TerminatorRP Compendium

[deathwolf]

 

[Subeh]

​

Version 1.0.1.7

• One of my personal favourites; the T-831 is re-written.
• All Terminator-series sub-variant tabs renamed to include their contents.

The T-831 -❌

----------------------------------------
The 6xx series has the T-610, the 7xx series has the T-720... and the 8xx series has this.

What will eventually be known as one of SkyNET's most destructive units, the T-831 could be mistaken for a siege weapon of its own; standing at an astonishingly tall (for the series) 6'6, its chassis has seen reinforcement like no other - so much so that it's over twice the weight of the standard T-800 chassis it was born from, at a heavyweight-status 800lb. Every single limb, every single inch of this demonic being has been reinforced with the best hyperalloy forgeable; with custom plating protecting most of its joints meaning standard methods of assault typically don't work. Its most noticeable feature is the pauldron-esque shoulder-pieces, which alone could survive a direct hit from almost anything; they serve to prevent the unit's arms from ever being detached, and it isn't a wonder why. Just to make matters worse; much like the T-820, it features ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) across its entire chassis, making it near-immune to almost all explosives.

Armour is hardly why the T-831 is such an overwhelmingly powerful variant, though; that title is claimed by its vast array of weaponry. As a primary, the T-831 is equipped with two arm-mounted tri-barrel 60-W cycling repeaters, capable of extremely high rates of fire to the point it could be confused as one continuous beam when it is in fact not. This primary armament is capable of tearing apart cover at a scarily fast rate, with initial testing having seen the rotten chassis of a Sedan melted in half after only a 2.9 second burst from top to bottom. As an alternative, the drone is equipped with interchangeable (via retracting its primary back into its arms) 75-W semi-automatic plasma cannons, not unlike the cannons utilised by HK-AERIAL's; just downsized. This form of plasma weapon is unique, as - upon impact - the plasma will destabilise and disperse, causing an explosion. And, of course, just to add insult to injury; the T-831 has a shoulder-mounted belt-fed grenade launcher that can be retracted into its back at any time, with the grenades securely protected in a compartment on its broad back.

While this weaponry may sound utterly devastating, the truly horrific detail is the T-831's versality; with only one trip to the nearest SkyNET facility, the T-831 has a range of almost three dozen weapons that it can be outfitted with at any time, meaning the drone can be purpose-outfitted for specific deployments. So, yes; those weapons are only its standard ones.

It goes without saying that the deployment parameters for these drones are quite simple; to cause as much damage as humanly possible. They will be typically be deployed alongside other T-800's as backup, as the one flaw with this drone is that it's considerably more sluggish than the typical 8xx series and is incapable of engaging in hand-to-hand combat - unless it doesn't mind using its arm-mounted weaponry to bludgeon someone, which it theoretically could if someone was suicidal enough to get that close.

Intelligence-wise, the T-831 is no better off than the T-800.

 

[Deleted member 4795]

 

['77 East]

T-820 utilises ERA (explosive reactive armour), meaning any detonation within its vicinity or directly to the chassis has surprisingly little effect

it features ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) across its entire chassis, making it near-immune to almost all explosives.

Just want to point out here that there's a fair few weapons that can quickly defeat ERA due to a secondary shaped charge like the RPG-27, clasping heavier units in this stuff doesn't magically make them stronger if you bring the right stuff against them.

 

[Subeh]

Just want to point out here that there's a fair few weapons that can quickly defeat ERA due to a secondary shaped charge like the RPG-27, clasping heavier units in this stuff doesn't magically make them stronger if you bring the right stuff against them.

Oh, of course.

But I'd like to think SkyNET's advanced enough to the point it's ironed out issues previous iterations of ERA have; such as that. SkyNET as an A.I. was designed for the purpose of warfare, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it's managed to twist its own rendition of ERA that can withstand what pre-judgement ERA couldn't.

That being said, the plating still won't hold up forever and does eventually succumb to explosives. I probably should've made that clearer.

 

[Subeh]

​

Version 1.0.2.0

• The title of the thread is renamed to 'TerminatorRP Compendium'.
• My favourite drone of all time; the T-850 is re-written.
• The entire Terminator series section has now been re-written. Hunter-Killer is next.

The T-850 -❌

----------------------------------------
8xx in spirit, but its own devil.

A late-days invention of the SkyNET A.I., the T-850 - much like the T-800 itself - is the beginning of an era; a flawless chassis with almost zero hint of imperfections, a chassis capable of almost any command its A.I. overlord should demand of it.

Produced as a hunter and nothing more, this ultra-rare breed of 8xx series is purpose-built to see the inventions of the opposing side destroyed; it is, through-and-through, a reprog-hunter - a drone designed to seek out its own kind and destroy any who would get in its way of doing so. With such excellence in a unit comes a variety of uses naturally, but due to the caution the A.I. holds about this drone ever reaching the hands of humankind, it's extremely selective with what it instructs its very few T-850 drones to execute. What it deems acceptable, however, is generally anything in the field of a high priority target; be it reprogrammed, human, or object. With all this said, it goes without saying that the T-850 is only ever deployed for a specific reason and will never lay its metal foot beyond a SkyNET facility otherwise; they are not drones that see open battle unless necessary. Sometimes - if an objective is worthy of it - they may not even be alone.

Comprised of a hyperalloy-coltan mixture, this ultra-lightweight demon can fend off almost anything you can throw at it; it does not bend, it does not break, it does not melt, it does not stop. Weighing in at an unbelievably low 330lb, the only drawback this unit has is that anything that can hit hard will undoubtedly send it to the ground; but with marginal damage at best and may only provide the prey a moment or so to gain ground on a retreat. With such an advanced chassis comes more fluidity in movement; not only is this drone capable of running a whole 7mph (11.2kmh) faster than the standard T-800 chassis, the fluidity of its movement makes it an almost impossible target to hit. Alongside this it is the first unit to feature more than one nuclear reactor as a power source; one located in the usual chest-mounted spot and another down and left of it - should one become damaged, the secondary power source will come online.

One of the most impressive features of the T-850 is its sheer intelligence; easily argued as beyond SkyNET's capability, the T-850 is a master of all - be it human psychology, field tactics or simple assumption, the T-850 understands its surroundings in such a way thought impossible for a machine. It matters little how excellent you are; a T-850 will top you and it will do it by very many miles. It isn't a wonder why, however, as the drone is designed first and foremost to hunt its own kind and so it must outmatch them, in every single way possible.

It isn't a surprise, then, that the T-850 has no standard weapon layout; it is given what the A.I. believes it will need to achieve the objective it has given it. Make no mistake, however; it will wield the best that SkyNET has to offer.

This being the absolute pinnacle of the current age's SkyNET's ability, it's not a surprise that the T-850 is actually completely immune to reprogramming; if captured, the T-850 will first attempt to self destruct - if unable, it will melt its own CPU through a subroutine that cannot be interrupted in time.

It doesn't go beyond this... hopefully.

 

['77 East]

This being the absolute pinnacle of the current age's SkyNET's ability, it's not a surprise that the T-850 is actually completely immune to reprogramming; if captured, the T-850 will first attempt to self destruct - if unable, it will melt its own CPU through a subroutine that cannot be interrupted in time.

Hold up, isn't this a huge paradox?

If these things are complete invulnerable from being reprogrammed then you wouldn't see T-2 and beyond since that specific unit is the one featured in those films. I can understand you don't want people capturing one and trying to turn it into Arnold but to completely blank out the chance is a bit odd when the simple act of capturing one intact is blatantly almost virtually impossible to begin with.

 

[Subeh]

Hold up, isn't this a huge paradox?

If these things are complete invulnerable from being reprogrammed then you wouldn't see T-2 and beyond since that specific unit is the one featured in those films. I can understand you don't want people capturing one and trying to turn it into Arnold but to completely blank out the chance is a bit odd when the simple act of capturing one intact is blatantly almost virtually impossible to begin with.

firstly, just remember this timeline doesn't necessarily pair up with the ones in the movies and i don't really write any of this with the movies totally in mind - i mean that's fairly obvious considering john connor literally doesn't exist, and if he ever does hes just an average joe in some far off place struggling like everyone else and no one knows who the fuck he is

secondly; the reason it's impossible to reprogram is because it's the best unit skynet currently has and if the resistance was able to reprogram a unit of that complexity, then that's basically game-over for skynet - so yes, it's going to take every single measure possible to ensure that the unit is never reprogrammed

and despite how highly i spoke of the unit, it wouldn't be impossible to capture one no. extremely, EXTREMELY hard but not impossible.

it's the only unit in the entire lineup - T's and HK's alike - that would be pretty shitty to see reprogged

i remember on tnb there was a singular reprogged t-850 and, as much as i loved the character, it sorta just ruined 850's for me and i feel like it should have never existed; it ended up sacrificing itself to destroy a facility which was pretty cool, but i really feel like reprogging should have never gone beyond 800's

 

[Postal]

what is the weakest point

it's iq

 

[Rabid]

i remember on tnb there was a singular reprogged t-850 and, as much as i loved the character, it sorta just ruined 850's for me and i feel like it should have never existed; it ended up sacrificing itself to destroy a facility which was pretty cool, but i really feel like reprogging should have never gone beyond 800's

In the final week we had the 800 reprogs in 850 chassis to keep them relevant IC, worked well tbh.

Also the first 850 reprog was a self-admitted avatar that went way too far and made everyone hate them lmao

 

[Subeh]

​

Version 1.0.2.1

• Included all HUNTER-KILLER tab names with their contents.
• Given all HUNTER-KILLER tabs their own miniature descriptions.
• Added 'CLASS-LESS HUNTER-KILLERS' above 'CLASS 1 HUNTER-KILLER'.
• Renamed HK-500R to HK-REAVER.
• Moved HK-REAVER and HK-REAPER into 'CLASS-LESS HUNTER-KILLERS' tab.

 

[Deleted member 7099]

termina

 

[Cindy]

I, a devilish Russian, have come to interfere in Nebulous Cloud's fair elections by lobbying for Terminanador Ronplay.

Jokes aside but this seems to have caught on quite a following- that or Subeh won't stop posting. In either which case I've come to offer a few of my writings in regards to rp theory and the Terminator setting, mainly because I'm mildly curious at how Nebulous would tackle the setting given their vastly different rp culture in comparison to TnB's.

I should add that the following pieces were, obviously, intended for TnB's audience, and some points are not entirely translatable to a theoretical Nebulous TRP because of the previously mentioned differences in rp culture.

Spoiler: My infiltrator guide

​

If you're reading this, welcome to the SkyNET Infiltrator faction. Get to know some of your fellow inf players through the private channel in the SkyNET Discord server if you haven't already done so.

This thread will go into detail not only the rules to playing an infiltrator but also the guidelines for how you should approach things such as portraying the development of Read/Write, taking damage, and how to make your infiltration process entertaining for human players. This thread is quite lengthy and I do not intend to imply that you are required to glaze over every line and character of this document, but it shall be here to read through should you need guidance.

If this thread has not helped you with your specific query, the rest of the faction, SkyNET Command and the administrations are all useful resources for answering any questions you may have.

Infiltrator Models
(Had to screenshot the tables bc TnB and Nebulous bbcode tables are entirely different)

Creating and Introducing your Infiltrator Character

Read/Write

Spoiler

Read/Write is the ability that enables certain Terminators to observe and understand information, and apply those observations to better advance their combat skills, and knowledge of concepts. In short, it allows Terminators to learn. Combat infiltrators and infantry drones are deployed with Read-only, whereas infiltrators are deployed with Read/Write enabled.

Any and all infiltrators should be made within the premise that their development starts on server. They should not automatically possess the knowledge and understanding to communicate with others and should always develop these skills in roleplay.

Portraying the advancement of R/W is best shown simply through 'Monkey see, Monkey do.' Your infiltrator does possess some common sense in this regard, as your infiltrator would have some semblance of understanding in regards to human nature, to what degree depending on your infiltrator's model. However, copying human behaviors is a great way to show your infiltrator's development in R/W.

The longer your infiltrator remains around humans, the more advanced its mimicry will be, and the more dangerous the infiltrator will become as it learns and adapts to new information. This growth is gradual; it's not instantaneous, and it's something that should be approached with care. There is such a thing as being too human for infiltrators.

Physical Descriptions

Spoiler

Any and all infiltrators should match the physical silhouettes of their model. For example, the Series T-800 and T-850 infiltrators range from approximately 6'2 to 6'4, while the Series T-888 infiltrator has been manufactured in a variety of different shapes and sizes with a myriad of differentiation in weight, height, and physiology, allowing both large and stout infiltrators as well as lanky and petite ones.

Swapping out one's pre-existing human character with an infiltrator is strictly forbidden without command authorization.

Once your infiltrator has been made, proceed to establish them among as many characters as possible.

Rules of Engagement

The "Face"

Spoiler

This is not something that is necessarily a requirement of your infiltrator, but it is a dynamic you are very capable of creating with it. I've said in a previous thread that SkyNET does not fulfill the role of an antagonist within TRP but rather as a narrative device, the true antagonist being human hubris; their innate desire to destroy themselves, and so-forth. While infiltrators do serve as narrative devices, they are equally antagonistic-- not simply because they look human or are as close to a "character" as a terminator can get, but rather because the infiltrator possesses a "face", figuratively speaking.

A "face" is something that human characters can associate as an antagonist or villain; someone or something specifically responsible for their pain and suffering, something they can assign blame to and can gather their muster to fight against that's far more tangible than an overlording AI. Previous examples of 'faces', regardless of relation to SkyNET include but are not limited to the early T-800 prototype "Red", the Witherspoon Infiltrator, the Swain infiltrator and Vertumnus. It is these character's humanity, or their feigned humanity, that allows them to pose as a villain for human characters and thus differentiates them from the average drone.

Among SkyNET, Infiltrators and collaborators alone possess the ability to become a face for human characters to transform into their own personal villains. Your infiltrators aren't simply another drone rolled off the assembly line, they're an active villain; an agent of chaos with the ability to shape your victim's experience in the server. During your time embedded as a human, you will be able to commit to your malicious deeds while going largely unnoticed, all the while building up your faux persona with human characters as one of their own. And once you trigger the moment that your infiltrator is revealed, either by your own choice or by being revealed by force, you will immediately assume a face of villainy for human characters.

This goes just beyond posing a threat to Tech-Com. Pull at their strings, demean the humanity in those characters at every turn, all in the interest of driving an engaging story for your audience.

Utilizing Your Infiltrator

Spoiler

SkyNET faces a hardship where it is incapable of pursuing active objectives against Tech-Com's resources or progression at a server level. Tech-Com's logistics are not hindered by SkyNET's attacks, any gathered intelligence falls flat, and any attempts at sabotage or espionage are dealt with inconsequentially. Why?

SkyNET is not a faction that is actively portrayed in-server, and Tech-Com is not a faction prepared for an antagonist that would actively work against them. It is the standing truth of the Tech-Com vs. SkyNET dynamic. Tech-Com is the audience to SkyNET's stage. To that end, it is important to address that, as the infiltrator faction, your job is not to pursue strategic objectives against Tech-Com, as you will gather no strategic edge to the faction, and you will not hinder their progression. The numerous times Charlie has been sabotaged without any chance to respond or engage upon it further has left those players confused and frustrated, and with no other recourse than to simply ignore or handwave the efforts, only for previous infiltrator players to grow upset that their efforts had been in vain. Both parties are left displeased because a fabled dynamic is forced into a server that it doesn't belong to.

Instead, infiltrators should seek more interpersonal objectives with other players, as well as focus on more immediate, tangible objectives such as being a hindrance to a mission. It is highly advised that infiltrators should curate their own events to do this in rather than force themselves into another's event uninvited, or at least communicate with the event runner of your intentions. The ability to craft the perfect infiltrator event or make one's presence known is greatly enhanced with admin assistance. One should not be afraid to reach out for help in these matters.

There is also the possibility to capture high-value targets through the internment roster. Any and all possible captures should be ran through command before proceeding with the attempt.

It is also highly advised that infiltrators take risks and chances at any occasion that may arise, as their time to infiltrate is limited.

Reporting to SkyNET

Spoiler

While strategic objectives are best not pursued outside of events, that should not be a deterrent to gather intelligence on Tech-Com, as it may be useful to craft an event later on.

Tech-Com has not made it easy for infiltrators to deliver reports, however. They have established the ability to detect SkyNET communications traffic at long range, although have not been able to decipher what the contents of said transmissions are or where they are. That said, wireless uplinks to SkyNET would be detected, and is a fruitless endeavor outside of emergencies, such as imminent termination.

In order for infiltrators to successfully deliver reports to SkyNET, they will have to meet with a designated combat infiltrator courier, tasked with personally delivering oral reports from other infiltrators.

This technology will also require any communication between infiltrators to be delivered orally if they wish to avoid detection. In-character cooperation between infiltrators is highly encouraged.

Infiltrator Combat

Spoiler

It's an understatement to say in the least that your reveal will likely be accompanied with a great deal of characters trying to kill your infiltrator. There are some important things to know regarding infiltrators in combat.

For one, calling back to the "Portraying Read/Write" section of this guide, your infiltrator will likely have built up a great deal of intelligence gathered overtime while undercover. The smarter the terminator becomes, the more dangerous it gets, and nothing is more dangerous than a terminator who can replicate a human within a small margin of perfect. Feel free to engage in some more advanced tactics in both firefights and CQC.

Additionally, you're free to beef or tank up the amount of hurt your infiltrator can both deal and take beyond what one many normally expect of a terminator for the sake of dramatic effect. The most important skill for SkyNET players to have is the ability and conscience to power up or down their drone to best befit the context and scenario, and this is only emphasized more so with infiltrators. Finding that perfect footing in combat will greatly enhance the impact your event will have on your target audience.

Personally, I highly recommend rewatching some of the classic Terminator films and paying attention to some of the things the Terminators do, one of the most frequent occurrences being the usage of their environment as a weapon, or the way that they don't simply hard focus a single target in a room, but spray out to as many people as possible. Above all, those films instill the theme of an action movie closely entwined with sci-fi horror. Don't be afraid to do something a little ballsy just for dramatic effect. Rule of cool applies, just don't throw out your common sense while you're at it.

The Reveal

Spoiler

Perhaps the climax of your time playing an infiltrator will be the moment your infiltrator is revealed for what they are-- either by your choice, or having been revealed by outside forces. Not only is it satisfying, but it's directly impactful for all the characters your infiltrator interacted with or forced a bond with. You're able to create an entire event out of it that will leave a devastating blow to Tech-Com's trust in their fellow man.

As I have said in numerous instances above, it's not about killing characters as infiltrators, it's about leaving them with an exceptional experience in their hands that inherently develops their character. And nothing does it better than the reveal, especially if you have spent time interacting with those characters.

Ultimately, nothing I can write in this guide will aid you in creating a good scenario for your infiltrator's reveal except for the fact that the best reveals are always the spontaneous ones-- the ones that emerge unexpectedly in the heat of combat due to one's sheath being accidentally damaged, or being suspected of being an infiltrator.

In Closing

Infiltrators are a unique prospect in TRP that goes unmatched to any other opportunities in the server. You're given an elaborate tool to tailor incredibly personal character developments for the ones you interact with, and the pay-off at the end is always worth it.

I hope that this thread helped you in some way- either as a newly entrepreneuring infiltrator player that has been just recently introduced to the faction, or simply someone in need of a refresh and an adjusted focus on what is possible with their infiltrator character. And I hope that when you finally wear into your new shoes you'll come up with an amazing experience to share with the rest of the server.

Thanks for reading, and good luck.

​

Spoiler: "The Enemy of the Species; Antagonism in TRP"

​

Since the conception of TRP's return manifesting among the community towards the climax and end of this most recent HL2-RP iteration, the topic of antagonism has been a dominant point of discussion in regards to the server's direction, and has also been one of plenty angles of perspective from those who hold a great deal of complaints about TRP.

Who, or what, is the antagonist of the Terminator universe? The easiest answer to this is SkyNET, but that's both broad and, at face value incredibly bland. There's a lot more to SkyNET than meets the eye that makes it an integral part of the experience on TRP, but what if I told you that SkyNET wasn't the villain behind the curtains here?

Hold onto your tin-foil hats with me for just a moment, here. What you're going to read is an interconnected mixture of what Dave has instructed in Drone RP 101, simply by a more in-depth and thorough elaboration, with the additions of my own personal interpretations of the setting. You are free to take what you want from this thread if you find yourself enjoying the read, and I hope that you might do just that, and hopefully it might even make the roleplay you foster while playing as or against a SkyNET-aligned character or drone that much more enjoyable for both yourself and everyone else participating.

I'll return to my cliffhanger: What if I told you that SkyNET wasn't the antagonist of TRP? That's a pretty big claim there, considering the effects of Judgement day, the incremental slaughtering of humans since then and the role that the various terminators play in the films. But they are not the antagonist so much as they are simply tools and concepts that exist within the universe to push the story. An antagonist is also these things, but its role is much more vast than to simply be a tool or concept. It is the opposition of the protagonists.

In this story; the story of your characters in the Terminator universe, humanity is the protagonist.

But if SkyNET isn't the antagonist to humanity, then what is?

​

John Connor: We're not going to make it, are we?
John Connor: People, I mean.

Terminator: It is in your nature to destroy yourselves.

​

Humanity.

Humanity is both the protagonist and the antagonist to this story. SkyNET is a creation made by mankind. It was made by humans with one purpose and within the last twenty-seven years it has become exceedingly efficient at it. It's not that SkyNET is right in trying to kill off the human race and that humanity is evil, it's that humanity is waging a war with themselves. In a way, SkyNET is human in itself.

The mindless drones- the Terminator series 600, 700, and anything within the blanket category of non-humanoid hunter-killer: These are but weapons used by SkyNET, not the greatest threat of all.

​

There is a direct correlation with how deadly a drone is simply based on how human-like it is. The T-800's: The ground troops, the command assets and the infiltrators alike, are the biggest threat SkyNET has to humanity's future, and it is simply because they are nearly just like them. It is why the Combine's greatest force against humanity in Half-Life 2 was the Overwatch soldier, not just because they were in a surplus but because they are very much like the enemy they face. This is why the T-800 is so advanced and so utterly terrifying to those that find themselves subject to its whim.

​

Even beyond the scope of SkyNET itself, you have real humans causing harm to humanity. Slaves fighting alongside drones against their own will, collaborators willingly aiding SkyNET towards its goal of eradicating all human life, even groups of other humans who, while still combating the extinction-invoking efforts of SkyNET have found themselves at odds with your character or the group your character associates with. These are all existing threats to humanity's war against themselves.

​

Drones beneath the T-800 series are not the face of the enemy. They are not the narrative plotpoint or the great hill that humanity must overcome. They are tools and concepts: entities within the Terminator universe that exist within the environment as if it were a natural law. Like antlions or zombies with the Half-Life 2 universe had down with their own individual local areas, these drones are not the villain of this story but rather they are something that has hijacked the natural order and implanted themselves into your every day life and encounter, only on a global scale across Earth. As Dave has said in his drone guide, these are not characters, and while your enjoyment is secondary to those playing human characters, you should try to find enjoyment in bringing entertainment to those that you encounter and roleplay with while playing a drone.

Humanity's greatest threat, and what could be the very thing that buries it alive, is its own nature. It is just as the Terminator said. Human groups fighting among themselves instead of SkyNET, and the instruments of SkyNET herself that resembles humankind with dangerous accuracy. This is the antagonist of the TRP setting. Anyone looking to get character development from a lesser drone will find themselves severely disappointed. They're merely a means to get you to slam your head together with other human characters so that you can roleplay off one another.

​

I hope you all enjoyed this little piece, or maybe I hope you didn't in hopes that you'll respond to this with the intent to debate that I'm wrong, and I'd gratefully welcome such a discussion if you find yourself with the intention to do so. Or maybe I've just SneakyCorndog'd myself and spat out a thousand words to get across hardly anything to little fruition. Your ball.

This is how I have interpreted the setting personally, and you are free to do what you wish with this little excerpt of my inner ramblings, whether that is to inject this philosophy into your own roleplay or completely dismiss it as a bunch of incoherent rambling that you'll forget about in an hour. After all, it is your writing. How you interpret it is solely upon you.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading.

 

[Subeh]

I, a devilish Russian, have come to interfere in Nebulous Cloud's fair elections by lobbying for Terminanador Ronplay.

Jokes aside but this seems to have caught on quite a following- that or Subeh won't stop posting. In either which case I've come to offer a few of my writings in regards to rp theory and the Terminator setting, mainly because I'm mildly curious at how Nebulous would tackle the setting given their vastly different rp culture in comparison to TnB's.

I should add that the following pieces were, obviously, intended for TnB's audience, and some points are not entirely translatable to a theoretical Nebulous TRP because of the previously mentioned differences in rp culture.

Spoiler: My infiltrator guide

​

If you're reading this, welcome to the SkyNET Infiltrator faction. Get to know some of your fellow inf players through the private channel in the SkyNET Discord server if you haven't already done so.

This thread will go into detail not only the rules to playing an infiltrator but also the guidelines for how you should approach things such as portraying the development of Read/Write, taking damage, and how to make your infiltration process entertaining for human players. This thread is quite lengthy and I do not intend to imply that you are required to glaze over every line and character of this document, but it shall be here to read through should you need guidance.

If this thread has not helped you with your specific query, the rest of the faction, SkyNET Command and the administrations are all useful resources for answering any questions you may have.

Infiltrator Models
(Had to screenshot the tables bc TnB and Nebulous bbcode tables are entirely different)

Creating and Introducing your Infiltrator Character

Read/Write

Spoiler

Read/Write is the ability that enables certain Terminators to observe and understand information, and apply those observations to better advance their combat skills, and knowledge of concepts. In short, it allows Terminators to learn. Combat infiltrators and infantry drones are deployed with Read-only, whereas infiltrators are deployed with Read/Write enabled.

Any and all infiltrators should be made within the premise that their development starts on server. They should not automatically possess the knowledge and understanding to communicate with others and should always develop these skills in roleplay.

Portraying the advancement of R/W is best shown simply through 'Monkey see, Monkey do.' Your infiltrator does possess some common sense in this regard, as your infiltrator would have some semblance of understanding in regards to human nature, to what degree depending on your infiltrator's model. However, copying human behaviors is a great way to show your infiltrator's development in R/W.

The longer your infiltrator remains around humans, the more advanced its mimicry will be, and the more dangerous the infiltrator will become as it learns and adapts to new information. This growth is gradual; it's not instantaneous, and it's something that should be approached with care. There is such a thing as being too human for infiltrators.

Physical Descriptions

Spoiler

Any and all infiltrators should match the physical silhouettes of their model. For example, the Series T-800 and T-850 infiltrators range from approximately 6'2 to 6'4, while the Series T-888 infiltrator has been manufactured in a variety of different shapes and sizes with a myriad of differentiation in weight, height, and physiology, allowing both large and stout infiltrators as well as lanky and petite ones.

Swapping out one's pre-existing human character with an infiltrator is strictly forbidden without command authorization.

Once your infiltrator has been made, proceed to establish them among as many characters as possible.

Rules of Engagement

The "Face"

Spoiler

This is not something that is necessarily a requirement of your infiltrator, but it is a dynamic you are very capable of creating with it. I've said in a previous thread that SkyNET does not fulfill the role of an antagonist within TRP but rather as a narrative device, the true antagonist being human hubris; their innate desire to destroy themselves, and so-forth. While infiltrators do serve as narrative devices, they are equally antagonistic-- not simply because they look human or are as close to a "character" as a terminator can get, but rather because the infiltrator possesses a "face", figuratively speaking.

A "face" is something that human characters can associate as an antagonist or villain; someone or something specifically responsible for their pain and suffering, something they can assign blame to and can gather their muster to fight against that's far more tangible than an overlording AI. Previous examples of 'faces', regardless of relation to SkyNET include but are not limited to the early T-800 prototype "Red", the Witherspoon Infiltrator, the Swain infiltrator and Vertumnus. It is these character's humanity, or their feigned humanity, that allows them to pose as a villain for human characters and thus differentiates them from the average drone.

Among SkyNET, Infiltrators and collaborators alone possess the ability to become a face for human characters to transform into their own personal villains. Your infiltrators aren't simply another drone rolled off the assembly line, they're an active villain; an agent of chaos with the ability to shape your victim's experience in the server. During your time embedded as a human, you will be able to commit to your malicious deeds while going largely unnoticed, all the while building up your faux persona with human characters as one of their own. And once you trigger the moment that your infiltrator is revealed, either by your own choice or by being revealed by force, you will immediately assume a face of villainy for human characters.

This goes just beyond posing a threat to Tech-Com. Pull at their strings, demean the humanity in those characters at every turn, all in the interest of driving an engaging story for your audience.

Utilizing Your Infiltrator

Spoiler

SkyNET faces a hardship where it is incapable of pursuing active objectives against Tech-Com's resources or progression at a server level. Tech-Com's logistics are not hindered by SkyNET's attacks, any gathered intelligence falls flat, and any attempts at sabotage or espionage are dealt with inconsequentially. Why?

SkyNET is not a faction that is actively portrayed in-server, and Tech-Com is not a faction prepared for an antagonist that would actively work against them. It is the standing truth of the Tech-Com vs. SkyNET dynamic. Tech-Com is the audience to SkyNET's stage. To that end, it is important to address that, as the infiltrator faction, your job is not to pursue strategic objectives against Tech-Com, as you will gather no strategic edge to the faction, and you will not hinder their progression. The numerous times Charlie has been sabotaged without any chance to respond or engage upon it further has left those players confused and frustrated, and with no other recourse than to simply ignore or handwave the efforts, only for previous infiltrator players to grow upset that their efforts had been in vain. Both parties are left displeased because a fabled dynamic is forced into a server that it doesn't belong to.

Instead, infiltrators should seek more interpersonal objectives with other players, as well as focus on more immediate, tangible objectives such as being a hindrance to a mission. It is highly advised that infiltrators should curate their own events to do this in rather than force themselves into another's event uninvited, or at least communicate with the event runner of your intentions. The ability to craft the perfect infiltrator event or make one's presence known is greatly enhanced with admin assistance. One should not be afraid to reach out for help in these matters.

There is also the possibility to capture high-value targets through the internment roster. Any and all possible captures should be ran through command before proceeding with the attempt.

It is also highly advised that infiltrators take risks and chances at any occasion that may arise, as their time to infiltrate is limited.

Reporting to SkyNET

Spoiler

While strategic objectives are best not pursued outside of events, that should not be a deterrent to gather intelligence on Tech-Com, as it may be useful to craft an event later on.

Tech-Com has not made it easy for infiltrators to deliver reports, however. They have established the ability to detect SkyNET communications traffic at long range, although have not been able to decipher what the contents of said transmissions are or where they are. That said, wireless uplinks to SkyNET would be detected, and is a fruitless endeavor outside of emergencies, such as imminent termination.

In order for infiltrators to successfully deliver reports to SkyNET, they will have to meet with a designated combat infiltrator courier, tasked with personally delivering oral reports from other infiltrators.

This technology will also require any communication between infiltrators to be delivered orally if they wish to avoid detection. In-character cooperation between infiltrators is highly encouraged.

Infiltrator Combat

Spoiler

It's an understatement to say in the least that your reveal will likely be accompanied with a great deal of characters trying to kill your infiltrator. There are some important things to know regarding infiltrators in combat.

For one, calling back to the "Portraying Read/Write" section of this guide, your infiltrator will likely have built up a great deal of intelligence gathered overtime while undercover. The smarter the terminator becomes, the more dangerous it gets, and nothing is more dangerous than a terminator who can replicate a human within a small margin of perfect. Feel free to engage in some more advanced tactics in both firefights and CQC.

Additionally, you're free to beef or tank up the amount of hurt your infiltrator can both deal and take beyond what one many normally expect of a terminator for the sake of dramatic effect. The most important skill for SkyNET players to have is the ability and conscience to power up or down their drone to best befit the context and scenario, and this is only emphasized more so with infiltrators. Finding that perfect footing in combat will greatly enhance the impact your event will have on your target audience.

Personally, I highly recommend rewatching some of the classic Terminator films and paying attention to some of the things the Terminators do, one of the most frequent occurrences being the usage of their environment as a weapon, or the way that they don't simply hard focus a single target in a room, but spray out to as many people as possible. Above all, those films instill the theme of an action movie closely entwined with sci-fi horror. Don't be afraid to do something a little ballsy just for dramatic effect. Rule of cool applies, just don't throw out your common sense while you're at it.

The Reveal

Spoiler

Perhaps the climax of your time playing an infiltrator will be the moment your infiltrator is revealed for what they are-- either by your choice, or having been revealed by outside forces. Not only is it satisfying, but it's directly impactful for all the characters your infiltrator interacted with or forced a bond with. You're able to create an entire event out of it that will leave a devastating blow to Tech-Com's trust in their fellow man.

As I have said in numerous instances above, it's not about killing characters as infiltrators, it's about leaving them with an exceptional experience in their hands that inherently develops their character. And nothing does it better than the reveal, especially if you have spent time interacting with those characters.

Ultimately, nothing I can write in this guide will aid you in creating a good scenario for your infiltrator's reveal except for the fact that the best reveals are always the spontaneous ones-- the ones that emerge unexpectedly in the heat of combat due to one's sheath being accidentally damaged, or being suspected of being an infiltrator.

In Closing

Infiltrators are a unique prospect in TRP that goes unmatched to any other opportunities in the server. You're given an elaborate tool to tailor incredibly personal character developments for the ones you interact with, and the pay-off at the end is always worth it.

I hope that this thread helped you in some way- either as a newly entrepreneuring infiltrator player that has been just recently introduced to the faction, or simply someone in need of a refresh and an adjusted focus on what is possible with their infiltrator character. And I hope that when you finally wear into your new shoes you'll come up with an amazing experience to share with the rest of the server.

Thanks for reading, and good luck.

​

Spoiler: "The Enemy of the Species; Antagonism in TRP"

​

Since the conception of TRP's return manifesting among the community towards the climax and end of this most recent HL2-RP iteration, the topic of antagonism has been a dominant point of discussion in regards to the server's direction, and has also been one of plenty angles of perspective from those who hold a great deal of complaints about TRP.

Who, or what, is the antagonist of the Terminator universe? The easiest answer to this is SkyNET, but that's both broad and, at face value incredibly bland. There's a lot more to SkyNET than meets the eye that makes it an integral part of the experience on TRP, but what if I told you that SkyNET wasn't the villain behind the curtains here?

Hold onto your tin-foil hats with me for just a moment, here. What you're going to read is an interconnected mixture of what Dave has instructed in Drone RP 101, simply by a more in-depth and thorough elaboration, with the additions of my own personal interpretations of the setting. You are free to take what you want from this thread if you find yourself enjoying the read, and I hope that you might do just that, and hopefully it might even make the roleplay you foster while playing as or against a SkyNET-aligned character or drone that much more enjoyable for both yourself and everyone else participating.

I'll return to my cliffhanger: What if I told you that SkyNET wasn't the antagonist of TRP? That's a pretty big claim there, considering the effects of Judgement day, the incremental slaughtering of humans since then and the role that the various terminators play in the films. But they are not the antagonist so much as they are simply tools and concepts that exist within the universe to push the story. An antagonist is also these things, but its role is much more vast than to simply be a tool or concept. It is the opposition of the protagonists.

In this story; the story of your characters in the Terminator universe, humanity is the protagonist.

But if SkyNET isn't the antagonist to humanity, then what is?

​

John Connor: We're not going to make it, are we?
John Connor: People, I mean.

Terminator: It is in your nature to destroy yourselves.

​

Humanity.

Humanity is both the protagonist and the antagonist to this story. SkyNET is a creation made by mankind. It was made by humans with one purpose and within the last twenty-seven years it has become exceedingly efficient at it. It's not that SkyNET is right in trying to kill off the human race and that humanity is evil, it's that humanity is waging a war with themselves. In a way, SkyNET is human in itself.

The mindless drones- the Terminator series 600, 700, and anything within the blanket category of non-humanoid hunter-killer: These are but weapons used by SkyNET, not the greatest threat of all.

​

There is a direct correlation with how deadly a drone is simply based on how human-like it is. The T-800's: The ground troops, the command assets and the infiltrators alike, are the biggest threat SkyNET has to humanity's future, and it is simply because they are nearly just like them. It is why the Combine's greatest force against humanity in Half-Life 2 was the Overwatch soldier, not just because they were in a surplus but because they are very much like the enemy they face. This is why the T-800 is so advanced and so utterly terrifying to those that find themselves subject to its whim.

​

Even beyond the scope of SkyNET itself, you have real humans causing harm to humanity. Slaves fighting alongside drones against their own will, collaborators willingly aiding SkyNET towards its goal of eradicating all human life, even groups of other humans who, while still combating the extinction-invoking efforts of SkyNET have found themselves at odds with your character or the group your character associates with. These are all existing threats to humanity's war against themselves.

​

Drones beneath the T-800 series are not the face of the enemy. They are not the narrative plotpoint or the great hill that humanity must overcome. They are tools and concepts: entities within the Terminator universe that exist within the environment as if it were a natural law. Like antlions or zombies with the Half-Life 2 universe had down with their own individual local areas, these drones are not the villain of this story but rather they are something that has hijacked the natural order and implanted themselves into your every day life and encounter, only on a global scale across Earth. As Dave has said in his drone guide, these are not characters, and while your enjoyment is secondary to those playing human characters, you should try to find enjoyment in bringing entertainment to those that you encounter and roleplay with while playing a drone.

Humanity's greatest threat, and what could be the very thing that buries it alive, is its own nature. It is just as the Terminator said. Human groups fighting among themselves instead of SkyNET, and the instruments of SkyNET herself that resembles humankind with dangerous accuracy. This is the antagonist of the TRP setting. Anyone looking to get character development from a lesser drone will find themselves severely disappointed. They're merely a means to get you to slam your head together with other human characters so that you can roleplay off one another.

​

I hope you all enjoyed this little piece, or maybe I hope you didn't in hopes that you'll respond to this with the intent to debate that I'm wrong, and I'd gratefully welcome such a discussion if you find yourself with the intention to do so. Or maybe I've just SneakyCorndog'd myself and spat out a thousand words to get across hardly anything to little fruition. Your ball.

This is how I have interpreted the setting personally, and you are free to do what you wish with this little excerpt of my inner ramblings, whether that is to inject this philosophy into your own roleplay or completely dismiss it as a bunch of incoherent rambling that you'll forget about in an hour. After all, it is your writing. How you interpret it is solely upon you.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading.

Thank you very much!

I don't know how much interest it actually has, I'm just stubborn; 9/10 nothing will actually happen with it but I love the setting so much I'm willing to write all of this out lmao. If anything does happen I can guarantee it won't be until 2022 at the very, very earliest and there'd be a lot of test-events to see if it's even plausible.

I really do appreciate the inputs though; obviously all of this was born from TnB's TRP so I'll take absolutely anything I can get that isn't from my own memory.

E:
Funnily enough the infiltrator guide was one of the things I really wished I still had access to so thanks for that one especially.

 

[Subeh]

@Jacksquare STOP FUCKIN WITH ME

 

[deathwolf]

arma 3 terminator rp

 

[Cindy]

@Powley @Subeh

you kno who it is

 

[Subeh]

@Powley @Subeh

you kno who it is

 

[Cindy]

 

[Subeh]

@Powley

:(