Augmented Solidiers: Cyborgs, MOM, Juicers

[jackofallgeeks]

Be All More Than You Can Be
This is some interesting stuff on DARPA's projects to augment soldiers biologically and mechanically. Very interesting stuff.

The Glove: Vinh Cao, their squat, barrel-chested lab technician, used to do almost 100 pull-ups every time he worked out. Then one day he cooled himself off between sets with an early prototype. The next round of pull-ups — his 11th — was as strong as his first. Within six weeks, Cao was doing 180 pull-ups a session. Six weeks after that, he went from 180 to more than 600. Soon, Stanford’s football trainers asked to borrow a few Gloves...

I’ve started shivering again — all across my legs and chest, muscles pulse to a manic rhythm. And then I start having tremors. My thighs jackknife to my chest, unbidden. I moan, and darkness closes in from the edges of my vision.

Then, just like on the treadmill, Grahn takes my wrist. He slips each of my hands into a modified Glove prototype. This time, the metal hemispheres inside are hot to the touch — 113 degrees. After two minutes, I can think again. The tent comes back into focus. “You can stay this way indefinitely now. You’re at a thermal equilibrium; the heat going into these two hands is equivalent to what’s going out of the rest of you,” Grahn says. “Now you’re uncomfortable again — merely uncomfortable. That’s a huge difference when you’re talking about survival.” The water is still bitter, of course. But now I can take it.

Comments

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

The future is now. Sehr interresant.

Plus: fodder for gamers everywhere.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Re: Gaming -- familiar with RIFTS? I'm referring to that game in the subject.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Naturally. "Juicer" was the word that caught my eye.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

My favorite of the three, frankly. I've always wanted to play one.
I've also always been turned off from RIFTS preponderance of MDC-based weaponry. It's great when you're talking about a tank or something, but when 50% of the monsters can squish a human without much effort at all... I like playing humans. I don't like being squished.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

There is something inherently interesting about the mayfly live fast, die young Juicers. They would probably translate better to some other scifi settings than to RIFTS, IMHO. RIFTS is definitely all about how much MDC you can take or dish out. An extra few points of Physical Strength or SDC are meaningless in RIFTS. Mechanically, Juicers are low-grade mooks at best. Especially after the release of a few supplements left them waaaaayyy behind pretty much every character type other than Renegades.

I prefer to do the squishing, myself.

You're not giving Kevin Siembieda enough credit. Probably 95% or more of the monsters can squish a human. I was never especially keen on the way the MDC mechanic worked, but I liked the system overall. The constant power creep turned me off to the game though. Up until the release of Rifts: Africa, I bought every single supplement. That was the last one I ever bought, and I don't for a second regret discontinuing my collection. MDC was designed originallly to model mecha combat for Robotech, not little handblasters and fireballs for RIFTS. The core book had a lot of atmospheric promise. Promise that was rapidly squandered.

I'd be interested in seeing a port of the RIFTS North America (maybe even Atlantis) setting to any of a number of alternate systems, though.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I feel *exactly* the same way, though I haven't stopped buying their books. I don't buy them ALL any more, and Dinosaur Swamp may likely be the last RIFTS book I purchase (really, I just want to see the RIFTS version of my homeland, the East Coast), but...

Interestingly enough, it looks like I may be running a little game of Beyond The Supernatural, which as near as I can tell is the RIFTS system minus MDC (unless they sneak that in later than I've read). I'd rather play Ars Magica, actually, but I'm only one in a group of four, so we ought to go with the consensus.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Ars Magica's a solid system.

Beyond the Supernatural's not bad, but I can think of several other systems that have much better genre support for modern horror. That said, it's still definitely one of Palladium's better products, and Rifts was designed as a deliberate fast-forward of the Beyond the Supernatural setting.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to get into Ars ever since I first found Mage: The Ascention three or so years ago. I just bought the 5th Edition of the core, and I've fallen in love with it already. I like what possibilities they seem to hint at with troupe-style play -- specifically, I wouldn't have to 'run' the game, per se. But I like the setting a whole lot, and they magic system (which I haven't gotten to yet) is generally considered the best out there. So, yeah. I'm hooked.

We're doing BtS mostly, it seems, because my players feel WoD has too much 'emotional baggage' to do a proper modern horror (ie, they want Cthulu not Dracula), and I don't have any other 'modern' systems in my collection.

I do have Chaos Earth that I'm interested in looking at, though, as a half-step between BtS and RIFTS. Which, of course, it was designed to be. one day, I think I'd like to run a set of characters through Palladium-style Armageddon and see what happens. BtS -> Chaos Earth (possibly into early-early-style RIFTS).

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Interesting timing that you have there, looking in to oMage just before its print run came to an end. I know the feeling, and I hate when that happens. I've been building a magic system (on the backburner right now, along with many other projects) for WDF that's modeled heavily on AM and its cousin Dark Ages: Mage. So naturally, I endorse the magic system. nMage takes some of the same basic premises in very interesting directions as well.

Which version of the WoD are you looking at? nWoD, IMO, can readily do a better CoC game than CoC can. But then, I've never been crazy about the mechanics of Chaosium's system. Truth be told, I think nWoD works better when play is focused on humans protagonists than with supernaturals.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Ha. Yeah, I was a little peeved by that. Actually, I was FAR MORE peeved that it looked like they weren't going to print revised Tradition Books for the Virtual Adepts or Order of Hermes (my favorite traditions; see where Ars get in the mix?). What's WDF?

Looking to do nWoD which, frankly, I like A LOT better than oWoD, especially the Supernaturals books. I'm psyched about Changeling: The Lost coming out because I always liked the *idea* behind old Changeling, but it was way too "the real world doesn't matter" for me. I've heard that Cthulu's actual rules really bite, which is a shame, but I've considered picking up the book for source ideas. Generally speaking, I always like games that focus on human protagonists, particularly regular people who get put in extraordinary positions. I forgive mages for being Supernatural because they're almost-human and just so freaking cool.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Actually, the Order of Hermes did get a revised tradbook. I own a copy and it is indeed most excellent (they're my favorite trad). :-D I'm pretty sure the VAs got one too, but it was right near the end.

WDF is a pet project of mine that has seen some playtesting and come off pretty well. It's a rather aggressively tweaked port of white wolf's revised Dark Ages rules over to the Warhammer fantasy setting. I love the grimness and squalor of that setting, and at least if you read the older Warhammer books they were looking for a horrific and foreboding feel that the minis game kinda squished in favor of selling minis to kiddies. I've got a functional but incomplete magic system at this point (I mostly just need to flesh out specific Arts. The mechanics, as adjusted to fit the setting's metaphysics, are in place). It's been quite a while since I've done much with it but if you'd like to take a look I'd love to share. Commentary and help with tweaking would be most welcome.

Yes, the nWoD is superior by far to the oWod in nearly every way other tan in support for large simultaneous playgroups like LARPs and online chats. The old worked better for that because it actually supported the idea of large groups of supers hanging out with each other and having an overarching worldwide organization ... a concept absent from nWoD. I consider that fact very beneficial for tabletop play, but deleterious for the aforementioned venues. now, I liked (and still like) the oWoD, but I'm glad it's gone since its younger brother is better.

Changeling the Dreaming was a game with tremendous potential and moments of greatness that was overall a failed effort. Its mechanics didn't support its intentions very well, and there was too much of exactly what you describe. Fortunately, the guys behind CtL agree with my assessment, at least based on what of their writings on the subject I've gone over. Matt McFarland in particular will hopefully have done a stellar job. After Dark Ages: Fae, I expect great things from him on this score.

The CoC books are great for ideas, not so good for rules IMHO.

human protagonists are awesome, and so are mages. Speaking of mages, you'd have liked my hermetic. There's a guy with major geek cred. Dude was a math/law mage.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I'd happily look over WDF for you; I love games and game settings. Warhammer was One Of Those Games that I was always periferrally interested in, but never with enough force to really get into (mostly because the Miniatures Hobby is, well, rather intense as far as effort and financial commitment).

And yes, eventually all of the Traditions were given Revised tradition books, and yes I have Order of Hermes (and VAs, and Verbena, and Celestial Chorus, marking my 4 favorite Traditions; I prolly have all the revised Tradition books). But when I got it, there was an announcement that The World Was Ending, and most traditions we as-yet unrevised. I have a first- (or is it second- ?) edition Hermetic tradition book (which has, I think, a few source points they were wrong to neglect in the revision) because I was afraid it was the only thing I'd ever be able to get. I can be short-sighted at times. :p

I've only ever heard good things about McFarland; if he's working on CtL, I'm expecting good things.

-grins- I've been tweaking a Hermetic mage for years now. He's never seen play (*I* have never seen play, sad to say), but he's a mash-up physics/philosophy sort taking cues from quantum mechanics, Aristotle, and Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer, in particular, I've started reading in my own time just to get ideas for this guy, and with a whole text entitled "The World as Will and Representation" how can you go wrong?

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Schopenhauer is indeed perfect as inspiration for a Hermetic, and you certainly can't go wrong with Aristotle or even Plato (the Astral Plane is, after all, a Platonic playground). I like your idea.

The basic concept for my mage was that he was a middle-aged man that made his living as a professor in advanced mathematics and as a professional parliamentarian. Two very different but somehow appropriate fields to connect, I thought at the time (and still do). He was a brilliant thinker, organizer and orator... and despite his crustiness and age he was a fervent Pymanderphile Ascension war idealogue, intent on bringing Ma'at to the world (of course, he was a Quaesitor). Franklin had one major problem, though: he Awoke in his fifties, and not long before the start of play. Accordingly, he didn't have a lot of actual magical power under his belt to get his tradition to actually listen to him while much younger and less worldly-wise men who just happened to have more magical juice and thus traditional authority led his local trad down the tubes. What's a middle-aged Initiate got to say that's worth listening to, after all?

That's the problem with revisions... you can't cover every base and still hit new territory. How'd you like the changeover from Thig to Houses Verditius and Xaos?

Hmm... I'll reopen some of my old WDF files, putter with them a bit more and then toss some stuff over your way for perusal.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Meh, Thig never really struck me as very interesting, kind of like Etherite Rejects or something -- I was hard-core Tytalus, myself, which is wonderfully suited to a philosopher who gives Nietzsche any weight. As for the switch to Verditus and Xaos, I was generally displeased. Now that I've looked at Ars I can see the historical weight that House Verditus has, but at the time it just seemed like rather pointless split of an alright house into two polarized halves. I didn't really like it.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, the Tytalans... I dig them. Though my favorite house is definitely Quaesitor, they're my second favorite. speaking of Tytalans, did you get a look through Blood Treachery? Much Tytalan brutality and skulduggery is contained within that book.

I liked the Verditius bit pretty well, but House Xaos personally annoyed me. The Thigs were never a group that I liked anyhow. Give me a staunch Quaesitor filled with righteous indignation in his heart and justice in his hands any day.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Suffice to say, if it's Hermetic oMtA, I have it. I haven't gone through the whole Blood Treachery book, but I LOVED the concept. Tremere Vamps weren't my favorite clan, but I liked them for their connection to Hermes, so I jumped on Blood Treachery. I need to get used to Tremere != vampires in Ars Magica. :p

Side note: do you pronounce it Tre-Mere or Tray-Mere-Ay? I've always taken the first, but given Ars that would make the Mercere Mare-Sare and not Mer-care-ay, and I don't like that.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

As for the vampires, my favorites were the hoary and mystically icky Tzimisce. Well, them and the Nosferatu. Tremere and Ventrue weren't far behind though. But yes, much love for Blood Treachery.

I believe that Tremere is pronounced Tre-Mere, which actually should have virtually no impact on how Mercere is pronounced; the house leaders in question have different cultural backgrounds.

[bsgnome.livejournal.com]

Being a Latinist, thinking about it, I would say "no" to all of those pronunciations. I'm leaning towards "treh-MEH-ray," and "MAIR-cheh-ray," but that's just me.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Oh, as an aside about troupe-style play: I've made considerable use of that technique in one of my VtM chronicles and was highly pleased with the results.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I'm really interested in that because... Well, a bunch of reasons. Firstly, because out of the majority of my friends, I'm the only one who bothers to know the mechanics -- I read RPG books cover-to-cover regularly. There's also a bit of me that doesn't trust other people to play the way I like playing: namely, character-driven, interaction-based stories, rather than level grinding and slash-fests (though, admittedly, sometimes a good slash-fest can be relaxing). This basically means that I feel cornered into running (GMing, DMing, STing, whatever) the game, and while I'm OK with giving guidance and playing referee (1) I want to play interesting characters, too, and (2) I don't really have the energy or creativity to keep a story standing all by myself. If I could, I'd stick to writing and leave gaming as a passing fancy. So I'm really, really interested in any system or mechanic that can decentralize that -- I'll still be OK with guiding and refereeing, but I want to *play*, too.

I think, though, that it would work best if I could find other character-centered players who know the rules too, so we're all interested in telling stories about our characters and we're all comfortable enough with the mechanics and setting to pass 'GM status' around the table.

(alternatively, if I could find a guy who was willing to run a character-based game of the sort I'm looking to play in that'd be cool, too, but bad experiences in DnD leaves me... less than trusting of DM's motives...)

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

You might be interested in Capes, which has an interesting take on shared narrative control. It's not exactly GM-less, it's GM-rich. Everybody's the GM more or less simultaneously, and the game's mechanics are really about controlling the narrative rather than fulfilling individual tasks. It's a conflict-resolution rather than task-resolution system unlike most RPGs. Ultimately, the player that's the most invested in a particular course of events tends to be able to take the helm for that part, and likewise when a player wants to sit back a little and let others take the helm it is easy to do so.

As for being the eternal GM that wants character-driven goodness, I know your pain. Perhaps we could play something together somewhere, sometime.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I'll have to see about checking it out. I've got a 20% discount waiting for me at the local game shop (yay for Friday Night Magic prizes) so maybe I'll see about rolling that into an order.

As for playing together: if it can happen, I'd be all over it. Especially if you wanted to do Ars Magica. :p I'm still a little upset that my group wants to do BtS and not Ars, but...

You're out here in The West, though, right? I'm not sure I ever established where you're located. I'm probably going to be headed back to MD when I graduate, which is kind of a plus because then I'll be within physical proximity of most gamers I know, but... I still have faith in the possibility of having a successful email- or forum-based game run, and I fear that may be my best option for quite some time. (That's what my little foursome BtS game is going to try and be; I'd invite you along if you were interested.)

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Yup, I live in the West. In Babylon (AKA Los Angeles), to be precise.

I'd be down with trying out Ars Magica or, really, quite a few other things at some point. I've got the PDF of I think 5th ed, but I've never actually gotten to play the game.

Email, forum or LJ-based games can certainly work. I've been tinkering with them lately. Another handy venue is the IM-based game, especially if a group uses some of the group chat options that are built into messagers like AIM and Y!M.

BTW, I don't know if you know my AIM handle: it's the same as my LJ. Fell free to toss a "yo!" my way sometime.

[uhlrik.livejournal.com]

Rather, "feel" free. Bah.

[bsgnome.livejournal.com]

I never did point it out, but at one time, I tried my hand in a communal story-writing project, futurefantastic. Really, it was (almost) everything I enjoyed about role-playing, minus all the mechanics.

I know it's not exactly what you'd want, but I'd definately be up for a similar world-building project.