STATUS:
Two days ago, Noble Arms is indisputably four years old, spread out across three threads, and the third thread is still ongoing and about to reach the endgame...
8 days ago
Current
Two days ago, Noble Arms is indisputably four years old, spread out across three threads, and the third thread is still ongoing and about to reach the endgame...
3
likes
19 days ago
Can't believe that I actually got an RP close to its endgame, btw...
4
likes
1 mo ago
Noble Arms is now either four years old, or three years and eleven months. The third thread had lasted for more than one year.
1
like
2 mos ago
New Interest Check, everybody!
2 mos ago
My Roleplay, Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, will reach its 4th year in June or July. It's been a long journey.
((Post originally written by @QJT but published by me with his permission.))
Soldiers and Arms Masters alike fetched their complimentary breakfast as they settled in for the briefing. Key elements were often gleaned from conversations around the room, so Adrián Abasolo struggled to keep a fragment of his senses fixated on the hotel's egress. He couldn't hear or see the door open; rather, the slight change in temperature from the chill outside breeze alerted him. He walked purposely to the entrance to encounter a short, squat individual wearing navy blues, in striking contrast to his own bright whites. Whether the tedium of office work earned him additional weight or muscles truly underlay his blazer, the rotund serviceman filled his suit nonetheless.
Abasolo extended a handshake. "Lieutenant General. An honor and a pleasure."
"Rear Admiral," the man accepted. "I don't recall a formal introduction. Your exploits in the South China Sea precede you."
"Yes, well," Adrián surveyed the area, "Credit belongs with the grunts and officers at the spearhead. Plans never survive contact with the enemy, after all."
"You do yourself a disservice," the visitor reassured. "Regardless, I hope for more active involvement in these joint operations. I'm ecstatic we finally meet in person."
"Then seat yourself wherever you want; we'll commence..." he perused his cellphone, "presently."
"If it's acceptable, I'd prefer to stand. Exercise for the soul."
"Permission unnecessary but granted."
Jasmine, punctual as ever, had summoned the crowd at the front of the gathering. "Alright, everyone, we'll be starting shortly. Take your seats and quiet down." In the din of conversation, she murmured to her superior as they exchanged places, "The presentation is prepared and awaits you, sir."
"Much appreciated," Adrián acknowledged. He scanned the enclosure for sentiment before commencing. "Good morning. When we last fully assembled, I mandated productive relaxation. The undead incursion notwithstanding, I trust that you've had ample rest for the following mission. I've heard reports of fatigue and exertion, but none of injuries, which is the crucial concern. While not government property, your physical fitness is vitally important to the success of this endeavor. I'm grateful that you informed me during the engagement as opposed to afterward." His personal thoughts on the matter beyond that were best kept private.
"Onto the main event." He grabbed a remote from a nearby desk and stepped aside for a newly activated projector. The first slide showed dual satellite images of the same site, comparing prewar to interwar activity. The latter boasted a host of new makeshift warehouses and a considerable buildup of ammunition. "With several major setbacks, for some of which I must commend you, the People's Republic of China has come to terms with the fact that this conflict will not be as immediate and conclusive as they predicted. With international sanctions now realized, their stockpiles are beginning to falter, and they're preparing for the long haul. We've detected a dramatic restructuring of their supply chain towards firearms and similar components."
The next display was a brief video of the skyline of Shantou from the ocean at night. The evening lights shone through the smog, then flickered off across the entire metropolis. " For anyone without experience in manufacturing, this takes an extreme toll on the energy grid. Already we notice signs of stress on critical nodes of infrastructure. High command believes that a small push will collapse their military-industrial capabilities for months. If you wish to not deal with waves of modern tanks on the battlefield, then I'm sure your interests align.
"That brings us to our current objective: the Jinghong Dam," the admiral continued. A computer-generated 3D model of the structure in question is displayed on the screen. "The PRC is collecting every volt they can acquire, from each corner of the map under their sovereign control. This facility provided - emphasis on the tense - hydroelectric power to the Thai people by siphoning off the Mekong River, to the protest of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Indochina sacrificed its fertile fields and risked drought for the benefits of electricity. With that bounty diverted to the Chinese mainland, The Kingdom of Thailand has authorized its destruction.
"To this end, I've invited Lt. Gen. Bayani Bautista of the Philippine Air Force to join us. General," Abasolo nodded.
Bautista took the stage, pointing out various details. "Yes, on reconnaissance missions, we've noticed that they've placed anti-aircraft artillery on the flanks of the construction, as well as at points along the canyon leading to it. To deter a strike, they've further established two facilities beneath it and downstream. They currently detain prisoners of war there. This does violate precepts of the Geneva Conventions," he embarked on a tangent, "but the PLA has proven dishonorable from the outset. This shouldn't surprise any of us at this point."
"General, if you'd please..." The admiral gently steered his counterpart back into sync.
"Certainly," Bautista assured, tracing a route upon the projection. "The plan we've spun is as follows. Embarking from Wan Hkung in Laos, you will travel upstream in disguised vessels to the base of Jinghong Dam, with full moonlight visibility. Be advised: you will be traveling past a civilian city, so don't attract unwanted attention. You will disable the AAA and other obstacles you find on the way, and we humbly request that you liberate those incarcerated in the valley."
"Above the ethical implications," Abasolo clarified, "It would be a propaganda victory for our adversary to report that we killed our comrades to spite China, well, assuming that their media could still broadcast afterward. We believe but cannot confirm the presence of Arms Masters there so that we might swell our ranks."
Bautista concluded, "At completion, you will hike up the ridge to a target roughly a kilometer away. We will scramble our fighters and retrieve you via helicopter. I will emphasize: that stealth is paramount in the initial moments. We cannot afford an alert to our position. We calculate that they can attain air superiority in one hour from the moment we are spotted, at which time our planes and copters will be rendered moot."
Seven decades ago, the Computer Scientist Alan Turing invented an 'Occult Programming Language' that made magic real. The most common form that 'magic' took was the Noble Arm, which was the ability to conjure up a supernatural weapon that can defy the laws of physics, a weapon bound to the user’s mind and soul; summoned by their will into reality. For reasons that are still unexplainable despite years of research, Noble Arms only take the form of weapons from before the First World War, however, despite the antiquity of these forms, the power they bear to the battlefield is unlike anything modern technology has been able to produce.
The ability to manipulate the elements to the user's will.
Forces that can reduce matter down to atoms in seconds.
The strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.
It is now 2022, and the world is both different and similar to how History should have gone. Trying to redress its humiliation in this timeline's 1988, the current rulers of China have launched an invasion of Southeast Asia, forcing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to attempt a collective defense. Foiled twice now, first in their attempt to land at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, then mauled in the Spratly Isles by their own countrymen, the Qing Restoration Society (who are not relevant to this current mission), the People's Liberation Army have decided to choke the Mekong River, a stream vital to the livelihoods of the populace of Mainland Southeast Asia, by using their control of Jinghong Dam, a hydroelectric dam built on a crucial point of the river's course.
Over the past few weeks, paddy fields have dried up, thousands of livestock, waterfowl, and wildlife have starved to death, and rice prices skyrocketed to the point of catastrophe. All the while, the PLA generates vital electricity for their war effort.
Even worse, the PLA has placed several Prisoner-of-war camps immediately downstream from the dam, where illegally enslaved captives are worked almost to death and only survive as they are vital human shields to deter any attempt to destroy the dam's structure. They must be rescued, and the Anti-Air emplacements at the dam's sides disabled, so that the Mekong River can be free once more!
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This is an interest check for an ongoing RP, Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, which is now in its third mission and fifth story arc, where the OCs are trying to free PoWs that are being used as human shields to protect a dam that their opponents are using to choke off their allied countries, then call in an airstrike to destroy said dam.
You have the option of playing Arms Masters, people that through personal development, positive or negative, have manifested a Noble Arm, a weapon formed from and linked to, but not part of one's soul. You can also be ordinary but not unimportant service-folk/service people: Special Forces Infantry, Air Force Pilots, Marines, Boat Drivers, or even spies working for ASEAN in Chinese territory.
Antagonists need special permission from all three members of the GM Council (Being Recruited).
The details of Mission Three are listed below:
Mission Three: Assault on Jinghong Dam
Before the ASEAN War, the Chinese built a dam to control the flow of the Mekong River and generate power for its people, as well as to exert a means of influence over the neighboring countries downstream, the ASEAN members Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and the furthest south of Vietnam. Now that the ASEAN War is escalating, China has slowed down the water flow to a trickle, raising fears of drought while increasing their electricity supply for their war effort. Even worse, the Chinese have placed PoW camps in the floodplains below the dam in order to deter airstrikes. Your goals, Arms Masters and Ordinary Folk are to evacuate the PoWs and then destroy the dam...
(Red Circle is the Dam, Red Stars are the PoW camps.)
You can find the Lore in the Noble Arms Lore Thread and the Character Sheet Skeleton in the The OOC Thread. The OOC Thread also has copies of the parts of the lore relevant to actually playing the game.
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first; prospective players should not seek to game or break the system to make themselves as powerful as possible. One should also not use one's PC's powers to brute-force all obstacles the GM brings before them, or use sophistry, psychological tricks, or 'mental influence magic' to win every diplomatic confrontation. This is not an RP where 'storygaming' is an ugly word. 2.) Nor does an angsty backstory that fits various 'story beats' make one's character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as the 'top dogs' and otherwise make it an arms race with the GM on who can god-mode more. If one won't use their angsty backstory to make a good story, this is not the RP for them. 3.) That said, powerful characters and angsty backstories are permitted, as long as they are made by players who are willing to cooperate and the GM to make a good and dynamic story that isn't just 'X overpowers Y' by bending the rules so far they break, violating the spirit of said rules and (to quote Dave Brookshaw of Onyx Path publishing) common sense. 4.) The first three rules are the most important; let's just say that people who cannot follow them have proven problematic before, and we should have people who can follow the first three rules in this RP. 5.) Do not be an asshole. 6.) Post length is five sentences minimum, but longer posts are encouraged, of course. GMs are also bound by this rule. 7.) Characters are supposed to start no higher than B-Rank in statistical average on their Noble Arm. Note that exceptions can be made for one (two at the most) players who can be trusted to control themselves and not powergame when it weakens the story. 8.) 1 US Dollar is 55 Philippine Pesos - Remember this when you spend money. 9.) Reminder: The more powerful you are, the lower your Potential stat is. If you want high Potential, you need to make a weak Noble Arm that can get stronger later.
Member
N3v3rM0r3,
Bacon,
RPM,
esqueleto,
Digmata,
QJT,
Aisede,
PrinceAlexus,
DarkNight612
