'Misthophoroi'
A Sci-Fi Mercenary Roleplay
Introduction: As a Classical historian and lover of all things military, the idea of a professional warrior (or group of warriors) bound my nation, ethnicity, culture or coin and employed by another or others to fight for them - regardless of cause, religion and so on - is something that has always fascinated me. Hence the basis for this role play; you may be wondering why I chose to set it in a sci-fi setting if I like history so much, and the simple answer is that no-one really wants to read up on subjects before even creating their character - I have tried 'historical' on the Guild before and it has no gone down too well, alas.
So, here is a sci-fi based role play - think of Warhammer 40,000 mixed with Star Wars mixed with Iain Banks' Culture series mixed with Xenophon's Anabasis mixed with the Hellenistic Era in general mixed with the Italian condottieri, and you'll have some idea of what you can expect. Throw in a spattering of adventure, world building, 'slice of life' antics and you're pretty much there.
Setting: It is the 13th Millennia (according to human/Earth reckoning) and Mankind has spread far and wide among the stars, encountering species as diverse and contrasting as the stars themselves, all the while they have been founding colonies and settling upon alien worlds. To many children of Earth, the home-world itself is little more than a myth, somewhere they have never set foot and are unlikely to in their lifetimes, some worlds veering off in their own directions culturally, religiously, even physically as the centuries passed...some even mingling with 'creatures' that would have been seen as fantastical in the dim past.
As stated, Mankind is not the only species out there; among the vastness of space are civilisations and cultures far older than Man, and others that are so alien that there has been nothing but war and campaigns of extermination against them.
The most recent conflict (of any note) was a galactic-wide quarrel that caused a schism in the wider sphere of space - a united confederation of human Planet States banding together to defend themselves from the aggressive Valnaur Empire. It was a war that depleted both sides, the Valnaur deciding that annexing these territories was not worth it after all, while the human planets were left economically in tatters. Allies and client systems on both sides breathed a sigh of relief and began to rebuild as best they could, fearing for the day when another such event may occur.
Yet space is vast, and there are employers aplenty for any with the know-how and will to take what they want at the tip of a blade or the barrel of a gun. In the blackness are many gathering places for such folk, the planet of Taenarum being one such place, floating as it does some light-years on the edge of Valnaur space, but also within reach of human colonies. If one wished to find gainful employment, or simply build an army, then this is where they would start looking.
Players/Characters: Firstly, please ask questions if you wish, only by asking questions now will you save yourself time later.
As you probably gathered, we're going to be forming an inter-galactic band of gun slinging, blade-toting bodies-for-hire; exactly what form your characters take is more-or-less completely up to the player. I'm deliberately leaving the background/setting sparse and vague, as well as asking players not to reveal everything about their characters when it comes time to write them up.
All I ask is that no-one is invulnerable, no-one is a Mary/Marty Sue, and if I turn your concept down don't start complaining unless you have good reason to do so. I'd prefer a majority human group (although what their culture/background is is still up to the player), but aliens are welcome as I've stated.
This is an 'advanced' RP - everyone knows what that means - all the usual rules apply, it will have mature themes so please bear that in mind, and posting at least once a week is mandatory. If the action is high, or the story is flowing well, then of course more than once will be fine.
Character Creation: I would like everyone to write a form of 'character statement' for this RP, a prose-based character sketch that incorporates everything you would need to know about the character to deal with them. You do not need to reveal everything about their inner workings or their past, and it can be a reasonably short statement if you wish, as long as you give the other narrators (I'm shying away from 'player' as this is more a cooperative writing effort than a game) plenty to interact with once we get going.
As I said, characters can be pretty much whatever/however you'd like them to be, with a few caveats to consider;
There are going to be varying levels of mercenary – some may be green while others may be more hardbitten, so do not make your own an invulnerable killing machine. No one wants to write about their character sitting around watching another do everything simply because they began as the ultimate character (Gary Stu/Mary Sue).
Your character may die – this is not to say that I'll kill them off without permission, but don't put all your ideas in one basket. We're mercenaries, and death is ever present.
Balance – says it all really!
If my character is a master sniper then he might also be a drunk, pretty much negating his extreme skill with a rifle due to his constant alcoholism. If as strong as ten men then he may well have the intellect of a small child (a common enough trope, but a good balancing act). Perhaps you have a mercenary that is very skilled but sadly is too poor to afford any actual equipment, reduced to scavenging low-quality bits and bobs from employers and battlefields?
Your character may die – this is not to say that I'll kill them off without permission, but don't put all your ideas in one basket. We're mercenaries, and death is ever present.
Balance – says it all really!
If my character is a master sniper then he might also be a drunk, pretty much negating his extreme skill with a rifle due to his constant alcoholism. If as strong as ten men then he may well have the intellect of a small child (a common enough trope, but a good balancing act). Perhaps you have a mercenary that is very skilled but sadly is too poor to afford any actual equipment, reduced to scavenging low-quality bits and bobs from employers and battlefields?
Apart from this, just use common sense.
Suggested Roles
1. Condottiere/General/Leader etc
2. Lieutnant/second-in-command etc
3. Paymaster (Reserved)
4. Quartermaster
5. Pilot/(Ship) Engineer (Reserved)
6. Linguist/Interpreter/Translator
7. Navigator/Tracker/Scout etc
2. Lieutnant/second-in-command etc
3. Paymaster (Reserved)
4. Quartermaster
5. Pilot/(Ship) Engineer (Reserved)
6. Linguist/Interpreter/Translator
7. Navigator/Tracker/Scout etc
Please post your completed characters inside a hider in the main OOC thread when you think you've finished.
Again, if you've any questions, then please do ask either by PM on on this thread.
Thank you.
1x Thank
thinking on what to make...