Current
I was gone for a lot longer than I thought >.>"
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2 yrs ago
Sorry for my absence! A Volunteering position suddenly turned into a Volunteer Leadership position I was not expecting at all so things have been hectic.
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2 yrs ago
Look at you posers, having to bang dragons or sell your soul for magic when you could just play a lute for some. Anyways, here's Wonderwall. - Bards
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2 yrs ago
Sometimes we live in a society. Other times, a society lives in us. Occasionally, society.
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2 yrs ago
I am fucking screaming. Why are there so many fucking MLMs posing as actual marketing/advertising agencies. Just give me an actual fucking job reeeeeeeee
If I may, I am going to put forth against a discord server. It takes traffic away from the RP thread as people won't see a need to go on it as much once there is a Discord. In addition, it would be super hard for people who don't constantly check it to keep up. Sure you might go through 1 page and a half of threads but its a lot easier to read 20 some posts in order than a confused mess of some 100 messages on a discord server.
@ClocktowerEchos Also gave your sheet a look over, interesting stuff so far.
I was also wondering, would it be possible if some of the Haradoni(Don't know if they're aliens or humans) managed escape, namely members of an Ashtari Sect within the old Union? Just wondering.
Thanks for the compliment!
You might have gotten a handful of stragglers somewhere in the galaxy who managed to escape and spread the news of how their race damned itself to a wretch, horrid existence. But any large groups did not make it out. Between the absolute pummeling they got in the Great War which took out most of their ships to the fact that the Lucifern's first action was to fully assimilate the Haradoni, no large numbered group survived. You could make a solid argument that the Lucifern's first major action was to actually commit mass genocide on the individuals of the host species who didn't submit.
The Devil's Bargin, The Demonplauge, the Necrophage, the Damned
Minor Belligerant
Overview
When the Haradoni Union dove head first into the Great War, they soon realize their young empire had no business in such large affairs but it was too late. As their worlds burned, they made a devil's bargain with an ancient alien virus from their distant past, willingly being infected by the Syndorian Virus in a desperate attempt to save their civilization. From the ashes of the Haradoni Union, the Syndorian Hosts were born, their minds not entirely their own yet not entirely chained to the hivemind. They now hope to once again step on to the galactic stage with all of the knowledge gained from their belligerent folly and primal wisdom, searching for what they truly are and where their place is among the stars..
History
The history of the Syndorian first starts with the Haradoni. Their early history was much like any other, countless nation states that rose and fell with the tides of history. However, around the time they began to use gunpowder, a great comet fell from the sky and slammed into the world. At first people wondered if this was a sign from one of countless gods worshiped by the many peoples or what could have possibly brought this magical rock to their world. Unknowingly to them, this would have been the start of the Syndorian Outbreak.
The world had always been fertile and thus global population had reach around 1 billion by the time of the outbreak. At its end, less than 2.5 million survived. They called it a curse, a plague, a judgement of god, but the horrid infection kept tearing through kingdoms and nations alike. Soon any previous petty squabbling was ignored in favor forming a unified front. Although difficult due to rather limited communications, soon what remained of the population hid behind vast walled cities known as Kasrs and said Kasrs would form the Grand Order of the Defense of Haradoni, or just the Grand Order.
It would prove to be a blood century as Kasrs fell and land was lost but a constant need for better weaponry to fend off the threat would eventually come to head. Through the discovery of various radioactive minerals and materials, the Haradoni created "Starfire Throwers" that could burn away the corruption through a mix of flame and radiation. With this, they finally began to take back their lands. The told was great and the damage to their planet was greater, but finally they reclaimed their world, casting the virus back into the deepest shadow.
Finally, their nightmare was over, the demon plague had been destroyed. However, several samples remained, hidden away and taken by less scrupulous figures but never again would the Syndorian Virus cause such devastation. Civilization quickly rebuilt after that, going back out into their scarred world to rebuild. Again nations rose and fell but now there was always a link among them that at least a few of the greatest states paid service too.
However, this began to sew the seeds of hubris among the Haradoni, they had faced their worse demons and came out on top. Nothing could stop them for they had stopped an end of the world scenario with the greatest weapons of their age. When they finally reached the stars, it was under the Banner of House Vecaveia as the Haradoni Union. Still full of pride and arrogance despite their youth on the galactic stage, they went about trying to prove themselves the equals of those who have ventured the void for generations before them.
They colonized worlds which they touted as the next big hub of whatever, fought minor battles they endlessly glorified and built ships they claimed where without match. When the Great War broke out, they were all too eager to jump in carried on the backs of their pride and ambition.
Their first act was to make a surprise attack against an Asra fleet docked at a frontier port, battered by battles too vast for the Haradoni to ever compute. Exhausted and low on supplies, the Haradoni fell upon the much larger fleet and did considerable damage before the station's defense batteries began to open up on them. In reality, they had only damaged already damaged ships with few being fully destroyed and a handful of Asra thought them to just be pirates.
But the Haradoni proclaimed a great victory against "10 to 1 odds" as they "swept through the fleet and destroyed them all in a stunning display of tactical brilliance". A great amount of fanfare and praise was heaped upon the admirals and the crewmen with metals and accolades now proudly adorning their chests. Metals and accolades that would not comfort them when their bodies where sent adrift in space as an Asra fleet wiped the floor with them.
What was once a promise of glorious victory soon became a desperate defense with no way out as an Asra fleet bombarded their worlds, scuttled their fleets and began to prove the Haradon's hubris. As millions starved and thousands died in hundreds of last stands and brave counter charges, the Haradoni was clanged to whatever they could to give them just a chance of seeing the next day. What they thought was an apocalyptic retribution fleet, was in reality just another fleet moving through their system who remembered something about a Haradoni empire doing something to them. Attacking them was really an afterthought, just something to do and get some easy honors for themselves.
In the bleakest hour as all seemed to be lost, a now nameless prince rushed though the secret vaults and came upon a capsule containing the Syndorian Virus. Already bloody and bruised from fighting, the dying prince made an oath with the ancient sentience and would willingly become its host in exchange for it saving his kingdom. And like that, the deal was struck and the Haradoni had signed themselves away in a bargain with the greatest devil of their own history.
Almost instantly the tides of war began to shift as the dead rose and horrid monsters rose from charnel pits built of the remains of a dozen corpses each. Terrified at the sight of these new demons, the Asra forced fell back as the reborn Synordian Hosts gave chase. The tattered remains of their fleet would bear witness and first spread the news of how the Haradoni had unleashed some sort of curse or magic that turned them all into undead feral monsters.
For the remainder of the war, the Swarm rebuilt the homeworld of Haradoni in its own image, leaving the other planets of the Haradoni Union fall into ruin as it built its forces and bid its time. For the remainder of the war, it would wage a war of reconquest across the corpse of the Union and lash out at any who tried to navigate its systems. Rumors continued to spread of a sentience swarm of nightmares that turned even the most loyal of crew against each other as they mutated and changed in most ghastly ways. This war of reconquest continues even past the signing of the treaty, with the Demiurge Archive bent on retaking all of the systems that fell to pirates or refuse to be absorbed into the swarm for even if they refuse to serve in life, they can still be enslaved in death.
Government
The ultimate authority of the Hosts is the central collective conscious hivemind known as Archive. It is a superorganism which resides within the remains of the Royal Palace and is much like the Gravemind from Halo. While it can directly control almost all of the hosts at will, this action requires a huge energy demand, most of which is simply spent projecting its will across the void of space and analyzing the thoughts of the hosts. It has the ability to "amiplify" its own thoughts over the concious of a host effectly reducing its own individuality and thus mental thoughts. Much of the population at any given time is under this effect of called "the Mist" making most of them simply drones and grunts although those with skills and potential are chosen by the Archive to be given more individuality as to let their skills, abilities and personality shine through to better serve the greater good.
Although the Archive's power is great, it has its limits and cannot always maintain the Mist especially over long distances. As such, it delegates its immense power to special individuals called "Ordinals". These people are paradoxically the most independent yet most subservient of all hosts. They can leads their Broods however they wish but they cannot refuse orders from the Archive. They can disagree and argue among themselves yet they can never surely come to blows. Its been theorized that Ordinals are chosen based on a combination of the right genetic signals and certain traits. Once chosen, an Ordinal can never become fully effected by the Mist and it is a life time position. A new class of nobles has arisen from Ordinals intermarrying and interbreeding among one another in the hopes of continuing as "ordinal bloodline".
Territory
Much of Haradoni has since been taken over by the Syndorian Hosts, their void stations, asteroid bases and moons all tainted with the iconic growths of the virus. However, since the collapse of the Union, there still remains hold outs that the Syndorians still seek to reclaim. Worse yet, seeing the disarray of the frontiers of ex-Haradoni space, a number of pirates and renegades have made the abandoned systems their new homes, too clueless to know what now claims these worlds or too ignorant to care.
Major Holdings
Haradoni - Original homeworld of the Syndorian Virus and their Haradoni hosts. It is where the Demiurge Archive is located, the central hivemind and collective conscious resides.
Irithyll - A vast world famed for its sprawling biomass fields and production facilities which allow it the greatest number of hatcheries and breeding warrens. Incidentally it is also home to the greatest number of warriors and combat bioforms
Charace - Once an ocean world with seas that covered the world, it has since largely been drained to feed the world's bioforges and refineries that dot the coastal plains and carved into its canyons.
Salmina - The most "friendly" world in that it has the least amount of biomatter growths and the least threatening looking inhabitants, Salmina has the high pop of none infected persons. It also serves as a manufactory power house used for the creation of machinery and installation of cybernetics.
Demographics/Society
To the Syndorians, there is no species other than themselves and the "Others". Once someone has been infected, willingly or not, they are considered to Syndorian regardless of their past or even species. A tiny amount of non infected people live in Syndorian space but are largely considered mad men by the rest of the galaxy. These are often people who willingly seek out the virus in desperate attempts at immortality, restoration of lost limbs, or obtaining ascension with some religious cult promise. The Syndorian Ordinals do not mind such people at all as they pose little threat to their own power or the security of the hive and know that in due time, all of them will join the Horde.
Syndorian society is one of stratified hierarchy although because of the Chimeric Shadow, there is never any dissent about it. Society is organized into various Hive Houses which are separated into Noble Broods which are further separated into Vassal Nests. The head of a Hive House is the Ordinal, someone ordained by the Demiurge to lead the Hive House and thus are typically skilled in what they do or what they are told to do by the hivemind. Leaders of Nobles Broods are Brood Barons and those of Vassal Nests are simply Alphas. The Demiurge does not play an active hand in picking the lower ranked leadership; Brood Barons are chosen either by strength of combat or by some ingrained sense of loyalty by its peers and Alphas are picked almost excursively on strength or expression of a certain valuable skill. Politicking is rare among the Syndorians as they cannot keep secrets from the Demiurge and subsequently each other in addition to how the Chimeric Shadow affects them. They can never directly turn on one another but instead will often speak half truths, react sluggishly to calls for help or simply ignore their rivals.
A number of roles are delegated to the Drones of each Hive House. These include: Biomass Farmers who "farm" creatures and plants for biomass conversion, Breeders who are specially modified to have much faster gestation periods to allow for continuous growth, Vitasmiths and Genecrafters who continuously research and expriment with new traits to give to species within the Syndorian collective from their Bioforges, artisans who produce the materials and machines which the hive cannot produce through biomass, Warriors who protect and patrol the hives, simple Workers who procure mass and material and even a class of priest-like beings known as Hierophants. Beyond simply roles, there are three classifications of the Syndorian species. The first are Hosts, people who have been willingly infected while alive. The second is the Undead, people who were infected unwillingly alive or have been infect post mortum and typical have much more dramatic mutations and modifications than the Hosts. The third is the Bioforms, creatures made up entirely of biomass, sometimes with a "core" of another animal.
The Syndorian Virus
An ancient extraterrestrial diereses that once landed on the world of Haradoni and wreck havoc, it is what famously forced the world to unite in ancient time under the Grand Order of Haradoni to face it. It was only after great sacrifice and thousands upon thousands slain that the plague had been contained with a small part of secretly contained in what would become the Royal Palaces. This Grand Order is what lead the foundation for planetary unification as most major nations always had a hand in it or its successors.
The virus itself is a bacteria/virus hybrid with its own seemingly limited sentience. Its full origins and mechanics are still poorly understood even today. The Demiurge itself seems to be blocking many attempts to uncover the full truth for whatever reason. What is known is that those infected are given more durability, increased strength, regeneration, greater agility and an ability to ignore pain as well as be affected by the Chimeric Shadow, gain functional immortality (or at least drastically increasing longevity) and complete immunity from other diseases and infections as their immune systems are also now living beings.. Its ability to rapidly evolve and mutate is second to none with the Demiurge capable of force evolving its minions to grow additional appendages or alter their physiology. Its for this reason that some others from outside the Hive may choose to join the Hosts, out of a desire for immortality in pursuit of their own research and goals. Of course this comes its own downsides and the possibility of being completely subsumed but many gamble on their own skills are great enough that the hivemind will allow them to retain their own sense with limited interference.
The Chimeric Shadow
Sometimes called "the Mist" as it commonly physically manifests as anything between a light mist to a neigh impenetrable fog, all beings infected by the Chimeric Shadow give it off with larger beings giving off more. Ordinals can generate their own large fields and is typically how they control their Hives with each being unique to an Ordinal as to avoid giving the drones mixed signals.
The Shadow affects those under its control ina way most likened to a grand delusion. To a Sydorian, they will see the world completely different. In war they will see rows of stalwart warriors and loyal serfs lead by heroic commanders flanked by elite chivalrous knights atop mighty mounts lead by a glorious Ordinal with the blessing of the Demiurge. To everyone else, they will see a horde of monstrous trashing mockeries of life, mutated and deformed beyond recognition as hulking brutes and beasts towering above. Although they are aware of what they've become, they will always see each other in an almost medieval and deluded way. Mobs of Drones tending to biomass production or overseeing breeding warrens are instead seen as dutiful serfs plowing crop fields and salacious dens of pleasure and intimacy respectively.
To an outsider, the very presence of the Shadow is unnerving, as if there is something gnawing at the back of their head which demands them both fear and look upon Ordinals and their hosts with awe, as if their brains do not know if they should fear the monsters they are or be awed by what the Shadow makes them see. Indeed there are a few cases of weak willed individuals being so enthralled by the Chimeric Shadow that they end up submitting themselves to the Hosts. For those psionically in tuned however, the Shadow is a much more terrifying thing as they experience horrifying visions and find they can no longer summon up their powers without incredible difficulty making it almost impossible. This feeling of dread has made some psionics to straight up refuse to go anywhere were the Syndorians are thought to be.
The way which the Demiurge controls its subjects is through mental manipulation that can range from a very strong suggestion to outright mental domination. To do this, it effectively isolates minds from outside influences even to things such as smell. To a psionic however, this Shadow will greatly increase their ability to manifest their power in the presence of such a dominating force and will universally terrify them for they can see the delusion the Sydorians are under but do not accept it as they do.
Heirophants and Faith
While many presume that faith has no place in a hivemind dictated by reason and survival, many forget that every Syndorian host was once a mortal, a mortal with faith and hope. Whatever old gods the Haradoni once prayed to, they have all been but forgotten, replace by their centeral collective mind, the Demiurge Archive.
Penal drones pray to it and give offerings to it in twisted temples with even mindless bioforms capible of giving thanks in prayer in a crude mockery of faith. They pray that the Demiurge Archive can remake them into greater beings, that they will see the clarity of the Chimeric Shadow and that they will be possessed by its indomitable will.
While Ordinals possess great power, it is the Hierophants which makes up the priesthood. Born with a special mark that sets them apart from typical births, they are trained from birth to be able to commune with the Archive and understand its vast omnipotence. Indeed, only Hierophants are capable of witnessing the full glory of the Demiurge Archives' full, unrestrained psionic force, a feat which Ordinals cannot even dream of achieve for the most part.
Apart from being zealous preachers, they also lead the weak faithful into glorious martyrdom into the recycling pools where they are dissolved to be reborn anew in newer bioforms. Consummate scientists as well as clergy, they also often oversee the work of Vitasmiths and Genecrafters, coming up with ever more terrifying and incredible creations in the name of their Demiurge Archive.
Economy
Economically, the Syndorian Hosts are in a strange place as they have no need for interal trade and because of it find it difficult to trade with the greater galatic community despite wanting to do so. Internally, the Chimeric Shadow means that an individual's own wants and desires are greatly suppressed with only the Ordinals really capable of even wanting luxury items and exotic goods. Even then, there are still small things which many Drones and Workers can still have a limited want for and proudly showcase. Trinkets, small bits of cheap jewelry, scars and tattoos are popular forms to showcase one's self.
Internally, most trade is done either through a barter system of giving one good for another or using time itself as a currency. The training pits used to let Warriors duel each other and for Vitasmiths to showcase their newest discovery are a popular sport with people betting time and trinkets on their chosen warrior. Hosts may buy a trinket or some small upgrade to their rest spot in the hive warrens by doing someone else's work.
Externally, there really is not much that the Syndorians can offer. They can trade their own trinkets but they often have little worth outside of novelty or pure exoticness. However, the most popular trades is that of bioformed pets and animals. Purposely designed to be more pleasant on the eyes, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes from small mice to large dogs. They are unquestionably loyal, low maintenance and surprisingly strong.
The one big service that the Syndorians can offer however is waste disposal and their own lives. When a great deal of wasted trash and organic materials needs to be rid of, the Syndorians will happily trade what they can for it. Should there be a disaster too great or strong for normal mortals to deal with, the Syndorians can throw their own infected bodies and specially crafted bioforms to deal with it. Some Ordinals even offer to clear vast swathes of forested or otherwise hostile land needed for farming for a tiny price and the ability to keep all of the biomass gathered. Rumors have also spread that some other governments have secret deals with some Ordinals to discreetly get rid of political prisoners. No one has come forth to confirm these claims but then again, small personal ships sometimes have a tendency to warp off course into the space claimed by more… vicious Ordinals.
Technologies
Techno-Organic Interfacing: A keystone technology as it allows for the seamless integration of the Syndorian Virus into the technology and machinery, allowing for a degree of sentience to be achieved if only barely.
Corpse Engineering & Viral Incubation: Knowledge on how to effectively "force" bodies together in order to form a larger, tougher organism.
Synaptic Plyons: A way to artificially boost the strength of the Mist of the Archive without the need of an Ordinal
Regenerative Chitin: Highly effect plate armor capable of regeneration of damage
Genetic Alteration: The Syndorianare masters of altering their own genetic code allowing for greater adrenaline, cellular reconstruction, caustic acid blood and heightened scenes. There is a black market for this stuff on some worlds as rumors suggest that "Syndorian Blood" can restore youth, beauty, strength or limb function.
Photosynethic Bio-Plasma: A highly efficient energy source which stems from the metabolic processes of special Bio Plasmid Hearts which can also store energy in energy circuits as batteries. Found on starships and in cities alike.
Military
While capable of having a standard army of armored soldiers with guns, the Syndorian Hosts take advantage of their "gifts" and thus excel at terror tactics. Their standard naval doctrine is to board an enemy ship and let the virus infect the crew while aiming for the power generators. Should they be successful, they will turn the ship in a living nightmare straight from a horror film. Where infected crew turn on their allies as their bodies twist into horrid monsters with every sensory perception of the enemy turned into a terrifying ordeal. Shadows dart past the corner of their eyes, sounds are heard all around them with nothing to make them, distant whispers fill their ears with indecipherable sounds and the corpses of their friends desiccated beyond recognition as they are reveal before they lunge at them. Woe befall any who fail to equip a gas mask of any sort less the Syndorian spores enter their bodies and begin to transform them before their very eyes in a bloody, brutal demonstration of rapid mutation.
Navy
The Syndorian Navy is one which defies most conventional definitions. Whereas other fleets are expected to engage in long, drawn out gun battles at great ranges, the Syndorians seek to quickly close the gap to let loose boarding actions. It is in the tight corridors of ship that the terrifying blades, claws and maws of the monstrosities deal the most damage, targeting power systems and in effect, turning hostile ships into a death trap of fear and paranoid out of horror movies and games.
All vessels in the fleet are also "alive" to some extent, with larger ships capable of holding greater levels of intelligence and sentience. As such, many ship classes or even individual ships often exhibit certain behaviors or prefer certain actions. This is due to the living tissue within Syndorian ships as despite their outward appearance, are filled with internal blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bone covered in electronics, machinery and metal. Syndorian ships are as much grown as they are built. Captaining these vessels always fall upon Ordinals as they alone possess the strength of will to subdue their vessel's "Ship Spirit".
Directed energy weapons are popular as the highly efficient Metabolic Bio-Engines produce great deals of energy alongside Photosynthetic Solar Arrays and the cellular energy storage has proven to be highly efficient at storing excess energy with minimal loss. Bioplasma and energy lances are the most popular. In addition to more traditional weapons, Syndorian ships possess some weapons unique to themselves: the Devourer Maw and the Psionic Howl.
Many ships have an opening in their front or are capable of opening up their front alike a great gaping maw. Following the Syndorian's penchant for close combat and ramming actions, the Devourer Maws are terrifying constructs capable of literally biting chunks out of ships if not crushing smaller ships outright. The Psionic Howl is another strange and exotic weapon that can be unleashed by larger ships. This psionic shockwave fills the minds of the enemy with terrifying images of what lurks in the darkness of space, terrifying even the most veteran of crews; while the Psionic Thunder Clap is capable of acting like a short ranged EMP, disabling shields, weapons and power systems before the vessel closes in, making boarding and subsequent combat all the more devastating.
Ship Classes
An important vessel, the Outrider class specializes in creating gravitational fields and anomalies through its Void Eater Engine mounted at its front. Equipped with the best FTL drives, their primary duty is to go ahead of any main fleet and set up artificial gravity wells around the ship so the rest of the fleet can have a much faster time jumping in.
In combat, it is of little use as most of its power is directed into its Void Eater Engine leaving only a small amount of PD guns to defend itself. However it can use its Engine to create smaller gravitational wells that can slow larger ships or even lock down smaller ships while generally causing disturbances forcing enemy fleets to traverse treacherous gravity wells, breaking up their formation.
Built with a single duty and indeed a single main weapon, the Lancer Class Frigate is essentially a tachyon railgun mounted on a literal skeleton of a ship. Aside from life support, thruster and life support, all power is dedicated to the operation of this grand weapon. It is a sniper, capable of blasting munitions at incredible orbital ranges a fraction of the speed of light and typically assigned in hunting packs to strip shields off of ship through a constant barrage of shots or to destroy orbital defenses.
A dedicated back line support craft, the Squire Class Destroyer is largely a torpedo boat and scanning vessel. Its armament include a variety of nuclear, plasma, cluster, armor piercing, virus and EMP torpedoes all fired from torpedo tubes. In addition, it also acts as a recon ship equipped with several advanced sensor and transmitting interception suites. It can detect stealthed vessels, incoming attacks and intercept communications as an electronic attack craft.
What was supposed to be an upgrade to the Squire class which ended up turning into a sidegrade, the Yeoman Class Destroyer has forgone the scanner arrays and instead focused solely on munitions. Boasting even more torpedo tubes, it also comes with rows upon rows of missile silos, rocket pods, mine layers and a pair of highly unstable high yield macro cluster charges, capable of laying down a huge cloud of munitions. They are seldom used as mines in such quantities do not discriminate from friend or foe and are infamously difficult to remove.
A dedicated boarding vessel with a focus on close range brawling, Errant Class Destroyers are literally frothing at the mouth to have a go at any enemy in range (crew have noticed a tendency for strange white foam to appear on the flight deck of the vessel hence the "frothing". They have an extremely effective but close range PD system comprised of basically plasma shotguns that lay down a zone of denial around the vessel.
Such weapons are also effect against ships at close range and combined with its thick armor, means that a common tactic is to simply ram enemy vessels all guns blazing. It also hosts a variety of thermal cutter tipped boarding torpedoes meant to drill through an enemy's armor before disgorging the Syndorian's signature boarding bioforms. It also has several tentacle-like growths hidden on its inside armor meant to grasp and enemy, ensuring they cannot escape once in range.
The main stay of the Syndorian fleets, the Valiant Class is a good all around ship in a jack of all trades manner. Its armor is thick enough, shields strong enough and weapons powerful enough to hold a battle line while also quick enough and brutal enough to engage in close range boarding actions along with its Devourer Maw. However it lacks the ability to preform a Psionic Howl and lacks any sort of misses or torpedoes.
Considered an upgrade from the Valiant, the Gallant Class Cruiser is a more heavily armed and considered the bedrock of ranged firepower in the hive's fleets. Compared to the Valiant, it boasts more weapons and armor as well as dedicated missile bays and torpedo tubes. However, it still uses the same class of biogenerators meaning that its shields are actually weaker to its predecessor, mostly as the biting strength of the Maw has been sidelined in favor of being able to preform Psionic Howls.
What is for all intents and purpose a militarized civilian ship, the Herrimault is based on a popular Haradoni vessel favored by merchant ships. Even today, it is the most commonly seen ship of the Syndorian, ironic considering it is classified as a stealth vessel and equipped as such. It has lackluster weapons for its class but posses a biogenerator usually reserved for battle cruiser. It pumps this energy into great shields and thruster power making it commonly used in transport and convoy duties.
A specialized ship that is incredibly light armed for a naval vessel. Instead, it is a pure and dedicated support craft. Instead of guns and scanners, the Hospitalar holds hatcheries, bioforges, biostatsis vita-chambers and a fleet of repair drones, capable of quickly repairing, knitting and forcing rapid cellular growth on damaged Sydorian ships. Its main role is to act as part hospital ship, part ship repair and part crew replenishment vessel. As one would expect, they are put far in the back, well protected by the other ships.
The Oathkeeper battlecruiser is actually a very unique ship as it is one of the few vessels held over from the Haradoni Union. Instead of being scratch built, it has been retrofitted and repaired. As such its known for having a very slap-dash and makeshift appearance both inside and out. However it is still a more than powerful enough voidship armed with directed energy weapons, missile silos and sturdy shields; a demonstration in that even if the Haradoni were too ambitious for their own good, they at least knew how to build a solid ship.
Named after the ancient planetary alliance that fended off the first Syndorian Outbreak, the Grand Order class of Battle Cruisers is one built to emulate the aspects of the Demiurge Archive. Humongous, imposing, commanding, awe inspiring and relentless. They are known for their devastating lance broadsides and their compliment of living attack craft such as the Harridans and the Void Drakes, birthed from on board hatcheries and menageries, alongside mechanical strike craft and bombers
Army
There are three cornerstones to every ground assault done by the Lucinfern Hordes: Constant massed wave charges, nightly terror and psychological attacks and impossible levels of coordination.
The opening moves of an assault are designed to cause as much damage and chaos as possible. Miasmic spores bombard the planet spreading the yndorian Virus and the Mist of the Archive across the planet as rampaging infected beasts tear through cities along with swarms of lesser infected. The hope is to create as much confusion and more importantly create as many bodies as possible.
After a brief pause is allowed for the defenders so they may regroup and bury their dead however this is part of the plan. By allowing this window of reorganization, the horde can ensure they attack the greatest number of people with the fewest number of hosts and then the second phase begins. Near regular assaults are launched against the enemy as lesser organisms crash into the defenders as the greater infected charge through. Most Ordinals do not care of the lives lost as they know anybody who dies can be turned back into biomass to be formed into a new creature.
At night, psychological warfare is launched with the sole goal of causing confusion, paranoia and fear among the troopers, depriving them of restful sleep and never letting their nerves rest. Ambushes look to pick off unwary guards and replace them with infected hosts who will go to the most crowded area and explode, releasing the virus even further. Small bugs will make constant chattering and mummering sounds as if there is a Host behind every wall and around every corner. Rapid strike units dart in and out of shadows, cackling as they squirm through air shafts and trenches. Infiltrators will sneak in and try to gather information, contaminate supplies or take out individuals identified as beloved and whose death will bring a morale shock to the rest.
This goes on for as long as needed with increasing exhausted and paranoid soldiers fighting a horde that does not end while worried as to which one of his allies has secretly already been infected and waiting to turn. To top all of this off, the synaptic network of the Syndorian Horde means that their communications and coordination is perfect. A horde always attacks when the enemy is most disorganized after a boomer explosion. Strafing runs always come in just as the horde is being pushed back. Biomechanical vehicles move in sync and firing volleys as one deafening roar. Such a level of communication and instant feedback is the envy of commanders the galaxy over.
These tactics have only been employed twice but to outstanding effect. Once against a pirate stronghold on the moon of Karvar III where they had been trying to sell freshly butchered Syndorian meat. And a second against a Haradoni Union holdout that refused to be initiated into the swarm.
There are four general types of Hosts used in war.
The Lesser Organisms - Beings made almost entirely of biomass around a "core" of another animal and typically take the appearance of animals and beasts.
The Greater Organisms - Larger biomass creatures centered around a core host of a much larger animal with significantly more danger and mass. Most infamous of these are the savage Tyrannadon, the durable Orangafex and the flying Harridan.
The Trueborn Hosts - A catch all term for hosts pressed into service that can range from mindless mobs to those who still have enough individuality and skills to act as decent elite shock (and terror) troops.
The Bio Colossi - Huge beings comprised of hundreds of corpses and thousands of pounds of biomass who stand as tall as skyscrapers and crush those beneath them. Incredibly rare, they are only seen at the zenith of an assault are effectively heralds of an all or nothing attack.
Common low level infected:
Making up the bulk of any horde, they comprise of Hosts told to charge by their Ordinal or unwilling infected who have been forced to do so. They are a ravenous pack of claws, fangs, blades and tentacles in a seemingly undying tide of putrid flesh and decayed bodies. Their equipment varies wildly but in general, those willing Hosts are seen carrying weapons or at least wearing armors and are still capable o firing their guns wildly as they run. The unwilling infected are given no such luxuries.
Suppressors:
While the Swarm does not untilize guns very effectively, those it does have are infamous for their haunting sounds as they zip past the enemy and their rapid fire rates which force them to stay behind cover. A death sentence as other infected rush to close in and rip the enemy to shreads.
Slashers:
While most of the Hosts are just mindlessly grasping at whatever they can, relying on numbers, Slashers are infected Hosts who are speically deisgned for combat instead of being thrown into the grinder. Their armor chitin plating gives them the resistence they need as they leap and bound over the battlefield and dive in with their claws capible of ripping through armor.
Hulks:
Slow and lumbering, these beings are formed of rapidly regenerating biomass with strength to throw men like dolls and vehicles like toys. Most often used as walking walls of flesh or living battering rams, some are known to have the disgusting habit of incorporating wounded but still living enemies into their monstrous bulk.
Raviners
Bioforms who specialize in digging through the earth and suddenly rise out and wreck havoc in shock and awe attacks. The tunnels they make are often accompanied by a wave of lesser creatures who can use them to move through the battlefield. Typically used just to dig mines, tunnel networks and underground warrens in times of peace, anyone who is dragged down into the depths of their tunnels is never seen again.
Carronades:
Living artillery who like their Supressor cousins, focus a lot more on simply surpressing the enemy and making sure they are isolated and stuck in one location rather than outright killing things. However, some of the smaller varients are designed for the express purpose of accompanying hordes of infected for the express purpose of killing things. Some versions even have non-organic weapons mounted upon them in more recent years as Ordinals find that using captured weapons is more useful than breaking them down.
Brutes
Large, heavily armored bioforms that act as living tanks. While some are given ranged capibilites, more oftne than not they rely on ramming and incredible strength to rip open tanks and vehicles before devouring their crews. Once they start charging, nearly nothing can stop their rampage.
Hyperdread
When the dust had settled and the Great War was over, hundreds if not thousands of shipwrecks, floating hulks and blown out hulls filled the Haradoni system as a result of the desperate defense of the homeworlds. When the Sydorian Hosts rose from its ashes, one of its first act in a display of power was to command the creation of a vessel which combined all of the remains of the dead ships into one, grand monument of naval construction. With hundreds of thousands of workers and creatures working on the ship, it was built in record time as metal was bonded with flesh and wires were bound in biomass; no other ship can claim to be as "alive" to the point that it has its own sentience and has been officially ordained as an Ordinal capable of producing its own Mist nodes.
Its main standout feature is its front shredder maw and bioplasma particle lance. Running down the middle of the ship is a wide tunnel that many assume to just be part of the particle lance, however this is an illusion as the front of the ship can actually "open up" to reveal a huge animal-like maw that has swallowed smaller ships whole and taken chunks out of larger ships. Any ship that is swallowed can either be kept for later additions to the Terminus Est and have their crews infected an added to the ship's own, or the captured ship can be "harvested" for pure energy that is needed for the main gun. Although capable of firing the bioplasma particle lance by its own power, for a full power shot it actually requires more than the vessel can produce. Because of this its often accompanied by fueling ships or have captured/disabled enemy ships "sacrificed" to the Terminus Est.
The Infestation does not use face com, witch means they can talk to someone, knowing who they are, without them knowing who called them. Also, the Infestation will not backstab a nation until they are 100% sure they can annihilate them entirely without any surviving witnesses.
Again, spooky voices and a mysterious trail of stellar empires and civilizations suddenly going poof do not look good on a diplomatic resume.
People don't trust voices they can't put a face to or know the source of and are often regarded as going insane or something similar. Even if you backstab a space faring nation, the very fact that you are their last known major contact before they suddenly disappear will make people suspicious and connect the dots. This is also assuming they're completely isolated and can't contact someone else for help when their allies suddenly turn on them. In addition, space is HUGE, unless you can destroy every ship in space before they can leave the system, there are going to be survivors.
The Infestation may create temporary alliances for a while, but back-stab them later. Also, the Infestation may trade food for other resources anonymously, and may ally with other infestations like The Lucifern hosts.
Just saying, having a history of backstabbing isn't going to make you a lot of friends. The entire fact that most people find infected beings to be repulsive/horrid/disgusting/etc already makes trying to interact with them hard enough. The two combined means that nobody is going to trust you enough to backstab.
Having the end goal of eating everything in the galaxy is also a really hard sell to just about everyone. The Lucifern Hosts are going to see the Infestation as more of a threat than anything just like everyone else since they, just like everyone else, don't trust the people who want to eat everything including themselves.
How will other players be interacting with those factions beyond just annihilating them?
The Lucifern Hosts aren't a mindless horde hell bent on consuming everything. They are still capable of trade and diplomacy (although they will have a different outlook on those). They don't want to conquer everyone outside of trying to get at that space elf goodie bag like everyone else, they kind of realized what happens when they tried (re: got their shit kicked in hard).
They still have research, they still look to colonize, they still seek to expand and they still do mostly what most other empires do. And because there's still a decent number of people who have independent thought you can still do 1 on 1 diplomacy and intrigue. In fact the hive mind is a double edge sword because while their own thoughts aren't really private so they can't hide things, its a lot easier to convince the lot of them to go and do something since you only need to convince a small number of people to have the collective conscious lean that way. In addition there's still delegation of power (think like a synaptic node) so some groups can still go rogue/have different ideas. The hivemind just makes it a lot harder for them to actually try and kill each other over it but they can just "ignore" the other.
This degree of independence means that trade is still possible, even if for just luxury resources because they still have wants and still want to show off and still want the finer things in life. Even among the lower masses of drones, there's still those who have skills that can be expressed like artists. Plus they don't just use biomass for everything; they have a biotic component to a lot of things but still need technology which means they still need researchers, still need builders, still need miners, still need all the things you'd need to build ships and factories and cars and stuff.
Hell, the virus can't even naturally reproduce, it needs host either in new life or new corpses. It can make like really small creatures out of pure biomass (think like Tyranid Rippers) but if they want anything that's actually sentience and useful, they need bodies. There's actually a whole culture around "introducing" the virus into younger people at various points in their lives. Think like age rituals or coming of age ceremonies.
So I'm a little interested in this and have the start of an idea I'd just like to run by to see if its okay, its an alternate take on a hivemind swarm.
But a small civilization at the outset of the war, the Haradoni Union was young, excited and ambitious, hoping to prove themselves on the galactic stage. When the Great War broke out, legions of young men and women proudly marched off to war with all the pomp and circumstance of glory and victory. However, the Union bit off more than it could chew and after a singular stunning victory, they were met by set back after set back, defeat after defeat. What was once seen as a glorious honor became a solemn duty which then turned into a desperate defense. Unable to stand against what the major powers would consider a diversionary attack on their worlds turn into years of gruling warfare the young union couldn't sustain.
As the skies where filled with fire and the streets filled with dying soldiers, it was Prince Kartam who entered the secret vaults below the Royal Palace. He ignored all of the wonders and secrets that filled the hall until he came upon a chamber marked "Lucifern Virus" and within a sentient mass grew to greet him. This being was all that remained of a mysterious extraterrestial plauge that ravaged the Haradoni homeworld long ago and the prince had heard stories of the horrific corpse monsters it created and the heroes it slew, but Prince Kartam, last of his line, was desperate. The Union was on the brink of collaspe, his militia dying in droves, his family wiped out in a precision strike. And so, on that day, the Haradoni Union made a deal with the devil and the Prince became the first willing host of the Lucifern Virus.
His body twisted and contorted as bones broke and flesh ripped to be reshaped and molded. Soon a black ooze filled the streets and a deathly fog hung over the air. Slowly, the bodies of the dead rose again, undergoing rapid mutations and change, once again marching to war but now devoid of any feeling, any emotion, any pain and any remorse. Soon larger monsters formed from dozens of corpses roared and trampled the enemy underfoot. Unprepared to face off against such a nightmarish horde, the enemy broke and tried to flee back to their star ships, carrying the virus on them as they ran. Of the dozen ships tasked with the annihilation of the Haradoni Union, only one managed to return home, spreading the news of a horrific plague that stole the souls of the living and which even boarded their ships turning them into drifting hulks full of terrifying infected demons.
Basically think of a Minor Combatant with WW2 Japan's enthusiasm but Italy's combat competence. They managed to win one stunning victory mostly out of surprise and luck but then got flattened until they were almost destroyed by what the Major players wouldn't think of as a true invasion force; a "oh we should probably knock them out on our way" sort of deal. In desperation the Haradoni released an ancient alien plague that is like a combination of the Necromorphs from Dead Space, the Flood from Halo, the Simbiotes from Marvel and a little bit of Zerg/Tyranids, and willingly infected themselves in a deal with the devil scenario.
They all now look like horrid monsters from Dead Space but are are super durable and long lived, able to mutate/evolve rapidly, still use their old tech, have the whole direct control of the central hive mind and some other hive mind/swarm abilities. Their personalities are also sort of like the Necrons of 40k with the more important/noble people having more control over their minds since the hivemind recognizes their abilities are best used if they can think independently while much of the lower classes are drones and grunts.
[hider=Face Claim] [img]LOOKING KAWAI AS FUCK BOI[/img] [/hider][/INDENT]
[u][b]History[/b][/u]
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[b][u]Personality[/u][/b]
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[center][img]CLASS SYMBOL HERE, FIND IT ON THE LH WIKIA[/img][/center]
[u][b]Equipment[/b][/u]
[indent] [hider=HAVE EACH ITEM IN ITS OWN HIDER] STYLE IT LIKE HOW CHARACTER EQUIPMENT IS SHOWN ON THE WIKI/LIGHT NOVELS
(As Haeo put it: "Work it like flavor text and capitalize on that in a tight spot. Ok. In short, stay vague and brief when describing it but get the gist across.") [/hider]
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[b][b][u]Spells/Abilities[/u][/b][/b]
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EDIT: Example CS; its not a "perfect" or even a fully complete CS, but it should be enough to be a base.
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Basic Information:
NAME: Alex O'Hare USER: AL1GHT AGE: 28
RACE: Human CLASS: Monk SUBCLASS: Gladiator
History
Something something filler. He made the Band of Others. He still around apparently.
Personality
Something something filler. He's a p chill dude who likes flashy plays and fisting things ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Equipment
Huge gauntlets with the strength of lions imbued within that is a reward in one of the many Celestial Court quests that deal additional magic damage on hit and can even be used to block projectiles. This pair is one that has been traded many times through many hands and is said to have originated on the Chinese server.
Enchanted boots of golden scales that greatly increase the wearer's jump and pounce range while also reducing fall damage. A high Production-class item, they are hardly the fanciest or the most meta boots that Alight owns but the increased mobility makes them his favorite.
Received as a reward after Alight won a gladiator tournament, this Phantasmal-class trinket is special in that it increases drop rewards by how "flashy" or how many combos the user preforms on the enemy before killing them. With enough skill and a large enough foe, the increase bonus can easily get to ludicrous levels. Alight uses Boots of Leaping Gold and a very flashy and over the top fighting style for this exact purpose.
Spells/Abilities
Lion Jaws - An active ability which deal an increasing amount of damage and heals the user for a percentage of the damage dealt.
Leaping Monkey Stance - A toggled passive which causes the user to "leap" to their target with every auto attack, useful when facing extremely mobile opponents.
Amber Elephant Stance - A toggled passive that reduces the duration of debuffs by a flat amount and further reduces them if the user can attack the original source.
Iron Rhino Stance - A toggled passive that greatly increase defensive stats which can be increased by standing still and "concentrating".
Resonating Strike - An active ability that shoots out a chi projectile that deals damage to the first enemy hit; after a short cooldown it can be recasted to let the user dash to the enemy hit.
Dragon's Fury - A powerful roundhouse kick that can send enemies flying back, has one of the longest cooldowns of the Monk class.
Monkey King's Agility - A powerful passive gained by completing the <<Tomb of the Monkey King>> dungeon that has a particularly infamous final boss fight with the undead monkey king; the ability causes Alight to gain a burst of attack speed after using an ability and reduces the cooldown of his abilities if he hits someone with at least three basic attacks.
"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Greetings all, this is something that me and a few friends had an idea for.
The premise is that this takes place on the US East server in the hub known as Big Apple aka NYC. We will be ignoring what happens "canonically" in the BA. In addition, the start of the RP will not be when everyone wakes up, but instead will begin when the Player Characters discover manual crafting/cooking from ingredients with some knowledge of each other. I haven't seen anyone who has ever had a really deep attachment to the starting "hi my name jeff" part of RPs.
How would all of the PCs end up together you may ask? Through the use of a Debauchery Teaparty-like group of high level players who did many the same things like raid bosses, dungeon diving and treasure hunting; The Band of Others. In this vein, all PCs will be either max level or very close to it. This is to give the greatest amount of freedom in terms of making cool weapons and equipment up in addition to making balancing the party's encounters easier. I doubt a level 20 would be comfortable handling something like a black dragon of which a level 90 character might not think too much of. I will try to run this RP in a more DnD-esque style where instead of having a GM character, I as the GM will be instead telling you about the world and playing NPCs as needed. This does not mean I am using a DnD system for this RP.
tl;dr
RP starts with the PCs already having known each other through the Band of Others and just discovered manual crafting.
PCs will determine what they can and will do with their new found knowledge assuming they are the first people to know of this.
All PCs are justifiably high level and at an "end game" state with association to the Band of Others.
The Medicine Man is the American Server's version of the Medium/Kaanagi with a Native American flavor.
The way that they will work in this RP is through the use of Spirit Totems and Ceremonies. Spirit Totems are physical objects that channel the essence of the spirit and will buff allies in an area around it. Stronger/better totem will have increased effects, larger area, focus on one class (IE a spirit totem that's focused on defense might automatically only target tank classes); think of it as an Orissa Ult from Overwatch.
Ceremonies are a special type of spell used by the MM which typically involve directly summoning some sort of spirit for a specific task. For example, the ability <<Ghost Dance>> will allow the MM to summon a spirit shield around him or an ally while and ability like <<Raven Tale>> will cause a ghostly raven to fly around and debuff enemies. The highest level of Ceremony Spells allow the player to effective create a spirit double of themselves allowing them to cast two spells at once; the most famous of these ability is the aptly named <<Twin Souls>>.
