Hello there. There has been an update in the FAQ about the rules on many things, including taking your character to Q:6.

Just to let everyone know, I play several characters on this board and many of them are at Q:6.

They are:
Jager - been around a terribly long time, my first character here, back in '98 (I think). He comes from an TT game and did all kinds of crazy stuff, including dimenision hopping and the like.
He is Q:6.

Preston - He was originally another ST's NPC (in concept) and came to life here as a personality I wanted to explore. He has been on-line for some time (not sure what year, but I think it was around 2000, or 2001). As I have explored him, I discovered he was a terribly driven individual and I have expanded his scope in various fictions and interactive pieces. After going through an ordeal with Charr's character (not the Q-Fountain, but an earlier one where I had Preston explore Charr's powers) I feel I pushed Preston harder than ever before, so I expanded his powers.
He is Q:6.

Bastian - He came alive out of a Law and Order episode, in which the proto-Bastian personality was the bad guy, but oddly sympathetic. As I explored him, I created a history behind him and introduced him to the board some time ago. I admittedly only ever saw him as "scary powerful", but I hope I have balanced that with a "needy" and "child-like" personality.
He is Q:6.

The Paragon - existed so long ago, I forgot his password, so he got the "The" added to his name. I created him at a time when I saw several powerful Terats on the board and wanted a balancing Utopian. As he developed in my mind, I saw him as being more of a Proteus operative type, rather close-mouthed, but supportive of his fellow Utopians. In imagining his history, a saw him as a former T2Mer from the early years, pushing himself hard to protect humanity and advance Utopia's agenda. Eventually taint and rising quantum forced him into a less photogenic role within Utopia (ala Proteus).
He is Q:6.

Doc Aeon - was a rebel from Utopia, but not an Aberrant. He has gotten less play as other PC's have arisen to take up the standpoint of the Utopian researcher on the run. Then there is the fact that he sees novas as a threat that should be removed from the human population.

Neil Preston - totally grew up on this board. He grew up out of the interactions between Preston and the late, lamented Vile Bill (DeVries Elite killed by Epoch in a fiction). Bill willed Neil a million dollars and a complete run of Playboys. Preston Sr. and Neil went to the funeral in S.Africa and I had Neil erupt from the effects of all those novas gathered there in tribute. Since then, I feel he has been a steady contributor to the interactions and fictions going on here.

Beyond that, I have played Costas (who might yet return ... again), Myrmidon, and Kinetic, among other less long-lived characters.

In Adventure, I am Count Janos.

On the number of Q:6ers I play; most of them were grandfathered in when the board went to moderation, but not without the other mods feeling then that it was unfair to the general population. I hope this does not cause anyone distress that I have "two too many" Q:6ers, but I felt that you all deserved the right to know. I hope my past contributions in all my various personas can be held up as a counter-balancing force.

What? I'm not complaining. The only issue I have is I can't get Quantum Inferno to smite Tarot with.

I can just feel the love in this room. Wow.

Just... Wow.

I thought Tarot might be a little over the top now and then. This definitely puts that thought to rest. Can I trade my two Q6 slots in and just make Tarot a Q7?

I promise to be good with the schoad of power that gives me. No creating alternate universes filled with lesbian griffins for the sole purpose of pranking Totem to send his sexual frustration up an order of magnitude. No destroying the world as an excuse to write an angsty extended "Oops!" while standing in what use to be planet Earth. No Plank Power Storms (TM) so everyone in New York gets the ability to fly because combustion engines are evil. I do reserve the right to put a hurt on Mal and Pax at the same time on a live broadcast just so I can cross that off my things for Tarot to do list.

Just joking. I kind of like the role play thing. The question of what do you do with the power of a god isn't nearly as much fun when you actually are a god.

Peace.

Been there, done alot of that in TT games. I wanted the freedom to do more here.

The thing is, having Q:6 means something to the person playing the character, but doesn't have to mean jack to anyone else.
Sure, I toast Tarot with my Quantum Inferno, but Tarot decides that he is going to just sit back and roast marshmellows and not get anything more than slighlty frizzy hair.
Each player has so much control over whatever happens to their characters that I don't see the problem.
I will never bust on Mal, because canon doesn't allow it.
I will never rain frogs on New York for the same reason.

I can thank your, Tarot, for revealing that the Gadget Rules are the answer for almost everyhing, though.

Hi. For those that don't know me I'm an older player that was once a regular and then dropped off the face of the earth on and off as I had Internet access like Walker sometimes does.

That background colors my comments so keep it in mind.

James, I think it goes back to the reason why the person is playing the game and what it means to that person to be role playing. Some people want the power to do (conditionally) anything at least as far as the player or the character can envision. Another will want to do something very specific and in the context of the game mechanics and the rules governing them there are sometimes prerequisites to be met before a particular affect could be achieved. A third will just need to get a particular flavor of power, gel with the personality and then they're off and running.

I look around the forums both now (and back when I was a regular) but I don't just see the stories that require power to be told. This is not to say that I do NOT recognize that someone will want that power for a mixture of the three reasons I noted above (and others I haven't thought of) or that the game may simply lack fun for that peron unless they have it. It does NOT mean they are bad people or poor gamers for wanting it. But so far no one has told a story in role play (posting) or fiction (archives) that couldn't have been told as a worthwhile story even had they lacked the fat crackling power of the gods.

(Now inserting a strictly personal view point and assessment here. Take with a grain of salt as mileage may vary.)

I don't think the arguments back in the day or the discussions I've been privy to around my busy life are really about power. I think, especially in this textual environment, that its about making the characters 'special'. Making them stand out from the crowd. Something above brought up an outstanding point about the difference between having the power of a god as opposed to being a god and its a point I agree with totally. When and if the majority answer up that they want to play gods that simply must be in the top 1% of all novas on the planet we can all readdress the issue.

I think the desires are about what happens once the magic boundary has been crossed (and the character usually grabs mastery at something or other) as suddenly they are noticeably and OBJECTIVELY more proficient at whatever. They have to be so because they're Q6 (or 7, 8, 9, etc).

Take an example like precognition. Character A has flashes of insight, maybe even controllable in a place like Prime where there is no ST, but character B can watch an entire sequence of events unfold as if they were at a movie. Even worse, like it was a DVD so they could fast forward through any scene, go to the menu and select the scene they want or treat moving viewpoint like it were actually ESP/Clairvoyance linked to time travel. Which of them is 'special'? Which of them is 'powerful' or 'unique'? I think the answer to that is more complex than who has the larger node but that's just my opinion.

I think this is why so many experimented with high quantum level characters back in the day even though they usually failed to capitalize on the ramifications of high quantum or how that affects the characters situation. And now after moderation has become a reality and mandates certain limits, there are those that desire to push the limits and be outside the boundaries. Is it because they play poorly with others or cannot accept a secondary position? Is it because there is no way to play the character concept they envision? Is it because they're the sort of people that have to smoke as soon as they see a no smoking sign?

Maybe but I don't believe that's the case. Rather I think they see the limitation as something that going beyond will objectively and provably define their character as special. I understand the point of view although I do not subscribe to it. If you recall I wasn't a big fan of moderation but it's here and likely to stay. So players have some options for being 'special' without being in the top 1% of the nova population:

• Develop an interesting personality.
• Develop an interesting special effect.
• Tell an interesting story.

I don't particularly care if a character crossed the raging seas of a thousand alternate realities (five characters like that so far and counting) because its what they do here that affects the interaction as I told Quantum Promise. Its not like people that can mold reality could objectively prove whatever weirdness is in the characters background anyway. Its like the guy across from me at the restaurant explaining that he's actually an angel. Unless I find his story entertaining or thought provoking it really doesn't matter and I'll forget about it in about ten seconds unless I had to call the police. In which case I'll remember calling the police on a crazy person. I also don't care how big their node is because aside from a "My goodness, aren't you a fine specimen" moment it doesn't mean anything to the interaction. I don't care how big their dice pools are either and some of them are staggering.

Its going to come down to the character capturing my imagination by their personality, their views, their gifts (coolness factor comes into play a little)or their lives and choices. Preferably a mixture of all of the above.

That's enough for now.

Its nothing really. Surprising what can be learned from reading the book and not just looking at the pretty pictures of men in tight clothing.



Actually they're not the answer to almost everything. Opportunity, research and time will choke you on the requirements but you're welcome anyway since its the thought that counts. I really think you might want to read through them - completely - before you decide to jump off that cliff.

If you don't... Don't say I didn't warn you.

Psimon, your first character here was Wizard, right?

Tarot, I read the Gadget rules back when the APG first came out, but I thought they were just too screwed up for any good roleplayer to even think of using.
Time isn't going to be a problem.

Wizard was the second character although I couldn't tell you off the top of my head who the true first one was without searching through the archives.

Sorry but it was five years ago.

Were you going to follow through on that question? Even if I did correctly foresee two points they probably wouldn't be visible to others.

I know what it is to create a character without access to rules and then shaping the character sheet from the idea of who the character is.

Thus came Codex, who evolved as I gained knowledge of the rules and applied them to her, eventually changing her name to Saimhe and now Samhra.

Sometimes my PCs are created on a whim, to fill a perceived need or because I want to try some new concept. I do have ADHD when it comes to my PCs (ask Asche ) because I enjoy the act of creation more than anything else in the world.

Many of my PCs fall by the wayside - Asherat, Irini Mikhailova, Rashima 'Veil' al-Hariti, Renaissance, Sliver - while others are dragged out whenever I get bored - Synergy, Moonshadow, Dervish.

I never created a Q6 PC for this game, even before moderation kicked in - probably because I didn't have the rules. :p But I would sooner see Q6'ers like Ashnod and Jager as opposed to some of the munchkins I've seen around (whom shall remain nameless). As for any of my PCs taking on Q6, there's only two likely candidates, and neither are ready for it.

Make the character before you figure out the mechanics.

That's all, ladies and gentlemen.

This is not a bad idea although I generally descibe it as making the persona first and the alligence (independent, Utopia, Elite, Terat, corporate, PD) you want to play second. Usually the power is hazy a the beginning, oulined in step 1 and then firmed up during or after step two.

Doing it in reverse makes it difficult to role play the characters views 3-dimensionally unless you *like* trying to figure out their views on the fly and then remembering them for later.

Hmm, I've done that a time or two, I confess. I sometimes get the idea of a power-set I want and then fit the persona to it.

There's no one true way, though power-maxing because you can is just tasteless and tacky.

Oh I didn't mean to imply that it couldn't be done other ways (off the top of my head there's at least two other approaches) only that I find this a stronger method for developing character personalities. Your method works too but I see it as a variation because you're still asking personality questions before you commit to buying dice pools.

The point is to figure out who you're running first and what they are second. Its just a preference on my part.

Psimon, Wizard was a facinating character and whatever power level she was at didn't make a damn bit of difference. We went out, did some really fun stuff story-wise, and no one got hurt.

What I wanted to see was the freedom to develop characters independently. Also, since I generally play characters for a long, long period of time, I would like to see them advance in many ways. That is no longer possible. Now, I have to understand that every character I play here will hit an immoble wall, with no hope of parole. I will just have to readjust my way of thinking is all.

In the context given, I think that may have been a reference to the IC time required to research and construct a gadget. I tried it in a TT once and aside from the rule headaches it takes much of the fun out of it to realize Batman's utility belt is going to take a year and a half to construct.

I found the gadget rules hideously overcomplicated, badly explained and with poorly chosen examples provided. One of the reasons I loved A! was the Weird Science rules that were superior to the Gadget rules on so many levels.

Well... remember you're talking to the person that "took her off the table" when she finally did hit the level you're talking about so my personal preferences aren't the same as yours.

I look for advancement in other ways than incrementing the quantum level but that too is a personal thing. In my TT I found that level of power didn't encourage role playing, just the opposite, but that may have been a function of the people involved. I've been gaming long enough to believe that's not the case but it is possible.

I may be getting resistant to change in my old age.

Oh, I agree with that, but its what I've been told is the rule in force here so ...

But would you really play one of your characters differently if they were Q6 instead of Q4? Or Q8 instead of Q6?

For me it marked the end of the journey as far as character development on Prime or even TT. It was the next logical step for that character but it also meant that it was time for her to go elsewhere and do other things. It took me some time to realize that since I'd been fond of her but in the end I knew she would have moved on and so she did.

Would I play them differently? No. This is a role-playing forum. No character sheets need apply.
It is the denial of that possible freedom that irks me. Had my playing a high-Q character ever mattered in the Forum, I would hope I would have had a different view. Instead, the possibility was denied for reasons I truly don't believe in.

I understand that some players see an endpoint for their characters, but I'm not one of them. For me, there is always another hill, another discovery, and another day.

To a degree, I don't feel that one day someone goes "I'm a God", or "I have the power of a God", but rather a growth toward it, were understanding and power can advance together, or seperately in interesting combinations.

For me there just came a time when I realized that she would be going out into the greater world and Prime wouldn't be a part of that. I still believe in the next hill and discovery but accepted it would be elsewhere and told elsewhere. One little opsite was too small a forum for someone with that power level.

I understand knowing the boundary is there and being unable to cross irks you but there are stories to tell. Preston for instance has never explained why cousins don't call him about lottery tickets, to "check" their new borns or when their daughter isn't eating right coming to him to ask whether she's anorexic. Presumption on familiarity is what its was called in the Players Guide IIRC. Just as you'd ask you're mega strength neighbor to move the rock for you or take out a wall. Just saying his family and friends accept him as who he is doesn't actually explain that to us. After all this time we still don't know who he is but he crossed the Q6 boundary for some reason and in some way. That means he "explored his nova nature" and constantly used his powers regardless of what he told people on the forums. Personally I care more about the answers to those questions of obligation to family and friends than I do about why he achieved Q6. 6 is just a number but how and why he handles those questions tells us who he is and what he's about.

I understand the frustration but if those things aren't a story to be told then we'll never really get to know Preston. In that case what difference does it make whether he's Q4, Q6 or Q8?

And now you've reassessed your opinion and decided to try your hand at it. Good for you. Building wonky stuff to tell a funny story about is time consuming but it gives your character the opportunity to entertain so that makes it worth while.


You might want to try stepping through the process before you decide this is the easy way though. Player time is no big, character time is something else.

Heck, at this point, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to justify bumping Timeslip (the only character I run here) up from Q5 to Q6, given that I'm not exactly the most prolific of posters. It's a goal of mine, I just don't quite know how to make it happen; most of my posts for Timeslip are made in the OpNet as more-or-less general conversation; her activities, whatever they may be, are very much behind the scenes.

Character time isn't a problem, either. Just read the rules.

TimeSlip, a few more group fictions, if possible, would be nice, as would a fiction about what TimeSlip does when she isn't posting here.

Then you're good to go.

...

Well?

I'm waiting here to be entertained by your insights into gadget mania. Why aren't you posting yet?

No need to entertain you, as you seem to do pretty good all by yourself.

As for posting schedules, all in do time. This is more of a new way of looking at things, not some sort of vendetta.

Actually I do it for the site. I get lots of PMs telling me how funny people thought something was or how it gave them a cool idea. We all do things IC that are for the other characters not just our selves. It'd be pretty lonely trying to role play if that weren't so.

It was just a joke dude. Easy on the caffeine.

Glad to hear there isn't something twisted going on. A lot of your OOC posts to me lately have sort of sounded like Jager talking to Tarot instead of you talking to me.

Good luck Gadgeteer.

Whomever you are, we aren't brothers, friends, or even friendly acquaintances. I don't like the way you play. I don't really find you all that amusing, and you diminish my enjoyment of this site.
People will always find two other people sparing amusing in the way that they will cheer at dog fights. I'm not impressed.

Sorry to burst your bubble but those private messages I mentioned aren't about you. Usually they're about minor references, things mentioned in passing, asking if they could use my character in a game or just laughing at the chaos surrounding Tarot's life. Sorry to lighten the weight of your martyrdom but hey it happens.

Thanks for finally saying something but it would have done a lot more if you'd bothered to mention it one of those times in chat or sent me a PM instead of yippy yapping about cryptic stuff no one knows anything about but you. But better late than never. I can't do anything about the rules of the site sucking out your fun but I can solve your social problems.

You and your uber-characters have a wonderful day.

Can I ask why? Tarot the character and Jager the character act like jocks on opposing teams and fight constantly. But Tarot the character has been very supportive of Neil the character and Preston the character. So two thirds of your characters are treated positively by his character. How come the one negative has more weight than the two positives.

I do not take it personally that Tarot the character has visciously attacked Cull the character since day one. If anything it makes me feel good. I actually cannot understand the number of people who act all touchy feely with someone who talks about eating human beings.

Cull, you created a character that provides you enjoyment to have people verbally attack. You picked a hot-button taboo and ran with it. More power to ya.

I do not see my other characters having anything resembling a positive relationship with Tarot. What I see is a limiting of my interactions with Tarot so I don't end up with multiple running verbal battles to deal with. I don't come here for an insult contest, but to RP with others in a somewhat civil format.
When dealing with Tarot, my options quickly become either not posting, posting then retiring from the field, or an insult match.
No matter what I think my characters might do, I don't need the aggravation.
There have been multiple times when I felt one of the characters would have said something in a topic were Tarot was involved, but I didn't because of the insulting way he reacts. I reduce my actions IC because of OOC reasons.
Thus, my enjoyment of this site is diminished.

OK, if we can put aside the off-topic personal slamfest for a moment, I'd like to pull us off-topic in an entirely different direction....

Anyone else think that we really, really need to kick off a joint story looking into this "executive of a waste-management company in a large northeastern metropolitan city" that had his pet Nova re-arrange Cull's marbles? And Cull, would you mind if we did so? This has the makings of one heck of an interesting story....

That said, Timeslip's involvement is going to need to be somewhat limited, at least for the next few months; she's due to deliver a bouncing baby whatever on the 8th of May, and currently looks like she swallowed a beachball.

It is fun playing cull because I am not cull. It doesn't bother me when people attack him. I see another way for Jager the character to respond to Tarot the character that you didn't mention. Be above it. Tarot the character seems like a snarky little bitch of a man that enjoys getting in insult contests. I didn't think Jager the character was the same kind of person. When Tarot the character is insulting Jager the character he isn't insulting Jager the player. Why not just have Jager the character say that maybe once Tarot acts like a man instead of a feces throwing monkey that they can have a conversation. I have looked at a lot of threads and expecting people to act civily seems to be pretty rare. Most people here insult each other in some way or another. Jager the character has been known to treat other characters with almost rude condesencion once in awhile. I thought the idea was to play different characters, not to play different characters that all loved each other.

Yep my internet connection is crap, never mind the fact that my girlfriend is always hogging the computer.

I also agree with you that it's all about telling an interesting story with an interesting character. To me it doesn't matter how far Walker rises or falls, it's how he interacts with the other Novas that post on the IC board. Walker has joined the Teragen and is a boastful marvel, but he's also got history and a back-story that hopefully makes him a complex 3D character rather than a cardboard cut out 2D one.

Cull, there are times when I'm not mature enough myself to just let the jabs go and ignore them. I'll try to do better. Just because civility is rare doesn't mean it shouldn't be something we strive for.

A friend I've been talking to about this pointed out something to me. In the real world, insults over the internet fly often and in packs, mainly because its anonymous. People rarely act like this face to face.
Now, in theory, we are playing a game were someone can come through the screen and throttle you.
Would Opnet netiquette among novas change because of that?

Walker, I couldn't agree more. I hope we never get to the point were we need character sheets just to play here. To me, its the creativity of the story that matters. If I need Jager to be Q:3 with only a handful of NP's, I can do that story. If I want him to be more, or less, he can be. I like to tailor him to the story. I really believe a person can walk shoulder to shoulder with Gods one moment, and be sitting back shooting the bull at the corner bar the next.

In so many ways Walker has changed since coming here, but there are still elements that remain the same. I see it as growth.

Btw, Walker could only be 2D if he bought the power.