The first half of 2015 was newsworthy, to say the very least.
The very first of what was to be called kaiju wasted no time, appearing in the early hours of the first day of the year. Party-goers in the tiny seaside hamlet of Buff Bay in Jamaica could hardly believe their eyes when what looked like a prehistoric trilobite, a full fifteen feet long, crawled from the water and tore apart a dog. The creature's rampage scarcely lasted twenty minutes before officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force killed it with a fusillade of rifle rounds. The new year started with a sensational story, zoologists expressing joy over what they considered a singular, once-in-a-lifetime find.
As it turned out, there was nothing singular about it.
As the new year went on, the reports started becoming more and more frequent. more reliable. Stories that would once have been relegated to fringe blogs were covered by mainstream journalists. The creatures were as varied as the locations they were seen. Pilots in Greenland reported spending hours over the taiga tracking a huge wolf, twenty-five feet at the shoulder, before running low on fuel and having no choice but to return to their airfield. Tourists on a cruise off the coast of Madagascar submitted dozens of photos and videos of an undulating snake-like creature, as long as the ship on which they traveled. Australian backpackers were unsettled to discover footprints the length of a car stretching through the Outback. A hairy, bipedal creature, something like a cross between a bear and an ape and standing thirty feet tall, demolished a remote ski lodge in the Italian Alps, killing three, before being dispatched by sustained machine gun fire.
Finally, on March 31, 2015, the unthinkable happened. The city of Naha, capital of Okinawa, fell under attack. A 130 foot lizard-like creature, something like a gigantic salamander, crawled ashore and cut a swath of destruction through downtown, collapsing entire buildings with careless flicks of the tail and crushing vehicles underfoot. Confusion and looting reigned, and despite the heroic efforts of local authorities, the populace had no clear instructions or plans. JSDF fighters, scrambling from Naha Air Base, finally managed to kill the creature in an airstrike. The death toll was confirmed at 96, with over a thousand injured- general consensus was this was light compared to what might have been.
Something had to be done.
The United Nations Security Council convened, and in a closed-doors session hammered out the details for the newest multinational agency. The United Nations Kaiju Research and Combat Initiative (UNKRCI) was by far one of the most ambitious bodies created by the UN. Member nations donated both scientific talent and military units to the new program, intended to function as a highly mobile "fire brigade" responding to the appearance of potentially threatening giant monsters. With permanent headquarters in Geneva, the command staff and scientific advisers were ready to deploy at a moment's notice, accompanied by at least a battalion of member-donated combat troops. Eschewing the blue helmet of other UN operations, unfairly associated with inaction and failure by the world press, the UN instead issued eye-catching white gloves to soldiers, airmen, and sailors serving with the UNKRCI.
The media liked the white gloves, and projected the name onto the organization as a whole.
Now, the period of waiting has begun. The scientists of the White Gloves long for specimens to research, the military men long for action, all of them long for a success to put to their name in order to receive increased funding and some modicum of respect. Right now, many view the White Gloves as nothing more than a waste of time and effort, a laughable obstacle to the real work of fighting giant monsters- more of which are reported each week, with occasional minor attacks on humans. Sooner or later, though, they know a member nation will request their deployment and the chance will come to test their mettle against a gigantic and deadly menace.
This is the story of the men and woman of the White Gloves.
Alright, so as you might have gathered, this RP focuses on the human side of your average kaiju story. When Megalon or Gyaos or Gappa begins trashing Tokyo, someone has to organize the evacuation, lead those tanks into battle, and come up with the brilliant plan to defeat or at least slow down the rampaging behemoth. That someone is you.
You play as either military personnel or a civilian adviser attached to the White Gloves project. It's up to you to answer the hard questions and routinely figure out how to handle a horrible nightmare scenario. There will be plenty of player efficacy, and your actions will have consequences- mishandle a situation, and you may be responsible for many deaths, or even killed yourself.
However, on the flip side, it is entirely possible for players to completely change the world around them. If the players' weapons and tactics are effective, expect armies across the world to adopt them in their own fights against this encroaching enemy. Scientist characters especially have this opportunity. Studying the creatures can result in huge leaps forward in biology, studying weapons against them huge leaps forward in engineering or applied physics. Yes, it is possible to eventually build mecha in this RP and use them to punch kaiju in the face.
As a final note, flavor art notwithstanding, this is a wholly original universe- King Kong, Gamera, Godzilla, or other established monsters will not be making appearances.
Character Sheet TemplatesUp to two characters are allowed. This is intended to be an ensemble RP, so everyone is intended to have a chance in the spotlight- something to keep in mind.
Name: Self-explanatory.
Rank: What rank have they attained in their service?
Nationality/ Branch of Service: I would like to see a number of different countries represented. Not to say there cannot be duplicates, though. By branch of service, by the way, I mean Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie, or whatever military force they represent.
Gender: I don't need to explain this to you.
Age: Or this.
Personality: Not looking for a big Freudian profile, just a paragraph or two that helps to explain they way they act, think, and interact with others.
Brief Bio: Two or three paragraphs about this person's life prior to ending up with the White Gloves. What has influenced their personality? How do they feel about the coming of kaiju? How has their career gone and what have they specialized in? Are they a capable soldier, or did they get this job to get them far away from their home country? I welcome all sorts of details.
Name: Your character's name.
Occupation: What your character does. Try to be specific, ie, I would prefer to see "biologist" rather than just "scientist". There are plenty of non-scientific fields that would be useful as well- linguists, doctors, disaster relief specialists, and diplomats come to mind.
Nationality: Again, I would love to see plenty of different countries represented.
Gender: Your character's gender.
Age: Self-explanatory.
Alma Mater: Where a character went to school can say a lot about them, after all, there's a difference between some backwoods provincial college and studying abroad, though both can easily be just as competent.
Personality: Not looking for a big Freudian profile, just a paragraph or two that helps to explain they way they act, think, and interact with others.
Brief Bio: Two or three paragraphs about this person's life prior to ending up with the White Gloves. What has influenced their personality? How do they feel about the coming of kaiju? How has their career gone and what have they specialized in? Are they a capable professional, or a crackpot who was given this job to get them far away from their home country? I welcome all sorts of details.
The Rules 1. All rules of RPG apply. If you are unsure of these rules, please check
here.
2. As GM, my word is a lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path. Please pay attention to the things I ask. I have final say on character sheets and in-game events, though I will happily discuss any issues with you.
3. I do not approve of godmodding, breaking the fourth wall, munchkins, metagaming, or the various forms of ruining the game for everyone.
4. Please include the phrase "no brown M&Ms" in your CS to show you've read through these rules.
5. You will NOT (initially, at least, pending in-game developments) play as kaiju or mecha. I repeat this simply to avoid confusion.
6. Please discuss issues in the OOC. I would much rather see people talk out differences then storm out of the game or hurl insults at one another.
7. Finally, cut loose, have some fun!
