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redshiftooc2020-03-29 06:48 pm
vosseeker) wrote in redshiftooc2020-03-29 06:48 pm
Horizon City Explore Plot - Stage 1: The Prep
Hey everyone! Here's the official plotty post for an exploration plot based on the February TDM prompt, where a mystery city has appeared on the horizon. A plot request was submitted and here are some key points that we learned about it:
• Visible from top of the Anchor dome, the city appears dead and seemingly empty, stretching almost from horizon to horizon. While the city is too far to make on foot, the vehicles in the garage could make it there, but not all the way back (with their current battery range).
• Revealed by aerial scans, the city appears to be a colony like Anchor (where the city center is built down into the ground as opposed to upward) but clearly much, much larger and made with more advanced building techniques. It is also surrounded by tall spires, the tops of which are what's visible poking out of the sand tide. The part of the city that's depressed into the ground is mostly full of sand at this point, with the spires being the most visible part. It appears there was a dome similar, but it's currently not in effect because there's no power in the city.
• While characters can explore the parts of the city that are visible, it's currently impossible to get inside--the windows don't break, and any roof access points are buried or jammed. This means that a large scale excavation would be required to explore the city in a productive capacity, which might be worthwhile because...
• These scans have also revealed some peculiar readings! Although it will require some actual samples to be acquired for testing to confirm (which Starscream did not get because he was busy getting chewed on), initial data suggests the presence of materials from characters' worlds (the mods have suggested mythril, energon, vibranium, etc as examples, but please feel free to volunteer other canon-specific substances). This makes the prospect of salvaging from the mystery city a potentially fruitful one, as these materials have the makings to really help things around Anchor.
• HOWEVER this will not be a stroll in the park - in addition to being mostly buried in the sand, the mystery city (we really should give it a temporary name) also appears to be home to many giant sandworms. They're active at night, they're super toothy, and they're aggressive enough to collectively attack a 25' robot and win.
Just a minor inconvenience, really.
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So with all that in mind, if your character thinks that exploring the mystery city has some merit and would like to help out, this post is for hashing out what ways they can contribute. This plot is open to absolutely everyone, no matter how they want to pitch in, and there's lots of opportunities to be involved. If nothing in this post strikes your fancy, leave a comment and everybody can brainstorm with you.
Here are some initial logistics (info pulled from the setting page) that will need to be focused on:
• SPACE JEEPS - Presently there are THREE working jeeps and TWO more that need repairs before they'll run. As mentioned above, their current 6-hour battery life isn't enough to get to the city and back before needing recharging, so characters will either need to make additional battery packs or extend the life of the existing battery packs.
• PROTECTIVE GEAR - Including suits, helmets/masks, and oxygen tanks. While there are a few suits in good order, there are more that need repair and refurbishment to be used since the planet's air quality is poor and hazardous. (For OOC sake, let's assume that if all the suits are reconditioned, there will be enough for all characters interested in participating in this plot.) Additionally, oxygen tanks will need a means of being refilled outside the colony, or a system will need to be set up to cart them back and forth.
• SHELTER - Given the distance between Anchor and the mystery city, traveling to and from every day would likely be prohibitive, so characters will need to address the topic of somewhere to encamp while they're conducting the excavation and exploration of the city! As an added challenge, these shelters will need to be able to withstand sandstorms and (assuming characters don't want to live in their suits for two weeks), make use of some sort of radiation shielding inside the shelter. And maybe breathable air, too. Stretch goal!
• SUPPLIES - Food and water of course, but also: tools, containers and storage for any recovered goods, living essentials... basically anything that people would need to live on-site for a week or two (or however long we end up doing Part 2 for).
And let's not forget...
• DEFENSE - Get think-tanking on that problem, because no one wants to get eaten by sandworms. Really.
---
The list of suggested prep work above is NOT exhaustive! If there's something else your character wants to do to help prepare for the adventure, drop it here! Once we've had some time to play out this build-up (and solve that pesky sandworm problem), we can do a round-up post and hit the sands in Part 2.
(And if there's anything I missed, please let me know and I'll edit this post. Thanks!)
• Visible from top of the Anchor dome, the city appears dead and seemingly empty, stretching almost from horizon to horizon. While the city is too far to make on foot, the vehicles in the garage could make it there, but not all the way back (with their current battery range).
• Revealed by aerial scans, the city appears to be a colony like Anchor (where the city center is built down into the ground as opposed to upward) but clearly much, much larger and made with more advanced building techniques. It is also surrounded by tall spires, the tops of which are what's visible poking out of the sand tide. The part of the city that's depressed into the ground is mostly full of sand at this point, with the spires being the most visible part. It appears there was a dome similar, but it's currently not in effect because there's no power in the city.
• While characters can explore the parts of the city that are visible, it's currently impossible to get inside--the windows don't break, and any roof access points are buried or jammed. This means that a large scale excavation would be required to explore the city in a productive capacity, which might be worthwhile because...
• These scans have also revealed some peculiar readings! Although it will require some actual samples to be acquired for testing to confirm (which Starscream did not get because he was busy getting chewed on), initial data suggests the presence of materials from characters' worlds (the mods have suggested mythril, energon, vibranium, etc as examples, but please feel free to volunteer other canon-specific substances). This makes the prospect of salvaging from the mystery city a potentially fruitful one, as these materials have the makings to really help things around Anchor.
• HOWEVER this will not be a stroll in the park - in addition to being mostly buried in the sand, the mystery city (we really should give it a temporary name) also appears to be home to many giant sandworms. They're active at night, they're super toothy, and they're aggressive enough to collectively attack a 25' robot and win.
Just a minor inconvenience, really.
---
So with all that in mind, if your character thinks that exploring the mystery city has some merit and would like to help out, this post is for hashing out what ways they can contribute. This plot is open to absolutely everyone, no matter how they want to pitch in, and there's lots of opportunities to be involved. If nothing in this post strikes your fancy, leave a comment and everybody can brainstorm with you.
Here are some initial logistics (info pulled from the setting page) that will need to be focused on:
• SPACE JEEPS - Presently there are THREE working jeeps and TWO more that need repairs before they'll run. As mentioned above, their current 6-hour battery life isn't enough to get to the city and back before needing recharging, so characters will either need to make additional battery packs or extend the life of the existing battery packs.
• PROTECTIVE GEAR - Including suits, helmets/masks, and oxygen tanks. While there are a few suits in good order, there are more that need repair and refurbishment to be used since the planet's air quality is poor and hazardous. (For OOC sake, let's assume that if all the suits are reconditioned, there will be enough for all characters interested in participating in this plot.) Additionally, oxygen tanks will need a means of being refilled outside the colony, or a system will need to be set up to cart them back and forth.
• SHELTER - Given the distance between Anchor and the mystery city, traveling to and from every day would likely be prohibitive, so characters will need to address the topic of somewhere to encamp while they're conducting the excavation and exploration of the city! As an added challenge, these shelters will need to be able to withstand sandstorms and (assuming characters don't want to live in their suits for two weeks), make use of some sort of radiation shielding inside the shelter. And maybe breathable air, too. Stretch goal!
• SUPPLIES - Food and water of course, but also: tools, containers and storage for any recovered goods, living essentials... basically anything that people would need to live on-site for a week or two (or however long we end up doing Part 2 for).
And let's not forget...
• DEFENSE - Get think-tanking on that problem, because no one wants to get eaten by sandworms. Really.
---
The list of suggested prep work above is NOT exhaustive! If there's something else your character wants to do to help prepare for the adventure, drop it here! Once we've had some time to play out this build-up (and solve that pesky sandworm problem), we can do a round-up post and hit the sands in Part 2.
(And if there's anything I missed, please let me know and I'll edit this post. Thanks!)
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I'd like to offer up Len for protective gear (I'll leave the Jeeps to Mick) and general repairs/problem solving. He isn't an engineer by any means, but he can perform repairs and even some improvements to most physical (not computer) tech. If there was someone with the skills/knowledge to build a better suit, helmet, etc. he could build from schematics, or replicate the process almost perfectly with minimal instruction thanks to his eidetic memory. All he has to do is watch.
This bitch is an escape artist and knows a thing or two about getting in and out of dangerous places. What he lacks in education he makes up in street-smarts and 'prison' skills, AKA juryrigging things with the available material on hand and coming up with off-the-wall solutions for problems.
Like making toilet hooch. Being behind bars gives you a lot of time to get creative.
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Main problems:
1. killing a sandworm in the first place so it can be resurrected and controlled
2. actually getting the dweeby necromancer out there, given he has no technological skills, no mining skills, and no real interest in exploration. He would be a great mapper and note-taker, though.
BUT he could totally be convinced if any of his CR were going, as he has a vested interest in keeping them alive, or he could be convinced in other ways! Also, he doesn't need to eat or breathe or any of that fun stuff, so he'd be one less person to suck up resources. With proper glyphs and enchantments, he could conjure magical wards to keep the violent winds of sandstorms at bay (can't really do much about radiation or actual air, though) to help bolster shelters.
I'd like to get him into this plot somehow, but haven't yet put the pieces together for the how part, so if anyone has any ideas, please hit me up!
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Also I ended up on a Dune wiki walk last night and apparently their sandworms can be killed with very small amounts of water. Soooooo perhaps it's not as farfetched as it sounds!
(Although perhaps we should hope these are not Dune sandworms, if only because Kabal doesn't need more shit to get high off of.)
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But yes, Qubit going would be a perfectly good reason, especially since he's full-tilt about keeping what friends he still has in Anchor around and alive after Reynir's disappearance. Will have to have it come up at some point between them. o7
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But for reals, he will be there to make sure a certain lackey doesn't betray him.
*points at mask, points at Carlisle*
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A few ways he might make himself useful:
1) If the weather conditions aren't completely crazy when they arrive, he might go into the city ahead of the crew and try to clear their route of obstacles, making sure it's safe for the vehicles to roll through.
2) Defense! He'll want to protect the vehicles/camp (for entirely selfish reasons, of course) from sandworms and any other serious threats, if he can. RE: the sandworms, he might try to lead them away from the crew.
3) He'll want to scout the entire city alone (again, if the weather conditions aren't crazy). I presume he won't have any luck opening windows, doors etc. with his weapon, but I'll be sure to check with the mods, just in case!
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and look good while doing it. She's very tank-like so she makes for a sturdy defense and strategist.Given her abilities she could probably handle causing a few sandworms to explode before she starts to overheat herself, so she'll have to be careful with that (spoilers: She won't be).
She's also pretty handy with the mechanical and engineer side of things, since she was also interested in beefing up the jeeps or seeing if there's way to allow them a round trip rather than a one-way.
Lastly she's been looking to break through some of Anchor's security systems, and managed to get access to the closed off section of the medbay, so they might be able to have some backup healing medgel and tech to bring along.
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As for the sandworms, he's curious about what it is that catches their attention. Sound? The shifting of the sand? Is there any way to distract them and make them head in a direction away from the group? If they could work that out, they might be able to keep the worms away from shelter at night and then excavate purely during the day.
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Well, clearly they need to observe the sandworms!
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Also Peter could probably whip up some sort of mini shield generator for the shelter, I figure he could figure out how to do that after studying those little personal sized shield generators because he is a giant nerd. He can make sure whatever tech crap they bring along stays up and running and help out with Jeep maintenance and stuff. He's not like, a mechanic, but he can totally lift the Jeeps if someone needs to change a tire.
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A couple things that may be of interest:
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Who's staying behind to look after Anchor?
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Conveniently pocket sized!
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In the meantime: this is all pretty much Angel's wheelhouse. Both building, lifting heavy things and exploring leftover tech from other groups of people. She's going to be in her damn element.
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"There are a couple of options for this. Peter would definitely be able to make a shield generator that blocks all the dangers of the wastelands, but not one that would be too small or portable due to how much power it would require. Alternately, he could build a smaller one with less power that would only block out the worst of the deadly radiation that would be easier to carry along.
So they could take a much slower trip with a fully protective shield generator that would require a lot of muscle to lug around, or move faster and lighter with a less powerful generator that will keep the alive but not much else. Either option is fine."
SO we have two options, and I will leave it up to Y'ALL which one we go with
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