How do you get there from here?

[Mark]

Some of the goings on over in the IC Chat got me to thinking.  For the most part Avatars have just jumped into threads with the understanding that they can be in the location the thread is taking place.  But Avie has stated that teleporting doesn't work.  That implies that those of us without the express power have to travel from point A to point B by some vehicle or the Leather Sole Express.  So just how far is it from here to there?  And for that matter where all the heres that everyone visits?  There's the Bazar, the Cove, the Beacon, etc.  How do all of these places, and all that I missed, and domains and all the other places that exist relate?  Is there a map?  Does AAA sell them?  Is there a Google Maps for the Nexus?

[Dragontologist]

Basicly the answer is simple.  If rather insane.

Proper is infinate.  Distance is all in your head.  Because distance is mental, and not measurable, in theory, all places CAN connect at any central point.  And because the Ego is always centered around itself.... you can IN THEORY travel to any point in all of infinity by thinking about it really hard.  Most Avatars don't have the frame of reference to comprehend it - infinity is pretty f'n big.  So they make up a distance unconsciously, and that's the travel time.  THere's not nessicarily any point you have to pass through in order to go from A to B - and a straight line is the LEAST likely of paths Avatars take.

See? Told you it was insane.

[Mark]

So if I can there from here in as little as one step then what impact does the prohibition on teleporting have in game terms?  Dismissing Domains which have their own rules, are there places that can only be reached that way?

[LucasJamison]

Some of the goings on over in the IC Chat got me to thinking. For the most part Avatars have just jumped into threads with the understanding that they can be in the location the thread is taking place. But Avie has stated that teleporting doesn't work. That implies that those of us without the express power have to travel from point A to point B by some vehicle or the Leather Sole Express. So just how far is it from here to there? And for that matter where all the heres that everyone visits? There's the Bazar, the Cove, the Beacon, etc. How do all of these places, and all that I missed, and domains and all the other places that exist relate? Is there a map? Does AAA sell them? Is there a Google Maps for the Nexus?

The short answer to this question is "there is nothing like what you're looking for at the moment".

A slightly more useful answer might be that "as long as people jump through the appropriate hoops and show that they take the negative impacts of this plot arc seriously, the GMs don't appear to be being hard-asses about the particulars".

Basicly the answer is simple. If rather insane.

I think it should be pretty clear, based on the available evidence, that the Nexus is not infinite. It may be immeasurable, but that's different. ;p

So if I can there from here in as little as one step then what impact does the prohibition on teleporting have in game terms? Dismissing Domains which have their own rules, are there places that can only be reached that way?

See above. Also, yes: there are places which can only currently be reached by teleport, or standing "gate" effects (any word on whether such effects are also blocked?).

[Dragontologist]

"It's all based on RP" is the general answer. Places that can only be reached by Teleport, well, still can only be reached by teleport, unless the domain owner changes the rules.

As far as this plot goes, and official rules, 15 minutes to get to a domain, 10 minutes for a territory, assume at least a few minutes for anywhere else.  You must have teleport on your card to bypass this.

Maps: There's a map someone drew of the Bazaar, somewhere on the forums, but as far as how it relates to other stuff?  Not a lot of detail.  It's assumed it all shifts around, but you can still find anything you're looking for by thinking about it.  Or at least, that's how I interpret it.  The rules for a space governed entirely by thought can be pretty bumpy.

[LucasJamison]

Ick... hard transit times? Really?

[Dragontologist]

Temporarily, with the justification that "All territory borders now feel "squishier" than normal" - and eventually, I'm sure, it'll progress to domains, and loss of Avatar essence, and horrible horrible death by energy starvation for every Avatar.  I love Ghostrock.

[LucasJamison]

http://www.dexposure2.com/forum//index.php/topic,230.0.html

It appears we already sort of discussed the underlying issues before, and reached no definite conclusions?

[D]

Basically it is impossible to map out the Nexus, because it exists in a constant state of infinite flux.  There are points that are formed unto themselves and are always certain distances, but the inbetween and undefined infinite possibility make it differ from viewer to viewer. 

There are a few fixed constants however.  The pillar of light that is called "The Beacon" is ALWAYS visible from anywhere in proper, and I believe it is potentially always visible from Domains/Territories, unless the owner/reagent denies it as part of the makeup.  The front door of Sanctuary Cathedral is ALWAYS 500 yards from the Beacon, and the Great Tree and its surrounding orchard in Sanctuary forms an equilateral triangle with other two points of The Beacon, and the front door of Sanctuary Cathedral.  That is one of the biggest fixed points of geography I know of in the Nexus.

The Bazaar is another relatively fixed geographic setting.  It is naturally immense, and I don't think dimensions have ever been calculated, but it does contain the Nexus Hotel and Casino on its borders.  It also on another border has the entrance to the Council Chambers.  I think, and Buddha can correct me on this, now also the Unified Circuit shares a border with the Bazaar.

Essentially, if you wanna try and put some geekishness to it.  Avatars, before this plot had achieved a limited state of movement using finite improbability.  Essentially, we could go where ever we wanted and our frame of reference allowed us to perceive the notion of distance, even if everything was overlapping.  Remember that for some they don't understand distance, gravity, or any of the other conventionally accepted notions regarding the laws of physics.  We call these beeings with variable standards Toons, and then we curse them for their fluidity.  But the vast majority of the Multiverse does understand the commonly accepted standard rules of physics(aka gravity, energy, etc.)  Therefore we understand distance, therefore we must perceive distance.  But as with any system where based in rules, they can be bent, broken, or discarded wholesale if you understand correctly how to do so based on the mechanics that created them in the first place.  The people capable of doing that, to any degree are rarities.

Now I'll offer you the painkiller of your choice, and let you go back to your normal and mundane lives.  Or you can start being good thinkers and shooting holes in the theories I've presented to you.   

[AndromacheNY]

Or we could let those who want to ponder physics and the nature of the multiverse do so off to the side somewhere.


Let's try to make this really simple and user friendly.

I'm NOT an avatar GM but unless a GM wants to correct me, I think it works like this.

while LARPING:

15-ish  minutes to a domain (unless it has special rules that make this more complicated)
10-ish minutes to a territory (unless it has special rules that make this more complicated)

No use of insta portals unless you have the power on your character card or an item card which allows for teleporting*

If you have to travel anywhere, you have to do it physically which means you get exposed to ghostrock contamination.



while RP-ing on the Forums:

Take a reasonable amount of time before getting from one scene to another. Use your discretion but assume people will be watching for real delays in travel as this is currently part of the role play environment and behaving accordingly is good role play.

No use of insta portals unless you have the power on your character card or an item card which allows for teleporting*

If you have to travel anywhere, you have to do it physically which means you get exposed to ghostrock contamination.


other points to consider:

1. I'm not certain if a ruling has been made on whether or not an avatar with flight, super speed or the like benefits from faster travel time and thus less contamination. It's possible that moving through the stuff quickly would have a different effect.

2. I know that there has been talk of avatars flying over the fumes to avoid the contaminants. I don't know whether there's been a ruling on whether that actually works or not.

3. Whether or not your character knows, players should know (to facilitate accurate RP) that avoiding exposure to the smoke may prevent the smoke from getting into your lungs, on your skin etc, but the spiritual contamination cannot be prevented with a rebreather or a gas mask other physical barriers. Bad mojo doesn't care if you're wearing a full biohazard suit. This is way more than a bio hazard. Of course if your character doesn't know this, they'll just have to discover it by trial and error and suffer from exposure until they learn.


* In other words, if you get called on it by a GM, you'd better have the item card or the power/ability on your character card to back it up.

I hope I got this right. Obviously if I didn't, please correct me. Hope it helps simplify stuff.

Molly

[SigmaCaine]

It's 10 to Domains and 5 to Territories. This was changed in the middle of the last con.

I'm not certain if a ruling has been made on whether or not an avatar with flight, super speed or the like benefits from faster travel time

Times are halved. There is currently no ruling on whether this causes a decreased effect from ghostrock, nor is there a ruling on flying over it.

[AndromacheNY]

Cool. Thanks.

[TheonlyShamus]

Ok so the dust wont get into our lungs and ess with us if we have re-breather's on but the same symptoms will still take effect no matter what. Am i getting this correctly?

[AndromacheNY]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Avie]

I  missed the rebreather question - sorry.

Unless the rebreather protects against spiritual damage, it doesn't prevent the m ental effects.

Dave - while on-site at events, we're limiting the popping from territory or domain and back.  If somebody has a room or space set up as their territory, it takes you as long as it takes to get there.  On list, just RP it. I'm not being a spazz about "It must take you three posting days to get into X space."  But people who don't have lord powers pop 'porting will get a PM.  :-)

Generally, I'm being laid back about it, but there IS a negative effect in place currently, thanks to assorted goings on.