Rhona W

Splintered / Reflections: Near Future sci-fi with human, anthro, and other species characters and mecha.

@Neziul, @Byte - Revised and rewritten version of the Interest Check is up, if you're both still interested.

Splintered / Reflections: Near Future sci-fi with human, anthro, and other species characters and mecha.

Splintered / Reflections

“There’s that old saying; ‘Breaking a Mirror is seven years of bad luck’... I guess that’s what we’re living through now”

It all started with an experiment. An attempt to answer a question about the nature of the universe, about how it was formed and how it worked.
But the answer was for a different question: That of ‘Are We Alone?’
The answer to that, was a conclusive, decisive ‘no’.

The result was, humanity was no longer alone in the universe.
Five years later; the ‘Broken Mirror Wars’ are over… or is it just a lull in an ongoing conflict?
Parts of Earth remain under the control of the hostile, interplanetary alien empire known as ‘The Totality’, as they consume resources, lives, and worlds to fuel their own ever-expanding empire.
But humanity has allies; races from other worlds across the universe that have been linked by the same accident.
While it created the interplanetary portals that lead The Totality to Earth, it also left other worlds accessible - other worlds that have felt the blighted, greedy, all-consuming hand of The Totality in its drive to consume and control everything.

And there are other dangers, other mysteries. Other things that lurk in the darkness of space and in the spaces between worlds. Things that have plans, and have been biding their time, pitting forces of The Totality against those that would resist, manipulating and pulling strings. And others, still, that have capitalised on the opportunities presented for their own wants and needs, looking to improve their fortunes, or to carve out their own empire and positions of power among the ashes.

And amidst all of this, there are the people caught in the middle. The everyday men and women, of humanity and its newfound allied races, that just want to live; to be free of oppression of the dystopic tyranny of The Totality, or of the greed and violence of other would-be villains. Or just safe and secure from the ravages of unchecked and intrusive hostile beings and life-forms that have found their way to Earth, or other worlds.

The Coalition is all that stands against them. Formed by several of the existing governments of Earth, and of the allied worlds and races, they have enough resources, organization and power to hold things in a stalemate - for now. They fought The Totality to a standstill before, but not without a scale of destruction and loss that couldn’t have been imagined. Should their enemy go back on the offensive, the same couldn’t be guaranteed.
But they haven’t stood still; new ideas and new technologies are being explored, new advantages being sought, and even in this brief pause of held breath, operations are underway.

Because the question that everyone has now, isn’t about how the universe works, or are we alone.
It’s ‘how long do we have?’

When You Stare Too Deep In The Mirror

The Splintered World

The home of the Coalition is Earth, of the early 21st century. The year is 2033, five years after the initial incident that resulted in the beginning of the Broken Mirror Wars - so named for the appearance of the portals looking somewhat mirror-like initially - and two and a half years after the end of the initial period of intense and active fighting.
Human society is still intact, to a degree. While every nation on Earth felt some impact of the incident, many countries and people have not been directly exposed to The Totality and its’ forces, or to the direct effects of the portals themselves.
However, The Totality controls a large portion of Eastern Europe, a large area of Central South China and bordering parts of Burma, India and Bangladesh, as well as a portion of South America between the borders of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. In all locations, they have built up around the portals they came through, expanding outward and consuming resources and reusing them to build massive, towering constructs that seem to regulate and control the portals they use, as well as having other functions related to their control of the regions.



The monolithic tower they had at their original invasion point, the Ground Zero of the Mirror War, is no more. Its’ destruction disrupted their control throughout the Southern United States and the surrounding area. But in its wake, is a swirling, ever-present void in the sky and a storm that surrounds it. The wreckage of the city beneath is swarming with alien wildlife and dangers, brought through by the runaway portal activity and dumped in the apocalyptic debris field below. The area is now walled off and quarantined, deemed too dangerous for anyone other than ‘authorised personnel’ to go into - but the promise of advanced Totality technology and other exotic materials is an allure of its own.

The Coalition races have been integrated with Humanity, to a degree. Their own worlds suffered more than Earth. Some more so than others; some are down to the last few handfuls of their free people, sheltering from the culls, tithes, and slavery - or ‘augmentation’ - of The Totality, and Earth has given them a chance to live like more than frightened animals. Others have thrown in their hopes with Earth, sharing what remains of their advanced technologies and research, or their knowledge and experience of The Totality in order to better strike back and stand a chance of reclaiming their homeworlds and freedom for their peoples - rather than an eternity of life under the thumb of their oppressors, their individuality and identities as species erased as the Totality uses them as it does every resource, augmenting and transforming them into tools, weapons, and part of the machinery of their star-spanning empire.



It is through sharing this technology and information that the Coalition was able to fight back the Totality to the point it did. And one of the key weapons in this effort was the production and utilisation of the first Mechanised Augmentation System Suits - MAS Suits, otherwise known as Exo Suits or Exo Armor, or even just ‘Mecha’.
A combination of human and coalition races technologies, principles, systems and design, these piloted robotic armour suits stood approximately ten feet tall. The augmented strength, mobility, armour and sensors they provided, as well as the ability to carry significantly more firepower and equipment than an unarmoured soldier - of any coalition race - while still being able to move in urban environments and employ infantry-style and unconventional tactics made them ideal for facing off against The Totality’s biomechanical synths with their powerful and exotic weapons, armour, and strength, as well as dealing with the more mechanical hi-tech vehicles, weapons and equipment utilised by their ‘augmented’ regular troops.
The first versions were crude, but they did the job. Since then, the concept has been refined and improved, in several iterations, and while MAS Suits do not completely replace all conventional forces, they have become a ubiquitous staple part of the Coalitions’ forces and operations.

These alien races stand shoulder-to-shoulder with human fighters, and have become well-known by many of them. Some even call them friends, finding common ground and relatable personalities, thoughts, emotions and understanding despite the differences in their looks, build, biology or culture. Especially when they stand shoulder to shoulder, against common threats and challenges to that way of life.

The Coalition Species

From an OOC perspective; this means that your characters may be human, and from a background of a military sort, or from some other profession. Equally, they may be one of the non-human Coalition races.

There are a limited number of races within the coalition as well as humans.

The Felness

Creatures that look like anthropomorphic felines, with many subspecies. They are expertly agile and have incredible reflexes. They also seem to have a ‘sixth sense’ for danger, as well as excellent low-level sight. They are, as a rule, also superb at being stealthy and quiet, as well as having a very independent streak.

Canuss

Anthropomorphic canines. They have a natural affinity for tracking, both through hearing and their sense of smell. They have a variety of subspecies, some of whom are especially well-adapted to particular climates.
They are notable for their unswerving loyalty, and are excellent at emotional intuition and understanding, having an almost innate relatability and ability to ‘fit in’ with others. Some are also especially adept at telling when someone is lying, or otherwise covering up information.

The Mustarl

They resemble anthropomorphic mustelids. Physically, they are among the most varied in size and shape through their subspecies, but all are renowned for having incredible physical resilience to injury and pain. Some such as those who resemble badgers or wolverines are almost terrifyingly so, to the point they seem to shrug things off until they run out of adrenaline.

The Dranfel

Taller and larger than humans on average, they look like humanoid dragons though they lack any wings.
They have naturally armoured and resistant skin, as well as being immune to most poisons, toxins, and diseases. They are remarkably long-lived, which means that many of the best academics and scientists of the Coalition tend to be Dranfel - however, they also reproduce very slowly.

Selachii

Shark-like anthromorphs; they are amphibious and able to survive on land as well as in water. Even so, they do need to return to water every 18 hours, or risk illness and complications. Nonetheless, they are exceptional at thinking in three-dimensional space, and have an innate sense of electromagnetic fields.

Anhur

Resembling anthropomorphic griffins with small wings; they are few in number, as they suffered greatly from The Totality invading their world. While they are superb fighters, with quick wits and sharp intelligence, they were heavily damaged by a retrovirus, as well as their world being literally physically ruined and virtually destroyed by The Totality. Many of the surviving Anhur are physically altered and enhanced simply to survive. They are physically somewhat lighter in build than other species, but make up for this with cybernetic enhancements.

Elves

More like anime elves than Tolkien ones - in both dark and light varieties. Both Light and Dark elves have naturally occurring exotic elements in their bodies that allow them to channel electromagnetic forces and create limited physical effects on their surroundings.
For Light Elves they can generate and control minor electrical and electromagnetic fields. This extends to creating small bolts of lightning, ball lightning, jamming and interference fields, and even minor magnetic fields and shields.
For Dark Elves, they possess the ability to use the same electromagnetic control to bend light around their bodies, affecting a form of active camouflage.

The Gennari

The most unusual and exotic of the humanoid, non-anthro species, the Gennari look almost like mythical creatures or those from a fantasy book or game.
They have horns, as well as tails with a point, and cloven-hoofed feet, as well as exotically colored skin and eyes. But their abilities to read the thoughts and emotions of others, as well as - for some individuals in a subspecies - manifest telekinetic abilities are especially amazing.

Compared to these races and their natural abilities, humans may seem comparatively ‘weak’. But all of these species depend on particular chemical compounds in their diets, particular environmental conditions, or have other aspects that they need to remain healthy. The increasing loss of these things due to The Totality invading their worlds and occupying them has left them weak, and their numbers falling, as well as other complications among their number, such as increased illnesses and falling birth rates.

Additionally, with the coming of the Mirror Wars and the explosion of unusual technologies and advancements around the world thanks to the influx of extra terrestrial flora and fauna, humans have begun to experiment, or have begun to change. Some have started to show minor abilities; increased healing, faster reflexes, higher ranges of sight or sound, increases in bone density and muscle mass. Some have opted for more direct changes, incorporating cybernetics into their bodies either as a result of war wounds, or from illness, sickness, or just to remain competitive and get an ‘edge’ - though, not always through ethical methods and means. Such people often have stronger bodies, armoured ones, or enhanced senses. Some even have built-in devices like communications, or even small weapons, or the ability to physically link with machinery.

Themes, Plot and the Players' role

The overall themes of the RP and of the story itself will be those of an ongoing struggle against a broader, epic canvas of the fight against The Totality. Discovering exactly what The Totality is, how far it stretches and its’ purpose, and also what is behind it, or against it, as well as discovering more about how the Portals came about, what is behind them, and what other forces are out there, are all part of the setting and of the themes to be explored.
Against that canvas also, are the more personal stories - player characters will have their own backgrounds and stories, influenced by the bigger picture, and weaving them into the narrative will be part of things, and seeing how they intertwine with one another, and with the bigger picture, drawing players right into the heart of things will be a part of the narrative.

There will be a linear structure, in that the player group will receive tasks and information to achieve from their central command structure. But these things will be varied. One operation could be to explore an alien world on the other side of a gate, escorting a group of scientists to do so. But this could then take a turn, as something happens, and it’s up to the player characters to figure out the mystery, while one of them may have a connection to one of the players, or be a double agent for The Totality, or some other group or power.
Another mission may have the player characters hot-dropping into a Totality incursion or assault on a key installation, fighting an all-out combat in their MAS Suits to rescue stranded personnel, and capture or destroy a key Totality unit or device.
Another yet could be infiltrating a city somewhere on Earth, tracking down a criminal organization that has got their hands on black market Totality technology and are attempting to sell it to the highest bidder - all while not being aware of how much danger it possesses.
Or busting a ring of underground labs and smugglers, trafficking in flora culled from another world that is the basis for a new street drug - that has unexpected side effects.
Perhaps you’ll be infiltrating a Totality controlled city on one of the non-human Coalition worlds, extracting a key member of the Resistance under the cover of darkness to get critical information - only to have things go wrong on the exit, and have to split up, with one group creating a diversion, while the other exfiltrates with the package.

All of these things are possible for operators within a SPEAR unit. The essential idea is of a team of particularly gifted, well-trained, experienced and unusual operatives, who can be independent, yet also work together well, and have a dedication and determination to do the right thing.
Operatives can be from Earth, or one of the other species, and more will be detailed on them in the OOC - or if you want to ask questions about them, then go ahead!
While there will be flexibility in how these tasks are carried out - they are still the basic ‘jist’ of the narrative. Players attempting to go off and do their own completely different thing will be gently encouraged back onto the plot in-character, and if too disruptive to the narrative and immersion of the setting - especially if it is holding back other players from engaging with the narrative - will be reminded OOC that there is a narrative and a plot at work, and they should engage with it.

The setting, while being set in a version of the real world, will also avoid real world politics and events as much as possible. While there may be some reference to events that happened historically, this is not a soapbox or an exercise in ‘fixing’ the real world in any way. Real life political movements and issues will not be featured or involved in any in-depth manner. As it is, there is already a fairly apt message in resistance against a dystopian empire that calls itself ‘the totality’ and enforces an oppressive police state on the people it enslaves, while altering their memories and erasing their identity. I don’t think much more ‘political’ narrative is needed.

All of the above - and more - are more than possible in the setting, and how you go about them once given the information will be open to a degree of freedom. There will be missions, stories, or scenes where you are in your MAS Suits, and others where you are not. Some arcs and scenes will be all-out, balls-to-the-wall action, others will be quieter, more personal drama and interaction that explores the tragedy, drama, and sincerity of the setting, or exploring how alien the aliens can be - while also how human other aspects of them are. All while the overall arcs of the plot and story feed into a bigger picture.

I am not a huge fan of magic or of high fantasy settings - but I have made an attempt to include some element of ‘special powers’ into the setting as a bit of an experiment, to try and include them as ‘sci-fi’ elements with some grounding behind them. As such, characters with quote-unquote ‘special powers’ aren’t going to be incinerating everything around them like wizards, mages, or other such magic-slinging or superheroic characters, but will have some ‘unique’ aspects that will aid in how they can approach situations and challenges they come up against. These abilities and characteristics also feed back into the reasons why The Totality has wanted to integrate and absorb these species and races into their ‘collective’, resulting in some of their Biomechanical monstrosities having similar or derived abilities.
Of course, there is also the heavy focus on technology, which includes real-world guns, weaponry, and gear, and this is all equally capable of overcoming such abilities, though not without some added difficulty, and such abilities are an added consideration for anyone attempting to tackle an opponent with them, while not having any and being conventionally armed - even in an MAS.

Likewise, the MAS while giving a big boost to abilities, firepower, and resources the player group - and by extension, their allies - have access to is not invulnerable or a ‘wonder weapon’. It is a machine; and machines break down, they need maintenance, they have faults, and they have weaknesses and drawbacks as well as all the things they offer.
MAS Suits are also much smaller than most of the mecha in popular fiction. They are much closer to the size of the AMP suits from Avatar, the (rubbish) mecha in The Matrix sequels, the ATLAS in Mass Effect, VOTOMS from Armoured Trooper Votoms and other such machines from popular fiction. They are just big enough to mount some heavy firepower, useful sensors and other typical ‘mecha’ stuff, while still being small enough to interact well with their surroundings, and do a goodly amount of ‘normal’ infantry stuff. A bit more than powered armour, a bit less than a mecha. More specific and ‘nitty-gritty’ details of them will be forthcoming in the OOC. But the idea is that everyone has the same base model, with modular and interchangeable weapons and equipment from a list that will be provided.

As a GM, I don’t tend to be particularly brutal to my players. I’ve been running RP’s both online and tabletop for a long, long time, and one of the key things I’ve always stuck by is that the Player Characters are the stars of the show. They’re the ensemble cast that the narrative is oriented around, and they’re the heroes of the story. Everyone gets a chance in the limelight, and to be awesome and do cool things.
I won’t be putting player death on the table unless someone specifically asks for their character to be killed off, and even then; it would have to be in a dramatic, exciting, and significant to the story and plot manner.
Given the nature of the setting as well, there will absolutely be darker moments - there are already dystopian themes at play. The Totality occupies worlds and cities, and those forced to live under their rule are living in an oppressive, police state with enforced roles, deprivation, and loss of freedoms. There are also themes of loss of humanity and identity; as the Totality augments people into soldiers for their armies, brainwashing and altering their minds and bodies physically. Loss of loved ones, communities, and other such things could be part of this. A character could end up questioning their own history or memories, should they have been imprisoned by the Totality and interrogated, only to escape or be freed.

Romance is also a distinct possibility, both player romance and player to NPC romance, although it is not a key focus or specific part of the RP, it would be welcome as part of natural or organic character development.

Given the depth and breadth of the setting and the amount of detail already present - and much, much more will be included in the OOC once enough interest is shown - then this RP will be at no less than ‘Casual’ level, perhaps even ‘Advanced’.
I don’t tend to follow a posting order with my RPs, as I would rather people fit their posts in where they can and as suits them best. But I do tend to do posts as a ‘round’; meaning I as the GM will make a post setting things up for the players to respond to, and then once all players have made a post in response, the next ‘round’ begins. I tend to like to have a two to three-week turnaround on rounds, as I know that people are busy outside of RP, but I do like to have some urgency, and posting more frequently is outright encouraged, especially in action scenes.
I tend to be quite flexible with post lengths as well - while I stand by a paragraph at the minimum, if there is more to say or interact with, then more is welcome. But equally, sometimes there is little to say that isn’t padding unnecessarily, and does nothing to move things along or add to a scene or post, so I tend not to be strict. However, I do firmly require a basic standard of grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as some ability to incorporate descriptive and immersive language in a post. I also prefer all posts to be in the third person, rather than first person, perspective.

Rules

• 0: Don’t be a dick.
  This means; don’t be unnecessarily argumentative, contrary, or otherwise… problematic for no reason or ‘because it’s funny’. It rarely is, and it doesn’t make things more enjoyable for everyone.
• 1: Follow and adhere to the RP Guild rules and code of conduct at all times.
• 2: It is not the GM’s job to chase you. If you’re interested enough to join the RP, then I will assume you are interested enough to post regularly and check the site. I will remind when a GM post goes up, but I will not chase you to post. If you are ‘too lazy’ to do so, it’s not my problem, especially as it shows just how interested you actually are.
• 3: An exhaustive knowledge of modern weaponry or hard science is not at all required, or even necessarily welcome. The ‘rule of cool’ will always win, as the narrative trumps everything else. But at the same time, things will remain somewhat grounded; just so there is something to use as a reference point and to connect with or touch base on, and to look into and research to help with understanding for those less knowledgeable.
• 4: Embrace the setting and the themes of the RP. Yes, there are anthro/furry characters. Get over it, they aren’t going anywhere, and such kinds of characters have long been part of fiction as a whole.
  You are not mandated to play one, there are humans and other races. But playing a character that ‘hates all anthro species’ will be treated as highly suspect and trolling. Embrace the sci-fi ideas and concepts behind the idea of multiple races in the setting, they are extremely common in fiction. If you cannot see past ‘ugh furries’, and that’s the only thing ‘stopping you’ from ‘enjoying’ the RP, then I feel sorry for you.
• 5: If you disappear without warning or communication for several ‘rounds’ of posts in a row, I will assume you have dropped out. Taking breaks or not being able to post because of IRL and outside issues is completely understandable; it happens to us all and we all have regular lives where things come up. But I find it rude not to at least inform the GM, if not the group, of anything that has stopped you from joining in when it does happen. Even if it’s after the fact, I can still retcon your character to have been part of things and just ‘in the background’ of a scene.
• 6: You are perfectly welcome to play a character who is somewhat more ‘anti-social’, in that they are more grumpy, gruff, harder-edged or otherwise not all sunshine and flowers. But bear in mind that, ultimately, the point of the narrative and the RP is to work together, and to combat a hostile and evil power. If your character is a nihilistic, miserable, disagreeable twat, don’t be surprised when no-one wants to talk to them, or NPCs treat them like the arsehole they are. Also, make sure that it does not spill over into OOC, and that no player is being singled out and treated poorly and unfairly to the point it affects their enjoyment of the game and its’ story.
• 7: Your characters may have ‘secrets’ or multiple facets and aspects to their histories and personalities - as long as they a) do not contradict the setting as it has been laid out, and b) the GM has been informed about them and approved of them, and they are a good fit for the setting and the canon. If you suddenly pull a whole backstory out of nowhere, expect it to be ignored or discarded.
• 8: Quality is always better than quantity. While there is a minimal standard of spelling, punctuation and grammar, and I expect a certain amount of writing prowess, one succinct paragraph that is well written is always better than three that are full of bloated descriptives that get very little across.
• 9: Players may have multiple player characters, but a limit of no more than two per player, to avoid entire scenes of players ‘talking to themselves’ as it were, or just setting themselves up with the exact characters and cast they want and writing their own fic in my setting.
  If the group becomes especially large, this may be limited to one character each just for convenience and to speed things up and make them manageable.
• 10: Please do not write in ‘script fic’ format. I.E.
  
  

  Rhona: We shouldn’t write like this
  Jeff the Capybara: No, it reads really badly.

  
  
  Instead, please use third-person narrative:
  

  Rhona read back over the previous post, and nodded in approval with a satisfied smile. It was much more immersive and far less clunky. Jeff snuffled in agreement and munched on a carrot.

• 11: I do not follow a ‘posting order’. I tend to - as mentioned above - make a GM post that sets up a scene for the other players to respond to. Once every player has responded once, I will make another GM post that resolves their actions and moves the scene on. The order of replies is irrelevant, as long as everyone has posted. Sometimes I may post as GM or an NPC in direct response to a particular players’ questions or interactions, but this will be clearly stated.

I am looking for a minimum of three players to start things off. There is no hard limit on players, but I would prefer to keep the group relatively small.
If you are interested, I ask that you ensure you have time to commit, as I am always upset by people dropping out and flaking, especially when a lot of interest is shown initially - although, I always find this happens with larger groups, especially.
As soon as the minimum number has been reached, an OOC will go up which will have a lot more detailed information about the setting, its races, the mecha, and more.

I run a Discord server, which is also useful for discussion of RP topics and ideas. If you wish to join it for discussion of the RP, then DM me for an invite link.

Dream RP?

- One with an overarching plot, with a clear direction and an antagonist to defeat
- One that is in an - at least mostly - sci-fi setting that is original, but reminiscent and relateable to other things as a point of reference and understanding, and is well-defined and explained to me.
- One that has 'real robot' type mecha in it - i.e. similar those in Gundam or Macross. Bonus points if, like Macross mecha, they transform.
- One where I can play a non-human character, but not necessarily that doesn't have humans at all in. I like settings with multiple species/races. Especially anthro/furry ones, or synthetic/robotic sapient characters.
- One that is mostly serious, with grand, epic plots, good versus evil, huge battles and great scope, where our characters are the thing on which victory or defeat rests. Going from being underdogs or not even worthy of note, to being the biggest damn heroes in the 'verse.
- But also where there are moments of levity, humour, bonding, romance and reflection on all that's happened and happening. Pathos and emotion, as well as epic set-pieces.
- One where the player character group are a bunch of varied personalities, that, sure; might not always get along. But they're actually friends and a 'found family' of weirdoes that always have one anothers' backs when the shit goes down
- One where being heroic, noble, and moral isn't a dirty word or smirked at and seen as 'naive' or childish.
- One where everyone gets a spot in the limelight, and each characters' backstories and histories are woven into the narrative as it progresses, so that everyone gets a chance at a proper ending and closure for their characters
- One where I can play a grown-ass adult, and not a kid, and not in a school, or an Isekai. Or that isn't inspired by terrible MMORPG mechanics.
- Escapism. Not rigid, ruthless adherence to realism. But enough grounding to be relateable and have limits - and then, when something exceeds those limits, it's worthy of note and something to be explored and understood.

Do You Have RP Pet Peeves?

As a DM, it's ghosting for me. I often deal with repeat customers (players) who eagerly jump in when I start a new thing, only to see them barely participating after one or two months playing. It is honestly annoying because I have allocated significant time and attention working with them to make their characters fit into the story, even tailoring some elements in the plot to cater to their characters' backgrounds.

And in the long run, it makes me restless; Maybe some new changes are needed? Maybe there was something in the narrative that they didn't like? And the worst part, it is hard to mend things when you have people completely gone from the radar, and you don't know why they are gone, and you can't ask them why.

It's understandable if things in real life prevent them from participating, but it becomes another if I see them online in my Discord server or returning once every two weeks to post memes without context. AT least keep us updated, a simple "sorry still busy this month" every once in a while would do just fine and take no more than 2 minutes of your time, or just withdraw from the RP altogether so I can focus on what is left, thought it's still annoying because I still have to deal with the marks that retiring character left, but at least it is better than having a character just idling in the middle of the road for the rest of the arc.

@Mas Bagus

I had this happen so many times that I gave up on the site for a couple of years. I'd had a really enthusiastic group of players who were really onboard, had started pulling in threads of their characters' backstories for plot, the narrative was running... and then they all disappeared. It utterly killed my enthusiasm for RP in general for a long time.
I'd say I'm not bitter about it, but it's made me a lot more wary about running RP's since, and made me adjust my expectations a lot. I don't put as much planning in advance in anymore, because I'm not willing to go to all the effort only for people to drop out as soon as things start getting interesting.
I'm hoping my current RP doesn't go the same way.

Do you listen to music while writing?

I have a variety of stuff I listen to, in various playlists on Spotify. I have some that are themed to my writing mood, usually of soundtracks from movies, games, TV, anime, etc that put me in the mood to right epic and exciting adventure and battle scenes.
I have others that are more just general music that gets my imagination going and my mood up too.
I usually have something on in the background though, just because it helps me with getting the juices flowing.

RPing Preferences!

Interesting questions, and good ones too.
I don't really enjoy fantasy RP's much, or ones that heavily involve magic, so some of it isn't as relevant to me. But I still have input based on being a roleplayer in general that might be useful and relevant.

Regarding writing; I tend to vary the length of my posts depending on what the situation is. Does the other person I'm interacting with give me a lot to work with? Is there a lot to bounce off of there with interactions, questions, descriptive language (e.g. expressions, body language, etc etc). It all depends on what the situation is. Sometimes interactions are short and quick, sometimes posts are the same. There's sometimes only so many words you can wring out of something. Sometimes a door is just a door, sometimes it's a forboding portal of blackened oak, bound by iron as dark as the night. But I'd hope anyone I RP with is making an effort to be descriptive, so I'm getting immersed in the moment, and it feels exciting and enjoyable to read their posts as much as my own.

Art types don't often bother me. I can't say I've come across an RP where the particular choice of images for refs has put me off - at least, for characters.
I've been put off of mecha RP's because I don't like the aesthetics of the mecha, but that's also to do with how they're utilised and fit into the setting, not just their looks.
I will admit if someone asked me to use a photo reference for a character I'd find it difficult and a bit off-putting. But otherwise, not a huge issue for me.

As for the careers - I can't speak about a world of magic so much. As I said, I don't really do fantasy or high-fantasy RPs or things that heavily involve magic at all.
But I suppose from an objective point of view, and not knowing anything about how the magic in this speculative setting works - it would depend on the mechanics of the magic, how it works, and how it develops. Are there different schools or types of magic? Are they related to talents inate to a character, or are they learned and honed by skill and training? Because if it's more the second, then careers and the experiences from them may have more of an influence on the characters' magical proficiency and ability. If it's more the first, then I suppose it depends on if their career choices were important to their personal development and the history that's got them to the starting point of the RP, and if those skills are going to be relevant throughout the RP or not.
As a GM, it can be useful to know how a player character got to where they are, as there might be strings in their background you can pull on to give them sub-plots, and to know that if you're setting up a problem for the player party, there's someone who can solve it using their skills, from whatever professions they may have had.
As a player, I think it's good to have at least the broad strokes of their history involved.
Even in a world of magic, if there are 'mundane' jobs, like you describe, presumably that's because those things still exist and are therefore at least useful and part of life in some way that could potentially be useful to the players?

Regarding education of characters - personally, I can think of nothing worse than playing a character who is in a scholastic environment, so I'm not going to be much help there.
As for learning things, everyone learns a lot of things both through formal training and education, and also by just trying things. For example, IRL; I have a degree in English and Creative Writing, and I've worked in admin for various companies in different sectors. However, in my own time, I have also done DIY and house maintenance, visited many museums, read many books, learned to cook, learned how to repair my bicycle, and how to shoot and maintain airsoft guns, and how to move in a group tactically (to a degree, not at all professionally, but it's still knowledge that I can impart to others).
All of those things are skills and information that I've picked up from a variety of places, and through lived experience.
I suppose it depends how much you want to 'formalise' skills, as opposed to just narrative, free-form skills as part of a background.

Same with the 'battling' system. I never formalise combat or character creation with points and dice rolls in forum RPG's; everything is freeform for me, as I find the narrative flows better and I'm not a big fan of 'crunchy' rules, I prefer 'fluffy', narrative based stuff for forum-based RP.

Tooth & Claw - A near-future, military, sci-fi roleplay. (Mecha, sci-fi, inter-dimensional aliens, anthro and human characters)

I only just spotted this interest check (via your status update, funnily enough). The concept sounds cool, and I like me some sci-fi. So if nothing else keep me posted whenever you decide to take another swing at it. You might also be better off posting it in the casual RP interest check? Maybe that way it gets more traction, not sure.

@Byte

I'm going to try and rewrite and rejig things a bit, try and get the concept across better and present my ideas more coherently and with a bit more, IDK; 'zing' to them. Since this isn't the best interest check I've ever written, and I can do a lot better, IMHO.
Hopefully that might attract a bit more attention and interest.
I'll post it in here when I'm done anyway

Tooth & Claw - A near-future, military, sci-fi roleplay. (Mecha, sci-fi, inter-dimensional aliens, anthro and human characters)

Considering the spectacular lack of interest this has generated, I'm going to retract the Interest Check, and rewrite it extensively in the hope that it might attract more attention and interest, and I can get my concept across better.
Because this is kind of heartbreaking at the moment, since I was really excited for this RP concept, and there's been next-to-no activity

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

<Snip where Foster nerds about tanks>

@Foster

I wouldn't worry exactly how many they have; it's not really important to the plot, and I'm not going to be counting off each one meticulously. They have 'as many as the plot requires' to make it interesting and exciting, rather than adherence to realism to that degree. I do like the frankenstined AFV's though, that's very in keeping with the setting, and especially makes sense with the ISL becoming a thing too, giving them a bit more of an identity.
I'm mostly envisioning us facing off against older soviet-era models at the moment, and the more advanced/modern stuff becoming an issue as we start to hit more key and vital areas down the line, once we advance both in geography and plot.

Shattered Steel - Armoured Fist. An RP about modern armoured vehicles in an alternate world- ON HIATUS

Hello everyone, here's a bit of help with picturing what's currently occurring.

First off, where we started, and where we've got to:



We landed on the beach, and advanced approximately a kilometer inland across the flatter, emptier stretch of what looks like sandy terrain. This is where the majority of the heavier tanks and armour were waiting for us, along with some emplaced infantry. I envision - from everyone's posts - that we spread out once we exited the landing ship somewhat.



Now, after the artillery barrage, the area ahead of us - as described in my post from Maddy's POV - is suppressed and free of hostiles and cover. This leaves us open to advance to the edge of Naserabad proper, and onto the streets among the buildings. As mentioned, the secondary school has been requisitioned as a command post for the defence of the area.
We can assume that houses and businesses have been evacuated, but are otherwise intact. They may or may not have been occupied, but walled areas/compounds or outbuildings and the more major road junctions may have infantry with heavy weapons - machine guns, light mortars and shoulder-fired weapons - emplaced.



Once we advance into the town/village, this is what we can expect, although our characters won't know where everything is beforehand, and it will only be revealed as we advance.
I'll leave the exact details of what's where open to some interpretation, so that your posts can have some creative freedom, within the bounds of what's specified on the map. Expect more of the same kind of equipment, vehicles, and forces that we've already encountered though, as drawn from equipment used by the Iranian Army. Though, expect them to be holding back their good stuff for later on.

I hope this helps with writing your replies! Looking forward to what's coming next. Hopefully after the next battle scene when we've secured the town, we can have more of a moment for our characters to actually interact in person as well.