Jim Powell

[In Game] [Out Of Game]

This is Jim's stuff.

In Game

Readme A readme file.

Jim's Journal. A journal that talks about what I did today.

• 2778.135 AS: Arrival on Eremov

• An essay on the differences between military and civilian piloting techniques.
• An essay on flaws and improvements in design on the Mk III Blaster.
• Three analyses of tactical advantages used in situations I've observed.
• A paper analyzing the tactics used at the Wagon Box Fight of Fort Phil Kearney. In this battle, 30 soldiers under the command of Captain James Powell used rifles to hold off a far greater number of foes armed with bows and melee weapons. 6 successes on tactical analysis.
• A few paragraphs on the source of moral authority of the Hegemon.
• A paper describing, at a high level, the current governmental structures of the Red and Blue Hegemonies. They are compared and contrasted with the government of the Hegemony. (Some notes can be found here.) 8 successes on Hegemonic politics.
• An essay on the personality of Dr. Cain. His madness is described from the vantage point of the crew of the Hippocrates, their interactions with him on Ganfrey and Eremov, their findings on Cabry, and their efforts to track him down. 8 successes on Tactical Psychology.
• An essay on the stealth opportunities and pitfalls provided by a starship. Outline is available here.
• A description of the battle between Captain Dhan Zagrat of the SkyGuard and a band of raiders, near the year 2000. A condensed version is available here.
• A more detailed description of the above, describing the various factors that Captain Zagrat brought to bear to defeat the raiders. Outline is available here.
• A paper of 3000 words comparing and contrasting the planetary governments of Crux, Creek, and Vertak. Pica Friedling, Kith, and Ruehan are cited in the relevant sections. 5 successes on Planetary Politics.
• An outline describing how events might play out on Nonesuch in response to a novel, immoral, and obviously dangerous practice being invented there.
• A paper of 3000 words comparing and contrasting combat practice techniques when using bladed weapons, small arms arms, and unarmed combat. The necessity for general fitness, especially some base anaerobic/strength training, is pointed out as a common thread. Aerobic conditioning is emphasized more in bladed weapon practice and unarmed practice, both due to the need to close with your opponent and the back and forth nature of melee. One section describes how to use the additional reach given to you by bladed weapons to greater effect. Another section compares ranged practice techniques using throwing knives versus blasters. 5 successes on Bladed Weapons.
• A copy of Jim's Nebula Scout service project report.
• A paper of 4000 words delineating the most important personal rights that are inalienable in any ethical form of government. (Vaguely like this UN overview.) 7 successes on Ethics.
• A short report on three productions of Hamlet that Jim saw--- a movie rental, the staged version viewed on Nerele, and the interactive holosuite feature Night Prince. The movie version was a fairly standard interpretation, with period costumes and sets. The Nerelian production of Hamlet was highly adapted by the Brochoah, where it's all about the fiduciary holdings of Denmark being taken over by Claudius, with an exclusionary reciprocal alliance between Claudius and Gertrude, and the young Hamlet returns to try and gain back what is rightfully his. It all ends tragically, with the severing of partnerships and alliances, and the destruction of resources. The holosuite production is a noir mystery version, with randomizable play-throughs. Jim seems to have been in a storyline where it turns out that Claudius was not the villain-- at first it seems like it was Polonius, whose ambitions drove him to kill the king and set up Claudius in his place. After shocking Polonius with a production of a Play, causing him to leave the theatre, Laertes challenges Jim to a duel, and they end up killing each other. In the last moments, Laertes reveals that it was he who murdered Hamlet's father, not Polonius. Jim talks about how the different mediums affected the experience of watching the story unfold. 5 Successes in Theatre.
• A set of graphs describing how different properties of life on Eremov Prime/Homeground evolved in a turbulent period after the InfoWars.
• An analysis of discrepancies between the books "Tactical Imperative" and "Retribution and Mercy".
• A 1000-word paper about a sport designed by Jim called "scooter quidditch".
• A copy of Jim's Millennium Scout service project report.
• A 1000-word paper about the most common diseases of bees, and their treatment and control.

• Cobbler's Tower: A reasonably simple game where up to four players attempt to build the highest tower in the specified number of turns while removing pieces from opponents' towers. (It's vaguely reminiscent of Bust-a-Move.) Now with networking and play-by-email capabilities! Whoo-hoo!
• Chess Algorithm: A chessplaying algorithm.

• Rules for Counter Commander:
  A copy of the rules for Counter Commander. Counter Commander can be played at any of six levels:
  • 1 Star: roll for 7s
  • 2 Star: roll for 8s
  • 3 Star: roll for 9s
  • 4 star: roll for 10s
  • Prince: roll for 11s
  • Sovereign: roll for 13s
  Reading the rules for a particular level takes difficulty*10% days. Understanding the rules takes a number of successes for 7s on a roll after reading equal to the number of stars, or 5 successes for Prince, or 6 successes for Sovereign. War gaming, Strategy Gaming, Counter Commander, and Tactics skills all apply. Law and Bureaucracy-type skills can be used in a helping roll to this roll. You need only succeed at understanding the rules once in your life for each level.

Out Of Game

Pronunciation: "Jim" rhymes with "Tim."

Last updated: 2780.351.

Jim gets thrown in the tubes after getting back from the rescue mission. When he comes out, on Lendt, he has a fine traceing of scar tissue on both of his hands. He's seen rubbing them or looking at them, occasionally, but doesn't seem to be otherwise impaired from doing things around the ship. (2780.351)

Jim spends a good chunk of time in Fabrication over the course of several days. Afterwards, he tends to wear a new knife in a sheath on his hip. (2780.303)

Jim can also be found in the practice rooms in the mornings, training with Janzur. (2780.255)

Jim is spending more time in the practice rooms recently, focusing on throwing knives. He also has begun carrying a pair of throwing knives in his belt when on duty. (2780.244)

Jim is noticeably more outgoing recently. More of his personal time is spent with other crew members, and he actively seeks people out to chat or spend time with. He occasionally lapses into periods of quiet contemplation, even when other people are around. (2780.228)

Jim is quiet and not very social recently. He goes straight from being on-duty to his quarters, or, sometimes, the Tinoori quarters. (2780.136)

The data modelling software is no longer running, as of about 2780.114. There's also now a glass jar with a cloud in it on Jim's desk. A whole pile of red counters with question marks on them have been added to the Linked Worlds map, near the Bastion system. (2780.133)

Jim has some sort of data modelling software running on a laptop on his desk, with a note saying "Long-term simulation running, please don't reboot! Thanks, Jim." He's also added a map of the Linked Worlds to his desk, with a whole pile of red and blue counters (and some of other colors) arranged in what looks like current fleet formations. Again, covered in plastisheet. The flyers have been put away. Jim's been a bit more social lately. (~2780.100)

Jim's quarters have been redecorated a bit. His desk is a jumble of papers, flyers, etc. It's covered with plastisheet for zero-G compliance, but it's somewhat hastily done. He's hung a framed Hegemonic Explorer Scout seal above his desk, and around it has attached holophotos. In the lower left hand corner is a picture of six troops of Scouts at a Jamboree (one definitely Jim). In the lower right hand corner is a picture of a bunch of Scouts (none of them Jim). Others include pictures of a planet (more than one?) in Hegemonic times. Above the framed seal is a picture of a shining city, with nine tall towers forming a semi-ring around the center. The city sprawls for miles beyond in gleaming splendor. (2780.044)

Jim is not seen on active duty for a little while, and in general isn't wearing his uniform. He is available at some meals, but sometimes eats in his quarters. He's only rarely in the rec room, and not as sociable as normal. He also looks perpetually tired. (2780.044 - present)

Jim has a new patch on the shoulder of his uniform that's not really in the same style as the others; it's a hand inside a circle-with-slash. (2780.041)

Jim has seemed fairly focused since getting back from the swirling mists of space-time. He's been spending a bunch of time in his quarters when between systems and not on active duty. He spends much of his time on the Well off-ship. He seems somewhat grumpier than usual lately, too.

The speech Jim gave during Season Finale can be found here.

Scouting-related sheets

The list of Rank Requirements.

The complete list of Jim's Merit Badge Requirements.

The bluesheet "On Scouting".

The greensheet for Psychohistory.

Links:

• For more information about real-life Scouting, click here.
• I read this web comic, and it was ok: Jim's Journal.
• Who knew?