Fallout: Blood of the Old World (Interest Check/Recruiting) (WIP)

[NightHawk429]

EDITED: (Posted System details HERE, will be editing main post, and World Building topic VERY soon) -2/20/2016 5:47PM(PST)

Hello all, I have been pondering running a group game for about a month or so now, and I think now is the perfect time to really sit down and make that a reality, so I'd just like to take a minute to introduce what I have so far with Fallout: Blood of the Old World. Also, I feel as if I need to add a small disclaimer to any hardcore Fallout fans out there to KEEP AN OPEN MIND, I try to stick to canon as much as possible, but this idea may be a tad outlandish, but just try to read the post 100% before passing judgement.

So, the setting I have in mind isn't actually in America, the story will be set in Japan. See, outlandish, but stick with me, k? Players will assume the role of a powerful Feudal Lord ruling over a great province and will lead their army to war against the other players and various threats to become the most powerful leader in Japan to secure power for your clan and your clan alone.

I am well aware that the setting of the Fallout series draws VERY heavily from classic Americana and Atomic Age design, which is very cool, and part of the reason why I love the series so much, but keep in mind, America wasn't the only country that enjoyed a cultural renaissance after World War II. At any rate, if you are still here, great, I just need to get through a wee bit of justification for why I believe that the setting works and then I'll get to the cool stuff. But I think I have a way to make the setting work in a viable lore-friendly way, so here goes:

Justification of the setting, for those still on the fence

I'm basing the background on the idea that instead of returning sovereignty to Japan after the War, instead, America conditionally gave their "freedom" back in exchange for essentially turning the entire country into a pro-American puppet government as a long term ally against the rapidly growing military power that was Communist China. In Fallout, America is portrayed as incredibly warlike (even more so than in real life) and in canon, America had annexed Mexico and Canada before the Great War, an act that would be almost inconceivable today. But I'm not basing this setting on baseless speculation alone, I'd like to point out that a few (admittedly not many, but a few) references have been made to Japan in the Fallout Universe. First of all, there was the Yakuza, a group of wannabe mobsters attempting to gain entry to New Reno, and while you could speculate that they just read a book about the Yakuza and decided to adopt the moniker ala Caesar's Legion, well, not exactly, according to the Fallout Wiki, the Yakuza in Fallout 2 are the direct descendants to the pre-war Japanese mafia. Also the fact that Takahashi, the friendly noodle chef in Fallout 4's Diamond City, speaks only Japanese, this could be a malfunction like everybody assumes (which is probably the case) or the lovable robot could have been destined for the Land of the Rising Sun but the Great War made that impossible. Given the limitation of RobCo robots, it's easy to assume that a robot who exclusively speaks Japanese is probably not meant to be in America. Also, one final point is that there are quite a few characters with an Asian race preset across Fallout 3 and New Vegas despite the fact that before the war, America was rounding up Chinese-American citizens (Most of whom had nothing to do with Communist China at all) and tossing them in internment camps due to the war, don't believe me? Well, there was one in Point Lookout, MD called Turtledove Detention Camp, which was used to house Chinese spies, and also one in Big MT, NV called Little Yangtze, which was used to hold citizens that committed no crimes at all, they were simply just Chinese. So my question is, where did the small number of Asian characters in the Fallout universe come from then? (Considering that China most likely annexed every similarly governed nation that surrounded it during the war, places like Vietnam, Thailand, etc then seem a bit far fetched in regards to the characters' ancestry) Well you know what, they could have come from Japan.

Anyway, if you are like me and agree that this would be a pretty cool location to explore in the Fallout universe, I will now detail the background on the country within the context of the story. So essentially, Japan has become almost a puppet government controlled by America, with such a pact in place, Japan begins subtly morphing its culture to become more westernized. Year after year, the once proud nation of Japan embraces the culture of the west, as well as enters into the same nuclear boom that has entranced America. By the year 2050, Japan was witness to a cultural and technological renaissance the likes of which had not been seen for centuries. Robots were responsible for menial jobs such as housekeeping, cooking, nursing, and more. The Japanese people were taken in by the major consumer brands from America such as Nuka-Cola, BlamCo, Fancy Lads, Radiation King, and Wattz Electrics just to name a few. But when the Resource Wars hit in 2052, Japan began allowing US soldiers to build provisionary military bases on the mainland so a push into the heart of Communist China could be achieved. Years of fighting took a toll on not only the Japanese people, but the entire world. The colorful space-age skyscrapers of Tokyo, the bold utilitarian skyline of Osaka, the classically beautiful Kyoto, all became a shadow of what was on that fateful day of October 23, 2077.

But all was not lost in the end of the world, while America had the Vaults constructed by Vault-Tec in their Project: Safehouse division, Japan had similar, albeit much smaller, Vaults that housed a portion of the Japanese population. These far wider spread safehouses each began opening just after the world returned to a moderately livable state. When the people returned to the world above, it was a nightmarish landscape of nuclear devastation. After that, many years had passed, and small societies began cropping up all across the country, some large, some small, but each were a community nonetheless, safe from the mutated creatures, irradiated wastes, and insane raiders that infest the land. As societies became powerful, boundaries were beginning to be drawn, the old outline of Japan's prefectures served as adequate boundaries for the ruling lords. With lines drawn, a tentative peace was held until one day in the year 2289, a great airship descended on the ruins of the coastal town of Numazu carrying members of the Brotherhood of Steel, a group of Americans determined to seize what was left of Japan's pre-war technology. After clearing the old American military installation, Fort Rampart of the ruling Himiya clan, this began a course of events that led the Feudal Lords of Japan to declare all out war on not only the Brotherhood, but each other as well.

So essentially what I'm planning here is a post-apocalyptic retelling of the Sengoku Jidai, but set in a highly Americanized version of Japan set in the Fallout Universe, where every player would take on the role of a different Feudal Lord vying for control of pretty much the entire region. And now that I've got the setting laid out, I just wanted to detail a couple of reasons why this game will be special, and just mention technical stuff as well, such as potential game systems, overall story direction, etc. So first of all, I'd just like to say that I am a game designer, I love to work on games, but also mods, and when Fallout 4's creation kit releases, I plan to become really active in the modding community. Which brings me to why I believe this game will be special, I have been planning a mod for Fallout 4 since the beginning of January called "Blood of the Old World," a massive expansion-sized mod for Fallout 4 set in apocalyptic Japan, and I also had an idea that rather than just coming up with the MASSIVE backstory myself, I could start an RP like this and take the result of the game and use it as the background story for the mod, with every player's character and side characters being eventually written and programmed into Fallout 4 complete with backstory and branching questlines. So essentially by playing through this story, you are helping to build a world that I will bring to life through modding, also, any and all contributions made through this story will be noted throughout the development process.

As far as technical stuff goes, I plan on posting this in the extreme category, just due to the nature of Fallout itself. (Cartoonish gore and vulgarity) As far as demographics go, anybody is welcome to join and play whatever kind of characters they want as long as they adhere to the story at large. The role of players in the story are to act as generals (or any other type of leader) of a Clan inhabiting post-nuclear Japan, their job would be to ally/battle/backstab other generals to gain supremacy over the land. Sort of imagine the Minutemen questline from Fallout 4, leading a ragtag band of wastelanders to battle for glory and honor, but set in the Land of the Rising Sun. The game will end when there are no more opponents left to fight, either having killed, imprisoned, or disgraced all of the other generals. I am also allowing players to be as free as they can be when given an area of land, players will be able to pretty much have nearly 100% creative control over that area. Also, each character will really be able to control as many characters as they want, you will be given command of what essentially amount to nameless, faceless soldiers to throw at your enemies, but if you want to actually take control of each character that you are given, go right ahead. As far as participation, ideally I'd like to see two posts a week, but if you can only get one in a week or week and a half, that's perfectly understandable. As far as inactivity goes, if you don't reply in a month and repeatedly ignore PMs then I'd have to be forced to write you out, though if I'm given a written drop out notice, then we can devise a more personal way of dealing with the character and the land that they hold. And with sexual content, I honestly don't care, there is sex in Fallout, so go for it, the game won't be at all based on sex, but I'm not opposed to it being used in the story, a wedding sealing a relationship between two clans, wooing an enemy general until you ultimately stab them in the back, distracting enemy soldiers on the eve of battle with the promise of flesh only to kill them in their sleep, all good story elements. Also, yes there would be an OOC thread, and I really think that this thread would be used for discussions regarding the entire group, while I would encourage players to mingle among themselves in PM to solidify political relationships and whatnot OOC, only posting in the OOC thread when there is a major issue with the story, system, etc. As for writing style, I'm partial to third-person, past-tense, it's just easy, clean, and most efficient. Also, in regards to players OFFs, I will absolutely not tolerate anybody knowingly ignoring another player's OFFs, if you plan any sort of sex scene with them, be sure you understand what not to do, my top priority in roleplaying is to make sure that my partner or players feel as comfortable as possible, because I know what it feels like to be so thoroughly disgusted by either a bad player or players who disrespected boundaries and pushed things way too far, and I promised myself that I would never allow anybody who is either writing or playing with me to ever feel like that, so this is why I have such a hard stance on this. One last thing, I realize that site rules state that a character must be aged 16 and over, but if I am in charge of the game, no character can be under the age of 18, I know that this is something that a lot of people may be uncomfortable.


Edit:

I have created a WIP World Building topic HERE, with the list of provinces being used in the game. It is an early WIP, but I will extend it with further work tonight and tomorrow. I will also just throw up a very basic character sheet that will be expanded upon when I actually set up the game, as in reality other than SPECIAL stats, the actual information on the character sheet will be more for determining relationships with NPCs and PCs rather than determining all of those pesky numbers. Most numbers will be handled behind the scenes to make the game flow as smoothly as possible. Over the next few hours, I will post the basics of my homebrew system, and update the world building topic.

Code Select Expand


[img height=300]Character Image[/img]

[b]Basic Information[/b]

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Ethnicity:[/b]
[b]Temperament:[/b] (Calm, Quick Tempered, etc)
[b]Religion:[/b] (Shinto, Buddhism, None, etc)
[b]Weapon Preference:[/b] (Melee, Firearms, Explosives, etc)
[b]Clan Name:[/b] (Keep in mind that this game is mirroring the Sengoku jidai, and typically, the head member of a clan would organize their name as [b]Clan Name[/b] then [b]Given Name[/b]. Though if your clan/faction breaks this convention that is fine as well)
[b]Ruling Province:[/b] (Give your top 3 to rule over and label them as such, since only one general can control only one province)

[b]SPECIAL[/b] (All values start at one, 30 points to allocate)

[b]Strength:[/b]
[b]Perception:[/b]
[b]Endurance:[/b]
[b]Charisma:[/b]
[b]Intelligence:[/b]
[b]Agility:[/b]
[b]Luck:[/b]

[b]Short Bio:[/b] (Both player character and their kingdom/army)


Also, I ran the numbers in my head, and I think the perfect number to reach to start this game would be approximately ten players, any less and the game is far too big for the group. So as of now, I will just rename the topic to recruiting and just see how many we can get to participate. If we get over ten that is perfectly fine as well there is plenty of room.

[Sinestra]

I'm absolutely on board, for a number of reasons. :)

First among them is that I've been heavily involved with the Skyrim modding community for some time now, doing voice work and helping write a few stories that helped bring ideas to life. I was looking forward to helping create, specifically, an adult-themed radio station mod in Fallout 4. That, obviously, had to be put on hold until the creation kit came around. However, this idea for a mod sounds fantastic, and I've JUST the story to tell, which I think you'll find rather fitting for the setting and, I would hope, the mod in general.

Now, just to wait to see how many others pop up. Lol

[Empyrean]

I'm currently playing Fallout 4 and I have to admit, this sounds pretty interesting. I'm going to keep an eye on it. I have something of an idea for a tinkerer/scientist warlord.

[Lustful Bride]

 I like the idea so far.  ;D

It can also make sense since in Fallout 4 there was a throwaway line about soldiers on the front that made it sound like the US was pushing into China, so there would have been a lot of US tech in Japan and Vault Tech.

Edit: Okay I wanna join. 

Can we get a list of Factions and such? I love the world building this offers.

I could totally see there being one Vault under the Okinawa base with soldiers there to awaken and whose plan is to take back Japan and then move to China and ensure that the Red Chinese threat does not rise up yet again.

I'm gonna call them "The Patriots" just so there could be a mission called "Guns of the Patriots"  ;D  And that could bring them into conflict with the BOS since they would consider them an 'Insurgent force'.

[NightHawk429]

Update:

I will be devoting the next few hours or so to getting a world building topic set up, and updating the opening post of this thread. I think I finally have a passable system in mind, though kinks still need to be ironed out, and most likely the main thread won't be affected until tomorrow.

I like the idea so far.  ;D

It can also make sense since in Fallout 4 there was a throwaway line about soldiers on the front that made it sound like the US was pushing into China, so there would have been a lot of US tech in Japan and Vault Tech.

Edit: Okay I wanna join. 

Can we get a list of Factions and such? I love the world building this offers.

I could totally see there being one Vault under the Okinawa base with soldiers there to awaken and whose plan is to take back Japan and then move to China and ensure that the Red Chinese threat does not rise up yet again.

I'm gonna call them "The Patriots" just so there could be a mission called "Guns of the Patriots"  ;D  And that could bring them into conflict with the BOS since they would consider them an 'Insurgent force'.

Also in response to you, Lustful Bride, I love the idea you presented, but Okinawa is too far away, the entirety of the game will only focus on central Honshu, I will put a full list of borders on the world building post, but the game will take place in the Kansai Region, Chūbu Region, Kantō Region, and parts of the Tōhoku Region. I would love to include the entirety of Japan, but at that point, the whole game would become so big that it would collapse in on itself. I really should have stated that in the introduction, but I'm just quite concerned about the physical space occupied by the entire game. Also, as for factions, there aren't going to be too many organized factions out of player control, as I'm really envisioning players representing the vast majority of the factions, but I will definitely make a note of any that do need to be noted.

[Lustful Bride]

Update:

I will be devoting the next few hours or so to getting a world building topic set up, and updating the opening post of this thread. I think I finally have a passable system in mind, though kinks still need to be ironed out, and most likely the main thread won't be affected until tomorrow.

Also in response to you, Lustful Bride, I love the idea you presented, but Okinawa is too far away, the entirety of the game will only focus on central Honshu, I will put a full list of borders on the world building post, but the game will take place in the Kansai Region, Chūbu Region, Kantō Region, and parts of the Tōhoku Region. I would love to include the entirety of Japan, but at that point, the whole game would become so big that it would collapse in on itself. I really should have stated that in the introduction, but I'm just quite concerned about the physical space occupied by the entire game. Also, as for factions, there aren't going to be too many organized factions out of player control, as I'm really envisioning players representing the vast majority of the factions, but I will definitely make a note of any that do need to be noted.

Okay, I am still interested and I will be waiting to see what you come up with ^_^

[NightHawk429]

Edited post: Added WIP World Building link, and current iteration of the character sheet. Be sure to post back character details, and I will begin incorporating them into the story at large. Thank you for your interest, and I hope we get enough people to start this, as the more I have been writing on this subject, the more I think that this is a very cool idea.

[Empyrean]

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Modern+Geisha+Tattoo&view=detailv2&&id=97775EE451916D5783167767DC9680A3B0FEBA9D&selectedIndex=1&ccid=%2f0DdlgJS&simid=607986642072111857&thid=OIP.Mff40dd96025255652646924625e5c283H0&ajaxhist=0

Basic Information

Name: Toriyama Toriko
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Japanese
Temperament: Calm, methodical, inquisitive, ruthless when pushed.
Religion: Shinto
Weapon Preference: Firearms (with a preference for Energy and Plasma weapons when she has to fight at all)
Clan Name: Toriyama
Ruling Province: Gifu (first pick), Toyama (second choice), Wakayama (third choice)

SPECIAL (All values start at one, 30 points to allocate)

Strength: 3 (2 pts)
Perception: 6 (5 pts)
Endurance: 3 (2 pts)
Charisma: 9 (8 pts)
Intelligence: 10 (9 pts)
Agility: 3 (2 pts)
Luck:  3 ( 2 pts)

Short Bio: Toriko was born as the youngest of four children, the sons and daughters of the ruling Toriyama Clan. The clan's ruling family was not a happy place by the time Toriko came along. Her father Ichiro was a good man and a capable leader in times of peace, but the constant tensions among the feudal lords took its' toll. Stress and the chems he secretly used to fight it aged him prematurely. His oldest son was an unrepentant warmonger who wanted to build a conquering army. Toriko's older brothers and sister schemed amongst themselves in endless bids to be named the heir or heiress. Toriko learned early to keep her head down. She buried herself in scavenged books and holotapes, reading about the world before the War. While her siblings plotted and played their power games, Toriko spent time with her mother Sonomi, a former geisha who had been elevated by her marriage to the Lord of the Toriyama Clan. Toriko learned softer arts, gentler arts of persuasion and subtlety. She spent her days in her books or about in the province, usually visiting ancient shrines or centers of pre-War learning. She spent a lot of time speaking with people. Hearing the concerns of the subjects and quietly lending a hand where she could. Her siblings disdained her as a soft weakling and left her to waste her days consorting with the lessers and reading her books.

The death of Lord Ichiro of chem overdose came as a shock. The ugly succession war which followed, sadly not so much. Junichi, Takeda, and Chiaki each had strong contigents of partisans. They quickly divided up the province and matters got so intense that Toriko fled the palace entirely rather than be a hostage or killed like her mother was for refusing to support any of the would-be heirs. She began secretly rallying the people against the selfish ambitions of her siblings. She became the princess of the people, slipping agents into the organizations of each of her siblings. On October 23, 2287, a day of truce when all the province gathered for the sacred holiday commemorating the Great War, she struck. She gave a command and her siblings were assassinated, brought down by hidden operatives among their entourages. The top supporters of her siblings were killed at the event or in the subsequent weeks after being given one chance to swear allegiance to the Lady Toriko. Those who swore allegiance were stripped of rank and position and put to work amongst the common people.

Over the past year she's worked to rebuild her province from the civil war. Although she personally adheres to Shinto she has declared the province a safe haven for believers in Shinto and Buddhism. She's worked on several revitalization projects intended to restore the province to it's pre-War glory. She sees herself as a scientist as well as a lord, and works to reverse-engineer the wonders of the past while applying the latest and greatest technological and societal innovations to the present. And she secretly has developed or rebuilt new engines of war to be used in self-defense. The arrogant assumptions of the gaijin Brotherhood, coming to plunder her land and put it under a yoke as it was before the War infuriates her. Being Toriko, she's already begun scheming ways to make these gaijin regret their intrusion while protecting and strengthening her borders. 

[Empyrean]

*pokes for life*

[Latooni Subota]

Interested I suppose. I feel like I have no choice but to attempt to claim Kyoto, and create my very own resurrected version of the Shinsengumi. Someone has to do it!

[Empyrean]

That would be awesome Latooni!  I'm trying for Gifu and a techno-warlord vibe. Maybe they could work together, at least against the invading BoS?