How powerful is Protoculture and the FOL?

[Kurseteller]

In my games I made it real powerful. Psionics, shape changings, magic, superpowers plus made Mecha Bio-mechanical in nature, and breaking the laws of physics. Looks like with 2e they took most of it away. My previous thread was of changing PC to other power sources. Now I am asking how mystical do you allow it to be?

[Alrik Vas]

I try not to make it mystical. I think the old idea of it being a living power source was cool, but i also like the idea of having a source of power strong and efficient enough to do a lot of things that were much harder/not possible before.

[Seto Kaiba]

In my games I made it real powerful. Psionics, shape changings, magic, superpowers plus made Mecha Bio-mechanical in nature, and breaking the laws of physics. Looks like with 2e they took most of it away.

2E brought it into compliance with the series, where it wasn't mystical in any way. All the stuff about it making the mecha symbiotically linked to the pilot and that sort of thing is stuff that various authors came up with after the fact, first in the Robotech Art 1 glossary, then in the McKinney novels.

My previous thread was of changing PC to other power sources. Now I am asking how mystical do you allow it to be?

I was always content to roll with the series take on things. Yes, it's an extremely powerful energy source (for RT, anyway), and highly sought-after for a variety of uses, but it's no more mystical than refined petroleum.

[drewkitty ~..~]

I'm old school and yes there is a mystical aspect to both. But In tech PC is mainly used to short cut control systems problem areas.

PC is mildly psionicly active (which is why it can be used as short cut for control systems), having a aura of it's own, but it is only active on the macro-scale on the people who use or eat it. Nudging the societies toward an end that is egnamamatic as how Elementals think.

FoL......if they were never transmuted into PC there would not be much about the plant other then it is the only food source, laced with drugs, for a sentient race. It might be like the Invid's "Psi-Cola".

[Kurseteller]

I'm old school and yes there is a mystical aspect to both. But In tech PC is mainly used to short cut control systems problem areas.

PC is mildly psionicly active (which is why it can be used as short cut for control systems), having a aura of it's own, but it is only active on the macro-scale on the people who use or eat it. Nudging the societies toward an end that is egnamamatic as how Elementals think.

FoL......if they were never transmuted into PC there would not be much about the plant other then it is the only food source, laced with drugs, for a sentient race. It might be like the Invid's "Psi-Cola".

What do you do about the Polinators or Cha Chas? I use them as intelligent goads that can walk through walls.

[drewkitty ~..~]

I'm old school and yes there is a mystical aspect to both. But In tech PC is mainly used to short cut control systems problem areas.

PC is mildly psionicly active (which is why it can be used as short cut for control systems), having a aura of it's own, but it is only active on the macro-scale on the people who use or eat it. Nudging the societies toward an end that is egnamamatic as how Elementals think.

FoL......if they were never transmuted into PC there would not be much about the plant other then it is the only food source, laced with drugs, for a sentient race. It might be like the Invid's "Psi-Cola".

What do you do about the Pollinators or Cha Chas? I use them as intelligent goads that can walk through walls.

Pollinators.
Don't you know that all cats can walk through walls when you are not looking?

Only appearing when there is no combat going on.

[glitterboy2098]

pollinators are non-canon though. the dog like thing Dana picks up in the show is just an ugly dog.

[Kurseteller]

I'm old school and yes there is a mystical aspect to both. But In tech PC is mainly used to short cut control systems problem areas.

PC is mildly psionicly active (which is why it can be used as short cut for control systems), having a aura of it's own, but it is only active on the macro-scale on the people who use or eat it. Nudging the societies toward an end that is egnamamatic as how Elementals think.

FoL......if they were never transmuted into PC there would not be much about the plant other then it is the only food source, laced with drugs, for a sentient race. It might be like the Invid's "Psi-Cola".

What do you do about the Pollinators or Cha Chas? I use them as intelligent goads that can walk through walls.

Pollinators.
Don't you know that all cats can walk through walls when you are not looking?

Only appearing when there is no combat going on.

They where canon in the Sentinels. You saw Rem try to heard them into a glass container to keep them safe. Though now Shadow cronicles has pretty much discontinued that storyline,

[ShadowLogan]

pollinators are non-canon though. the dog like thing Dana picks up in the show is just an ugly dog.

Then again the creature Dana handles could be an alien lifeform that made its way to Earth (stowaway?) on returning human ships or even crashed Zentreadi ships (Zent. "rodents", specimens in storage, "pets", etc).

After all TRM was originally set on another planet, so it is possible that with the revamp to Earth, there could be some intentional/unintentional transfer of species. We have something like that happening today with invasive species being taken out of their native habitat on Earth and relocated elsewhere.

I suppose it's also possible that some creatures are mutated by radiation from the Zentreadi R.o.D (IIRC even the bats in the PC Mound are different).

[taalismn]

True...invasive species carried in the bilges(and abandoned levels....Lisa and Rick were lucky not to encounter any aquatic vermin during their swim on Breetai's ship). The unseen invasion of Earth what with all the ecosystem disruption and fallen wrecks and mutations running around.
I believe this is lampshaded in the old 'Ghost Ship' RPG supplement where the survivors of an RDF probe take refuge in a raft to escape giant rats aboard a Zentraedi vessel.

There's also mention of 'trals'...especially when one Zentraedi refers to an officer's fleeing as 'look at him run like a tral with his tail between his ears'. Given the length of their tails, the 'pollibnator' might be a candidate for being a 'tral' if the Zentraedi could take any notice of something so small.

Or, it could be just as case of(as we do it in the Bloopers)...
"Ah, Dana, you know that critter you're hugging? Well, it's a Tijuanna long-maned rat, and it's foaming at the mouth..."
" "

[rem1093]

I have FOL as an organic version of Naquadah from Stargate. This allows Protoculture to do everything that it does and be used in all the ways that it is.

[taalismn]

I generally regard Protoculture as a more refined and controllable version of the FOL...the closer you are to the raw FOL in terms of a lack of processing, the more varied and uncontrolled the effects(though the Invid can control it akin to the way Holistic Medicine works or a Rifts Druid harnesses the inherent magic in plants).
Protoculture is like distilled probability, while the raw FOL is possibility. Biological sideproducts of Protoculture(like cloning) are as grappa is to wine.