Today's Messages (OFF)
| Unanswered Messages (ON)
| Forum: Canon Material |
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| Topic: Campus Schedule |
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| Campus Schedule [message #72968] |
Mon, 18 February 2013 12:54 |
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 E. E. Nalley
Messages: 603
Registered: July 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA |
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Well, the schedule at Whateley is designed to be as flexible as possible to give the students plenty of leeway in what they want to study, while still giving a well rounded education. The period chart would look something like this
Midnight Period (12-1am)
Generally only used for Magic classes that have spells needing to be preformed around this time period. Student should note that the time of the class is for LOCAL midnight, which may be different from the clock!
New Day Period (1AM-2AM)
Also a magic user only period for cool down and post casting lab work.
Dawn Period (6AM-7AM)
Generally magic, but other classes, such as Flight are offered at this time.
Breakfast (8-9) Crystal Hall
1st Period (Home Room) (9:15AM-10AM)
2nd Period (10:15Am-11AM)
3rd Period (11:15AM-Noon)
Lunch (Noon-1PM) Crystal Hall
4th Period (1:15PM-2PM)
5th Period (2:15PM-3PM)
6th Period (3:15PM-4PM)
Club and Extra Curricular (4:15PM-7:00PM)
Dinner (7PM-8PM) Crystal Hall
Evening Period I (8:15PM-9:00PM)
Evening Period II (9:15-10PM)
10:30PM Curfew All Students without Pass must be in their Cottage
11:00PM Lights Out
Night Period (11:15-Midnight)
Generally a Magic Period for preparing spells to be cast at midnight.
Now, the vast majority of students will have all of their classes in periods 1-6, some without even knowing about the other periods. And keep in mind, this is a guide line as the Crystal Hall is actually open practically from Sun up to Curfew.
Be a dreamer who DOES, not a dreamer who dreams!
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| | Topic: Regulation Eighteen: Privately Owned Vehicles on Campus |
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| Regulation Eighteen: Privately Owned Vehicles on Campus [message #39091] |
Tue, 17 May 2011 22:16 |
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E. E. Nalley
Messages: 603
Registered: July 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA |
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Section 14 Student Possessions on Campus and In Dorms:
Regulation Eighteen: Privately Owned Vehicles on Campus
Due to the limited amount of parking on campus, the narrowness of the campus roads and the desire of the faculty and staff for safety, students may not maintain, possess or operate any motor vehicle on campus that requires display of a license plate for operation on the public roads of the State of New Hampshire. This policy shall apply to any motorized conveyance, number of wheels or lack thereof not withstanding, that shall to the reasonable and prudent man to be generally considered to be a car, automobile, motorcycle, truck, APC, Armored Car, tank, infantry fighting vehicle or any other device at the discretion of the Head Mistress, the student's houseparent, or the Head of Security.
Whateley Academy understands the needs and desires of students to be more mobile and independent than the Dunwich and Berlin shuttles may allow. That said, any Junior who has completed DD100 Defensive Driving for Overland Vehicles and has registered their driver's license from their home state or nationality shall be authorized to keep one (1) vehicle as described in paragraph one of regulation 14-18 on the campus.
Any student enrolled in the Advanced Technology Program who wishes to specialize in automotive or air craft design may be issued a waiver to regulation 14-18 while actively enrolled in classes that require the possession of such a vehicle. Student's requiring this waiver must fill out Form 14-18W and have it cross signed by the instructor of the ATP class, or the ATP Department Chair. The Student must also take and pass DD100 Defensive Driving for Overland Vehicles and have their driver's license registered from their home state or nationality with Security before the student may operate the vehicle on the grounds of the campus. This will not affect the student's ability to possess and work on the vehicle during class time however.
Any student who maintains a 'B' average and is a member in good standing of the Whateley Academy Automotive Club may also keep and maintain one (1) vehicle as described in paragraph one of regulation 14-18 on the campus. Such a student must also fill out Form 14-18W and be cross signed by the Faculty Adviser of the WAAC, as well as take and pass DD100 Defensive Driving for Overland Vehicles and have their drivers license registered from their home state or nationality with Security before such a waiver shall be allowed.
Any student owned vehicle must display a Whateley Academy numbered Parking Permit on the driver's side rear window (if equipped or rear bumper if not) for that school year or the vehicle shall be subject to tow at the owner's expense to Mike's Auto-Salvage and Pull-A-Part, Berlin, New Hampshire.
Student drivers shall obey all road regulations and the posted speed limit for the entire campus is 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour) unless otherwise posted. Students are cautioned that driving on the campus is a privilege that can be revoked at any time by any member of security, the administration, or the student's house parent for any reason. Vehicles equipped with obvious weapons may NOT be operated on any yellow or red flag day except under the direct supervision of a member of the Advanced Technology Program faculty. If the student has any doubt as to what constitutes an 'obvious' weapon they should acquire the judgment of a member of the ATP before operating the vehicle on any but a green flag day. Discharge of any weapon from any vehicle except on an appropriate firing range under the supervision of Whateley Staff shall be grounds for the student loosing their driving privileges at the discretion of the Head Mistress.
Students are strongly encouraged to employ common sense when operating a motor vehicle on the grounds or near the school. The local law enforcement agencies have been made aware of the meaning of a Whateley Academy numbered Parking Permit and will report any transgression or law breaking to the school. You cannot get away, so do not try. Such a report is grounds for the student loosing their driving privileges at the discretion of the Head Mistress.
Any student having questions about these regulations should acquire the pamphlet Cars on Campus which is available at Security Headquarters in Kane Hall.
Be a dreamer who DOES, not a dreamer who dreams!
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| | Topic: LEO Re-posted |
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| LEO Re-posted [message #38962] |
Mon, 16 May 2011 22:23 |
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E. E. Nalley
Messages: 603
Registered: July 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA |
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The Loyal Engineering Order of Whateley Academy
History
The group was founded in the in late January of 1970 by an Engineering Track student named Joe Wilkins, who would go on to be the super villain Gizmatic and later ruler of Karedonia. Admission to the group is restricted to only those mutants with a Gadgeteer or Devisor rating on their MID, and further, new freshmen are not made aware of the organization until the beginning of Winter Term of their Freshman Year. This is so that the incoming freshmen have a MID to inspect. The group was founded by Joe to avenge a beating he took, standing up for another devisor by two Exemplars and grew to include every devisor and gadgeteer over time as a mutual aide society.
Organization
The Chief Engineer, a senior who is selected by the out going senior class the year previously, heads up LEO. The Chief Engineer oversees all meetings of the group as a whole and assigns positions to sub-committees as needed. Most of these committees are temporary in nature, however the Circle of Masters is one of the few permanent Committees.
Each engineer is assigned a rank based on accomplishment and technical achievement of that student through out the year. A significant invention will raise the engineer's rank, sometimes substantially. Freshmen receive the rank of Initiate Engineer for the remainder of their first year until they defend their work before the Circle of Masters to rise in rank before the summer break heading into their sophomore year.
The ranks each have five ranks, fifth being lowest and first being highest, and usually correspond to the year in which the student currently belongs but this is not always the case. The ranks are Apprentice, Journeyman and Master. Further, each engineer identifies him or herself by their codename, their year in the school, which devisor or gadgeteer subset they belong to and their rank. In a LEO meeting, real names are never used, unless the member has eschewed a codename from the school. This event is rare but it does happen.
Be a dreamer who DOES, not a dreamer who dreams!
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| | Topic: Gun Law Re-posted |
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| Gun Law Re-posted [message #38961] |
Mon, 16 May 2011 22:20 |
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E. E. Nalley
Messages: 603
Registered: July 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA |
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Law, don't ya love it? Well, you asked for it and We have spoken. What follows is how the existent, real-world gun laws came about in the United States and how they changed in the Whateley Universe.
First, you have to understand that EVERY gun law in the US is the result of a publicized shooting incident(s). People get upset and Congressmen and Senators start writing laws to 'do something'. Now, in a universe with super powered mutants, a good bit of that 'urge' for lack of a better word would be directed at mutants and the mutant 'threat'. Gun law in the Whateley Universe is far more lax than in our world, for two reasons.
One: The publicity that would get gun laws passed in the first place is being given to covering 'mystery men' and later 'super heroes' and:
Two: Whether they are an effective equalizer or not, guns likely help a large number of John Q. Publics feel 'safer' because of all these costumed yahoos running around.
So, what follows is a VERY brief summary of the major Federal Fire Arms statues, why they came about and what they did.
• National Firearms Act (1934)
This first piece was a direct response to the Chicago Gang wars and the highway bandits of the 20s and 30s. It created the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (Prohibition, remember) as a sub branch of the Treasury Department for one specific reason. Machine guns, short barreled rifles and sawed off shotguns couldn't be made illegal due to the second amendment, but they could be TAXED out of affordability of the average citizen. So, to legally own one of the aforementioned weapons, you had to pay a tax stamp for the exorbitant price of $200. Thus, the BATF or 'revenuers' as they were known throughout Appalachia collected this tax and why they are a part of the Treasury Department, not the Justice Department.
Changes:
None, however the 'corporate culture' for lack of a better phrase is very much different in the BATF of the Whateley Universe. The ATF exists mostly to categorize reproducible Gadget weapons and further classify devisor weapons once they pass their 'experimental' phase. As such, ATF agents are known through out the law enforcement community in the US as a group of Gun Bunnies and geeks who'll nerd out at the drop of a hat over what some mutant came up with.
• Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (1968)
This law and its sister act below were both in response to President Kennedy's assassination. This law is primarily about wire tapping and anti-crime prevention funds, for fire arms it established and national licensing system for firearms and firearms dealers and made the age to possess a handgun 21.
Changes:
The handgun age was a 'poison pill' slipped into the law that last minute in senate amendments, designed to derail the law being passed. In the Academy Universe this amendment was voted down and the rest of the law was approved and signed unchanged. As it stands now, when you get your drivers license you can get a hand gun, and before that if your parents and/or guardian are ok with it.
• Gun Control Act (1968)
Also in response to the death of President Kennedy for firearms this had a number of important additions. It required that all taxable weapons under the NFA had to be registered with the Federal Government by their present owner and any subsequent owner who bought the weapon. It also established the BATF Form 4473 you have to fill out when you buy a weapon from a dealer as well as prohibiting a fire arm being bought and delivered directly to your door through the mail. (Lee Harvey Oswold bought the rifle he shot Kennedy with in this manner.)
This also laid out a list of 'proscribed persons' who have permanently lost their right to own a fire arm. They include; convicted felons, dishonorably discharged veterans, citizens who renounce their citizenship and other sundry reasons.
Changes:
On the whole, this was a pretty good law. There were a lot of murmurings that registration leads to confiscation about the NFA weapons (machine guns, etc) but the registry makes sense; especially for odd ball weapons like these. The mail order bit was voted down as the nonsense it was as all it does is by pass the 4473, so you can still buy firearms through the mail in our universe, but the seller is obligated to report the sale to the BATF and you have to provide all the data you would on a 4473 anyway.
Also the Ford Amendment makes use of a Paranormal Ability in the commission of a Crime a Felony punishable by not less than 5 Years in Prison and $100,000 fine. This was added as a bone to growing concerns about the rise of mutants throughout the country and the need to codify what would not be tolerated by Americans.
• Firearms Owner's Protection Act (1986)
This is something of a mixed bag of laws. It prohibited the Federal Government from maintaining a registry of any non-NFA fire arm, clarified the proscribed persons list, and included the 'Safe Passage' provision that kept a person from being arrested for violating state fire arms laws if they were only 'passing through' the state trying to get from A to B. It also included a number of poison pills; the most onerous of these was the Hughes Amendment that closed the registry of NFA weapons. IE, if the NFA weapon wasn't already registered when the law went into effect, it never could. This created a finite number of NFA weapons nation wide and their prices skyrocketed over night. You can't own a 'new' machine gun and to buy one used (assuming you qualify) will set you back $9,000 MINIMUM, plus the $200 NFA tax stamp.
Changes:
These are two fold. First, The Hughes Amendment didn't have a snow ball's chance of being passed in a world that has super villains. So the registry is still open and while they're probably expensive ($850 for a Mac10 and $1,200 for an M-16) you can buy a new machine gun and register it. Second, this law created a nation wide super Concealed Carry permit. States could still issue state CCPs, but this Federal permit would require a week long course of theory, law and practical exercises but, when issued, allowed the holder to carry anywhere. It made the holder a Volunteer Air Marshal and so allowed him or her to carry on Airplanes in domestic flights, buses, trains and other public transportation. This had repercussions of course, see the concealed carry notes below.
The O'Neil Amendment makes the use of Paranormal Abilities in public against any citizen of the United States a felony. It raised the punishment of the Ford Amendment to 10 Years and $200,000 fines. These are automatic with the exception of 'Accredited Training Facilities in the Safe Use of Paranormal Abilities' and, under subsection 21J requires any paranormal using a power in public against a citizen of the United States to identify him or herself to the senior law enforcement agent present who will certify that the actions were "necessary, prudent, and in good faith". Without this certification, the use of powers against US Citizens is an automatic Felony as described above.
• Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993)
This came about due to President Regan's Press Secretary taking a bullet for him. It required a back ground check for a person attempting to purchase a firearm from an FFL Dealer to determine if they were a proscribed person.
Changes:
While Regan was shot, as was Brady, in the Academy universe gun control is not only tough, but extremely unpopular. To the point of getting the original sponsor of the bill run out of office or even impeached. Hand Gun Control Inc is still only a two or three person crusade run by Sara Brady who has trouble getting anyone to listen to her for very long.
Conversely, the National Rifle Association is largely a civic organization who holds tournaments, teaches boy scouts their firearm merit badge, has largely taken over running the Federal Concealed Carry Permit Certification and for the most part doesn't concern itself with politics. This act never became law.
• Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994 - 2004) (now defunct)
This law grew out of two separate shootings; the Columbine High School shooting and the Abilene Texas Dinner Shooting. It banned several dozen weapons based solely on cosmetic features due to the 'military style' weapons used in the high school shooting as well as limiting new magazine capacity to 10 rounds due to the diner shooter using a matched pair of Glock 17s with 20 round magazines.
Changes:
Superheroes and super villains make many changes through out history. In the Academy Universe, the Columbine shootings weren't anywhere near as bad, due to the intervention of the White Witch and Mr. Elastic, who managed to evacuate bunches of kids before it got too nasty. The diner actually had a CCP holder at the shooting, but as Texas law forbade her from having her pistol in the diner she left her pistol in her glove box. Here, this courageous individual held a Federal CCP stopped the diner shooting.
Likewise, a number of high profile gun standoffs were averted through the actions of Heros before things got out of hand. This was the case with the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents. As such, this law also was never passed.
NOTES:
Case Law:
Technomancer vs. the TSA allowed mutants to carry on airlines as a volunteer air marshal; the legal basis of this decision was that Technomancer went through an approved NRA FCCPC course. The court held in one of its historically rare unanimous rulings that failure to issue the permit violated the due process rights of any mutant so denied.
Civilian, Gadgeteer/Devisor creations, NFA, Military Grade Weapons, What's the difference?:
While the NFA defines licensed weapons due to their unusual nature, BATF regulations codify new weapons into one of four categories:
CAT 1 Experimental
Any weapon which exists only as a prototype or less than five (5) serial numbered units is classified as experimental. While there are no special taxes or restrictions on the construction or possession of such weapons, any such weapon must be registered with the BATF by writing within one (1) week of assembly and an example submitted or otherwise demonstrated to a qualified ATF technologies officer within one (1) month of assembly. The weapon will be categorized as CAT 2, CAT 3 or CAT 4 unless the inventor signs an affidavit certifying no more than five (5) serial numbered units will be constructed. Any weapon whose working action or mechanism is functionally identical to an already registered design will inherit that designs category. (The Custom Gun Smith amendment)
CAT 2 General Use/Non-NFA
A weapon receiving this category can be manufactured for sale to the general public, provided the manufacturer maintains a Class 10 FFL, the units of such sale shall not be subject to registration or collection of the NFA tax stamp.
CAT 3 Restricted Use NFA Certified
A weapon which meets one or more of the following criteria may be manufactured and sold to the general public providing the manufacturer maintains a Class 10 FFL and the units of each sale shall be subject to registration of sale within twenty four (24) hours to the NFA Registry and a NFA tax stamp must be paid.
• capable of firing more than one projectile with one pull of the trigger or
• has an over all length of less than 18inches and is meant to be fired from the shoulder or
• has a smooth bore, but is not a shot gun over 18 inches in length or
• fires a projectile that is self propelled beyond the barrel while being less than .50 caliber or
• fires explosive ammunition or
• qualifies as a LASER, Charged Particle or other Beam type weapon or
• fires a projectile greater than .50 caliber or
• for reasons specified by the testing officer on ATF form 2136 to possess destructive force of a level in keeping with the NFA.
CAT 4 Military Grade/Class Three License Required
A weapon which meets one of more of the following criteria may be manufactured and sold only to Class Three FFL holders, Certified Law Enforcement and Armed Forces providing the manufacturer maintains a Class 10 FFL. All transactions of such weapons must be certified by an Agent of the ATF who shall certify the recipient of such weapons qualifies to receive them.
• Fires a projectile fed from a belt or rail system or
• fires an explosive projectile greater than .50 caliber or
• fires a projectile that is self propelled beyond the barrel greater than .50 caliber
• employs biological, chemical or other agents intended to disperse over an area greater than 5 square feet
• has a smooth bore greater than 3 feet in length or
• has a rifled bore greater than 6 feet in length or
• qualifies as a military grade LASER, Charged Particle or other Beam type weapon or
• for reasons specified by the testing officer on ATF form 1997a to possess destructive force of a level intended to engage in warfare and beyond the forces of civilian grade weaponry.
Concealed Carry Permits:
Due to the Federal Permit, State Concealed Carry Permits are something of a non-issue, if you'll forgive me a bit of gun humor. The state permits remain largely as they did in 1986. 8 States had permits rated 'shall issue' (IE you fill out the form, pay the fee and you get the permit.) They are:
• Alabama
• Connecticut
• Indiana
• Maine
• New Hampshire
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Vermont (required no permit whatsoever)
• Washington
26 States had May Issue permits (IE you fill out the form, pay the fee and you get the permit if the Sheriff says you can). Bribery probably helps some, but even with its week long class requirement, the Federal Permit is an easier way to go. And, of course, 15 states were No Permit to issue, but were required to honor the Federal Permit.
Private and 'State' Militias and the Militia Movement
There are many private militias that revolve around several principles (not to say that all militias follow this, but they're popular threads):
an oppressive government, or a government that MIGHT become oppressive
a conspiracy by some small group (blacks/Jews/Gnomes of Zurich) to take over
future laws may be passed to restrict guns or other current rights
survival in the event of society's collapse
In the Whateley world, the first two points are strongly de-emphasized. The big threat is MUTANTS, and sometimes mutants infiltrating or controlling the government to wipe out the hated "norms." (That is, "Sure, we hate the government. But not because it's the government, because it's controlled by mutants!") Also the organization of a Militia as a Class 3 License Holder allowed the group to legally purchase Military Grade CAT 4 weapons. Because of the stringent inspection requirements of the Class 3 License for weapon storage areas these groups are far less secretive and a number have even achieved a certain amount of respect.
Furthermore, because of this shift in emphasis, militia groups are much more tolerated by the general public and government as well. Several famous stand-offs that distantly relate to this topic (such as Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidians at Waco) happened very differently. There was no government standoff, no publicity. For anyone interested, the government sent in super-powered teams, took over quietly, and there was no TV standoff.
Taking all of this together, the public attitude toward militias is an order of magnitude more positive than in our world. There have been no big incidents to cause suspicion or fear, and they're seen as a possible defense against mutant problems.
Be a dreamer who DOES, not a dreamer who dreams!
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| | Topic: Range Control |
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| Range Control [message #12466] |
Sun, 08 June 2008 18:35 |
J.G.
Messages: 470
Registered: July 2006
Location: Hell's frozen buttcrack |
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The range crew is NOT set up along military rank organization. It just happens to (mostly) fall along that line due to seniority of hire. I.E. order of hire. Sam Everhart is only keeping an eye on Caitlin "officially" so the ATF and suchlike have a legal chain of custody over the range operations that Caitlin (a minor, legally) oversees. Caitlin could lock the ranges down without the supervision both effectively and competently. Everhart's only there to keep up appearances.
In order of seniority for the range crew we have:
1.) Sergeant-Major Sean Burlington-Smythe (first seen in the Hive stories): Range Control Officer. Former British SAS. The Sergeant-Major oversees the overall operations of the ranges and handles the paperwork. He is a very hands-off manager, and rarely instructs the students directly, although when he does the kids are sure to learn something new. This is the HMFIC of the ranges. Even Carson is reluctant to override and edict on the ranges from him, even though she can.
2.) Gunnery Sergeant Oscar Bardue (First seen in Tea and Synergy): The visible leadership of the ranges, this retired marine answers to Smythe and handles most of the active, day-to-day dealings on the ranges, ensuring that the crew is appraised, alert and that Mahren and Wilson don't slack off on the mandatory paperwork. Gunny Bardue's Bailiwick is Range 1, the primary annex of the underground range, handling small to medium caliber rifles, concentrating on both static and combat marksmanship. Gunny Bardue is understood by the students to bee the most intimidating yet fair man on the range crew.
3.) Cat McQuiston (KIA, Range position open as of year 1 semester finals): Cat was the "odd man" of the Range crew, having been a member of the LAPD SWAT and mutant investigations division, having left the force shortly after her promotion to Lieutenant. Cat McQuiston alternated between teaching on range two, the pistol/SMG range and tutoring Manifestors and Avatars. Easily the most popular teacher among the students on the ranges, Cat was far more likable than her compatriots.
4.) Staff Sergeant Ryan Wilson (First seen in Upheaval): Ryan Wilson is an ex-army ranger and sniper. He avoided being shuffled to an M-SOC unit by weaseling his way into his Regimental C.O.'s good graces. An Exemplar six, Wilson much prefers to deal with people as thay are rather than taking a "I'm superior" position. Wilson is the teacher of the basics. Kids who learn to shoot on the ranges are required to sit in on his basic marksmanship and safety lectures. Currently Wilson is subbing for Cat on range two. Wilson is also the ammunition and supply manager for the ranges, keeping track of every bean, bullet and band-aid used in training, and procuring more.
5.) Corporal Erik Mahren (obviously pre-caitlin): In the running for the top five most hated teachers on campus, Erik Mahren had, arguably, the most dangerous range position, handling Range 4, an outdoor area used for heavy impact and firepower. He oversaw the use of weapons and blaster-type powers fully capable of destroying tanks and buildings, and thus was a merciless enforcer of safety regulations. Remarkably quiet about his past, Mahren was the guardian of Range 4's "back cage" a repository of some very dangerous equipment, to include more than one devise or gadget that could represent a national security threat. Beyond that, Mahren is known for taking cocky students to the sims, and tearing them apart to show them that embarassing lesson in what baselines can actually accomplish, and he has startling insights on how to defeat dangerous mutant opponents.
Always before (and especially now) that order of seniority applies. Whoever replaces Cat and Erik as the official range instructors will be "Junior man" regardless of experience. it doesn't matter if one person WAS an admiral. If Smythe says jump, your ass better be in the air while he tells you how high to fly.
As a student, Caitlin is permanently "house bitch" in the ranges, mostly keeping track of gun counts and making sure that the cages stay secure, as well as doing whatever odd jobs the crew comes up with (realistically the crew lets her do what she always did, save for actual teaching).
Ammunition transports happen twice a semester, with the entire range crew as well as one squad of Security Personnel in attendance (for varying reasons, mostly because mahren and Wilson hate them, Platoon 3 of Security is NEVER allowed to do this escort duty). The ammunition is convoyed to the storage bunkers annexed to the ranges and stored. Without being one of the range personnel, or having Chief Delarose's willing compliance, one cannot access any of the ammo storage compartments.
Primary range regulations are as follows:
1) treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2) never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3) keep all weapons on safe until you are ready to fire.
4) keep finger straight and off-trigger until you INTEND to fire.
Accident history of Whateley Academy:
there have been firing accidents on every single range in whateley academy due to carelessness, inattentiveness or students ignoring instructors. In the last six years, since Bardue began using mahren as the "house hatchetman" there have been no range accidents, and any student who violates range rules was turned over to Erik for his particular, and unique brand of detention. Since 2000, twenty-three students have been permanently banned from the ranges, and ANY range crewman can terminate a student's range privelages with a word.
Getting those privelages re-instated takes a near-act of God. This has happened only once in the school's history, and Mega-Death went above and beyond the call of duty in redeeming his act of indiscretion during his first month at Whateley.
Restoring privelages requires a Teacher recommendation from a range instructor, and then the student must convince Carson, Delarose AND Smythe that they have mended their ways. The Ranges are a privelage, not a right, and the crews are absolutely merciless when it comes down to it. None of them are willing to have dead children on their consciences.
Jericho: "Get your mind out of the gutter, you're blocking my periscope."
Eldritch: "Hey, I'm a classic case of what happens when you give a nerd a gun."
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| | Topic: Security |
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| Security [message #11527] |
Mon, 14 April 2008 18:45 |
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Warren
Messages: 1556
Registered: January 2005
Location: Wet wonderful Washington |
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This is still subject to change at the whim of the canon authors, and some of it has.
Whateley has hired the best people they can find for these positions. Applicants are carefully investigated and must pass many tests to prove their ability. Many tests for their loyalty and commitment to their positions are also conducted. Many without their knowledge. Continuing education is a must for everyone in the security organization. The majority of these men will have at least some military training, and combat experience is a plus on the resume.
The security division reports directly to the school administrator. All officers are expected to be, or become upon hiring, federal law officers. As such they have the right to arrest and or give tickets for violations, and to carry firearms.
The division is lead by a Chief: Currently Franklin Delarose. The main offices are in Kane Hall.
Under Chief Delarose are his three lieutenants, each of whom controls three squads. If Chief Delarose is not available, the senior on-duty lieutenant has authority (and responsibility) for all security, personnel, and procedures on his watch.
There are a total of nine active (or combat) squads. Each squad includes a sergeant and five squad officers. All are well trained and maintained in combat fitness. Three squads make up a platoon, which is commanded by a lieutenant. A lieutenant and his entire platoon serve two weeks on, one week off. The week off is often spent away from Dunwich. Each squad also has four weeks of intensive off-site training every year. This is broken up into different chunks, usually taken squad by squad. The final result is there are usually only five combat squads on campus at any particular moment.
For those five squads, duty is twelve hours on, twelve hours off, but there are three shifts:
| A Shift ("Morning Shift") |
5 AM - 5 PM |
2 squads |
| B Shift ("Evening Shift") |
1 PM - 1 AM |
2 squads |
| C Shift ("Graveyard Shift") |
9 PM - 9 AM |
1 squad |
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Perhaps not the most efficient schedule. You can see double lines for 2-squad coverage, single lines for the 1-shift graveyard coverage. Note that there are 3 squads during the "wake-up, get to class" period, and 4 squads during the "out of class, afternoon energy" period. There's also three squads from shortly before official "lights out" until "way too early in the morning" (lots of troublemakers in that slot). But hmmm, there's a "hole" from 1 AM to 5 AM. If anyone's up to something sneaky, I wonder when they plan to do it?
There is also a group of about twenty officers considered on administrative duty. These are candidates for the squad positions and can fill in when necessary. They handle most of the day-to-day activities such as traffic control, etc. They are expected to be trained and ready to fill in as needed but their duties and schedule tend to be less strenuous. Four to six of these people are usually on duty, operating out of the Admin building or assigned to monitoring and special services.
Equipment:
Whateley security is equipped with some of the finest devices available, and some that are not usually available to anyone else. (Many of Whateley students do extra credit work devising some of these. The ones that can be operated by anyone are available for use if necessary. One of the big draws for potential recruits is the chance to play with some of these toys:)
Along with conventional equipment, the officers will have some of the most advanced body armor available. This includes a helmet with built in multipurpose visor, (flash protection and sight enhancement), and an attachable respirator, (gas protection and even underwater breathing capability).
Equipment will usually consist of a multipurpose selective automatic rifle, .308 cal. With an attachment similar to the m203 which can fire an electrical stun charge similar to a taser. The .308 was chosen for its knockdown power and the rounds used will be modified for this purpose. A nine millimeter pistol and combat knife are also basic equipment. They will also normally carry two each of stun gas, flash, smoke, and web/net grenades. Other equipment as necessary or depending on position in the squad. Most squads will have one or two carrying internal monitoring devices that allow them to monitor to some extent conditions in adjoining rooms and hallways.
Heavier man portable equipment is available at need, but will only be released for use by whoever is in command at that time. This includes jet packs for flying and the like. Security also has two patrol cars assigned that are more for show than anything else as most parts of campus can be reached more quickly on foot.
For those familiar with CHAMPIONS role playing, they will be similar to UNTIL and VIPER agents with better equipment on average.
Theft:
This is a crime so bad that both the good and bad officers will hate you. Officers have access to a lot of expensive equipment. You could make a nice fee by selling some to a street gang or small survivalist group. (Bigger groups don't need to buy from corrupt cops, they can go to an international supervillain arms dealer.) But if you steal from the force, you make everyone's job harder. That one time they really need the Gizmo Projector, it's missing. People get hurt. Bad. If an officer is caught stealing equipment, he quickly finds himself in a deadly situation with faulty equipment and no backup. In fact, Whateley has had 17 officers die in the line of duty since the sixties. Six of those were major tragedies, with full investigations (and a considerable amount of payback). Eleven were quickly glossed over as "hazards of duty" or "officer negligence." You figure it out.
Current organization:
Chief: Franklin Delarose.
Platoon 1:
Senior Lieutenant Colin Forsyth
Squad 1:
Squad 2:
Squad 3: Sidney Bellinger, Chet Haskins, Victor (background in Tennyo's story)
Platoon 2:
Lieutenant Christian Reynolds (eager beaver, wants to prove himself)
Squad 4: Sgt. Harris, Officers Kretch, Willkinson, Breen, Bradley Grimes, Randall.
Squad 5: Tom (Tomikz?), Michaels, Daniels
Squad 6: Johnson
Platoon 3: "The Bashers" (Alternately, "Simeon's Slugs" and "Payola Platoon")
Lieutenant Simeon Trout
Squad 7: Sgt. Hackitt, Green, Metler, Trews, Daniels, and Michaels
Squad 8: Simpkins
Squad 9:
Sensor techs: Mark Mathews (6'3 black ex-marine)
Admin: Dan Moore, Erickson(Computer expert), Sgt. Clay Buxton (corrupt, runs gambling and involved in "Palm" incident)
Staff size:
A security staff of nearly 80 officers, nearly 60 of them with military/SWAT training? Well, let's just say it's a tough school. And if you think these guys are a drain on the budget, you should see the construction/repair crew!
Corruption and salary:
Remember, over half the budget is coming from the side that sees world domination as an interesting pastime. So while most of the officers are good and true, there is another batch that is more concerned with observing the letter of the law (and not the spirit), making future employment contacts, and lining their pockets (either looking the other way or blatantly helping). Virtually all of this last variety is concentrated in Platoon 3. The board is well aware of the oddities of Platoon 3. If there is any serious injury or damage, Platoon 3 knows they'll be called on the carpet. They also know that anything below that (if they can get away with it) is considered to be just another educational tactic used by the school to educate their students in dealing with the "real world." By the way, when a squad from Platoon 3 takes graveyard shift, there's a pretty good chance that something's going down in the next two weeks.
Leaks:
Virtually everyone ("good" and "bad") is receiving alternate paychecks from intelligence services, clandestine organizations, military units, etc. (That's how the Crystal Wavers knew about Nikki so quickly.) Heck, the better contacts out there serve as "sources" for several services at the same time. Everyone (on the security force) knows this. They compete to keep the juicier tidbits to themselves, and keep it out of the official records. A computer hack won't be able to download your full record, because Officer A kept only private notes, to get a better fee (a scoop!) when he reported to Beijing and the Australian Order of Mystics. Not to say that you won't have records, just don't expect the security force to add much that's useful (or accurate).
[Updated on: Mon, 14 April 2008 18:48]
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| Little-Known fun facts [message #11510] |
Mon, 14 April 2008 02:35 |
J.G.
Messages: 470
Registered: July 2006
Location: Hell's frozen buttcrack |
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JG's list of 213 things I am no longer allowed to do in the canon cabal
1.I will not try to sell Auly's soul on Ebay anymore.
2. Hart's soul was already sold on Ebay
3. Nor is there any interest in my soul. Apparently word gets around about damaged goods
4.Not allowed to attempt dark rituals to banish SCA events into another reality where their skills might actually be USEFUL.
5.Not allowed to declare myself Lord of all that I survey while talking to the other authors.
6.Not allowed to try to get Bender to write about happy things anymore. The other authors do not share our vision of "happy"
7.Not allowed to go off my medication on any day I might speak to the other authors
8.Caitlin Bardue is NOT Gozer the Gozarian's love child.
9.Jericho is not "All that and a bag of chips."
10.Even when he is in drag.
11.Not allowed to refer to Hank and Ayla as the wonder twins anymore
12.No longer allowed to write horror stories. Anything involving the teletubbies or barney is also verboten
13.Reverend Englund is not "Our Lord and Savior" and I should stop referring to his scripture while adding things to the bible
14.Not allowed to add things to the bible without a unanimous vote anymore
15.Not allowed to tell anyone WHICH bible
16.I am NOT encouraged to give falsified information about the bible to send fans into a speculative tizzy.
17.No longer allowed to speculate about Chaka's Ki farts
18.Not allowed to include the good ship serenity in any act of whateley fiction.
19.Even if Inara is on board.
20.My leather jacket does not allow me to comment on the rules of magic to Maggie even though it is reminiscent of Harry Dresden's
21.Nor does my leather jacket give me the mystic power to smite my enemies with a tidal wave of velveeta.
22.Not allowed to replace Renae's medication with caffeine pills
23.Not allowed to initiate new canon authors with a chainsaw.
24.Not allowed to use a branding iron on fan fic writers
25.Even if it IS an appropriate symbol
26. the word BITCH is not an appropriate symbol
27. I am never to bring the following characters in any story at the same time: Merry, Morgana and Lady Lightning
28. Hart is not allowed to violate JG's rules
29.Nor am I allowed to encourage him to do so
30.Or Renae
31.Or Motley
32.A xeroxed copy of my ass is not a terrain map of Whateley Academy
33. In fact I am never to use my ass for anything involving Whateley ever again
34.Super-powered mutants are not real and I should not encourage stupid people to take part in my Devisor experiments.
35.No longer allowed to steal plot hooks from Animaniacs
36.The Devisor Lab is not run by two labratory mice who's genes have been spliced
37.Supergluing Bek to Babs does not constitute cold fusion, and I should refrain from doing so ever again.
38.contrary to state laws, Hart is never in season, nor do I have a hunting permit for one per year
39.Am not allowed to dress like willy wonka and discuss the social ramifications of cannibalism ever again.
40.Even if I have the cool Goggles Johnny Depp wore
41. Warren is no longer to be referred to as "Billy the Squid"
42. Puns are never to be used unless they are funny
43.According to E.E. Nalley my puns are never funny. Even if they are.
44.Not allowed to rewrite Enter the Chaka to fill the readers in on Chaka's tragic, yet sordid history
45. Fey does not consult the magic eight ball for pop quiz answers
46.I am not, in fact the only person who can correctly pronounce Aunghadhail
47.No longer allowed to call babs Mini-me
48. No longer allowed to declare myself dead sexy during plot discussions
49. Not allowed to encourage renae to eat more sugar
50.Tennyo is not the antichrist
51.Jade becoming a girl is not, in fact "A sign of the apocalypse."
52.Until she births the antichrist
53.Dr. Bender is not a good Barometer of wether a story is "too dark."
54.I may not use Warren's websites as testing grounds for my subliminal messages.
55.I am not allowed to reference religious figure of import (i.e. christ, buddha, Brigham Young) in a story indicating them to be alive and well and fighting evil with truth, enlightenment and a caddy with fuzzy dice on the mirror.
56. No longer allowed to attempt to trade Ren for cappucino
57.No longer allowed to attempt to trade Motley for smokes.(who'd have thought Tai chi could hurt so much?)
58.No longer allowed to sign Warren up for medical experiments
59.Even if Bek asks me to.
60.Wiccans are not related to any "Wiccan witch of the west," nor can they be defeated en masse with a firehose.
61.I am no longer allowed to roshambo anyone for story priority
62.I am not to tell fans that Babs is recovering from a near-fatal sugar-overdose.
63.Am not allowed to inform nitpickers that Nobody loves them
64.Even if it is true.
65.I am not "Here to whip the authors' sorry asses into shape."
66.I am not allowed to say it either until after I get my sorry flabby beer gut under control.
67.No longer allowed to inform people that my beer gut is responsible for war crimes in Africa.
68.I am never to eat burritos before an author's meeting again.
69.Barney is not Starwolf's hero.
70.No longer permitted to give E.E. Nalley plot device ideas. (Come on guys! Dredz with a thermonuclear handgun was a GREAT idea!)
71.I am not to feed Dr. Bender's paranoid delusions by feeding him LSD and screaming about the chipmunk panzer brigade at the door
72.No longer allowed to collaborate with Maggie unmedicated.
73.Am not allowed to write stories involving Banana Cream Pies ever again
74.Even if the fans deserve that kind of psychological trauma
75.Shroud is not a hyped up golf caddy.
76.Tennyo does not ask shroud for a nine-iron and a can of whupass.
77.Chaka's claim to fame has nothing to do with her burgeoning career in the mutant porn industry, post-whateley.
78.I am not allowed to accuse Kirsten Darken of stealing my doritos.
79.Nor am I allowed to petition to interrogate her in the "inquisition room" about my missing chips.
80.Hank Declan does not wish he was me.
81.Neither does Fey.
82.No longer allowed to dress up in Tenchi Muyo costuming I create myself. (A cardboard box with Tenchi scribbled on the front is apparently not good enough)
83.I am not allowed to send my zombie minions after people who annoy me.
84.Angry trekkies whom I have whipped into a rabid frenzy at my victim are not to be referred to as "Zombie Minions"
85.Am no longer to ever speculate about the Jobe/Hekate/Fey love triangle ever again.
86.Am no longer allowed to tell people who piss me off that nobody loves him when I am having a sadistic moment.
87.Am no longer allowed to tell anybody on the forums that nobody loves them.
88.Am no longer allowed to be a complete bastard on the Forums. (Expect me to break this rule, a lot.)
89.If the thought of doing something makes me feel a sense of inner peace I am to assume I am not to do it.
90.Even if I use anesthesia on my victims
91.The Grunts are not allowed to "panty raid" Carson's house.
92.Chou Lee is not the poster child for postnatal abortion.
93.That honor falls to Jericho, by a 12-1 vote. (I was robbed)
94.I am no longer allowed to attempt to warp the other authors' collective minds.
95.They were already there.
96.I am not allowed to write any stories involving a mack truck, a redhead in a bikini, and a trailer full of whipped cream ever again.
97.Maggie has informed me that she may someday forgive me for the above infraction.
98.Jade is a little girl, not a satan-worshipping biker chick with a thing for laxatives.
99.Even if it would make her story more interesting.
100.I am not allowed to bring anything that could be used as a weapon into the chat room.
101.In the spirit of things I am to be sedated heavily and kept in an invulnerable plexiglass case during author meetings.
102.Although she fits the bill, Ren is not to be referred to or used as a deadly weapon ever again.
103.Babs' sense of humor did not sink the Titanic.
104.My singing does not herald world peace.
105.I am never to reword the song 'Free Falling' into a hodgepodge entitled 'Freeballing' ever again.
106.Jericho does not need to walk up to a cop and ask about "nuklear wessels" in an attempt to bring whales forward in time.
107.Apparently this plot thread has already been done.
108.Am not allowed to write a story rip-off of "charmed" with Caitlin, Nikki and Sara as the protagonists.
109.My characters are not allowed to break the sigil of the Gateway in the Whateley Sewers.
110.I am no longer permitted to create characters with interesting yet disgusting character flaws. The eternally-full bladder was a bit much.
111.I am never to use the words Pirate, Ninja and Screwed in the same sentence ever again.
112.I am not to encourage Ren's addictions anymore.
113.I am not capable of defeating Motley's Baseball Bat Death Strike if I violate rule 112
114.I am not a lotus blossom.
115.never again am I allowed to whack Bek on the back of the head with a frying pan.
116.the bobbing motion of her head when whacked from behind means whiplash, not affirmation of my Loopy ideas.
117.There is no exemption from imprisonment if I attempt to carry out my plan of wiping all of your minds.
118.I am never again to bring a Twister board to an Author meeting ever again.
119.Lillandra is not my unseen servant.
120.I should not use the infamous "Caffeine IV" ever again.
121.I might not survive the previous rule if Dr. Bender ever catches me.
122.I am no longer permitted to play with anything more complex or fragile than a steel ball bearing near the other authors.
123.Ball bearings are forbidden as well. (sorry about that Starwolf)
124.Am not allowed to have Diamondback demolish a Catholic Church with a Steamroller.
125.Razorback is not allowed to eat fluffy wiccans and vegans.
126.Jericho is not the Agnostic messiah.
127.Caitlin did not have a tragic childhood where she was left on the doorstep of a stern but kind kung-fu master.
128.I am never again to encourage Warren to eat paste ever again.
129.I am no longer allowed to replace Warren's mayonnaise with paste.
130.Superglue and qwik-dry rubber cement are not paste, apparently.
131.Fey does not moonlight at Santa's sexy helper.
132.Tennyo is not to be used as an object lesson in anti-aircraft gunnery practice.
133.I am not allowed to advertise my liposuction franchise through Whateley stories.
134.Apparently dull scissors and a Sears Shop-Vac do not count as a liposuction procedure.
135.I will not replace babs' make-up with Cidatel paints ever again.
136.I am not allowed to try to convince Doc Bender that the Necrons are simply misunderstood.
137.I am never allowed to play necrons again.
138.Heather's sword collection is off-limits in the future.
139.By unanimous vote.
140.On pain of death.
141.I am no longer allowed to re-write the Ayla stories to improve them.
142.ayla does not shoot one random, unworthy gene-scum every day, despite my literary genius.
143.i am not allowed to proofread Diane's stories anymore.
144.Jericho's love affair with hippolyta has been nixed.
145.Even if another devisor mind-controls both of them.
146.The Fury twins are not manifestations of the Goddess.
147.I am technically no longer allowed to make fun of mimes.
148.Mimes are never to appear in one of my stories again.
149.Apparently clown college is a serious thing.
150.i am not allowed to modify Maggie's new car.
151.Even if i was adding moron-tracking miniguns.
152.Babs is not to be trusted in "go Fish"
153.I am no longer allowed to cheat in Crazy Eights.
154.Anytime I win, it's assumed that I cheated.
155.Fun time with balloon animals shall never again appear in a Whateley story draft.
156.The Evil overlord list is not required reading in Powers Theory.
157.I am no longer allowed to claim that I am Zeus, God of Thunder.
158.Throwing fluorescent lights at people from a rooftop does not prove my divinity.
159.I have been barred from all clocktowers in the other authors' home cities.
160.i am not allowed to reprogram ATM machines to say "Feed me a stray cat' while visiting other authors.
161.Foxfire is not Bek's wounded inner child. It's the inner child that wounds back.
162.i am not allowed to make teasers for other authors' works.
163.If I ever make a teaser for another author, I am to use factual information.
165.Merry is not to be dropped into a giant pool of lime jell-o
166.Heyoka Is not Gold Stallion's sordid lover from before.
167.i am no longer allowed to make suggestions pertaining to Canon character sex lives ever again.
168.Apparently the donkey show is a forbidden topic as well.
169.Especially when I explained the difference between the donkey show we are all familiar with, and the donkey show that has become a military legend (and horror story)
170.I am not allowed to quote the King James bible whenever we discuss editing the Whateley bible.
171.The pope has not excommunicated me...yet.
172.i was informed that I had to become catholic to be excommunicated.
173.I am not allowed to become catholic for the purpose of excommunication.
174.I am not a keeper of the Holy Whateley bible.
175.I am never to hold "church of Whateley" services ever again.
176.Apparently the Cult of Kellith bonus indoctrination was over the top.
177.My hunting license cannot be upgraded from moose to idiots.
178.I am no longer allowed to abuse Alaska's permissive concealed-carry laws in the continental US.
179.I am not allowed to split portions of the US off to remove their continental status.
180.Nachos cannot be used as stuffing for cannibal feasts.
181.I am never to suggest a cannibal feast again.
213.i am no longer allowed to continue this list.
-JG
[Updated on: Thu, 17 April 2008 23:03]
Jericho: "Get your mind out of the gutter, you're blocking my periscope."
Eldritch: "Hey, I'm a classic case of what happens when you give a nerd a gun."
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| | Topic: Foundations of the MCO |
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| Foundations of the MCO [message #11327] |
Sun, 06 April 2008 20:54 |
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BekDCorvin
Messages: 933
Registered: August 2005
Location: State of Confusion |
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Foundations of the MCO
In order to understand the MCO, its rationale and corporate culture, you must understand how the MCO came about, the things that happened to bring it into existence.
The foundations of the MCO belong ultimately in examples set by groups such as the Bavarian Illuminati, the Rosicrucians, Anarchist Insurrectionists, the Ku Klux Klan, European gangs, and Chinese Tongs. However, the true beginnings can be found in the back alleys of the Intelligence War fought during World War One. While the seminal image of WWI is, of course, the horrific meat-grinder of men that was trench warfare during the Battles of the Marne and the Somme, there were other fronts as well. Besides the equally harsh Eastern Front, there was a lively war of espionage that was fought between the Intelligence services of the Central and Alliance power. Before WWI, Intelligence and Espionage had, ironically, been a gentleman's game played by professional diplomats. However, with the phenomenal increase of speed in both transportation and communications, the leisurely pace and genteel discretion of Intelligence work was abandoned for a more workmanlike, 'whatever gets the job done' approach. So, professional criminals, con artists, demimondaines, forgers, pickpockets, smugglers, burglars, contraband merchants, and even common thugs were drawn into subtle and often very lucrative world of international diplomacy, espionage and intrigue. Those who learned the ways of cloak & dagger profited greatly- those who bungled their lessons died. Foremost of these criminal opportunists plying the WWI Intrigue trade was Sir Simon DeVille, British swindler, forger, smuggler, blackmailer and all-around Upper-Crust Cad.
After the Armistice, the underworld fondly remembered those salad days, when the knowledge of a single piece of choice information could make you rich. Never ones to forgo a market that had proven lucrative, criminals set about restoring the shadowy world of intrigue in postwar Europe. Crime syndicates became more sophisticated than police departments were capable of keeping up with. Fringe political movements, such as the Socialist, Fascist, Technocrat, and others moved into this new social medium, and they both exploited each other. Added to this mix were the myriad 'Mystic Lodges' that explored the boundaries of the Occult with little regard for the Law or the safety of others. The call for covert operatives was so high, that in 1921, Sir Simon DeVille opened the DeVille Academy in Lucerne, Switzerland, which trained gutter urchins from around Europe (and later the Globe) in the fine art of Espionage and Covert Operations. In Asia, the various Triads saw their opportunity to be rid of the intrusive Colonial powers, and sent out waves of 'Sinister Asiatic Masterminds' to attack the Europeans on their own ground. While at first there was a certain degree of 'churn', of movement and daring-do for its own sake, eventually this garden of malice sent forth its most malignant blossom: the Nazi Party.
When the Nazis weaseled their way into power in Germany, the rest of the Shadow World just kept going on as usual- at first. But as Fascism became the predominant power on the Continent, the various factions and syndicates and players began choosing sides. When the German War Machine began the first steps of its deadly war dance, it was only too happy to use the various syndicates as pawns. However, the spy masters of the Reich knew the syndicates far too well to really trust them, and developed their own covert operations organs that were loyal to Germany beyond the next pay envelope. While the Germans loved to present a monolithic picture of solidarity, the truth was that the Third Reich was hideously factionalist and rivalry-prone. Almost every branch conceivable of the Nazi power elite had its own Intelligence and Covert Operations arm. While the Abwher was the official Military Intelligence and Covert Operations organ, the SS, the Gestapo, the Heer (German Army), the Luftwaffe, the Foreign Office, and even various German industries such as Krupp and IG Farben, all had their own covert operations branches. These rival spy networks competed vigorously for coups and master strokes, which sometimes achieved great things, but more often simply operated at cross-purposes. However, it did have the advantages of providing cross-referencing, and that if one agent or cell was compromised, its rivals in that area would still be in place.
Hitler and the Nazi elite placed a lot of confidence in German's ability to create 'Wonder Weapons'. As a result, the Nazis recruited legions of scientists and engineers who could generously be called 'eccentric'. Many of their efforts- the Flying Swastika, the Thunder Cannon, the Iron Giant, or the Zombie Legions- were impressive and terrifying, but not tactically practical. Still, the most impressive of the 'wonder weapons' were the 'Thema-Agenta' or 'Theme Agents', known to the West simply as 'Nazi Supervillains'. The Theme Agents, fell into three basic categories: the 'Volkshelden', who were Germany's response to America, Britain and France's 'Flag Heroes', were the 'showcase heroes' who appealed to German patriotism, or confirmed various notions of Nazi philosophy, mysticism or propaganda. Almost an antithesis of the Volkshelden where the Angsthandlers, or 'Fear Mongers'. The Nazis, Hitler especially, were firm believers in the use of Terror as a weapon. The Angsthandlers were deformed, monstrous and fearsome. Their job was to demoralize subject peoples, resistance groups and enemy troops wherever and whenever they could. The last, least visually impressive group of the three was the Schattenherren, or 'Shadow Lords'. While not as powerful or impressive as either the Volkshelden or the Angsthandlers, the Schattenherren had abilities that were better suited for the subtle work of espionage and sabotage. All three groups were mostly created by the aforementioned 'Eccentric' Scientists, who were all looking for ways of creating the Ubermensch. Even Hitler realized that their bizarre prodding into the barely understood was hideously dangerous. However, he also had thousands of young German men and women who, while eager to serve the Reich, were far from physically fit to serve in the Wehrmacht. He had even more young NON-German men and women who were far from eager to serve the Reich in ANY way, but who were regarded as expendable. It is estimated that 170,000 'enemies of the Reich' and 15,000 German youths were killed in the experiments that produced the 250 'Theme Agents'.
The Theme Agents served with distinction in WWII- by Nazi standards. By Allied standards, they were War Criminals. When the Reich finally collapsed, a few of the Theme Agents (mostly Volkshelden, who could blend back into the German population by simply shedding their costumes) tried to put their wartime activities behind them and get on with their lives. But most of the Theme Agents- especially the Angsthandlers, who had become monsters, even in their own eyes- were deeply embittered by their loss, and swore blood oaths to bring about a Fourth Reich. The Theme Agents joined forces with the Mad Scientists who created them and the various Nazi covert operations organs, and fled across the globe, with the intent of seeding new Nazi movements in South America, the Middle East, China and Africa. Some of the more fanatic Theme Agents carried on campaigns of retribution against France, Britain, Canada and the United States. Please note that even the fanatics didn't try this in the Soviet Union.
While it was rather low-key in the immediate post-war era, the Cold War developed into a bizarre three-way shadow war between NATO, the Warsaw Pact and the shadowy Fourth Reich. The 1950s were a golden age for non-partisan mercenary Espionage/ Covert Operations/ Terror/ Crime networks that played the three major players against each other. The war had created small armies of hardened veterans of both regular and irregular combat, who were either unwilling, or incapable for thousands of reasons, of returning to normal civilian life. These hard men and women filled the ranks of almost anyone who was willing to give them a cause, a weapon and a paycheck. Sir Simon DeVille's Academy provided the Criminal Spy Syndicates with the sleek, attractive, sophisticated, highly skilled and utterly ruthless special operatives that were the trademark of this period. There was a fashion during the era for these shadow nations to adopt acronym titles that spelled out fearsome names: HADES, FENRIR, TAROT, and so on. The Sinister Asiatic Masterminds managed to hold on, despite being caught between the West, the Communists and the Japanese during WWII. However, in 1958, the Network, a criminal espionage syndicate that Ian Fleming immortalized as 'SPECTRE' pulled off the operation that Fleming described in 'Thunderball'. While the hijacked nuclear warheads were recovered, the world leaderships were made painfully aware that their third-hand pawns had developed motives and agendas of their own, and would not be easily controlled. Worse, the Fourth Reich movements, as well as a few of the surviving Technocracy organizations had settled on a very disturbing strategy- repeatedly, they tried to trigger incidents that they hoped would escalate into World War III, with the East and the West destroying each other with atomic weapons. They planned to emerge from the rubble as the forces with the manpower, equipment and resources to build and take over the world.
While the 'Thunderball' incident was never officially confirmed, the UN and various national governments responded by forming batteries of 'super-spy agencies' to deal with the threat. These new 'spy' agencies fielded small but very effective forces of highly trained operatives with an amazing array of special gadgets and weapons, that operated without a lot of in-field oversight or review. Some of these agencies recruited and trained, or even created paranormally empowered agents using technologies acquired from captured 'Mad Scientists'. While these 'super-spy agencies' were hideously unpopular with their more conventional counterparts in the Law Enforcement and Intelligence communities, they were very effective in knocking out the 'Shadow Nations' one at a time. Also, there was the fact that the technology that helped create and nurture the Shadow Nations was turning against them. Satellite communications and jet travel shrank the globe to the point where it got harder and harder to build a secret base.
However, the most effective measure against the Criminal Espionage Networks came from a very unlikely source- the Movie industry. Sir William Stephenson, a.k.a. 'The Man called Intrepid', prompted movie moguls Saltzman and Broccoli to film a version of Ian Fleming's Dr. No, as a way of 'outing' the Network, and by extension, the other Criminal Spy Networks. Dr. No and the successive 007 movies were surprise box office smashes. The Bond movies and the slew of other 'Super-Spy' movies of the mid-60s dampened criticism of the 'Super-Spy' agencies and did something to the Criminal Spy Networks that they still haven't recovered from- they made them ridiculous. It's hard to be really intimidated by HADES or TAROT, when you can see an idiot like Maxwell Smart beating the cream cheese out of KAOS on TV every week. Besides costing them their sinister glamour, the Spy movies wore at the Criminal Spy Networks' morale. Seeing dozens of guys doing basically your job being casually dealt with by a single agent like that will get you down after a while.
Between the 'Super-Spy' agencies' successes, the changes in the technology and the political climate, and the increasing level of ridicule, many of the Criminal Spy Networks either lowered their profile greatly or shut down completely. While better funded and more politically secure, the Nazi Fourth Reich movements were also suffering. The expected resurrection of a Nazi state never materialized, and scientists became aware that an all-out nuclear exchange would result in a Nuclear Winter that would devastate the entire world, not just the target nations. The Nazi and Technocrat leaderships came to the bitter realization that their grand strategy was ultimately suicidal.
However, in 1962 there was a development that didn't cause a lot of waves at the time, but lead to far greater consequences. Biologist Stanley Leiber published his 'Report on the Impact of Aberrant Genetic Mutations on the Development of Paranormal Abilities'. The Leiber Report was the first scientific confirmation that that roughly 20% of the operative super-humans on the planet gained their powers from a genetic mutation, rather than from any external source. The Leiber Report was a calm, scholarly, non-partisan work that made no moral judgements about mutants. The same could NOT be said of a book that it inspired, which came out a year later.
Javier Magnusson's The Next Master Race was a masterpiece of rabble-rousing panic-mongering 'junk science' that crystallized many of the bigoted memes regarding mutants. Magnusson argued that mutants instinctively regarded themselves as a race separate and distinct from baseline humanity. He argued that mutants had subliminally distinct pheromones that alienated mutants from humanity, while predisposing them to other mutants. He argued that the use of mutant powers upset the chemical balance of the brain, causing megalomania, paranoia, outbursts of hysterical violence and psychotic delusions. He held that mutants feel an instinctive socio-biological urge to assert their dominance over baseline humans, whom they implicitly regard as weaker and inferior. He further asserted that mutants were innately more resistant to disease, radiation and toxic chemicals, and hence would regard atomic, biological, and chemical warfare as valid methods of suppressing baseline humans.
The Next Master Race came out less than 20 years after the end of World War II and the Civil Rights movement was under full steam in the United States, so the notion of arrogant, genocide-inclined supermen pushed a LOT of hot buttons. And in the meantime, the Baby Boom generation, bolstered by the antibiotic revolution in Medicine, was causing an unprecedented number of preter-human mutations to survive to manifest their powers in North America and Western Europe. The incredible coincidence of this 'outbreak' of 'mutant monsters' coinciding with the publication of The Next Master Race (or vice-versa) has been hotly debated ever since. While biologists decried the shoddy research of The Next Master Race, it remained on the Best-Seller lists for four years, and Magnusson was a constant presence on the talk show and lecture circuits, promoting his viewpoints until his mysterious disappearance in 1972.
One of the ongoing controversies regarding The Next Master Race is whether it instigated or merely foresaw the rash of 'Mutant Supremacists' that emerged in the mid-1960s. Groups like Blood Legacy, Eugenix, and the Inheritors of the World made repeated attempts to acquire or build atomic, biological or chemical weapons, almost using Magnusson's book as a blueprint. Always ones to seize a new advantage, some of the surviving Criminal Spy Syndicates 'took sides' in the 'Mutant Crisis', either pro-, anti- or neutrally mercenary. This brought the 'Super-Spy' agencies into the conflict, which had a dramatic influence on both sides. The new mutant extremists adopted many of their colleague's ruthless tactics and 'viciousness as a virtue' approach, while the Super-spies tended to see the mutants as merely a new manifestation of the Nazi mentality.
In 1964, the Mutant Commission Office was founded. The MCO was not originally created to be a policing organization. Rather, its original concept was to be a scientific facility researching the nature of mutant traits and psychology, and a clearinghouse for information about mutant powers, side effects, allergic reactions, personalities, tactics, organizations and possible long-term agendas, rather on the INTERPOL model. The MCO was not a branch of the UN, but a subscription organization that by charter had to obey the laws and legal procedures of the country that they were working in. Despite its rather bland concept, the mutant extremists regarded the MCO as a direct threat to them from the very beginning, and MCO researchers and archives were under almost constant attacks. The Super-Spy agencies adopted a 'my enemies' enemy is my ally' tack, and took the MCO under their collective wings.
By 1972, the party was pretty much over for the Super-Spy agencies. Most of the Criminal Spy Syndicates had either been destroyed, or had turned to more low-key endeavors. While there was an outburst of activity from the Sinister Asiatic Mastermind crews, Espionage Historians agree that this was more a 'last gasp' than a renewal. The global economy had hit a downturn, and financiers- both legitimate and criminal- had better things to do with their money than fund outrageous feuds by guys with fancy gadgets. Muslim Terrorists, who eschewed high technology and elaborate plots in favor of more conventional weapons wielded by fanatics, were commanding the world's attention. Also, the Super-Spy agencies had problems of their own. They had ignored Nietszche's warning about those who fight monsters, and had picked up some very nasty habits in the course of their wars with the Shadow Nations. They were used to fighting pitched, no-holds-barred battles with little if any civilian oversight and no personal repercussions for their actions. They were used to having lavish budgets that they weren't called to answer for. They were in many ways as arrogant, reckless and ruthless as the Criminal Spy Syndicates that they fought.
As the Recession of 1970s withered the prosperity of the West, Congress and the American people started questioning the Super-Spies' methods and tactics- and budgets. The more conventional Law Enforcement and Intelligence services took advantage of this to humble the 'Super-Spies' and bring the maverick agencies to heel. While there was no official sit-down meeting over it, the Super-Spies saw this as a bad thing, and sought new avenues of pursuing their careers. As one 'Super-Spy' agency after another came under scrutiny and had its budget trimmed and staff pared, individual agents started quitting and taking jobs elsewhere. Many of them found work with the MCO, where they still had friends whom remembered them from before. The MCO was a private organization with its own sources of funding. The various branches of the MCO became refuges for 'Super-Spies' from all nations and agencies. They even managed to transfer over files and esoteric equipment from their old gigs.
While the Criminal Spy Syndicates were lying low, the Mutant Extremists were vigorously competing with Muslim Terrorists for psychological impact on the world's Media. Though the MCO had no formal police powers, the former 'Super-Spies' arranged to have the MCO 'deputized' on a case-by-case basis to handle crises. As the MCO gained a reputation for being the people who 'handled' out of control mutants, the Super-Spies managed to take control of the MCO itself, turning it from the Research and Information Distributor that it had been into an active policing agency in its own right. The MCO had to negotiate the changes in its charter with each subscriber nation, resulting in the wildly varying scope of powers that the MCO enjoys. The Old School Super-Spies still regarded mutants as de facto Nazis and treated them as such, even as the Fourth Reich organizations still existed, though operating very much underground.
By the 1980s, the Mutant Supremacists were mostly a dead letter. All but the most psychotic of them realized that their mutant powers weren't enough to offset a 10,000: 1 disparity between them and the baselines, and anything that would kill that many people would most likely kill them as well. Mutant superheroes that routinely stood against the Supremacists put the lie to Magnusson's theory of mutants instinctively banding together against baselines. Many of the 'big name' Mutant Supremacist leaders, such as Tyrant, Abbadon and the Dark Madonna were dead, killed in very public conflicts with superheroes. Other leaders, such as Iblis or the Blood Messiah, were burned out from the conflict and simply didn't have the will to continue. However, the MCO saw the writing on the wall this time, and laid plans to perpetuate their brief. They began publicly focusing on the 'dangers' posed by newly emergent mutants, highlighting the rampages of teenagers who suddenly had powers that they couldn't understand or control- or didn't have the maturity to use wisely. During this period, the MCO forged its unofficial relationship with Humanity First!, with both seeing in the other kindred spirits.
By the 1990s, most of the WWII-vintage 'Super-Agents' had died or retired, and the Cold War-vintage agents were past their field operations days. New agents were being trained specifically as MCO operatives, and the tenor of the personnel changed. In order to counterbalance the 'Kinder, Gentler' breed of MCO agents, the MCO higher echelons started recruiting from the DeVille Academy, allegedly to 'improve the overall quality of the recruits'. But even with the influx of agents from the DeVille Academy, there has been a material shift from the 'Mutants are the Enemy' mindset of the 70s and 80s. Many of the rank-and-file MCO operatives have a more 'Cop' mentality, and there are even factions that seek to mend fences with the mutant community, seeing cooperation with civilly-minded mutants as a better long-range way of coping with Mutant Extremists than projecting a 'Final Solution' image. However, the Corporate Culture of the MCO has been firmly set. And, like the FBI, which still has strong 'Hooverite' factions, the upper echelons of the MCO still see mutants as The Enemy- and an excuse to perpetuate their jobs.
To Be, or Not to Be; this is a question?
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| | Topic: Entities |
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| Entities [message #8962] |
Tue, 03 July 2007 22:58 |
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Warren
Messages: 1556
Registered: January 2005
Location: Wet wonderful Washington |
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Entities are any type of "supernatural" creature. In this case, supernatural indicates things that seem to be outside of normally understood biology or physics. Aliens are not entities. Ghosts, vampires, spirits, and Cthulhu gods are entities. Lessons at Whateley (particularly for Avatar and magic-user types) will teach students to identify and differentiate the different classes.
Class 1 (mutants):
Class One entities aren't really supernatural at all, they're normal mutants. Some mutant powers may end up looking a lot like something supernatural (particularly for some of the ugly mutants), but it's really just good, old fashioned mutant powers. Examples: Harry Wolfe, Fey, Ayla in ghost form, Thuban, Jello. Mutants, but prone to being mis-identified by stupid normals.
Class 2:
Semi-persistent knots of magic. This is the explanation for about 95% of the "things" out there. Spirits, Demons, Gods, Totems, Manitou, Kachina, Kami, Divs, Loa, Faeries, Goblins, and Fey's hobgoblins. All began as knots of magical energy with a very limited duration. Achieving a greater duration involves several steps:
- (Optional) Follow a template. Somehow, successful spirits communicate how they did it. This helps establish a template that later spirits follow. Templates are often common to a region, so you'll often get aboriginal-style spirits in the aboriginal locale. Templates also seem to be carried by people, so when people move to a new region to escape old haunts, sometimes similar events seem to follow them.
- Establish a "hallow" - a location or object that anchors the magical charge and is a home of sorts. Most Hallows are located at places where lines of magical force cross; there is usually something that will hold a charge there (pool of water, standing stone, tree, so forth). Objects, especially precious stones, can become Hallows; this is called being Cursed.
- Select a focus - is this an "Ancestor Spirit", or a "War God", or a "Vampire Spirit", or a "Trickster Spirit"? The definition tunes and limits. While increasing certain actions, and increasing the inflow of certain energies, it closes off other energies and actions.
- Feed. Spirits require an influx of magical energy for survival, but they are highly limited. This energy must be "pushed" into the spirit, it cannot be pulled. Magical energy is akin to electricity- there's Amperage and Voltage. Voltage "pushes" Amperage through the wires. Ambient magical energy has lots of natural "amperage" but little natural "voltage". Voltage is provided in nature by things like storms, wildfires, volcanoes and death. Humans can provide magical voltage by two means- Great Discipline and Intense Passion. By inspiring humans to some great emotion (anger, hate, love, fear, shame, etc.) spirits can trick them into "pushing" magical energy, which provides the Spirit with more magical potential. Humans should beware, since spirits are always hungry for more energy.
An intense debate is Magical Theory is "Do spirits have rational intellects?" or instead "Are spirits entities of pure reaction?" There are theories and proofs on both sides (which often involve the spirit parasitically exploiting a host's intellect or abilities to meet its own needs).
One theory credits spirits with independent intelligence - initially at purely an animal/reactionary level, growing over time as the spirit persists and adapts, eventually reaching human or super-human levels.
There are several sub-categories of spirits:
Corporeal
Magical entities that have a solid or partially solid body, like brownies, demons, cockatrices, and jackalopes. Usually, destroying the body destroys the knot and the entity.
Non-corporeal
Magical entities with an intangible body, like will-o-the-wisps, or banshees, or poltergeists. Despite their lack of a solid body, they can still affect the material world. Most possessions are due to a class 2/non-corporeal entity.
Necromantic
Entities bound through death. Either the creation power came from a death, the hallow is a body, the focus or template is a dead form, or the feeding seeks to cause more death. Examples include ghosts (which many argue contains only a template image of the dead person, not a "soul"), zombies, vampires (summoned by death, the hallow is the body, feeding is done to cause further deaths as well as providing maintenance material for the hallow), etc.
Natural
This may involve focusing on one animal which evolves into a more powerful being (a fox-spirit or bear-spirit), focusing more diffusely on a type of animal (all wolves hear the great wolf spirit) or a region (the forest here does not tolerate man). Often, natural spirits become almost symbiotic with the animals that form their focus - the animals feed the spirit through their lives, emotions, and deaths; the spirit guards and protects the animal species at large (but not the individuals).
Elemental
A common template, this draws power from a natural event - a waterfall or volcano. Advanced versions of this entity will be able to form an independent body composed of their focus element. Unlike corporeal entities, destroying the "body" merely sends the spirit back to its hallow.
Monstrous
Unlike "corporeal", this type inhabits the body of a living creature and fills it with magical power, strengthening it, granting new abilities, and gradually warping the creature into a monstrous parody of the original creature. Killing the body dissipates the entity.
Demonic / divine
Any of the above entities, grown old enough to (apparently) display advanced thoughts and goals, along with much greater power than a new-born entity.
Avatars
Have the ability to host nearly any spirit. They will subconsciously provide the "voltage" necessary to feed and maintain the spirit. The avatar powers give the human host total control over all spirit abilities.
Class 3
While Class 2 entities compose the bulk of supernatural encounters, there are other beings out there. Extra-planar creatures, discorporate human intelligences, beings of pure energy, pure astral life-forms, etc. The amateur supernatural sleuth is separated from the professional by the ability to differentiate Class 2 creatures from Class 3. As Class 3 entities obey entirely different sets of rules, treating such an entity as a class 2 may be dangerous or fatal. Avatars are incapable of possessing most class 3 entities.
Class X (Cthulhu Mythos)
Entities of this nature are classified at the highest imaginable threat level. Many predate the planet earth, they may predate this universe. The Old Ones apparently cannot be harmed (or even irritated) by powers at human disposal, but they might be distracted or turned elsewhere. Many encounters of this class will not be with Old Ones per se, but with lower-level servant entities. These are (theoretically) mortal - the encounter usually involves stopping such beings before they can attract the attention of an Old One.
The nature of Old Ones is beyond comprehension by any human-type intelligence. They exist "in the spaces between the dimensions, undimensional and unseen." They will continue to exist long after the planet is gone. According to reliable intelligence, the world is endangered because "the Elder Things wish to strip it and drag it away from the solar system and cosmos of matter into some other plane or phase of entity from which it had once fallen". Obviously, even the mightiest hero should be cautious when dealing with beings who would send the planet spinning into another dimension.
It is reputed that contact with any Class X item (whether entity, artifact, or simply second-hand writings) has the potential to damage sanity. It is well accepted that such damage is cumulative.
[Updated on: Wed, 14 January 2009 09:48]
Sometimes writing with geeks is like eating Jello with a chainsaw. Interesting but painful.
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| | Topic: Explanation of Power Terms |
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| Explanation of Power Terms [message #7539] |
Mon, 12 March 2007 14:32 |
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BekDCorvin
Messages: 933
Registered: August 2005
Location: State of Confusion |
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Now, this listing isn't complete, and there are some parts that really need to be improved on, but this should clarify some of the terminology used at Whateley for the readers.
Explanation of Power Terminology
When metahuman powers first emerged in the 1930's, they completely caught the Scientific Community napping. Across the globe, people were blithely ignoring many of the laws of physics, and no one had the slightest idea as to how they were doing it. Scientists immediately started studying these remarkable people, and started coming up with theories and terms to define and explain what these people did. Most of those theories have been discarded as obsolete, but many of those terms are still with us.
The thing to remember about Mutant Power Terminology, is that it's trying to describe not only what a mutant does, but how they do it, as well. One of the more confusing things about Power Terminology as it's currently used, is a tendency for people to confuse Traits and Syndromes. A good explanation is, a Trait is the Cause, whereas a Syndrome is the effect. A trait is the actual genetic sequence or biological mechanism that causes a mutant ability. A syndrome is the more obvious display of power that comes from a trait. The thing is, a syndrome can be produced from many different causes. For instance a mutant who produces a fire effect might be the Avatar of a fire spirit, an Energizer who creates plasmas, a Manifestor whose manifestations take on a fire aspect, a pyrokinetic, or Wizard with a fire attunement.
Whenever possible, these classifications prefer to describe the Trait rather than the cause, but all too often in everyday use it happens that people describe the Syndrome.
 Avatar
This term comes from Hindu mythology, and means the Earthly embodiment of a god. In our usage, "Avatar" means a mutant who is able to host and exploit the powers of a magical spirit. "Avatars" are able to do naturally what several magical traditions, such as Voudoun are able to do artificially. The Avatar Bond creates a symbiosis between the Host and Spirit which provides the spirit with the energy that it requires, without the draining effect that hosts usually suffer. The relationship between an Avatar and their spirit is very intimate, but not always harmonious. Some Avatars have to keep very close control of their spirit. In exchange for the life force that they provide, the Avatar recieves control of the spirit's magical powers. The spirits" powers are reflections of their mystical nature. For example, Geode, a Whateley Graduate who had bonded with a "Gnome" or Earth Elemental spirit, gained incredible strength as long as he was in contact with the Earth, remarkable endurance and resistance to damage, a limited regenerative ability, the ability to form a shell of packed earth around him, the ability to pass through the ground, and an ability to sense what was concealed in the ground nearby. So, the spirit was an Earth Elemental, and the powers that it gave Geode reflected that. A classic comic book example of an exemplar would be the original Captain Marvel ('shazam!"), who gained powers from seven immortals.
Deviser
the "Deviser" trait is one of the most mysterious and troublesome of traits that Whateley deals with. This is the "Mad Scientist" trait that allows inventors to build fantastic creations that fly in the face of the known Laws of Physics. The ability of "Mad Scientists" to build such incredible things still puzzles scientists, and the "Deviser" trait may only be an increase of a trait that baseline humans have in small and uncontrollable amounts. The currrent theory as to how this works is called "The Schimmlehorn Effect", after Reginald Bretnor's fictional character Papa Schimmlehorn. The Schimmlehorn Effect holds that the Devisor decides on an effect that they wish to achieve, then they construct a theory that will allow that effect to work. In so doing, they reject the normal laws of physics that apply in that case, and superimpose their theory over it. As a result, the Devise (such creations are called "devises", with an 's", as opposed to a "device" with a "C") performs the function that it was built for. It effectively changes the laws of physics in its immediate vicinity. Devises will work for people other than their creators, but they work best for their creators. Also, Devises, due to their unnatural basises, are prone to weird side-effects and spectacular malfunctions, and these happen much more frequently when used by someone other than the creator.
Energizer
Energizers can tap into the Earth's electromagnetic field and store it in their body to discharge as they want. This effect is limited to electromagnetic forces, but the phenomenon is very versatile. The classic effects of this trait are being able to project powerful electrical shocks or to create powerful magnetic fields. However, the effects that Energizers can produce are extremely varied. The primary breakdown for Energizers is "Internal" and "External" Energizers. "Internal Energizers" use the energy that they tap into to augment their physiques. Depending on the individual, this could be short-term 'supercharges" or long term stimulation of bone, tendon and muscle development resulting in a physical powerhouse. "External" Energizers project the energy outside themselves, creating powerful electromagnetic fields or electrical shocks. There are also many cases of "Mixed" Engergizers, who share aspects of both the Internal and External Energizer. One noteworthy syndrom of the Energizer trait is the 'speedster", who uses their electromagnetic field to propel themselves at incredible speeds, while they use their legs in 'super-running" mode, to control their movement.
Esper (ESP)
The various grades and shades of Clairvoyance. Actually this is a far more useful and powerful category than most people realize, as it gives the Esper information that can be crucial, at the moment that it's most needed. ESP comes in many different varieties, including the classic "remote viewing" and "precognitive flash" modes.
Exemplar (EX)
A mutant whose power slowly shapes their body according to an ideal that they've formed somewhere in their subconscious. This makes them stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and usually cuter. More than anything else, Exemplars represent the "ideal human" or perhaps the "next evolutionary step". However, Exemplars are also the mutant trait most vulnerable to Gross Structural Dystrophy
Level 2: Upper reaches of human physical and mental ability
Level 3: Just above human maximum in strength, agility, intelligence, etc.
Level 4: Well above human maximum physical and mental attributes. Above this level, and the Exemplars "level" is usually measured in terms of the most concrete effect, to wit, raw strength, measured in lifting weight.
Physical package: Most Exemplars show physical improvements across a wide range: improved reflexes, speed, strength, endurance, durability, heightened senses, and occasionally ambidexterity. Exemplars routinely are Regenerators as an application of their Exemplar trait. And, of course, they usually have a more attractive appearance. An Exemplar's appearance is determined by their Body Image Template (or BIT), which is a theorized "blueprint" that the Exemplar has of their body. The Exemplar trait uses this "blueprint" to rebuild the body along those lines. Usually, a person's BIT is an idealized form, which adheres to a very high level of physical beauty; however, a person does not consciously decide their BIT, and Exemplars can remake themselves along some very strange lines.
Mental package: Similar to the physical package, most Exemplars share a wide range of mental gifts. These may include: speed reading, improved memory (up to eidetic recall at higher levels), increased intelligence, mathematical skills, "danger sense", direction sense, and a 'time sense".
Note: Mutants are usually exemplars in addition to having some other ability (energy projection, TK, etc.)
Gadgeteers"Gadgeteering" is a specialization of the Esper trait, one that must apparently be established when the Esper trait first manifests itself. Non-Gadgeteer Espers can "learn" to Gadgeteer, but they lack the fluid application and gut-level comprehension that true Gadgeteers have. To "Gadgeteer" is to instinctively know how to put mechanical and electronic devices together so that they will achieve a certain effect. Gadgeteering seems to work on the design, repair, sabotage and jury rig levels. Gadgeteers find learning technical and engineering skills very easy, but having them also makes their tinkering sounder and more effective.
Gadgeteers vs. Devisers
How is a Gadgeteer different from a Deviser" Simple: A Gadgeteer can go to the Patent Office, while a Deviser can go anywhere BUT the patent office! More accurately, Gadgeteers are limited to the normal Laws of Physics, while Devisers aren't; As long as the Deviser has a coherent theory of how the doodad works, it WILL work. But Gadgeteers don't have to worry about the sometimes spectacular "melt-downs" that happen with Devises, and they can patent their inventions, as the designs will work for anyone. With Devises, the Deviser must create the gizmo, which they can then give to another to use. While it isn't routine, it isn't unheard of either, that a Deviser will also have the Gadgeteer trait.
Gross Structural Dystrophy (GSD)
GSD is when a person's body changes permanently, producing such things as wings, claws, chiton, tails and so on. There are two distinct and separate versions of GSD. The first as far as anyone can tell it isn't related to the Exemplar syndrome, but is genuinely a direct expression of their genetic code. The second version is the effect of a deviant "BIT", which causes their Exemplar trait to rebuild their body along strange unto inhuman lines. Almost by definition, these powers cannot be turned off.
Manifestor (MAN)
One of the stranger types, the Manifestor can temporarily bring a substance into existence, and often manipulate it. The obvious example would be "Colossus" of the X-Men. He can "manifest" the 'steel" that surrounds him, which he can manipulate to be stronger and almost indestructible. Effects covered more easily under other categories are not listed as being "manifested" (Many other manifestation-like effects are usually classified as TK variants (pyrokinesis, cryokinesis).
Some manifestations have independent intelligence; almost a sort of summoned being. Perhaps this is some stranger ability, but due to its rarity it gets lumped under the already-rare classification of "manifestor".
Regenerator (RGN)
Regeneration is a syndrome which is ofen mentioned on its own, for the simple reason that it tells teachers (and other students) how safe the student is in a dangerous situation. Regeneration is the ability to heal damage to oneself at remarkable speeds. The "level" of a Regen is a rough, rule-of-thumb measure of their ability to recover from a trauma, based on time and the severity of wounds. The classic Regen is, of course, Wolverine" of the X-Men.
Shifter (SH)
These mutants have a powerful psychokinetic ability over their bodies at the very molecular level. There is apparently some connection between the Shifter syndrome and the Exemplar syndrome, but shifters very rarely display Exemplar traits. Besides the classic 'shapeshifter" effect, Shifters can alter their body's molecular density, becoming either super-dense or intangible. Shifters have also been able to approximate the composition of various inanimate substances, such as steel or rock, and still be able to move. The most dramatic Shifter trait is the "Mimic" trait, in which the Mimic duplicates the processes of other mutants, to effectively copy their powers. As a rule of thumb, copied powers are less powerful than the original, and not as expertly used.
Telekinet (TK)
Also called "Psychokinesis", Telekinesis is the classic "Mind over matter" power. Besides moving objects, Telekinets can also do far more subtle things, such as setting things on fire, freezing them, or controlling electricity. Telekinesis, despite its name, is very effective when used at very short range, resulting in the classic "PK Superman".
Classically, psychokinesis is invisible to the unaided eye, but some frequencies do seem to interfere with visible light somehow. This can result in barely perceptible "ripples" in the air, or colored beams, or pools of inky blackness, or perfectly reflective surfaces as a side effect of the TK being used.
Some frequencies of TK seem to 'synch" better with specific applications, such as pyrokinesis, electrokinesis or photokinesis. Indeed, some of these specializations are so fine and difficult to accomplish that the only way to achieve them is by the sheer fluke of projecting that frequency as your default setting. Specialization telekinetics can achieve incredible feats of control within their specialization, but find moving out of that area of specialization difficult, unto impossible. A pyrokinetic might learn to achieve cryokenesis by "reversing the polarity" (i.e., slowing down the movement of molecules to freeze them, rather than speeding them up to ignite them), but moving out of that into Gross Kinesis (movement of objects) would be beyond them.
There is an interesting "feedback" that accompanies some, but not all telekinesis. A TK "hand" may have "feelings", and a electrokinetic might get enough feedback from an electric current to control an electrical or electronic device.
PK 'supermen" vs. Exemplars
There is some confusion, regarding the difference between high level Exemplars and "PK Supermen", especially since they are both psycho- kinetic in origin. The difference lies in the fact that Exemplars directly affect their own bodies and nothing else, while "PK Supermen" only appear to affect their own bodies. In fact the "PK Superman" doesn't directly affect his body at all; he creates a PK shell around himself, which does all the work. PK Supermen usually have super-strength, a protective force field, and the ability to fly, the classic 'superman" powers. An Exemplar might be able to resist being damaged by an explosion, but her clothing and other items carried on her body wouldn't be protected. On the other hand, a PK Superman's clothing would only be touched by that force that managed to penetrate his force field. Also, Exemplars have to cope with the gross physics of their strength. They have to use their strength correctly, or they"ll wind up tearing apart whatever they"re trying to lift or carry. PK Supermen, on the other hand, apply what is called "Holistic Strength". That is, they unconsciously apply their telekinesis to carry the entire object. An example might be the classic cartoon clip from the 1960's, which shows Superman lifting an entire freighter out of the water with one hand and flying off with it. Even IF a human were physically strong enough to lift such a weight with one hand, that much lifting weight focused in the surface area of a human hand would punch the hand through the ship's hull. And even if the hull didn't give, the ship's keel would bend from the stress of the ship's entire weight being held in that one tiny area. However, "Holistic Strength" spreads the lifting force over the entire surface area, thus allowing the freighter to be lifted out of the water. OR, it could simply be a poorly thought-out bit of animation, in which anything can happen.
Telepath (TP)
Telepathy is the classic "Mind Reading" power, the ability to sense and adjust the thoughts of others. Telepathy generally breaks down into three basic modes: Passive, Active and Coercive.
Passive Telepathy is rather akin to listening to "broadcast" thoughts and emotions, those which the thinker is "projecting" out from themselves. Passive Telepathy is limited to those 'surface thoughts" and active emotional states of those around the telepath. Passive Telepathy is in many ways the most problematic of the three modes, as it sometimes requires active effort to 'turn off". A Passive Telepath who can't 'turn it off" or at least learn to ignore the thoughts and passions of those around them, are in the position of someone with very sharp hearing trying to walk down a noisy city street. Or worse, trying to get to sleep next to a window onto a noisy city street.
Active Telepathy, on the other hand, is usually focused on a single target, and "enters" the mind of the subject. Depending on the power and skill of the projecting telepath, the subject may be aware that their mind is being entered. Indeed, the penetration may be anything from not noticeable to actively painful. Active Telepathy isn't limited to surface thoughts or passions. Deep, well-hidden thoughts, memories and associations can be revealed this way. However, deep penetration telepathy is rarely that easy. The mind isn't logically organized like a library; rather thoughts, memories, emotion and such are a bizarre tangle of tangental associations, neurotic clusters, obsessions and furious denial. Going deep into another's mind is a risky proposition, and more than one telepath has gone insane by over-associating with the person that they"re trying to "read".
Coercive Telepathy deals with causing changes in the mind-state of another, causing them to think things that aren't their own ideas, feel emotions that they normally wouldn't, or perceive things that their senses don't detect. Coercive Telepathy is risky to the target, and has been known to trigger psychotic episodes in the emotionally imbalanced.
Package Deal Psychics
A "Package Deal Psychic" is a mutant who has the Esper, telepathy, and PK talents, all at once. "Jean Grey" of the X-Men is a classic comic book "PDP". Unlike the more conventional Esper, telepathy, and TK talents, this appears to be a single trait, though one aspect will be favored over the others. Also, PDPs manifest "mainstream" applications (clairvoyance for the Esper, mind-reading for telepathy, levitation for PK), rather than the more exotic applications. Still, PDPs can learn to apply their talents in ways that can mimic the more exotic applications. While almost all PDPs have the mental talents associated with the "Exemplar Package Deal", few Package Deal Psychics manifest the whole Exemplar trait. Furthering the mystery, most PDPs fall into one of two physical categories- either they are extremely healthy, athletic, attractive individuals who could easily be mistaken for a low level Exemplar, or they are very poor physical specimens who can't get in shape no matter how hard they try. Those who study Mutant Bio-Physics find this syndrome very confusing
Warper (WRP)
These mutants have the ability to warp the 10 dimensions to achieve various effects. While the classic Warper is a teleporter, Warpers can also warp time, make things larger and smaller, alter probabilities, influence gravity and so on. Warpers usually specialize very heavily in a particular effect.
Wizard (WIZ)
These mutants have the ability to tap into a magical force and manipulate it at levels far beyond non-mutant sorcerers. This does not always mean that they have great CONTROL, just that they can tap into these forces. However, for the most part, the most difficult part of working most magics is gaining a power source.
[/u][/b]
[Updated on: Sat, 19 April 2008 18:02] by Moderator
To Be, or Not to Be; this is a question?
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| | Topic: Whateley IRC Chat |
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| Whateley IRC Chat [message #7523] |
Sat, 10 March 2007 21:59 |
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Renae
Messages: 657
Registered: January 2005
Location: El Paso, TX |
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This information occasionally gets misplaced. To prevent that and help out, the following information will be addressed. 
You may access the Whateley IRC channels via web browser using a JPilot application at:
http://orion.ralabs.com/whateley/
Otherwise, you will need an Internet Relay Chat program along the lines of mIRC or Trillian. (Trillian is favored & free.) In the server address section, use:
orion.ralabs.com:6667
There are several channels for use there. In the text line, use:
/join #whateley This is the main chat room.
/join #Role_Play
Some basic commands.
/help - brings up the list of all the commands.
/who - tells you who is online
/nick - allows you to change your user name / handle etc to something else. /nick Goddess_Renae for example 
/quit
About the @ symbol. If you are the first one to join a channel, you end up as the operator. Please don't abuse this as you get some extra powers as opposed to normal status. If need (and hopefully we will not need), the channel will be password locked for powers. We've not had much problem in this sort of thing but occasionally some one has bollixed things. If you end up with the @ next to your name and do not know what the powers can do, ask Hart. Hart's on there a lot [EDITOR'S NOTE: That is just a figment of your imagination, actually] or Natalie, if I remember correctly.
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| | Topic: Legacies of Past Classes & Schoolarship Information |
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| Legacies of Past Classes & Schoolarship Information [message #7493] |
Wed, 07 March 2007 21:39 |
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Renae
Messages: 657
Registered: January 2005
Location: El Paso, TX |
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Legacies
(and other cool stuff at Whateley)
Ever since the first graduating class ( 68 ), the senior class at Whateley has traditionally created a legacy. As time has passed, this has come to mean some really cool, permanent thingy that will make future generations look back and say Whoa, the class of XX was so much more awesome than we could ever hope to be'. The original idea was to demonstrate what a team of 100 super-powered mutants could accomplish with a month of working together. The fact that this inspires high school seniors to create absurd, incongruous, impractical junk that would immediately give away the secret of Whateley led to a review and oversight committee in 82. Nowadays, additions to the college are (mostly) in-style with the architecture, not too over the top for a normal private school of non-mutants and have some practical utility.
It must be remembered that while Whateley fosters a sense of nobility and civic-mindedness in some students, other students seem to take rather the opposite course. This has (as of 1973) resulted in a legacy backlash, known alternately as the anti-legacy", the senior scam", the dark legacy and your last chance to wise up before you pin on the sucker badge".
As tradition has solidified regarding the legacies, they operate as follows: Seniors (class president, etc.) circulate ideas throughout the fall. Plans are reviewed, modified, and approved by the oversight committee in December. From February 15 to March 21, seniors have only spotty attendance in class, devoting time to both the legacy and the anti-legacy. Future heroes and villains cooperate to help each other and get their last glimpse of how the other side lives. March 21 (or 20th), exactly at the vernal equinox, the new legacy is unveiled. Seniors get a two day vacation then return to classes until spring break.
Past Legacies Include:
(early) Homer Gallery (in Shuster Hall). The mementos of prominent alumni (good and bad). Long room, glass cases, paintings, freestanding displays, wax manikins, stuffed animals that never existed, ultra-tech do-dads, weapons, one ton of gold bullion. Security is pretty good.
74 Tunnels to Hawthorne, Twain, and Whitman
(Underground Den of iniquity also added as the Dark Legacy location unknown)
77 Arena 77 Underground training hall armored against full use of powers, with visitor (spectator) gallery
(That years dark legacy was a set of pneumatic tubes, betting booths, and bookie stations that serve to this day)
81 Observatory Dome (and tower) added to Kane Hall
85 Crystal Hall. A glass geodesic dome housing the school cafeteria, with interior waterfall and tropical garden. (The glass is actually a highly durable bulletproof crystal.) Added to Shuster Hall in the location of a much older concert hall (which was torn out).
87 Black Monday. A stock market crash engineered by elements of the 87 senior class. Fortunately never traced back to Whateley. In recompense, the class of 87 has been enormously generous in scholarship and bequest funding.
91 Arena 91 Larger and more heavily armored than Arena 77, 91 included holographic scenery and backgrounds inspired by (and directly stolen from) the just release game Street Fighter II (those backdrops have been regularly upgraded, following new game releases)
99 Arena 99 Intended to be the last word in arenas, this was larger and more armored than Arena 91 and included upgradeable computer-controlled magnetic and force-field technology to provide obstacles and opponents. Dress code for Arena 99 requires a mask, costume and alias.
The 99 Dark Legacy was a full set of surveillance cameras, and high-speed network links to Las Vegas and several pay-per-view distribution sites. School officials have sporadically tried to shut both down but since the wildly popular Mutant Death Match broadcasts have never been connected to Whateley or its students, the effort has dropped off.
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Scholarships:
Due to Black Monday, scholarship money is not exactly an issue but is awarded in a slightly tight fisted manner as students who receive it invariably have a 'job' on campus. EG: Not a 'free' ride.
There are, if you will likely be scholastic, scholarships based up GPA and so on. One perspective on these is that it may be easier for a Exemplar (or something similar) to get and continue to receive them. So there may be a different set of standards for -non-exemplars to get them.
Exemp: It's easy I maintain a 3.9-4.0 & stuff and I get $$$
Non: Yeah but I had to work for my 3.5. Wah! It's not fair.
Exemp: That's life.
Work Study: Yeah But I really work!
Possible Areas for Work Study would be:
Lab Assistants
Teachers Aides
Grounds Keepers
Janitorial
Gym Aide: (Eg. towel passer/bench wiper)
Life Guard
Tutor Center Aide
Library: (Tennyo)
Maintenance
Cable stringers
IT Center
Plumbing and Construction: (Jade/Jinn)
Facility Support: (Wall repair, divot filling, lightbulb tender, etc.)
Copy Center
Rec Center Staff: (ball and Equipment check out)
Medical Center Aides
Cafeteria: (Tennyo (for a very short time)
Administration: (James)
I am sure, this being Whateley, there are likely some oddball jobs that need to be filled, as well.
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