Question 16

[Blackhoof]

True, but to run an effective dictatorship, you need a carrot AND a stick. Steelheart had murderous Epics, constant surveillance, and a pervasive atmosphere of terror, but he also gave his people relative stability, provided for their basic needs, and ensured they had entertainment.

You could argue that every year the Capitol lavishes one district with food and medical supplies, but this lavishing guarantees, by design, that 23 children from across the nation will die on live TV for the Capitol's amusement. How did this keep going for 75 years? At this point, most parents would decide they had nothing to lose and go after the Capitol in one last crazy suicide run.

 

True enough, and the Cracked article did a good job in explaining why the Capitol was an ineffective dictatorship.

 

Still, 2 dead (maybe 1) dead children a year out of a population of tens of thousands in each district isn't too bad if you think about it. What would you prefer- a minuscule chance that a relative or someone you know will be sent to the games, or a near certain chance of mass death, punishment, torture, and possible genocide if you rebel? Especially since you have no real method of knowing that any other districts will rebel with you, making your lone, single-district rebellion doomed to failure?

 

I guess at this point living in Panem isn't too much different from Newcago- death is frequent and common, a ruling upperclass that flaunts its wealth and cruelty with impunity runs rampant, and any rebellion is likely to be short-lived and put down with extreme prejudice. Also consider that District 12 seemed to be the poorest and worst-off of the Districts (although the agriculture district was certainly policed more heavily, and we don't know too much about the other districts) so they may have had better conditions, and certainly did in the case of 1 and 2.

I think conditions in Newcago are certainly a lot worse than for anyone in Panem.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Blackhoof

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

True enough, and the Cracked article did a good job in explaining why the Capitol was an ineffective dictatorship.

Still, 2 dead (maybe 1) dead children a year out of a population of tens of thousands in each district isn't too bad if you think about it. What would you prefer- a minuscule chance that a relative or someone you know will be sent to the games, or a near certain chance of mass death, punishment, torture, and possible genocide if you rebel? Especially since you have no real method of knowing that any other districts will rebel with you, making your lone, single-district rebellion doomed to failure?

I guess at this point living in Panem isn't too much different from Newcago- death is frequent and common, a ruling upperclass that flaunts its wealth and cruelty with impunity runs rampant, and any rebellion is likely to be short-lived and put down with extreme prejudice. Also consider that District 12 seemed to be the poorest and worst-off of the Districts (although the agriculture district was certainly policed more heavily, and we don't know too much about the other districts) so they may have had better conditions, and certainly did in the case of 1 and 2.

I think conditions in Newcago are certainly a lot worse than for anyone in Panem.

Yes, but as the Joker once said, "Blow up a building full of people and nobody bats an eye, but if I tell you one little old lady is gonna die, everybody loses their minds!" It's not an accurate way of seeing things at all, but it's easier to see a million people as a statistic. Yet when two frightened children stand up on stage, knowing they're probably going to die, it's easier for the human mind to see that as a horrific thing. Because it's personal. Those kids have faces, names, families that others can remember. Thousands is a statistic. Again, I'm not saying this is a good thing; I'm just saying the Capitol is dumb for evoking this response once a year for 75 years straight.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Yes, but as the Joker once said, "Blow up a building full of people and nobody bats an eye, but if I tell you one little old lady is gonna die, everybody loses their minds!" It's not an accurate way of seeing things at all, but it's easier to see a million people as a statistic. Yet when two frightened children stand up on stage, knowing they're probably going to die, it's easier for the human mind to see that as a horrific thing. Because it's personal. Those kids have faces, names, families that others can remember. Thousands is a statistic. Again, I'm not saying this is a good thing; I'm just saying the Capitol is dumb for evoking this response once a year for 75 years straight.

Then there's the point that a rebellion would not only be about the death count but also about overall living conditions.

 

Twi, would you belife me if I said Lucentia will show compasion towards Ray?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Then there's the point that a rebellion would not only be about the death count but also about overall living conditions.

Twi, would you belife me if I said Lucentia will show compasion towards Ray?

People riot or protest for better conditions all the time. It's not inconceivable that Panem would do it.

Is alien possession involved?

[Edgedancer he/him]

People riot or protest for better conditions all the time. It's not inconceivable that Panem would do it.

Is alien possession involved?

Let's say that the post is the closest thing to compassion Lucentia will ever come to.

[Mashadar Mistborn he/him]

Lucentia:"Don't complain. Only I get to complain. Your whining hurts my ears."

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Let's say that the post is the closest thing to compassion Lucentia will ever come to.

I'd say "It's something," but it's really...not. What I wouldn't give to have Lucentia forced to listen to someone else complain for hours on end.

[Edgedancer he/him]

I'd say "It's something," but it's really...not. What I wouldn't give to have Lucentia forced to listen to someone else complain for hours on end.

True true, just wait and see how that scene ends.

 

Who knows, maybe it will happen one day.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

True true, just wait and see how that scene ends.

Who knows, maybe it will happen one day.

My hopes for a compassionate Lucentia are not high.

And then Lucentia died and went to Hell. Hell was the complaints department, and she was the only employee. She had to sit and listen to stupid complaints by stupid people, without arguing or interrupting them, forever. The end.

[Edgedancer he/him]

My hopes for a compassionate Lucentia are not high.

And then Lucentia died and went to Hell. Hell was the complaints department, and she was the only employee. She had to sit and listen to stupid complaints by stupid people, without arguing or interrupting them, forever. The end.

They shouldn't be.

 

The one and only time hell fired an employe for bad working morale.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

They shouldn't be.

The one and only time hell fired an employe for bad working morale.

And forevermore, "fired by Hell" was on her resume.

[Edgedancer he/him]

And because I had nothing better to do, here's an adapted version of the last Ray segment.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

And because I had nothing better to do, here's an adapted version of the last Ray segment.

And then Ray escaped to The Dalles, where she lived happily ever after as a member of Edgerunner's Remington Fanclub.

[Edgedancer he/him]

And then Ray escaped to The Dalles, where she lived happily ever after as a member of Edgerunner's Remington Fanclub.

I'm not sure if Remington is going to leave a positive enough impression on her for that but the Dalles could do her some good.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I'm not sure if Remington is going to leave a positive enough impression on her for that but the Dalles could do her some good.

Well, I was thinking more that she needs a friend, and Edgerunner would be a good friend for her, but Ray would probably have to join the Remington Fanclub if she wanted to spend any time at all with her.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Well, I was thinking more that she needs a friend, and Edgerunner would be a good friend for her, but Ray would probably have to join the Remington Fanclub if she wanted to spend any time at all with her.

"Hey, do you want to be friends?"

"Sure."

"Alright, a new member for the Remington fan-club!"

"Remington? You mean the guy that just watched and didn't do anything when I was in trouble?"

"Oh my gawd! You meet him, I'm so jealous!"

"...I may need some more time to think about this."

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

"Hey, do you want to be friends?"

"Sure."

"Alright, a new member for the Remington fan-club!"

"Remington? You mean the guy that just watched and didn't do anything when I was in trouble?"

"Oh my gawd! You meet him, I'm so jealous!"

"...I may need some more time to think about this."

Sure, it's not like he would've rescued her if he hadn't been hopelessly outmatched or anything.

[Kobold King he/him]

"Hey, do you want to be friends?"

"Sure."

"Alright, a new member for the Remington fan-club!"

"Remington? You mean the guy that just watched and didn't do anything when I was in trouble?"

"Oh my gawd! You meet him, I'm so jealous!"

"...I may need some more time to think about this."

 

 

Ah, the old "If Remington Springfield is omni-awesome, why does he allow un-awesome things to happen" argument. Don't worry Edgerunner, it's a question that's had the world's greatest theologians scratching their scalps for centuries.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Ah, the old "If Remington Springfield is omni-awesome, why does he allow un-awesome things to happen" argument. Don't worry Edgerunner, it's a question that's had the world's greatest theologians scratching their scalps for centuries.

Because he sometimes needs to sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom?

[Voidus]

I feel like that would make her even more of a target. Why would any High Epic not take a few days out of their luxurious and care-free life to hunt down and destroy this state-levelling (and defenceless) Epic that could easily wipe out their kingdoms?

Because they wouldn't necessarily know her powerset and she just leveled an entire state plus most Epics don't seem to be that bothered by what other Epics do unless they're personally attacked. Unlike Obliteration she hasn't set up a pattern of behaviour where she's constantly destroying other states so they don't really have anything to worry about.

[Comatose he/him]

On the point about Night's Sorrow, I don't think we need to worry much about the potential canonicity of this RP until we have more information.  Oregon's destruction is still a decent ways a way, and Brandon's comment about Night Sorrow's involvement was pretty vague.  

I'd say, let's just continue on as we have been, and then make a decision about Night's Sorrow once we know even a little bit about her and what happens.  The chances of us getting through more than a single day (or MAYBE two) before Calamity comes out are pretty slim anyways.  

[Voidus]

After months of lurking and occasionally bugging Kobold with questions about Lightwards, I have finally decided to try and become an active member of WHiO.

My idea for a character is Xavier Griffith, a former member of the Knighthawk Foundry who stole Epic-derived technology and vanished after becoming jaded with his organization's refusal to use their resources to combat the tyranny of Epics. He then began moving about the country, searching for a place where he could find purpose and do some good.

The Epic his equipment is based off of was named Disarm. She had the ability to make anything being used against herself or someone else in the vicinity instantaneously disappear. Her power was extremely flexible ; it could eliminate anything from bombs to rocks, provided that the item was being used for harmful purposes. However, this did not amount to a prime invincibility, as only objects within her line of sight could be destroyed. A citizen of the town that she attempted to take over placed a bullet in the back of her skull and took samples for a friend-turned-arms dealer. Eventually, Disarm's mitochondrial DNA made it to the Knighthawk Foundry.

The technology made from Disarm comes in the form of a high tech-looking pair of black goggles that project a 5 mW (laser pointer) laser onto whatever the wearer is looking at from a node in the center of the goggles (the motivator is behind this node, on the inside of the goggles). If the item the wearer is looking at is being used for a destructive purpose, it will vanish in about a second. The goggles are turned on from a switch on the left side or from a wireless activator that Xavier keeps with him.

After months of wandering, Xavier heard underground contacts' rumors of an Oregon town (the Dalles) that had resisted Epic control. His interested was piqued, and, knowing that the town was likely to be something much desired by the area's Epics, he set off to meet with the town's leader(s) to help them preserve their bastion of human-run society.

So, what are your thoughts?

As a rule I don't think the Dalles is accepting new characters though that's up to Kobold and Twi since they might make an exception. It's a great concept my only reservations would be that we have very little knowledge about anything to do with the Knighthawk Foundry so Calamity might render the character completely implausible.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

As a rule I don't think the Dalles is accepting new characters though that's up to Kobold and Twi since they might make an exception. It's a great concept my only reservations would be that we have very little knowledge about anything to do with the Knighthawk Foundry so Calamity might render the character completely implausible.

It's accepting new non-Epic characters, though I don't know whether a vanilla with Epic tech would count as a vanilla or an Epic. I'd place it more in the latter category, but Kobold might feel differently.

[Kobold King he/him]

Welcome, Chouta! Xavier Griffith sounds awesome.

 

 

Like Twi said, we're only accepting vanilla characters at the moment. Epic-derived tech is a bit of a gray area across the whole game--honestly, I seem to remember Twi vetoing the use of a Knighthawk Foundry backstory before on the grounds that we don't know enough about their workings to include them in any way, but I may be wrong.

 

Regardless, I love the character concept and I'd love to find a way to make it work! Again, welcome!

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Welcome, Chouta! Xavier Griffith sounds awesome.

Like Twi said, we're only accepting vanilla characters at the moment. Epic-derived tech is a bit of a gray area across the whole game--honestly, I seem to remember Twi vetoing the use of a Knighthawk Foundry backstory before on the grounds that we don't know enough about their workings to include them in any way, but I may be wrong.

Regardless, I love the character concept and I'd love to find a way to make it work! Again, welcome!

I did, just because I'd hate to see a character become utterly impossible once the final book comes out. I don't know for sure that'll happen, but there's still a chance, so I'd be leery about using the Foundry in any backstories until after February.

One way to make it work might be to leave his background somewhat vague until the last book is out and we know more. Make him a badchull with conventional weaponry and knowledge of advanced tech, but don't mention anything about working with the Foundry. Then, once the last book is out, add those details to his background as desired. The slow pace of this game would actually prove to be an advantage here.