Random Questions Thread

Hi. Returning to the Technopath topic. You know, the one who lost an eye and arm and got quite pissed about it? His name is Pavel.

Anyway, I was thinking. Aside from using drones and robots (and occasionally hacked vehicle to run someone over) in combat, how else could he take part in a fight? What weapon would fit him? Before you ask, he would receive highly functional and cybernetic prosthesis arm and eye before fully rejoining the fight.

So far, I got some ideas, but can't settle on which one:

• Ranged options:
  • A shotgun with various types of ammo
  • Modified SMG
  • Laser Rifle (He took it from a Pure Humanity Army commander he aided in killing. They have access to advanced tech)
• Melee options:
  • Power Fist (For his normal arm. His prosthesis arm packs quite a punch. No pun intended)
  • Stun Baton
  • A collapsible blade, inspired by Dishonored Folding Blade

Sorry for asking for so much.

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

~De Marquis About details. Invasion is supernatural by nature — in my world invaders are called demons, but actually, they are aliens from another dimension, relying heavily on Magitek. So, it means that humans are fighting these "demons". Due to the nature of the invaders, regular weapons of Earth do a little damage to them, so humanity was forced to reverse-engeneer tech of the "demons". The nature of the war is as follows: "demons" require large living spaces, so they exterminate the natives of the Earth, that is, people.

"...when people are forced to hit-and-run tactic and guerilla, humans themselves became a most valuable asset?"

An asset to whom?

Is it possible to write characters with good/bad luck as a superpower in a way that makes sense and won't make them overpowered or useless?

~ * Bleh * ~ (Looking for a russian-speaker to consult about names and words for a thing)

An easy way would be to play with the level of probability they can affect, and, possibly, consider that the difficulty increases with the probability they want to affect.

For instance, they can make sure a thousand to one chance does happen, but not a million to one. Or, if they can make a million to one chance happen, it will exhaust them for a significant amount of time. That way they can't win the lottery every two days, but they are not limited to barely being able to affect the result of a coin toss either.

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.

~De Marquis asset to human resistance against the invaders. Basically, I mean asking about plausibility of attempts to save soldiers lives in the case I described.

hey guys!

I have pretty much finished the first draft of the script for my euro 2020 predictions video and I'm going to record the spoken parts to see what jokes and lines work and what needs to be changed.

is there something like proof-reading, but for videos? what would you call it? proof-watching?

Edited by kinnikuniverse on Jan 6th 2020 at 4:16:25 AM

Ahem, this isn't the proper thread for that.

oops, sorry. what is it, then?

A few thoughts come to mind:

First, as others have said, their power can be limited in scope or availability. Something like magic: a mage can do wondrous things—as long as their mana holds out, or it's within the limits of their power. So too, perhaps, your probability-affector.

Second, perhaps luck is inherently "balanced": create good luck, and you create bad luck, too. Perhaps they have some control over where there "unwanted" luck goes, perhaps not. But either way, they can't create only good or only bad luck.

Third, give them narrative obstacles that aren't easily solvable via application of luck. (I believe that an example of such an approach—although I've not watched it myself—is One Punch Man.)

And there may be other ways, too!

My Games & Writing

Since my previous question (the page topper no less), feel free to ignore if you're not 100% sure how to answer it.
Instead, let me ask you another question, once again related to the Technopath I've talked about. This time, about strengths and limitations.

First off, could an ability to learn much faster how to operate machines (like cars, tanks, helicopters or Humongous Mecha) would fit? I intended for the character to be able to operate an experimental hover tank with twin laser cannons or a stealth tank all by himself and be an excellent operator.
Secondly, would it be out of place for him to be able to hack into PA system of a school for example using his powers to play music of his own choosing?
Thirdly, the limitation of his powers. I don't want him to be too powerful (no one likes a Mary Sue or Gary Stu characters after all). Since he can command drones or robots with his mind, what should be his limit? And, should there be computers with security systems so advanced that even he would require some time to crack?

Sorry if those questions feel wield or too difficult to answer. And, if you don't feel like answering for the aforementioned reasons, just tell me before proceeding with your question, okay?

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

The answer to both would depend, I think, on how the character's powers work, the scope that you want for those powers, and perhaps the story that you want to tell.

I would argue that the first (being powerful) isn't the same as the second (being a Mary Sue). A character can be ridiculously powerful—see Superman or One Punch Man—and not be a Mary Sue. Conversely, a character can have no more power than a normal human, and still be a Mary Sue.

Sueishness—as far as it has a definition—has more to do with how the story treats the characters than with their abilities, if I'm not much mistaken.

I can't tell you what his limitations should be, I fear—again, that's up to you and your story. However, a few suggested possibilities:

• There may be a limit to the number of machines that he can control at once.
  • This may perhaps be modified by the complexity of the machines, or how complex are the things that he wants to do with them. For example, moving twenty machines in the same direction might be easy, while moving the same twenty machine on twenty individual, precise courses might be far harder.

• There may be a limit to the complexity—or simplicity—of the machines that he can control.
  • Perhaps a computer can be made so complex that he simply cannot access it.
  • Perhaps he can control computers, but not a spade (which is, after all, technology). What of analogue computers, then? Or a mechanical calculator?

• Perhaps he has to take the time to understand a machine in order to control it. Thus, the more complex the machine, or the more unfamiliar in design, the longer it takes for him to control it, and the clumsier he is at first.

These are, of course, only a few possibilities!

My Games & Writing

For the question about weapons, is this character working solo or is he a member of some kind of organization? Military or paramilitary groups typically issue firearms to their members rather than let them bring their own. If he’s working alone, what weapons does he have experience with? A former soldier might choose weapons they were already familiar with.

I’ll also point out that the whole “weapon of choice” thing is a little unrealistic. You carry what you need.

If your character is conducting undercover operations in a crowded city center, they might want a pistol which could be easily concealed about their person. If they’re on a battlefield, a rifle might make more sense, and so on.

They should have sent a poet.

He was an ex-military, who served during a big war between Russia, China and European Dominion. His powers made him an excellent saboteur. He did receive basic training (how to use guns) and surprisingly knows how to use a blade, as he was a member of HEMA since he was fourteen.
He was hired by a rich and influencial Japanese politician, to be a bodyguard to his children. In the past, Yakuza kidnapped his daughter and attempted to sell her to very nasty people (not as Sex Slave, but as test subject).
He was provided with a firearm from his employer after his children were attacked again, this time by a terrorist group seeking to overthrow the government and bring back Imperial Japan.
I think you're right with a handgun, when taking urban environment into consideration. I think I'll stick to Folding Blade, considering his experience with HEMA and his preference to stealth in most situations. Maybe it would be best to give him a shotgun, SMG or a rifle when taking the fight to the enemy, in their HQ.

Edited by ArcticDog18 on Jan 6th 2020 at 8:25:21 PM

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

@Maslovar_Tiatov: So you're asking if it's plausible that the humans could resist using guerilla style hit and run tactics? That depends on the way your demonic invaders magitech works. It's your universe (I presume) so just write it the way the story needs it to be. You can easily make it seem plausible enough, just by writing it that way.

Edited by DeMarquis on Jan 6th 2020 at 9:43:16 AM

Keep in mind that on the modern battlefield knives are more for utility than combat. A soldier probably wouldn’t receive any knife training, but the would learn how to shoot rifles and handguns, maybe heavy weapons.

A bodyguard is almost certainly going to be carrying a pistol, there’s really no other option.

They should have sent a poet.

~De Marquis I thought about it, but was concerned. Thanks for reassuring!

How bad of an idea would it be to have two (possibly graituous) Hitler clones (and one Napoleon clone) as recurring characters in a webcomic that isn't even directly about them?

Edited by Nukeli on Jan 7th 2020 at 2:31:51 PM

~ * Bleh * ~ (Looking for a russian-speaker to consult about names and words for a thing)

Already been done.

Quickly returning to the Technopath abilities thing.

How his powers work exactly. He can establish a link with machinery (be it a computer, someone's phone, drone, tank, etc.). And, once he's linked, he can do various things:

• His basic technique is called "Override". He can "hack" the computer system with his powers and gain full control over what he's currently linked with. From that point on, he can do almost anything. In case of drones or robots, he can reprogram them to serve him and his allies, or to attack their previous owners. He can also command them like in strategy games. But, there is "unit cap", meaning he can control a limited number of drones or robots. His current limit is 30 drones or robots. In case of computers, he gains full access to anything, bypassing any form of security, including bio-metric scans.
  In-story, when he volunteered to spar against a class full of Parahumans after his arrival in Japan, he used his powers to hack into school's database to obtain information about the class he was going to fight, hacked school's PA system to play "Painkiller" during the sparring to motivate himself and scare the class (part of psychological warfare) and took command of robots the school used to test student's powers. Using the intel and the robots, he defeated them all. He strategically picked them off one by one, targeting the biggest threats first. Panic and "Painkiller" blasting through PA system interfered with their teamwork, making them easy to pick off.
• "Possession" is another ability. Like the name implies, he can "possess" the machine he's linked with and command it directly. He can see (if it has a camera), hear (if it has a microphone or something similar) and speak (if it has speakers or any audio system) with the machine. This technique, however, is very dangerous, as it requires plenty of concentration, leaving him vulnerable.
  The best (and most horrific) application of this skill I thought of so far, is when he used this ability to kill Pure Humanity Army's Paladin (a trained soldier in cybernetic Powered Armor, that basically made him One-Man Army). He possessed the armor with the soldier still inside. The soldier could do nothing, but watch as the armor picked up his laser rifle shoot itself and him in the head. Because of this, PHA decided to remain with older versions of the armor to avoid such scenarios in the future (I might have to work on this closer).
• A passive ability, so to speak, is affinity towards machinery and computers. He can naturally learn faster how the thing works and how to operate it. For example, he has much easier time to learn how to drive a car and how to fix it.
• His last, most devastating and potentially double-edged skill is "Self Destruct Command" (name in progress). He can make machinery he's linked with to destroy itself. While it can debilitate the enemy, it could also leave him with noting to link with, making his powers in such situation useless. In addition, making a computer explode by itself is a bit tiring and can cause a splitting headache. I think I need to work on this skill a bit more.

To my surprise, thinking of abilities for a Technopath was a bit challenging. I'm not even sure if they are any good.

I'm open for any suggestions for more skills or to what changes should I implement.

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

What media is this for, exactly? Those powers seem a little video gamey, if it’s for something like a novel or comic book it might make sense to approach it less from a raw stats direction and more from a descriptive direction.

They should have sent a poet.

For a novel, but I hope I could turn this into a profitable comic book, manga or a game (RPG with multiple endings based on alignment). I admit, this is a (huge) flaw of mine that I sometimes, when I design and/or describe a new character, it's from video game point of view. Thanks for pointing that out.

But, in a nutshell, if you plan to use any robotics or any other highly advanced equipment against him, you're Too Dumb to Live. Your demise? Almost certainly in Hoist by His Own Petard fashion. And, then he's most likely to keep all the tech he's got his hands on if he is allowed to.

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

I think what I’m getting at there is that from a literary perspective, the qualities of his abilities matter more than the quantities. Being able to control X robots at Y range is useful information for gameplay, but it’s not something you’re readily going to be able to convey on the page.

You might want to think about these abilities from a broader point of view. Does he get tired or distracted when he controls many devices simultaneously? Are certain types of devices easier/harder to control, or are there ways his ability can be deflected? Can he only make things do what they were already meant to do, or can he change their function/programming or add new data?

Don’t forget as well that what makes a power interesting is its limitations.

Edited by archonspeaks on Jan 7th 2020 at 3:56:20 AM

They should have sent a poet.

When you're putting it that way...

Here are the missing bits:

• It's more tiring to control more machines at a time. The mental strain can cause him to eventually pass out. If he doesn't get to that point, it will take him hours to recover. For this reason, he prefers to keep the numbers of drones or robots low. He prefers quality over quantity because of it. Also, it's partially the reason why he's Not a Morning Person.
• Proximity from a machine is the key. The closer he is, the stronger the link, and the easier job to take control of it. For example, if his drone is too far from him, the link gets severed.
• The more advanced the security system, it takes him longer to fully bring the machine under his control. Although, his way of "hacking" does not leave any trace of forced entry into the system. If he could camp in a safe position (away from prying eyes and good place for a nap), he could even hack the Pentagon given the opportunity.
• Best way to counter him? Eliminate machinery or other devices he could take control of. If you insist on bringing robotics against him, bring EMP weaponry. Parahumans with magnetic or electrokinetic abilities are more likely to counter him. Also, Rock Beats Laser is in full effect here.
• Aside from him losing consciousness, the only way to sever the link is to destroy the machine he commands or employ a Psychic Parahuman. Because his abilities are Psychic in nature, another Psychic can disrupt the link by assaulting him mentally.
• As I mentioned before, he can reprogram computers, drones and robots once he establishes the link. He usually does reprogram them, so once he's no longer linked, he and his allies won't be attacked. He prefers to keep their intended function (as it would take too long to completely rewrite the program), but if given a chance, he could reprogram for example a service robot to be a sentry if it could hold a gun.
• He can occasionally IMPROVE the output from a machine he's possessing. Some machines are limited by their programming. With his possession, he can sometimes pull of stunts the creators never dreamed of. For example, he could make a robot that barely walks run like an Olympic sprinter. But, to do that, he must understand what makes the machine tick.
• Possession is EXTREMELY tiring, and it requires lots of concentration. After some time, his body gets so tired that he faints, breaking the link. The proximity rule also applies here.

I know how important limitations are. Finding a way around them is fun.

I will become a great writer one day! Hopefully...

I'm starting to write a sequel to The Amida and I've stumbled a writer's roadblock.

Context:

What deities from Asia fits the role of "Medicine and healing Joss"?