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Devices

Game Items

In Orion Sphere LRP, characters will be heavily reliant on items to be able to interact with the world and use special powers and abilities. Advanced technology and equipment are one of the keystones of the sci-fi genre and the widespread use of physical objects (technology) is what often distinguishes science fiction from other genres where special powers are more likely to be innate - magic in fantasy, superpowers in superhero fiction, etc. With this in mind, Orion Sphere will feature a wide array of game items, which have been divided into the categories detailed below. Each category details the physrep requirement for that sort of item.

Many game items, particularly technological ones like weapons, armour and devices, can be modified by engineer and scientist characters to improve them and grant them new abilities.

Some example images of game items made by the Game Team will be made available in the next few weeks, although examples of the styles used by each Faction can be seen on the Pinterest boards indicated on each Faction's pages. If you are interested in building some physreps for Game Items, please let us know and share some images of your work - it might help to inspire others!

Lammies

The majority of game items that have special abilities or calls will have an attached laminated card, or lammie. Within the game area, lammies must remain attached to a suitable physrep at all times.

Charges

Most items that have in-game powers will require energy to use their abilities - a certain number of Charges that they can hold and use. For example, an energy weapon might be able to fire a stunning bolt that freezes someone for a few seconds, or a science device might be able to scan the local area for life-signs, and using these abilities will require them to use up Charges. Charges are represented by tear-cards, about 23mm X 74mm - you can just attach these cards to your item with an elastic band or similar, but we would encourage participants to build in slots to store these cards in the items they build if possible. Charges are purchased from the Faction Representatives or from the MegaCorp employees in the hub area of each game - the flat rate is 1 energy chit for 1 Charge.

Game items that we currently have plans to use Charges with are: Melee and Energy weapons, Shields, Armour, Energy Fields, Tech and Science Devices.

Item Categories

Protection

Armour

i.pinimg.com_564x_c0_ca_09_c0ca0903081f8a7450a59ac89393d8b0.jpgi.pinimg.com_564x_f5_ac_66_f5ac66a10564abe16808f100c0f27c12.jpg Characters can wear physical armour to protect them from attacks and from hostile environments. Armour can be modded to resist more damage, or activate Charge-fuelled abilities to self-repair or render them immune to harm for a short time. There are three categories of armour, differentiated by their flexibility and bulkiness. All armour physreps must be constructed to appear like actual protective gear - thick clothing is not sufficient.

  • Light Armour is made from flexible material such as thin leather or woven armoured fibres. It should be reasonably light and flexible enough to allow a good range of movement.
  • Medium Armour is made from either semi-rigid material (such as thick, boiled leather or thick foam padding) or flexible material with rigid plates or panels attached to at least 50% of the location to be protected. Light chain mail such as aluminium chain or butcher's mail also counts as Medium Armour.
  • Heavy armour is made from rigid plates or panels or of heavy chain mail. Flexible material can be incorporated into the armour as a backing or for articulation, but the surface area must be almost entirely covered with rigid plates or panels. This could include metal (metal plates must be at least 1mm thick or have turned edges), rigid plastic or hardened, heat-treated foam.

Energy Fields

Energy field emitters project protective barriers of force around a character, and act as a first line of defence that can be recharged relatively quickly when not in combat. Emitters must be physrepped with a technological device at least the size of 2 packs of playing cards in volume. Guidelines for the overall style or look of a Faction's technology can be found on the faction pages. An energy field emitter must be worn over any other costume in order to have any effect.

Injectors and Injectables

i.pinimg.com_564x_df_d1_95_dfd195ebc463960174f1a29400fc7dad.jpg The role of potions and drugs in other systems will be filled by injectables and injectors. Injectors are devices that carry doses of pharmaceuticals for quick administration. They might look like an automatic syringe (such as those used in EpiPens), or some kind of gun device, or something in-between. Critically, injector physreps must not incorporate any actual sharp needles or any other method of actually puncturing the skin - they are for in-game roleplay purposes only.

Pharmaceuticals can be physrepped by bottles or ampoules of clear or coloured liquid. To be used, you must either roleplay loading them into an injector, or roleplay using medical equipment such as syringes (again, without real needles) to administer them directly to another character (which takes more time).

Tech Devices

Tech Devices are pieces of technology that have a game effect that doesnt fit into other categories. They are devices and tools that are manufactured by the megacorps or factions and have an effect on the game world somehow when used. Examples include rebreathers for entering toxic atmospheres, emergency first aid kits, psi-field emitters or programmable maintenance nanites. Most tech devices in the game world will be single-used items or devices with Charges, which can be bought from Megacorp employees in the hub area.

Tech device physreps could take a wide variety of forms, and need not strictly relate to what the device actually does - so you can link your tech device physrep with whatever lammies are associated with it. Tech device physreps should be large enough to need an entire hand to hold, and clearly look like a technological device. Some specific examples of tech devices are detailed below, with additional requirements for their physreps if there are any.

Charge Packs

Charge packs are simple batteries that hold charges, ready to transfer into other devices. They allow characters to purchase more charges than their gear could normally hold, and use those charges in the field - although it takes time to transfer the charges over, so unlikely to be feasible in the middle of a firefight. Charge Packs can be styled in a manner appropriate to your faction, but in essence they are simple boxes that are big enough to hold Charge Cards in them - probably covered with some logos, copper charging coils or similar.

Science Devices

Science devices are the essential tools for every scientist on an away mission. These are the tricorders, scanners, etc that you see on many sci-fi series. In Orion Sphere, there are 3 basic Science Devices, which serve as a base for modification into more specific ones.

  • Analyser – Detects the basic properties of a scanned object, and which Speciality is required for further research.
  • Sensor - Detects the presence of unusual substances or energies in the immediate vicinity.
  • Extractor – Extracts most raw substances into a portable form. Used to sample materials, and collect exotic substances.

Engineers can learn mods for the basic science devices that alter them completely into new devices, usually tuned to one of the 3 main Science Specialisations (Etheric, Corporeal and Life Science).i.pinimg.com_564x_d6_d7_20_d6d72073821186b22c6e4c2ef605907c.jpg These specialised devices are things like bio-scanners that detect life signs on a planetary mission, power converters that allow recharging of Artefacts, Smelters that extract reagents from samples taken in the field, etc. Each one will be tied to one of the 3 specialisations, and will require mastery in order to be used.

Physreps for science devices should ideally be styled in a manner appropriate to your faction, but in a pinch a phone with a tricorder app will fit the bill reasonably well. Maybe in a fancy phone case.

devices.1519918307.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/08/13 16:53 (external edit)