Burger

Of Steel and Hope

@vietmyke Character's good, put 'em in the tab.

@Yam I Am He's good. In the tab.

@Psyker Landshark Good. Tab.

@Gisk ayy isnt that the plot to the last starfighter. Anyways, she's good, put it in the tab.

@Theyra He's good, you can tab him. I do feel the need to mention that zero-gravity operations are pretty rare because there's no enemy space faction (so far, I don't want to commit future me). It's mostly construction/mining-work using not-actually-knights and maybe some violent quelling of protest in the historical past.

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Considering the amount of players, I've elected to basically waive the deadline for a while. If you think you can make about weekly posts, feel free to shoot a character. The sooner the better since I'd like to get the IC up and start within the next week.

Of Steel and Hope

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Personal info here. Yan is what happens when you decide to give the most deranged person in the room design decisions. Yan pilots Jagannath, a 15 meter behemoth of heavy armour and heavier weapons. Jagannath is an upgraded version of the HWOP-3, a shell-type Knight that had originally been designed to serve as a superheavy weapons carrier for special elimination operations. While the original HWOP-3 had suffered from significant balance issues due to a high centre of gravity, Jagannath has been upgraded to lower its centre of gravity. Though, rather than lighten the upper half of the Knight, Yan had chosen to put a bigger engine inside, lower said engine, replace the legs internals with experimental (and heavier) nanoalloy muscles. Surprisingly, this created so much weight that Yan could freely request additional armour for its upper body. Despite its size and lack of agility, Jagannathis fast. Once it picks up speed, it doesn't stop for anything. Unsurprisingly, its armaments consist of point defence lasers and the largest melee weapon Yan can find.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Info Here. Vale is normal, but also has robot arms and legs because her cockpit was pierced. Vale pilots Dioscuri, a experimental unit comprised of two unique designs. Castor is a lightly armoured and agile defensive system-type Knight capable of generating and projecting mono-directional lightwave barriers. The Polydeuces are a heavily armoured array of drones equipped with twin radial fissile cannons, micro-pulse lasers, and twin vibroblades. When combined, the units stand together at 9 meters. While Dioscuri had originally been prototyped by the UFAF's special engineering team as a proof of concept for using drones to create an incredibly agile unit that remains heavily armoured and armed, its complex design, increased cost, and difficulty to control made the UFAF pursue different designs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Personal info here. He's into hot Knights and hot women. Frost pilots Vittoria, an agile ranged shell-type Knight that represents the finest engineering available to the United Front. Designed by the legendary engineer Flavio Orsotti of the Orsotti Group, Vittoria is a Knight worthy of its cost. With its quick movement and small 8m profile, Vittoria was created as the next generation of scout. While the Vittoria had been adapted to the more affordable, easier to pilot MKG-13 as a general operations frame, the original design has some advantages over its mass-produced counterpart. With a twin reactor KR-engine powering its Aerial Boost System, Vittoria is able to have unparalleled ground mobility and limited short-range flight. Vittoria is typically equipped with Mariacarla, a 100mm rifle capable of generating and firing superheated silicon-carbide rounds. In addition, Vittoria is equipped with a shoulder-mounted SSL-90 Cannon to fire a highly explosive solid-state laser. On the other shoulder is a Scout, a system of cameras and detection devices meant to automatically record and transfer data to other team members.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Personal info here. Just know he's a career military man and general hardass for now. Ismail pilots a MKG-02, an older model of shell-type Knight colloquially known as the Jackal. While the Jackal is old, it is often a favourite among career pilots due to its modularity, durability, stability, and speed. Standing at 10 meters tall, the Jackal is a general purpose frame that is capable of being equipped with whatever a mission requires.

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

I have made the OOC.

roleplayerguild.com/topics/189322-of-…

Of Steel and Hope

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OP - 「METEOR」

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Crystal spikes from the sky rained upon Earth. Civilization, nature, or sea, it didn't matter the target. Cities were fractured, continents split, and the tide thrust itself upon the land. The world as we knew it, with all of its joys and imperfections, vanished that day.

Humanity would try to rebuild. That's what it had always done in the face of destruction. However, something stopped them. The spikes that had pierced the Earth had brought a gift alongside their arrival. Giants of steel awoke from their dormancy. They emerged from the canyons and fractures created by the spikes. They crushed humans like ants. The weapons humans were so proud of did little to even scratch the metal that the beasts were comprised of.

So mankind escaped. With as many survivors as possible, man took to the Moon. With them, they took their dreams of home. They would reclaim Earth.

Of course, space was not as prosperous as Earth. Trivial matters became processes and the long-term effects of space faring were beginning to become apparent. To find a solution, man looked back to their home. From the remains of the beasts that had destroyed their home, man found a path. One that would allow them to fight back against the invaders that took their home.

Knights.

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World

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The Academy

The academy serves as the primary training area for pilots.

Rather than an application system, megacorps sponsor pilots to be trained. Thus, trainees are also political tools used by megacorps. Rather than training to reclaim the Earth or collect resources to sustain the colonies, trainees are closer to test pilots for megacorps to acquire military contracts for their experimental designs.

Usually, pilots are trained from 16 to 20. It's common for a trainee to be deployed in actual combat missions. Depending on one's performance, one is either shipped back home to never touch a Knight again, pilot one of the mass developed frames on constant missions to Earth or Mars, or, if they prove themselves, pilot a one-of-a-kind Knight and gain a powerful position in society.

Pilots are ranked from A to D based on their general prowess and their connections. While classes are shared, accommodations relate to current rankings. Ranking is changed based on duels between pilots and, if they participate, combat missions.

The academy uses naval uniforms as their standard dress. While requirements are lax outside of ceremonies and notable events, it is still expected that trainees wear their uniform without formal adornments like capes, epaulettes, badges, and overcoats. While many designs remain in spec for trainees, they are generally white with black accents. Fig 1. Fig 2. Most staff uniforms are which specific group they belong to, thus there is no uniform standard for instructors and support staff.

Duels between students occur often. The stakes generally vary. Backdoor dealings between megacorps are common, but so are simple duels meant to build camaraderie and skill. Typically, trainees are able to schedule duels at any point during their free time. Duels can take place using trainee's Knights, but these duels require more care. Duels can also be done using training Knights. With weaker armour, weaponry, and armoured cockpits, students can duel using reproductions of their Knights. Though, unique KR-devices are, for obvious reasons, not usable in these Knights.

For System-type pilots, they are able to use a SYSLINK (a physical bridge between the normal neural connection points) to alleviate the obvious flaws of a Systems Knight. While a SYSLINK removes the pain of damage, its usage beyond duels is quite limited. Its max synchronisation rate is extremely low and, on standard usage, only allows for around 20 minutes of usage. Damage and overexertion removes this time. When a SYSLINK burns out, it completely disables the Knight until the Pilot is able to leave the cockpit to remove the device.

Society

The colonies have been led by the military since man escaped to the stars. Known as the United Front, the government,

Society is highly stratified, exacerbated by the reliance of energy. Those residing in the moon bases are the rich and powerful: children of megacorp directors, scientists, and the military to name a few. Those who were born on the moon bases tend to regard the other colonies poorly. Life in the moon bases is fairly opulent.

Those of Mars are the average citizen. While there has been many independence movements, the threat of swift and disproportionate violence permeating the air cools any protest. While civil unrest is low due to tolerable conditions, life on Mars is not easy. Constant labour is expected. Life in the colonies is fairly typical. Infrastructure, while not as advanced as the moon bases, allows for the average colonist to have a life similar to before the shards fell.

Those of the outer colonies have a rough life. Food is limited, mining conditions are dangerous, and help is 3 months away. For a citizen of the outer colonies, every action is a process thanks to their low-gravity conditions.

Locations

Earth
Once home to humanity, the planet has since fallen. Cities have been levelled by falling crystals and what remained crumbled from fights between Autonomous Knights. While rumours of survivors appear every so often, no proof of their existence has been found.

Moon Base Axial
Axial is the primary residence of humanity. While originally a science station, the moon base quickly became saturated with refugees from Earth. Thus, it developed into a residential base. As populations grew and habitat became scarce, the population was quickly shipped off to the developing mars colony. While on paper, the best and brightest would remain on the moon for science, it became apparent that those with power and connections remained.

Axial is designed as a series of interconnected domes. Pristine white buildings. Artificial plants line the streets and roadways to give splashes of colour to the otherwise minimalist designs.

Moon Base Binary
Binary is the military base responsible for all operations revolving around Earth and, in the event of uprising, against humanity's own colonies. It serves joint purpose as a military and research base.

Moon Base Comet
Comet is comprised of all of the moon's production facilities. Automated factories develop and maintain any technology that the moon bases require. This includes the creation and maintenance of Knights. Hydroponic labs grow food. While it lacks habitable space, it has enough room for the engineering staff to work and live inside of the base.

Moon Base Doppler
Doppler is the academy responsible for training pilots. Doppler is the smallest of the three moon bases. Unlike Axial, Doppler is comprised of various interconnected facilities. While faux plazas of fake grass and skies exist, they are large single rooms rather than habitat domes. The majority of the facility is purpose-built structures with halls connecting them.

Mars
The Mars colony is the largest colony under humanity. Rather than the specialization of the moon bases, the Mars colony is a metropolis home to two billion. While mostly self-reliant, the massive demand for energy can only be met by salvaged KR-engines that they can only acquire from the moon bases.

The Mars colony is only similar to Axial in that they use the same underlying dome to form a habitat. The dusty skies cast a pallid glow on the highly industrial colonies of mars. Buildings are large and dense with concrete as far as the eye can see.

Outer Colonies
The outer colonies are space stations between Mars and Jupiter. Their primary purpose is the collection of resources from asteroids. Life in the outer colonies is the hardest as there are barely any resources to sustain life. Thus, they are reliant on both Mars and the moon bases. The outer colonies consist of asteroid bases, space stations, and mining ships in transit.

Lore Bits

This is where all of my miscellaneous world bits go.

Typically, combat missions are conducted in three phases to deal with the strict size and weight restrictions of exfiltration. The three phases are scouting, elimination, and collection. Scouting and elimination revolve around orbital dropping a small group of Knights to complete their objective. As collection missions need larger cargo shuttles that are unable to warp to orbit, the area must be secured from entry until exfil. In safer zones, scouting and elimination can be combined into one phase. Missions are not limited to these three phases. There are autonomous relay station maintenance, scientific incursions, scorched earth eliminations, and more operations that pilots participate in. However, resource collection is the most common operation.

Pilots typically wear protective suits. These suits are generally ultra-lightweight and slim to allow for maximum mobility within a cockpit. Heavier suits also exist, but they are typically used for special missions where a pilot may need to leave their Knight. At minimum, they can temporarily become a sealed environment in the event of cockpit breach. Pilot suits are generally developed by the same manufacturer of the pilot's Knight. As a result, there is no standard for pilot suits.

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Info

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Technology

It being the far future, technology has advanced to a decent degree.

Body augmentation and robotic prosthesis exist, but they tend to be be necessities rather than electives. An arm can be replaced, but it tends to not perform as well as a normal arm. Most of the research revolving around prosthesis has gone directly to pilots rather than other matters.

Space flight, while advanced, is not enough to escape the solar system. It takes half a month to fly from the Moon to Mars and 3 months to fly from Mars to the outer colonies. While colonization exists, terraforming does not. Nearly instantaneous travel is possible via KR-device, but it's highly limited. Think a shuttle specifically designed to use it, it having a range of sea-level to orbit, and only usable once per few days.

Traditional technology is defined by its nature of being understood. Magnets accelerating a projectile. Energy forming a laser.

In terms of weaponry, ballistics, missiles, and lasers tend to be the weapons of choice for pilots. Even in the future, sending mass at high enough speeds can shred through an Autonomous Knight. Enough explosive force can, while imprecise, tear off armour and limb. Generating high enough heat with a laser is enough to cut through a Knight.

KR-technology is defined by how little it is understood. Fundamentally, the technology is similar to a basic power system. A KR-reactor creates KR-particles which power KR-devices. However, humanity does not have the technology to develop or reverse-engineer most KR-technology. As a result, KR-devices have to be scavenged from Autonomous Knights. They can break natural laws, but can also mimic traditional technology like lasers and AI-powered drones.

As a note for technology, I'm generally not going to exactly specify every bit of it. Most technology is probably fine as long as it's not extremely out there, but if you would like a more concrete answer, ask me about specific technologies. If it's not permissible as traditional technology, then it'll likely fall under KR-technology which is based on narrative and reasonability. Though, I will place some broad answered questions below this paragraph.

Drones (ala Gundam bits) are fine. However, large amounts of a Knight's internal systems would have to be dedicated to the control and movement of drones. In addition, KR-devices are needed to sustain complex drone control. Simpler drones, such as "move to location > fire laser in this direction" require considerably less investment.

Full aerial Knights are very rare. In a meta sense, a large part of it is that I don't want to warp every encounter around flying. Low flying units (think within 150 meters) are uncommon, but do exist. The most common are hovering within 1 meter of the ground and using boosters for more agility.

Clones are a no-go. Genetic modification exists, but is typically used to solve issues like heart defects.

Weapons wise, melee and guns are both usable. Swinging around a one ton sword sword is still powerful, as is firing a 100mm round. Autonomous Knights are typically closer in intelligence to beasts rather than another military force. External guns are generally stronger than internal guns, but you only have two hands.

Mecha

Knights are the behemoths of steel that humans pilot to fight back against the invaders.

Knights are powered by a KR-engine. While a near unlimited source of energy, KR-engines are limited by one thing: output capacity and efficiency. As it produces KR-particles instead of a traditional form of energy, a highly inefficient conversion process must take place to power non-KR type devices.

Knights tend to be from 7 to 12 meters tall. While some other forms exist, Knights are primarily humanoid in form.

Knights can be classified into two types: shell and system.

Shell-type Knights are made via removing a Knight's nervous system and replacing it with human technology. Cameras are linked to screen of the cockpit or a headset. Throttles control movement. Because AI protocols mimic complex movement, pilots are able to display a decent amount of agility. The important thing about Shell-type is that they're of little risk to the pilot. An arm that is shot off is just a minor setback; a shell-type mech is solely limited by its critical systems like its reactor and cockpit.

System-type Knights are made via tempering a Knight. Rather than controlling the Knight via a system of physical controls, the pilot directly connects to the Knight's nervous system to become one entity. The Knight's cameras become the pilot's eyes. The pilot can control the Knight as though it was their own body. The issue, however, comes from this control. Pain, while it can be lessened by lowering the rate of synchronization, is shared. The process of synchronization isn't perfect. Long-term usage corrupts the mind and body. Higher synchronization rates exacerbate this issue.

System-type pilots require body augmentation to facilitate the link. Thankfully, the current generation of augments is, while still invasive, only comprises of connection points along the spine. Older type connections often replaced large sections of the torso and would even replace limb.

As a more meta call about the art style of mechs, think of it as a triangle of Alien | Military | Futuristic with mechs being placed somewhere on it. I'm not the biggest stickler on designs, but the rule of thumb is that they should be less toy-like than a stereotypical Universal Century mecha, less human-facey than Transformers, and less rigid and machine-like than Battletech. This album is a small glimpse into what some Knights may look like, but don't treat it as a commandment.

Autonomous Knights

Autonomous Knights, or AKs, are the behemoths of steel that roam the Earth. Rather than intelligent machines, they act closer to beasts. All known attempts at communication have failed. They tend to use more internal weaponry and melee weapons than external weapons like guns.

Autonomous Knights can be classified into different threat levels.

Ruler-type AKs are the absolute strongest. They tend to remain in a small radius. They often have extremely powerful KR-devices. While it depends primarily on the specific AK, they tend to be fairly non-aggressive unless entering their territory.

Rook-type AKs are only weaker than Rulers. They usually have specialized KR-devices and strengthened armaments.

Bishop-type AKs are stronger than pawns but weaker than rooks. They tend to roam the most out of all AKs. They can have KR-devices, but still primarily use ballistics and lasers. Though, their ballistics and lasers tend to be powered by KR-particles at a higher efficiency than pawns.

Pawn-type AKs are the most common. They tend to be weaker than all other types of AKs, but can still be considered a threat to a pilot. Their greatest strength is their plentiful numbers. They tend to use ballistics and lasers powered by low-efficiency KR-particles.

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Character Sheet

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[center][img]animepicture[/img]
[h2]<Name> • <Age> • Rank <A, B, C, D>[/h2][/center]
[b]Appearance:[/b] 
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Capability:[/b]

[center][img]mechpicture[/img]
[h2]<Name> • <Type (shell or system)> • <Height>[/h2][/center]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Manufacturer:[/b]
[b]Design:[/b]
[b]Specification:[/b]

CS Guide

<Name> • <Age> • Rank <A, B, C, D>

Name and age is easy. Rank corresponds to primarily social standing early, but is also related to skill. It relates to your characters amenities.

Appearance: Fill in the blanks of your image.
Personality: How your character appears to others. Secret stuff should be DM'd to me.
History: What the faculty of the academy would know about your character. Same as above.
Capability: What is your character explicitly good at, as compared to their cohorts.

<Name> • <Type (shell or system)> • <Height>

Name should be a project codename (no designation). Choose shell if you want to have bits shot off and keep fighting, choose system if you're a glutton for punishment. Height is from 7 to 12m and can be thought of a light to heavy. You'd need good reason to go beyond, especially on the 12m+ side.

Appearance: Fill in the blanks of your image.
Manufacturer: Manufacturer name and a write up about them.
Design: What is the purpose of the mech? A quick write up about what it aims to do and how.
Specification: The technical details. Does your mech have a larger than average engine? Does it have KR-device that does something weird? Is it more/less armoured? What armour does it have? Etc. If they have mission critical equipment they bring like a sword, include it here. Otherwise, equipment is mission-fit.

And the discord link, which will be the fastest way to reach me (most of the time): discord.gg/weQpwkwygb

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ED - 「ABSTRACT ROMANCE」

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garbage zone

nor this

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

CS Template when?

@ERode

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[center][img]animepicture[/img]
[h2]<Name> • <Age> • Rank <A, B, C, D>[/h2][/center]
[b]Appearance:[/b] 
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Capability:[/b]

[center][img]mechpicture[/img]
[h2]<Name> • <Type (shell or system)> • <Height>[/h2][/center]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Manufacturer:[/b]
[b]Armaments:[/b]
[b]Specification:[/b]

CS Guide

<Name> • <Age> • Rank <A, B, C, D>

Name and age is easy. Rank corresponds to primarily social standing early, but is also related to skill. It relates to your characters amenities.

Appearance: Fill in the blanks of your image.
Personality: How your character appears to others. Secret stuff should be DM'd to me.
History: What the faculty of the academy would know about your character. Same as above.
Capability: What is your character explicitly good at, as compared to their cohorts.

<Name> • <Type (shell or system)> • <Height>

Name should be a project codename (no designation). Choose shell if you want to have bits shot off and keep fighting, choose system if you're a glutton for punishment. Height is from 7 to 12m and can be thought of a light to heavy. You'd need good reason to go beyond, especially on the 12m+ side.

Appearance: Fill in the blanks of your image.
Manufacturer: Manufacturer name and a write up about them.
Design: What is the purpose of the mech? A quick write up about what it aims to do and how.
Specification: The technical details. Does your mech have a larger than average engine? Does it have KR-device that does something weird? Is it more/less armoured? What armour does it have? Etc. If they have mission critical equipment they bring like a sword, include it here. Otherwise, equipment is mission-fit.

And to those who want a discord: discord.gg/weQpwkwygb

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

Also, cool. Will the procedure typically be decide winner then write duel?

@Gisk

Preferably, but if two people are on the same page for their method, who am I to judge.

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

I've another question!

How will duels be decided? I mean, ideally players could decide amongst themselves, but is there a method to determine this in case an agreement can't be reached?

@Gisk

If two players can't decide among themselves, they will have to pitch their reasons to me (effect, reasoning, etc) and I'll arbitrate. If someome refuses to lose and is rude about things, they'll be forced into the Guel mines until they learn that losing is just as interesting.

Also a question going off of Gisk's earlier one: Is the status of clone tech up for grabs? I had the passing thought of wondering what the status of vat-tube babies, clones, and so on were after reading up on the technology of the setting.

Gisk's comment on being raised from birth would have me curious if making a clone / gene splice baby was a possibility...and if it was, how common it'd be since there's could be the possibility of some corporate vat tube baby arms race going on behind the scenes. Or if some upper class twits just decided over the course of a few decades that bearing and conceiving children the usual way was "degrading" and "for the poors".

@Yam I Am

Clones aren't really feasible. Some genetic augmentation is possible, but think more curing ailments like heart defects than making an ubermensch.

I will say that sex is based, so people still do the normal route. The in universe line is more along antinatalism: is it right for the outer colonies (and Mars, if they're particularily an ass) to have children if they're just going to suffer.

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

If you'll permit me to categorize the Knights, I think there's basically three.

Military-Industrial: rugged, robust, modest performance but tough as nails.

Tech-Bro: sleek, high-tech, high performance, but complicated and expensive maintenance.

Exotic: Weird shit, often as a result of being kept close to the original alien technology. A wild card, as far as pros and cons go.

That's just my take from what I've read, though. Obviously there's also limitless variation between companies and models.

I'm torn between playing "rich kid with daddy's Ferrari" and "hyper disciplined child soldier trained from birth, driving a tank."

@Gisk

The delineation is generally not as stark (there can be alien-tech-military mixes). It could be thought of more as a Saints Row body type slider with alien | rugged | futuristic than distinct categories. Basically, so long as it's feasible (the best stuff is kept in black sites, for now), I'll probably allow it.

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In other news, CS probably later today/tomorrow.

Of Steel and Hope: An Academy-life

I'm loving The Witch From Mercury so far, and was hoping something like this would crop up. A few questions.

Students are sponsored by mega-corps, will we be making those up with our characters, or will there be a list of canon ones?

Will different corps have different specialties and styles for their Knights?

Are there any prejudices or particular societal notions regarding people who are enhanced go pilot a System Type Knight? Like we see in Iron Blooded Orphans(if you've seen it).

@Gisk

You'll be making them up, I'll be filling in the blanks between them. Makes it less limiting that way.

Yes, different corps do have signature specialties and styles. Think of Lancer's corp differences (although smaller since the world's scale is much smaller). IPS-Northstar's sturdy, purpose-built designs. SSC being the Ferrari of mech design. Horus being weird, nearly organic with bizarre shit going on. Harrison Armory's chunky, futuristic designs. Etc.

There's some prejudice resulting from the older surgeries that required massive hunks of bodies to be replaced. Besides that, most of the downsides beyond you feel the pain of your own mech are pretty hidden by political leaders and there wasn't a pre-series hate crusade against it ala Iron Blooded Orphans. The largest degree of prejudice will be from where your character is born, essentially.

OK cool. What's the scale of the mechas we're working with? Would piloting something like an Atlas be unfeasible?

@Dead Cruiser

7-12 meters is the standard for Mechs. Think of this as light to heavy. There are mechs smaller than 7 meters and larger than 12, but those are more for special operations. From what I remember, the Atlas (and other 1/2 size Lancer mechs) are closer to exosuits. That's probably a bit too small. Your pilot should be able to fit entirely into the torso, no matter how uncomfortable that may be. A minimum size of 4 to 5-ish meters?

You can still have a manlet mech, it just won't be as freakishly small or nimble as an Atlas.

But what kind of style are they?

@Gisk

Less toy-like than a stereotypical Gundam, less real human faces than Transformers, less stilted and realistic than Battletech. I'm not going to be an exact stickler on the style.

Here's an album of some random mechs I have saved.

Most of the mechs are built on the corpses of alien mech invaders. Depending on the degree of how much of the original scavenged design they want to keep, it can range from human-military-industrial type designs to pretty freaky stuff.