GEARs is a world I have run RPGs in several times in the past. Each time it has been popular, but usually ended up dying due to lack of participation in the long run, mainly due to players dropping out, or posts slowing to a crawl.
I want to run something again, as it's been a long time, and the setting and concept of GEARs is one I always want to revisit, so here we are again.

The RPG is set on a far-off, distant world, where Earth is less-than a legend, and the inhabitant of the planet of Arvara are anthropomorphic animals. Knowing full well that their world and society is somewhat a constructed one, they have no knowledge or information on who their creators were, or how their society came to be.
Nonetheless, their planet and people are well-established, and have various conflicts and issues, many of which require the use of advanced technology to deal with - not limited to the titular GEAR, a kind of piloted combat robot.

The story will follow a small group of hand-picked Special Operations GEAR pilots as they are assigned a clandestine mission to investigate a number of strange occurrences throughout their home country, and then beyond, eventually leading to a conspiracy that may answer many of the questions that underly the nature of life in Arvaran society, and shake it to its' core - if, that is, they can survive to find the answers, and manage to avoid igniting the flames of all-out war across the planets' surface first. And of course, they have to overcome their issues with each other, and others around them, in the best traditions of mecha anime too.

GEARs is primarily inspired by Real Robot mecha anime such as the various Mobile Suit Gundam series and other animations, Armoured Trooper VOTOMs, Patlabor, Macross, and many other such shows, video games, and comic books. GEARs are fast, agile, and light-weight machines, not the plodding tanks-with-legs of Battletech or Mechwarrior.
As well as this, there is a heavy inspiration from anthropomorphic - or, furry if you like - fiction, namely the Albedo comic book series by Steve Gallaci and it's associated works, and numerous other works of science fiction.

Just because there are 'furries', does not mean the game is anything other than a mostly serious sci-fi game. It also isn't intended to have any significant 'adult' content. The lore and the game concept also support the idea of anthro characters, and there are limitations on the species in the setting.

I'm looking for five players, for a total six-person unit, which will include my own character. Though I may accept a couple more, to be GEAR pilots in the setting.
Unlike other previous attempts, there will be no roles other than GEAR pilots, to keep things from getting complicated, and the plot will move relatively quickly, with clear objectives and tasks to keep things from bogging down, and to keep the interest flowing - hopefully, anyway.
Once I have enough interest, I'll put up an OOC with more background details and specifics, but I'll answer questions here if you have them.

Eager to get back into things, though I'm remaining somewhat cautious and a bit reserved, due to previous experiences.

I am most definitely down, but you probably expected that.

I am somewhat interested, though I do have a few questions to clarify a few things…

I assume the mechs are the traditional, titans of metal with a pilot in a cockpit. Right? I am not too familiar with the references you gave (save Gundam, at least vaguely), as I usually stick with more western styles such as 1920s+ or Supreme Commander (and though not too much a fan of Battletech/Mechwarrior, that as well).

The cultures on Arvara, do they have any similarities/inspiration from real world civilizations/countries? Like can I look at something and be like ‘oh yeah, they seem to basically be china but animals’.

How anthropomorphic? Would say, a cat be walking upright with clearly defined arms and legs or walking on four legs? Maybe somewhere in between?

What species of animal are allowed? I have always been partial to serpent men/snake folk myself. Specifically, as depicted in the works of Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

Lastly, I am a bit curious, is GEAR an acronym or simply a name?

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I’ll prob think of more questions later, but the above’ll help me decide as to whether or not I’ll have enough interest to do this RP. I am generally averse to furry stuff for several reasons, but this does not seem to touch on any of those and there seems to be a good story in here and I have never been one to turn down a good story without reason.

I pop in and out here hoping that something will catch my interest and what do you know! Sign me up.

Thanks for showing interest, and I'll break down your questions to answer them a bit more easily :)
I do have a full off-site lore and background that'll go up as part of the OOC when I post that up which has a lot more background detail on the tech, society, planet and such. Some of that will answer your questions in more detail, but I'll give you the brief answer here.

I assume the mechs are the traditional, titans of metal with a pilot in a cockpit. Right? I am not too familiar with the references you gave (save Gundam, at least vaguely), as I usually stick with more western styles such as 1920s+ or Supreme Commander (and though not too much a fan of Battletech/Mechwarrior, that as well).

Yes, they're pretty much standard piloted robots. There's a - somewhat cramped - cockpit, a bit like an ultra-high tech jetfighter. Control sticks and pedals, backed up with a lot of those cool sci-fi style holographic screens that you can interact with. And a lot of helmet-mounted HUD/Sights etc.

The cultures on Arvara, do they have any similarities/inspiration from real world civilizations/countries? Like can I look at something and be like ‘oh yeah, they seem to basically be china but animals’.

They're not directly carbon-copied, but there will be things you can recognise. Different regions and areas will be influenced and inspired by different Earthen cultures - the nation that the players will be from, for example, is loosely inspired by Sweden and Scandinavia.

How anthropomorphic? Would say, a cat be walking upright with clearly defined arms and legs or walking on four legs? Maybe somewhere in between?

This, basically.

What species of animal are allowed? I have always been partial to serpent men/snake folk myself. Specifically, as depicted in the works of Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

For reasons related to the background of the setting, Arvarans are only Mammals and some marsupials. No reptiles, no insects, or the like. And no mythological creatures either, as that doesn't make sense from a lore point of view.

Lastly, I am a bit curious, is GEAR an acronym or simply a name?

It is an acronym, and in true anime tradition, probably a highly redundant one. There's some in-game disagreement about exactly what it stands for - it kind of depends who you ask and what their background is, but the commonly agreed one is:

General purpose
Exoskeleton
Augmented
Robot

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I’ll prob think of more questions later, but the above’ll help me decide as to whether or not I’ll have enough interest to do this RP. I am generally averse to furry stuff for several reasons, but this does not seem to touch on any of those and there seems to be a good story in here and I have never been one to turn down a good story without reason.

Always glad to answer questions if they'll help. Hopefully putting up the lore will answer some of them, and if not, I'll do my best to answer them.
I can't blame you for being averse to furry stuff - despite being one myself, I know a lot of them can be bloody awful for the same repeated tropes, stereotypes and ideas. I try not to incorporate those, and just treat it as one aspect of a sci-fi story to make things interesting.
I'm glad you like the sounds of the story, and I hope you'll enjoy joining in.

Long time no see. I am interested, and very curious if this reboot will touch the history of past versions at all?

You also say pure gear pilots only this time around, so I am wagering my old fire team will not be accepted?

Lastly, if my fireteam is not going to be permitted, how about a variation of a normal gear that is much smaller, very limited flight capability, and a bit more techy rather than shooty?

Long time no see. I am interested, and very curious if this reboot will touch the history of past versions at all?

You also say pure gear pilots only this time around, so I am wagering my old fire team will not be accepted?

Lastly, if my fireteam is not going to be permitted, how about a variation of a normal gear that is much smaller, very limited flight capability, and a bit more techy rather than shooty?

There'll be no relation to earlier versions in order to keep things as simple as possible, and to avoid alienating any new players who don't have any knowledge of the history, though there will be Easter eggs for returning players

No fire teams, helicopters, or anything else - it honestly was a gigantic ballache last time I tried to make the game - which was supposed to be about being mecha pilots - fit other stuff, and putting it into each mission so everyone had something to do was a nightmare too

And there are no flight-capable GEARs this time around, at least when the game starts. All the players will have the same model of GEAR, but will get to outfit them to suit their playing style, as they have hardpoints for weapons and equipment, so you can go for more tech/recon type equipment
GEARs also are as fuck-huge as most pop culture mecha either. They're about the size of AMP suits from the movie Avatar, Patlabors from Patlabor, VOTOMS from th3 show of the same name, and other such smaller robots. Speed, agility and flexibility are their strength, not slugging it out. They move and fight like bigger infantry, and go down hard if they get into slogging matches, or fights in open country.

I like mechas. However, I don't like anthros. Not sure how to reconcile the two here. I suppose I can just try making an anthro and see how it goes, but it's not really my thing to begin with...

Interest? Yes.

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For reasons related to the background of the setting, Arvarans are only Mammals and some marsupials. No reptiles, no insects, or the like. And no mythological creatures either, as that doesn't make sense from a lore point of view.

A bit of a shame. When it comes to humanoid creatures, snake people are my top choice (and to a lesser extent, other kinds of reptiles) for thematic reasons as well as the interpretations by the aforementioned authors. I have a better idea on how to write snake characters then other kinds of animals.

I guess my second choice would be bears. Would that work with the lore?

<Snipped quote by Lurking Shadow>

It is an acronym, and in true anime tradition, probably a highly redundant one. There's some in-game disagreement about exactly what it stands for - it kind of depends who you ask and what their background is, but the commonly agreed one is:

General purpose
Exoskeleton
Augmented
Robot

Now I am wondering why it is named that way unless it is something about them being the 'gear or cog in the machine that is the military'.
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While I'm waiting on some more info, guess I'll start figuring out characters and whatnot.

Fair enough silver. I might reincarnate the captain, but I have been wanting to use a template personality I have in my back pocket...

Either way, I am in.

<Snipped quote by Silverwind Blade>

A bit of a shame. When it comes to humanoid creatures, snake people are my top choice (and to a lesser extent, other kinds of reptiles) for thematic reasons as well as the interpretations by the aforementioned authors. I have a better idea on how to write snake characters then other kinds of animals.

I guess my second choice would be bears. Would that work with the lore?

<Snipped quote by Silverwind Blade>

Now I am wondering why it is named that way unless it is something about them being the 'gear or cog in the machine that is the military'.
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While I'm waiting on some more info, guess I'll start figuring out characters and whatnot.

Bears will totally fit, no problem at all there. And I look forward to seeing what comes up :)

Fair enough silver. I might reincarnate the captain, but I have been wanting to use a template personality I have in my back pocket...

Either way, I am in.

Glad to hear it, will be good to have you back. I like that we'll have a mix of previous people and new people, should make things interesting.

Interest? Yes.

Welcome! Glad to have you with us :D

I like mechas. However, I don't like anthros. Not sure how to reconcile the two here. I suppose I can just try making an anthro and see how it goes, but it's not really my thing to begin with...

That's fair enough, I know it's not everyone's thing. I'll be putting the OOC up shortly, so give the info there a read over and see what you think. Maybe the lore will peak your interest, or have something you can hook into.

There's enough people who've registered interest that I'm going to go ahead and put the OOC up, it should be up later today. Will post the link to it in here when I'm done :)

The OOC is now up - roleplayerguild.com/topics/179850-gea…

Sounds cool anthro throw me off but hey I'm just saying a bunch would probably be interested

Sounds cool anthro throw me off but hey I'm just saying a bunch would probably be interested

The OOC is up if you're interested in taking a look at what it has to offer.

We still have one space open!

Bump, one place still up for grabs

GEARS - Silent Line is currrently closed to any new applicants, but thanks for your interest!