Occult Programming Language - Summary

The Occult Programming Language was developed by Alan Turing in the closing years of World War II, as a chance discovery that one-upped and exceeded the Nazis' attempts to harness mysticism and the occult for battle. It treated Reality as a giant computer, and one 'string' of the Language was able to alter or add one existing fact, but cannot directly destroy a physical object or even concept. Multiple strings of these accidentally infected the collective Human Subconscious like a computer virus, which Alan Turing discovered too late, and this infection altered all Human Souls to be capable of manifesting a Noble Arm.

Noble Arms - Summary

Noble Arms are weapons born from the human soul, capable of magical powers dictated by their creator's personality as they grow and develop. These weapons take on the form of obsolete, but culturally resonant tools and armaments, mostly weaponry created before World War I, but an increasing number take on the form of objects such as books, mirrors, and even metal cubes or orbs. A few can even use ships, siege towers, or blimps as Noble Arms.

Noble Arms exist in a kind of 'hyperspace' that is unique to its user and can be called from there - in essence, an Arms Master is always armed... as long as they are conscious; most Arms Masters lose their powers when they sleep.

Noble Arms have an astonishingly potent ability pool, from calling down fire to strengthening the body, etc., and more often than not, possess more than one ability. They are also quicker to use and some of them can reach nuke-level strength (though these are a rarity). However, OPL is more adaptable, especially when applied to mundane objects like Mechs and Fighter Planes.

To define what a weapon is, a weapon is 'something crafted or shaped by human hands for the specific purpose of harming'. This also means that you can use a bunch of Stone Age flint knives, a wand, and yes, a staff as weapons.

Think of the KAI KF-21 Boramae and the Mitsubishi F-2 or some other high-end South Korean or Japanese Plane, and imagine that they have been given 'cheat codes' that allow them to store more ammunition than a normal plane can fit, unnatural endurance and resistance to enemy fire, and cockpits that negate the effects of G-Force on the Pilot and thus allow them to do impossible maneuvers that would have killed anyone in an un-enhanced plane.

Now think of other models of Jet Fighter, whether US or UK or even former Soviet models and imagine that they have those same enhancements. Then imagine them all flying together against the combined Russian and North Korean armada. That is what you pilot; that's where you come in.

Four meters tall or slightly taller and barely qualifying as giant robots, the Paragons of Science's Prototype Mechs (image reference here) are vehicles that defy the innate impracticality of the Humanoid Mecha, able to move as well as any human and ward off attacks that should bring them down if they were normal machines (such as mundane bazooka shots). Equipped with railgun-based rifles, plasma swords, missiles, and even anti-gravity packs that allow them to fly (but slower than OPL Enhanced Jets), each Mech can kill Arms Masters in droves.

Helicopters are ubiquitous on the modern battlefield and have proven their versatility and utility in modern warfighting and, indeed, in modern society over and over. In urban environments, in the wilds and rural areas, and at sea, the helicopters' ability to maneuver, take off, and land in relatively tight spaces fly at slow speeds, and hover on the spot are all massively useful. Combining this with the ability to carry sophisticated sensors, communications equipment, weaponry of various types, and other equipment, or to transport payloads of cargo and people into these same spaces, their utility is without question.

With the advent of OPL and its application to other aircraft and vehicles, naturally, the same minds turned their attention to how it could be used with rotary-winged aircraft to similarly enhance and adapt their abilities.

Operating often right at the front lines and under the fire of hostile guns and other hazards, being able to give the relatively mechanically fragile helicopter more survivability was a very alluring prospect. Resolving, or at least; relieving some of the helicopters’ inherent compromises and flaws was an obvious attraction.

Imagine the already awesome firepower and sensor capabilities of the Apache, Supercobra, or Mi-28 but with the addition of near-impenetrable armor, all-seeing sensors, or massively enhanced weapon payloads.

Similarly, the possibility of enhancing combat duration through almost infinite fuel and reducing maintenance through this capability for increased endurance and durability.

- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considerably more militarized and economically linked than IRL, with coordination between their best Arms Masters and their separate militaries.

- This in turn has its roots in 1988 when China had a confrontation with the ASEAN Countries over the Spratlys and ASEAN won due to the intervention of Filipino Arms Master Angelito Jaime (who had a spear that could open a portal through which he was clever enough to use to redirect bullets, artillery, cruise missiles, and potentially even nukes back at the person who fired them, and this works on many other NA attacks too). This victory, however, led to an undercurrent of resentment between China and ASEAN which burst into fire decades later in the ASEAN War.

- The Philippines is now led by a 'Government of National Salvation' chaired by an Original Character. The IRL Government/Administration is no longer in power.

- After some thought, another OC (Democratic) is the President of the US instead of anyone IRL.

- The Original Character President of the US was the perfect domestic president, saving the country from COVID-19, restoring the US Economy, limiting corporate power, strengthening the Trade Unions and making them more relevant, and creating more well-paying jobs. The downside to this? His foreign policy sucks, as he despises the prospect of sending Americans to die overseas for ideological goals so much that he is willing to neglect or withdraw from the US alliances and defense commitments and thus emboldened China and Russia to move into open war, mistakenly sensing weakness.

- The US Congress, however, was capable of striking back to issue sanctions, provide weapons, vehicles, supplies, money, and all possible aid to ASEAN and Ukraine, and is trying to scramble enough people to form a majority that can declare war even with a Presidential Veto.

- Indonesia has been caught flat-footed by China's new militaristic mood, and while it remains Democratic, its military (both Army and Navy) is rising in power once again, although its President is still canny enough to balance out competing interests.

- In 2014, instead of a certain terrorist organization taking over large portions of Iraq and Syria, the Hammer of Masters, an organization of Arms Master terrorists, did so instead to establish a 'Malikate' where Arms Masters can rule over Non-Arms Masters as the 'Superior Race'. This was crushed in 2018 - 2019, when the 'Big Three' first made their appearance, and the Paragons and Seven Virtues began giving away Noble Arms.

- As for the various groups in the Original Noble Arms, the Hammer of Masters (mentioned above) and the Disablers have dwindled into near-irrelevance over the last four years due to the existence of the Seven Virtues and Paragons of Science (both of whom have defectors from both groups), same for the Arms of Nobility and the Organization for Disarmament. It is also rumored that the Seven Virtues and Paragons have been organizing manhunts for members of the Hammer and Disablers who remain diehard fanatics of their ideologies.

- There are people within China trying to fight against the current leadership of its Government so that they can change their country and shift it to a direction they believe is more productive. Some of them are fringe groups given power by Noble Arms, such as the ASEAN-allied Qing Restoration Society (QRS), but others fight within the current Government, such as the [Insert Name Here] Clique and the [Blank] and [REDACTED] Factions, to stop a war they consider senseless and counter to China's prosperity.

1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first; prospective players should not seek to game or break the system to make themselves as powerful as possible. One should also not use one's PC's powers to brute-force all obstacles the GM brings before them, or use sophistry, psychological tricks, or 'mental influence magic' to win every diplomatic confrontation. This is not an RP where 'storygaming' is an ugly word.
2.) Nor does an angsty backstory that fits various 'story beats' make one's character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as the 'top dogs' and otherwise make it an arms race with the GM on who can god-mode more. If one won't use their angsty backstory to make a good story, this is not the RP for them.
3.) That said, powerful characters and angsty backstories are permitted, as long as they are made by players who are willing to cooperate and the GM to make a good and dynamic story that isn't just 'X overpowers Y' by bending the rules so far they break, violating the spirit of said rules and (to quote Dave Brookshaw of Onyx Path publishing) common sense.
4.) The first three rules are the most important; let's just say that people who cannot follow them have proven problematic before, and we should have people who can follow the first three rules in this RP.
5.) Do not be an asshole.
6.) Post length is five sentences minimum, but longer posts are encouraged. GMs are also bound by this rule.
7.) 1 US Dollar is 55 Philippine Pesos - Remember this when you spend money.
8.) No Arms Master characters during the start of the RP.
9.) Once a PC/OC becomes an Arms Master, every other Normal Person OC gets an upgrade to their mech, jet, or ship that is equivalent to the Noble Arm the Arms Master manifests.