The Arcadia Signal

[robotkarateman]

Just got finished listening to Arcadia signal - good job, fun, etc.

But, I have to say, Ross' mention of the signal being "omniscient" and Cody repeatedly calling it "The Winslow" made me wonder if it had ever blighted the crops, or vanquished evil, or answered the phone before it rang.

[Tadanori Oyama]

I liked Cody's worry about the dude knowing they where coming since he had something that was apparently able to answer any question about the future perfectly. "Hey signal, anybody gonna come spy on me tonight?" "Yeah, about 5:30." "Okay, thanks."

[clockworkjoe]

as I am not the Arcadia Signal, I am not omniscient and I do not get this Winslow reference.

[Tadanori Oyama]

as I am not the Arcadia Signal, I am not omniscient and I do not get this Winslow reference.

I looked it up. I had no idea what it was either. A very Cody like reference, seeing as it relates to comics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winslow

[robotkarateman]

as I am not the Arcadia Signal, I am not omniscient and I do not get this Winslow reference.

The Winslow is a recurring character in Phil Foglio's comics. He's the only being in existence to meet all of the qualifications of being a deity. Unfortunately, he's also a giant, fuzzy, space-faring alligator with no concern at all for the existence of life in the universe.

Phil used to have a page on his StudioFoglio.com site about the origins of the Winslow, but I can't find it at the moment.

[clockworkjoe]

huh. I've never been a big fan of Foglio - all the faces of his characters look the same. He's almost bad as Steve "Horse Face" Dillon (Preacher and Punisher artist)

[robotkarateman]

I won't defend his art style, but the Phil & Dixie comic strips in the early issues of Dragon definitely shaped my perceptions of what role-playing should be.

Can't really get into Girl Genius tho'.

[Tadanori Oyama]

I love Girl Genius now that it's colored. I have no taste so don't go by me.

Back on topic: how did you plan to deal with any strange questions that Jason or Cody might ask the Signal? Where you going to actually answer them or have the Signal press forward with the plot?

[clockworkjoe]

Depends on the question - the Signal is an alien intelligence focused on escaping. It sees humans as such lesser beings that it wouldn't even think to lie to them unless it was glaringly obvious.

If you gave me specific questions, I could tell you how I would answer them

[Tadanori Oyama]

Ah. My first thought as a player would probably be to ask it how I (I being the character) was going to die, so that whatever strangeness began happening would be able to go right to my character's head (either he'd be convinced he couldn't die or he'd think he was absolutely going to).

[clockworkjoe]

the signal would say that information doesn't exist yet because of the complexity of the character in question - his choices make him too unpredictable.

He would then list the most likely causes of death - if you do not die tonight from a violent act, you will die of heart disease in 18 years.

The signal can't see the future - it just makes really really good guesses - easy to predict when a simple townie dies because their actions are easy to predict - PCs who interact with the supernatural are far too random to accurately predict

[Tadanori Oyama]

Okay I follow that then. So how far could it "see"? I assumed it had extremely far reaching sensory ability.

[rayner23]

As much as I love being credited for obscure references, I wasn't referring to a comic book. In fact, I kept calling it "the Winslow" because it made me think of Carl Winslow from Family Matters. My love for African-American cops comes through in my role-playing once again (see: Ernie Hudson).

[Tadanori Oyama]

As much as I love being credited for obscure references, I wasn't referring to a comic book. In fact, I kept calling it "the Winslow" because it made me think of Carl Winslow from Family Matters. My love for African-American cops comes through in my role-playing once again (see: Ernie Hudson).

I am quite frankly stunned. But then the signal already knew that.

[Setherick]

But, I have to say, Ross' mention of the signal being "omniscient" and Cody repeatedly calling it "The Winslow" made me wonder if it had ever blighted the crops, or vanquished evil, or answered the phone before it rang.

God, we're such nerds that we close read actual play comments.