It is 86 CE, almost a century after the founding of the Earth Federation. The Earth Federation, a central governing body for all member nations, was formed following the world’s third major global conflict. This conflict only narrowly avoided mutually assured destruction due to, as it is colloquially known, the Berlin Accords. The treaty was signed by all officially recognized nuclear nations approximately ten years prior to the outbreak of conflict, debated by some historians to be in recognition of the coming war. The treaty outlawed the use of nuclear weapons against another nation in the interests of safeguarding civilian life. The treaty, surprisingly, remained unbroken during the war. Most suspect that it was respected only due to the short lifespan of the conflict and the unwillingness of any nation to break it first. The deliberations were almost as long as the war itself had been, and the ratification of the Federation’s members would stretch well into the next decade.
The conflict, however brief, was one of the bloodiest in Earth’s history. Age-old rivalries flared white-hot in an instant, with then-modern technology devastated the land on almost every continent. No side won; not in such terms. After a few years the governments of the world were appalled at the loss of life, and agreed one by one to end active hostilities. But even that was neither quick nor bloodless. Even after the Federation’s formation, hostilities between smaller states continued to rage requiring the intervention of the Federation’s own forces to quiet.
But as time went on, Earth began to enjoy an era of peace not seen in its history. Greater cooperation lead to the rapid advancement of technology, including the construction of the planet’s first mass driver in Cape Canaveral. In the first year of the Colony Era the first permanent settlement on the Moon, Armstrong, was established. Dyson, the first extra-planetary colony, was established a little over years later. Colonization expanded rapidly, fueled by the EM drive and the construction of further mass drivers on Earth’s surface. Each new colony was a springboard to push just a little further out, until humanity’s burgeoning expansion reached all the way to Mars.
Like most frontiers, colonization was… A little less than lawful. Disproportionately established by private entities, colonies further from Earth’s reach proved havens for those seeking freedom from the more stifling restrictions on planet Earth. Such a tightly knit, interdependent community quickly began to consider itself separate from Earth and reorganized as the Ark Union. It would take time for the Federation to acknowledge the Union as a legitimate government, but by then the Union’s government had already been meeting at their capital of New Berlin, a colony in orbit around Mars, for quite some time.
With tensions on the rise and the advent of new weapons, the longstanding peace seems to be at its breaking point.
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With its newfound peace, the world was able to devote more resources to tackling larger challenges. Challenges like curing medical conditions, solving world hunger, and once more turning its attention to the stars. It started relatively small. Longer and more frequent trips into space, expansion of the International Space Station, and eventually, eyeing the possibility of permanent colonization.
The Federation, twenty years into its existence, was the dominant force on the planet. Most of the member nations, though maintaining varying degrees of autonomy, were subsuming themselves more and more into the composite whole. They were not, however, the dominant scientific force. That title still laid with the private sector. Indeed, with government support and cooperation, it was the private sector leading the charge into space. The first permanent facility in space was on the Moon, a small city in the Sea of Tranquility, a few miles from the Apollo 11 landing site. It was named, very quickly, Armstrong and given a charter as an official city in the eyes of the Federation. The project that made it possible was carried out by a coalition of private organizations, with the funding and backing of the Federation government.
The first permanent colony in outer space, one not reliant on an existing planetary body, was spearheaded by one of those organizations; the Dyson Foundation elected to use an O’Neil cylinder design, and spent ten years designing and manufacturing the components for the city that would become Armstrong. Shortly after Armstrong’s founding the Federation had begun developing the technology to more efficiently launch materials into space. By the time the Dyson Foundation’s project was ready, the first fully operational mass driver had been in operation for three years. It took another year to assemble the cylinder, once the components were in space, and a little longer to move it into position at the L5 Lagrange point between Earth and the Moon. Forty years into the Federation’s existence, Dyson, the first extra-planetary colony, was safely established.
The Dyson Foundation’s, however, was not the only project. Just the first. Dyson’s success spurred a massive increase in the rate of colony creation, with several more completed just six months after Dyson. The first set were created at Lagrange points for convenience, as it was easier to keep them in a stable location. Even the less stable L3 and L2, and L1 points were used as the EM drive that powered most ships made it simple to maintain their stable position. The next wave, a mix of public and private initiatives, pushed out further. Experimentation made it clear that colonies equipped with EM drives could easily maintain a relative position in space even without helpful orbits to do the job for them, so they tested with colonies out beyond the Moon. A hiccup quickly emerged, however; the standard design for an O’Neil cylinder only allowed 131 square miles of usable space per colony. With the needs of those living on board, and the number of people seeking to leave for space, that simply wasn’t enough.
So while humanity pushed further outward, engineers revisited the drawing board. It was easiest, they found, simply to make more cylinders. Rather than reinvent the wheel, they expanded on the design. Colonies on this scale wouldn’t have been feasible on Earth, but there had been a manufacturing industry on the Moon for nearly ten years by this point. Using the Moon for their launch point, they created and pushed out their newest design. Like the cylinder of a revolver, the new design used an octogonal base to hold eight individually rotating cylinders. This design increased the living space of each colony by eight times, and allowed for a larger agricultural ring and a larger docking bay at the center of the ring. The design saw widespread adoption, and the smaller O’Neils were largely phased out of production, but the older colonies remained.
Ten years after the founding of Dyson, the human population in space had exploded dramatically. And with their drive to constantly expand further and further into space, many of these colonies were closer to each other than they were to Earth. The off-world community was a tightknit one, with each colony generally an autonomous political system in and of itself. But survival in space required them to cooperate. With such a vast distance between them and their planet of origin, it was in each other that they found their support.
The Ark Union, as they came to call themselves, was the result of a similar system as that of the Federation. A confederacy of independent systems united for a common goal. It took a few years for the Federation to recognize the new government, but the Ark Union’s governing body had already been meeting in their self proclaimed capital, the colony Montgomery, for two years by that point. The Union was governed by representatives from each colony serving an agreed-upon constitution. Each individual colony was free to govern themselves as they saw fit, provided that they stayed true to the Union’s overall constitution.
For the first few years, relations between the Federation and Union were excellent. The Union mined resources found out in space and shipped them to Earth, while companies on Earth shipped resources that were harder to obtain in space to the Union. But the agricultural needs of the Union, even with technology designed to make their job easier, required more manpower than the citizens were willing to provide. It was a small colony that had been founded by a consortium of scientists backed by Pascal Industries, Newton, that first settled on their answer; clones. Clones created to do the extra labor that they didn’t have the manpower for. The solution was of highly dubious morals, and significant controversy in the surrounding colonies, but they continued. In fact, the practice slowly started to spread to other colonies.
It took years for the Federation to find out about it, due to the remoteness of the colony and the relative obscurity of the practice, but find out they did. Such practices were outlawed in the Federation, but no such explicit prohibitions existed in the Union’s charter. Attempts to add it to the constitution, and thus get the Federation’s sanctions lifted, were stymied by the colonies that did make use of the practice. So the sanctions remained.
Needless to say, as the practice slowly spread and attempts to outlaw it remained ineffective, relations between the Federation and the Union began to grow more frigid. Especially since the sanctions in place made it more difficult to manufacture new colonies, or cities, to house the growing spaceborn population. The lack of trade with the Federation due to these sanctions made the supplementing of the Union’s own food supplies difficult on top of preventing expansion. Eventually, the Union’s government came to an ironic conclusion; they needed to send some people back to Earth, and make use of some free space there until they could continue the previous rate of their spaceward expansion. The Federation, naturally, refused. Multiple times in fact.
The problems persisted, with the Union’s frustrations rapidly shifting towards the Federation.
In the fifty years since colonization began in earnest, the human population off-world has grown drastically. What began as a single colony in geostationary orbit has expanded to dozens of settlements between Earth and Mars, ranging from the oldest settlements on the Moon to the newest on Mars’ surface. Attempts at terraforming have begun on the red planet, but even with humanity’s increased longevity no one will live to see it completed. Nevertheless cities grow on its surface, utilizing the same technology as their offworld cousins. Colonies are primarily of the O’Neil cylinder variety, utilizing centripetal force to simulate gravity on their interiors. Larger colonies are self sufficient, agriculturally, but trade is key to survival in the Ark Union. What one colony lacks, another is likely to have in abundance. Few are truly self sustaining. The Union’s capital is New Berlin, a colony in orbit around Mars.
Populations vary significantly, in part depending on the colony’s purpose. With the privatisation of so many, purpose-built research colonies could have a population in the dozens while a civilian populace on the largest colony might have upwards of a million people. Planetary settlements, in time, may be larger still.
The EM drive permits ships to make the trip between Earth and Mars in about two months, making travel between colonies practical. Few residential colonies exist beyond Mars, though permanent industrial facilities exist as far as the asteroid belt.
Colonies are based upon rotating cylinders to provide artificial gravity, both in the standard O’Neil cylinder design, and in the revised octogonal design.
The O’Neil cylinder is twenty miles long, with a five mile diameter. The cylinder is divided lengthwise into six panels, three of which are used for residential population, and three of which are transparent windows to allow light in. At one end is a ring ten miles in diameter to be used for agricultural purposes. More information can be found here.
The octogonal revision is a larger octogonal container that does not rotate. At each point in the frame’s shape a single O’Neil cylinder is held. Each cylinder rotates and generates its own artificial gravity independent of the others. The center of the framework is a large zero-g spaceport, suitable for docking larger ships and industrial purposes.
Most large machines are powered by fusion reactors, due to their high degree of safety for the operators and large power output. Most Walkers use fusion reactors for a power source, as do most ships.
Conflict in space is not new. Pirates have existed as long as the colonies have, harrying trading vessels and transport ships to make their money. The earliest armed ships, in truth, were jury-rigged. Weapons designed for use on the ground modified to be used on ships, with boarding parties using standard weapons. As humanity moved into space, however, the Federation needed to create actual warships to defend against these pirates. It took time, but the first class of space-capable warship came out of drydock shortly after Dyson’s founding. Over the following years the technology became more advanced, and more prevalent.
The first ships utilized EM drives and powerful fusion reactors to generate as much power as they needed. Power used, in large part, to run the large railguns they used for their primary armaments. Only a scant few years beyond their creation the Federation’s armament was expanded with fightcraft for use in space, technology that spread through private hands to the Ark Union quite quickly.
But warfare would be revolutionized again with the creation of the Arsenal Walker. Originally the term was merely the name of the Dyson Foundation’s project. The concept was based off of machines used for agricultural and industrial purposes; vaguely humanoid machines with legs and arms used to carry heavy loads or complete tasks quicker than an unaugmented human could. Such industrial machines proved to be the perfect basis for a war machine designed for use in zero-g environments. Humanoid machines with hands for finer manipulation of the environment, in-built and hand-held weapons for greater versatility, and thrusters to permit maneuvering in the vacuum of space. The original prototype, the AW-001 Monitor, wowed the world with its combat demonstration. And the Dyson Foundation was willing to sell the frame to whomever wanted to buy. In the outer reaches of colonized space, near and on Mars, the Ark Union purchased the frame for development of their own Walkers. Private corporations purchased them, as well, and the Ark Union was all-too-willing to offer lucrative mass production contracts to the companies that could create the most effective designed. Thus the Colony Walker line began, eventually culminating in the CW-018 Assaulter that is now standard for Union use. This competitive environment enabled the incredible rate of Walker development in the colonies.
On Earth, the Federation got their hands on the AW-001 frame a five years after the Ark Union did. Their greatest initial challenge was making it function properly planetside. The Federation’s Research and Development arm went through six iterations, six attempts at reverse engineering the AW-001, before their seventh attempt was a success. It resulted, first, in the FAW-007S Warrior. The specification S was added early on to denote the model’s intended use in space, and almost a year later, the FAW-007[G] made its first successful test on the ground. The Federation began producing the Warrior, and more importantly testing it, immediately. Pilot candidates were selected from the pool of existing tank or aircraft operators to begin simulated war games with the machines immediately. The Federation, by the time they began producing Walkers, was well aware that war with the Ark Union was imminent.
Production did not cease even while the first generation of pilots, the majority of whom have gone on to be commanding officers for the Federation’s Walker Divisions, were busy writing the book on Walker combat. Federation R&D, both on Earth and the Moon, were developing space-use and ground-use Walkers as quickly as they could in order to be prepared for the inevitable war. Additional resources were directed towards amping up recruitment, training, and developing an airborne Walker. Several years into Walker development the Federation began designing new classes of warship suited for use with Walkers, as well as determine how to retrofit older vessels.
On the other end of human space, the Ark Union was going through much the same process at a much later stage.
Arsenal Walker technology, to this day, is rooted in the Dyson Foundation’s original AW-001 Monitor frame. The corporation sold the designs for this frame to anyone willing to pay, leading both private corporations and governments to gain access to the initial design. Federation Research and Development got a hold of the designs a few years after the Ark Union, but initially struggled with adapting the frame for use in-atmosphere; the FAW-007S was their initial testbed, a space-use unit, adapted shortly thereafter to the FAW-007[G] for use on the ground. With the notable exception of the FAW-022, all Federation Arsenal Walkers are derived from the same basic frame. This allows for an extreme degree of modularity in Walker equipment, as most weapons are compatible across all Walker platforms. Interestingly, Ark Union machines have a high degree of compatibility as well due to their shared origins. Despite outward similarities, all Walkers are powered by a miniaturized fusion reactor located in the torso. The cockpit block is the most reinforced section of any Walker, and come standard with effective ejection systems in an effort to save the pilot in the event of catastrophic system damage. The sole exception to this modularity, for the moment, is the FAW-022 which makes use of a linear recombinatorial substructure (LRS) for a reconfigurable frame. Though it maintains compatibility with other Federation machines as much as possible, it is limited by the requirements of this frame.
Weapons for Walker platforms are, with few exceptions, scaled up handheld armaments. These are, primarily, chemically propelled with some notable exceptions. Melee weapons are generally heat-based to aid in penetrating enemy armor, though smaller armaments that cannot support this technically are fitted to act as vibroblades. Weapons of this smaller class are, for example, knives, daggers, or bayonets. Larger scale bladed weaponry, along the lines of swords, machetes, or axes make use of heat technology.
The FAW-007[G] Warrior is the first successful ground-use Walker, and has remained the workhorse of the Federation for nearly ten years. At 22m tall and fairly basic in construction, the Warrior proved extremely customizable and has served as the testbed for several successors. It can be easily converted for use in space, its earlier S variant, and remains simple to maintain. It does not particularly excel in any given area, especially compared to later models, but it remains the most common Walker in service on the back of its sheer versatility. It manages average maneuverability, survivability, and ubiquity on the back of easy reconfiguration for any given mission.
FAW-014 Scouts is the Warrior’s most immediate successor in ground operations. The Scout clocks in at 17m tall, one of the shortest machines fielded by the Federation. Its smaller size comes with increased maneuverability, but decreased armor and difficulty with wielding larger caliber weapons. The Scout, as the name implies, is an advance reconnaissance unit. It is meant to scout out or otherwise engage enemy units further from Federation space, primarily utilizing hit and run tactics. To this end, Scouts are generally outfitted with radar-reducing silhouettes to allow them to close to range easier in denser environments. Obviously, they are difficult to hide visually; but sensor reduction enables them to close, and get away, easier than other Federation Walkers. Scouts primarily specialize in smaller scale weaponry like carbines, where Warriors can handle a wider range.
FAW-016 Gunners are the artillery machines. There is nothing subtle about a Gunner. At 25m tall, they are the upper end of the scale and they are stocky. It shows in their maneuverability, as well; Gunners are slow moving, and far from nimble. As a necessity they boast the thickest armor of any Federation Walker presently in use, and weigh by far the most. Gunners are meant to bombard a target with a wide variety of munitions, but by far the most devastating are the pair of linked 150mm railguns over their shoulders. One of the sole magnetically propelled projectiles in use at Walker-scale, these railguns are linked directly to a Gunner’s reactor for power. As downsized versions of ship armaments, these reactors require the power of all but the most basic systems for firing. A Gunner is completely immobile while its railguns are in use, but they are the weapon with the most destructive capability at this scale. These machines are most frequently specced for long range bombardment, with personal weapons designed mostly to deal with enemy units that get into close range. Larger melee weapons like axes, short range weapons like shotguns, and large ballistic shields are frequently employed by Gunner units. The scope of controls necessary for the operation of an artillery unit such as this lead to the creation of the FAW-016A, a two-seater variant that allows one pilot to handle long range targeting while the other controls movement for more direct confrontations. This solution is not perfect, but significantly more efficient than the original single-pilot configuration.
FAW-022 Raptors are top of the line. At this point in time, only a few dozen units are in circulation pending mass production. The Raptor Program, which developed the LRS used as the basis for these units, has been in the testing phase for several months. The Raptors in circulation have been used for gathering field data, though their numbers are slowly increasing as production shifts into gear. Raptors are 19m tall, the lower end of average, and the most lightly armored of all Federation units at this time. That said, they are the most agile bar none; their alternate configuration requires significantly more thrust than any other unit presently in production, and this carries over to their humanoid configuration. Their alternate, or arguably primary, configuration is as an air-superiority fighter. A Raptor can dogfight evenly with the best fighter jets on the planet, and engage ground targets from an advantageous position.
That said, as first-generation transformable units, they are not perfect. Raptors in their present form require exceptionally talented and hardy pilots due to the specificity and resilience required to perform certain maneuvers. The book has yet to be written on aerial Walkers, so piloting one is a very, very new frontier. Strain to the pilot during high-level maneuvers has been one of the black marks on the Raptor’s record. They are not, in addition, able to carry as many Walker-based weapons; they are generally limited to a single primary, small bladed melee weapons, and the in-built munitions from their fighter configuration. These munitions generally include missiles, air-to-air or air-to-ground, and small-calibre machine guns for point defense. Flight is not possible in Walker configuration, so mid-air transformation is strongly urged against.
The game opens in the city of Horizon, one of seven mass driver cities on the planet. Horizon is located in Panama, a Federation member state, and acts as an immense travel hub for the world. Its mass driver, and connected spaceport, bring ships both civilian and military back into orbit. Its harbor and airport can ferry travelers to any part of the globe. As such an important city, Horizon is also the site of a major Federation military base staffed with a full Walker complement.
The city itself is a diverse, vibrant travel destination. Even the soldiers on base make regularly trips out into its districts on leave, and some even reside in housing within it rather than on the base proper. Its beaches are one of the most popular destinations for pilots and personnel free on personal time. The city, at the moment, is in full swing to gear up for the celebration of Armstrong’s foundation anniversary. Federation brass may be wary, but the common soldier and civilian alike are looking forward to the holiday.
1. Respect the GMs (Krayzikk and Plank Sinatra) and their rulings. We are reasonable, but if we have given you an answer please respect it. 2. Respect your fellow players. Arguments happen, but please keep it civil. 3. There is not a hard character limit. If you wish to write more than one, that is permissible but please keep it within reason. 4. This is a futuristic, but still grounded setting. In all situations, but especially combat, please bear this in mind. 5. This is a Casual game. We will not require an essay for every post, but a reasonable degree of both quantity and quality will be expected. At the same time, we understand that real life takes priority. If you think you will not be able to post for a while, please inform us. We’re happy to work with you.
Character Sheet
Characters:
Name: Pretty self explanatory. Age: Also self-explanatory, but please bear realism in mind. The military is not going to employ a fourteen year old pilot, for example. Sex: Aaaalso self-explanatory. Profession/Rank: What do they do? Are they a pilot? A technician? If they’re in the military, what rank? Appearance: What do they look like? Written appearances are accepted, as well as pictures. If written, please be detailed. Personality: How do they think? Act? Again, please be detailed. Skills: What are they good at? Professionally, of course, but what else? Marathon runner? Trivia master? Are they a good cook? Weakness: Nobody’s perfect. What are their flaws? History: What has their life been like? Worldbuilding is encouraged, and detail welcomed. Equipment: What do they have? Be it gear, personal possessions, or anything else within reason please list.
Arsenal Walker:
Base Model*: What is the stock unit? Custom units are permitted, but please see note below. Designation: What is it called? Any unit you’ve made your own is bound to have a name. Appearance: What does it look like? Please pay special attention to anything that differentiates it from a stock model. Armaments: What is its loadout? Weakness: Everything’s got one. What’s your unit’s flaw? Pilot(s): Extra self explanatory. Who pilots it?
* Custom units are permitted, but. They will be subject to greater scrutiny than customized versions of stock Walkers. This scrutiny will cover everything from game balance to how well it fits with the tone and lore of the game. Significant detail will be expected if you pursue a custom unit.
Welcome to Breaking Point, a game I hope will catch your interest. There are more setting details available, but we didn't wish to overload the interest check. There is a Discord, which I'll send invites to anyone that's interested for.
Are we talking about the eastern gundam style of mechs or something with a tad more grounding in reality? Reading through it sounds like it leans to the former.
Awesome! I'll get invites sent out to people that are interested pretty shortly, so people can chat on the Discord.
Are we talking about the eastern gundam style of mechs or something with a tad more grounding in reality? Reading through it sounds like it leans to the former.
Yep. One of the models available for use at the moment, the Raptor, is exactly that. It's worth noting that they're not very advanced yet; transformable frames, in universe, are pretty new. Midair conversion and such is pretty limited by lack of flight capabilities in mecha mode.
G1 Starscream of course...what other one is there? :P
Also, you have my attention...
So you've caught my eye as well. You have my interest.
Color me interested.
Glad to hear it! I'll get a round of Discord invites sent out along quick as I can.
@Krayzikk, Can I play a rebel faction within the Ark Union dedicated to Clone Rights?
I know you indicated that you might not join, but I figured I would address this anyway in case anyone had a similar question. As limiting as it might seem, that wouldn't be possible. All the characters will be starting at the same location so that interaction and plot progression are easier to foster.
Interested, I'll keep an eye on this.
Do you have example pictures of the provided Federation Mechs?
I do, actually! They're admittedly cribbed, quite shamelessly, from Gundam but the surplus of grunt units in Gundam make it much easier to find analogies to my intent. Exact appearances are in the 'eyes' of the beholder, but when writing these are closest to what I picture.
Raptors are a little trickier, in that I don't have a perfect analogy for them. But this is at least a decent idea.
1x Laugh
