Thoughtdeath
Fifty years from now, the world has changed drastically. A rising population has lead to soaring crime rates and wars start almost every day, killing millions of a population so large it swallows that statistic. Technology held the promise to our future, and the most recent innovation is just a symptom of the broader corruption of that promise. IMSAs are what you need to know about. Of the thousands of advances mankind has made, only one matters to you right now: Impulse Manifestation Spinal Arrays. They, simply, turn thoughts into matter, a breakthrough technology. It doesn't offer humanity much though; only the most strong-willed can use it, and their creations are limited in scope even when working in concert with others. The governments of the world threw it into the rubbish bin of advancement. Realigning atoms with the mind was nothing compared to fusion power and suborbital elevators. But there were some who saw its promise: the entertainment industry, to be specific. A budding entrepreneur convinced the head IMSA developer to work for him, and out of him was a new extreme sport born: Thoughdeath.
The rewards are huge. A new life, power, fame, enough money to buy a new life... the desperate came from the entire globe to California to compete. Homeless men, ex-mercenaries, crazed psychotics, convicted criminals. Nobody really minded who competed, because Thoughtdeath offered a fresh chance to make something out of those who competed in it. It was something the masses clung to, hope in the mad mad world, and it soon had the largest viewing audiences of any sport, ever. A bloodsport played to an epic level, worlds created and destroyed within the Dome. Only the insane competed, and only the truly unhinged triumphed.
And you are one of those madcap competitors. Welcome to Thoughtdeath.
The rewards are huge. A new life, power, fame, enough money to buy a new life... the desperate came from the entire globe to California to compete. Homeless men, ex-mercenaries, crazed psychotics, convicted criminals. Nobody really minded who competed, because Thoughtdeath offered a fresh chance to make something out of those who competed in it. It was something the masses clung to, hope in the mad mad world, and it soon had the largest viewing audiences of any sport, ever. A bloodsport played to an epic level, worlds created and destroyed within the Dome. Only the insane competed, and only the truly unhinged triumphed.
And you are one of those madcap competitors. Welcome to Thoughtdeath.
Everybody loves exposition. Now, the nuts and bolts.
Thoughtdeath is a turn-based RP game. It is a violent, lethal, turn-based RP game.
You are one of the competitors in Thoughtdeath. Like everyone else competing in the given match, you will be dropped into an arena with only the clothes on your back and your IMSA, at least at first. Matches are either team-based, or free for all, and you will likely die. Frequently, as the case may be. Don't worry though, death is cheap in 2060. You may not win, but you won't be permanently out of things, just the rest of the match; you'll be sent to the In-Between, where you can train, create, and prepare yourself for the next bout with your fellow competitors. Death probably isn't pleasant though, so you should probably avoid it.
Without more ado, the app.
General Information
Name:
Sex:
Short Bio:
Color: (for use on der map)
Every character starts out with 1 Attack, 2 Composition, 1 Resilience, 2 Mobility, 1 Cognition, and 0 Energy. They also start out with 5 IP, or Imagination Points, which I'll explain later.
Ah, right, you probably want what all of that means explained.
Attack is the damage you can inflict on another character, or constructs. Raw output, raw destruction. It can be enhanced by constructs, of course, and is added to all close-combat fighting. Attack can also under select circumstances effect ranged combat. Each point of Attack costs 1 IP.
Composition is how much of a beating you can take. When it falls to zero, you turn into a bloody mess. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. You probably want to keep this from hitting zero. Each point of Composition provides 5 HP, and costs 1 IP.
Resilience is how good you are at taking said beating. It takes a chunk off enemy attack equal to your Resilience score, with a Res of 1 negating 1 point of enemy Attack, though each weapon inflicts a minimum of 1 Damage. If you have a high Resilience, you'll be laughing off small-arms fire, and spitting bullets back at foes. Each point of Resilience costs 1 IP.
Mobility: is how quickly you can get from here to there, a useful feature when facing ranged weapons or simply for being where you want to be. Each point of Mobility costs 2 IP, and allows you to move one more square horizontally or vertically every round. Melee attacks, and various other things, "cost" one movement. You can jump a max height of two squares without paying a Mob point for that, effectively negating the need for vertical payment. Movement cannot be done through opposition players.
Cognition: is the fun part; how well you and your IMSA mesh, and what swanky stuff you can do with it. A score of 1 means you can't create much, which kinda sucks, but might be a viable strategy. A score of ten means you're going to be pulling table-sized objects out of mid-air, which can be handy, or a pretty swell bazooka out of the ground. Have fun with that. Each point of Cognition costs 5 IP. Cognition requires concentration though, so don't expect to be able to interface with IMSA when you're under attack or attacking. Also, if you use Cognition in a round, your Mobility is reduced to 1/2 of whatever it was initially. If you could walk two spaces, you walk one, etc.
Power: is a bit complicated. Bigger things in this high-tech future take energy to run; even some small ones do. If you want those to work for you, you're going to need some juice. Power is generated by a modification to your biochemical structure, allowing your body to put out a raw point charge and keep some energy-hungry devices running. You're going to want this for the goodies. In general terms, Constructs that require power will have better stats for the same amount of Cognition. Some devices, like warbots and lazers etc. cannot be built without a Power requirement. Particularly complicated Constructs require Energy to merely exist, one Energy for every 10 points of Cognition. Each point of Power costs 2 IP.
Any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Note that upon Character Creation all IP must be spent on attributes.
Mechanics:
Each player character puts in their actions; building something, moving somewhere, etc. Movement may be conducted prior to attacking, but is halved if creating a Construct. Movement must be concluded before attacking, or attacking before movement; the two may not be mixed, unless a Construct has an ability that allows a character to do otherwise. Additionally, only a single type of Construct may be created in a round. Duplicates are cool, but then Cognition is spread across them and all that jazz. Note that each character can "Holster" one Construct worth up to 10 CP on their back, essentially allowing the carrying of an additional item. "Switching" Cognition between attributes in a Construct is cool, but only one swap per round. You can trade Dur for Damage, but not Dur for Damage and Speed.
Most actions can be resolved by players, and should be done as such. Anything that doesn't require rolling dice is entirely fair to resolve yourself within the rules laid out here, even damaging out contestants. Actions are resolved in post order; post first and you move first, but posting later can be useful to respond to enemy actions.
If you want to conduct an action with a chance of success, like shooting at someone in cover, just simply post your intentions in the IC and I will resolve them. Keep in mind that asking for an action resolution locks you into that action. You can't say you want to shoot at someone, for instance, then change your action when you miss.
Everybody puts in more actions, and anon, until a victory is achieved, or thirty rounds elapse.
Cover and Terrain: Standing behind things blocks weapons right and proper, because they can't shoot you if they're shooting the guy in front of you, see? An object of height 1 provides a 25% chance to intercept enemy damage, a height 2 50%, etc. The maximum height of an object is 4, as that's the height of a player. Yes, other players do count as cover, except for they're cover that can be killed to get to you. Cover is the only way to fully negate enemy ranged attacks, and can be shot around from a distance of one tile. So standing behind cover and shooting someone is fine, as is them walking up to the cover and shooting you. Weapons with the Indirect Fire perk can ignore cover, as they shoot over it, and if you stand directly behind cover and are fired on by a weapon with the Explosive perk, you'll still take damage. Additionally, cover can be destroyed by a weapon with the Explosive perk. Every two points of height above a foe provides a 25% reduction in enemy At with a melee weapon, so at a height of 4 characters fighting an enemy on a height of 0 receive a 50% damage reduction from enemy attacks.
Durability: If the durability of a Construct is reduced to or below 0, the Construct is Broken and cannot be used. Broken weapons cannot be repaired the round immediately after being rendered Broken. It naturally recovers 2 Durability every round if its Durability is below 0, a process which can be hastened by 3 for 1 Cog. If the Durability of a Construct is reduced to a negative of its standard positive Durability, the Construct is Destroyed, and must be manually repaired in order to return to functionality. If the Durability of a Construct is reduced to doubly negative of the standard positive Durability, the Construct is eliminated from the match entirely. Only weapons with the Precise attribute may target Constructs carried by a contestant, or Constructs on the ground beneath a contestant. Non-precise weapons can destroyed constructs regularly if the Construct is a Block, or if they are within melee range of the Construct.
On Ground/Holstered: If a character doesn't have enough webbing/hands to hold everything in them, one item may be Holstered on their backs, and an infinite amount placed on the ground. Constructs retrieved from the Ground or a Holstered position cannot be used in the same round.
Progression
You get to keep your characters from match to match, allowing you to make them better and stronger. For every kill your character makes, you gain 1 IP. As such, getting kills in each match is important. Additionally, after each match victory the victorious team will receive 1 IP in addition to any they earn in kills; the highest scoring player on each team also receives an additional 1 IP, as does the lowest scoring player on the losing team. Scoring is based on damage, and ties are possible.
IP can also be converted at a 1:100 ratio to Credits, which can be spent at the store, and traded between characters. Credits cannot be converted back to IP though, so spend wisely. IP cannot be traded between characters, though Credits can.
Important note on editing IC posts: request clearance to edit actions before you do so from me, the OP, and ensure I've given you a green light before you do edit. This is to prevent metagaming. If no player has posted after your post, you may edit as you see fit.
FAQ
What can I make with Cognition?
Absolutely anything. If someone hasn't made it before, I'll simply construct new mechanics to account for it.
Why isn't my Construct what my character wanted it to be?
You probably didn't have enough Cognition to accomplish your goal. Complicated objects like tanks and mortars don't just appear out of thin air; it may take you several rounds to refine your creation until you have what you want. Check with me in the OOC before making something if you want to avoid embarrassment.
I died. What do I do now?
Root for your allies, help them plan tactically, peruse the shop, work to improve your character in the In-Between. Even if the Match you died in runs to the time limit, you'll be in the fray again soon enough.
Can I spend IP I gain in a Match immediately?
Nope, that would be silly. You can, however, convert any IP to Credits at any time, and purchase something from the Shop, which will be delivered the following round. The right item at a critical time can be just what you need to secure victory.
Der Shop
Purveyor of Fine Goods and Lethal Paraphenalia to the Discerning Gladiator since 2059
Want to see something else in the store? Just ask! Der Shop stocks all manner of fine goods, and we can order almost anything given time.
Contestants:
Stationary’s the one that can’t be moved.