Battletech: Learning Curve (F for M)

[espendabelle]

I became interested in the Battletech universe through the HBS computer game kickstarter. I am a fan of their Shadowrun series of games, and I became eager to know more about this other fictional universe. Since then, I have begun to consume whatever media I could find to learn more about it, and developed an interest along the way. This has led me to the point where I would be interested at taking a try at role-playing in the universe.

As yet, I am still learning about the universe (I've read a few of the novels and some of the short fiction, but have never actually played the board game; I've also been voraciously devouring online information), so I will have gaps in my knowledge and not be fully up to par on it. However, I am learning as I go and willing to take more on. With that in mind, I feel that any RP would be something that could start small scale and grow as it went on and as I learn more about the universe.

I'm looking for engaging and well-developed RP that is centred around character, story, world and relationship building. I'm looking for slow-burn, long-term stuff that may not necessarily have a fixed goal or end-point. I don’t want our characters to fall in love on the first page. I don’t want them to be in bed on the first page either. I am (mostly) looking to play female characters paired with male partners; note that the gender of the player is irrelevant for me. (For more information and a better idea of my preferences, see my ons and offs thread)

Generally I will write about three mid-length paragraphs per post and I expect the same in reply. Likewise, I will try to post several times a week. I don’t need every post to be a novel, but at the same time I want more than just a few broken sentences. I love descriptive text that helps get the reader involved in the scene and the characters and better create the world around it. I am aware that this is a Tabletop RPG universe but I'm not looking for a game with dice rolls and stats, just simple narration.

I am open to ideas; if you have one or are interested in starting something, please PM me and we’ll see what we can work out.

[espendabelle]

This is just a sample character idea; they could be modified or changed depending on the needs of the story.

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Name: Sonja Blackstone
Nation of Origin: Periphery
Highest Rank Reached: Mechwarrior
Description: Sonja’s external image suggests her rough, fringe origins. Her face is dominated by a rough scar down the left side which cuts across one of her striking green eyes and mars her otherwise attractive features. Her red hair is worn in a series of messy dreadlocks that cascade down her back like a mane, giving her a wild, almost feral look. She sports several more minor scars across her body (including an ugly burn on her right shoulder), the result of her rough upbringing and background.



Personality: Outwardly. Sonja appears to be cool, collected and to the point. She will focus on the objective and what is needed to get it done. Her approach tends towards the practical and functional, opting for sensible tactics while ensuring that she does a thorough job. This is a result of her upbringing, and the necessity for survival in a rather unforgiving environment where even the basics were hard to come by. She is used to roughing it, and has an ability to make herself comfortable under even the most unlikely conditions. For example, she could just as easily sleep in her Battlemech’s cockpit or a crude shelter as she could in a comfortable bed.

Inwardly, she lacks self-confidence and has low self-esteem. She is often awkward around unfamiliar people and has a lot of trouble opening up to strangers. She doesn’t like to let this side of herself show, feeling that it could hamper her attempts to integrate into a more normal life and Inner Sphere society. Likewise, she tries not to let her origins show through, feeling that coming from the Periphery would be seen as ‘backwards’.

Sonja is not proud of her past and how she came to be a Mechwarrior, and will try to avoid talking about it. If asked directly, she prefers to answer in a roundabout way.

Background: Officially, the planet Erdvyn is listed as ‘dead’ on interstellar maps. The truth of the matter is somewhat different. Central authority on the planet collapsed long ago, with its cities left in ruins and its infrastructure devastated. But its people remain, the descendants of its former glory left to eke out a living among the remnants of the past. This was the life that Sonja was born into, the child of scavengers who made their living by picking through the ruins of the planet’s fallen cities. Her early life was rough enough, living off whatever scraps her family could find or trade for. Form an early age, Sonja grew used to going hungry or living rough in whatever shelter they could find. It was not an easy life, and one she yearned to escape.

When she was eighteen, a band of pirates called the Black Fang Legion made the dead world their home. The Legion were the only power on the planet, their Battlemechs able to easily destroy anyone able to resist them and allowing them to impose their control by force. Most of the population soon learned to accept their new overlords, doing their best to avoid the pirates or incurring their wrath. However, Sonja saw them as a way off the into a better life.

She bartered her way into the Legion using her knowledge of scavenging to lead them to a cache of high tech equipment from a long-destroyed Battlemech factory. That was enough to impress them and earn her a shot. Within a year, a combination of talent and bartering through other ‘discoveries’ had seen her assigned to pilot an ancient, reconditioned Battlemech in their raiding team. This was not the end of her plan, however.

After several raids to other Periphery planets, Sonja’s first ever attack on an Inner Sphere planet took her and the rest of her Raiding team to a nearby Lyran Commonwealth world. Once on world, rather then hitting her assigned target, Sonja instead deserted from her team. Turning against them, she bartered a place for her and her Battlemech on a cargo ship against information that helped the planetary defenders to hunt the raiders down. After burning the last bridge to her past, Sonja made her way to the mercenary planet of Outreach, hoping to find legitimate employment.

Character Goals: Sonja’s goals are to see more of the universe and experience life other than a day to day, hand to mouth scavenger existence. She wants to be comfortable, even if actual wealth and luxury escape her. Just being well off and having a place in society where she doesn’t have to fight or scavenge to get by is a major goal for her. She sees being a mercenary as a way to achieve this, allowing her to use her few saleable skills.

[espendabelle]

Update: giving this another try