Thinslayer

Starship Crew

roleplayerguild.com/topics/154001-shat..

As of 10/30: This RP hasn't started yet. We need characters! In this story, you play the role of a crew member of a hyper-advanced starship. You could be captain, admiral, helm officer, or any other role you choose. You can be a fighter pilot or mecha pilot. You can be an armored super soldier. No matter your role, you can find a place aboard the starship. You will embark on a 3-year mission to restore peace and stability to the empire. There will be numerous trials along the way - time loops, space monsters, corruption, and supervillains. And someday, you shall meet your equals. Will you succeed and bring glory to your civilization? Or will you shame your very name for the rest of history?

Clash of Immortals

@FallenTrinityHullo?

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

(Lore Transfer from Interest Check)

All of us would be crew aboard one ship, but I also wanted the option to traverse space individually, hence the Warp Fighters. Each role should play out more like Artemis Starship Simulator, with a captain, gunner, helm officer, etc. The ship itself is sentient and *can* be controlled autonomously, but it needs humans to train it and give it a soul. We're training it from scratch - how to move, shoot, repair itself, and such like.

The Empire sees itself as a bastion of goodness, a light on a hill so to speak, but reality is a bit more complicated. At the start of the mission, we will be running various goody-two-shoes jobs like feeding orphans, building shelters for the homeless, rescuing the stranded, and the like. Later on, though, we will be delving into the darker side of the Empire, into its genetic experiments, morally bankrupt population, and corruption at the highest levels of government.

The Empire has a foothold in every single star system, whether it be a core world, colony, conquered group, or military outpost. Only the core worlds produce the best starships and tech; the other worlds are struggling to catch up, or even taking different paths. While the official government is an oligarchy, with 7 Immortals on the Immortal Council, the Empire is so vast that the more remote colonies can get away with operating like sovereign states. One of your missions will be to change that.
__________

The Core worlds are, at once, a bastion of high civilization and a den of evil. The economy is almost totally automated - from production and services to mining, farming, and maintenance. Even science and coding are automated to some degree. The end result is that work and money have become obsolete. Any necessary economic transactions result in bartering.

Sounds like utopia right?

Wrong. Having nothing worthwhile to do with their lives, the people have wholly devoted themselves to the pursuit of pleasure. Alcohol, drugs, games, and especially sex are popular pastimes, and all manner of historic depravities occur on these worlds. The more conscientious members of society devote themselves to the pursuit of science and the arts. The military used to be an outlet for their energies until the end of the Conquest War.

The outer worlds are more or less postmodern, which is to say, considerably less advanced. Most of them can't even get a craft in orbit, let alone out of their solar system. And unfortunately, those that *used* to have spacefaring abilities were bombed back to the stone age duing the Conquest War. Over the last few years, some have regained some degree interstellar travel, but they're nowhere near as advanced as their conquerors. Our game will start with one of their emmisaries returning a batch of starship crew to their post around Crescent Prime.

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

(Lore Transfer from Interest Check)

Ever play one of those 4X games? eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate? Suppose you've reached the endgame, finished all the technologies, and took over most of the known galaxy. What happens now? Well, buckle up soldier, because you're getting a front row seat.

You are the crew of a Crescent Empire star carrier, the most powerful vessel in the galaxy. You can destroy planets and stars, create life, travel through time, and generally kick ass. Your ship has a complement of Warp Fighters aboard as well. Warp Fighters are manned starfighters able to transform between bipedal mech and high-performance interceptor as the mission demands. Though most of the systems can be and are automated, Imperial military doctrine requires that wars be fought with lives on the line, so no remote drones for you.

The dirty little secret that the Empire isn't telling you is that it's falling apart. All this "perfection" comes at a great price, and your civilization was unprepared to pay it. People are spontaneously transforming into monsters, robots are becoming sentient and rebellious, and mysterious advanced aliens wielding the Empire's own tech have begun advancing on its colonies. Your mission is to restore order and peace to the Empire. You have the whole fleet at your command, and even a member of the ruling Council has joined your crew. Good luck!

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

So what would the level of infantry personal protection be? I mean, even a super advanced empire would have various degrees of investment in different fields. Did ground combat infantry/marine infantry advancement stagnate as a result of being no longer relevent? ARE we super cutting edge and take advantage of this against more mechanically technologically reliant foes? (i.e. boarding actions, shock troops, special forces divisions)

I ask because I intend on being the Infantry Officer/Marine Commander.

@Thinslayer

@Rain

Oops, I don't think I answered your question. With the advent of Seed, combat options have expanded tremendously. Seed is an artificial nanoparticle designed to respond to mental commands and powered by ambient energy (or soul energy, if you have a transformer of some kind). It effectively has one foot in the spiritual realm and one in the physical realm. You may think of it as a sort of hi-tech "fairy dust." Whatever you can imagine, it can do. These days, it's dirt cheap and easy to mass produce, and can be found in every aspect of society. While only Immortals are capable of controlling it directly, computer systems that are able to manipulate it are fairly simple to program. Some applications include:
* Direct weaponization. Immortals can literally tear their opponents apart at a molecular level with it.
* Indirect weaponization. Particle guns fire Seed particles programmed for various destructive effects. There are gravity wave disrupters that fire Seed that creates quantum singularities. There are positron blasters that fire Seed that analyzes the target material, transforms into its corresponding antiparticle, and annihilates it. And there are Soul Blades that directly channel spiritual energies through a particle field of Seed.
* Direct protection. Seed particles can be quite durable and make for powerful particle shields if properly managed.
* Indirect protection. They can repair or harden any material they are imbued in.
* Physical enhancement. Many Immortals (and soldiers too) like to inject Seed into their bodies for various functions, such as breathing alien atmospheres, enduring extreme temperatures, boosting physical prowess, and more.
* Adaptability. With a few blueprints downloaded to your computer, you can keep a supply of Seed to engineer battlefield equipment as needed. Need a jetpack? Tear some material from that building over there and make one. Diving underwater? Tear apart your jetpack and make a pressure suit. With enough blueprints downloaded, you can adapt to nearly any situation. And don't worry, Seed can alchemize any element into any other as needed.

So really, you don't need to worry too much about how your battlesuit works or what it looks like. You can look like whatever you want and still kick serious butt.

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

I've been considering how to open up the story, but then it occurred to me that I should probably wait for the other character apps first. The kind of opening sequence I should make depends on who's in it.

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

Vera Valentine

* Given name & Family name: Vera Valentine

Image

* Worldview & Motivations: Vera believes that every human life is precious and purposeful, and that even the most villainous of them deserves a chance at redemption. Her goal in this mission, indeed in her whole life, is to bring hope to a humanity devoid of any. Those close to her have noted, correctly, that this does not necessarily translate to loyalty toward the Empire, and her fellow Immortals have maintained an eye on her ever since they realized this about her.

* Personality Traits: Saucy, playful, and indefinitely starstruck, she looks at every encounter with another human being as something to be celebrated. The human mind, to her, is an infinite wellspring of mystery, and causing a person to express their own deepest thoughts is one of her life's greatest joys. But there is also a quieter, more contemplative side of her that one may find if enough time is spent with her, one that seems almost hopeless. In her capacity as diplomat, she has seen the full range of human expression, and she is not as naive as she looks - she does not hold much hope in humanity's future. So how can she bring hope to others when she herself has none? "When all hope is lost," she would say, "call out to her, and she shall return to you."

* Quirks/Hobbies: Vera is something of a novice poet. Her verse is technically sound, but rather uninspiring sometimes. She is also the idyllic gamer girl - sexy, competitive, and talented. Unfortunately for prospective gaming partners, she has more important things to do with her life, like saving the galaxy, for instance. Vera has an intuitive engineering sense that makes her more useful than your average politician when things break down, thanks to her early interest in vehicle design. On a side note, her father wasn't too happy when she tore apart his teleporter, but that's neither here nor there.

* Faults: Putting excessive value on human life, combined with her internal hopelessness, leads her to avoid confrontations when possible. She would rather make people feel happy than tell them the truth, if she were forced to choose between the two. She wouldn't lie, but she wouldn't say what needed to be said, either. Deception isn't entirely out of the question for her, though, and in fact it is often the only way for her to avoid confrontation that doesn't involve outright lying. Additionally, for all her preaching about the value of human life, she has surprisingly little to say when others have to do the dirty work of actually killing people who threaten the greater good. The hypocrisy is not lost on her, and has been a thorn in her side ever since it first occurred to her.

* Background Info: Vera Valentine was raised on Crescent Prime, the innermost core world of the empire and by far the most populous. With the capital being the center of culture and technology, she initially absorbed most of the traits common to her peers. She went to virtual school classes since she was only two years old, played with her friends in the streets (devoid of cars for several decades with the advent of cheap teleportation), and fell into a depressed stupor along with millions of others by her thirteenth year of age, vanishing into the (artificial) forest in a sort of "coming of age" ritual. At this point, most people made a decision, whether to continue striving for meaning in life or to end the struggle once and for all. Evidently, she must have found some meaning in her life, because she returned to the public sphere a year later bent on joining the military. She proved to be a talented warrior, but what really sold her to the higher-ups was her unwavering optimism and ability to inspire everyone around her. Thanks to her budding political acumen and a few well-placed bribes, she weaved her way up the ladder. How she became one of the seven Immortals, however, is classified, and not a few attempts were made to uncover this well-kept secret of hers.

* Job Description/Role: Immortal, Diplomat
* Properties & Possessions: shear-hardening hazard coat, dimensional containment unit, semidenim leg piece, microfiber top piece, bicast polymer foot guards, wrist-mounted chronometer, A.I. implant, multi-frequency mineral scanner, bioscanner, handheld particle blaster, S.E.E.D. launcher

Shattered Galaxy: New Beginnings

I'm digging this character! Accepted!

The tentative name for the star carrier is Pandora, the namesake of its class - the Pandora-class Dreadnaught.

Starship Crew

@SushiJaguar Yup, that's my GM style. Vera is designed to make other players important, while being strong enough to drive the plot where I want it should the need arise.

Starship Crew

* Given name & Family name: Vera Valentine

Image

* Worldview & Motivations: Vera believes that every human life is precious and purposeful, and that even the most villainous of them deserves a chance at redemption. Her goal in this mission, indeed in her whole life, is to bring hope to a humanity devoid of any. Those close to her have noted, correctly, that this does not necessarily translate to loyalty toward the Empire, and her fellow Immortals have maintained an eye on her ever since they realized this about her.

* Personality Traits: Saucy, playful, and indefinitely starstruck, she looks at every encounter with another human being as something to be celebrated. The human mind, to her, is an infinite wellspring of mystery, and causing a person to express their own deepest thoughts is one of her life's greatest joys. But there is also a quieter, more contemplative side of her that one may find if enough time is spent with her, one that seems almost hopeless. In her capacity as diplomat, she has seen the full range of human expression, and she is not as naive as she looks - she does not hold much hope in humanity's future. So how can she bring hope to others when she herself has none? "When all hope is lost," she would say, "call out to her, and she shall return to you."

* Quirks/Hobbies: Vera is something of a novice poet. Her verse is technically sound, but rather uninspiring sometimes. She is also the idyllic gamer girl - sexy, competitive, and talented. Unfortunately for prospective gaming partners, she has more important things to do with her life, like saving the galaxy, for instance. Vera has an intuitive engineering sense that makes her more useful than your average politician when things break down, thanks to her early interest in vehicle design. On a side note, her father wasn't too happy when she tore apart his teleporter, but that's neither here nor there.

* Faults: Putting excessive value on human life, combined with her internal hopelessness, leads her to avoid confrontations when possible. She would rather make people feel happy than tell them the truth, if she were forced to choose between the two. She wouldn't lie, but she wouldn't say what needed to be said, either. Deception isn't entirely out of the question for her, though, and in fact it is often the only way for her to avoid confrontation that doesn't involve outright lying. Additionally, for all her preaching about the value of human life, she has surprisingly little to say when others have to do the dirty work of actually killing people who threaten the greater good. The hypocrisy is not lost on her, and has been a thorn in her side ever since it first occurred to her.

* Background Info: Vera Valentine was raised on Crescent Prime, the innermost core world of the empire and by far the most populous. With the capital being the center of culture and technology, she initially absorbed most of the traits common to her peers. She went to virtual school classes since she was only two years old, played with her friends in the streets (devoid of cars for several decades with the advent of cheap teleportation), and fell into a depressed stupor along with millions of others by her thirteenth year of age, vanishing into the (artificial) forest in a sort of "coming of age" ritual. At this point, most people made a decision, whether to continue striving for meaning in life or to end the struggle once and for all. Evidently, she must have found some meaning in her life, because she returned to the public sphere a year later bent on joining the military. She proved to be a talented warrior, but what really sold her to the higher-ups was her unwavering optimism and ability to inspire everyone around her. Thanks to her budding political acumen and a few well-placed bribes, she weaved her way up the ladder. How she became one of the seven Immortals, however, is classified, and not a few attempts were made to uncover this well-kept secret of hers.

* Job Description/Role: Immortal, Diplomat
* Properties & Possessions: shear-hardening hazard coat, dimensional containment unit, semidenim leg piece, microfiber top piece, bicast polymer foot guards, wrist-mounted chronometer, A.I. implant, multi-frequency mineral scanner, bioscanner, handheld particle blaster, S.E.E.D. launcher