mechanica fantastica

Session Start (CD_SupTG:#FantasyMechanica): Tue Nov 04 19:22:24 2014 -0500
[19:23] <~Pilz> ok
[19:23] <~Pilz> so how about the gods
[19:23] <~Pilz> they band together and give all the "Wholesome" races 'mechs
[19:24] <~Pilz> but they also give unique gifts to their follower races
[19:25] <~Pilz> and these gifts are what give the races the vanilla fantasy traits
[19:25] <~Pilz> so for example
[19:25] <~Pilz> elves don't live forever
[19:25] <~Pilz> they live about 70-100 years, as long as everyone else, if lucky
[19:25] <~Pilz> BUT
[19:25] <~Pilz> their god gave them the secrets of linking themselves with mechs
[19:25] <~Pilz> the technomagic doesn't work with the other races (believe me, they tried.)
[19:26] <~Pilz> but elves can perform a ritual to bind their dying bretherin to a mehc
[19:26] <~Pilz> note that it's a shitty existance
[19:26] <IterationDrive> like Starcraft Dragoons/Stalkers/Immortals?
[19:26] <~Pilz> yeah
[19:27] <~Pilz> yes, exactly
[19:27] <IterationDrive> I could be behind that.
[19:27] <Ikiryo> ...hmm...maybe less 'Dread'. (Still not fun). They are linked to the mech but CAN leave it...however, being linked to the mech means...if it dies, so do they.
[19:27] <IterationDrive> Obviously there's some racial differences--elves are more slender, tend to be more agile, dwarves are stockier and tougher, halflings are halfings
[19:27] <~Pilz> I'd put limits on the distance they can go
[19:27] <~Pilz> like
[19:27] <Ikiryo> So while a human pilot can escape a dying mech...an elven pilot will fight to the death
[19:27] <Ikiryo> As he CAN'T escape
[19:27] <~Pilz> the mech is the life support system
[19:27] <Ikiryo> Oh, yeah. I'd say 'A couple of miles, tops'
[19:27] <Ikiryo> So they an wander a city
[19:28] <~Pilz> ahh
[19:28] <~Pilz> yeah
[19:28] <~Pilz> I could see that
[19:28] <~Pilz> and even then, many pilots don't go that far
[19:28] <~Pilz> for fear of something happening to them 'mech
[19:28] <Ikiryo> That and 'It gets less fun the further they go'
[19:28] <~Pilz> yeah
[19:28] <~Pilz> maybe sicker
[19:28] <Ikiryo> So they COULD go a couple of miles...but it's weird to feel in two places at once and have your soul split in two.
[19:28] <~Pilz> like, a dialysis machine will barely keep you alive, right?
[19:29] <~Pilz> so the farther they go, the less it is "supermagic keeping you alive" and more "Well, at least you're breathing"
[19:29] <Ikiryo> Yeah
[19:29] <~Pilz> for dwarves
[19:29] <~Pilz> should we go "Craftsmen" or "sturdy"
[19:30] <~Pilz> I feel like "Sturdy" is done way more than "Craftsmen"
[19:30] <~Pilz> brb
[19:30] <Ikiryo> ...earth magic. (Though a very craftman-themed one)
[19:30] <CelestialDoggie> both are usual dorf traits. IMO it's *rare* to see one without the other
[19:30] <Ikiryo> Dwarven mechs are terrifying...as a couple of dwarven earthspeakers can have it burst out of hidden tunnels with a few runes and prayers
[19:32] <Ikiryo> Alternatively: I'd be interested in seeing it be more 'Magic Craftsman' than just 'Science Craftsman'. So Dwarves can create massive runed plates of metal that hold up nearly as well as the god-granted ones.
[19:32] <CelestialDoggie> yeah
[19:33] <CelestialDoggie> dorf mechs tend to look more like them--short, nearly as wide as tall. Probably decorated with 'mech armor spikes and shit
[19:34] <Ikiryo> I think the biggest thing would be IF dwarved do the underground thing...they would have MASSIVE tunnels
[19:34] <Ikiryo> As you need room for a mech to get through it.
[19:34] <Ikiryo> Not just soldiers.
[19:34] <CelestialDoggie> yeah
[19:34] <~Pilz> bluh
[19:34] * ~Pilz just ccoughed so hard he threw up
[19:34] <CelestialDoggie> so they have this honeycomb of catacombs...but each tunnel is like forty feet across
[19:34] <~Pilz> but I'm back now
[19:35] <Ikiryo> Oof, sorry Pilz
[19:35] <~Pilz> on the plus side
[19:35] <~Pilz> I thought up the BEST idea for halflings
[19:35] <Ikiryo> I'd definetly add in some skill with Earth Magic then. Just for 'How they make the tunnels' and 'How they keep the tunnels stable'
[19:35] <~Pilz> "The gift of community"
[19:35] <~Pilz> Halfings can GATTAI
[19:36] <~Pilz> y/n?
[19:36] <Ikiryo> Hmm...that seems a lot more like it would require really specific mechs...
[19:36] <~Pilz> oh
[19:36] <~Pilz> yeahhh
[19:36] <~Pilz> especially if we go with western-style like we were planning
[19:36] <~Pilz> damn
[19:36] <Ikiryo> On the other hand: Maybe halflings CREW mechs, not PILOT them.
[19:36] <~Pilz> how so?
[19:36] <Ikiryo> A gunner, a navigator and a pilot.
[19:37] <Ikiryo> All working in unison, rather than a single pilot controlling everything.
[19:37] <~Pilz> hnm
[19:37] <~Pilz> how would we do PC rules for thaat?
[19:37] <~Pilz> one person counts as 3?
[19:37] <Ikiryo> Gunner/Captain/Pilot (Fixed :P)
[19:37] <~Pilz> or you play one, and the other two are NPCs under control of the GM (or other players) when not in the 'mech
[19:38] <Ikiryo> The PC is the captain and halflings are better at doing multiple things at once.
[19:38] <~Pilz> aiiight
[19:38] <~Pilz> sounds good to me
[19:38] <Ikiryo> As they have a dedicated person for each, rather than one person multitasking
[19:38] <Ikiryo> As an aside: It's kinda funny that Elves are ending up the 'Zombie mech' group. I like it though.
[19:39] <CelestialDoggie> food afk
[19:52] <~Pilz> I kinda want a tiefling-like group
[19:52] <~Pilz> that was cursed
[19:52] <~Pilz> and has since been forgiven
[19:52] <~Pilz> maybe a tiefling hero, or their society, commited a great sin eons ago (standard) but then when the demons came they showed great bravery in the initial fighting
[19:52] <~Pilz> and have been forgiven their sins by the gods
[19:53] <~Pilz> (mechanically, they'd have a reroll of some sort)
[19:55] <Ikiryo> Hmm...would the 'evil' races have Mechs? Or would the mechs be to counteract stuff like demons?
[19:55] <IterationDrive> demons, demonic war-engines, shit like that
[19:57] <CelestialDoggie> ...evil races were demons. The tieflings drive their corpses, reanimated with magic and machinery
[19:57] <~Lily_Mardock> dude
[19:57] <~Lily_Mardock> yessss
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> the tieflings can purify their corrupt forms and give them pure life anew
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> and I was thinking that demons wouldn't have mechs
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> jsut like
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> dragons, and ggiant demons, and stuff like that
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> think Zerg
[20:00] <~Lily_Mardock> rather than build something to drive, they just grow a big zergling
[20:01] * IterationDrive nods
[20:01] * Ikiryo nods
[20:20] <IterationDrive> So the Tieflings... are they more like beastmasters, per se, or do they actually get inside the 'redeemed' monsters?
[20:20] <IterationDrive> Merge with them, maybe...?
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> nah
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> I'd go with Iki's thing
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> they basically purify them, then use them as materials
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> to build the mecha
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> so you can get liek
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> Teifling plating
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> which is processed demon
[20:21] <~Lily_Mardock> but the problem is
[20:22] <~Lily_Mardock> the platings hold residual demon-ness, and onyl a tiefling cna handle it without going nutso
[20:22] <~Lily_Mardock> at least long-term
[20:22] <~Lily_Mardock> tieflings are basically monster hunter but with mechas
[20:22] <~Lily_Mardock> you kill a demon, then use its tendons instead of myomer cables
[20:22] <IterationDrive> nice
[20:25] <~Lily_Mardock> and they're probably really dangerous for demons
[20:25] <~Lily_Mardock> because if you don't kill them, you have to send a stronger demon
[20:26] <~Lily_Mardock> and if you send a stronger demon and they kill THAT, then they have a brand new mecha
[20:27] <IterationDrive> okay, so
[20:28] <IterationDrive> we have elves, dwarves, halflings, teiflings... humans (First and Foremost, I think: Even before the mechs, the humans were the ones who lead on the front line, pushing back the demons as much as they could while the other races curled up and retreated.)
[20:28] <CelestialDoggie> HFY :D
[20:28] <IterationDrive> Tenacious, brutal, scarred, unyielding--a courage that can move mountains and a will that can stop the tide.
[20:29] <CelestialDoggie> but then they were probably also the most numerous, so they could spare the troops1
[20:31] <~Lily_Mardock> so the Elves have the Gift of Undeath, the Dwarves have the Gift of Craft, the Halflings have the Gift of Community, the Teiflings have the Gift of Redemption, and the Humans have the Gift of Will
[20:31] <~Lily_Mardock> I like thte idea of the human race not necessarily being numerous
[20:31] <~Lily_Mardock> but being prolific
[20:31] <~Lily_Mardock> like
[20:31] <~Lily_Mardock> everyone else looked at the worlds arctic circle and said "Fuck that shit, we're staying home"
[20:32] <IterationDrive> And humans were all "Fuck you guys, we're gonna explore it *and live there*"
[20:32] <~Lily_Mardock> humans took a look and wnet "Hmm.  Nice, but not cold enough.  The ice will melt and water down my booze."
[20:32] <IterationDrive> hahahah
[20:33] <IterationDrive> ... Human mechs are nothing special. But humans arguably have the most well-trained and veteran non-mech troops.
[20:33] <CelestialDoggie> also
[20:33] <IterationDrive> And they use them well--combined arms is their byword.
[20:33] <CelestialDoggie> [19:38] <Ikiryo> As an aside: It's kinda funny that Elves are ending up the 'Zombie mech' group. I like it though. <-- the elves in Eberron keep their ancestors around as undead zombies
[20:33] <IterationDrive> ... iki we just made the humans clan hell's horses.
[20:33] <~Lily_Mardock> I'd say mech troops too
[20:33] <~Lily_Mardock> like
[20:33] <~Lily_Mardock> Humans are adaptable
[20:33] <~Lily_Mardock> once, a human 'mech pilot got his arm ripped off
[20:34] <~Lily_Mardock> he readjusted his seat and went back to work with a surgeon in the cockpit trying to stem the bleeding
[20:34] <~Lily_Mardock> (Maybe not that last bit, but you get the idea)
[20:34] <IterationDrive> humans don't quit, yeah
[20:35] <IterationDrive> but as far as like, tactical stuff--the dwarves are sneaky guerilla tunneling fucks, the elves prefer long-ranged warfar and otugh mechs, halflings have economical mechs with generalist loadouts, tieflings are reprocessed monsters
[20:35] <CelestialDoggie> humans are an entire race of Teddy Roosevelt
[20:35] <IterationDrive> human mechs are basically baseline. Nothing special. Generic, even. But it's not the mechs that you have to worry about when you're fighting humans... or not JUST the mechs, anyway.
[20:35] <CelestialDoggie> this is already the best game ever
[20:35] <Ikiryo> Also a fair bit of 'Mech got trashed, can we rig the gun up as an arty piece'
[20:36] <Ikiryo> Humans have been fighting long enough and have enough scrapped mechs that a lot of human castles blister with mech-weaponry.
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> some even with mobility systems
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> like Castle Figaro
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> ahaha
[20:36] <IterationDrive> A lance of human knights will take down a siege-demon. They'll take casualties, almost certainly, but they'll win. Human infantry is well-trained and stubborn and well-equpped--it's not uncommon to see a group of infantry literally climb up a siege-beast and cut it to pieces one by one.
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> NO
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> WAIT
[20:36] <CelestialDoggie> THE CASTLE *IS* A MECH
[20:37] <~Lily_Mardock> maybe that's even human infantry battle doctrine
[20:37] <~Lily_Mardock> like
[20:37] <~Lily_Mardock> all the other races man ranged artillary mechs
[20:37] <~Lily_Mardock> and don't bother sending troops in to battle, generally
[20:38] <~Lily_Mardock> humans do shit like hide in forests, and do ambushes
[20:38] <IterationDrive> "We lost 60% of the battallion, mostly WIA, 20% KIA, but we took down eight siege-beasts and a Daemon Lord. Call it a tactical victory."
[20:39] <IterationDrive> "Stragetically... also a victory, provided that the bloody dwarves do their part in the underkingdom beneath us."
[20:39] <IterationDrive> "If they don't, we'll look mighty silly for this bloody suicide maneuver we're about to pull!"
[20:39] <~Lily_Mardock> Elves have the record for longest active pilots, but that's because of their gift
[20:39] <~Lily_Mardock> humans hold second place, and there are MORE of them
[20:39] <~Lily_Mardock> like, there are 100 human pilots over 60
[20:39] <~Lily_Mardock> htere are only 30 dorf pilots at the same age
[20:40] <Ikiryo> I'd also say that elves likely REALLY don't retreat as much as other groups. Not due to honor...but because they can't abandon a damaged mech. A lot of elven pilots go out in last stands to buy time for others.
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> yeah
[20:41] <IterationDrive> I'd say dwarves are the most likely to do retreats, provided they have earthrune support
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> right
[20:41] <IterationDrive> it makes it *easy* for them, after all.
[20:41] <IterationDrive> Pop up, blast, pop down, retreat
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> dwarves are the tactical dudes
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> generally speaking
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> that's part of their gift
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> dwarves have like
[20:41] <~Lily_Mardock> these massive battlefield maps
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> with models enchanted to move in real-time
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> so they just look down and go
[20:42] <Ikiryo> Issue dwarves have: They can't see things NOT on the ground with thier magic.
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> yes
[20:42] <Ikiryo> So they have a long standing hatred of dragons.
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> it doens't work for flyers
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> oooh
[20:42] <~Lily_Mardock> yesss
[20:44] <IterationDrive> Query: Do we want JUST mechs, or do we want other engines of war?
[20:46] <Ikiryo> Oh?
[20:47] <IterationDrive> Not necessarily tanks, but like, power armor/minimechs and something roughly equivalent to dragons/flying fuckers
[20:48] <~Lily_Mardock> I'd like to stick with mechs for now
[20:48] <~Lily_Mardock> maybe really nice suits of armour
[20:48] <~Lily_Mardock> not power armour
[20:48] <CelestialDoggie> well, is the aim for "fantasy races in sci-fi setting," or "battlemechs in fantasy setting"?
[20:48] <~Lily_Mardock> bec ause minaturizing stuff is hard
[20:48] <~Lily_Mardock> battlemechs in a fantasy setting
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> I do think there should be magic, though
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> like, magic should have already been a thing
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> but maybe the demons are resistant to it
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> unless it's holy
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> so what you get is wizards being clever
[20:49] <~Lily_Mardock> and doing things like enchanting boots of flight so infantry doesn't even have to CLIMB up a demon
[20:50] <~Lily_Mardock> they can just fly up and stab it in eye
[20:51] * IterationDrive nods
[20:51] <~Lily_Mardock> on the fields of elithd'un, a demon warbeast comes to the fight.  he takes a step onto the battlefield and the ground collapses beneath him, except for a single, massive spike which goes right up its ass.  Miles away, a dwarven wizard suddenly starts giggling uncontrollably in the middle of an important guild meeting"
[20:52] <Ikiryo> ...actually, that's probebly something ELSE with the elves.
[20:52] <Ikiryo> Rather than physical ranged weapons, they likely have a lot of 'Since the mech IS me...my magic is a lot stronger'
[20:52] <Ikiryo> So an Elven Mech doesn't fire massive spikes. It bombards the are with lightning bolts and fireballs.
[20:53] <~Lily_Mardock> and since they're channeled through the 'mech, the count as holy, maybe?
[20:53] <~Lily_Mardock> because divine implement
[20:53] <IterationDrive> yeah
[20:53] <CelestialDoggie> the elves drive Gears!
[20:54] <CelestialDoggie> their 'mechs have an Ether Amp built into them that draws through the elf and magnifies the magical oomph
[20:54] <CelestialDoggie> it's what helps extend their lifespan
[20:55] <~Lily_Mardock> could be
[20:55] <CelestialDoggie> but the downside is if you separate too long from your attuned ether amp, Bad Things™
[20:55] <~Lily_Mardock> yeah
[20:55] <~Lily_Mardock> actualyl
[20:55] <Ikiryo> Despite the (Theoreticly) infinite lifespan, I imagine even the elves don't have an 'original' pilot still alive.
[20:55] <~Lily_Mardock> I don't want to confine that to the elves
[20:56] <~Lily_Mardock> Nah
[20:56] <~Lily_Mardock> I'd guess most pilots end up going out in a blaze of glory at some point
[20:56] <~Lily_Mardock> especially elven ones
[20:56] <Ikiryo> They COULD live forever...but there is too much fighting for that to really happen.
[20:56] <~Lily_Mardock> because even the not-immortalized ones
[20:57] <~Lily_Mardock> they might at least get scraped out of the ruins and put back together enoguh to get immortalized
[20:57] <~Lily_Mardock> and the immortalized ones have already dedicated their existance to war
[20:57] <~Lily_Mardock> so it's better they go than one of their healthy comrades
[20:57] * Ikiryo nods
[20:57] <CelestialDoggie> (Link: http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs28/f/2009/254/0/f/Xenogears__Weltall_Id_by_clarityblue.jpg)http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs28/f/2009/254/0/f/Xenogears__Weltall_Id_by_clarityblue.jpg
[20:58] <Ikiryo> But yeah. I'd say that ANYONE can channel magic through the mech to have it do magic attacks...but immortal elves do it better because they ARE the mech as much as the elf at that point. Which is why they tend to be ranged specialists.
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> maybe
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> I'm trying to limit things ab it
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> because if we make an RPG, everything we add is one more thing to balance
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> and stuff
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> and I, at least, might make something sometime from this
[20:59] <~Lily_Mardock> it's pretty neat
[21:00] <CelestialDoggie> I think, Iki
[21:00] <CelestialDoggie> if we were going to do it that way
[21:00] <CelestialDoggie> that only the elves could *project* magic
[21:00] <CelestialDoggie> and have like magic lasers
[21:00] <CelestialDoggie> humans and halflings can do, like, enhancement magic. Like a physical adept.
[21:01] <CelestialDoggie> Dorfs have theirs built-in with their earthcalling
[21:01] * Ikiryo nods
[21:02] <CelestialDoggie> ...did I leave anyone out?
[21:04] <Ikiryo> Tieflings
[21:04] <CelestialDoggie> oh right
[21:04] <CelestialDoggie> god dammit
[21:04] <~Lily_Mardock> Koliup requests something
[21:04] <~Lily_Mardock> he would like it very much if we put in the fluff that human mechs use drills
[21:04] <CelestialDoggie> wat
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> uh, have you met Koliup?
[21:05] <CelestialDoggie> he wants it all TTGL in here
[21:05] <CelestialDoggie> I have not
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> ah
[21:05] <Ikiryo> Seems more...dwarven than human...
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> he may be joining us later
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> actually Iki
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> what if it was an accident
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> like
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> a human's gun arm broke
[21:05] <CelestialDoggie> now I have the mental image of a tiefling piloting a corpsemech and having a couple of energy-whips (magic-energy whips>)
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> so he had the mechanics wire a mining drill to it
[21:05] <~Lily_Mardock> and stomped around the battlefield drilling people
[21:06] <~Lily_Mardock> and now humans use a drill as a sign of good fortune/perservereance
[21:06] <IterationDrive> Seems a littled forced referance
[21:06] <Ikiryo> ...not really seeing it myself.
[21:06] <~Lily_Mardock> damn
[21:06] <~Lily_Mardock> I tried
[21:06] <Ikiryo> Like, as I said, I can see the DWARVES doing it.
[21:06] <~Lily_Mardock> yeah
[21:07] <Ikiryo> As an rune enhanced drill can likely make tunnels very rapidly.
[21:07] <~Lily_Mardock> but it doesn't work as well for dwarves
[21:07] <~Lily_Mardock> because humans have the gift of Will
[21:07] <~Lily_Mardock> that's the main thing
[21:07] <IterationDrive> Yes, but it's still forced referance. :P We can have spikey sunglasses as a fashion statement though
[21:07] <~Lily_Mardock> kay
[21:07] <IterationDrive> because :fashion:
[21:07] <CelestialDoggie> oh my god
[21:07] <CelestialDoggie> we totally could
[21:07] <CelestialDoggie> because what else exemplifies will than believing in me, who believes in you
[21:08] <~Lily_Mardock> OR BELIEVING IN YOU, WHO BELIEVES IN YOURSELF
[21:08] <~Lily_Mardock> I'm so sad that got corrected out of translations
[21:08] <~Lily_Mardock> it was amazing phrasing
[13:56] <~Pilz> oh
[13:56] <~Pilz> ID
[13:56] <~Pilz> wait he's not here
[13:56] <CDAtWork> nope, class
[13:56] <~Pilz> Doggie, when you get home could you pastebin me logs of last night's discussion?
[13:56] <~Pilz> I wanna start a google doc
[13:57] <CDAtWork> sure