DSE: Chapter 1 | The Beginnings [OOC]

[Azlan]

But now, actually on topic (fairly rare for my posts, evidently :o), we don't seem to have any captain. Who is the superior officer on this ship? A NPC?

The director forgot to cast him... quick grab a good looking stage-hand!

[Snuggles]

It might be too late to join but could i?

[bill]

Can you pilot a ship? 

[Snuggles]

I could why?

[Arcalane]

Recruitment will have to wait until the crew manages to dock with a starbase/spacestation, or land on a planet.

[lucas marcone]

all cower before the mighty captin SNUGGLES! *wemen and children run men cower in fear.* "NOT THE SNUGGLES! THE HORROR!"


yeah it has a ring to it....

[Arcalane]

That ring? That's your telephone going off. I'd answer it if I were you.

[Joshua]

I suppose, if no one else wants the job and you're reluctant to post an NPC one, I could take on the role of captain. I haven't decided on how to enter yet and was waiting for an opportune moment to do so. I already mentioned in his bio that Josh use to captain another vessel, and any captain worth his salt should know how to pilot the ship he commands.

[Snuggles]

If you guys need a captain or a pilot that badly i will do one or the other but Lucas is right captain snuggles does have a nice ring to it
...
COWER my minions COWER!!!

[Arcalane]

Oh, and you'll need ta be fillin' in one of them thar character sheets, I believe the template is somewhere on Page 1 or 2...

Here it is again!

Name: Or closest translation to Galactic Standard, aka English
Age: If Important (may not be to non-organics)
Gender: If Applicable
Species/Race: Name in Gal-Standard/English

Appearance:
Tell us how your character looks. Are they tall or are they short? Fat or thin? Handsome or ugly? What kind of clothes do they wear? Standard civvies, or military clothing?

Species/Race Data:
Fill in a paragraph or two - three or four if you want - describing how your race evolved (or who built you), how it looks, what senses it has (ie, infravision, hypersonic hearing, but no taste) and how technologically evolved it is. An acidic gelatin blob from Sardaukar V might be very simple, but have some innate abilities - like the ability to sense nearby life forms via electrical energy (like a shark can) or detect brainwaves - and thus make a very good 'bloodhound'. You get the idea, right?

Personality:
Describe the personality of your character. Are they efficiency-obsessive, or very laid back? Are they liable to snap at the drop of a hat, or always on top of things? Are they always diplomatic, or do they say what's on their mind all the time, without tact? May not be applicable to all races, such as our acidic gelatin blob from you-know-where.

History:
What's your character done for a living before this? Were they a Mercenary, Pirate, Swashbuckler, Rogue, Thug, Bodyguard, Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Policeman, Security Officer, Teacher, Flight Instructor... what have they done? Why did they do it? Why did they leave/quit? Have they been in trouble with the law? Have they ever killed someone? In cold blood? For money? Or did they lead a relatively normal civilian life, and are now looking to escape from the monotony?

Personal Possessions:
Does your character have any personal possessions? A handgun that saved their life, or a memento of their family? An armour fragment from a ship they destroyed? A family heirloom, or ancestral keepsake?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Name: Unprintable. At least in couth parts of the galaxy...
Age: Unknown, but probably more than you think. Or less, depending on how cynical you are.
Gender: Attempting to enquire would likely involve much pain on your part. Unless he thinks you're sexy.
Species: Humanoid, but still vague.

Appearance: Short, fat, grubby little scum.

Species: Humanoid, grubby little scum that they are. Short sighted, average build, short - but don't call them that, they have a race-wide case of "Short Man's disease" and a chip on their sholder big enough to support the roof of a marquee...

Personality: He's a short-order cook. As long as he doesn't spit in the food, or pee in your beef wellington, what more do you want?

History: Nobody really knows, and, frankly, given the way he smells, nobody really wants to get close enough to find out.

Personal Posessions: A set of chef's knives, a grubby hat, and a few well-worn, and probably fairly tasty aprons.

.... wot, me? Taking the piss? Never....

[Arcalane]

If I wanted a peanut gallery, I'd ask for a peanut gallery. GTFO already.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

ok, ok. No need to get antsy about it...

[ITOS]

Oops. I might have killed the RP.

We really need a captain to get the crew going and take responsibility for decisions. We either have to elect one or get a new crew member.

[Joshua]

You didn't kill it ITOS, it's just the holidays and the holiday weekend.

[Arcalane]

Which still doesn't explain how Pardus had 499 active/online players/members during Thanksgiving!...

(That's about average for normal 'active'/currently online players count)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"You're all geeks with no life" ? *hides*

[Azlan]

"You're all geeks with no life" ? *hides*

Toses Llearch out of the thread, "away with ye!"

[ITOS]

If we have weapons and armor, shouldn't we post stats or characteristics of those at some point?

[Stygian]

I am unsure as to what weapons I could possibly possess. The suit could be considered a part of Sebastian's gear, as he must have had it with him when leaving the Husk. But he has no weapons in his place except those handguns, and I'd rather not use those (not just because I don't know how I'd formulate the specs on them). I'm much more of a heavy rifleman, so if anyone should be carrying the heavier firepower or equipment, it'd be Sebastian.

[Arcalane]

If we have weapons and armor, shouldn't we post stats or characteristics of those at some point?

Characteristics, at least. What kind of damage types they use, etc. See here for more details

Also take note what kind of armour it is, how thick it is, whether or not it's designed to protect against NBC hazards, that kinda thing. The more detailed you are, the more likely it is to save your ass.

[Eibborn]

Is there a standard issue on the ship? I'd assume not, as it's not a military vessel or anything.
Of course, if that's the case, then our resident Nikitak is weaponless. He'd do well enough in a melee fight, I suppose. He could just brawl.

[Stygian]

Armor profile: Larus manufacture SOHA-95 C infantry armor

Type: Mediumweight integrated cyber-mesh armor

Weighing in at an approximate sixty pounds, consisting of helmet, power and computer unit, underlaying mesh, and torso, leg and arm armor, the SOHA-95 is the military version of the STOA-92 police armor. It is a tactical special operations armor that is common among several militaries, and while slightly old is still an excellent piece of hardware thanks to the quality and serviceability of its design.
   The SOHA-95 was made with flexibility and power in mind. It is not a stealth-capable piece, unlike some more modern, less protective systems, but compensates for it with protection and versatility. Quite flexible, it sports only the most basic of supporting actuators built into its undermesh, and because of several design features and the presence of interface connectors, it would be much more proper to classify it as a cybernetics-supportive armor, rather than an actual powered one. It also features a notoriously powerful compact power unit, and excellent multispectrum sensor array, both managed by a fast processor and all built into a rather slim and solid design that easily accomodates quick movement and maneuvers.
   In terms of protection, the SOHA-95 should be considered good for a piece of armor of its class. True, it was never meant to take fire head-on from up close, but its armored pieces are resilient, and the mesh is bullet- and tear resistant, though one should definitely not be wandering far from cover in it if facing fire from field rifles or heavier weapons. As it originates from the Nithalan system, where plasma and laser weapons are nearly as common as high-efficiency kinetic ones, the SOHA-95 sports excellent heat and flame resistance, and is both NBC-shielded and EMP-protected. The C version of the piece also comes featuring a rebreather and extended oxygen storage for moving in space.
   The SOHA-95 design was later reworked into the SOSCHA-99, a modernized and slightly less armored stealth-capable piece that has yet to see much use, and to appear on the black market.

   (It is worth noting that Sebastian has repainted his armor all-black and onyx-coloured, and that he has reworked his helmet a bit with better sensors and a smooth face-visor. The large studs around the shoulders and the leg armor is not standard either, and grants just a bit more protection)

Protection: 5/10. Good for moving quickly and standing up to laser, plasma and corrosion damage, but doesn't give the same kind of protection against kinetic or pulse weapons. EMP- and NBC-proof, and space-capable.

Systems: 8/10. Excellent power supply, sensors and interface, but lacks stealth or other special features.



Ist dieser ganze Nutzen? I think I can make some drawings and give some specs on a machine rifle I'd like to use if you want to.

[Boog]

The iron exoskeleton provides a decent amount of defense, and the stunner arm isn't too different in effect from a very large, not quite as powerful shotgun. When it fires it blasts out the cloth part of it's speakers, so they have to be replaced every few shots. The new legs just make him faster over long distances. Not quite as extensive as Stygian's new duds, but usefull.

[ITOS]

Armor profile: Shaa

Type: Custom-made heavy space armor

History: Shaa was developed for the very special situations a tactical boarding crew is faced with. It had to work in both 0-G space and in small corridors with artificial gravity. It had to resist EMPs (a target gets EMPed before it's boarded) and be very protective against explosions (explosive devices are often set up to slow down boarders and are cheap heavy weapons compared to energy weapons).

Features: The skintight inner suit is what protects the wearer from the vacuum space. It keeps the pressure up and controls the body temperature of the wearer. It also has a mesh (aka servos) which aid in carrying the heavy suit around in an environment with gravity.

The outer suit looks very tubby... or slack, especially on Angel who is quite short. Unlike most armors (that use platings) it's based on a very strong fabric that can spread out kinetic and heat damage over the whole suit. You can compare it to an energy shield that takes damage, the damage is absorbed by the whole shield not only where the projectile hits.

On top of all this is the so called "hard ware". A thick west covers the upper torso and contains energy supply, air filters, electronics and support for an AI-TOS (Angel doesn't have one in her suit at the moment, it requires many linked suit to function properly). Larger sockets for ammo and equipment are located on the legs. Bracelets and boots contains mini-boosters for maneuvering in 0-G.

The helmet is very plain and has a smooth surface. A slight change in tone indicates where the visor and sensors are.

Engineers have not yet been able to put in a cloaking field, external ones are available but sparesly used since they are expired upon use.

Protection:

Very high against kinetic and explosions. Not as good against energy weapons.

EMP: Fully protected.

Corrosion: Very high against radiation, medium against acids.

Biohazard: It's a space suit.


Blarg for spelling and grammar. :-(

[Aldoun]

Sorry about my absence, post will be forthcoming tomorrow. And I'll see about getting specs up for Thivirith's weapons/armour.

[Arcalane]

On a sidenote, spacecraft, vehicles and 'infantry' all use different armour/damage scales. Notes will be included for any modifiers relating to larger or smaller targets.

In other words;

A 25mm Hypervelocity Cannon on a ship will do, say, 25 damage to another ship. It might do 50 damage to any vehicles, and 100 damage to 'infantry'. Likewise, an Assault Rifle that does 4 damage to infantry might do 0 damage to vehicles and 0 damage to spacecraft. A tank's 30mm HVC could do 40 damage to other vehicles, 80 to infantry, and only 10 to spacecraft.

That kinda thing. There's no general scaling between 'em.

EDIT: This is just a heads up before I go doing the armour durability and such, so you don't go "wow, my armour is so tough it could survive a direct hit from our ship's guns!"

[Azlan]

I'll document a little about the security armor he rarely uses... he tends to utilize the Armored Flightsuit stored in the shuttle.

Armor profile: Explorer Corp Light Security Armor


Type: ECL-12X Hazardous duty Light body armor


History: This light security armor was developed for use by merchant marine, civilian law enforcement units and government organizations.  It is based off of the AL-40 military grade light armor.  This variation is a customized model developed for use with the Explorer Corp., since this particular group operates in multiple, potentially dangerous environments and situations.  Rather then create multiple individual armors to cover specific duty types, which would conflict with the flexibility and adaptability that is their hallmark, they designed three classes of armors with all the features that could conceivably be needed.  The armor is relatively heavy for a "light" armor, but its weight is alleviated with a light utility exoskeleton that perserves the natural agility of a Valallian.  Due to the possibility of hazardous environments up to and including hard vacuum, the suit is environmental, EMP resistant and sturdy.  The primary difference between this version and the military one is the thickness of armor protection and the exoskeleton on military suits is designed to enhance the user's strength and agility.


Features: The armor consists of two parts the first of which is an insulated and heavily padded inner suit made of a synthetic material highly resistant to tearing and cutting, fire resistant and the vacuum of space.  The material is very similar to silk, but it is synthetic and molecularly constructed.  This inner suit balances pressure to insure circulation to all extremities and controls temperature.  The inner suit also contains the exoskeleton enhancer mesh that augments the user's strength and dexterity to enable them to better handle the weight of the outer suit in a gravity well.

The outer armor suit consists of the primary armor pieces. Unlike most armors the outer armor plating consists of layers of durable molecular polycarbonate that is still rather advanced compared to other races.  The inner armor layer consists of a highly structured crystalline material aligned on a molecular level to distribute kinetic forces evenly over the entire surface.  The outer layer is a similar molecular polycarbonate composite that dissipates the constituents of energy weapons and reflects lasers.     

The suit is NBC shielded and environmental and attaches microtanks to the back of the suit with highly compressed air supply.  Two such tanks are attached to the outer suit unit and one attaches to the inner suit.  A well trained Valallian can operate for three days on the air from the tanks (1 day per tank) before needing to switch to the rebreather units.  The rebreather can extend the suit by an additional two days per tank contained in the suit. 

The suit uses replaceable micro-energy cells and accepts standard energy cells or specialized bio-energy units which are extremely expensive.  The suit accommodates three total energy cells, two in the outer unit and one in the inner part.  The suit has energy life to operate for 72 hours at highly active use or twice that on an economy level.   There is a built in computer system for monitoring all the suit systems, it is redundant, having processor cores in the outer suit and inner suit.  The left arm of the unit has the keypad and a holoscreen for operational use when the helmet is not present.  The inner suit uses a small PDA sized device when neither the helmet or outer suit are present.   

The helmet accommodates only a Valallian, as it is designed for a creature with a muzzle and ears on the top of their head.  The helmet has an excellent sensor system built into it, with infrared, lidar, telescopic and microscale capabilities as well as sound dampening, external pickup and enhancement and ultrasonic.  The visor is also highly polarized and possesses a HUD that displays all vital computer functions. 

The suit is designed to accommodate psionic sensitives and all Valallians possess a limited machine empathy that allows them to operate psionic technology even if the specific individual does not possess the full psionic power in a minor or major capacity.

EVA in zero-G is capable through add on units for maneuvering and propulsion, otherwise the suit has emergency units for minor maneuvers.  The suit's utility belt provides a 10 ft magnetic/manual grapple and cable for attaching to ships or other objects to pull one's self in.

The outer suit provides interal holsters for sidearms, 1 per thigh and contains a variety of small compartments to store small objects. 


Protection:

The suit provides protection for all areas of the body: hands, arms, feet, legs, tail, torso, head.

Very high against kinetic and energy weapons.

Medium resistance to incendiary/fire

low verse plasma

Fully protected against EMP.

Corrosion: Very high against radiation and acidic materials.

Biohazard: Fully NBC.

[bill]

Armor Profine: Jordan-Collins-Winthrop S7 "Orangecoat"

History/Features: The JCL S7 hazard jacket (including gloves/pants) was developed for use for general protection against biohazard situations. It essentially is a heavy hooded jacket. However, the outermost layer of the jacket is chemically treated to be extremely resistant to chemical agents, fires, and explosions / shrapnel, which made it rather popular with miners. The nickname "Orangecoat" derives from the jacket being extensively used by emergency teams, who ordered the jacket in orange. The jacket, however, is generally seen in black in other cases.

The entire jacket, when gloved, hooded and fitted with a standard gasmask, is an effective airtight hazmat suit, though decidedly not suitable for vacuum conditions.  Being heat-resistant to very high temperatures, the jacket is also able to protect the user rather nicely from laser based weapons , and obviously flamethrowers (if anyone actually uses those anyways). The jacket does not protect against projectile based weapons very effectively, and is advised to be used with a second layer of light armor underneath, if the situation requires.

The gasmask is rather strong against direct hits by small arms, though if the situation actually requires it to do so, than the user is likely to be in a spot of bother. The gasmask itself is a filtration model, with a hose on the front leading to a small filtration unit mounted on the belt. The hose is rather sturdy, and is made to last general wear-and-tear. The eye lenses in the gasmask are effective protection against bright light. The mask can be detached from the hood if deemed necessary.

Possibly the most popular feature of the Orangecoat is it's lack of requirement of a power source. Everything is either a part of the suit, or mechanical, such as the gas filtration unit being driven by the user's breathing. Thus, EMP  attacks will not affect the suit at all, though items inside the suit are likely to be affected.

Protection:
Kinetic: Mediocre/Bad (Gasmask segment does protect rather well against direct hits)
Explosive: Very Good
Laser: Good
Plasma: Mediocre
Pulse: Useless
EMP: N/A
Corrosion/Radiation: Excellent
Biohazard: Excellent

[Stygian]

Weapon profile: Ares manufacture Ixion heavy support weapon

Type: Mark IX HCPR-59 B heavy personal plasma lance weapon

History: It is no chance that the Nithalan megacorporations are the leaders within fusion and laser technology. With cold, mostly desolate planets available for dangerous testing, easily harvestable gas planets nearby and good mining and rare metal resources, the Nithalan system was set to become the hub for fusion and antimatter research and development as soon as corporations like Nault and Aramaki & Henderson, later to become Ares Industries, set up operations there. Like the Rouligians have developed most within pulse and "pure" energy weaponry, and the Machina Union along with Malleus Corporation hold dominance when it comes to high-efficiency kinetic weapons like rail drivers, so the Nithalan corporations, first and foremost Ares Industries, have a clear advantage when it comes to plasma and laser weaponry. The Ixion support weapon is a perfect example of this.

Looking a bit like an overly large and complex machine gun, the Ixion consists mainly of a heavy, powerful and very resilient plasma cycler accelerator, that compacts the charged and superheated gases passing from the shoulder-mounted fuel cell, into the charger at the back of the weapon, and sends them to compress along an accelerating rail and out through the sling-back barrel rails into a long, slim coherent stream of plasma that has a tremendous in-atmosphere range for such a weapon, as well as accuracy. It is meant to fire at targets of up to three kilometres away, and when used in military maneuvers has proven absolutely deadly to infantry formations and lighter vehicles, especially since the B version of the weapon features a phasing module. The Ixion fires its "lightning lance" in streams of up to two and a half seconds long, and recharges in almost equal time. But it is advised however, that one take great precaution not to overheat the weapon, as a leaking or unstable portable plasma cannon is the last thing an infantryman wants to carry around. Therefor the Ixion features an integrated regulation system which automatically sets the recharge time to seven seconds. And even then the barrels need to be exchanged regularly.

The Ixion was only ever made in small series, and is a quite new weapon, but can be bought for the right price. It runs on hydrogen fuel cells of type 5 or 6, and while very heavy, easily weighing in at ninety pounds total, can still be used effectively by a single gunner because of the weapon's evenly distributed kickback, which is also dampened thanks to a recoil displacer system.

Damage type: Plasma, heavy and continuous

Ammunition: Three type 5 fuel cells give 90 seconds of even fire. Three type 6 fuel cells increase this to 120 seconds

Cyclic rate: One shot every seven seconds, two seconds of fire (6.67 shots per minute)

(this weapon is merely a suggestion. Just thought of it, and thought it seemed cool)