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Leo's scrapyard home [Background]

1507830890

Edited 1507836519
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
The purpose of a scrap yard is not to simply store metal. That's wasteful. Rather, it's the stopover point for metal that's currently in a bad shape and is waiting to be reforged into a better one. It's a good fit for Leo. Scrapyards around the world are unique, owing to local regulations on noise and pollution, manner in which raw materials are taken in by the yard, and so on. Today, almost all yards are serviced by truck, while railway was widely used in the past. Most use some kind of scrap bay for storage, and thus have a roof and overhead cranes for moving stuff around. Whether or not the yard is serviced by train, there can be an internal rail system to move material between a scrap bay and a melt shop on premises. Halcyon City operates a few yards, but the biggest one is the Lagodny Scrapworks. The facility was founded by Polish immigrant Toby Lazarus before America entered World War II. It was originally built on the Halcyon rail lines. Mr. Lazarus had a strong patriotic streak (due to the circumstances of his arrival in America) and assisted the United States armed forces wherever possible, such as producing high-quality steel for the war effort. Lagodny has stayed a family-owned business and has remained on good terms with the government, including AEGIS. As a result, it was authorized to handle the scrap of much of Halcyon City's ultra-tech battles. Hovertanks, robots, and other high-tech items are received, certified to be inactive and disarmed, and then processed. After his emancipation, Leo was placed at Lagodny on a sort of probationary program. He assists the current Mr. Lazarus by studying the damaged material brought in and assessing its real value. This lets Lagodny avoid selling high-quality raw material at cheap-steel rates, for example. In return, and also as a favor to AEGIS, Mr. Lazarus has converted the old and unused melt shop into a workshop and home for Leo. Leo's home is built on two levels. The upper floor is where his robotics equipment is set up, letting him make fixes and adjustments to his robot friends. It also includes separate rooms for himself and Pneuma, along with a parking place for Otto, and a small kitchen area and minifridge. Leo uses the on-site locker rooms for personal hygiene, rather than have his own. The lower floor is a supply of spare parts, new inventions, and testing areas. He built his first skyhook system here, for example. Some of his father's old inventions (powered down and securely stored) are also kept here, for study.
1508574983
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Well, anyone who was paying any attention would have seen a robot run out of this place, followed by Otto, so now I need to think of a new home. :)
1509166071
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
For anyone interested in the actual process of steel making:&nbsp; <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/e9qfv" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/e9qfv</a> It's not just for the backdrop of a climactic villain fight! Though it's good for that too.
Which makes me think of Terminator.
1509404119
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Doyce went there within a week of me posting this, so yeah. :)
1512177125
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Leo's new, probably non-scrapyard home! So here's my options for long-term lodging. Stay at the Gale's . Assuming this was an option, Leo would want to pay rent and help out, but Harry's parents are pretty parent-y. Pros : attacking a superhero family at home is bad news; PCs are near each other. Cons : lack of independence. Stay at the Foundation . Again assuming this is okay, Leo would feel beholden to Jason, which would really grind his gears. :)&nbsp; There's also the recurring concern that we've voiced about entangling the Menagerie and the Quill Foundation ("are you guys the official QF team?" etc.). Pros : Ready access to high-tech; PCs are near each other. Cons : security is clearly lacking. I don't think Adam or Charlotte have very solid housing options... Build a mundane base . This is where Leo actually puts together something where the whole Menagerie can hang out - a home away from home. This is most likely a secret area like the&nbsp; Arrowcave (or the&nbsp; Quiver if you must), built under somewhere else. Pros : reasonably secure, independent. Cons : takes time, location must be scouted, no solid defenses without extra buildup. Build a flying or mobile base . This is where Leo builds some kind of robot vehicle - like a jet, train, flying saucer, or something that can transform into any or all of the above. It would be highly visible, but reasonably secure from attack and able to defend itself. It can also be used to take the team from place to place if we need to leave Halcyon City without going through (say) airport security. Pros : secure, mobile, high-tech. Cons : no stealth, can be shot down, may attract official scrutiny. I'm interested in what everyone else thinks would be most interesting from a story perspective. Any opinions?
Stay at the Gale's . Assuming this was an option, Leo would want to pay rent and help out, but Harry's parents are pretty parent-y. Pros : attacking a superhero family at home is bad news; PCs are near each other. Cons : lack of independence. Con: Dad Jokes. Otto repeating Dad Jokes. Pneuma expressing curiosity about Dad jokes. I don't know if that would mean the most stress on Leo, on Harry, on the other players, or on the GM. Stay at the Foundation . Again assuming this is okay, Leo would feel beholden to Jason, which would really grind his gears. :) There's also the recurring concern that we've voiced about entangling the Menagerie and the Quill Foundation ("are you guys the official QF team?" etc.). Pros : Ready access to high-tech; PCs are near each other. Cons : security is clearly lacking. Jason would -- well, we should RP that. :-) That said, the entanglement thing? Jason's become a lot more willing to rock those boats. I don't think Adam or Charlotte have very solid housing options... The glare from Adam's Mom would peel the paint off Otto. On the other hand ... hey, the Spirit used to live in a cemetery crypt, right? I mean, roll Otto into one of those, crank back the seat, you're set. Plus, quiet neighbors. Building a [flying] base: The cons would seem to be both "Takes a lot of money" and "Takes a lot of time" (esp. in the context of this game, as a whole, has lasted, what, four in-game days?)
1512178301
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
*** Dave H. said: Building a [flying] base: The cons would seem to be both "Takes a lot of money" and "Takes a lot of time" (esp. in the context of this game, as a whole, has lasted, what, four in-game days?) I really need to figure out some way to have time elapsed between each of our interior arcs.
1512178426

Edited 1512178535
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
*** Dave H. said: Jason would -- well, we should RP that. :-) That said, the entanglement thing? Jason's become a lot more willing to rock those boats. Sounds good, let's see where this goes. You'd still need to overcome Leo's unstated but reasonably obvious jealousy of Jason. :) On the other hand ... hey, the Spirit used to live in a cemetery crypt, right? I mean, roll Otto into one of those, crank back the seat, you're set. Plus, quiet neighbors. "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" "Shut up, Hannah, I hate that movie." Building a [flying] base: The cons would seem to be both "Takes a lot of money" and "Takes a lot of time" (esp. in the context of this game, as a whole, has lasted, what, four in-game days?) I'm optimistically following this rainbow, knowing that we'll encounter a pot o' downtime at the end.
1512178634
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Doyce T. said: I really need to figure out some way to have time elapsed between each of our interior arcs We have a lot of interwoven (or intertangled) plot going on at this particular moment. If that gets settled, it gets a lot easier to say "a week passes, how did you spend it?"
"They're coming to get you, Barbara!" "Shut up, Hannah, I hate that movie." HA!
Bill G. said: Doyce T. said: I really need to figure out some way to have time elapsed between each of our interior arcs We have a lot of interwoven (or intertangled) plot going on at this particular moment. If that gets settled, it gets a lot easier to say "a week passes, how did you spend it?" Agreed.
1512192861
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
Ditto. It's just the untangling of which I sometimes despair. :)
1512205267
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
*** Dave H. said: Building a [flying] base: The cons would seem to be both "Takes a lot of money" and "Takes a lot of time" (esp. in the context of this game, as a whole, has lasted, what, four in-game days?) Actually, I want to cover this separately. I spent time thinking through Leo's technology, with articles and explanations about the basics of it, and I hope that gets to pay off by letting him do something like this fast and cheap. Shameless inspired by the&nbsp; Mach 6 montage and&nbsp; Big Hero 6's powerups , Leo, with vital help from the Gale family and probably Jason, can build raw materials like he already uses. How? He only really needs two things. A ready supply of light elements, primarily carbon, and a way of assembling them in specific patterns at the atomic level. He threw a device in his trunk earlier that covered how he built Otto & Pneuma, but Jason's nanotech might be able to replicate the process at a larger scale. There's a bunch of chemical reactions that yield carbon and can be powered by stuff the group already has. That gives you a bunch of the modular blocks Leo uses, about the size of a postage stamp on average. At that point... well, have you ever built something big out of a lot of complex LEGOs? I bet Harry and his folks could do that, really fast, if they had a blueprint to work from.
1512227292

Edited 1512227348
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author