Some more working notes and ideas hatched in conversation with the magnificent phloxserver, mostly with Grek and Archon. Following on from this, this, and this.
Heartbeat and Particle sensors
Heartbeat is hard to spoof, and only keys off Degraders (there's nothing else in the zone with a heartbeat), but has a tight ranged and no penetration. Particle sensors are specifically designed to pick up the emissions that accompany the firing of Superlative weaponry - if you fire Da Big Gun (or the Superlative Pistol, or use a Superlative Knife), you emit these particles for 3 - 5 turns (duration is hidden from you). Particle sensors have far better range than heartbeat sensors.
Superlative Knife is a flare!
You can use your superlative knife as a flare in your hand if you want! All Superlative weapons are wired into your rig, so you can't throw it. I can't think of a reason someone would want to do this, but you can totally do it!
New Kit: Device Catapult
A torsion powered launcher, capable of launching sensors and other devices along with a sticky payload (a 'goo bomb' in the vernacular). In practice this allow Degraders to shoot their devices in a straight line and have them stick to surfaces without damage.
The Catapult takes up 1INV, can only fire devices of 1/3 INV size or smaller, and must fire them alongside a goo bomb (each of these is an additional 1/10 INV).
A sensor fired by the catapult functions as normal. If set to scan in a directional cone, that cone always points back toward the firer - this protects the instruments.
If you shoot another degrader with the device catapult, it does no damage but the target immediately makes a loud noise ping.
Ghoul Degraders
They do not exist! Degraders are people/cyborgs but they are not gross enough to set off particle sensors. Your Degrader can be hot if you wish it.
Drone Manipulators
A piloted drone has manipulators on it, and can do anything you can do with your hands. You still can't give the drone your Superlative weaponry, or expect it to fight with a combat knife (it can use the beretta just fine).
Camera Feed
Your rig can support live viewing of a single camera feed at a time while you go about your turn.
Movement, Throwing
A Degrader moves 30ft normally, 20ft sneakily, or 60ft at a sprint.
A Degrader can huck 1 INV worth of gear/explosives/whatever 30ft, and less than this 60ft, with good accuracy. You can't throw something that's bigger than 1 INV.
Explosives
Explosives are lethal when detonated, to a range of 50ft x INV slots worth of C4. They are dangerous at double this range (1 in 6 chance of death). Interposing cover downgrades both of these one 'step' - lethal to dangerous, dangerous to not dangerous. Degrader rigs are rated for shrapnel but you never want to be fucking around with explosives.
Explosives destroy terrain by the reasonable fiat of the DM. A Degrader setting off a planned demolition may ask for a breakdown of what they can expect it to accomplish.
Explosives held in the inventory of a Degrader hit by Superlative weaponry detonate immediately.
Sensor Upgrades
Sensors always start at 1/3 INV, and all upgrades (penetrating, cascading, better range, better power reqs) upgrade this INV cost, from 1/3 > 1 INV > 2 INV > 5 INV.
You can also lower this size by one by downgrading their power requirements one step: from light > standard, or from standard > heavy.
Frequencies
If you set it to a frequency, you rig will auto display all devices that are also on that frequency. A big deal if you discover a device with someone else's frequency, plug it in, and see that they are wearing 5 INV of explosives with detonators primed.
Team Deathmatch
NEW GAME MODE UNLOCKED. You win if your team are the last ones standing. You don't know who your teammates are and have no capacity to communicate with them, except for a single message that you can write at the start of play, which will be delivered to them by the DM before deployment.
Both teams have unique insignia on their rigs, and a new 'step' in the close combat altercation rules is introduced: 'check insignia'. If you take this step and the other Degrader does not, you lose automatically. If you both take it, you are both rewarded with knowledge of the insignia worn, and may assess your next actions accordingly.
Degraders can remove insignia, wear false insignia taken from enemy corpses, etc., at their discretion.
All Degraders can attach a single charm to their insignia on character creation, like a backpack charm. This has no effect on play, but will be noticed at the 'check insignia' step of a close combat altercation. It may also make your Degrader happy, or comfort them in the field :)
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| &c. It's a stressful job! |
Thoughts About Immersion
I was thinking last night about Sam's Cataphracts maxim: the immersion that comes from having the player's activity correspond very tightly to the character's actions. In Cataphracts this is writing missives - a military commander irl is mostly sending instructions out and waiting for reports to come back, and doing exactly this in a Cataphracts game means that those games have an absurdly high level of immersion in play, certainly higher than any other game I have ever been a part of.
I would like for degrader to feel similarly (sadly not possible to run in real time, which would lean into this) - since what you are mostly doing is interacting with UIs and the binary, on/off logics of sensor feedback, the very radically artificial medium of Discord PbP is actually formally appropriate to the fiction. That's the idea anyway; we'll see how it works in practice.
KIT LIST
By default you have:
- Your Rig, with a frequency rolled on a d1000.
- Your Superlative Rifle.
- Your beretta and combat knife.
- Wire snips for cutting wire to length.
- Leetl screwdrivers and other hand tools for wiring things in.
In addition:
Gear
- 100ft of power cable (1 INV)
- 100ft of data cable (1 INV)
- Device Catapult (1 INV)
- Goo Bomb (1/10 INV each)
- Plastic Explosives (in whatever quantity you wish. Maximum of 1 detonator per 1/3 INV of explosives)
- Mechanical Tripwires (max 20ft long, 1/3 INV each)
- Laser Tripwires (no maximum length, power reqs: low, 1/3rd INV each).
- Batteries (either 1/3 INV or 1 INV).
- Drone! Quadcopter that you can pilot by wire or radio. 2 INV, 1 of which is the Drone's INV to carry other kit.
- Flares: lots of light and heat. 1/3 INV each.
- Glowsticks: a little bit of light, no heat. 1/10 INV each.
- Smoke Grenades: release visibility occluding smoke in a large area (typically around 80ftx80ft). Smoke lasts 3 - 5 turns. 1/3 INV each.
- Console. Basically a relay, that can receive wired or radio data, and output it into wired or radio, on a different frequency if desired. Has a screen by default. 1/3 INV, power req: low.
- Traversal Gear. A catch all for kit that will make your navigation of the space easier. Examples might include rappelling or climbing gear, bolt cutters, crowbars, fire retardant or acid proof cloaks, etc. etc. By default takes 1 INV and gives you a specific situational advantage in the usual tactical infinity ways - the DM way specify that a particular thing takes more or less INV at their discretion. Feel free to pitch your DM if you have something specific in mind!
Sensors (all 1/3 INV without upgrades)
- Movement. By default: range 80ft (radial) 160ft (directional), power: standard, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading 20ft, range: +40ft, power: low, penetration: high.
- Heat. By default: range 80ft (radial) 160ft (directional), power: standard, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading 20ft, range: +40ft, power: low, penetration: high.
- Sound. By default: range 60ft (radial) 120ft (directional), power: standard, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +20ft, power: low, penetration: high.
- Electrics. By default: range 60ft (radial) 120ft (directional), power: standard, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +20ft, power: low, penetration: high.
- Heartbeat. By default: range 20ft (radial) 40ft (directional), power: high, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 10ft, range: +10ft, power: standard, penetration: high.
- Particle. By default: range 60ft (radial) 120ft (directional), power: high, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +20ft, power: standard, penetration: high.
Active Projectors (1/3 INV without upgrades, same upgrades available as scanners)
- Lidar. By default: range 60ft (radial) 120ft (directional), power: standard, penetration: N/A. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +10ft, power: low.
- Scrambler. By default: range 20ft (radial) 40ft (directional), power: high, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +10ft, power: standard, penetration: high.
- Jammer. By default: range 20ft (radial) 40ft (directional), power: high, penetration: low. Upgrades: cascading: 20ft, range: +10ft, power: standard, penetration: high.
- Camera. Special. Range: visual range, power: standard, penetration: N/A. Upgrades: power: low.
- Lighting. Special. Range: 30ft for low power, 60ft for standard power, 100ft for high power. Radial by default, but can be set to illuminate in a cone (no change to lighting power).
Spoofers (1/3 INV without upgrades. Upgrades step INV 'up' one level, downgrades 'down' one level, minimum 1/10 INV)
- Noise. By default: immobile, makes soft noise, power reqs: low. Upgrades: makes loud noise, mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio). Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting), power reqs: standard.
- Heat. By default: immobile, generates heat, power reqs: standard. Upgrades: mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio), power reqs low. Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting), power reqs: standard. You can also use flares.
- Movement. By default: immobile, but triggers movement sensors (lol), power reqs: low. Upgrades: mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio - note that all mobile objects will trigger movement sensors by default). Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting), power reqs: standard. .
- Electrics. immobile, spoofs electrics sensors, power reqs: low. Upgrades: mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio). Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting). Note that all sensors and other electrical devices will trigger electrics sensors by default, power reqs: standard.
- Heartbeat. By default: immobile, spoofs heartbeat sensors, power reqs: low. Upgrades; mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio). Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting), power reqs: standard.
- Particle. By default: immobile, spoofs particle sensors, power reqs: standard. Upgrades; mobile (set to move in a straight line, or pilot-able by wire or radio). Downgrades: mechanical (no power reqs, only functions for 3 turns after setting), power reqs: high.
