[non-d20, MATRIX] Miss me, Mr. Anderson? (Game started, now ooc/discussion)

[Jeph]

Since I just finished watching Matrix (it came out of the TV and I had seen the commercial a day before this casting call, coincidence?), I have some pressing questions.

The most important one: How many Normals can we take out in a turn? Or, more precisely, how many 'actions' can we take in a turn? (Can we disarm a guy, use the gun to kill him, and shoot another guy, all in one round?)

You could do anything that a Free Mind could do in roughly ten seconds or less. In other words, roughly anything. Remember, you can apply extra damage points to other characters. So, if you had a total of 7, and the Normals rolled 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, and 2 for their totals, you could take them ALL out (provided you specified that you were trying to hit as many as possible), and still ahve one point of your total to spare.

And sure, taking the other guy's weapon is no problem. If his Total isn't so high that he can't grab it back, he'll be dead anyway, so what's the deal, right?

Of secondary concern is if we can place the camera where we want it and otherwise play with it (having the action shown in the reflection of a glass door etc.)?

Sure. Makes for great embellishments. Slo-Mo, bird's eye view, through a sniper's scope, whatever.

You guys can do anything. The goal of this game is not to restrict you with rules. Its to do really crazy cool stuff. Chances are, if it would look good on film, you're fine.

An example duel between a Free Mind and an Agent. Let this be both a demonstration of the rules, and an example of how not to deal with Agents:

AGENT LING: Standard Matrix agent. Matrix 3, Mind 2.
SHOGUN: Shogun grew up in a traditional Japanese family, and became a Free Mind through deep meditation. He fights with his pair of samurai swords in a very nonstandard style, wielding one blade in each hand. When he's not using them, he keeps them in a black duffle bag (matching his black kimono) so coppertops don't get freaked out. He's not afraid to use guns when he needs them, though. Matrix 2, Mind 2, Real-World 1. Skill: Swordplay. Motivation: Release of family from the Matrix.

The Agent and Free Mind are dueling in a crummy apartment overlooking the dirty back court.

SHOGUN: The black cloaked figure charges forward (+1D), whipping out his two swords (+1D)(+1D) as he slices the door off it's hinges (+1D) and runs through, doing an acrobatic flip over the agent (+1D) and then spinning around to impale him from behind (+1D). roll 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5: keep 4

AGENT LING: Cooly removing his dark sunglasses (+1D), the Agent smirks at the charging Free Mind (+1D) and adopts a ready stance (+1D). When Shogun reaches him, Ling's hand flies up to grab the man (+1D), and twists cruelly (+1D) as the Agent spins around (+1D) and ducks under the lightning blade (+1D). Roll 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6: keep 4.

Both Agent Ling and Shogun take a damage point. Neither are yet affected.

SHOGUN: As the Agent ducks, Shogun vaults over him (+1D), raking his wakizashi along the man's back as he does so (+1D)(+1D), then lands with catlike grace (+1D) and kicks out the dirty window (+1D). Snatching as many glass shards as he can (+1D), Shogun whirls (+1D) and sends a volley of glittering knives (+1D) at Ling. Roll 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6: keep 6.

AGENT LING: Reacting with preternatural reflexes (+1D), Agent Ling snatches the short sword out of Shogun's hands (+1D), and kips up so that he is facing the black garbed adversary (+1D). As glass hurtles at him, time seems to slow as Ling twists out of the way (+1D), and sends the blade hurtling at its former owner (+1D). Roll 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: keep 7.

Shogun takes another point of damage, putting him at 2, and Ling at 1.

SHOGUN: Snatching his sword out of the air (+1D)(+1D), Shogun does a backflip out the window (+1D), zooming past ten stories of apartments (+1D) and landing with a backwards roll (+1D) as he whips out a semiautomatic pistol (+1D) and empties its clip (+1D) into the portal through which he just leapt. Roll 1, 1, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6: keep 2.

AGENT LING: The Agent's form twitches spasmodically (+1D), and suddenly a small girl falls to the ground where he just was (+1D). In an ally leading to the court, a garbage man's form wavers (+1D), and suddenly the Agent is standing in his place (+1D). He rushes forward (+1D), leaps up into the air (+1D), and lands with a drop-kick on Shogun's prostrate form (+1D). Roll 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5: keep 6.

Agent Ling's morph removed all damage from him. However, his 6 points can be applied to Shogun's 2 points 3 times, bringing the Free Mind's damage up to five points. This effectively reduces Shogun's Matrix to zero, which will allow the Agent to deal an undefined amount of damage if he gets at least one roll of three or under. (Shogun could try taking mental or real-world actions to get points instead, but that might be tough.) The fight can be considered over, with Agent Ling the victor.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Email: ternashandrik (at) Yahoo.com.

I'll edit in the backround here shortly, and then the stats once I have the big picture.

 

[Jeph]

Okidokey. I'd like to have the game thread up by Monday.

Oh, one more thing: could everyone post the 'real name' of their character, that they had before becoming Free Minds? Actually, you may want to eamail it too me, as its something that the other players don't really need to, and possibly shouldn't, in some cases, know. My email is Jeph88@mindspring.com.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit...

Veritas

Matrix: 2
Real-world: 1
Mind: 2
Skill: Perceptive (+1)
Motivation: Show the rest of the Normals the Truth (what the world really is).

Veritas, up until one year ago, was a typical college student. He drank, he partied, he lived on Ramen noodles - all the things carefree college students do.

His classes were pretty boring, except for his Philosophy class (he was a Philosophy major). The first time he walked in, he knew this wasn't going to be like most of his classes. For one thing, the professor...well, he was a little...strange. He always wore black; nothing but black. And even in the summer, he wore a black trenchcoat, like he was some kind of goth.

But he wasn't one of the "typical" breed of goths, if he was one. For one thing, this professor was quite possibly the only truly wise person Veritas had ever known. Going to his classes was like talking to Socrates, in the Golden Age of philosophy. He was always asking questioning his students, always making them question themselves. He exhorted his students to seek the Truth.

"What would you give for Truth?" he would ask. "You life? Your worldly goods? Your family and your friends? None of that matters to begin with. If you want Truth, you must rid yourselves of all your delusions, your preconceptions, your prejudices. Too see what only the blind can see, hear what only the deaf can hear, that is what I'm offering you here."

One day, toward the end of the year, the Professor announced something to his class that even a year of his peculiar brand of philosophy couldn't prepare them for.

"This world," the Professor said calmly. "Is an illusion; a dream. This building, this country, this reality is a figment of your imagination."

He paused to let this sink in.

"Who wants to wake up?"

Before he had had a year of this, Veritas would have walked out then and there, dismissed the Professor as one of those educated headcases who pop up every so often, or one of those druggies you see talking to themselves who had someone gotten a job on campus. But now...

"...rid yourselves of all your delusions, your preconceptions..."

What if this entire world, this whole reality, was one monstrous preconception, one great delusion? The idea appealed to Veritas, in a scary, shake-the-foundations-of-your-faith kind of way. It appealed to the philosopher in him.

Residual self-image:

Veritas is average height, and fairly scrawny; he prefers to think of himself as "wiry." His skin is pale in color, and his hair is colorless. When he takes his sunglasses off, his eyes are a pale sort of blue-grey, and his forehead is already creased, as though it is often furrowed in thought. His age appears to be about 20 or 21. He wears the usual black trenchcoat, & sunglasses, but wears clothes of a whitish color underneath his trenchcoat.

He has a pistol tucked unobstrusively into his waistband, and a six-inch knife in a sheath strapped to his left ankle.

Appearance:

Same as residual self-image; Veritas isn't one for vanity, so he kept his usual appearance when he made the cross-over into the real world.

He speaks precisely, giving the appearance of choosing his words carefully. Although he appears serious and thoughtful most of the time, he does occassionally display a dry wit, when appropriate (or when under stress). His smiles are few and far between; when he smiles, you can tell he is happy indeed.

Can't wait til the game starts...

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Augustine
Matrix: 2
Real-world: 1
Mind: 2
Skill: Martial Arts
Purpose: Find God (which trumps all of you "Find brother" or "Find loved one" people )

Augustine grew up in a liberal protestant family; however, they were not terribly spiritual, and in his early years through college he goofed off, had little purpose, and was, much to his later shame, generally sinful. But later in life Augustine found himself drawn the church for a sense of meaning and purpose in his life. While working a white-collar job, he earned a PhD in Theology, and became a minister.

Augustine had never actually believed strongly in providence in its more overt sense. When a man and a woman wearing black trenchcoats and sunglasses enterred his service and sat down in the back, he frowned for a moment, saw they didn't seem intent on disrupting the service, and continued.

Then the organist played the same note twice. He had never before done such a thing; he was of consummate skill. Then the Deacon twitched, and was replaced with business-suit-and-sunglasses-wearing man. Then people started shooting.

The man to his left twitched, dropped his gun, and fell; before he had landed, he was replaced with the Deacon, a man Augustine had known for years, riddled with bullets. He saw one of his parishoners, fleeing for the exit jerk, and there again was the same man. Augustinem without realizing what he had done, pulled the trigger on the gun he had picked up.

Before he knew it, he had been shot in the leg and was hiding behind the marble baptismal font with one of the trenchcoated woman. She asked him where the phone was; with cover from the man, they made it to the office, and they dissapeared. A week later, he was a Free Mind.

Augustine's mind was in a turmoil, but he's come out of it with his faith. The theological issues are different, but he'll work on them as surely as he worked on them in University of Religion. And he'll figure out where he- and He- stand in this mess.

Appearance: Augustine is a small man, about five and a half feet tall. He posses short, thinning brown hair and pale blue eyes. He is not very physically strong, being weak of limb a little on the heavy side. When he needs to read fine writing, or a screen, he wears a pair of glasses made skillfully out of spare parts. He appears to be in his mid thirties.

RSI: Augustine replaces his makeshift glasses with wire-rimmed ones, lending him a scholarly air; although much like he'll forget his glasses in the Real World, he'll often forget to appear with them, or add them as an afterthough (after all, in the Matrix he can see fine).

Personality: Augustine is quiet and contemplative. He spends his time outside of the matrix staring off in to the middle distance, either sitting on his bunk or wandering the ship. He is polite but slightly distant, unless anyone wants to talk theology or philosohpy, at which point he eagerly unloads his latest musing on them, hoping for a debate. He is, of course, ready to do just about anything to help out a fellow human being, whether a coppertop or a Free Mind.

Augustine's religious views and personality both lead him to favor martial arts; when performing them, either in exercises or against opponents, he achives a sort of medative bliss that he can't find elsewhere. He feels like there is a place for everything, and that everything is in it's palce. Also, it allows him to subdue his opponents rather than kill him. Every SWAT member that gets in his way is a human being with a soul, even if the life he lives is an illusion; and behind each Agent's heartless, polished exterior lies yet another being- perhaps even a child.

 

[Dalamar]

Can those of us that have finished their characters have mock-up battles? That way we could technically begin right now, inserting two to more characters in the Construct (which, BTW, is Rakennelma in finnish).
And it would be training, us getting to know our characters and practicing on our typing skills.

 

[Jeph]

Well, all 6 characters are in now, and Tokiwong said he'd just watch. So, I guess that means we're all ready to go (although I still need the real names of your characters emailed to me, but that probably won't come up for a bit).

ENTER THE MATRIX

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Great start! The Matrix needs no establishing shots....

 

[Kalanyr]

Character's Real name: Ronald Roberts

 

[Jeph]

Wow. Great descriptions, everybody. I've decided to put a 20-die cap on rolls (one of you actually got 20 dice! ). I've decided to compile the game thread into a sort of narrative, erasing the few rules references and ooc comments, editing here and there to change instances of 'you' to 'they' and other clarifications.

Path, waiting Spiral's move.