Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, Intermission Four, Darkest Hour
The days of easy victories have ended; we have been mauled as never before.
First Lieutenant Noel is gone, kidnapped by the enemy for... reasons I do not want to think about. Special Liason Qingshe is dead; we saw her head tossed at us like a football. Even if she somehow cheated that, she hasn't returned to us yet, meaning we lack the benefit of her advice and her Noble Arm's power - I deeply miss her.
Callie has returned to us, and so has Cristina, but whether the others - Nico, Aoi, and Marta - will be staying with us is up in the air. I don't blame them; the fighting at Phnom Penh was some of the hardest we've gone through and it makes sense that they don't want any more of it. We're now crippled, though - Task Force Obsidian, ASEAN's main source of hope in the ongoing Chinese Invasion, is down to a small band huddled in an evacuated Academy that trained those privileged enough to manifest a Noble Arm.
Trinidad Academy, or if you prefer, La Trinidad de Manila Academy, was the beating heart of Southeast Asia's resistance against Chinese influence even before the ASEAN War started; its Director was the main backer of the Philippine Government of National Salvation when it fought against China's would-be puppet. Even now, Chinese Bombers do not go near its tall roofs out of fear of his wrath - Jose Bathala is not one to be tifled with.
He is a Noble Arm that gained sapience, after all - Imagine that, a magic weapon with its own mind and soul... - Special Inspector Myron Makraig, Provisional Leader of Task Force Obisdian. The Main Thread OOC Discussion Discord Background Lore Document
It is December 2022, Christmas is nearing, and the world is darker than ever - All because seven decades ago, one man made a mistake.
The secret backstory, unproven for decades, was that on the verge of Allied Victory in World War II, the British Scientist Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science, fed captured Nazi occult research into a prototype computer and accidentally made it work, leading to the manifestation of Noble Arms - Magical weapons that symbolize their user's inner selves, manifesting when a person undergoes great change and development in their lives, for good or for ill.
Taking the form of obsolete weapons and tools such as swords, spears, muskets, books, and even flying wooden ships, the Noble Arm can possess devastating powers that defy the known laws of reality.
Many can manipulate the elements to the user's will.
A few can control forces that can reduce matter to atoms in seconds.
The rarest have the strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.
The People's Republic of China, trying to recover from perceived humiliations from a different past, a different 1988 against the smaller countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has entangled itself in multiple, simultaneous, 'special military operations' against its neighbors, a state of affairs encouraged by the Downward Descent, a cult that believes Humanity's desire for progress and advancement is a lie that ignores its dark, but true, nature.
Now the People's Liberation Army is bleeding a death of a thousand cuts in a dozen warzones, with its greatest success being the defection of Laos and the northern parts of Cambodia to its side after a botched peace conference in Phnom Penh. However, this, as well as signs of increasing coordination with North Korea, Russia, and Iran has brought a reluctant United States into the war after two years of attempted withdrawal from the world stage.
You are part of Task Force Obsidian, a mix of Arms Masters, people who can manifest Noble Arms after surviving what changed their lives, and Normal People, who paid for their normalcy by lacking magic, but make up for that by being skilled in guns, vehicles, and aircraft, as well as primitive mechs that in the right circumstances, can take down an unprepared Arms Master.
Right now, you and the others of TFO are back in the Philippines, where the Chinese have resumed their attempt at invasion. You have been given housing in the evacuated ‘Trinidad Academy’, a School for Arms Masters and Normal folk whose students are either fighting the enemy on other fronts, fled, or are dead. There, you are either a veteran member trying to lick your wounds, or someone new assigned to fill up TFO's ranks.
Many of your comrades are missing or somehow inactive. China, once on the back foot, has resumed its offensive. Your previous leader has been captured and his replacement is unsure if he has what it takes to lead the group to survival, much less victory.
But the hours are darkest before the dawn, right?
This is an interest check for an ongoing RP, Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, which is now in its fourth intermission (the fourth mission just ended) and eighth story arc, where the OCs are trying to rest, recover, and eventually strike back, empowered by new knowledge and secrets.
Antagonists need special permission from all three members of the GM Council (Being Recruited).
The details of the Intermission are listed below:
Intermission Four: Darkest Hour
Laos and portions of Cambodia have defected to China's side after the Downward Descent caused talks between the Chinese and ASEAN to collapse, taking a lot of the latter's secrets with them. Now Thailand and Vietnam are cut off from each other, even as the PLA Navy embarks on a new major offensive. Task Force Obsidian have escaped but at the cost of their First Lieutenant, who is now in the hands of their enemy.
Now, after finding refuge in Trinidad Academy, Manila's prime institute for training Arms Masters to fight alongside normal cadets (no, it's not a Spartan Training Program), the Task Force has to make a decision: Rescue their commanding officer from enemy captivity, tackle one of the many fronts in the ongoing war... Or give up and disband, falling apart in grief.
If they choose to stay, they will receive various revelations about the nature of Noble Arms and Alan Turing's role in their creation, as well as the functioning of OPL.
You can find the Lore in the Noble Arms Lore Thread and the Character Sheet Skeleton in the The OOC Thread. The OOC Thread also has copies of the parts of the lore relevant to actually playing the game.
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first; prospective players should not seek to game or break the system to make themselves as powerful as possible. One should also not use one's PC's powers to brute-force all obstacles the GM brings before them, or use sophistry, psychological tricks, or 'mental influence magic' to win every diplomatic confrontation. This is not an RP where 'storygaming' is an ugly word. 2.) Nor does an angsty backstory that fits various 'story beats' make one's character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as the 'top dogs' and otherwise make it an arms race with the GM on who can god-mode more. If one won't use their angsty backstory to make a good story, this is not the RP for them. 3.) That said, powerful characters and angsty backstories are permitted, as long as they are made by players who are willing to cooperate and the GM to make a good and dynamic story that isn't just 'X overpowers Y' by bending the rules so far they break, violating the spirit of said rules and (to quote Dave Brookshaw of Onyx Path publishing) common sense. 4.) The first three rules are the most important; let's just say that people who cannot follow them have proven problematic before, and we should have people who can follow the first three rules in this RP. 5.) Do not be an asshole. 6.) Post length is five sentences minimum, but longer posts are encouraged, of course. GMs are also bound by this rule. 7.) Characters are supposed to start no higher than B-Rank in statistical average on their Noble Arm. Note that exceptions can be made for one (two at the most) players who can be trusted to control themselves and not power game when it weakens the story. 8.) 1 US Dollar is 55 Philippine Pesos - Remember this when you spend money. 9.) Reminder: The more powerful you are, the lower your Potential stat is. If you want high Potential, you need to make a weak Noble Arm that can get stronger later. 10.) New Rule (October 12, 2024): Sexual content, including situations where one finds themselves shirtless or otherwise unclothed by force, is now forbidden in the thread itself (willing shirtlessness is still allowed, especially if on the beach or a public bath). RPGuild Private Messages, however, is an option for those who want to do it, and if situations that may disgust most people are necessary for the advancement of the plot, players who give their consent to witness or write out such situations will be allowed access to special RPGuild PMs upon giving their permission.
Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, Intermission Four, Darkest Hour
The days of easy victories have ended; we have been mauled as never before.
First Lieutenant Noel is gone, kidnapped by the enemy for... reasons I do not want to think about. Special Liason Qingshe is dead; we saw her head tossed at us like a football. Even if she somehow cheated that, she hasn't returned to us yet, meaning we lack the benefit of her advice and her Noble Arm's power - I deeply miss her.
Callie has returned to us, and so has Cristina, but whether the others - Nico, Aoi, and Marta - will be staying with us is up in the air. I don't blame them; the fighting at Phnom Penh was some of the hardest we've gone through and it makes sense that they don't want any more of it. We're now crippled, though - Task Force Obsidian, ASEAN's main source of hope in the ongoing Chinese Invasion, is down to a small band huddled in an evacuated Academy that trained those privileged enough to manifest a Noble Arm.
Trinidad Academy, or if you prefer, La Trinidad de Manila Academy, was the beating heart of Southeast Asia's resistance against Chinese influence even before the ASEAN War started; its Director was the main backer of the Philippine Government of National Salvation when it fought against China's would-be puppet. Even now, Chinese Bombers do not go near its tall roofs out of fear of his wrath - Jose Bathala is not one to be tifled with.
He is a Noble Arm that gained sapience, after all - Imagine that, a magic weapon with its own mind and soul... - Special Inspector Myron Makraig, Provisional Leader of Task Force Obisdian. The Main Thread OOC Discussion Discord Background Lore Document
It is December 2022, Christmas is nearing, and the world is darker than ever - All because seven decades ago, one man made a mistake.
The secret backstory, unproven for decades, was that on the verge of Allied Victory in World War II, the British Scientist Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science, fed captured Nazi occult research into a prototype computer and accidentally made it work, leading to the manifestation of Noble Arms - Magical weapons that symbolize their user's inner selves, manifesting when a person undergoes great change and development in their lives, for good or for ill.
Taking the form of obsolete weapons and tools such as swords, spears, muskets, books, and even flying wooden ships, the Noble Arm can possess devastating powers that defy the known laws of reality.
Many can manipulate the elements to the user's will.
A few can control forces that can reduce matter to atoms in seconds.
The rarest have the strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.
The People's Republic of China, trying to recover from perceived humiliations from a different past, a different 1988 against the smaller countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has entangled itself in multiple, simultaneous, 'special military operations' against its neighbors, a state of affairs encouraged by the Downward Descent, a cult that believes Humanity's desire for progress and advancement is a lie that ignores its dark, but true, nature.
Now the People's Liberation Army is bleeding a death of a thousand cuts in a dozen warzones, with its greatest success being the defection of Laos and the northern parts of Cambodia to its side after a botched peace conference in Phnom Penh. However, this, as well as signs of increasing coordination with North Korea, Russia, and Iran has brought a reluctant United States into the war after two years of attempted withdrawal from the world stage.
You are part of Task Force Obsidian, a mix of Arms Masters, people who can manifest Noble Arms after surviving what changed their lives, and Normal People, who paid for their normalcy by lacking magic, but make up for that by being skilled in guns, vehicles, and aircraft, as well as primitive mechs that in the right circumstances, can take down an unprepared Arms Master.
Right now, you and the others of TFO are back in the Philippines, where the Chinese have resumed their attempt at invasion. You have been given housing in the evacuated ‘Trinidad Academy’, a School for Arms Masters and Normal folk whose students are either fighting the enemy on other fronts, fled, or are dead. There, you are either a veteran member trying to lick your wounds, or someone new assigned to fill up TFO's ranks.
Many of your comrades are missing or somehow inactive. China, once on the back foot, has resumed its offensive. Your previous leader has been captured and his replacement is unsure if he has what it takes to lead the group to survival, much less victory.
But the hours are darkest before the dawn, right?
This is an interest check for an ongoing RP, Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, which is now in its fourth intermission (the fourth mission just ended) and eighth story arc, where the OCs are trying to rest, recover, and eventually strike back, empowered by new knowledge and secrets.
Antagonists need special permission from all three members of the GM Council (Being Recruited).
The details of the Intermission are listed below:
Intermission Four: Darkest Hour
Laos and portions of Cambodia have defected to China's side after the Downward Descent caused talks between the Chinese and ASEAN to collapse, taking a lot of the latter's secrets with them. Now Thailand and Vietnam are cut off from each other, even as the PLA Navy embarks on a new major offensive. Task Force Obsidian have escaped but at the cost of their First Lieutenant, who is now in the hands of their enemy.
Now, after finding refuge in Trinidad Academy, Manila's prime institute for training Arms Masters to fight alongside normal cadets (no, it's not a Spartan Training Program), the Task Force has to make a decision: Rescue their commanding officer from enemy captivity, tackle one of the many fronts in the ongoing war... Or give up and disband, falling apart in grief.
If they choose to stay, they will receive various revelations about the nature of Noble Arms and Alan Turing's role in their creation, as well as the functioning of OPL.
You can find the Lore in the Noble Arms Lore Thread and the Character Sheet Skeleton in the The OOC Thread. The OOC Thread also has copies of the parts of the lore relevant to actually playing the game.
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first; prospective players should not seek to game or break the system to make themselves as powerful as possible. One should also not use one's PC's powers to brute-force all obstacles the GM brings before them, or use sophistry, psychological tricks, or 'mental influence magic' to win every diplomatic confrontation. This is not an RP where 'storygaming' is an ugly word. 2.) Nor does an angsty backstory that fits various 'story beats' make one's character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as the 'top dogs' and otherwise make it an arms race with the GM on who can god-mode more. If one won't use their angsty backstory to make a good story, this is not the RP for them. 3.) That said, powerful characters and angsty backstories are permitted, as long as they are made by players who are willing to cooperate and the GM to make a good and dynamic story that isn't just 'X overpowers Y' by bending the rules so far they break, violating the spirit of said rules and (to quote Dave Brookshaw of Onyx Path publishing) common sense. 4.) The first three rules are the most important; let's just say that people who cannot follow them have proven problematic before, and we should have people who can follow the first three rules in this RP. 5.) Do not be an asshole. 6.) Post length is five sentences minimum, but longer posts are encouraged, of course. GMs are also bound by this rule. 7.) Characters are supposed to start no higher than B-Rank in statistical average on their Noble Arm. Note that exceptions can be made for one (two at the most) players who can be trusted to control themselves and not power game when it weakens the story. 8.) 1 US Dollar is 55 Philippine Pesos - Remember this when you spend money. 9.) Reminder: The more powerful you are, the lower your Potential stat is. If you want high Potential, you need to make a weak Noble Arm that can get stronger later. 10.) New Rule (October 12, 2024): Sexual content, including situations where one finds themselves shirtless or otherwise unclothed by force, is now forbidden in the thread itself (willing shirtlessness is still allowed, especially if on the beach or a public bath). RPGuild Private Messages, however, is an option for those who want to do it, and if situations that may disgust most people are necessary for the advancement of the plot, players who give their consent to witness or write out such situations will be allowed access to special RPGuild PMs upon giving their permission.
Misc Abilities: A skilled pilot who has gone through basic training as a soldier, and a cook, and has a degree in History.
Personality: Polite, kind, and generous, even to his bitterest enemies, Mykhailo has been shaken by the events of 2022, but tries to take the high road and not give himself over to hatred. Instead, he resents how his lack of a Noble Arm meant that he could not even be of help to his own country, Ukraine, especially as his piloting skills were not enough to make a difference in the war without experience. However, he knows that strengthening his personality and development would give him a Noble Arm that can solve the problems he has, thus allowing him to gain the power he needs to save both the Philippines and Ukraine and those whom he loves.
*Likes: Contentment (rarely found nowadays), Astronomy, Flying.
*Dislikes: Russia, China, and his negative feelings.
Fears: Falling into the hands of the enemy.
Bio: Mykhailo's Father was one of the Philippines' richest media executives, his mother was a Ukrainian volunteer worker who helped run a homeless shelter. They married; he was happy, not wondering about his mother's roots - He loved the Philippines, and Ukraine to him was a distant name. Then, as he grew up, he realized he liked both boys and girls and it wounded his heart that he was something so shameful, so aberrant, so different, and he would be targeted by hatred if people found out. It became worse when he moved back to Ukraine for a few years to attend a moderately prestigious flight school where he could train as a pilot.
His wingman was also his first love; a Ukrainian boy named Artem who had an interest in astronomy, and even got Mykhailo interested in the subject. The stars, the moon, and the sky, were interesting, and so was Artem; he was such a kind and generous person and Mykhailo wanted to be with him forever.
When he turned 20; he went back to the Philippines to visit his father, just in time for China and Russia to hold 'parallel special military operations' in both Southeast Asia and Ukraine - Artem died in the first volleys of the Russian invasion; to this day, Mykhailo believes that the latter was targeted for being gay.
The young man tried to muster the anger and hate required for revenge, but could not do so; he was too kind for that, even to people who hated him for what he was. Instead, all he could feel was utter sadness... And Artem's smile, that smile when they spent time together under the stars. So he did something immensely difficult, something he found hard to justify even to himself - He let go of his desire to hate and instead chose to try and stop the Russians and Chinese so that more people do not have to be hurt.
He felt a seed of something stir within him; the very beginnings of something that if treasured and nurtured, could grant him what he needed most - The power to save his people.
And so Mykhailo joined the Philippine Air Force, hoping to strengthen himself and potentially gain a Noble Arm. Then he'd make sure that more people like Artem do not have to die.
*Current Goal: Save ASEAN, then Ukraine.
Military or Civilian Rank: Airman
*Optional
Noble Arm Name & Appearance:
La Astronomica - The Longsword on his picture above.
Noble Arm Rank:
Power: A Speed: C Range: A Persistence: C Precision: C (S) Potential: E
Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee/Sky/Long-Range
Noble Arm Abilities:
An Artificial Sky - When Mykhailo conjures up his Noble Arm, the sky above or around him is covered over with a starry nightscape or sunny sky, regardless of the actual time of day or night, light pollution from city lights, or artificial darkness from smog or storms. This zone slowly expands to cover an area the size of an entire city (New York's Metropolitan Area, to be exact), and Mykhailo can then choose to show specific images of constellations, stellar or planetary alignments, or solar equinoxes or even show the moon and sun at the same time. This does not change the existing weather, which continues as normal despite the changes to the sky.
It does, however, affect Noble Arms with an Astronomical Theme (Sun, Moon, Stars, Space, Eclipses, and Comets), boosting or debuffing them by one rank, as well as duplicating specific conditions for specific Arms' activation (like for example, the Sun and Moon needing to be up at the same time).
Astrological Omens - Under the projection of the sky that comes from his Noble Arm, luck and probability are affected in some small way, making his allies more fortunate while cursing his enemies with increased accidents and unfortunate events. This can, assuming competent allies, shift the tide of the battlefield to favor the side that should normally lose.
Heavenfall - Mykhailo, with a single command, can cause meteors to rain down from his artificial sky onto a foe; said meteors are, well, meteors and cause damage on par with high explosive artillery rounds. However, the damage they cause is purely physical, and thus attacks that render the user intangible or put them in another dimension or otherwise circumvent physical damage can work to make them immune or resistant to this power.
Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko - A ceremonial spear that Crown Prince Shinyahito has named after the ancient jeweled spear used by the creator deities Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese Mythology to create the Japanese Archipelago.
Noble Arm Rank:
Power: C (S) Speed: A Range: E (S) Persistence: C Precision: A Potential: D
Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee, Void, Close-Range.
Noble Arm Abilities:
Mū Shoku Zenchishiki (Void That Consumes Knowledge) - When the Crown Prince touches a single object, person, or location with the speartip (not necessarily stabbing) of his Noble Arm, he sees, and can sort through without going insane, the memories and experiences of the target. Note however that sorting through does not make him able to understand everything he finds out right away. When used on himself, he can also see possible timelines and worlds where he and his sister and certain individuals in this setting do not exist at all; many of those worlds do not have Noble Arms.
That last ability is fairly useless in battle and information gathering but helps boost his self-esteem by giving him glimpses of worlds where things are much worse than they are right now. It is speculated that he can eventually refine this ability to show futures where just one specific person did not exist or died in the very next second, but that is conjecture.
Munakatanashi / Yarubekikata (Unmaking and Remaking) - The Crown Prince can stab himself with his weapon and unmake himself, dissolving his body into nothingness and making all memories, monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of himself vanish (this can be resisted with the right Noble Arm). However, unmaking is not the same as death, and the Crown Prince can will himself to rematerialize anywhere in the world that he knows from pictures or personally visited; restoring people's memories and all monuments, pictures, and written + computerized records of his existence. This process also heals any injuries and wounds he has.
Misc Abilities:
Etiquette and Ceremony - Crown Prince Shinyahito Yamato lived a regimented life, filled with ceremonies and rituals, which he studied with genuine interest.
Literature Enthusiaist - The Crown Prince is a fan of stories of all kinds, especially Light Novels, even the ones so badly written that he feels the need to mock them in private. He has a love-hate relationship with Isekai fiction while also writing poetry and drafting a novel in his spare time which he plans to publish under a false name.
Martial Arts Training (Polearms) - With great reluctance, the Crown Prince has learned to use his spear as a practical weapon, even though he prefers using it as an analytical tool.
Political Backing - His sister wants the Succession Laws changed so she can inherit should he die; he's not blind to the implications. If she succeeds, it would be at his sufferance and not just because of her efforts, and so he keeps contacts and allies in Japan's Imperial Diet, just in case.
Personality: The Crown Prince would rather not ascend to the throne of Emperor of Japan; he would prefer to just study, read, write, and maybe play video games if he can hide it from the public. However, he does not want the throne to pass to another branch of the Family or his younger sister, Fuyuko Yamato, whom he views as 'too militaristic', to get the throne and perhaps push an agenda that would further shred Japan's slightly pacifist constitution, or bring back old-style imperialists who look back on Japan's days as a colonial power with nostalgia. At the same time, he doesn't hate his sister; he knows her views might be different than she seems to indicate. So who knows, maybe he'll give her the chance she needs...
*Likes: Books. Anime and Manga. Videogames. Gunpla.
Bio: Born one day after his cousin Prince Hishahito of Akishino (an IRL figure) to Naruhito of Japan, the birth of Shinyahito raised shockwaves throughout the Imperial Family. Raised with immense expectations, Shinyahito faced the barely-hidden resentment of his sister, born one year after him, and his nation's continued population decline and political malaise.
As he grew up, he realized that he did not want to be Emperor, but had to hide it, even from himself. His Noble Arm grew not when he was subjected to trauma or a 'trigger event', but when he realized that as much as he just wanted to hide from the world and become a hikkikomori (yes, embarrassing), not only was that not on the table, but he cared too much to allow other people to take the Throne and pursue outlandish agendas that involved bringing back Japan's darker past.
When he unlocked the Imitation of Ame-no-Nuboko, he was pushed into competition with his younger sister, whose ambitions and militaristic attitude were obvious for all to see, but managed to keep things civil, maybe even cordial, between them. When China began its war of aggression against ASEAN after the Philippine Government of National Salvation displaced the previous leadership, Shinyahito journeyed to the Philippines as well, avoiding his father's displeasure by stabbing himself with his spear, unmaking himself, then remaking himself in the regions surrounding Baguio City, hoping to find refuge in the Japanese emigré community near Kennon Road.
The Danggal Clan found him, and as they were still pretending to be loyal to the PGNS, they gave him a hospitable welcome, using up stockpiled food and luxury goods to throw a banquet for him, not noticing that he found that wasteful in wartime. Gradually, he realized that they were planning to betray the PGNS if bribed enough, and also hand him over to China if the price was right. So he unmade himself yet again and remade himself in the Philippine Military Academy building, which was under siege by traitorous forces led by the Danggal Clan.
A metaphorical baptism of fire followed, and now he is fighting in a campaign he does not want, but knows he must see through...
Update: With the Danggal Clan surrendering and returning to the Philippine Government of National Salvation's fold, Crown Prince Shinyahito has chosen to stay in the Philippines to keep track of his sister, who is still wandering ASEAN territory fighting People's Liberation Army forces.
*Current Goal: Survive. Find his path in life.
Military or Civilian Rank: Kōtaishi (Crown Prince, Japanese word)
Power: A Speed: C (S) Range: F (S) Persistence: C Precision: B Potential: D
Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Support/Ranged, Element of Data/Information
Noble Arm Abilities:
Data Conversion - Can convert objects and people touched by the Shield into raw data/information which are then contained in the Noble Arm; the larger the object or person, the longer it takes to convert, although an average human adult can be turned to data in a full second, while an automobile takes five minutes. This power works only through direct contact with the shield and people converted to data are knocked unconscious by said conversion. Not only that, but objects converted to data can be turned back into their material forms by a mental command alone; smaller objects become physical again instantly while larger objects, such as people take time to reappear (same pace as conversion to data).
He can store up to an entire luxury yacht's worth of matter in his shield if given 12 hours, and can theoretically store twice that if given 48 hours of constant concentration, but it is not recommended.
Data Transmission - Myron can 'connect' to a mundane electronic device, such as a radio, telephone, or internet-capable gadget and transfer the data he stores in the shield to said device, allowing objects and people to be transported at high speeds. The drawback to this is that this process is affected by anything that can jam communications IRL, such as electronic jamming, firewalls, antivirus, or just the destruction of the corresponding device before it 'downloads' the data. Living beings (people) who had been converted to data and failed to transfer reappear at the location of Myron's shield, physically damaged depending on the measures taken to stop them. This is also why Myron's Noble Arm has (S) in Range because this can theoretically allow him to exceed the dreaded A-rank by using the IRL internet (still not recommended due to antivirus programs, though).
Misc Abilities: Myron fights like a Normal person most of the time, being adept in guns, unarmed combat, and melee, with his forte being hacking and cyber warfare, also poisons and antidotes. He has, in the past, also been trained to look cute and adorable so that he can treacherously stab, gun down, and poison Arms Masters. This is because he used to be a member of the Disablers, an Anti-Arms Master terrorist organization, and he keeps using many of their techniques despite his new allegiance.
Personality: Myron is resentful of the world, resentful of the system, resentful of factions, and is working for the Philippine Government of National Salvation because they guarantee him his revenge against the members of the Hammer of Masters and Disablers, as well as pay him in cold hard cash plus confiscated haciendas (estates/plantations) from the discredited members of the previous Government. Though he has a side that wishes the best for people, he prefers to bury it with a hedonistic attitude where he appreciates the finer things in life a bit too much. And by that, he is the type to give most of the land he's given to the tenant farmers already farming it but keeping enough to ensure a comfortable life for himself.
*Likes: Coffee, Cash, Sports Cars.
*Dislikes: The Hammer of Masters, Disablers, and being forced to kill children.
Fears: The Former Head of the Hammer of Masters, [Identity is a Spoiler].
Bio: Myron was born to an American Businessman and a Filipino 'bar girl' who sought to marry him for money, but was deceived and thrown away. Raised in poverty and bearing the brunt of his mother's abuse, Myron was sold to the 'Spartan Training Program' overseas in Singapore at the age of six by people who promised that he would come back as an Arms Master. Instead, at the age of 12, he escaped with several other students and joined the Disablers, a group of Anti-Arms Master terrorists who killed Arms Masters through ambush, assassination, and bombings. Myron was thus trained further, taught to lure in Arms Masters into wanting to protect him so that he could literally stab them in the back.
At the age of sixteen, he fought against the Hammer of Masters in Northern Iraq, where their leader had established 'The Malikate', a nation for Arms Masters to rule over Non-Arms Masters, two years of hard fighting followed, where he killed several Arms Masters simply by posing as an enslaved 'Normal Person' and poisoning their water supplies, setting up IEDs and traps, or even - And this haunts him to no end - kidnapping their children, even those who had not manifested a Noble Arm, and using them to lure their Arms Master parents to buildings filled to the brim with explosives.
When he turned eighteen, in the final siege of the Malikate's base on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Myron was captured by the Hammer of Master's 'Malik', [NAME REDACTED], who had him thrown into the dungeons in order to... He refuses to speak of it, only saying that he was busted out by the Malik's second-in-command himself. However, as he trekked back to the Disablers' battle lines, he realized this: The Hammer and the Disablers had become mirror images of each other, fueled by hate. As he realized this, he grew a Noble Arm, realized that he could not go back to the Disablers, and as the world was thrown into chaos by the announcement that three groups had emerged that can give Noble Arms to ordinary people, sought asylum with the UN and returned to the Philippines.
He next emerged four years later, as a mercenary working with the coup plotters who set up the Government of National Salvation when it turned out the President-Elect had been assassinated by the Vice President-Elect, who was also the current President thanks to a loophole in the Philippine Constitution forbidding Presidents from seeking a second term but not the Vice Presidency. During the new Government's takeover, he and another Arms Master, Noel Alonso, led the Storming of Malacañang Palace, where the two put down all resistance and arrested the President and all most adult members of his family, before moving on to arresting the Old Government's supporters in the countryside, where he was granted several hundred hectares of land confiscated from those corrupt oligarchs, most of which he gave to the tenant farmers who farmed them.
Now, he has been sent to aid the newly-formed Task Force Obsidian (composed of most of the PCs) to relieve the Philippines' new allies in the Pacific...
*Current Goal: Hold on to the estates he had been granted by the Government of National Salvation and give them over to their tenant farmers as smallholdings.
Military or Civilian Rank: Special Inspector with powers equivalent to a First Lieutenant.
Power: B (S) Speed: B Range: C (S) Persistence: B Precision: B Potential: D
Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee/Ranged, close-to-mid range, and based upon the Moon and its qualities of changeability, magic, and madness.
Noble Arm Abilities:
La Luna's Miraculous Evasion - Noel's speed and reflexes are enhanced to levels that would surprise even an Arms Master. At the same time, fate itself contrives to partner with that speed and reflexes to make sure that Noel can dodge bullets, and grenades, but not necessarily the resulting explosions. However, he can dodge shrapnel and even the occasional rocket, allowing him to get into melee even when under enemy fire.
La Luna's Veil of Night - Noel can cloak himself in magic that renders him invisible, a perfect example of camouflage, and which cannot be pierced by most forms of mundane and mystic surveillance; it requires a dedicated B+rank power to reveal him (with exceptions below). This Veil, however, loses its potency from 11 AM to 1 PM, when the Sun is at its highest in the sky. Sun-themed Noble Arms, even C or D-ranked ones, can also detect Noel's Veil and remove it.
La Luna's Power of Enchantment - When the Moon is shining in the sky (including when it appears in the daytime), Noel can duplicate a Noble Arm power he has seen, as many times as he had seen that power used. For example, Noel can duplicate a Healing Power 3 times if he's seen it used three times. This power works on all Noble Arms that are not Sun-themed; Noel cannot duplicate Sun-based NA Powers, nor can it duplicate other A-Rank NA abilities.
La Luna's Madness Inducement - When the New Moon has risen in the sky, Noel can raise his scythe and pronounce a curse on an enemy force within sight of his natural eyes (no telescopes or digital enhancement). This curse spreads a plague of madness which causes everyone who is not a B-Rank Arms Master (or an OC/PC) to turn violent and attack their fellows, thinking that they are enemy monsters. The more blood is shed, the more the curse spreads from fellow to fellow, ending only when either the whole enemy army is dead or the New Moon sets.
And yes, this can affect an entire city, while Sun-themed NA Powers can also dispel it.
Misc Abilities: Well-read, a good dancer, knows how to arrange flowers and cook and even sew.
Personality: Noel wants to be a good person at heart, to fight for a cause worth believing in, and also to rescue his country from the clutches of China, which he views as a plague to its citizens. He believes that the divisions between Arms Masters and mundane folk have allowed society and the world to degrade, and is glad that they are on the verge of obsolescence due to 'The Big Three', although he does believe too that the 'Paragons of Science' are courting hubris and also hoarding power which could be used to advance Humanity for themselves...
*Likes: Sweets, Dancing, Romance (both BL and Straight).
*Dislikes: People who are too gloomy (despite his Noble Arm), War Crimes.
Fears: Being captured by the enemy, of course!
Bio: Noel was born to a family catapulted from obscurity in the past few decades when they began manifesting Noble Arms with increasing regularity. A natural prodigy, the boy displayed his Noble Arm at the age of twelve, and proved himself an able fighter against Muslim Terrorists in Mindanao just two years later, which was also when the old divisions were beginning to fade due to the appearance of the 'Big Three'. When the next President-Elect was voted for, then assassinated by his own Vice President-elect (who was also the incumbent president due to a law preventing Presidents in the Philippines from running for a second term but not for the Vice Presidency), Noel helped in the coup which installed the 'Government of National Salvation'.
Nevertheless, despite being a child soldier, Noel had privileges that other children lacked, such as regular psychological counseling money, and access to friends his age. If he was the Philippine Government's 'Guard Dog', he was a well-pampered one, and for all its worth, he genuinely loves his country and its people. He also wants to find a decent boy or girl to settle down with and is glad that his current handlers are accepting of his' being bisexual...
Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour
It is December 2022, and the world is still dealing with one man's past folly.
On the verge of Allied Victory in World War II, the British Scientist Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science, fed captured Nazi occult research into a prototype computer and accidentally made it work, leading to the manifestation of Noble Arms. These magical weapons are symbols of their user's inner selves, manifesting when a person undergoes great change and development in their lives, for good or for ill.
Taking the form of obsolete weapons and tools such as swords, spears, muskets, books, and even wooden ships, the Noble Arm can possess devastating powers that defy the laws of reality as we know it.
Many can manipulate the elements to the user's will.
A few can control forces that can reduce matter to atoms in seconds.
The rarest have the strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.
The People's Republic of China, in its haste to recover from a humiliaiton in 1988 against the smaller countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has entangled itself in multiple, simultaneous, 'special military operations' against its neighbors, a state of affairs encouraged by the Downward Descent, a cult of Noble Arms Masters that believe Humanity's desire for progress and advancement is a lie that ignores its dark, but true, nature.
Now the PRC is suffering a death of a thousand cuts in a dozen warzones, with its greatest success being the defection of Laos and the northern parts of Cambodia to its side after a botched peace conference in Phnom Penh. However, this, as well as signs of increasing coordination with North Korea, Russia, and Iran has brought a reluctant United States into the war after two years of attempted withdrawal from the world stage.
You are part of Task Force Obsidian, a mix of Arms Masters, people who can manifest Noble Arms after surviving what changed their lives, and Normal People, who paid for their normalcy by lacking magic, but make up for that by being skilled in guns, vehicles, and aircraft, as well as primitive mechs that in the right circumstances, can take down an unprepared Arms Master.
Right now, you and the others of TFO are back in the Philippines, where the Chinese have resumed their attempt at invasion. You have been given housing in the evacuated ‘Trinidad Academy’, a School for Arms Masters and Normal folk whose students are either fighting the enemy on other fronts, fled, or are dead. There, you are either a veteran member trying to lick your wounds, or someonw new assigned to fill up TFO's ranks.
Your commanding officer, the young Arms Master named Noel Alonso, has been kidnapped. Many of your comrades are missing or somehow inactive. China, once on the back foot, has resumed its offensive.
We all live in interesting times...
------
All right; I've tried running Noble Arms, TheHangedMan's RP idea, several times now, and tried to add my spin on it once before. Now, I tried yet again, and for two years and six months (seven in January 14 my end, January 13 EST), I have succeeded, albiet
This is a game where you play ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) or ASEAN-allied folk (US and European Volunteers) as OCs and China is the enemy. These OCs/PCs will be part of one group, Task Force Obsidian, whose goals are to act as one unit to engage in operations against China's People's Liberation Army and its assets while defending ASEAN's own.
There will be both adult and child soldiers as Noble Arms are not selective and the situation is just that desperate. You are not limited to Arms Masters; people who use their skills and technology (some of which can keep up with most Arms Masters) are permitted too.
And now, the meat of the lore.
Noble Arms:
Noble Arms usually take the form of weaponry common before World War I - Each one of them has powerful abilities beyond normal human capacity that can only be used if their owner makes them appear. Noble Arms exist in a kind of 'hyperspace' that is unique to its user and can be called from there - in essence, an Arms Master can arm themselves with a thought.
Noble Arms have an astonishingly versatile ability pool, from calling down fire to strengthening the body, etc., and more often than not, possess more than one ability. However, similar to physical activity, using a Noble Arm is draining physically and more so mentally - Extended use of its abilities is akin to overexerting yourself on both fronts and as such, so much more fatal to overdo.
For this setting, a weapon is 'something crafted or shaped by human hands for the specific purpose of harming'. This also means that you can use a bunch of Stone Age flint knives, a wand, and yes, a staff as weapons.
Note: We have allowed this rule to be stretched before, allowing books and exploding metal cubes, but asking for a stretch is a privilege, not a right. Do not ask without a good, story-based reason.
Noble Arm Ratings:
Noble Arms are rated according to the sum of their atomized ranks (Power, Speed, Range, etc as detailed in the character sheet). An F grade counts as a 0, an A as a 5, and the sum is divided by 6. However, the grading system is used as a threat assessment. Noble Arms that are more dangerous than their average number indicates may have their overall grade raised up a letter, or vice versa.
Examples of rank as a threat assessment:
- A Noble Arm capable of strengthening its Arms Master is common, and can easily be countered by police officers with the proper ordinance, and thus, merits an E rank, its Arms Master is not notable to the government and subsequently ignored.
- On the other hand, a Noble Arm capable of creating explosions in the atmosphere is uncommon and dangerous, as such, the user must undergo a government registration form and be placed under mild scrutiny. The Noble Arm in question will merit a C or B rank.
- Finally, there are Noble Arms that can achieve effects that can cover an area the size of a city, for good or for ill. Such Noble Arms are both rare and regarded as extremely dangerous to countries at large (note that some powers might not justify this fear, even if they cover an entire city). Their users will be under constant surveillance and limits will be placed on the usage of their Noble Arm. Such Noble Arms are always rated A.
Noble Arm Origins:
Formation:
The most common way to have a Noble Arm is to reach a stage of personal development, for good or for ill, which allows one's Soul (yes, Souls are a thing here) to form one from the sum of the person's personality, willpower, and sense of identity. Said Noble Arms are connected to their user's Soul and are made of the same material/energy as it. They can be suppressed and damaged; they can be broken and diminished, but they cannot be destroyed except in extraordinary circumstances, and even then only because although born from a Soul, they are not the originating Soul itself but akin; actual Souls are even more indestructible (although their energies can be suppressed to infinitesimal levels). This leads us to the second way to obtain a Noble Arm - Inheritance.
Inheritance
When an Arms Master dies, their Noble Arm is left in a limbo state, unable to follow them to wherever Souls go (while immortal Souls have been proven, an afterlife is not, much less a good afterlife). When this happens, it latches on the closest possible Soul even if its holder has not developed enough to grow their own Noble Arm. If the 'latching' process is successful, the new Arms Master gains the power of a Noble Arm grafted to their own consciousness and identical to its previous form. This phenomenon has been tracked over the past decades, and the Seven Virtues have found a way to interfere with the process to ensure that various NAs end up with the 'right' people...
Categories of Ranking and Degrees of Rank:
Power: The pure energy the NA can exert (offensively/defensively/healing/etc). Speed: How fast the power responds to the user and takes effect. Range: How far-reaching the abilities are (potential fallout included). Persistence: Stamina toll on user. Higher rank = more ease of use. Precision: How surgically (or clumsily/indiscriminate) the NA performs. Potential: Power's flexibility for creative use and evolution.
F = Default/minimum rank. B = General maximum of standard NA. A = Generally restricted to A-Rank NAs, but 1-2 categories may reach it. S = "Special" rank. This means the category is flexible, and not necessarily for the better. (Ex - Power: D (S)) This supplementary rank is often the result or source of an NA having a "+" or "-" on their final rank. Infinite/?: Indicating no measurable limit on the category. Only been seen on A-Ranks thus far. This rank has yet to even be officially acknowledged as existing IC. (this rating's details may be subject to change; this is merely my current interpretation)
The final overall ranking of the Noble Arm is determined on an average by assigning point values from 0-5 on the respective ranks F-A. Depending on the power set and its effectiveness in practice, the final ranking may, however, be subject to flexibility.
If you want, you may also use a graph image based on the JJBA Stand ranking system instead, since that is what we are basing this off largely. The above is the most convenient to read, but you have the option for flavor. Just try to have it in a hider in either case.
Power:
F-Rank: Provides no notable supernatural advantage. Often cosmetic at best. The Noble Arm certainly possesses the same supernatural durability as any other NA but beyond that? Little. Ranged Noble Arms are not found here.
E-Rank: Minor supernatural advantage. Hits a bit harder, cuts a bit easier, endures a little more, etc. than a normal human could. It's not much, but it's there. Enhancements are "slight", but elemental manipulation is possible. Ranged Noble Arms are possible now and typically have this rank at minimum. "Peak Human" is a common descriptor.
D-Rank: Cantrip levels of strength. Can easily dish out, endure, or heal from lethal attacks. Notably useful abilities exist here that are a serious problem for most people. This level of power is like always carrying a loaded gun and may be beyond the police's capacity to handle it.
C-Rank: A strong/multiple, physical/magical effect that will start to cause issues for public safety.
B-Rank: Very strong. Difficult to counter without a specialized/specific effect.
A-Rank: Powers of this strength are nearly uncontestable. Once the effect occurs, it usually cannot be overridden or countered without exceptional means. Perfect stealth. Strength that is enough to lift and throw a skyscraper or cause earthquakes. Total incineration. Absolute zero infliction. Disintegration of atoms. Stopping time. The possibilities are nearly limitless. The amount of raw energy behind these abilities is frankly excessive.
Speed:
F-Rank: Basically, this... "Is to go-! Even! Further! BEYOND! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Editor's Note: This continued for 10 episodes.
E-Rank: Comparative to walking underwater. Notable ramp-up/charge time. Abilities take a disadvantageously long time to fully "stick". Do not use them in the open or in sight of any hostile unless you have someone covering for you. 1 minute or more.
D-Rank: Small ramp-up time. Somewhat disadvantageous, but possible to use even against a conventionally faster opposition with care and the right timing. A power that typically requires patience and "choosing the right moment" from the user. Abilities have a tendency towards "damage over time" compared to "instant". 3-60 seconds.
C-Rank: Abilities respond and take effect at a respectable, practical speed. The user will have no real trouble utilizing their powers often and reflexively. The power doesn't quite match up when pitted against an ambush or with the user caught off guard. The moments needed to perceive and respond to the threat mean that a "surprise round" still favors the enemy.
B-Rank: Abilities respond quickly, lagging behind the user's desires for 1-5 seconds at absolute worst. Being caught off guard is far less threatening. The power typically responds and reaches full effect at speeds equivalent to the user's mere consideration of using it.
A-Rank: Answers the user's call with almost prescient speed. The effects of powers typically occur instantaneously, even at large scale. "Surprise rounds" are nearly entirely useless against them without an effect of comparable speed. Rather, they respond so quickly that they can almost immediately invert a situation with themselves on the back foot to one where they have a distinct advantage. These powers practically ooze the concept of "having the initiative".
Range:
F-Rank: Touch-range. The power generally requires either the user or the Noble Arm, itself, to make physical contact with the target of their ability. Fallout is nonexistent.
E-Rank: Melee-range. Comparable range to a held weapon of some stripe, even a whip. It no longer requires physical contact to take effect. Fallout/lingering effects are minimal to nonexistent and rarely -if ever- have the capacity to spread beyond a single target. Up to approximately 5-6 meters/15-21 feet.
D-Rank: Mid-Range. Covers the ideal skirmishing distance for a pistol. An indoor firing range would be comparable. Up to approximately 50 meters/166 feet.
C-Rank: Around a city block or couple. Up to approximately 200 meters/658 feet. Fallout may exceed the base range by a factor of double the core range.
B-Rank: Long-range. Could encompass a whole neighborhood or village. Fallout may equal or even exceed the base target area by a factor of 2-4. Up to around 1-2 kilometers.
A-Rank: City-wide or larger. Attacks may potentially be launched from miles away. Fallout may potentially leak out into a national emergency.
Persistence:
F-Rank: Can maybe use their active power all of once before being exhausted. Even having the NA summoned is a serious effort that requires physical honing to master.
E-Rank: Like a D-Rank squared. Significant base maintenance cost. Abilities that incur a stamina drain like being punched in the gut. They are lovers, not fighters. And when they do fight, they are either very careful or dead.
D-Rank: Must be picky with their power use. Tactical. The drain of even having the NA out is significant. A D-Rank may have trouble keeping their power going continuously for even a single decent skirmish. "Playing it smart" is the name of the game. If not a serious stamina drain, then a notable negative backlash usually is inherent to the active power.
C-Rank: Will experience drain even if they don't use the NA's powers. Minor drain, granted, but drain all the same. Their powers typically aren't incredibly draining to actively use immediately, but the user will feel it with constant, reckless use. Sort of like sprinting. These NAs are ideally used with a "breather" between skirmishes to catch a second or third wind. They are much like a well-trained soldier.
B-Rank: Could, in theory, be summoned indefinitely as long as the user either didn't make heavy use of its abilities or had incredibly minor abilities. This rank is ideal for prolonged battlefield fighting, as long as the user has time to rest every few skirmishes.
A-Rank: Typically known to be very free in this aspect, able to both keep their power going near indefinitely and not feeling the strain without truly excessive overuse or a very specific type of backlash unique to the NA/power.
Precision:
F-Rank: Volatile and indiscriminate to the extreme. Not even the user is safe. They are more often than not caught in the power's effect as well, for better or worse. If the power has any capacity to affect multiple targets, it will always attempt to hit all of them and attempt to perform to its maximum possible extent.
E-Rank: User gains some level of "leashing" capacity. Power now often has a dial and can be restrained from automatically going full bore. Is still quite a "hair trigger" and prone to being a threat to the user as well without caution being taken.
D-Rank: Still quite indiscriminate, but the user now usually has some actual capacity to be protected from their ability. Usually, this protection is not voluntary, however, for better or worse. Power is no longer so oily in the user's proverbial grasp. "Dial" is more defined.
C-Rank: Some minimal capacity to actively exempt others selectively from the effect, which typically requires concentration. Otherwise, abilities have preset exemptions that provide the user more flexibility.
B-Rank: Can selectively exempt targets from the effect on both large and small scales. Usually, the user must already know/be able to visualize individually who or what they are exempting. Although, one could be more general, like "all humans" if firing blindly.
A-Rank: Abilities are highly selective and surgically fine in application. The user usually has near -if not complete- control over who and what they affect. Such abilities may be able to affect someone/something the user doesn't know or is aware of. Such abilities may potentially have such capacity as to identify and target things the user could otherwise not know about, like "all "enemies/innocents/allies" or "good/evil".
Potential:
Preface: This stat lowers roughly inversely to the number of abilities a Noble Arm possesses and is thus expected to inevitably lower throughout the RP, starting low the more powerful a Noble Arm starts out.
F-Rank: Extremely static. The NA has nearly zero ability to evolve further. Can usually only develop one more narrow ability... if any at all.
E-Rank: Typically develops 1-2 abilities at most. New powers are quite narrow in scope of application. Complex abilities aren't entirely unheard of, but they are extremely uncommon.
D-Rank: Develops a small number of abilities, even complex ones, but the user must put in serious effort and/or have rather notable personal character/soul development to gain any more.
C-Rank: Develops a comfortable number of powers of various complexities. Can be mistaken for a higher rank in this classification early on but peters out eventually. Preexisting powers can improve or change if the user makes the effort to push their boundaries.
B-Rank: Rapidly develops new abilities with even half-hearted or deluded attempts at experimentation. The NA is highly amendable to users who actively seek out specific evolutions and utilizations of their abilities. Complex, flexible powers are not only common but expected, almost inevitable.
A-Rank: The "blank slate" rank, typically possessed by a freshly awakened Noble Arm. Having this rank generally means having only 1 ability at most with radical potential for more. A Noble Arm like this has yet to lock in a "theme" and can evolve in virtually any direction the Arms Master might subconsciously choose. The Noble Arm is extremely sensitive to any excuse to develop in this state, often doing so completely involuntarily. It's therefore extremely rare to find a Noble Arm with this rank, as the weapon has usually already shed this level of potential within days, if not hours, depending on the conditions.
Made by Senhara:
This was approved on Discord by all the GMs and was my suggestion, and I heavily recommend joining the server if you plan to join.
As a system to improve the survivability of PCs and other Arms Masters, this was come up with.
By being able to wield magic, NA users benefit from the ability to recover from gunshots and the like more effectively than normal humans, and notably, their bodies heal up faster. This pulls power from their NA, so if you get hit, you live but your powers weaken. So instead of a regular human taking a few rounds to be downed, 1-3 or the like, it'd take more like 4-8 to sustain for C class NA users before they'd be unable to use their powers and would need medical attention, with the more powerful NAs being able to withstand more. While Arms Masters are still under their cap for how much abuse they can take, if a "critical" hit occurs, say a shot through the heart or the skull, they're incapacitated but all resources immediately go to fixing them up. The result of this is they're out for the fight, unconscious, but they're still alive. If they proceed to get shot more and do not receive medical attention or are over their capacity for how much damage they can take and receive a critical hit, they would instead die.
Addenum by Lewascan2 with edits by me:
Note that logically, Defensive/Survival/Healing powers take priority over the survival system. If it's a question of a hit 'counting' or not, the hit to the Arms Master's 'survival stacks' is not expended (or may even be reversed/restored) if their power/an incoming power has some method of negating/delaying/mitigating/repairing the damage. Specific powers can defend against or heal an Arms Master or make them endure stuff. If you don't have specific defensive powers, though... Well, this is a world of tradeoffs.
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considerably more militarized and economically linked than IRL, with coordination between their best Arms Masters and their separate militaries.
- This in turn has its roots in 1988 when China had a confrontation with the ASEAN Countries over the Spratlys and ASEAN won due to the intervention of Filipino Arms Master Angelito Jaime (who had a spear that could open a portal through which he was clever enough to use to redirect bullets, artillery, cruise missiles, and potentially even nukes back at the person who fired them, and this works on many other NA attacks too). This victory, however, led to an undercurrent of resentment between China and ASEAN which burst into fire decades later in the ASEAN War.
- The Philippines is now led by a 'Government of National Salvation' chaired by an Original Character. The IRL Government/Administration is no longer in power.
- After some thought, another OC (Democratic) is the President of the US instead of anyone IRL.
- The Original Character President of the US was the perfect domestic president, saving the country from COVID-19, restoring the US Economy, limiting corporate power, strengthening the Trade Unions and making them more relevant, and creating more well-paying jobs. The downside to this? His foreign policy sucks, as he despises the prospect of sending Americans to die overseas for ideological goals so much that he is willing to neglect or withdraw from the US alliances and defense commitments and thus emboldened China and Russia to move into open war, mistakenly sensing weakness.
- The US Congress, however, was capable of striking back to issue sanctions, provide weapons, vehicles, supplies, money, and all possible aid to ASEAN and Ukraine, and is trying to scramble enough people to form a majority that can declare war even with a Presidential Veto.
- Indonesia has been caught flat-footed by China's new militaristic mood, and while it remains Democratic, its military (both Army and Navy) is rising in power once again, although its President is still canny enough to balance out competing interests.
- In 2014, instead of a certain terrorist organization taking over large portions of Iraq and Syria, the Hammer of Masters, an organization of Arms Master terrorists, did so instead to establish a 'Malikate' where Arms Masters can rule over Non-Arms Masters as the 'Superior Race'. This was crushed in 2018 - 2019, when the 'Big Three' first made their appearance, and the Paragons and Seven Virtues began giving away Noble Arms.
- As for the various groups in the Original Noble Arms, the Hammer of Masters (mentioned above) and the Disablers have dwindled into near-irrelevance over the last four years due to the existence of the Seven Virtues and Paragons of Science (both of whom have defectors from both groups), same for the Arms of Nobility and the Organization for Disarmament. It is also rumored that the Seven Virtues and Paragons have been organizing manhunts for members of the Hammer and Disablers who remain diehard fanatics of their ideologies.
- There are people within China trying to fight against the current leadership of its Government so that they can change their country and shift it to a direction they believe is more productive. Some of them are fringe groups given power by Noble Arms, such as the ASEAN-allied Qing Restoration Society (QRS), but others fight within the current Government, such as the [Insert Name Here] Clique and the [Blank] and [REDACTED] Factions, to stop a war they consider senseless and counter to China's prosperity.
- Emperor Naruhito of Japan has more children, including a son and additional daughters.
[center][b]Appearance:[/b] (Picture preferred, although written descriptions are good too. Also, please include miscellaneous information such as height and weight.)[/center]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Nationality:[/b]
[b]Noble Arm Name & Appearance:[/b]
[b]Noble Arm Rank:[/b] (We redid how ranks work; now instead of just a single rank, each NA has six attributes that have seperate ranks, which can either be very weak, aka E or D, or stronger than that, B or A. This means that an NA can be weak in some aspects while strong in others. Extended descriptions of what these mean can be found on the Discord Server, in the first thread from "Character and Power Building." If a particular attribute is hard to nail down to a certain letter, whether due to sensitivity to circumstances or a wide spread of grades from each specific ability, you may tag your letter grade with an (S) to indicate this, for example, "C (S)".)
[hider=Insert NA rank here] Power: The pure energy the NA can exert (offensively/defensively/healing/etc). Speed: How fast the power responds to the user and takes effect. Range: How far-reaching the abilities are (potential fallout included). Along with Power, we will be paying special scrutiny to NAs that are high in this stat and especially in both at once. Persistence: Stamina toll on the user. Higher rank = more ease of use. Precision: How surgically (or clumsily/indiscriminate) the NA performs. Potential: Power's flexibility for creative use and evolution. [/hider]
[b]Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range:[/b] (Is your Noble Arm Support/Melee/Ranged, or some other? What Element or Concept are they themed on? Are they close-range, mid-range, or long-range or all of them?)
[b]Noble Arm Abilities:[/b] (No maximum number, however, try and be sensible about this. Just because you [i]can[/i] doesn't mean you [i]should[/i], also be as detailed as you can, especially on its strengths, weaknesses, and effects. For example, every ability with a range restriction should have that range at least qualitatively measured: city block? As far as the user can see?)
[b]Misc Abilities:[/b] What are your other talents?
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]*Likes:[/b]
[b]*Dislikes:[/b]
[b]Fears:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]*Current Goal:[/b]
[b]Military or Civilian Rank:[/b]
*Optional
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first; prospective players should not seek to game or break the system to make themselves as powerful as possible. One should also not use one's PC's powers to brute-force all obstacles the GM brings before them, or use sophistry, psychological tricks, or 'mental influence magic' to win every diplomatic confrontation. This is not an RP where 'storygaming' is an ugly word. 2.) Nor does an angsty backstory that fits various 'story beats' make one's character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as the 'top dogs' and otherwise make it an arms race with the GM on who can god-mode more. If one won't use their angsty backstory to make a good story, this is not the RP for them. 3.) That said, powerful characters and angsty backstories are permitted, as long as they are made by players who are willing to cooperate and the GM to make a good and dynamic story that isn't just 'X overpowers Y' by bending the rules so far they break, violating the spirit of said rules and (to quote Dave Brookshaw of Onyx Path publishing) common sense. 4.) The first three rules are the most important; let's just say that people who cannot follow them have proven problematic before, and we should have people who can follow the first three rules in this RP. 5.) Do not be an asshole. 6.) Post length is five sentences minimum, but longer posts are encouraged, of course. GMs are also bound by this rule. 7.) Characters are supposed to start no higher than B-Rank in statistical average on their Noble Arm. Note that exceptions can be made for one (two at the most) players who can be trusted to control themselves and not power game when it weakens the story. 8.) 1 US Dollar is 55 Philippine Pesos - Remember this when you spend money. 9.) Reminder: The more powerful you are, the lower your Potential stat is. If you want high Potential, you need to make a weak Noble Arm that can get stronger later. 10.) New Rule (October 12, 2024): Sexual content, including situations where one finds themselves shirtless or otherwise unclothed by force, is now forbidden in the thread itself (willing shirtlessness is still allowed, especially if on the beach or a public bath). RPGuild Private Messages, however, is an option for those who want to do it, and if situations that may disgust most people are necessary for the advancement of the plot, players who give their consent to witness or write out such situations will be allowed access to special RPGuild PMs upon giving their permission.
Cambodian National Assembly Grounds - 11/11/2022 07:20 UTC+7, which is 8:20, UTC+8
Kaden had disappeared under a hail of gunfire, although his corpse was not found; a sign he might be alive. Mykhailo, meanwhile, had been taken as a PoW by a squad of fleeing Special Operations Command soldiers. Dior's 'Death Squad' was slowly being ground down, but that did not change the fact that the Cambodian Prime Minister, H.S., had fled to a car... Which was being driven by one of ASEAN's agents, an Arms Master named Charles Mallete, who had now apprehended him and was taking him to ASEAN lines.
Either way, the Special Operations Command fought on, trying to suppress the mirrors the real Dior conjured up; sixty-one of them firing guns at them even as seven of them fled with a bound Mykhailo. The bullets broke through the constructs, which were meant to be effective against other Noble Arms, and they shattered into blue dust.
Len Vuong, meanwhile, encountered no more opposition on the roof after his onslaught against the snipers and the others assigned to overwatch and suppression.
Cambodian National Assembly Building - 11/11/2022 07:20 UTC+7, which is 8:20, UTC+8
(Nimbus, Callie's player, has given his authorization for this scene.)
A portal opened, spitting out an exhausted Callie Lindmann, along with two others; the King of Cambodia - Sisowath Samnang - himself, plus a most unexpected guest; Crown Prince Shinyahito of Japan. Myron turned towards her, about to ask what exactly had happened for her to be framed for murder, but he decided not to speak after seeing the expression on her face.
Instead, she gave him an earpice, which contained a recording of what exactly happened with her father (Kenrick, one of the Maliks of the Hammer of Masters back when it was a formidable force), before passing out, with the Crown Prince personally tending to her as the others - Henri, Nil, Marta, Nico, and Aoi - overwhelmed the remaining security detail and Cambodia's few Arms Masters (that did not turn against Prime Minister H.S.) in a brief, quick amount of time.
The King then took up the microphone to command the National Assembly and the Cambodian Armed Forces (those who had not returned to ASEAN's side) to cease their attack on ASEAN assets immediately, before announcing the capture of Prime Minister H.S. and denouncing Commander-in-Chief H.M., the son of H.S., as an enemy of the Cambodian Nation and calling on all forces truly loyal to the latter to hand him over to 'face justice'.
Then he gave a Royal Pardon to the main opposition parties of Cambodia, which had been suppressed and illegalized under H.S.' rule, and ordered their immediate release from Cambodia's prisons as a prelude to them forming a new 'Cambodian Unity Government'.
However, what had been done cannot be undone; ASEAN had been shaken to the core, Laos' defection had gone through as planned, and the northern parts of Cambodia had allowed in Chinese troops. China itself had used the time gained by Prime Minister H.S.'s attempted treachery to withdraw its fleet from the Spratlys and the South China/West Philippine Sea... So that it can prepare a new offensive against the Philippine Archipelago.
As for Task Force Obsidian, their leader had been kidnapped, many of its members wounded or otherwise rendered unfit to continue fighting, and one of their new additions, Lupe, had vanished without a trace in the Phnom Penh International Airport. Depending on how many of them remained, not just alive but capable of continuing, this was truly their Darkest Hour.
Mission Four has Ended. Thread Two has Ended. Stay Tuned for Thread Three
@Letter Bee Sheesh, I don't mean you 😏, we all are guilty of said episodes, dealing with you is like taking care of a girlfriend and if you put it in bi-terms, the Uke One 😂
I was trying to express my support for you, DanDan.
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