What about other, more powerful/efficient weapons?
For the most part, what's on the page is what goes. Specifically in terms of dice-rolling, just stick with the lists available. More equipment may become available over time, but the equipment available is fairly mediocre for a reason. This room isn't about blowing things up, that's just something that can happen now and then. And the more it happens, the more the authorities will crack down: the world here isn't post-apocalyptic, and lawless, like many other RPGs.
Why is there a power station in the Traves City tourist market?
Most towns actually can't afford to have more than one power station, but as a diplomatic and transporation capital, Traves City can. The reason this secondary power station is located in the tourist district, is because the district tends to eat up a lot of power. The way power is deliniated from the station, the closest outlets generally get highest priority. So in the case of the primary station in the utilities district, the municipality takes higher priority for power deliniation than other districts.
Is there an age minimum to become a bounty hunter?
A bounty hunter would have to be a legal adult, and licensed to Jump. Acquiring a license usually takes a lot of time and effort, as authorities are very leary on actually allowing someone to jump through time. They only do it because resources can be stretched pretty thin, and they want all the help they can get in apprehending unlawful Jumpers. We'll work on providing more details about obtaining a Jump license eventually.
So all official positions are legal adults then? 18 or 21?
Legal adulthood would vary from nation to nation, but typically be around the age of 18 or so. Your typical legal Jumper would probably be in their twenties, though. Or higher, in some cases. And as things are in our own world, many things do require becoming a legal adult before you can do them. Obtaining a Jump license is definitely one of those things, since people don't like the idea of others Jumping through time. Depending on where you live, piloting licenses probably require being a legal adult, although ground-travel licenses can probably be obtained earlier.
Are the patterngard soldier ranks the same as U.S. military?
Not exactly.. since technically they are an international policing agency, not actually a military group. (Although the line is somewhat blurred, here.) Because of the scope of the organization, it bears similarity to a military group, in that they distinguish between soldiers and officers. But officially, they are a form of police, and the typical pGuard is going to be a basic soldier or detective. The entire hierarchy isn't hashed out yet, this is something we will be working on over time.
Until we do hash out a more complete, and original hierarchy for the Patterngard, things will be working like this: Each Patterngard character will be one of four basic types. Soldier, detective, officer, or special-forces officer. If a character falls into one of the 'officer' categories, they may be considered to be one of the following ranks, which are based on U.S. military ranks:
Enlisted
E-1 Private
E-2 Private First Class
E-3 Corporal
E-4 Sergeant
E-5 Master Sergeant
E-6 Command Sergeant Major
E-7 Sergeant Major of the Patterngard
Commissioned
O-1 First Lieutenant
O-2 Captain
O-3 Major
O-4 Lieutenant Colonel
O-5 Colonel
O-6 Major General
O-7 General
Can a character keep a journal to keep track of paradigm shifts?
Any character can keep a journal. However, if the character is not a time traveler of some kind, the journal will not remain the same with each paradigm shift. Every time the past is changed, whatever had happened before, didn't actually happen at all. So the entries in the journal would change based on the new history. If the character is a Jumper, and keeps the journal on their person, then the journal can keep track of changes, because Jumpers are considered separate from the global paradigm. Only time traveling characters can remember what happened before a p-shift.
Can a major shift happen at any time?
Major shifts will only happen once every few months, and will be announced about a week ahead of time. This is so that people can have time to prepare, and figure out how the shift will effect their characters. Players with non-Jumper characters will have to figure out how their characters' lives are different (we'll give some info in the announcement for the changes in the new shift). Players with Jumper characters will simply have to figure out how their characters will react to the new changes. Major p-shifts will actually based on the actions of characters in the room, so remember to turn in your logs to give us ideas on what changes will take place!
Looking for a little fantasy with your sci-fi? Try Utopia Orbiting!
Though possibly relocated, revamped, or edited in a number of ways over time, the materials provided in these pages is intended for public, noncommercial use, and therefor their free use does not in any way infringe upon intellectual copyright by way of aesthetic design or original concepts. Access or use of these materials should not be restricted in any way, by any persons, with the exception of technical issues (such as issues regarding web hosting, or simple loss of data), and the exception of any persons attempting to use these materials for commercial gain.
Though possibly relocated, revamped, or edited in a number of ways over time, the materials provided in these pages is intended for public, noncommercial use, and therefor their free use does not in any way infringe upon intellectual copyright by way of aesthetic design or original concepts. Access or use of these materials should not be restricted in any way, by any persons, with the exception of technical issues (such as issues regarding web hosting, or simple loss of data), and the exception of any persons attempting to use these materials for commercial gain.