[url=http://piratepad.net/AaqxI9Frib]Pirate Pad[/url] In honor of Newsun's fantastic rp :) [b][u]Note: The below has been directly copied from the original thread. None of the below is of my own creation. All credit goes to Newsun[/u][/b] [center] [img]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag58/Silux45/AnuriaLarge_zpsbek4i2qp.png[/img] Anuria was not the first world upon which life beyond Sol was found. It was merely the site upon which a million souls were cast away to die for their nations, for their homeworlds. And once those million had fought until the bloody end without thanks, millions more came into the breach to give their lives for the same, broken values. The year is 2985 AD. Seven hundred years since the discovery of extraterrestrial life, six hundred since the discovery of intelligent life; four hundred since the first war between Humans and aliens, one hundred since the discovery of Anuria, the planet which would change the course of history. For this reason, some call the raging war the 'Century Slaughter' others simply call it the 'Fire of Anuria'. In truth, the conflict between the races of the sector expands far beyond the confines of this one planet, but it is upon this now-desecrated planet that it first sparked into being. The assassination of an ambassador and the execution of a native warlord was all it took to spark into being, releasing the tension of the community of galactic nations into all out war... Anuria itself is unremarkable among terrestrial planets; it has a gravity similar to that of Earth's, a stable ecosystem and a broad range of biomes that span from the great central deserts to the polar regions of the North and South. Between that: great forests of alien flora and fauna, raging seas, exotic islands, and towering mountain ranges. But despite this apparent beauty, it is the worst station a soldier can be assigned, and those who are so stationed there often say goodbye to families as though the post is certain death. It almost always is. This quaint, uninteresting planet sailing around a relatively insignificant star is the first planet in the Galaxy to be officially classified as a 'Death World' with over Five Billion casualties in the hundred years of conflict on this one world. And yet, the war rages on. It shows no signs of ending, no nation gaining territory. It is here that veterans and recruits alike will share a deathbed amidst the dirt and bloodsoaked sand of a world that changed everything. [h2]Premise[/h2] Welcome to The Fires of Anuria. Here, you do not control a nation. You create one, you design it, specify it's military capabilities, and then you jump into the eyes of the conflict on Anuria solely through the eyes of expendable characters; soldiers whose motives vary, and enact the actions of your faction not through the superfluous ramblings of some nation president, but through orders from commanders that your cast of characters have no control over. The roleplay's theme is based off of an article I found some months back. To get a true feel for what this roleplay is about, I suggest reading it before you go any further with this OP. Find it [url=http://imgur.com/gallery/rNPff]here[/url]. The galaxy is vast, and the nations that inhabit it are just as large, and incredibly powerful and wealthy. But our story takes place on Anuria, the world wracked with the most intense combat that the galaxy has ever known. Your nation takes no shortcuts, and conscripts soldiers from it's many worlds to support a standing army that has no doubt been desperately stretched thin over the past 100 years. It is a desperate situation, but no nation wishes to back down. Some soldiers may not believe in the cause they are fighting for, and some may believe in it almost religiously but no nation can be composed entirely of bland, unoriginal individuals who are all unquestioningly devoted to their nation. That is not how war is. I want to see doubt, rebellion, mutiny, manipulation; I want to see strong themes of soldiers wishing simply to go home, wishing to survive. I want to see a myriad of reasons for being involved in the war. I do not want to see your typical run-of-the-mill NRP faction war. I want this to feel desperate, tense... Harrowing. All this awesome technology that people develop for their militaries in sci-fi NRPs almost never gets to be seen in action. Here it will be regular. Here, every difference in capabilities will matter. Some players will have advantages in areas and disadvantages in others. But this is your chance to build, from the ground up, a true sci-fi military and put it to use in a controlled and very personality centric environment. Welcome to The Fires of Anuria. [h2]Anuria[/h2] [img]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag58/Silux45/3b48cffe-7222-43b3-b2a4-a0f831e05afe_zpsm15kirwj.png[/img] There are Six major conflict zones on Anuria, scenes of the most intense combat to date: The Sand Straits of Ak'Aria, Kol'Kida, Kol'Kora, Kol'Khen, The Anuriite Basin, and the Arctic Northland. [hider=The Sand Straits of Ak'Aria] Otherwise known as the great central desert that spans the majority of the equatorial region of Anuria, this is perhaps the best known conflict zone of the planet, as well as the largest. It gets so hot here during the height of day that no major native Anuriite settlements have remained on the strait for over one-hundred-and-twenty years, far before the commencement of the war. The Strait is now dotted with abandoned and heavily shelled villages, scarred by massive canyons, rampart with lawless native groups raiding from small cave communities hidden in the mountain rocks, and massive clearings of dunes which are permanently blemished with the remnants of a hundred years of combat. The strait is named after Ak'Aria, the native Anuriite warlord who was executed just before the commencement of the conflict. It is said that the Strait sits upon one of the largest natural gas pockets in the Galaxy, and with many incredibly rare minerals locked within the jutting rocks. [u]Current Combatants[/u] [/hider] [hider=Kol'Kida] Kol'Kida (or City of Sunlight in the native tongue) is an Anuriite city that is famous for being the closest to the great central desert strait. It was once a beautiful, elegant city that famously glittered in the powerful Anuriite sun, yet far enough from the equatorial region that it was possible for the natives to flourish there. It was once home to a vast solar array that outclassed anything previously created by the other Nations of the Galaxy. With close to 100% efficiency with it's power generation it quickly became a popular strategic locale for the warring forces involved in the conflict. Although in recent years it is little more than an urban warzone with smoke perpetually rising from the burning skyline, just enough of it's facilities are intact to make the city a point of vital strategic importance as it could provide massive energy boosts to those who were to hold the central city. [u]Current Combatants[/u] Jasaran Federation Avienian Empire [/hider] [hider=Kol'Kora,] Kol'Kora (or City of Paths in the native tongue) is perhaps the largest and most well known city on Anruia, and the natives regard it at their capital. It is a sprawling metropolis built around a network of rivers, leading the a dense, tangling forest of towering buildings and long, sturdy bridges. It is nestled somewhere between the Western Sea and the mid-region between the Straits of Ak'Aria and the Arctic Northland, landing it within a perfect temperate climate that is hot within the Anuriite summers and with plenty of rainfall in the other three seasons. The city contains a wealth of functioning data centres and factories; while the latter would be of little use to nations during the conflict, the former carries a wealth of implications for those that hold specific sites within. The possibility for data uplink to space-borne forces could prove useful. Other than that, the strategic location would be a useful asset to hold. [u]Current Combatants[/u] Jasaran Federation Vaegir Imperium MSSC Ashtar Dominions [/hider] [hider=Kol'Khen] Kol'Khen (or City of Gods in the native tongue) is the smallest, but perhaps the most sought after city on Anuria by invading forces. In short, it is the holy centre for Native operations, and while it remains in their hands, Anuriite guerrilla factions will continue to operate under the modus operandi of holy retribution. For this reason it quickly became a site of practical genocide by the forces of New Venus shortly after the conflict had begun. Some forces agreed that this was perhaps the best course of action, and others disagree with the inhumanity of the killings, calling it a war crime. It then became a site of major conflict as multiple factions piled in to forcefully show their opinions to those who would disagree. Since then, it is a continuing site of continuous killing, but those who hold the city are at the least risk of being targeted by Anuriite factions. [u]Current Combatants[/u] [/hider] [hider=The Anuriite Basin] This vast expanse of land is located between the Arctic Northlands at the polar regions and the Sand Straits; somewhere roughly 'in the middle' as many soldiers say. This land is so erratic in geography that few large settlements have been able to grow. It is comprised of expansive alien rain forests, spiraling mountain ranges, all divided by a great network of rivers that give life to the basin. Here, beneath the jungle canopy and high above the clouds in the mountains, heavy yet covert combat operations take place daily. To hold the basin would make it incredibly difficult for enemy forces to move from one area of the planet to the other, essentially locking enemy forces in their place as they struggle to bypass the fortified jungle defenses that the conquering force would put in place. [u]Current Combatants[/u] Jasaran Federation Ashtar Dominions [/hider] [hider=The Arctic Northlands] A vast wasteland of polar ice, solidified over millions of years on the great Northern continent. The Arctic Northlands are perhaps the most inhospitable place on Anuria, with blizzards and heavy snowfall being a daily occurrence without fail. There is little to be said about this sprawling icescape, besides that it is here that the magnetic field of the planet is formed in such a way that it is incredibly easy for spacecraft to land additional forces here while being largely undetectable by normal means of surveillance. This land is only useful to hold for few, rather esoteric nations, but should it be utilized to it's fullest potential, it could provide a great boon to both morale and requisition. [u]Current Combatants[/u] Jasaran Federation Ashtar Dominions MSSC Avienian Empire Aorolach Theocracy [/hider] [h2]Application Sheets[/h2] [b]Species Name[/b] [i]What is the name of the primary species you will be playing?[/i] [b]Species Description[/b] [i]Give us a general overview of your species. Add any information you feel is relevant. Your species MUST be humanoid (or relatively so) and be capable of human-like thoughts and complex emotion. Mindless grunt species or hive-mind insects will be rejected.[/i] - [b]Nation Name[/b] [i]What is the official name (and various given names) of your nation at large?[/i] [b]Nation Size[/b] [i]How many stars does your nation claim? How many citizens?[/i] [b]Nation Description[/b] [i]Give us an overview of the function of your nation and how it works. This section is mostly just contextual fluff, so add what you will here to make your faction feel more real. This can include history should you so wish.[/i] [b]Nation Involvement[/b] [i]What is your nation's involvement in the war? You can pretty much just make up a reason, and an objective will evolve around multiple application sheets.[/i] - [b]Technology[/b] [i]Give us an overview of the kind of technology available to your nation. How advanced are they?[/i] [b]Navy Description[/b] [i]Describe your space force. Detail ships and their capabilities.[/i] [b]Air Force Description[/b] [i]Describe your air force. Detail vehicles and their capabilities.[/i] [b]Ground Force Description[/b] [i]Describe your army. Detail soldiers and ground-based vehicles and their capabilities.[/i] [b]Common Armaments[/b] [i]Describe the weaponry that your soldiers are known to carry. Tell us a little about the kind of things that your faction uses regularly on the battlefield.[/i] [b]Emplacements and Deployables[/b] [i]Give us an overview of the deployable hardware your nation employs. This can range from anti-infantry sentries to anti-aircraft turrets.[/i] [b]Headquarters[/b] [i]Give us an overview of your base of operations of Anuria. This can be a heavily fortified base or a massive bunker. This is a fairly creative field, but, again, is more of a context field. You won't have much interaction with this.[/i] [b]Persons of Importance[/b] [i]Detail important people in your nation. This is an almost purely contextual field. You will NOT be controlling these characters under any circumstance. They are merely for your expendable cast to reference and aspire to (or deify). [/i] - [b]The Following below is credited towards Willy Vereb[/b] [b][u]Interstellar Laws of Warfare[/u][/b] Also referred as the Treaty, this is a compact signed by the leadership of nearly all nations involved in the Anuria conflict. This limits abuses and unlawful acts and the full version is quite exhaustively long. We only mention the parts that are relevant from RP-ing perspective. Also just because there exist a law it doesn't mean you cannot break it. Of course violating the laws often bear sanctions but such actions take time and meanwhile you can get some more immediate gains. The most important note you should remember during lawbreaking that the same laws you ignore are now void to your opponent. So if you perform unlawful orbital bombardment your enemy may do the same. Actually such deterrence is the bigger reason why Anuria remained relatively intact after a hundred years of non-stop war. Alright, let's get to it: [u]Orbital Strike Ban Treaty[/u] A set of laws which ban nations from performing devastating orbital strikes on Garden Worlds (habitable planets with a biosphere). Truly habitable planets are a precious resource which should not be wasted. Since certain species have unique needs those kind of planets were also added to the banned list. Notice that there's no ban against bombarding moon bases or asteroid installations. This treaty only bans large scale orbital strikes and makes allowance to the so-called "tactical strikes". The regulation of tactical strikes goes under the law of limiting Destructive Weapons with allowance up to Class D firepower to be employed (sub-kiloton TNT equivalent energy yield). Though to avoid circumventing the laws by stacking up tactical strikes it's prohibited to attack 1km radius of the same area within a hour. [u]Cosmos Preservation Treaty[/u] An older agreement to keep the stability of the universe. While destroying planets and similar actions are no small feat for even the greatest nations in the galaxy with sufficient effort it's plausible. The treaty was made explicitly to prevent this. Drastically effecting astral bodies at the size of moons or above is prohibited unless it's proven to be for benign purposes. In short you can't blow up moons, planets or stars or otherwise mess with them to cause massive catastrophes. Well, you can but it's against the laws. Most nations keep these laws because violating them means they're also inviting others to do the same. [u]Destructive Weapons Law[/u] Morals can be fickle when we review over thousands of cultures. While many nations already had laws to prohibit abusing their destructive arms, many also did not. for a solution the Committee made a galaxy-wide law to categorize the most powerful weapons and draw a limit to their use. These laws are left intentionally loose so it could be maintained with relative consistency. Worth noting that Orbital Strike Ban can overrule these so spaceships are not allowed to use WMDs on planetary targets. Class S: Strategic class, weapons of mass destruction. Typically meant megaton-yield nukes and weapons approaching or surpassing this level of destruction. Again, what matters is the destruction, not the actual energy involved. For example toxins that seriously damage the environment in the area of 10+ kilometers are under this category, as well. Class T: Tactical WMD Class. Multi-kiloton nuke kind of destruction. They are WMDs but with a few less restrictions. Class D: Destroyer class. Extremely powerful weapons up to the destructive levels of a sub-kiloton nuke. It can be a an extremely powerful bomb or the main cannon of a gigantic warmachine (unless it's so powerful it counts as S or T class). Tactical strikes delivered by spaceships can reach this level. Destroyer weapons have far less restrictions than WMDs but you still need to be careful and possess a justification to fire them. Class B: Bombard class. Basically any weapon which can do massive damage to its surroundings. More bang than a grenade or a typical anti-tank missile and closer to artillery or main cannons of tanks. They have some restrictions applying to them mostly concerned around their use on residential areas but otherwise they are only mentioned in the law out of necessity. Weapon restrictions in bulletpoints. Class B: - must be used with targeting combatants - must warn civilians in the effected area to leave - Aside from the most blatant violations this can be ignored Class D: - Must be focused on military targets (no random area bombardment) - neutral non-combatants in the effected area must be evacuated when possible - abuse on weaker targets is generally regarded as barbaric Class T and S: - similar rulings to Class D plus - must be aimed at strongholds, large military formations or hardened targets - the difference between Class T and S are the magnitude of the minimum strength it could be legally used on and the amount of care to use it away from civilians - unlike the others, abuses with WMDs are tightly observed and can be a source of controversy [/center]