Krayzikk

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

Sorry folks, I didn't quite get the proper thread done on schedule. By the end of tomorrow, I think. Zakharin is looking interesting so far, I like the crew we have shaping up.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Mentions/Interactions: @VitaVitaAR @Crimson Paladin @PaulHaynek

"Sirs." A calm voice all the more notable for the thrumming undercurrent, a riptide lurking beneath a placid surface, greeted Jarde and Fleuri. ""Morire."

A rippling arc of reflected light whipped out ahead of a matching arc of steel, cleanly separating a mercenary's head from his shoulders before he could slip around Jarde's guard. The stream flowed back to its origin tainted red with blood, spiraling gently around the tip of Nicomede's spada. Nicomede's armor, clean and immaculate for the ball, was stained as only fighting close enough to hear your opponent's heart beat could make. Had the stone floor not run with enough already every step would have left a crimson print in the age old dust, and small rivulets ran down every metal edge. Drops had spattered on his cheeks, a stark contrast in the dark to the blue of his eyes.

It burned not to accompany Captain Fanilly and the others into the depths to rescue the Nem's sister. Conventional or not, his beliefs as a Mayonite urged him to protect the helpless. And the most helpless person in the entire gods-forsaken structure, beyond a doubt, was her. But the auspices of his protection were not solely for the defenseless, and it would not do to forsake his new friends and colleagues, either, now would it?

"I apologize for my tardiness," He continued, flowing out of the way of a blow from a bastard sword and pushing it aside with his offhand. His spada darted out, the concentric spirals at its tip accelerating and tightening as its just barely pierced the weaker armor and skin under his arm. The man barely noticed, readying his own counterattack with a sublime skill and speed wasted upon his profession. Then he faltered, a wet gurgle emanating from his throat as a jet of water stabbed deeply into his chest. The fluid, now truly the burgundy of his earlier cabernet, withdrew with his blade. "Lancia. But there were some stragglers that required my attention. Now, this seems a more even fight, doesn't?"

And it did, at least to Nicomede. The hooded fellow was definitely the biggest threat, and he began making his way carefully but swiftly through the remaining mercenaries towards Fleuri to assist. His arrival had split some of them away from Jarde, no doubt enough to make the fight much easier for them both, and the truth is that Nicomede didn't hurry. Not to say he didn't make swift progress; but he never seemed hurried. As with all things, he seemed to flow through the opposition. Occasionally he needed to dodge, actually alter his own path to evade danger, but more often than not force was simply directed aside and countered with lethal force.

Without the benefits of well made full plate armor, the first blood was usually crippling, if not always fatal.

"Holding up alright, Sir Fleuri? I imagine Sir Jarde and I will be able to assist in just a moment."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

@Krayzikk: That's fine, I'm sure everyone understands if I postpone the update one more day.

I would really like to pick up the pace from here onward if possible though.

@VitaVitaAR

I appreciate it. It should be much easier for me to be more timely soon, the high rate of community infection here and still needing to accomplish lots of paperwork before August has really, really gummed up the works. Thank you for your patience.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

@Krayzikk: Should I give you a little more time then or go ahead? I do plan to move things ahead more when I post.

@VitaVitaAR

If you have the time to give me until tomorrow, I'd appreciate it. If that would be impractical I understand.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Alright, as promised, update incoming tomorrow.

@VitaVitaAR

I'll get a post up around it as soon as I can. Haven't forgotten, but I live in a plague zone and it complicates trying to get important real world stuff done.

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

@Hawthorne @Caasicam @HereComesTheSnow

Y'all like your artillery, huh?

Nothing wrong with any of the three sheets at first read, though I'll take a closer look at all of them again. Certainly all three characters are fine, may just take a closer look at the Orbitals.

I've let this sit for a few days, and it's a lower amount of interest than I was really expecting, but I'll work on getting a proper thread together by the end of the weekend!

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

<Snipped quote by Caasicam>

Gotcha. Appreciate it!

@Hawthorne

Caasicam mostly has it. Most Orbitals are flight capable, but not necessarily capable of effective flight for combat. Not all, but most, Orbitals are able to fly a bit like a cargo transport, able to get from Point A to Point B. Orbitals meant to fly for the purpose of combat still require a lot of purpose building because they have to be able to handle so much better in the air, and not just "capable of taking off and landing".

Short version, what you're thinking of should be fine. With enough work you could just fit an Oberth Reactor into an older unit, if you really wanted to, so there should be no reason that wouldn't work. Heavies, mind you, aren't necessarily literally heavier; they're just seen as less mobile owing to older technology.

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

you will learn why the trigger is pulled

@Plank Sinatra

i'll kill you

@HereComesTheSnow

outer space has lost all reason, that's why im finna destroy everything

@Caasicam

lunatics

Yes!! please!

@Grimoire

Hell yeah, I had a hankering for sci-fi and mecha RPs lately, and was half-tempted to start my own. Thankfully, it seems a pretty good one has appeared. Consider my interest piqued!

Also, would like to see a sample application at some point, if only for reference.

@Hawthorne

Welcome aboard! Two of the lunatics have sheets mostly ready for me to look at, so that'll help some. I have a sample Orbital sheet I can get posted in a couple hours and I'll try and whip up a sample CS, too.

EDIT: I liked! I had time earlier than I thought. This is a quick Orbital sheet I worked up to give the lunatics an idea for formatting and content and, honestly, for fun.

Sample

Model Number: XC|RG-171B G-Hawk
Role: Rapid Assault/Superiority Fighter
Appearance:

Appearance

Systems:
Transformable Frame: A transformable frame allowing the Hawk to convert from Orbital to a fighter configuration in approximately 0.7 seconds, assuming no impedimentary damage.
Enhanced Communications Package: Encrypted communications with a strong signal, capable of relaying comms, sensor data, and GPS positioning over substantial distance, through substantial interference, in real time. Useful for synchronizing attack runs, providing telemetry for other Orbitals, and synchronizing linkup.
Docking Clamps: Owing to its legacy the Hawk retains a series of magnetic clamps on its underbelly, capable of connecting to less mobile Orbitals to aid in rapid deployment.
Weapons:
-J&J Split Missiles x16, stored in pods on either shoulder.
-30mm Vulcans, mounted along the fuselage in fighter and the chest as an Orbital
-Beam Sabers x2
-XC Beam Shot Launcher with Beam Spike
-XC Heat Blades
-Shield
Manufacturing History: The 171 has a storied lineage more than a century old, beginning life during the era of Heavies. Modeled after an earlier prototype, the original G-Hawk came off the assembly line sporting an old school fusion reactor. Its technology was cutting edge at the time, and the variability of its loadout (and compatibility with other machines from the same manufacturer, and with a little work, others) lead to its wide spread adoption as the superiority unit for the back half of the century. Improvised improvements, after market equipment, and its unique range of strengths enabled its market domination.

Forty years later the Oberth Reactor Initiative came about, and the Hawk faced a grave threat. Until a handful of engineers and a long weekend figured out how to fit an Oberth Reactor into the same frame, and the G-Hawk’s operational time and acceleration skyrocketed. The Hawk is an old machine now, even with the Mod B retrofit to add an Oberth Reactor and EM drives, but many pilots, PMCs, and even branches of service will still bet on it over a newer model when the chips are down.
Weaknesses: The G-Hawk’s arsenal at this point is fairly antiquated. Though no less effective for its age, it has few of the bells and whistles that pilots more accustomed to newer models might rely on. Or, as some of those older hats might put it, ‘no crutches’.

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

264 SA, Proxima Centauri

Remaining Time in Transit: 201.3 Hours

Two and a half centuries ago mankind arose from Earth’s atmosphere and into the heavens, sprawling outwards into their solar system under the auspices of the United Nations. A harmonious, cooperative expansion of the race to the stars… At least on paper. The truth is that expansion came as all things human in incongruous fits and starts, jostling one another gently every step of the way. There was no grand intrasystem war, but there were skirmishes. There was no uprising of the colonists against their home… But there might have been. Whatever conflicts the future might have held were abruptly put on pause by the discovery of an ancient alien spacecraft in the frozen north, and the weapon within.

Humanity was not alone. Whoever had created it was beyond us, and even as scientists descended upon it to study and understand the world grappled with the news. We united, at least more than we had been, and worked to ensure our future. We built our own humanoid fighting vehicles, patterned after the single machine found in its belly, and created the apparati to handle the revelation. Defense forces, research committees, for years preparation became the overriding concern.

But that was, itself, nearly two hundred years ago. The ship and the mystery of its occupants faded into the background, worldly concerns once more taking center stage as humanity pushed ever outwards. Piracy, intercolony dispute, and the burgeoning needs of the species again became the norm. For all of our differences the time has passed, mostly, in peace.

And technology has marched on. Our ships can reach a third of the speed of light. We have colonized the system from Venus to Pluto, and any suitable spot in between. Our old, obsolete machines, affectionately called “heavies”, were revolutionized anew. The Oberth Reactor, and the Oberth Reactor Initiative as the project to refit the older heavies was called, altered their development until they were rechristened Orbitals after the project’s initials.

With the limits of our solar system beginning to chafe the same way our planet’s had, eyes turned again towards the rest of the universe. An unmanned probe made the journey to Proxima Centauri b, our nearest potentially habitable world, in just under fifteen years. Fifteen years after that its data returned, declaring the planet a likely prospect. Even if colonization was impossible the establishment of an extrasolar space colony called, beckoning humanity further out into the dark.

So in 249 SA the Advance Ship Pandora lit off her drives, bound for Proxima Centauri with her brave crew of five thousand souls aboard. Each one put into a deep hibernation for the journey, not a day seems to have passed for anyone but the rotating skeleton crew.

Fifteen years later, humanity’s second home draws near.

The Advance Ship Pandora departed from Jupiter’s spacedock in 249 SA carrying a crew of five thousand within its immense, 400m long hull. Its goal is to reach and scout Proxima Centauri b, the nearest potentially habitable planet to Sol based upon preliminary data transmitted from an earlier probe. At Pandora’s maximum speed, allowing for safe acceleration, the journey has taken fifteen years. Of the five thousand crew members aboard 95% have spent the journey in cryostasis from the moment acceleration began until the ship’s arrival in the system. Two hundred and fifty people, mostly naval officers, have been awake for intervals of several months in rotating shifts to ensure the ship’s safe procession between systems.

Though not explicitly a military mission, military personnel from a variety of Sol’s nations, colonies, and even private contractors have been well represented on the expedition. Despite a civilian leader for the mission the Pandora’s captain has operational authority until the expedition reaches the system, and all of the ship’s pilots operate under his authority regardless of their original outfits. The crew is composed of a mix of naval personnel, scientists, pilots, and the engineers needed to separate the Colony Module from the Advance Ship and assemble from it a viable habitat in Proxima Centauri.

The Pandora is outfitted with all of the materials, and fabrication equipment, necessary to support itself on its long journey beyond any hope of assistance and build the colony in orbit around Proxima Centauri b upon arrival. At its core is a bleeding edge (at launch) Battle Carrier, the Pyxis, and within its bays are advanced Orbitals chosen and outfitted by the pilots aboard. Officially the military presence is a precaution though some have questioned so weighty a fighting force sent along on a thirty year scientific mission.

Nevertheless, a number of pilots have been chosen as crew equally essential with the scientists aboard.

Derived from the mecha of the early colonization era, Orbitals are a more potent force than the Heavies of old. Where the Heavies ran on fusion reactors the Orbitals run off of an Oberth Reactor, the same technology which gives them their name. The power generated by the newer reactors is a vast improvement over the old and technologies in limited use during the era of the Heavies are now abundant. Transformable frames, combinable frames, beam weapons, and rail weapons are all used with different degrees of commonality.

The Oberth Reactor is also the first reactor capable of powering the same EM drives that propel modern spacecraft, allowing most Orbitals flight for the purposes of transportation, if not combat. Combat airframes remain a specialized model, owing to the needs of maneuverability and speed over general transportation.

Despite their potency, Oberth reactors do not have an infinite rate of power generation. Unless properly specced, machines with energy intensive systems will rapidly drain the available charge until the reactor can replenish the machine’s capacitors. For this reason rail weapons are still often preferred over beam weapons for reasons of power efficiency.

The Battle Carrier Pyxis has bays for 60 Orbitals, though not all are filled.

I had a hankering for a mecha game, so I made one. Advance on Proxima takes inspiration from shows like Gunbuster, Macross, Martian Successor Nadesico and the ilk. Gloriously 80s and 90s in style, aliens to fight, and cool robots to pilot.

Some simple rules;

Listen to your GM (and/or Co-GM). We’re here to have fun as much as you, but we do need to keep things running.
Keep things civil.
If you have a question, ask.
If you’re going to be away for a long period of time, a heads up to me and your fellow players is appreciated.

Here’s a character sheet;

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance: A picture is fine, so is a description.
Personality: Some detail, please. Give us a look at their head.
Backstory: At least a paragraph or two, please. The more detail the better.
Skills and Flaws: What are they good at and what aren't they. Everyone has a mix of both, what's theirs?
Equipment: Anything particularly noteworthy that they have brought with them on the trip.

And an Orbital sheet;

Model Number: What does its manufacturer call it?
Role: What is it meant to do?
Appearance: Pictures or descriptions are both acceptable.
Systems: Does it have any special systems? Does it transform? Does it combine? Does it have special sensors?
Weapons: What has it got to shoot, stab, or otherwise hit the enemy with? Shields go here, too.
Manufacturing History: Who built it? When did they built it? Why did they built it?
Weaknesses: What are its drawbacks? The more stronger and more specialized the Orbital, the more I'm going to want to see some thought here.

And if you’ve got any questions, fire away. Example sheets for an Orbital available upon request.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

I've been unexpectedly out of it for a couple of weeks, but I'll be trying to get myself caught up tomorrow.