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[i]We as the human race would fight and bicker among each other over the slightest things... a bit funny, isn't it? Since the time that we could walk we would kill and lay waste to each other over petty things such as territory and religion, even putting our ideals on the line while at the same time back at home our people would fight over trivial things. 

Justice… equality… hunger… appearances… whether someone died for the right cause or not...

Anything you could imagine with your insignificant head we fought over... and many died.

You would think for such an advance race compared to all the primitive animals that were alive at the time that we’d be far better, wouldn't we? No. The truth was that we were nothing than primates ourselves; animals who could not go beyond our differences to unite and join one another and create a better world.

In the end, we just destroyed our planet through both war and pollution… but I suppose you too know that, don't you? But now, we have out civilization back... we have everything that we want to protect.

Though, we all still remember in the year 2267 when our world was nothing more than a nuclear dump with only a few patches of habitable lands left. It wasn't until a man with technology unlike any other finally united the Earth forces under a single banner through brute force by killing anyone who opposed him did we finally become whole. He built an impenetrable fortress and had his forces cultivate and secure whatever lands could be saved by using devices meant to preserve the lands that were untainted by the countless wars we held. Communities were built within these lands, before steps to move forward were introduced.

In the year 2321, the man who united Earth led expeditions from Earth to cultivate new planets with flagships each containing the newest development; the Framewerks. These were powerful mechanized piloted units that can only be used by a select few individuals after years of training, but they allowed us to conquer planets with ease.

For years we slowly captured planets and things were working, we were finally at peace and enjoying things for we thought we were alone in the universe.

Or so we had thought... 

Years had passed and in the year 2578, we finally lost communication with a human colony on our outer rim all of a sudden. At first, we thought it was just an error with the signal… until seconds later another colony tuned in and told us that they were being attacked. 

We suddenly found ourselves thrown into a war with an unknown alien race for years, with all of our communications being cut off with all of our outer rim planets. Despite all the reinforcements we sent, we never heard from them… we could only assume the worst had happened.

It was only in the year of 2590 that we finally were able to make establish contact with one of our outer rim planets due to the efforts of the man who united Earth who was dedicated on find out what happened... but what we had found, was something far, far worse than discovering hell itself.
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[i]They were slain by an alien race called the Cruxi… and they had technology and firepower that was on a whole new level compared to us. Plasma weapons, Wormhole-using spaceships, soldiers equipped with personal barriers… you name it, they probably had it. However, their numbers weren’t as vast as ours. So we threw ourselves at them in order to keep them at bay, and to keep them from reaching more of our home worlds.

Though a strategy like that can only last so long until all of humanity starts to believe that we’re fighting a losing war… but that’s where you come in, Cadet.

You’re here to clean up our petty mistakes of our pasts and to fight our battle. That’s the sad truth of the matter. Remember how I mentioned those Frameworks earlier, right? Well, you along with others have been chosen to pilot experimental Frameworks in hopes of turning the tides of this war.
Truth be told, I don’t envy you… because I feel you’re going to be thrown straight into the horrors of things… I just pray you make it out of this alive, even if we don’t.[/i]

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[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/92372-souls-of-steel-a-giant-mecha-rp-open/ooc]The OOC is now up.[/url]
Welcome to Souls of Steel (or SoS for short), reboot of Hearts of Metal. In this, pilots are recruited to pilot massive, Evangelion-sized war machines called Framewerks that are humanity's last hope against the Cruxi menace. The combat effectiveness of the pilots are determined with two attributes: Experience and Synchronization Rate. These will be randomized for every pilot, but are affected by their age: older pilots have more experience, while younger pilots have a higher synchronization rate.

Character sheets will come in the OOC provided there is enough interest, but you may request for your character's experience and synchronization value if you provide an age between 14-25.
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[hider=Experience]
Experience determines how familiar the pilots is with their Framewerk, and how well they know its strengths and weaknesses. More experienced pilots can have more weapons and miscellaneous equipment installed into their Framewerks, and can perform more advanced tactics. One of the requirements for becoming a squad officer is thus a high experience value.

1-40% is the level where the pilot doesn't even know how to drive a car. They have poor awareness of their surroundings and a chance of fumbling with the controls, resulting in various mishaps such as opening fire on a random target, falling down, activating thrusters or, worst of them all, activating the Framewerk's self-destruct sequence. These pilots are usually only granted access to a Framewerk due to a high synchronization rate that compensates for their ineptitude.

40-64% is the level of a person familiar with driving military vehicles and applying that skill in order to at least get the Framewerk moving and shooting, although at a ponderous pace. They can run and shoot without making mistakes, but they are likely to take the wrong direction or miss their target, even at close range. They can also be caught unaware by a flanking maneuver. These pilots are usually relegated to support or siege units where the need for more complex maneuvers isn't as highly required.

65-79% is the average level of experience for a pilot. They never fail basic actions such as running or shooting, and also have the potential for more difficult actions. They can successfully perform an orbital drop without damaging their Framewerk, and they can use their thrusters to fly in the air without crashing. These pilots are assigned to a variety of roles.

80-89% is level of the more experienced pilots, able to pull off even more advanced actions such as running backwards while shooting, sliding into cover, and dodge projectiles while flying. They can also observe the battlefield and note enemy formations as well as their tactics. These pilots are the most likely to be assigned to the front-lines to lead an example to the other members of their squad, and are also granted more cumbersome weaponry.

90-94% is the very best when it comes to pilot experience, and the pilots with these levels are top graduates in their class. They can weave through the battlefield with skilled superiority and calm expertise, having performed these maneuvers in simulations countless times. They can note enemy movements and react to them appropriately, and given proper battlefield data, can even predict them.[/hider]

[hider=Synchronization Ratio]
The higher one's synchro rate is the more in tune one feels with their Framewerk- the more it feels like it's an extension of one's body rather than just a hunk of metal covering you and protecting you as a tool. You will feel as if you and the Framewerk are 'one and the same' rather than you controlling something.

-1~100% is the negative synchro rate, something that rarely happens, but can happen. As a pilot's state of mind deteriorates on the battlefield, the experimental Framewerks will respond to this as a result in order to protect their pilot and enter a state of mind called "CULLING". The Framewerk will enter a Berserk-like state and proceed to destroy and eliminate everything that it deems an immediate threat to the pilot's sanity and safety in order to keep them safe, even if it means killing allies or foes alike. What does mean is the Framewerk itself will take control and proceed to rampage on the battlefield.

1-40% or the danger zone. At most times this is where your Framewerk will begin to go into a 'lag' state of mind, or will halt it's orders and proceed to do things of its own. Usually this is because the Pilot is in a ill-state of mind or unconscious, but there are unknown reasons that have been yet to discovered for this odd behavior in the experimental Frameworks. Nonetheless, it is highly advised that the pilot is evacuated immediately... before the next state is activated.

40-64% is where the Framewerk will start to feel clunky and begin to feel more and more like a burden and a tool as you reach the 40% tile. You will have to pilot your Framewerk more by 'force' rather than as an extension of your body than anything else.

65-79% is roughly, give or take, the average synch ratio of most Pilots who have piloted a Framework after many years- those who fall into this ranking are usually those who have survived a few fights against the Cruxi. To start here it does not at all mean you are lacking, but it means are you in fact stronger than the average soldier by a long mile. Being pilots who aged 14-16 and are able to pull off this synch ratio is a gift. You are able to pull off well-thought out maneuvers and move in ways that would take soldiers years to pull off.

From 80-89% you would feel that the Framewerk is like your own body and that you can perform things you couldn't before.

90-94% and onward is when you can hear noises from the experimental Framewerk... almost like you are no longer alone on the battlefield. How you handle this is dependent on your characters.

95%+: You unlock the special ability of your Framewerk; it's true power.[/hider]

[hider=Attribute Information]Everyone's synchro rates upon starting a mission start at a hard value I've noted specifically, so you may want to keep that in your character sheets somewhere. However, while their hard values do not change during a mission, their soft values may do so depending on their state of mind during the battle or what is happening.

After each mission, depending on how well the mission went, I'll tell everyone how well their hard Synchro rate and experience improved depending on how their soft values or 'mental' state has improved based based upon a die roll and how they've acted, although I may or may not add or subtract modifiers based on if things went extremely well or extremely poorly.

Remember, we are at war here against a very powerful race that has us pushed into a corner... so things may or may not go as planned, and how you all handle that in situations like that will effect your characters mental strain. This is, after all, a RP that can quickly switch be a calm to be horrific on the fly. So how your characters handle that will be tricky.

The numbers I will give you are hard synchro rates; they are the rates you'll start combat with. In combat your synchro will be soft, and prone to fluctuations depending on what happens to the Frame and inside the pilot's head. Once combat is over the hard synchro will change depending on how the soft synchro behaved. For someone to achieve negative hard synchro means the pilot has gone at least slightly mentally disturbed or the Frame smashed into a cube/ripped apart. However, experience can only be lost due to special circumstances, such as after a disciplinary mind modification procedure.[/hider]

Some ground-rules:
1. Please wait for at least two posts before making a new post.
2. If you need to be absent for a while due to real-life issues or anything else, please inform in the thread or through a PM so I'll know. Thank you for being a cool guy.
3. Collaboration is recommended for dialogue and/or combat between characters. [url=https://titanpad.com/]Titanpad[/url] is a good place to make them, for example.
4. Military rules apply (no possession of weaponry or sharp objects while in the base, superiors must be greeted with sir or their respective rank and so on).
5. Site rules apply.
6. Have fun, and ask me if there's anything on your mind.