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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Last time on RT: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=255
part 7.5 Rogue Trader
Spoiler
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Week 1
Golden Goose has tailed the Rogue Trader to a Hive world where he proceeded to recruit some crew. The Dauntless is now at full strength but the Lunar is still short some people.
As he began to leave orbit with impulse drives, he received a message from the planet's astropathic choir coded with a one time pad. The Rogue Trader appeared to be able to read the message without reference to any pads at all. A mind scan indicated that he was decoding it in his head but the scan was too fragmented to decode the message. We did register anger and fear as a response however.
Week 2
The Rogue Trader has arrived at a nearby Farm world and has recruited enough crew to fully man his Lunar. Trading of various commodities appears to have drawn the attention of the inquisition, although he has so far remained ahead of any investigation simply by moving faster than them.
The Lunar has been refurbished to make more space for cargo, converting a few short range macrocannons to storage areas.
As he made a trading run to a mining world, picking up enough material to manufacture an asteroid mining platform, he was challenged by the orbital authorities under the command by the Inquistion. The investigation team ordered him to disengage his drive and allow them to board his ship to look for xenotech. The Rogue Trader barely managed to escape boarding by engaging his impulse drives and outrunning the Inquistion-commanded vessels with his hyperspace drive to give him a small boost (running at 10^-5 %)
The IoM has noticed that his ship's plasma plume did not match his observed acceleration and has taken it as evidence that his ship contains xenotech.
Inquisition is getting interested. This is roughly concurrent with the Culture starting to talk with the IoM, although they are nowhere near enough for the news to have reached here yet.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Interesting! I suppose its time for the RT to go to an independent shipyard.... ie, a pirate yard...
Also, the Necron post could use a bit more explanation regarding that 'hostile' trade. How they realized what was going on, how it was asked for, etc.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Interesting! I suppose its time for the RT to go to an independent shipyard.... ie, a pirate yard...
Also, the Necron post could use a bit more explanation regarding that 'hostile' trade. How they realized what was going on, how it was asked for, etc.
I'll try on the Necrons.
Do pirate yards even exist? Shipyards are kind of a big affair and would certainly require some extensive mining operations to support. Seems unlikely that the IoM wouldn't spot something like that and wouldn't get rid of it.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Do pirate yards even exist? Shipyards are kind of a big affair and would certainly require some extensive mining operations to support. Seems unlikely that the IoM wouldn't spot something like that and wouldn't get rid of it.
Yes they do. Generally hidden in asteroid fields, or out of the way systems, sometimes in even more out of the way places like warp storms.
The IoM has nowhere near enough resources or territorial control to find and destroy all pirate bases. Although doing so is definitely part of the duties of the Imperial Navy.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
Yes they do. Generally hidden in asteroid fields,
??? How does that even work?
You can't possibly hide something like a ship under construction. At least not from anything else in the same system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
or out of the way systems, sometimes in even more out of the way places like warp storms.
This makes more sense, but all it takes is one scout frigate to jump into the system and jump out before anyone else can catch it. (not difficult since they certainly can't picket an entire star system)
And if the warp storms prevent jumping, how did they get there in the first place? (or still get customers if they were there before the storm was)
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
You can't possibly hide something like a ship under construction. At least not from anything else in the same system.
Not in the same system as an Imperium planet, but just as an extra level of security over building a planetside base. Imperium scanners do have a hard time scanning asteroid fields.
I would say though, most Pirate shipyards will just be for refitting and fixing ships, rather than constructing them. Most pirate vessels will be looted, salvaged or turncloaks. The constructor ones...
Quote:
And if the warp storms prevent jumping, how did they get there in the first place? (or still get customers if they were there before the storm was)
Warp storms don't really have predictable effects. The biggest haven for pirates in the galaxy is the Maelstrom, a region of warp storms rivalled only by the Eye of Terror, but not quite so Chaos dominated. It's hard to get in to those areas, but the navigators and crew know the tricks and routes that will let them pass in and out *relatively* unharmed, while IN ships would get smashed by squalls.
It is in these almost unassailable fortresses that great pirate empires arise, in lawless regions outside Imperial justice. This kind of area is where vessels intended for Piracy are constructed and purpose built for the task.
Quote:
This makes more sense, but all it takes is one scout frigate to jump into the system and jump out before anyone else can catch it.
And then for a fleet of a dozen vessels to be dragged off from patrols and military work to scourge an area of space that is probably fortified, to attack an enemy who will probably have stripped their base bare and left before your fleet even arrives. If you get lucky and find the pirate fleet and they want to fight? Then they probably think they can win, and in attacking them in their home turf you run the risk of them capturing a dozen war ships to add to their fleet.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
part 7.5 Necrons - in detail
Spoiler
Show
Transcript of relevant Necron communications concerning the technology transfer: (relevant sections taken out of the more confusing and sometimes illogical context)
Week 1
N: "The Necrons note that the Culture has some desirable technology. "
C: "We are amenable to a technology trade if you so desire it. "
<<intermission for two days, the Culture becomes convinced through other means that talking of "trade" or any form of exchange appears to trigger a temporary bout of insanity>>
C: "Concerning our respective knowledge, we also note that the Necrons have some desirable technology. "
N (immediate reply): "The Necrons will not grant the Culture or anyone knowledge of Necron technology. "
C1 (internal communication from White Devil to Curiousity Saved the Cat) : "I believe they're trying to make friends. "
C2 (reply) : "What makes you think that?"
C1: "He just wants to trade without actually trading. "
C2: "Why don't you take over the negotiations?"
<<White Devil is now responsible for primary commuications concerning the potential technology trade>>
Week 2
C: "If the Necrons will not grant the Culture or anyone knowledge of Necron technology, then the Culture will not grant Necrons knowledge of Culture technology. Which you have noted is desirable. "
N: "There will be no discussion of this matter. "
C: "If the Culture were to attack and seize some technology..."
N: "Then we will attack the Culture as far as practical to get it back. "
<<White Devil notes that 'practical' appears to be roughly equivalent to 'not at all'>>
C: "If the Culture were to give the Necrons some-"
N: "The Necrons do not accept technology from other races. "
C: "If the Necrons were to attack the Culture and in the process capture some items of technological interest, would the Necrons-"
N: "The Necrons will claim ownership of any item left on a Tomb World. "
<<White Devil is now convinced that the Necrons are trying to ask for a technology trade>>
C: "We find that the Necrons have interesting knowledge of Warp effects and sub-atomic engineering. We are very interested in learning more about the Warp. "
Week 3
N: "The Necrons do not teach. We are researching a method to enhance or correct errors in inorganic intelligence. "
C: "What will the Necrons consider a ceasefire-breaking event?"
N: "A fusion-plasma reaction drive landing on a Tomb World would be considered a violation of our informal ceasefire. "
C: "What actions might the Necrons take against such a potential attack?"
N: "We will attempt to take control of the starship, no attacks against a Tomb World will be tolerated. "
<<The exchange is carried out>>
N: "The Culture's hostile actions against this Tomb World must stop. "
C: "We apologize for the independent action. We had a minor problem of an intelligence malfunction. The Culture emphasizes its peaceful relationship with the Necrons. "
N: "The Necrons regard the Culture as honourable enemies and will grant a temporary ceasefire. "
It also seems that I forgot about the history request. Will the Necrons talk about their past?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
The glory days of their empire are pretty much all they exist for, so I doubt they'd be unwilling - though the Lord would only be able to give personal accounts of the parts he was involved in. It, of course, would all be heavily slanted to paint the Eldar and their Old One masters in the worst possible light, the C'tan in a slightly less worse light, and the Necrontyr themselves as the best things ever...but I'll bet the Culture is used to filtering that sort of stuff out. Now, if a certain Trazyn the Infinite happened to pass by - maybe he intercepted/overheard the message sent out by the Tomb World and decided to come check for interesting treasures - he'd be able to give a much more complete version, and probably a lot more neutral one, if he had incentive to do so.
In the scope of the 40K universe, the Necrons are the 'Back In My Day' old man, crossed with the 'You Kids Get Off My Lawn' old man, dual-wielding antimatter disintegrator rifles and with a real bad temper.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
I'll try on the Necrons.
Do pirate yards even exist? Shipyards are kind of a big affair and would certainly require some extensive mining operations to support. Seems unlikely that the IoM wouldn't spot something like that and wouldn't get rid of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
??? How does that even work?
You can't possibly hide something like a ship under construction. At least not from anything else in the same system.
This makes more sense, but all it takes is one scout frigate to jump into the system and jump out before anyone else can catch it. (not difficult since they certainly can't picket an entire star system)
Hey there. Quit. You're thinking realistically. You're thinking that asteroid belts are really non-dense, and that any ship can just come in to a system, do a visual scan of the place, and have a good idea of anything big or hot or whatever, and then leave... and that stealth doesn't work in space.
This is a realistic view of things.
It also isn't how this setting works. Have you played Wing Commander? Or most any of the 'ships in space' science fiction games? Homeword, Nexus, Privateer, Freelancer, Freespace, various Star Wars games, etc.? Where Asteroid Belts are really really dense, and huuuuuge pirate bases can most DEFINITELY hide in asteroid belts (as long as they are built out of the rocks themselves? And that space sensors are REALLY short range and tend to kind of suck? And you have to actually send craft into a pirate owned asteroid field, and they have to get REALLY CLOSE to the base, scan it, and have them get out alive, and then back to a place where they can jump out for them to successfully have intel on the base? Yea, it's like that.
So, yes, it's plausible to consider that everyone in the setting has sensors worse than late 20th century telescopes plugged into late 20th century computers, doing visual and infrared scans of the area around them... however you want to make that out, I suppose. Anyone want to take a shot at why this is?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
*claps*
That is generally the best way to get 40k people to work with you, by making them think that they're pulling one over on you.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fan
*claps*
That is generally the best way to get 40k people to work with you, by making them think that they're pulling one over on you.
I don't understand. What is this in reply to?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
I don't understand. What is this in reply to?
I believe that's a reply to the Necron bit...
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
part 7.5 Rogue Trader
Spoiler
Show
The Rogue Trader has arrived at a pirate shipyard after escaping from the Inquisition. He seems to be rather discouraged at the Inquisition's chase of his ship.
Repairs and recruitment of pirate crew are underway. He has agreed to provide equipment, primarily military in nature, in exchange for the payment for repairs and wages of his crew.
Week 3
The Rogue Trader has completed repairs and has recruited excess crew on both ship and is jumping to an uninhabited system in order to set up an independent mining operation using the nanobots and the plans for an asteroid miner. He intends to use the excess crew to run the miner to feed the nanobot construction.
Of note is an astropathic message he sent from his ship while in transit. The message also uses a one-time pad encoding that he performed from memory and so is undecipherable. Nevertheless, we suspect it is related to the first message he received.
The string is attached, request for all Culture vessels to monitor astropathic choirs for the outgoing string.
Rogue Trader - Decoded Messages (note that one-time pads are of fixed length, in this case, 180 characters not including message headers)
Incoming: INQUISITION SUSPECTS XENOTECH USE, AVOID INVESTIGATION AT ALL COSTS. DETAILS ON XENOTECH DESIRED AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA
Outgoing: INVESTIGATION AVOIDED. INQUISITION ON TAIL, WILL TURN PIRATE UNDERCOVER. DETAILS TOO LONG TO NOTE, OF IMMENSE IMPORTANCE. REQUEST ASSISTANCE AAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA AAAAA
Decoded messages provided for your viewing, the Culture does not know of these. The outgoing message hasn't arrived yet.
The message channel consists of multiple backup safeties, including using a circuitous routing of the Astropathic choirs that spans a good portion of the galaxy (each endpoint decodes the transmission header to find the next endpoint, similar to bouncing messages through proxies in RL internet; and 'trusted' endpoints are used).
The final astropathic choir is on a self-sufficient mini-space station in interstellar space. Incoming messages, aka. the message the RT sends, will be moved by warp to a specific deaddrop location in interstellar space (the message capsule is cooled to microwave background before being released and made from radar absorbent material. It's essentially invisible unless you know exactly where to use a Lidar pulse to find a strangely large object for interstellar space)
Then a 'message received' astropathic signal (also in code, something like 'AAA') sent to the actual receiver who then goes and gets it.
The final astropathic choir is a handpicked choir that is known for total loyalty, and still that choir is the weakest link in the chain. Everyone else only knows exactly one piece of information. But these guys know two, the existence of high security messages and which choir they need to send a simple three letter code to when they pick something up.
Obviously, the one-time pads don't exist anymore except in the heads of the two communicating people. Not to mention, 'chaff' messages are also mixed into the chain where various astropathic choirs just send random strings at random times of the same length as each one time pad around random endpoints in a similar bouncing pattern.
All in all, they can't send long messages and it does take a week for it to travel one way, but this is about the most secure method for making messages untraceable by just about anyone. Including the Culture or any other curious inquisitors.
*rolls dice* hmm, interesting.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
How is the Culture intercepting Astropath messages again?
Also reading Psyker minds could actually be pretty dangerous. Strong Psykers essentially are 'seeing' the warp constantly which can be corrupting to an unitiated mind. (One of the reasons that practically every unsanctioned and untrainged psyker in the Imperium ends up serving Chaos.)
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Just physically listening in to the choir itself, as I understand. So when the choir are given instructions, they pick up the message then, but once the message is away, it's all mind-to-mind so they're unlikely to pick anything up on the relays.
Least, as I recall.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Also... astropathic messages aren't like that. They are more in symbols and analogy. Symbols from, you know... blind psychic seers. Every sort of 'vision' you would think a blind psychic seer would have, that is how astropath chiors communicate. Things like a throne of fire, five black spheres floating in the void, a hand clutching a sword, blade first and bloody, etc. etc.
Though some short range messages are actual words and concepts and stuff...
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Tiki snakes: yeah, they just physically bug the choir. So the Culture gets messages as they enter the chain and when they leave, but not anywhere else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Also... astropathic messages aren't like that. They are more in symbols and analogy. Symbols from, you know... blind psychic seers. Every sort of 'vision' you would think a blind psychic seer would have, that is how astropath chiors communicate. Things like a throne of fire, five black spheres floating in the void, a hand clutching a sword, blade first and bloody, etc. etc.
Though some short range messages are actual words and concepts and stuff...
You can use that to form an alphabet. >.> Come on, it's basic encoding.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
You can use that to form an alphabet. >.> Come on, it's basic encoding.
Well, possibly. But I thought the whole idea was that they were, as you said, just bugging them?
The culture don't have any meaningful way of intercepting the encoded images anyway, so it's kind of a moot point.
(If they tried reading their minds, they'd presumably get the un-encoded version anyway, if warp related hilarity didn't ensue instead. Which it very much is likely to).
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Well Astropaths do also use encoding and cryptography and such... but for long distance messages, you generally get very very few images to send (maybe under 10?), so it has do be done via emotions and images that the lead astropath manages to interpret, via experience, into some sort of coherent message.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Well Astropaths do also use encoding and cryptography and such... but for long distance messages, you generally get very very few images to send (maybe under 10?), so it has do be done via emotions and images that the lead astropath manages to interpret, via experience, into some sort of coherent message.
This is an astropathic chain in a well-inhabited area of the galaxy though. There aren't any really long distance messages that don't go through a relay.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
This is an astropathic chain in a well-inhabited area of the galaxy though. There aren't any really long distance messages that don't go through a relay.
As long as it gets more difficult out in the boonies... It shouldn't be impossible, of course, even out at the recently inhabited areas, to bug a choir, but the images they get should be prone to being misinterpreted by any involved--including the astropaths themselves. Still, the images are types that are made for the human mind to interpret, so there is that...
And if they bug an astropath as they report the message to others, they will get the difference between what they say they see when interacting with the choir, and what they report...
Also, not all of the bugged choirs are near the center of the Imperium, right?? Some of the stuff the Culture is doing is towards the edge?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Also, not all of the bugged choirs are near the center of the Imperium, right?? Some of the stuff the Culture is doing is towards the edge?
They came in from the western edge, so there's those as well. I guess the Culture will have noticed the fact that some messages don't match the sending. Nevertheless, if you use an alphabet, you can include error correction.
Astropathic choir Elipson-Delta-Niner sends *image representing CRC-error* three times in a row.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I think you're getting into the trap of taking the Imperium's capabilities and applying them on an out-of-universe level of efficiency again...the Imperium could develop a standardized image-code that translates to alphabetic codes, but they don't do it that way. Prophetic visual imagery works where actual coded messages don't, so why force one to behave like the other?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The Glyphstone
I think you're getting into the trap of taking the Imperium's capabilities and applying them on an out-of-universe level of efficiency again...the Imperium could develop a standardized image-code that translates to alphabetic codes, but they don't do it that way. Prophetic visual imagery works where actual coded messages don't, so why force one to behave like the other?
Agreed. Getting the most message into the fewest number of images possible is vitally important because sending and receiving messages is stressful and dangerous. Astropaths are doing psyker stuff, anyone that gives them less psyker stuff to do, is highly encouraged! And there's also the fact that the message you send isn't always what is received (at least in the same method) -- this is going through the Warp. The Warp changes things, you know? Also, there is the fact that The Warp works best in sending messages via 'prophetic vision' sort of things in general...
What I am trying to say is, sometimes you can brute force a way of sending actual letters and words, but not always...
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Agreed. Getting the most message into the fewest number of images possible is vitally important because sending and receiving messages is stressful and dangerous. Astropaths are doing psyker stuff, anyone that gives them less psyker stuff to do, is highly encouraged! And there's also the fact that the message you send isn't always what is received (at least in the same method) -- this is going through the Warp. The Warp changes things, you know? Also, there is the fact that The Warp works best in sending messages via 'prophetic vision' sort of things in general...
What I am trying to say is, sometimes you can brute force a way of sending actual letters and words, but not always...
Right I remember in an Inquisitor book one of the Inquisitors was constantly picking up new Astropaths because he was sending so many messages and burning through them so fast.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Yea, sending messages via astropath is mentally, physically, and psychically draining. Adding error checking or sending a message in triplicate?? Eek... only for the REALLY important ones...
Also, if they push themselves, then there's a bigger chance of a daemon coming through or people's heads popping...
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
If astropathic choirs cannot send condensed information then how do they do things like coordinate galaxy-wide information/commands? Symbolic images, no matter how significant, cannot transmit information accurately and its not a complete language. Accuracy and completeness are both required to use them for command and control.
It also means that astropathic choirs become a very insecure form of communication since you have to transmit in the clear instead of in code.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
If astropathic choirs cannot send condensed information then how do they do things like coordinate galaxy-wide information/commands? Symbolic images, no matter how significant, cannot transmit information accurately and its not a complete language. Accuracy and completeness are both required to use them for command and control.
It also means that astropathic choirs become a very insecure form of communication since you have to transmit in the clear instead of in code.
Except no one can intercept the transmissions except for other astropaths. They're not screaming into psychic radios for any and all to hear -an Eldar Farseer standing in the room next door to a transmitting Astropath won't even know a message is going out, let along what it contains. Basically, you have to be an Astropath to 'hear' an Astropath, as part of the soul-sealing that creates them.
As for the symbols - it's not a pictographic language, it's omen and imagery...you can draw more from prophetic images when they're transmitted psychically and you're also psychic, the exact methods aren't really laid out. Either way, it's something the Imperium manages, however nonsensical it would 'logically' be, because Warp and Psykers.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
This is one of the crosses you have to bear for a crossover like this. The Culture is relatively hard Sci-Fi series with a single author who worked very hard to make things internally consistent. Warhammer 40k is Space Opera/Fantasy with dozens if not hundreds writers working on the fluff that was ultimately secondary to playing the wargame itself. If you give the logistics of the setting anything resembling a hard look it will completely fall apart into total nonsense.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I would say, if you want to get it to work...
Come up with some plausible situation where they can transmit actual words, and some situation where they HAVE to use prophetic imagery.
Make the transmitting words and messages something that only happens after the Imperium have really, really consolidated an area heavily, and have a reserve of astropath choirs.
Make the imagery sort of thing, something that happens for worlds that aren't really consolidated that well, or when there are few astropath choirs and not many relays, and they are spread out more, or when one astropath sends a message without a choir, or something like that.
And Astropaths are able to interpret these images accurately. That's their job! They are very, very competent at that... it's a language that isn't in words, it's a language that is in image and metaphor.. barely a language at all, and more just a mind to mind communication... you know... telepathy. Just think of it that, due to a combination of aptitude, training, connection to the thought-space of the warp, experience, and pattern recognition, and the warp partially transmitting intent/emotions (even if the images change), these people are able to make sense of the messages coming from the warp.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
If astropathic choirs cannot send condensed information then how do they do things like coordinate galaxy-wide information/commands? .... Accuracy and completeness are both required to use them for command and control.
Why are you assuming that the Imperium has anything even resembling galaxy-wide coordination or a functioning modern economy and command and control structure or or anything at all like that?
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?...5#post14580215
Might wanna read that... remember, the Imperium is, in a very profound way, Feudal. IE, oriented to local control, where small groups have particular obligations that go upwards (tax, materiel, soldiers, tithes, food, etc.), and there isn't really much coordination on a large scale... a Great Crusade is a really really big deal, and involves all the astropaths in an area pretty much shouting to spread the word of a Crusade, and the whole 'meet here where the crusade gathers' sort of thing (which can definitely get through), and then the thing takes off to go kick ass via massive scale of whatever they happened to put together. It mostly holds together via, well. Inertia.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The Glyphstone
Except no one can intercept the transmissions except for other astropaths.
They become insecure because the astropaths have to understand your message to send it. The Astropaths become a point of weakness and subject to being a spy, man-in-the-middle attacks (performed by a rogue astropath or even the guy who makes the printer work) and various other shenanigans (including things like bugging the choir itself so when they read your instructions, the spies get it too)
Sure, there's security for that. But there's security and then there's Security. The first type stops casually interested people, rogue elements and perhaps even governments. The second type is for when you can't trust anyone but yourself and maybe a few close friends.
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But ok, I have been assuming that the IoM is actually... you know, competent at doing things. But its looking more and more like the IoM isn't actually going to be one monolithic entity, but really more like a heirarchy of factions each with sub-factions, each with mini-star kingdoms and so on downwards.
I wasn't quite sure what to believe when I read the entry for Hive World on the Lexicanum. But if that page is a model for how the IoM works, you could literally just break away a few systems and it might be months before anyone in a major seat of power even notices. More if you choose a Feral or Feudal world.
Spoiler
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Interestingly, based on the highest numbers given for Hive worlds, half a trillion people would require massive amounts of food and water, which is noted to be basically all imported. Assuming each person requires half a kilogram of food and half a kilo of water a day (pretty low actually but conditions were described to be slum-like), that's half a trillion kilograms of imported material every single day. A quarter if the water is recycled.
Where does all that mass go? You could literally build entire islands out of food. Or excrement.
Hell, even the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled (the mass for which comes from offworld) by the population would rival the entire of RL earth's CO2 pollution! Which we are meeting global warming problems with already!
And what of their manufacturing pollution?! A 500 trillion population hive world would need active terraforming to avoid destabilizing the atmospheric composition!
For goodness sakes, the amount of productivity gain from having a few more hands probably less than the problems with crime, living requirements and environmental impact. The IoM could take a lance strike to a Hive world and it'll probably run better afterwards!
With the Imperium's inclination to intrusive population policy, why not institute compulsory birth control?
How is it even imported? Assuming a freighter hauls about a million tons, that's 250 frieghters... a day. With a round trip time of say twenty days, that's ten thousand freighters just to satisfy the food import requirements of a hive world. Do they even have ten thousand frieghters?
Ok, I shall now stop talking about logistics. Feel free not to reply.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I wonder how I am going to use all of this mess though. The Culture operates on the level of the society, which in 40k has amazingly little description. And quite a few holes.
By description, I don't mean things like who worships what or what the emperor did at year 30XX or various bits of rather worthless fluff. There is frustratingly little detail on how the Imperium works, how it applies laws, how it does internal communication. (or for that matter, any other race, except the Tyranids and Orks because they don't have anything)
Someone ought to make a WH40K 4x game.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
As a note, that is entirely how a Hive world actually is.
They eat recycled waste repurposed to have actual nutrients and nothing more, drink recycled water from waste, and the air they breathe is so toxic that even with 40k grade medical advancements the average worker only lives to 35-40, and even then they spend their lives wearing filtration masks.
The world is barren and dead, the seas are boiled for the sake of establishing the industrial base and put into recycling filters that damn them to eternal re-usage.
Hell, in 40k the advertisement of "Real animal proteins" is enough for food to be considered high class on ANY world, Grox steaks are considered a luxury only planetary governors, and Inquisitors have access to.
40k is not a nice place, for anyone.
Laws are enforced by Adeptus Arbites who use chemical sprayers to encase people in concrete non lethally for lesser crimes, whereas on Hiveworlds like Necromunda (A book I would suggest you read to get access to the dirtiest and worst of Hive world life.), the Adeptus Arbites shoot criminals on sight, and Chaos is vigorously hunted at all turns, though it often has holds on most, if not all, hiveworlds even if in small amounts.
As for a 40k 4x game, yes, I would love that.. so.. so much.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Hmm, that does explain why a mere handful of ships is considered a 'battlefleet'. (any space 4x game would scoff at a 'fleet' of a mere 20 ships)
They need to make lots of freighters. And then their production base isn't good at all and coordination is bad. Shortage of vital parts or materials holds up construction, as well as corruption, crime and just plain inefficiency.
And then the frieghter captains are formed by random current crew of a freighter who have earned enough to collectively make a deposit for a loan to buy a new freighter and strike out on their own. So there aren't shipping corporations per se, just a large number of freighter collectives, maybe headed by a Rogue Trader or noble (who hands down shipping contracts to trusted captains who then sub-contract out to other less well known freighter collectives who then divide it amongst themselves; feudal style and incredibly inefficient).
Which brings me to an idea that the Rogue Trader really ought to buy frieghters. Me thinks that would be rather easier to get and would move much much more mass than a converted Lunar or other warship. With the hyperspace drive, he doesn't need to worry about them being ambushed, and besides, he does have two converted warships now.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Hell, in 40k the advertisement of "Real animal proteins" is enough for food to be considered high class on ANY world, Grox steaks are considered a luxury only planetary governors, and Inquisitors have access to.
That's a little too dire. Maybe on a Hive World, but I would still say anyone middle class and up will have access to real food and a slightly higher quality of life. It might be true on a world which has been cut off from supplies.
And certainly "Real animal proteins" is not going to carry much cachet on an agriworld or a civilized world, where food is not a scarce resource.
There really are massive food convoys going around the Imperium all the time. The great Charter Fleets make up the majority of the void ships of the Imperium, with thousands of vessels going along well mapped routes that have been in use for millenia, carrying all the wealth of the Imperium from planet to planet. There are trillions of humans in 40k who will be born, live and die entirely within the confines of these great fleets, without ever touching down on a planet.
The most common cheapest food available is a thing called "Corpse Starch", which is recyced from dead flesh, and only eaten by the desperately needy . Vat grown food will priovide the majority of sustenance for those on a Hive, with imports also taking up a substantial chunk.
The main instruments of governmental cohesion for the Imperium are the Administratum, who will be tasked with extracting the Imperial Tithe from every planet, and the Adeptus Arbites, who will have a physical presence on every planet and are in charge of enforcing loyalty. Planetary Governors will be chosen with the consent of those two factions for their abilities to enforce loyalty and deliver tithes. Beyond that, they have almost free reign. The major instruments of social cohesion are the Ecclesiarchy and interstellar trade routes.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
The main instruments of governmental cohesion for the Imperium are the Administratum, who will be tasked with extracting the Imperial Tithe from every planet,
And what do they do with the Tithe? They can't be shipping it all to Earth right? That would insanity levels of inefficiency.
It was said the Tithe takes the form of material goods but that's also problematic. Where does it go? You take 20% of an agriworld's output and do what with it? Sell it? May as well tithe in credits.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
And what do they do with the Tithe? They can't be shipping it all to Earth right? That would insanity levels of inefficiency.
Generally, you ship it to a planet that needs it, then eventually it gets fed into the meat grinder of war.
So, for example, tools from a civilized world go to an agriworld, then food from an agriworld goes to a hive world, then soldiers from a hive world die fighting Tyranids.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
That's a little too dire. Maybe on a Hive World, but I would still say anyone middle class and up will have access to real food and a slightly higher quality of life. It might be true on a world which has been cut off from supplies.
And certainly "Real animal proteins" is not going to carry much cachet on an agriworld or a civilized world, where food is not a scarce resource.
There really are massive food convoys going around the Imperium all the time. The great Charter Fleets make up the majority of the void ships of the Imperium, with thousands of vessels going along well mapped routes that have been in use for millenia, carrying all the wealth of the Imperium from planet to planet. There are trillions of humans in 40k who will be born, live and die entirely within the confines of these great fleets, without ever touching down on a planet.
The most common cheapest food available is a thing called "Corpse Starch", which is recyced from dead flesh, and only eaten by the desperately needy . Vat grown food will priovide the majority of sustenance for those on a Hive, with imports also taking up a substantial chunk.
The main instruments of governmental cohesion for the Imperium are the Administratum, who will be tasked with extracting the Imperial Tithe from every planet, and the Adeptus Arbites, who will have a physical presence on every planet and are in charge of enforcing loyalty. Planetary Governors will be chosen with the consent of those two factions for their abilities to enforce loyalty and deliver tithes. Beyond that, they have almost free reign. The major instruments of social cohesion are the Ecclesiarchy and interstellar trade routes.
It was a pretty specific point in Ciaphas Cain, and The Inquistion War novels to mention how much of a luxury it was, and when Cain touched down on one of the Hive Worlds there were advert drones buzzing about advertising the higher quality of food with real animal protein, and even Cain found it a doubtful proposition given the rarity of such stock on a hive world.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fan
It was a pretty specific point in Ciaphas Cain, and The Inquistion War novels to mention how much of a luxury it was, and when Cain touched down on one of the Hive Worlds there were advert drones buzzing about advertising the higher quality of food with real animal protein, and even Cain found it a doubtful proposition given the rarity of such stock on a hive world.
But.. that's basically exactly what I'm saying? That you're talking about Hive Worlds rather than all worlds. Further, you're talking about a Hive World in the middle of a war, where food is particularly scarce.
I definitely don't remember anybody saying that the only person who could ever get real meat is a planetary governor. Hive worlds definitely import a hell of a lot of real food to supplement their stocks.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Agri worlds will most definitely have an excess of food, that being the sole purpose for which the planet was shaped to provide.
As for the real meat being a rarity afforded to only the higher ups, I'm pretty confident that even IG field rations don't contain any real meat, in the "Gaunt's Ghost's" novel, Gaunt notes that when he gives his rations to his page boy that the quality level is such a gap that it's likely the first "Real" food the boy's had in a long time, implying at least that most of what is given to the majority of people is synth diet.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I think I remember the Cain books mentioning that the Imperial Guard has some mostly tasteless standard rations that they refer to as "corpse starch."
Not sure if that's relevant.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Also, reading the "Fallen Angels" novel it does remind me that the Primarch of the First Legion is still alive. The Lion is very much alive in a secret chamber on "The Rock", mayhaps the Culture finds him, and through an SC agent uses him as an envoy of the good the culture can bring?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I see where you're coming from, Fan, but that sounds like it's more of a problem with Imperial Guard rations than a blanket statement regarding all food in the entire Imperium.
After all, the whole point is that the Imperium ISN'T a monolithic entity. It has a couple of universal institutions and some pretty strict rules, but for a large part does leave the individual worlds and mini-empires under it's rule to their own business. That side of the Imperium isn't often explored, admittedly, but that's more a facet of the primary window on the setting being the tabletop war games than anything.
I mean, look at how different the culture and aesthetics of certain Imperial Guard regiments are, even. That's a pretty useful indicator, even if it's likely to be the low-water-mark, due to them all belonging to the same institution which will impose it's own homogenising rules to a degree.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
They become insecure because the astropaths have to understand your message to send it.
Again, only for some types of messages. Not everything is sent by visions; some is often sent in code as words.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
But ok, I have been assuming that the IoM is actually... you know, competent at doing things. But its looking more and more like the IoM isn't actually going to be one monolithic entity, but really more like a heirarchy of factions each with sub-factions, each with mini-star kingdoms and so on downwards.
You're finally getting it! The IoM is just more competent than basically anyone else. THAT'S why it works...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
But if that page is a model for how the IoM works, you could literally just break away a few systems and it might be months before anyone in a major seat of power even notices. More if you choose a Feral or Feudal world.
Correct. The Imperium moves at a snail's pace, as far as Empire-level issues are concerned!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
Do they even have ten thousand frieghters?
Chartist Captains with huge freighters make up the largest amount of warp-capable ships in the imperium... which makes sense, actually...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
The Culture operates on the level of the society, which in 40k has amazingly little description. And quite a few holes. ... There is frustratingly little detail on how the Imperium works, how it applies laws, how it does internal communication. (or for that matter, any other race, except the Tyranids and Orks because they don't have anything)
That's because these things vary immensely, and it ISN'T generally an organization on that scale. There are specific government organizations (Administratum, Inquisition, Arbites, etc.) that function on that level... but by and large, most of that stuff is left to local control.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
They need to make lots of freighters. And then their production base isn't good at all and coordination is bad. Shortage of vital parts or materials holds up construction, as well as corruption, crime and just plain inefficiency.
....
Which brings me to an idea that the Rogue Trader really ought to buy frieghters. ... With the hyperspace drive, he doesn't need to worry about them being ambushed, and besides, he does have two converted warships now.
Rogue Traders generally don't buy freighters -- even when they could, and they could maybe make money with less risk doing so -- because of social pressures. They are Rogue Traders, their jobs are to become filthy rich having incredible adventures and to own their own planets and to set down NEW shipping routes and make NEW mining operations and such... not to ply the same trade route over and over again like some Chartist Captain! Look up "Jonquin Saul". This Rogue Trader, shown as an example possible ally/enemy Rogue Trader in the roleplaying games, is held up as an exception, because he is running his dynasty much like a mercantile empire, and acting in many ways like a common Free Trader or Chartist Captain -- which is really odd, cause he is a *Rogue Trader*. While the other ones could do that, they generally don't, preferring to conquer places or set up new operations or to run non-mundane goods, or run slave trade operations, or this or that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Selrahc
Generally, you ship it to a planet that needs it, then eventually it gets fed into the meat grinder of war.
So, for example, tools from a civilized world go to an agriworld, then food from an agriworld goes to a hive world, then soldiers from a hive world die fighting Tyranids.
Agreed.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tiki Snakes
I see where you're coming from, Fan, but that sounds like it's more of a problem with Imperial Guard rations than a blanket statement regarding all food in the entire Imperium.
After all, the whole point is that the Imperium ISN'T a monolithic entity. It has a couple of universal institutions and some pretty strict rules, but for a large part does leave the individual worlds and mini-empires under it's rule to their own business. That side of the Imperium isn't often explored, admittedly, but that's more a facet of the primary window on the setting being the tabletop war games than anything.
I mean, look at how different the culture and aesthetics of certain Imperial Guard regiments are, even. That's a pretty useful indicator, even if it's likely to be the low-water-mark, due to them all belonging to the same institution which will impose it's own homogenising rules to a degree.
Well again, from everything I've seen anything that isn't an Agri World where it is directly, and presently, available. Real food is.. difficult to obtain. I'll give you that the IG rank and file have it worse than most due to the nature of the Imperium, but you can't really place Joe Schmoe too high up the ladder.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Some Librarians are also Astrotelepaths. I don't know if non-Astartes psykers are ever also capable of astro-scale telepathy...
Also, there are some psykers that can navigate in the warp. This requires a Psyker who also does some Sorcery and to consort with Daemons for this faculty, however.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
Some Librarians are also Astrotelepaths. I don't know if non-Astartes psykers are ever also capable of astro-scale telepathy...
Also, there are some psykers that can navigate in the warp. This requires a Psyker who also does some Sorcery and to consort with Daemons for this faculty, however.
Astropaths are not just Psykers who can communicate over interstellar distances; they are members of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica who have been found, trained, sent to Holy Terra and Soul-Bound to the God Emperor himself and then sent out again to the edges of the Imperium.
Similarly, Navigators are not just Psykers who can ply the Warp and guide ships through, they are a special breed of Psyker mutants whose Third Eyes allow them to scan the Warp for the fading signal of the Astronomicon and drive safe courses by it's divine light.
It's like the difference between otters using rocks to break open clams and humans making rockets to go to the moon; they exist on the same continuum of ability, but the scale and nature of what they can achieve is worlds apart (I love space puns).
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
The thing is, Librarians are specifically mentioned as being capable of astro-telepathy, though. I think that might be shorter range than a full-capability Astropath, maybe...
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
part 7.5 Rogue Trader - finale
Spoiler
Show
The Rogue Trader has completed the asteroid mining platform in a surprisingly short amount of time. Surprising to everyone involved, although for different reasons. We are surprised because we did not expect him to employ the full productive power of the nanobots so quickly, and he (and his crew) were surprised at the large display of the power of exponentially increasing production power.
Of course, anyone who is familiar with even the theoretical properties of Von Neumann replicators would not be overly surprised at a hundred kilograms of nanobots building an asteroid mining platform a million times their own weight (~100 ktons) in roughly two days. And despite the already demonstrated production power in building assorted equipment, this demonstration in large scale seemed to enlighten them to the sheer amount of power the nanobots wield.
Which is good, since we certainly wish that he exploit them against Chaos. And that he (and the crew in the know) now understand exactly why it would be deadly to the Imperium if they leaked the technology to Chaos. We note that he is still loyal to the Imperium's government and we expect that this alignment of interests should spur additional safeguards on the nanobots that has not been present so far.
Shortly after that, his astropath picked up a message for him that meant roughly "ready" followed by a location in interstellar space. We followed his Dauntless to the nearby location, where we (and the Rogue Trader) detected a small canister containing a digital message.
Our IoM starship records were referenced but no detection of this message canister was registered, nevertheless, this is not surprising as our coverage of IoM ships is still patchy.
The message appears to be a cryptographically secure message coded with a one time pad. The Rogue Trader appeared to be able to read it from memory. Some amount of anger and fear was registered in his emotional state but we were unable to decipher the message from shallow scans which was all that we could risk doing when his psyker was around to detect deeper intrusions into anyone's mindstate.
Given the clarified astropathic capabilities, I am retconning the messages the rogue trader sent and received. There is no way he could receive the messages without someone else (namely astropaths) from knowing the contents so the sender (his ordo xenos contact) would never have sent it. So here's a different way, that will take much longer round trip time, so he only receives the message now.
And when he sends the reply, the Culture will be able to follow it to the recepient.
RE buying freighters:
The idea here is not that he is using the freighters to ply trade routes but that he can use their massively larger cargo space to carry materials for the nanobots' construction. A few freighters and he could quite easily haul enough material to duplicate a freighter or other ship.
Also, will someone name him?
Come on, you know you like him and you also know that named characters are far far less likely to die. >.>
And now that he knows how dangerous the nanobots are if they fall into Chaos hands (just one canister ending up in Chaos would spell a major disaster for the IoM), what sort of precautions is he likely to take?
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
RE buying freighters:
The idea here is not that he is using the freighters to ply trade routes but that he can use their massively larger cargo space to carry materials for the nanobots' construction. A few freighters and he could quite easily haul enough material to duplicate a freighter or other ship.
Well, if I were him, I would go for Carrack-class armed freighters rather than Vagabond-class Freighters. Carrack-class is a new class of ship, intended to be a freighter with enough armor and weaponry to defend itself against light raiders. It sits in some of the same conceptual space of the huge 'Star Galleons' of yore, which are basically ideal ships for a Rogue Trader in general. It is, of course, significantly smaller than those Star Galleons, where the capability to make those has been lost. Back to the Carrack, compared to the Vagabond, it has roughly the same cargo space, slightly more durability, more weapons capability, at the cost of being marginally more costly and having slightly less component space. Ideally, he'd want something a little bit more speedy and maneuverable though... but there aren't stats for that from the Rogue Trader RPG!
You would have to homebrew such a ship... Here's a modified quote I made about homebrewing a ship to sit in that conceptual space, for another forum:
"The Carrack, the Orion, and the Exchequer. These are great merchant ships. They all have a 25-ship point cost (well, deriving the stats of the Exchequer, it's halfway between the other two, and should probably be 25-points…), compared to the Vagabond's 20, all have a full cargo hold, and are thus merchant ships. Even if you have to homebrew a 'less awesome than the customized Exchequer, of which there are only supposed to be, like, 2' ship to sit between the Carrack and Orion, it is still a great ship for a Merchant... and it is something that could supposedly exist, somewhere. It might even be for sale! Such a ship would be significantly better in general than a Vagabond... albeit more pricey. Cause, ew. Vagabond! If there was ever a ship that you don't want to get anywhere near a fight, it's a Vagabond!
(Homebrew) Swiftwind Merchant Trader
Type: Transport
Dimensions: 2.5km long, .5 km abeam approx.
Crew: 21,000 crew approx.
Speed: 6, Manoeuvrability: +15, Detection: +10
Armour: 1, Hull Integrity: 38
Turret Rating: 1, Component Space: 38
Weapon Capacity: Dorsal 1, Keel 1
Cargo Hauler (1)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
Also, will someone name him?
Come on, you know you like him and you also know that named characters are far far less likely to die. >.>
Uhhh... I'm bad with names. Can someone else do this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
And now that he knows how dangerous the nanobots are if they fall into Chaos hands (just one canister ending up in Chaos would spell a major disaster for the IoM), what sort of precautions is he likely to take?
Weelll... I don't know, but it would probably be quite a destructive failsafe, and involve promethium and melta canisters, and other such bomb things. And maybe a bunch of microwave 'flamers', to boot.
As far as preventing people from getting ahold of them... that's a bit tougher. He's going to need some kind of scanner that can scan for them, of course. And some major anti-contraband tech and procedure, and only having the nanobots in particular areas, and a lot of social control. Also maybe spreading some rumors that they are poison if handled incorrectly.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Name? Chris Columbus of course:smallcool:
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grimsage Matt
Name? Chris Columbus of course:smallcool:
Argh, NO! *Checks the RT book*
Okay, 'Cornelius' might be an okay first name, but we need a dynastic name for him...
I always thought that Rogue Traders were more 'Hernan Cortez' types... explorer/conquerors rather than just 'explorers'.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
I did, via a well timed joke, introduce the daring, piratical scoundrel and more than a little deranged Rogue Trader Spack Jarrow* to our local rogue-trader campaign. (The group were amused enough that he's an actual reccurring NPC now).
But then, I'm thinking that the Rogue Trader's actions so far haven't been very appropriate for the illustrious Captain Spack*.
*Captain Spack Jarrow is an entirely original character. Resemblance to any persons, living dead or fictional are entirely coincidental. Honest, guv.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Some potential Rogue Trader specs-
I'd rather we not end up with a character with an overt pop culture reference name in the middle of the fic.
Spoiler
Show
Zecrom "Phoenix" Lefthome - Orphan from the Schola Progenium, parents killed in the attacks of the Arch-Arsonist. Major grudge against Orks as a result.
Listrom Hardbottom- Minor noble family from a house with an extensive criminal past. Severed ties with the families operations upon buying his commission in the Navy but has since become involved peripherally as a Rogue Trader.
Jarrow of the Fifth Spire- Originated on a Shrine World, with five hive spires each housing a sacred relic of the Imperium. To off-worlders no last name is given, just the name of the spire they originate from. History of the housed artifact tatooed across their back. This has left him with a complicated relation with the Ecclesiarchy.
Radabout Finst- Second son of a Charter Captain. Joined the navy to escape his family traditions, and has somewhat of a disdain both for the ground-folk and for those willing to be bound too tightly in organizations.
Seb Snakewick- Son of the governor of a planet recently founded, and since wiped out. Has a soft spot for struggling colonists. Otherwise a bit of a bastard.
Mookerji Skit- Worked up from a naval rating to officer rank after exemplary service in the face of the enemy. During a boarding action he earned a field commission as he took control of survivors and organized resistance and a successful retaking of the ship. Horrifically scarred, with extensive bionics.
Johan "Raincloud" Sonderza- "As welcome as a dark cloud". Reliable, loyal and quite brilliant in his way. But endlessly pessimistic and cynical. Seconded to an Explorator Fleet for much of his career and therefore far too familiar with AdMech doctrine.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
Some potential Rogue Trader specs-
I'd rather we not end up with a character with an overt pop culture reference name in the middle of the fic.
I already have his background, so I just need a name. Still, I can incorporate some of them.
Might as well do it by consensus. You have until tonight's post to decide a name. =D
I like Mookerji Skit though, his background is compatible as a sort of 'how I joined the navy' part of his background where he earns the navy's backing through a series of victories and then the xenos fall in makes the eccelesiarchy hate him and he gets RT'ed.
Maybe I'll integrate that as an extension of his background.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
I already have his
background, so I just need a name. Still, I can incorporate some of them.
Might as well do it by consensus. You have until tonight's post to decide a name. =D
I like Mookerji Skit though, his background is compatible as a sort of 'how I joined the navy' part of his background where he earns the navy's backing through a series of victories and then the xenos fall in makes the eccelesiarchy hate him and he gets RT'ed.
Maybe I'll integrate that as an extension of his background.
I don't like anything with someone having the word 'Mook' in his name... it just kinda rubs me wrong!
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jseah
I already have his
background, so I just need a name. Still, I can incorporate some of them.
I know about the previously established background. I don't think any of the proposed ones conflict with anything established so far.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Selrahc
I know about the previously established background. I don't think any of the proposed ones conflict with anything established so far.
That's ok, I like the Mookerji Skit one anyway. Gavinfoxx, if you don't like the name, why not pick one of the others or come up with your own?
The backgrounds aren't married to the names anyway.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
part 7.5 orks
Spoiler
Show
Week 1
Following the destruction of all active Necrons, Large Sticks Speak Softly has decided to take the stance that are not a HS. This contradicts the recommendation by the SC member who fought the warboss that they ARE a HS.
Since the sole leadership of the Orks in this large has already been killed, and the warband is dissolving into myriad power struggles, Large Sticks Speak Softly will attempt to impose some measure of order through the use of force, which is so far the only form of meaningful communication with the Orks.
Two days later
The SC team member has been recognized as the de facto leader of the Orks after killing a number of them, or at least recognized as someone who has to be obeyed. Despite the deaths of multiple sentients we have become responsible for, Large Sticks Speak Softly is of the opinion that this is a worthwhile endeavour to eventually reform the orks.
For now, we will be attempting to implement some measure of order onto the ork society and establishing a rule of law. The dictatorial society model we are adopting will act as a transitory stage towards a more peaceful government.
So, an ork warband suddenly gets an SC member backed up with a load of guns, who has killed all challengers without a sweat, and kills anyone who dares to talk back to him.
He sets himself up as 'dictator' and starts proclaiming laws and the contact fire teams serving as his 'internal security'.
Would it be possible to recruit orks to police themselves? Or would that be considered unorky?
part 7.5 Rogue Trader, addenum
Spoiler
Show
Seb Snakewick has picked up a number of items at the pirate yard that may be of interest. A warp scanner that can detect psychic phenomena is of great interest and we are looking to duplicate and test it. As well as the prediction algorithm and purpose-built hardware that can pilot a warpdrive.
The physical construction scans of these have been completed to subatomic precision and is attached for priority analysis. This may help detect initial Chaos contaminations quicker.
I'm going to name him Seb Snakewick, and steal Mook's backstory.
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Re: The Culture explores 40K II: Now With 100% more Fanfiction
FYI... normally, it's only safe to pilot a warp drive (assuming you aren't using a navigator) for 5 lightyears, the (really really illegal to have) cogitator doubles that to 10 lightyears. This can sort of be improved if you are using those 'similar to tau style but slightly different' drives, but those are wayyyy slower, and even then you only want to use THOSE in calm areas. You still don't want to make more than that due to the fact that warp conditions actively change, and you need someone to be able to see the changes! Is he getting the scanner that lets people see psychic stuff in general, or the one that lets people see all the way into the warp, but drives them insane?
Also... once they start doing this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gavinfoxx
I think now is about the time when a Tzeentchian Sorceror (probably csm, no less) contacts The Culture directly, in an attempt to parley... and he has a bunch of future sight info on his side.
Don't you agree?