DZ OC idea

[Rev]

Just an idea I’ve been toying with and I’m looking to see if the general response is positive or negative. If you sincerely desire to flame down this concept then please do, I welcome such honesty.

Basically since we have sharkticons (and parts no doubt) likely cheap or free, nanites and molecular regenerating armour (thank you bayverse) then maybe some mad science type would like to build the first DZ OC. I invisage something along the line of a cross between a sharkticon and a Matrix style ‘squidy’, able to regenerate fairly quickly, built in antigrav, and replicate. The idea being something along the lines of a true cannon fodder, a character that you’re actually allowed to tear to pieces and kill off because there’s always another one. Not too bright, but loyal and disposable (maybe the sort of intelligence displayed by a Terminator in T2 – computer bright)

As a joke bit, they can be individually named along the same theme as Gnaw. So we might have Chomp, Bite, Gnash, Nibble, Chew, and Om Nom Nom.

So am I onto a winner or should I go stick my head in the blender, followed by my keyboard?

[Rodimus Prime]

From the begining, we had considered the possibility that there would eventually be Deadzone-native Transformers. The main reason it's taken as long as it has, beyond the fact that people with fondness for particular canons tend to favor playing characters (OCs and FCs) from those canons is that our plots in general tend to move at a pretty slow pace. Like, I would not allow a Deadzone-build character as a new player's first character, just because it would take way too long to get that character in play.

As for this particular concept, I'm a lot less certain. Such a thing would almost certainly be Decepticon, because the current Autobot CoC tends to be against the idea of building people just to die (I will grant that not all Autobot realities have a moral problem with this, as Slider, I'm sure, can attest to, but in Deadzone what matters is what Xaaron and Roddo think about a matter). Certainly, I think a lot of restrictions would have to be made to keep such a 'character' from being overpowering - limits on how many there can be at once, just how fast is that regeneration anyway, etc etc. Even in a fairly weak character, the ability to have multiple 'copies' in play with the attendant extra attacks and everything else makes for a comparitively powerful character (it's part of why Bayverse Arcee is listed as High Power), and when you combine fast regeneration in that (depending on how fast that is - it's worth noting that in the Bayverse, their regeneration was usually not quick enough to significantly affect battle, after all), you're getting into some pretty unbalancing stuff all for a 'character' that doesn't have a significant personality.

I can't speak for the other admin, but depending on how this thing is approached and what limitations are put in place, I might consider it, although I half feel it might be better approached as a plot character, where the Decepticons eventually lose control of them and they have to be destroyed. Even if it isn't apped on a temporary basis, I do think a 'Decepticons lose control of them and then have to start over' plot might be in order.

[Victoria Raines]

Like Rodimus, I'm not opposed to DZ-built OC's depending on how it's handled. However, there are some points you need to be aware of in regards to your proposal as it stands.

Sharkticons are not easy and cheap to get a hold of. They are the exclusive property of the Quintessons, you sign a very specific contract on purchase which includes a non-compete and no-reverse engineering clause. I'm not sure why you would think they would be easy to come by, as we've never indicated this in game.

As far as nanites and Bayverse armor goes- we've long established that pretty much all TF's have some form of nanites involved in their self-repair systems and Bayverse's characters do not regen any faster than normal characters. Their "molecular regenerating armor" is so named because the humans were comparing it to normal machines that don't repair themselves. If their self-repair really were superior to others, I imagine Jetfire wouldn't be dropping parts constantly.

Cannon fodder characters are great as plot characters, but having multiple available at once just doesn't sound feasible to me. Something more like Prototype A goes haywire, let's go back to the boards and make Prototype B that then has a silly accident such as random core meltdown, then we try Prototype C and so on and so one ending with a fully functional and permanent or semi-permanent character would be more plausible. And yar, it would probably have to be a Decepticon.

Also, I have no idea what you mean by "Matrix style ‘squidy’"

[Lugnut]

Shockwave, I think he meant the Sentinels from the Matrix movies with that:

[Sable Conolly]

I'm basically with the others, but I want to point out a few other things.

- Being able to self-replicate is also a really strong ability. There are a few canon characters who come close, like Shrapnel (and indeed, we had Shrapnel for a while), but Shrapnel, for example, ended up High Powered for that and other reasons. Being able to self-replicate and fast regeneration together is overkill.

- A lot of these ideas don't particularly seem to fit together well. There seems to be no unifying coherent theme to it all. What do Sharkticons, characters from The Matrix, fast regeneration, flying, self-replication, and lack-of-personality all have to do with each other? For example, if you just wanted a fossil flying shark ( www.fossilmall.com/EDCOPE_Enterprises/fish/fishfossils3/fishfossils3.htm ) character who acts like an old man, because his alternate mode is a fossil and fossils are old, that character concept would have a uniting theme to it. Characters don't have to have a uniting theme, but it often helps.

[Emirate Xaaron]

I'm basically with the others, but I want to point out a few other things.

- Being able to self-replicate is also a really strong ability. There are a few canon characters who come close, like Shrapnel (and indeed, we had Shrapnel for a while), but Shrapnel, for example, ended up High Powered for that and other reasons. Being able to self-replicate and fast regeneration together is overkill.

- A lot of these ideas don't particularly seem to fit together well. There seems to be no unifying coherent theme to it all. What do Sharkticons, characters from The Matrix, fast regeneration, flying, self-replication, and lack-of-personality all have to do with each other? For example, if you just wanted a fossil flying shark ( www.fossilmall.com/EDCOPE_Enterprises/fish/fishfossils3/fishfossils3.htm ) character who acts like an old man, because his alternate mode is a fossil and fossils are old, that character concept would have a uniting theme to it. Characters don't have to have a uniting theme, but it often helps.

[Rev]

I was sort of visualising the regeneration was fast enough to eventually reactivate even “dead” ones, not fast enough to self repair in battle but good enough to keep it from needing repairs done by others. The Replication would be limited (and to the regeneration) by energy and materials and standing orders. It would take a very long time in game to even gather more than three but does allow one or two to be suicide bombers in maybe some plot. Perhaps the replication is unintentional of the original design and we get a mistaken twins plot.

For me the unifying concept was build better canon fodder with the technology of the nanites and bayverse armour. I now understand that this combination will not provide better regen than currently exists already and so I see this idea lose merit.

I had no intention to have a limited personality, just limited creative intelligence, I see it’s personality as somewhat emergent, something that I can develop, a character with true emphasis on character development. Oh and Yes, definitely a Decepticon.

So anything else? Just thinking out loud so to speak as I write this, sort of spur of the moment (And its early here so I may not be fully coherent)

The sharkticon / sentinel (squidy) is merely the visual representation i've got in my mind.

[Waspinator]

Like a sharkticon head with tentacles type thingy? For what it's worth, I like the idea of a disposable character after seeing just how much the Bay-verse 'Cons got ripped to pieces in the Movies, it make a realistic aproach to an RPG that otherwise does it's best to keep everyone alive - plus kamakazi sharks has a kind of appeal to me.

[Rattrap]

I dunno. Part of what I don't like about the films (and given that I enjoy the films immensely, I'm usually biased in their favour) is that the characters feel so expendable. They get killed in messy, spectacular ways before we can learn much about 'em and it's… dull. Not really fun.

If I want expendable, I'll play a hack and slash.

[Rev]

One of the things with this char I'm trying to bring about is that yes it can be killed in messy ways and pushed into suicide missions but there is always another (like the insecticons) and it's never the original who bites the bucket. Some fun to be had when you dont know there's a twin behind you ready to avenge his own death.

I must add that I had some inspiration from the Christmas episode of Dr Who that had the flying sharks (but I didnt want to RP Skybyte), I think I just like flying sharks more than flying Insecticons.

Oh and yes, exactly like a Shark headed squid (I dont know, it just works in my head)