Random Questions Thread

I know that, and I fully intend to give each of them an Invisibility Cloak to help with that. But "military cyborg + invisibility device + actually striving for stealthy killing/spying" only makes for a "cyborg assassin/spy", which does not equate to a "cyborg ninja". Ninja are a subset of assassins and spies that is distinctively Japanese in theme/nature, after all.

edited 19th Jan '13 4:15:40 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

What I said before is essentially what ninja is about in my knowledge. That, and I do not think they usually are engendered by a goverment or anything like that.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Is there a reason they need to be ninjas? It doesn't sound like that's an essential part of their characterization so far, at least.

Well, it's a Metal Gear-based x-over story (though the Metal Gear plot itself is not involved, only distinctive setting elements like the Metal Gears, certain groups/organizations, pieces of technology, etc.), and Gray Fox's and especially Raiden's renditions of the Cyborg Ninja concept (and to a lesser extent the designs of the in-some-ways-ninja-like cyborg antagonists in Metal Gear Rising) are my primary inspiration for the aforementioned Cast Herd's (bio-augmented) cyborg designs.

edited 20th Jan '13 2:37:10 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

While they might technically not be ninjas, I suspect that characters that exhibit perceived traits of ninjas — high agility, stealthy movement (and especially StealthHiByes), silent killing (especially with melee weapons), etc. — are likely to be thought of as "ninjas".

edited 20th Jan '13 6:06:47 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

My Games & Writing

I Kit Nubbles from The Old Curiosity Shop too obscure a reference to use to describe someone's appearance? If so, what other Dickensian characters out there who would dress in similar, lower-class clothing aside from Oliver Twist and Tiny Tim?

As a note: The character does not wear a top hat so the Artful Dodger is definitely out.

Fagon?

Am i spelling that right?

Theres sex and death and human grime in monochrome for one thin dime and at least the trains all run on time but they dont go anywhere.

Why not just describe his appearance outright? Perhaps with "Dickensian" as an adjective?

edited 20th Jan '13 7:16:34 AM by KillerClowns

My idea is that the main character (at least initially) doesn't know this other person's name and so every time she sees or mentions him, winds up referring to him as a different Charles Dickens character since she has no other frame of reference towards him aside from his distinctively old-fashioned dress sense.

Good points, but from what I know, you need at least a distinctively Japanese element to the character to count as a ninja, even if only a cosmetic one like the stereotypical ninja outfit (really, so many of Naruto's supposed "ninja" are practically only ninja in name only [and due to being born to a society of self-proclaimed "ninja", but that's beside the point]).

That said, does that mean that the Assassins from Assassin's Creed are basically "ninjas in all but name", according to that definition?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Suppose somebody got shot at long range by a sniper rifle (such as the M40), but they only got hit in the very edge of their ribcage; another inch over and they wouldn't have been hit at all. What kind of pain would they be in and what kind of movement would they have? Would they be up and running? Up and staggering? Down and crawling? Down and out?

Also, what kind of medical attention would they need?

What would be an example of crude but effective fighting style that utilize any sort of flash yet it gets the job done? That is not to say that there isn't isn't any philosophy behind it but it just that use any Zen spirituality or what not.

edited 20th Jan '13 11:16:34 AM by GAP

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

Most military-based martial arts would probably be what you're looking for; with the US Marine Corp's MCMAP, Russia's Systema and Israel's Krav Maga being the most famous.

Most all bullet wounds - bar perhaps the slightest of grazes - have the potential to be fatal from traumatic blood loss. In terms of pain, there would be significant amounts of it; especially if the bullet actually nicked the bone as you described. Whether it incapacitates the person, I suppose would depend on how conditioned and mentally/emotionally prepared a person is to pain; with soldiers likely faring better than the average person.

What would be a suitable catch-all term for all forms of body modification/augmentation implants and the like, from "cyberware" to "bioware" and even "nanoware"?^note Yeah, I'm using Shadowrun terminology partly for convenience, and partly because they're quite catchy IMO. I was thinking of "Modware", from "(body) modification", and the colloquial "(body) modding" and "bodymod(s)" that I often see used.

edited 20th Jan '13 12:23:57 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

"Transhuman enhancements" or "transhuman augmentation" might work. You can then boil them down to a catchier slang, like "transaugs", "transware", or something, from there.

edited 20th Jan '13 12:36:44 PM by KillerClowns

The problem with this (which I've encountered numerous times in my own work) is if the characters in question aren't originally human.

For that sort of thing, "transorganic" works, I think. Although I suppose "transevolutionary" might make sense — you're transcending what natural evolution gave.

I think modware, or possibly augware, are perfectly suitable.

The Revolution Will Not Be Tropeable

"Augware" sounds good for the subset of "modware" that actually augments human ability (whether by replacing a limb with a Super Strong and/or Super Tough one, or by adding wholly new abilities like a Brain/Computer Interface) rather than simply matching it (e.g. average prosthetic limb that operates only at a normal human one's level).

@Killer Clowns: Do all forms of body modification implants count as Transhumanism?

edited 20th Jan '13 2:27:50 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

It really depends on who you ask. I would count only things that make a point of going beyond human ability; for example, a prosthetic arm that functions just like a human arm would not be, but a prosthetic arm built to support twice as much weight would.

Not nearly a good enough singer for the Choir Invisible, and the Basement Room With A Synth Invisible is much less prestigious.

So we have a fairly healthy man in his early twenties recovering from moderate hypothermia. There is a doctor on hand and a toasty warm house to recover in but he has no access to a hospital. What is his condition like? How would he be treated?

Let's not go there. *flails noodle arms*

From what I understand about hypothermia, it's unlikely to cause any long-term issues, or be a severe problem once a person is out of the cold. (This is hypothermia, as distinct from frostbite/gangrene; the former is drop in core body temperature, and can actually kill you, but won't cause long-term damage unless it's really bad, whereas the latter is drop in temperature in some extremity, and can lead to tissue damage or loss of the affected area, but will only kill you indirectly by infection if it's untreated.) If you have access to a warm place, and warm drinks, that's probably what you'd give them. Just do what you'd ordinarily do to warm someone up. (The obvious measure is to put someone in a hot bath, but that might cause temperature shock or something; I have this odd impression that it's not a good idea.)

The above is the off-the-top impression of a person who is not in any way medically trained, and should not be considered authoritative to any degree.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

Actually, it matters little whether he's in hospital or not as the principles of management would be similar; which is to prevent further heat loss and to physically warm him up. So, lots of blankets and warm surroundings are key. And if the person is able, drink lots of warm fluids.

This is assuming, of course, that this is simple hypothermia secondary to exposure as opposed to some other underlying condition that requires direct treatment.

edited 21st Jan '13 12:57:11 AM by peasant

I'm in the editing phase of the first book of my series (not like starting the whole thing over; just tweaking some stuff to make it better), and a critique I got in the Hero Critique Thread got me thinking.

I have a character who-later on in the story-carries around a taser as a weapon and for self defense. But after getting the critique, I wonder; what are the laws about carrying around a taser?

edited 22nd Jan '13 2:03:12 PM by Masterofchaos

Taser laws

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman