[OOC][Brainstorming] Intelligent Devices for non-"Lyrical Nanoha" mages

[robkelk]

Ringing the changes on the support device concept: "Daisy", Ruiko Saten's device

Appearance and personality: When in standby mode, looks exactly like the flower ornament that Ruiko wears in canon. When in active mode, a 20-meter-tall humaniform mecha (complete with a faux samauri helmet on the head) in white with emerald green trim, with a beam saber carried at the waist.

Magical Esper support capability: A Lambda Driver (go on, tell Washuu-chan that she can't reverse-engineer and debug the one in Sosuke's mecha), keyed to Ruiko's brainwaves.

Main defensive spell ability: Did I already mention the Lambda Driver? Also, it's a giant mecha.

Flight capability: Giant mecha can't fly... at least, not until a surplus X-Wing engine and Starfleet sensors and life-support are installed, at which point interstellar flight becomes possible.

Other Support: GENOM fusion-boomer tech - heavily debugged and nerfed by Washuu-chan to prevent any Grey Goo disasters like the one in BGC OAV #1 - for field repairs; Starfleet phaser strips for point defense; one passenger seat.

Obvious hole in the programming: No forcefield, "shield" spell, or equivalent. (No room in the chassis for the generator. Then again, it has a frickin' Lambda Driver.)

Introduction in the story: That's a tricky one to answer. The base mecha frame appears in the 2016 Christmas Party. After Mérida Island shows up in the Metacontinuity and Washuu-chan can help MITHRIL's engineer Nora Lemming debug the Lambda Driver, the AI "Daisy" and the Lambda Driver are added. (Wraith noticed the flower in Ruiko's hair while observing the Ottawa displacees, and mentioned it in the report about them to MITHRIL - misidentifying it as a daisy. Thus, Nora Lemming used "Daisy" as the codename for the AI based on Sosuke's Arbalest's "Al".) Shamal, Mariel, and Washuu-chan install Barrier Jacket and Belkan Device tech to make Daisy summonable and give her a psi-link to Ruiko - which, beause of Ruiko's background, becomes Daisy's only esper ability. Once Starfleet gives Ami the Rideau, the runabout's life-support and phaser technologies get copied over to Daisy. Jedi tech provides the hyperdrive and beamsaber. GENOM tech provides the self-repair ability. So... Base frame at Christmas 2016, but the mecha as described above won't be completed until the end of Arc 2 at the earliest.

[itsune9tl]

Considering it is Ruiko Saten who(me?) if I remember right was the Computer Specialist of that particular Group. Daisy's AI Core could start as one of  Ruiko's personal projects carried over, in her back pack, from before the Multiverse crashed. Daisy's Server Core, would need a Power supply, and Cryogenic Cooling system just to run at an optimal Clock speed. Her original system could only run at full speed for half an hour at most before it started to over heat. So Washu builds Riuko something for Remote Access with visor, and headset that looks like a Flower Wreath/headgear thing.

Riuko at the appropriate time of contact Ends up using Daisy to hijack the Lamda Drive Frame to run it as a Tele-presence Unit at first when Daisy wakes up and takes over to protect her Creator.  Things Snowballed from there.

A clear case of "It Followed Me Home. Can/May I keep it?...

[robkelk]

Considering it is Ruiko Saten who(me?) if I remember right was the Computer Specialist of that particular Group.

Alas, no - Kazari Uiharu is the group's computer specialist (and Ruiko Saten's best friend).

Edit: And Uiharu gets her power-up at the Halloween Party (noticing "Uiharu" and "Hatsuhara" are written with the same kanji), with Washuu's assistance:



But that doesn't mean we can't use this idea somewhere else...

RE-EDIT: This is Ruiko, as of the final episode of A Certain Scientific Railgun II:

[Black Aeronaut]

..... If she's wearing roller blades and bends the fuck out of that bat, then we're all screwed.

[robkelk]

No roller blades - she's about to get her first chance at the helm of a giant mecha, instead.

(Besides, we threw out all that old, furry curry. )

[Black Aeronaut]

(Besides, we threw out all that old, furry curry. )

Oh, we did? Can you refresh my memory? Lil' Slugger might actually be something we'd want to have to deal with in the interests of deconstruction. In fact, it'd probably happen entirely by accident, with Lil' Slugger completely bypassing the Goddess's safety nets by spontaneously occurring through combination of memetic contamination and the Metacontuity's causality just being that malleable.

[robkelk]

Sorry, just making a joke there. We haven't decided anything about FLCL.

[robkelk]

Working notes, on the wiki - did I miss anybody?

[Dartz]

Would equipping a 33-S with a device be possible?

More amusingly, given how Nanoha magic works based on math - and these girls have cybernetic minds capable of running battroids (One sourcebook even calls them a combat AI, IIRC) - could it be simply a matter of reprogramming?

Or would hardware modifications be needed?

[robkelk]

I think the 33-Ss have the math part down - it's the magic part that they'd need. But there's plenty of magitech on Midchilda, so the TSAB should be able to do something... once they appear in the Metacontinuity.

[Labster]

Right, your example would probably be Penny Polendina, the an artificial life form that can manifest an Aura. Otherwise you're looking at magic item type stuff, limited utility and use per day.

I can't think of all that many examples of nonbiologicals straight up casting magic in fiction. Possibly Ifurita? (It's been a long time since I saw that show). Luna-P seems more like it's a Device itself.

[itsune9tl]

.....  If she's wearing roller blades and bends the fuck out of that bat, then we're all screwed.

You are being paranoid.

[Black Aeronaut]

Snrk!  Now Itsune got it!  Honestly I have no idea why Paranoia Agent brought FLCL to mind - VERY different beasts, those two anime.

Regarding FLCL though....  Honestly I think it'd be fun to have those crazies running around.  Though we'd have to hash out what they're doing, where, why, and how.  And I can't help but think that once Haruko catches Benjamin when he's in hi-gear (e.g.: when he gets juuuuuust slightly unhinged when they go to clear out the Sailor Senshi's castles) that she'll think to herself, "Okay, now THIS guy fucking GETS IT."

Oh!  Electric Guitars as devices!  Eh?  Eh?  

Regarding artificial mages...   Yeah, once Penny shows up and Washu gets enough data to science the shit out of it (she's also studying the Midchildan/Belka devices as well as the Puella Magi's soul gems), she'll probably be able to create artificial linker cores for whoever needs/wants one.

Also recall that she's going to make Jail Scaglietti into her Special Friend Lab Assistant.  

[robkelk]

Snrk!  Now Itsune got it!  Honestly I have no idea why Paranoia Agent brought FLCL to mind - VERY different beasts, those two anime.

I think maybe somebody hit me over the head...

[robkelk]

SI-Rob's Intelligent Device

Appearance and personality: Eimi Anderson (from Fenspace via Drunkard's Walk - she was my character to begin with, even though much of her personality development has come from Bob). Appearance is as the existing visualization of Eimi by Mark Skarr for the ReBoot stagger, but 1/12 human scale, with human-normal olive skin, and the winged teardrop replacing the LT badge.

Magical support capability: Create Water, in various amounts and forms.

Main defensive spell: Wall of Water.

Flight capability: "Are you crazy? I could fall!" "You didn't complain when I carried you in Niflheim, Rob." "I trust you, Hyoga. It's myself I don't trust." So, no.

Other Support: Secretarial skills (help Rob out around the apartment/embassy/ministry), standard Chobits capabilities if you give her a Micro-USB3 cable to plug into the port behind her ear, artificial Linker Core.

Obvious hole in the programming: Combat skills are hyperspecialized toward conjuring up and using water as a weapon.

Introduction in the story: Whenever SI-Rob realizes he could actually use an Intelligent Device, then "get in line, we have other orders ahead of yours"... so, not for a while yet.

[Black Aeronaut]

FINALLY figured out what Ben's should be.

Primary Mode: War Hammer

Secondary mode:  Anti-material rifle

Storage Mode: Smart Watch with "Casio G-Shock" looks to it.

Features:

• Belkan-style Cartridge System using synthesized 'Disrupter' Dust
  
• Boost-Device Capabilities
  
• Both hammer mode and rifle mode have excellent anti-armor abilities
  
• Rifle Mode takes advantage of Benjamin's latent talents as a marksman
  
• Compatible with Nanoha, Fate, Ruby, Kyoko, and Hotaru
  
• Also, in a pinch: Vita, Penny, Pyrrha, and Nora
  

Name: Rabenschnabel (German: Raven's Beak - actual name for a some German war hammers)

Personality: .....

....You guys ever read Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane?  Happen to remember that Master Shark, Ed'Rashekaresket?  Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh.

The compatibility thing has less to do with mage potential (because Rabenschnabel doesn't rely on a mage's power to work), but more with the weapon modes.  They're all polearm users of one sort or another.

Nanoha uses a staff.
Ruby and Fate use scythes.
Pyrrha and Kyoko use spears.
Vita and Nora use war hammers.
Hotaru uses a halberd.

Additionally, Ruby and Pyrrha are more compatible than the others due to the Anti-material Rifle alternate form.  Nora and Vita, of course, have a high degree of compatibility as well due to the War Hammer primary form, but are lackluster marksmen.

Also, most of the others will find Rabenschnabel's dry wit and dark humor to be off-putting.  Benjamin will be just fine, though.  He was raised by a man with a twisted sense of humor.  :V

This will be in addition to the Unison Device gifted to him by Hayate, Reinforce 2.1 - a specially designed version of Reinforce Zwei to handle Ben's AMF and will be his primary source for teleport calculations, as well as serving as an aim-assist for antimatter projectiles and antimatter-pumped particle beam shots.  She will also boost his reflexes to better take advantage of his highly mobile "Blitzkrieg" fighting style.

However, Reinforce 2.1 won't show up until later, as she will be a major project between Hayate, Jail, and Washu.  Rabenschnable - by comparison - will be much simpler.

Benjamin's Barrier Jacket will look like something that MCU!Tony Stark and Dark Knight!Lucius Fox collaborated on.  Lightly armored, it depends more on mobility and therefore resembles something like a much-less colorful version of the MCU-Spider Suit made by Tony Stark.  It will have flight capabilities inspired by the game, Just Cause 3 (powered wingsuit, memory-fiber parasail, grapple ascender), and a buckler-shield that also expands into a longboard to traverse moderate distances on-ground.

I know this seems over-the-top, but Benjamin's primary goal isn't to be a God Smiter like Tenchi, Ranma, Hayate, or Madoka - but rather to be a "Street Sweeper" that supports the more powerful elements by engaging and neutralizing the mooks.  The long-range features of Rabenschnabel and his antimatter options are things to be held in reserve - an "Ace in the Hole", as it were.

Thoughts?

[Labster]

Right, your example would probably be Penny Polendina, the an artificial life form that can manifest an Aura.  Otherwise you're looking at magic item type stuff, limited utility and use per day.

I can't think of all that many examples of nonbiologicals straight up casting magic in fiction.  Possibly Ifurita?  (It's been a long time since I saw that show).  Luna-P seems more like it's a Device itself.

Regarding artificial mages... Yeah, once Penny shows up and Washu gets enough data to science the shit out of it (she's also studying the Midchildan/Belka devices as well as the Puella Magi's soul gems), she'll probably be able to create artificial linker cores for whoever needs/wants one.

Jossed in V7:E7. Well, kind of. This is also how children work. Now 100% sure Pietro Polendina is based on Gepetto.

[itsune9tl]

Just for the Lulz, I want to see an I.D. who's combat form looks like a bag golf clubs.

[Black Aeronaut]

PFFF-HAH!!! Shades of Happy Gilmore, anyone?

Although considering the knock-down drag-out fight that happened in the movie, Bob Barker might be even funnier.

[robkelk]

"Caddy, my number three bazooka, please."

[robkelk]

Just did a quick review of the thread so far.

...

"Shaoran could probably use a Device, since he relies on ofuda and that compass thingy for a lot of his magic, it might be useful to centralize it -- especially if it can be used as a physical weapon too." He knows how to use a sword...

...

No, sorry, cancel the idea of a sword. We already came up with a vastly different idea based on this fanart - if he's going to get a Persocom anyway, why not make it his Intelligent Device?

[robkelk]

(blows dust off thread)

(coughs)

Considering how many of these Devices are being planned to make up for shortfalls in their partner's or owner's abilities, it isn't unreasonable to think a device could be used simply to mitigate a pre-existing condition.

So... Sailor Pluto's Device. Should it be designed to help her deal with Malleable Causality (at least to the point where Hotaru won't feel guilty about leaving Setsuna on her own while she goes on a date with Ben), or will that be taken care of earlier in the narrative?

[Labster]

Is my ID designed to make up for my SI's lack of moe?

[Black Aeronaut]

(blows dust off thread)

(coughs)

Considering how many of these Devices are being planned to make up for shortfalls in their partner's or owner's abilities, it isn't unreasonable to think a device could be used simply to mitigate a pre-existing condition.

So... Sailor Pluto's Device. Should it be designed to help her deal with Malleable Causality (at least to the point where Hotaru won't feel guilty about leaving Setsuna on her own while she goes on a date with Ben), or will that be taken care of earlier in the narrative?

Hmmmm....  I'd be inclined to say no, and mainly because it would be a much simpler matter to have a Goddess seal those parts of her abilities.

That said, though, I can't see Setsuna saying no to an upgrade.  Their original weapons are only capable of a few spells, while an ID can synthesize hundreds of spells.

Is my ID designed to make up for my SI's lack of moe?

Dunno.  I can't seem to recall what yours was.  Or are you saying that you'd like it to make up for his lack of moe? 

[Labster]

Mine was a Sumomo-sized persocom named Yotsuba Koiwai.  With, you know, some magic circuits too. This is her in her barrier jacket that she stole the idea from someone else.