For today, and because there were some problems yesterday, we have a long post - how to build Jedi and Sith both in the Manifold setting and in generic d20 games. This includes a rather lengthy list of Force Powers - drawn from various movies, novels, RPG’s, comics, and other sources - and how to build them.

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   So you want to be a Jedi or a Sith?

   Quite a lot of people do. It’s a pretty popular idea in the New Imperium (Or the New Republic, or the Old Republic, or any of the numerous other Star Wars realms).

   Of course, for most of them, its merely a daydream.

   For those few - openers, realmwalkers, visitants, and talented locals - with the Identities skill it can easily become something more.

   Of course, even an appropriate identity really isn’t enough to make you a Jedi Master or a Sith Lord. For that you’d want a good deal of underlying ability - combat, technical, and social skills, familiarity with many worlds and species, tactical expertise, more advanced psychic abilities, and many more. You can, however, pick up the “minimum membership requirements” fairly readily - thus leading to the glut of wannabe-Sith and -Jedi running about the various Star Wars realms today.

   As for what those requirements are… Well, you have to have “Force Powers”.

   What do we know about the powers? Well lets see… pretty much all force users demonstrate a few basic abilities - most notably, telekinesis and telepathy - and there are quite a few more found in various secondary sources. Most of them seem to be of relatively limited power, work only at short ranges, require concentration, and are used relatively infrequently - an effect represented in game terms (whatever the in-character explanation) by a limited power reserve. There are a few secondary-sources instances of characters showing vast powers - wiping out entire battle fleets, yanking the cores out of stars to hit their enemies with, controlling tens of thousands of minds at one time, killing hundreds of force-using targets and imprisoning their souls - but most of those would seem to fall under “epic spellcasting”, “plot devices”, or - perhaps worst of all - “unplayable”.

   In Eclipse: The Codex Persona (available in a shareware version and in print) most of the Jedi powers fit easily into the Witchcraft/”psychic magic” subsystem. Thanks to that systems limited power levels, its also relatively cheap to buy (at least in terms of Character Points/”CP”) - and both the power of the Dark Side (”More Powerful? No… Quicker, Easier”) an the discipline of the Jedi are readily represented by appropriate Pacts.

   So we’ll take a look at particular powers from the (extensive) catalog of force powers that the Star Wards movies, books, games, and other materials have built up.

   Telekinesis / “The Hand of Shadows”: While, Yoda and Palpatine seemed to be able to move masses of a couple of tons, they were both exceptionally powerful masters and some special preparations (or those flying balconies being lighter than they looked) might have been involved. Most Jedi don’t seem to be able to scrape up enough telekinetic force to fly - and you’ll note that Palpatine didn’t just levitate himself out of that shaft. In general then this seems to be limited to exerting forces in the immediate area which the force-wielder in question could probably manage by hand, powering superhuman jumps, enhancing the user’s acrobatic abilities, and creating distractions. It may or may not also be used to batter and choke people; that might be straight telekinesis, it might be Infliction (below), or - most likely of all - it would be a combination of the two: Telekinesis to hold the victim and Infliction to injure them.

   Telepathy (”Glamour” and “The Inner Eye”): This can be used at a range of some miles with another force-sensitive (and usually a relative or someone with whom the user shares a powerful emotional bond) on the other end - but it’s mostly used on people within the immediate vicinity for minor hypnotic tricks, sensing emotions and lies, detecting presences, and bypassing language difficulties. Evidently its not very powerful and normally has a fairly short range. The multi-mile range option is hard to handle directly with Witchcraft - but it could be easily handled via Mystic Link or by Action Points with the Stunts option. Given that the Stunts option will allow for all kinds of rarely-used abilities, its probably the best way to represent characters from fictional sources: they’re always using some power once or twice and then forgetting all about it - no matter how convenient using it would be in the next book.

   Advanced applications - from various books and RPG’s - cover communication with animals, sensing force potentials in other people, broadcasting emotions, using other creature’s senses, modifying or wiping memories, driving victims mad, stunning or paralyzing opponents, and telepathic probes. A few of these effects may require actual powers, although many of them can be handled using the basic Witchcraft “Elfshot” ability,

   Force-users can also detect major psychic disturbances; planets exploding, powerful psychics in great emotional pain, and so on. The larger said disturbance, the further away it can be detected - just like light, explosions, or any other release of energy. Given that this is basically a plot device, this is a freebie for any telepath: if there’s a loud enough psychic “noise” they’ll hear it whether they’re paying attention or not.

   Enhanced Senses (”Witchsight”): Force-users often exhibit the ability to see in the dark, listen in on distant conversations, detect poisons by scent, hear the tiny noises of traps being triggered, and so on. Fortunately, all of this can be covered by the basic Witchsight ability.

   Healing and Biomanipulation (”Healing” and “Hyloka”): Force users can hold their breath for a long time, accelerate healing, enhance their speed, strength, and reflexes, resist pain ant the effects of injuries, keep going in the desert, and resist extremes of weather - but, at most, by touch and with limited effect. Advanced users can secrete drugs, toxins, and other biochemicals (Path of Water/Venomed Touch, 6 CP), extend their lifespans (Path of Earth/Longevity, 6 CP), go into stasis to survive hostile environments and heal mortal wounds (Path of Earth/Sleep of Stone, 6 CP), bless or curse areas (Path of Earth/True Prosperity, 6 CP), greatly increase their speed, attacks, and reflexes (Path of Fire/Leaping Fire), or enhance their own durability (Path of Earth/Bones of Iron, 6 CP).

   Force-Based Attacks (”Infliction” and “Witchfire”) include force lightning, inflicting sourceless pain (usually as an interrogation or torture technique), creating whirlwinds, causing things to burst into flame, generating buffeting whirlwinds, possibly the remote choke-hold bit (this may be just another telekinetic effect), causing sonic damage by yelling really loudly, and otherwise making really loud noises.

   Illusion Casting (”Shadowweave”) covers projecting images, creating blinding flashes, confusing people’s senses, and similar stunts. Advanced users (+6 CP) may become invisible and generate even better and more versatile illusions.

   Astral Projection (”Dreamfaring”) is a rarity among force-wielders, although a few of them have used advanced variants on the technique to manifest remotely (Path of Spirits/Apparition, 6 CP), to create minions (Path of Flames/Birth of Flames, 6 CP).

   Resistance to mental manipulations and probes can be covered by another basic Witchcraft ability - “The Adamant Will”. While this can also be used to conceal your nature and abilities from various detections and probes, but - since such deceptions must be actively supported - if you’re likely to be subjected to more than occasional scans and probes, its best to buy some Cloaking (6 CP) to provide a passive defense.

   Clairvoyance, including precognition and postcognition. Unfortunately, while a few small-scale local applications - weather-prediction, intuitive navigation (through deep space, or through labyrinths and caverns) and compensating for blindness - are fairly reliable, most other effects are not. In fact, while those occasional flashes of clairvoyance, precognition, and postcognition have no apparent range limit, they’re also erratic and undependable, usually only work well when the “user” knows and cares deeply about the people in question, and ONLY work when its convenient for the plot. After all, with a couple of thousand Jedi running about, apparently none of them got enough warning to avoid simple ambushes by clone warriors - although Yoda apparently managed to keep an occasional eye on Luke and Leia. Regardless of movie references, this can be purchased as “The Sight” (Witchcraft/The Path of Air, 6 CP). If you just want the uncontrollable aspects you can specialize it for half cost. If you want complete awareness of what’s going on around you in a melee situation, whether you can see or not, you’ll want The Path of Air/Darksense (6 CP).

   Deflection (Block: Missile and Melee, 12 CP, usually with Reflex Combat/Combat Reflexes Variant, 6 CP): allows its user’s to block both hand-to-hand and ranged attacks, including those which travel at or near the speed of light. If you want the ability to reflect shots, or to turn them against other people, you’ll have to buy a more advanced version. Of course, even the basic version is fairly expensive - which is why most starting force users require a light sabre (specialized, reducing the cost to 9 CP) to make it work. More advanced Jedi and Sith may buy off this limitation, and do the same thing with their bare hands. Some of them learn to dissipate energy from various systems as well (Path of Fire/Grounding, 6 CP).

   Inspiration: Enhancing your allies is a power that turns up every so often, and can be done in an enormous variety of ways - but using the Path of Light/Blessing (6 CP) is probably easiest for anyone who’s already started investing points in Witchcraft.

   Random Enhancements (”Innate Enchantment”, valued at 5000 GP, 6 CP) are simply innate psychic talents which are either always available or can be called on every so often. Some common variants here include True Strike (1/Day/Level, A.K.A. “Use the Force”, 2000 GP), +2 Dexterity (L1 Enhance Dexterity, personal use only, 1400 GP), Entropic Shield (2000 GP), Bless Weapon (2000 GP) or Magic Weapon (1400 GP), Resistance (Personal Only, 700 GP), Resist Energy (Personal Only, 1400 GP), Shield (2000 GP), Mage Armor (Personal Only, 1400 GP), Sleep (2000 GP), Hypnotism (2000 GP), Disguise Self (2000 GP), or Jump (Personal Only, 1400 GP) - among many others. Many force-wielders seem to have weird little specialities or semi-unique enhancements.

   Higher-ranking Force Wielders will probably want some Improved Initiative (3 CP per +2), a sword-based Martial Art (costs skill points rather than CP), the ability to add their Dexterity Modifier to their Strength Modifier for melee combat purposes (advanced augmented bonus, 18 CP, usually specialized in swords only, for 9 CP), and the ability to add their Wisdom Modifier to their Armor Class (Improved Augmented Bonus, 12 CP). Unfortunately, this sort of thing tends to be out of reach of low-level characters unless they concentrate exclusively on being force-wielders rather than simply dabbling in it.

• Generals and other major leaders may want to purchase Dominion (6 CP) to let them inspire armies and fleets.
• Those who wish to hide their true nature from extensive probes may want Cloaking (6 CP).
• Disappearing into the astral plane when you die is free: no one really cares if you want to take your body with you as long as you leave any clues, vital pieces of equipment, or other items behind. It might even be a disadvantage if there was any chance of revival. Coming back again afterwards - rather than only occasionally appearing to force-sensitives to bring plot-driven warnings - requires buying Returning (6+ CP). Characters who want to contact and summon the spirits of the dead on their own terms will need to buy Summoning, from The Path of Coven Mastery (6 CP).
• Force-users are sometimes shown with the ability to learn things with superhuman speed. In game this doesn’t cost anything: if you have the skill points to spend you can pick up a skill pretty rapidly.
• There are a few instances of force-users being cut off from the force, apparently more-or-less permanently. This seems to be fairly crippling to the user as well, making it a good fit for the Blood Curse ability (6+ CP).
• The ability to generate Hyperspace Wormholes - vortexes of space-time distortion capable of destroying entire battle fleets, planets, or stars - has appeared in a few Star Wars comics. In game terms this is probably unplayable (and rarely desirable), but if you simply must have it, you can buy Mana with the Reality Editing option and try to persuade the GM to let you get away with it. You still won’t be able to do it very often, but if you often need to personally destroy planets your campaign is just a bit too over-the-top for me to worry about.
• Major area effect attacks - Force “Storms”, “Screams”, and “Waves”, “Telekinetic Explosions”, and similar effects are difficult to produce with Witchcraft alone. The quickest and easiest way to do so is to buy Inherent Spell (Power) (6+ CP), possibly with some Bonus Uses. This also works for the occasional weird (and usually semi-unique and unteachable) powers - vampiric abilities, the ability to entangle people with fast-growing vegetation, damage-absorbing auras, remote computer programming or other skill use,
• “Sith Alchemy” seems to be essentially an excuse for (1) making materials which will stand up to light sabres and other energy weapons, (2) having enhanced minions and/or zombies, and (3) creating various psychic devices. All three seem to be fairly advanced abilities. Despite that, (1) can be covered by a good knowledge or Metallurgy and Chemistry combined with the basic Witchfire ability. Molecular-level telekinesis can produce some pretty impressive special materials with a little work. Number (2) is a job for Leadership (6+ CP), and (3) is a job for Create Item (6+ CP). All in all, if you really want to master Sith Alchemy, you’ll probably have to devote a couple of levels worth of CP to it.
• “Sith Sorcery”, occasionally described as “drawing on the spirits of dead Sith in chaos” or “drawing on the darkest secrets and uttermost depths of the dark side”, seems to be even more of a plot-device excuse than “Sith Alchemy”. It’s usually portrayed as either (1) being capable of almost any mid-level effect that the villain needs, but only every so often or (2) being capable of a relatively few vastly-powerful effects (that usually drive the plot). Version (1) is best represented by Hexcrafting - a magical system designed to allow casters to produce an immense variety of effects within a selection of broad themes, but not very often. A character will be able to dabble in Version (1) Sith Sorcery for a modest handful of points - buying a few narrowly-focused card slots (6 CP each) and a few specialized caster levels to go with them (3 CP each) - but truly mastering it will require a major investment. Option (2) is best handled using Channeling (Negative Energy) with the Spell Conversion option. That way the user will be able to produce a few, specific, high-level effects. That tends to be a bit boring for player-characters, but suits NPC villains just fine.

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So; the minimal Jedi Package

• Basic Witchcraft, including (Str+Dex+Con)/3 Power and 3 Basic Abilities* - usually Telekinesis/The Hand of Shadows and Telepathy/Glamour, and The Inner Eye - for 12 CP.
• Path of Air/The Sight (6 CP).
• Two Vow Pacts: Taboos and Duties (-12 CP).
• Innate Enchantment/Various Enhancements (Total of 5000 GP worth, 6 CP)
• Deflection/Missile and Melee Block with Reflex Combat/Combat Reflexes, all Specialized: only while wielding a blade (9 CP).
• Proficient with Light Sabre (3 CP).

   That’s 24 CP - a level three Identity or half the total points available to a first-level character. Enough abilities to be tolerably effective, even if nowhere near the Master level. Further development should include more Witchcraft talents, increasing the characters Warcraft/BAB, and adding skills.

   *Dark Side abilities include Elfshot and Infliction, Light Side abilities include The Adamant Will and Healing, and the remaining basic Witchcraft powers - Dreamfaring, Glamour, The Hand of Shadows, Hyloka, The Inner Eye, Shadowweave, Witchfire and Witchsight - are neutral.

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The Minimal Sith package isn’t all that different.

• Full Witchcraft, including (Str+Dex+Con)/3 Power and 7 Basic Abilities - usually Telekinesis/The Hand of Shadows Telepathy/(Glamour and The Inner Eye), Infliction, Hyloka, Shadowweave, and Witchsight (18 CP).
• Two Pacts: Usually selected from among Isolation, Essence, Corruption, and Karmic Links, (-12 CP).
• Innate Enchantment/Various Enhancements (Total of 5000 GP worth, Specialized: only works when the user is full or rage, anger, or similar emotions, 3 CP)
• Deflection/Missile and Melee Block with Reflex Combat/Combat Reflexes, all Specialized: only while wielding a blade (9 CP).
• Path of Air/The Sight, Specialized: major visions and effects are always tainted and corrupted by personal ambitions and the influence of the dark side (3 CP).
• Proficient with Light Sabre (3 CP).

   This also comes out to 24 CP - another L3 Identity. Sith pick up basic powers faster, but are more limited in other ways when not in a temper.

   Well, first up for today its another horrible character for Legend of the Five Rings - Neko Miyako, a high-ranking Cat Clan Samurai. Given that - over the last 50+ sessions - the characters have built up a tremendous experience point total and an awful lot of acquired advantages, Neko’s point total is quite impressive. Like many of the other characters, Miyako is pretty focused. In her case, it’s simply on skills: what she’s good at, she’s quite impressively good at.

   First up was the Mayor. Sadly, with an already-overwhelming project load, no one was really willing to listen to the Mayor’s complaints about “Satan” - even if he was starting his own advertising campaigns - with slogans “Come to New York, Annex of Hell!”, bumper stickers “I (Satanic Heart) New York”, and even billboards “Come and visit New York, Satan’s home away from home!”. New York didn’t need this. Unfortunately…

   The Chauffeur was busily involved with setting up a foundation for the rescue, advancement, and legal protection of lycanthropes - a project that seemed likely to consume much of his time for the next several weeks.

   The Racaf were stashed in the Werewolf’s hunting dimension for the time being (not necessarily a stable situation with a bunch of primitive tribal alien mercenaries equipped with ultra-tech weapons and combat cybernetics) - but Kheilios was deeply involved in trying to locate their home planet, find a way to get there, and bring their civilization up to something reasonably contemporary - all the way from the stone age, in the face of the opposition of the Kraggan galactic empire.

   Vasilkos parents were getting pretty impatient about coming to visit - and the group was going nuts both trying to make sure that Vasilko was ready for that (he was still a bit underconfident - if only because the last time he’d seen his parents, he’d been pretty young) and that the rest of the place was ready. At least the kids had pretty well agreed that they wouldn’t be trying to get any of their visitors to bite them… Still, Vasilko was managing to function in society, rather than running away from it. There was some good news: at least their massively-oversized werewolf pack was settling down a bit. Stephen’s lesser werewolves simply hadn’t been granted the extra powers - or magical weapons - that the original pack had, leaving them all stuck in the subordinate positions.

   The teenagers they’d rescued from the Kragga’s recruiting program were from all over the planet - and at least half the governments involved were salivating at the thought of getting their collective hands on advanced alien nanite-cyberware military enhancements. About a third of the kids wanted to keep the stuff. For good or ill, about half the parents (for those who had anyone who wanted them) were inclined to let them - and, since they’d left it up to the parents, a few of them wanted it left in regardless of what the kids wanted. That meant 30-40 would be keeping the stuff… Oh well, if they couldn’t persuade all of them to dump it, at least that would keep the various governments from starting an undercover war over samples.

   Equally unfortunately, they found out the hard way that several governments had managed to trace the various benign global spells that were cast during the Darkstorm War to Alaska - and had analyzed the power signature to get a fair amount of information about the spellcaster. That information, combined with Ranko’s comments about her “horse”, got the Japanese Government quite enthused about having a little talk with Ranko. According to the Mandate’s governmental connections, the defense department was investigating the alaskan dragon enclave as well, and had a variety of agents up in Alaska tracing things. God alone knew how many other groups were up there. Wonderful. Half the power groups on earth wanted to employ, jump, or eliminate a bunch of walking adolescent magical fusion bombs.

   The White Necromancer had an appointment - thanks to his mother (and to that blasted Oni’s curse) - with the Department of the Treasury and their super-human training/restraint program. A couple of the others went along, but the initial evaluation mostly consisted of some power-level determinations (high), an account of his actions with the Mandate, some basic psychological evaluation - and a private interview for Jason. The block they used on the psychic link wasn’t very powerful, but Bobby decided not to try and push past it: that wouldn’t give them a very good impression - and he didn’t really feel a need to censor Jason anyway. OK, there were some bits he might have wanted to censor - but that was from embarrassment, not like it was criminal or something. Besides: maybe it would discourage the feds if they thought he was too weird. OK, probably not, but still… Well, anyway. About all he had to say was that he was needed, and was doing important - and possibly world-saving - things, right where he was.

   He was too powerful for the basic program, so they’d get back to him within a few weeks. Not bad for a federal program perhaps, but he would have preferred a lengthier period.

   When the group got back after that, they discovered that someone had been through like a whirlwind. More importantly, whoever-it-was had efficiently neutralized everyone; the werewolves had chased a white stag into the more confused reaches of the astral plane, the kids were off chasing pixies (they’d caught quite a few, but weren’t sure if you jumped on them to get healed), the Mr Smiths were chasing the kids and a will-o-the-wisp, and helping Monopole, a nymph with a pizza was occupying Arioch, Monopole was attempting (and failing) to deal with a gremlin infestation, the horses were being diverted by some phookas, the Hauntsman was out, Satan was being occupied by some animated trees, and even the ghosts and revenants were being diverted by a Banshee… The wards were bypassed, and the spells had… a power signature like… the Darkmage’s. Mixed with faerie magic. Other than that, whoever it was had covered their tracks well.

   The mages were still playing with divination and such when someone decided to check the security cameras. Whoever it was looked pretty magic-obsessed, so maybe they’d have missed the security cameras.

   There were some excellent shots of a young girl - albeit one with quite a lot of magical power - calling herself “The Black Enchantress“, complaining about people stealing “her” talisman, magicking her way through the house, and searching the place. Looked pretty human, seemed to take commanding the fey as a birthright, had at least a part of the Darkmage’s power. How could she have that? It should have died with him, it wasn’t like the man had some kind of… heir. Wait. Hadn’t the Darkmage had a half-fey daughter? Oh great. That fey-summoning sigil from his artifact collection must have been meant for her. It was probably a good thing that the Chauffeur had kept it with him so that no one could get ahold of it.

   Well, at least she didn’t seem all that lethal. Annoying as hell perhaps… The Chauffeur scattered masses of iron around the place anyway (everywhere except where the Unicorn hung out). They wouldn’t stop her - as a half-human, she’d be immune - but it should discourage the things she was summoning.

   The Darkmage had generally meant well and had caused catastrophes. Could they possibly be lucky enough to have his daughter mean mischief and cause nice things to happen? Probably not. Still, the Darkmage had had a real talent for disaster. Hopefully she hadn’t inherited that as well.

   Meanwhile, Mina had decided to claim Bobby, A.K.A. The White Necromancer. He was just so cute the way he tried to peek around his censoring glasses while pretending that he wasn’t looking. He was a few years older, but she was a werewolf, and grew up faster, so that was all right - at least from her point of view. Jason went away obediently when Mina showed up. He wasn’t about to attempt to “protect” his master from cute young girls who wanted to get into his bed… Bobby was pretty nonplused - but he was fifteen, and male, and werewolves were pretty direct. The outcome was never really in doubt.

   There wasn’t much time to follow up on the Black Enchantress. Atlantic City was being attacked by a giant monster, the Destruction Company - led by The Warlord - had taken over a launch facility and were demanding a 500 million dollar ransom, and (on a smaller scale) - oh never mind. Those were urgent enough already.

   Perhaps fortunately, the giant monster - a full-scale tyrannosaur, complete with plasma generation, massive strength, durability, and regenerative abilities (also known as “Godzilla“) - was already heavily engaged, and was being held at the harbor by a couple of minor heroes, “Kristin” - an escaped NKVD cyborg-assassin - and an apparently-endless supply of smallish plastic-looking tanks (missile-launchers and energy projectors) manned by semi-identical “Japanese” drivers. The Japanese Defense Force, Anti-Godzilla Division? Plus a bunch of… film crews. The Producer again. At least this time he was actually being fairly helpful; it looked like he was just taking advantage of the monster this time around.

   Kristin traced the tanks back to a weird plant-factory that was spawning them, argued with the (equally-artificial) “drivers”, and got a missile launcher from the real national guard before returning to the harbor, just in time to meet up with the Mandate.

   The White Necromancer and the Chauffeur identified “Godzilla” as the dinosaur-DNA empowered guy who’d spun out into the sea a few weeks before, and went to work on reversing the transformation. Kristin put a missile into its eye and helped hold it off - while Kheilios went in with his fists and a sword. Between them, the national guard, and the producers tanks they actually managed to stun the thing for a few moments - as well as providing the Producer with enough stock footage to assemble his own Godzilla movie, which began appearing in Wal-Mart a few days later. (It featured Kheilios, “tragically infected by the Godzilla cells”, but now “Strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Godzilla!” as “A Glorious Defender of Edo”, along with most of the battle and a variety of classical cardboard sets strung together with a sloppy facsimile of a plot. For a Godzilla move it wasn’t at all bad).

   They really ought to do something about the launch facility, but everyone needed a bit of a rest - and the White Necromancer, who noted the number of murders Kristin had committed as an NKVD agent, put her up in the crypt next to the gates of death. He thought she deserved a little ghostly harassment. Kristin headed up to the house to get someone to get rid of the wraiths, requested a small magnet to illustrate her mechanical nature, and soon - thanks to being met by Theodore, to the fact that she’d requested the strongest one available, and to the fact that Monopole stocked some super-strong magnets for nuclear research (mostly because he was Monopole) - needed major repairs. Monopole put in a lot of upgrades while she was on the table. The NKVD people just had no idea of how to build a PROPER cyborg.

   Since the government was busy negotiating with the Destruction Company, and didn’t want any direct attacks - at least not yet - the Chauffeur spent some time probing “Godzillas” mind to try and trace where he’d been transformed into a supervillain (upstate new york somewhere, but he couldn’t get any closer than that). Meanwhile, Yuki got interviewed by the Japanese Government about Dragons (but didn’t know much beyond their location), an anonymous sponsor funded a production of the complete Faerie Queen (via an anonymous gift of cash; not much to trace there), there were reports of a terrible (and extremely garish) monster haunting peoples dreams (it demanded that they give it some words - a good speech, piece of poetry, or similar - which it hadn’t heard before on penalty of being eaten: those who failed to do so tended to wake up with awful headaches) but the Hauntsman was too busy to bother chasing it, VIPER was setting up a string of… family shelters, apparently as a publicity stunt (there didn’t seem to be any direct connection to VIPER proper outside of the name and… cash again), and that Kraggan ship out near Saturn was shifting its orbit - probably either departing or coming to call.

   By the time they’d dealt with those problems, the government had found out that the Warlord and the Destruction Company were actually stealing warheads, as well as demanding a ransom. The Ghost Dance was about to go in - but in the face of the Destruction Company, the Warlord and his Strike Forces, AND the Fireteam, a few extra heroes wouldn’t hurt.

   Despite the best efforts of the Mandate and the Ghost Dance, there were just too many villains. They got a few members of the Destruction Company - who turned out to be technically dead already, with their spirits bound into cybernetic bodies - but despite Jason surviving massive (but low-penetration) firepower, the launching of several missiles as a diversion (sans warheads), Livewire starting the countdown on one of the loose warheads, Snake attempting to revive unconscious allies, people heroically leaping aboard missiles as the launch sequences started, vampiric possession, minor earthquakes courtesy of White Buffalo Woman, and an unexpected intervention by “Satan”, the Warlord successfully evacuated most of his troops - pretty much all the ones he actually wanted - and escaped to… a WWI phantasm world?… with three-quarters of the warheads. He’d sent one of his stealth minions to pick up the 500 million as well, but Coyote had already replaced the cash with phony money.

   Unfortunately, no one was in any shape to go after him. At least the Chauffeur had recovered the last six nuclear warheads safely and Livewire was headed to the north pole to assault Santa Claus.

   Well the Champions game will be starting up about 7:30 at the University of Tennessee library, as usual. Despite the ongoing interludes - with parents, alien mercenaries, dragons, junior heroes, and werewolves - things will be moving into some larger-scale complications.  Hopefully I’ll be able to update the campaign log late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

   Well, for today I’ve finally gotten the next chapter of the Level Four Battletech Rules - Sample Aerospace Fighters and an assortment of rules on Munitions and Bombing - converted into something that will display (more or less) properly in current browsers. Only one or two more chapters to go, depending on whether or not I decide to combine the tables and notes.

   This list provides some benchmarks for various classical weapons. Its worth noting that - in the Federation-Apocalypse setting - simple inanimate objects are treated differently from living creatures and active constructs, such as vehicles. There are detailed systems for the important stuff. The landscape and scenery can be dealt with far more simply without any real loss to the game.

   Secondarily, most of these benchmarks are for classical, 20′th to 21’st century gear. Modern Core equipment may be considerably more effective than the classical stuff, up to the limits of what’s physically possible - or at least up to the limits of what isn’t suicidal to use as a personal weapon.

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Classical Stuff:

• 1d6: Molotov Cocktail, Light Pistol, Arrow, Mace.
• 2d6 (1d10, 1d12): Dynamite Stick, Incendiary Grenade, Machine or Heavy Pistol.
• 3d6 (2d8, 2d10, 1d20): Modern MiniGrenade, Superheavy Pistol, Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Medium Machine Gun, Flamethrower.
• 4d6 (3d8, 2d10, 2d12): Modern Military Grenade, Sniper Rifle, Elephant Gun, Heavy Machine Gun, Vehicle Flamethrower, Minigun, Plastic Explosives. Attacks at this power level have a roughly 50-50 chance of instantly killing normal people and will almost certainly leave them dying even if they survive the initial attack. They’ll also blow out light interior walls and doors without a problem.
• 5d6 (4d8, 3d10, 2d12): Vehicle-Mounted Rotary Autocannon, Recoilless Rifle, Demolitions Charge.
• 6d6 (5d8, 4d10, 3d12): Rail Gun, Photon Grenade, Bazooka, Light Artillery, Satchel Charge. Attacks at this level will blow up cottages, demolish light stone walls, and smash the trunks of sizable trees.
• 8d6 (6d8, 5d10, 4d12): Heavy Artillery, Light Shaped-Charge Anti-tank Weapons, Anti-Vehicle Mine. Attacks at this level will almost certainly kill normal human beings and may well leave few identifiable bits. They’ll also blow holes in stone or concrete walls and blast open ordinary safes.
• 10d6 (8d8, 6d10, 5d12, 3d20, 35 Points): WWII Battleship Gun, Superheavy Artillery, Direct Hit from a Shaped-Charge Antitank Weapon, Blockbuster Bomb, (assorted) Vehicle Energy Weapons, Antimatter Radiator (Especially destructive to Electronics), Rail Cannon. Attacks like this can usually be counted on to destroy modest heavy-construction buildings or medium-sized light-construction strutures and will make substiantial craters.
• 15d6 (12d8, 10d10, 8d12, 5d20, 50 Points): Cruise Missile, Singularity Grenade, Fusion Cannon, Core Missile Launcher (Shaped Microfusion Warhead), Antimatter Beamer. Attacks at this level normally destroy sizable buildings and inflict considerable damage to the area.

   Many of the 15d6-category weapons affect sizable areas, albeit usually at lesser levels of effect. While the total energy involved continues to increase beyond this point, it can no longer be effectively directed against individual targets - regardless of the weapons system in use - hence most of the energy released by the 20d6+ effects goes into affecting larger and larger areas. Magic and Psionic effects may bypass this limitation: they don’t have to obey the usual laws of physics, hence they can cause immense amounts of damage to relatively limited areas.

.

The Heavy Stuff:

• 20d6 (16d8, 13d10, 11d12, 7d20, 70 Points): Neutron Bomb, Tacnuke, Heavy Microfusion Warhead, Antimatter Needler (yes, that’s a Core hand weapon). Attacks at this level will usually cause severe damage within a radius measured in hundreds of feet.
• 25d6 (85 Points): Fission Bomb, Meteor Swarm spell, Singularity Cannon. This sort of thing inflicts massive damage to small cities and causes huge numbers of casualties in populated areas.
• 30d6 (100 Points): Fusion Bomb, Relativistic Slivergun. Reduces major cities to rubble.
• 35d6 (125 Points): Antimatter or Total Conversion Bomb, Cometary or Asteroid Strike. Attacks of this kind wreck areas hundreds of miles across.
• 40d6 (140 Points): Stellar Flare, Planetary Collision, Anime Super Energy Cannons. This sort of thing can be expected to destroy continents or planets.
• 45d6 (160 Points): Nova, Brane Collision, Death Star blast. May cause severe damage to nearby planets and usually destroys any planet it hits directly.
• 50d6 (175 Points): Supernova, Neutron Star Collision. Sufficient damage to destroy a star, often inflicts notable damage to nearby solar systems.
• 55d6 (190 Points): Gamma-Ray Burster, Seyfert Flare. This sort of thing destroys small star clusters and inflicts massive damage to substantial portions of the local galaxy.
• 60d6 (210 Points. Usually considered automatic death by massive damage): Struck by Cosmic String or Domain Boundary, Big Bang. Pretty much destroys everything it touches.

   Well, once again the old files are being uncooperative: I still have two major chapters left - the aerospace chapter and the equipment tables - and both are being pretty difficult to convert. Still, hopefully they’ll be up tomorrow.

   Back in the New Imperium, Kevin finally found time to make his pitch (after taking some fairly extensive precautions against is being spied on by the house: if they wanted to know, they could either await him going commercial or bloody well ask). There were sixteen kids from Baelaria (who saw it as a chance to apprentice to a powerful mage), the twelve core kids, and the five half-drow slaves… Kevin was working on streamlining his pitch for Core, so he went for a clear and complete explanation (albeit a very nicely-presented one), carefully assuaged all identifiable doubts, had his current thralls demonstrate their abilities, made sure that they understood that his contract was for a limited time only and included healing, life-extension, and resurrection benefits - and made it quite clear that this was an option: they were more-or-less free (depending on their backgrounds and other options) to go elsewhere.

   It went better than Kevin had expected: four of the core kids didn’t go for it - although none of them wanted to go back to core (and it looked like three would after they’d watched for a bit). The other core kid was weird. Well, that sort of thing was par for the course out in the Manifold.

   Since the New Imperium had communications links, the core kids got to call home. Their parents were pleased that they weren’t dead - and mostly felt that signing up with a professional adventuring group was better than running around the manifold on their own. Three of the four who’d rejected his deal didn’t want to call: evidently they hadn’t been happy in core. The weird one sent a weird message home about trying to regroup.

   There were still a few more (two who’d disappeared and the three ringleaders - at least one of whom had had enough mana to open existing but non-commercial gates - who’d been picked up by a pair of drow) whom it might be possible to rescue. Still, the vanished ones were likely dead (unless the turned up with the followup crew, which they might) and Kevin felt no particular urgency about rescuing the ringleaders from their folly - at least as long as their lives weren’t in danger. Since they had a very useful power, they probably were safe enough for the moment - and searching the Underdark wasn’t exactly practical. They’d taken a bunch of other kids who lacked both the power to escape on their own and the power to handle the place into the Underdark; being slaves for awhile wasn’t that big a price to pay… Kevin put out some rewards/purchase offers on all five, but that would have to do for the moment.

   What had they been after anyway? Mostly trying to ride the plot of a known adventure, but the leading trio had also been after something called the “Rosary of Memories”. Er, well, whatever. The manifold was full of legendary treasures.

   So: where to assign his twenty-nine new Thralls? Marty needed eight to open up shop in Core New York City (minor magical and psychic services, manifold tours, gate-openers, and escorts, to expand to import/export, rescue, bodyguard services, and similar missions as possible, he was paying an appropriate kids salary; Unions in Battling Business World were nothing to sneeze at): two to alternate manning the desk and demonstrating that they were indeed competent and two agent teams of three - at least for the moment. One to act as Liaison with the House - hmm, he’d offer to assign one to the followup crew and see how the house reacted to THAT - some trade representative teams of three each for Baelaria, the New Imperium, and Classic Star Wars (three each for those, core kids with their own ID’s for Bealaria), three to advanced training for a bit and then to the Forgotten Realms as trade reps there, scatter three of them around core to provide some communications and news links (as well as to take the three healed-up little kids and the cookie monster home) and demonstrate their powers a bit and advertise for recruits that way - and have the remaining four try to go to work as agents for some of the other factions. They’d pay well, and he might get some worthwhile information out of it.

   Back at the volcanic moon, Jarvian - who hadn’t felt that a multi-ton mech would be much use on what was basically an archeological dig - had gotten the robots to build him a new, heavier, Mech; he’d had those Warhammer blueprints lying around anyway. (Fortunately for Jarvian, the robots had quietly upgraded the weaponry to something approaching core specifications).

   With everyone - including Darth Plageous, Ithuldir, that weird kobold and a minotaur (both still in Kevin’s pocket), Benedict, Marty, Jarvian, Raphial, Kevin, and his three thralls and two “ferrets” - loaded with ammon and ready to leave, they got on with the trip to Singular. Most of them took the Orb, but Jarvian preferred his shiny new Mech. Most of the rest had their doubts - although Plageous was laughing and Ilthuldir was a bit shocked (and needed some explanations).

   Singular was being maintained by robots - who were still firing orbital weapons at the automated minions of the Russian AI who’d started the entire mess - but was in the middle of a glacial spasm: the asteroid hit had blown a hole in Russia 200 miles across (half full of magma, and one of the few warm places left); it was snowing in the tropics. Modest radiation, no serious chemical toxins, some radiation-scrambled and mostly-inactive nanites, breathable atmosphere, and cold.

   Since Kevin had had all of the displays switched to low-resolution and downsampled audio to avoid meme infections, as well as switching down to basic voice-communications and recognition codes only on communications channels they started fishing for information. Fortunately, the local computer network was fairly obliging. The “gravesite” was in the crater. The safest route was under the pole. Major glaciation was underway… They estimated several centuries before the planet would be suitable for unprotected human life again.

   As for the war summaries… Praetorians revealed as America enters war effort… Praetorians are the first to successfully hold off the Gilgamish class of metahumans… Numerous psychological issues leading to near 100% suicide rate among the Praetorians… United States President infected with Viral Meme Firestorm… Praetorians launch assault on White House, Pentagon, and Norad in attempt to limit damage… Praetorians Peter Matthington and Catherine Wingates assume global command of all of humanity… “Free and Pure Humans” launch counterattack to purge humanity of impurities; they are led by Four ArchAngels of Apocalypse… Remaining Praetorians manage at kill three Angels with very high casualties… Peter Matthington goes missing around the time of the impact of Station Alpha (and its nuclear core) into Northern Russia… Fourth Angel disappears as well… Remaining Praetorian Commander Catherine Wingates goes to crater and suicides near where a river is pouring into it… Urban Cohorts disband and exterminate remaining Praetorians, now running amuck without their commanders to keep them in line… Evacuation of Humanity to other realms begins.

   Kevin sighed. The bloody fundamentalists were always trotting out that bunch. They’ve messed up a lot of mice realms that way. He remembered one nice little western-themed place…

   Well, the Orb wouldn’t be able to fly well with a 75-ton mech aboard. It looked like they were in for an ocean cruise. in Fission Core of Station Alpha impacted. Better get moving before something else showed up.

   They had to dodge some orbital weapons fire on the way, but at least the systems were nice about warning “friendly” units in the area. They drilled up near St Petersburg, where CO2 was freezing out as well. It was a mess, and was also heavily occupied by hostile mecha. Well, at least realm-visitors could use magic up to level three or so without a problem, so Kevin threw some screening spells around Marty and threw illusions. One enemy mech wasn’t that big a problem - but it looked like there were at least twenty more.

   Jarvian volunteered to stay behind and hold them off while everyone else escaped. Kevin pointed out that this was suicidal: they were faster, more heavily armed and armored, and had him heavily outnumbered - unless he opened a gate to the Mechworlds and left a kid to open it for him. Gerald had illusions, should have a fairly good shot at getting him out.

   That actually worked out - at least thanks to some sort of construct which attached itself to the Stonewall (Jarvian had christened his Mech) and helped shoot. He actually got out with mere massive systems damage…

   While fleeing, the rest discussed bars, antimatter hand weapons, and a variety of other subjects… The radiation beamers were fairly “safe”: they just made everything radioactive, cooked flesh, and blew hell out of electronics. Of course, they affected everything in a large cone, went straight through most barriers (so you never know what you were shooting) and created a poisonous zone that lasted for centuries. The stream projectors tend to flashburn the users, irradiate everyone nearby, and go up like a few tons of high explosives on whatever they hit. Needle-projectors can’t be fired at anything within a mile or so with any safety and basically equate to low-end nukes. Regardless of the make, you didn’t want one letting go in your hand: even the radiation beamers would leave a crater several hundred feet across if their magazine lost containment. Customs frowned on all of them.

   The crater itself was a vision of snow, ice, magma, steam, radioactive life forms, pools of liquid metals, and nanotech run amuck. It was where the most vicious lifeforms on the planet were fighting it out to occupy the only spot within 1000 miles warm enough to survive in. They put up some anti-nanite spells: if anything did make it past the orb shields, they didn’t want it to be able to do much else. At least it confirmed that they were near the gravesite: the reconstruction nanites were loose and out of control.

   That confirmed that the body WAS in the grave at one point, and now at least some of it was not. Since it was a nanotech construct, any sizable portion should be enough for reconstruction of the body and general brain layout, the neural net and memories may not have carried over (which would explain the general blankness), but such a reconstruction wouldn’t have a soul - unless one moved in after the body was functional again - which might explain the “irreplaceable” thought.

   There were two gates near the center of the crater. One recently punched through, the other older - but both used recently. Obviously enough, one to Greenweld, the other to a Victorian realm. Lots of laborers, replaced regularly. Hm. Lots of people disappearing or reappearing changed, a mages guild very big on investigating new magics and strange sources of power. Baelaria. “Coincidence”, “Foreshadowing”, and so on play a really big role in the Manifold: people expect things to work that way.

    There was a sizable digging team at work as well. About a hundred laborers and five mages, some signs of recent fighting, basic equipment looked like Victorian era firearms and digging tools and the mages were dressed like the groups old “friend”, Spellweaver - although they carried the sign of the Mage’s Guild on their tabards. At least that told them who the renegade mage from Baelaria reminded them of. Hard to be sure with all the circuitry tattoos though.

   They left Bard to run the Orb - they could authorize it to take orders from him for a few days - and headed on in to talk.

   This caused much excitement. The Mages Guild was artifact-hunting, and seemed to be enamored of the potential of the Praetorians. They didn’t care what happened to the workers…

   They did care that the group knew about their first major artifact - a body, badly damaged but made of something other than flesh, incorruptible (not that anything much will in this radiation level) and apparently that of a relatively young woman. They didn’t understand the attitude that it was silly to reactivate it. The group, unsurprisingly, felt that there were far less risky ways to improve on nature - but that the mages were quite welcome to destroy themselves if they felt the need to do so.

   The group didn’t see any need for a confrontation. The mages had lost the Praetorian, they knew that she’d either left the area in this reality (unlikely), or was with Spellweaver. In either case, the mages didn’t have anything they wanted. They already had the specifications for praetorians and there was no shortage of nanite samples (including some fresh from her). It was just her current location that would be nice to know - and it was pretty certain that the mages didn’t know it. They’d just advise the robots and let them handle it. The praetorians were a notable danger to humanity under the current situation: they suspected that an orbital strike was in order… Besides, the robots wouldn’t be at all happy about how the workers were being treated.

   Meanwhile, the House was calling Jarvian, who was back in the Battletech universe trying to fix his mech. Fortunately, Gerald could pass on information as needed.

   The House was not keen on the Mages Guild getting their hands on the Praetorians. They thought that getting the robots to intervene was optimal unless the group wanted to retrieve them themselves. After that, they’d like the group to set up a “venture” in Baeleria and observe any goings-on there.

   Re-uniting was simple enough: the Mecha in St Petersburg weren’t fast enough to keep them from flying through the gateway. First up was healing-purification spells all around. Next up was whatever was merging with, and reconfiguring, Jarvian’s mech. Despite the general confusion of cultural preconceptions, It identified itself as a sentient AI… From the history of Singular, that might be very bad. The out-of-control Russian AI was what had nearly destroyed the planet. It was identifying itself as “Battleship Mirage”.

   Well, there had been such a ship, the AI specifications fit, it didn’t seem to be capable of self-upgrading beyond its original specifications, and the identification codes were right. Evidently no need to cause mass destruction at the moment.

   Well, tonights Legend of the Five Rings game - and the next few sessions - looks likely to be devoted to the beginning of a Rokugan-wide reorganization, as various plots come to fruition, promises and favors are called in, and the clans begin choosing sides. The list of major figures has just gotten far too long to handle as a lump: I’m going to be filling out a print version as we go and posting it up here as time permits.

   Well, once again its time for an installment of Ninsei’s private musings. While the “diaries” have no real existence in the game world, the various players in the Legend of the Five Rings game are invited to comment: this sort of thing is an excellent way to explore the characters a bit more. As a work in progress, this segment will once again be relegated to its own page for easy editing.