[OOC] The Gifted: Insurgency

[TheDarkTemplar]

Alright so the characters at the meeting right now are Cole, Cia, Patrick, Mayumi, and John. In this scene it would be better to hear the reactions from both Cia and John but due to Ark's condition the dialogue will pretty much be only between Cia and Cole. As much as I hate to do this perhaps we should resort to the dreaded...timeskip? What are you guys thoughts? While it is very early to have a timeskip it could be done in a way that is tasteful and allow us to progress until Ark gets better.

[ShaggyDoo0]

Im so sorry for not posting!
School and work have been kicking my butt. >~<

I'm fine with a timeskip if it is needed, I should be posting in the afternoon after school, timeskip or not.

[Ace of flames01]

Hmmm well kinda yes and kinda no for me... As much as I want the story to progress; I think it'd be best to hold off on the time skip. Mainly because I don't want the time skip to be after Ace's "prosthesis" and end up getting a delayed reaction from Ark. It'd upset the balance of the plot :/

[ShaggyDoo0]

@Ace of flames01 do you mind if I take over the medical care of ace (keeping her stable, as to which you can make adjustments as you see fit) until she either gets the fake liver or not?

[Ace of flames01]

@ShaggyDoo0 sure that sounds fine with me

[ShaggyDoo0]

@Ace of flames01 thankyou
Now I have more freedom for my next post ^^

[Ace of flames01]

@ShaggyDoo0 np :) I'll let you know if any changes need to be made

[TheDarkTemplar]

School will be the death of me. I want to be Valedictorian but I also wanna be my usual skateboarding bum self. AM I LIVING IN AN ANIME OR SOMETHIN? SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME IF THAT'S THE CASE!

[Ace of flames01]

@TheDarkTemplar anime? Don't be silly! You're living in a rpg!

[TheDarkTemplar]

Then I suck at this RPG, where can I find the cheat codes?

[Ace of flames01]

@TheDarkTemplar you can find the cheats on the back of the box

[Zeff]

Howdy! This looks hella neat, and I'd like to join. My character is a bit of a port/alternate universe version of a character from a slightly older RP similar to this ("Forest of Secrets"), if that's okay. I've rewritten things to try and make it more fitting to this particular setting, of course. Bear in mind this is a bit of a draft, until some things are cleared up/problems are pointed out, etc.

Kyle Kruger

Kyle Kruger

Appearance

Age: Appears to be in his late 40s.

Eye Colors: Bright green.

Personality: Unusually exuberant and slightly eccentric. It is truly difficult to find the man in anything but high spirits, earning him the nickname "Smiles." Beyond this demeanour is a man that is absolutely devoid of empathy when it comes to his enemies, a mentality born, in contrast, from his unbreakable love and loyalty towards the things he has devoted himself to the protection of.

Type: Pure human

Skills: Kyle is a capable leader of his men, among whom he has instilled respect through his consistent ability to get results. His expertise has been sharpened by decades of service on foreign battlefields and back home against metahuman resistance groups during the Callahan government. Now finding himself and his men on the opposite side of asymmetrical warfare, he has proven more than adept at learning from and applying the techniques of his old adversaries.

Bio: An aged special forces veteran turned Hunter and counter-insurgency tactician of the Callahan presidency. With his absolute hatred for Metahuman kind, he was not much of a fan of the new world ushered in after the fall of the human supremacist government. Equal scorn was directed towards the government itself who, as it turned out, had caused the mess and the creation of these monsters he so despises in the first place. Kyle and his old unit, the "Storm Hounds", successfully evaded justice, and went underground for many decades, remaining in contact through a covert network. This network managed to find its influence surreptitiously seeping into various human purity groups, from there drawing new recruits. The Storm Hounds gradually evolved from a special forces unit on the run into a small terrorist cell in its own right.

Although Kyle and his assembled force hold nothing but contempt for metahuman kind, they have become unwitting defenders of the system through taking their fight to the Scions of Divinity, who they see as a greater threat to pure humanity.

Post Example

Bottles emptied of their contents were scattered all through the office, joining other debris that had been torn apart and thrown to the ground. A figure slouched over his desk, head in one hand, pen held between quivering fingers in the other. His chest heaved heavily. Outstretched before him was a journal. The page header read "June 12th 2030." The prior entry, June 11th, after many furiously scribbled out lines, simply stated "Today Callahan is impeached. The war against the metahumans is over." Kyle brought his baleful, red stained eyes up to a framed photograph. It depicted Kyle Kruger himself and his men in formation during a visit to the base by President Callahan. He counted up the faces in that picture that belonged to comrades now buried. Swallowing down his rage, he returned to penning the newest entry: "June 12th: The Storm Hounds declare war on metahuman kind." Kyle's mouth twitched into a tired grin at this. He snapped the journal shut and slipped it into his pocket as he rose to his feet.

Later that day he gave the order to his men to suit up. The first shots of Kyle's personal war were fired by the Storm Hounds against their former brethren in the military that had come to apprehend them. From there, they scattered into the wilderness, vanishing from sight and, months after that, from memory. There were rumors, of course, of a mysterious force spotted in the depths of American woods, of hidden training grounds and outposts. While traces of these things could be found when investigations were launched, they proved excellent at covering their tracks, remaining forever elusive.

Other:
- "Storm Hound" originated as a military task force formed from 50 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division to perform counter-insurgency warfare, ultimately aiming to "Outguerrilla the guerrillas." They were later responsible for many atrocities under Callahan's orders. Usage of the name has spread to Kyle Kruger's human supremacist organization as a whole.
-

Theme Song: "Running Gun Blues" - David Bowie

In the other RP, he and his original team of buddies had power armor + combat stims to better the odds of surviving encounters with metahumans. I wasn't sure if that'd fit into your idea of technology in this particular setting, so I figured it'd be better to just ask if it's okay to throw that in. Of course that'd just be Kyle and the original Storm Hounds with power armor, not newer recruits to his anti-metahuman organization. Without proper maintenance crews, the power armor would be of dodgy condition and with a lot of improvised maintenance by this time, given they've been on the run for so long.

[TheDarkTemplar]

Oooooh a villian character eh? Kyle controls a squad so I'd like a short description of the team, nothing extensive I just want to get an idea of what the protagonists will be up against. As for Kyle himself he is accepted but for the power armor what kind are we talking about because I'm not sure if you mean a massive death juggernaut armor or something like UNSC Marine armor.

[Zeff]

@TheDarkTemplar A few things to answer here, so lemme just go down the list :D

"Oooooh a villian character eh?"

Yup! Or hero, depending on who you ask. Granted the people who respond as such are few and far between these days :P.

"Kyle controls a squad so I'd like a short description of the team, nothing extensive I just want to get an idea of what the protagonists will be up against."

While I'd certainly be down for fleshing them out some more, there are a few things. Firstly, I'd really only do that for the original Storm Hound members, of which there's about 12 now. Or less, if you'd like. Six would work. I actually had a bit of text talking about how they're well reduced from their original 50 or so, but it's not there anymore for some reason. Basically, a lot either burned out and went into hiding under false identities, or have been killed in the skirmishes with the authorities that are few and far between. Secondly, I did intend on having some ordinary recruits drawn from extremists in the civilian population, although they were basically just going to be dying fodder, really. Fleshing the newer recruits out would be a bit inconvenient for this reason. Just disposable mooks for the good guys (/bad guys) to mop the floor with every now and then. I'd be fine to just reducing them to a background thing or removing them, if that's what you want as well.

"As for Kyle himself he is accepted"

Sweet! Thank you.

"but for the power armor what kind are we talking about because I'm not sure if you mean a massive death juggernaut armor or something like UNSC Marine armor."

I actually have an answer for this from my old character sheet. I'll pop it into a hider for you.

M62A2

- Power armor operation: Like all soldiers in his unit, Kyle Kruger is outfitted with an M62A2 "Petraeus" armored exoskeleton. The suit encases the soldier in a layer of armor, and is outfitted with actuators that utilize artificial muscle tissue to amplify the soldier's capabilities. While derided before the emergence of the metahumans as being prohibitively expensive and unsuited to the nature of America's latest wars, these suits are now looked upon favorably as a way to increase the survivability of ordinary humans when going toe to toe with the likes of these super beings. However, numbers are still required to deal with metahumans reliably, even with this advantage. The M62A2 "Petraeus" system provides superior mobility, protection, and weight carrying capacity to its user. One particular modification to the system for its service in the Storm Hounds, as per Kyle Kruger's personal request, is a rebreather piece that is used to administer various combat stimulants in a vapor form to the user.

EDIT: It occurs to me that by fleshing out, you probably mean equipment, capabilities etc. That I'd readily do for the Storm Hounds -and- their cannon fodder comrades. Although I'd still be up for characterizing each squad member, even if this was exclusively what you meant, but I don't promise it'll be anything but kinda bare bones.

EDIT 2:

Equipment and General Overview

Original Storm Hound Special Forces:
- Special forces veterans, just like Kyle Kruger.
- Tend to be equipped with LMGs, which can basically be wielded as reliably as assault rifles due to their power armor, which brings me to...
- Also have the M62A2 Petraeus suits.
- Some also have those grenade launchers shown in the picture. Given that Callahan and Kyle himself never abided by those silly things called rules of war ("Human rights are for humans"), the grenade types they have in stock are various kinds of generally agreed to be not okay things. The rebreather masks, protective hoods and goggles (not shown, but assumed to be kept in a pouch among other equipment) also serve as protection from the chemical weapons they sometimes employ, although a bulk are incendiary or fragmentation type.

"Storm Hound" Insurgents:
- Provided some modicum of training, but nothing too scary. Basically, well-organized militia level.
- Equipped with rather common firearms, with some heavier firepower such as rocket launchers or machine guns sometimes found.
- Lucky to have armor of any kind. Usually just plain clothes, balaclavas and an armband depicting crude emulations of the original Storm Hound unit patch or variations upon it. Usually even these basic elements of uniform are not worn. Being insurgents, it's probably for the best that they look like anybody else. But they've been known to wear the supposedly distinctive armbands and balaclavas on attacks intended to receive coverage and send a message.

[ShaggyDoo0]

Me like
But me also afraid

[TheDarkTemplar]

@Zeff
Alright everything looks good, but yeah I had assumed the Storm Hounds would have cannon fodder soldiers but I also thought there would be a select group used as the primary members. Either way this all checks out.

[Ace of flames01]

@Zeff hmmmm but why does he hate meta humans? It doesn't say in Kyle's bio.... On a side note, hey Zeff! Nice to see you again!

[Zeff]

@ShaggyDoo0

Hahaha yes. Thank you, though.

@TheDarkTemplar

Excellent! While waiting, I actually have been thinking about my first posts quite a lot, so I'll be ready to go right away.

@Zeff hmmmm but why does he hate meta humans? It doesn't say in Kyle's bio.... On a side note, hey Zeff! Nice to see you again!

@Ace of flames01

Nice to see you again too! That question actually has a few different levels and answers to it, and my first post I have lined up actually goes into some of the more surface reasons. I have thought about this stuff, however. It's just that my character sheets tend to be written as overviews, and then the nitty gritty of the psychological stuff I tend to either keep written in my own notes or in my mind.

[TheDarkTemplar]

@Commodore Robot
I see you lurking. I see everything.

Aww jeez I scared another one off

[Zeff]

Haha oh jeeze. The Storm Hounds already have a rep, huh? It's not likely to improve :B