From: redline@shore.intercom.net (Tex Arcana) Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf Subject: New Virtual Adept background and rote Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 01:35:09 -0400 Organization: crystal.palace.com NNTP-Posting-Host: modem33.intercom.net Here's some interesting (hopefully) elements that have been added from my campaign that might be of interest to the other VAs out there. Enjoy. NEW BACKGROUND Virtual Library This background can only be taken by Technomancers (including Virtual Adepts and Sons of Ether, although it tends to be limited to the Adepts and Iteration X mages); there are not enough members of the other Conventions and Traditions to provide the requisite feedback necessary to create a virtual library. A virtual library is essentially an online collection of notes, history, knowledge, rotes and the like. It doesn't exist as written information in tomes, as the standard library does, but rather as bits and bytes on massive bulletin board systems. The net effect of this is that there is always a new influx of material being added as time goes by, allowing a potentially unlimited source of knowledge. The normal Library background provides a finite amount of study points (5 per background point cost) to the owner. A virtual library is similar, but instead of being a finite collection of information, it provides a number of study points equal to the background point cost per month. Unused points from a month cannot be saved and are considered lost if not used by the end of the month. € 1 study point per month; local Virtual Adept BBS; a statewide online network €€ 2 study points per month; a spoke BBS system; a multi-state online network €€€ 3 study points per month; a hub BBS system; a countrywide online network €€€€ 4 study points per month; an originator BBS system; a worldwide online network €€€€€ 5 study points per month; Crystal Palace BBS; the Digital Web NEW ROTES Telecommute (€€€ Correspondance, € Forces) This rote allows the Virtual Adept to shift his location through All-space without having to be familliar with the destination first. It was created by a Virtual Adept out of San Antonio that goes by the handle of Tex Arcana. In order to accomplish such a feat, the mage must set up a physical connection with the location (usually by means of a modem, telephone or satellite link to a computer, telephone or television). Then, the Adept uses Forces to get a fix on the energy travelling between the locations, and Correspondance to tele-locate there by following the transmission. The mage appears at the other end of the connection, usually within a meter or so of the opposite link. Once he has arrived at the new location, he now has a point of reference for later, more conventional means of Correspondance magick. Obviously, a few restrictions occur. Firstly, there has to be a connection of some sort. A computer must answer the modem on the other line, someone (even an answering machine) must answer the phone, or a television has to be monitoring the broadcast. Secondly, while the familiarity with the location is not a factor, the quality of the connection is. A better, shorter connection (such as a local call) is much easier to trace than a long-distance overseas connection. One Success County Local call, radio transmission, UHF broadcast Two Successes State In-state long distance call, local cable station Three Successes Country Out-of-State Long Distance call, national affiliate Four Successes Continent Out-of-Country Domestic call, Telemundo Five Successes Planetwide Overseas call, CNN Lastly, the rote is not without it's hazards. If the roll fails to net any successes, the mage simply does not go anywhere. If too few successes occur, the mge travels to the limit of the applicable distance, then gets kicked 'offline' at the closest location (in otherwords, if a VA in Las Vegas was trying to follow a modem line into a computer in Seattle and only got 2 successes, he'd zap along the telephone line, but end up materializing somewhere in Reno or so). A botch is even worse, as the mage zips along the transmission wave, but ends up getting dumped in a -very- hazardous location (transatlantic cables, low earth orbit satellite, use your imagination) - Steve (Virtual Adept Tex Arcana) -- ,----------------------v----------------------------------------------------, | ,________. | STEPHEN MUMFORD ______ | | //~~~~~~~~\\ | redline@shore.intercom.net \ \/?/ | | // /\ \\ | http://www.intercom.net/users/redline/ \/\/ | | // //\\ \\ |----------------------------------------------------| | {{ /{__}\ }} | Alien cultures, biologies and histories... | | \\ //~~~~\\ // | Check out the Xenology Main Data Screen | | . \\// \\// , | for all your alternate species needs. | | |\_){ }(_/| | http://www.intercom.net/users/redline/xeno | | '~~~" "~~~' | ¼| `----------------------^----------------------------------------------------'