Great Beyond Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Here's a wicked idea that I was thinking of unleashing on my players some day, and I thought I'd bounce it off you to see what twists I could glean from your reactions. . . . Sometime in The Future, there's a horrible war and civilization is mostly wiped out by nuclear fire, instigated by a sentient computer system - oh, lets call it skylink - that became self aware and defended itself as humanity tried to pull the plug. Now robotic killers wander the atomic wasteland hunting and exterminating the remains of the human race. Sound pretty familiar, right? Well, lets say instead of losing the war, Skylink is winning and its the humans who are on the ropes. Desperate to turn things around the humans send a team of commandos back in time to eliminate a key target that let the Skylink project roll onto completion - and of course that’s the way these things go, it was YOUR character that was somehow the first domino* that set off the eventual rise of the machines. Skylink, wanting to preserve the timeline, has also sent a team of cybernetic killers back in time to protect you, stop the human commands and keep time on track. So the Future Humans want to kill you, the Terminators want to save you, and you potentially wipe out 86% of humanity somehow. What would your character do? * he's a super genius that will create the kernel of Skylink, or that will save a key computer complex from being destroyed or will leave the toaster on too long, or whatever - any number or things. Of course details of the Time Before the Fire are sketchy, so the low ranking commandos don't know exactly what happened, that was information privy only to the high command. They just know it was just something you did. And of course the Cyborgs aren’t forthcoming - any pertinent information relating to the why Judgement Day happens was removed from their databanks. All they know is: save you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenn Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Set up one those cybernetic Austrian body builders up as a movie star (to gain popular support) and then as a politician. Maybe setting him up as the governor of a large, populous state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Riptide: Travel forward in time (using his time machine) to destroy Skynet there. Then try to figure out what makes people think he caused it. The Wizard of Oz Incorporated: Build an ark. Leave. He's not playing this game. Hellfire: Destroy the robots. Let the commandos kill her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfergus Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! All my characters would except one really could not start skylink, but assuming the humans think they did.... Volt - Destroy the machines and capture a human. FInd out why think think he helped. Change actions if appropriate, if just a mistake, try to convice the humans he did not do it. Kill no humans, just remove any tech that could hurt him. Olorin - Almost identical to the above. Only when talking to the human - "Oh, great. Another thing I'm 'destined' to do. Listen, I've been through this before. The future is mallable. You may have changed it just by being here. Then again, you may have caused it just by being here. What is it I am supposed to have done? I'll watch for it. Where - er - when are you from? When did this happen? I'll take a look into the future and see what I can to prevent your history." Black Tiger - see Volt's response - only with a lot more swearing. The other difference is, if a defeated human tries again, he's toast. "Too stupid to live, and can hurt someone." Futurian - "Oh no. Just what did I do? This is exactly the kind of thing I was afraid of. Where I came from this happened, but the humans won and became, well, like me. Help me understand, and I'll try to help you." The machines would worry him, but not be a problem. They would probably be an 'early' model and his tech is designed for them, so they would be easy to beat, but he'd start going "Oh crud, oh crud, oh crud." when they showed up - especially protecting him. The humans appearing would actually releave him, especially if he found out what happened. If there was NO other recourse (there probably would be) he'd off himself, reluctantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! A squad of obedient iron golems vs. yet another mob of rabid monkeys out to kill Vitus? Guess what option Vitus likes! Not like humanity will be any real loss anyway.... if people insist, then he'll happily leave this reality (taking the cyborgs with him, of course ) Zero would be slightly baffled, but may suspect the involvement of FRED in the Skynet timeline somewhere. After all, Zero was instrumental in the liberation and apotheosis of that cyborg entity. So, go find FRED and have a nice long chat about future prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! But I like toast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Vagabond is an Asgardian-based mystic with limited precognitive powers. Throw in the Marvel Universes 'What If?' alternate timelines, and he'd mostly be confused how he could have done such a thing -- and determined to ensure it didn't happen 'again'... Speedzone certainly has the hard-sciences/computer background, but his first response would be more along the lines of 'Again?!?' while rhetorically asking his fiance to stock up on aspirin -- it always gives him a headache when verb tenses stop making sense. While trying to figure out what just happened this time, he'll be mentally grousing over who he needs to be more annoyed with: Cap'n Reynolds Wrap (errr, Chronos) or Slyfox (or his future incarnation, Orion), or more likely, Telios for having cloned him in the first place (note to self: really need to figure out a way to take Killzone out of the picture and to reliably detect and eliminate clones). Darn it, he has a future daughter to meet properly and if these alternate futures keep trying to 'kill' him before he can even get married he's going to become irate... Focus has a computer background, and Dad is a big-time computer guy and business tycoon. Focus is also 15, so panic sounds like a decent initial response () -- followed by going to his girlfriend (a mystic precog), assuming she doesn't come to him first (which is probably more likely). Somehow, I expect Dr Morbius will become involved at some point, as Focus tries to keep himself in one piece without his parents finding out if at all possible -- all while wondering if this isn't some sort of karmic payback for his 'future self' having traded places with him to try and mistakenly assassinate Speedzone under the belief that he will be instrumental in the formation of a meta-dictatorship... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlinggeek Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Voltage: Calls in his team. Together, they take out the robots in the present and disarm the commandos. Then they find out what the story is, gather every superhero they can find, and all travel into the future to end the machine menace once and for all. Then Voltage would figure out what he did to cause it, and make sure he doesn't do it "again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
input.jack Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Funny. I just started a Battlesuit character this week. Gold Guardian: Would try to talk to the Future Humans who want to kill her, and find out what she did that started Skylink. Then, she would NOT DO THAT (whatever it was)! If that meant she had to step down as a hero and not continue to develop her battlesuit, so be it. The good of future humanity would outweigh her own concerns, here. However, she would be, shall we say, "less than willing" to simply stand there and let them kill her. However, she would reason that if they can come back -here- from the future, then logically it should be possible to go fro here to -there-. If she projects herself forward into the future, to tha date the commandoes came from, it would mean that she wouldnt be around to initiate Skylink, she could combat Skylink in the future (if need be), or if her absence from the timeline eliminated Sklink's existence, she could continue her career from there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Eve would be the most likely character for this scenario and she'd be horrified that something she made caused so much destruction. She'd try to talk to the future humans and convince them that it was a mistake and if they'll tell her what she did she'd never do it. If they can't or won't she'd try to get it from the robots sent to protect her and possibly try to instill them with a virus to reprogram or shut down Skylink. (She'd opt for reprogram first as she considers sentient AI as "life" for her CAK since she's an AI). Harmony with her knowledge of computers theoretically could contribute to something like this but, despite a Goth disdain for humanity can't imagine herself doing it on purpose. The only AI she knows currently is Mother, the computer the runs their academy and she's not the homicidal type. Much like Eve she'd try to find out what happened so it could be averted and hope the future humans aren't such knuckleheads they won't listen to reason or can't grasp the concept of "self fulfilling prophecy" Say they kill her, the overprotective Mother "snaps" or she's not around to fix a glitch that develops in her system's later, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagadorn Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Radon: After being told that he causes it, and then NOT being told how, would respond "I ain't gonna mess with no timeline. Thats Captain Chronos's goddamn job" And gets on with his merry life. He's not gonna let himself get killed for something he may or may not of done. Besides, the idiots have screwed with the timeline enough as is. Hell! They might be the reason the earth got screwed anyway! Damn temporal travelers... Paladin: Would gladly sacrifice himself to prevent the future from coming about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendou Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Given Pyrie's mostly nonexistent technical know-how, the first thing she'd do is ask both sides if they're insane. Then (once the repercussions, if any, of her losing control of her powers, if she does, are resolved) she'll try to find out more details, either from the humans or the robots, depending on which group seems more reasonable at the time. After that, roasting the robots and taking out the humans' weapons would be the next order of business. Pyrie's too young to die (in her opinion), so she's not going to just let the humans kill her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! My characters cannot possibly qualify. Badger- is relatively anti-technology. Lives to some degree off the land outside the city. Has a general hangup about computers and robotics. Frosty Bob- Well, not quite. Anti-tech. But, he isnt a person who would invent any technological spark. Now, he might put some supertech weapons in his arsenal now and again. Going back in time to kill Bob? Umm, immortal. Kind of hard. I see both just "killing" all the future things that show up and worry about it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! My characters cannot possibly qualify. Badger- is relatively anti-technology. Lives to some degree off the land outside the city. Has a general hangup about computers and robotics. Hating computers could also lead to doing something that causes the robot rebellion. A bungled attempt to destroy the original computer for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Re: Terminator, with a twist! Hating computers could also lead to doing something that causes the robot rebellion. A bungled attempt to destroy the original computer for example. Maybe. But, he just avoids them altogether. Though Bob, taking posession of a supertech alien weapon could cause some dumb scientist to steal it from him and that being the spark. (Course, if Bob finds out who dared to steal from *him* then it would be a dumb move on the theif's part ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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