[center][b][i]Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, Side Story in Baguio[/i][/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/vqcRi7n.png[/img]
[i]A destroyed town from 86; pretend that this is Baguio.[/i]
[url=https://discord.gg/4MzUvkTpan][b]OOC Discussion Discord[/b][/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/189961-noble-arms-lore-thread-letter-bee-version/ooc][b]Background Lore Document[/b][/url]
[/center]

Seven decades ago, the Computer Scientist Alan Turing invented an 'Occult Programming Language' that [i]made magic real[/i]. The most common form that 'magic' took was the [i]Noble Arm[/i], which was the ability to conjure up a supernatural weapon that can defy the laws of physics, a weapon bound to the user’s mind and soul; summoned by their will into reality. For reasons that are still unexplainable despite years of research, Noble Arms mostly take the form of weapons from before the First World War (although as time passes, a few can take on the forms of later weapons, as long as said weapons are widely considered to be obsolete), however, despite the antiquity of these forms, the power they bear to the battlefield is unlike anything modern technology has been able to produce. 

[list][*] The ability to manipulate the elements to the user's will.

[*] Forces that can reduce matter down to atoms in seconds.

[*] The strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.[/list]

It is now 2022, and the world is both different and similar to how History should have gone. Trying to redress its humiliation in this timeline's 1988, the current rulers of China have launched an invasion of Southeast Asia, forcing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to attempt a collective defense. Foiled three times, first in their attempt to land in Lingayen Gulf, then battled by their countrymen, the rebel Qing Restoration Society, in Mischief Reef, and finally humiliated by the destruction of Jinghong Dam in their own territory, the People's Liberation Army now count on exhaustion and treachery from within to force one of ASEAN's key members, the Philippines, to yield.

Despite early victories on the battlefield, the Philippine Government of National Salvation is stretched thin as its leadership faces opposition from the myriad political families/clans that hold large amounts of power over the provinces, many of who genuinely blame the PGNS for the Chinese invasion even as the People's Republic of China bribes them with cash, gifts, and promises of preferment if they'd just yield to the invaders. Nevertheless, it was believed that the Danggal Family, which controls the [URL=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguio]City of Baguio[/url] in the Northern Philippines, would stay loyal to the PGNS, if only because of their close links with the Americans who still recognize the PGNS as the legal government of the country.

They were not. On November 2, they seized the city for themselves and declared their intention to invite the Chinese in. Now the Philippine Government of National Salvation scrambles what forces it could to break this treasonous clan before their treachery dooms the entire nation!

[hr]

This is an interest check for a Side RP/Spinoff RP of Noble Arms: The ASEAN War (link [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/191493-noble-arms-the-asean-war-second-thread/ooc]here[/url]), where the goal is to expand on the setting and elements that receive only mentions or exposition in the Main RP, as well as affect key elements in said RP, ranging from if debilitating information leaks affecting the Main RP's OCs would continue or if the ones from the Philippines will [i]have[/i] a country to return to after all is said and done.

You have the option of playing Arms Masters, people that through personal development, positive or negative, have manifested a Noble Arm, a weapon formed from and linked to, but not part of one's soul. You can also be ordinary but not unimportant service-folk/service people: Special Forces Infantry, Air Force Pilots, Marines, Boat Drivers, or even foreign volunteers from Europe, America, Japan, or everywhere else. 

Antagonists need special permission from all three members of the GM Council (Being Recruited).

You can find the Lore in the [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/189961-noble-arms-lore-thread-letter-bee-version/ooc]Noble Arms Lore Thread[/url] and the Character Sheet Skeleton in the The OOC Thread once it is made. The Background Lore Thread also has copies of the parts of the lore relevant to actually playing the game.

[hider=Rules]
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 [i]are[/i] 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) [i]common sense[/i].
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 powergame 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.
[/hider]