Outcast Quest [Updated 10/10/18 - Turn 14]

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Razor One
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Razor One »

I'll admit that I want to push forward a bit. I've seen quests die getting bogged down on certain aspects of character generation. Also I can barely contain my excitement. :P

Besides, if things blow up down the road or players feel that they've achieved victory and want to close things off, I can always start a new quest with more experience under my belt and more extensive notes, making for a better quest experience.
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joestej
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by joestej »

Okay then! Humans it is!

Some stat analysis first:

Martial is likely going to be a bit of a dump-stat for now. Unless things are going radically different from Outsider canon we're not going to have the ability to really fight anyone in the short term, and in the long term we can use the other stats to either make some powerful friends to do the heavy lifting for us or get some new tech to level the playing field.

Diplomacy seems like a useful skill to have, since without the ability to fight we're going to need to talk our way out of problems.

Stewardship...maybe a mixed bag? The Bugs are going to outproduce us no matter what, but it still might be important just for getting stuff done.

Intrigue is also a maybe score. We don't want it too low, or we won't be able to tell if our new friends are trying to screw us over. At the same time, I don't think it's as important as some of the others are going to be.

Learning also seems like a priority. Like Diplomacy, it's going to be one of the things that will help us make up for our early-game weakness. Still, probably won't pay off for a little while, since research takes time.

So, in my opinion, we'll likely want to prioritize stats like this (1 being most important, 5 being least):

1: Diplomacy
2: Learning
3: Intrigue
4: Stewardship
5: Martial

Of course, I could be wrong, so please speak up if you disagree.

----
Votes:

[X] Mira Sheridan

Like Alex, I figured we needed someone whose name could have an interesting meaning. Sheridan is derived from Ó Sirideáin meaning "descendant of Sirideán", and Sirideán means "searcher" in Gaelic. Mira is based off the Slavic element miru, meaning "peace" or "world".

So Mira Sheridan translates to "Peace/World Searcher".

[X] Frontier Pioneer

We'll need the Intrigue and Diplomacy the most, I think (see above).
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by dragoongfa »

Jericho wrote:Ok here goes nothing see if i get it right.

[X] James Ander

[X] Frontier Pioneer: You were born on one of the smaller and more inhospitable colonies and grew up eating nutrient paste and playing in tight corridors where everyone knew everyone. You never knew the open sky until you visited Earth for the first time. +2 Intrigue, +2 Diplomacy

Should i add anything else?
This gets my vote.

I think that diplomacy and intrigue will help wonders on early to mid game, learning and martial in mid to late while stewardship is a good to have for every part.

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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Siber »

If it's like anything like the real CK2, I consider diplomacy paramount. Without it you can't even count on your allies and underlings, and you need them to get things done.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Jericho »

dragoongfa wrote:
Jericho wrote:Ok here goes nothing see if i get it right.

[X] James Ander

[X] Frontier Pioneer: You were born on one of the smaller and more inhospitable colonies and grew up eating nutrient paste and playing in tight corridors where everyone knew everyone. You never knew the open sky until you visited Earth for the first time. +2 Intrigue, +2 Diplomacy

Should i add anything else?
This gets my vote.

I think that diplomacy and intrigue will help wonders on early to mid game, learning and martial in mid to late while stewardship is a good to have for every part.
Yeah i thought the same and it sounded the most interesting to me anyway.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Nugget »

dragoongfa wrote:
Jericho wrote:Ok here goes nothing see if i get it right.

[X] James Ander

[X] Frontier Pioneer: You were born on one of the smaller and more inhospitable colonies and grew up eating nutrient paste and playing in tight corridors where everyone knew everyone. You never knew the open sky until you visited Earth for the first time. +2 Intrigue, +2 Diplomacy

Should i add anything else?
This gets my vote.

I think that diplomacy and intrigue will help wonders on early to mid game, learning and martial in mid to late while stewardship is a good to have for every part.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by sunphoenix »

Jericho wrote:Ok here goes nothing see if i get it right.

[X] James Ander

[X] Frontier Pioneer: You were born on one of the smaller and more inhospitable colonies and grew up eating nutrient paste and playing in tight corridors where everyone knew everyone. You never knew the open sky until you visited Earth for the first time. +2 Intrigue, +2 Diplomacy

Should i add anything else?
Yeah.. I can get behind this! Here's my vote too!
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by alpha »

I hope I'm not too late!

[X] Mira Sheridan

I like the idea of having a name with an interesting meaning.

[X] Frontier Pioneer

I concur with joestej's analysis:
Humanity is very screwed by itself, so Diplomacy is probably the most important early on, and Learning will enable a better future.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Siber »

I think I'll shift my vote to Mira Sheridan too. For ease of counting I'll back and edit my previous voting post.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Hālian »

But space elves ;-;

Name
[X] Cortana Nagamoto

Background
[ ] Terran Slumdog
[ ] Coreworld Climber
[X] Frontier Pioneer

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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Razor One »

The votes so far:

[X] James Ander
[X] Frontier Pioneer

4 Votes

[X]Yuki Schneider
[X] Terran Slumdog

1 Vote

[X] Mira Sheridan
[X] Frontier Pioneer

3 Votes

[X] Cortana Nagamoto
[X] Frontier Pioneer

1 Vote

Voting will close in another 8 hours and 20 minutes as of this post. If you want to reconsider your vote, head back and edit it instead of reposting, as I'll do a recount from the start.

{Edit}

Just to clarify one thing, all votes for Frontier Pioneer count even if your name vote might not win. Rearranging the vote above, the current leads are:

[X] Frontier Pioneer

8 Votes

[X] Terran Slumdog

1 Vote

Which makes Frontier Pioneer a very clear leader at this point in time, though there's always the possibility of a sudden reversal or a come-from-behind upset.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Logannion »

[X] Mira Sheridan

[X] Frontier Pioneer

I like names that have clear and distinct meanings. That way, no matter how we play it, our name would always be relevant, be it in a prophetic or ironic way. :P

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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Jericho »

Well James have no clear meaning but it has been attributed to both the holy apostles and royalty throughout the ages. The best description i can find for it's meaning is "he who supplants" or "supplanter" and Ander means "Warrior" or "Man". So James Ander should mean something along the lines of "Supplanting Warrior". Which can both mean usurper or rightful heir. Or conqueror of a dynasty.
If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through. General C.H Melchett commander of some unknown british regiment in the western front.

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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Razor One »

Voting is now closed.

Results:
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O-1

[X] ECS-051 California – The Outer Systems Patrol

Your first assignment out of training was the ECS-051 California, a destroyer running the outer systems patrol between the newest colonies and outposts and the core worlds of humanity. You learned how to man various systems over the two year assignment and now know how each section on the ship works during the fairly peaceful patrol (+1 Martial). You also became acquainted with the Signals Intelligence officer, Lieutenant Riley O'Rourke, who would not shut up about his work even if it was informative (+1 Intrigue).

By the end, you're not so green anymore.

Gain Trait Experienced, +1 Martial, +1 Intrigue

O-2

[X] ECS-036 England – Combat Exercises

Your second assignment was the ECS-036 England, the oldest destroyer of its class in the fleet. They always did say that Captain Jacobson rode his crew hard and you found out the hard way that the truth was actually an understatement. Drills took place at random times, inspections were harsh, and despite your best efforts you were always found a bit wanting. You got the feeling that Jacobson was harder on you than most and it showed when your request for a transfer to a different ship two years in was denied. By the end of your fourth year, you'd learned more about military readiness and the uncertainties of combat than you ever thought possible (+2 Martial). It was only then that the Captain invited you to his quarters and the two of you polished off a bottle of whiskey together, saying that you had the right stuff.

Gain Trait Hardened, +2 Martial

O-3

[X] ECS-062 America – Flag Operations

Admiral Taylor was, much like Jacobson, a difficult person to please and the fact that out of fifty potential candidates she made you her personal aide shows how much you'd learned over the years. For three years you were her shadow, running messages, coordinating with department heads, attending flag ceremonies alongside her and more. You had to be quick on your feet and on the ball of any and every conversation and know the politics of all the other admirals (+2 Diplomacy). At one point you even had to carry a minor press conference for her when she was held up during a shuttle mishap, which you handled perfectly.

Gain Trait Silver Tongue, +2 Diplomacy

O-4

[X] ECS-020 Centaur – The Rust Bucket

After three years effectively in a drydock you needed to feel space beneath your feet again and the Centaur was your ticket back to the black. Captain Noah, "Old Man" as he was affectionately known by his crew, was a very different person from what you were expecting. The old warhorse himself had had a hand in resolving the Aldean crisis back when the TCA was using rickety old freighters as improvised cruisers. You expected a stiff upper lip and a stern look that could make molten led stand up and salute. Instead he struck you as a man who wouldn't be out of place reading a paper in a rocking chair.

Still, old age hadn't robbed the captain of his wits nor his ability to serve. He took a personal hand in the development of all the officers under his command and as his XO he showed you how to properly handle all the paperwork and requisition forms (+2 Stewardship). He also had you study all the ships systems and how they worked, from the engineering principles to the physics that made everything possible (+3 Learning). At the end of your two years, you were sad to leave him behind.

Gain Trait Wisened, +3 Learning, +2 Stewardship

O-5 - ECS-048 L'Amour - Current Assignment

Between captain's Jacobson and Noah's recommendation and Taylor's formal backing, you were promoted to Captain at the age of 29. More than a few admirals quirked their eyebrows at your rather quick rise through the ranks, but couldn't deny that your record spoke for itself. Unfortunately for you, a military command would take years to clear up with the slow pace of shipbuilding and retirement from on high. You were almost ready to accept having to wait a few years for a proper assignment when an opportunity presented itself in the form of the L'Amour, a military transport that would ordinarily be a junk assignment to most.

And a junk assignment it was. There was a need for exceptional people on the 'real' military vessels of the fleet, so much so that every time you thought you'd found excellent candidates for various positions you'd find them snapped up. In the end you had to settle for second tier candidates, and recognising that your crew wasn't the best or 'the right stuff' as they used to say, you concentrated on managing your crew personally, dispelling conflict whenever it arose and subtly encouraging them to lift their game without putting them down, much as Captain Noah often had (+3 Diplomacy). After two years, perhaps you got a bit too good at it, as a few of your better officers got snapped up after resolving some of their issues.

[X] Conflict resolution, +3 Diplomacy

Stat Gains:

+3 Martial
+5 Diplomacy
+2 Stewardship
+1 Intrigue
+3 Learning

Current Stat Block:

Martial: 13 - You win fights more often than you don't, but you can still be beaten.
Diplomacy: 15 - The cynical would say you talked and cajoled your way to captain.
Stewardship: 12 - You run a tight little ship. Your paperwork is well done and your crew rarely has to deal with a lack of supply or equipment.
Intrigue: 11 - There are times you notice when things are amiss, though you have trouble putting your finger on it.
Learning: 13 - You're a bright one. Absorbing new knowledge is simple enough and you can wrap your head around most abstract concepts, though the hard sciences or anything completely exotic are somewhat hard to grasp unless you really work at it.

You've got a fairly decent all rounder build here, with a definite bent towards Diplomacy.
Some notes on stats:
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How I'm going to work things will vary from roll to roll (usually 1d100) until I find something that works well. For now, whenever you choose to do a task, I'll take into account the stats you'd need for that task. Some tasks will need multiple stats, so the task will take the average; half of one stat plus half the other in the case of two, a third in the case of three etc.

Some stats can also sub for others. Solving a crime could use intrigue or intelligence, or potentially both. Seeing if someone is lying to you might use diplomacy or intrigue depending on how you approach things, etc. etc.

It also won't be a straight addition thing either. For instance, your martial stat is bent towards ship command. If you were commanding a fleet, your martial stat would take a hit, because you're not an admiral. Furthermore, stats below 12 apply a -4 penalty to the roll for every point below twelve. Stats above 12 apply a +0.5 bonus to the roll, while 12 itself offers nothing special.

So, a fleet command action would go:

Rolled: 48 (1d100) + (13 / 2) + 0.5 = 55

Okay. Let's say you're up against Stillstorm with an equal fleet and equal crews. The only difference is you and her.

Rolled: 19 (1d100) + 35 + 11.5 = 65.5

Luck may be on your side in the first strike, but experience wins out. Stillstorm rallies her fleet and does a fair amount of damage. You manage to withdraw with light losses, but Stillstorms ships are only lightly damaged and hungering to finish you off.

Stillstorm is of course a heroic fleet commander, so she doesn't get the half martial stat penalty that you do, and her monstrous martial stat (compared to yours at least) coupled with the bonus for stat points above twelve shows that it's better to be experienced than lucky. Ship to ship she'd still probably beat the crap out of you unless you managed to get a string of critical rolls.

Unfortunately for you, you won't have equal footing. Technologically advanced opponents get various bonuses that you can only counter with numbers. Of course, this applies to you as well, if there's anyone there that has a tech gap that favours you.
There'll be opportunities to add further stats later on. Character growth is a thing that happens in these things after all.

On the name and background front, here are the results:
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[X] James Ander
[X] Frontier Pioneer

Jericho, dragoongfa, Nugget, sunphoenix

[X] Yuki Schneider
[X] Terran Slumdog

Suederwind

[X] Mira Sheridan
[X] Frontier Pioneer

Siber, Joestej, alpha, Logannion

[X] Cortana Nagamoto
[X] Frontier Pioneer

Carl Miller
Frontier Pioneer is the clear winner there, so I'm calling that set of the vote.

The name vote however is currently tied between Mira Sheridan and James Ander at four votes each. There are two potential swing voters that could carry a majority, excluding the fact that someone new might pop in and upset the balance of power.

I'll leave the vote open for another hour or two. If the tie isn't broken by then, I'll be flipping a coin, heads for James Ander, tails for Mira Sheridan.

I'd also like to note one oddity with the vote. There were nine respondents for the survey, but ten votes cast here informally, which means someone forgot to fill in the survey before it closed. Please keep that in mind, because some of the assignment options won by single votes, O-4 and O-2, the rest were fairly solid majorities.

Remember, your vote matters. A lot.

As soon as the name issue is resolved, I'll open up the next round of character generation, choosing a crew. After that is picking your cargo (transport vessel, you weren't empty), before finally picking a starting location and getting the quest off the ground.

You'll get story tidbits wherever I feel they make the most sense or add something to the experience. I have many plotlines to advance too, so look forward to it. :twisted:
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Razor One »

Okay, two hours have passed and there's been no changes in the vote. As we're still tied, a tie breaker will now commence.

Since this vote is sensitive, I'll be using a roller that can be checked to ensure that everything is above board.

For the purposes of a coin toss, I'll be throwing a 1d2. 1 = James Ander, 2 = Mira Sheridan.

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Mira Sheridan you are. I'll be writing up some character fluff, childhood stuff, etc.

In the meantime, you can review your crew selections in the spoiler. You get two options for each position at this point in time, one male, the other female. The stats are randomised but also reasonably balanced. Either option is capable of doing their job, but the particulars of how they approach it may vary. Once your choices have been made, character fluff will be unlocked. Each character will also have a few things they keep personal, about three each. If you get closer to them via personal actions, you can discover what these are. Getting closer can also boost your stats, as you'll be either working with each other on a problem or suchlike. Eventually you'll cycle through everyone and go from coworkers to a kind of extended family. At that point, potential romance options may unlock, though that's quite far in the future.

For now, your choices.
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Executive Officer

[] Peter Lockwell

Martial: 15
Diplomacy: 15
Stewardship: 12
Intrigue: 12
Learning: 15

[] Sharon O'Malley

Martial: 18
Diplomacy: 11
Stewardship: 14
Intrigue: 15
Learning: 11

Communications Officer

[] Mandeep Singh

Martial: 13
Diplomacy: 16
Stewardship: 14
Intrigue: 14
Learning: 12

[] Homura Izumi

Martial: 11
Diplomacy: 20
Stewardship: 10
Intrigue: 10
Learning: 18

Supply Officer

[] Alex Cole

Martial: 10
Diplomacy: 12
Stewardship: 17
Intrigue: 17
Learning: 13

[] Erica Hernandez

Martial: 10
Diplomacy: 12
Stewardship: 17
Intrigue: 11
Learning: 19

Engineer

[] Ibrahim Massani

Martial: 12
Diplomacy: 14
Stewardship: 14
Intrigue: 12
Learning: 17

[] Sasha Volkova

Martial: 12
Diplomacy: 10
Stewardship: 12
Intrigue: 15
Learning: 20

Doctor

[] Alexandro Campos

Martial: 14
Diplomacy: 16
Stewardship: 10
Intrigue: 10
Learning: 19

[] Kamilka Nencha

Martial: 13
Diplomacy: 11
Stewardship: 12
Intrigue: 14
Learning: 19
The vote for your crew is now open. Please cast your votes on the survey. Votes made on the forum will not be counted.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by dragoongfa »

Damn, there goes the subplot of being seduced by a Mizol...

Oh well my choices for crew:

XO:

Sharon O'Malley: High Martial with good Intrigue and Stewardship. This makes a better executive officer who is supposed to be the right hand man of the Captain.

Communications:

Homura Izumi: Excellent diplomacy and Learning which are paramount for such an officer, who will learn by talking to aliens. Improving this officer's intrigue should be a priority.

Supply Officer:

Alex Cole: You need both Stewardship and Intrigue for this officer. Supplies will be in short demand and some of the crew may want to appropriate them. Just make sure to keep an eye out so he doesn't appropriate them in turn.

Engineer:

Ibrahim Massani: Applied sciences need a wider range of knowledge and his high diplomacy and stewardship may provide opportunities for alien tech analysis.

Doctor:

Alexandro Campos: Ties on Learning but he has excellent diplomacy which is a must for a ship doctor who will also count as the ship's councilor. Also low intrigue may be beneficial if we want to look over confidential data about problematic officers.

EDIT: Razor One, don't forget that you also get a vote.
EDIT2: Yes I did the survey.
Last edited by Guest on Wed Oct 14, 2015 6:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by joestej »

I run another analysis, but frankly I'm mostly with dragoongfa on all particulars. I disagree on the choice of doctor though.

For a medical officer, a higher intrigue might be useful. (S)He's a bottleneck for the crew (everyone has to see the doctor at some point) and (s)he can effectively go anywhere without suspicion so long as there is injury or disease. No other officer has that kind of freedom. The lack of Diplomacy will be unfortunate, but the high Intrigue will let us pinpoint problem areas so we can send someone more qualified to do the counseling.

It's also my understanding that the fluff bonuses can only be activated if WE find them, not if someone else does. So we've got a vested interest in addressing personal issues ourselves, rather than shipping it out to our doctor. Might be mistaken though, as I've never done this before.
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Siber
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Siber »

dragoongfa wrote:Damn, there goes the subplot of being seduced by a Mizol...
Reduced chances at least, I suppose.

When it comes to advisers, again based on real CK2 gameplay, imo the matched stat is king. That makes the XO, comm, and engineer no-brainers. Supply and doctor are sort of up in the air, hard to judge their relative utilities without knowing what we might have to use them for.
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by Suederwind »

Would go with dragoongfa's suggestions, except the Supply Officer and the Engineer. Supplies, spareparts, etc... will most likely hard to find and not made by humans. So they need to understand how they work and what they are, so learning is key, as far as I understand this system we are playing.
[x]Erica Hernandez

[x]Sasha Volkova
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Re: Outcast Quest

Post by dragoongfa »

Suederwind wrote:Would go with dragoongfa's suggestions, except the Supply Officer and the Engineer. Supplies, spareparts, etc... will most likely hard to find and not made by humans. So they need to understand how they work and what they are, so learning is key, as far as I understand this system we are playing.
[x]Erica Hernandez

[x]Sasha Volkova
That's the job of the Engineer, the supply officer is more of a paper pusher who makes sure that the various sections are properly supplied and if he can't do that, the sections that are most important are supplied first.

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