Darkmatter — Roleplayer Guild

@WilsonTurnerAlright, I wanted to make a long post about strategies and tactics but it may come off a little insulting.
The long story cut short is that your intentions and proposed rules don't match.
Writing engaging battles is up to the player and their pool of creativity. Weapons and tech limitations almost don't matter.
Same with numbers, I personally can effectively write with any number of ships.
Though because of the influence of LotGH, I prefer playing with large fleets, using formations, flanking an all the other fun tactics you can just barely taste with only a few dozen ships.
There are tons of other issues I can talk about but really there are way too many directions I can approach this thing and it'd only turn into a tl;dr mess.
Let's just say your ideas are based on Hollywood and other popular media instead of level thinking.
If you want to avoid the insane messes space NRPs apparently come down to then you don't need rules, you need action.
When somebody gets lazy and engages in a war of numbers and doesn't even think about where or how these come from, warn him.
It's an effective method, even if admittedly management-intensive.

<Snipped quote by WilsonTurner>That's a misunderstandment of the scale here.
Shall I list how many fighters and ships we produce right now with boorish modern day technology and industry which doesn't involve all the delicious ways to get resources in abdunance?
The setting of most Space NRPs is very much an utopia compared to what we have now.

It's an issue if people get overboard but the cold fact of warfare is that practically everything is repalceable.
It'd hit the nation/civilization's economy and I'd love if players RP that but in effect replacing hundreds of ships in years, months or even days (depending on tech assumptions) is a cold fact with the scale we are all working at.

Even a single-planet civilization is pretty damn huge and can afford plenty of resource or industrial capacity.
Again, it seems to come back to using rules when it should be the responsibility of the GM.@Willy Vereb

 I had basically expressed this entire sentiment to catchamber in the chat, but not raised it as an issue mostly due to me awaiting further development. 

Having GM'd quite a number of NRPs before, I can say creating these artificial rules only invites people to break them whether intentionally or not. Letting the shape of the setting develop more organically in the early stages is much more appealing. For example, if the players/GM felt I'd made a fleet to big, and asked me to address it, as a player I'd be more than happy to. Setting out harsh restrictions from the start just insinuates players are either ill-mannered or idiots and sets about a bad tone from the word go. Again this is just my opinion.

I also find the need to classify space vessels in strict naval terms rather contrary. It's a nice analogy to use so we all have a sense of a ships position in a fleet. But restricting them to specific roles assigned to naval vessels which operate essentially in a 2D plane vs the 3D plane of space warfare seems a bit silly.

Tl;dr Have some faith in players apply, approach issues as they arise.

Hey all!

So I've been working on an idea for feudalistic setting set in the near future. I've got some history and the basic setting I want to use. If you've ever seen Code Geass or read Isaac Asimov's Foundation series you'll get the basic idea; feudalistic/monarchy based governments in a modern/sci-fi setting. The setting I've been working on is somewhat inspiried by CG, in that I do want mechs/mecha to be a core story element.

I would however, like to make a couple things clear. Yes I thoroughly enjoy mech anime and understand they can be over the top and juvenile at times. However, I don't like that approach to my writing and RPing. What I'm trying to convey here is a certain tone. Raw goofiness isn't what I'm looking for. I always try to set mature tones and allow room for serious themes to be dealt with in my RPs and writing.

The tone of the mechs themselves, in my opinion should lie somewhere between Geass' semi-realism and hard sci-fi realism. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's need not apply.

Of course, we still have to have fun! And giant robots are fun. I'm simply aiming for a good balance.

Disclaimer: This is fiction, and full of cheesy history, as there is a certain amount of anime influence. I normally stick to very hardline gritty settings and plots but I am going off that path with this one. It is meant to over the top at times. You are meant to think 'that'd never happen, but cool!' Let's have a bit of fun!

So, without further ado, some core points to address before we would move to RP thread stage:
-Tech level is low-mid sci-fi.

-Yes I am aware mechs are impractical combat units, in fact I often argue this point with people, but for the sake of the setting/rp artistic licence is being applied to make the the strongest military units.

-There is potential for this to be a hybrid nation RP. Either a small group of nation players (2-4) with a supplementary group of character players, or some other combination.

-Immediate concern is acquiring interest.

-I set myself a post standard of 1000 word minimum, but will only post content which I believe has quality also.

-My own posting speed would be 1-3 times a week, possibly more.

The World

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The State Of Affairs

 ”A man’s opportunities are never exhausted so long as other men possess millions of acres and thousands of tons of gold.” 

As the year 2081 draws to a close, the Great Philosophical War, later simply named World War III, wages on. The remnants of the Federated States of Europe have fallen. Born out of the necessity of war, and birthed from the political womb of the former EU, the FSE stood its ground firmly for nearly two decades. Now, on the eve of the war’s second decade, the Battle of Amsterdam has been lost and the remaining fragments of FSE resistance shattered. 

A war waged in the name of ideology, but with the far more important prize of natural resources at stake, it seemed things were coming to calm. The incessant conflict which tore at Europe from every shore has ended. Whether this will lead to international peace, however, remains to be seen. The Holy American Imperium has claimed most of Western Europe, and divided into a dozen geographically convenient dominions, over which it has total control. Its greasy grasp extends as far as the newly form Bucharest Concordat Border; which runs from Athens, to Bucharest and northwards through Helsinki. Across the border, the former Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and tracts of Eastern Europe, now unnamed worklands in the Pan-Asiatic Alliance. 

People whisper this is merely a settling of the dust before a more violent episode.
Others bicker about revolt.
One thing is certain: Democracy is dead.

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History

*The Following is a punctuacted summarized historical timeline from 2060-2087. the current date. For more detailed information on the rise, history and machinations of the various world powers, see the nation section below.*

› April 1st 2060: The Imperium agrees to enter trade negotiations with the EU. This is the first semblance of diplomatic gesture from the Imperium since its inception several decades prior. The current reigning Emperor, Harold Cedars I, is seen as a more pragmatic ruler than his father, Francis Cedars His First Imperial Majesty Unifier of States, Conquerer of all.

› April 7th 2060: The Emperor arrives to the negotiations being held in Lille, with his diplomatic envoys.

› April 8th 2060: Discussions seem to be going well initially. Oil trade rights are at the forefront, and the hot topic of the talks.

› April 9th 2060: Emperor Harold, His Second Imperial Majesty is killed during a bombing at the conference.

› April 10th 2060: American media is fed the information under the falsehood that the act was not one of terrorism but rather a clever ploy concocted by the desperate EU, into weaking the grip of the Holy American Imperium on Oil resevoirs in the area formally known as the middle-east.

› April 11th 2060: Despite publically refuting American media claims, and launcing an investigation into the attacks, the EU parliment begins to lose much support from member states. Many countries believe the central EU powers of Germany and France had indeed committed the act.

› April 21st 2060: Westminster decrees Britain's exit from the EU. Fearful of being associated with the bombings and losing potential access to vital resources offered by a trade deal with the empire, Italy, Spain and Poland also renounce the European Union and proclaim to have had no part nor knowledge of the alledged plot.

› May 22nd 2060: Tensions are still very high across the Atlantic. Many EU States are unwilling to lose access to much needed oil reserves. Germany, France, Portugal and the Republics of Eastern Europe are not content with Imperial power or the threat of force being hovered over them by the Empire.

› August 7th 2060: Britain agrees to a Trans-atlantic Trade Agreement, for which it pays dearly, to secure Imperial oil pre-emption rights.

› September 22nd 2060: The newly resolved EU parliment declares it has uncovered evidence of Imperial involvment in the bombings, claiming the Empire had intended to target European leaders and that the Emperor had not been the target. By this declaration, all soverign members of the EU willingly enforce an embargo on the Empire.

› September 23rd 2060: Ireland, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark all enact a naval and aerial blockade around Britian, cutting it off from the American Imperium.

› December 15th 2060: After almost two months of cold stand-off, Britain revokes its succession from the EU, realising limited access to oil is better than no access. Poland and Spain quickly follow suit in talks in the coming twenty-four hours.

› December 17th 2060: The European Union reinsitutes Great Britain as a member state. It makes a public declaration that the American Empire is an enemy of democracy and freedom.

› January 1st 2061: The Empire declares war on Europe.

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Nations

The Holy American Imperium

♖Government

The Empire is an absolute monarchy. All authority stems from and is concentrated on the Emperor. A variety of houses preside over individual areas of governing but all are directly subject to the whims of the Emperor. Each of these Houses is overseen by a Lord, chosen by the Imperial Majesty. Some of the most notable Houses are, the House of Warfare, The House of Economics and the House of Industry. There are currently over two dozen Houses though some of the newly formed ones are little more than Titles.

The Empire is a quasi-religious organisation. It does not subscribe to any previously mainstream religion, however, in fact it is openly against what it deems to be archaic belief systems and in their place it imposes its own doctrine of faith. Since its inception it has proposed a belief in the power of physical domination. Divinty through action. Thus it was named the 'Holy' Imperium by its founding King, so as to reflect his own status and that of the Empire in the world. Most Imperial citizens alive today have been raised and educated through schooling systems which instill the belief that holiness is a tangible concept, directly linked to influence and power, making the Emperor the holiest human alive.

Actual administration of the Empire is broken down so as to be more systematic and manageable, as the Empire currently reigns over 31.8% of the Earth's landmass. The American Empire is sectioned off into The Homeland, Tier 1 Dominions, Tier 2 Dominions and Fringe Zones. The Homeland comprises the former continental United States, the Canadian Zones, The Central Mexican Districts and the Offshore Primes. Tier 1 Dominions can be found in South America, Coastal Africa the Middle-East and a single central Dominion in Europe. Tier 2 Dominions make up the rest of the European continent, the interior of Empire controlled Africa and several arctic zones.

Each Dominion is adminstered by a Duke-Governor, often directly related or connected to Emperor.

♖History

The Holy Imperium came into exsistence in the early 21st century. Growing international angst, fearmongering and manipulation of the media lead to widespread insecurity amongst the general populace. This afforded those in power the oppurtunity to begin removing personal liberties and instilling tight martial control with little resistance. Many citizens openly supported it, deeming it necessary and most others begruddingly accepted it as the lesser of two evils. 

Eventually, after a number of years, the current President, Francis Cedars had effectively removed all but a few restrictions on his power. Re-election could happen any number of times, he assumed total military control through conviction that they were eteranally at war with would be enemies. Slowly but surely all vestiges of democracy crumbled under waves of propaganda and fear. Europe looked across the Atlantic and demanded action, but were merely ignored, portrayed as villians in American Media. Republics across the world feared inciting nuclear war, and having not learned its lessen, the world fell victim to the option of appeasement.

The invasion of Mexico was sudden and swift, 'justified' on the merits of hit them before they hit us. The Canadian people grew increasing appalled at the acts of their neighbouring country and called for action to be taken, before the were quickly encompassed also. With complete capitulation both north and south of its original borders, Cedars declared the former United States to be the Holy American Imperium and the former countries of Mexico and Canada to be integrated into its borders. 

Over the coming decades, the Imperium would seize control of Central America, and much of South America, before establishing a foothold in the West Africa coast. European resistance was only political, hands tied behind backs by political correctness and bureaucracy. Chinese interests were never threatened directly by the Empire, and China itself would soon begin to expand its borders.

♖Society & Culture

The Imperium, being the monarchy that it is, values personal power above all else. There is quite a deal of poverty in the empire, but also ample oppurtunity to seize. While societal divisions are clearly present, they are not enforced and any citizen has the oppurtunity to rise through the ranks. Of course, those born into power have nothing to worry for, and the adminstration does everything in its power to convince the lower class that they too have some hope. In reality, it is unlikely that much more than a small few will ever obtain the upward mobility they desire.

In general, the class system of the Empire can be classed as such:
»Emperor

»Special Crown Advisors

»Lords/Ladies

»Duke-Governors (Titled Royal Family)

»Non-Titled Royal Family

»Governors (Administer States within Dominions)

»Viscounts (Administer Provinces Within States)

»Rooks (Senior Knights)

»Knights (Specially appointed individuals for Imperial service; Military, economic, social, etc)

»Patricians (Lowest form of nobility)

»Upper Class Commoners

»Middle Class Commoners

»Low Class Commoners

»Non-Citizens

 Bar the exception of military knights, all military personal have a combat associated rank and a seperate societal rank.

Culture-wise, it is a mixing pot. Imperial values are heavily hung over the heads of all Dominions. Native culture and traditons are allowed but take a massive backseat to imposed American values. Military service is mandatory in some newer Dominions, but a feverent belief in their righteousness means there are always plenty recruits to be found in the Homeland.

The Pan-Asiatic Alliance

☯ Government

The Pan-Asiatic Alliance isn't a single governing body. Rather it is the accumulated strength of numerous internal nations, however, it has become such a self reliant system that it is generally viewed as being a single entity, especially external to it. The most influential of these cogs is the People's Republic of China, acting as the industrial powerhouse of the Alliance. Though it has recently been doing away with the 'republic' misnomer. China has more sway over affairs in the Alliance than other constituent state bar India and in some opinions, Japan. The actual system of rule in the Alliance is best described as an Oligarchy mixed with older Fascist values, in which the Oligarchs are the former positions held by leaders of the distinct nations, democratic or otherwise. Currently there are over seven hundred Oligarchs, but they command absolute authority. Much of the land and labor divisions in mainland Alliance territory is borderline feudalistic, with Coastal regions such as Shanghai and Japan being far more liberal. 

☯ History

The Asiatic Alliance has its history irrevocably entangled with that of the Empire. While there was no direct Imperial influence, the actions of the Imperium in the early-mid 21st lead to a surge of increased nationalism in emerging Asian countries. India and China are the most notable pillars around which the Alliance developed. Initially allying with each other for trade and security purposes despite notable ideological clashes. Early in the life of this new union, the constantly problematic dictatorship of North Korea began causing ruckus closer to home. Having conceded that its veiled threats to assault American soil were being diminished as the Empire's reach grew, the dictatorship decided to shake its phallus at everyone else. Threats of nuclear war were not taken lightly, regardless of them being the thoughts of a single madman, and China quickly descended to the 38th parallel and threatened, openly, the sovereignty of South Korea also.

Initially critical of China's actions, India scolded the deployment of troops further south. When Japan, focused more on imminent threat across the pacific, chose to do nothing, much of the Indian parliament's doubts were washed away in Chinese fervor. In yet another historic moment of human blindness, Japan was very soon engulfed in this expansion also, albeit in a political manner. The China-India pact proposed the Pan-Asiatic Alliance as a method of deterring American invasion. In reality the Chinese government were colluding with the Emperor in a plan to consolidate world power. 

Over the coming years leading up to the War on Europe, the Alliance continued to expand its borders into the middle-east and Africa, proclaiming to the world it must mirror the advances of the Empire or be swallowed by it. When the Imperium invaded Europe, the Alliance announced it must to strike across the continent to prevent too much land and resources falling to the Americans. 

☯ Society & Culture

The culture of the Alliance is even more diverse than anything in the Empire. Ancient traditions, rooted deep in history can be seen eveywhere within its borders. Most average citizens have adopted realistic and pragmatic apporaches to living, but their heritage is still evident in the home and workplace.

Whilst having a more 'fair' non-caste based society, for the most part, Alliance states tend to have a much larger degree of poverty than the Empire, especially in rural and suburban areas. Many parts of what traditionally made up India, Pakistan and neighbouring land still hold onto caste-based systems, though they aren't openly enforcing it.

There exist nations apart from this. The Oceanic Federation controls much of the Pacific and island nations of Asia, the African Bloque is a disparate amalgamtion of despots with control in the center and south of the countinent and the Soldados de la Justicia are a massive freedom fighting force in South American territories outside of the Empire. For the purposes of this RP, only the rebelling forces of Europe, the Empire and the Alliance are involved. If this rp develops enough, the world will along with it.

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Characters

✎Name:
 The generally accepted combination of letters/phonetics used to differentiate you from others.

✎Age:
 18+. I don't find 14 year old combat pilots beliavable unless you're piloting your mother.*

✎Sex:
 Yes please! But are you male or female?

✎Nationality:
 Couldn't think of anything worth putting here.

✎Character Type:
 (Military, support, non-combatant, admin.)

✎Rank/Title:
 (if applicable.)

✎Job/Position:
 (if appplicable.)

✎History:
 Probably one of the most important parts.

*If you don't know this reference don't ask; it's a spoiler.
† Do not for the love Megatron actually use that personality type indicator as this section. Well I mean do if you want, but at least write something.

Mech Specification Sheet

This is not mandatory, even if you do have/use a mech. It's just there to add the fluff if wanted. I'll be using it.

Name/Designation:

What do we call this hulking brute? Examples; Eva Unit -01, Dresden Mk 2, Knightmare Frame Gawain. 
Please don't use any of these examples. Will lead to murder.

Faction:

If any. Mechs aren't cheap.

Type:

Bipedal, Quadrapedal, Anti-Air, Paramech, Dragoon, Piloted, Remotely Operated etc etc.

Dimensions:

Approximated size of it. In metres please.

Appearacne:

Images more than acceptable.

Armour & Armament:

How does it prevent itself from being blown up, and how does it blow up other things.

Production History:
 Probably the least mandatory part. Unless it's a custom job, or protoype or similar. In that case, at least put something here.

Additional:

Me.

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Q&A

Q: What's the basic size of current era mechs? Does it vary from faction to faction? Has artillery evolved along side them? How so? Do cannons crab around on legs or are there just blockier mechs with big guns?
A: The 'era' I keep saying I'm pushing is real-robotish. With a bit more lenience for sci fi tech given it's 60+ in the future: rail based rifles, basic energy weapons, etc. Though I realise cyberwarfare would be a pretty big aspect also. Sizes would for example from 5 meters tall up to like 20, nothing going near 50, fifty meters is very tall. Tech levels will obviously vary here and there, but basic design goals would be similar. A good comparison is aircraft arms races and developments. Yes crab tanks exist, as seen in my CS. They 'running tanks' were staples of the European forces.

Q: You mentioned that mechs won't be hoofing it cross country. Do they lie down on flatbeds/stow inside transport planes after every engagement or do most designs incorporate a wheeled drive? If so please describe it.
A: Well maybe the mechs should be running around? I just didn't expect them to stroll from France to Germany say? Within deployment zones they'd move 'on foot' like infantry but for long range deployment, specialized transports would be used; land, air and sea. The wheeled drive system is something that's maybe used in conjunction with 'walking' maneuvers. 

Q: Your CS mentioned how the Federation's 4 gen Dragoons make use of neural assisted targeting. Is battle fatigue a major concern? Do several pilots crew the same suit and operate in shifts? Would damaging/overloading/overstimulating this system over-stress the pilot? Is there a secondary targeting system in case of malfunction?
A: In my CS it notes comas were caused in three specifically trained pilots after prolonged use of entirely neural systems. So yes, battle fatigue is an element that exists. Of course you'd expect fairly rigorous training among pilots, preventative measures and the whole sci-fi lends itself to pilots themselves being enhanced beyond regular operational limits. Yes there could be potential cause of stress in pilots due to malfunctioning neural systems. I'd assume our engineers know what they're doing and have redundancy built in, including manual aiming and firing mechanisms.

Q:*What powers most mechs? If it's not diesel why does everyone need oil so badly? Solely for civilian and manufacturing needs? If so why haven't they begun to shift to secondary energy sources?
A: Good question, I hadn't put huge thought into the setting's Applied Phlebtonium, and had just used oil as its a well known substance/energy source. Diesel mechs may be a bit too grungy for the feel we're going for. I'm open to suggestions on this one. I'm much more used to writing in hard space opera settings, so these down to earth sci fi techs aren't my forte! Some possible ideas include; a new refining method for the oil, compact nuclear reactors but they have obvious issues with mass production and inevitable destruction, and just coming up with some magic plot compound like most mech settings do.

Q:*Operation and maintenance times/costs for mechs please? Just a rough ballpark estimate would be great. How far could most mechs travel on their own/ how long could they maintain combat readiness without refuel/repairs? Are more modern/sophisticated mechs more vulnerable to this than older, out-dated models?
A: Ha! Going to answer this based on my actual job as an aircraft quality assurance engineer! Assuming the mechs are of an equal tech level in their own setting, and the average technician is as skilled as those working with me, a minor maintenance could take place in hours, large repairs and replacements in a day or two and complete overhauls would be a week or so. Homeland Empire maintenance stations might be able to do thirty overhauls a day though, and underground resistance garages might struggle to weld panels back on. It's a bit relative this one. We can assume older mechs are more prone to total failure, but mechs with more complex systems are more prone to regular minor issues. Bare in mind though that again, the term 'complex' is a very subjective.

Q: How vulnerable are mechs to air-to-ground based bombardment? As in helicopters/planes. One would assume very--but then it raises the question of anti-air mechs. Are their any flight-capable mechs?
A: You'd assume it's a two way fiasco, with many basic mech models being prone to bombardment, but some advanced models being agile enough to attempt to avoid it. There's inevitably going to be AA based mechs, flaks and missiles and such.

Any ideas/comments are more than welcome! I’d love to hear some input.

Darkmatter Member

Resident Engineer & Physics Afficiando

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