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Hey, the only bad thing in all that is that your Charisma is in the negatives. Everything else is a very good thing :P
Darn it, I knew I should have remembered that! I had school all week though, so I didn't have a chance to look over the guidebook and check. I'll update as soon as I decide what to do.
Okay.
I won't have consistent access to the internet for another week, so I won't start the RP proper until then.
If anyone would like, though, I could start the thread and let you guys like, RP together or whatever. I dunno.
I'll wait, I have mid-semester exams this week.
Okay, so. I'm going to make the thread tomorrow, and start the RP proper then. It will be a Play by Post thing, rather than asking everyone to jump on at a dedicated time.
So, a little thing before we start:
Saurians.
Saurians are a lizardlike species, hailing from the planet Dastibar. This planet has a mixed climate, with swamps, deserts and sunny plains all mixing together. The planet is mostly populated by lizards and insects, which have evolved (perhaps with a little help) into the Saurians and the Chii, who are a race of humanoid insects. Only the Saurians have a very high IQ, though, allowing them to build spaceships and eventually enter galactic civilization, where the Chii still remain bound to Dastibar.
Saurians very much consider themselves the king lizards- the dominant predator within society. This is reinforced by them, well, actually being the dominant predators within society; only exceptional examples of each race can hope to match the Saurians in combat, and it is a rare event for anybody to match an exceptional Saurian.
Many people dismiss the Saurians as brutish, because of their animalistic mindset, limited technological advancement, and their cultural focus on combat. This is a good rule of thumb, but the exceptions, Saurians born for intelligence rather than combat capability, are forces to be reckoned with if you attempt to match their brains. It is these few Saurians responsible for making Saurian weaponry and armour, their spacecraft, their landbound fortifications, and for "helping" sub-breeds of Saurians, such as Whiptails and Airbound, to evolve.
Whiptails
The Whiptail subspecies of Saurian - known to each other as the "Nuie" - are smaller, lighter, less long in tooth and claw than their prime cousins. But what they lack in strength or toughness, they make up in quickness, and few can beat these lizards in contests of speed or reflex. They are also shorter-lived, fifty-to-sixty years to the standard Saurian century.
But what truly sets them apart is their status as an all-female species. Reproducing through parthenogenesis, Whiptails lay eggs that hatch into genetic clones of their mothers. Unlike most independently-minded humanoids that socially and psychologically grow into individuals who both identify with their parents but also try to distinguish themselves from their forebears, no distinction is made from a parent and her child in Nuie society and biology.
If a Whiptail dies after successfully raising their one daughter to maturity, said daughter will become an "Heir", inherit her mother's Bloodline, consisting of both a legal transaction of property and funds, a ceremonial passing-on of responsibilities and duties, as well as a psychic transfer of knowledge and memories. These are then further transferred down the line, each individual considered the latest incarnation of an honored elder. One's ancestor is one-and-the-same as the person she was years ago. Thus, a Bloodline is a combination of both a pedigree as well as previous personal accomplishments.
If however a Whiptail perishes before reproducing, powerful pheromones are released by the corpse, and a separate Whiptail finds herself working to produce a second egg, consisting of randomized genes instead of a clone of herself. These are called "Mothers", and are honored both for shouldering a burden not their own as well as birthing a new Bloodline.
These pheromones may also be artificially produced, in case the body is too far away or the community wishes to expand.
A Mother may make a case that she is not properly equipped to provide for a new bloodline, and may give up the second egg for adoption, and no shame is attached to this passing of responsibilities.
Upon the randomized hatchling entering maturity, she is labeled a "Matriach" - the first of a new Bloodline - and awarded special rights and privileges both legally and socially. In addition, gifts are given by the community to the Matriarch to ease her way, and it is customary (but not mandated) that her Mother or Sister provide the largest share of gifts.
When raised together, an Heir and a would-be Matriarch become extremely close, familiar and comfortable with each other to great degrees. While there are no words for this type of bonding, the level of trust and intimacy shared makes this relationship the closest thing the Whiptails have of marriage in their culture.
Like their cousins, the Nuie are polytheistic, worshipping many gods. They revere them not because they believe the gods are automatically worthy of praise, but instead consider them to be exemplars of a particular trait or skill, aspiring to be more like their chosen patrons, in some cases even affecting speech patterns or dressing up as their patrons' depictions.
While Nuie are asexual in terms of biology, they are nevertheless capable of experiencing pleasure during copulation, albeit in a much more muted form.
Because of their smaller frames, Nuie prefer light, long, thin swords or heavy knives, and are avid customers of gun companies that manufacture primarily lighter rifles and revolvers.
Okay, so, here's the link to Juan's character sheet.
He has also got two generic soldiers:
Soldier
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6,
Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d4
Charisma: —; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Laser Pistol; Battle Suit (Powered Armour)
Experienced Soldier
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8
Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d6
Charisma: —; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Edges: Quick Draw, Marksman
Laser Pistol; Battle Suit (Powered Armour)
Note: The two Battle Suits for the Squad Members provide only +5 Protection, do not cover the hands and head, and weigh an extra 10 pounds. To counter this, they are more readily affordable, at $1,000.
He also has a Spaceship:
Executor-class Light Sabotager
Acceleration/Top Speed: 25/70
Toughness: 18
Crew Size/Max Crew Size: 1/4
Climb +1
2 x 30mm Cannon, mounted on wings. Deals 3d8 damage (AP 6). RoF: 3.
1 x 40mm Cannon, mounted on hull. Deals 4d8 damage (AP 5) or 3d8 damage (AP 22, MBT). RoF: 4.
And... that's that for his character sheet!
???
Thank you.
Hey I don't have time to read this all in depth right now, but I may be interested. I'll poke back in later.
Traibunza is a planet with no particular importance attached to it, in the public's eye.
Historians may note that the planet's inhabitants are proud of their military, and rightfully so- many of their soldiers are well-equipped, well-trained, and experienced.
The planet is home to two distinct species of its own, and is currently being colonized. Most of the colonizers are Human, but it is not uncommon to see Saurians, Half-Orcs, and Rakashans there.
The two species are the warlike Terens and the somewhat unsettling Yess. The Terens are quadripedal creatures, much like the Centaurs of mythology. They have four legs and two arms. Comparisons have been drawn between Teren and tigers- they are lithe, graceful and powerful. Teren have become intimately familiar with futuristic technology since settlers first arrived- although they do not have many weapons, so laser pistols and the like are reserved for Teren commanders or those who won them in valorous battle.
The Yess are a group of lizardlike insectoid aliens. They look like a cross between an oversized praying mantis and a giant lizard- standing at around four feet tall, these aliens have rough, lizardlike skin covered by chitin, upper arms curved like those of a praying mantis, and skinny legs ending in powerful claws.
The Yess are not hostile to colonists, but many colonists find them unnerving due to their strange nature. Each Yess is connected to a nest, which constantly hums. The Yess are able to hear this hum, no matter how far away they are from it, and by rubbing their arms together (like a violin), they are able to commune with the nest.
The planet is a temperate planet, but very humid. Oceans cover about forty percent of the planets surface, while forests and jungles another thirty percent.
Human settlements are mostly small, numbering in the hundreds, each housing an average of five thousand people. The settlement that greets arrivers is significantly larger, housing around twenty thousand people, and is known as Welsim.
I have a question. What is this "Rulebook"? This game seems to use a pre-existing system but I can't find mention of what systsem. I might just be overlooking it because, y'know, I'm retarded.
I'm thinking like this.
Security protocol for media dissemination is for the army to treat certain affairs in different ways.
"Gold" is basically something that makes the army look really, really, good. It means loads of promotions all around.
Blue is that it makes them look good but also fallible.
Green is ambivalence.
Grey is something bad that could be kinda justified, but not necessarily viewed in a good light. A demotion at best.
Black actions are condemned by code and war conventions. Many demotions and at least one conviction.
Clear is an outright atrocity. If anyone found out, everyone even tangentially involved would have to be hanged.
It's called Savage Worlds.
That's a good baseline, but in this case...
General Teyin, as an NPC, is someone who really, really does not want to be in this position. However, due to a combination of pressure from her higher-ups, political wrangling which uses her as a scapegoat, and the knowledge that she is the most moral person for the job, she is thrown in here.
There's a lot more at work here than you currently know. Your three characters weren't chosen at random- I've worked you three into a vague backdrop, and you three are being used for all this.
However, this work... It's not exactly by-the-book. Oh, the consequences if you fuck up will see you punished in military court, but the details of the operation- they more follow Federation Intelligence's guidelines. That is, the security protocol is less "Colour means X" and more "That's on a need-to-know basis. Who should we ensure to keep this from?"
I will consult the rulebook and see if I can comprehend it. If I can, I'll have my character sheet sometime tomorrow.
Okay I'm on Page 6 and already very, very lost.
I don't suppose I can get a cliff notes version?
Cliff notes version:
Race, Traits, Skills, Edges and Hindrances, Gear.
You choose your Race from the list provided. The races allowed in this campaign are Humans, Saurians, Half-Orcs, Rakashans, Half-Folk, Androids, and Avions.
Then you choose your Traits. You have:
- Agility
- Smarts
- Spirit
- Strength
- Vigour
You have a d4 in each of these traits. You have five points to raise these attributes with. Spending one point raises that attribute up a die type- that is, from a d4 to a d6, from a d6 to a d8, from a d8 to a d10, or from a d10 to a d12. No Trait can go above a d12.
Then you have your Skills.
Too many Skills to list here, but the basis is the same. You have no ranks in each Skill; spending a point raises that skill to a d4. It cost one point to raise a skill by one die type, so long as that skill matches a die type.
For example, Healing is noted as being Healing [Smarts]. So, if a character has a Smarts of d8, he or she could spend three points to get a d8 in Healing- one point to purchase a d4, one point to raise it to a d6, and another to raise it to d8. It would then cost two points to raise it to a d10, as the skill has outranked the linked attribute at that point.
Then, you move on down to Edges and Hindrances.
You can pick three Hindrances from the list; one Major Hindrance and two Minor Hindrances. Some of the Hindrances give role-play only downsides, while some give mechanical downsides.
Those Hindrances are worth 'points'. The Major Hindrance is worth 2 points, the Minor Hindrances are worth 1 point each.
With these 'points', you can:
- For 1 point, you can gain another skill point, or double your starting funds (You start off with $2000 here).
- For 2 points, you can raise an attribute one die type, or choose an Edge.
You can choose an edge now, but only if you spent the points for it.
Then, you just buy gear.
Just as a note, I do already have three players with a squad each. I am not sure if I want a fourth player to have a squad, so I may either ask you to not have a squad (leaving you with your choice of military equipment for your own character), or wait until the group has finished their first assignment, then split them and ask you and your squad to join the second group, and make a new thread for that. This is just because four players with two to three squad members each will take a long, long time to do in combat, and throws off the combat balance even more.
Lastly, you start off as a 'Seasoned' player. This means that you can pick Seasoned edges as well, but it also gives you four Advances.
Each Advance lets you:
- Gain a new Edge.
- Increase a skill that is equal to or greater than its linked
attribute by one die type.
- Increase two skills that are lower than their linked
attributes by one die type each.
- Buy a new skill at d4.
- Increase one attribute by a die type (Once per Rank only, so you can only pick this one once.)
Well if you already have enough people, that's fine.
I'll just back out then.
No, I don't know if I have enough people. I won't until combat starts and I've seen how long it takes.
Ah, I see.
Well, in that case I'll wait until you've run a test combat. Unless that's impractical?
A test combat is kind of a bad idea, but it probably won't be long until they manage to actually get into a proper bout of combat, at which point I will be able to see. And if that takes too long, then I will just run a simulation myself- I'd just like to avoid that because that will take me several hours, most likely.
However, it should not significantly impair you, so long as it happens early. Level progression is kind of slow in this game anyway- with experience only being handed out at the end of each mission, and you advancing after just 5 EXP.
So you don't have to worry about falling behind or anything, just seeing if it would slow the combat down too far.
And, as I said, if it would, I am happy to split the group into two parties of two and run intertwining games, which should solve that dilemma.
Okay. Well I have to go to sleep now, so I'll pop in later today to see what we're gonna do.
Okay, so you guys are aware, I'm basically giving you guys free roam for the moment.
If you need to know any details about the city you are in, feel free to ask, and I will provide as much information as I can. Otherwise, go and buy anything you think you need with whatever funds you have, go home and relax for a while or talk with your new colleagues if you want, and basically do whatever.
I will insert myself in again once you guys have boarded a shuttle to the planet.
Hey Fourteen, could you like label the dialogue? It's confusing.
Doesn't seem confusing to me?
Alright I'm going to sign up for this, I'm going to download the rulebook and get to creating my characters stat.
Sweet.
Make sure to look at the rules I've posted regarding your squad though- in particular, statblocks for soldiers, military-grade equipment, and starting funds increased to $20,000.
Oh, and also.
Juan, fourteenwings, and Kraken: As everyone has indicated that they are finished up on this planet, I am about to prepare to start the scenario for real.
I wish to ask if fourteenwings and Kraken will escort Juan's transport ship to Traibunza, or if you wish to fly ahead and wait for him.