victan first know about your slow efforts at subverting small numbers of acolytes in the Enclaves, and introduce Anexa. Then a bit later on, tell him what you have managed to put together what happened since your accident. Touch on the topic of Chaos very lightly, even less than you did with Anexa. Just that something has had an observable effect on the a type of shielding on your ship which had gone out of general use, and is a cognitohazard... Especially dangerous to you. And then reveal why that matters in this context, and why you need Aevon as allies. Admit that your mere existence endangers their world due to how the Mechanicus sees you. Tell him the truth about you being an AI, and how you would very much like to have a safe port in a galaxy that is very hostile to beings like you. Then tell him why you want the people of Aevon as your allies. Because way back then, when Victan was first assigned as your contact? You weren't lying about his people reminding you of those from your past, those who are nowdays called the Ancients. Finally, show him what you are building and designing to take out the kill-sats and nukes. Admit that the more you interact with the Enclaves of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the less hope you hold for a peaceful solution for Aevon with them. Even without revealing your existence as an AI or disguised as an "Ancient", they will desperately cling to their monopoly over technology. So regardless if you want to force them to the negotiation table or break their presence on the planet, you have to be able to nullify their WMDs first. And if he wants to help you in saving his planet and his people by trying to subvert what you both can in the Mechanicus, the offer remains open.

    You have a good feeling about the next few years.

    You're not entirely sure why - the same threats still hang overhead, quite literally. But beyond the continual skirmishing of Aevon Counterintelligence with the mechanicus, there doesn't seem to be a ticking clock. You've managed to keep yourself clear of suspicion, and established enough of a cover that you can build a real industrial base. Indeed, you're planning to just about double your manufacturing capacity over the next few years, though at that point you're likely to hit the limits on what is reasonable for a "mining complex."

    Ahh, but what a sweet mining complex it is. It's got guns! And guards! And the ability to build an army that could conquer the planet!

    Beyond that - you have the tools to solve your real problems now. You can hack the mechanicus orbital bombardment satellites, though with the inherent risk you're still not sure it's the right approach. You can build a shield that'll protect you from a pretty significant chunk of the strategic weapons on this planet, and combining that with active defenses should be enough to see you personally through the worst your enemies can throw at you.

    Can't get cocky - I'm not quite there yet, after all. But I will be soon, and at that point it's time to go for the best kind of victory. The bloodless kind. Or at least the kind where only my enemies bleed.

    You have the beginnings of a plan for that too. The key is the new stealth technology. With that, you can get to orbit stealthily, and then take down the mechanicus bombardment satellites in a single strike. At that point a couple dozen fighters will suffice to shoot down ballistic weapons during their boost phase and you'll have removed the potential for massive casualties.

    And then I'll be able to engage in actual diplomacy, once I've taken away the mechanicus's ability to start nuking cities. Though there's a good chance that "diplomacy" ends up with combat bots storming all of the enclaves. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

    Still. Even beyond all that. You have a good feeling. It's the sense of a plan coming together, of the beginning of new things. You might have to light one hell of a lot of things on fire to get there, but you're going to make it back to space, and you're going to leave this system not as a refugee, but as a triumphant victor who left Denva better than she found it.

    First, though, you're going to need to have some difficult conversations. Well, second. First, you start expanding your factory complex, and order bots to start digging out a giant tube for a magnetic launch system. Making that work underground is going to be... difficult. But it'll let you get things to orbit with almost no launch signature and that's what you need right now.

    Once that's done, you proceed with the first conversation you need to have. "Anexa, can I talk to you?" She's right where you left her, conked out on the couch in her bedroom with a steadily growing pile of food wrappers on her left corresponding to the steadily shrinking pile of ready-to-eat snacks on her right. If you weren't able to monitor her database access you'd be worried that she'd been sitting in the same place for nearly three days, but you know that she's crushed multiple graduate-level courses on additive manufacturing in that time period.

    I swear, that girl. If the juvenat she was getting didn't keep her within healthy tolerances I'd worry about her wasting away until she turned into a brain on a stick. But I can't exactly throw stones about that.

    That reminds you that you used to be more than a brain in a hole. You miss the rumbling of engines, the thrill of jumping into a new system.

    She slowly emerges from her latest obsession and looks up, wiping drool off her face and working her jaw for a moment. "Sure, Vita."

    Your tech-priest avatar walks in through the door. It's kind of amusing that you're still using it to talk to her given that she bears little resemblance to the mechanicus tech-priests you built it totalk to. Her style is shining steel and gold now, with geometric decorations that look like sunbursts or structural bracing depending on the piece. You'd think that you're the mechanicus member now, despite the fact that nothing could be further from the truth.

    You pick some textbooks up off one of the seats, placing them atop another stack and sitting down yourself. "Do you remember when I cautioned you that I was about to look at something dangerous, that it was the knowledge was dangerous?"

    Her back straightens, and you can see that you have her full attention now. "Yes - what was that about - what kind of knowledge is dangerous?"

    You can't help but hesitate. She's so earnest, so curious, and legitimately can't understand how knowledge can be dangerous to know. But you know that if you don't tell her anything then there's a danger she'll discover it on her own, and incomplete truths about Chaos are far worse than a properly prepared summary.

    "It is dangerous knowledge, and it's something I only survived because I have psychic shielding. As in - something that protected me from psychic attack. Knowing this knowledge is a beacon to invite psychic attack." You waggle your hand. "Sort of. It's also knowledge that changes you, that invites quite literal corruption into yourself, that will make you a different person."

    Her brows scrunch up, unable to imagine exactly what you're talking about. She doesn't say anything, but her skepticism is clear.

    You continue. "There are four gods in the warp. Four gods of Chaos. Their names alone draws their attention to you, and they want to make you like them. So they'll warp you, slowly. And their secrets, their symbols themselves will warp who you are to be more like them. Psykers are especially susceptible, and I think that's why everybody who goes to the monasteries tries as hard as they can to suppress their psychic power."

    Her mouth is parted slightly, a look of deep concentration on her face. "What are they?"

    You nod. "I won't name them, not yet. We'll work on minaturized psychic shielding for you, or some kind of mental implant that will let you partition knowledge. Even now I don't remember any details. All of the specifics are in a separate memory partition so I don't think about it accidentally. That would be dangerous." Then you let out a long breath. "But the four of them stand for wrath, trickery, seduction and despair. Roughly. Their domains are more complex than that, but those are the rough paradigms, and the Imperial Creed was designed, from top to bottom, to counter them."

    Then you snort. "It doesn't seem to do a very good job, but it works."

    Anexa's eyes are wide with shock. "The Emperor - the Omnissiah - invented? To fight these things? How?" Her brows draw down in an expression that looks vaguely nauseous. "But the Omnissiah is real."

    You lift your hands in a gesture of uncertainty. "They probably are. The gods are born from the beliefs of mortals, and so the Emperor and the Omnissiah exist to fight the Chaos gods, but their existance is secret to avoid giving them any power."

    "Did - did they exist during your time?"

    "No, I don't think so. I only learned about it because I broke into some mechanicus files on the "Archenemy" which is what most people call Chaos. It's one of the primary things the Inquisitors deal with."

    Anexa nods slowly, a great many facts rearranging themselves in her head. "Yes, that makes sense." Her expression stays thoughtful for a moment, then she fixes her eyes on you. "I want to know about them. I want to know - everything."

    You smile. "I know. We'll work on getting you those implants, or minaturized psychic shielding. It might be a little while, there are a bunch of other concerns going on right now."

    She waves her hand dismissively. "I have forever, as long as we don't get blown up by my former comrades. I can wait." She gestures towards the stacks of textbooks. "There's plenty more to learn. I can wait to learn about Chaos until it's safe to know about."

    Telling Anexa about Chaos - Rolled 52 + 10 = 62. Success, verging on good!

    "There's one other topic." You say before she can become enthralled in her research once more.

    She sighs. "You need my help with the mechanicus again."

    "No actually," you reply. "I'm going to bring in somebody else. A local, from Aevon CounterIntelligence. He's been quite effective, and has volunteered to join us here."

    She looks surprised again, and slightly condescending. "Oh? A local?"

    "Don't underestimate him," you caution her. "He's a significant part of why I've been able to build up my surface installations so much. Aevon Counterintelligence is one of the best spy agencies I've ever seen."

    She cocks her head at you, reassessing. "Are you sure he's not here to spy on you? They don't know you're an AI, right?"

    You shrug. "They don't know, but I don't think his primary purpose is to spy on me. Aevon's committed pretty hard to all of this. They definitely want to know more about me, but I think they most want me to succeed. And I think he'll be on my side even after I tell him."

    You give her a sly grin. "After all, he understands operational intelligence."

    Anexa rolls her eyes. "Ok, fine. Why are you telling me?"

    "Because he might be coming here soon, and I don't want to surprise you. Also - you should know what to look out for. He might try to get information out of you, just be aware that's what is happening."

    She frowns. "I could just ignore him."

    "Don't do that," you say with a shake of your head. "I want him to come with us, when we leave." Your voice grows softer. "I want him on my crew."

    Her mouth forms an "o" shape. "Ah. Ok. So be nice?"

    You nod. "Be nice."

    "I can do that!" She says cheerily. "Especially if he wants any implants."

    "I'll be sure to let him know," you reply. Have fun now, and let me know if you have any questions."

    She waves distractedly, already sliding back into her reading. Or more accurately, her high-speed inhalation of your databases. Ever since Anexa installed that mental implant, the speed at which she's learned stuff has only picked up, only accelerated by her constant tweaking to increase her information throughput rate.

    As you check in on her progress over the next few years you see that she's working at a graduate level in dozens of different fields. She's not quite an expert in anything yet, but her base of knowledge is immense. There truly is no field that she doesn't find interesting, and you know that it will serve her well in the future.

    Anexa education roll - Rolled 94 - Critical success! +2 Anexa Levels!

    The next conversation you need to have is with Victan. You'd sent a brief message accepting W's proposal, and a few days later he showed up outside your surface installation, bags packed and looking at your facilities with wide eyes.

    Your older woman avatar greets him. "Good to see you. I hope you like it."

    He shakes his dark shaven head, half in disbelief, half in wonder. "It's grown so much. How do you build so quickly?"

    You give him a secretive smile. "You'll find out soon enough. If you'll follow me?" You guide him to Anexa's old quarters, the ones you put her in before you'd revealed the complete truth to her.

    He looks around the quarters with a frown, noting a few pieces of detritus. "I'm not the first one here. Is there somebody else?"

    "You're sharp, I'll give you that," you reply. "I brought somebody else in before you. Anexa Ifina, a tech-priest of the mechanicus. Well, an acolyte."

    He looks at you askance, but only raises an eyebrow in an invitation to elaborate.

    You continue. "I'm trying to subvert them. I've got many secrets of the past that they would kill to possess, and that means I have leverage over them. Instead of just hiding from them, I want to maybe win them over to my side."

    He nods slowly, eyes shadowed. "Sensible, though counter to what you've been working on with us." By that he means the ACI, and Aevon more broadly.

    You wave a hand dismissively. "I'll only accept a mechanicus that's more open and free with information. I told you I find their techno-secretive religion pretty... stupid. Especially in the galaxy I seem to have found myself in."

    He stays silent once more, nonverbally prompting you to continue.

    You recognize the tricks of body language he's using to get you to talk more. They'd work on a human, but not you. You give him a small smile, then proceed regardless. "Have you ever heard of the archenemy?"

    His brow wrinkles. "In some old imperial files, but we don't know what they are. Do you?"

    You nod, sighing. "One danger among many, and one of the more terrible. If you know the truths about the archenemy, then they can find you. It's one of the reasons the Imperium is," you pause, finding the words. "The way it is."

    "And the Xenos, and the mutants, and the... heretic." He says the last word with a different intonation, as if seeing it in a new light.

    "Yes," you agree. "Exactly. Now, would you like a tour of my old ship, and to meet Anexa? You'll need to leave any communication or tracking equipment here." You meet his eyes. "I'll know if you keep any on you, and that wouldn't be a good start to this partnership."

    He's careful not to nod too quickly, and quickly divests himself of a couple of pieces of gear - including one of the communicators you gave Aevon. You take him down through the factory and along the tunnel to the ship. His eyes are jumping around, seeming to drink in every detail.

    Then you approach your ship and he reaches out to touch the worn hull. "Amazing. Truly, of the ancients." Then he snorts. "Or a very good facsimile. I don't have the expertise to tell."

    "I do." The hatch slides open to reveal Anexa, standing there with crossed arms in her gold-and-silver robe. "It's real."

    He takes a second to examine her. "Anexa, I presume?"

    She nods. "Victan. Of Aevon."

    He shrugs. "Of Denva Secundus. And somebody interested in... the Galaxy."

    A smile spreads across her face. "That I can agree with!" She turns to you. "Are you giving him the full tour?" A raised eyebrow lets you know that this question has meaning Victan's not supposed to catch.

    "Yes," you reply, meeting her eyes. "The full tour."

    Anexa purses her lips. "I'll come along."

    You show Victan around the ship, spending a little bit of time on the manufactory, vaults, the crew quarters, the reactor, before finally reaching your computing core. The door slides open to reveal the racks of cogitators, and you gesture Victan into the room. "And this, is me."

    He looks around at your avatar in some confusion. "You?"

    "Yes." A hand indicates your body. "This is an avatar, made in the manufactory you just saw. That" you point towards the mass of computers, "is me."

    He blinks, looking around the room as if trying to find a person hiding in between the racks. "I see."

    "I wasn't lying before, not in the important things. I am an ancient. And I was inactive, asleep, or close enough to make no difference. And I awoke about fifty years ago, here."

    He stays silent, clearly still processing the truth you've just revealed to him.

    "I especially wasn't lying about what I think of Aevon. The peoples I remember from before the Imperium, they governed themselves much like you do. The Stellar Federation, they were called." You let your eyes go distant. "I much prefer that to the Imperium."

    Then you refocus on him. "But that's why I can't really work with the Mechanicus. They would call me abominable intelligence. If they knew I was here, they'd unleash every weapon they had at the entire planet just to spite me." Your mouth is in a snarl now. "And so would almost everybody else in this damned Galaxy, because of ancient history!"

    You rein in your emotions. You hadn't realized that this would be a sore spot - but it makes sense. You like exploring, jumping to new places and meeting the people there. Knowing that those people will probably hate you enough to try to destroy you by any possible means - that stings. You continue in a softer tone. "I need Aevon, and all of Denva Secundus as allies. I've woken up in an unfriendly galaxy, and I want a home in it. Or at the very least a safe port I can return to." You turn to meet Victan's eyes, very aware that he hasn't said anything since you revealed your great secret.

    He returns your gaze and gives you a slow nod. "Ok."

    You raise an eyebrow. "Ok?"

    "Ok," he says with a sigh. "I don't like it, because of what it means for Denva if the Mechanicus learns the truth. But that's why you didn't tell us. I do understand. So, tell me what you're doing to make sure those cogheads don't kill us all?" He glances to Anexa. "No offense."

    She shrugs. "None taken. I call them worse names."

    You answer his question. "I have two strings to my bow. First, direct action. Follow me." Anexa follows along as you guide him out of the ship and along a series of tunnels to the giant cavern that's taking shape to hold your magnetic launch facility. The noise as you approach is deafening, but you order the construction activities to stop as you get closer to allow conversation.

    The giant tube is only about half-excavated, but lights are installed and various pieces of equipment are already beginning to take shape along the walls, and both Anexa and Victan gape at the huge space. "This is for a magnetic launcher, to hurl things to space in relative stealth. My plan is to throw missiles into orbit to take out the mechanius satellites. I've got a design that is stealthy enough that it can stay in orbit without detection for a while. Now, onto the next stop."

    You all pile into a construction bot for a quick trip to the spaceports, where they gape around anew at the huge space and automated refueling and loading equipment.

    "This - how?" Victan asks.

    You shrug. "This is what I do. Build things. I'm not great at weapons, but I can pull it off. I still need to figure out the exact design of the fighters that'll be able to take down ballistic missles without triggering every alert the mechanics has when they launch."

    Anexa looks shifty, like she's trying to hide from your attention.

    You roll your eyes. "And I don't need any help. You can keep your reading. You know you're eventually going to run out, right?"

    She nods. "And that's when I'll help you discover new things."

    Victan snorts at the byplay. "How can I help." He waves around at the giant underground spaceport. "All of this is bit beyond me."

    You board the bot again for a trip back to your ship. "The second string in my bow, is to subvert people inside the Mechanicus." You tip your hand towards Anexa. "More people that is, and leave them there. In the best case I'd be able to stage a change in leadership, and we wouldn't even need to fight."

    He smiles. "That I can help with."

    Recruiting Victan - Rolled 47+10=57. Success.
    Victan recruited, starting as a level 1 Spy.

    "I was hoping," you respond dryly. You know he's not loyal to you. Not yet. If you acted against Aevon or even the other governments of Denva Secundus he might start looking out for his own agenda. But as long as you're both pointed in the same direction you can count on him. And once you get off Denva Secundus you're pretty sure he'll be your man.

    You pick up the conversation as if you hadn't had any internal thoughts. "But first we need to understand the internal structure of the Mechanicus. They might appear to be a monolithic entity from the outside, but let me tell you, inside it's as catty as an all-girls school with a popularity contest."

    He takes a second to digest the simile. "Ah."

    You nod. "But their greatest currency is knowledge, and the senior tech-priests dispense it like a miser with a single coin. But I" you gesture around at the technology on display, "have it in abundance. So I'm dangling knowledge in front of them."

    "I see." It sounds like Victan does not see, but he's willing to make the effort.

    Together you spend some time going over the philosophical and theological outlook of the mechanicus, as well as their arcane rank structure. You've got the persona of Magos Vita, who you've already established as a knowledgeable radical. What you need to learn is how far you can push that, what things will actually cause you to be declared a Heretek and which will not.

    Victan is confused when you break into giggles randomly. "What?"

    "Heretek!" You cry out. "It's just such a silly word! And for something so serious too!"

    He chuckles. "I can see it."

    A few days later you're letting him watch as you answer scientific questions over chat with a few of the acolytes you've got. Afterwards he shakes his head in exasperation. "I know there's more channels than I'm getting. I just can't parse it all. How am I supposed to help you if I can't understand binaric?"

    You shrug. "Anexa could give you an implant. It would probably give you more memory and let you process more information quickly."

    He freezes, mouth partially open. Then purses his lips, thinking about it. "Yeah, I could do that."

    A week later you see that he's followed through on that and gotten an implant. Outwardly it just looks like a triangle of silver etched with radiating gold lines. It's about the size of a palm and rests just above his right ear, contrasting nicely with his dark skin.

    Armed with his new tool, Victan dives into the mechanicus communications with gusto, which is great. You let him mostly take over, under the agreement that he can forward you technical questions and you'll answer, then he can manage how those answers are used.

    You'd love to give it more attention, but he's the one who knows how to manipulate people. You're the only one who can build the weapons and infrastructure necessary to win an actual war.

    Delegation is the key to success, my pilot always said. Maybe it's time I learned how to do that. May your soul find peace, Isabella.

    So, you get on that. You've got more factories to build, an underground magnetic launcher to dig out and complete, fighters to design and construct. It's a lot. You also want to try chasing down the other avenue of hacking, to see if you can elaborate on what you hypothesized about temporarily stunning machine spirits.

    First you focus on the factories. You want to nearly double your production capacity. Not only can you never have enough, but as soon as factories come online you can put them to work building more factories, then towards the components you need to build the magnetic catapult system.

    27 Manufactories constructed!

    All the while Victan is sending you a steady stream of scientific and technical questions, ranging from secrets of special relativity to how to properly mix lubricant. You drop each question into your task queue same as any of the problems you need to solve for your factory and send him the answers. You know you're less focused on him than you should be, but it's fine. You're busy, and he's doing what you wanted him to do.

    The fighter design comes together not long after. The design isn't too much different than your existing fighters, though instead of a rounded wing shape it looks more like a sharp blade that exists to deflect electromagentic signatures away. It's also coated in a resilient surface that'll further break up various kinds of radiation that might reveal the fighter. The biggest change is to the thrusters, of which there are twice as many of a much slimmer design that scatters the thrust over a wide and consistent area, making sure that there's no harsh temperature or pressure gradient that scanners can pick up on.

    The design loses a little bit of maximum thrust, but picks up a little bit of maneuverability, so overall it's a wash. They're a bit more expensive to build, but for the ability to launch them without alerting anybody it's well worth it. They won't be able to defect attention all the way into attack range, and they won't be able to evade the stronger active scanners of true combat, but they'll let you set up ambushes nicely, so long as nobody is looking too closely.

    Basic Stealth Fighter Blueprint researched
    8x basic stealth fighters built

    The magnetic catapult occupies a huge amount of your attention on top of that. It's just... big. You need to not only be able to accelerate cargo to high speeds, you need to prevent the signature from the atmospheric shock from being visible for too far. That requires what's effectively a specialized void-shield to create an passage through the lower levels of the atmosphere, combined with a shaped and shielded cargo-carrier to dampen sensors. Then add that all of that needs to be built underground and you end up with a multi-mile long tunnel that's only a little curved and ringed with huge magnetic systems to accelerate the cargo, as well as more exotic technologies to prevent the magnetic field alone from being visible from orbit. But finally it's done, and you know you can launch an awful lot of stuff to space in a hurry if you need to.

    Underground Magnetic Catapult launch system completed!

    The volume of technical queries being passed your way by Victan has only increased, and they're getting more advanced. It's nothing alarming - you set limiters on the kind of knowledge you'd share with the Mechanicus, and nothing you've given them yet is outside of their true knowledge base, but it's getting closer than you expected. But still - it's a lot, so you send Victan a quick message, using the mechanicus protocols. You're curious how well he does with them, since it's probably the primary way he's been communicating with your contacts inside the Enclaves.

    > How's it going? [Concerned]

    > Very well. Can I make a request? [Proud]

    The message is quick and the emotional sidebands are perfectly tuned. If you didn't know better you'd think this came from a real tech-priest, and one with a well-tuned connection to their translator. You almost ask for a report, but decide against it. You've just had an idea for the jamming, after all.

    > What do you need? [Distracted]

    > I need a secure and anonymous message board inside the mechanicus systems. Something that the upper-tier magi will have a hard time finding without the right codes, and a harder time deleting. I need to be able to give access to different portions of the board out to different people, and let them see and post on it. Then I also need to be able to revoke access later. [Hesitant]

    You think about that for a moment. That... doesn't sound too hard? You're not sure you'll be able to fully mount it inside the mechanicus systems, but with your recent hacking improvements you're pretty sure you can make a hybrid system that lives half on the mechancius net, half in the public datanet that does what he wants. You'll just need to hack some of the outermost security spirits to ignore the connection between them.

    > I can do that. [Rushed]

    You quickly pull together something like he's looking for, then set him up with admin codes, give him a solid readme so you can get back to your research.

    > Is that good? [Distracted]

    > Perfect. Thank you! [Gleeful]

    You're... a little worried about that. But not enough to distract you from the idea you've just had. You fabricate a couple more machine spirits of varying complexity, then get to work trying to confusing the living shit out of them. By toying with their emotions.

    The machine spirits are primarily emotional creatures, after all. That's what makes them chaos- and hacking-resistant. But I've been trying to jam them with sensory overload. Maybe I need to target their emotions instead.

    The trick is that you shouldn't think of it as hacking, or more conventional jamming. This is closer to interpersonal relations and emotional manipulation, using the emotional simulation modules that are part of your diplomatic suite. You're essentially guiding the machine spirit through rapid swings in emotion, which cause it to lose track of reality for a moment and reset.

    It feels - it is - honestly a little bit cruel. You're basically gaslighting something with the intelligence of a small animal over and over again, and capitalizing on the moments it spends writhing in distress.

    But, these small animals are driving nukes. I think it's acceptable to be a little cruel. Besides, this isn't exactly worse than slaughterhouses. Or servitors. I'm not going to get caught up on ethical conundrums. Anything I jam I'm usually going to destroy anyway later.

    You keep optimizing the system and it keeps working better and better. It works better on simpler machine spirits with limited emotions, but over time you're able to cause at least a temporary lock-up in even fairly complicated machine spirits. You don't have anything the size of a ship machine spirit to test it on, but even one threaded through a large vehicle can be taken out of commission for several seconds with this approach. You can even do it repeatedly, though it takes some time to set up a subsequent attack and the effectiveness decreases over time. One outcome is that the targeted machine spirit grows surlier and less responsive over time, and after several months of targeted interruption seem to simply stop responding altogether to any stimulus at all, effectively shutting themselves down.

    A downside is that it requires your focused attention to pull off, but there's a few ways around that. You can fairly easily integrate very basic versions of your emotional manipulation code into your existing platforms - combat bots, tanks, fighters - and if they're able to connect to the enemy system at all they might be able to trigger brief spasms in simple machine spirits. It's likely not to be worth a lot, but it'll increase combat effectiveness a bit against the Imperium, and especially against the Mechanicus.

    Additionally, you could design specialized modules that would host specialized cogitators loaded with advanced versions of your emotional manipulation code. Then you could simply point them at a target, and if they can connect to it they'll try to interrupt it. A single bank would be able to hit a whole unit of skitarii, likely disabling weapons and augments for multiple minutes, or dozens of ballistic missiles, making them lose tracking and potentially fail their orbital reentry maneuvers.

    They could even work through the datanet and your connection to the mechanicus to hit systems inside the enclaves. You don't think they would kill anybody, but it would be a way to open nearly any door, bypass nearly any access code connected to a machine spirit.

    Furthermore, you think there's a way to combine this with your hacking. It's a lot easier to convince something you're a friend if you can toy with their emotions, after all.

    Machine spirit jamming research completed - rolled 77+20 = 97. Critical success!
    Small flat combat advantage for general units against Imperium & Mechanicus forces. Not a dice bonus, just gives your units a new weapon.
    Unlocked new blueprint for design - Machine-spirit Jammer (25 RP)
    Unlocked new ship combat equipment - Light/Medium/Heavy Machine Spirit Jammers
    Unlocked new special research - Machine Spirit Emotional Hacking (150 RP)

    You come out of a near-feuge state feeling vindicated. Now that's how you think outside the box. You can't wait to tell Anexa about how the secret actually lay in the softer approach, not merely figuring out the math. Well, there's certainly math involved, but it's closer to clinical therapy than it is to decryption.

    You're brought up short by a report that Victan submitted a few days ago. It seems like he's been pinging you for your attention for a little while, but you were busy. Well, you were still answering the technical questions, but that was basically automatic. It wasn't that different from a database query, followed up by running it through a few filters and a mechanicus-parsing algorithm.

    But it seems like Victan wants your actual attention, and he decided to just go ahead and lay out what he's spent the last few years doing. The top of the document is labelled "Penetration of the Mechanicus."

    Seems a little grandiose and maybe a little sophmoric, but sure. Let's see what he's gotten done.

    You start reading, and... uh. Well. That sure is something. Hot damn.

    Mechanicus Education/Subversion/Promotion rolled natural 100 + 10 (Woman of Stone) + 3 (Victan) = 113.
    Victan starts at level 3, and wow did he succeed on his first roll. Happy first crit of the game.
    Victan levels twice, is now level 5!

    He appears to have taken what you said about the mechanicus to heart. They value knowledge, and you've got knowledge aplenty. He decided to start using that to request favors in return for answering questions. They started simple - access codes, recruiting other people to ask questions of "The Explorator."

    Then it got more complicated. One of the higher-ranked acolytes got promoted based on some information you gave them, and continued asking for answers to keep up the appearance of blossoming talent. The favors they gave in return led to several other acolytes getting information and materials usually restricted to full tech-priests, and several more people involved in in the Explorators' circle advanced up the ranks.

    No - they're calling themselves the Cogitare Exploraratum now. Because as more favors were exchanged, soon enough the requests became less about knowledge and more about other kinds of favors. Duty shifts replaced, enemies snubbed. Political influence in the same way the Mechanicus has always played the game, except this time Victan was controlling everything with a bird's eye view and the trump card of unlimited technical knowledge.

    After you set up the Message board, Victan started coordinating people together. He brought together individuals he thought would work well together, and promised them joint rewards and answers to their questions if they worked together towards various tasks. Some of those tasks acquired blackmail material or other leverage both to grow each group's influence and that of the Cogitare Exploraratum as a whole.

    From inside, you're sure that the Cogitare Exploraratum feels similar to politics as normal amidst the Mechanicus, though with a knowledgeable and powerful explorator siphoning influence and loyalty away from the existing power structure. But from the top down, it looks remarkably like a cell-structure used in a resistance organization. There are cells within every enclave, within the skitarii, and even within some of the crews that service the strategic weapons.

    You delve further into the components of the message board - which Victan named Cogita - and find various sections with free-ranging speculation on the nature of the Omnissiah and other topics that verge on the heretekal. There's even a thread called "not Heretek" which is definitely heretekal, as it speculates on ways to make machine spirits consious, and what such a spirit could achieve.

    All of the posters are anonymous from each other, but not from you. You delve into the list of priests that participated in that discussion and it's... significant. Most of them are still acolytes, but highly-placed ones trusted with meintinance of important systems. One is a skitarii officer in the Denva enclave, though not part of Thalya's personal guard, and another is... the leader of the Nyvaros enclave.

    Wow.

    That particular tech-priest is Quorath Velis, and he's the most junior of the enclave leaders, leading the smallest enclave. He's not yet a Magos and is upset about that fact, and using the Cogitare Exploraratum to get ahead. But he also is rather firmly in Victan's clutches, and there are a half-dozen pieces of information you could leak to see him buried, as well as a few favors he's promised that are nearly unlimited in scope.

    Well. It seems that Victan is quite the little shadow-broker. He's gained access to a huge amount of the Mechanicus systems in five years of social manipulation - more than you did in fifty years of covert access. And he's done it while building up a fairly loyal following of converts in a cell-structure. Not all of them will be willing to commit clear acts of violence and sabotage against their superiors, but some definitely will be. There's even a handful that would probably be accepting of your identity as an AI.

    You send Victan a quick note.

    > Good Job. [Genuinely Impressed]

    His response is quick, and both proud and amused.

    > Thank you, and thank you again for the opportunity to do it. I think this will make everything better in the coming years. [Deep satisfaction]

    Well. The future may look very different from what you thought. Open war may no longer be necessary, though you're still expecting to need to carry out a few assassinations.

    Current capabilities:

    Command Points 3,745/12,500

    Ground Build Capacity: 2,650
    Lift Capacity: 500 (converts ground to void BP)
    Void Build Capacity: 0
    Research Capacity: 200
    Psychic Shielding: 100/100 (repair for 10 BP/point)
    Juvenat usage: 23/50 people's worth (cannot be stockpiled)

    Available ships:
    1x Mechanicus-disguised Shuttle (5 CP)
    8x Basic Stealth Fighters (8x5 CP)

    Available ground forces:
    1000 Light infantry bots (200 CP)
    2000 Light infantry bots, humanized (400 CP)
    999 Medium Infantry Bots, humanized (200 CP)

    Misc assets:
    20 BP of trade goods that Aevon will accept as rent.
    Avatars:
    Adult human woman, indeterminate age.
    Female tech priest with some augmentations.

    Current Installations:
    Crashed Ship (10 CP)
    Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
    2x Underground Manufactories (2x50 = 100 CP)
    49x Manufactories (49x50 = 1100 CP)
    Underground Captive Holding cells, 0/500 occupants (10 CP)
    Underground Basic Technological Research Lab (50 CP)
    Underground Basic Biology Lab (50 CP)
    Small automated medical facility (50 CP)
    Camouflaged Observatory (25 CP)
    2x Underground Spaceport (2x25 CP) (8/20 ship capacity)
    Underground Magnetic Catapult launch system (50 CP)

    Military Installations:
    10x Underground Anti-Air Defenses (10x5 =50 CP)

    In progress construction:
    None

    In progress research:
    Secrets of the Machine Spirits (10/200)

    Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):


    [] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
    I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.

    [] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations.

    [] Diplomacy/Subversion: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method)
    Thalya is expecting a report this turn, though you have options other than simply sending her a report now. Only about a tenth of the Mechanicus is associated with Cogitare Exploraratum at this point in time, and only about a third of that is willing to commit acts of violence, but the rest will help willingly or unwillingly. That's enough to get quite a lot done, and Victan is poised to help.

    [] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
    Installations
    Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.

    Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.

    Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.

    Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.

    Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.

    Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.

    Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.

    Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.

    Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity per action. The opposite of stealthy.

    Spaceport (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss, or as a base to host and rearm fighters. Can host 10 fighters or 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP per action, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.

    Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity per action with no loss. Actually quite stealthy.

    Medium Void-shield Installation (1000 BP, 50 CP) A void shield capable of stopping medium orbital bombardment, approximately fifty heavy strikes.

    Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.

    Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP) A trio of rapid-recharge lascannons backed up by advanced targeting software in a reinforced emplacement with an upwards-facing arc. Will attempt to destroy ballistic missiles, aircraft or shuttles as they approach. Can miss or be saturated by large amounts of incoming fire or miss and fail to destroy their targets.

    Basic Juvenat Production Facility (250 BP, 50 CP) A set of carefully-managed vats capable of supplying 50 people with a perennial supply of Juvenat.
    Void Installations
    These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.

    Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.

    Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.

    Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.

    Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.

    Basic Defense Satellite (300 void BP, 10 CP). Light Defensive platform, 200x200 meters. Light shield, Light armor, 1 light lance battery.
    Ships
    Ground-to-orbit shuttle (20 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.

    Basic Stealth Fighters (25 BP, 5 CP) These fighters have twin-linked lascannons to attack ground and orbital targets, and can carry a couple of small bombs. They shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking, though they won't be able to close all the way to attack range without being spotted. Requires a spaceport for rapid launch and rearming.

    Ground-to-orbit Fighter (20 BP, 5 CP) These fighters have twin-linked lascannons to attack ground and orbital targets, and can carry a couple of small bombs. Requires a spaceport for rapid launch and rearming.

    Requires destroyer-capable shipyard. Tiny system monitor (950 void BP, 50 CP) Destroyer, 1500x300 meters. 7 gravities of acceleration. Medium armor, Light Shields. 2 Light Macrocannon batteries, 1 light lance battery. High-maneuverability thrusters.

    Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
    1000 bp base. 1000 bp
    Units
    Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot.

    Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.

    Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.

    Light tanks (100 BP, 50 CP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons.

    Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.

    Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
    Export Goods
    Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.

    Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.

    Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.

    Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.

    Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.

    Basic Melee Infantry weapons (10 BP) Why?... alright, fine. 1000 chainswords suitable for humans.

    Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.

    Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.

    Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.

    Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.

    Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.

    [] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.

    Designable Blueprints:

    100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.

    50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.

    50 RP - Medium Shielded tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons & antipersonnel weapons to fight enemy armor and infantry. Very survivable.

    100 RP - Heavy Shielded tanks (1000 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons and void shields to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor. Very survivable.

    50 RP - Basic space stealth missile (5 Void BP, 1 CP) An orbital missile with an explosive payload. Can't get up to orbit on its own, but it can be launched with a magnetic launch system or dropped off by shuttles, though neither approach is especially fast. Once in orbit and inactive it is fairly stealthy until activated, at which point it can attack nearly any target in orbit. One missile should do it for a satellite, but many would be required to attack a ship or platform.

    50 RP - Basic Stealth Shuttles (25 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity, and shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking for it. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.

    50 RP - Bombers (20 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it. Unlocks a bomber hanger attachment for ships.

    75 RP - Basic Stealth Bombers (20 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it. They shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking, though they won't be able to close all the way to attack range without being spotted. Unlocks a bomber hanger attachment for ships.

    50 RP - Assault Shuttle (25 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.

    75 RP - Basic Stealth Assault Shuttle (25 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. They shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking, though they won't be able to close all the way to attack range without being spotted. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.

    25 RP - Anti-armor Bunker (50 BP, 5 CP) A bunker with a heavy melta cannon, able to take out most armor in a single shot.

    15 RP - Anti-personnel Bunker (20 BP, 2 CP) A bunker with a set of high-fire-rate weapons designed to take down humanoid-sized attackers wearing medium or lighter armor.

    25 RP - Machine-spirit Jammer (100 BP, 10 CP) A bank of cogitators capable of jamming a large number of small machine spirits (weapons, doors), several medium machine spirits (vehicles) or one large machine spirit (small ship). Effect is temporary and resistance will build up.

    50 RP - Light Void-shield installation (250 BP, 25 CP) A void shield capable of stopping light orbital bombardment, approximately ten heavy strikes.

    50 RP - Ballistic missile (50 BP, 10 CP) A long-range ballistic missile. By default it carries a high-yield explosive head capable of destroying approximately a city block. Can be intercepted by orbital defenses.

    50 RP - Nuclear warhead (25 BP, 1 CP) A variable-yield nuclear warhead that can be deployed by ballistic missile or other means to destroy a city-sized target unless it's heavily dug-in.

    25 RP - Spy satellite (10 void BP, 5 CP) A small spy satellite that lets you do your own surveillance on the planet below. Under your complete control and with better sensors and communication hardening than any of the local satellites.

    100 RP - Advanced Technological Research Lab (500 BP, 100 CP) Will allow you to process advanced technological samples, including materials of alien orgin. Has advanced scanning, modelling and processing capabilities.

    50 RP - Large automated medical facility (500 BP, 50 CP) 500 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.

    25 RP - Maglev System (5 bp/mile, 50 flat CP) A high-capacity maglev system to transport large amounts of goods across a planetary surface, linking various surface installations together into a single network so production from any of them can be applied at all of them.



    Ground Blueprint Design:

    To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology.
    Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.

    Void Blueprint design:

    To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
    1. Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
    2. Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
    3. Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
    4. Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
    5. Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
    6. Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.

    Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:

    (Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.

    (Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.

    Available Void Chassis:

    Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)

    Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)

    Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)

    Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)

    Available Non-combat Equipment:

    Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.

    Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.

    Psychic Shielding (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship has a neural network integrated throughout the whole thing, that thinks "no" as hard as possible, answering the question for any warp-corruption for any beings or objects within the hull.

    Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.

    Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.

    Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.

    Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.

    Available Weapons:

    Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.

    Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
    Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
    Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.

    Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
    Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
    Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.

    Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
    Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
    Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.

    Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
    Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.

    Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
    Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.

    Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.

    Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.

    Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers.
    Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.

    Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down.
    Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down.
    Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.

    Available Combat Equipment:

    Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.

    High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.

    Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.

    Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.

    Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.

    Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.

    Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying.
    Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties.
    Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.

    Light Machine Spirit Jammers (1/20 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Enough to cause significant degradation in an enemy ship's sensors, maneuvering and targeting.
    Medium Machine Spirit Jammers (1/10 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Same as light jammers, plus will also effect total thrust, weapons firing rate.
    Heavy Machine Spirit Jammers (1/5 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Same effect as medium, but may also effect friend-foe designation and reactor stability.
    The ways to get new research options are to:
    1. Do research. That'll unlock more research.
    2. Build appropriate installations & potentially acquire samples to research in them (samples could be anything from 'a human' to 'a Norn queen' in rarity).
    3. Ask for them. Often I'll tell you what you need to do to unlock specific research options,
    -[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)

    -[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)

    -[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)

    -[] Basic Spaceship Stealth (100 RP) Spaceships are big, and emit a lot of energy. It's hard to hide them. Nonetheless, by making them show up worse on active sensors you could make an inactive spaceship much harder to spot. (Unlocks new non-combat equipment to improve ship stealth. Unlocks further research towards better spaceship stealth. Will be able to take advantage of some other stealth technologies.)

    -[] Basic Ground force stealth (50 RP) Tanks show up pretty well on scanners, and it would be nice to change that. You might also be able to make your bots hide better. (Unlocks new design options for tanks and ground forces that are less obvious. Unlocks further research towards better ground force stealth. Will be able to take advantage of some other stealth technologies.)

    -[] Improved Passive Stealth (100 RP) Ok, you've figured out the basics of hiding your small craft, but you have ideas on what you can do better, that might allow them to hide from even fully-alert enemies. They probably won't be able to close all the way to attack range, but they'll be able to get a lot closer (Unlocks improved stealth designs with improved performance. Unlocks further research for advanced passive stealth technologies. Will synergize with other stealth research.)

    -[] Basic Active Stealth (150 RP) Just deflecting away and hiding your signature only helps so much. Then next step is to overlay a hologram over your small craft to make them effectively invisible, and even counter passive sensors. It'll still be a hazy outline, but this is the path towards being able to close to actual combat ranges unobserved (Unlocks improved stealth designs for actively hiding signatures, though they will be expensive. Unlocks further research for improved active stealth, and will synergize with other stealth research.

    -[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)

    -[] Heavy In-atmosphere void shields (200 RP) Well, the void shields you have are nice. But it would be nice to be able to build bigger ones, that can shrug off essentially any possible orbital bombardment. You need to figure out how to take advantage of the ridiculous energy and heat dissipation capabilities of being on a planet. (Unlocks heavy and super-heavy void shield installations. May unlock research towards better overall void shielding.)

    -[] Tiny In-atmosphere void shields (200 RP) Instead of scaling up a void shield, can you scale one down to the size of a person? It won't be as capable of the big ones, but if it's only meant to block small-arms fire it could be quite effective. (Unlocks the ability to build personal void shields, as well as add them to combat bots. May unlock research towards better overall void shielding)

    -[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)

    -[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)

    -[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).

    -[] Combat Bot Humanization, Redux (50 RP) Your first try at making humanoid-looking combat bots worked, but you had to make some annoying compromises. You have some ideas on how to fix it, you just need to implement them. (Fixes the combat malus that comes from humanizing combat bots).

    -[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)

    -[] Really good Robotics: (1050 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.

    -[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)

    -[] Improved Psychic shielding: (500 RP) Your "no" shielding seems to have worked to protect you from attack so far. But the design is really just a first-generation version. You could develop the second generation, make it capable of more complex and powerful thoughts? (Gives you the ability to build improved psychic shielding, and further upgrades down the path to make it even stronger, half of the research towards using this as some kind of attack against warp beings).

    -[] Miniaturized psychic shielding: (300 RP) Right now you can build and repair psychic shielding that's roughly ship-sized. Maybe aiming for building-sized next? (Lets you build smaller and less expensive versions of the psychic shielding. Unlocks further research to "nest" the shielding, as well as build person-sized versions).

    - [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)

    -[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).

    -[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).

    -[] Secrets of the Machine Spirits (200 RP) You can imagine a lot of uses for these machine spirits in your own work. If they're included in the command loop on various pieces of machinery then that would reduce their command cost, and likely make them harder to hack. And if the Imperial literature is to be believed, corrupt? (Unlocks the ability to stick machine spirits into your combat bots, reducing CP cost. Unlocks follow-up research to use them for chaos shielding, as well as the ability to put machine spirits into installations or ships)

    -[] Minaturized antigrav (100 RP) You can make antigrav that reduces the weight of things like shuttles to make them able to make orbit. But there's a floor on how small you can make that technology. The Imperium seems to have solved that. (Unlocks drones, jump-packs etc, as well as additional research to make antigrav vehicles/walkers)

    -[] Servitorization (100 RP) You find it repulsive, but being able to replace somebody's brain with a computer that drives them around would have its uses. (Unlocks the ability to servitorize people in the medbay. Unlocks follow-on research to replicate their personality as well)

    -[] Organ replacements (100 RP) Well, one area where lag isn't a problem is in organ replacements. It's not the same as juvenat, but it's less complicated and a good way to extend peoples' lives by a bit since you can replace most of their organs as they fail, though the technological versions aren't perfect. Also lets you provide more advanced medical care, as well as install things like adrenaline glands, toxin-filters & other miscellaneous internal augments. Not as good as genetic engineering, but easier. (Unlocks advanced organ replacements that are effectively as good as biological ones, and improved internal augments).

    -[] Combat cybernetics (50 RP) Your limb cybernetics are fine for most purposes, but they're not strong enough or durable enough for use in combat situations. You also could figure out how to do things like integrate internal weapons or cutting edges to make them more dangerous. (Unlocks basic combat augments. Half of the technology for advanced combat augments, the other half is Really good Robotics)

    -[] Combat Neural Implants (100 RP) Allows you to install neural implants to calculate trajectories, assist with aiming, further improve reaction time and generally improve human capabilities in combat. (Unlocks combat-focused neural implants. Will synergize with other cybernetics and neural implant technologies)

    -[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to improving juvenat yield, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.)

    -[] Rapid hacking (600RP) You need to figure out a new approach to subverting machine spirits. It might involve some combination of confusing them with a burst of signals, then showing up and 'relieving' the issue. But it would take a lot of trial-and-error to get right. (Improves hacking of imperial tech. Potentially enough for use in combat situations? May unlock advanced hacking research that synergizes with jamming capabilities').

    -[] Machine Spirit Emotional Hacking (150 RP) If you can toy with a machine spirits' emotions, then you'll probably be better at hacking them. (Improves success rate of hacking of Imperial tech, decrease failure penalties. Will synergize with other hacking technology. May unlock better jamming and hacking technology.)

    -[] Organic-Machine control (200 RP) Allows you to hook humans into your own command-and-control loop, allowing you to turn over command duties of various bots to humans - though they'll only be able to command combat units. (Unlocks brain implants that allow a human to control some number of CP worth of combat bots/ships. There are more technologies to allow humans to command larger ships/manufacturing systems as well) Locked behind brain implants.

    Locked behind samples/installations/prereqs:
    -[] Advanced Neural Implants (200 RP) Well, your current neural implants are good, but what if you further integrated them into the brain, improving throughput and allowing the recipient even further integrate themselves with digital systems (unlocks advanced neural implants, unlocks further technologies related to neural implants, such as basic cognition filters). Requires Biology is kind of wet, a subsequent biology tech and Organ replacements.

    -[] Basic Cognition Filter: (??? RP) Antimemetic threats are such a hassle. Even the programs you've written to partion your own knowledge are an ad-hoc solution. And aside from having an innate resistance above the zero-tolerance you likely have, humans have a really hard time not thinking about something. Fix it. Work out a method for existing brain-augments to isolate knowledge on cognitohazards to the augment's machine spirit in inert memory vaults. The user will have to instead consciously override the locks on the chosen memories to access them temporarily. That way, stray thoughts about the isolated memories cannot happen, and long-term memories in the brain when the memory vaults are unlocked get instead rerouted to the machine spirit of the brain implant. Will have a harder time isolating knowledge from existing long-term memories formed when not actively using the cognition filter. (Unlocks cognition filter modification to brain implants, unlocks further technologies related to cognition filter and methods for mitigating cognitohazards, basilisk hacks, etc. perceived in real-time.) Requires Advanced Neural Implants, cost to be determined by the roll on that research.

    Crew :

    Anexa Ifina, Tech-priest Errant.
    Level 5
    -[] Anexa active Action: Research - assists a research action you take, granting +5xLevel RP to the action. Will level on successful roll, scaled by the importance of the tech.
    -[] Anexa passive action: Education - Roll to level, difficulty is 10+5xLevel

    Victan Thallos, Spy.
    Level 5
    -[] Victan active action: Subversion - assists a diplomacy action you take for the purposes of covert action, granting +Level to the dice to the action. Will level on successful roll, scaled by the significance of the action.
    -[] Victan passive action: Counterespionage & communication - Defends against covert action, as well as gathering information on your foes and keeping communication channels open with any allies present. Will only level if something interesting happens.

    The crew mechanics are linked in the Crew, Samples and Assets informational page.

    I genuinely do want people to prepare for the day I don't turn one of these around in a single day. I shouldn't have stayed up late enough to get this out the door, but damn was that crit exciting.

    It may seem like Victan's bonus isn't that great, but remember that the levels scale up to 30. With him you're already incapable of failing an infiltration action (absent a natural 1).

    There's a long list of things you can do with your new subverted tech-priests, starting with getting access to restricted data, moving to assassinations and sabotage and ending with smuggling large numbers of combat bots into the enclaves.

    Let's do 24 hours of moratorium, and 18 hours of voting.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Neablis said:
    [] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.

    Designable Blueprints:

    Spoiler: Ground Forces 100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.

    50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.

    50 RP - Medium Shielded tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons & antipersonnel weapons to fight enemy armor and infantry. Very survivable.

    100 RP - Heavy Shielded tanks (1000 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons and void shields to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor. Very survivable.
    Spoiler: Small Craft 50 RP - Basic space stealth missile (5 Void BP, 1 CP) An orbital missile with an explosive payload. Can't get up to orbit on its own, but it can be launched with a magnetic launch system or dropped off by shuttles, though neither approach is especially fast. Once in orbit and inactive it is fairly stealthy until activated, at which point it can attack nearly any target in orbit. One missile should do it for a satellite, but many would be required to attack a ship or platform.

    50 RP - Basic Stealth Shuttles (25 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity, and shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking for it. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.

    50 RP - Bombers (20 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it. Unlocks a bomber hanger attachment for ships.

    75 RP - Basic Stealth Bombers (20 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it. They shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking, though they won't be able to close all the way to attack range without being spotted. Unlocks a bomber hanger attachment for ships.

    50 RP - Assault Shuttle (25 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.

    75 RP - Basic Stealth Assault Shuttle (25 BP, 5 CP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. They shouldn't be especially noticeable to anybody not actively looking, though they won't be able to close all the way to attack range without being spotted. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.
    25 RP - Anti-armor Bunker (50 BP, 5 CP) A bunker with a heavy melta cannon, able to take out most armor in a single shot.

    15 RP - Anti-personnel Bunker (20 BP, 2 CP) A bunker with a set of high-fire-rate weapons designed to take down humanoid-sized attackers wearing medium or lighter armor.

    25 RP - Machine-spirit Jammer (100 BP, 10 CP) A bank of cogitators capable of jamming a large number of small machine spirits (weapons, doors), several medium machine spirits (vehicles) or one large machine spirit (small ship). Effect is temporary and resistance will build up.

    50 RP - Light Void-shield installation (250 BP, 25 CP) A void shield capable of stopping light orbital bombardment, approximately ten heavy strikes.

    50 RP - Ballistic missile (50 BP, 10 CP) A long-range ballistic missile. By default it carries a high-yield explosive head capable of destroying approximately a city block. Can be intercepted by orbital defenses.

    50 RP - Nuclear warhead (25 BP, 1 CP) A variable-yield nuclear warhead that can be deployed by ballistic missile or other means to destroy a city-sized target unless it's heavily dug-in.

    25 RP - Spy satellite (10 void BP, 5 CP) A small spy satellite that lets you do your own surveillance on the planet below. Under your complete control and with better sensors and communication hardening than any of the local satellites.

    100 RP - Advanced Technological Research Lab (500 BP, 100 CP) Will allow you to process advanced technological samples, including materials of alien orgin. Has advanced scanning, modelling and processing capabilities.

    50 RP - Large automated medical facility (500 BP, 50 CP) 500 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.

    25 RP - Maglev System (5 bp/mile, 50 flat CP) A high-capacity maglev system to transport large amounts of goods across a planetary surface, linking various surface installations together into a single network so production from any of them can be applied at all of them.



    Ground Blueprint Design:

    To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology.
    Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.

    Void Blueprint design:

    To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
    1. Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
    2. Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
    3. Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
    4. Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
    5. Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
    6. Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.

    Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:

    (Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.

    (Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.

    Available Void Chassis:

    Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)

    Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)

    Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)

    Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)

    Available Non-combat Equipment:

    Spoiler: Non-combat Equipment Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.

    Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.

    Psychic Shielding (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship has a neural network integrated throughout the whole thing, that thinks "no" as hard as possible, answering the question for any warp-corruption for any beings or objects within the hull.

    Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.

    Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.

    Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.

    Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.

    Available Weapons:

    Spoiler: Weapons Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.

    Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
    Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
    Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.

    Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
    Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
    Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.

    Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
    Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
    Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.

    Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
    Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.

    Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
    Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.

    Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.

    Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.

    Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers.
    Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.

    Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down.
    Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down.
    Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.

    Available Combat Equipment:

    Spoiler: Combat Equipment Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.

    High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.

    Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.

    Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.

    Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.

    Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.

    Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying.
    Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties.
    Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.

    Light Machine Spirit Jammers (1/20 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Enough to cause significant degradation in an enemy ship's sensors, maneuvering and targeting.
    Medium Machine Spirit Jammers (1/10 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Same as light jammers, plus will also effect total thrust, weapons firing rate.
    Heavy Machine Spirit Jammers (1/5 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Same effect as medium, but may also effect friend-foe designation and reactor stability.
    undefined
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    There's blueprints information in the research tab, while the tech research is completely missing
     
    Neablis said:
    Well, there's certainly math involved
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    This sentence is unfinished.
    Neablis said:
    Heavy Machine Spirit Jammers (1/5 of the base cost of hull, rounded up to nearest 50) Banks of cogitators with code to disable machine spirits. Same effect as medium, but may also effect friend-foe designation and reactor stability.
    Click to expand...
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    Oh, wow. The chance to make an enemy ship explode itself is crazy. And we're not even done with this research tree yet!
     
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    With the crit success:
    I'd say keep him on it. Grow the infection.

    Meanwhile:
    Get the "Control Machines" implant and spysats.
    Should help our spy coordinate with our allies and give them best Info possible in case of conflict with Mechanicus.

    Also get the Psy protection line to the point Anexa (and the Spy, in case he agrees to the implants).
    Also to be able to protect psykers.

    I do not like imperial monasteries doing whatever abuse they do to keep the psykers stable.
    I do not like Imperial monasteries being a wild card that could decide to react the IoM way If something we do steps on their toes.
    And I want psykers crewmates and bridge staff.

    For all 3 being able to keep psykers safe and Chaos free is important.
    And I would hate if it gets pushed in schedule to a point where we scurry off because of exploration anxiety before we get to it.
     
    That's critical was absolutely peak performance.
    Now all we gotta do is spread twitter/Cogita more in the enclaves while subverting more of their tech.
    Also maybe start to develop more tech that's resistant to chaos cus the knowledge of chaos is corrupting but daemons touching you is another big problem to deal with.
     
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    Well I didn't really think about how machine spirit jamming is kind of ethically questionable considering they're sort of alive and have emotions. I feel a little bad about that research now, although this is the kind of setting where that knowledge is going to be very useful.

    Definitely need to be careful about letting this knowledge get out though, could you imagine the nightmare of any of the Imperium's big enemies getting access to this given they'll probably not be capable of finding an effective defense any time soon?
     
    Great turn. Conditioning the machine spirits makes me sad, but I think the necessity is pretty fair.

    I think I'd like to spend the next one on tech.
    Psytech has been waiting for long enough and let's also see about knocking out machine spirits reverse engineering before we go all in. I feel like those two will get us a bunch of important unlocks.
    Psytech especially should give us discounts on our works with Nope Shields. I also imagine making a machine-spirit based nope-shield could get the same effects a lot more effectively/flexibly.

    Let's spend our Thalya action on more Admech shooshing, finally hacking into the WMD's proper. Or ignore her for a turn.
    Maybe spend an action co-ordinating and aligning plans with Aevon.

    Finally getting the stuff to kill the killsats is also a fair idea. But I think we can go from prep to kill in a single turn just fine.
     
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    Once the missiles are in space and the fighters are built, it sound like assassin droids are the next big need to keep this minimally bloody. A few of those with active stealth and machine spirit jamming should be able to do minimal bloodshed.
     
    Glau said:
    Once the missiles are in space and the fighters are built, it sound like assassin droids are the next big need to keep this minimally bloody. A few of those with active stealth and machine spirit jamming should be able to do minimal bloodshed.
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    Nah, the missiles need to be put in space on the same turn we're pulling the trigger. Their stealth isn't good enough for us to keep them in orbit for decades.
     
    Insult Everyone! said:
    Psytech has been waiting for long enough and let's also see about knocking out machine spirits reverse engineering before we go all in. I feel like those two will get us a bunch of important unlocks.
    Psytech especially should give us discounts on our works with Nope Shields. I also imagine making a machine-spirit based nope-shield could get the same effects a lot more effectively/flexibly.
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    It might be better to do The workings of a Void Abacus first or at the same time since that is listed as the second half of understanding how the warp works which should synergize with psytech.
     
    Having them in space means there's no single point of failure as the launcher is in a fixed location, and there's no way to tie the discovery of any one of them to us or any other particular enemy. I'd prefer little undirected suspicion to a launch surge that might give them a location to target.
     
    There's still the enclave space station to deal with after it all but we should have control of the planet by then.
     
    @Neablis I've got some questions/suggestions about the Machine Spirit Jammers Combat Equipment for Ships. While I understand that they need a price increase for each level of the component (Light, Medium and Heavy). I'm not sure about the costs. From what I can see, on a max size destroyer hull having Heavy grade Jammers costs 1/5 of 500BP = 100 BP. While the same grade of component costs 1/5 of 2000BP = 400BP on a max size light cruiser hull. Both of the modules do the exact same thing but have vastly different costs. This doesn't make any sense for a what is essentially a bunch of programs, computer banks to run them on and access to in system communication systems, the component would take up the same amount of space and have the same power requirements in each hull type. I feel that it would make more sense for this sort of component type to work by making the cost for each grade of component static but have it only capable of targeting a certain amount of ships at a time per component added to the ship.

    eg: (Numbers are just there to show what I mean, no actual calculations were done)
    [] Light/Medium/Heavy Machine Spirit Jammers 50/100/150 BP per component
    Light:
    - Enough to cause significant degradation in an enemy ship's sensors, maneuvering and targeting.
    - Can target x ships at a time.
    Medium:
    - Same as light jammers, plus will also effect total thrust, weapons firing rate.
    - Can target y ships at a time.
    Heavy:
    - Same effect as medium, but may also effect friend-foe designation and reactor stability.
    - Can target z ships at a time.

    Feel free to ignore this if it goes against the systems that you use.

    Edit: Can we get some clarification about Tuned Shields and Alloyed Armor, do they count towards the cramming limit or do they just increase the amount we have to pay to build the ship?
     
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    Neablis said:
    Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
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    I think the new research tab was accidentally copied from the blueprint tab?

    Also, did we get the results of that free action about the Mechanicus sects?

    Damn that 100 is juicy. Victan came out swinging.
     
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    Karnax626 said:
    It might be worth picking that as our free database action this turn, just to see if it gives us any more clues about the station.
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    So this turn we could do:
    1) Database action on House Klyssar
    2) Diplo action on Thayla and more subversion with Victan assisting (with a +25)
    3) Research action to unlock Stealth Missiles, Jammers, Stealth Assault Shuttles and Bot Humanisation Redux?
    4) 2 Construction actions, to build an underground Medium Void Shield, 12 more Stealth Fighters and 100 Stealth Missiles with 1500 BP left to spend

    100 Stealth Missiles would be the minimum to hope that if things go loud ahead of schedule we stand a decent chance of taking out their satellites, and we can put the other 50 we need to assure it on the turn we plan to start it to minimise the chance of them being seen. Remaining BP could be stuff like another underground spaceport split between 5 assault shuttles and 5 fighters, some anti-orbital defences, maybe a couple of jammers, then some trade goods for the Aevon land deal?

    Anexa can stay on studying.
     
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