[Rail] Academy City OOC I : Biribiri.

[Lillith]

That reminds me something I've been wanting to ask for a while. Jane isn't really combative, nor has she powers that would aid her in battle. However since she can read thoughts, she'd be able to read a persons mind on what action they want to do next. Giving her the chance to duck or avoid for bullets. When fighting an npc (not a robot cause, well, duh) could I use that?

[Anyr]

That reminds me something I've been wanting to ask for a while. Jane isn't really combative, nor has she powers that would aid her in battle. However since she can read thoughts, she'd be able to read a persons mind on what action they want to do next. Giving her the chance to duck or avoid for bullets. When fighting an npc (not a robot cause, well, duh) could I use that?

Certainly. It's a common enough tactic among fictional telepaths, and there's no obvious reason why it shouldn't work here. There's also no need to restrict it solely to NPCs; PCs will often be just as vulnerable to such a technique.

[Lillith]

I know, but that would be sort of taking control of them or something? Or could I just do a 'Jane heard their thoughts of where they would shoot and barely managed to dodge the bullet'

Btw, I'm not very experienced in telepaths fighting, are there any sources I could check to get some ideas? Except for dodging and maybe quickly make the opponent forget why they were there in the first place, the only thing Jane can do is shoot them from a distance with a bow and arrow. But then not only would she need a bow and arrow with her, be away from the target, but also need to have time to focus and aim.

Edit: So I was discussing this with a friend of mine who's a lot better with thinking up out of the box ways of using skills. While not that out of the box he gave me some suggestions. However since I'm not sure if Jane is allowed to do these yet (she's level 3 and all) I thought I'd run them by here.

Anyr, I'm gonna send you my ideas okay? Since I don't want to ruin tactics I might be able to use in the future.

[Maximum Zersk]

DID SOMEONE SAY RAMPANT ROBOTS?

[Moon Wolf]

DID SOMEONE SAY RAMPANT ROBOTS?

So it's moment like these that your avatar is for...

[Maximum Zersk]

So it's moment like these that your avatar is for...

Yeah, let's go with that.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

A very interesting character I have to say. You make me wonder one thing though. Since Shelley is so sensitive to sound, smell, etc. How would she respond if someone could talk to her without talking? (*points at her own characters powers*) I think that could be very interesting for her since it might hurt her less?

Possibly, especially if they were friends before the incident. The loudness she would have to be more-or-less used to before it would make sense to attend school again, but telepathy would be unaffected by the perceived frequency distortion, too. Every voice except for Jane's sounds squeezed together in the spectrum, approaching a creepy androgynous monotone; she would be the one person that Shelley could still recognize easily.

That would be really comforting, I think, having one friend to anchor you to reality when everything else has become alien and indecipherable.

Anyhow, what was that about my flavor being dubious? Too much science, not enough fiction? Or is it the other way around? Or are you just not fans of blue raspberry Popsicle?

[13_CBS]

Anyhow, what was that about my flavor being dubious? Too much science, not enough fiction? Or is it the other way around? Or are you just not fans of blue raspberry Popsicle?

I'm merely curious as to how the power works. It states that Shelley's sensory cortex is highly stimulated, and that she has extra nerves in certain sensory organs (nose, eyes, inner ear). Is it therefore the manipulation of neurotransmitting chemicals? Or the stimulation of the growth of nerve cells? Something else?


Important announcement: I will be starting Academy City's first mercenary group, not unlike canon sources' GROUP, SCHOOL, and ITEM, and would appreciate it if someone would join.

(For those unfamiliar with source material, mercenary groups in Academy City tend to be teenage to young adult males and females that, either as a full-time job or as an extra bit of work outside of school, are hired by certain people (often the Academy City board of directors) to perform more clandestine and unofficial operations. These groups tend to be made up of ~Level 4 psychics and are often led by a Level 5, though some members have a Level 0 power, have no powers at all, or are magicians.)


Characteristics of this group:

• The group is made up of four members, ages 12 to 21.
  
• ESPers in the group must be Level 0, 1, or 2.
  
• As usual, magicians are not allowed.
  
• The group is relatively low-key and is often overshadowed by groups led by and consisting of more powerful ESPers and operatives. Its leader is desperately trying to find a way to prove that his group can be just as effective as the more powerful ones even though he and his members aren't psychic powerhouses.

I will be playing as the leader Misakou Kenta, a Level 2 psychic and robotics specialist (proper character sheet will be up tomorrow).

Feel free to ask any questions.

Edit: FYI, Kenta is NOT the character I had made Amplify for--that's someone else.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

I'm merely curious as to how the power works. It states that Shelley's sensory cortex is highly stimulated, and that she has extra nerves in certain sensory organs (nose, eyes, inner ear). Is it therefore the manipulation of neurotransmitting chemicals? Or the stimulation of the growth of nerve cells? Something else?

It wound up being a little of both of those - new cells and neural connections were necessary to expand the amount of information coming in, and accelerated transmission and interaction was needed to put it to good use. You could say that she's manipulating her nervous system a bit more generally, but specializes in this one angle because the first, involuntary burst wound up tossing her down that road.

In the experiment, the new cells and connections were built in the initial sparks of her awakening. In her discomfort, she wound up suppressing the ability, but that didn't make the new connections go away. The connectivity enhancement that lets her process all of the new channels simultaneously requires that she actually have her psychicness turned on, so until that happens again her sensory nervous system just seems like a tangled mess.

Does that clear it up at all?

[Maximum Zersk]

Important announcement:[/B] I will be starting Academy City's first mercenary group, not unlike canon sources' GROUP, SCHOOL, and ITEM.

(For those unfamiliar with source material, mercenary groups in Academy City tend to be teenage to young adult males and females that, either as a full-time job or as an extra bit of work outside of school, are hired by certain people (often the Academy City board of directors) to perform more clandestine and unofficial operations. These groups tend to be made up of ~Level 4 psychics and are often led by a Level 5, though some members have a Level 0 power, have no powers at all, or are magicians.)


Characteristics of this group:

• The group is made up of four members, ages 12 to 21.
  
• ESPers in the group must be Level 0, 1, or 2.
  
• As usual, magicians are not allowed.
  
• The group is relatively low-key and is often overshadowed by groups led by and consisting of more powerful ESPers and operatives. Its leader is desperately trying to find a way to prove that his group can be just as effective as the more powerful ones even though he and his members aren't psychic powerhouses.

I will be playing as the leader Misakou Kenta, a Level 2 psychic and robotics specialist (proper character sheet will be up tomorrow).

Feel free to ask any questions.

Ooh, cool!

I might actually make my new character as a part of this.

Also, are there any rampant robots in District 9? And aliens, maybe?

Also, Ketsueki's Theme. (Swearing.)

[Lillith]

Possibly, especially if they were friends before the incident. The loudness she would have to be more-or-less used to before it would make sense to attend school again, but telepathy would be unaffected by the perceived frequency distortion, too. Every voice except for Jane's sounds squeezed together in the spectrum, approaching a creepy androgynous monotone; she would be the one person that Shelley could still recognize easily.

Well I don't think I ever stated where from the United Kingdom Jane came from. So technically they could have been old classmates, if that isn't a too big of a coincidence. (Also would Shelley be able to recognize Jane's voice after 9 years?)

Also I'd love to fight robots, I'll need my bow and arrow though cause robots don't have thoughts or memories.

[Silverraptor]

Where is Jason in all of this?

[Callos_DeTerran]

That reminds me something I've been wanting to ask for a while. Jane isn't really combative, nor has she powers that would aid her in battle. However since she can read thoughts, she'd be able to read a persons mind on what action they want to do next. Giving her the chance to duck or avoid for bullets. When fighting an npc (not a robot cause, well, duh) could I use that?

That's a good use for telepathy, though the most common problem I could think of for it (for Jane) are those people who decide things split-second (or don't think ahead at all), those capable of putting up 'screening thoughts' to try and confuse her, and those doing things outside of her range. Or...y'know, not having enough time between 'I'm going to fire' and '*bang*' to actually dodge completely, though it'd likely do wonders for avoiding lethal wounds.

...<.< Er...Not to say DON'T do the proposed idea. Just pointing out some of the limitations of using telepathy as in-battle precog is all, to avoid inadvertent omnipotence.

[13_CBS]

Where is Jason in all of this?

At Hongakuteki, I presume? If you want to join the robot battle, you may wish to talk to FF.

[Silverraptor]

At Hongakuteki, I presume? If you want to join the robot battle, you may wish to talk to FF.

Well, currently he's daydreaming, so unless there is a robot around in the area...

Also, this would be a good time to introduce his dad. Is it alright to put real world events into this game?

[13_CBS]

Is it alright to put real world events into this game?

I'm...not sure. There's no precedent in canon material for it, in any case.

What sort of real world event are you thinking of?

[Silverraptor]

I'm...not sure. There's no precedent in canon material for it, in any case.

What sort of real world event are you thinking of?

That he was involved in a real world war. Like the Iraq war, or afganistan as a soldier for a tour or two.

[13_CBS]

That he was involved in a real world war. Like the Iraq war, or afganistan as a soldier for a tour or two.

Well, as long as you don't break any forum rules with the reference (politics and so forth), I at least wouldn't mind.

What say the rest of you?

It wound up being a little of both of those - new cells and neural connections were necessary to expand the amount of information coming in, and accelerated transmission and interaction was needed to put it to good use. You could say that she's manipulating her nervous system a bit more generally, but specializes in this one angle because the first, involuntary burst wound up tossing her down that road.

In the experiment, the new cells and connections were built in the initial sparks of her awakening. In her discomfort, she wound up suppressing the ability, but that didn't make the new connections go away. The connectivity enhancement that lets her process all of the new channels simultaneously requires that she actually have her psychicness turned on, so until that happens again her sensory nervous system just seems like a tangled mess.

Does that clear it up at all?

Hrm...so basically, her true ability is to manipulate the growth of her nervous system, but due to an accident and subsequent trauma she suppressed that ability while the previous adjustments to her nervous system remain?

[horngeek]

Incidentally, Tsubasa is going to be deeply apologetic after this is over. She hates creeping people out.

...I am confused that Sakurako doesn't know her already, though. Since they are both Judgement members.

[13_CBS]

@ Inyu: I meant to indicate in my post that there was indeed a weak point located right between the treads and the armored dome. Sorry for the confusion.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Hrm...so basically, her true ability is to manipulate the growth of her nervous system, but due to an accident and subsequent trauma she suppressed that ability while the previous adjustments to her nervous system remain?

Pretty much, yeah. I freely admit that the rules of cool, plot, and drama played into it as well.

Shelley relies on a lot of technobabble for what eventually boils down to a simple "keen senses" shtick, but I guess that's psionics for you.

[13_CBS]

Pretty much, yeah. I freely admit that the rules of cool, plot, and drama played into it as well.

Shelley relies on a lot of technobabble for what eventually boils down to a simple "keen senses" shtick, but I guess that's psionics for you.

Yeah, that's kind of how Railgun psychic powers work. If I wanted to be a complete arse I'd demand that her powers be some sort of telekinetic control over biochemicals governing cell growth and then further demand explanations as to why she can't do the same for non-nerve cells, but that wouldn't be fun for anyone, and at this point I personally advocate sacrificing scientific accuracy for fun.

tl;dr: I fully support Shelley and her inclusion into this game. Welcome aboard!

[InyutheBeatIs]

@ Inyu: I meant to indicate in my post that there was indeed a weak point located right between the treads and the armored dome. Sorry for the confusion.

Got it. It's alright. Edit forthcoming.

[Maximum Zersk]

Touhou Memes: I just had to, so stop worrying and take it easy!

[InyutheBeatIs]

Touhou Memes: I just had to, so stop worrying and take it easy!

...Oh we're doing those now?

...Give me a bit...I'll have to find a situation to use said memes.

[Anyr]

Well, as long as you don't break any forum rules with the reference (politics and so forth), I at least wouldn't mind.

What say the rest of you?

A lot of this would seem to depend on how closely the Index/Railgun world mirrors our own. We can reasonably assume that there's still an Afghanistan, but was there still a war? Did the attack on the World Trade Center which started the war in our dimension take place there? Even if it did, would their parallel of George Bush have also followed it up with an assault on Iraq? In a world containing both psychics and secret cabals of wizards, there are a lot of opportunities for major divergence.

If it's just a question of principle then I have no objection to mentioning these events in the game; I'm just a little wary about assuming too much when it comes to canon.

[Steilos]

It's been a while since I posted my character here, but I've been watching the threads. Considering giving Carson a dust-off and sending him to the Robot Wars. (Craig Charles not included)

[Mina Kobold]

It's been a while since I posted my character here, but I've been watching the threads. Considering giving Carson a dust-off and sending him to the Robot Wars. (Craig Charles not included)

That reminds me, anyone here that would be interested in playing in Super Robot Wars ITP? We're kind of low on players, which is sad as it's about giant robots and aliens (Don't ask me, they're from Evangelion or something)

And just to get back on topic, how long have ESPers existed in our game? I'm not sure if they ever mention how long Academy City have existed in the manga but even then there are the Gemstones.

[Silverraptor]

Well, I posted Jason's dad, Ryan Williams. I have yet to fully post his mom at the moment, hence why her name is never mentioned in his backstory.

Now, we just need to get Anti-Skill involved...

[Callos_DeTerran]

And just to get back on topic, how long have ESPers existed in our game? I'm not sure if they ever mention how long Academy City have existed in the manga but even then there are the Gemstones.

They don't say but I remember thinking about it for a bit and determining (with not entirely sound logic) that ESPers must have been around for 30-40 years, because you never see an ESPer over 30 (though it's difficult to tell) and all the fuss over them in canon seems to imply they are a recent phenomena...well...comparatively recent.

...I am confused that Sakurako doesn't know her already, though. Since they are both Judgement members.

Because Judgment is not a small organization and I didn't think they were part of the same district?