Desert Raiders: Steampunk in the Sand - Interest Check?
Summary:
In a world threatened by war, trains rocket across a desert to bring vital equipment and materials to a vicious, volatile nation. Your mission is to distract, de-rail, destroy, steal from, stop or anything – just don't let those supplies reach their destinations.
The World:
Mir is a continent with many nations. Tanrika, on the far East of Mir, has been getting greedy. Through political maneouvers, the smaller nations around Tanrika have been swallowed into its empire, and she's hungry for more. She is rapidly arming herself and building up her armies. Soon, she will be unstoppable. There are four more nations on Mir; Kandinia and Ekosa both openly criticise Tanrika's behaviour, but know that if things continue, they will be powerless to stop her expansion. Fraycia is hedging her bets, but has started to believe it would be best to start an informal alliance with Tanrika, and is supplying her with the natural deposits of iron and coal of which Fraycia has so many. However, Fraycia is on almost the other side of Mir, and needs to go through either Kandinia, Ekosa, or the final nation, Jenvia. Going through Jenvia is technically the longer way round, but the least opposed. A huge country, Jenvia has very little government or anything, really. It is basically a wasteland with a selection of shanty-towns that nobody else wants, due to how ridiculously impractical it would be to invade. However, Fraycia and Tanrika have, between them, set up an elaborate rail network to rapidly transfer Fraycia's ores to Tanrika, where they will be manufacted into weaponry.
Privateers:
For Kandinia and Ekosa, military operations to de-rail the trains are not an option. Mountain ranges and the harsh terrain make it extremely impractical. The rail itself is well-defended, and made from almost indestructable alloys. The trains themselves, though? Now, they all have bounties on them. Privateers, sometimes called pirates, working on tips leaked by mysterious sources, rush the trains and stop them. Needless to say, the trains are well-armed, and it usually means breaking on-board and taking it apart from the inside.
Fraycia and Tanrika have begun to cotton onto the actions of privateers, and has sent emissaries into the desert to hunt the privateers.
Technology:
This is a steampunk universe that hasn't quite made it to the skies yet. In Jenvia, however, methods of hovering have been developed as means of skimming over the brutal terrain; aptly named skimmers. These are circular vehicles, with, usually, no roof. With the use of steam-powered-propellers, skimmers can hover and move very quickly across the desert. Unfortunately, they are usually thrown together from scraps, and so are hugely unreliable and unpredictable. They vary wildly, but privateers generally equip their skimmers with a cannon or two, but they usually can't be heavily armed, because they cannot hold much weight.
Weaponry:
This is a steampunk world, and so all non-melee weapons are powered by steam. Melee weapons are generally whatever the user likes to use – often hammers or axes for blugeoning or braining.
Basic projectile weaponry exists, using pressurised steam to launch projectiles. Such cannons come in various sizes, included handheld cannons that resemble real-world guns. While larger cannons are generally directly connected to boilers, hand-cannons can be connected to cannisters of pressurised steam, which can be worn as backpacks. Cannons of all descriptions generally require being reloaded after every shot. Barrels generally cause leakage of pressure, and generally weakens the firepower. Elsewhere in Mir, heavily armoured mechanised vehicles are being produced, but Jenvia's terrain does not support them.
Psychic Sets:
Many people in Mir equip themselves with psychic headsets. These somewhat resemble headphones, with sensors on the ears and also on the forehead, which register beta waves. These brainwaves send electrical signals down wires that extend to the wrist, and then into a custom-built gauntlets. Such gloves are ridiculously impractical, and usually massively restrict the movement of the hand and fingers, so what do they do? Well, there are two kinds. One is for telekinesis (moving objects and even people around), and one is for telepathy (reading minds and implanting ideas, maybe even direct control). However, the gauntlets have a few drawbacks – all humans naturally give off these beta waves, and they cause interference. The more humans there are in the vicinity, the weaker the gloves become. They are extremely impractical in urban areas, as a result. Jenvia, however, is the ideal place for them. Second, the tech behind it is pretty volatile, and liable to break. They have a short range. Finally, it takes an awful lot of concentration to achieve a desired result.
The Kolibra
The Kolibra refers to two things: one particular Skimmer, and the crew that pilots it. They are a group of privateers hunting trains and trying to bring them down just like anybody else. The difference is, this is us.
The RP:
So, if I get interest, I'll flesh it out a little bit more, and, in particular, add (or commission) some drawings of the Kolibra. I'm looking for eight characters maximum: a captain, an engineer, a pilot or two and a handful of heavies. Maybe a medic too? Let me know if you can think of a role you think is appropriate. When we've sorted out a roster, I'll think up a particular mission, and we'll go de-rail some trains. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears – when GMing, I love for the other players to get involved with the world-building. I'm also a poet that didn't know it.
This will probably be casual, but that doesn't mean I don't expect a decent standard of posting. One-liners will never be acceptable.
So... how's about it? :)
