Unknown Armies Thread

look it up- instantly gain access to any information that can be found with a smart phone.

connected- temporarily create a psychic link between 2 or more people, adding more people cost more charges.

off the grid- sever someones connection to other humans, they become unable to understand or be understood, this includes written, verbal or physical means of communication.

Well, I want to focus on the cellphone as a channel of communication, not so much information. I don't know about charging methods, but I intend for the Taboo to be "communicating with another person by any means other than your phone". Got the inspiration one train ride when I noticed a pair of girls apparently texting each other even though they literally sat adjacent.

You want to talk to your friends? Over the phone. Shopping for groceries? Gotta text the salesperson. Trying to sell hot contraband in a dark alley? Videochat with the confused nigger standing right in front of you. Middle of a firefight? Send a tweet if you want to shout tactical orders.

Presumably, like Dipsomancers, they break Taboo A LOT since they have to talk to people to ask them for their number or e-mail address.

How about for a Major Charge you need to use your phone to communicate an idea that is then received by a certain enormous minimum number of people? Say, a tweet that will be seen by ten million, or a selfie that would go so viral everyone on the internet will know it. The "ultimate proof", in a way, of the cellphone as an instrument of communication that binds humanity together even as they never meet face to face.

Understood- your text, tweets, phone calls, etc transcend the language barrier and can be understood by all.

check in- broadcast your location and current actions to a chosen person in your phones contacts.

there's an app for that- your next app use is "super effective". if you call an uber they car will be there in 15 seconds(the universe rewrites itself so that he was down the street.)
if you call someone they always pick up on the first ring and are never busy, etc.

blocked- the target of this spell is unable to get in contact with you in anyway(if they try to call you turns out they remembered the number wrong, if they try to chase you they will end up with flat tire/twisted ankle.

does phonomancy care about changing phones or do they try to always have the latest tech?

I actually considered making it so that like Bibliomancers, cellphonomancers actually stored charges in their phone (exaggerating the feeling many people report nowadays of "feeling naked" without their cellphones), but decided that doesn't quite touch upon the same theme of "isolation/communication".

It could be a divide in the school. They tie up their social lives in their phones, with one of the schools focusing on building up a single alter-ego with their one phone, and another focusing on self-improvement via phone updates and upgrades. I love schools that have a divide like that, like the old Cryptomancers and Fulminaturges.

I like this idea, and I'd love to use it for a campaign. Allow me to brainstorm a bit...

You've got an incredibly strong fundamental paradox and set of themes here. The phone is the ultimate communicator, able to keep in touch with people any time, any where; but it's also an isolator, drawing people out of the real world and into their screens. It's easier than ever to open up and keep in touch, yet you're never going to be face-to-face. We lay bare our entire lives on social media, but we hide behind those same truths, presenting an image of our lives that is simultaneously real and unreal.

I like having -two- strong themes for a school that are interwoven. I agree that communication is the foremost theme of this phone-school, for sure, but the other theme that sticks out to me (if you couldn't see from above) is 'transparency'. With apps like FourSquare and Instagram and Snapchat, many people basically broadcast their entire lives through their phones in twisted representations that make everyone's lives look a lot better than they really are.

I think that theme of 'being open and revealing while hiding behind a screen' is also a strong paradox that could give some additional depth to the school.

I really like these suggestions: In addition, I suggest the following:

Poke - Your attempts at communication with a target are completely unable to be ignored, across any distance or obstacle. If you text them, they MUST look at that text. Even if they don't have their phone on them, they'll just have a feeling they've missed an important message and will do anything to answer it. Great as a distraction, a signal, etc.

(Continued...)

Profile Stalk - A highly variable spell, this lets you look into a 'private profile' of a target on social media, showcasing posts that reveal details about the person - posts that don't truly exist.

At least one charge must be spent on this spell. If that charge is minor, you see trivial unknown truths about the person - things they haven't shared, but wouldn't be afraid to share by any means. If that charge is significant, you see compromising and deliberately hidden secrets, things they really don't want people to know. If that charge is major... well, that's some forbidden knowledge type of shit, right there. You might see more metaphysical crap, some real intense stuff.

In addition, any extra charges spent increase the 'history' of the profile, extending it further into the past. Supposedly, if you spent a major charge, you can even see a bit into the profile's future... but going that way is a lot more costly.

Some dumb puns:

Link In - Any information you share via your phone instantly appears in the mind of a target. You can use this to barrage people with spam, or to helpfully keep a channel of communication open with an ally.

Face Book - A new app appears on your phone. With this app, you can look at the faces of people you've seen recently - all with their associated social media accounts listed. The catch is, you only see these 'contacts' if you saw them using their phone.

Snap Chat - The next message you send to someone has its contents entirely placed. Instead of whatever you sent, it now has devastating and horrible information that person definitely didn't want to hear, and which will rock their world for the worse. Problem is, that information is still coming from -your- contact, so... be prepared for some consequences and questions.

(Continued...)

I don't know about phones specifically but I think a fringe group of mystical loonies who think Apple's releases are connected by an astrologically significant pattern and thus must always be first in line to acquire each new product in an attempt to divine a great mystery would fit well in Unknown Armies.

Unlimited Characters - Your social media presence becomes incredibly cultivated for the duration of this spell. It's trimmed, edited, rearranged, and composed carefully out of moments in your life to present an image that you desire. It can only work with pictures on your phone and social media, and existing posts and such that you have - but it can edit and move words around and whatnot to the best of its abilities, to portray you as what you wish to be.

The Bacon Connection - Whenever the target of this spell communicates, no matter how secret or quiet they're trying to be, any cellphones and other broadcasting technology (webcams, video cameras, microphones, etc.) will be put in contrived coincidences to spread that information as far as possible, and make its way to you. Someone writing a text will be caught in a selfie that will be on your Instagram feed with supernatural resolution. Someone's whispered phone conversation will be recorded in the background of another person's phone call near you, that you overhear with unnatural ability. And so on.

Live Stream - Whenever the target of this spell communicates electronically, it'll 'accidentally' be broadcasted to everyone in a wide area. Cell phone towers glitch and send their texts to everyone in the tower's radius; their phone conversations will pick up interference and be blared out of everyone's speakers and on the radio; etc.

(Bad name, sorry) Keep In Contact - A picture of a contact of your choice in your phone is supernaturally updated. It'll depict the person in their current situation, with background, expression, etc. updated accordingly. The catch: The contact themselves had to have provided you that picture. If you took it yourself, it doesn't have the right mojo for a connection.

(Continued...)

Obviously, these guys can Blast people through a juju'd phone call. How would their Minor and Significant Blasts be called?

(Another bad name) Sharing is Caring - Spend a significant charge, and your social media becomes supernaturally timely. On various platforms, you'll be able to see the thoughts and feelings of people around you - but only if you know their profile.

E.g., in a gunfight with someone? Check the Facebooks of the people you're fighting, and you'll see "John Kamos is thinking about shooting the Viaturge", or "Billy Yates is grateful for car doors being good cover".

That's good for now. I'll let my brain sit and think. The theme here keeps communication in mind, but you can also now see a running theme of people -unwillingly- sharing information. Playing into fears is important, and the classic fear here is "will someone dox me with all the information I have available online? How much can someone figure out about the -real- me?"

Also fuck, "Keep in Contact" should be called "Face Time", right?

Originally I had Snap Chat be a Blast that dealt purely-emotional damage, but that felt weird.

What about "Phone Burner" for one of them? Maybe it's a text/phone call that overheats the phone of the target, scalding them something fierce? Or maybe it communicates with a 'Brown Note' style attack?

I was thinking brown notes. Not much good in a firefight but devestating as an assassination weapon. All you need is their number.

Oh, and one more thing - I was considering the idea of charges. A lot of the theme of this school is that they rely on others revealing themselves or being open with others, on this 'channel of communication'. Similarly, what if they don't hold charges themselves, but instead have to 'channel charges' through these lines of communication?

'Phonies' (Eh?) can invest a charge in someone, and ring them up in order to spend that charge. This occurs without permission of the other permission; heck, they might not even know they're carrying a charge, since technically the charge could be sitting in the 'line of communication', the 'channel'.

Also, the other Blast could be called "Hit Them Up"?

"Put Through the Ringer"?

Oooh, that's good. How do they feel about Steve Jobs' death?

>death

i think you mean ascension.

Though the Apple mages still argue about what archetype he ascended.

Mark Zukerberg's now gunning for the same one as Godwalker

Silicon Valley Unknown Armies sounds awesome.