In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 2):

I said, there are no dumb questions!

Here ya go:

SAGE (Society of Aeronautic and Galactic Explorers)
• Founded in the wake of a planetwide population and resource crisis on Earth
• Mission: To explore and observe the solar system to ID colonization opportunities
• Helped develop the tech used to develop near-Earth settlements and colonies
• After Braeburn implemented the Archive, SAGE become more focused on experimental R&D
• SAGE is now headquartered on Venus, in a base suspended in its upper atmosphere
• SAGE's other static base is located on Ceres
• SAGE has a standing fleet of science vessels and paramilitary protectors
• SAGE does not like Braeburn, because the Archive made it too easy for their tech to get stolen/appropriated by other factions and governments
• SAGE is often at odds with ACE because they won't share their tech with profit-based organizations
• SAGE is often at odds with Braeburn because they won't upload their tech into the Archive
• SAGE is often at odds with the IDA because they won't share their military specs

IDA (Interplanetary Defense Agency)
• The UN's spacefaring peacekeeping force
• Mostly deals with antipiracy issues
• Keeps squabbles between ACE, SAGE, Braeburn, and others under control
• As a government agency, it has no specific ties of its own and its relationships are governed almost exclusively by the UN and its assorted defense/security contracts

Other major players in the solar system:

ACE (Ares Consolidated Enterprises)
• Headquartered on Deimos, this corporation controls 95% of mining and industry on Mars
• ACE is one of the wealthiest corporations in human-controlled space
• They are profit-driven above all else, using their superior resources to gain an edge over the competition

Braeburn
• Monolithic combination of Apple, Google, and Amazon
• Corporation is part telecom company, part online marketplace, and part software/hardware developer
• Developed and deployed The Archive, an algorithm that sifts through all of the scientific knowledge posted online to crowdsource new technologies and discoveries
• Provides global, free Wi-Fi to the entire inner solar system
• Performs contract work with various governments as military peacekeepers, scientific explorers, and similar roles through the use of sophisticated drones

Alliance of Sol
• Terrorist organization
• Believes the powers on Earth should hold no sway beyond its own atmosphere
• Believes humans should not be colonizing other planets, and that they are tarnishing the rich natural beauty that the Creator endowed the universe with by doing so
• Aggressively disrupts terraforming efforts designed to make other planets more Earth-like
• Participates in active piracy against pretty much anyone they encounter
• Most of the rank-and-file aren't true zealots to the cause; the organization is a magnet for all sorts of lawless types who aren't welcome elsewhere
• Known bases: None. (Though the PARTY now knows of one...)
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:38, Wed 01 June 2016.

Before we took off I said I loaded two milspec crates into the transport and cracked the third looking for high ordinance, did I find any?

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 5):

Crates 1 and 2 had guns and robot parts in them. Crate 3 contains random circuitry and a wireframe structure that looks like a riot shield without any sort of material between the frames where the "shield" ought to go. It looks more like a prop or child's toy than an armament.

It does have a nifty button on it, though.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:39, Thu 02 June 2016.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 6):

Push it!

In reply to Batallion (msg # 7):

Ok so we have some conflicting orders is our tour guide taking us to Mr. Mind control, where the Battlesuit is, or to the spankworx?

Also the current disposition is Billy and I are in the control room, Battalion is on the way and Xander is down the hall in the shower?

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 8):

I made up the spankworx, so if our tour guide is taking us there i'm a bit intrigued.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 9):

you made up the whoring level.  The guy mentioned the spankworx before calling me your daughter.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 10):

oh he did.  i'm still intrigued.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 11):

as am I...

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 12):

It is so hard to imagine that a remote station would have appropriate accommodations to handle its staff's inevitable urges?

Or hey, maybe he's just screwing with you.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 13):

So that is where hes taking the guys?  And the disposition of the party?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:13, Mon 20 June 2016.

We haven't ever explicitly defined Abraxas' size in game terms, but it's large. Much closer to a gundam than Iron Man.

I'll have to find a different way to the top floor, provided there's a large enough space. Alternatively, I could always just float outside the dude's office and threaten to vent his compartment to the vacuum with some strategically placed AP rounds.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Mon 20 June 2016.

In reply to Xander (msg # 15):

I figured when you took Viceroy in that we were definitely looking at something big.  Though Gundam is like office building size isn't it?  I though of it as being very small house as opposed to office building sized.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Mon 20 June 2016.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 16):

In D&D terms, I've always viewed the mech as "Huge" (between 16 and 32 feet tall, weighing between 2 and 16 tons, takes up 3x3 spaces on a grid). Think of a Starcraft Goliath next to a Marine. If that's not how you envisioned it, we can certainly discuss it!
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:43, Mon 20 June 2016.

Yeah, that's about right. Probably closer to the 32 foot side of things.

Gundams, in contrast, are about 60ish feet, depending. While that was originally the concept I had in mind for the mech, for purposes of practicality in a campaign where the rest of the party is human-sized, a mech that large wouldn't make sense.

In reply to Xander (msg # 18):

good to know.  I thought Abraxis was much smaller than that.

For the record some day I will ride on his shoulder.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 19):

How does stealth work when you are dealing with a mindless unit?

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 20):

What do you mean by "stealth"?

If you want to move silently or hide or something, they'd make their perception checks just like anyone else.

If you are trying to use illusions to create a stealthy environment, they will simply ignore such modifications.

Your phasing isn't an illusion though, it actually happens, so they remain affected.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 21):

I have a talent:



So this would just function as normal?

Also could you describe how opposed checks work?

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 22):

Ah yes. It's opposed by color, not number. So if you roll a yellow-intensity stealth check anyone trying to find you will need to make an equally good spot check (which is intuition-based, I believe).

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 23):

Right and since the J-9 units have no intuition then I autosucceed on a green?

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 24):

I assume they'd use some sort of... sensor package statistic?

In reply to Batallion (msg # 25):

NO! AUTOSUCCEED!

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 26):

Mindless things often have programs, sensors, or supernatural abilities that get them an effective related ability score for such things. They are not, in fact, blind. In the case of robots, cameras, and such, they're actually better than a human would be at such things most of the time.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 27):

so the tl;dr version is it might work but likely won't?