ABR Discussion Thread XXXII - Imperfectly Rebooted

[The Gremlin]

Groaaaan.

What's the matter? Did I make a triple entendre (stupid useless spellcheck)?

[Kumo]

What's the matter?

I think he's groaning because that's a horrible joke.

I can't tell because i didn't catch the joke.

[Threeshades]

New FI up.

@Fin
Next one's for you to do, what the team would do next was to load Threeshades back onto Wolf-form-Gorb's (the Ogre) back, have Liz mount up on Gorb too to make sure TS doesn't fall off and the rest of them also would go to wolf form (complete wolf form, not hybrid) and then head back towards the citadel. You can put yourself in there wherever you like.

Here is a picture of all 5 of the wolves in each of their forms, and with their weapons:

Spoiler

Show

[Mad Mask]

So Gorbog's machine gun is a bit like a Gatling? Good...

[CrimsonAngel]

Do you think it would be frowned upon if I made a young werewolf thug?

[Kumo]

Aren't goblins small in Avbaroy?

[Threeshades]

So Gorbog's machine gun is a bit like a Gatling? Good...

As far as i know that's how they made the cranked ones.

Aren't goblins small in Avbaroy?

Plotgoblins are. I should know, I introduced the first ones.

[Threeshades]

Do you think it would be frowned upon if I made a young werewolf thug?

As long as not every one suddenly wants to join the unit with a werewolf i guess its alright. Theyre a commando unit so they shouldnt be too many.

[Tiffanie Lirle]

So the IRC has been fixed, we have op's again and all the shinie's are back in place.

On a more random, yet still ABR related note, I've been thinking about those werewolves. How do they work? I assume they can shapeshift whenever they want?

Is it a disease? A form of magic? Does the moon play any role in their wearwolf'ness? Why did it take so long for Werewolves to be introduced to abr? Etc etc

[CrimsonAngel]

Who wants to be in my intro comic. You have to be away from the main casts, wandering the streets or something. If noone can do that i'll just use my character. It wouldn't be as fun though.

[Threeshades]

So on a somewhat related and somewhat not related note. Kumo broke the IRC.*

Spoiler

Show

Go figure, we have ops again. Trying to make the best of a strange situation I tried to see if I could reactive auto-ops. But sadly the list is only available to Keris. (Who doesn't even use the IRC anymore, after "fixing" it. *cough*)

So I suppose it's only a temporary thing.

*Yes yes, I was kidding. It was probably just a normal error.

On a more random, yet still ABR related note, I've been thinking about those werewolves. How do they work? I assume they can shapeshift whenever they want?

Is it a disease? A form of magic? Does the moon play any role in their wearwolf'ness? Why did it take so long for Werewolves to be introduced to abr? Etc etc

They are basically like DnD werewolves in their workings: In this gase we have 5 natural lycanthropes. They all can shapeshift between the three forms at will by day and night, independent of moon phases. They can afflict people with lycanthropy through biting, but they usually bite to kill because all of them are well aware that they might be causing civilian casualties if they allowed an afflicted werewolf to go home.

Afflicted versions also work like the DnD version, they can shapeshift at will once they know they are werewolves but if they do they become bloodthirsty monsters (or in DnD terms they become Chaotic Evil) and have no control over the beast they become, and they automatically shapeshift to one of the wolf versions at full moon, also out of control of their bodies.


I actually took the Pathfinder werewolf version to determine the way they work, so don't wonder if any of this is different from how werewolves in DnD usually work. (I havent really seen a 3e book since i got my Pathfinder books and our former GM took his 3e books back) The pathfinder Lycanthropy template allows any animal as base animal for a lycanthrope, so Gorbog is actually a Were-dire-wolf. (otherwise he would shift into something really small compared to his usual size)

[CrimsonAngel]

Awww, Kris it is, then.

[DoomITP]

Strange, I can't get on the IRC...

[Kumo]

Who wants to be in my intro comic. You have to be away from the main casts, wandering the streets or something. If noone can do that i'll just use my character. It wouldn't be as fun though.

I'm making a UNA sarge with a pistol fetish. or i could use Kumo since he just got captured and is lord-knows where.

[CrimsonAngel]

Were is Kumo, I thought he was in some sort of box... Pics oh sarge pleaze?

[Kumo]

Were is Kumo, I thought he was in some sort of box... Pics oh sarge pleaze?

still making his outfit, gimme a while.

Basically Kumo's on a train transport to somewhere to be locked up.

[CrimsonAngel]

I'll just use Kris, then. I'm almost done, I need to do the last panel and the text.

[Kumo]

Ah. Ok.

Ten char limit

[The Gremlin]

So the IRC has been fixed, we have op's again and all the shinie's are back in place.

On a more random, yet still ABR related note, I've been thinking about those werewolves. How do they work? I assume they can shapeshift whenever they want?

Is it a disease? A form of magic? Does the moon play any role in their wearwolf'ness? Why did it take so long for Werewolves to be introduced to abr? Etc etc

I think somebody already has a werewolf in ABR (he's a crazy ALF guy, right?).
At any rate, my idea:

Spoiler

Show

I think lycanthrope should be the result of the first attempted merging of magic vs. science (the first real merging, that is, a lot of more 'minor' attempts, like enchanting ships and stuff, don't count). A potion of beast shape was combined with a chemical designed to [doesn't really matter], by a curious Lockutian mage. He first tested it out on his familiar. Seeing no adverse effects, he tried it himself.

Nothing happened.
Unfortunately, angry people with pitchforks assumed that the man was creating a 'werewolf' (which already existed in folklore), and killed him. The familiar, however, escaped, and complained to the Moon Elf Empire and asked for justice. Intrigued, a moon elf alchemist in the court suggested that the familiar's request be granted.

When a troop arrived in the village, they found the workshop had been burnt to the ground. But the mage had kept some of his work underground, so they investigated further. They found the man's notes.

The moon elf alchemist worked them out, and realized what the foolish mage had not: The man had come very close, completely by accident, to creating a new species, a merging of animal and humanoid. The elf worked further, and using his own magic, managed to complete the unfinished work. Using melted iron from a meteorite as the focus for the spell, he took blood from a rat and a human prisoner, and injected the formula into a third man (Basically, the first two for the man form and the rat form, and the last for the hybrid is how I see it). He succeeded in creating his goal--a wererat.

There were two problems, though. The first one: The iron was corrupted and impure. Therefore, the success was only partial, and the merging was imperfect. The second was, of course, that the experiment, in a rather cliche manner, killed him.

However, this wererat was actually very intelligent. He had killed his creator carefully, and calmly. Calculatingly. [Another synonym for carefully here]. He waited until his creator's notes were complete.

With his master dead, he endeavored to make more of his kind (the iron was expensive, but his master had a large supply). He made a great deal of wererats, and then decided to branch out. Werewolves, werevultures, even wereserpents (although reptiles didn't 'take' as well).

Eventually, the Empire wondered why the alchemist had gone missing, and investigated. Discovering what had happened, they attacked, and killed many of the abominations. They locked the details were nobody would find them. But a few escaped, and bred, and some remain to this day.

[kpenguin]

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement...

I AM NOW IN CONTROL OF THE IRC.

Thank you.

[The Gremlin]

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement...

I AM NOW IN CONTROL OF THE IRC.

Thank you.

It's a takeover! Liberation front, mobilize!
*Cuts gibberish in wall with rapier*
*Tries again*
*Again*
Stupid Gs...I give up.
*Cuts 't' in wall and rides off into sunset*
...
...see, this is why I don't lead the ALF.

[Fin]

New FI up.

@Fin
*snip*

On it, but that is a lot of templates so it may take me a little while, will be up no later than tomorrow though!

[Mina Kobold]

Keveak, I didn't know you were a fisherman.

... I don't fish.

How did I indicate that?

[Kumo]

... I don't fish.

How did I indicate that?

it's supposed to be a double entendre.

A very very horrible double entendre.

[Mina Kobold]

it's supposed to be a double entendre.

A very very horrible double entendre.

I still don't get it.

Please enlighten me to how it has anything to do with anything?

[Threeshades]

I decided that it would be wise to give some more information on the werewolves so we avoid mistakes:

About their biology: As I've said they are pretty much like DnD/Pathfinder werewolves, but what I forgot to add is that they have claws that can and do serve them as weapons.

Now on their personalities:

General: When talking to each other all of them use dog references sometimes. Orders and commands are often very similar to the commands you would teach a dog (such as "sit", "fetch" or - as you have seen - "sic 'em"), however if a non-werewolf would talk to them like that they feel offended. (It's similar to that black people and the "N" word cliché)

Neekah: She's very proud of being a werewolf, being a goblin she has a connection to wolves even from her humanoid side. Neekah always maintains a resolute manner and tries her best to assess any situation right and make the best of it for the team. She has a deep respect for Gerald and often turns to him for advice on combat situations. She empathically keeps the group working in harmony, as without her supervision squabbling would not be an uncommon sight amongst the team.
In her professionalism emotions usually fall flat and are usually buried inside her sometimes bursting out in desparation, especially when she realizes to have made terrible mistakes.

Gerald: Jerry of the whole team has the most combat experience. There are two reasons though why he is not team leader: 1, in his years at war he learned to establish close relationships with his teammates and hates the thought of being put above them in any way, 2, he is good at tactics due to his experience but Neekah is an even better tactician and manages to frequently choose methods without getting personal feelings involved. However sometimes experience is better than academic knowledge, this is why he often acts as a tactical advisor for Neekah.
Gerald is your typical grumpy old veteran, more often than not seeming very introverted and with a sadistic sense of humour, but he respects every single one of his teammates and would never treat any one of them as less than an equal and considers all of them close friends.

Eddie: Most of the time he is scatterbrained and seems sadistically psychotic. As a matter of fact he does have an affinity to killing, but he would never go over to pointless slaughter. If he kills, then it's in a fight, and if he fights then it's for a reason. His definition of fighting however also includes stealth attacks, such as backstabbing and throatcutting and that is what he is best at. Eddie usually has a short attention span but as soon as he is on a mission his mind suddenly switches and is focussed as a laser beam.
His connection to the rest of the team hardly goes beyond that the fact that they are all werewolves, but that is enough for him to go to any length for them. He knows just too well what it means to be a lycanthrope and that is why he would always help another one the best way he can.

Liy'zann: Little can the short lived races imagine of how the mind of this drow works. Liz can bring up amounts of patience that are simply impossible for maintain anything that has a shorter life span than an elf. She could sit and wait for weeks only to get a single target in front of her scope if she has to. And this seemingly unlimited patience is what brought her such a close relationship with the slow-minded Gorbog. Liz has learned much about him that the others never were able to take the time to learn (they would just give up after waiting half an hour for the ogre to answer a single question, or get angry with frustration which in turn would cause the ogre to get angry too, and being near an angry werewolf ogre is a thing you wouldn't want to do even if you're a werewolf yourself).
Liz is generally a warm and friendly person although her face rarely shows much emotion. She is ready to take care of her team mates well-being, both physical and mental at any time.

Gorbog: Gorbog is - and anyone who has ever seen him can confirm - very slow witted, he seems to be little more than brawn and hair, but despite his lack of sharp wit, he is not simple-minded, much to the contrary, he is very wise and always knows wrong from right. He is observant and incredibly hard to manipulate. His remarkable ability for reason however still can't stop him from easily getting angry, which usually happens more as a mode of defense than anything else. For example if someone around him shows anger he feels threatened and when he feels threatened or sees someone helpless being threatened or attacked he can turn into a raging berserker. No matter how strong his rage Gorbog always manages to stop before injuring someone he knows is innocent.
Gorbog has little relationship with the other team members, he likes them because they are friendly to him and the others like and value him, but that is as far as it goes, when it comes to Liy'zann however it is an entirely different story. The drow is the only team member who is able to understand him at all, and she can read him like a book and actively helps him understand her too. This is why he is especially protective of her, he takes care of her as if she were his baby sister. Liz and Gorb are unseparable and only a fool would dare to try.

[Mina Kobold]

I decided that it would be wise to give some more information on the werewolves so we avoid mistakes:

About their biology: As I've said they are pretty much like DnD/Pathfinder werewolves, but what I forgot to add is that they have claws that can and do serve them as weapons.

Now on their personalities:

General: When talking to each other all of them use dog references sometimes. Orders and commands are often very similar to the commands you would teach a dog (such as "sit", "fetch" or - as you have seen - "sic 'em"), however if a non-werewolf would talk to them like that they feel offended. (It's similar to that black people and the "N" word cliché)

Neekah: She's very proud of being a werewolf, being a goblin she has a connection to wolves even from her humanoid side. Neekah always maintains a resolute manner and tries her best to assess any situation right and make the best of it for the team. She has a deep respect for Gerald and often turns to him for advice on combat situations. She empathically keeps the group working in harmony, as without her supervision squabbling would not be an uncommon sight amongst the team.
In her professionalism emotions usually fall flat and are usually buried inside her sometimes bursting out in desparation, especially when she realizes to have made terrible mistakes.

Gerald: Jerry of the whole team has the most combat experience. There are two reasons though why he is not team leader: 1, in his years at war he learned to establish close relationships with his teammates and hates the thought of being put above them in any way, 2, he is good at tactics due to his experience but Neekah is an even better tactician and manages to frequently choose methods without getting personal feelings involved. However sometimes experience is better than academic knowledge, this is why he often acts as a tactical advisor for Neekah.
Gerald is your typical grumpy old veteran, more often than not seeming very introverted and with a sadistic sense of humour, but he respects every single one of his teammates and would never treat any one of them as less than an equal and considers all of them close friends.

Eddie: Most of the time he is scatterbrained and seems sadistically psychotic. As a matter of fact he does have an affinity to killing, but he would never go over to pointless slaughter. If he kills, then it's in a fight, and if he fights then it's for a reason. His definition of fighting however also includes stealth attacks, such as backstabbing and throatcutting and that is what he is best at. Eddie usually has a short attention span but as soon as he is on a mission his mind suddenly switches and is focussed as a laser beam.
His connection to the rest of the team hardly goes beyond that the fact that they are all werewolves, but that is enough for him to go to any length for them. He knows just too well what it means to be a lycanthrope and that is why he would always help another one the best way he can.

Liy'zann: Little can the short lived races imagine of how the mind of this drow works. Liz can bring up amounts of patience that are simply impossible for maintain anything that has a shorter life span than an elf. She could sit and wait for weeks only to get a single target in front of her scope if she has to. And this seemingly unlimited patience is what brought her such a close relationship with the slow-minded Gorbog. Liz has learned much about him that the others never were able to take the time to learn (they would just give up after waiting half an hour for the ogre to answer a single question, or get angry with frustration which in turn would cause the ogre to get angry too, and being near an angry werewolf ogre is a thing you wouldn't want to do even if you're a werewolf yourself).
Liz is generally a warm and friendly person although her face rarely shows much emotion. She is ready to take care of her team mates well-being, both physical and mental at any time.

Gorbog: Gorbog is - and anyone who has ever seen him can confirm - very slow witted, he seems to be little more than brawn and hair, but despite his lack of sharp wit, he is not simple-minded, much to the contrary, he is very wise and always knows wrong from right. He is observant and incredibly hard to manipulate. His remarkable ability for reason however still can't stop him from easily getting angry, which usually happens more as a mode of defense than anything else. For example if someone around him shows anger he feels threatened and when he feels threatened or sees someone helpless being threatened or attacked he can turn into a raging berserker. No matter how strong his rage Gorbog always manages to stop before injuring someone he knows is innocent.
Gorbog has little relationship with the other team members, he likes them because they are friendly to him and the others like and value him, but that is as far as it goes, when it comes to Liy'zann however it is an entirely different story. The drow is the only team member who is able to understand him at all, and she can read him like a book and actively helps him understand her too. This is why he is especially protective of her, he takes care of her as if she were his baby sister. Liz and Gorb are unseparable and only a fool would dare to try.

*Claps*

Well done, very well done.

I don't think I could have done it half as good myself

[Mad Mask]

FI

Spoiler

Show

Why would anyone give very expensive gold to a beggar child? The beggars' strategy seems to be a bit far-fetched, as the odds of a random passerby carrying gold in their pockets at night (or even at day) seem to be very low.

[The Gremlin]

I think somebody already has a werewolf in ABR (he's a crazy ALF guy, right?).
At any rate, my idea:

Spoiler

Show

I think lycanthrope should be the result of the first attempted merging of magic vs. science (the first real merging, that is, a lot of more 'minor' attempts, like enchanting ships and stuff, don't count). A potion of beast shape was combined with a chemical designed to [doesn't really matter], by a curious Lockutian mage. He first tested it out on his familiar. Seeing no adverse effects, he tried it himself.

Nothing happened.
Unfortunately, angry people with pitchforks assumed that the man was creating a 'werewolf' (which already existed in folklore), and killed him. The familiar, however, escaped, and complained to the Moon Elf Empire and asked for justice. Intrigued, a moon elf alchemist in the court suggested that the familiar's request be granted.

When a troop arrived in the village, they found the workshop had been burnt to the ground. But the mage had kept some of his work underground, so they investigated further. They found the man's notes.

The moon elf alchemist worked them out, and realized what the foolish mage had not: The man had come very close, completely by accident, to creating a new species, a merging of animal and humanoid. The elf worked further, and using his own magic, managed to complete the unfinished work. Using melted iron from a meteorite as the focus for the spell, he took blood from a rat and a human prisoner, and injected the formula into a third man (Basically, the first two for the man form and the rat form, and the last for the hybrid is how I see it). He succeeded in creating his goal--a wererat.

There were two problems, though. The first one: The iron was corrupted and impure. Therefore, the success was only partial, and the merging was imperfect. The second was, of course, that the experiment, in a rather cliche manner, killed him.

However, this wererat was actually very intelligent. He had killed his creator carefully, and calmly. Calculatingly. [Another synonym for carefully here]. He waited until his creator's notes were complete.

With his master dead, he endeavored to make more of his kind (the iron was expensive, but his master had a large supply). He made a great deal of wererats, and then decided to branch out. Werewolves, werevultures, even wereserpents (although reptiles didn't 'take' as well).

Eventually, the Empire wondered why the alchemist had gone missing, and investigated. Discovering what had happened, they attacked, and killed many of the abominations. They locked the details were nobody would find them. But a few escaped, and bred, and some remain to this day.

Um, is there any response to my idea?

[BRC]

Why would anyone give very expensive gold to a beggar child? The beggars' strategy seems to be a bit far-fetched, as the odds of a random passerby carrying gold in their pockets at night (or even at day) seem to be very low.

Unless he was using "Gold" as a slang term for "Money" which isn't that far fetched.