Captain Gecko

+1 Please someone give this man a WL, he's a good players and we really, REALLY need more dominian lizards.

A silly idea of mine, but a potentially funny one... Rimworld, but with three lizard boys from the Aurora, let's see how bad it gets... Game details: Our protagonists (and their stuff) PROLOGUE

I don't draw often, somehow. But here are some pieces. Annihilator-ANH-CHN-Chan herself: Han'san, the one and only: Other SS13 characters: Other stuff:

Didn't know about this thread. I should check the forums more often.

>1. What's it like? Can somebody describe it to me? The Wiki is NOT up to date, but it is a good introduction, and some things are still useful, like what wavelength you should set your field generator to, how to find anomalies, etcetera... Plus, ask your local co-workers (ICly or OOCly) for help when you start, have no fear, no one's going to shout at you for messing up and even if they do it's only IC, we're very understanding OOCly. More seriously, Xenoarcheology is mostly a roleplay job. YES, you will find, in rare instances, things that can put clearly help or even save the station, and during others, that will turn a shift into a nightmare if not dealt with swiftly and correctly, but most of the time, there's nothing too serious. It doesn't mean that the job is safe, far from it, working outside is hazardous from the get-go, but adding to this the unpredictable nature of anomalies... Your character may be in for some rough times, and you WILL die a lot while learning. But as Niennab said, no one expects anything from you, so you can take your time, break a few dig sites as you learn, whatever. Do what you want. As a Xenoarcheologist, your job is to discover ancient and potentially dangerous finds... What are your methods? What are the protocols? Do you focus on anomalies (the "major artifacts")? Artifacts ("minor artifacts")? Or some other things which I won't spoil if you're ballsy/lucky enough? Do you just straight up extract your finds? Do you do some work outside? Do you build an entire outpost around your dig sites? Are you taking photographs? Using a recorder to make some sorts of logs as you work or do you report directly to your local anomalist through the comms? Some miner stumbled on something, what do we do? You're free to do whatever you want, as long as it in fits the roleplay, obviously. Why do simple things when you can dwell in more complicated operations? As long as you have fun (and as long as it makes sense), it's valid. Xenoarchs and Anomalists basically do the same job. On paper Xenoarcheologists mostly do the excavating outside, while Anomalists mostly stay inside and study what the Xenoarcheologist brings, but in practice, both do the same job, because it's very rare for both to be one the station at the same time, and we generally explain that IC by saying it's a matter of specialization... So I'll speak of the Anomalist side too! And same thing! It's all about roleplay! What procedures do you go through? How far are you supposed to go understand that anomaly, and its history? Speaking of history... Why was this strange helmet found in the same site as a Crab-spawning machine, what kind of civilisation was behind it? Start identifying recurring finds and dates, establish stories for civilisations of the past! Hell, where even do these anomalies come from? Are they just old finds? Or is there something more, like Bluespace dropping them here or some other esoteric explanation? Once again, the choice is yours, lots of roleplay, lots of freedom. Desperate times call for desperate measures... And we never know with anomalous materials... Sometimes it works. (It didn't work there, though...) >2. What kind of alien artifacts are we looking at here? Skrell? Mystery artifacts? Once again, since roleplay mostly dictates the details of what you find, such as if this weird psionically enhanced radio you found is a pre-Glorsh Era Skrellian piece of equipment, or if it's something from an unknown civilisation that may have disappeared eons ago, so I'll be broad. We'll say that you can find 4 types of things that may pick your interest as a Xenoarcheologist. - Anomalies, which on your ore detector will be called "Major artifacts". Anomalies come in various shapes, but in all case come off as large objects that cannot be grabbed (but can be pushed and pulled). They are your main objective, what you as a Xenoarch must really search for, on paper at least, and what an Anomalist really has to focus on (hence the name of the job), on paper, as well. In 90% of the case, they all work the same way. They have one or two effects, each effect can be triggered, or toggled, by special conditions. I won't spoil the effects too much, but a bunch of them are on the Wiki if you want. They are generally found in sites with other artifacts, at the very bottom of the rock you dig. Sometimes, things can get different to give extra spice to your shift, an anomaly can be damaged and its effect cannot be turned off, or maybe the anomaly is something totally different than a standard one... - Artifacts, called "Minor artifacts" on the ore detector. Artifacts are easy to come accross (especially since we got these shiny new ore detectors that can detect them). They are basically your standard archeological finds, bowls, tools, weapons, ornaments. They are GENERALLY static, which means that they have nothing special. Some, however, can be active, or anomalous, and they will show unexpected behavior. Once again, I won't spoil, but this can range from funny items to nightmare-inducing horrors. They are always found along with anomalies, but you can also find many sites that hold only artifacts. - Lost crates. You may have come across them already, especially if you're a miner. There's nothing special about them, crates locked behind a code that you just ignore as you smash it open with your emitter, but perhaps this find is linked to your dig site somehow? Maybe this crate DID belong to the ancient civilisation that left that Anomaly next to it. - Sites. I won't spoil too much right now, but basically... Sometimes, more than asteroids can crash on this rock. Some times, there are small wrecks, pods, things like that... Some times, there's much, much more interesting. I won't tell much, and these are very, very rare find, even if you do your best to try to find them... Buuut know that you can come across some surprises here and there. Remember to always know how to identify your anomalies. (this image is a shitpost, please don't take it too seriously)

Right, I'll be quick: we'll need Science tapes, just like Engineering and Security does. Gameplay-wise this will be quite useful. There are no real ways for Science to mark areas or prevent people from walking in. As an Anomalist main I use crayons on station and light beacons in space to mark anomalous AOE and dig site position respectively, but that's only for me, and a miner coming across this may not truly understand what it means, it doesn't quite carry the sense of "FORBIDDEN AREA" of tapes, especially without the soft block they effect they have... Roleplay-wise, most importantly, it's a great tool. Marking an area under the effects of an anomaly or some Golem hunkering down there, science tapes seem more appropriate than engineering or security ones. Said tapes could be put here and there on the map too, like around the bomb range, to prevent some overly curious Xenoarch or Miner to get on it without knowing. When it comes to where we could store it, either in the research storage that was added recently, left of the conference room, and/or in the locker in the telescience room, just above the rad-suit one and in Xenoarcheology's storage room (I believe Xenobiology has some storage area too...? Not sure). It's not incredibly revolutionary, but I think it can be quite a useful little thing. PS: Spriting is already covered. sciencetape.dmi

Maybe I'll do more than just that as the character evolves, got some things planned for how he could change, maybe... And also maybe when I'll get better skills at spriting. Also thankiesss

Finally, time to apply for a custom item! *** Byond key: Captain Gecko Discord key: CNEGecko#9618 Character Name: Sezrak Han'san Item name: "Imperial 16th zippo" Item function(s): It's just a zippo reskin, works like your usual lighter. Item description: "A zippo lighter given by the Empire of Dominia to the men of the 16th Regiment of the Imperial Army, also known as the "Suicide Regiments", that would manage to survive more than a dozen deployments. The Imperial 16th is a regiment deployed by Dominia during battles that cannot be lost, their men ensuring victories through the use of unusual and highly dangerous tactics, resulting in extremely high losses during almost all of its engagements." Why is your character bringing this item to work?: Sezrak gets easily attached to objects with history. His red coat, for instance, comes from a Strelitz Veteran and friend of his family... But this lighter is particularly important to him. Sezrak doesn't smoke, at most, he'd use it for some light in the darker corners of the station (or somewhere else), or use it to trigger some anomalies, but that's it. The main reason why he keeps it is mostly emotional, his father handed it to him. Sezrak's father, Kar'sani Han'san is a widely respected individual (at least, among the ones that know him); for many reasons, but most importantly for having survived 12 deployments in the Imperial's 16th after, just to prove to some other officer wrong some officer that dared insult him, only stopping after losing an arm during his 12th battle in the suicidal regiments, and then moving to higher ranks and becoming a superior officer. There, among some medals, he earned this zippo. When Sezrak and his brothers went through their military service (that was just before Sezrak would decide to become an Anomalist instead of working for the Imperial Army like most other Han'sans), Kar'sani handed them each a gift from him, both to inspire them and to give them something from home that they could keep with them, something to keep them remembering their family. Sezrak got the zippo lighter. How did your character obtain this item: From his father, as stated just above, so he would remember his family, and most importantly, be inspired to do his best, to prove his worth against impossible odds just like his father did. What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: To Sezrak? This lighter is very, VERY important. If he somehow forgets it on station, he will stay there, no matter if the shuttle is leaving, but that's assuming he somehow left the lighter which is itself highly improbable. He will take it with himself everywhere he goes, and he would probably get very angry if someone was to take it from him for some reason. He'd open it and light it up in moments of doubt, fear, or solitude, remembering where he comes from, and what he lives for. About his story? As said before, his father's, and in the end, his own, as he spent most of his life trying to do just like his father, albeit in a different career entirely, doing his best, facing seemingly insurmountable odds and cheating death a bunch of times (although, that last part, that's mostly thanks to the NSS Aurora's medical department), and in the end, proving his worth to all, or, at least and most importantly, to himself. Sprites: It's basically a Dominian Zippo lighter, but black, with the outlines of the Dominian Standard barely noticeable. I also tweaked some other colors and remade the flames with a slightly different color. The idea behind this design is that this lighter is supposed to be given to veterans of the 16th, but it doesn't mean that said veterans are no longer in active service. Assuming these men could bring the lighter with them on the battlefield, giving them a bright red thing would be a great way to get them spotted, and possibly killed; so instead, they would go for a dark, discreet color (or rather, lack of color). righthand_Sezrak_Zippo.dmilefthand_Sezrak_Zippo.dmiSezrak_Zippo.dmi Additional comments: Sezrak's story changed a lot. The Dominian lore rework sure made things a bit better, the Empire makes slightly more sense and all, but Sezrak's story had to adapt. One of the main changes being his father's. Kar'sani Han'san had always been a model for Sezrak, giving at least that initial push to go prove himself as an anomalist, but he was considered a hero for having survived 10 deployments in the... Imperial Commandos. With the Imperial Commandos now retconned, the Imperial 16th became a logical replacement... Sounds close enough, supposedly lore-friendly, yet not the Commandos. Sezrak already has a lighter in his loadout, but it's just a regular Dominian lighter. The story behind it is mostly the same as this custom item, but it felt wrong to have just a random Dominian lighter be given to a veteran of some regiments featuring ridiculously low survival rates. Plus, having played Sezrak for more than 6 months now, and many other characters and players knowing him, I feel confident in giving him a custom item to expand a bit on his story, and give him more character. *** Sooo, that's pretty much it. This is my first custom item application, so you know, if I messed up some part, tell me, we'll try to fix it, yeah?

Wait, so "Remove security" is serious, it's not a meme phrase? More seriously, I played antag a few time, although I wouldn't call myself an antag main. I don't think there is much problem with the security department itself, although there is, and always will be, problems with some characters and/or players (I'm not giving names and I cannot anyways since I don't remember them), but I think I see one big problem, and that's not really Security's fault. Imagine a perfect world where all sec players are not here for the sake of hunting antags but to play correctly, and where antags don't nuke the station outright and keep a good gimmick. Now the antags and security meet, what do? As security do you: - Not stop the Antags risking them causing harm which is basically defeat for security gameplay-wise? - Not stop the Atangs because you wanna let them express their gimmick (which is basically Antag RP heaven), despite this not really making sense for you gameplay-wise or even in character? - Stop them because you have to and basically end the Antag business as you are intended to do and crush the Antag's planning? I could keep going but you get my point. For Sec and Antag to have as much fun as possible, they need to, somehow, get to understand each other OOCly and try to know how much RP vs gameplay they want to achieve... and RP wise, do they want something that fits their characters? That fits the lore's logic? Or maybe try to work together to have it culminate in some super dramatic round? Anyways, that's a level of understanding that is basically impossible to achieve, assuming all of the players would agree in the first place. I believe the best way to avoid this is to stick to the lore, and a bit to the characters. By sticking to the lore in this context, I mean corporate laws, things like that. If you do something that warrants an arrest, then expect to be arrested, if you do something that warrants investigation or doubt, then there will be. Now, on Sec's side, if there is no such thing then they should not ask Cargo for the Entire Sol Army armory. So yeah, TLDR; this is more of an Antag/Sec relationship problem.

[Connecting...] [Connection complete!] [Opening discussion with user: "FARK"] >Fark here. >Market for anomalies is growing. >There's money to be made. >Problem is, everything on the market comes from the people with pros working on it, IE, big corpos. Actually there's only big corpos SMH. >Anyways, I need one of these. Old ass spoons or ancient death machines I don't give a fuck. >I just need something to put on the market. >There's no precise reward, but whoever manages to bring me something gets a percentage of what I get when I sell it, so bring valuable stuff for your own sake, or rather, profit. >I don't want any lose ends by the way, I ain't taking anything from you if you've got NT or some shit after you. >I don't care, I don't want to know about how you extract it, just do your fucking job. Bring me interesting stuff, and no loose ends. >Once you're somewhere safe and with the stuff, contact me, I'll get to you, I pick up the good stuff, and we never ever see each other again. >You'll get the payment straight to your Idris bank account. >See ya. >Or not. [User: "FARK" disconnected] [Disconnecting...]

Sezrak Han'san : Romeo Watari / Anyone who works for Zavod :

Yes please, we need a place to store our things, just like in the Xenoarcheology Atrium with the Long Term Storage room. Because seriously, having a full team of productive scientists is great, but by an hour and a half, RnD quickly ends up filled with guns and other contraptions, Circuitry is filled to the brim with drones, and there isn't any place to store those, really. I guess we can always search around maintenance for a crate and use it to store the smaller items, but bigger ones like large assemblies require other solutions. Also, not only does the existence of such a room would make sense (I mean, once again, the Xenoarcheologist has a room to store his things, why would the other scientists not have their own too?), but this could also give more roleplaying opportunities. For instance, an antag could try to steal from this sort of science vault and leave with new prototype weapons, the room could become the last bastion of a besieged, rebellious science team, or it could be the hiding spot of a changeling, waiting for an unlucky scientist to come by, alone, in the privacy of this tiny room... TL:DR: It's a good idea, please add this.

Nice science lady is epic. She knows everything and she roleplays well. I give a +1 too.

Just the local Anomalist at work, move along.