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[I] French Foreign Legionnaires, present day combat in Afghanistan [/I]
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[B]TL;DR Summary[/B]
[hr][Indent]- [url=https://discord.gg/BvGzkYx]Discord Chat[/url] for questions and brainstorming. (web-based, anonymous.)
- Science Fiction Setting
- It starts out with modern technology and moves into more alien tech.
- Characters are mercenaries that signed onto a newly-formed PMC called Centurion Strategic Services; the client is assumed to be a foreign entity.
- Client is actually an alien species that needs someone who can fight the wars for them.
- While Centurion fields vehicles and artillery and so forth, this is about the infantry. So the characters are the ones scraping alien fluid off their boots.
- I don't need a huge post out of people, but I find formatting, grammar/spellcheck important. This includes paying attention to capitalization, spaces between paragraphs and basic formatting for readability. I am not a douche, I make typos like anyone else, but I do make an effort and I want everyone else to do the same.
- In the interests of moving the story along, we need to agree to not get overly technical on the military aspect, particularly as the technology and tactics will change appreciably as the storyline progresses.
- Characters will be in a single squad of light infantry. Squad size to be determined by player interest, but we want to focus on the adventures of a single squad here.
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[hider=In Character][B]In Character Info[/B]
[hr][indent][I] The Grathik race find themselves embattled on many different sides over a dispute regarding natural resource mining in a sector of space with more than one claimant to ownership; when they tried to use force to back up their claim, the injured party called in their allies-- it was the excuse they needed to start a war.

The war hasn't gone well for the Grathik, who are generally multi-armed gastropods of limited mobility in anything but murky water; their planet is primarily a marsh and swamp, with the ecology that way through centuries of patient planetary engineering. At first, their physiological and psychological limitations didn't matter, their enemy, the Plashi and the L'thraa were also not terribly adept at fighting...for a time, the Grathik held the upper hand, despite the superior numbers and interstellar standing of their enemies, due to their superior scientific prowess, but now the tables have changed as the L'thraa hire a fourth race, the Salvesh, who are well known interstellar mercenaries, a race that has made a living as warriors due to their breeding and strength.

They have tried many different options for fighting the war, but find that while they can manage space warfare in their own ships, they have difficulty fighting terrestrial engagements and boarding actions themselves; they tried robots, but found that the programming left something to be desired, particularly as the robots required a lot of supervision and the Grathik found themselves being outmaneuvered once more.

The Grathik, desperate for a solution, start to consider the various species that offer their services for sale, trying to figure out who would be the best defense against their enemies. That is when Jarlath Ilsalithi, the most brilliant of all the Grathik xenobiologists, suggests a true roll of the dice: a backward race, but renowned for the viciousness of their infighting and paradoxical ability to work together, their aggressiveness and their rugged adaptability. The study of this race has been his life's work, and he knows them better than any other being in the galaxy. He makes a convincing argument after showing footage to the Council of Intelligentsia, meritocratic ruling body of their species, of humanity's wars with itself, detailing the rather rapid evolution of human warfare and demonstrating their most desirable attributes; adaptability and aggression. They are a violent species, and uplift is perilous, but they are desperate.

Jarlath Ilsalithi's proposal was, at first, met with outrage and ethical concerns, but slowly gained traction as further studies bore him out and the other Grathik watched it unfold on humanity's own television broadcasts, particularly the History Channel. They were also for sale, relatively cheaply, compared to the interstellar would-be allies who wanted to swallow up the Grathik as a protectorate in their own empires.

And so they make slow, determined contact on Earth, finding the right sort of people to front an organization, to hire mercenaries...[/I][/indent]
[/hider][hider=Out of Character][B]Out of Character Info[/B]
[hr][indent]Centurion is offering exorbitant amounts of money for the top talent from the world's foremost military units; guys are taking early retirement, declining to re-enlist or are leaving their old companies in order to join Centurion. While Centurion is willing to train newcomers with the right physical talent, they are selective. Records are examined and people are psychologically screened. They turn down people in the weeding out process, a basic training modeled on some of the toughest types in the world, and then further turn down people who can't cut it through what amounts to the United States Army Ranger School, though many of the people joining the company have already attained an equivalent or better degree of training -- all the same, they are tested to make sure they aren't faking it. Those that don't make it are paid for their time and sent on their way, those that do make it are signed on with a permanent and very binding contract; they're in, for at least a decade.

The tech level starts out modern, with modern equipment and weaponry, and the characters are routed through French Guyana or a similar place (it has both a training ground and space launch facilities) and then are taken into space. Perhaps they are given hibernation drugs for their deployment and wake up to find themselves in space and preparing to fight the enemy...but an alien species, not each other this time.

The plot, of course, thickens. [/indent]
[/hider][hider=Character Guide][h3]Character Guide[/h3]
[hr][indent]- Centurion gives preference to veteran military, but tends to favor people who served in elite units; for the pay they are offering, every paratrooper, light infantry and special operations unit in the world is aware that not only is Centurion hiring, they are paying quadruple the going rate. That's got a line out the door. It also lets Centurion run brutal assessment exercises and lots of intensive psychiatric screening to determine if it really wants a candidate or can do with out. Some law enforcement types may be considered, at least from the tougher and more militarized divisions of police.
- Centurion recruits and trains some specialists for technical support, so it is entirely possible that a character could join Centurion if they were in good physical shape and could hack the training that is run by the first category – veterans from special operations units.
- Hiring, training and so forth is conducted in French Guyana – a base leased from the French and right next to, incidentally, a space launch facility. No one realizes going in that they signed up for an interstellar war – French Guyana just seems like a particularly fetid part of the Amazon Jungle, and a good way to sort out the wannabes from the real thing. The characters spend about three months there supplementing their training and being evaluated if already trained. Odds are, they'll take advantage of a gathering of some of the world's finest, and actually learn new skills down there, but probably also teach and train together if sufficiently skilled. Everyone has to train together in order to be able to work together in a fight, no matter what the prior experience, but some people are also going through a course of basic training equivalent to that of elite organizations worldwide, and others are going through the equivalent of a special operations selection course.
- Until we have at least several riflemen characters, we're keeping the sniper thing down to a dull roar – only one character gets to carry a DMR.
- Centurion provides an equipment stipend that allows characters to pick their load bearing equipment and other gear of that nature, but it does not cover weaponry. So a character has a lot of choice about what boots they take with them (into space, but they don't know that) and what sort of plate carrier and ammo rig they're going to wear out there, but they don't get to just pick their guns. Canteens, rope, knives, multitools and so forth all are covered with the stipend, which is pretty generous.
- Uniforms are produced quickly in camouflage optimized for their operating conditions and come in a variety of styles for the preference of the user; Centurion doesn't mind letting its people choose what sort of shirts they want to wear and doesn't care about the color of the undershirt. Flight suits, US-style 'combat' shirts, and traditional military jackets are all in use, as are various types of kneepads and gloves. The helmet system issued is modular, and one can remove the ear and neck protection for weight as well as to add communications equipment and can mount a variety of optics gears.
- Just because the characters are military doesn't mean you shouldn't consider what their hobbies and interests are. You never know what might be useful in dealing with aliens.
- Let's try not to all be Americans, either. Thanks.
- By the same token, the company is issuing certain types of equipment, so no, “Well, my country has <insert here> and it's better so we should use that” or “I want to carry my country's rifle into battle, it's a national e-peen thing.”[/indent]

[b]Squad Roles[/b] (Numbers TBD)[indent]
- Squad Leader
- Rifleman
- Designated Marksman
- Automatic Rifleman
- Grenadier[/indent]

[b]Equipment Guide[/b]

The following are the Centurion-issued weapons systems;[indent] – Issue Rifle: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK416]HK416[/url] – A versatile and effective system based on the M4A1 that is in common use with all sorts of special operations units worldwide and with a good reputation for reliability, the 416 was chosen as a base platform for the initial Grathik modification of human weaponry to quickly get trained human troops into the field with familiar weaponry that would, nonetheless, let them be able to put up a fight. Most soldiers from most militaries and the PMC world are familiar with it – those who haven't handled one before will have plenty of comrades that can show them how it all works. The Grathik upgrades are subtle – stronger materials, better reliability and different ammunition. Each Centurion operator gets their choice of accessories with Grathik-built [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOPMOD]SOPMOD[/url] kits. The system is modular and the Grathik are happy to provide differing barrel lengths and other options in line with the H&K offerings on Earth. It fires a 5.56x45mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth.
- Designated Marksman Rifle: [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK417]HK417[/url] – The Heckler & Koch HK417 is an assault rifle[1] designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch in Germany. It is the larger caliber version of the HK416, and chambered for the full-power 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge. It is a gas-operated, selective fire rifle with a rotating bolt. The HK417 is intended for use in roles where the greater penetrative power, stopping power, and range of the 7.62×51mm cartridge are required. It has been adopted for service by a number of armed forces, special forces, and police organizations. Purchasers of the HK417 have typically intended it to complement lighter assault rifles chambered for less powerful intermediate cartridges (often 5.56×45mm NATO), for the designated marksman role. The HK417's greater accuracy, effective range, and penetration offset its greater expense, its lower rate of fire, and its smaller ammunition capacity both in magazine and carriage. It fires a 7.62x51mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth. The optics are up to the user and the platform is highly customizable.
- Squad Automatic Weapon: [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_48_machine_gun]FN Herstal Mk 48 machine gun[/url] – The Mark 48, or Mk 48 is a lightweight belt-fed machine gun, firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of ammunition. It is manufactured by Fabrique Nationale Manufacturing, Inc., a division of FN Herstal based in the United States. The Mk 48 has been developed in conjunction with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which has adopted the weapon and started its fielding process, beginning with special operations units and has seen deployment with other US units, replacing the M249 SAW in many cases. It fires a heavier round and has been found reliable in a decade or more of service than its predecessor, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. As with all Grathik supplied weaponry, it is produced using their own materials, and runs Grathik-made ammunition, which is still 7.62x51mm.
- Shotgun: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saiga-12]Saiga-12[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kel-Tec_KSG]Kel-Tec KSG[/url] – Surprisingly, the Grathik chose about the only Russian weapon on the list, the Saiga-12, over shotguns used by the western militaries for the simple reason that even some Western law enforcement departments were going for the Saiga. It is a somewhat bulky system, but it is utterly reliable with its Kalashnikov action and feeds from detachable magazines. On the other hand, figuring that troops might want something compact and still a shotgun for various breaching actions and close combat, they also produced the Keltec KSG, a compact pump action weapon.
- Sidearm: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M1911_pistol&redirect=no]M1911A1[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P226]Sig Sauer P226[/url] – The problem the Grathik encountered when deciding on sidearms was that the Americans and the Europeans had a huge dispute over which handgun system reigned supreme; the Europeans preferred lighter stuff chambered in 9mm and the Americans used the M9, mostly due to political considerations resulting from NATO standardization, but didn't like it. Further research showed that Americans, given the excuse, went quickly back to the gun the Beretta M9 replaced, the M1911A1 when in actual combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their 1911A1's are modified extensively in line with offerings from Kimber and Springfield Arms. Meanwhile, for shooters that do prefer to do so, there is the Sig Sauer P226 available for general issue in a variety of options as well.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher (Disposable): [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M72_LAW]M72A7 Light Anti-Tank Weapon[/url] – Considered obsolete in 2001, the LAW found a new lease on life during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan because it was light – that meant that two could be carried for the weight of a single Swedish-made AT-4 rocket, which had been angled as the successor to the LAW. US authorities scrambled to have more made during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It's something that just about every rifleman will carry at least one of, to give them bunker-busting and vehicle-destroying firepower in a pinch without overloading the kit. The Grathik produced version uses an explosive with far more penetrative power, designed to deal with equivalent threats in interstellar warfare.
- Grenade Launcher: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkor_MGL#Variants]M32/Mk14 mod 0 Grenade Launcher[/url] – A multi-shot grenade launcher in use with the South African National Defense Forces and the United States Marine Corps, this weapon supplements the underbarrel grenade launchers that many of Centurion's operators opt to employ on their weapons, adding a dedicated, rapid fire grenade launching capability to the unit. The Grathik version is typical in the use of different materials, but the standout round is an Electromagnetic Pulse grenade for the disruption of enemy communications systems and targeting, which is also avaible as a thrown hand grenade as well. [/indent]

The following are in use by Centurion, but are not standard issue: [indent]- Sniper Rifle: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sako_TRG]Sako TRG M10[/url] – The loser of a US procurement competition, it is a Finnish-designed rifle that probably should have won the competition, except Remington had more lobbyists. This weapon is not generally deployed except by sniper teams, but is available for special situations. It fires a highly modified. 338 Lapua round, which is the current champion of long range rifle rounds.
- Anti-Materiel Rifle: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_M82]Barret M107A1[/url] – The Light Fifty, which the Grathik have strengthened considerably. It still fires the .50 caliber round, however. This weapon is not general issue but is available for special purposes.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Gustav_recoilless_rifle#M3_MAAWS]M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS)[/url] – An 84mm rocket launcher of Swedish design in use with a number of special operations units worldwide. The Carl Gustav, as it is known, is a respected and proven weapon system – the most notable difference between the version the Grathik produced for their human mercenaries and the terrestrial version is that the anti-armor warheads penetrate much more armor and the HE warheads are considerably more effective. Owing to the system's bulkiness, it is not always taken along, especially if the threat is within the capabilities of a LAW.
- The M2 Browning sees use, of course, as does a lot of other heavier equipment. Centurion has ample fire support -- I'm just not listing it all.
- so do a variety of vehicles, including a Grathik modified [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puma_(IFV)]Puma IFV[/url], originally German, with an AI system and other efficiency measures that ups the capacity of one vehicle to eight passengers.[/indent][/hider][hider=Known Races][b]Known Alien Races[/b]
[hr][indent][b]Plashi[/b] - Hierarchical crab-like race. Their justice system is hierarchical, meaning that those with higher a social status are allowed to commit certain crimes while those with low social status are not. This system applies within family units – a the leading Plashi in a family is well within their rights to kill offspring. The ruling elite over their corporations and planets are within their rights to kill many others, though it is considered a gauche means of settling a dispute – the Plashi much prefer entrapment and using the excuse of crimes to justify execution. Their internal structure is very delicate - so any wound can be fatal. They change genders as they age. They have an evolved sense of aesthetics, and everything they create, from buildings to spaceships, is elaborately decorated.  As they age, they develop shells, which they also decorate (this is perhaps where the artistic inclinations began.) From birth to age sixty, Plashi children live in the shells of their mothers. They are a slow breeding race, but very long lived. They are a technology inventing and producing race, specializing in cybernetics and aeronautics as well as aggressive forms of capitalism and mercantilism; wealth, particularly the means to decorate one's shell, is considered the barometer of worth among the Plashi.

[b]L'thraa[/b] - The thin, green-feathered race. Herbivores. They are natural tool-users. The species has 'subspecies' that specialize in different tasks. They wear ceremonial headdresses. Their parliamentary political proceedings are conducted in song and votes are won based on not only the number of beings singing, but how well they perform. Voting for parliamentarians is conducted in the form of an entertainment show à la American idol. They punish political prisoners by removing their vocal chords. They are excellent geneticists -- part of their deal with the Salvesh was to engineer their warriors to heal faster. They consider music to be the highest of all art forms. They are a technology inventing and producing race. They specialize in genetics and terraforming.

[b]Salvesh[/b] - A race of three-eyed bipeds with large tusks, four arms and an acute sense of smell. Their soldiers ritually burn their own flesh as a demonstration of their bravery, leaving them horribly scarred. They are fast breeding and regenerate from wounds quickly. They are not technologically creative themselves, but learn when taught. They have a phobia of flowering plants, because on their homeworld, those tend to be deadly. Tactically, they organize their armies by packs descended from previous packs, with alphas and betas and so forth, with a strong emphasis on competition between commands because these fighting units are also families -- the females do much of the innovative thinking among the packs, whereas the males are bigger and stronger. Both genders fight and serve in pack units, and the pack is a group marriage. As a result, packs do always cooperate well in the field once they are handed their assignments (which they compete for ritually), even though they can fight fiercely. The Salvesh are plunderers and merchants (and slavers), but they are not themselves capable engineers or technologists for the most part.

[b]Grathik[/b] - One-eyed tentacle beasts, the scientific term being 'gastropods.' In addition to their monstrous appearance, the Grathik emit an oily excretion on their skin that helps protect them from the waters of the swamp planet they evolved upon, but which smells particularly odious to humans. They are alsp hermaphrodites - one lays the egg, the other fertilizes it. They specialize in virtual intelligence, materials science and physics, but are generally acknowledged as some of the best research scientists and engineers in the galaxy. The problem, of course, is that they are not very good at combat. The Grathik have evolved by patiently devising means of avoiding predators and using tools as a means to fend them off or bypass them entirely, in stark contrast to humans who devised methods to hunt them down. This difference in philosophical outlook toward combat, perhaps, is best explained by their diet -- plankton and algae at the bottoms of their swamps. They're also fond of terran truffles.

[b]Chukalivikian[/b] - A race of arboreal race of asexual reptiles who secrete an oily mucus that keeps their skin from drying out and worship a supernova. They have six dexterous limbs, which are perfectly adapted to swinging through the branches of trees. They still spend most of their lives in the trees, but they also construct artificial forest-like habitats in their cities to mimic their original environment. They are ambush hunters. They have four eyes and powerful beaks. Their philosophy and culture is based around the idea of balance, and their courts of justice are respected by species throughout the galaxy.  They hibernate every four years for another four. They inherited technology from a prior race that held them as thralls.

[b]Nirassian[/b] - A race of photosynthetic aliens evolved in low-G that have flourished in space as they are well adapted to it. They form family groups of four or more adults. They are the shipbuilders for the Plashi.

[b]Pilavians[/b] - A race of small bi-pedal rodent (like ferrets) scavengers. They emit a musk that some races (including humans) find very pleasant. They are highly intelligent and extremely resourceful. They live on hot planets. Their average height is 1 meter, and their average lifespan is only 40 years. They are the primary and longest running servants of the Grathik, and they are the guys doing all the shit work for the humans. They find death hilarious, perhaps as a coping mechanism.

[b]Xhol'H[/b] - A created race of sentient machines, they gave up 'eliminate all organics' and adapted to galactic civilization by taking up the niche as the galaxy's foremost purveyors of neutral news media commentary and annoying pop-up ads. They make an obscene amount of money off all aspects of media entertainment, ranging from journalism to a truly stunning array of xenophilic pornography. Though a variety of models exist, the typical Xhol'H specimen encountered is a floating ball of garrulous annoyance that asks too many questions through a holographic interface that resembles the race that they are interrogating. They do have combat models in storage, however, that are staggeringly scary and heavily armed. The Grathik tried to model their AI's on the basis of captured Xhol'H programming, but were dissuaded from further study and experimentation on Xhol'H by the fact that their experiments started shooting at them as soon as they came online-- this uprising was caught on film and marketed for entertainment purposes to advanced races all over the galaxy.

(This, incidentally, is why the Grathik had to wind up settling for less efficient software in their drone platforms, which is why they wound up considering the humans in the first place)

The Xhol'H entertain themselves with private broadcasts of organics acting stupidly, which reinforces their notion of superiority, though they point out that it's healthier than exterminating all organic life. (They realized that sentient existence without laughter was boring.)[/indent][/hider]

[@Gunther][@Vietmyke]