[OOC] Shadows of Steel - An Ace Combat inspired Fighter Jet RP

[Rhona W]

Shadows of Steel

The world has changed. After the wars, after the cataclysm that fell from the skies, humanity rebuilt from the ashes on the face of an Earth that had changed.
New countries, new societies, and new alliances have taken hold. But threats are still out there; a breakaway faction has their own plans for the restructuring and rebuilding of society - and are poised to take violent control, using new technologies and new, radical ideas to threaten the new, young cities and countries as they grow. Society teeters on a knife-edge, and it is only through the efforts of Shadow Flight, an elite team of aerial aces, picked from the ranks of the world's air forces, that they can be held back.
Whatever their plans are, they must be uncovered before everything is returned to fire and ash once more. The battle for the future of Earth will be in the skies above it, where shadows of steel are gathering...

---

Shadows of Steel is an RPG based on the likes of Ace Combat, Area 88, HAWX and other aerial fight anime, games, movies and works. It has some emphasis on realism, but more on world-trotting adventures in the skies, with some sci-fi elements of superweapons, advanced technologies, and dramatic, large-than-life heroics, drama, and high-stakes action.

Players take the role of pilots in the elite special operations group 'Shadow Flight' in the post-apocalyptic world of an Earth shattered by a global war and an impact event.
The plot is designed to evolve and expand as more missions are completed, and the stakes and danger will raise as things progress. Characters will need to rely on one another, as well a their aircraft, to get them through the dangers, and unravel the plot the mysterious and deadly 'Think Tank' have arrayed against them, and against the world.

A full range of lore and background information can be found in a Microsoft One Note document here

Any questions of course, please do ask and I will do my best to answer. While an encyclopedic knowledge of modern aircraft combat is not needed, having at least some familiarity with and interest in military life, and also combat aircraft would be very helpful. A willingness to learn and understand is also equally needed.
All characters are required to be Shadow Flight pilots, no support personnel or non-pilot characters will be allowed, and no enemy characters will be allowed either.

Game Rules

• Don't be a dick to each other
• Observe all rules of the Guild
• Play in the spirit of the game
• Don't be a know it all
• The GM's word is final - although, I am open to discussion
• If the GM doesn't know about it, it doesn't exist - which goes for character backgrounds, information about the setting, or anything else.
• If you're not sure - ask
• You are welcome to play a character with any kind of personality you like - but remember, if you play an asshole or a loner and no-one speaks to you or takes an interest - you chose that character to play.
• If you're interested enough to join in and submit a character in the first place, then I expect you to be interested enough to check the site and reply. It is not my job to chase you for posts, or remind you to make them.

When posting your character sheet, please post it in the OOC first, and wait for approval before posting into the Characters tab.

Character Sheet

Name:
Age: No younger than 20; it's hard to believe in an 18 year old ace
Gender:
Nationality:
Appearance: Anime pictures or art are both fine. Written descriptions also fine.
Personality: A few short lines summing up their demeanour and outlook.
Personal History: Does not need to be extensive, just a little about how they got to where they are, any important events or people. Remember to include anything you want to come up in the RP. If you want things to be secret from other players, then please at least message the GM with those secret parts - otherwise, how else will they come up?
Aircraft: See the aircraft list in the document linked in the OP post. You will have chances to upgrade later.
Personal Weapons & Equipment: Shadow Flight personnel may be required to fight on the ground sometimes, though you're not intended to be one-man armies or Super-duper special forces operators, so keep it modest.

[Rapid Reader]

If there's a Viggen on offer, then you've got a deal.

I can finally use my family's obsession with airplanes to my advantage and the early Viggen is gorgeous.

Most importantly I choose this color/paint scheme (assuming my writing is up to snuff of course):

[Rhona W]

There absolutely is a Viggen on offer - I've always been a fan of it myself, and I had to include it. I almost included the Draken as well, and only didn't at the last minute.

You're very welcome to join, and custom colour schemes are very much encouraged. And I'm sure your writing will be more than fine :)

[CaptainBritton]

Wes

Name: Wesley Durant
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Nationality: American
Appearance:
Stands at 5’10”.
Personality: Persistence is the name of Wesley’s game. First and foremost, he is the type of person to seize opportunities, rather than waiting and guessing. Despite what some blackshoe non-flyers would claim, Wes isn’t the reckless type. Though he might be just a little bit of a braggart, and spends a little too much time in the Officer’s Club.
Personal History: Wesley was born in Medford on Long Island, NY in the dead middle of the 2000s. His father was a commercial pilot for Delta and his mother a nurse in nearby New York City. Growing up, Wesley often spent days when he wasn’t at school alone at home. Inevitably falling into obsessions as children do, Wesley became infatuated with the prospect of flying. First, for the Air Force. Then, as he got older, the Navy. As wars began sparking world-wide, he took his chance at 18 and lobbied for a spot at the Naval Officer Candidate School. Completing it narrowly, he entered flight school at the age of 20 and began to excel. Until the Cataclysm happened. Immediately, pilots became a scarce and absolutely necessary resource. Rushed to an airframe, Wes’s first few years were primarily flying in conjunction with NOAA craft, as superstorms spun up as a result of the impact. It wasn’t until the rise of Elysium occurred that Wesley saw proper combat, in a strike by Elysium forces to disrupt PGA naval superiority in the North Atlantic. Flying in a fleet defender role as his craft dictated, he was no ace-in-a-day, but still achieved three splashes in one engagement. For his achievement he earned a brevet promotion and assignment to Shadow Flight.
Aircraft:

F-14X

The F-14, formerly retired by the US Navy due to age and squabbles over unit cost, was one of the first craft considered to be reintroduced during the wars of the 2020s and the Cataclysm of 2028. With airframes recovered from the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, they were hastily upgraded into a F-14G variant which was to take up the role as Fleet Defender once again, the area where F/A-18s seemed to be lacking as dedicated multiroles. Given new avionics systems and modern radar equipment, their effectiveness was middling in the grand scheme, and often they were too few in number to make any sort of difference one way or the other. It was not until post-Cataclysm that the F-14 would get its due, as AdTech revitalized the costly program to modernize the F-14 further. New engines, even better avionics, compatibility with a new array of long-range air-to-air missiles earmarked the F-14X program.

Of these, Wesley flies one of the prototypes in the field currently, equipped as well with an advanced autonomous radar intercept computer courtesy of his Shadow Flight membership, which eliminates the need for a RIO sitting in his rear seat. Said RIO-computer can make target callouts, autonomously track radar signals, and perform electronic countermeasure functions with minimal input necessary.

Personal Weapons & Equipment:

• HK416C Carbine
• M18 (SIG P230 Compact) Pistol
• Standard AdTech Flight/Combat Garments + HMD-capable Helmet
• OKC Pilot Survival Knife

[Rhona W]

Snip

@CaptainBritton

Wes is approved! Really like him and the detail put in :) Also excellent work on the F-14X, that's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind.

[Rhona W]

Looks like we're not getting any other characters, which is a shame. Since it's only the two of us, I'm not sure if it's worth continuing as a 1x1 if that's something you're interested in, or putting it on ice and trying again later.
I'll bump the Int Check to see if I can shake out any more players.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

I didn't know there was a thread for this. lol

[Rapid Reader]

Current WIP pending some checks with the GM (so mostly happy with it, just might need some tweaking).

Still have to sort out appearance though, so stay tuned.

Here's what I have so far:

Peregrine

Name: Alexandra Saetang
Nickname: Sassa
Call Sign: Peregrine
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Nationality: Swedish
Appearance:
Personality: Steeped in ancient philosophy and her books, Sassa is a Zen Buddhist mystic moonlighting as a fighter pilot. She flies through the indigo skies effortlessly, a feather gently drifting in the winds of life, and stoically accepts her place as a merciless weapon of war.

A talented pilot, Sassa controls her plane effortlessly and has a knack for making incredible shots, be it with her cannons or missiles. While she is assuredly recognized in the squadron for her aggressiveness, she is not foolhardy, and risks only enough to accomplish the mission.

Unburdened by her own acts of violence, Sassa has managed to separate her persona as the ace pilot Peregrine from her persona as Sassa the person. She is friendly, if a bit reserved, and is amicable in most social situations. Far from a loner, she nonetheless take care to spend time by herself and if left unattended she is likely to bury her face in a book or contemplation of the mysteries of life.

Personal History:

Alexandra Seatang was born to a Swedish mother and Thai father in Umeå, Sweden, on December 15th, 20XX. The child of two cultures, she grew up with a love of flying, guided by her father, a former Royal Thai Air Force fighter pilot into acquiring her civilian pilot license and then her airline transport pilot license.

A burgeoning career in the transportation industry was forestalled in 20XX, when she was called up for military service as a result of a decision by the Swedish government to reactive military conscription. In light of her civilian flying experience, Sassa was selected for officer training and shipped off to the Skaraborg Air Force Wing (F 7) located at Såtenäs. There she complete flight school and was trained on the JAS 39 Gripen. In line with standard Swedish Air Force policy, she was soon after posted to the operational wing of Blekinge Air Force Wing (F 17), near Ronneby in Southern Sweden.

As tensions began to rise in the North, Sassa was transferred to the ad-hoc Gotland Air Force Wing (F 22). The formation of F 22 represented a desperate attempt by the Swedish government to counter growing unrest in the Baltic and the increasing threat that Elysium had begun to pose to PGA interests. Operating from a hastily restored Bunge Air Force Base, F 22 pilots flew Saab AJS Viggen fighter aircraft that had been rapidly restored to combat condition after an extensive period of mothballing. Promoted to Löjtnant (Lieutenant) and assigned command of her own two element flight, Sassa celebrated by painting her Saab AJS Viggen (s/n 37099) a bright red.

The paint on her Viggen had barely dried when F 22 was scrambled to defend the island from an Elysium backed naval invasion. The so-called "Gotland War" lasted for no more than fourteen days but saw frantic fighting as the underequipped and undermanned Swedish Armed Forces sought to stave off defeat long enough for PGA reinforcements to arrive. Fighting above the waves, Sassa earned a fearsome reputation and intercepted communications from Elysium pilots mention a red painted Viggen hunting their aircraft across the skies of the Baltic. Sassa would be an ace twice over before the conflict ended.

Although ultimately successful in repulsing the naval invasion, F 22 would suffer catastrophic casualties, losing 20 out of 24 aircraft and half as many pilots. As a result the fight wing was disbanded and Sassa was transferred back to F 17.

Along with the rest of F 17 she participated n PGA led peacekeeping efforts in Central Europe. She performed well under the rough winter conditions that prevailed following the Cataclysm. Shadowing friendly forces as they moved ever eastwards, Sassa helped protect PGA ground forces from hostile aircraft as they targeted secessionist elements trying to reform the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Following a brief R & R in Sweden, Sassa was recently reassigned to Shadow Flight.

Aircraft: Sassa flies a red painted Saab AJS 37 Viggen. A STOL multirole aircraft, Sassa's Viggen is a souped up Cold War era special stuffed to the brim with enough new weapons, avionics, and software, as well as a new state-of-the-art engine so that it can compete with more modern fighter aircraft.
Personal Weapons & Equipment:

[Rhona W]

I didn't know there was a thread for this. lol

@The Ghost Note

I did post it in the interest check xD but hey, no worries!

snip

@Rapid Reader

Looks good so far!

[Rhona W]

No further action on this after five days? Guess it might be time to put this one on the back burner, if there's no active interest.

[Rapid Reader]

I'm just tinkering in the backgrounds as my weeks are pretty busy right now, but you may have a point in terms of overall interest.

Either way I'm happy to go full speed with this sooner or to shelve it for later.

[Rhona W]

If there's three of us - including me - that have characters and are still interested, that's enough to keep it going, even if it is slowly rather than fast. I was just concerned that as no-one had posted anything anything at all following up from earlier posts that there was a lack of interest even from anyone who had already posted anything.

[CaptainBritton]

I'm definitely still interested.

[Rhona W]

Excellent, well in that case, once Rapid's character is up and completed I'll get things rolling

[Rapid Reader]

I'll toss an appearance in later today!

[Sylvan]

@Silverwind Blade This looks interesting if its still happening, though I do have a question... What post size/depth would be expected? I've never participated in an advanced-marked RP, so I don't know what to expect, or what would be expected of me.

[Rhona W]

Definitely still happening, and could certainly use more players and participants.
As far as post size goes, and level of detail, at least a paragraph with some level of descriptive detail and insight would be appreciated, and some effort at a good level of spelling/grammar. Not to mention keeping it consistent with what's actually happening in the RP...
As long as it's not shitposting speed-posting one-liners with not detail at all, or just random stuff that doesn't seem to have any connection to anything else or any logic to it, then I'm sure it'll be fine. And actually writing in prose-style rather than the:
*waves hello*
Hello
Style of writing.

[Sylvan]

Awesome! In that case, I'll try to have a character up within the next few days.

[Rhona W]

Excellent, well in that case, I'll be more than glad to have you with us.

[Sylvan]

@Silverwind Blade Things are taking me a bit long cause I'm working on two school projects rn, but would any of our characters potentially know each other, personally or by reputation?