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BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#1
This thread can be used for OOC attempts at General Knowledge rolls, in between missions. Keeping it organized should help things considerably, because this is stuff people are going to want to remember throughout the campaign.


From the wiki:

General Knowledge is a roleplay skill for smart characters that lets your character learn things while not on a mission. Prior to each mission starting, you are permitted to choose a number of things that you want your character to learn. The number of things you're allowed to try to learn is dependent on your GK skill value.

When choosing things, you arrange your choices in order of prioritization, from "thing I want the most" to "thing I want the least". When the GM rolls all the dice, the dice will be arranged from greatest to lowest. The GM may also apply bonuses/penalties to each item ranging from -4 to +4, based entirely on their own discretion.

Here's a helpful table:
  • -2 GK: 0 chances per mission (0% success rate)
  • -1 GK: 3 chances per mission (16% success rate)
  • 0 GK: 3 chances per mission (28% success rate)
  • 1 GK: 3 chances per mission (42% success rate)
  • 2 GK: 4 chances per mission (57% success rate)
  • 3 GK: 5 chances per mission (71% success rate)
  • 4 GK: 7 chances per mission (83% success rate)

General rules
  • It must be something most characters don't have access to
  • It must not be something you could replicate with higher stats/skills, or, if so, only functions in very specific circumstances
  • If it would never come up in the future (so you could never use it) or it's something that the GM would never allow, the GM will tell the player this and give them a chance to change it, unless the player consistently requests things like this. When the GM is annoyed, all bets are off.

Requests are more likely to receive bonuses if they:
  • …fit your character well - both in terms of personality, and stats/skills
  • …fit the story and setting well
  • …make things more fun - not just for you, but for all the other players as well

Requests are more likely to receive penalties if they:
  • …"make things easier"
  • …make your character more "badass" or powerful
  • …make more sense as a combat skill than a roleplay skill
  • …are difficult to vocally roleplay (i.e. skills that are displayed primarily through actions instead of speech)
  • …don't make sense with your character
  • …aren't things you could learn with available materials and time
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Re: BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#2
A silly thing, and a silly thing to attempt with -2 GK, but I feel it'd be justified character-wise.
Ishmael should try to learn what pasta-like foods and products exist in this part of the Galaxy, and how to cook them!


Yeah, with -2 it's not going to work, but we can RP learning new things as long as they are in-character and mostly useless :ghost:
Last edited by outlander on Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Survivor of the Josh Parnell Blackout of 2015.
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Re: BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#3
1)
Learn about the technological systems TARTARUS uses, especially those on the (N)EMESIS.
Fighting, wounding, killing. Getting hurt or killed...Frank doesn't like any of those thoughts. So instead of fighting for his life, he'd like to perhaps increase his chances to be of use (and kept alive) with repairs and maintenance around this wreck they're stuck on. Brenna and Antez certainly seemed to appreciate his work already after all...

2)
Learn how to take people out of commision and keep them there, quickly, efficiently and before all else, non-lethal.
That last mission was a lot like a wake-up call from a bad dream into a nightmare. While Frank knows that it will get violent and likely deadly in the near futuren he'd still rather keep people AND himself alive. And others would just as well appreciate pain and a hit on the head when the alternative is death.

3)
Try to learn more about the people who do their damned best with keeping this ship running. (Chiefs of the onboard departments)
They're all stuck on this ship just as well, and knowing more might give him a chance to help them in the little ways he can do.
Apparently, sometimes stuff might happen.
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Re: BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#4
((For posterity))
Talvieno wrote:
Sat Sep 01, 2018 11:17 am
GK rolls for Saoirse and Buck:
Dinosawer wrote:
Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:54 am
Spoiler:      SHOW
I guess this is also the place for GK rolls?

I would like to use my freshy levelled GK for, in order from want most to want least:

-Astrophysics - as we discussed in the ‘little questions’ thread
Though, I would argue the basics of 'planetary formation processes' which you put under geology in your examples falls under this (because I saw it at uni :ghost: )
BG justification: she’s been dreaming of getting in a spaceship and flying away since she was little, though originally mostly a form of escapism. Has so far mostly resulted in liking to look at pretty photos of space rather than study, but maybe it’s the moment to change that now she’s in space…

-Learn about Tartarus PSI and exotic tech (inner workings, how are they built, common and less obvious ways of application etc) - Mostly for RP reasons, Saoirse absolutely would want to know this (due to her background she already knows how the basic ones work since she used to design them, but Tartarus stuff is bound to be leagues better). Practical upshot is a validation for the creative/harebrained schemes I tend to come up with, I guess? (see: trying to blow up plasma rifles from a distance, gravity leap, grand theft spaceship with electro amp, etc) Idunno, this one's more for RP reasons than usability

-Musical tradition of local (alien) cultures once we reach Huhoba station (traditional instruments and songs etc) so I can annoy the Hiltorel and co. by playing their songs on my bagpipes too. Unlikely to come up, but I’m likely to make it come up :ghost: Given that fact I’d like to learn it about more than just 1 culture, though. Just for fun, given that this is the ‘least likely to succeed’ slot :)
Saoirse can learn astrophysics and Tartarus PSI/Exotic tech. She got fairly lucky with rolls. Not bad at all.
Spoiler:      SHOW
Tartarus PSI/Exotic tech uses combinations of careful blink technology applications with smaller, weaker versions of ship-based field manipulators. The PSI Pack contains the ability to work all of these, but is 60-70% a giant battery: using anomalous materials properly, and especially blink tech, takes a lot of power. The rest of it is a standard blink-setup field manipulator for projecting different phenomena at range. It uses "blink" technology (sort of like teleportation, but it just makes things "appear" elsewhere by "changing the 'output location'" through what is essentially a subspace warp - so it's not the same thing as the ship-based blink teleporter.

When inducted into REKT, Tartarus inmates have standard PSI connector equipment installed surgically into their heads. This equates to a series of "jacks" on the back of the neck (hooking into the spine) and the lower half of the back of the head. From these, special wires and circuitry are applied directly into the brain, connecting to key locations. These processors are charged by linkups to PSI equipment: when they are needed, they have power. Unfortunately learning to provide the correct output to control the blink teleporter is not perfected, and everyone's brains are different. Some minds are better at handling the one-size-fits-all PSI equipment than others, and typically those with stronger willpower find it easier to master it - but not always.

Tartarus Inc.'s PSI equipment is cutting-edge. That in the rest of the galaxy - for example the rimworlds - usually functions in a less-invasive manner, utilizing some basic EEG sensors to detect movement in different areas. This is considerably more crude, but has the advantage that skill is much more based on practice than willpower. It has the disadvantage that it can be considerably less accurate for a beginner - and occasionally, even for experts.

Saoirse will now all the different PSI stuff - the stuff listed here, and more.
Hapchazzard wrote:
Fri Aug 31, 2018 5:27 am
Spoiler:      SHOW
If it's the place for GK rolls, I'll put down mine too:

1. How to recognize and resist mind control (especially squid mind control). Mind control = any PSI attacks involving my mind (accessing my memories, trying to control me, etc.). Methods of learning this: movies, conspiracy websites (if such a thing as a 'website' exists in the REKT universe), perhaps a few genuinely legitimate resources (but my character wouldn't know they're any more valid than the rest), pestering "them scientists down at the labs, them nerds probably know this crap", if I find out there's any other 'wizards' on the ship (Ishmael, Saoirse), cautiously ask them for some information too.

2. Common squid military equipment. What kinds of weapons do the regular mooks use, what do the elite ones use, what kind of nasty superweapons does the evil hive overmind have at it's disposal (note: the GK roll should be for the first two, the last one Tal can make something up - or I can, of course). Methods of learning this: movies, of course. When I see a new weapon, take a picture with the PDA and mark it down with some name (e.g. "Purple death ray shooter"). Make a note of which weapons are the most common, if the squids obviously have some kind of preference when it comes to the type of weapon, etc.

3. Try and find out if there's any cool tricks I can do with the gravgun. Methods of learning: pestering the scientists, looking up the gravgun schematic (or the closest that comes to that) and trying to find something out based on that. Note: tricks don't necessarily have to be intended - dangerous, completely unintended 'tricks' are just as valid.

EDIT: Additionally, I've decided to upgrade my charisma by 1. Honestly, I know it won't be terribly useful (especially since my character isn't exactly the diplomatic type), but similar to my Willpower upgrade, it's more for RP purposes than practical benefit. Sorry for making you update my profile twice, and hope it isn't too late!
Buck got some decent rolls, but in an interesting twist managed to roll higher (due to my bonus/penalty tweaks) for learning "Common hiltorel military equipment". As a result, he may think he understands mind control, but he doesn't really.
Spoiler:      SHOW
Hiltorel, having weaker arms, are terrible with weapon recoil and generally try to carry only recoilless ranged weapons. They are quite agile, though - especially in low gravity - and do quite well with blades. There have always been bladed martial arts schools of thought in Squiddish history, but they have become more pronounced with the advent of personal shielding, much as in the rest of the galaxy. While squiddish mercenaries tend to prefer ranged weapons, non-mercs tend to prefer bladed. There are a few different types of squiddish weapons, most of which are a bit unusual. You have your "swingblades" (something like a cross between a bladed nunchuck and a butterfly knife), gloveknives (something like a cross between a gauntlet and a katar), regular swords, whips, and bladed tonfu.

Ranged hiltorel weapons are usually plasma, which they tend to prefer over lasers. Lasers are more often in the form of dual-wielded laser pistols rather than full-sized lasguns - these are more about dealing reliable damage to fast targets than hard-hitting slower ones. Their lasguns typically shoot very short, powerful bursts.

Hiltorel armor is ... fairly subpar, especially when compared to other species. Armor covers at most the chest, and sometimes the arms - rarely the back. The face sometimes has a "mask" on the front. "Heavy armor" is a mask that goes completely over the head and head-tentacles, and looks something like a big, ugly, misshapen bucket. It is bulky and cumbersome, and thus rarely used. The variation of squiddotentacles makes standardized armor production difficult, and fitting armor directly to tentacles is nearly impossible. At best they may wear "armored socks" on their tentacles, but this significantly inhibits their agility, which they rely on for survivability.

Buck can learn all of this and stuff about hiltorel gun emplacements and fighter craft.
cuisinart8 wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:17 pm
GK rolls in order of importance: important figures of the cluster, hiltorel fixed weapons, history of the cluster
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Re: BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#5
F4wk35 wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:06 pm
Spoiler:      SHOW
1)
Learn about the technological systems TARTARUS uses, especially those on the (N)EMESIS.
Fighting, wounding, killing. Getting hurt or killed...Frank doesn't like any of those thoughts. So instead of fighting for his life, he'd like to perhaps increase his chances to be of use (and kept alive) with repairs and maintenance around this wreck they're stuck on. Brenna and Antez certainly seemed to appreciate his work already after all...

2)
Learn how to take people out of commision and keep them there, quickly, efficiently and before all else, non-lethal.
That last mission was a lot like a wake-up call from a bad dream into a nightmare. While Frank knows that it will get violent and likely deadly in the near futuren he'd still rather keep people AND himself alive. And others would just as well appreciate pain and a hit on the head when the alternative is death.

3)
Try to learn more about the people who do their damned best with keeping this ship running. (Chiefs of the onboard departments)
They're all stuck on this ship just as well, and knowing more might give him a chance to help them in the little ways he can do.
Frank managed to roll successfully with his roll #1: Tartarus technological systems onboard the Nemesis.
Spoiler:      SHOW
Not being much of a fighter (either in skill or willingness) Frank has opted to spend much of his free time over the next few days studying Nemesis systems hardcore - following engineers around, learning whatever he can from them. And what can he learn? A pretty good deal. Being already short-staffed, they welcome the extra help, especially from someone that seems so mechanically-minded. The effect in-story is that Frank is now able to complete most minor, non-specialized repairs onboard the Nemesis without any issue (provided he has the materials) and even if not, he can always quickly pinpoint the problem.

The Tartarus is a fairly old ship - nearly a hundred years - and after you really get into its guts it's pretty horrifying how much it's been patched and re-patched here and there, until (when you really know what you're looking at) the ship's internals almost have the appearance of a patchwork quilt - although a very well-kept one. Newer ships might be more about buying replacement parts, but engineers aboard the Nemesis need to be well-versed in simply making new ones - and they are. Now, you are too.

cuisinart8 wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:17 pm
Spoiler:      SHOW
GK rolls in order of importance: important figures of the cluster, hiltorel fixed weapons, history of the cluster
Unfortunately, the rolls were against Caleb in this particular instance, I'm sorry to say. Not entirely a surprise, seeing as you had a roughly 50% chance of getting any skill at all, but still. Hopefully next mission will do better.

outlander wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:47 pm
Spoiler:      SHOW
A silly thing, and a silly thing to attempt with -2 GK, but I feel it'd be justified character-wise.
Ishmael should try to learn what pasta-like foods and products exist in this part of the Galaxy, and how to cook them!


Yeah, with -2 it's not going to work, but we can RP learning new things as long as they are in-character and mostly useless :ghost:
Ishmael does his darnedest to learn more about the pastas in the area, and while books on the subject aren't readily available, with such a large crew it's inevitable that someone would know about such a thing. Unfortunately Ishmael can't help himself with his proselytizing, and ends up both getting distracted and scaring away those that might have the info he seeks.
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Re: BTE General Knowledge Attempt Thread

#7
0111narwhalz wrote:
Sat Dec 22, 2018 10:42 pm
Spoiler:      SHOW
After some Intense Characterization (thanks Tal!), I've finally figured out how I want to spend my GK rolls:
1. Nullgee mobility (e.g. accurate jumping, angular momentum management, et cetera)
2. Welding
3. Toolmaking (turning near-scrap into things for cutting, turning, prying, and so on)
Vynkor knows #1, Nullgee mobility, and #2, Welding. She got extremely lucky with her rolls here. (Fawkes saw.)
Spoiler:      SHOW
Vynkor is fairly good at maneuvering in zero-gravity (or near-zero-gravity) situations. Objects moving in odd directions while she attempts to use them to maneuver? Piece of cake. Jumping back and forth between other items or spaces, her aim is excellent, and she's just as good at almost anything in space as she is on the ground. To some extent, she can even walk on walls, floors, or ceilings in zero-G (provided she has some slight degree of momentum towards the surface) in much the same manner as someone doing parkour. It most likely helps that she grew up in a station and spent much of her time pre-cryo aboard cheap pirate ships that may not have had artigrav fields onboard.

She also has a natural affinity for welding, and some good deal of experience to back it up. When welding, she will normally not even have to do a roll, and her welds are always top-notch quality. Any object she welds is more likely to come apart itself than for the weld to, and she can function easily with a minimum of materials. There is "being good at welding" and "being good at welding", and Vynkor goes well beyond both.
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