1. No God-modding, auto-hitting, meta-gaming, etc. This includes dealings with NPCs. An example would be having an alien vessel appear out of no-where to attack you without provocation- or having all the events that lead up to the attack included in the same post. The NPC factions will have their own leaderships, agendas, and alliances, so please don't abuse their NPC status. I am, in essence, the GM, and will control NPC movements. If you have an NPC attack or inclusion you'd like to happen, feel free to send me a message and we can work something out.
2. Your character needs to have a logical reason to be on a Human starbase- either civilian or military, the easiest way for this to be the case is to be human. Prisoners generally aren't kept on high-value defensive installations, so being a captive alien is not the best solution, but I may make exceptions. If you need help with a reason, ask me- but I can't guarantee an Alien will work for the situation.
3. Suspension of disbelief is important for an RP, but please nothing far too out there. This is a universe where Humanity has taken to the stars and has shielded ships that fire anything from cannons to laser beams, and alien races use psionic abilities able to crush fleets or hurl asteroids at planets. That said, everything has a reason- your TEC officer isn't going to be swinging a Claymore around while blowing people's heads up with mind bullets all while suit-less in vacuum unless he has a damned good reason for being able to do that.
Behold, the IC is alive.
Gameplay Details
Sins of a Multiversal Empire has a number of aspects to gameplay that set it apart from other space-based games. These will largely not come into play for the specific characters, but they are essential to know for, say for instance, engineers, communications officers, etc.
The Story Now:
The year is 3143. The TEC planet of Madros VII in Consortium space has become a site of excavations when a forged metal of unknown origins was found on the planet surface. It is expected that one of the revered and long desired Artifacts is to be found there. This has brought a multitude of trade opportunities, as well as defense fleets from a variety of TEC nations to ensure that the possible Artifact at least stays in Human hands. What happens when the artifact is found, however, remains to be seen.
Arn Consortium space is located smack dab in the center of all three factions, and as such is a hot-bed for activity already. The planet of Madros VII is the third planet in a phase line currently, but the time of its brief connection directly to the star of Madros is coming up. As such, the Arn Consortium, intent on defending their efforts from Alien invaders, has constructed an Argonev starbase with the highest level of defensive systems available. With the massive fleets of both Consortium and other TEC factions in the area, no hostile force could think to take it easily.
The Argonev, named Overwatch, is a hub of activity for military personnel and civilians alike. There are multiple fighter-class hangars, but only one Cruiser-class hangar and construction bay in the top of the station. As such, only Civilian shuttles are allowed to ferry troops, civilians, etc. from their respective ships to the station. The Argonev Overwatch is where the story will begin in earnest. Whether you are a civilian just looking for a thrilling vacation to the front lines, a trader eager to cash in on the new lucrative lines from Madros VII, or a soldier from one of the various nations working to guard the planet, this is where you would find yourself- waiting for the inevitable outcome.
Weapons & Defensive Systems:
TEC weapons systems come in one of four varieties; Autocannons, missiles, lasers, and beam weapons commonly referred to as lancers. Each has a particular niche in combat, and are used for a variety of purposes. Most sub-capital class ships specialized for combat use one weapon system. Autocannons and Lasers are generally mid-range weapons, missiles serving as long range weapons, and lancers, while capable of mid-range fire, being exceptionally more powerful the closer the target is. Lancers tend to be equipped to heavier vessels- currently, no sub-capital ship aside from the Argonev Starbase has lancers.
Advent weapons are comprised mostly of beams, Plasma tech, and lasers. They also have their most powerful weapon- psionic strikes that can be used for anything from disorienting the crews of an entire fleet to bombarding planets. The energy weapons that the Advent use are drastically more powerful than the TEC versions, but barely outmatched by Vasari weapons. One major advantage the Advent have over the others is their use of strike craft. While the TEC and Vasari have pilots manually controlling each fighter or bomber, the Advent can control swarms at a time with a single individual on any given carrier. Of course, the psionic backlash of their destroyed fighters can occasionally wound or even kill the controllers of the Anima, as they are called, but carriers often have multiple backup personnel, and untold numbers of strikecraft.
The Vasari weapons systems are some of the most advanced encountered by Mankind, and practically impossible to replicate- not to say it has not been tried. The Vasari use Pulse beam weapons and 'Wave' beams, in addition to powerful planetary bombardment lasers beams. Their most powerful ship-to-ship weapon, as is seen on nearly every Vasari warship that is not specialized to a specific duty, are Phase missiles. Phase missiles, like much Phase technology, is capable of entering Phase space- in the case of the missiles, they are fine tuned to enter phase space as soon as they achieve lock- generally mere seconds after launch- and exit Phase space moments before impact. The nature of the missiles makes them nearly impossible to dodge, and even allows them up to 60% chance to bypass shields entirely, including mitigation.
Defensive systems for most species are the same- the TEC generally have stronger hulls and weaker shields, while Advent shield technology is practically unmatched. The Vasari have the middle ground, but combined their hulls and shields can take more punishment than most TEC or Advent warships. Anti-Missile Systems, target jammers, and other such countermeasures see some use, but generally there are so many ships on the field that only wide-spread electronics can be used to any effect, which generally- aside from the mighty Vasari Kostura Cannon- are not selective.
Warships can be found here.
Travel:
Travel in SoME is different than many galactic-scale RPs and other such Sci-fi instances. A scout ship, the fastest frigate class vessel, can generally move from planet-side docks into space and to the edge of a small gravity well in less than half an hour. Travel between planets, much less stars, takes considerably longer- years even. Unless one were to use Phase lanes.
Phase lanes are innate pathways that form between close planets. Not every planet can form a phase lane to every other planet, so charting maps takes generations of study, especially in systems with slow orbit. Phase travel can be done by most ships of Frigate class or higher, or similarly sized civilian ships such as trade vessels. Traveling from Mercury to Pluto could be done in mere hours, if the Phase lanes were aligned properly. Incidentally, planets can and will occasionally be cut off from Phase traffic. This rarely, if ever happens to planets closer to their sun, but farther planets may occasionally drop from the grid for long periods of time. Such cases are still rare, however, and- generally- can maintain communications.
The Vasari, with their phase technology, can construct Phase Stabilizers that allow them to jump to any other planet with a Phase Stabilizer. Phase Stabilizers can be constructed by various means, but they all have the same purpose- allowing any ship with the exact coordinates of the Stabilizer to jump directly to the position.
If a Phase Lane is cut off while ships are enroute- for instance from the destruction of a Phase Stabilizer receiver node, or a poorly timed jump that left the fleet moving after the lane was cut, the ships will usually still make it to their destination. There have been instances where ships have over or undershot their targets, sometimes by lightyears, or even been stuck in Phase space until the drive overheats and explodes- leaving them completely stranded, if not destroyed.
Planetary Control:
Control over planets can be achieved a number of ways. Prior to the Shattered Factions event, the most popular- as it was the easiest- was orbital bombardment. Through use of nuclear bombs, heavy strike beams, or psionic assaults, fleets could destroy almost all life and infrastructure on a planet, thus freeing it up for colonization. Expensive and inhumane, but much faster and good for dealing with entire systems. Many still prefer the quick and explosive method over the other options. Some, particularly certain Advent factions, would prefer subjugation of the populace to destruction. Unless a powerful Coalescence is available, such feats can only be achieved over longer periods of time, months for larger populations. Another method, previously employed mostly by the Vasari, was ground war. As a comfortable middle ground between speed, cost, and preservation of infrastructure and population, ground forces have become, for some, a much better alternative to cultural victories or genocide.
Having control of a planet generally means that the population is under your control, either with their consent or otherwise. Depending on the level of infrastructure, cooperation of the natives, and other such factors, the planet can be used as a military base, or resource acquisition point, among other things. Planets vary as wildly as the natives, and you could just as likely find a Terran planet full of cowardly politicians, easily subdued by the lightest threats and forced to work the minerals from the planet proper, to an Urban planet renowned for its hard headed and stiff necked population that would fight to the last man to preserve their freedoms.
Nations: The varying nations of the three major factions will each have their own political and military agendas. Each nation may also, at some point or another, further splinter- it's a very unstable period, after all. The TEC alone, in addition to the primary factions, has various militias and breakaway planets littering space that have their own sovereignty that they are loathe to depart with. Dealings with other nations are usually as simple as opening a communications channel to their diplomats.
One major facet of each Nation is their idealistic behavior. Most nations will be vastly different from one another, in strategies both military and diplomatic. A TEC citizen, or a member of the TEC, will naturally have knowledge of at least most of the other members. Knowledge of the Advent and Vasari goes without saying, but the individual tribes and fleets that make up the other factions are truly known to very few- namely the ones that have been contacted by either race and know them by another name, or those that have absurdly extensive spy networks, which would be nearly impossible to seed and maintain.
Communications:
Standard communications, in general, instantaneous- a message sent from one planet to the next can be done practically instantly, while a message sent across the star system can take, depending on the size, at most one minute. Between stars is another matter entirely. Solar communications generally take days or longer, depending on the distance. Relay stations can drastically improve the speed, of course, but not every star system has them constructed, and many have been destroyed during the wars.
The situation is different for the Advent and Vasari. The Advent can communicate with one another all across the galaxy instantaneously regardless of distance, thanks to their neural link. It is naturally a weaker connection the further away they are, but it is still instant, and Communicators are chosen from powerful castes to perform the necessary duties of handling, naturally, the long distance communications. The Vasari on the other hand are able to communicate directly via Phase Space. The benefit is that this provides them a much faster communications grid than anything the TEC could dream of- the disadvantage is that, should a phase lane be cut, the planet loses communication entirely.
Pirates:
The Pirates in these times of war have grown exponentially in power. Members of both the TEC and Vasari have, through the struggles, deemed them pointless and changed gears to what's truly important- money. As such, the Pirates have starbases, capital ships, and vast fleets at their disposal, and a presence in nearly every single star system, usually based on previously dead or unimportant asteroids. They tend to make smaller raids on whatever planet they prefer, occasionally using Vasari Phase technology to create phase routs directly to their choice planet. The times, strengths, and locations of these raids are always random- unless of course they are paid. While it is always lucrative to pillage planets for all their worth, it's even more so to be paid to do so. As such, Pirates respond well to bounties placed on any nation, and while they will direct an attack force of comparable strength to the amount paid at their target, they will still send smaller raids at others more often than not. Any and all Pirate transactions are private. Even if they are bloodthirsty scum willing to bomb entire planets to get a payday, they still have their code of honor, and refuse to rat out potential customers.
Character Creation:
- Code: Select all
[b]Full Name:[/b]
[b]Alias':[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b]
[b]Ethnicity:[/b]
[b]Allegiance:[/b]
[b]Birthdate & Age:[/b]
[b]Weapons, Equipment & Vehicles:[/b]
[b]Primary Physical Characteristics:[/b]
[b]Mental Characteristics:[/b]
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Civilian Background;[/b]
[b]Military Background(Optional);[/b]
---Occupation:
---Rank:
---Service Time:
---Ship(s) Served On:
[b]General History:[/b](Please include why they are in the Madros VII area, and how they got there.)