Ascent Roleplay Guide

This page is a guide to roleplaying as a member of the Ascent.

General tips

 * You are a proud, dangerous carnivore from a high-tech society leagues ahead of most people you're going to encounter. Acting confident, even arrogant, is reasonable.
 * Life in the Ascent trains you to capitalize on any opportunity, and to expect the same of others. Don't use this as an excuse to escalate situations and ruin the potential for interesting conversations and scenes, but at the same time don't forget that you are a vicious killer by definition.
 * Artificial intelligences are equal to anyone else in the Ascent; don't treat drones like tools unless they are roleplaying being non-remote (see below).
 * In the Ascent, approaching close to others, spreading your arms or limbs, and making loud or repetitive noises are threat postures. Keeping your limbs close to your body, being quiet and avoiding physical contact are polite and friendly gestures. For this reason a lot of human behavior is easily interpreted as threatening.
 * The Skrell are more or less allies with the Ascent. You shouldn't feel obligated to bend over backwards for one, but you should accord them more respect and courtesy than any of the other organics you're likely to run into.

Tips for control minds and drones

 * You are not a tool or disposable. You are a citizen of the Ascent, along on this mission by choice or as a favour to someone. You aren't expected to throw your life away and you aren't required to obey every order - unless you are choosing to RP a non-remote drone, below.
 * Drones are subsentient when they aren't being directly piloted by a control mind. The distance restrictions on this, however, are purely lore-based, so if you are playing a drone you should feel free to decide if you're remoting in from your strata in the Ascent ship, or if you're just a digital attack dog with hoverjets.
 * Control minds are the least paranoid and threatening members of the Ascent. You can still be a jerk, and you can definitely still be murderous, but don't feel obligated to be as gung-ho about it as the organics.
 * Remote drones can speak with whatever fluency and turn of phrase the player desires. Non-remote drones should be as brief and mechanical as possible.

Tips for monarch serpentids

 * Review the GAS roleplaying guide for general tips.
 * As the queen, you aren't quite a peer to the gyne, but you're pretty close. Don't treat her like a commanding officer, but maybe help her out if she asks you.

Tips for gynes

 * Gynes keep the Monarch Serpentid Queens around for two reasons: they enjoy their company, and they are very useful for communicating. If you have a Queen handy, delegate the negotiation, discussion and contact with primitives to her, and try to keep her happy.
 * If you are required to speak to another gyne from a distance, make it as unpleasant as possible for her. She'll be doing the same to you.
 * If you are in the same room as another gyne, you are required to attempt to kill her. This is instinctive and impossible to resist; gynes will always murder each other.
 * Your alates are more or less disposable. Be nice to them, they're the product of your genetic lineage, but don't hesitate to spend their lives to protect yours.

Tips for alates

 * Your gyne is your reason for existing. Don't mess her around, don't disrespect her, and follow her orders immediately even if they're stupid ones, or ones that will get you killed.
 * Your brothers are part of your nest, and going out of your way to fuck them over is deplorable, but at the same time anyone who doesn't make it back from this mission is removed from the pool of competitors you have to deal with.
 * Other gynes may not be as important as yours, but they are still big, dangerous killers, potential vectors for reproduction, and the closest thing Ascent society has to religious figures. Be respectful.