Author's Note: The CogNet and previous 3rdNet were more than just exchanges of electronic information. Tied into the paranormal nature of arcanotechnology, the electronics and hardware are nothing more than gateways. The amount of data floating in the net far surpasses the storage capacity of the planet, and its only increasing. How can this be? The CogNet is a portal/gateway to the Dreamlands of the Lovecraft Mythos. The hardware functions as borders, and while the various constructs and programs floating around have their very obvious purposes, their very ordered and static patterns serve to transmute the wild and mutable ephemera of the Dreamlands into a cognitive material
Accessing the CogNet is easy, tons of things and people do it constantly, but these interactions are just skimming the surface of the system, and are the side where there can be connection issues, and bandwidth and all sorts of other technical jargon. Entering the CogNet ala a S3 rig, or other immersion device, like a Wachowski probe, typically puts the cybernaut (The term before home immersion systems became affordable) in a lucid dreaming state. While alert and responsive, the cybernaut is largely unaware of their physical surrounding, or people around them, unless they are disturbed. This is how the user forms the connection to the Dreamlands through the arcanotech hardware. Go to Comment
Good background material, but lacking in punch. Did anyone accomplish something interesting with them? Any taken over by a rogue AI or demon for that matter? :)
This gallery demonstrates the visual appeal and aesthetic of traditional aerospace fighters in the setting, with dynamic appearances. color schemes, and overall visual appeal. The more exotic fighters such as those in Yukikaze embody the bleeding edge, while these above represent the main line of what everyone can field, from the Federation aerospace reserve units to the SAUR and Indian aerospace forces. Go to Comment
This is an interesting post, and you do a good job explaining the systems of the craft, but I find it lacking a certain amount of gameability. There's nothing that really screams Use Me.
It's not bad, but I think this one could be better. Go to Comment
I was largely inspired by the ghola of the Dune universe, and the tigers from Babylon A.D. They're not real, they are clones.
i'm open to suggestions, because I do agree, this is very much lacking in the drama department, and it is rather lacking in grimness. The only point I can offer is that the pursuit of the green movement and bioecology has a much greater impact in the Cosmic Era than today. But in the CE there isn't a question of the impact of human climate and environment destruction because there is deforestation, wasteland zones, and areas that are afflicted by storm rifts that release toxic fumes, mutants, and invasive species. Go to Comment
Again, great background detail, but it is a bit - empty - of drama. The immense issue of oxygen depetion is touched upon, but otherwise this is almost too positive a sub for the general grimness of the Cosmic Era. Go to Comment
I like that this is your own version, for more than one reason. Not sure why this one flew under the radar, but this is a great NPC. Lots of background details, and a development of your amazons.
The categories are vague, and the path should be littered with dozens of examples of the process going wrong. The path to getting those basic genetic defect screens and fixes would have footnotes of where test groups all ended up with the affliction ramped up to 10, or unexpected genetic expression. This would all be tied into the cosmetic genetic augmentation in the setting (breast enlargement therapy, changing hair color, extreme skin pigmentation) where people in the early phases go in to get their baldness cured and come out blind, or some shadowrunner goes in to get enhanced reflexes and comes out with a slow onset neurological disease, etc.
As for creating genetic abominations and monstrosities, certainly, but these are more commonly going to be one off and government/megacorp special projects rather than a mainstream consumer product. They aren't going to make an over the counter genetic hair dye kit that has a 2-4% chance of turning users into She-Hulks. (they would exploit that tech to make mass produced she-hulks for the military) Go to Comment
This makes a great backdrop to such things as Gamma world and Fallout - these changes could have been in progress when the shit hit the fan. As a result, your survivors can draw from the various castes listed.
I could see this used for developing a stellar society. Imagine Earth after the upgrades are finished and your characters are the aliens from the frontier. Go to Comment
This was just a great read. I can see a multitue of ways to include this into a number of games, and I'm going to bookmark it for the next setting I run that this will fit into. (working mostly on fantasy at the moment)
Question: How perfect is the process for creating these sub-catagories, and could it possibly go wrong, ending up with something that could not be defined as one of the above? Go to Comment
I was drinking when I wrote this and that is an embarrassing mistake. I am lurching about for a catchall term for propellant based firearms as opposed to magnetic ones. Go to Comment
I like this piece - always a sucker for the technical details.
One detail struck me as odd - you mention blackpowder as the propellent. Why not cordite? Blackpowder has a lot of disadvantages - not the least of which is the terrible fouling of complex machinery of which the mech would be one of.
Articles (At Table) (Citadel Help)
Accessing the CogNet is easy, tons of things and people do it constantly, but these interactions are just skimming the surface of the system, and are the side where there can be connection issues, and bandwidth and all sorts of other technical jargon. Entering the CogNet ala a S3 rig, or other immersion device, like a Wachowski probe, typically puts the cybernaut (The term before home immersion systems became affordable) in a lucid dreaming state. While alert and responsive, the cybernaut is largely unaware of their physical surrounding, or people around them, unless they are disturbed. This is how the user forms the connection to the Dreamlands through the arcanotech hardware. Go to Comment