- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- Writing Levels
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Female
- Genres
- Sci-fi, fantasy, magical, modern, Steampunk
Fascinating game! I'm not sure if I'll have time to join or not, but I had some ideas, so I'm going to lob them out here for you to use or not, as you choose.
Conjure (Process): The art and science of creating an Egregore. Requirement: Advanced hacking/computer science skill (this should be in a character's bio). With this Process, a hacker can create an autonomous digital entity equipped with cyberkinetic Processes he or she has, and task it with missions.
Egregore:
An Egregore (sometimes called a Servitor) is a semi-intelligent program capable of autonomous operation, and carrying out cyberkinetic Processes ("Conjured" Egregores only) at the command of a User. An Egregore is comparable to an NPC in a computer game, but considerably more sophisticated given current technology. It can read and speak in natural language, and navigate the virtual, and to some extent physical worlds (such as "seeing" through surveillance cameras, "feeling" RFID chips, communicating with "smart" appliances, etc.) independently. Egregores are generally created around some mythic or narrative archetype, such as a fairy, genie, cartoon character, or historical person. This makes it possible for standard Emulators [Emulator: a software program, often standardized, which models humanlike personalities for software agents] to generate simplified interactive personalities for Egregores from distributed information on the Grid, rather than requiring the Egregore to be a fully self-contained AI (with the correspondingly high storage and bandwith requirements that would imply). An Egregore based on a cartoon character would have a personality modeled on the cartoon character's. A "fire elemental" Egregore would have a hot-tempered personality, and so forth. An Egregore's persona is usually related to its function. For example, a Conjured "fire elemental" Egregore might be programmed with various hacking exploits that can be used for arson, such as disabling fire suppression systems, triggering a gas leak by opening a valve in a gas line, then generating an overload in the valve's control circuit to create a spark.
There are two kinds of Egregores: Off the Shelf (OTS) and Conjured.
OTS Egregores:
An OTS Egregore is the product of a software company or open-source development team, which can be purchased or downloaded by ordinary citizens or companies. Examples might include AR receptionists, museum docents, cartoon character virtual friends for children, personal assistants, and so forth. OTS Egregores might be able to operate equipment (such as an Egregore bellhop driving a self-powered luggage trolley in a hotel, or a security Egregore operating cameras and monitor drones), and may be coded with passive Processes like Firewall (security and cashier OTS Egregores would likely have this) but they cannot use an active Process like Command. Closed-source OTS Egregores are nearly always strongly copyrighted and write-protected to prevent hackers from repurposing them (such as, to prevent a Mickey Mouse Egregore from saying or doing obscene things, or a Geico Gecko from being used to recommend Progressive insurance).
Conjured Egregores ("Conjurations"):
A Conjured Egregore is one that is created by a skilled programmer for personal use. Unlike OTS Egregores, a Conjured Egregore is a unique creation crafted to be loyal to its creator. A Conjuration usually has a much more sophisticated AI than OTS Egregores do, and may be programmed to use any Process the programmer possesses. Given the right Processes, a Conjured Egregore may be tasked with attacking a particular person or Site. In general, a Conjuration can employ adaptive tactics if it is programmed well enough, but cannot make top-level strategic decisions. For example, if a hacker tells an Egregore to use cyberattacks on a particular person when that person is alone, it can notice that there are others present and wait until they leave or arrange for some kind of distraction to draw them away, but it cannot decide to attack some other target or come up with a different plan to accomplish its maker's goals.
Conjurations are something of a status symbol for hackers, who will sometimes have them be visible as companions in other people's AR, the way powerful people in previous ages liked to show off with an escort of harem girls, bodyguards or slick lawyers.
Golem:
A Golem is a special-purpose Egregore that is permanently linked to some physical substrate, like a squadron of hover-drones, a robot, a vehicle, or an especially complex weapon system like a suit of powered combat armor.
Conjuration (Golem): the art and science of creating a Golem. Requirements: Conjure, a suitable physical substrate, and knowledge of the relevant areas of robotics operation (i.e., to Conjure a quadcopter Golem, the programmer must be able to program the Golem for flight, or have the skills to integrate an off the shelf flight subroutine into their Golem's code and insure that it's compatible with the hardware).
Black Market Conjurations:
There are some black market operators who claim to offer Conjurations for sale. These are usually very expensive, especially if they have combat-relevant abilities and Processes (Caveat Emptor applies, in spades). A character who purchases a black market Conjuration might be able to get one with Processes they do not have (but which the Conjuration's original programmer has), but this is risky. One can never really know what sort of "back doors," malware, bugs, or delayed-action instructions a black market Conjuration might contain. In game terms: the GM has the right to take control of a purchased Conjuration at any time, and have it carry out some hidden intention of its creator, or just randomly malfunction in some awkward or perhaps severely unpleasant way. Or it might simply be a spy for the Enforcers, the Agents of God, or whomever the GM chooses, continually monitoring its "owner" on behalf of its true masters. Black Market Conjurations are the cyber equivalent of buying a high-tech designer drug from some shady guy on a street corner. Caveat. Emptor.
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Well, that's all I've got for now. If I come up with a character idea I like in time I'll join, but you don't have to wait for me.
Conjure (Process): The art and science of creating an Egregore. Requirement: Advanced hacking/computer science skill (this should be in a character's bio). With this Process, a hacker can create an autonomous digital entity equipped with cyberkinetic Processes he or she has, and task it with missions.
Egregore:
An Egregore (sometimes called a Servitor) is a semi-intelligent program capable of autonomous operation, and carrying out cyberkinetic Processes ("Conjured" Egregores only) at the command of a User. An Egregore is comparable to an NPC in a computer game, but considerably more sophisticated given current technology. It can read and speak in natural language, and navigate the virtual, and to some extent physical worlds (such as "seeing" through surveillance cameras, "feeling" RFID chips, communicating with "smart" appliances, etc.) independently. Egregores are generally created around some mythic or narrative archetype, such as a fairy, genie, cartoon character, or historical person. This makes it possible for standard Emulators [Emulator: a software program, often standardized, which models humanlike personalities for software agents] to generate simplified interactive personalities for Egregores from distributed information on the Grid, rather than requiring the Egregore to be a fully self-contained AI (with the correspondingly high storage and bandwith requirements that would imply). An Egregore based on a cartoon character would have a personality modeled on the cartoon character's. A "fire elemental" Egregore would have a hot-tempered personality, and so forth. An Egregore's persona is usually related to its function. For example, a Conjured "fire elemental" Egregore might be programmed with various hacking exploits that can be used for arson, such as disabling fire suppression systems, triggering a gas leak by opening a valve in a gas line, then generating an overload in the valve's control circuit to create a spark.
There are two kinds of Egregores: Off the Shelf (OTS) and Conjured.
OTS Egregores:
An OTS Egregore is the product of a software company or open-source development team, which can be purchased or downloaded by ordinary citizens or companies. Examples might include AR receptionists, museum docents, cartoon character virtual friends for children, personal assistants, and so forth. OTS Egregores might be able to operate equipment (such as an Egregore bellhop driving a self-powered luggage trolley in a hotel, or a security Egregore operating cameras and monitor drones), and may be coded with passive Processes like Firewall (security and cashier OTS Egregores would likely have this) but they cannot use an active Process like Command. Closed-source OTS Egregores are nearly always strongly copyrighted and write-protected to prevent hackers from repurposing them (such as, to prevent a Mickey Mouse Egregore from saying or doing obscene things, or a Geico Gecko from being used to recommend Progressive insurance).
Conjured Egregores ("Conjurations"):
A Conjured Egregore is one that is created by a skilled programmer for personal use. Unlike OTS Egregores, a Conjured Egregore is a unique creation crafted to be loyal to its creator. A Conjuration usually has a much more sophisticated AI than OTS Egregores do, and may be programmed to use any Process the programmer possesses. Given the right Processes, a Conjured Egregore may be tasked with attacking a particular person or Site. In general, a Conjuration can employ adaptive tactics if it is programmed well enough, but cannot make top-level strategic decisions. For example, if a hacker tells an Egregore to use cyberattacks on a particular person when that person is alone, it can notice that there are others present and wait until they leave or arrange for some kind of distraction to draw them away, but it cannot decide to attack some other target or come up with a different plan to accomplish its maker's goals.
Conjurations are something of a status symbol for hackers, who will sometimes have them be visible as companions in other people's AR, the way powerful people in previous ages liked to show off with an escort of harem girls, bodyguards or slick lawyers.
Golem:
A Golem is a special-purpose Egregore that is permanently linked to some physical substrate, like a squadron of hover-drones, a robot, a vehicle, or an especially complex weapon system like a suit of powered combat armor.
Conjuration (Golem): the art and science of creating a Golem. Requirements: Conjure, a suitable physical substrate, and knowledge of the relevant areas of robotics operation (i.e., to Conjure a quadcopter Golem, the programmer must be able to program the Golem for flight, or have the skills to integrate an off the shelf flight subroutine into their Golem's code and insure that it's compatible with the hardware).
Black Market Conjurations:
There are some black market operators who claim to offer Conjurations for sale. These are usually very expensive, especially if they have combat-relevant abilities and Processes (Caveat Emptor applies, in spades). A character who purchases a black market Conjuration might be able to get one with Processes they do not have (but which the Conjuration's original programmer has), but this is risky. One can never really know what sort of "back doors," malware, bugs, or delayed-action instructions a black market Conjuration might contain. In game terms: the GM has the right to take control of a purchased Conjuration at any time, and have it carry out some hidden intention of its creator, or just randomly malfunction in some awkward or perhaps severely unpleasant way. Or it might simply be a spy for the Enforcers, the Agents of God, or whomever the GM chooses, continually monitoring its "owner" on behalf of its true masters. Black Market Conjurations are the cyber equivalent of buying a high-tech designer drug from some shady guy on a street corner. Caveat. Emptor.
---
Well, that's all I've got for now. If I come up with a character idea I like in time I'll join, but you don't have to wait for me.
