Hello everyone I gave some thought on potential new units for SP considering the loss of Achilles team. SP revolves around Greek mythology, primarily Homer's work in the Trojan war and Odyssey. The recent events with the defection of Achilles and his mates can therefore be taken into the context of the vengeance of the gods towards one that was given the gift of life out of the pages, with a medicine from those pages. In greek mythology vengeance was exacted by entities named Erinyes. In the same mythology their number is not specified. We need to turn to Virgil to have the names of 3 of the daughters of Nyx, goddess of night. Their names are Alecto (endless anger) Megaera (jealous rage) Tisiphone (vengeful destruction) In other literature I have found that Alecto generally manipulated others into exacting vengeance, while Tisiphone used poisons from the snakes she had for hair. For Megaera the information is more limited, some say she was just ruthless in her destruction. This information led me to connect these characteristics with aspects in Infinity so: Alecto fits the Hacker archetype Tisiphone fits the assassin with poison ammunition archetype Megaera unfortunately is more difficult, I though engineer for the D-charges (demolition as in ruthless destruction...) Technically all the Erinyes had wings... and I would not like to go as far as jet propulsion because that'd be a bit of an overkill, but that doesn't mean that there cannot be a profile that has drop trooper/jet propulsion option for a lighter loadout. In the process I also thought of an incarnation of the gods (Aleph) as their team leader and who better than Heracles, the might hero of the 12 labors, often considered an example to follow to be the exactor of revenge. One so morally high that politicians often claimed to be his descendants to demonstrate their impeccable stance. Obviously Heracles, like many heroes in SP, should be HI. I have already drafted some other aspects in game mechanics. But since I called it brainstorming, I don't wanna keep it just to myself to create this team.
Let's start with Heracles that seems simpler M4-4 CC24 BS15 PH14 WIP15 ARM3 BTS6 V2 S2 AVA1 I was thinking more along the line of Nanoscreen since Aleph doesn't have such things and should have. This would bring ARM6, but not always, somewhat limiting the Death Star potential. In terms of skills NWI is a typical in SP, some sort of Immunity (maybe enhanced considering the Hoplite has it and being the leader of the Erinyes should somehow be impervious to their damage). Martial arts is another popular in SP, but I don't know if MAL3+NBW or MAL4 to try and contain the cost somehow or just go all-in with MAL4+NBW. Regardless of that the CCW should be PS=4 at least (suggestions for the ammo type are more than welcome). Weapon loadout should be the land where it differs from a copy of other HI in SP, but should be something lethal otherwise the whole concept of the vengeance gets lost. Pulzar is for characters in SP so I'd keep it.
Today, thanks to a friend who suggested openly (fellow player), we came up with another character that could work in SP in connection with Achilles: Chiron S5: torso of a man, legs of a horse, most definitely impetuous and berserk when wounded (maybe MOV6-4... something fast) Chiron is also associated with the symbology of the wound and that could reflect in a Vita2 NWI that has a battle ravaged profile that is somewhat more damage effective and more impulsive (limited or no cover). Mythologically speaking he was held in high esteem among his brethrens because he was the wisest and justest of all the centaurs. This fits the idea of justice vs. betrayal, on top of the fact that Chiron was the teacher of Achilles (incidently they faced off in the anime Fate: Apocrypha in an incredible battle). Statius (contradicted by Homer) says that Patroclos was also disciple of Chiron and that could open a whole bunch of options in terms of lore. He was a formidable archer (BS15 and BS attack + 1/2/3 or +1 for normal and +2 for battle ravaged).
Let's look into Chiron: I like the concept of "non Hackable HI" so MI MOV6-2 CC22 BS15 PH15 WIP13 ARM4 BTS3 V2 S5 AVA1 Skills: BS attack (+1)(+1SD), NBW, NWI, Immunity shock, Spec Op Battle Ravaged profile MOV8-2 CC24 BS16 PH15 WIP13 ARM3 BTS3 V1 S5 AVA1 Skills: BS attack (+1)(+1B), Berserk, NBW, CC (SR-2), CC (+1B) Impetuous, No cover, Spec Op The skills are just an idea. Debate can change the list. In terms of weapons I'd say K1 Marksman rifle (SP doesn't have access to John Hawkwood), but I am not sure on MSV. Maybe X-visor. Eclypse grenades. Considering I didn't put MA maybe we can consider Monofilament CCW (but then the SR malus should not be applied) or AP-DA CCW with the CC SR malus. Consider the potential for Lore expansion with a fight between Achilles and Chiron. Could be a reason for a come back of Achilles to Aleph (just him, the others can get lost AFAIK!) and can be enacted at any time. Maybe with Chiron shooting Achilles in the heel, which obviously doesn't kill him, but makes him realize the mistakes of his way, Chiron being the master that he is.
Another possibility that came into my mind regarding Chiron is that the main profile is an S2 while the battle ravaged is an S5. In other words the Chiron human size model changes into the centaur as it receives 1W. This will have an impact on the MOV that could go from a 4-4 to a 6 or 8-2 when in Centaur mode. Moving onto the Erinyes to complete the SP addition, I wanted to start from Alecto the hacker Alecto (MI) MOV4-4 CC12 BS13 PH14 WIP14 ARM2 BTS3 Vita1 S2 AVA1 Equipment: Hacking device plus Skill: Hacker (Total Control +3), Hacker (+1SD), Tinbot: Firewall (-3) The need for the Total control bonus is in the background of Fury Alecto: affecting the "opinion" of those affected. Total control is a powerful program, but requires one self-limiting aspect: that the opposing player has a TAG. While the +1SD allows for a bit better chances to deliver a Carbonite or an Oblivion to a HI. Concerning the loadout I won't get into weapons per-se, but she should have a pitcher or deployable repeater and maybe ECM mines for defence. I would also like to add that, while I am not looking for likes for the "good posts" I make, I would still like to ask you that like to prove that people might be interested in these modification to become real (Thank you Quiet Professional for that). Criticisms are MORE than welcome, because I am not here for the glory of adding a unit, but here to provide for the faction I love to play. Thank you all!
Well, I only like posts that are interesting. Your ideas help to create new units within the existing rules, and to help add more for the faction. I do not play Aleph or any of its Sectorials, but I still read what everyone writes. I think your ideas are sound enough, keep to the lore, and ties in with the Greek theme. Who knows, maybe the developers quietly scan the forum for ideas. Seeing what we players discuss can help guide the game. I personally would like to see something replace Achilles and crew, who hunt him down for his defection.
Thank you for the support! I love the game, I am passionate about it and I think, like I said before, that Aleph is the single most distinctive faction in the game for various aspects: - Aleph is an AI, the other factions are controlled by humans or aliens, anyway biological entities and Aleph is an AI with the mandate to protect humankind contrary to the whole of the cyber punk literature - Aleph has Posthumans which are a topic of discussion today (Harary for once) - Aleph uses profiles available even in the human literature to design aspects for specific tasks - Aleph digs in the human mythology that has, more than often, aspects connected to human psychology - Aleph makes androids (lhosts) that have time and time again depicted more than human feelings (Achilles and Patroclous) In the past I have perceived a disaffection for Aleph that I had difficulty to understand (it doesn't matter if one plays it or not, the richness of the game is good for everybody and makes the lore even deeper... imagine if we just had PanO and CA, I reckon it'd be pretty boring). Pair that with the fact that I am a 6Sigma Yellow belt (lean manufacturing, Toyota system ect.) and brainstorming ideas is my daily bread and butter.
LEt's now move to another of the Erinyes, I am gonna leave Maegera for last, so here is Tisiphone: Tisiphone is famous for poisons coming from her snakes, she is the voice of revenge. Unlike human justice, she is primal revenge. In game terms I think the best way to portray her is with viral weaponry. An infiltrator with viral mines, viral rifle and viral CC weapon although using CC as an extreme measure. Tisiphone (LI) MOV6-2 CC20 BS15 PH14 WIP13 ARM1 BTS3 Vita1 S2 AVA1 Equipment: Viral mines, MSV2/X-Visor Skills: Marksmanship, BS attack (-3), Camouflage, Mimetism (-6), Infiltration (8"), NBW? In terms of loadout, like I mentioned I would pick from viral shooting weapons depending on the type one would like to run her. Sniper being one profile maybe with a viral tacbow, as well as maybe a shorter gun with Hidden deployment/Surprise shot. This should be the Assassin type of the Erinyes in my opinion
Concerning the third section of Aleph, the aspect of justice/executioner is somewhat missing. The actions of factions are generally aimed at obtaining vantages for their own economic wealth and strategic presence. This may, in general, result in damages to the human sphere as a whole whether premeditated or by mistake. This could be a task resulting from changes in the Toth Bureau and that is why I have often thought of an O12-Aleph Sectorial that could satisfy 2 factions at the same time. I am not going to get into the O12 units that should join the Execution section because I don't know O12 that well, but I can dedicate time to the units made specifically for Aleph taken from Dante's Inferno (reason for which I was also thinking about Dante's section). The AI may also think about a special powered up Deva operative aspect, called Dante, overlooking at the section's operations. Analysis of the Devine Comedy doesn't show a lot of meaningful characters outside the big names. Generally the damned are left living their own punishment mostly by elements: pushing a stone, being swept by gusty winds, under a rain of boiling blood, drowning in mud or cast in ice. The big names are: Charon Minos Pluto Cerberus (3 headed dog) The Gorgon (Medusa) in the city of Dis Nimrod Ephialtes The Malebranche (who actually push the damned down in the mud if they surface to breath, these could be line troopers or elite troopers of some kind) The Minotaur Nessus (a Centaur) Geryon (a beast with 3 heads that looks a bit like a Chimera) Among the damned there are: Ulysses and Diomedes (could be the return of the Ekdromos) Alexander the great Attila the Hun Heracles (for crimes of violence, tormentor or damned depending on the ring) Judas Iscariot Brutus and Cassius Lucifer (yes, he's one of the damned being cast in ice farthest away from the love of god, but also tormentor of Judas, Brutus and Cassius) The connection with Homerids units is evident so some of the Homerids can be found in Dante's section. There are also a lot of options for small and full size TAGs (Minos, Minotaur or Cerberus, but also Nimrod and Ephialtes which could also serve as HI DUO), not to talk about fliers as well (Gryon). The main named characters are not intended as single characters only, but also ideas for units: The Huns can be a motorbike impetuous units much like the Aragoto, maybe with a quad considering Shinju's make up (desert above ground and caves below it), Malebranche could be typical remotes like Zahin or Samekh considering that there are some names of them in the poem (12 of them: Malacoda the boss, Barbariccia, Cagnazzo etc.) or even like Yudbots (Farfarello the goblin and Rubicante the red-faced terror).
