Splintered Serenity: the Klik

First the questions:
Are the klik made from ferrous metals, and are they magnetic? If so do they have any magnetic systems?
Can you boost speed of a klik with higher "octane" fuel?
What is the communication system between the klik and the Great Machine? Can the Apoc Hybreds pick up Klik transmissions on the radio or other communication devices? For that matter can the L'na read the minds of Klik?
Do the klik have a flying sub-race?

The following are a few klik upgrades that I have been thinking about.
Magnetic or mechanical grapples and wenches for moving between tripods between different levels of the Great Machine. Cables are wenches are also good for towing broken machine parts and robots around. And of course don't forget about the grappling hook and Batman style ascension gun.

Electro magnets that can deflect bullets or steal the Apoc guns and ferrous weapons would be great.

If there are not already plans to come out with flying klik I want to lobby for some. I like the idea of helicopter blades or DaVinci style screws. Ornithopter wings would also be great.

If these ideas are off the mark please give me an idea of the technobabble direction you are thinking in and I will brainstorm in that direction.

Klik can be made of anything you want and that your GM agrees to - there are no stipulations other than that; in our minds, they are made from ferrous metals, but there are no hard and fast rules - you could have Klik made out of gold, silver, lead - whatever; perhaps even there will be magical metal Klik, like mithril or adamantium Klik. :) Again, whether or not they are magnetic depends on what they are made of, but I certainly don't see why they could or would not be.

You can boost the speed of Klik by multiple means - there's several Power cards that already do this - Racer, for instance, but there are others that deal with boosting the internal mechanisms that drive Klik. I would assume that you could also use higher "octane" fuels as well. :) This might be a cool way of describing a boost in Agility ABS, for instance - the story could be that your Kilk has found a way to increase the distillation methods of his fuel source, and thus gains speed and agility. Remember to use those Story Swaps!

Again, the communication systems between the Great Machine and the Klik is totally up to you and your GM - morse code, tapped out on the metal hulls of their heads, smoke signals from their steam vents, signal lights via their clockwork shuttered eyes, or even "wireless" telegraph systems that must travel from one Klik to another as "stations" would likely be more "in character" for the steampunkish Klik, but anything you can dream up works, so long as it's approved by your GM. Also, there's nothing that says that the Klik have a single mode of communication - any or all of these could be used. I would expect that tripods would have their own "subroutine" type languages made up of bangs, gong-like thumps, whistles, and such (kinda like sitting in on a "Stomp" concert, but understanding the language beneath the sounds), where as the Rollers might have something more sophisticated, like ticks, whirs, pops and whistles (sorta like R2, I would imagine).

Pretty much, whatever your imagination can come up with. :)

Whether or not High-bred tech could intercept and translate the method of communication would depend very highly on what language we're referring to - they would certainly know Morse Code, but probably would be baffled by the Tripod "STOMP" language. :P (Churls might get that last one, though - they generally like banging on things...)

L'na can read the minds of Klik, but it is very alien and odd for them to understand what the Cog-men are saying - however, eventually, a smart L'na could sort it out, I think. Imagine your dog trying to learn HTML - they could do it, but depending on the dog, it might take a little longer than others. My hyper-intelligent border collie could do it A LOT quicker than my wife's thick-headed pit bull, for example. :P

We are actually toying around with the idea of a flying Klik rub-race, or power cards that allow the current ones to fly - just as you mentioned (Da VInci style screws or ornithopther wings). Feel free to draft up some ideas/concepts for a race - if we like it, it just might become part of Untold canon and we'll even give you credit on the card! :)

I think these ideas are awesome - work with them, add some detail to them (what you think the Power cards might look like/what benefits they might give, what sorts of Magnitude the Power cards might have, the description text, etc.) and post it here. As I said above, it we like the ideas and they work inside our rules, we'll actually make the cards and give you credit! :)

If you're an artist - draw some images and post them - we may want to use those as well! Awesome ideas and questions, Siwel!!

I love the ideas that he came up with for Kliks. I also love the idea of a flying Klik.

Cool - glad you like - please take those ideas and GROW them - write a story, draw a picture, compose a song - whatever inspires you! We want to let you guys help grow the world in which Untold is played! :D

I had imagined that Buzzsaw, being steam powered, most likely had some form of oxygen intake in order to fuel his heat based power system, and if he went underwater, he'd short out, and you'd have to restart him.

The one thing about Untold, however, that keeps me coming back is that it is flexible with the story. There are no rigid story line boundaries, no rigid rules on how to act according to what character you play, and so on. Its a beautiful thing.

Buzzsaw actually has a Phlogiston Accumulator - that powers his flame based cards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston

Meaning that through the course of time he accumulates phlogiston from the atmosphere and even creates it himself. We were trying to keep some of the Victorian stylings of psedo-science energy, forces, and elements.

I love the klik ideas generated thus far!

Exactly, Ben - Untold was made to have infinite possibilities, so if you wanted YOUR tripod to be powered by a Steam Engine, you can definitely do that. As a matter of fact, if you had ideas for a whole line of steam-based powers, submit them - they might even become actual cards! :)