Point.
"For now."
Link? And how creepy was it?
Ah, QQ. Never change.
Doubt it. He said Price is going to be exclusive street level. Now how that works with a Victoria expy in play is beyond me - I honestly can't figure out how you can make her budget-PtV combat thinker power street level, but Tinkers have such wonky effects on tech progress that they inherently have global effects, especially with no endbringers or other strategic threats in play. I suppose we could see something the anti-reverse-engineering shenanigans of Worm, especially given how whatever is granting powers seems to be actively sadistic.
Well, yeah, although they're a harder powerset to pin down than they are in Worm. Less Clarktech, and more Doctor Doom//Reed Richards style technomagic. Reverse engineering is impossible, because the devices tend to have parts that cannot be reproduced. Or parts that simply cannot behave the way they do. In fact, the really impressive ones tend to have parts that you can't even prove actually exist.
Still working on the opening. Once I get some inertia going it should be easier, but damn if getting those first few chapters started aren't driving me insane.
Because you're greatly overestimating Vicky's powers. She is strictly inferior, on every possible level, to Spider Man. Except the biodiagnostic power and the low end shapeshifting, but as far as powers go that one's not particularly exciting. What made her legitimately effective was her battle armor.
How effective/common are "magic" weapons? Do they get weaker/stronger with age?
Depends on a lot of factors. The best of ancient magic weapons compare favorably to modern special forces military equipment. As long as we're not counting vehicles. Swords that cleave a horse and rider in half. A hammer that start small earthquakes. Bows that summon down lightning. Sure, they can do damage... but compared to an assault rifle or LAW... well, really depends on the kind of fight you're going into, but the (really powerful) magic weapons usually win.
Very, very rare. There are never very many Imbued running around to begin with, less than .005% of the population. In the modern world, that means Chicago can expect around 130 Imbued in it. Most of whom don't have particularly earth shaking powers... the ability to change your hair style and color at will, or know how many people are looking at you at any given moment or perfect immunity to all forms of disease and poison. Most people get stuff like that.
Depends on the device... but most are designed with the expectation of eventual failure. Power sources run down. Blades dull. Metal rusts. The specific kingly bloodline that can tap into the item's power gets diluted with each new generation. Only the most powerful Imbued can make an item that doesn't succumb to entropy in a century or so... and even they are limited to doing that only once or twice and have to put strict limits on its use, usually in the realm of "(whatever nation/religion/family/etc)'s Darkest Hour". There are maybe a thousand confirmed ancient Artifacts on the planet, and the last time more than five or six of those were active at the same time was during World War Two.
Ooh. What other classifications have you thought up? Talk world building to me.
Usually, they're attached. But, to be fair, I suppose there's no guarantee with Elder Gods.
Wouldn't infiltrator, breaker or other non-physical dangers still be a threat to him justifying escalating force?
Does that that mean that Price has nothing equivalent to a kill order then?
Depends on the country. In the USA? No. Not for civilians, including vigilantes and nonmilitary law enforcement. Their legal system isn't much different than our own. Some states have some pretty generous "Stand Your Ground" laws that'll allow someone a lot of leeway in what constitutes a deadly weapon and/or defense of self or others where Imbued are concerned. And some states do not. Either way, there are exactly zero protocols for giving legal sanction to civilians, powered or otherwise, to hunt down and murder anyone.
Well, the National Youth Administration was a real thing. Maybe some variant of that, or a subsidiary organization?
Clearly, they need to establish a school as a cover. Perhaps a school for Gifted Youngsters?
I might steal this as a derogatory name for said organization.
Sounds exactly as wannabe-inspiring as all twelve dozen organizations and programs named SOAR. 'Good' 'job'. I'd keep this.
