Transformers: Steel Reign

[B4UTRUST]

If he's a Raptor, why the fuck is the image the Boeing ST-87 concept rendering of the ATF and not the actual Raptor?

In all honesty, just because I liked it better. He's supposed to have modified the form some to account for the other changes, but they're largely superfluous in appearance.

*smacks you in the forehead with the rolled up newspaper* No! Bad! Bad civvie! You have failed your engineering stealth military aircraft roll.

Secondly, if you're using that as a basis, why is your max cruise for stealth less then the basic cruise speed of the Raptor itself(Mach 1.72)? Cybertronian technology is more then capable of keeping up with speed to stealth ratios far beyond that. Hell, human tech is far beyond that.

This was a concession, given his other abilities. It would keep him below the sound barrier, and thus allow him to run silently and undetected - he cannot shoot any of his weapons or exceed the sound barrier and remain stealthy. Of course, this does allow him to quietly set up a good sniper shot with his graser rifle, and then hit his jets to leave, I will grant that.

If the stealthy bit is causing a problem, I can remove that as well, though I did want him to have scouting capabilities in both forms.

Err... You do realize that aircraft stealth technology has very little to do with acoustics, right?

Third, Starscream tries to kill Megatron on a near religious basis. Why would he bother to allow you live at all? It seems far more reasonable, given Starscream's personality, that he'd just kill you.

I reasoned that because as Shadowflight he was under Starscream's command, but was very nearly his rival in flying and firepower. As I conceived of it, Starscream was simply going to dissect him later to figure out Soundwave's fire control systems that were added, so that he could have it as well. The Autobots attacked before he could do so.

Wow, that was amusing. ...Oh, you're serious. His rival in flying and firepower... yeah...

[General Havoc]

So um... who does Hornet get to be rivals with?

[Cynical Cat]

I know the mass driver is history, but since I bothered to crunch numbers on it:

assuming a 10kg shell at .25C it roughly has 2x10 to 16th J KE.

total conversion of 1kg of matter to energy is 9x10 to the 16th J.

And 7.5x10 to 8th kg*m per second in momentum. And recoil.

Ouch.

(Just so General Havoc doesn't think I only pick on his weapons )

[Charon]

So um... who does Hornet get to be rivals with?

Skorpinok.

[Dark Silver]

right now...


rheonix, to be honest..your charecter in just about every version has made me want to drop Unicron on it.

I don't mean as a NPC, I literally mean Unicron, right on it.

I'll talk with you tomorrow on what to work on with it...

[rhoenix]

right now...


rheonix, to be honest..your charecter in just about every version has made me want to drop Unicron on it.

I don't mean as a NPC, I literally mean Unicron, right on it.

I'll talk with you tomorrow on what to work on with it...

Alright. For the moment, consider the character retracted. I'll think up another one, and discuss it with you tomorrow.

[Charon]

Holy overkill Batman. I mean, I know he's gonna survive this, being "Mother fucking" Shockwave. But collateral damage hurts...

[rhoenix]

(After working with Dark Silver with this, he and I hashed together this character. I'm very pleased with it - and surprise, it's not a jet.)
(Revision 1: fixed fluff with Shockwave & continuity)
(Revision 2: Added blurb about Metallikato, courtesy of Dark Silver)

Name: Blindside
Allegiance: Autobots
Function: Scout / Close Quarters Combat

Profile/history: Blindside was a nearly typical Autobot on Cybertron shortly after his activation, though he had a penchant for racing. Being born into the already-raging war between the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron, even though he was in danger half the time, he loved exploring and racing both, without thinking enough of the consequences. In his mind, Decepticons just attacked you in a straightforward fashion, being not yet used to Decepticon trickery.

This got him into trouble when Shockwave decided he wanted a test subject. After racing out too far away from his compatriots, he was forcibly captured, and taken to Shockwave's lab for his next round of experiments with triple changers. To his unwillingly-silent and unconsenting horror, he was forcibly experimented upon by the cold and heartless Shockwave while aware and unable to move, eventually culminating many cycles later with an unwanted third form - that of a Transmetal Dire Wolf, a nearly nightmarish form inspired from the nightmares of some unfortunate Transformer.

Shockwave was just explaining to him that his experiments were complete, and that he had now outlived his usefulness when a daring Autobot raid assaulted Shockwave's lab, allowing Blindside to escape. Mistaking him for a Decepticon, he was nearly killed in the fight by his fellow Autobots. However, he managed to escape the burning ruins, get on a small interstellar transport ship, and hit the drive. As he was falling unconscious, he didn't care where he went - anywhere was better than Cybertron at that moment.

He semi-awoke when the ship crashed into an unknown planet. Crawling from the wreckage, he lost consciousness again, thinking himself dead. When he awoke, he found that his wounds were treated, and he was now in good repair, though lying in a cave of natural rock, near a small fire without memory of when or how he got there. It was then that he met his future teacher, the enigmatic Thundershot.

Thundershot had evidently lived on this small planet alone, seeking enlightenment and peace for many millenia. As they began to know one another, Thundershot agreed to take Blindside on as his student, teaching him to quiet and still his mind, and focus his body.

Blindside threw himself into this training once he got over his initial mistrust, and spent a few millenia with his teacher, learning how to be at peace with all parts of himself through the lost art of Metallikato, and later, how to use that same art for combat.

Now, his teacher has given Blindside his black belt, his sign that he has completed his basic training - but must learn the higher reaches of his art through living, exploration, and experience. Once he had learned enough, Blindside was to return to speak with his teacher again, on this desolate, forgotten planet.

He now, after learning what had transpired in the Cybertronian Wars in his absence, now leaves for Earth to rejoin the Autobots once more. He has nearly arrived...

Weaknesses: Though a very powerful and versatile close-range fighter, Blindside is single-minded when it comes to enemies, preferring to fight them one at a time; he has difficulty dealing with multiple attackers at once. He isn't prone to laughing, joking, and revelry with other Autobots, and unconsciously alienates himself from his allies by keeping to himself, and preferring to meditate than fraternize with others. Others would describe him as being a bit aloof, and monk-ish as a result.

Weapons: He has no built-in weaponry, apart from his studies of Metallikato. He typically will avoid the use of long-range weaponry unless he absolutely must. In contrast, he physically is uncannily agile and strong, as well as shockingly resilient. As a result, he is sometimes able to dodge attacks he was not aware of.

Metallikato: Metallikato is perhaps the most arcane and rare of the Cybertronian combat arts. It incorporates elements of the mental conditioning of Circuit-Su, along with the hand-to-hand combat of Crystalocution, it also mixes in a strong element of spirituality,, encouraging practitioners to attune themselves with powers higher than themselves to attain their goals. Metallikato has a strict code of ethics that its students are required to follow in order to achieve true mastery. The combat attacks range between standard hand to hand to edged and blunt weapon attacks, providing practitioners with a versatility in battle that is difficult to match. Although it emphasizes variety as a means to superiority, mastery of edged-weapon combat is a primary hallmark of those who study Metallikato.

Alt Forms: Being forcibly made a triple-changer, Blindside has three forms: dire wolf, his new Lamborghini Reventon car form, and his robot form.

Dire Wolf: Standing four meters tall at the shoulder, he appears as a huge, black, golden-eyed wolf with silver highlights. In this form, he is nearly undetectable, unless he wishes to be noticed. His weapons in this form are his powerful jaws, and monomolecular claws on all four limbs. Despite his wolfish nature, he moves and acts very cat-like, able to sneak about undetected, until he's ready to begin an overwhelming close-range attack. He is capable of running nearly 80 mph in this form however, though must obviously abandon being stealthy to do so. His senses are also greatly enhanced in this form.

Lamborghini Reventon: Appearing as silver with black highlights, he is capable of a maximum speed of a little over 300 mph over flat and level terrain - due to the design of the car however, he only uses this form on flat, even surfaces.

Full Robot: Standing a little over 9 meters tall, he is capable of switching forms nearly instantly into his wolf form; changing into his car form takes a second longer. Blindside in coloring appears to be an even mix of silver and black in this form, the savage claws of his wolf form appearing on his feet and fists.

[Cynical Cat]

No ranged weaponry whatsoever is going to it difficult to combat flying Decepticons. You might want to go for at least a pistol, even if you rarely use it.

[rhoenix]

No ranged weaponry whatsoever is going to it difficult to combat flying Decepticons. You might want to go for at least a pistol, even if you rarely use it.

The way it was discussed was that he can grab a rifle or pistol from the Autobot armory if he truly has no other choice, based on mission parameters - otherwise, he'll avoid their use.

[Cynical Cat]

No ranged weaponry whatsoever is going to it difficult to combat flying Decepticons. You might want to go for at least a pistol, even if you rarely use it.

The way it was discussed was that he can grab a rifle or pistol from the Autobot armory if he truly has no other choice, based on mission parameters - otherwise, he'll avoid their use.

Sounds reasonable. I'm sure Chimera looks forward to dropping cluster bombs on you.

[rhoenix]

Sounds reasonable. I'm sure Chimera looks forward to trying to drop cluster bombs on you, before he unwittingly gets too close.

Fixed. ;)

[Cynical Cat]

Sounds reasonable. I'm sure Chimera looks forward to trying to drop cluster bombs on you, before he unwittingly gets too close.

Fixed. ;)

The dude is a hand to hand monster who beat a bad ass triple changer like a red haired step child after sucking down missile and laser hits. If you melee with him, make sure he's distracted by something else. Like say tearing the spark out of Deathstrike.

[rhoenix]

The dude is a hand to hand monster who beat a bad ass triple changer like a red haired step child after sucking down missile and laser hits. If you melee with him, make sure he's distracted by something else. Like say tearing the spark out of Deathstrike.

Here's hoping it won't come to that. Blindside may not have a hope of beating Chimera one on one, but he can certainly hold his own against most others in melee, which is just fine by me.

[SirNitram]

Overload has no 'integrated' ranged weapons of consequence, but much like Dinobot from Beast Wars, he can load up.

That, and sooner or later, he'll get his rifle back.

[LadyTevar]

Overload has no 'integrated' ranged weapons of consequence, but much like Dinobot from Beast Wars, he can load up.

That, and sooner or later, he'll get his rifle back.

Once he takes it from the cold, sparkless corpse of Astrotrain.

[rhoenix]

As a last-minute change, after reviewing the concept again, I've decided to go with Metallikato, rather than Circuit-Su. Metallikato suits this character's personality, capabilities and backstory much better.

If everyone is agreeable to this character concept, I'm anxious to write out his backstory, and get started in the game when I can.

[LadyTevar]

I never knew Transformers had Martial Arts....

[rhoenix]

I never knew Transformers had Martial Arts....

Quite honestly, neither did I until Dark Silver pointed them out. This character grew quickly out of that discussion.

For trivia's sake, here are the ones he was kind enough to point out to me (and as he stated, these are the only ones he's aware of)

(as copied from our discussion via AIM)

Diffusion: No longer a strictly defined discipline, Diffusion is now the catch-all term for a series of non-lethal movements traditionally favored by the Autobots. These defensive maneuvers are primarily designed to serve the goal of self-defense, dissipating an enemy's aggressive energies. As the war has developed, some Autobots have also effectively adapted the technique to redirect an opponents hostile overtures into a powerful retaliatory attack. In it's purest form, a true master of Diffusion can repel all physical attacks without putting himself in danger of permanently damaging his attackers.

Crystalocution: Perhaps the most physical of the cybertronian martial arts, Crystalocution is primarily concerned with dominance in basic hand-to-hand combat. it's practitioners eschew the spiritual conditioning of other martial arts in favour of physically conditioning themselves to perfection. Crystalocution attacks focus on a series of movements to determine and target an opponents weak points, such assaults trigger pressure points in the crystalline structure of a structure/opponent, shattering them.

Circuit-Su: Circuit-Su focuses on the training of the mind as much, if not more than the physical body. A highly mental art, it's student sbelieve that by harnessing their personal energy, they can bend others to their will. Practitioners are charecterized by their solitary and laconic natures, and the Circuit-Su combat techniques focuses on turning an aggressor's attack against them. it is rumored that advanced practitioners can actually call up their spark energy to act as physical bolts of energy when attacking foes.

Metallikato: Metallikato is perhaps the most arcane and rare of the Cybertronian combat arts. It incoporates elements of the mental conditioning of Circuit-Su, along with the hand-to-hand combat of Crytalocution, it also mixes in a strong element of spirituality,, encouraging practitioners to attune themselves with powers higher than themselves to attain their goals. Metallikato has a strict code of ethics that its students are required to follow in order to acheive true mastery. The combat attacks range between standard hand to hand to edged and blunt weapon attacks, providing practitioners with a versatility in battle that is difficult to match. Although it emphasizes variety as a means to superiority, mastery of edged-weapon combat is a primary hallmark of those who study Metallikato.

Pit Fighting: One of the most brutal and barbaric attack forms on Cybertron, used by the more powerful gladiators to dominate their does in battle. The technique is largely improvisational, but it hinges on a series of ruthless maneuvers that maximizes the attacker's willingness to employ lethal finishing moves to win a battle. Megatron and Grimlock are two of the most skilled masters of this attack method.

[Charon]

Shellshock's rival of choice, Bludgeon, is a master of metallikato IIRC.

Shellshock himself probably uses some very basic Pitfighting.

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike uses a combination of Crystalocution and Pit Fighting. No one would call him a master of either, but he's big, strong, and capable and that usually gets the job done.

[rhoenix]

For that matter, Blindside isn't a master of Metallikado. However, he has reached "black belt" after a few millenia, and is now an "official student of the art."

[LadyTevar]

.....
Does this mean Crimson's got levels of GunKata?

[SirNitram]

Can't really see Overload wielding any of those, even though he's been a brawler since the day he was manufactured. If he had one, it'd be a blade-based variant of Diffusion or Crystalocation.

[rhoenix]

Just so I'm not stepping on any toes, does anyone have any suggestions or problems with my character Blindside as he stands right now?

Dark Silver pointed out that if accepted, I'd be joining in shortly after this battle scene plays out, and after reading the entire (61 page) thread, I'm anxious to begin playing.