The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

I'd be shocked if they didn't accept Tor users, but there IS a possibility. I hope not. :-(

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Hey Thoth,

Update on the situation, I'm trying to see if they'll let me register. Currently, I'm experiencing a redirect loop when trying to register so I'll contact service and see what they say.
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"It's ale, you know. Not mead. Not that it makes much of a difference with that stuff. Just be glad you hacked it up: I don't have any Klatchian Coffee handy." He produced some rags. "That's for your mouth. Here, Thoth, take a few to wipe off your armor with. And don't try to burn it off or anything: the smell will get everwhere."

He turned to Derik. "Sorry about that. Anyways, I think I saw some of the spice ale at the table..." He went off and grabbed a glass. "There you go."

Thoth frowned at Gall. "That was... an interesting decision." He had managed to wipe most of the ale off of his armor... before burning the rest. Thankfully, the smell was minimal.

((The Wolves ARE cool. But I'll always come down on the Sons side of that particular debate. Besides, I don't seem to like The Wolves as much as everybody else...))

((Now Ahriman... Ahriman is an interesting case. He's actually self-conscious enough to recognize his flaws a good deal of the time, and he's reasonably sensable, but he ultimately has the same flaws as the rest of his legion. Primarily, arrogance.

As for going full dark lord... he actually doesn't. Which is one of the cool things about him. Heck, he has no particular desire to serve Chaos at all (a trait he shares with several other named characters most people barely discuss). After the Rubric (I assume you know what happened with the Rubric), he was... distraught. And so he dedicated himself to reversing its effects. Imagine Edward Elric with absolutely no limits, nothing he won't do, and a devotion to his goal that is arguably even more fanatical. THAT is Ahriman, or at least the closest approximation I can give with a simple analogy.

DISCLAIMER: Ahriman is probably one of my favorite characters in all of 40k. Take that as you will.)

"'Efforts'? I... pretty much leaped on the idea while my partner was agonizing between disguises. The staff is a work in progress, and I took the coat and amulet he had prepared. He's the guy wandering around there, with the black coat, the mask and the curly hair. He cheated too, but belive me, that's for the better for him. I didn't really care for a particular disguise at the time, and was fully ready to go as myself and tell I was actually disguised as a wizard. Richard pointed out how ironic it was that I was one coat away from being disguised as Dresden, and the idea was just impossible to ignore. Besides, it did help him to make his own choice. He was thinking about throwing a dice to make his decision before that."

... Sith Force Ghosts have previously continued to exist by possessing lumps of rock, so that part is irrelevant. 'A mindless, Force-sensitive body' is also precisely what allowed Palpy to become the Emperor Reborn, so the initial injection should work.

Whether he can then successfully separate his new body from the Hive Mind depends on how the Force interacts with that. 40K lore isn't a reliable guide to that question, because - of course - the Force doesn't exist there. It's possible (for instance) to cut a being off from the Force entirely and permanently, so that they can't touch or be touched by it. Would that have the same effect on the Hive Mind, separating the Tyranid from it? Who knows! It's not a process that makes any sense in 40K.

The underlying assumption in this wacky scenario is that things of comparable power can be compared across canons. Star Wars and 40K starships can both make a decent effort at destroying each other. The Force doesn't let you magically overcome the Warp, but equally, Force-sensitives aren't subject to the same limits as psykers.

We've already used the Force to mute the Hive Mind - not by throwing an anti-soul at it, but by (I guess) altering the flow of life and its energies around the 'Nids. So in principle, there is a route our Sith Lord could follow to claim control.

Would it work? Or would he lose the battle and be consumed? That's probably a decision for plot-based thinking.

hS

"But taken all together, it's pretty obvious," Dax said. "I like it, though—it looks like you put a lot of effort into it. I just cheated on mine."

Tyranids have no souls, or sufficient minds to house a soul. There are no daemon possessed Tyranids, and if one were to attempt it, it would have to do battle with the entire Hive Mind. To put that in perspective: The Chaos Gods are afraid of directly challenging the Hive Mind. And since it's been proven in the lore repeatedly that the only thing that can even momentarily disrupt the Hive Mind are blanks, which have anti-souls, it is likely that the possessing force ghost would be consumed by the Hive Mind's influence.

Looking at the Kaldor Draigo story shows the answer. It's the effect of Psykers on the Warp around them. The Orks, as a race of passive psykers, influence the world around them. It's why their machines work, why the 'Red onez go fasta', and why a purple ork army is actually stealthy. The Warp is shaped by belief, and the more powerful or large the collection of believers, the more it is influenced.

When an army of passive psykers charge into the warp to unleash destruction, destruction is unleashed. Palpatine is not in the warp, he isn't a powerful psyker, and his beliefs have zero influence on the daemonworlds.

And, to go back to the Draigo story, Draigo was a Grey Knight who rampaged around the warp. His faith and power were sufficient to protect him and carve a trail of destruction, but as soon as he left, the warp returned to the way it had been. Every victory he won, every daemon slain and every world broken, was fixed once he left. Even if Palpatine could wreck the daemonworlds, they'd correct themselves in moments because he has no influence to keep them broken.

She held up her glass and swirled the dark, viscous fluid—more like petroleum or blood than beer or ale—around the bottom. The substance had a strong, chemical reek that made her cough, but she turned the reaction into a noise of derision. "You call this muck mead, do you? When this is over, I'll introduce you to the real thing."

"Gall..." Derik's sense of caution broke through his anger. "Maybe you shouldn't—"

"Shut up, Derik," she snapped. She was committed, and there was no backing out now. With a deep breath to fortify herself, she locked eyes with Thoth and knocked back the whole shot.

It was fortunate that HQ was governed primarily by the Laws of Narrative Comedy, and by that token, what happened next was completely predictable: Gall shuddered and tried valiantly to hold on, but her stomach was smarter than she was. She convulsed, retched, and spewed the noxious brew right back up again, saving herself from committing suicide by stupidity. It was quite unfortunate to be standing in front of her.

Derik shook his head and patted her on the back while she hacked up the last drops of mjød. "On second thought, some fights aren't worth fighting. I'll stick to pumpkin spice ale."

(( If the Comedic Laws are in full force, Thoth will need to go clean his armor, but that's up to your discretion. {= D

(( And yes, I've read approximately two and a half Horus Heresy books now: Prospero Burns, A Thousand Sons, and the first few short stories in Tales of Heresy. I'm an extreme noob, but Phobos has been reading these books for a while now, and he finally talked me into starting. I'm afraid we're a Wolves household through and through, but I do feel sorry for Magnus and the Thousand Sons.

(( As for Ahriman, I don't get him. Half the time I thought he was the one with the most common sense of the lot, but the other half he was making the same dumb mistakes as everyone else, and from the fanart I've looked at, he seems to go full-on Dark Lord down the line. What on earth made him think making the same mistakes as Magnus was a good idea when he'd lived through the consequences, eh? ))

"Name is Marina and yep, I'm a wizard. A rather easy disguise, eh? That said, how did you guess it? Irony aside, a brown trenchcoat, a silver babble and a staff aren't that distinctive."

It now runs through to Palpatine's escape and Vader's fall. I haven't yet got round to putting in the Black Crusade, but it's coming.

hS

It's right on the path of the Imperium Crusade, so it's easy for everyone to get to. There's easily enough Sith Ghosts on the planet that one can decide to pop out.

But I think you've missed a trick by going for a Skywalker. If it's the Tyranids attracting his (whoever he ends up being) attention, then why not straight-up possess one of them? Not a Norn-Queen herself, but a key Synapse critter would let him steal and control a fair chunk of the Hive Fleet - provided, of course, he can keep from being controlled himself.

As to whose side a Sith Tyranid army would be on, the Ones only know. I'm inclined to say he'd side with Palpatine - not because he particularly likes him (Sith don't make friends easily), but because the Dark Side is likely to go extinct if the Tyranids (who the Imperium have pointed at the Empire) get their way. So it's self-preservation by way of all-consuming bugs.

hS

I was reviewing Vitaite's feats and have come to the conclusion that he would be a better choice than Revan if only because in game canon Vitaite was kicking around for almost 2000 years. It would not be too much to reach to say he found away to exist as a Sith Ghost for another 2000 years until he was freed.

Probably similar to the Revan scenario, he finally sensed the time was ripe for his return and he called out. This time instead of calling someone to Korriban, he called them to Zakuul in the Unknown Regions.

A startlingly perfect recreation of Mystique approached Marina, her teeth startlingly white against her blue skin. "Harry Dresden, unless I'm mistaken?" She held out a hand. "Dax. Just... Dax. Intelligence."

From Lexicanum:

Waaagh! Tuska

Lead by the infamous Tuska the Daemon-Killa, this Waaagh! devastated the world of Prosan in the Cadian System, breached the Cadian Gate and disappeared into the Eye of Terror. It left numerous Daemon Worlds in the Eye in ruins and eventually was locked in the eternal battle with the daemonic forces of the Blood Prince.

Emphasis mine. Has the power-level of the daemons and Slaanesh increased since the 4th edition, or is there some other explanation for why Orks can leave daemonworlds 'in ruins' but Palpatine can't?

hS

An Inquisitor managed to divert a Tyranid Hive Fleet in the direction of a Waagh. Sure, the two are still fighting it, but the act the fight attracted allways more Orks and Tyranids from outsde, killing their way to the planet, and knowing that Orks get stronger through conflict, and Tyranids too, the winner...

Let's say the Inquisitor who had this wonderful idea got his thank you card from the Officio Assassinorum, and everyone agree that was a stupid idea.

You could have Palpatine be utterly taken over without the Warp trumping Force. We just need to establish a stronger Force Wielder. Now from main stream film canon, we are kind of out of luck, Yoda is the only one that comes close and that is up for debate. but if we dip into legends?

You've already mentioned Battle Meditation, what if there was a way to bring some of the most prolific users of Battle Meditation? Namely Revan. Now I know what you're thinking...that was 4000 years ago. How could he come back? The Light Side sort of canon Revan? Probably impossible without time travel shenanigans. But a Dark Side Revan? That creates a few more options.

Palpatine was able to Force Jump through Bodies. A Dark Side Revan would be more willing to attempt something like that to pass through the ages. But in Legends we also see how Sith Spirits are able to have influence Millennia after their death, see Exar Kun died 3996 BBY. Influenced events until his spirit was finally put to rest 11 ABY. And we also see how even as a spirit Sith can be powerful, and even posses living bodies. See Kallig and Vitaite (AKA Valkorian, AKA Tenebrae, AKA Sith Emperor) who actually managed to kick around for about 2000 years by possessing various bodies.

So we could say that an ancient Sith got disturbed by all the goings on and seeks out a willing host, possibly even a increasingly desperate Luke or Leia?

I imagine it happening something like this:

Flashback to 3956 BBY. Revan stands above their former apprentice Malak, so unworthy to wield the powers of the Star Forge. Once again the entire might of the Sith Empire is at Revan's fingertips. At last the galaxy and be united against the oncoming threat. Only with the power of the Dark Side of the Force do they stand a chance. Revan must go to Korriban to set the plan in motion. Cut to KotOR 2 and TOR happening. Darth Revan is interred on Korriban...

Cut to the start of the Imperium-Empire War. The Imperium rains fire down upon the ruins of Korriban, and something or someone begins to stir. The Spirit of Darth Revan stirs once more. And Revan calls for a willing force sensitive to learn the teachings of Revan. A few weak force sensitives have come, but none had the proper potential. 10 years pass. And with the new Force-Sensitive Tyranids, desperation is rising. A single push could deliver Revan a worthy Apprentice/Host.

Now it could go one of a few ways. Assuming Ezra Bridger survives Rebels, Ezra would be a good host. We know he is strong in the Force, and we have already seen him fall to Maul's teachings. Though all the training and development he did with Kannan would make him less susceptible to a second corruption. The other options are Luke or Leia. Same age as Ezra (technically two days younger) but with two differences. Yes they have been training with Yoda by this point, but they've been on the front lines. And they cannot afford to be training. While they know more and are probably more skilled than Ezra now, they have not had the test of the Dark Side yet. As these new Force Sensitive Tyranids appear, especially if Yoda manages to fall in battle, it the Skywalkers are ripe the fall to the Dark Side.

And if we are assuming a Dark Side Revan for this, that also means the Star Forge is still out there. The promise of the Star Forge for a reeling New Republic is hard to resist.

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Hey Thoth,

Excellent, I'll go and check them out, thank you for the link! No monetization of data is a big plus for me, I hadn't heard of them before. My HTML skills are a little rusty because I haven't used them in a long time but I think I can pick them back up in a couple weekends and afternoons. There may also be a way for me to export TeX to HTML, which also makes my life a lot easier.

I'll continue to PGP sign my official releases, so this might help somewhat.
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The statement by Paramount that Bay isn't directly involved wasn't released until just yesterday, so chalk it up I guess to both me and my agents merely going off what we knew at the time.

I'm still questioning the very concept of a live-action Dora movie in the first place, but I guess that clarification does soften the blow somewhat.

That is an Imperium Specialty by this point. More than a few Inquisitors have done so in the past.

"'s your funeral. Take it in sips and you just might make it. Don't gulp, and don't get cocky. You're pressuring your defects here - breaking down is inevitable." He grinned. "Anyways, Thoth?"

Tom produced two glasses, and Thoth, giving a glare that could cut stone to Gall, poured some of the liquid into each. "I feel that you would work well with those I came dressed as. A pity then: I am not them. However, the necessity of Bleeproducts in our line of work means that I have learned to drink like them." He casually took a glass and quickly downed it.

((You've read Prospero Burns? I've been meaning to get to that. Newbie that I am, I've not read many of the novels yet. I started with A Thousand Sons (for reasons that should be obvious), and I was working my way through the Ahriman books when Real Life happened. Crimson King is sitting on my floor right now.

What? I like to be informed about my faction! :-D. It helps that McNeil is pretty good usually from what I can tell, and that John French nailed everything that makes Ahriman great - a fact he managed to convince me of over the course of a two page introduction. I suppose I'll see if his writing can match.))

((And yes, Gavin - that is, Miracle of Sound: he's a one-man band - is awesome. Tom agrees with this statement. Anyone up for Spot The Reference? :-D))

One thing though, the Chiss probably would have sent an Agent to Jakku to disable the Observatory to prevent anyone from easily finding a route through the Unknown Regions.

"A lot of it was learning legal process, actually," Ix said. "Everyone thinks being an Auror is really amazing and all, duels with Dark wizards every day, but most of it is sitting at a desk doing paperwork and the like. They even said on our first day—if you're here for excitement and glory, get out."

"I can do the same, yanno," Charlotte said. "Break the sound barrier, I mean. Can't go much faster than that, though—especially not as fast as you." She grinned. "On the other hand, I'm willing to bet I'm much stronger."

I can accept that.

I think what we have, then, is a Slaanesh effort to launch a direct attack, which is undercut by the trickery leading to the fall of the Hail of Flames. Which... well, Khorne's distracted by Slaanesh's gain in energy, so Tzeentch is probably behind that. So PPalpatine's 'escape' is actually just him being allowed to reach the Maze.

I think we can't have Palpatine being utterly taken over - that would be a flat statement that Warp trumps Force. I think the best option would be a Saruman scenario, where he /thinks/ his plan is his own doing, despite his goals actually being warped by Tz.

Palpatine's goal is to break the Alliance, because that's what Tz wants to do: to stop the infuriatingly uncorruptable Tau from getting too big for their boots, while simultaneously letting them deal with the equally irritationg Tyranids. Once Palpatine has managed that... well, Tz has plans for then, too.

(Though Palpatine may prove more resistant to those backup plans than Tz expects. He has no knowledge of the Force, after all...)

hS

So yeah, Vader's Orks are going to repeat that effort, only bigger. I don't think Vader's /plan/ was to use them to get Khorne's attention, but he'll settle for it.

hS