What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

[ashuramarsh]

hi,

 

I'm trying to design an AI computer that is part of a starship that can project a hard light hologram body. Also the AI, when in the hard light form, can still communicate with the base ship.

[assault]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Duplication with Mind Link.

 

Building the starship character is the hard part. The hologram is essentially a normal character.

 

What point total are you working with? Starships tend to be expensive.

 

EDIT: or build the hologram as a character who buys the vehicle normally. Horribly expensive, but simple.

[Tasha]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

or Build the Character as a Normal Character with Desolid (Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects). Assume that the ship is non functional and therefore nothing more than a Plot device and not pay any points for it. You could also just pay for everything but the movement (ie buy it as a base, but don't buy any propulsion as those are disabled).

[dmjalund]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

is the AI going to be a PC?

 

buy the hard light self as the core person as a character with Automaton powers and low body /def , but resurrection healing, then buy the shipboard self as a duplicate with OIF immobile.

[Mathew]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Could make the character the ship, and make the hologram long range clairvoyance, images and telekinesis.

[Tasha]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Could make the character the ship' date=' and make the hologram long range clairvoyance, images and telekinesis.[/quote']

 

Neat build, but no sane GM in a standard Champions campaign would ever approve such a build.

 

If the ship is miles away etc, how will the character ever interact in a way beyond just talking to something.

 

I would just assume the emitter can be knocked out if the energy field that makes up the edges of the Hologram is hit hard enough or has enough energy fed back into it (ie Stunning and Knocking out the Character).

[psyber624]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

If your building something like Aya's Body from Green Lantern:TAS it would basically just be a character, with all the standard rules and such (powers would be suggested by what it can do in that form.) Possibly a "ship" with the body as a Duplication..Hard Light Hologram is just SFX in HEROspeak after all. Of course if its an NPC don't worry so much about the writeup, just let it do what you want it to do. If its for a PC... well, get with your GM first and make sure its okay, because that would create some VERY serious balance issues if not handled properly.

[Nuclear Fridge]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Don't forget the 'life support' angle. If the projection is 'hard light', it won't feel much in the way of heat, cold, or environmental discomfort... or even need to breathe.

 

Of course, there are disadvantages to such a set-up. How much energy could a small 'emitter unit' hold, and how long could a hologram operate without periodic recharging? How badly could an intense magnetic field (that good old Disadvantage standby!) affect the emitter's systems?

[Tasha]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Don't forget the 'life support' angle. If the projection is 'hard light', it won't feel much in the way of heat, cold, or environmental discomfort... or even need to breathe.

 

Of course, there are disadvantages to such a set-up. How much energy could a small 'emitter unit' hold, and how long could a hologram operate without periodic recharging? How badly could an intense magnetic field (that good old Disadvantage standby!) affect the emitter's systems?

 

I figure that they would have full life support. Vs Breathing, Poisons, Diseases, all environments ex Intense Radiaion, also probably also has immortality. Susceptability vs Intense Mag Fields, with many powers not being useable while in the fields. Vulnerability vs Radiation attacks.

 

Probably also have flight to keep the emitter hovering, it should have enough propulsion to fly around. Use the Hardlight energy fields to hit people and to move objects as per TK.

 

Physical Limitation, no hands or legs. Buy down all running and leaping. When powers are off cannot move or manipulate object (infrequent/total).

[ashuramarsh]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Sorry to be so late in answering. I poured over everything. I will ponder the suggestions and see what works best. It is an NPC I'm GMing the game for a friend. The ship belongs to the player, stolen to leave a planet doomed to extinction. It has an AI on board and is highly advanced tech. The AI has a 'holographic' form that can interact with people and so forth. So far I am thinking of the duplication route with the Altered Duplicates advantage. This way we can have a normal point character without the size and firepower of the ship messing things up.

 

Of course, there is always the Ryo-ohki route...

 

Thanks for the advice given.

[Christopher]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

So more like the Doctor of Voyager, crossed with the A.I. of Andromeda?

 

The doctor could actually change his density (enable and disable it at will). I think one "evil" hologram even onces used his abilities to grab right into someones body (similar to what the Martian Manhunter can do in some interpretations).

 

The best point to start, is always to remember that the default PC follows certain rules and limits:

He is about 2m tall, weights around 100 kg, has 100 Year life-expectancy (inlcudign gradual aging). He is succeptible to all kinds of damage by default (unless a limitation on the attack itself prevents that), needs to breath and can do so in one atmosphere. He is also succeptible to all environmental conditions (heat, cold, vacuum).

He has no controll over anything he has not bought with points.

 

You need to list every point where this Hologram differs from a normal PC.

It it is unsuccpetible to damage, desolid is often the way (though that usually means he eitehr can't attack or would be able to attack while desolid, wich is a frightingly thing!*)

 

*Seriously a Hologram on a ship full of emitters would be an ideal Horror scenario.

In Star Trek Online there is even a missions with a Hologram that has gone mad and acts a lot like a Ghost/Horror Monster. The fact that it resides in the desolate area of a space station wich is also infested by devidians (wich sometimes become visible or even attack) made me definitely think of the Game "F.E.A.R" once or twice.

[Mathew]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Neat build, but no sane GM in a standard Champions campaign would ever approve such a build.

 

If the ship is miles away etc, how will the character ever interact in a way beyond just talking to something.

 

That's actually more realistic, because it limits the range of the character's movement to the range of the powers around the ship. If the group passes beyond that point, the character couldn't go any farther. If the ship is stolen, the character goes with it. If the ship is destroyed, the character dies.

 

Of course that's not how it is played on Red Dwarf, where they always seem to come up with some reason in later episodes... In early episodes Rimmer could only travel outside the ship in a hologram cage. Later they invented the idea of a "light bee", a tiny portable projector that was flying around projecting Rimmer.

 

If you want to skip the ship, and go with the light bee option, make the character the bee. The character has no hands, low level flight, is permanently shrunken to about an inch in height. He would be an AI machine tecnnically, so he would have lots of Life Support. Give him the ability of Images that can only be used to create his self-image at no range. Technically he could have a STR of 1 or so just to push a button or somesuch, by hitting it with his light bee. He couldn't pass through solid matter, like a wall, but he could pass through anything with an opening large enough for the bee to fly through.

 

Adding the Hard Light option would activate armor and short range TK or some STR.

[Christopher]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

Adding the Hard Light option would activate armor and short range TK or some STR.

In most cases "Hardlight" is also vulnerable to attack, wich would mean he effective "de shrinks/solidfies".

[Mathew]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

That's another of the inconsistancies of Red Dwarf writing. In early episodes with the Hard Light drive Rimmer was invulnerable to harm, but he could only become hard light if he had access to a power source, so it had a limited duration. Later on they make him vulnerable to javing his light bee damaged, despite being hard light.

[Tasha]

Re: What's the best way to build an AI with a hard light hologram

 

That's actually more realistic, because it limits the range of the character's movement to the range of the powers around the ship. If the group passes beyond that point, the character couldn't go any farther. If the ship is stolen, the character goes with it. If the ship is destroyed, the character dies.

 

Of course that's not how it is played on Red Dwarf, where they always seem to come up with some reason in later episodes... In early episodes Rimmer could only travel outside the ship in a hologram cage. Later they invented the idea of a "light bee", a tiny portable projector that was flying around projecting Rimmer.

 

If you want to skip the ship, and go with the light bee option, make the character the bee. The character has no hands, low level flight, is permanently shrunken to about an inch in height. He would be an AI machine tecnnically, so he would have lots of Life Support. Give him the ability of Images that can only be used to create his self-image at no range. Technically he could have a STR of 1 or so just to push a button or somesuch, by hitting it with his light bee. He couldn't pass through solid matter, like a wall, but he could pass through anything with an opening large enough for the bee to fly through.

 

Adding the Hard Light option would activate armor and short range TK or some STR.

 

Don't forget that in later EPs of ST Voyager the Doctor also gained a portable emitter (ie Light bee). The Hard light should probably be ForceField (in 5e) and as Resistant Def (non Persistant power) in 6e. To be easy I would buy the character as a normal being. Have enough shrinking to be a size of a chicken egg (or smaller if the player likes). Shrinking would be 0 end Persistant Trigger (when FF goes off aka when character is stunned or KOed).

 

It kind of depends on the capabilities of the person when they have the Hard Light emitter on. That's really the hard part of answering questions like this. "Write up a Hard light Hologram character" isn't really enough info to create a character with. As one can see there are so many different ways to look at the technology. That it's helpful to know what the Player hopes to do with the character.

 

Now, I would never allow the ship to project the person. One thing is that it would limit the campaign to the limits of the ship's capability of projecting the Hologram. Also projecting through walls etc stretches the believability of the special effect. It would be ok to have Mind link to the Ship's computer. In fact instead of paying for the whole ship, pay for the Ship's AI as a Follower. Eventually the Ship can either be purchased as a Vehicle or become the startings of the Team's base. I wouldn't charge for the Ship as vehicle unless it will be regularly used in the campaign.