I do think there should be balance to magic too, like it has a cost or physical requirement of the user. Say telekinesis burns up calories like a bitch and you either have to eat like a pig or have a good bit of extra padding to do it frequently without organ deterioration.
Other forms of "magic" should avoid spontaneous generation and easy to access pocket dimensions. Controlling electricity for example would be incredibly dangerous even to the wielder, fireball throwers would still themselves burn.
Also, i say no to allowing any form of grey goo due to how rediculously high tech, dangerous, and abusable it is. A human sized blob of the stuff would cost more money than probably exists in any one bank account.
(08-17-2015, 04:52 AM)Marxon Wrote: [ -> ]I do think there should be balance to magic too, like it has a cost or physical requirement of the user. Say telekinesis burns up calories like a bitch and you either have to eat like a pig or have a good bit of extra padding to do it frequently without organ deterioration.
Other forms of "magic" should avoid spontaneous generation and easy to access pocket dimensions. Controlling electricity for example would be incredibly dangerous even to the wielder, fireball throwers would still themselves burn.
Also, i say no to allowing any form of grey goo due to how rediculously high tech, dangerous, and abusable it is. A human sized blob of the stuff would cost more money than probably exists in any one bank account.
Why the hell do some people keep on suggesting magic? I mean, if you wanted magic and technology you should have just played a game of Shadowrun.
Seriously though, I just don't feel like magic is right. It's ridiculously open ended and revolves around hand waving everything that could be thought of. I'm not saying I'm going for hard science, but full on, "fireball fireball fireball ice ice ice" isn't what I'm looking for in a space opera.
You can just get augments to shoot fire out of your palms anyways, but you're bringing the fuel too.
(08-17-2015, 05:01 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 04:52 AM)Marxon Wrote: [ -> ]I do think there should be balance to magic too, like it has a cost or physical requirement of the user. Say telekinesis burns up calories like a bitch and you either have to eat like a pig or have a good bit of extra padding to do it frequently without organ deterioration.
Other forms of "magic" should avoid spontaneous generation and easy to access pocket dimensions. Controlling electricity for example would be incredibly dangerous even to the wielder, fireball throwers would still themselves burn.
Also, i say no to allowing any form of grey goo due to how rediculously high tech, dangerous, and abusable it is. A human sized blob of the stuff would cost more money than probably exists in any one bank account.
Why the hell do some people keep on suggesting magic? I mean, if you wanted magic and technology you should have just played a game of Shadowrun.
Seriously though, I just don't feel like magic is right. It's ridiculously open ended and revolves around hand waving everything that could be thought of. I'm not saying I'm going for hard science, but full on, "fireball fireball fireball ice ice ice" isn't what I'm looking for in a space opera.
You can just get augments to shoot fire out of your palms anyways, but you're bringing the fuel too.
Im all for no magic actually. Maybe just a bit of parapsychology.
(08-17-2015, 05:01 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 04:52 AM)Marxon Wrote: [ -> ]I do think there should be balance to magic too, like it has a cost or physical requirement of the user. Say telekinesis burns up calories like a bitch and you either have to eat like a pig or have a good bit of extra padding to do it frequently without organ deterioration.
Other forms of "magic" should avoid spontaneous generation and easy to access pocket dimensions. Controlling electricity for example would be incredibly dangerous even to the wielder, fireball throwers would still themselves burn.
Also, i say no to allowing any form of grey goo due to how rediculously high tech, dangerous, and abusable it is. A human sized blob of the stuff would cost more money than probably exists in any one bank account.
Why the hell do some people keep on suggesting magic? I mean, if you wanted magic and technology you should have just played a game of Shadowrun.
Seriously though, I just don't feel like magic is right. It's ridiculously open ended and revolves around hand waving everything that could be thought of. I'm not saying I'm going for hard science, but full on, "fireball fireball fireball ice ice ice" isn't what I'm looking for in a space opera.
You can just get augments to shoot fire out of your palms anyways, but you're bringing the fuel too.
Do you recall Gonzo's description of Psychs? I still think it's an interesting idea even if it is technically "magic".
"sometimes, when a child is born, they show odd and peculiar skills and abilities. these abilities, call psychs can be put into two "classes", a positive psych and a negative psych.
positive psychs can form or alter materials, make a sheet of paper stiff and tough as steel, or take the soft soil and turn it into a deadly blade made out of an unidentifiable material. positive psychs are often centered around the body of the caster and the abilities, items or changes will quickly fade or disappear if the caster walks away from them.
a negative psych is all about manipulating what is already there or making illusions. a negative psych can often use things like telekinesis to move and hurl solid objects around, they can also form projectiles or of small amounts of energy which they can fire from their hand. these projectiles aren't that strong, most pistols do more damage, but coupled with telekinesis and smart thinking they can be very dangerous. negative psyches can also form illusions around themselves, these illusions are often only visual or auditory, but they can fool most scanners and cameras. an illusion made by a psych can't be super big, nor can it be touched (your hand or bullet would go through it) but making a fake wall or a body double can be done relatively easily. though of the negative psych moves too far away (usually only a few meters) the illusion fades.
but, if a person has psychic talent, they will also have something off about their body. this could be many things, it's very often a psychic has slowed tissue regeneration and a severely lowered immune system. (both about half of a normal human) their bodies also tend to reject more intrusive augments (both the neural jack and implant rebrether have been made to be as intrusive as possible) things like loss of sight and hearing are common too. psychics often also stick out visually, often albino, they can have odd or colorful patterns (depending on the race) a sickly appearance (flaky skin, molting feathers, shedding fur) or just odd physical mutations, though those are rare."
Errata: Size of the hole you punch in the universe is correlated to the size of the FTL drive you're using. Since size of the hole is only for putting more mass in at once, you can just go the cheap (and light!) route, but you basically have to build a stick. Oh, and the mass of the drive counts towards the cost. See how fun this is?
Military: can afford big drives, so can make fat and armored ships
Merchants: can't afford big drives, so have to compromise with thinner, spindly, unarmored ships.
Civilians: your cruiser can't jump, silly! Dock with a dedicated ferry ship, for a price.
(08-17-2015, 05:02 AM)Marxon Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 05:01 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Why the hell do some people keep on suggesting magic? I mean, if you wanted magic and technology you should have just played a game of Shadowrun.
Seriously though, I just don't feel like magic is right. It's ridiculously open ended and revolves around hand waving everything that could be thought of. I'm not saying I'm going for hard science, but full on, "fireball fireball fireball ice ice ice" isn't what I'm looking for in a space opera.
You can just get augments to shoot fire out of your palms anyways, but you're bringing the fuel too.
Im all for no magic actually. Maybe just a bit of parapsychology.
I think parapsychology sounds interesting as well. I mean we need something interesting that isn't all technology related...
(08-17-2015, 05:13 AM)L3W Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 05:02 AM)Marxon Wrote: [ -> ]Im all for no magic actually. Maybe just a bit of parapsychology.
I think parapsychology sounds interesting as well. I mean we need something interesting that isn't all technology related...
Clue me in, and explain parapsycology.
(08-17-2015, 05:15 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 05:13 AM)L3W Wrote: [ -> ]I think parapsychology sounds interesting as well. I mean we need something interesting that isn't all technology related...
Clue me in, and explain parapsycology.
What is parapsychology?
Parapsychology is the scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their external environment that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature. Parapsychology is a component of the broader study of consciousness and the mind. Parapsychologists study 5 broad areas:
- Telepathy – mind to mind communication through a means other than the normal senses
- Clairvoyance or Remote Viewing – knowledge of objects, people, or events that are hidden via space or time. For example, an object hidden in a box in a different room, a photograph sealed in an envelope, an event that is occurring to a loved one who is thousands of miles away, or the characteristics of a room that only existed in the past.
- Precognition – knowledge of an event that has not yet occurred, or information that appears to be transferred from the future into the present.
- PK or Psychokinesis – Mind interacting with matter at a distance. Mind interactions with living systems (including energetic healing) are sometimes included in this category.
- Survival Studies – The nature of human consciousness and an examination of whether consciousness survives the physical form. This includes mediumship research, reincarnation, out of body experiences, apparitions, and ghost activities.
I will think about adding psionics, then.
Perhaps have some overlapping between the real world and some kind of spiritual/ethereal plane? It could be the basis for interesting occurences, like paranormal activity and "devil deals". Perhaps even work it into character storylines...
(08-17-2015, 06:15 AM)Umbra Wrote: [ -> ]Perhaps have some overlapping between the real world and some kind of spiritual/ethereal plane? It could be the basis for interesting occurences, like paranormal activity and "devil deals". Perhaps even work it into character storylines...
Well we got both planes, we got FTL which jumps between them for a non-Newtonian physics space to reach ridiculous speeds in, and it needs a basis in the world's reality to work, so I could see the barrier naturally weakening every so often...
(08-17-2015, 05:09 AM)Shaadaris Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 05:01 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Why the hell do some people keep on suggesting magic? I mean, if you wanted magic and technology you should have just played a game of Shadowrun.
Seriously though, I just don't feel like magic is right. It's ridiculously open ended and revolves around hand waving everything that could be thought of. I'm not saying I'm going for hard science, but full on, "fireball fireball fireball ice ice ice" isn't what I'm looking for in a space opera.
You can just get augments to shoot fire out of your palms anyways, but you're bringing the fuel too.
Do you recall Gonzo's description of Psychs? I still think it's an interesting idea even if it is technically "magic".
"sometimes, when a child is born, they show odd and peculiar skills and abilities. these abilities, call psychs can be put into two "classes", a positive psych and a negative psych.
positive psychs can form or alter materials, make a sheet of paper stiff and tough as steel, or take the soft soil and turn it into a deadly blade made out of an unidentifiable material. positive psychs are often centered around the body of the caster and the abilities, items or changes will quickly fade or disappear if the caster walks away from them.
a negative psych is all about manipulating what is already there or making illusions. a negative psych can often use things like telekinesis to move and hurl solid objects around, they can also form projectiles or of small amounts of energy which they can fire from their hand. these projectiles aren't that strong, most pistols do more damage, but coupled with telekinesis and smart thinking they can be very dangerous. negative psyches can also form illusions around themselves, these illusions are often only visual or auditory, but they can fool most scanners and cameras. an illusion made by a psych can't be super big, nor can it be touched (your hand or bullet would go through it) but making a fake wall or a body double can be done relatively easily. though of the negative psych moves too far away (usually only a few meters) the illusion fades.
but, if a person has psychic talent, they will also have something off about their body. this could be many things, it's very often a psychic has slowed tissue regeneration and a severely lowered immune system. (both about half of a normal human) their bodies also tend to reject more intrusive augments (both the neural jack and implant rebrether have been made to be as intrusive as possible) things like loss of sight and hearing are common too. psychics often also stick out visually, often albino, they can have odd or colorful patterns (depending on the race) a sickly appearance (flaky skin, molting feathers, shedding fur) or just odd physical mutations, though those are rare."
Well marx already has bone waste, metabolic issues, and a large invasive neural jack on his back.
He's kind of a sickly butterball, so maybe a good candidate?
(08-17-2015, 06:18 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 06:15 AM)Umbra Wrote: [ -> ]Perhaps have some overlapping between the real world and some kind of spiritual/ethereal plane? It could be the basis for interesting occurences, like paranormal activity and "devil deals". Perhaps even work it into character storylines...
Well we got both planes, we got FTL which jumps between them for a non-Newtonian physics space to reach ridiculous speeds in, and it needs a basis in the world's reality to work, so I could see the barrier naturally weakening every so often...
That works!
Perhaps the beings that live on the other side could be wisplike/ethereal in form, and maybe have ways of manipulating the physical world and/or its inhabitants- like a nerfed Bill Cipher. Not omnipotent or all-powerful, but maybe a source of minor shenanigans and/or the previously mentioned " devil deals".
What would also be interesting is if some religions were partly based on the existence of this alternate world- perhaps they'd view it as hell, and the "ghosts" as demons.
(08-17-2015, 06:36 AM)Umbra Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 06:18 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Well we got both planes, we got FTL which jumps between them for a non-Newtonian physics space to reach ridiculous speeds in, and it needs a basis in the world's reality to work, so I could see the barrier naturally weakening every so often...
That works!
Perhaps the beings that live on the other side could be wisplike/ethereal in form, and maybe have ways of manipulating the physical world and/or its inhabitants- like a nerfed Bill Cipher. Not omnipotent or all-powerful, but maybe a source of minor shenanigans and/or the previously mentioned " devil deals".
What would also be interesting is if some religions were partly based on the existence of this alternate world- perhaps they'd view it as hell, and the "ghosts" as demons.
That plays nicely with the fact that Marxon's ship is a refurbished derelict vessel, rumored to be haunted.
(08-17-2015, 05:27 AM)L3W Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 05:15 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Clue me in, and explain parapsycology.
What is parapsychology?
Parapsychology is the scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their external environment that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature. Parapsychology is a component of the broader study of consciousness and the mind. Parapsychologists study 5 broad areas:
- Telepathy – mind to mind communication through a means other than the normal senses
- Clairvoyance or Remote Viewing – knowledge of objects, people, or events that are hidden via space or time. For example, an object hidden in a box in a different room, a photograph sealed in an envelope, an event that is occurring to a loved one who is thousands of miles away, or the characteristics of a room that only existed in the past.
- Precognition – knowledge of an event that has not yet occurred, or information that appears to be transferred from the future into the present.
- PK or Psychokinesis – Mind interacting with matter at a distance. Mind interactions with living systems (including energetic healing) are sometimes included in this category.
- Survival Studies – The nature of human consciousness and an examination of whether consciousness survives the physical form. This includes mediumship research, reincarnation, out of body experiences, apparitions, and ghost activities.
Now
this is cool. Not straight up magic, more unexplained pseudo-science. Kind of.
I think this is my favorite so far. Mostly unobtrusive and subtle.
(08-17-2015, 06:36 AM)Umbra Wrote: [ -> ] (08-17-2015, 06:18 AM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Well we got both planes, we got FTL which jumps between them for a non-Newtonian physics space to reach ridiculous speeds in, and it needs a basis in the world's reality to work, so I could see the barrier naturally weakening every so often...
That works!
Perhaps the beings that live on the other side could be wisplike/ethereal in form, and maybe have ways of manipulating the physical world and/or its inhabitants- like a nerfed Bill Cipher. Not omnipotent or all-powerful, but maybe a source of minor shenanigans and/or the previously mentioned " devil deals".
What would also be interesting is if some religions were partly based on the existence of this alternate world- perhaps they'd view it as hell, and the "ghosts" as demons.
Does no-one remember my original OOC experiment with demons? Anyone? No?
I also would like to collapse the spirit planes together, since the original version involved several planes that overlapped each other. This would mean the reapers would need a new job description, and the spooky elder gods a new place in the [unreadable] to hang out and eat souls. However, it means more spirits and other denizens of the Underworld would be in contact with the physical world.
So, what about Psionics? What are our characters allowed and not allowed to do with that?
(08-17-2015, 03:37 PM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]Does no-one remember my original OOC experiment with demons? Anyone? No?
I don't think I was around for them... Sorry.
(08-17-2015, 03:37 PM)SilverOtter Wrote: [ -> ]I also would like to collapse the spirit planes together, since the original version involved several planes that overlapped each other. This would mean the reapers would need a new job description, and the spooky elder gods a new place in the [unreadable] to hang out and eat souls. However, it means more spirits and other denizens of the Underworld would be in contact with the physical world.
I'm for that. It'd give possibilities of paranormal activities and interactions with spirits that weren't out to cause trouble.
(08-17-2015, 04:52 PM)L3W Wrote: [ -> ]So, what about Psionics? What are our characters allowed and not allowed to do with that?
Hold on
We're still talkin' 'bout ghosts o wo
(08-17-2015, 04:52 PM)L3W Wrote: [ -> ]So, what about Psionics? What are our characters allowed and not allowed to do with that?
Psionics is still being considered.
So yeah.
Ghosts that are actually otherdimensional beings.
Maybe we should make it so that they can't physically interact with living creatures? Perhaps they can only be seen and talked to, not touched?
![[+]](/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
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