EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Say, unrelated question to the RP. Do you happen to know someone, or be someone, who is interested in the Halo universe? I am attempting to start a small group Halo RP and am looking around for players.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Even in her current form, Meesei had to look up slightly to make eye contact with Fendros on the back of Leaps. “The watchtower, we should claim it. It may be useful to coordinating the battle below. I saw an orb on a pedestal on top, and I believe I know what it may be used for. Did any of you see the commander’s quarters when you were fighting down through the tower?”

Ahnasha had caught up in time to be able to answer. “We saw a room near the top with some maps and other documents.”

Meesei nodded. “Good, there is something specific I want you to search it for. Look for any mirrors, especially handheld mirrors. You may be able to feel an enchantment within them.”

Although Meesei was not in an immediate rush to march their forces forward, it was still important that they act quickly and get moving again as soon as they were able, so Ahnasha wasted no time in rushing back inside. Meesei next turned her attention to Sabine beside her. “Help with the wounded as best as you are able. We do not have time to wait for reinforcements, so we need to minimize our losses.” She said. The kind of mass healing that Sabine would be able to offer quickly would be more along the lines of brute force, using the Staff to empower the spell, but it would still be helpful. Sabine would likely need to start focusing more on absorbing magicka with the Staff in coming battles. Before the battle, they had empowered the Staff of Magnus with a combination of welkynd stones and other reservoirs of magicka, but that power was not limitless.

“I will go up and investigate that orb, but first, let us deal with this…disagreement.” Meesei said with a glance up to Fendros before moving to approach the Dominion commander and Rossarm. She did not bother to question either of them about the argument, nor ask for opinions. She instead gave firm, direct orders. “We shall all be holding position here briefly while we take control of this watchtower. If I am correct, it will have tools we can use to aid the battle below. I want you to treat as many of the wounded as you can while we wait.”

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

I know Spartan-IIIs are rare, based primarily on the fact that the vast majority of them died in suicide missions, but I know some did survive. Headhunters were meant to be the most deadly of the IIIs, so the only reason to disallow it would be if we considered them too strong. But, we're deciding the power scale of our team right now, so that's not an issue. We might want to stay willing to change things around, in case we get new ideas from new players, but right now, I think everything you've suggested is fine.

Right now, we seem to have three players, including myself, who are interested. By my standards, that is perfectly fine for a small group, but I do want to give some more time to see if there is more interest.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

If the team includes both Spartans and ODSTs, then players would be free to pick pretty much whatever they wanted. I know my primary character will be Sangheili. In that sort of team, he will probably be an old veteran of the war. In a team without Spartans, I would probably make a talented, but less experienced Sangheili with a lot to prove.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

In your opinion, about how skilled would you want our characters to be? A specialized team like that would probably be special forces. In this era, that could include Spartan-IV teams (and the top-tier Sangheili, and other aliens) if we want, or we could keep it to forces more comparable to ODSTs.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

@Crab Bane I'm not against setting the RP during the time of the Created. Since Infinite isn't out yet and there is only limited lore of what is going on in that time, though, we'd pretty much just have to accept that we'd be making up things to happen that may not be lore friendly. I am fine with that, if that's what you and the others want, it's just something to consider. That would give us more creative freedom with our story.

If we go for other time periods, I think there are a few of ways to justify joint operations. A powerful enemy, or something very important would do it. For example, when the Ark's monitor went crazy and tried to activate the Halo array, they sent a joint team to stop it. Also, along the border of UNSC and SoS space, there is an area called the Joint Occupation Zone, with colonies governed by Humans and Sangheili. If Jul 'Mdama's Covenant or another faction made an attack there, I think it would make sense for both militaries to respond together. I think it all depends on the "scale" of the stakes we want to go for. Halo games usually portray "fate of the galaxy" sort of threats, and that can certainly be fun to do. We also have the option of bringing the stakes down to something like individual planets or settlements. We could be a specialized team working, essentially in peacekeeping, against raids and insurrection from the Covenant or rebels. It's a smaller story, but it could be more personal.

I do like that Sangheili design, as well. It looks like an ancient, or maybe ceremonial sort of armor, with a variation on a curveblade.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

I shall take that as a sign of interest. I think.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

Indeed. A significant part of the appeal for me is how those cultures clash, especially in light of the history the species have. It can be hard to just move on past decades of total war. There is often a kind of animosity that can vary greatly from species to species, or individual to individual. Some have recognized why the war happened and moved past it, others still hold on to that anger. The ability to have that interaction between species is the only part that I'm really attached to. For everything else, I just want to make sure to get the input anyone who is interested before committing to a single, concrete story.

Potential RPs in the Halo Universe

Edit: The story has been decided upon. Here is the thread: https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/182869-halo-aegis-team/ooc

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I have, for a while now, been considering creating an RP in the Halo universe. I have seen suggestions for Halo stories around the site, but nothing that quite matches what I have been looking for. I feel like, for Halo in particular, there are many different ways it can appeal to different people. Some people might be drawn towards the idea of being a Spartan supersoldier, playing as the most elite of Humanity. Some might be more interested in a story focusing around regular soldiers, some might prefer something like a horror story of trying to survive against the Flood, and some, like myself, like to explore playing as the other species in the universe.

I’m hoping to create an RP that has long-lasting appeal, so instead of committing to one idea of my own, I would rather get input from anyone who might be interested on what kinds of stories might be most appealing to the group of players I end up getting. I will say that I do want to have an RP that allows for players to make a character from any, or at least most, of the Covenant/former Covenant species, in addition to Humans. I feel like the interaction between Humans and their former enemies, especially if they have to work together, could create some of the most interesting situations to play through, and it’s not something that many Halo RPs I see would really facilitate.

To start off the conversation, I do, of course, have a few possible stories of my own to suggest:

• The post-war era is one of the more likely settings that would allow for both Human and alien characters. I recognize that it is not usually the most popular time period among the fanbase, but I still think there is a lot of potential there for unique stories. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios do work cooperatively in certain areas, so there is opportunity to create a story about a team, or teams, being deployed on formal missions with proper military support. Likely, it would take place in the Joint Occupation Zone against opponents like Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant or Insurrectionists. Our characters could be anything on the scale from standard soldiers, up to Spartans and other comparable options.
• In the post-war era, Humanity has become the most powerful faction, but if we want to go for a different “feel” to the RP, we could still have a setting that keeps the same sort of underdog story for our side as existed during the Human-Covenant war. If we choose a location at the fringes of settled space, it opens up the option of having our characters, cut off from communication with the UNSC or Swords of Sanghelios and without much support, having to survive against a more powerful foe. Like before, our enemy could be Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant, rebels, or, depending on the year, other militarized groups like the Banished.
• There is also the option to forego having military characters altogether. While Halo is a series of (mostly) military shooter games and most of the lore focuses on that aspect, the lore has expanded to show more of what other parts of the setting are like. After the fall of the Covenant, there is no longer a singular, dominating force within the Orion arm, but several factions recovering from near-destruction on all sides. There are pirates, criminals, and smaller factions like Jiralhanae warlords. If we wanted to, having an almost “Star Wars”-like adventure with a small group in this setting is an option open to us.

I am looking to gauge the interest in a Halo RP, and hopefully find a specific setting that is tailored enough to the preferences of the group we have to keep it active. I am curious if anyone likes any of the ideas I have suggested, or if you have any of your own ideas to suggest. I am expecting this will probably be a small group RP, but if there is enough interest in the same kind of story, I can accept more.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

They had finally reached the tipping point in this battle. Between the flanking force of Nords and Senche cavalry, and the magically charged Aldmeri frontline, the momentum had shifted firmly against the Daedra. Against a normal army, the presence of massive Daedra like Ogrims, Daedroth, and Xivilai could demolish standard formations, but Teroiah had sent one of her elite units for the critical job of pushing through the mountain pass, and the lycans, of course, had werecreatures that could stop even the massive Daedra in their tracks. The Daedric commanders, while fearsome, were not tacticians. Once they no longer had numbers, they simply shouted at their warriors to fight harder…and to the last.

Indeed, although each army had worked ahead of time to mentally prepare their soldiers for a fight against Daedra, they were quite unlike any foe they had fought before. For mortal armies, the basic instinct of self-preservation made battles end long before the last warrior was dead. When defeat seemed assured, armies would rout, retreat, or surrender. Right now, at the front, Meesei was at the spearhead of the Dominion lines. She alternated between storms of lightning, dispelling chains when the enemy showed a hint of magical defenses, or simply tearing apart whatever Daedra happened to be in front of her with her claws. For the army around her, with Sabine to restore them, their magical endurance seemed limitless. By the time spears or swords reached them, most of the Daedra in front of them were scarred and crippled by spellfire, or simply electrocuted.

The rest of Meesei’s pack did eventually emerge from the tower, after clearing it themselves, though they did not have much time to reach the frontline by that point. The Dominion soldiers’ advance was steady and unstoppable, while the lycans had moved around behind the Daedra, slaughtering the archers and mages that had few warriors around them to protect them in melee. Hjergir himself had taken on his werewolf form. He had taken his fair share of injuries, staining his white fur red with blood, though he did not seem to be slowed in the slightest by them. Even by lycan standards, he was a brutal warrior. An Ogrim had counter-charged into the Nords, trampling two under its weight, and with a simple, massive punch, broke both the wooden shield of a third Nord, and the arm holding it. Before it could do any more damage, Hjergir pounced on its back, hooking his claws into its flesh on the front, while stabbing the claws on his feet into its back. While the Daedra was struggling to reach up and grab the werewolf, Hjergir repeatedly ripped and tore chunks of meat and fat from around the area of the Ogrim’s neck. He tore apart, and even devoured parts of the Ogrim while it was still alive. He was ferocious enough that one could be forgiven for mistaking him for a feral.

Ultimately, when the Dominion and Nordic forces did meet, it was when the last of the Daedra had been slain between them. It was a victory, and a firm display of the skill of the soldiers they had with them, but it was still not a victory that Meesei, or any of the commanders, could be particularly comfortable with. They had maintained a strong momentum against a numerically superior force, and even once that momentum had been stalled, they had managed to successfully react and maintain their advantage. But, they had still taken losses. Dead Nords, Altmer and one Senche lay on the ground behind them, along with injured soldiers that needed to be tended to if they wanted to avoid more deaths. The casualties they suffered would be considered light by any conventional measure, but they had only just begun their push through the mountain pass. They had only taken one of the watchtowers. If they had to keep fighting like this, even light losses would eventually wear them down until they did not have enough soldiers to push on to their final destination.