Right so, I am really glad that both my mage player and my techno player now have enough karma to move up in power.


Now, here is where I need help. The mage is easy enough to go through and do her whole trail thing and describe what happens to her in the magic realms. The resonance realms not so much. The resonance has three major sites: the city Haven, the Archive, the Matrix World Tree.

Now for the mage is going to the Air realms. Easy enough to describe what it feels like the Strange Alien Landscape easy, because it correlates to both the realm and her path.

Though for the technomancer I want her to feel the same amount of attention but I can not see enough Fluff stuff and the like other than the three sites to give her a similar experience.

So if some one would not mind helping me come up with ideas for her Submersion and the feel of resonance that would be great.


Jolly Skull

Some more info on the 'mancer would be helpful =) What stream do they ride? What complex forms do they use the most? etc.

edit: oh, and what echo are they planning on picking up?

Right sorry forgot that important part. She is a net worker and uses the Exploit and track cfs. She is also really found of her sleuth sprite who is a Wolf spider.

So yeah i hope that helps

Alright, well let me start off by saying I draw heavily on Tad William's Otherland series for inspiration for the Resonance Realms - visualize a huge river, (the Data Stream) running through various realms where the interpretations of the Matrix exist. Some are huge jungles where the plants (as data) interconnect but still struggle with each other for life, or a WWI simulation where sprites fight trench warfare, or a huge orderly, but enormously complex steampunk city, or a machine world, etc.

During Submersion, like with Initiation, I start with a test against a Guardian. And he'll throw up a hacking test, usually one that tests the CF that the 'mancer specializes in, or in some cases something else if I want him to branch out some more, err, I mean his Paragon wants him to branch out more... From there, if he passes, he gets sent to a "random" realm, and his test is finding his way out of there and back to the Stream. Of course, I make him decalre what Echo he's going to get ahead of time, so I can work that into the story as much as possible. For instance, when he went for skinlink, I sent him first to a jungle world where he had to feel the way that the data acted just like life does, and by following the patterns, he found his way to the Stream.

From there, he had one more test - the Stream dumped him in a room where he was completely cut off from his usual visual input, but he could still "feel" the data around him, against his skin. Then he had to make an extended hacking test, at first with hefty penalties, but as he scored more successes the penalties started to go down, as he made better use of the electrical impulses in his skin, and then he could also feel the IC that was closing in on him... And as he succeeded on his test and found the exit, one step ahead of the IC, he left that room and entered his Paragon's realm (01); and infinite plane where an infinite number of streams of data and sprites where coming to what looked like a sun at the center to be broken down into component bits, and an equal number of streams headed back out into the world reborn. He sees this for an instant, and hears the amused voice of his paragon in his head "ONE STEP CLOSER, CHILD" and then he's dumped back into the world.

From the info you gave, I can really see doing a nice Film Noir style in a realm where she needs to search the data web in a realm where the node all act like something out of a Mike Hammer book^^ Or something along those lines - you're really only limited by your imagination (or willingness to steal other authors' imaginations =D). The key for me has always been to tie it closely to what they're wanting to do.

Hmm so "borrow" ideas from other sources. But if they want to venture back to the resonance because they may get addicted from the experience. Would they see world differently i mean they could just like visiting because it is sometimes a good vacation spot for them.

Jolly skull

Non-Submersion trips are much less of a hassle. There's a Guardian to make sure that the Techomancer is up to snuff still, but assuming he passes the (generally much easier) test, he can choose where he goes. I do still treat the Resonance Realms as a big deal though - you aren't going to want to go there lightly. There's real work to be done, and purposeless visitors may find themselves very unwelcome.

That's just my take on it though.

edit: and I admit I feel a little more justified than normal for stealing ideas for the Realms. Since they're a relatively new construct, the forces of Pop Culture have a much larger impact than on something ancient like the Astral Metaplanes. Just look at how prevalent memes are on the internet - I think that things like that would have a significant formative effect on the Realms.

I see thanks for your help on that gives me some ideas. I think you are right you can not simply go to the realms just because you are bored, because it is a bit of a trail to get there.

I think I will use the matrix world tree and also have a version of Jormagund show up near there or at least the remnant of it. I think it would be kind of cool to have that symbolism. The idea that the Resonance never forgets intrigues me. So I could have the idea that the resonance is related to a giant hard drive.


But this makes me think Why are there not otaku still left the could access the wired matrix then why could there still not be some left. I mean think about it the Otaku were their because of a brain chemistry that reacted when they linked up there heads and did not need a deck. Why then could an otaku still be around that still needs to hard wire his head?

Interesting thoughts on the realms though thanks.

Jolly Skull

I'd say read the some steampunk books especially The Dream of Perpetual Motion for sprite world inspiration. It's bloody fantastic. If I ever GM and there's a TM in the group, they are totally going to be dumped into that world.

Hmm cool any other lists of literature or stuff to give me ideas. I was thinking of using some stuff from Johny Mnemonic.

Keep ideas coming.

Thanks Jolly skull

Good places to draw inspiration:

As mentioned, Tad William's Otherland
Dan Simmon's Hyperion Cantos, and Ilium/Olympus
C.S. Friedman's This Alien Shore
William Gibson's, well everything he wrote, really
Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time
Ghost in the Shell
too many misc animes to remember

Bwahha yes these should give me plenty of ideas for the submersion. I think I will have a bit of a blade runner scenario happen.

I hope they will like.

Just had to say the AI/farcaster plot was one of the most fiendish I ever read.

And pre-Matrix, to boot.