The Official OTC TBRPG Planning and Organization Topic

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

Heh. Or you could put it somewhere in the South Pacific.

 

Pirates of R'lyeh.

[Havelock Vetinari]

That said, the 19th century idea does have a certain appeal to it....

 

Bah. I'll let my D4 and let it decide if I can't choose in a few days.

[Xomeron]

I depart for San Diego in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow. I have no idea if there's internet access or not. Will be back online by the 8th at the latest.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Okay, I'm not 100% sure what the rule for creating a second COT RPG is, but since the last one I made was done so close to a year ago and only had activity for a few days... yeah. So I wanted to try that again.

 

Anyways, this is an Ōkami based RPG, and I've been working on it piece by piece for about a week now. This is what I've come up with, and I wanted to actually run it over the Planning and Organization this time to find out what needs to be added or taken away, and what peoples general thoughts on it are. Thank you.

 

~~~

 

Ōkami RPG

 

200 years ago, the land of Nippon was freed from the great evil of the lord of darkness, Akuro, once and for all. His vessel Yami was gone, as were his greatest servants. The forces of good were victorious. Or at least, that was what people thought…

 

Setting – Story

 

The land of Nippon is the mortal realm sitting between the heavens below and the netherworld below. One hundred years ago, the evil eight-headed serpent Orochi was freed from his imprisonment and attempted to use his evil powers to gain control over Nippon as he had once possessed. Fortunately, he was defeated before such events could come to pass, just as he had a century in the past.

 

But Orochi was not the only demon of Nippon, and other threats emerged – though all would meet the same fate as he, reputedly defeated by the sun-goddess Amaterasu. As the demons were slain, there was a great renaissance of faith in the gods that, though it had a small faltering in the months to follow, would grow greatly in strength over the next few decades. People had faith once more, and with faith, came a lack of fear. From a lack of fear came a people able to fight against the lesser demonic threats that roamed the world. From this came confidence; from that, pride; from that, a loss of faith once more.

 

Today, there remain people of every variety of faith in the gods. But there is a sense of danger that lies beneath the surface – as faith is lost in the gods, the demons of the world grow power once more, and areas of Nippon are swathed in darkness, becoming cursed zones. Out of a desire for power, or perhaps sheer desperation, there are those who turn to the reverence of the darkness – and desire to restore power to the great demons of the past.

 

This is the story of Nippon, and the conflict between those who serve the powers of the gods, and those who serve the powers of darkness. Do you choose to take a side, or are you neutral to the affairs of immortals (or, perhaps, do not truly believe in them at all)? Make your choice, and enter into the world of Ōkami.

 

Setting – Places

 

The country of Nippon is divided into three areas – Eastern Nippon, Western Nippon, and the Northern Lands.

 

Eastern Nippon is a land that is fairly rock and mountainous, with many open areas in the valleys. There are numerous locations here, but the most important are –

 

• Shinshu Field is rightfully called the most beautiful field in Nippon. It is a large area in the northern area of Eastern Nippon. There are two large human villages that can be found; Kamiki Village and Yakushi Village. The former of the two is known for its historical importance as being the village from which the great demon Orochi once demanded a maiden sacrifice annually. Shinshu Field is dominated by Lake Harami, which is connected to a river leading to the Hana Valley.
• Agata Forest is a lush forest inhabited by few people, of much smaller size than the Shinshu Field, and located between that place and Taka Pass to the west-southwest. There is a holy spring here called Hitoshio Spring, along. There is a massive ruined structure located in the forest called Tsuta Ruins, along with a tower called Five-Story Pagoda.
• Taka Pass is a large plain surround by mountain ranges covering a large stretch of southern Nippon, giving it a mountain pass like terrain. It is the largest area in Eastern Nippon. Along the southern mountains rises Mt. Kamiji, where Kusa Village – second only to Sei’an City in size – can be found atop a quite level peak. Kusa Village is also home to the massive windmill known as the Gale Shrine.
• The Moon Cave may be a singular location, but takes special precedence over other areas due to its importance. It is where Nagi and Shiranui (the past incarnation of the goddess Amaterasu) defeat Orochi, and sealed the demon away three hundred years ago. The cave was turned into a shrine containing the sword Tsukuyomi, which maintained the seal until Orochi was finally freed a century later, only to be defeated – this time, presumably, for good – once more. The cave itself isn’t particularly large – save when Orochi is awake – but it does have a large system of tunnels underneath, and a massive cavernous area where the entire place is coated in ice. It is worth noting that the Moon Cave had been left as nothing but crumbled ruins up until about six months ago, when it mysteriously returned…

 

Eastern Nippon is inhabited mostly by humans, but demons are also quite prevalent. It is rumored that there is even a Demonic Market found here, but the truth is debated.

 

Western and Eastern Nippon are divided by the City Checkpoint. There is a massive river-canyon cutting through the country, and this space, between Taka Pass and the Southern Ryoshima Coast, is the location of one of the only crossings; a massive drawbridge guarded on the western side by a huge fortress enforced by the soldiers of Sei’an City.

 

Western Nippon is an area mostly coastal by nature, though most of the northern or central areas are mountainous and harder to navigate. The highlights of Western Nippon are –

• The Southern Ryoshima Coast is a large landscaped mountainous areas further inland, harboring a beach connecting to the ocean. In the cliffs can be found a large temple known as Ankoku Temple, from where one can look to the south and see a tower called the Moon Turret.
• Sei’an City, the capital of Nippon, lies at the edge of Lake Beewa, a large lake found in a deep hollow, surrounded by mountains to provide a natural defense. The only access to the city is a long path between two cliffs, leading down from a high ledge of Rysohhima Coast. The city spans the surface of the lake, held by large pillars staked to the bottom of the lake. Its lowermost layer is bedrock, with a plug as a means of channeling the water of Lake Beewa into the cities many canals. The main inhabitants of the city are middle-classed, residing in the Commoner’s Quarter. The upper-class reside instead in the Aristocratic Quarter. The most significant structure of the city is the Imperial Palace (seat of the Emperor himself).
• The Northern Ryoshima Coast is a massive coastal area. Its main features are a set of ruins elevated on a plateau known as Watcher’s Cape, and a massive tower known as Catcall Tower. There are numerous islands along the northern coast, with the Tower being one of them. A large area of the coast was almost completely destroyed by an explosion a couple of centuries back.

 

Western Nippon is inhabited mostly by humans, along with some powerful demons. The Dragonian people, a type of mermaid-folk, are known to reside under the waves of the ocean in a place called the Dragon Palace, and are defended by a might Water Dragon.

 

The Northern Lands are found on an island separate from the rest of Nippon to the north-east. It is coated in snow and ice, and far from a pleasant location. It’s highlights are –

• Kamui, a large snowfield that makes up the majority of the land. The furthest northern regions of Kamui are home to the twin volcanoes Ezofuji, along with the large, frozen over Laochi Lake. There is a large gate known as Affun Gate that can be found here leading Wawku Shrine, a large shrine infested by demons and coated in ice and clockwork. Within Kamui can be found Wep’Keer, a large village which is home to the Oina people.
• Yoshpet, a large and dark forest where few travelers can navigate its confusing landscapes and strange path – made no easier when an animate, cursed tree can attack at any moment. It is a dark and treacherous place where one finds it almost impossible to escape. The Poncle village of Ponc’tan can be found here, and it is said that an ancient structure called the Spirit Gate is hidden in the deepest parts of the forest.

 

The Northern Lands are inhabited by virtually no humans, being home to the Oina tribe and the mysterious Poncles. The greatest of demons are known to reside in these snowy wastes, as it was here where all demons in Nippon first began their spread.

 

Setting – Inhabitants

 

There are three major races in Nippon which players are likely to encounter. These are also the only playable races allowed at this time, though others exist.

 

• Humans are the most common inhabitants of Nippon, with nothing particularly special about them.
• The Oina are a tribe of human-like beings who inhabit the Northern Lands. Their appearance is similar, though all members of the Oina tribe where a mask over their face at all times. All possess the ability to transform themselves in wolves, with the exact appearance of the transformed state being based upon their personal nature. Most Oina wear clothing similar to the fur of their wolf form.
• Poncles are a race of inch tall humanoids also hailing from the Northern Lands. A bioluminescent glow constantly emanates from them, and they wear large helmets in the shapes of parts of insects. This, and their size, often leads to them being confused as such by humans. All glow a different color, but this color changes depending upon their emotions. Unlike Humans and the Oina, Poncles are very long lived, able to live for almost three hundred years. Poncles are known for their artistic talent, and the majority are highly loyal to the gods. The highest position a Poncle can obtain is as Celestial Envoy, an artist of the highest caliber and greatest faith who uses their paintings to remind the people of the gods. They can speak with most animals, and possess incredible strength for their size; enough to lift and toss an entire bottle of sake or leap many feet in the air.

 

There are other inhabitants of the land of Nippon; playing as them is a possible reward for excellent roleplaying across the game.

 

However, not all the races of Nippon are so peaceful. Over four hundred years ago, the first Demons began appearing, first in the Northern Lands and then across all of Nippon.

 

Imps are the most common form of demon, and reside primarily in Eastern Nippon. The weakest Imps are Green, followed by Red, Yellow, Blue, and Black. Most Imps once served as followers of Orochi, and are considered by many to be cheeky and monkey-like musicians. All wear a piece of paper that acts as a mask over their face. They are not very bright.

 

Guardians are quite similar to Imps, though much more powerful. They are only found in the regions of Western Nippon. All appear as desecrated Buddha statues without heads, with the most common therefore being called Headless Guardians. Bell, Halo, and Executioner guardians are stronger, in that order.

 

Namahage are a category of demons native to the Northern Lands of Kamui. They all have straw raincoats and masks, but with variations in design and color. They are far more dangerous than Imps or Guardians, but legends say one may be safe by playing dead; they are friends of the lazy. While even the most common of the Namahage are a threat, there are greater variations in the order of Blade, Bucket, Umbrella, and Cannon Namahages.

 

There are many other varieties of Demons that exist; for further information on these or other demons, feel free to contact the GM or do some self research. However, even the majority of the demons presented here are a major threat to players, if not on boss-like levels of power. Combating more powerful ones is a much tougher task for a non-divine being. Rule of thumb – if the creature is a unique being in the game (such as bosses), or if the area is inaccurate, or even if you think one of these applies, it’s not there.

 

Players who are familiar with Japanese mythology, or just saw something cool from it, can shoot a PM if they desire to face a particular creature; the beasts appearance will then be approved or not allowed. If the creature actually has a beast from Ōkami that is based off of it, I’ll direct over to that.

 

When demons are destroyed, no body is left.

 

Setting – Gods & Major Demons

 

Most of the demons in the realm are powerful, yes; few, however, possess much beyond a slight or average level of intellect, and none are particularly legendary in power. At one point in time, many demons of great power threatened the land; with the actions of Amaterasu and her son Chibiterasu, however, most of these demons were successfully banished or destroyed.

 

It is with Amaterasu that we are lead to the only creatures of power equal to or greater than these demons – the thirteen Celestial Brush gods. Each of these gods represents a power of the Celestial Brush (magical implements capable of altering the world via art).

 

The celestial brush gods are –

 

Amaterasu – The most powerful of the brush gods is the sun-goddess Amaterasu, who takes on the form of the wolf. Her signature brush power is Sunrise, the power to make the sun rise.

Yomigami – The brush god of restoration, who takes on the form of the dragon. His brush power is Rejuvenation, the power to repair broken objects.

Tachigami – The rending brush god, who takes on the form of the rat. His brush power is the Power Slash, which can cut through solid stone.

Hanagami – The Hanagami are technically a trio of gods which take on the form of monkeys, known as the flora gods. Their brush power is Greensprout, divided into three separate techniques – Bloom, Water Lily, and Vine.

Bakugami – The brush god of explosions, who takes on the form of the boar. His brush power is Cherry Bomb, which creates a powerful explosive.

Yumigami – The brush goddess of the moon, who takes on the form of the rabbit. Her brush power is Cresecent, which brings forth night by causing the moon to rise.

Nuregami – The brush goddess of water, who takes on the form of the snake. Her brush power is Waterspout, which allows the manipulation of water.

Kazegami – The brush god of wind, who takes on the form of the horse. His brush power is Galestorm, which summons forth gusts of wind.

Moegami – The brush god of fire, who takes on the form of the phoenix. His brush power is Inferno, which allows the manipulation of fire.

Kasugami – The brush goddess of mist, who takes on the form of the drunken sheep. Her brush power is Veil of Mist, which summons forth a mist capable of slowing down time.

Kabegami – The brush goddess of walls, who takes on the form of the cat. Her brush power is Catwalk, which allows one to make a wall climbable whilst in the proximity of a statue dedicated to her.

Gekigami – The brush god of thunder, who takes on the form of the tiger. His brush power is Thunderstorm, which allows the manipulation of lightning.

Itegami – The brush god of ice, who takes on the form of the ox. His brush power is Blizzard, which allows the manipulation of ice.

 

Depending on the balance of good and evil, some gods may die or be reborn to keep it. At the current moment, a number of the gods here were previously dead, but brought forth again in order to aid in combating the rising evil. Others, which previously held their places, are gone. Two of these are Michigami and Kyokugami.

 

The major demons mentioned before are as follows –

 

Orochi – The eight-headed serpent banished 300 years ago by Shiranui and Nagi, then defeated once more by Amaterasu and Susano 200 year ago. Each head had an elemental power: earth, wind, fire, water, thunder, poison, light and darkness. The bell on its back tolled 108 times – one for each desire of its sacrifice.

Ninetails – The Dark Lord of Oni Island, Ninetails was a demon so powerful and arrogant as to call himself a god. Appearing as a nine-tailed fox wearing a mask, he was defeated by Amaterasu 200 years in the past.

Lechku & Nechku – The gold and silver clockwork owl demons who once threatened the Oina people from their lair in Wawku Shrine. Though individually not as strong as other major demons, the two together possessed power greater than any save Akuro himself.

Akuro – The demon Akuro was the source of all evil in Nippon, having been the source of all other major demons power. His dark energies previously inhabited the form of the demon Yami, who was defeated by Amaterasu; her son Chibiterasu would succeed in destroying the demon himself.

 

At the moment, none of these demons possess enough power to have physical form; it is arguable if they actually possess any powers at all. Only time will tell.

 

Setting – Allegiance

 

There are two major organizations in Nippon which players may choose to align with. Others may exist, but they are generally much smaller and/or cannot be joined.

 

Disciples of the Gods – This is a general term that refers to those who serve the gods of Nippon. As a collective, they outnumber their adversaries – the Demon Cults – but are at a disadvantage due to the lack of support by demonic forces to bolster their manpower. The faction, though composed mostly of humans, has solid support from almost all races. They are based as follows –

• Numerous disciples can be found in Hana Valley, the location of two shrines – one to Amaterasu, and another to the Hanagami. Priestess Mitsuko is the primary caretaker here.
• The largest gathering of disciples can be found in Gale Sanctuary, a shrine to Kazegami, and the source of a powerful Divine Wind that guards Kusa Village from demonic forces. The holy knight Takeshi is the primary defender here.
• Catcall Tower, a massive tower that acts as a shrine to Kabegami, is another large disciple base. The only way to reach the shrine at the top is by climbing the permanent Catwalk path, which allows any who are faithful to the gods to climb. The primary caretaker here is Priestess Yumi.
• The Poncle village of Ponc’tan is another major base of the disciples. At the moment, the Poncles are attempting to figure a person to become the 9^th Celestial Envoy; the 7^th Envoy, Issun, acts as the elder of the village, and the 8^th has mysterious vanished. For obvious size reasons, only Poncles are found here.

Siding with the Disciples allows players the potential gain access to the brush technique of the god they follow after they have proven themselves as roleplayers. Over time, they may also gain access to improved versions of the brush techniques. Certain brush techniques may work differently than in game; do not be surprised.

 

Demon Cults – This general term refers to those who work alongside the demons that terrorize Nippon, and are attempting to bring the major demons back to their former power. Though they lack numbers, their alliance with demons puts them at even footing with the disciples. Demonic allies and leaders aside, this faction is composed almost entirely of humans; few Oina or Poncles would even consider working with demons.

• Wawku Shrine acts as the largest cultist base in the Northern Lands. The cultists here are attempting to bring back the major demons Lechku & Nechku, but with no success. The leader of the group is a Great Tengu demon named Taimatsu-Maru.
• Ankoku Temple was once a holy place; however, it has been desecrated and turned into a powerful base for the cultists attempting to restore power to the major demon Ninetails. The cultists are led by Priestess Takara.
• The Moon Cave mysteriously reappeared completely intact six months ago after being seemingly destroyed for over two centuries. This is the largest cultist base in Nippon, with the cultists here working to restore power to the major demon Orochi. The cultists are led by a powerful Bandit Spider demon named Jorogumo.

Siding with the Cultists eventually allows players who have proven themselves as roleplayers to negate the brush techniques of their adversaries (exception – Sunrise). Over time, they may also gain access to other brush techniques; certain brush techniques may work differently than in game, so do not be surprised.

 

Important Note – Morality among the gods and demons is white and black; the gods are good and demons are evil, without exception (though many of the gods have the occasional cruel tendencies, and not all demons are complete monsters). Their followers are a different matter, and there are shades, there are those among the disciples who are less than moral and those among the cultists who have them.

 

Players may also choose neutrality to these two major factions, perhaps due to loyalty to another group; perhaps due to unwillingness to side with either. Perhaps another reason, even, but the reason is not important. Siding with neither of these factions does not stop players who have proven themselves as roleplayers from gaining access to brush techniques, and over time they may even learn many; however, they may never gain access to advanced techniques or the ability to negate other brush techniques.

 

Character Creation

 

To join the Ōkami RPG, a player must fill out the form below –

 

Name: (It is advised you pick a name that is Japanese or otherwise Eastern in origin)

Gender: (Obvious)

Species: (Human, Oina, Poncle)

Appearance: (Description of character appearance)

Equipment: (Any equipment or weapons a character has)

Personality: (Character personality traits, preferably with flaws)

Background: (The characters past life in Nippon)

 

In terms of equipment, the technology of Nippon is probably close to 1000 AD in real world terms at this point, just for ease. However, it pretty much goes all over the place in the games, so I might make exceptions if you can point to ones from in-game.

 

One final note – the Celestial Brush. This is the reward to players who have roleplayed well, and it can grant numerous abilities as listed above. How it works is that players who have been taught the proper technique, either through divine or demonic intervention, or through discovering old scrolls or whatever, make use of a magical Celestial Brush and enchanted ink. When the brush is held, time comes to a stop for the wielder and all around; however, their consciousness are still freed. The entire event lasts for only a few seconds, during which the Brush holder can draw on the world as if it were a canvas. However, it is also during this time that the technique can be interrupted by others; others can also put their brush techniques into use, and if one is completed first, time immediately returns to normal.

 

Special Thanks

 

I have a few people I should thank. First off, I thank Clover Studio for coming up with such a great game. Hard work was put into Ōkami, and it shows.

 

I would also like to thank another user, MT (full username Toa Zehvor MT) for introducing me to the game a number of years ago. Otherwise, I probably never would have heard of it, and would be sorely missing the background music I’m listening to right now.

 

I would like to thank Basilisk for constantly yelling at me to try making another RPG on this forum, and for listening to whatever rambling I came up with over this.

 

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone I’ve RPed with.

 

- Levacius Zehvor

Edited April 5, 2013 by Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Advent Child]

I would play the life and love out of an Okami RPG, you don't even know. And the premise you've put forth seems incredibly interesting.

[Havelock Vetinari]

I'm in.

[Krayzikk]

A game based around Asian, Japanese in particular, mythologies?I'm in.

[Silvan Haven]

Sounds cool. The premise looks fairly open while still making it sound like you have a plot planned.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Silvan Haven

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Okay, so support for the RPG, yay.

 

But I do happen to be missing a very important component to running an RPG on here; I need someone who is willing to act as a co-host.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Advent Child]

Willing.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

I'll take it. Time to just toss in a rules list (cannot believe I forgot that) and put it up for approval.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Xomeron]

For those interested in Starscape, we're all but ready, should be submitting this week.

 

After doing a bit of math, I found that Hyperdrive was laughably slower than the other FTL drives in the game. I've upped its speed and reworked the reason to avoid prolonged stays in Hyperspace. This is how it is now.

 

 

Hyperdrive: 1: Hyperdrive is a very strange device. It takes the ship it is using out of our universe, and places it in a universe that is astrographically identical, one thousandth the size, and follows very different lays of physics. While accelerating, a ship’s speed increases not linearly, like in the real world, but exponentially. The longer you stay in Hyperspace, the faster your ship moves. Aside from that matter which originates in Hyperspace, matter can only exist in Hyperspace for a short time before it flies apart, individual electrons accelerating out of their orbits, causing the matter to disintegrate. By maneuvering about in this micro-universe, a ship can cross interstellar distances on conventional thrusters, and then return to normal space. The Hyperdrive must be kept at around 400 degrees Celsius while in Hyperspace, or else the effect will fail. A Hyperdrive consists of a conductive wire mesh running along the armor of the ship. Momentum is not conserved when transferring between Hyperspace and Normal Space(the proper word for this is “Tearing Through”)

Edited April 10, 2013 by Xomeron

[Xomeron]

[draft moved to below because of fixing]

Edited April 11, 2013 by Xomeron

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Well on a technical front your links don't work, apparently because you've put half the url in twice

Edited April 10, 2013 by Lord of Adders Black

[Xomeron]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.

 

BZP has the worst text editor.

 

Links should be working now

Edited April 10, 2013 by Xomeron

[Jean Valjean]

Speaking from the persepctive of a person who writes and reviews short stories and would love to see them get more attention, I'm just curious as to why all of the RPGs all of a sudden have discussion topics, and I'm wondering how necessary they are, since in my experience they're never truly been necessary, save for in the BZPRPG, which is a whole different category of RPG.

 

24601

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

They make it useful for posting and discussing profiles, not filling up the RPG topic with OOC-only posts or strained feeble IC posts added on to said OOC-only posts in attempts to justify them, bringing up any plans and invitations to join those plans, debate over posts that seem out of place or to break the rules...basically everything the BZPRPG uses it for, because its really not that different

[Xomeron]

Starscape

 

 

Sixty Stars

 

 

Formed of nuclear fire, blazing with light and life, held together by the spiteful pull of gravity, the sixty stars of the Starscape Cluster are a powder keg. Intelligent life has long lived on these stars, peacefully unaware of each other. But now that comes to a close; the Light Barrier is broken, and suddenly the thick, overpopulated Homeworlds look out, and see realms they can colonize. But they also see enemies, competition, those who would stamp out their species and claim the realm for themselves. And now, you command your species. Will they conquer the stars by laser, sword, and railgun? Or will they be peaceful, colonizing and growing free of war? The choice is up to you.

 

 

---

 

 

Starscape is an RTSRPG, where players control and roleplay an entire species in a thickly populated Star Cluster. The RTSRPG format has its own dedicated following, but that’s all the more reason to get into it; if you have any questions, one of the regulars will be happy to help.

 

 

Interacting With An Entire Universe

 

 

Controlling an entire species may seem hard at first, but it's simple to get the hang of. Here's a quick example of a normal fight between ships.

IC:

 

 

Alarms sounded aboard the Skelvan Battleship as radar signatures from the edge of the trojan belt came in; four ships, Alansik by their configuration, had appeared some two million miles away. Knowing that was far outside missile range, the Skelvan Captain gave the order to sight in with his Frigate's laser. A kill at this range would be the wildest stroke of luck, but he had to try, knowing reinforcements would be arriving as soon as they could, since the planet's warning system sent out the alert the moment the radar signatures came in.

 

 

IC:

 

 

“Transition successful, all systems nominal, wait.” A lieutenant on the Alansik lead cruiser reported. “Laser damage to the outer skin of the ship. Looks like they're hitting us already. Minimal damage, but that means they've found us.” The Alansik Captain sighed, and gave the order to move at full burn towards the Skelvan planet.

 

 

Now, the important part here is that the player controlling the Alansik let the Skelvan player have the hit; if he'd just declared the Laser was an outright miss, it wouldn't be fair. But by ensuring the Skelvan's laser didn't do much damage, and it wouldn't at that range, he kept it fair for both sides but still sensible. And that's the most important part, keep it fair but sensible. Don't go breaking too many laws of physics.

 

 

Building Your Empire

The first step to playing the game is to design your species. This is a very open-ended process, but drawing inspiration from your favorite science fiction series can be a good idea. Once you have a basic idea down, take a look at the Advances post. You get six points to spend. These points are spent on physical advantages, advanced technologies, the setup of your system before the game begins, your species’ society and, most importantly, which form(s) of Faster-Than-Light travel you use. If you have ideas for another trait you want for your species, feel free to drop me a PM. There’s also technologies that everyone has, in the Common Technologies post.

 

 

Once you’ve created your species, they need a Homeworld. Drop me a PM, and I’ll create a star system for you; the maps, linked below, show both what type of star each system has, and which species owns which stars.

 

 

After that, you’ll need to design your starships; check out the Ship Design post; it’s a good explanation of how Starships ought to be set up.

 

 

Once you have that, your empire should be good and ready to go.

 

 

Industry

 

 

In Starscape, every species’ economy is built on two resources; Money and CHON. Money is an abstract idea of value, representing whatever your species use for currency. It’s mostly used for buying metals and paying your spaceship’s crews. CHON, by contrast, is four chemical elements; Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen. These six chemicals are used in nearly every form of life, and are highly useful for other functions. It it helps, think of CHON as a Food resource.

 

 

CHON and Money are both produced by Planets; a planet that has been civilized for a long time produces more than a fresh colony. This is explained in depth in the post on Resources.

 

 

Colonization

 

 

Colonizing a planet is a long, expensive process. The first step to it is building a Colony Ship. If you’re colonizing something in a solar system you already have a planet in, a colony ship is basically a steel can with engines, a radar, and the materials you need to start your colony. If you’re headed to another star system, you can do just as well by slapping a Faster Than Light drive on the ship and call it a day. Colonizers can be reusable, or they can disassemble on use to give the colony extra raw materials to work with. Once your colony is set up, it produces the resources listed for its planet type in the Resources post.

 

 

The Ancient Past

 

 

Civilizations rise and fall. With the terrifying, destructive weapons utilized in war among the stars, this is even more true for spacefaring civilizations. The current set of races in the Starscape Cluster are hardly the first. Previous civilizations left great ruins, but most have decayed. Only a few, held in Stasis Fields, have escaped the rush of time, These Stasis Fields, thus, are very valuable, containing ancient technologies, powerful and sometimes beyond comprehension, or other secrets of the far past.

 

 

The Outsiders

 

 

The Outsiders are a species in the Starscape cluster who do not own any planets, or any other central power base. They live entirely on starships, and never pass the speed of light, preferring the cold darkness to the reckless terrors of high-speed travel. An Outsider ship will occasionally drop into a system, often looking to replenish its resources by selling technological oddities before heading out again.

 

 

Rules

 

 

1: BZP Rules Apply

2: Use IC and OOC

3: No godmoding, auto-hitting, or auto dodging

4: Yarn

5: Be respectful of myself, Rover, and especially your fellow players. These are other people's thoughts, work, and in a lot of cases, opinions out in text, so be nice.

6: If you don't know of a scientific or practical reason you couldn't do it, you can try it. It might get shot down by the GMs, though. Try anyway, we might be asleep

7: Anyone who invokes Godwin's Law by making deliberate parallels to Nazis, Fascist Italy, or WWII Era Imperial Japan will have a -1 penalty to all their planets’ Money and CHON production for three days. Calling someone Hitler or a Nazi(even jokingly) is -2 for one week.

 

 

Joining Up

 

 

The process for joining is simple; Fill out this form, and PM it to me.

 

 

Username: (Obvious)

Species Name: (Make it interesting!)

Biology: What do they look like? What chemicals are their bodies built on? Do they have DNA, or some other way to pass genes on? What do they eat?

Government: Generally, by the time it reaches space, a species will have tried enough systems to figure out what works best for them. So what do your guys use? Democracy? Theocracy? Communism? Democratic Communist Theocracy?

Psychology: Species can have wildly different ideas of thought. A human, finding an ancient superweapon that once destroyed all life, might think "How terrible if any race but mine should find this" But a Kzinti, on the other hand, would think "Now I can conquer the galaxy, as is my right." So how do your people think?

History: (Why are they in space? Why do they use the government they do? Details like that)

Homeworld Name: (Humans call our planet Earth for a reason. Why do these people call their world what they do?)

Homeworld Location: (Try for one that's not taken.)

Map Color: (So we can see what you own)

Advances Taken: (You get six points worth)

 

 

Now get out there, conquer the stars, and have fun!

 

Political MapAstrographic Map

Edited April 11, 2013 by Xomeron

[Canis Lycaon]

Quick typo: For the government section, you repeat all of the examples without question marks. Other than that, I have nothing.

[Xomeron]

That's not a typo. It's a "bread, eggs, breaded eggs" moment, making a list and then combining everything on the list.

[Havelock Vetinari]

You maps don't seem to function.

[Jean Valjean]

When I was active in COT RPGs (back when they were in COT) I would generally talk to people PM if I needed to say something OOC. If there was a general question, I think I would basically take it up with the moderator. So basically, I don't think that they are totally necessary. They make an interesting marketing technique, but dang, I'm tempted to write and review a ton of short stories just to get some diversity on the front page.

 

24601

Edited April 11, 2013 by Jean Valjean

[Havelock Vetinari]

You seem to be the only one who minds.

 

Plus, sometimes y'know, an issue involves more then one person.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Basilisk

[Xomeron]

We spent month after month pushing for the ability to have discussion topics, and were told no because that would clog up the COT forum. Now that we have a separate forum specifically for creative works, I think we ought to use that ability.

[Jean Valjean]

I guess is serves the interests of the individual RPGs. Never mind; my concerns are obviously for outside reasons.

 

Also, please, I don't like it being framed that way: maybe I'm the only person who brought it up in this topic, but over some chat board some SS writers sounded a little disappointed. I'm not trying to rise an issue (even though I was concerned), and I'm not saying that this is all about myself, or create a one-man war were my interests are above everyone else's. I was mostly just curious and trying to find out how necessary these are, because as an outsider they're somewhat intrusive. For selfish reasons, I hope that not every new RPG finds them necessary, and I just thought I'd express that hope.

 

24601

Edited April 11, 2013 by Jean Valjean

[Xomeron]

A short story will be published, receive its comments, and then generally disappear, but for someone reading through archived stories. An RPG, by contrast, is an ongoing discussion that can take months or years. This is why long epics need discussion topics, too.

[Krayzikk]

RPGs use discussion topics for all of the reasons outlined above. To use one example, there's the XMDD discussion topic. It had existed for maybe a tenth of the time its RPG had, and it still has approaching fifty pages. Because now that it is there, so many more topics and questions can be explored and explained.

 

I can see where you're coming from. You think that the presence of all of these RPG topics is drowning out the stories. But actually, before the discussion topics, I had the exact opposite complaint. Every fortnight or so, a slew of stories was thrown into the forum, making it difficult to find the topics I was looking for. Now, I would say, that things are just about even.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Looking at the first page of OTC right now, I see 12 topics for RPGs and 10 for short stories. I'll be honest, that doesn't sound particularly intrusive from where I'm sitting. Like Kray says, its about even.

 

Also, if you and the other writers you say you've been talking with feel the intrusive nature of the discussion topics comes from them being on the front page all the time...doesn't that prove that they're used and kind of necessary?

[Jean Valjean]

Yes, I see your argument, and looking at the various topics, I see that my concerns are misdirected and I'm mislabeling causation: the reading and reviewing culture has really died out lately. For whatever reasons, I'm not sure, but if that subculture was more active, I think I would never have noticed the OOC discussion topics. As it is, I'm just grasping at straws.

 

For the record, though, if I ever become active in TSTW again, I'm still going to talk with you over PM. Because I'm that way, TPTI.

 

24601

[Alex Humva]

I don't think TSTW! actually has a discussion topic.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

No, we're not that active

[Rumpelstiltskin]

EDIT: Agh, TPTI beat me to it.

 

No, TSTW! doesn't have a discussion topic - we have a wiki instead. Because we're just that cool.

 

Honestly, though, we've never actually needed one. The amount of OOC discussion has been negligible compared to the ICs, and any serious plot details are worked out over PMs. Personally, I see the concept of OOC topics as superfluous, but then again I'm not a part of any other game so I suppose I can't really judge.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

Edited April 11, 2013 by Rumpelstiltskin

[Alex Humva]

[Alright, I've tweaked some things, added some things, so now this is basically a final draft, minus a map. That's been commissioned though and hopefully will be done soon. Proofreading and some tweaking will continue as I see glaring/embarrassing errors. Thoughts and comments are appreciated greatly.]

 

The known histories are scarce. Little has survived since the Long Winter, but some records still do exist, buried in the caves of the north. Millenia ago, the Great Spirit descended and formed the world. With it He formed man and the creatures, to populate and fill it. From that He taught us how to create fire, how to farm our land, and how to survive the elements. Then He left, ascending back to His realm to allow us to survive and flourish. Many did; peoples of untold number filled the land, thriving and learning.

 

But then the Long Winter came. Pictures show a great light light in the sky, then, the darkness descended. The sun itself died, and from it, the first uktena was born. We were scattered as our very crops died and the world grew cold. For centuries snow and ice dominated the landscape, with monstrous creatures of the north migrating downward. The spirits became silent as the world froze, and all life seemed to be at an end.

 

Then the Long Winter ended. Life returned, and with it, so did we. Centuries more would pass, but many would find their way to our land, the Great Expanse. Now we farm, we hunt, and the spirits have returned. Once more we may commune with them, and with them, we can repair this once desolate land. We can become unto the ancients themselves.

 

Brief account of the histories

Shaman Tseg'yin, Green Hand tribe

 

SPIRITS AND MEN

Created by Alex Humva

Hosted by Alex Humva and Basilisk

Laws of the Land

 

• All BZPower rules are to be followed.
• Common sense is important in this game, please use it.
• Do not prolong battles longer than they need to be. Continually dragging battles out and refusing to declare a victor will result in the GM coming in to decide.
• Player killing is not banned, but player abuse is. This is a game, keep personal vendettas out of it.
• Metagaming is severely frowned upon. If a player cannot back up why their tribe just so happened to know that the enemy was coming, but said player knew because of OOC chatting, it won't be pretty for that player.
• Use IC when discussing things in game and OOC for discussing things out of game.
• Use the discussion topic when delving into large arguments or large questions. Use OOC to get general quick information and the like. As a rule of thumb if your OOC response exceeds a paragraph or is entirely OOC without anything immediately important to the game, it should go in the discussion topic.
• Common sense. Use it.
• Have fun ya'll.

Removal of Power

 

The GMs are capable of using any of these punishments to fit any crime, though any punishments denoted with an asterisk require a two thirds GM majority to take effect.

 

• A warning.
• A natural disaster that effects your tribe.
• A plague that effects your tribe.
• Secrets of your tribe leaked to other tribes.
• The genocide of your tribe.*
• Temporary banning from the game.*
• Full banning from the game.*

 

The Duties of Chiefdom

 

In Spirits and Men, players control entire tribes. After going through the tribe creation process, you are promptly dumped into an area about the size of the state of Kansas, with the ability to mark on the map where your tribe has settled down. Now, the task of controlling a whole tribe may seem daunting, but truly it isn't that much of a task. There are no number charts to sort through or complicated rules to follow; simply spell within common sense and you'll do fine. Keep in mind the technology level; we're roughly around pre-European contact North American civilization levels. There is no metallurgy to speak of, stone is still the preferred material for weaponry/tools, and medicinal technology isn't the greatest. Written word is, however, an option if you so choose it for your tribe.

 

Managing your tribe rests in three areas; diplomacy, warfare, and spirituality. Diplomacy is your interactions with other tribes, as well as managing your own tribe. Things like negotiating a trade of horses or building new huts for your people fall under this category. It is for the most part run by common sense; unlike other RPGs of its kind, Spirits and Men has no IP system to speak of. Rather, things are done on the fly by whatever GM is present to work it out. Let's use the hut building project for example; your chief orders a new medicine hut to be built. You would then say “I sent # men to collect materials,” the GM would take five minutes to get a ballpark estimate of the effort required, and give you an ETA on when that'll be done. For more complex projects like, say, damming a large river, proportionally more time and thought is put into it.

 

This system is very effectively summed up as common sense with a bit of GM research thrown in.

 

Inter-tribal diplomacy follows a similar system. So long as you're specific on what you're trading, things will work out beautifully. If you aren't then things are going get messy really, really, quickly, so try to be specific and everyone leaves happy.

 

The Art of War

 

Warfare! Its bound to happen at some point, so it stands to reason that some regulation needs to be laid out. First, a quick briefing of warfare of the time. Wars like we think of them today didn't really happen in stone-age civilizations. Rather, raiding was the preferred method of combat. The idea of subjugating another civilization was far from a foreign one, but generally speaking there simply wasn't enough resources for that. Raids ultimately were far more profitable than, say, empire building. Keep this in mind when planning your over-arcing strategy; it might sound like fun to go conquer the entire map, but how practical that will be is... debatable.

 

Now, onto actually waging warfare. For that you'll need warriors; warriors follow a sort of experience system that indicates how effective they'll be in combat. For the most part your warriors will be hunters, as that's where they're most useful to society while still practicing their craft. In a tribal system, you can't afford for a bunch of strong peeps to be hacking at straw dummies all day long. Because of this, you'll have a surprising amount of population to warrior ratio, simply by the virtue that you need a lot of hunters. This does not mean, however, that you can rock everyone with a bunch of warriors. Hunting elk and fistfighting bears is slightly different from hunting the most dangerous prey of all, which is where the experience system comes in.

 

Experience is based off of two things; age, and the number of battles/raids/skirmishes/whathaveyou participated in. These two things are kept with your warriors; feel free to use whatever formatting system you're the most comfortable with. How does this effect things in-game? We have no things like health points or damage points, so this simply serves as a convenient way of demonstrating seniority and helping to judge a battle's outcome. In all likelihood a middle aged man at his prime with ten battles under his belt will be able to beat a freshly recruited boy easily. When things are more balanced, the standard logic of RTSRPG style games comes in; poke each other until the GM gets fed up and declares a winner. Reaching a resolution without GM interference is generally preferred though.

 

Logistics is something of a non-factor. Your warriors will undoubtedly be trained hunters; in small raiding groups, they can easily fend for themselves in the wild. The only cases logistics come up is during the winter months and in the more barren areas of the map. This will be handled on a case to case basis, with a GM ruling on what sort of debuffs will be present.

 

The Concepts of Spirituality

 

Arguably the most complex and confusing part of this RPG, so strap yourselves in. In the world of Spirits and Men, shamanism is a big thing. We don't call it magic because, erm, too middle-age. It's tribal shamanism. A shaman is a person who is capable of communing with spiritual beings and in some instances drawing mystical power from these spirits. A shaman can be born with this ability, or sometimes be taught to become more receptive to the other half of our world. For most civilizations, their shaman is just as important as their warrior, if not moreso. A shaman can invoke spiritual power to perform great feats, from healing the sick to summoning rain.

 

The spirits themselves are odd creatures. Nearly everything in the world has some sort of spirit to represent itself; in a way, the spirits serve as a distorted mirror of our half of the world. Most spirits are sapient creatures, though the untrained shaman may take their simplistic nature as a lack of intelligence. Spirits are creatures of simplistic wants and simplistic needs. Take for instance, a wind spirit. For it there is no greater achievement in its eternal life than to float on currents of air forever. To the unknowing shaman, a wind spirit could appear to be totally inanimate; to the experienced shaman, it is simply a matter of finding a way to hold that spirit in one spot long enough to have a meaningful discussion.

 

But how can the spirits influence our half of the world? Well, spirits themselves do very little to alter the physical world, though they are quite capable of exhibiting their influence on our mortal plane. Usually though, their power is channeled through that of a shaman. A shaman can, after creating a bond with a spirit, take that spiritual influence and use it to manipulate certain aspects of this world. In practically all cases, shamans are simply manipulating forces of nature in their mystical works. Summoning rain, for instance, is simply manipulating the environment to produce it. No new energy is created, no new matter formed, simply an adjustment of the natural weather patterns. The long term consequences of this though can be potentially disastrous, creating a situation where active shamanistic interference is in fact required to prevent catastrophe. Other examples include healing the sick, the shaman's power simply bolstering and reinforcing the subject's natural immune system, or summoning the dead, which creates a pathway from the nether realms to the physical world so as to converse with said dead.

 

But what is the extent of shamanistic power? Well, spirits are composed of mana, and from that weird spiritual force, they can give their powers to shamans. Spirits and the things shamans can do them are based on a ranking system, demonstrated here:

 

• Minute spirit: The insects of the spirit realm, their influence is small and irrelevant. While as common as the insects of our own world, a shaman's own spiritual influence far surpasses these.
• Wild spirit: Spirits that often manifest themselves as animals in our world. Their influence is on par with a human's spirit, though is used for different applications.
• Average spirit: Where many spirits set on the spiritual ladder. Patron spirits are always of this influence, and most spirits a shaman will come across are in this area. Perhaps the most diverse of all the spiritual steps.
• Regional spirit: A spirit commanding great influence and knowledge; these spirits are rare, but it is not unheard of for a shaman to find at least one in their lifetimes.
• Legendary spirit: Truly massive spirits, these spirits are speculated to of been the first created at the start of the world. To meet one is a great honor, and a great risk.
• Great spirit: Not a class of spirits, but a spirit. The very first, and the very greatest. It has not manifested itself since the creation of man, and its current were-abouts are unknown.

 

From this you see the outline of how spirits work. Minute spirits are too weak to be of any practical topic and wild spirits serve a function described further down. Thus we have average, regional, and legendary spirits to work with here. Spells shamans do are subsequently classified as average, regional, and legendary spells. An average spell can be done with all three, a regional spell, with the latter two, and a legendary spell, only with a legendary spirit.

 

From this you can begin to see how these things work. Spirits have sort of spell "slots," allowing for multiple spells to be cast from the same spirit. Think of them as spiritual batteries, charging your spells. Average spirits have five average spell slots. regional spirits have three regional spell slots and ten average spell slots. A legendary spirit has one legendary spell slot, six regional spell slots, and twenty average spell slots. Understand so far? Good. For a bit more complexity, an spell can count as two or more of its class but not advance to the next. Example, you can have a spell that costs two average spells. This is denoted by a "times n" by the spell's description.

 

Spell slots charge one at a time, per classification. Average spells slots refresh per day; regional spell slots refresh monthly. Legendary spell slots refresh yearly. This is done with in-game time, which we'll discuss later.

 

Now, you might be wondering what your shamans can actually do. This is where a system of discovery to replace a nonexistent technology tree comes into play. While the RPG will start off with knowledge of how to do some shamanistic rituals and spells (think healing the sick, communing with the dead, fun stuff like that), your shamans are capable of far more. How do they do this, though? Well, there are a number of ways. One is to hold an inter-tribal shaman meeting and discuss ideas. Another is to go into the wilderness, meditate, and hope something comes to you. Arguably the most successful way is to actually commune with the spirits themselves. Your shaman goes out in search of a particular spirit, and talks to said spirit. Depending on how the conversation goes, you might get useful knowledge, you might not. If you get something that you think you can use though, go out, try it. You might discover some powerful spell that you can do.

 

At this point it's important to pull out the holy trinity of spirits. You see, not all spirits are made the same; due to this, there are three distinct classes of spirits, capable of doing different sorts of shamanistic goodness. These are patron, wild, and nature spirits. Patron spirits are your go to jack of all trades spirits. Your patron spirit is the spirit of your tribe, and all patron spirits start out as average spirits on the power level. It is possible to move your patron spirit up the spiritual ladder, though the specifics of how need to be discovered. So if patron spirits are so generic, what's their importance? The fact that they're generic. You see, nature spirits are the spirits that you find roaming the land, protecting their trees and sleeping in mountains. They are also defined by what they are. If your shaman bonds to a nature spirit, he or she is restricted to what that spirit has known. For example, if you bond to a... mountain spirit. That mountain spirit will have an innate understanding of earth, of being strong and unmoving. You could perhaps use that to imbue your warriors with increased hardiness. You cannot use that spirit to make it rain. It is a mountain spirit. It might get a good look at the sky all the time, but it knows no more about making it rain than a river spirit does about making trees spontaneously combust.

 

What is the point of this? Patron spirits can do any spell, so long as its in their influence bracket. A mountain spirit may be more powerful, but a patron spirit can both imbue your soldiers with hardiness and make it rain. This genericness is important because constantly swapping between spirits is generally a bad idea, as it often requires several days of meditation and rituals before it actually happens.

 

Finally we have wild spirits. Wild spirits can't actually be harnessed to do shamanism, but they have two defining abilities; they can be seen by normals, and they can make pacts with humans. Wild spirits usually manifest in animals, and upon creating a pact with a human, the human and wild spirits merge into a sort of duality. This grants the wild spirit's abilities or characteristics to the human; in some cases, it even allows for full transformations. Thanks to this, you can get some very strange effects and abilities, depending on what you do exactly. However, once a pact is made, it is permanent. It cannot be removed and no others can be made until death. Pacts made after death are another story.

 

Do you feel lost? Totally confused? Look at this infographic. It's a much more concise version of all of this nonsense, and the visual representation should help you out with the more confusingly worded bits.

 

Spells

This is the spot where some examples of how your shamans can exhibit their influence in the spiritual world. As well, it will serve as the spot where people's spiritual discoveries are cataloged for convenience. You can and probably should use this format as well when submitting profiles. Note that some spells require continual spiritual input and thus will not let your spirit recharge its mana like normal. This only applies if it specifically is said.

Communion With the Dead: All shamans can talk with the dead via having some sort of physical link to their soul; crushed bone from the subject is the preferred summoning method. This does not rest on the ranking ladder and thus has no cost. This is available to all shamans, regardless if it is chosen or not. If a spell costs more than one spell slot, it will be noted.

Preliminary Healing: The basic tier of shaman healing. This requires the shaman's constant presence with the patient, and acts to reinforce the subject's immune system. Because of this it cannot directly heal wounds, but can stop infection and thus help the healing process. This is an average spell and falls under earth spirits.

Spirit Lure: This spell serves as a way to attract specific spirits out of their patrolled areas and towards your shaman. The specific spirit that will come depends on what materials you use. This is an average spell and has no spiritual category.

Far Sight: By bending light and air, your shaman is given the ability to see a hundred times better and farther than any other mortal. This is an average spell and falls under air spirits.

 

Raise Skeleton: Via some darker forces, your shaman can raise a skeleton. It must be properly decayed to the bone and flesh will only impede it's movements. It has little sentience and thus will only follow the orders of its masters with little intelligence. This is an average spell and falls under graveyard spirits.

 

Earth Mover: The first tier of this spell, your shaman can create earthquakes ranging from a 3 to a 5 on the Richter scale. A 3 costs one spell slot, a 4, two, and a 5, four. This is an average spell and falls under earth spirits.

 

The Creatures of Myth

 

Now, if spirits and shamans weren't enough for you, guess what! You get supernatural beasties to deal with. Now, some of you will instantly know these guys from Cherokee mythology; while I've done the best I can with a number of sources to ensure some measure of accuracy, artistic license ultimately wins whenever I make some mistake in the nature of these creatures. Said nature of these creatures is detailed below; the creatures that will appear are not limited to this list, but if an odd one does pop up, it'll get a spot here edited in.

 

Nunnehi: A sapient race of wandering nomads, these humanoid creatures stand at an average of seven feet in height and are know for their immense strength. They have a fondness for humans, though are invisible to the naked eye unless they chose to reveal themselves.

 

Tlanuwa: These giant birds are the size of a full grown man and live in the mountainous regions of the north. Their feathers are impenetrable and cover the entirity of their body, making killing one quite the feat. At the same time, their feathers are as light as any other feathers of a bird.

 

Uktena: Serpents with legs, these creatures have foul tempers and are similar in nature to that of Chinese dragons. While accounts vary, the Uktena are generally very malicious creatures, though many still possess a human level intellect. Reasoning with one rarely works, and in battle their tough scales make killing them difficult. It is well worth it though, as their scales make superb armor and can be ground into a cure for any disease.

 

The Flow of Time

 

Time here exists in a sort of spurty way. There is no formal progression of time, though if there's no interaction going on a 1:1 ratio of time progression is assumed. There is, however, date keeping and time skipping. Every so often, preferably weekly but sometimes more often and sometimes not as often, a time skip will take place, using seasons as their unit of choice. Usually this'll take place when there's a slump in interaction, or the game simply needs to progress. The GM doing so will take the situation into account, see who all is still interacting with each other, and from there make a decision on how big of a time skip will follow. This may be democratized in some cases. The current season and year is always kept recorded by one of the GMs.

 

Tribal Perks

 

In an effort to make tribes feel more customized and unique, this RPG has a system of perks. You chose one perk when you make your profile, which drastically changes how you play the game. Its a one time only thing, so make sure you choose wisely.

 

Universal Shamanism: Your entire tribe possesses the gift of a shaman. They can all enact their own spiritual feats, but at the cost that they can only tap into a single spirit rather than having individual bonds.

 

Spiritual Communion: Your tribe has a far greater understanding of the overarching spiritual world. Spirits speak easier to your shamans and your people are more in tune with the oddities of the universe, giving them sight of things not seen by others.

 

Necromantic Shamans: Your shamans are empowered by the cycle of reincarnation; with each generation, a new shaman takes the place of the old, embued with the experiences and knowledge of all the tribe's shamans before him.

 

Fearless Minions: Via thorough training and a tribal lineage of the spirits themselves, your warriors know no fear. They will never route nor waver in battle, meeting their deaths with the intelligence of men and the viciousness of predators.

 

Unclean Ground: Your entire tribe is cleansed of the spirits; no spirit will go near it, and no shaman can effect it. Your warriors are protected from the influence of enemy shamans, but have no shamans of their own.

 

Influential Diplomats: Via powers stemming from your patron spirit, your diplomats are incapable of being deceived or led falsely.

 

Animal Pact: In times long ago, your tribe made a pact with the spirits of the wild. With this their very spirits are merged with that of an animal, granting the ability to transform at will into the creature.

 

NewGame+

 

Here's something you don't see often; in this game, you, as the player, can be utterly destroyed. Wiped from the map and your remains spat on. Really adds some tension doesn't it? However, because we GMs aren't completely cruel, you have the NewGame+ feature. In game, your patron spirit flees after the destruction of your tribe and finds its way to another tribe, merging with its spirit and transferring some spiritual knowledge. This means two thirds of your discoveries are transferred to the new tribe, meaning you don't have to play a total catchup game with everyone else in the RPG if you get the business end of a sword. Or tomahawk. Whichever one really. Other than that, you start out with the same stuff as a normal new player.

 

Profile

 

Tribe Name: [Really, you can go wild on this. Tribe Blue Mountain? Tribe Xhognsuea? Use your creativity.]

Tribal Population: [This is a spot for the GMs. Everyone starts at hundred and twenty villagers and it'll hover between one hundred and one hundred fifty.]

Tribal Characteristics: [Anything that really defines these guys? This can be skills, common birthmarks, a societal norm, something that makes your people more unique in this world.]

Tribal Society: [No need for anything complex, but if you feel like writing an essay please do so. Are your people led by a chief? Is it communistic? Do they abhor violence? Worship the spirits? Just use this to give us a good baseline of what to expect about your people.]

Starting Spells: [Ok, so, this is arguably the hardest part. Your shamans can do spiritual spells and be all shaman-y and cool. This is where you put your three starting spells. These all will of course be average level. Pick three reasonable ones and I'll help you tone it down or buff it up if need be.]

Tribal Perk: [Feel free to pick from the list, or suggest your own to me over PM.]

Tribal History: [use this to mention any important events in your tribe's past. Keep in mind all of our tribes are relatively recent; the most your tribe can go back to is three centuries.]

Edited April 12, 2013 by Alex Humva

[Canis Lycaon]

A quick question about Starscape II- How many types of ships can you have? I am thinking of having three. (A big transport ship, doesn't fight or go down to planet's; a small fighter ship; and a medium planetary contact ship)

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

A quick question about Starscape II- How many types of ships can you have? I am thinking of having three. (A big transport ship, doesn't fight or go down to planet's; a small fighter ship; and a medium planetary contact ship)

 

As many as you like really. I've dreamt up eight so far, for varying roles, and will probably wind up having more as the game goes on. So you could start with three if you wanted and design and create more types as you encounter new races and new technology

[Van Hohenheim]

okay, so I have a paranatural RPG planned out. as follows...

 

Overview

in a nutshell, it's a normal world, everything's the same. on the Normal level, at least. on another level, the spirit level, things are happening. spirits are rising up, becoming more violent. and where are you in all of this? a mere person. however, not a defenceless one. in this RPG, you play as either a regular human, a Spectral, or a spirit. using your powers (if you have any), decide the fate of the town of Mayview.

Gameplay

Paranatural is a webcomic made by the talented Zack Morrison. all of the resources in this RPG can be found in either his answers to questions or in the comic itself. Spectrals are people who can see into the spirit world. they also have tools, which will be explained later. Spirits are basically ghosts with a lot of differing appearances. it's impossible to generalize them all. the RPG is set in Mayview, a small town set on two hills. there is a school, the Corner Store (which is oberated by Max's dad), and several homes in the area. for those that read the comic, Doorman's house is there too. just Doorman isn't there. Tools are objects which spirits have started to live inside. however, they only "live" inside of one if they are weakened sufficently. a Medium is a person who is essentially a tool, who has a person living inside of him or her and can channel the powers through themselves. a Tool can be anything, but usually a spirit will try to find an object that relates to its powers. for example, a spirit that could store anything inside the tool would prefer a backpack over a desk. a regular person starts to see spirits in three ways: near death experience, prolonged exposure to supernatural phenomena, and a diet obnoxiously high in citrus. a Spectral, over time, starts to look like the spirit that is in their tool. Spectral Energy is your color. it defines what types of spirits you can use, I.E: if I had green Energy, I could use light green spirits and dark green spirits, but not blue spirits. read it all?

General Powers

these are powers that all spectrals have. any and all can use these. however, a tool's power is limited to the holder.

-creating Spectral Energy. essentially, this is a gas that glows, but only Spectrals can see it.

-seeing into Realms.

-interacting with spirits, and vice versa.

-wielding Tools

Character Creation

Name: we can't refer to you as "that guy" now can we?

age: I think this explains itself

gender: do you need an explanation?

physical Appearance: what does your character look like?

biography: how did your character get to mayview? where is he/she from? how did he/she start seeing spirits?

Personality: how does your character react in different situations?

Energy Color: what is your energy color? red, green, black, blue, white, yellow, and purple are the colors.

Spirit Creation

I figured that if I included all of this in the Character creation, normal people would make a fuss. so if you have a tool, here's the place to describe it

Tool: what IS the tool itself? try to make it related to the Spirit Power.

Spirit Power: what is it's power?

Spirit Appearance: what does your spirit look like? be creative!

Spirit Realm: basically, a place where the spirit resides. make sure it fits the spirit's appearance

Spirit Personality: what is your spirit's temperment? is it calm and peaceful, or hotheaded and violent?

Locations

Mayview is the main place, obviously, but that place has a lot of smaller areas

the Corner Store: a regular gas-station store but without the gas-station. sells candies, semi-vegan bars, chips, the whole shebang.

the Doorman's House: a crooked old house, previous home of the Doorman. went missing for unexplainable reasons.

the school: where Kids go to school here, the Activity Club has a once a week meeting for the younger Spectrals. other activities include football, chess club, soccer, drama, dancing, and creative arts.

the town square: a rounded area, and a meeting place for all types of people. once a year, there is a parade in the area, on the anniversary of Mayview.

Spirit Realm: this is entirely up to the player. it can be full of butterflies, gun racks everywhere, lightning bolts hanging from the ceiling, whatever.

Rules

like all RPGs, this one has rules. specifically,

1.Follow all BZP and OTC rules. simple. if it's listed as a rule in the Reference desk, follow it. if it's listed in the OTC rules, follow it.

2. use IC and OOC. IC = in character, as in when you are playing him, and OOC= out of character, when you aren't playing him. only one post without IC is permitable. example as follows

IC: I sent lightning shooting at my foe

OOC: did you guys see the new page?

3. no God-Modding whatsoever. this includes Bunnying (taking control of other characters for an extended amount of time), Meta Gaming (knowing something your character shouldn't), being over Powered (if you can knock out a building with a single punch, you're over powered).

4. get permission before killing someone elses character. I mean, really.

4a. as a side note, keep deaths down on violence. a simple "and with those words, his life was concluded" would be prefered over "as his guts spilled out and his blood flowed out of his woulds, he uttered a few words and died".

5. have loads of fun. this goes without saying

Punishments

obviously, if one of the rules above is broken, then there's a punishment for it

first punishment: a warning in a PM, telling you what you did wrong and asking that you don't do it again

second punishment: a temporary wound to your main character. you did something wrong twice, and this should get your attention.

third punishment: a taking away of your tool from you. if you got this far with the punishments, we take your tool away and you aren't getting it back.

fourth punishment: a temporary ban on all of the RPG. this includes discussion topic. length of ban is judged by what you did.

fifth punishment: permanent ban from all of the RPG. your characters are mysteriously never seen again, and neither are you.

important NPCs

none. you heard right. there are no important NPCs at all. Max moved out of the town long ago, Issac went missing, Issabel and Ed went to other places to help spectrals, and Spender is retired.

so tell me what you guys think of it. I'm fairly certain that there are a few Paranaturalists on this forum, and I want to know what you in particular like about it.

[Jean Valjean]

Alright, so I've been thinking of something, and I'm a bit nervous about the idea. I probably won't try it out for a while, because my luck with RPGs has been horrid lately. And not-so-lately. A year ago, I tried out the idea of a Disney RPG, and people were enthusiastic, but the RPG never made it past 8 pages. Before that, I tried the Amakor RPG several years ago, but the premise was terrible because it took place in a universe where the main species was essentially like Kryptonians. My track record kind of sucks.

 

However, I'm curious about the success of RPGs lately, since I notice that there are a lot of them. Maybe that's just an illusion, because I also happen to see a lot of discussion topics and I often forget to mentally divide by two, but I still think it's safe to say that more RPGs are getting started up than five months ago.

 

So down the line, I'm wondering if I might give this thing another go. I think I might join a few RPGs now, or at least some of them that are just beginning, presuming that they're original and not based off of some franchise or series that I don't know enough about. Down the line, if I think I have the hang of things again, I think I might also start an RPG of my own, presuming I can find an opportune moment in my life where I can afford the distraction (or better at managing extra interests so that they don't become distractions) of starting my own RPG again.

 

With that thought on my mind, I wonder what went wrong with my other RPGs. The first one had problems that were a bit obvious, and I won't even think about it, because it was an embarrassment. I was a newb. However, the second one had a strong enough premise, but I think it left a little too much up to the imagination. While part of it was that I didn't have the steel to deny a certain profile once it had been corrected (though I should have guessed by the first draft that he would be troublesome and awkward), I think that part of the problem was that, once again, I trusted the RPers too much to set up their own story.

 

So to my understanding, a GM should, at least in the beginning, be a bit more controlling and dictate the story for the first few chapters before backing off and stimulating the story only in broad sweeps. Does that sound right? I still don't quite know where the balance lies, and I'm sure it varies from game to game, depending on the variables of its pitch, its rules, the players, and the plot intended by the GM.

 

It would be cool if we could discuss for a little while some of the intuition and reasoning that go into this. The thoughts of experienced players would be helpful as I sort through and consider some of these ideas.

 

24601

[Advent Child]

I'm personally in a hefty amount of agreement with your idea of how an RPG should be run. It's one thing to allow the players freedom to do as they like, but freedom with no direction, or sense of pacing as dictated by the GM always seems to go in the more unfortunate, wayside direction. At the very least, in the beginning, the GM should play an active role in ensuring that the world he's trying to allow people to play in is a solid and vibrant one; one that people want to create stories and lives in.

[Canis Lycaon]

Strack- What is Paranatural? Every RPG explains the content pretty well on this forum, or a least uses a very popular and recognizable theme (X-Men or Pokemon). I've never heard of this. What is the difference between different colored spirits? This also needs a lot of spelling fixes.

[Archer Vonn]

 

War.War never changes.Since the dawn of man, man has been at war. Conflict has always been a part of our nature, but despite it we were able to advance a society throughout the world and even into space. But in the fall of 2077, humanity could sustain itself no longer, and our need to destroy caught up with us. The nuclear war that ravaged the world left next to nothing in its path.Those who survived did so in enormous, underground vaults. There were nearly two hundred scattered throughout North America. Eventually, the vaults were opened, and humanity emerged.By 2186, with the help of a few special individuals, a man by the name of Aradesh was able to found what would eventually become the most successful post-apocalypse government in the United States: the New California Republic. Like Julius Caesar’s Roman army, the New California Republic, or NCR, colonized fast, and by 2282, they had a peaceful rule over the entire state of California and the Mojave Desert, having beaten down threats like the technologically driven Brotherhood of Steel or the pro-American Enclave, or even the legion of slavers known as Caesar’s Legion.In 2312, the tendrils of the NCR’s own Crimson Caravan Company had finally rolled into the area surrounding Austin, Texas, which was already mostly colonized by a group called the Texas Union, who aimed to keep the dreams and morals of the pre-war Texas alive. They were heavily influenced by the post apocalyptic Resurgence Church, who, like the Mormon Church in the north, was rich enough to remain a heavy influence.The NCR, like the NCR does, made peaceful contact with the Union. NCR ambassadors have hoped that the size of the NCR would be enough to convince the Union to be absorbed, with the city of Austin sucked into the monster that is NCR, but it hasn’t. Negotiations began.At first the NCR and Union were on peaceful terms, but things have fired up. NCR camps have been popping up on the outskirts of the Texan Wastelands. Rangers have been spotted inside city limits, and Union citizens are getting antsy. Sides are being picked, with no clear favourite in the state.The Union has its men readying to defend its home, and NCR is readying a backup plan. The negotiations may go well, but they will likely go poorly. And like war, the New California Republic never changes.-Fallout: Austin City LimitsWelcome to Fallout: Austin City Limits! This is an RPG based on the Fallout series designed by Interplay Studios, and expanded upon by Bethesda and Obsidian studios. This is a fresh take on the series in a fresh new environment: the wasteland of Texas. There are rules in this RPG to ensure that everybody has a good time.1. Respect your fellow players.2. Respect staff members.3. Respect BZP rules.4. No godmoding. I’m sure you all know what I mean.5. Use IC and OOC when your post refers to In Character, or Out of Character, respectively. I’m not particularly strict about OOC, so long as you don’t start getting confusing.6. Be realistic in your role playing. I know we get to kill the entire Fort in New Vegas with a 9mm if you bring enough Stimpaks, but you can’t do that in this RPG.7. Have fun.8. There is no eight rule, just a smiley face.9. The smiley face is on break.If you break any of these rules, a strike will be issued against you depending on the severity of your offense.Table of Contents:000: Introduction001: Rules002: Character Sheets003: Factions004: Geography005: Technology006: Bestiary007: Approved Characters002: Character SheetsPlease PM them to me. After they are approved, you can post them in the topic, and we’ll be link to your post in the following character segment.I see the rest of it as mostly self explanatory. Remove the parenthesis and have at thee.Username:Name:Appearance:Affiliation: If you are associated with the New California Republic or Texas Union, you are to note your rank/position here. If just a civilian, say so. This is also the place to note if you are a super mutant or ghoul. Note that you can’t play a Ranger or a Ghost, nor can you play as non-human species since they aren’t intelligent to be half interesting characters.Age:Specialization: What is your profession? And what else you’re good at.Equipment: Unlike in game, you can’t carry 250 pounds if you are strong enough. For limits, just try and make it reasonable as to what you could carry. Keep in mind; this requires to at least slightly reflect your affiliation. Most civilians don’t have access to energy weapons, none have access to Power Armour, and few have access to the high-end automatic weapons used by the New California Republic or the Texas Union, and if for whatever reason you do, make sure you have a reason for it.Bio:Faction SheetsI’m gonna try and be at least a little stern here with the create-a-faction feature. If you can come up with a logical history (I don’t need anything as in-depth as the NCR or Union write ups, I just did that to scare you) that explains how your band of misfits came together, you still won’t be entirely in the clear. Just so we aren’t swarming with 8 side factions that are warring against 3 other side factions and the Union, I want to be impressed with your faction. If it has a theme, a purpose, or is just interesting, I’ll allow it. Go ahead, rip off Halo. You’re only wasting your own time.Username:Name:Leaders:Important Locations: If applicable.Structure: What sort of ranking system do they have? How about their government? This is also a good place to talk about their technology, if it’s current military grade, or if they have access to pre-war tech.History: I’m not saying a word limit, but I want something respectable.003: FactionsThe New California Republic”A safe people is a strong people.”Founded in 2186 by a man named Aradesh and his daughter, Tandi, the New California Republic is often considered humanity’s best bet. With nearly a half a million civilians in the Core Region (the south west coast and the surrounding area, roughly centered around Los Angelos) and the Mojave Wasteland, they are the most successful government known to post apocalyptic society. Despite all their success, they are not perfect. After Tandi died, the following presidents have been known to neglect the needs of many a citizen, and have often been seen as greedy, and selfish.The population of a town called Shady Sands consisted mostly of survivors from Vault 15. It was built in 2142, just north of the remains of Los Angelos, at the time called the Hub. It was created using a machine called the G.E.C.K., also known as the ‘Garden of Eden Creation Kit’, the epitome of pre-war technology that was installed in most vaults. It allowed them to create a thriving ecosystem, erect buildings, and establish a settlement.Shady Sands was however, plagued by problems. It was attacked constantly by radscorpions and raiders, the latter of which even went as far as kidnapping Tandi in 2161, a fault that was corrected by an inhabitant of Vault 13. In 2162, the town’s citizens became the owners of the Crimson Caravan Company, a titanic merchant group that dominated trade in the Core region. In 2189, with the help of the Crimson Caravan and a few others, the citizens, namely Aradesh and Tandi, were able to turn Shady Sands into the headquarters of the newest military superpower: the New California Republic, and by 2281, they owned not only the entire Core, but also the Mojave, after a long and brutal campaign against groups such as the Enclave, and Caesar’s Legion.As of 2342, NCR is lead by a man named George Theodore Knox. He was raised in New California Republic, the town, and the son of one of the New California Rangers. He is a very aggressive man, and was the one who ordered the takeover of Austin, under the guise of wanting to control the major trading system the city is the hub of, but there have been whispers among current Union citizens that his actions in the south have been driven by pure spite against the Church that has such significant influence.Unlike most other groups encountered in post-apocalyptic society, the New California Republic employs a strict ranking system, one that follows very closely to 21^st century militaries of the United States, or other such countries. The general technology possessed by the NCR is obviously military grade and higher than civilian, but they do not have the tech skills required to utilize or operate the latest pre-war technology, such as Power Armour, and have energy weapons in short supply, so their firearms are all typically stocked with bullets.The Rangers ”The Ranger vets are coming in from Baja. I’ve never seen one, but I hear they chew nails and spit napalm.”The Rangers of the Core area were always the super soldiers of the world, rivaled in prowess by only the Brotherhood of Steel’s Paladins, and even so, no Paladin could ever do what a Ranger could. Founded by a man named Seth when NCR was created, the New California Rangers took very little time in becoming the most reputable and prestigious soldiers NCR could offer.The New California Rangers are not to be confused with the Desert Rangers. The Desert Rangers were the spiritual successors to the Texas Rangers, surviving ever since the Great War of 2077 in the state of Nevada, but had certain members inhabit areas in the Core as well. By the time NCR Rangers had entered the Mojave, in 2271, the Desert Rangers were being plagued by Caesar’s Legion, and contacted the NCR, and were later absorbed into the ranks of NCR.Rangers were hand picked out of training, for those who excelled at reconnaissance or marksmanship. Ranger training was extensive and it was brutal, with a 80% drop out rate. The soldiers who emerged were ‘quieter than a shadow and deadlier than a deathclaw’, very respected and feared among enemies, and idolized among comrades. The Rangers who survived to spin tales of heroism were awarded veteran status: and with that, the prestigious black armour and trench coat, the signature attire of the Desert Rangers who preceded them.For all their skill and training, there remain very few Rangers in NCR’s military. During the Mojave Campaign, there were only about fifty or sixty Rangers present, and a few hundred in the Core, but after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, there remain only a few dozen.The Texas Union”Texas is neither southern nor western. Texas is Texas.”The only known organized government in the post apocalyptic United States to successfully colonize an entire state that isn’t the New California Republic is the Texas Union. Based out of the remains of the former capital of the state, Austin, the Texas Union is a government that prioritizes on keeping old world Republican values alive.They started out as a small group of raiders who emerged from Vault 63, just south of the city of Austin. As they were the most organized out of any of the raiders, they established supremacy rather easily. The original inhabitants of Vault 63 were unfortunately far from the cream of the Texan crop- instead, the Vault was filled with the rural civilians Texan stereotypes were born from, the ultra-religious and ultra-conservative.Given their simple upbringings and utter devotion to the concepts that held so much power during twelfth century Italy, the ‘63ers’ were almost putty in the hands of the missionaries of the newly created Resurgence Church of the Savior, the Church that was created in the aftermath of the separation in the Mormon Church in the north that had traveled south to colonize there.As the Resurgence Church had a spine that was crafted by the same general beliefs that the inhabitants of the Vault were raised to believe, it wasn’t hard for the high priests to convince the raiders to unify. With the wealth provided by the Church, the raiders were able to arm themselves and turn their comfortable dominance into complete and utter control of Austin and the surrounding area, and found themselves spreading outwards, with the goal of unifying Texas once again.In 2342, the man who heads the Texas Union is the same man who organized the original Vault escape, a man named Warren Rodriguez. Unlike most of his soldiers, he feels little commitment to the values of the Church. His alliance with them is purely financial. He is a very intelligent and very respectful, his biggest hero being none other than Edward Sallow- Caesar himself.The Union uses a simple ranking system, categorizing their military similarly to the Brotherhood of Steel. Their soldiers start out as Recruits, eventually advance to Initiates. After becoming Initiates, the soldiers of the Union have two possible paths they can choose, each with its own set of ranks.The much more commonly chosen path is the Holy path, also known as the Walkers- starting as a Defender, and then ranking up to a Guardian, Veteran Guardian, and finally a Chieftain. The Walkers are backed by the Church almost exponentially more than its alternatives, and for good reason. The foot soldiers of the Union, as well as the peacekeepers and law makers, are the Holy path, and their influence on the Texan wastes are drastically larger than the Unholy.The Unholy is, predictably, the opposite path. Unlike the Walkers, the Unholy are the hunters of the Wasteland, inspired in part by the New California Rangers. Also unlike the Walkers, the Unholy or ‘Mavericks’ don’t follow any sort of chain of command, and once they complete training, they are Dusters until they retire, with the only chance of advancing in rank is becoming one of the four Ghosts who deal with the sketchier happenings in the Wasteland.The Dusters are the anti-Rangers. Training is just as extensive, and their missions are typically similar, as they perform reconnaissance and assassinations of key targets, and even to protecting the all-stars of the Church. The Ghosts are the only thing the NCR has no match for. There is no known limit to what these Ghosts are capable of doing, but it is rather clear that there is something about them that just isn’t human.The Mavericks weren’t installed by the Church, however, actually by Rodriguez himself, in an act deemed necessary by himself and only himself. The Mavericks answer mostly to him. Despite their prestige, they are typically shunned by Texas civilians and operate covertly, or not at all. The Ghosts, on the other hand, are outright feared, and they know it. When a Ghost makes an appearance, he has a reason, and the people listen to it gladly.The Resurgence ChurchWhile it’s name suggests otherwise, the Resurgence Church is not a religious group, at least by 21^st century definitions of religious. The Resurgence Church worships a different deity- us.When the Vaults were opened, they found plenty of pre-war magazines, newspapers, and recordings. This built up many myths about what life was like before the war, since, nobody in the wastes knew for sure, with the exception of the Ghouls. Pre-war life was a thing of mystery for the people of post-war America, and it was a mystery very many people were interested in.One such man was Blake Driscoll, a scholar who worked for the Followers of the Apocalypse, the same ones scattered throughout NCR territory. He was fascinated by these pre-war ideas and used the people’s fascination to rally up against his superiors, demanding these concepts were recognized. The Church refused, and Driscoll and his followers struck out, to eventually form the Resurgence Church.Like pre-war Churches, the Resurgence Church gained much wealth from post-apocalypse entrepreneurs who loved pre-war ideas that wanted to support them, and wanted to be attached to something that wasn’t clingy or demanding. By the time Driscoll and his caravan reached Texas, they had a wealth that rivaled NCR, and the rest is history.They are adored by the Union citizens who also love their ideas. The primary goal of the Resurgence Church is to spread Capitalism lifestyle, to promote education, and to keep standards of living high. That last one, particularly, is handled in a very controversial manner. This can lead to bigotry towards irradiated or mutated people, such as Ghouls, which includes a lot of Union citizens. They are taken and disposed of, all in the name of good living.This hatred of Mutants leads to the Church’s alliance with the Travis County Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. The Church employs them to eradicate large mutant threats, and in return, the Brotherhood is granted exclusive access to the Texas National Guard’s headquarters, just a few miles outside of Austin, and isolation to do their bidding in there.Minor Factions”Don’t matter if you smell bad, all that matters is staying alive.”The Brotherhood of SteelThe iconic flagship faction of Fallout as a series since the first game, the Brotherhood of Steel has, of course, made their way into 24^th century Texas. Originally from the Core region, the Brotherhood is a group of super soldiers and scholars who inherited the equipment used by the United States military, and reverse engineered it to be mass-produced among their soldiers. They focus on one thing- the preservation of pre-war technology. They are an elitist group, whose members consist primarily of descendants from original members, but they have been known to rarely make exceptions to this, and allow unique or talented individuals to join their ranks.The Brotherhood’s soldiers follow a medieval sort of ranking system, going from Initiate, to Knight, and finally to Paladin. A Brotherhood Paladin is their primary foot soldiers, and are quite a magnificent specimen, rivaled only by the Union’s Unholy and the New California Rangers. They go through state-of-the-art training- virtual reality, primarily. Despite rarely fighting human foes, Paladins have been known to slaughter thirty men apiece in large battles, such as the Battle of HELIOS One.There is, however, a second ranking system used by the Brotherhood- this being the Scribes. Scribes are what their name suggests, record keepers, intelligence officers, and the like. The choice to be either a Scribe, or a Knight, is one to be made when entering the Brotherhood.The Brotherhood operates in smaller groups called Chapters. A Chapter is a group of Brotherhood members around a hundred personnel strong, and they are lead by the Elder. Each branch of the Brotherhood also has a leader- the Elder Scribe, for the Scribe branch, and the Head Paladin, for the Paladin branch.Travis County Chapter of the Brotherhood of SteelThe Chapter of the Brotherhood that this RPG features is much more powerful than the Mojave Chapter. Due to the Church’s distaste for mutants and the Brotherhood’s experience fighting them, the two groups have reached a state of harmony. The Brotherhood defends Travis County from Super Mutants, and other such things. However, as few Super Mutants have wandered as far south as Texas, the Brotherhood enjoys the benefits of the treaty signed with the Church for little work. To their name, the Travis County Chapter boasts complete control of Texas’ military base, three miles down river from Austin. They are granted solitude from Union soldiers and few outsiders are ever allowed inside the base. The Elder of the Travis County Chapter is Elder James Smogon.The EnclaveThe single handed most advanced group in post-war society, the Enclave is actually a very dark, very significant other to the pre-war United States. Founded sometime before the war, they were in charge of following the US government, correcting errors, and creating back up plans. The Vault project was one such back up plan.Being as their scientists have never stopped working, the Enclave considers themselves the best of the best of the post-war society and with good reason. They are the only radiation-free life forms left on the planet, they have the most advanced armour and weapons, and they have access to the only remaining pool of fossil fuel left on the planet. The only reason they could never take over and become supreme kings of the world is their dwindling numbers. Like the Brotherhood, the only surviving members are descendants of original members. Nobody else fits their standards.Little is known about their structure, other than they are lead by a President, one who typically considers himself President of the United States, despite the President of the New California Republic arguably deserving that title more. Their soldiers are better equipped than any Paladin, but skirmishes have proven time and time over that they are no match for the Brotherhood’s soldiers.004: Geography”I emerged from the scene, and looked back on the rubble.”The Texas Wasteland is massive. This RPG focuses on a select part of it though- Travis County, or the area surrounding the city of Austin. There are certain areas in this RPG that are more important than others, areas that everybody should know about. These areas will be covered in this section.Note: PM a staff member with a description of an area if you want it added into the game, and this post. Preferably me, since I have to see it anyways to edit it in.AustinAustin, Texas, was and is the capital city of Texas, and was one of its most thriving communities. During the Great War, it was not hit very hard, like Las Vegas, leaving many buildings intact, and letting a community build itself. In this RPG, many locations fall within its limits. They are as follows:The Capitol BuildingThe headquarters of the Texas Union and located dead center of city, as if the warheads shaped the city perfectly even around it. It is a heavily fortified building for good reason- all major Union personnel live and operate here. Military training is executed in the back, military planning is executed inside. This is where the negotiations between the Texas Union and the New California Republic are being held.The HubUnrelated to the remnants of Las Angelos despite sharing its name, the Hub is the largest trading center known to post-apocalyptic man. It occupies the street directly south of the Capitol Building, which has been cleared and built to support merchants, caravans, and shoppers, alike. Musicians can be found every so often, busking. It is the happiest place in the wasteland by far. It is patrolled by the Walkers day and night, even if all trading is to be ceased at midnight sharp, with few exceptions, like the annual Union Day festival.The RockLocated just west of the Capitol building, the Rock is the go-to places for adults after midnight. It offers gambling, and entertainment. It is famous for its bi-monthly fighting tournaments, which often have the entire city abuzz.The ChurchFormerly Austin City Hall, the Church is home to the Resurgence Church and all its higher ups. Here is where the Church’s doctors reside, where a sprawling library is kept, and where classes are taught. The teachers educate their students, children and adults alife, on pre-war culture. There are sixteen lectures in total, and most who come to hear one hear them all later on.The TempleThree miles down the Colorado River from Austin is the home of Texas’ pre-war military force. Currently, the Temple is inhabited by the Travis County Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, and they seldom allow people to enter. Little is known about what the Brotherhood needs the Temple for, but those who are familiar with them could likely guess.The PlainsMore or less, all the area in between. Surrounding Austin are the sprawling Texan plains, home to Deathclaws, Mutants, Geckos and other beasts. This is where the Ghouls and Super Mutants have been driven too, where they have seemed to have ceased to exist. Considering the dangers, their deaths are very likely. Outside of carnivores, the most dangerous things in the Plains are the ultra-powerful radioactive tornadoes that terrorize the countryside. They are rare, but they are deadly, and can ghoul-ify anybody trapped in their vortex in mere minutes.The BadlandsUnlike Austin, the city of San Antonio to the southwest was devastated in the Great War. A total of six warheads hit the city, turning a thriving metropolis into a ghost town. The ruins are heavily irradiated but nobody has ever explored them. Rumor has it that all Ghouls and Mutants the Church leaves to die in the Plains make their way to San Antonio, which gave it the name. Ultimately, it is a place of mystery and of wonder, but also grave danger.The CoreWhile not looked at in this RPG, the Core region deserves a mention. This is the region dealt with in the first two Fallout games- that being, the area around Las Angelos, where the New California Republic got settled. It will be mentioned many times throughout the RPG, so it deserves an explanation to newcomers of the series.005: TechnologyThe wasteland of Texas is very similar to the Mojave Desert with a few key exceptions. Unlike the Mojave, there is no Hoover Dam. This means that nobody, not even the richest of the rich, has access to electricity, and if they do, they keep it to themselves. Instead, lighting is provided by a type of pre-war glow stick. Union citizens have taken to calling them Starbeams. Created by a Texan scientist before the war, they were cheap and easy to manufacture and were designed to be sold as camping equipment. After the Great War, however, citizens discovered that radioactivity, even in slight amounts, could reignite them indefinitely to provide a blaring glow of white light, bright enough to lighten an entire room. They can be turned off by unscrewing the ends. Starbeams are in great supply, and are common household items, even if they cost upwards of two hundred caps a piece.The second biggest difference between the Mojave and Texan Wastes are firearms. Travis County boasts zero access to the Gun Runners, the weapons trading empire that dominates in the Core and Mojave regions. As well, the van Graffs who deal with energy weapons, are also absent, meaning that the only reliable source of weaponry are the Union’s tech staff, and the New California Republic soldiers. Naturally, neither is a viable source of high-end weaponry for civilians.Food preservation is a constant issue in post-war America. As Austin has no source of electricity, they don’t have access to working refrigerators, so there is no reliable way to keep meat fresh without going the traditional route and smoking them.The New California Republic, however, brings its own technology to the table. Once they seized control of Hoover Dam and restored it to a condition where nearly no scientists were required to run it, the Republic’s scientists were given nearly thirty years of bliss to pursue technologies to improve the standard of living, and to reinforce their armies. Outside of continuing to supply the army with Vertibirds [a design taken from the Enclave], the Republic saw the unveiling of, for the first time since the war, a motorized vehicle- or motorhicle, for short.Powered with electricity siphoned into massive, four pound batteries, these vehicles use a pre-war design of a one or two person motorbike with very precise steering capabilities, used almost exclusively for military use. These bikes, or Blades (Named after how they can cut straight through a sand dune, and how they look from the top) are very expensive to manufacture, and very expensive to put together. There are a little under one hundred in the entire military, and less than a dozen exist for civilian use. Prototype models for ground vehicles that can transfer equipment and troops are in the making but have not been mass produced.Weaponry has yet to change much, however. The Union is equipped with traditional firearms, like the Republic- weapons which use 5.56mm rounds, 5mm rounds, .308 rounds, etc. Energy weapons are a different animal. Energy weapons use rounds like Energy and Microfusion cells, and are hard to find, as they are mostly pre-war technology. Energy weapons are very uncommon in Travis County, and most of them belong to the Brotherhood of Steel, who makes them inaccessible to civilians and soldiers alike.Aside from energy weapons, the most extensive and highly prized technology available in the Texan Wasteland is the coveted Power Armor. Introduced by the United States military shortly before the great war, the T-45d Power Armor was the first Power Armor deployed into battle, replaced later by the sleeker T-51b. Power Armor is a machine that needs to be learned how to be used- to the ignorant, it is little more than heavy junk. Currently, the only people in the Texan Wastes equipped with Power Armor are the Brotherhood of Steel, and they keep all available suits to themselves.Finally, the most dangerous weapon in the Wasteland is the Forced Evolution Virus- the same one that created the Master, and all his Super Mutants. Created just prior to the Great War by a company known as West-Tek (The same company that supplied the U.S. with Power Armor) as a counter weapon to the Chinese’ invisibility weapons (Stealth Boys). The Forced Evolution Virus, or FEV, does exactly what its name implies- forces evolution and it doesn’t do it particularly well. It can bestow great gifts, like strength or even telepathy in the case of Richard Grey, later known as the Master. However, in doing this it mutates the human form, creating Super Mutants. If direct exposure to the virus happens, its results are exaggerated, and can be very terrifying.006: Beastiary”You can blame God for giving him teeth, but you can only blame yourself for not giving him peace.Enemy soldiers are not the only danger to face in the Texan Wastes.Note: PM a staff member with a description of a beast if you want it added into the game, and this post. Preferably me, since I have to see it anyways to edit it in.Deathclaws are the fastest and strongest of all the beasts in the Wasteland. Unlike most other creatures that roam the wastes, Deathclaws were not a child of radiation but in fact by the U.S. Army before the war. They were mutated Jackson’s Chameleons, used for dangerous missions in place of human soldiers. After the Great War, they survived heartily, originally considered beasts of legend. Once they became more common and more widespread across America, hunters began to respect them as very dangerous creatures. They stand at about seven feet tall, are very fast, very strong, and very difficult to kill. They are very territorial, and will attack everything that intrudes in their habitat.Super Mutants were very common in the Texan Wasteland before the Resurgence Church began to have their way. It is unknown how they came to exist in the Texan Wastes, and have no connections to The Master, from the Core region. They are intelligent, like most first generation Super Mutants, and not savages. They are stronger than humans and very tough, but due to their scarcity, pose little threat if an attack were to be mounted. A trait of Super Mutants is that they live unnaturally long lives, and can live for hundreds of years.Ghouls are in a similar boat as the Super Mutants. Unlike Super Mutants, which were humans exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus [FEV], Ghouls are simply humans exposed to an ungodly amount of radiation, which forces their skin to mostly fall off, and makes their voices very raspy. Like Super Mutants, they live very long lives. Some Ghouls were alive even before the war. Another trait of Ghouls is that they are fully immune to radiation poisoning, and can heal wounds if exposed to it.Ghouls come in three phases, depending on the type and intensity of radiation they are exposed to- ‘normal’ Ghouls, Feral Ghouls, and Glowing Ones. Feral Ghouls are brainless zombies, which will kill anything that won’t kill them first. Glowing Ones are the most rare kind of Ghoul. They can be either normal or Feral, but are usually Feral. Their organs glow a sickening green and they still reek of radiation. They are the strongest type of Ghoul.A newcomer to the Texan wasteland is a creature known to locals as Wheelers. Wheelers are mutated armadillos. Like Geckos, the armadillo population of Texas grew after the Great War, in both meanings. Once being tiny little creatures, Wheelers evolved into four foot long, aggressive beasts. Like the name implies, Wheelers curl into balls and roll about at very quick speeds, downhill reaching almost twenty miles an hour. Physically, Wheelers sport a bumpy, almost serrated shell. It is tough to penetrate with traditional firearms, but energy weapons are very effective in penetrating the shell and reaching the fleshy underbelly underneath. The have sharp fangs, sharp claws, and a short snout. The most interesting (and dangerous) part about Wheelers are the four, flexible spines that sprouted from their shoulders. These spines are toxic but not fatally so. In great doses, this poison can paralyze, which is how Wheelers catch their prey. Wheelers are typically easy to track, and their flesh is commonly sought out in marketplaces, and the toxin is used in medicines.Geckos are also common in Travis County, and are natural enemies with the Wheeler. There are many variations, some stronger and faster than others, but look very similar. They stand at about three feet tall and have evolved into bipedal creatures. Rumor has it that certain species can actually breathe fire.

 

 

I know it's like way after the fact but I would still really like to post this. If anyone has any interest in co-hosting it with me I'd appreciate it.