The Spectres are servants of a very powerful creature who refers to himself as Rakkmah. Wielding strange and dangerous powers that allow him to seemingly bend the fabric of reality to his will, and granting some of this power to those who he finds to be useful. After discovering the prevalence of dangerous people looking for something to fight in exchange for payment, he decided that testing a few of the more tenacious ones for a chance to join him and be granted power. Of course many died in the process, but the few that managed to survive gleefully serve their mighty master in hopes of earning more power. Rakkmah himself often invades entire planets to take them under his thrall. What happens to the populations is unknown, but it's implied to be pretty bad. Many who serve under Rakkmah claim that he is a benevolent god bringing order to a chaotic universes, but many have their doubts.
The Collective are, in a word, enigmatic. They're a race of machines with technology so far ahead of everyone else, many doubt it's even technology. They've completely converted a large number of planets into machines to serve purposes unknown to everyone else. Once mercenaries became as popular as they have, they took an interest in the organic life that was quickly spreading throughout their galaxy. They were considered a myth until stories of them coming out of nowhere and shutting down ships to speak with the freelance pilots for work. The "work" varied extremely. From simply letting them take blood and tissue samples to testing combat prowess, to how various drugs effect them, to having them live in simulated environments for differing amounts of time. The thing that made all the weird nonsense worth going through was the technology they offered in exchange. Weapons, armor, and cybernetic augments that made even the best stuff on the black market look like sticks and rocks by comparison.
The one things noted by people who've been in contact with these factions and bothered to ask, noted one thing: The Spectres and Collective hate each other with the truest of passions for reasons unknown. Lately, both have been asking for notably more aggressive jobs and more often as well.
Alright. I'm not big on spending hours on worldbuilding. I like the players to have their own say in how the world changes. This RP is very much science fantasy. Space magic is very much a thing, as Rakkmah will happily demonstrate. Though there are much lesser versions that I'm happy to allow if you want to have some. But as for what you'll be doing, you're gonna be playing a mercenary seeking fame and fortune, as mercenaries tend to do. Most mercs are trying to get the attention of one of the two factions to get magic powers or super tech to either sell for insane amounts of money or use to earn more money.
You can be a humie or make up an alien race if you want. Just make sure you give a brief overview of the race in your app please! We've just got a few more things to go over before you can get started on getting your merc out there.
Weaponry
There are three major types of weapons used in the galaxy: Energy, Kinetic, and Explosive. All have many variants. Be creative when picking your weapons! Does your laser rifle shoot a single laser blast or is it a continuous beam? Does your rocket launcher shoot a single guided rocket, or a swarm of mini rockets?
Energy Weaponry: Your standard pew pew weapons. Laser weapons are the most common type of energy weapon due to ease of use. Pinpoint accuracy. No recoil. Long range But not so great at dealing with thicker armor. It's big brother, plasma weapons have far less problems dealing with armor but are much shorter ranged. 50 feet is usually the range limit on these weapons. Laser weaponry is very versatile with how it's used, coming in handheld pistols to heavier laser cannons.
Kinetic Weaponry: Those old fashion guns that make a bunch of noise. But they're cheap as dirt, reliable, easy to make and maintain, and effective against lighter armor. The biggest problem presented is usually weight and limited ammunition. Not to mention their lack of subtlety. But they also come in a huge amount of flavors. From the simple peashooter to the hulking gatling cannon, ballistic weapons will always have a place in people's hearts. However, lately people have been enhancing them with railgun tech to further increase their power without sacrificing what they are. Railguns have gained popularity as sniper rifles and anti-armor rifles, but suffer greatly from ammunition capacity.
Explosive Weaponry: Not used too much in direct combat, but is extremely good at breaking through armor and shielding. Hand Grenades. Rocket and missile launchers, explosive ammunition and much more. If at first you don't succeed, blow it up again.
Armor
Getting shot by bullets, lasers, and plasma isn't fun most of the time. So here's the types of power armor you're going to be wearing to keep the squishy bits inside where they belong. Armor in general is resistant all types of damage. Some more than others. Armor is broken into three major types: Light, Medium, Heavy.
Light Armor: Provides less protection, but allows for maximum movement and can even enhance it quite a bit. Usually has a stealth mode or some other utility feature to make up for it's lack of hard protection. Usually used by assassins and people who would just rather not be shot at to begin with rather than just hoping the armor doesn't break. But on the off chance you do get shot at, better hope the shooter misses, or your dodging skills are up to snuff, because your armor like won't take much to get through. Costs is mainly to keep the power core running and little else.
Medium Armor: As it states, gives pretty good all around protection and is the most common in use by the mercs in the galaxy. Gives good protection without sacrificing mobility. Easily modded to a user's specifications as it has more room to work with than light. Sometimes has some on board weaponry, but is usually kept to blades. Low power jump jets are used occasionally to help enhance mobility. While not nearly as agile or quiet as the light archetype, it offer far more protection and versatility to make up for it. Easy and cheapish to maintain.
Heavy Armor: Less a suit of armor, and more comparable to a tank that you can wear. This archetype is for those who want to go in swinging and take every hit there is and keep going. Has fallen into lesser use due to heavier weaponry sometimes outclassing the protection offered, but many swear by their wearable tank and made custom modifications to aid in it's durability. Expensive to maintain, but often comes with it's own weaponry and is virtually unbeatable in a direct conflict. Not as versatile and moddable as the previous two archetypes, but who needs that when you can take a rocket to the chest?
Note: The pictures were used as examples. Use whatever pic for your armor you see fit.
Shields
Energy shields are pretty much mandatory nowadays. Most of the time, armor comes with some form of standard shielding to add to it's protection. But due to the huge variety of weaponry used in the galaxy, different shields work against different things. There are three major types of shielding. Seeing a pattern yet? Kinetic, Heat, and Hardlight.
Kinetic Shielding: A bubble of energy constantly surrounding you to stop projectiles going above a certain speed by absorbing the extra kinetic energy. Makes the shield safe to have on at all times while still being able to go about your day as usual. One of the most common types of shielding due to ease of use. Protects against projectile weaponry. Useless against energy weaponry.
Heat Shielding: Similar principle to kinetic, but it works by stopping extreme levels of heat from being directed on a single point, and either absorbing it or redirecting it. The second most common type of shielding used due to energy weapons becoming more and more popular. Provides little to no protection from projectiles.
Hardlight Shielding: A unique type of powerful shielding that blocks all three types of damage and melee attacks, but has several flaws. The previous two are invisible fields of energy, this one is quite noticeable. Also unlike the other two types of shielding, it cannot be shot through while activated further restricting it's use. Many people have found combat uses for it despite it's restrictions.
Ships
We're almost done! Don't worry. Ships are pretty straightforward. For the most part, ships are the mobile home of the galaxy's mercs. They're usually about the size of a modern house with the amenities usually found in them, but with thrusters and a FTL drive. Obviously they have weapons. The weapons are the same as used by people, just scaled up. The same goes for shields. Try not to make it too big. I'm not a fan of size wank and doing so will not make me amused. Try not to go above 500m please.
Space Magic
Stuff like the Force from Star Wars. And the weird shenanigans that Rakkmah uses. I'm willing to allow this, so long as you give specific abilities rather than true powers. Like you can telekinetically push and pull, but not lift. Maybe you can throw down a space magic shield that you can shoot through but others can't. I leave it to you if you choose to use such a thing and set the rules.
Da Rules
1: I am the OP. I do my best to be fair and fun for everyone, if you think I'm wrong on something, let me know and we can talk about it. But I do make the rules.
2: No one at the start has worked for either of the two factions yet, nor has any loot from them yet. That's going to be the start of the RP
3: Do not play to win. Characters are defined by wins AND losses. You will win some and you will lose some. That's life.
4: Be creative! Fun is the primary thing we're all after.
5: I do require at least 3 full lines per post and at least a paragraph on the bio for your character.
6: Fun is indeed mandatory.
7: Don't be afraid to ask questions!
8: You can carry 3 normal weapons at one time with an additional Melee weapon, or 1 heavy weapon and a melee weapon.
The Application
Finally. Yes, it's pretty big. Have fun! Unknown is NOT an acceptable answer for any field! Please remove everything in parenthesis!
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[b][u]Name:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Race:[/u][/b] (If custom, please include distinct features like claws or such that aren't visible in the appearance. Telepathy is not a standard race ability)
[b][u]Gender:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Appearance:[/u][/b] (Pictures or a vivid description)
[b][u]Age:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Ship:[/u][/b] (Please include size, picture, shielding type and weaponry. Feel free to make up weapon names as long as it explains what the weapon is. EG, ZX-32 Railgun)
[b][u]Weaponry:[/u][/b] (Please include picture and weapon type. EG, TPL-32 Heavy Laser Rifle. MN-43 Light Machine Gun)
[b][u]Armor:[/u][/b] (Please include picture, armor class, shield, abilities type. EG WT-76 Heavy Armor. Hardlight Shielding.)
[b][u]Other Equipment:[/u][/b] (For things that didn't fit in the other categories. Explosives, medical tools/syringes, hacking tools, and stuff like that)
[b][u]Biography:[/u][/b]
[u][b]Space Magic:[/b][/u] (If any. If you have some space magic, explain in detail what ability or abilities you gain from it)
[b][u]Other:[/u][/b] (Optional. For things that don't belong in the other sections, but you want people to know about your character)
Name: Richard Roth
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: Normal
Age: 29
Ship: MF-X: 150 meter, twin PLR Gatling Cannons, standard Kinetic shielding.
Weaponry: M-605 Handheld 50. Gatling Cannon Or Heavy Laser Cannon .75m Monomolecular Blade.
Armor: MKP Medium Powered Armor: Provides medium protection and enhanced strength.
Other Equipment: 1x Nanomachine syringe for healing injury.
Biography: Richard was born to a family of pirates who made their home on a space station in the middle of nowhere even for space. Both his father and mother made their living by killing mercenaries and selling their ships and any other loot. Ironically, Richard had the desire to get off the station where he made his home. Being naive when he was young, he told his parents that he wanted to be a mercenary when he got old enough. Of course they thought he was joking and played along, thinking he'd grow out of it when he got older. But as the years passed, he kept his desire to go out into the great unknown and make a living that didn't involve luring a bunch of idiots into a trap and selling their scrap. Sure he had a good living and little to worry about, but being cooped up in a space station wasn't how he wanted to spend his life.
His parents still believed that he would grow out of it. In the meantime, he was old enough to hold a gun and one he was in his early teens, his parents insisted that he start training. They'd grow old eventually and couldn't protect him forever. So he spent his adolescence learning how to clean, build, and use weaponry of all types. After had mastered weaponry ship flying was next. Which wasn't too difficult. Space had quite a bit of room to work with, so flying wasn't too difficult. Star charts kept him from getting lost and the only real difficult thing about ship flying was landing. But computers took care of the most difficult portions so had all he had to do was not activate the FTL drive. Finally he was taught how to maintain and repair power armor. As he reached his early 20s his parents decided that it was time for him to make his first kill. Rather than killing him so that his stuff could be sold, Richard killed him, took his ship and flew off into the stars.
He loved his parents. They raised him and taught him everything he knew. But he had to forge his own path and he would rather not try to convince them that he was making the right choice. The years passed and he had his high moments and moments where he wished he was dead, but when he that heard that the Collective and Spectres were looking for more and more people to do their bidding, he decided that he wanted int on that.
Space Magic: N/A
Other: N/A
