From: moolick@shrsys.hslc.org Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf Subject: Void Engineer - The Monitors Date: 18 NOV 94 19:50:43 GMT Organization: MIT PLASMA FUSION CENTER NNTP-Posting-Host: shrsys.hslc.org The Monitors: In the earliest fights against the Order of Hermes and the Traditions, the technomancers and their earthly allies were not alone. They had the aid of several spirits, making deals with them to gain their support. These spirits received much for their aid. They have been fes with quintessence, given dominion over spirits that joined the cause later, and acess to the physical world. More importantly, the technocracy has pledges that with the defeat of the traditions, the Monitors will not be swept over an conquered by the hordes of man. They will become friendly alien races, and powerful AI systems, and many other things, while those who did not join will be hunted to extinction. Over the centuries, the once diverse and naturalistic spirits that were origionally receuited have changed to meet the technomancer paradigims. They have abandoned roots in the natural world and become more technological in nature. They have become entrenched in the technocratic command structure and are among the technocracy's most valiant defenders of the gauntlet and horizin against the horrors of the umbra. The Monitors are still widely varied. Some are small and weak, while others are virtual leviathans. Many are unique, while others have standardized to the extent that they are identical. Many have specialized to heed the calls of specific Void Engineer rotes, and fight in the ascension war at there command. The following are a small sample of their vast diversity. The Satellite Monitors: Ever since before Sputnik, the Void Engineers have had their own satellite systems girding the earth. Sleepers think of satelites as complex machines and marvel at their abilities. The technomancers know their true capabilities. They are massive techno-fetishes, enabling Monitors near the horizin to sense the physical world. A few allow them to attack in the physical world too, but none allow them to actually materialize. Types of satellite monitors follow: Communications Monitors: These indispensible devices provide sleepers and technomancers alike with an easy means of moving information arounf the globe. All kinds of transmissions are carries, from TV to phone conversations to computer information. Naturally, all is recorded and beamed to the NWO. Technomancers acess the higher functions of these devices and the spirits attached to them. In the umbra, the Communication Monitors appear as fractal balls made of metal with lighning playing over their surfaces. The satellites skirt the inside of the Horizin, and are connected by arching beams of energy which form a web of light that stretches farther than the eyes can see. There are rumors there this "Horizin Web" has an internal reality, much like the Digital Web has one in the gauntlet. Contact with the beams causes violent force effects. The Communications Monitors are not very effectual in a fight, but defend themselves and the Horizin Web. Attributtes: Str 1, Dex 3, Sta 2, Cha 1, Man 2, App: 0, Per 4, Int 3, Wits 2. Abilities: Alertness 2, Computer 4, Enigmas 3. Spheres: See Magick below for specific abilities. Willpower: 5 Arete: 3 Quintessence: 3 Paradox: 0 Health levels: OK / -2 / -3 / -5 / incapacitated Attacks: Ram - the only physical attack these spirits have is to ram an opponent. This causes damage equal to their strength, but their powerfully electrified surface causes three additional dice to bring the total to four dice. Magick: The Com. Monitors can use the following rote effects: - Securte Transmissio Web ( Entropy **, Forces ***, Mind ***, Prime ** ) This is used as a massive communal magick that maintaines the Horizin Web. It gives the web's strands the following properties: - 4 Countermagick Dice vs. attempts to interrupt, read, or alter inter-monitor signals. - Monitors are aware at ant activation of the Countermagick. - A Forces three genreal-spectrum attack is made one anyone that countacts the Horizin Web. - Injection ( Correspondence *** ) - The Monitor self-digitizes and moves through the Horizin Web to a distant satellite. Satellite Monitors These spirits are highly valued by the technocracy. They spy on both the earth and the Deep Umbra, looking for enemy action. By circulating storys about the accuracy of spy satellites and having authorities refute them, sensor acuity is enough to read license plates and the like without fear of paradox. The Monitors associated with these satellites have a number of sensory abilities. In the umbra they appear as metal, many-eyed incestoid creatures. They are slightly larger than man-size, and have beautiful solar-pannel wings. Attributes: Str 3, Dex 3, Sta 3, Cha 2, Man 2, App 0, Per 5 (photo-realisitc), int 4, Wits 3. Abilities: Alertness 5, Awareness 4, Computer 3, cosmology 3, Enigmas 3 Speres: See Below Willpower: 5 Arete: 5 Quintessence: 5 Paradox: 0 Health Levels: OK / -1x2 / -2x2 / -3 / -5 / Incapacitated. Armor: The metal exoskeleton of the spirit gives it two dice of armor. Attack: The spirit can attack with it's razor-sharp probiscis, causing Str + 1 damage. Magick: - Monitor Gauntler ( Corresponcence **, Entropy *, Spirit *, Time ** ) This rote lets the Monitor scan the gauntlet and the horizin. The rote searches out and predicts weaknesses and rifts, reporting them immediately to Void Engineer teams. - Monitor Earth ( Correspondence *8, Forces *, Mind *, Spirit * ) This lets the Monitor extend it's senses to the earth. It can sense the entire electromagnetic spectrum with incredible acuracy and evaluate all it sees. Developing technologies to allows this to operate through weather disturbances has been an area of constant research. - Alert ( Correspondence **, Forces ***, Prime ** ) With this rote a Spy Monitor accesses the Horizin Web and downloads intormation to technocract computers. Problems are red-flagged as are assualts on the Monitor itself. "Killer" Monitors: The Void Engineers have relatively few of these combinations of huge spirits and powerful devices. They were launched during the Regan "Star Wars" era and are orbital battle stations. None have been launched since SDI was discountinued and the VE's are disgruntles when their allies deemed it necessary to discontinue the sleeper projects which helped them place these without paradox. In the Umbra, a single spirit is associated with each ASAT. These are shaped like thick, bloated worms. They are covered in metal to the extent that only they and the VE's know if they are not entirely technological. They have beaked mouths surrounded by a ring of clawed tenticles. They have various powerful weaponry. They are universally guaridans of areas of importants. Places where the Horizin is very weak, where an Umbral assault is predicted, where "white holes" the VE's have tapped are located and in the center of clusters of other monitors are likely locations for them. Attributes: Str 7, Dex 2, Sta 8, Cha 2, Man 2, App 0, Per 4, Int 3, Wits 4. Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawling 5, Firearms 5. Spheres: see below Willpower: 8 Quintessence 15+ Paradox: 4 Health Levels: OKx3 / -1x3 / -2x2 / -3x2 / -4x2 / -5x2 / Incapacitated Armor: The metal plating gives the Monitor three extra soak dice. Attacks: - Bite - The killer Monitors can Bite for ten dice of damage, but must grab the victim and put them in their mouth first. - Tenticles - A Killer Mointor's six tenticles can be used without dividing it's dice pool. The tenticles cause seven dice of crughing damage with a diggiculty seven attack. Attacking with more than one tenticle causes one more die of damage per tenticle. The claws can be used to cause eight dice of damage with a difficulty seven attack in place of a crushing attack. Magick: - Over-Monitoring ( Correspondence **, Entropy *, Time ** ) This allows the killer monitors to watch over a large number of lesser monitors. Time allows it to predict where it will be needed. It is also receptive to messages sent by other Monitors and Void Engineers with high clearance. - Shock ( Forces ***, Prime ** ) - This simple forces attack electrifies the spirits skin in a Forces 3 attack. This causes six dice of damage. Any thing grappling it that takes three dice or more will have let go. It does affect those in it's tenticles, but it can't crush at the same time without splitting it's dice pool. - Laser / Particle Beam ( Forces *****, Prime ** ) This powerful attack can only be used on distant targets or those in front of the creature's mouth. It causes 24 dice of damage and burns five points of quintessence in the blast. - Assign Aura Monitor: ( Forces 5, Prime 2, Spirit 2 ) This allows the Killer Monitor to assign an Aura Monitor, a type of monitor with less power and authority, to a target. Any one killer monitor will onyl hace command of three of these at a time. Aura Monitors These Monitors traditionally have been the guardians of Void Engineer umbral research stations. Recently, at the urgings of fellow technomancers to become involved in the pogrom, the VE's have been using them as magickal assasins. These spirits are composed entirely of complex energy fields, and can be "projected" into the physical world through special VE equipment. They are often directed by Killer Monitors or high level Void Engineers to attack individuals who threaten their goals. In appearance, these spirits are very beautiful. The are floating, shimmering curtains of miltichromatic light. They are beleived to originally have been nature spirits associated with the northern and southern lights, and are most populous at the poles even today. Abilities: Str 0, Dex 5, Sta 4, Cha 3, Man 1, App 5, Per 2, Int 2, Wits 4. Abilities: Brawl 3, Cosmology 3 Spheres: See Below Willpower: 5 Arete: 4 Quintessence: 8 Paradox: 3 Health Levels: Ok / -1x2 / -2x2 / -3x2 / -5 / Terminally Disrupted. Attacks: While an Aura Monitor has no physical existance, it can cause the energies about it's edges to briefly solidify, a quick slash while doing so makea a whip-like attack that causes four dice of damage with a difficulty of six. Magick: - Manifest ( Spirit *** ) - Unlike most Monitors, the Aura Monitors can make themselves seen and act in the material world. - Quantify Avatar ( Prime * ) - The Monitor can sense strong avatars. If attacking a group it attacks them preferentially. - Reform ( Correspondence ***, Spirit *** ) - The Monitor can fade from it's present location, disperding it's energies and re-forming elsewhere in the Umbra. - Radiation Attack ( Forces ***, Prime ** ) - To perform this, the Monitor must perform a grapple ( it has no strength, but this lets it superimpose itselfover another ). Once this is done it intensiries it's own energies, causing damage due to radiation and microwaves, as well as electrical disruption. They prefer this attack, for it kills cleanly and leave no external evidence as to the cause of death, as the damage is entirely internal. Progenitors can hush up any "natural-looking" death like this very easily, faking autopsies and the like. Digital Monitors: I have not yet detailed the Monitors on the Digital Web. Many of the defenders of technoturf are really daemon Monitors. Thereare also some monitors akin to electrical elementals. The Void Engineer spirit 2 effects often call upon Monitors for many tasks. One such taks is self-guided weapons, in which the Void Engineers even surpass the Iteration X convention. Void Engineers have smart weapons as small as tranquelizer darts and small-caliber bullets. They also have very small, one-shot, anti-personell missile pistols, with brilliant-level micromissiles. If anyone has any ideas for more, please post or e-mail them to me. Michael M. Moolick