Mass Effect: The Mandate Violated [EX, Freeform, Interest Thread]

Started by thebobmaster, October 24, 2018, 04:25:09 PM

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thebobmaster

Mass Effect RPs are not exactly rare on here, and I have in fact attempted to start a few myself. However, I feel this one has a different edge to it, and will hopefully make it stand out enough from the others in a good way.


Background: What has been happening since Mass Effect 3, but prior to the start of this story?
The year is 2240 CE, 54 years after the events of the Reaper invasion, in which Commander John Shepard sacrificed his life to destroy the Reapers. It was expected that galactic civilization would recover from the loss of artificial life, and it didn't take long for the mass relays to be repaired. In addition, the loss of artificial life was a mere setback. Just because artificial life was lost didn't mean that the methods of creating it were lost as well.

It took about 20 years, however, before artificial life started to return. The knowledge of what had led to the Reaper invasion being connected in some way to artificial intelligence made the hesitance expected. However, as happens far too often, it was assumed that the threat was over, and it was time for the next generation to prove to the older one that they had learned from their mistakes by doing the same thing, but better.

However, while not banned in any legal sense, society is very skeptical of any sort of AI work, and therefore, most research and development of artificial intelligence and life is done off the grid. It goes on, but no one knows where...or how far the research has gone.

Politically, the survivors of the Reaper War bounced back, but realized changes had to be made. Given how the krogan were instrumental in the defeat of the Reapers, and also aware of how the Rachni Wars and Krogan Rebellions had led to long-lasting repercussions that had almost doomed the galaxy, the Krogan were given a long-awaited seat on the Council, and the quarians were offered a seat as well. The latter declined, however. Having just recovered their homeworld, the quarians were more intent on regaining what they had lost, rather than obtaining what they never had, although a quarian embassy was still arranged on the new Citadel for ambassadors. Therefore, the new Council consisted of 5 races: Humans, Turians, Asari, Salarian, and Krogan.

The gangs that helped defeat the Reapers were given no such offer. After all, they didn't contribute all that much, and most of what they did contribute was not exactly seen as being fit for a...structured society. Embittered by watching races being forgiven for hundreds of years of prejudice while they had to suffer for "only years of crime", the gangs drew inward, focusing their efforts on becoming powerful in their own right. Let the Council have the high ground. The underworld? That belonged to the Eclipse, the Blue Suns, the Blood Pack, and whoever else was dumb enough to take them on.

The Attack, or: How This RP Will Begin

Finally, someone decided to make a move. The underworld was not a big enough place for all the gangs to feel like they had space, and The Eclipse decided to make a move of their own, to prove they were more powerful than the other criminal organizations.

It was a move as simple as it was bold: Blow up the Council. They somehow managed to get a bomb on the Citadel, get it past security, and close enough to the Council Chambers to do serious, and fatal, damage. They were even smart enough to get a bomber dumb enough, or uncaring enough, to care that the time between setting the bomb and the explosion was too short to escape. The krogan Councilor, Urdnot Bakara, was critically injured, getting rushed to Shepard Memorial. The salarian Councilor, Tesira, would have been fatally wounded had asari Councilor Tevos not biotically shielded him at the cost of her own life. Councilor Sparatus was severely wounded, and is in critical condition in Shepard Memorial, only surviving that long due to human Councilor Bailey shielding him with his own body. Unfortunately, the shrapnel tore through both, killing the latter instantly.

Eclipse, or at least the soldiers at the bottom of Eclipse responsible for the bombings, however, were not aware that they were being watched. When Cerberus fell, their technologies were open for grabs. Enter a group known as The Mandate. Acting as a shadow organization, The Mandate has been in subtle control, as they've seen it. Each of the Councilors, or at least an aide to them, has been in their pocket, and they have spies everywhere. This attack, however...was not foreseen. You can't have control if someone is allowed to defy you, and that's exactly what Eclipse has done, at least in the eyes of The Mandate. It's time for The Eclipse to learn not to fuck with The Mandate...and if the greater good is served at the same time, bonus.

So where do we come in?:

Your characters (and mine, for that matter) will be agents of The Mandate. Essentially, our task is to track down the bombers and bring them to, if not justice, reprisal. Fortunately, a Mandate operative on the scene, one Telari, was able to provide a physical description of those in charge of the attacks before seeking refuge in her hideout. The first step is to retrieve Telari, as The Mandate may still have use for her. After that...it's time to begin the counterattack.


Characters:

This is less for the sheet outline, which I'll post once enough interest is gathered, and more to clear up some things. First, as you may have guessed, The Mandate is not necessarily staffed by the nicest of people. In fact, Mandate agents tend to have, at the very least, a pragmatic mindset. That does not mean, however, that you should fit your characters into an anti-hero or anti-villain mode if you don't feel that it fits your character idea. After all, even a group working in the shadows needs to have friendly faces, and you catch more flies with honey than vinegar (and you catch even more with crap, but you get the idea).

In short, while there's definitely room for darker characters, I don't want anyone to feel forced to make one if they don't feel comfortable with it.

The Rules:

I'll keep this one short, because I hate rules, and I tend to allow as much freedom as feasible in an RP. However, there are still some rules, mostly involving RESPECT. Seriously, that's the big one. It covers:

1. No God-modding: If you wouldn't want someone else controlling your character, why the hell would you do it to someone else?

2. All character death (and yes, that is a possibility) must be cleared by everyone involved. By that, I mean if one person's character kills off another, both parties must inform me that they are agreeable to the incident. If I don't have explicit confirmation, that sort of action is a no-go, period.

3. Respect other players' boundaries. I have plenty of room for things to get dark in this RP, which is why it is going in the Extreme folder. That doesn't mean someone should feel free to do whatever they want within site rules. Players may not want to read all of that stuff, and that's what content tags and limits are for. Respect them.

4. I don't want anyone to feel like posting is a chore, or an obligation. IF you need a break, or need to drop out entirely, I will respect that. Please be sure to let me, and anyone your characters are interacting with know, however.

And The Rest:

That's really about all I have to say about this RP. It will be mostly sandbox, and while I have a general idea of where the story is going, I am very much a "plan A, plan B, don't plan how you get from A to B" sort of writer/GM. I prefer allowing players to write their characters as they would act, rather than try to force them along the "right" path. If this RP sounds interesting to you, and you don't mind a more freestyle experience, please don't hesitate to show interest. I'll start going into more detail with Character Sheet Skeletons and so on after, say, 3 or 4 solid interests, but I don't really have an upper cap, so if you are interested, let me know.

Character Sheets
OOC
Citadel IC
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Norsegod1839


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EvieFrye

I would love to join this. Already have ideas flowing.

Also, can any of our charaters be related or connected to canon characters.

thebobmaster

Connections to canon characters is fine. I'm a little iffy about relationships with canon characters, though.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

EvieFrye

Ok, So, your not fond of characters being in the same family, or even maybe children or grandchildren of canon characters? I just want to know the limits.

thebobmaster

Mostly children or grandchildren. My reason is that, at least in past experiences, I've had people use that as a way to basically play a canon character, but change one little thing about them, and with this RP, my intent is to set up an entirely new cast of characters.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

EvieFrye

Ok, fair enough. I was thinking if it was allowed, having a character be the granddaughter of either Ashely or Kaiden (depending on which survived), but its all good if I can't. I would just change a few things, name and history.

Also, I know AI's are new again. What about a program like Jarvis from the Avenger movies? Not an AI but an interface with a voice that my character can talk to that she created and has in a device?

thebobmaster

That would definitely be something that could work in the RP. After all, The Mandate is a shadow organization first and foremost. If they wanted to do something taboo, they know how to hide it.

I'll start working on the character sheet topic, along with an example sheet to base characters on. Just the basic outline, however. The details are entirely up to the players.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

EvieFrye

Ok, and while I know there may be face claims, what about outfits? I know some great makers that I can use to make a sci fi outfit.

thebobmaster

I'll go more into detail when I put up the character sheet topic, but the short version: Whatever method you want to use to make your character description "pop" is perfectly fine, as long as it is within site rules.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

EvieFrye

Of course. ^^ Sorry, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan, and I can see potential, and I love the idea of creating characters for that world.

thebobmaster

Don't feel bad! The way I see it, asking questions is a sign of interest, and I certainly don't mind answering or clarifying.

Also, OOC and Character Sheet] topics are up.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

EvieFrye

Great, I will start working on that. Are we allowed more then one character. I have an idea for a second if so.

thebobmaster

If you are comfortable writing more than one character, that's perfectly fine.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

thebobmaster

Bumping to gather interest! There's still plenty of room in this RP for players.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Aenon

I am interested, but I still haven't played the first Mass Effect games, even though I have already been spoiled. Will it be ok?

thebobmaster

That will be perfectly fine. What I have listed in the set-up is pretty much everything you need to know. As long as you have a base knowledge RE: races and classes, which you can get at this handy-dandy link (http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Mass_Effect_Wiki), you will be good to go.

Looking at the wiki, I should specify that I will not be worrying about any Andromeda stuff. That...is just too much to worry about.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Aenon


Snake

This interested me s9 I checked it out. Now I'm intrigued by it. I've played all of the mass effect games. Including the garbage fire that was Andromeda.

thebobmaster

Thank you for expressing interest! As for Andromeda...let's just say I learned a hard lesson about pre-ordering games.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Aenon


thebobmaster

I'll probably start after 1-2 more character sheets come in. Not that that will mean no one else can join, of course.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Jack of Jacks

Hello, I am interested in this group and partaking in this story. I do have some questions if I may ask away?

thebobmaster

Ask away. I prefer answering questions like this, actually, because it also helps anyone else with the same questions.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!