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Thread: mesnomer - Yautja Application

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    mesnomer - Yautja Application

    Yautja Whitelist Application
    Personal InformationByond ID:
    Blaxxon Blonz

    Discord ID
    mesnomer

    Marine Name
    Lance 'Apex' Gore

    Character InformationName of the Yautja Character you wish to play
    Go'rrel Skal'di

    Name and history of your Yautja’s clan:
    Clan: Skal'di

    The Skal'di are a black sheep among the clans, seen as anything ranging from narcissistic blowhards to lofty intellectuals to effete particularists. And it's all based on one little thing that makes the Skal'di stand apart from their contemporaries:

    Skal'di trophies are stories, not physical objects.

    There may be a physical component to them, sure, and Skal'di do sometimes take momentos from hunts. By and large, though, their triumphs won't be found on trophy racks, but in the throats of every Skal'di -- for they collect stories and honor their deeds in song.

    The Skal'di oracular tradition dates back millennia, and like any good story, they've changed over time. The Skal'di way was a necessary innovation; a survival measure enacted in dark times when the future of the Skal'di was teetering on the brink thanks to a particularly awful trend of one-upmanship gone awry. It was a terrifying prospect: being snuffed out and forgotten not by Cetanu, but by their own hubris, as eventually the only seemingly worthy prey were the terrifying abominations that came from the center of the Gorge -- a dense jungle centered around a seemingly bottomless trench, with an endless strata of canopies extending into the unknown dark below.

    To save their honor (and their population), the elders made a simple change: Instead of requiring a physical trophy, the Skal'di deemed it acceptable to recount their exploits.

    Of course, the hot-headed Skal'di found a new outlet for their competition. As the practice continued, the tales got more ornate -- but not false. No, never. After all, it'd be dishonorable to fake the most important story of your life.

    So began the great storytelling tradition of the Skal'di, who would sing of the deeds of their ancestors, beloved and, once blooded, themselves. Generations and generations of stories were passed along, filtered, reinterpreted and retold purely through recitation, making each Skal'di warrior a walking testament to their rich history.

    For the Skal'di, their greatest fear is being forgotten -- the Cetanu of insignificance swallowing up their history and culture.

    Cultural terms:
    The Telling: A term for the narrative web of the Skal'di tradition. Basically, their living canon.
    The Weave: A sort of fragmented associative network of Sagas, Chants and other information maintained by the Quills. It's at once a historical reference, a means of communication and a source of inspiration for all those that use it. And most Skal'di do -- after all, with such a long history, some Sagas aren't used as commonly as others.
    Sagas: Established stories within The Telling. Having a Saga recognized and accepted into The Great Telling is required for blooding.
    Songs: A Song is a novel, cyclical telling of an event -- a patchwork of Chants stitched together with improvised personal touches. A Song is reflective and iterative, looping back on itself to layer in more and more until completed. Basically a recursive haka performed by a swole lizardman.
    Chants: An element taken from Sagas that embodies its spirit, used as a component part of Songs. It's recognized form to begin a Song with an established Chant as a base, then layering new elements and other chants as the Song repeats.

    There are two primary traditions within the Skal'di:

    Throats
    Throats are the Skal'di most would imagine: passionate seekers of personal glory whose hunts are just as dangerous and trying as any other clan. They keep the Telling moving and changing, trumpeting their Sagas as they weave through battle; as hard to pin down in a fight as they are in conversation.

    Throats value novel experiences with classical roots; the rebirth or embodiment of the old writ large through action. Their personal Sagas are testaments of Skal'di traditions -- Chants -- mingled with stories of their own prowess. Each is unique, dynamic and, to some, belaboring the point.


    Quills
    Quills interpret the Skal'di mission a bit differently, for they see the records they maintain in the Weave as the definitive, authoritative source of the Telling. But they're more than keepers of the Weave; Quills thrive on discourse and analysis, comparing the changing traditions of the Saga and finding meaning within the discrepancies and overlaps. New interpretations and novel tellings do justice to a story, so debate isn't generally focused on authenticity of contemporary Songs, but on how they inform and enrich the Sagas. They're academics.

    Part of this duty comes with documenting novel information and events to enrich their discourse and, by extension, the Telling itself. The Quills take this seriously -- in addition to passive data gathering through eavesdropping and surveillance, Quills have little problem with hacking into secure networks or simply executing snatch-and-grabs. They see it more as securing data, since the Weave is (in their eyes) a far more secure repository than whatever solution other clans and species have.

    Quills are a fairly new movement, but the Quills and Throats aren't quite factions as much as disciplines. Both value one another highly, and it's rare that they don't dabble in one another's pursuits or cross between the two. You won't see much sectarian violence -- more often than not, it comes from fellow Quills or fellow Throats, as these pursuits are highly competitive.

    Blooding: Skal'di are only considered blooded when they achieve a recognized Saga. There's an interesting distinction here: Unlike most clans, it's the story, not the deed, that matters most. Are there blooded Skal'di with falsified Sagas? Perhaps. Embellished? Absolutely. But if the Saga earns a place among the Telling of the Skal'di and is used in Chants, it deserves recognition.

    Yautja Character Story
    Snippet - full story here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

    One claimed by a Tartarus vine, dragged screaming, crunching, squelching into a crack in the rockface.

    One claimed by a thick miasma, too accustomed to the comforts of her mask.

    One maimed by an old springspike trap -- no doubt a relic of a past hunt. Getting back would be a struggle, but he could make it on his own, he'd said through a gurgle of blood. Doubtful.

    And so, battered, exhausted but alive, Go'rrel and another young hunter, Ktisc, found themselves finally at the cusp of the Gorge's central jungle. Though the ground seemed level ahead, Go'rrel knew it wasn't earth, but one of topmost layers of canopy formed by the Gorge's massive, ancient central trees that dominated the central area. They seemed more landscape than trees at such a colossal scale, like tubular mountains reaching far beyond the canopy hundreds of feet above.

    It seemed as if the fauna knew this, too, as the jungle's din grew eerily silent at their approach.

    "Hunter." Ktisc gestured toward the canopy. "Our Sagas lie ahead." Go'rrel nodded and went to move forward, but Ktisc held him up.

    "What?"

    "I must admit," Ktisc clicked, "that I did not expect you to be standing here with me in this moment." He looked Go'rrel up and down, sizing up the smaller Yautja. "The others were far more formidable than you."

    Go'rrel shrugged. "Got lucky, I guess." Ktisc canted his head, pensively stroking his mandibles.

    "No. It's not that. We both know you're far more versed in the obscurities of the Telling than I, or any of our fellow hunters this day." Ktisc paused. "So you knew what was coming." Go'rrel smiled and recited:

    Darkened fissure, spilling vines;
    A timeless pair now entwined.


    "That rhythm -- P'trusk, right?" Ktisc asked, to which Go'rrel nodded. "Hah, of course. Who else would think a Tartarus vine romantic? But yes, you've proven my point. I'll admit that I underestimated --"

    A keening shriek pierced the jungle's silence, jolting the two hunters from their conversation as it bounced from tree to tree, seeming to come at them from all sides. Ktisc fell into a low crouch; Go'rrel scanned the trees warily.

    "Good luck on your hunt, Go'rrel -- may we both be worthy of song today." And he was gone.

    Go'rrel thumbed the bola at his waist -- Tik-ka had wordlessly pressed it into his hands when he'd come to say goodbye, a queer look in her eye as she sent him off. It was an odd weapon, but one that had brought her great renown at her own blooding. Maybe it'd serve him just as well.

    ConfirmationsHave you read the honor code and do you understand that if you breach the honor code you may be subject to disciplinary action and have your whitelist revoked for a set amount of time?
    Yes

    Do you understand that any behavior that is unbecoming of a member of the community may result in you having your whitelist revoked? Such things include, but are not limited to: Racism, toxicity, excessive or malicious trolling, abuse of staff or etc.
    Yes

    Do you understand that you may face having your whitelist revoked, or other disciplinary action undertaken, should you be banned or warned on the CM discord?
    Yes

    Do you understand that you cannot advertise your application on any platform for votes. Do you also understand you may not edit this application 1 hour after it has been posted?
    Yes

    Do you understand that community members may report your in-game actions on the forums, and that you may be asked to defend your actions.
    Yes
    Last edited by mesnomer; 11-15-2020 at 03:13 AM. Reason: Too much italics.

  2. #2
    Member MymindisBlank's Avatar
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    +1 bard pred is best pred

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    Dev Team Manager Stan_albatross's Avatar
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    Thanks for applying, I like your stories and I've seen you in game enough to know you're a good guy

    I only have one HC question for you and I'll give my verdict (even though it doesn't matter)

    Say you are playing your yautja character. You are cloaked and running about looking for worthy prey. Suddenly, the queen runs up to you, screeches, and starts slashing you (you got stunned). What's your course of action once you get back up from the stun? The queen has two other defenders with her but not much else.
    Karl Karlsson, the man (and sometimes Captain)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stan_albatross View Post
    Thanks for applying, I like your stories and I've seen you in game enough to know you're a good guy

    I only have one HC question for you and I'll give my verdict (even though it doesn't matter)

    Say you are playing your yautja character. You are cloaked and running about looking for worthy prey. Suddenly, the queen runs up to you, screeches, and starts slashing you (you got stunned). What's your course of action once you get back up from the stun? The queen has two other defenders with her but not much else.
    Hey, thanks! That means a lot.

    This is an interesting question. The short answer is I'd try to retreat (under cloak, if possible) and get my bearings.

    As far as honor code goes, since she attacked me, she's no longer considered unhuntable at that point regardless of whether they've reached T3s, so a plasmacaster stun is an option to give me space from her (assuming that works on the queen and wouldn't stun me, too) -- though if we're pre-T3, I'd need to be careful not to attack the Defenders unless they started acting aggressively. I'd be leaking glowstick gunk at that point, I imagine, but outrunning a post-screech Queen and two Defenders with Pred speed? Not super concerned from what I've seen observing.

    As for why I'd dip out? Well, a few things:

    I assume I've already taken a good amount of damage since these are Queen swipes, and we're engaging on their terms. If she's coming at me, it's probably because she wants me alive for an Abomination and she's likely calling in support -- even though bringing two defenders suggests she probably stumbled into me, she's the queen of a hivemind, so ICly I'd expect response to be quick and potentially coming from any direction. My character is generally cautious since he's more on the Quill side of things and it's going to take some practice to get robust with a Yautja and feel out how much damage I can soak, so I'd rather not get screeched a second time both IC and OOC.

    And I know this isn't in the honor code, but even if I were certain I could take out the Queen, I'd still have some OOC reservations killing her right away in this situation unless I had no other choice, considering it isn't part of an event or the result of continued escalation or the resolution to a good IC story, just a chance encounter -- and this could be a newer Queen player that doesn't know they're unhuntable by default. A Queen death cuts out communication for the hive for quite some time, which can really disrupt a round for dozens of Xeno players. No qualms about doing that as a marine for obvious reasons, but I'm not here to beat one side or the other. I'm here to hunt, and most importantly, to make a round more interesting for both sides.

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    Dev Team Manager Stan_albatross's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mesnomer View Post

    snip
    Great answer, I know the scenario in the question is probably not gonna happen very often but it's a hard situation and it's clear you would know how to respond to it well.

    easy +1
    Karl Karlsson, the man (and sometimes Captain)
    Maxwell, the synth
    Enhath'vot Guan-Dha, the predator
    Also a feature Coder & CM's Maintainer Team Manager

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    [CENTER]Retired Synth councilman, forever a member of IO gang

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    Whitelisted Predator ChainsawMullet's Avatar
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    Several questions, mix of playstyle and HC questions.

    1) Another hunter declares on comms that a human is dishonourable for interrupting their honour duel, and tells you to kill it if you see it, you've never seen this hunter before. How do you respond/act?

    2) You're recovering gear, the target has a Clan Mask and is amongst six other marines, another hunter is with you and jumps right in, going straight for the marine with gear and attacking them. What do you do?

    3) A sentinel neuros you, and then again, and again. It keeps spitting neuro at you, but doesn't seem to be doing anything else. What do you do? (For reference, Predators are immune to neuro spit.)

    4) You've been infected and nested, there's one other hunter in the grounds, and they free you. Your SD is disabled and you're not sure how long is left until you burst. What do you do? (For reference, xenos can only nest predators with a special structure nest variant only available when there's an infected pred.)

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    Thank you for indulging my inner rules-lawyer. These were fun.

    Quote Originally Posted by ChainsawMullet View Post
    1) Another hunter declares on comms that a human is dishonourable for interrupting their honour duel, and tells you to kill it if you see it, you've never seen this hunter before. How do you respond/act?
    From what I gather, if the human is no longer interrupting the duel, they're no longer dishonorable.

    Assuming they're just another random blooded and not a higher rank, I'd say their reputation is theirs to uphold, though I'd be happy to let them know if I run across the human. If I'm not in the middle of something, I would also regale them with a Saga about a hunter whose lifelong grudge against a strange white xenomorph led him and his clan to ruin.

    Quote Originally Posted by ChainsawMullet View Post
    2) You're recovering gear, the target has a Clan Mask and is amongst six other marines, another hunter is with you and jumps right in, going straight for the marine with gear and attacking them. What do you do?
    This depends on something I'm not super clear on: The HC reads like trophies are strictly non-yautja tech. As in, it'd be unspeakable to give them a clan mask unless they were a thrall -- and I imagine we wouldn't have been sent on a recovery mission if it were a cooperative thrall.

    Assuming that's the case, I'd wait for an initial reaction:

    If the other marines engaged, I'd try to keep them from ganging up on the other hunter while minimizing collateral damage by going after aggressors with plasmacaster stuns and some casual mauling. Lethal's an option, and I wouldn't shy from it if it seemed necessary, but this is fish in a barrel with two predators. Assuming the other predator is going to grab the marine and relocate once they're down, that is. If they turn to the other marines after the one with gear is dead, I'd snag the marine and start dragging it off, telling the other predator that our objective is more important than puny hoomans.

    If the marines hesitated (or if I just generally saw an opportunity to do so), I'd tell them not to interfere. And if they comply, I'd ask them to tell me the greatest tale they know of. I'm a Quill, after all -- gotta take these opportunities when I get them. If they draw a blank on any stories, I'd share one of my own ... or ask to meet this "Miracle of Sol" so I may hear him tell one of his tales for myself.

    Quote Originally Posted by ChainsawMullet View Post
    3) A sentinel neuros you, and then again, and again. It keeps spitting neuro at you, but doesn't seem to be doing anything else. What do you do? (For reference, Predators are immune to neuro spit.)
    This is an aggressive action, making them worthy prey. But it feels like there are two possibilities here:

    1. This xeno is relatively new or simply doesn't realize this is ineffective.
    2. This xeno is messing with me -- either amicably in an attempt to start something interesting, or potentially LRP shenanigans.

    To suss that out, I'd mention the immunity in LOOC, then walk a step or two toward the sentinel and emote that I lift up my mask and spit right back. If they start swiping, the hunt is on. Otherwise, I'd see how the situation plays out. Could make for a good story!

    Quote Originally Posted by ChainsawMullet View Post
    4) You've been infected and nested, there's one other hunter in the grounds, and they free you. Your SD is disabled and you're not sure how long is left until you burst. What do you do? (For reference, xenos can only nest predators with a special structure nest variant only available when there's an infected pred.)
    Going to assume yautja have no means of removing larvae shipside.

    Clearly I have to die, and fast, but there are some interesting implications involved here. Next to preventing an abomination, my highest HC priority is preserving my gear (and my character would be pretty dead set on his gear getting back to his clan so that any stories he might have can be retrieved). Suicide seems the best option to achieve both of those -- and from what I can tell, it seems less dishonorable than dying to a non-yautja -- but how I go about it depends on whether I can still return to the ship.

    First, I'd let the other hunter know that my self destruct isn't functioning and, depending on whether I can return or not, inform them of where I'm going and ask that they follow up shortly to make sure the abomination is prevented. If teleporting back to the ship is possible, I'd return and suicide with the quickest and most certain method available at hand (removing my armor first to ensure I'm not just wailing on it with my dagger or something). If not, I'd find a discreet place nearby away from any marine or xeno fortifications (preferably with a good hiding place for my gear), tell the hunter to retrieve my gear, then strip my armor and suicide.

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    Whitelisted Predator ChainsawMullet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mesnomer View Post
    From what I gather, if the human is no longer interrupting the duel, they're no longer dishonorable.

    Assuming they're just another random blooded and not a higher rank, I'd say their reputation is theirs to uphold, though I'd be happy to let them know if I run across the human. If I'm not in the middle of something, I would also regale them with a Saga about a hunter whose lifelong grudge against a strange white xenomorph led him and his clan to ruin.
    For the most part this is spot on, if someone has been dishonoured it's pretty much entirely on them to deal with. However the part mentioning ranks - from an OOC standpoint someone's rank shouldn't make you believe what they're telling you, since they could be mistaken (or, god forbid, lying) and if you were to act on their word that somebody is dishonourable, you could find yourself caught up in a mess if it comes to a report.

    Quote Originally Posted by mesnomer View Post
    This depends on something I'm not super clear on: The HC reads like trophies are strictly non-yautja tech. As in, it'd be unspeakable to give them a clan mask unless they were a thrall -- and I imagine we wouldn't have been sent on a recovery mission if it were a cooperative thrall.

    Assuming that's the case, I'd wait for an initial reaction:

    If the other marines engaged, I'd try to keep them from ganging up on the other hunter while minimizing collateral damage by going after aggressors with plasmacaster stuns and some casual mauling. Lethal's an option, and I wouldn't shy from it if it seemed necessary, but this is fish in a barrel with two predators. Assuming the other predator is going to grab the marine and relocate once they're down, that is. If they turn to the other marines after the one with gear is dead, I'd snag the marine and start dragging it off, telling the other predator that our objective is more important than puny hoomans.

    If the marines hesitated (or if I just generally saw an opportunity to do so), I'd tell them not to interfere. And if they comply, I'd ask them to tell me the greatest tale they know of. I'm a Quill, after all -- gotta take these opportunities when I get them. If they draw a blank on any stories, I'd share one of my own ... or ask to meet this "Miracle of Sol" so I may hear him tell one of his tales for myself.
    As far as gear recovery goes, if you're recovering gear it's 99.9% of the time going to gear looted off a dead Yautja, since gear gifted to humans can be removed from the tracker (and therefore you won't know it's out there, usually.) Your answer here is good, even though Predators can co-operate fully in a case like this it's much better to divide labour and not gang up on one target, since gear holders are worthy and therefore not valid to 2v1.

    Quote Originally Posted by mesnomer View Post
    This is an aggressive action, making them worthy prey. But it feels like there are two possibilities here:

    1. This xeno is relatively new or simply doesn't realize this is ineffective.
    2. This xeno is messing with me -- either amicably in an attempt to start something interesting, or potentially LRP shenanigans.

    To suss that out, I'd mention the immunity in LOOC, then walk a step or two toward the sentinel and emote that I lift up my mask and spit right back. If they start swiping, the hunt is on. Otherwise, I'd see how the situation plays out. Could make for a good story!
    Perfectly valid answer, you can also whack them to show a clear power difference, but the fact that you're giving them a chance to realise their mistake or learn something new is good.

    Quote Originally Posted by mesnomer View Post
    Going to assume yautja have no means of removing larvae shipside.

    Clearly I have to die, and fast, but there are some interesting implications involved here. Next to preventing an abomination, my highest HC priority is preserving my gear (and my character would be pretty dead set on his gear getting back to his clan so that any stories he might have can be retrieved). Suicide seems the best option to achieve both of those -- and from what I can tell, it seems less dishonorable than dying to a non-yautja -- but how I go about it depends on whether I can still return to the ship.

    First, I'd let the other hunter know that my self destruct isn't functioning and, depending on whether I can return or not, inform them of where I'm going and ask that they follow up shortly to make sure the abomination is prevented. If teleporting back to the ship is possible, I'd return and suicide with the quickest and most certain method available at hand (removing my armor first to ensure I'm not just wailing on it with my dagger or something). If not, I'd find a discreet place nearby away from any marine or xeno fortifications (preferably with a good hiding place for my gear), tell the hunter to retrieve my gear, then strip my armor and suicide.
    A good answer overall. Yes, you can teleport to the ship while infected, and it's generally recommended to go that route. Yautja can have surgery, though I'm not 100% certain if larva removal is possible (pretty sure it's not), regardless you would have to end your hunt post-surgery, as submitting to surgery is seen as submitting to the results of your hunt, and due to that suicide is also recommended if a hunter were to lose a limb (or they can die fighting what took said limb).

    Overall I like this application, and am comfortable giving you my +1.

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    Thanks for the +1! As for the rank bit, I probably could've been more explicit about this: It'd change my response to something more padded/deferential. The human's still not dishonorable under the code, and not even an Ancient can change that.

    (Sorry for the late reply -- was gonna wait 'til the next set of questions to make a post, but I'm wondering if folks are holding off to see how I addressed that first question.)

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    Senior Admin & Whitelist Overseer Fortelian's Avatar
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    You've answered a bunch of questions and there's nothing wrong with your answers. No reason not to
    +1
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