Post by Angelika Kiselowa on Aug 7, 2010 13:22:15 GMT -6
How does an inception work?
For the purpose of the RP, an inception or extraction work the same way as in the movie, so let us explains the steps and the parties involved in the process. First we’ll explain all of the players of an inception or extraction and then we’ll explain how one usually plays out.
People involved in an inception:
The Extractor: This guy is very important in every extraction or inception for he is the one that has to trick the target into revealing their secrets or into accepting an idea about to be implanted. There are many tricks an extractor can employ, like the Mr. Charles trick. He should be skilled in acting and deceiving.
The Point Man: The point man has a very important job, he is the one supposed to check every piece of information about the target. From every event of their lives to whether or not the target has any experience in dream sharing and protecting their subconscious since this information is invaluable during a mission. They are also very important in case of trying to recreate a memory of the target since they need to make sure every detail is there for the dreamer to recreate. They usually go together with the extractor in the missions as their right hand, especially in dreams that consist of more than one level. He should be very good at researching a target.
The Forger: Not every extraction needs a forger, simple jobs can do with just an extractor and a point man, however if you have a forger with you, the operation becomes much easier. The forger can change his appearance during a dream by using a mirror. This is really useful when trying to gain the trust of a target. A forger usually takes the appearance of someone else by concentrating and focusing hard in front of a mirror. A forger should be good at imitating people’s mannerisms and ways of speaking.
The Architect: The architect doesn’t necessarily have to enter the dream of the target, however the architect designs the dream levels and creates mazes inside the dreams so that the projections of the subconscious have a harder time stopping the team. Though the Architect in theory doesn’t have to be an actual architect, it would be best if he was. The Architect designs blue prints and scale models of the dream places so who ever dreams them knows what to do. It doesn’t have to be an architect, someone with designing skills like a civil engineer, a graphic designer or an artist could also create the level concepts. The architect doesn’t have to enter the dream however it’s of assistance if he does as he is the creator of the level.
The Chemist: Not every extraction needs a chemist, since usually sedatives would work just fine, however, when you are planning an inception or an extraction where you need more time, a Chemist will be able to provide strong sedatives that give you more time to plan a job. It’s not necessary for Chemists to enter a dream though it’s a good addition when you got a multi-level dream where you need team members to stay behind and do kicks.
The Tourist: This is a team member that comes along in a mission though has no role, it’s usually recommended to not bring tourists, although when an operation is highly secured and has many layers a Tourist could provide support in stopping the subconscious, if you must bring a tourist along, make sure it’s a highly skilled one able to fight militarized defenses.
The Mark: This is the target, some targets are more difficult than others, some may be lucid dreamers and be aware they are dreaming, which would increase the difficulty of the operation, others have been trained to defend themselves and have highly dangerous subconscious. The mark should be highly studied to ensure the success of an operation.
These are all the parties involved in an operation, however there are some terms that anyone RPGing in Somnium should be aware of because you will eventually come into contact with them and you will need to know what they are, or maybe you just forgot about them:
Projections: A projection is what the subconscious of the target does in a shared dream. The dreamer projects the level and the Mark provides the people living in the level. They are usually like extras in a movie, but they become more violent as they feel there’s something wrong going on.
Shade: A shade is a piece of subconscious that a team member may carry over during dreams, it’s uncommon however it may happen, a shade is a manifestation of that person’s fears and worries. It’s a problem if a team member carries a shade along with him or her, since it could screw up the whole operation. It’s often very violent towards other people.
A kick: When you are in a dream and you can’t get out, a team member in upper levels must realize a kick. This kick is the sensation of falling and then you wake up just before you stop falling. This sensation is usually enough to wake up someone, a kick should be planned carefully in every operation.
Countdown: In dreams with many layers, when a kick is about to begin, a team member puts music in the sleeping partners to let them know how much time is left before the kick takes place. This is known as a countdown and usually each dreamer has a different tune.
A dreamer: The dreamer is the team member that is currently creating the level, an extractor is usually never the dreamer since he is the one supposed to go further, so it’s usually the point man or other team members. The dreamer of each level should be the one that stays behind when trying to go deeper. The dreamer must learn the level that an architect designed so he can recreate it properly. The number of dreamers depends on the operation, when there’s a three level dream, there should be a dreamer for each of the levels, meaning three dreamers.
A totem: A totem is an inanimate object that a dreamer may use as a reality check, each dreamer must make its own totem to be the only one that knows the exact weight and properties of it. In a dream, the totems are different from reality which allows the dreamer to know when they are still dreaming or if they are awake.
Limbo: A place deep within the subconscious in which some minutes can be decades, this is where a person lands up if they die in an operation in which they are too heavily sedated. Limbo should be avoided since a lot of people that end up there wind up with their brains all scrambled like eggs.
Now we’ll talk about the different missions which can be an extraction or an inception. They can vary in difficulty and in the team members necessary.
One level extraction: An extraction operation with only one dream, it’s the most basic form of extraction and the one most widely used, in theory this extraction could be performed by just one person, the extractor being the dreamer and retrieving the information on his own. An easy way to get out of a dream like this is by death in case of a complication or with a kick, it usually requires normal sedation.
Two level extraction or inception: This is a dream within a dream, it requires at least two dreamers, for each of the levels. This is usually more successful than a one level extraction since it provides more time to finish a job and it also offers a new whole level, for the team to perform the job more easily. To exit this operation, death or a kick are required and regular sedation would suffice.
Three level extraction or inception: For an operation requiring more than two levels, a larger team of people is required as well as a better sedative. However with a better sedative death doesn’t provide an exit from the dream but it takes the person into limbo. In Limbo time passes extremely slowly and since a person is usually alone in Limbo, they’ll have high chances of losing their mind. The deeper the operation, the higher the risks of getting into limbo, though it also increases the chances of implanting more complex ideas.
For the purpose of the RP, an inception or extraction work the same way as in the movie, so let us explains the steps and the parties involved in the process. First we’ll explain all of the players of an inception or extraction and then we’ll explain how one usually plays out.
People involved in an inception:
The Extractor: This guy is very important in every extraction or inception for he is the one that has to trick the target into revealing their secrets or into accepting an idea about to be implanted. There are many tricks an extractor can employ, like the Mr. Charles trick. He should be skilled in acting and deceiving.
The Point Man: The point man has a very important job, he is the one supposed to check every piece of information about the target. From every event of their lives to whether or not the target has any experience in dream sharing and protecting their subconscious since this information is invaluable during a mission. They are also very important in case of trying to recreate a memory of the target since they need to make sure every detail is there for the dreamer to recreate. They usually go together with the extractor in the missions as their right hand, especially in dreams that consist of more than one level. He should be very good at researching a target.
The Forger: Not every extraction needs a forger, simple jobs can do with just an extractor and a point man, however if you have a forger with you, the operation becomes much easier. The forger can change his appearance during a dream by using a mirror. This is really useful when trying to gain the trust of a target. A forger usually takes the appearance of someone else by concentrating and focusing hard in front of a mirror. A forger should be good at imitating people’s mannerisms and ways of speaking.
The Architect: The architect doesn’t necessarily have to enter the dream of the target, however the architect designs the dream levels and creates mazes inside the dreams so that the projections of the subconscious have a harder time stopping the team. Though the Architect in theory doesn’t have to be an actual architect, it would be best if he was. The Architect designs blue prints and scale models of the dream places so who ever dreams them knows what to do. It doesn’t have to be an architect, someone with designing skills like a civil engineer, a graphic designer or an artist could also create the level concepts. The architect doesn’t have to enter the dream however it’s of assistance if he does as he is the creator of the level.
The Chemist: Not every extraction needs a chemist, since usually sedatives would work just fine, however, when you are planning an inception or an extraction where you need more time, a Chemist will be able to provide strong sedatives that give you more time to plan a job. It’s not necessary for Chemists to enter a dream though it’s a good addition when you got a multi-level dream where you need team members to stay behind and do kicks.
The Tourist: This is a team member that comes along in a mission though has no role, it’s usually recommended to not bring tourists, although when an operation is highly secured and has many layers a Tourist could provide support in stopping the subconscious, if you must bring a tourist along, make sure it’s a highly skilled one able to fight militarized defenses.
The Mark: This is the target, some targets are more difficult than others, some may be lucid dreamers and be aware they are dreaming, which would increase the difficulty of the operation, others have been trained to defend themselves and have highly dangerous subconscious. The mark should be highly studied to ensure the success of an operation.
These are all the parties involved in an operation, however there are some terms that anyone RPGing in Somnium should be aware of because you will eventually come into contact with them and you will need to know what they are, or maybe you just forgot about them:
Projections: A projection is what the subconscious of the target does in a shared dream. The dreamer projects the level and the Mark provides the people living in the level. They are usually like extras in a movie, but they become more violent as they feel there’s something wrong going on.
Shade: A shade is a piece of subconscious that a team member may carry over during dreams, it’s uncommon however it may happen, a shade is a manifestation of that person’s fears and worries. It’s a problem if a team member carries a shade along with him or her, since it could screw up the whole operation. It’s often very violent towards other people.
A kick: When you are in a dream and you can’t get out, a team member in upper levels must realize a kick. This kick is the sensation of falling and then you wake up just before you stop falling. This sensation is usually enough to wake up someone, a kick should be planned carefully in every operation.
Countdown: In dreams with many layers, when a kick is about to begin, a team member puts music in the sleeping partners to let them know how much time is left before the kick takes place. This is known as a countdown and usually each dreamer has a different tune.
A dreamer: The dreamer is the team member that is currently creating the level, an extractor is usually never the dreamer since he is the one supposed to go further, so it’s usually the point man or other team members. The dreamer of each level should be the one that stays behind when trying to go deeper. The dreamer must learn the level that an architect designed so he can recreate it properly. The number of dreamers depends on the operation, when there’s a three level dream, there should be a dreamer for each of the levels, meaning three dreamers.
A totem: A totem is an inanimate object that a dreamer may use as a reality check, each dreamer must make its own totem to be the only one that knows the exact weight and properties of it. In a dream, the totems are different from reality which allows the dreamer to know when they are still dreaming or if they are awake.
Limbo: A place deep within the subconscious in which some minutes can be decades, this is where a person lands up if they die in an operation in which they are too heavily sedated. Limbo should be avoided since a lot of people that end up there wind up with their brains all scrambled like eggs.
Now we’ll talk about the different missions which can be an extraction or an inception. They can vary in difficulty and in the team members necessary.
One level extraction: An extraction operation with only one dream, it’s the most basic form of extraction and the one most widely used, in theory this extraction could be performed by just one person, the extractor being the dreamer and retrieving the information on his own. An easy way to get out of a dream like this is by death in case of a complication or with a kick, it usually requires normal sedation.
Two level extraction or inception: This is a dream within a dream, it requires at least two dreamers, for each of the levels. This is usually more successful than a one level extraction since it provides more time to finish a job and it also offers a new whole level, for the team to perform the job more easily. To exit this operation, death or a kick are required and regular sedation would suffice.
Three level extraction or inception: For an operation requiring more than two levels, a larger team of people is required as well as a better sedative. However with a better sedative death doesn’t provide an exit from the dream but it takes the person into limbo. In Limbo time passes extremely slowly and since a person is usually alone in Limbo, they’ll have high chances of losing their mind. The deeper the operation, the higher the risks of getting into limbo, though it also increases the chances of implanting more complex ideas.
