Machines

Backstory:
The land is barren, and littered with ruins of tall buildings and husks of once-powerful machines. Metal is abound in this desert of an age past, and the hardy people who live there have found ways to repair some of the fallen mechs and stake a claim of the massive junkyard. Now bandits and their mechs have collectively amassed a huge amount of territory, with most of the wasteland people living under them like serfs. It is not an easy life, but it makes the resilient people even stronger.

However, comfortable life is still supported at oasis's of the land, where the fresh water and delicate plants still are. It is here that companies rise to power, and begin to take an interest in the world that has shunned human life for decades. The most powerful company, Dynamo Industries, was the first to send out "reclamation parties" personal army groups of solders and pilots, to "reclaim the lost land from the savages." As if in a race for more power, the rest of the companies followed suit, creating a sort of battle royale in the once(cough *never *cough) calm junkyard.

The majority of the work in the land for a mech pilot that isn't in either the bandits' forces or in one of the major paramilitaries belong to either corporations or the small counties is an effective freelancer, who takes jobs as they can get them. The main acquisition of these jobs is a large network (creatively called 'The Network'), where everyone from bandit lords to merchants to military commanders post jobs. These range from assassinations to simple clean up of a certain area to escort duties for goods.

Information on the Junkyard:
A large(continent sized) expanse of fallen mechs and vast weapons of ages past. Sand and dirt lie underneath the metal mountains and dunes, making it exceptionally hard to navigate unless using some sort of vehicle. The only creatures native to the horrible place are the rampart infestation of a beast called lizard-bear. While holding no relation to either, they are aptly named as a sort of scaled hell-beast that eats every other living thing it comes across(namely other lizard-bears, and of course, humans). The oasis's are the main producers of the food that supports the junkyard, ranging from bear-lizard jerky to a hardy vegetable that is impossible to identify. Smaller places that can provide food also exist, usually the small monarchies and republics outside of the view of both the businesses and the bandit lords.

Mechs and Limitations of the Times:
The Mechs fall into broadly two categories. Mobile suits are usually in a more upright, forming the more traditional silhouette of a large metal knight, and are usually more utilitarian than mobile armors on a case to case basis. Mobile armors pretty much cover everything else, with every kind of shape and role known to man built into a more specialized mech that will excel in situations that are in it's favor. Average size and tonnage for a mobile suit are around 11 meters and about thirty five to fourty tons. For a mobile armor, the number is slightly smaller, although the range from which the average is taken is larger. Thus, the average size is around 10 meters, and the average tonnage is about twenty five to thirty tonnes.

Both mobile armor and moblie suits are mainly ground based. Flying armor and suits are present, but very rare, and devour fuel incredibly fast, thus making it a risky business. However, both MS and MA usually have omni-directional thrusters built in as a standard to navigate the junkyard proper. Long range weapons are strictly line of sight and some laser guiding, as making large guided missiles is a lost technology and thus both space travel and ICBMs and such missiles are unseen and thus unheard of in this day and age.

Weaponry triangle(or Polydecahedron):
Namely concerning the almost rock-paper-scissors type of weapons.
What with heat weapons cutting through armor like so much paper, and thus having relatively no way to block them except gain more armor and heat dispersion.
However, plasma weapons cut through heat weapons and armor like again, so much paper. However, plasma weapons can be dispersed by destabilizing the magnetic field that holds them together, so shielding is much easier than against heat weapons, thus completing the kind of not really cycle.
In ranged weapons, large caliber slugs are viewed as inferior, but cheap and able to pack a punch. A defense against this is magnetic fields, built into heavy metal shields that point away from the sensitive electronics in the cockpit. Plasma bolts are much the same as their melee their counterparts, cutting through armor but easier to block than both slugs and beams. Beams are the worst kind of ranged weapon to run into, the only way to block them is to have enough armor and heat dispersion and hope they don't grill the pilot before they destroy the engine. However, these are very much one off weapons, generating stupid amounts of heat that can and will grill the man using them or melt the gun that fires them if not careful.

Some Examples of Mobile Armor(Not own design.):




Some Examples of Mobile Suits(Again, not own Design):

Pilot


Name: Cassandra Fyrestone
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Personality: Having grown up around bandits, Cassandra is often seen as having an abrasive personality. She says and does whatever she wants with no regard for how it affects others, and is always looking out for herself, first and foremost.
Short Biography: Cassandra was born into a large group of bandits, and so she lived the bandit life. When she was ten, she took part in her first raid, and at the age of twelve, she began working as a mechanic during the off time, reparing the mobile armor units the bandits acquired. Throughout all her life with these bandits though, Cassandra had her eyes on the old Ogre unit in the warehouse. Over time, she slowly repaired it, and once she had it operational, she said her goodbyes to her gang, striking out into the wastes as mercenary.

Mobile Armor


Name: Ogre
Description: Cassandra's Ogre was previously owned by a group of bandits, though it wasn't in working condition until Cassandra managed to repair it. The Ogre is a large, heavy, and slow moving model of Mobile Armor, with two kneeless legs using treads underneath for movement. The Ogre is so large that some parts of the interior have rooms in strategic places to avoid structural weaknesses, making the Ogre not only a weapon, but a living space as well.
Crew: One, able to accommodate up to twenty.
Height: 15.3 meters
Weight: 117.9 tons
Power Source: Nuclear Fusion Generator
Left Arm: Dual 100mm Cannons, able to use various ammunition types via switching internal magazines
Right Arm: Heavy heat dispersion/ magnetic shield, retractable heat blade
Left Shoulder: Single fire beam rifle, 20 second cool down

Accepted

Name: August Sands
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Personality: Known to his fellow pilots as a somewhat inconsistent introvert, August prefers the company of people in small numbers, although, as has been proven many times in the past, is perfectly capable of going without human interaction for weeks at a time. Good-natured, if a bit caustic at times, August's love of food seems to be matched only by his adoration of his mobile armor, the Moloch.
Appearance: A solid (and stolid) six foot four of tanned and sandblown fat (and just enough muscle to pass Kriegsfieldt physical inspection), with an omnipresent scattered stubble and short ponytail framing his bushy black eyebrows over constantly glittering off-hazel eyes.
Biography: A PFC (Specialist) in the small but elite standing army of a glorified city-state known as Kriegsfieldt on the eastern edge of the Junkyard, he had his beginning as the son (and later muscle) of a notorious merchant dealing in anything from junk to seafood whose route led him across almost one whole side of the Junkyard. Eventually, however, August grew tired of the constant hardcore bartering with people whose faces he didn't recognize, and parted ways amiably with his father at Kriegsfieldt, where his mother had died two decades ago giving birth to him.
Almost immediately he went into a martial field, joining a small mercenary group called the Zweihanders as a designated marksman specializing in anti-mecha support. After only two years the Zweihanders exhausted themselves though, with over three quarters of the group either dead or wishing to leave due to anything from having had too much of a taste of war to wishing to start a family.
The decision was reached with the commanders of the mercenary group to disband, forcing August to swing to the Kriegsfieldt somewhat cruel (although not uncaring) military. He quickly made a name for himself as an odd-jobsman, utilizing his myriad skills learned as a bodyguard for his father to help his squad accomplish any task set to them.
As robot vehicles grew in use, Kriegsfieldt was forced to somewhat hurriedly adopt mobile suit systems. Reverse engineering any mecha acquired, the Kriegsfieldt engineers and manufacturers turned out to be quite proficient at creating advanced robot vehicles, and creating multiple kinds of both specialized and utilitarian mechs to assist their heavier armor and infantry.
Seeing a chance to play with amazing tools of destruction, August signed up for the Kriegsfieldt Mobile Armor as soon as he was able to, and has recently been assigned to a government-sponsored mercenary army that has been created to both bring a new source of income to the city-state, and engage in scouting of the rest of the Junkyard's geographical and political features.

Vehicle: Mobile Armored Weapons Platform, designate 'Moloch'

• Crew: One


• Height: 9.90 meters (32.5 feet)


• Weight: 30.22 tons (60440 pounds)


• Power Source: Micronized Fusion Reactor; maximum output ~2500kW

Made for for extended solo operations in adverse conditions, the Moloch is perfectly capable of staying in the field indefinitely (at least with proper supplies provided somehow for its pilot). As such, they're usually deployed in groups of one to three, stalking the junkyards for prey or particularly valuable salvage; their infamous mobility and utility giving them the edge in ambushes and hit-and-run attacks where their overpowering armaments and speed can overpower the hapless foe before a counterattack can be mounted. Less commonly but not unheard of they can be used as close-combat support for both infantry and conventional vehicles, as their smaller size and varied armaments gives them the capability to engage in all sorts of fighting, from urban CQC to open-desert sniping play.
Weapons: The Moloch itself wields a 7.62 coaxial minigun that can tear through anything up to lightly-armored vehicles with ease, a 30mm revolving autocannon for anti-armor purposes and a hard-hitting semi-auto 50mm autocannon firing sabot rounds for long-range firepower, and at last a missile rack holding three high-speed wire-guided missiles.
It also holds a point-defense anti-missile laser pod, and a full complement of electronic countermeasures, from short-ranged EMP charges to targeting bafflers and similarly short-ranged radar scramblers. On top of this it is perfectly wielding man- or mech-sized weaponry with its two manipulator arms, directed by the pilot themselves.
Inside the Moloch there's also a PDW in case its pilot is forced outside, firing 5.56mm rifle rounds from a 40-round magazine in a bullpup design.

Name: Jonathan Marx
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Looks(Picture not Required): Messy, neck length dirty blonde hair. Green eyes with dark bags underneath them from lack of sleep. A murky not-quite pale, not quite tan skin color. Average height(Around six foot even). Lean. Has a neural link port(A circle of metal) at the base of his neck. Clothing usually consists of a off-grey zip up jumpsuit, with a large helmet that is used to interface with his suit directly in tandem to the neural link.
Mobile Weapon(Picture not Required, but Recommended): Dynamo Issue: Model ISX-6 Close-Combat Custom: "Reichsritter"

• Crew: One


• Height: 12.27 meters


• Weight: 42.56 tons


• Power Source: Combination Fission Reactor

Weapons:

• Two One-Handed Heat Axes


• Single-Bladed Heat Knife


• Bastard-Sword Sized CQC Weapon. Utilizes plasma on the edges, and once plasma burns out, the tip is used as a heat sink to double as a heat weapon.


• Large Tower Shield: Acts as both a sheath for the bastard sword, and has an alternating magnetic current to deal with solid bullets. Core component is aerogel.


• Bayoneted Rifle: Fires solid ammunition, and is stored in two parts. Base receiver can be fired inaccurately without the bayoneted barrel.

Vehicle Description:The Model ISX-6, of Dynamo Corporation, is the successor to the ISX-5, a largely adaptable mobile suit known for its wide array of armaments it could equip, as well as the surprising flexibility when it came to armor styles and thickness, resulting in much variation for Dynamo's many agent. The ISX-6 expands on that idea, putting an emphasis on the updated strength of the frame and the higher output of their new combination reactor. The CQC Custom unit 'Reichsritter' has both expanded armor, mounting more surface area for the large amount of melee weapons that it uses, larger thrusters, and a command suite in addition to the electronic warfare units fitted by default into nearly every mecha, big or small. Gone from the design to make up for the newer expansions of the armor and speed are nearly all of the places where a ranged hard-point weapon could be mounted. The engine is also no longer configured to use beam weapons nor plasma weapons. With that in mind, the roles this variant of the ISX-6 would be multi-fold, including close-range suppression and assassination, along with a front-line commander.
Personality: Worst. In all seriousness, he drinks heavily, smokes, has done nearly every drug known(and some unknown), and is an insomniac. Curses like a sailor, and while not entirely misogynistic, a lot of his viewpoints are ignorant and his suggestions are usually as offensive as they are numerous. Seems to like doing his job, or just does it because he has nothing better to do with his time. While an exceptionally skilled pilot(and by proxy a relatively good mechanic), he often goes through partners due to his rather grating actions and words.
Short Biography: Jonathan Walker was born to a young woman in a central part of the junkyard, which was conquered and currently controlled by a medium sized bandit group called the "Metal Warriors". These so-called conquerors never posed much of a threat to any of the larger bandit groups nor the large paramilitaries, so they remained in power for much of Jonathan's early years. During this time, the young man was drafted into the ranks of the various support personal for updating and maintaining the bandits many mobile weapons.
A few years passed before fate finally found a way to bring down a hammer on the "Metal Warriors", in the form of Dynamo Corporation. Dynamo, a highly successful producer of mechs, began to spread out to the wastes, with one of the first territories being taken those of the much weaker and less well-equipped Metal Warriors. The resulting slaughter nearly destroyed the bandit gang to the last man, and Dynamo annexed the persons and land that the now-dead gang had been hoarding, including the young Jonathan. He was swiftly drafted into the paramilitary as a full-time pilot, and thus spent years honing his skills both on and off the battlefield, even as his social skills and his life outside of work declined into oblivion.
Currently has been assigned to the area around the hub known only as Haven as a solo agent and recruiter for Dynamo for the office that is inside Haven proper.

Also, accepted

I'm just gonna save a spot here for the moment, if that suits.

EDIT: Scratch that. I'm in over my head.

All are welcome, so- I doubt you're in that far. Give it a shot, see how it turns out.

this looks interesting
im gonna reserve my spot here, if i can figure out my mech stats :P

CS:
Name: Jurano/Hirota Lightfire
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Looks:


Mobile Weapon: A Generation 2 long ranged Mobile suit, Codename: Kitoro

Weapons:
-1.00 cal sniper rifle
-Jump jets
-Leg wheels
-Cyber Katana blade
_50mm sub machine gun

Stats:
weight: 36 tons
Core: Nuclear Fusion reactor, run time: around 24 hrs
Height: 11 metres 50 cm

Description:
The generation 2 long ranged mobile suit, codenamed: Kitoro, owned by Jurano Lightfire, was a scrap piece made up of other generation 2 mobile suits. Jurano built it with the intentions of long ranged combat that can easily move about. The legs come equipped with a set of retractable wheels that gives it extra speed in combat and moving around, the jump jets help it move to higher locations and stabilise some parts of the suit. It comes with a long ranged sniper that can shoot to around 5 km easily and max range is 20 km. The suit also has a short ranged sub machine gun used for close quarters combat, as well as a large cyber katana blade.

Personality:
Jurano/Hirota has split personality disorder, though they act the same way you can easily tell who's who. Jurano is a more compassionate person, whereas Hitora is more colder towards others. What they have in common is their love for tinkering with their Mobile suit. Always adding parts to make it run faster and effectively.
Short Biography:
The 'twins' were born into a bandit clan, they hated the things they did so ran away with Kitoro when they were 19. Having realising that life was harder alone, they decided to take odd jobs like escorts and base defence. Becoming a more mercenary type person, they travel the land looking for jobs. One day they ran into a pack of the bandit clan they were once part of, they tried killing him but all that was left was a pile of broken suits and armour at his feet. The 'twins' carry a katana with them whenever they are outside of their suit, the suit was also their home so they spent most of their time either on and outside or inside their Suit.

Awesome. Take your time.

Can I use a tank instead of a mech?

I really like mechs, especially BattleTech, but it's mostly an aesthetic thing :x

Stats scare me.

@Astra: I wouldn't recommend it. If you really want to, however, some mobile armor looks like a tank with legs.

@Spoo: Stats are mostly eyeballing it anyways. You'll be fine.

TentacleLord said
@Astra: I wouldn't recommend it. If you really want to, however, some mobile armor looks like a tank with legs.@Spoo: Stats are mostly eyeballing it anyways. You'll be fine.

Any particular reason why?

Tanks may be faster on flat terrain and usually better armored, but mecha are more mobile and quite usually better armed. Add that to the fact that the Junkyard is very often not flat terrain, which makes the mecha a much more versatile choice. Note, this does not mean that conventional weapons like tanks are unused, and that's why if you wish to use one, you should be very aware that you can be outmaneuvered by people using said mecha. If you still wish to do as such, I would suggest scaling it up in order to compensate for such things.

TentacleLord said
Tanks may be faster on flat terrain and usually better armored, but mecha are more mobile and quite usually better armed. Add that to the fact that the Junkyard is very often flat terrain, which makes the mecha a much more versatile choice. Note, this does not mean that conventional weapons like tanks are unused, and that's why if you wish to use one, you should be very aware that you can be outmaneuvered by people using said mecha. If you still wish to do as such, I would suggest scaling it up in order to compensate for such things.

Judging from this, it sounds like the junkyard is comprised of literal mountains of trash. Uneven terrain doesn't deter armored vehicles as much as people think. If the junkyard is an expansive landscape of small mounds of junk, petite hills and potholes, tanks and light vehicles (like APCs, IFVs and mobile gun systems such as the M1128) aren't going to have much issue with such a landscape. If the tank's weight is an issue (which it shouldn't be, considering that machines weighing in excess of 50 tons are present in the world), then the tracks can be widened to decrease the vehicle's overall ground pressure at the expense of overall speed.

Mountains are going to be a hindrance to anything that tries to maneuver through them, though walking machines will have the capacity to climb these hills far better than a wheeled or tracked vehicle can (but only to a certain extent, as their overall mass coupled with their poor center of gravity will inevitability cause them to tumble backwards should they scale the mountain too far---unless of course they have arms or something, or if they possess four or more legs and are lower to the ground).

This is all technical stuff, and probably shouldn't be brought to the table since this RP appears to be more about fun rather than plausibility.

As Spoo said, it's all about the aesthetics. If I bring physics and actual science into this, it's going to ruin the party for everyone---including myself lol.

ASTA said
Judging from this, it sounds like the junkyard is comprised of literal mountains of trash. Uneven terrain doesn't deter armored vehicles as much as people think. If the junkyard is an expansive landscape of small mounds of junk, petite hills and potholes, tanks and light vehicles (like APCs, IFVs and mobile gun systems such as the M1128) aren't going to have much issue with such a landscape. If the tank's weight is an issue (which it shouldn't be, considering that machines weighing in excess of 50 tons are present in the world), then the tracks can be widened to decrease the vehicle's overall ground pressure at the expense of overall speed. Mountains are going to be a hindrance to anything that tries to maneuver through them, though walking machines will have the capacity to climb these hills far better than a wheeled or tracked vehicle can (but only to a certain extent, as their overall mass coupled with their poor center of gravity will inevitability cause them to tumble backwards should they scale the mountain too far---unless of course they have arms or something, or if they possess four or more legs and are lower to the ground). This is all technical stuff, and probably shouldn't be brought to the table since this RP appears to be more about fun rather than plausibility.As Spoo said, it's all about the aesthetics. If I bring physics and actual science into this, it's going to ruin the party for everyone---including myself lol.

You're right about the physics, yeah, at least with the vehicle size and the like(Tanks being more stable than mobile armor, mobile armor with multiple legs being more stable than mobile suits, etc). However, you asked about the terrain, and how the landscape looks like. The entire place looks like a combination of a warzone and a planetary bombardment. Much of the huge chunks of metal are rusted out hulls of tanks or mecha from eons past, with parts being scattered far and wide. Occasionally, there will be the destroyed remains of a landship or even some sort of massive-spacecraft, with metal chunks and 'bits'. There is so much metal wreckage that it is nearly impossible to see a five foot free space anywhere unless artificially cleared, in the cases of city-states and hubs, with special attention given to the oasis's which have some greenery in addition to the towering buildings. The main landscale is hilly with metal, but again, it's relatively unstable and mountains of the stuff are not uncommon.

If space and viewing range is that limited, how are some of the larger mechs in the RP even supposed to fire their weapons let alone acquire targets? They'd be just as limited as wheeled or tracked vehicle would be. I see them having to wade over hills and awkwardly maneuvering themselves into firing positions while under fire. It would be...messy, to say the least.

Sounds like an environment where soldiers in powered armor, exoskeletons or battle armor (like the Elemental from the Battletech universe or the Terminator from the Warhammer 40k universe) would excel in---not vehicles of any kind, since so many hills, ditches and other hiding places would allow plenty of opportunity for a soldier using heavy weapons (like an anti-tank/anti-mech missile launcher, anti-material rifle or even a well-placed explosive charge) to effectively and efficiently down a larger target with little risk involved.

ASTA said
If space and viewing range is that limited, how are some of the larger mechs in the RP even supposed to fire their weapons let alone acquire targets? They'd be just as limited as wheeled or tracked vehicle would be. I see them having to wade over hills and awkwardly maneuvering themselves into firing positions while under fire. It would be...messy, to say the least. Sounds like an environment where soldiers in powered armor, exoskeletons or battle armor (like the Elemental from the Battletech universe or the Terminator from the Warhammer 40k universe) would excel in---not vehicles of any kind, since so many hills, ditches and other hiding places would allow plenty of opportunity for a soldier using heavy weapons (like an anti-tank/anti-mech missile launcher, anti-material rifle or even a well-placed explosive charge) to effectively and efficiently down a larger target with little risk involved.

Well, that would be the point. Something with heavy armor and the power of an MBT with the maneuverability of a soldier.

While the point of powered armor and ambushing is valid, it's also a rather moot point considering the size difference, as there is a very dead man in powered armor if said attack fails.

My sheet should be up soon.