The title's the question basically. Do any of you GMs use the Noosphere for tech priests and mechanicus characters? It's protrayed fairly well in Titanicus and Mechanicum but I can't decide which bonuses to give for it and any possible vulnerabilities, to threats such as scrap code or dark mechanicus forces.

I was considering making it a talent/upgrade the character has to buy and will give bonuses to interaction with Mechanicus characters who have the Noosphere too as well as the ability to converse secretly (maybe there are sights that could see the electronic signals but the group most likely to know about them is... the Mechanicus and i can't see them giving such a tool to 'outsiders').

Forgive my ignorance but what is a Noosphere?

Essentially the noosphere is wireless connectivity matches with people's data being carried on RFID tags, which, when combined with the bionic vision of most of the Mechanicus, can then be seen floating in the air around people.

It's first covered in the book "Mechanicum".

Given the 10,000 years since it was mentioned, if it still exists, it may still not have left Mars. I certainly would never play it as available outside of Forge Worlds.

The other drawback to the noosphere was that if you had any form of MIU you could not access it. Otherwise it functioned as a real time data stream that would bring up any info you had on someone as you were talking to them so you could gain an upper hand.

Mechanically it would be an implant that would grant a bonus to interactions with people, effectively a Fel bonus in a way. It might even be more of something that would allow you to roll a suitable Int based skill test instead of a Fel based skill.

The Noosphere was a very interesting concept.

So, basically

A nice idea, indeed. Like phantomoftruth, I'd not use it anywhere outside Mechanicus-dominated areas (Forgeworlds, Explorator vessels, etc), but it sounds like another cool trait to describe the technocratic-dystopian atmosphere of a Forgeworld.

phantomoftruth said:

It also appears in "Titanicus" by the same author and that book is set in the current 40K timeline (or certainly in M41) so it is still around.

That said it has never featured in any other AM stories (that I am aware of); and the author is renowned introducing his own take on the 40K universe e.g Princepes of Titans in special tanks of fluid - the first time that has been mentioned and I have stories going back to the Adeptus Titanicus game that introduced them.

DW

Lynata said:

Yup, but I would go more with

I know it from the german translation of a Dan Abnett Novel. In german, it is named "Titanensturm", which might translate into "Storm of the Titans"could mean "Titan assault".

Anyway, I would use it as a talent with the following game effects

• potential bonus on any Knowledge skill supported by the surrounding noosphere contacts
• descrete method of convesation vs. none-noosphere people
• allowing for a much quicker ways transmitting/receiving information

Gregorius21778 said:

The way I depicted it in my last Dark Heresy campaign was that it was basically an upgrade for the talent Electrograft Use which made it wireless.