[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/4cvAlim.png[/img][/center]

[center][h1][b][u]Welcome Pilots![/u][/b][/h1][/center]

[center]Welcome, new pilots, to the 75th annual orientation for the Bureau of Artificial Armed Combat! Hopefully you are all already acquainted with the long history of our proud organization, but for those of you who slept through your history lessons here's a quick refresher.

In the late 22nd century, mankind had just taken our first unsteady steps into the universe at large. Armed with primitive FTL and devastating new weaponry, man had expanded out into the farthest reaches of our galaxy and had reached a new plateau of destructive capabilities. We had long since had the ability to destroy ourselves with our weapons and wars, but never on the scale or the ease with which we could now wage war. In response to the threat posed by the proliferation of these newer, terrifyingly efficient weapons of mass destruction, the far-flung human worlds and civilizations came together to form the Confederation of Human Societies to create a peaceful alternative to the seemingly inevitable bloodshed that our future held. Within these bonds of mutual humanity, a golden age of peace unequaled in all of human history has been established. 

But while our disparate nations have now been at peace for over a century, man's lust for battle and bloodshed is something that has never truly been suppressed. As such, the Confederacy established the Bureau of Artificial Armed Combat to allow for an outlet to these more primitive, violent urges. Here in the BAAC, talented pilots and warriors of all the disparate cultures humanity has since produced can come together and test their resolve against one another in armed combat using specially designed combat machines known as Nephilim. These machines are as unique in form and purpose as the pilots that operate them. Some of you are here because you have been given the illustrious honor of your homelands to represent your nations on the galactic stage. Others are here because you have something to prove; to show that you are the greatest of all mankind's long history of warriors. Still others are here simply because you love how it feels behind the controls of a titanic engine of destruction, or you grew up watching these battles and dreaming of the day you would have your turn in the spotlight. Regardless of why you're here, this is the beginning of your career in humanity's favorite modern pastime.

Will you join a team and climb to the top of the rankings as we make our way towards the Grand Championships? Will you stand alone as the greatest duelist of our generation? Or will you eschew the traditional combat events to show off your talents as a racer or as a stunt pilot? The choice is yours, and I want to welcome you all to the beginning of the 75th Artificial Combat Season. Battle Modes for the year have been locked in. Team registrations have been opened. Let's get this party started! Ready? GO![/center]

[hider=Welcome to the world of 23XX!]

Welcome to the future, where humanity has finally turned the page on our long history of open warfare and bloodshed in exchange for beating one another senseless in giant fighting robots. Human civilization has developed into a massive Confederation of loosely associated empires and domains that span the entirety of the Milky Way, linked by Jump Tunnels; massive devices that create stable bridges between fixed points in space and allow for faster-than-light travel. In this new future, to avoid needless destruction and endless war between the various nations and space colonies that humanity now inhabits all across our galaxy, humanity collectively lets off steam in the form of epic battles between massive combat mechs and tests of skill from pilots the galaxy over.

This is a fairly open-ended setting, with room for campy battles between screaming men in giant robots powered by nothing but the fighting spirit of their pilots alongside complex political intrigue between teams from rival worlds. The main content that will be focused on by the majority of the events that I will post periodically will be the Grand Championship, where your teams (or individual pilots) will compete with one another to gain points and fight to be inducted into the Hall of Immortals, where the warriors and teams that have reached the heights of their profession are enshrined for all time.

Despite this, the combat tournaments are not the only events that exist in the world, with things like races and stunt challenges drawing in smaller but still sizable crowds (and the sponsorships that accompany them.)

If you have questions about the setting or what can be done in this world we will build together, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Also, if there is enough interest in a Discord server, I will create one for us to communicate in a more real-time fashion[/hider]

[Hider=Mech Creation]
Let's be honest, this is a huge reason why you're here: to create your very own mecha to pilot and fight alongside. In order to try and keep at least the veneer of balance and fairness, I've taken some time to create a guideline for how to create your own Nephilim and make it clear to other players exactly what its capabilities are. 

[center][h1][b][u]Mech Attributes[/u][/b][/h1][/center]
[indent]
[list][*]Armor - The ability of your armor plating and/or shielding to prevent damage to your Machine
[*]Durability - The amount of punishment your internal systems and hull can withstand before being destroyed or becoming inoperable
[*]Acceleration - The rate at which you reach your max speed
[*]Strength - The overall strength of your mech's limbs
[/list][/indent]

[center][h1][b][u]Mech Design[/u][/b][/h1][/center]
[indent][b][u]Control Units[/u][/b]
[list][*]Cockpit - The traditional command center of a mech and by far the easiest to use. This is the kind of control unit a pilot would have trained in with simulators
[*]Remote - Your mech is essentially a glorified drone, and the control unit is outside of the body of the machine itself. While this is safer for the pilot, it can also result in input delays and signal loss which is obviously a bad thing to have happen during a match
[*]Motion Capture - A small room inside the machine which records your every movement and duplicates it in real time. You have a full view of everything your mech can see in this room, with holographic control systems available for communications and other complex actions that are impossible without some form of user interface. Very popular with pilots that have undergone some form of martial training. 
[*]Neural Link - You interface directly with your mech's systems using implanted cybernetic links to the device, essentially becoming one with your Nephilim. You see and feel everything sensors would normally inform you of and operating your mech is as effortless as moving your own body. This is the most dangerous of the control units, as your physical body is tied directly into the machinery while you are operating your mech.[/list][/indent]

[indent][b][u]Body Type[/u][/b]
[list][*]Vertical - The body type most reminiscent of the human form. One of the most common body types as pilots often find it easier to operate a machine that moves in much the same way they do. These types have the most balanced stats, with a maximum of 10 in each category.
[*]Horizontal - These body types tend to be reminiscent of animals or aerial vehicles, often trading armor and durability for speed, making them excellent for hit and run tactics or as aerial units. Their forms can take some getting used to, as they often have multiple legs or other forms of locomotion that are unconventional. Their armor and durability stats cap out at 8, but their top speed can be up to a blistering 14.
[*]Weapons Platform - The most heavily armored body types, Weapons platforms tend to eschew mobility for thick armor and powerful shielding alongside devastating heavy weaponry. These body types can be used as anything from tanks to semi-mobile artillery pieces, with armor and durability ratings going up to 14, but their top speed can go no higher than 4.
[/list][/indent]

[indent][b][u]Arm Units[/u][/b]
[list][*]Standard - Arm units that lean closest to the human form, allowing for dexterous actions like grasping small objects and fine manipulation with digits. These units hold no inherent advantages beyond their overall utility when compared to the other options.
[*]Weapon Arm - Arm Units that replace the standard functionality of an arm with an integrated weapon of some kind. 
[*]Animal Arm - Arm units that emulate the shape and function of an animal, often including integrated weapons such as claws or barbs.
[/list][/indent]

[indent][b][u]Locomotion Units[/u][/b]
[list][*]Standard - The most common form of locomotion on vertical mechs which emulate the movement of the human form with a maximum acceleration of 10.
[*]Reverse Joint - Legs that emphasize jumping or lunging capabilities over grounded speed, enabling Nephilim equipped with them to jump well over ten times as high as those operating with standard legs. These units have a maximum acceleration of 8
[*]Wheels - Legs that terminate in massive wheels similar to that of ancient automobiles. Capable of reaching a maximum of 14 in their acceleration, they are not as useful over rough or obstructed terrain. The most common method of locomotion in the ground racing events.
[*]Treads - These units are common in conjunction with Weapons Platform Body Types, granting a great deal of stability and versatility in exchange for being less agile and slower overall when compared to the more human form units. These units can have a maximum acceleration of 8.
[*]Ground Effect System - These units allow your mech to hover over any form of terrain and even glide through the air for extended periods of time. While they are highly versatile and maneuverable, they are slow and easily pushed around by recoil or impact, with a maximum acceleration of 8. 
[*]Thrusters - Massive engines that can be paired with any other form of locomotion to allow your Nephilim to take to the skies. While useful, bear in mind that their power systems are an obvious target to other pilots and they draw a great deal of power from your Mech's core.
[/list][/indent]

[indent][b][u]Sensor Units[/u][/b]
Your mech may have up to three of these units installed at any one time.
[list][*]Visual - A full 180 degree visual feed from the front of your mech, with the sensors often designed to resemble eyes or other surveillance equipment.
[*]Night Vision - A variation of the visual sensors with a much more focused viewpoint and projecting infrared light to enable sight even in darkened environments. These sensors are often tightly-packed together to produce the desired effect and as such can be vulnerable to enemy attack.
[*]Thermographic - Thermal imagery with a slightly lower view radius than visual units, extremely useful for spotting camouflaged or otherwise hidden enemies.
[*]Motion - Motion sensors allowing you to detect and display the direction and location of any source of movement relative to your mech
[*]Radar - Radar units similar to those used by aerial vehicles of the past, allowing you to detect unstealthed mechs in a fairly large radius around you. 
[*]Emissions - sensors tuned to identify and track the unique energy signatures of Mech cores, though it has a slower refresh rate than most other sensor packages, acquiring new data in passes that occur once every three seconds. 
[*]Terahertz - Sensors that work at a smaller view radius as visual units but allow for viewing past the surface of most materials. Useful for identifying thin armor or vulnerable subsystems inside an enemy mech. These sensors have a lower framerate due to having to compute all the information into a coherent visual for the pilot.
[/list][/indent]

[indent][u][b]Miscellaneous Systems[/b][/u]
Your mech may have up to 4 of the following systems installed at any one time
[list][*]Expanded Targeting System - An ETS will provide the pilot with a form of aim assist, displaying relevant information to help with aiming, as well as automatically providing minor corrections for targets that have been locked on
[*]Point Defense Guns - Automated weapons systems that can be ordered to target specific types of targets, such as incoming missiles, or simply as additional damage output towards enemy units.
[*]Electronic Warfare System - A computational addition to your systems that allow you to remotely hack into and slow the processing speeds of nearby enemy units, or even to appear as friendly to enemy sensor arrays. While full takeover of an enemy unit is usually impossible, it can make life unpleasant for a pilot that relies on their targeting systems or complex sensors to pilot their Nephilim.
[*]Systems Defense Suite - A modification to your Mech's computer systems which will safeguard you from electronic warfare and other hacking attempts. This also allows you to redirect power flow throughout your systems on the fly, making it much harder to disable or overload your combat systems.
[*]Core Overdrive - A fancy name for a modification that allows the pilot to override safety mechanisms on their generators and overclock their Mech. This effectively grants a temporary boost of 6 points to all stats, after which time the mech will need to reboot its systems, leaving it vulnerable to any enemy units that have withstood the enhanced onslaught. In addition, extended use will damage the electronics of the mech, requiring repairs to be made operational again. 
[*]Flare Pods - Countermeasures built into special housings around the body of the Nephilim that can be used to temporarily remove target locks or scramble non-visual sensors
[*]Artificial Assistance - An onboard Artificial Intelligence that can assist the pilot during combat. This can be as simple as a form of personality for the mech in question, or as advanced as a discrete "smart" AI that is capable of rational thought and decision making independently from the pilot. 
[/list][/indent]
[/hider]

[hider=Artificial Armed Combat Regulations]
The Bureau takes Pilot safety seriously, and has established the following basic regulations to ensure all events are carried out in a manner that is safe and fair for all involved.
[center][h1][b][u]Rules of Engagement[/u][/b][/h1][/center]
[indent]
[b]1. A Pilot must never intentionally aim for the control unit of an opponent.
2. Combat is over when one or more of the following conditions are met: A pilot's Nephilim is incapacitated and incapable of further combat, a total shutdown of the combat system, a pilot or team forfeits the match, a pilot is rendered unconscious or otherwise incapable of continuing to operate their Nephilim, or whenever a Judge calls for end of combat for any reason.
3. The decisions made by a Judge are binding and final.
4. A Nephilim may be modified, repaired, or replaced without limit outside of an active combat event.
5. A pilot or team is fully responsible for safeguarding their Nephilim.
6. Combat is to be limited to specifically designated combat arenas.[/b][/indent][/hider]

[hider=Posting Format]

This Setting can be broad and have multiple events occurring at the same time. As such, as a courtesy to myself and the other players participating, please specify the location and time of the events you are describing at the beginning of your post, like so:

[u][b][Time][Location][/b][/u]

[/hider]

[hider=Rules]

[indent]1.This game has the potential to include a great deal of PvP, so be respectful of your opponents and discuss privately how matches should go. If there is ever a concern or complaint, call out to a Judge in character and tag me in your post to have a decision made without interrupting the flow of play. 
2. All profiles must be approved before you can start posting In Character. 
3. Do not disappear without warning if your character is involved in any kind of event or story.
4. There is a great deal of freedom and leeway permitted with your character and mech designs. Do not abuse this freedom with overtly overpowered builds or by metagaming. 
[/indent][/hider]