Greetings, said it before but a helluva long time ago I used to be on this forum like in 2010 or such. Anyways, I figured it was high time to try my hand at a gritty squad-based military sci-fi roleplay with elements of eldritch horror to it. A long time ago, I ran Soldiers of Misfortune and I think Dissentities here but ever since the big server collapse, all of those RP's have been lost to time (potentially for the better tbh).
The basic gist of it is a well funded and well connected scientific foundation sends a mixed special forces team from various interstellar armed forces and its own (plus maybe some mercs for good measure) into the most war torn part of a country being split up at the tail end of a massive conflict. Their mission is to make contact with a series of hidden laboratories built over the ruins of ancient alien civilizations; lately, the various facilities they own have been taken over by a mysterious group of sentient automatons and they suspect they're coming for these ones next.
Unfortunately, things quickly go south when the stealth transport is shot down and it's clear someone had sabotaged this mission from the start. Landing off course from the drop site, with enemies bearing down on the team, they're forced to survive in the most hostile territory on the planet and try to make it to the research site before their mysterious robotic foes do so.
Of course, things get worse from here.
The Gnosis Eater Sect is many things. Caught off guard is not supposed to be one of them. The latter was on everyone's mind when you heard the glass in the transport vessel's cockpit shatter and pulled the door open to see the pilot's upper torso vanished in a cloud of vaporized gore, the controls he was holding fried and torn open as the vessel descends a mile off of the drop site. It doesn't matter what sort of void-obscuration countermeasures you had; the only way someone was tracking your approach would be if they bugged the plane before launch.
That doesn't matter now; you've dragged yourself out of the smoking remains and through burning metal of your crashed ride, and you know detect commotion off in the distance - distant rustling and sensor pings in the woods, down the streets, coming down the hills, hungry for bloodshed and knowing wounded animals when they see them. Your squadmates yell for their orders but the coms aren't picking up: your line to command has been severed, you're deep in unknown territory, and scans are detecting preliminary direct energy weapons charging up and multiple targeting teams sweeping over your permission. 30, no 40, 50, 60 - more hostiles than you have bullets or plasma cells to deal with.
It's not the time for a glorious last stand. You're not here for a kill'em all op. You need to get to the damn research site no matter how far away it is, no matter if your liason isn't here. If the bastards knew you were coming, no doubt they're trying to capture the top-secret archaeo-technology, scientists, and intel insid. You need to get all of it off-planet. The threat of it falling into the hands of the guerillas, the corporatists, the junta, and the revolutionaries is bad enough but them? You don't even want to think about what those silvery machine-bastards could do; they've killed enough of the Sect already and you don't plan to be next.
You and your team reload your weapons and recalibrate your HUD's. The first laser bolts fly, missing you by inches, and a hail of electrothermal-chemical weapons respond, silencing the hostiles on your tail. You run, you sprint, you stumble, and you leap, off into this maze of blasted ruins, warped landscapes, burning wastes, and ominous woods. You swear when you get out, whomever set you up is going to be hanging by their entrails once you get out of here and the machine-raiders they've chosen as their lot won't be faring any better. A fresh mag is loaded and you zero the sights in on the over-eager sucker swinging around the ridge, bio-spine launcher pulsing acros their arm.
You will not be stopped, no matter what lies between you and your objectives.
The year is 4048 and for the residents of the planet Chalgheol, once the crown jewel of the Frontier Worlds, it is the beginning of the ending of a decade and a half of brutal warfare civil and interstellar propped up by powers foreign and local. What began as a private conflict between the the ancient iron-handed Dolsilvec Regime (DR) against the vengeful exiled militant group known as the Carnazir (CZR) spiralled out of control, the mayhem simultaneously fed and fought against by the two reigning superpowers: the corporate expansionist Unified Celestial League (UCL) and the techno-collectivist Zrovreni Solar Revolutionary Pact (ZSRP). Proxy armies, terrorist cells, and deniable operators eventually gave way to boots, claws, tendrils, and hover-pads on the ground as national and intergalactic interests were threatened and built up under the obscuring fog of war.
Whatever reason this conflict started in the first place quickly became lost as the larger power games swallowed whatever reasons noble and vain there were for the first bullet to be fired. Yet the war could only continue for so long: gradually, the great powers hungering beyond the stars to expand their grasp and the local regimes viciously carving their own kingdoms out of the bloodshed came to a grim understanding. For everyone's sake, it is best if they finally decide which slice of land will fall under a variety of iron heels. True motives emerge from beneath the veneer of ideological purity and the ever-valuable resource of power is divided amongst the most powerful and the established. Peace is coming but is a peace enforced under the reign of empire and army.
There was another war being fought during this time: one whose motives were not so much political as they were technological. The Frontier Worlds contain a series of hidden archaelogical sites rife with remnants of ancient civilizations of eldritch machinery simply known as archaeotech. They are guarded and maintained by the mysterious Gnosis Eater Sect (GES), conducting research into the knowledge beyond the current understanding of the void-manpulating occult sorceries of each grand empire. Using its connections to the political elite across the stars, the Sect was able to protect most of these sites from plunder or denial-via-destruction. While they are small, they possess an armed force comprised of elite soldiers trained from within its ranks and the finest troops assigned from the four powers vying for control.
In recent years a number of GES held sites have gone dark and information acquired from multiple intelligence groups suggests that this is an organized movement, executed by a strange unidentified group of robotic entities none can identify. Worse, these cunning machine warriors are known to be working in tandem with Dolsilvec, Carnazir, ZSRP, and UCL forces of their own yet no government can find records of their foul play. Their technology, tactics, and the strange unearthly powers they manifest have made them unstoppable but nobody is prepared to admit their existence amidst the first threads of a tenuous peace. This is where you entered the picture.
You a member of a GES team. Whether you were recruited from the great interstellar powers, contracted as a smuggler, mercenary, or of another "unofficial" channel, or specifically trained from within the organization, you were sent to the Carcosa province of the planet, once its proud capital, now known as Perdition's Jaws. This where even in the waning years the fighting is at its most savage. Your job was to secure and check on on a series of research and execavation sites that went dark amidst reports of strange metereological and otherworldly phenomena affecting the region and ensure any sensitive materials could be extracted or denied before the cold steel force strikes again.
The problem is that the stealth transport you were travelling in was just shot down, crashing deep into hostile territory, and distantly you can hear unknown forces are closing in. Lost in the ruins and wilderness of what was once the capital region of the country, hunted by an enemy that seems to know how to manipulate your allies, amidst strange creatures and unusual environmental phenomena, stabbed in the back by someone high up in the command chain. Survival, revenge, protecting the Sect's knowledge - in the worst part of the planet you could ask to be, you're going to need to make tough decisions and fight even tougher battles if you want to accomplish any of these things and get out in anything other than a collection of differently shaped boxes.
Someone high up was betting on your survival as unlikely. Prove the bastards dead wrong.
Into Perdition's Jaws puts you into the shoes of a special forces team caught between a rock and too many hard places to name, navigating an active warzone facing threats and encountering edities eldritch and martial. You are being hunted by an enemy that will give you little respite and few safe places to hide with the looming horror that the powerful technology they could acquire could spell disaster for you, the planet, and everything beyond its borders. You will encounter forces aligned with all four of the major factions and the Gnosis Eater Sect but be wary; you may wear the same colours but out here, there's no way to tell if they're actually on your side, if someone else is pulling their strings, or more vile aspirations are guiding their every move. Be careful of who you choose to trust and who you choose to make an enemy of.
Yet you are given many options beyond pure combat. The machine forces that crushed your own however, are unlikely to listen to you and what may seem like friendlies can potentially lure you into a trap. There are forces you encounter that with careful negotiation, manipulation, trickery, or other such methods can be convinced to take your side whether in alliances or convenience or winning them over to your cause. Violence is inevitable but there will be opportunities to fight smart or simply not fight at all. Stealth, deception, misdirection, and distraction among other methods are also at your disposal.
I shall be the GM throwing various scenarios in the way and leading the player party through various environments, split up into "chapters" that each will take you to a distinct region of Carcosa with its own unique appearance, characters, enemies, and items. Each section can be thought of as a series of "levels" that require you to navigate their problems. Some may revolve around interacting with neutral NPC's, whether trying to suss out possible double agents trying to sabotage your mission or convincing them to share vital information concerning GES bases in the area.
Others can be more combat oriented; you may to deal with a massive sentient biomecha attempting to destroy the party or forced to defend an exccavation site from a massive enemy ambush. In some cases, it may be a simple issue of navigating areas where the dimensions layered on top of your own are bleeding into reality itself or you may find yourself in the presence of dangerous creatures; not necessarily hostile but far from petting zoo fare given many of them are of an eldritch biology.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the choices the group makes as a whole will impact future story developments. Whether through conscious decisions or incidental action, how your party is perceived by others as well as even the grander background events and lore playing out can and will be affected. You can sour your relationship with the various factions you will encounter far more easily than you can improve them. Enemies you spare may reappear later, potentially less hostile than when first encountered. Areas you may have explored and scoured for supplies or secrets may be discovered by friendles or hostiles attempting to track your location. Know how to survive in the moment but think ahead as well as to how you and your groups' action might make things harder or easier (or both) in the long run.
Yet you are given many options beyond pure combat. The machine forces that crushed your own however, are unlikely to listen to you and what may seem like friendlies can potentially lure you into a trap. There are forces you encounter that with careful negotiation, manipulation, trickery, or other such methods can be convinced to take your side whether in alliances or convenience or winning them over to your cause. Violence is inevitable but there will be opportunities to fight smart or simply not fight at all. Stealth, deception, misdirection, and distraction among other methods are also at your disposal.
I shall be the GM throwing various scenarios in the way and leading the player party through various environments, split up into "chapters" that each will take you to a distinct region of Carcosa with its own unique appearance, characters, enemies, and items. Each section can be thought of as a series of "levels" that require you to navigate their problems. Some may revolve around interacting with neutral NPC's, whether trying to suss out possible double agents trying to sabotage your mission or convincing them to share vital information concerning GES bases in the area.
Others can be more combat oriented; you may to deal with a massive sentient biomecha attempting to destroy the party or forced to defend an exccavation site from a massive enemy ambush. In some cases, it may be a simple issue of navigating areas where the dimensions layered on top of your own are bleeding into reality itself or you may find yourself in the presence of dangerous creatures; not necessarily hostile but far from petting zoo fare given many of them are of an eldritch biology.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the choices the group makes as a whole will impact future story developments. Whether through conscious decisions or incidental action, how your party is perceived by others as well as even the grander background events and lore playing out can and will be affected. You can sour your relationship with the various factions you will encounter far more easily than you can improve them. Enemies you spare may reappear later, potentially less hostile than when first encountered. Areas you may have explored and scoured for supplies or secrets may be discovered by friendles or hostiles attempting to track your location. Know how to survive in the moment but think ahead as well as to how you and your groups' action might make things harder or easier (or both) in the long run.
Into Perdition's Jaws takes place in a far future sci-fi setting where humanity has expanded across the stars along with countless other races it has since come into contact with. Conflict followed and so did the formation of grand alliances as the known cosmos settled into a tense power struggle between massive power blocs emergent and entrenched. The level of technology and general aesthetic vibe ranges across a number of sources: somewhere between the new Doom games (2016 and Eternal), Warhammer 40000, Infinity (Wargame), Neil Blomkamp's films (District 9, Chappie, and Elysium), Phoenix Point, and the XCOM reboot series. Powered armour, rail guns, interstellar travel, synthetic biomatter creatures, even smaller mecha - a wide array of sci-fi technology familiar and unusual inhabit the domain from technology as gritty and down to the earth as the Aliens and Edge of Tomorrow setting all the way up to something you might see in Section 8, Titanfall, and Apex Legends.
While it is primarily military science fiction, there is a more fantastical aspect to it present in the form of "magic" though this is closer to a midway point between 40K's warp and the biotics of Mass Effect known as etherealism. Ether, in this case, is the setting's "magic" but rather than being a wholly mystical force, it is an energy source that has been studied and analysed by major scientific groups yet still allows for a degree of strange, eldritch power albeit not entirely accessible to all. It is a power that is evoked from a strange dimension lurking beneath the flesh of our own known as the Abzu, filled with monstrous eldritch creatures akin to gigantic plankton and microscopic invertebrates made massive, kept separated from realspace by a foul and festering domain known as the Abyssic Plane that feeds off of its excesses.
The setting can be thought of a cold war partially heated up between the four previously described factions where the polarization of various powerful planets has created an environment where warfare erupts through various proxy conflicts or is fought in the shadows. As this happens covert and concealed forces whether belonging to the major four or independent groups such as the Gnosis Eater Sect fight battles of their own for the secrets laying hidden on distant worlds or kept locked up by governments, corporations, and rogue armies. Mercenaries, pirate gangs, and warlords sprout up to take advantage of the uncertainty of the times while their shadowy backers manipulate state and non state actors to further their own ambitions. There is a heavy air of paranoia, distrust, and disillusion coexisting with wild fanaticism, brilling conviction, and heels-dug-in-the-dirt loyalty in a time when it seems the whole galactic order is turning on its head.
All of the additional lore can be found in the lore thread. We also have a discord.
While it is primarily military science fiction, there is a more fantastical aspect to it present in the form of "magic" though this is closer to a midway point between 40K's warp and the biotics of Mass Effect known as etherealism. Ether, in this case, is the setting's "magic" but rather than being a wholly mystical force, it is an energy source that has been studied and analysed by major scientific groups yet still allows for a degree of strange, eldritch power albeit not entirely accessible to all. It is a power that is evoked from a strange dimension lurking beneath the flesh of our own known as the Abzu, filled with monstrous eldritch creatures akin to gigantic plankton and microscopic invertebrates made massive, kept separated from realspace by a foul and festering domain known as the Abyssic Plane that feeds off of its excesses.
The setting can be thought of a cold war partially heated up between the four previously described factions where the polarization of various powerful planets has created an environment where warfare erupts through various proxy conflicts or is fought in the shadows. As this happens covert and concealed forces whether belonging to the major four or independent groups such as the Gnosis Eater Sect fight battles of their own for the secrets laying hidden on distant worlds or kept locked up by governments, corporations, and rogue armies. Mercenaries, pirate gangs, and warlords sprout up to take advantage of the uncertainty of the times while their shadowy backers manipulate state and non state actors to further their own ambitions. There is a heavy air of paranoia, distrust, and disillusion coexisting with wild fanaticism, brilling conviction, and heels-dug-in-the-dirt loyalty in a time when it seems the whole galactic order is turning on its head.
All of the additional lore can be found in the lore thread. We also have a discord.
NAME::
SPECIES:
(Human, alien, machine? You are allowed to create your own species too).
AGE:
(Please do not put in creepily underage characters.)
FACTION ALIGNMENT:
(Are they with the Gnosis Eater Sect? The Dolsilvec Regime? The Unified Celestial League? The Carnazir? The Zrovreni Solar Revolutionary Pact? An independent agent or from another faction altogether?)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT (OPTIONAL):
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
(Reference images not mandatory but helpful)
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
(A paragraph minimum. Who are they, where did they come from, why are they fighting, all that good stuff.)
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUIRMENT:
(Why were they selected for such a dangerous mission? It is advised to include their greatest strengths here. A paragraph minimum.)
WEAKNESSES:
(Minimum of four. Can be physical, psychological, strategic, training-related, etc.)
SKILLS AND TRAINING:
(What are some things your character was taught, programmed to know, genetically inherited, etc.? Things such as first aid, hacking, survival, tracking, alien languages, demolitions, martial arts and so on are included here. Training is essentially how your character fights; are they a long range sniper, a close-in assault trooper, a sneaky saboteur?)
LOADOUT:
(This includes your weaponry and any equipment you are taking with you. You are allowed a maximum of three ranged weapons starting out and two melee ones. Other weapons such as grenades, timed explosives, and mines you can larger number of. In the case of gear such as portable turrets, drones, and living creatures, you are typically limited to at most two. Typically non-combat equipment such as medits, repair tools, tracking devices, and so on you are allowed more leeway with. Armour and such unsurprisingly is typically limited to one... unless say, you're some bizarre multi-bodied organism or something. Remember, you can acquire more weapons and equipment with time.)
AUGMENTATIONS:
(Does your character have any notable upgrades to their default bodily capabilities? These can include cybernetic, ethereal, and biological implants or devices of note as opposed to general performance enhancers that grant them additional abilities, enhance their default bodily capabilities, or even network with their gear and armour. If your character is partially cybernetic, a lab grown bio-entity, naturally possessing ethereal internal components by default and so on, these would be the last major augmentations they acquired.)
ETHEREOLOGY:
(Is your character capable of manipulating unearthly currents of power from the dimension known as the Abzu? Maybe even those from The Abyssic Plane? This is the series' version of magic. If so, describe how they care capable of doing such. Provide a few examples of this if possible and the role it fulfills for them.)
PERKS:
(Perks are special abilities that are unique to the species your character is. Each species has three and you are allowed to have all of them. They can include having certain weapons only they are capable of using, creating specialized minions to assist you in battle, or increasing your proficiency in piloting certain vehicles among others. You may also have one additional perk of your own but it must not overlap with a pre-existing one for any of the major species)
SPECIES:
(Human, alien, machine? You are allowed to create your own species too).
AGE:
(Please do not put in creepily underage characters.)
FACTION ALIGNMENT:
(Are they with the Gnosis Eater Sect? The Dolsilvec Regime? The Unified Celestial League? The Carnazir? The Zrovreni Solar Revolutionary Pact? An independent agent or from another faction altogether?)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT (OPTIONAL):
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
(Reference images not mandatory but helpful)
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
(A paragraph minimum. Who are they, where did they come from, why are they fighting, all that good stuff.)
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUIRMENT:
(Why were they selected for such a dangerous mission? It is advised to include their greatest strengths here. A paragraph minimum.)
WEAKNESSES:
(Minimum of four. Can be physical, psychological, strategic, training-related, etc.)
SKILLS AND TRAINING:
(What are some things your character was taught, programmed to know, genetically inherited, etc.? Things such as first aid, hacking, survival, tracking, alien languages, demolitions, martial arts and so on are included here. Training is essentially how your character fights; are they a long range sniper, a close-in assault trooper, a sneaky saboteur?)
LOADOUT:
(This includes your weaponry and any equipment you are taking with you. You are allowed a maximum of three ranged weapons starting out and two melee ones. Other weapons such as grenades, timed explosives, and mines you can larger number of. In the case of gear such as portable turrets, drones, and living creatures, you are typically limited to at most two. Typically non-combat equipment such as medits, repair tools, tracking devices, and so on you are allowed more leeway with. Armour and such unsurprisingly is typically limited to one... unless say, you're some bizarre multi-bodied organism or something. Remember, you can acquire more weapons and equipment with time.)
AUGMENTATIONS:
(Does your character have any notable upgrades to their default bodily capabilities? These can include cybernetic, ethereal, and biological implants or devices of note as opposed to general performance enhancers that grant them additional abilities, enhance their default bodily capabilities, or even network with their gear and armour. If your character is partially cybernetic, a lab grown bio-entity, naturally possessing ethereal internal components by default and so on, these would be the last major augmentations they acquired.)
ETHEREOLOGY:
(Is your character capable of manipulating unearthly currents of power from the dimension known as the Abzu? Maybe even those from The Abyssic Plane? This is the series' version of magic. If so, describe how they care capable of doing such. Provide a few examples of this if possible and the role it fulfills for them.)
PERKS:
(Perks are special abilities that are unique to the species your character is. Each species has three and you are allowed to have all of them. They can include having certain weapons only they are capable of using, creating specialized minions to assist you in battle, or increasing your proficiency in piloting certain vehicles among others. You may also have one additional perk of your own but it must not overlap with a pre-existing one for any of the major species)
1) Yeah uh, this RP is gonna deal with some pretty unpleasant stuff, 18+ and all.
2) This isn't a fully realistic RP but it's not completely off of the rails either. Your characters should generally fit with the setting and its atmosphere but at the same time there's a decent amount of wiggle room given its varied inspirations whether it's Halo, Overwatch, Starcraft, hell even Star Wars to a lesser extent.
3) I'd like to have weekly posting if possible. If you cannot post for an extended amount of time, please let me know so we can plan ahead.
4) You are allowed to control up to a maximum of three different characters but they must not be overpowered (which still gives you quite a bit of leeway). This *might* change depending on how things roll
5) You are allowed to contribute your own lore to the setting though it will have to go through me, your omnipotent and benevolent messianic leader, and likely the group as well to ensure everyone is okay with it. If you wish to contribute lore, make it clear how it could actually pop up later in the RP beyond just being cool background reading.
6) With some exceptions, NPC's will remain under GM control but it is possible to acquire them as player characters depending on your in game performance.
7) Yeah you can have romance but uh, don't be too h o r n y. Instead, be tastefully horny. Or just don't. That's probably the best option.
2) This isn't a fully realistic RP but it's not completely off of the rails either. Your characters should generally fit with the setting and its atmosphere but at the same time there's a decent amount of wiggle room given its varied inspirations whether it's Halo, Overwatch, Starcraft, hell even Star Wars to a lesser extent.
3) I'd like to have weekly posting if possible. If you cannot post for an extended amount of time, please let me know so we can plan ahead.
4) You are allowed to control up to a maximum of three different characters but they must not be overpowered (which still gives you quite a bit of leeway). This *might* change depending on how things roll
5) You are allowed to contribute your own lore to the setting though it will have to go through me, your omnipotent and benevolent messianic leader, and likely the group as well to ensure everyone is okay with it. If you wish to contribute lore, make it clear how it could actually pop up later in the RP beyond just being cool background reading.
6) With some exceptions, NPC's will remain under GM control but it is possible to acquire them as player characters depending on your in game performance.
7) Yeah you can have romance but uh, don't be too h o r n y. Instead, be tastefully horny. Or just don't. That's probably the best option.
If you're interested and have any questions, feel free to let me know. You can also find me on Discord as FleshAutomata#2592.
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