| OVERVIEW |
The year is 2677 and humanity carries on. Five hundred years ago, a nuclear war devastated human civilization after conflict arose due to advancing technologies and international conflicts that rose into a third World War. However, humanity survived impending nuclear holocaust by taking refuge in underground cities they had constructed called “Burrows”. However, with the onset of the death of the old world; federal governments withered as control switched hands to the corporations that had built these Burrows. By 2340, the fallout had begun to fade to hospitable levels and scouts from their Burrows would begin to be sent out to see if the surface could truly be reclaimed. Three-hundred and thirty-seven years has passed since those scouts reported back and humanity began to take back the ruins that laid on the surface.
Before the nuclear war that devastated humanity, people lived well with plenty of freedom… but now in the 27th Century This isn’t so. The average man has become indebted to the unfeeling corporate government; basically a slave to the interests of CEO’s and their board of directors. The “big” ruling companies that expanded from the Burrows are five in number: Volkov, Fairbanks, Denver-Vegas, Red Star, and Paragon.
These Ruling Companies began to squabble over resources, land, and recovered technology; much like the nations of the “old world”. The most prized weapons of war were unique variations of mechanized bipedal tanks called “Neural Combatants”, twenty-meter tall walking goliaths of steel and deeply embedded nervous tissue. Able to interface with “neural plugs”, an implant only able to be used by people with a mysterious special trait, it allows them to control the gigantic machines as well as their own body.
Not much has changed since the corporate expansions began.
Our story takes us to the region formerly known as Alaska, where a local independent settlement called New Anchorage called in a favor with Fairbanks, the weakest ruling company but… the most eager to send help. Through this the independent settlement acquired powerful weapons of war...and Fairbanks? Fairbanks gained power and influence as they recognized Volkov’s dangerous expansion a threat; an assessment… that was correct. New Anchorage used these weapons to protect their interests with a team of volunteers (and one boxed crook). Not to mention accomplishing mercenary contracts to help their financial situation. On a few occasions, they interfered in situations which they should not, which resulted in one, or perhaps two secretive groups gaining an unhealthy interest in them.
The township that came before New Anchorage (yet was ran by the same fellows) was attacked by one of these groups in the dead of night, the militant team protecting them to best of their abilities before being bailed out by a mysterious individual who never told them their name. Leaving with a notification of a debt, New Anchorage’s rebuilding was assisted then by the strongest Ruling Company, Volkov, which re-settled the town where it stands now; a fact that infuriated executives in Fairbanks who made it clear to New Anchorage that they had made an enemy they shouldn’t have.
Nonetheless, New Anchorage continued mercenary operations. One mercenary contract turned into an ambush from another group, their NC’s in the fight named after chess-pieces of all things. Strangely Volkov removed “support” after this battle, and operations commander, Sophia, deserted for reasons unclear. Since this occurrence a new commander has been sent in to oversee operations.
This new commander, Michael ‘Tecumseh’ Graham, has commissioned another recruitment drive to replace casualties and desertions. Graham personally sifts through the chaff to find promising subjects, as New Anchorage is yet again left to fend for itself without a corporate sponsor. Graham has dreams for New Anchorage, wanting to turn them into a new player on the world stage. With his will of steel, he intends to whip the people of New Anchorage into shape, and forges a military junta out of what used to be a slowly failing independent settlement.
All the while, the secretive organizations that eye New Anchorage, plot surreptitiously in the shadows of the Ruling Companies...
Before the nuclear war that devastated humanity, people lived well with plenty of freedom… but now in the 27th Century This isn’t so. The average man has become indebted to the unfeeling corporate government; basically a slave to the interests of CEO’s and their board of directors. The “big” ruling companies that expanded from the Burrows are five in number: Volkov, Fairbanks, Denver-Vegas, Red Star, and Paragon.
These Ruling Companies began to squabble over resources, land, and recovered technology; much like the nations of the “old world”. The most prized weapons of war were unique variations of mechanized bipedal tanks called “Neural Combatants”, twenty-meter tall walking goliaths of steel and deeply embedded nervous tissue. Able to interface with “neural plugs”, an implant only able to be used by people with a mysterious special trait, it allows them to control the gigantic machines as well as their own body.
Not much has changed since the corporate expansions began.
Our story takes us to the region formerly known as Alaska, where a local independent settlement called New Anchorage called in a favor with Fairbanks, the weakest ruling company but… the most eager to send help. Through this the independent settlement acquired powerful weapons of war...and Fairbanks? Fairbanks gained power and influence as they recognized Volkov’s dangerous expansion a threat; an assessment… that was correct. New Anchorage used these weapons to protect their interests with a team of volunteers (and one boxed crook). Not to mention accomplishing mercenary contracts to help their financial situation. On a few occasions, they interfered in situations which they should not, which resulted in one, or perhaps two secretive groups gaining an unhealthy interest in them.
The township that came before New Anchorage (yet was ran by the same fellows) was attacked by one of these groups in the dead of night, the militant team protecting them to best of their abilities before being bailed out by a mysterious individual who never told them their name. Leaving with a notification of a debt, New Anchorage’s rebuilding was assisted then by the strongest Ruling Company, Volkov, which re-settled the town where it stands now; a fact that infuriated executives in Fairbanks who made it clear to New Anchorage that they had made an enemy they shouldn’t have.
Nonetheless, New Anchorage continued mercenary operations. One mercenary contract turned into an ambush from another group, their NC’s in the fight named after chess-pieces of all things. Strangely Volkov removed “support” after this battle, and operations commander, Sophia, deserted for reasons unclear. Since this occurrence a new commander has been sent in to oversee operations.
This new commander, Michael ‘Tecumseh’ Graham, has commissioned another recruitment drive to replace casualties and desertions. Graham personally sifts through the chaff to find promising subjects, as New Anchorage is yet again left to fend for itself without a corporate sponsor. Graham has dreams for New Anchorage, wanting to turn them into a new player on the world stage. With his will of steel, he intends to whip the people of New Anchorage into shape, and forges a military junta out of what used to be a slowly failing independent settlement.
All the while, the secretive organizations that eye New Anchorage, plot surreptitiously in the shadows of the Ruling Companies...
| INFORMATION |
Information about Mech’s and NC’s
Major Companies
Minor Organizations and Groups
- Neural Combatants are large, heavily armed and armored war machines that use the principles of main battle tanks, combat aircraft, and infantry all together to create a highly advanced and effective ‘super-machine’. NC’s are controlled primarily by the thoughts of the user, more specifically a ‘Neural Net’ serves as the main computer and operator of the machine, which is controlled by an individual using a ‘Neural Plug’ usually implanted in the base of the neck.
Although very complex machines when put together, they can be pulled apart and modified surprisingly easily. Large changes to an NC do however cause ‘phantom pain’ to the pilot when plugged back in, due to the neural plug ‘expecting’ a different physical makeup, interpreting the changes as battle damage before getting used to it.
NC’s are commonly made out of six parts; The propulsion unit, more simply known as the legs, which contain the primary non-flight method of movement and commonly fuel tanks, and in some cases lighter weapons. The arms carry the heaviest non-specialist armaments in most cases, alongside targeting equipment. The head of an NC contains the obvious, such as (simple) radar and the most powerful sensory equipment, alongside mapping software. The chest holds the neural net itself, covering the cockpit, and the primary micro-fusion generator.
The fusion generator itself directly powers the thruster array situated around the chest of your standard NC, yet other vernier setups are common, such as ‘wing’ arrays. Legs also hold additional thrusters or even additional power setups often enough as well, if it’s deemed necessary by the NC’s pilot or architect.
Additional, more powerful radars or sensory equipment mounted external from the main body parts are also fairly abundant. In total, NC’s can carry up to eight weapon systems or optional equipment packages, although ‘filling out every slot’ is amusingly expensive and needless to most NC pilots. The most common points to mount are each hand, the shoulders, two miniature weapons in the head, two on the hips, and two on the back.
In the end, though, the effectiveness of an NC depends on the synchronization score of the neural net with the pilot. Both ends of the spectrum offer advantages and disadvantages, with the lowest, 50% synchronization, giving higher pain tolerance and minimal mental strain to changing your NC’s physical makeup. The other end enhances the ability to sense with the NC’s sensors and move it just as, if not more, fluidly than your own body. The downside of having a high synchro score, include strange sensations and being able to feel pain far more vividly, while those at the low end have to fight to move their NC’s limbs and not being able to ‘feel’ as clearly.
Major Companies
- Denver-Vegas Incorporated:
“D.V.” Controls the vast majority of the Americas, all the way to what used to be Argentina to Minnesota. They are characterized by heavy, durable constructions that are relatively overbuilt compared to most other Ruling Companies’, due to a mild obsession with perseverance and personal safety. Uniquely, they openly allow Independents in their territory to have their own small militias, finding it strange and, most surprisingly, ‘immoral’ to not let people attempt to defend themselves. Due to this, their territories are fairly safe from raiders and mutated wildlife.
Military wise, they reflect the sturdyness and resolve of their constructions with massive ‘land-battleship’ style tanks and around-the-clock ground convoys, ready at a moment’s notice to take things away from Fairbanks or defend against Paragon incursions. Whatever sort of military construction they build, it’s large, hard to destroy, and uses simple weapons that focuses on stopping power.
Their NC’s, for example, are at the higher end of the mass scale, with thick slabs of armor and using giant artillery guns with revolving cylinders alongside simplified rapid-fire rifles that use caseless ammunition. Less often, yet still notable, are specialized hunter-killer NC’s that focus on firing swarm after swarm of high-maneuverability, vertically launched HEAT micromissiles. What you’ll never see them use, though, are directed energy weapons.
Fairbanks LTD:
Fairbanks rules over the most northern third of the Americas, with a few holdings in Greenland. Due to their predicament of being sandwiched in between three other Ruling Companies, Fairbanks is always on edge and attempts a new ‘wonder-weapon’ concept every few months. They’ll do whatever it takes to win, and try to make sure that Independents are on their side at least.
Their NC’s are few and far between, making standardization a difficult prospect at best.
Paragon Industrial & Nuclear:
Paragon is centered on the western half of Europe, having dominion over what used to be Britain, Germany, Italy, and many others. The pre-war ruins they have access to are surprisingly undamaged, giving them an edge when it comes to archeological expeditions. Also due to this, they have the most pre-war technical know-how, making, plasma and particle weapons quite common for example. While life under their rule is strict and often short, you’d never die due to a near-medieval medical concern like dysentery or scurvy. In the upper echelons, there are even rumours of vat-grown replacement organs or immortality super-serums.
Their NC’s are sleek, and barely resemble actual human beings. Their legs and arms are little more than moving counterbalances, and feather-like heatsinks dominate the standard Paragon NC’s back. This gives them both a strange, alien look alongside a mythical or religious one. This helps the symbolism of being able to fire ‘lightning bolts’ of plasma.
Red Star Shelter Solutions:
Red Star controls the majority of Asia, Japan, and a small portion of Africa. They are a proud, yet dominating collective where the people at the bottom rung are usually happy with their lot in life, either through brainwashing or peer pressure. The individual doesn’t exist, not even as strongly as it should be in the highest portions of the command structure. Below the lowest executive nobility and military officers, they are effectively a communist ‘state’.
They are highly interested in Neural Nets’ very nature, and if any strides are being made in the Neural portion of NC’s, they are the most likely source. Their pilots have superb connection with their NC’s, which have the highest number of melee weapons in any Ruling Companies’ NC forces. Their Neural Combatants resemble ancient warriors or demons the most, for the fear factor.
Volkov Nuclear Security Systems:
Volkov Security. The very strongest of the Ruling Companies, nothing goes on without them interfering in some form, either behind the shadows or in the open if necessary. They make certain that everything in their territory is used, and they have control of the world in their sights at all times. Everyone in their conglomerate is worked to the breaking point, and those who fail to deliver are discarded in cruel experimentation or plainly shot in the brainpan before being replaced. The board of directors are constantly infighting, seeking to please their mysterious C.E.O., who has been controlling them from outside any Burrow or installation, apparently in a hidden and secure area away from prying eyes. Nobody knows where exactly he is, but he makes sure his direct inferiors know who’s in charge.
Their NC’s and other military material are all highly specialized machines, making an overview moot. However they’re constructed, they have one ultimate goal in mind and are built to be as best suited for that purpose as possible.
Minor Organizations and Groups
- New Anchorage
| PARTS & WEAPONS |
| RULES / APPLY |
Here's the rules on characters and NC's: (last rules, I swear.)
You can have up to two characters, an NC pilot and a close friend/lover/anything else.
You can have up to two characters, an NC pilot and a close friend/lover/anything else.
(Offensive Implements and additional equipment)
Character Types needed:
Field-Captain: Taken, Stein Kalfox
Long-ranged Specialist: Not Taken
Utility: Taken, Joe Verona
Support: Not Taken
Assault: Taken, Elizabeth Jackspar
Heavy: Not Taken
