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http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256776
Someone can collect the links to previous story posts if you want. I think it starts on page 2? Maybe?
I'd hunt for them, but I've yet to meet the day's word quota for Nanowrimo.
Also, I'll try to post everyday, but the length might get a bit shorter since I still have to write 2k words somewhere else. =(
Collection of story posts:
http://sync.in/ep/pad/view/ro.f7Ii2bq8IM01rFxsOm/latest
Does NaNoWriMo deny fanfiction? Because you should use this story then.
Just apply Chandler's Law to your story updates and you'll be fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
I'm collecting the previous stories, editing them very slightly, and will post a mediafire link soon.
Also, have you decided how or what will be done to get the Rogue Trader access to a bunch of IoM-Standard blueprints (both recreations of STC and non, ie, more 'recent's stuff?)? Have you decided what will be in there? Based on what is or isn't in there, there could be some issues... I'll PM you some ideas on that, maybe.
Also, there are some plotline threads still hanging for Part 6, like seeing how the IoM fights Chaos (including recovering from a Chaos incursion), or other Rogue Trader stuff... as well as the ships going near the Eye of Terror...
I'm also very interested in Chaos contacting them directly; after all, Chaos Sorcerers should have some future-reading or Future Sight, and at least some aspects of Chaos (especially some Tzeentch-based Warlords and the Dark Mechanicum) should be trying to contact them...
Also! NaNoWriMo:
"What genres are okay? Can I write fanfiction? How about a memoir?
Any genre of novel is okay for NaNoWriMo. Yes, really, any genre. Fan fiction is okay. Steamy adult content is okay (as long as you are careful about where you post it!). Memoir is a sticky one; as long as it is fictionalized, it is okay, too. We just want you to be excited about writing. If what you’re writing doesn’t qualify as a lengthy work of fiction, we’ve set up a group for NaNo Rebels in the forums."
One thing I'd like to see is that when the team near the core triggered that hypermaze trap, that whoever was lost, and their attached culture gear got hidden away by that Necron Lord.
It'd be pretty interesting to see what some Crypteks would do with some CREW'S or Mirror field devices.
Argue and/or fight over them, probably. Necrons are almost as bad in the 'Not Invented Here' syndrome as Eldar...Necrons at least will recognize superior technology, but they'll keep it for themselves rather than try to replicate or reverse-engineer it, since their culture connects rarity with status.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
Absolutely nothing. Culture tech is locked down tight. Culturetech doesn't work at all for anybody outside the Culture. Equivtech stuff is locked down even tighter, and most of their wargear has brains. If tampering starts up, then the high likelihood is that things will self destruct.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
Would you mind if I collect/edit(including recon) the stuff into a google doc or fanfiction.net story?
As for NaNoWriMo, I think FF is discouraged(you can't publish it), but not forbidden.
From the last thread:
That actually happens quite a bit, including your last two examples specifically. In Excession, one ambassador to an alien species (the Affront, floating methane breathers who resemble jellyfish/squid hybrids) decides to trade out his human body for an Affront body for a while to better enjoy his time on their planet. In Matter, one SC agent becomes a member of an alien species whose name I don't remember that's basically a sea urchin with 20-foot tentacles that branch off into fine manipulators, which involves moving his mind to an artificial brain and setting up a distributed nervous system in the body with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
One man in Excession (I think it's the ambassador but it might be someone else, it's been a while) has grown wings and really likes them, but he removes them and his neural lace while on a particular planet for the duration of a "back to nature" celebration when everyone gives up some sort of augmentation and enjoys being unmodified for a while. It's also mentioned in Matter that there are some more obscure and out-there transformations (like becoming a four-dimensional energy being) that are basically irreversible due to how different they are from the baseline humanoid.
Wings, gills, altered senses, and such are less common due to the prevalence of antigravity, the ability to modify bodies to different gravities and atmospheres at will, the ability to gland chemicals to alter perceptions, and so forth. The sort of people who would want to turn themselves into bird-people can instead simply use an AG rig to go flying for a while, which is more convenient than wings in everyday life and also comes with the ability to breathe in higher atmosphere, on-board AI navigation, etc. If they want to try wings until the novelty wears off, they can do that too, and I'm guessing that's why most people look "normal"--the gross physical augmentations can be duplicated in more subtle versions, so unless you're specifically going for a certain visual it's often easier to use the subtle version.
THE STORY SO FAR (EDITED):
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?ub9nk5i779ttncq
Note: be sure to download it, dont look at it in the preview screen.
I did edit most of the OOC out, and added some paragraph spaces where Jseah didn't put any, but I gave up on doing that after a while... that's why there are two different spacing methods.
Not if they're kept in stasis fields. They themselves would be trapped in one moment in time. They'd never act, even if they did have minds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Selrahc
but then the Necrons couldn't do anything with them either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
Every page contains one sentence and no more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
They can observe external matrixes, use X-Ray equipment to gaze within.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forum Explorer
Tons of stuff, but no physical manipulation or testing.
They could also use their ability to isolate shards of time (they use it passively for defense in tabletop, Harbinger of Eternity Crypteks.) to break it into pieces once they've studied the components and gaze into it's inner workings.
@)#(*!@_#$*Quote:
Originally Posted by Forum Explorer
That's weird... when I go to Edit it, it looks fine...
Ah well. I suppose I will delete it and upload the file without using their beta 'edit file' feature.
How about now?
For me the formatting is all screwed up and every other sentence cuts off in the middle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
You are downloading it, right? Not opening it in the preview screen?
If all the Stasis field does is stop physical manipulation but still allowed X-rays and other energy to pass through, then they are a lot less threatening to the Culture than they first appeared to be. In fact, it would allow the Culture to just use its Displacers to whip something out of the stasis field entirely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
Edit:
Its working fine for meQuote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
How much does a stasis field protect from external influence though?
Also, shouldn't The Culture have designs for IoM time manipulation by now? Shouldn't they be freaked out by that??
Hmm, I may be incorrect, let me see if they st- yeah they do stop directed energy weapons, I'm dumb.Quote:
Originally Posted by Parra
Still, Crypteks do have the ability to isolate objects from time, there's no reason why they couldn't just isolate one part of the object from the rest in time and slowly take it apart, even an ongoing fusion reaction is only dangerous to the touch frozen in time.
If they stop DEW, why doesn't the IoM use them defensively?
Because the IOM has Void Shields that also work against the warp, and also stop all of (their) conventional energy weapons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
Stasis fields are also used for medical purposes in the IOM, and their emitters don't get much larger due to tech constraints. It is also VERY DIFFERENT from being frozen in time the entire thing that's stopping them from self destructing.
What I am describing is a Harbinger of Eternity using his Aeon stave in a method similar to what he does for defense (displacing rounds into shards of time), and instead using it to dismantle and compartmentalize the captured Culturetech for other Crypteks to study, but also due to their nature of being frozen in time and behind stasis fields, and various other Necron Tech (Likely in a Lord's vault being studied for use in his own personal gear, and carefully guarded against even other Necrons.), and the tech having effectively "vanished" due to being trapped in time, preventing the culture from knowing they have it.
It's complicated, but it's there, and I'd imagine given that this world's own lord is mad the first among the Necron challengers who would come to claim these new items would be Trayzn the Infinite.
Maybe someone on one of The Culture ships should be like, 'Hmmm, if these Necrons have time-distorting tech, maybe there is other time-distorting tech elsewhere in this galaxy that we haven't recognized. Why don't we take a closer look at these Forge World plans?' At which point they can probably look at the plans for Stasis Fields and similar, with which they can maybe develop some more applications of localized time distortion, a technology they really haven't explored at all?
Also, I was thinking of things on smaller scale than Void Shields, which is for Big Stuff Only; like as supplemental to vehicle-scale Power Fields or something.
Also, when they finally get to analyzing the bodies of the Tyranids, the ideas for their biological sciences should increase dramatically. The base technology and capability, likely no... the idea fodder for creativity and things to do with biology? Definitely!
Who is in harsh competition with Nemesor Zandrekh for 'coolest Necron Special Character', so I'd be okay with him making a cameo appearance, particularly since the Nemesor wouldn't fit the story except (briefly) across a battle line.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
And I forgot how the Culture boobytraps their gear. So the Crypteks would blow themselves up a few times, then abandon their efforts, study what they could through a stasis field, and otherwise abandon the attempt. Cue Trazyn showing up to acquire some nifty new toys for his museum.
Honestly I do just kinda want to see him in here.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
I'm also a big Sanguinus fan, so that's also why I was pushing him.
But the idea I posited DOES work, and it does make sense given how Phareonship of a world is passed is through single combat.
So I could see Trayzn coming in, zapping all the current nutty lords with his staff of Obliteration, and claiming the world for himself, and claiming what his Ethermancers saw in the stars for himself.
He'd also be the most likely to replicate, and study it. If only out of curiosity.
Yeah, but one of those options is a more 'realistic' one by several significant orders of magnitude. The Culture would have to know of Sanguinis's importance to even consider attempting to revive him somehow, and if they did, they wouldn't try it because of the upheaval it'd cause. Only once they'd revealed themselves and the Imperium was falling to pieces anyways would it be worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
That, and him being a historian and all, he knows a ton of stuff, stuff the Culture would want to know, and he might be able to finagle that knowledge into a trade for working Culture doodads.Quote:
So I could see Trayzn coming in, zapping all the current nutty lords with his staff of Obliteration, and claiming the world for himself, and claiming what his Ethermancers saw in the stars for himself.
He'd also be the most likely to replicate, and study it. If only out of curiosity.
Yea, I am actually quite interested in The Culture getting to a point where they talked to named characters. Like characters that we know and care about in the canon of 40k itself. Whether it is an Astartes hero or a Tau renegade or a particular Eldar Farseer...
Does anyone have any particular named character that they want to see have dialogue with The Culture?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
The Emperor.Alright, how aboutFulgrim. No...Lorgar?Wait, they need to learn about the Warp so what aboutMagnus?
Okay, I can't pick a character that they should actually meet.
Cypher. So they can be as confused as we are.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinslayer
Is he even still canon?
Bearing in mind that I only know of him via meme, but there's a fellow springs to mind. Ciaphas Cain hero of the imperium?
Fixed it for you...
Oh My GOD YES.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes
I don't think the thread could withstand the awesome. If Cain does make an appearance, it should be an unnamed cameo.
Have we figured out a particular date, so we can figure out what events have and haven't happened, which named individuals are alive or not, and (roughly) where they are in their adventures?
Also. If we can encourage Jseah to read every Ciaphas Cain book and short story ever, this can only be a good thing. He's been sent as a diplomat before, right?
Rejuvenation treatments would keep most named characters alive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
Or they might not have been born yet, or might be 'lost', depending on the exact date, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
A murky, indefinite time after the year 41,000. We're treating the timeline with as much respect as GW is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
Alpharius and/or Omegon. Because nobody would confuse The Culture more than Alpha Legion :smallamused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
For those interested, here is a google document. Still updating it to be in line with recons and the like.
Anyone following that link can comment on the story so far. If you see something that needs correcting, bring it up.
Also included is one non-canon segment, as well as a run down of the Culture's 'let's screw the Imperium plan' as well as the Necron's realizations about the Culture.
Also, the C'Tan Shards themselves might actually be physically impossible to destroy. Just saying. Not impossible to defeat, but impossible to ever completely destroy...
Also, Jseah: According to the latest codex, a Tomb World, once the wake-up process has begun, might take decades or centuries to completely wake up. I think this doesn't make any sense.. but you can do whatever. Maybe only the inhabitants are waking up, the actual processes might take longer, or there are lots of components that aren't waking up right, or whatever... Also, there are codes of 'honourable war' that some Necrons adhered to; The Culture might be able to, even if they end up at war with this particular Tomb World, impress them enough (they are immortal! IMMORTAL!) that they apply their codes of honor to The Culture. There even is a bit about some Necrons seeking to end 'The curse of biotransference' by seeking a biological entity to host their minds. Apparently that idea weighed heavily on the Silent King's mind as he issued the final biotransference command. Surely The Culture would be able to fix the issues with Biotransference, if they get enough of an insight into Necron tech and history and 'culture'...
Also, their is some weeiiirrrd tech in Necron tombworlds. One of the tomb worlds has an Orrery of the galaxy which can, if they snuff the light of the star out in the Orrery, will cause the relevant star to go Supernova 'long millennia before its destined time'...
So none at all then? :smalltongue:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
Anyways if Cain is showing up then Amberly would be right behind him for maximum snark potential.
http://www.instantrimshot.comQuote:
Originally Posted by Forum Explorer
It'd have to wait for a time, at the best. Cain is terrified of Necrons.Quote:
Anyways if Cain is showing up then Amberly would be right behind him for maximum snark potential.
How long is it after the 13th black crusade? That matters for Cain.
Only to a point - we've got a one to two century leeway space, since Cain canonically 'came back from the dead' so many times that the Administratum finally gave up listing him as dead and so his official date of death is unknown.
Actually he doesn't have a date of death at all. The order to just assume he was alive was never overturned. :smallbiggrin:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
That's what I mean, yeah. He has no official date of death, and we can only get a rough estimate for an unofficial one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forum Explorer
Yes, RT guy is next. The basic idea is, he gets some mercenaries, gets into hot water with the Ad Mech and Ordo Xenos (who have connected the dots and are hunting anything that looks too high tech) and goes away into interstellar space.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
He then decides to go raid a Warp-stormed (but real space accessible) planet in hopes of loot and treasure and runs across a Khorne chaos warband stumbling around trying to find the Culture.
At this point, the Culture's cover gets blown as the Chaos people demand to talk. The RT guy blows them out of space anyway and the SC agent tells him about the Culture.
I haven't decided what his reaction will be. Especially since the SC agent will also tell him that the Culture aren't going let him talk to other IoM people about them and they can watch him *very* closely.
Yes, there's also the Eldar. And the Orks. And the Eye of Terror.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
There's a minor note about Ordo Xenos activity as well.
And I guess we can have this. A cultist can do the same thing as the Eldar, and the Culture will probably try to talk, but with lots of security (communicate by dead tree storage only and scan the stuff to read it, not actually touching the things)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
Unfortunately, I already have an entire book planned. You may have noticed my comments in the Nanowrimo thread, but I already have more than enough material. I just need to write that book. Thanks anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
RT: I knew you were hiding something, but couldn't figure out what.
SC: Yeah, I'm actually a spy for a gigantic extragalactic civilization with technology and powers beyond your wildest dreams
RT: Cool. Now, how can I use that to get rich(er)?
There's a drone stuck in a hypermaze trap, assumed dead and reloaded by the Culture (there's two of it, but only one is running around now).Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan
But the stasis field that caught half of Expy 7 had its generators blown up and we agreed that uncontrolled winding down of a stasis field destroys everything in it, so all of those are gone.
But yeah, the Necrons have one drone, which they aren't letting out of the maze yet.
Hmm... how would the Necrons react to a demand from the Culture that they return any captured artifacts? (with an implied threat of offensive action to recover them if the Culture detects he has kept some)
--- The logic being that it's only fair that since the Culture returned Necron stuff, the Necrons should return Culture stuff. Of course, Necrons might not understand fairness, hence why there's some teeth to back it up
As for taking time to power up again, let's have it that after everyone's awake, there's still alot of repair work and preparation to do before he can strike out and do things.
In any case, I was intending him to send a ship out in part 7 looking for his Crownworld. And the question I've been meaning to ask is what is the Necron FTL mechanism?
SC: Why do you need to get rich? Here, with this tech and this tech, which we are going to give you, you can have anything you want. Including turning any asteroid into a new battleship and cloning your crew to run it. Yes, we have working cloning and we are giving it to you. Now will you work for us?Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
RT: How much are you paying?Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
Oldcron: Basically Culture Hyperspace, I think. Or one of the Culture equiv-techs, which you already said was different, but that might be that they access it in a different way than the Culture was expecting.Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
Newcron: Hijack Eldar Webway.
I would strongly suggest you go with Oldcron for this.
Responding to a post by Jseah from the previous thread (not answered in that one, I dunno if it has been here):
It's mentioned in Excession that people used to turn themselves into all manner of weird shapes, but that this behavior has fallen out of fashion in recent centuries. Essentially it was a fad, and the novelty wore off, so now it's the sort of thing you might do as a teenager or something, especially in private, but probably wouldn't make a lifestyle out of. Though it also seems to vary by local (small-c) culture; one of the minor viewpoint characters is a resident on the Tier habitat, who has wings himself and who is shown hooking up with a girl that has four arms. So there are some places like Tier where that sort of thing is more common than in other places, such as Phage Rock, for various reasons of socialization (which assume very significantly increased importance in a society as peaceful and non-utilitarian as the Culture; being fashionable and well-thought-of is practically a state religion).Quote:
Actually, this bit bothers me about his works. I mean, the Culture has all this control over biology (it's basically miracle working here) and everyone's an almost-standard human?
Seriously?
I'd favor Oldcron FTL as well. The Webway barely works for the Eldar with various branches corrupted, cut off, or damaged, it'd be extremely impractical for the Necrons who only have access to sporadic chunks.
Lolz. The Culture can pay whatever asking price he wants. Hell, he can turn an asteroid into Thrones if he wants.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
But seriously, do they not understand anything other than money? Like, maybe he doesn't _need_ money anymore?
How about these, in order of what the Culture is likely to try:
"after you investigate so and so warp rift, you can upgrade to a full citizen and join us in happy land"
"you have the chance to fight Chaos for the Imperium. You have the ability to do more than the imperial guard and space marines combined. You can be the most powerful person in the entire IoM apart from the Emperor. "
"we intend to reform the Imperium after we secure from Chaos. You can have a hand in it and we will listen to your advice. You have the chance to decide the future of the whole IoM. Is that enough power for you?"
=D Clearly, I have been reading the wrong books.Quote:
Originally Posted by willpell
Never mind me then.
Well I can't really recommend Excession as your first Culture book to read, though I have yet to encounter any of the others. It's....good, but a bit strange. An acquired taste, if you will. Granted the same might be true of the Culture in general, but this book in particular, since a LOT of it is told from the viewpoint of the Minds, making it a fair bit more "foreign" than the several stories which focus mostly on an outsider on some backward planet, doing the Culture's dirty work while seeing them only from a fair distance (this is all me going by Wikipedia summaries so I apologize if I'm misrepresenting anything).Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
Yes, you clearly have to set everything else you are doing down, and read these:Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ciap...ovel_Series%29
Okay, really, you only have to read the two compilation books... (Hero and Defender), but after that, you'll be good.
And then have Ciaphas end up, somehow, as a diplomat to The Culture... with Amberley in tow, of course. And you positively must do it in the style of one of Ciaphas's irreverent and innacurate narratives, with Amberley as a talkative editor!
No, he gets all that, but he also wants to hedge his bets. You don't get to be a Rogue Trader by playing it safe, but you don't succeed as a Rogue Trader if you put all your eggs in one basket. The Culture is making big, grandiose promises, and while they've certainly shown their chops, he's not going to dismiss the possibility that it's all a scam right up until the very end when he's actually being crowned High Lord of Cultureterra...so he'll want a nest egg just in case the whole thing goes down the tubes and the Culture has to run away (taking its nifty supertech with it).Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
I think Cain would be deeply uncomfortable with the Culture, but more to the point, a Cain story isn't a Cain story unless he has to go on some dangerous, hairbrained mission. There won't be any dangerous hairbrained missions to go on within a few lightyears of the Culture, because anything a human considers 'dangerous and hairbrained' is Tuesday to SC.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavinfoxx
Oh god run away. Warp Rift = Best Chance to have your ship eaten by a giant disembodied tongue this side of Lovecraft.Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
And the profit margin, and proof to present are...?Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
Too much power, with too much risk. Also, mortal terror of the Emperor personally disapproving. It's one thing to flaunt His laws a million lightyears away. On his doorstep*, not so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by jseah
*Metaphysical, political, or physical. It's the Emperor. He's everywhere. Watching you. (Cielingcat is the Emperor's best buddy while they hang out watching. Eeeeverything.)
I'm completely sure that some kind of dangerous and hairbrained mission can come up. Really. I trust Jseah to come up with something plausible. Cain is like... the super SC. Hell, he'd probably end up co-opted into an official liason to a SC team as they end up in some kind of absolutely awesome ADVENTURE!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
And yes, I would agree that he would be deeply uncomfortable with the Culture.
Warp Rift diving is probably dangerous, Culture-tech or no.
Ah, that's fair enough. I guess they can turn an asteroid into solid gold for him if he wants. I mean, after the matter-energy conversion tech, the SC agent herself can make his nest egg.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
So, again. The Culture are just going to ask "What's your price?" Because all the Culture can give him is the basic science and plans to build... not-quite-equivi-tech but still good enough to trash anyone this side of reality short of a C'Tan.
And then they'll even turn it over to his Techpriests provided the techies agree to not run off to the Ad Mech (trying isn't likely to work). And even if none of them agree to, they can work out a mental implant for any particular crew member he cares to name that'll teach them how to use everything.
Hell, they can probably en-smarten his servitors.
After that, if he still wants to make an asteroid of solid thrones, he can do it. The Culture doesn't have to do it for him even. And obviously, they'll let him.
"You want a CAM launcher? Yes, first page twenty down. "
"You want a Lunar? Sure, just use so and so plan... although we recommend X and Y modification... *details*"
"You want a shipyard? Yeah that's ten pages over..."
"Asteroid miner? Solar statite collector? Antimatter manufacturing cyclotron? Space based hydroponics? All there. You have everything you need to start your own self-sufficient nation. "
"Thrones?! Seriously? Uh, ok, do you have a Throne we can scan? ... right, it's the new plan at the bottom. "
"You want to take over a planet? Are you sure you can handle it? Yes? Then go on ahead, you have free reign to do nearly whatever you want. You can call on us for help if you're getting in trouble. ... Oh, uh, just don't whack the Eldar or Necrons, it's kinda touchy. "
...
Hmm, how about. Backup services. The Culture gives him the tech (that doesn't include the ability to manufacture people) and will provide reloads from backup for eternity onwards in return for him doing some Chaos whacking on the side and serving as a possible contender for replacing the IoM's government.
(there are some rules as to the kind of government the Culture wants, namely a representative democracy, but they'll assure him that they'll only require elections until after they're done with Chaos)