Secure Comms 001: OOC Chatter, Prattle, Gossip, and Blather

[Pulpatoon]

Does they the link work for those of us sentients without optical organs?

Absolutely! Alien life is very diverse, and most technology is designed to accommodate as wide a range of morphologies and psychologies as possible.

Did any of you ever read the Green Lantern story (I think maybe it was by Alan Moore?) where a Green Lantern is trying to recruit a representative from a new species—a silicon-based life form without sight—and she can't teach him the Green Lantern's oath because both the words "Green" and "Lantern" are untranslatable in his language? I think she ended up shaping the ring into a C# bell.

Ah! Found it! It was F#!



And now that my brain is traveling down this path, I'm reminded of Matt Howarth's comic, Keif Llama, Xeno-Tech. I'm pretty sure Keif was the only human/humanoid life form in the book, and most of the stories were about navigating the differences of communication between aliens with completely different sensory apparati a modes of communication.



Anyway, I love that sort of thing. I had considered for awhile that, along with a Link, everyone would carry a "Multy," a handle designed for their species' organs of manipulation that you would plug into any technology you needed to use. So, a gun or a screwdriver wouldn't have a handle, just a socket for you to plug your multy into. But then I decided that at this level of technology, most equipment could probably reconfigure itself easily enough. Only really cheap or really personalized equipment wouldn't be species-configurable.

As long as I'm sharing comics pages, here's my own attempt at showing a diverse group of non-humanoid aliens:

[Pulpatoon]

I need to flush out a few things this week, but am very excited to play a robot. Some of my thoughts:

1. No to the "Religious experience" (for now)
2. Do I (the robot) tell this crew what really happened to me?
3. Perhaps my external appearance is a basic polycarbonate coated alloy exterior that looks human(ish). Very basic so as to blend in. Something I purchased myself.
4. Did I share the source of the anomaly with my previous owners?
5. How did I gain freedom from the owners? Was I expendable and therefore discarded for parts upon my return, and then quietly slipped away?
6. Do I secretly follow instructions of Assist/a Matryoshka named 1.618? Or do I have my own purpose now? Self discovery, something much greater?
7. How did I fall into this particular party? I think I (the robot) would see things through a very specific lens/crystal...What do I gain/How will this interaction bring me to my ultimate goal (knowledge, power, enlightenment, a mission for a Matryoshka named 1.618)?

Excellent thoughts and questions! There is one that I can provide some world-lore on:

• How did I gain freedom from the owners? Was I expendable and therefore discarded for parts upon my return, and then quietly slipped away?

Manufacturing positronic brains is a fickle process. Two brains produced under identical circumstances can have wildly different outcomes. One may be good for nothing more than running a dishwasher, and the other might be fully sentient and sapient. So, before a brain is installed in, say, an armed and armored battle chassis, there is a period of evaluation. Freshly decanted brains go to the bot-garten, installed in various plastic bodies, and given a chance to perform simple tasks.

Most bot-brains are virtual intelligences—able to simulate a convincing conversation, and to adapt to changing circumstances, but not actually self-aware.

There are well-established and easily available protocols for a machine to declare itself sentient, and a reliable test to prove that it is truly self-aware and not just a virtual intelligence. Because of the influence of the Matryoshkas, galactic civilization takes the rights of sentient machines very seriously. Once a machine is recognized as sentient, they are immediately granted the full rights of galactic citizens.

Some brains are late-bloomers, and do not declare their sentience until after the bot-garten period. Manufacturers and owners don't like when this happens, because who likes to lose equipment that they have invested in? Galactic law does allow an owner to bill a sentient robot for the cost of its own construction, and it is not uncommon for a bot to sell its chassis, downgrading to a simple plastic one, in order to defray the cost.

So, I would imagine that your character's previous owners would assume that you were just a late-blooming spontaneous sentience, and dismiss any notion of intervention by a Matryoshka. They would have found this annoying, but nothing compared to the loss of the rest of the survey team—at least they were able to recover your data.

All of this has implications for Jeeves, as well. He might be a very advanced virtual intelligence, indistinguishable from another intelligent being. In this case, his position as valet is programmed. If he's actually sentient, then he is in this position by choice, and could make decisions contrary to it if he had motivation to do so.

[shaidar]

I guess a bot without and owner can be taken by anyone and is simply property. So it makes that a sentient bot would declare such and get the protections due a sentient machine, unless they align themselves with someone who they trust with their secret to be their 'owner' and help keep them 'safe'. I suppose you could get your sentience papers and still hide behind the anonymity of a standard bot body and fake being non-sentient.

All of this has implications for Jeeves, as well. He might be a very advanced virtual intelligence, indistinguishable from another intelligent being. In this case, his position as valet is programmed. If he's actually sentient, then he is in this position by choice, and could make decisions contrary to it if he had motivation to do so.

True, and I can see either way for Jeeves being interesting for varying reasons. The idea of Jeeves being a late bloomer is very enticing, but I'm happy to leave the reality of that up the GM . If Bertie really thought that Jeeves had become sentient then she wouldn't hesitate to encourage him to take the tests. She would lose a useful companion and hopefully gain a friend.

[Pulpatoon]

Which brings up a point i meant to ask about earlier: Do you want to run Jeeves, or would you prefer that I run him as an NPC?

[shaidar]

Would you mind running him as an NPC?

[Pulpatoon]

No problem. If I ever find my self keeping too many plates spinning, I may pass him back to you.

[shaidar]

That's cool if you need to.

[Pulpatoon]

For my own ease of reference, I've made a spreadsheet of everyone's characters:
Free Starspiel Characters
Please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong! If you'd like editing privileges, please message me your email address.

[Rex]

That is helpful. We seem to be pretty balanced.

[shaidar]

Rules question:

So how do skills work when it comes to making a roll? If the have the skill do you roll with advantage and if you don't have the specific skill you roll normally? Or does having a skill mean you roll 2d6 normally and not having it means you roll with disadvantage?

I'm just trying to work out the benefit of having a skill has mechanically, if any?

[Pulpatoon]

Right, that does require some clarification, doesn't it?

My previous campaign with this ruleset was played with a mixed group of adults and children. The kids needed clear, consistent guidance on when they had advantage, and so we played that any relevant skill or ability granted advantage. This made it pretty easy for the players to always have a leg up, which sapped excitement from the game.

My preferred take on it that nothing on your sheet necessarily gives you advantage. Rather it describes your character. And sometimes the general nature will place them in an advantaged position. Does that distinction make sense?

Most characters are heroic and broadly competent, and can try most activities with a normal roll. Some things, like building a warp drive or sending a telepathic message, are only possible if you have the specific skill or ability. I suppose a good rule of thumb is:

• if you use a skill for a task that anyone could attempt, you roll with advantage (3d6k2)
• if you use a skill for a task an unskilled adventurer could not attempt (or would roll with disadvantage), you roll normally (2d6)

Around a tabletop, vagueness can lend itself to interesting negotiations. But that sort of back-and-forth can really slow PbP down, so I am hopeful that I can leave advantage and disadvantage to your discretion. Towards that end, I'd ask people to keep in mind:

• the goal is not win, but to have crazy adventures
• failure is often more interesting than success
• we can adjust these rules as we go until we find our goldilocks zone

Does that sound workable for everyone?

[Rex]

It works for me.

[shaidar]

Works for me too.

I was just wondering, so I'm happy whichever way you want to do it.

[Algernon]

That works for me (re: Advantage)

Also...So sorry for being offline. This past week or so has been crazy. Things have finally settled and I can get back into the groove here. I'll catch up today, get my character finalized and added to the spreadsheet, and make a post or two.

Also2...I'm on board with your reply to my question "How did I gain freedom from the owners?" Thank you.

[seanfsmith]

Heyall -- sorry for the delay in getting in: it's been a weird past month!

I've made an ambulatory lizard lad who's mechanistically almost Betazoid if you're taking Star Trek as a jump point!

[Rex]

Glad to have you. He looks cool.

[shaidar]

indeed.

Prof Pulpatoon are those pay rates per person or the whole group?

How much is air?

[Pulpatoon]

The pay rates are for the group. Honestly, I have no idea exactly what the scale of the economy is supposed to be like. I was shooting for something respectable but not lavish. My intention is: If you just pull a quick rescue job, you'll make enough to live well until the next job and maybe upgrade some equipment. If you do some extra stuff or have good luck, you could end up with a lot more—maybe enough to get a ship!

Once you guys are contracted, we can forget the air rates. You'll fall under the Guild's umbrella life support package. The atmosphere charge was just a kick in the pants to get things moving from the first post. I'm not actually interested in tracking every credit, and am happy to hand-wave most resources.

[Pulpatoon]

Oh, the 200 credit advance is per person, however.

[shaidar]

that's all cool