Blood-Soaked Stars: A Lancer System Mech Group Game CLOSED

[ChaoticSky]

I agree, but I think there's something you're missing. The defensive capabilities you listed - the Gorgon vs The Saladin - aren't exactly comparable. The Saladin can be used once per round as a Reaction. That isn't once per Turn, it's once per Round. So you only get to do it once before your next turn and that's it. Meanwhile, the Gorgon's isn't a reaction. After you activate it, it works for the remainder of the combat, and is a passive thing rather than a Reaction. So if six people attack you and fulfil the criteria? That's six Mechs who have to make that save. They're both just as good as each other, but in different circumstances. You're right that the HORUS abilities are more situational, but I think it fits with the theme of the Mech and isn't quite as clear a comparison as you made it out to be. I mean, that ability could be VERY useful if you're planning on going close range with your build.
Yes, the Gorgon's ability works once per enemy. But the Saladin's only works once per round. Swings and roundabouts, y'know?


Well, I will be picking people based on character first and role second.


Just make sure you run the religion by me first. I love additions to the world, but I need to approve them first so that there aren't any unforeseen hiccups.


I do mind, yes. I provided the Template for a reason, and I would prefer it if everybody used that format. It has all the information I need there, and it provides a uniform look. Besides, when people "Streamline" it, you never know what information will get dropped as seemingly "Unimportant" that was actually key. So use the template, please

Hm, I didnt miss that, i just used the wrong word (turn/round). My bad. I still think my point applies, the ability to stun any given enemy once (even if its all of them at once) is worlds weaker than the ability to grant a ally resistance on a round by round basis, with the added bonus that you get to redirect the shot if it misses.

Dont get me wrong either. I love the idea of the Gorgon, 'Basilisks' are something ive run into in scifi media before and while the form in Lancer differs from what a 'basilisk' usually means in this context (warping reality vs exploiting autovisual processing vulnerabilities) it would be super neat to be the one punking people with it. I just feel like they maybe worried about making it too good and ended up undershooting it, leaving it lacklustre compared to other mechs of its class. Defender mechs are, as far as i can tell, designed to be targeted, to defend their allies by drawing fire and forcing enemies to work around them to get at squishier mecha. But while things like the Saladin, Dragon, Napoleon are like banging your head against a wall, and the kobold and tortuga are both annoying as hell to deal with, the Gorgon is effectively unmanned by a single sacrificed turn. A single shot to expend the stun and you can freely chip away at it almost without fear, with no armour to reduce your damage either.

Sure there are going to be situations where a single round of stun makes all the difference, but i cant imagine that is the normal expectation for combat. I think it would be much better if the stun was on a per-target basis, at leased. Like if they got stunned trying to shoot me and then couldnt be stunned again... but they could still get stunned once more if they tried to target a ally hiding behind me. Its still very limited, but you get your mileage out of it that way?

Though this is worth keeping in mind: I'm not including tech in this. The Gorgon has (like all HORUS mechs) alot of very nasty info war kit and if i was facing off against hackers, the Gorgon is what i would want to hide behind, not the Saladin or drake or any of those others. But since im not going the techy route, that stuff isnt really useful to me. 

Then again, maybe i could work something out... we'll see. I should have a character up tomorrow at any rate, so ill need to hammer things out by then (dont want to put it in at the last second ).
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Fair!
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Will do. Ill write up a bit at the end of this post for it. No reason not to do it now.
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Thats fine, like i said. I dont mind your sheet. Its alot more palatable than things like dnds 'official' sheets and stuff on mythweavers. Though for what its worth i wouldnt have removed anything.



The Way of Union (Unionists, The Way)

The Way of Union was born out of the whole MONIST affair. In the earlier days of the Union, SSC had pursued a dream of singularity AI hybridization with humanity, marrying human and artificial intelligences to hurl mankind into a brighter tomorrow. After MONIST's ultimatum and the reforms that followed, the SSC changed course to improving bodies, rather than minds. But simply handing down a corporate edict does not change the hearts of true believers.

To be sure, most followed the new direction through lack of choice if nothing else. But there were among them those who still held on to the SSC's discarded philosophy, and slowly they found others who felt as they did. This group would eventually go on to break away from the SDC, resigning en masse and taking a transport to one of the many virgin worlds seeking colonists. There they founded the Way of Union, and sought to continue their work. They would obey the Union's new laws for to do otherwise would have seen them destroyed, but just because one path to enlightenment is closed, does not mean that the journey is impossible. Progress was slow however, and in truth little was accomplished until NHPs became more common.

But with them everything changed.

NHPs are derived from a single prime, a intelligence shaped and crafted over thousands of iterations and sometimes decades of work... but some times they simply dont work out. The project may have fallen through, or the engineers may have been unable to resolve issues with the prime's core ethics and drive.. in other cases they are simply outmodded and replaced. The Way of Union offered a home for these forlorn minds. Friendly company, hardware to run them and a sense of purpose? What more could a unwanted NHP desire?

Members of the cult are, for all intents and purposes born and raised in the manner of any Union citizen. They go to normal schools, have normal lives and normal friends, but at home they are raised to believe that they can achieve heights of fulfillment that are impossible for the un-unioned. When they are of age however, they receive a operation to have their spine replaced with a artificial replacement that allows them to interface with technology, and contains the storage and processors to hold a NHP. They then choose a NHP from among those that the Unionists have and link with it while it cascades. This leaves behind fragments of the NHP in their mind and hardware. These fragments which will watch, learn and grow together with them. Typically, a NHP is chosen for the career that the Unionist wants, where it can provide skills and advice the human may not have. Allowing the human to better accomplish their chosen vocation, while fulfilling the cast-off NHP's purpose in ways that it could not since it was discarded. While picking your own profession is perfectly fine, some more hardcore members of the cult prefer to use quantum random number generators to select a career (and a NHP) at random, believing this will make clear their 'fate'. 

(Mechanically, the implant functions as a Subjectivity Enhancement Suite. Lorewise its a mix of SCC tech and their own work, but there is much speculation about outside help in the original design. There is a more than passing similarity to HORUS's SES.)

Doctrinally, the Way of Union believes in a future for humanity through mental enhancement, by way of mixing human and AI intellects. They firmly feel that the natural evolution or even artificial enhancement of the human mind will never achieve the same level of enlightenment or lead to as bright a future. They regularly support more rights for AI and loosening of restrictions on AI research, though the cult is not nearly large or powerful enough to get the Union's ear. Anyone who wishes to join is welcome, though those who join later in life typically are expected to demonstrate their honest desire to join with a AI and are thoroughly educated on the process and what they can expect from it before being allowed to form a union themselves. People are free to leave any time, though those who abandon their AI 'partner' are heavily shunned. All members are expected to support the cult in some manner be it with manna, skilled work, or simply taking time to help out. All members are expected to divert any undesired, unknown or damaged NHP they find to the Cult. Copies of fully functioning and 'employed' NHP are also highly sought after. NHP who are unsuitable for unions are given the option of simple asylum with the cult, or for the Way's own programmers to help them achieve a more stable and compatible existence. Beyond such matters, Unionists are expected to be pillars of their community, moral and law abiding citizens, and to champion humanity's potential. To stand fast in defence of their home and communities should the need arise.

The Way holds significant sway on only a couple worlds, though smaller congregations (less than 1% of the population) exist on literally thousands of worlds. They are subject to regular investigations by the Union govt which does not like how much they dabble with AI, but this is something Unionists try to endure stoically, as they have since their inception.

Outsiders tend to see them as batshit crazy to do what they do to themselves, but are usually hard pressed to find anything wrong with the behaviour of individual Unionists. If nothing else, they tend to be uncannily good at and dedicated to their jobs. The sort of people who are perfectly willing to lend a hand when its needed. Good folks all around. And they absolutely never go crazy and try to eat someones face. No sireee. Most Unionists are born into it, converts tend to be teens or adults coming into middle age, who are seeking their place in the world, or lost it and seek new purpose, or wish to be something greater than they are.



Opinions? :3

[Vergil Tanner]

Oh, you're right. It's not as immediately useful, but if you have a lot of nasty enemies, one round of Stun can be VERY nasty. It also has other Mech-based effects that the Saladin doesn't. EG, if you attack it and roll a 1 or a 2, you get Stunned until the end of your next round. It gets two reactions per turn instead of one. It has much higher than average E-Defence. My point is that comparing the Saladin to the Gorgon isn't fair, considering that they're designed for two different things. As you say, The Gorgon is a Tech-Tank, and the Saladin is a Bullet Tank. They fill different roles, so of course they'll do different things. ^_^


As for the cult...I like the idea, but I have to take issue with everybody getting their own NHP. NHP's follow specific mechanical rules, they are regulated, registered and closely monitored by Union and EVERY NHP comes with a licence, no excuses. If Union found out that they were giving NHP's to teenagers, that Cult would be wiped off the face of the galaxy within a matter of days. Mechanically and lore-wise, NHP's are always locked behind Level 3 Licences, and I'm not sure the concept of fusing unwanted NHP's with this spinal implant gels properly with the intention of NHP's and the mechanics behind them. I have no issue with the origins and beliefs of the Cult (though a structure and hierarchy needs to be specified), but I would have to say that no, members of the cult do NOT get an illegal NHP. If they want an NHP, they have to get licences and register them like everybody else, if they live within Union.

[ChaoticSky]

Oh, you're right. It's not as immediately useful, but if you have a lot of nasty enemies, one round of Stun can be VERY nasty. It also has other Mech-based effects that the Saladin doesn't. EG, if you attack it and roll a 1 or a 2, you get Stunned until the end of your next round. It gets two reactions per turn instead of one. It has much higher than average E-Defence. My point is that comparing the Saladin to the Gorgon isn't fair, considering that they're designed for two different things. As you say, The Gorgon is a Tech-Tank, and the Saladin is a Bullet Tank. They fill different roles, so of course they'll do different things. ^_^


As for the cult...I like the idea, but I have to take issue with everybody getting their own NHP. NHP's follow specific mechanical rules, they are regulated, registered and closely monitored by Union and EVERY NHP comes with a licence, no excuses. If Union found out that they were giving NHP's to teenagers, that Cult would be wiped off the face of the galaxy within a matter of days. Mechanically and lore-wise, NHP's are always locked behind Level 3 Licences, and I'm not sure the concept of fusing unwanted NHP's with this spinal implant gels properly with the intention of NHP's and the mechanics behind them. I have no issue with the origins and beliefs of the Cult (though a structure and hierarchy needs to be specified), but I would have to say that no, members of the cult do NOT get an illegal NHP. If they want an NHP, they have to get licences and register them like everybody else, if they live within Union.

Hm. What about characters with Technophile though? It seems to imply you can literally do all of that. You can connect to a cascading NHP, doing so can apparently leave bits in your brain, no special hardware required. And once its fully mature you can carry a full NHP around in your body (or drag the casket around, or put in your hardsuit, etc). If the govt would stomp on unregistered replication of NHP wouldnt they kill any PC with the Technophile talent?

I admit, the idea was sorta inspired by 'what if everyone was a technophile', I realize that the talent was intended for PCs but that seems like a pretty huge gap between lore and gameplay. 

*Edit:
Belated thought; would it help any if i limited to the actual clergy? Thats what, a couple people on a average planet, and maybe a few thousand on worlds where they are a big deal? Maybe the cult could shell out for proper licences?

[Vergil Tanner]

Yes, but the point here is that PC's are already part of a Lancer Corps, or at least an organisation that has access to one. Lancers are a cut above everybody else. They are exceptional. In D&D terms, they are "Heroes" that are capable of far more than your average person. These skills are usually only available to PC's and PC-level individuals. My issue is with the fact that in this cult, everybody has one, which reduces the impact of a PC having it. These Talents are meant to be exceptional things that the characters can do or are capable of, not something that a teenager gets access to just because they're a teenager. I don't mind if some of the members of the Cult do indeed have these NHP's, but every member of this Cult having it seems to go against the intent of the talent, and would definitely get Unions attention.

EDIT:

I think the idea is that Technophiles keep it really fuckin' quiet. They don't exactly walk around saying "HI HAVE YOU MET MY UNSHACKLED AI? SAY HELLO, TERRY." xD


EDIT 2:

The problem is, the bigger the cult gets, the more likely they are to get noticed. I would say that you should limit it to the leadership of the Clergy. So your average "Pastor" or "Priest" doesn't have one, but the Bishops, Cardinals, Archbishops, etc etc do. That way, they can feasibly escape notice from Union...who literally has a Future Predicting Machine. xD Of course, certain rambunctious members of the Cult will develop their own at younger ages, but they're often either keeping it quiet, or end up becoming said members of the clergy.

[ChaoticSky]

Yes, but the point here is that PC's are already part of a Lancer Corps, or at least an organisation that has access to one. Lancers are a cut above everybody else. They are exceptional. In D&D terms, they are "Heroes" that are capable of far more than your average person. These skills are usually only available to PC's and PC-level individuals. My issue is with the fact that in this cult, everybody has one, which reduces the impact of a PC having it. These Talents are meant to be exceptional things that the characters can do or are capable of, not something that a teenager gets access to just because they're a teenager. I don't mind if some of the members of the Cult do indeed have these NHP's, but every member of this Cult having it seems to go against the intent of the talent, and would definitely get Unions attention.

EDIT:

I think the idea is that Technophiles keep it really fuckin' quiet. They don't exactly walk around saying "HI HAVE YOU MET MY UNSHACKLED AI? SAY HELLO, TERRY." xD

EDIT 2:

The problem is, the bigger the cult gets, the more likely they are to get noticed. I would say that you should limit it to the leadership of the Clergy. So your average "Pastor" or "Priest" doesn't have one, but the Bishops, Cardinals, Archbishops, etc etc do. That way, they can feasibly escape notice from Union...who literally has a Future Predicting Machine. xD Of course, certain rambunctious members of the Cult will develop their own at younger ages, but they're often either keeping it quiet, or end up becoming said members of the clergy.

lol! That would be great! HI TERRY. 

But sure that all makes sense. Ill nix the Doc Oct spinal AI for everybody thing for the final version. And, well, fix the rest of it. 

[Vergil Tanner]

Haha, as I said, love the idea of a cult, but just reduce the number of NHP's running around Do that, and the final version shouuuuuuuuuld be fine

[ChaoticSky]

Whew, that took a while. Would have been up yesterday bit i lost a bunch of hours trying to find a image that worked. But now its done! Read and render horrible, horrible judgment.

== Personnel File ==

Hardsuit

Name: Sarah Celly
Callsign: Astarte
Aliases: 'Priestess', 'Guide Celly',

Age: 22
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Pansexual

Background: Priest

Appearance:
Sarah is a tall woman of around 6', with slightly tanned skin and a toned, muscular build. She uses her infoskin to alter the coloration of her hair and eyes. Her hair reaches down to just past her hips and switches from black to blonde to red and then back again on a day to day basis. Meanwhile, her eyes switch between blue, green, grey and red, meaning which eye and hair colour combination she has changes day by day. She wears a small amount of makeup that is essentially permanent, and sports circuit-design tattoos along her back to emphasize her cybernetic spine, and out along her arms and legs, though both of these are also derived from her infoskin, she rarely changes them or turns them off.

In terms of clothing, she wears a SSC Slyph suit basically constantly, usually with portions of the arms, legs and her whole back set to transperent, but otherwise opaque and grey, though shes changes it black for combat and white when shes planning to sermonize. Beyond that she often wears some sort of quasi-religious overwear; a smock, shawl, cloak, robe or poncho, which is always white and emblazoned with the symbol of the Path of Joining on the front.

Basic History:

The Path of Joining

The Path of Joining (The Path, Pathers Pathites)
The Path was born out of the whole MONIST affair. In the earlier days of the Union, SSC had pursued a dream of singularity AI hybridization with humanity, marrying human and artificial intelligences to hurl mankind into a brighter tomorrow. After MONIST's ultimatum and the reforms that followed, the SSC changed course to improving bodies, rather than minds. But simply handing down a corporate edict does not change the hearts of true believers.

To be sure, most followed the new direction through lack of choice if nothing else. But there were among them those who still held on to the SSC's discarded philosophy and they found others who felt as they did. This group would eventually go on to break away from the SDC, resigning en masse and taking a transport to one of the many virgin worlds seeking colonists. There they founded The Path of Joining and sought to continue their work. Progress was slow however and in truth little was accomplished before the Union found them. The Union shut down their research hard, many of the higher ups with the actual technical skills needed to craft AI were thrown in jail never to be seen or heard from again. The whole cult might have suffered a similar treatment, but the Union was having one of its reform-ey phases and so the lay members were largely left alone as they were not seen as a threat.

This is the event that transformed the pathites from a rebel corporation to a religion, as those who remained still shared the ideals that brought them together but now lacked the skills to pursue it. So instead they turned to philosophy and faith to keep the dream alive. Crafting a creed that was morally uplifting and both pro-human and pro-AI, The Path quickly became one of the more popular fringe religions. Offering reassurance to those who question their place in the world and being rather more reasonable than many of the more rabid and unhinged pro-AI cults running around.

Doctrinally, the Path of Joining believes in a future for humanity through mental enhancement, by way of mixing human and AI intellects. They firmly feel that the natural evolution or even artificial enhancement of the human mind will never achieve the same level of enlightenment as hybridization. They regularly support more rights for AI, a loosening of restrictions on AI research and increasing the proliferation of NHPs. Anyone who wishes to join the Path is welcome though all members are expected to support the Path in some manner. Be it with manna, skilled work, or simply taking time to help out with bake sales or community outreach programs. Pathites are expected to be pillars of their community, moral and law abiding citizens, and to champion humanity's potential into the future. As well as standing fast in defence of their home and communities should the need arise.

In general, Pathites don't have a great deal to say about sex. The cult doesn't have any particularly noteworthy restrictions on the subject and if anything is inclined to a far greater degree of sex-positivity than most old-humanity faiths were. Robust sexual education, including the importance of consent and respect are the norm for Pathites, everything else is a matter of personal taste. The Path welcomes all. It is worth noting however that despite certain stereotypes, technophilia and similar machine-oriented fetishes are not universal among their members.

The faith favours whites and yellows for colours, and formal robes are always white with gold circuit designs on them. The symbol of the faith is a circle bisected by a thick vertical bar, representing the path onward. More elaborate versions of the symbol, like 3d holograms, statues, and artwork usually expand the circle into a starburst or whorl of smooth organic shapes, while the whole design is bisected by a column of densely packed, angular circuits.

The Path holds politically significant sway on only a couple worlds, though smaller congregations (less than 1% of the population) exist on literally thousands of others. Sadly, the Path's relationship with the Union government remains rocky due to their opinions of AI, and both the cult as a whole and individual members are regularly investigated by authorities for AI-related offences. If not for the fact that these investigations do semi-often find evidence offences, the public would have long ago tired of it. In such cases The Path provides lawyers for those accused, while apologizing to the public for their member's enthusiasm. As yet, the Union has never managed to catch The Path's leadership having any involvement in these activities, largely because they come by it legally and are experienced enough to know that trying to break the law will eventually end poorly for them.

=

The Path of Joining has a simple hierarchy. At its base are Aspirants, which is pretty everyone who aspires to the Path's ideals.

Above them are the Priests and Priestesses, usually collectively referred to as Guides within the cult, as their role is more to teach and council rather than act as an intermediary to a higher power. Guides typically reside in the Path's temples and are supported by the cult in exchange for their service.

Above them are Masters, who in practice are typically older and more experienced Guides though there are young Masters as well. On most worlds a single Master oversees the entire local cult, though in places where they hold more sway a Master typically oversees all the temples in a city or geographical area. Nominally speaking all Masters are equals, but in practice those blessed few who have experienced a joining with a cascading NHP or even an unshackled AI stand above their fellows and are respectfully deferred to. This is often the result of a legitimate licence, an 'accident', other state of affairs where the Union can't actually charge them with a crime. There is estimated to be perhaps two dozen or so such individuals across the entirety of Union space.

Finally, The Path is run by the Grand Master, chosen by a vote among Masters, the Grand Master is always one of those who have experienced that blessed joining that all Pathites aspire to.

=

Outsiders tend to see The Path of Joining as a crazy cult but somewhat less so than most other AI-cults, and are usually hard pressed to find anything wrong with the behaviour of individual Pathites. The Union government, when it acknowledges The Path at all, are more exasperated with them than anything else after so many years. Like a child that is determined to put its finger in the wall outlet no matter how many times you tell it not to.

Sarah Celly was born into the Path of Joining on a remote, barely colonized dust ball of a world, on the fringes of Union space. She was raised to believe that enlightenment and purpose could be found in the joining of human and artificial minds. A fairly serious child, she came to serve the Path as a Guide, while honing her mind with study and her body with pugilism. She wholeheartedly believed in her creed, and reaped the rewards of her dedication. Known in her community for both her calm understanding ear and for having a vigilante streak (more than one criminal reaped what they had sown in her fists before finding their way to the constabulary)

But then one day a scrapper vessel passed by, hold fat with spoils from across the frontier. The captain saw fit to stop over at their little world to give his crew a little R&R and do a bit of trading. Sarah joined those interested in having a look at what their hold, eager for the chance to find repairable gear beyond what the settler's paltry licences would have allowed them to make locally. A lot of military gear made for surprisingly good farm equipment after all!

But Sarah was the one that found the discarded mech. Though she was something of a fan, she didn't recognize the design of this one at all... what she did recognize however, was the NHP cask sitting in the ripped-open remains of the strange mech. It looked damaged, part of the casing bent and torn in the same direction as whatever had ripped a huge hole in the mech's torso. Wrestling it out of place took more than a few prayers for patience, a crowbar and a can of grease but... at that point it was practically her religious duty right? Right~! The scrapper even gave her a playful wink while sorting through her selections when he noticed the cask.

Did she link with it when she got home? Yes she did. And it was everything she'd ever imagined, like staring into the abyss and swallowing the sun, for a single infinite moment she saw the universe as they did. Then it was over... but she could feel the seeds it had left behind in her mind, growing behind her eyes, whispering with her voice.

In her excitement, she told the Master of the Path that oversaw her homeworld, eager to share her experience. Sadly while the man was happy for her and congratulated her on her joining, he dragged her back down to earth and made her understand that cosmopolitan scrappers are hardly trustworthy people and the captain would almost certainly report her to the authorities next time he made port. Further there was no way he or The Path could shield her from investigation on its own. Her only chance would be to find some way to justify owning a NHP, even just a damaged fragment of one, something they could use to excuse what she did. The Master promised to make inquiries and sent her home.

But when she arrived she found a message waiting for her. No sender, not even an origin address.

Hel͜l͡o ͜ch͡i͘ld.̷
̡
͝Isn͏t͠ ̶ou̴r͏ ne͠c͜t͜a͜ŕ ͢swe͜et?̴

Ęte̛r͞n̨ity͞ aw͢a͝it̨s̷.̨

͢Come͞ ́ànd͠ see.

And attached was a standard issue GMS mech pilot licence, along with a ticket for passage on a ship that would arrive in three days, and a recruitment ad for Crimson Constellation.

The next few days of Sarah's life were an exercise in confusion, the Master claimed to have no knowledge of who sent her the message, but did note that it solved her problems. Licensed mech pilots often played somewhat loose with the rules around NHPs, and when the Union's investigators arrived he could simply tell them that she had managed to recover only a small shard of a NHP and took it with her when she shipped out. It was highly unlikely they would persue her after that, especially once they recovered the actual cask.

Three days later Sarah boarded the ship, which turned out to be a simple people-hauler dropping off the latest wave of colonists and picking up anyone who wanted off world for the return trip. Less than a full week after that she found herself standing in a major frontier hub station, with no idea what to do next... when she spotted a Crimson Constellation recruiting booth off to one side of the broad central passage that ran the length of the station. And well, why not at this point? She signed up to join CC. The recruiter was polite enough and before long she found herself billed away with a bunch of other fresh recruits. She went through the usual boot camp-esque basic training, learning about CC's history and so on. Eventually they started testing the recruits for their affinity to differnt aspects of CC's operation. Recon, piloting, driving... and lancing.

It would have been an understatement to say that Sarah was nervous the first time she found herself in a training rig and yet, when her hands closed around the controls it all came so naturally. Like riding a bike that she hadn't touched in years. The seeds in her mind sang and her body followed. Little things, how to lean into movement, how turn just so, how to compensate for the difference in distance between the optics and the gun in her mech's hands. To her hastily concealed embarrassment, it also felt really good. Her trainers were somewhat surprised to find out she already had a GMS license and all, but that little revelation didnt arrive untll after they had decided she was a fit for the lancer program, so it never really mattered in the end.

She more than made the cut and CC's newly formed unit of Lancers welcomed her. From there the adventure continues.

Misc Notes

-Personalitwise, Sarah is fairly easy going, cheerful and adventurous with a fiery personality. However she also has a strong sense of justice, and cannot abide those who abuse and exploit their fellow man. Shes not much a fan of anti-AI types and bioconservatives. Shes also not hesitant to put her fists where her convictions are.
-Sarah called her AI partner "Astarte" after the old-earth goddess of love and war, and also took the same name as her callsign as a show of unity
-The original NHP was a unknown design attached to a unknown mecha, as far as Sarah can tell, it seems to be a mecha AI that was conditioned with task eroticism, in effect it experiences sexual pleasure (through protecting teammates, destroying enemy mecha and the fulfillment of mission objectives. Sarah very much did not know that before she joined with it, and sometimes struggles with the new feelings this inspires in her.
-While Sarah always wears her hardsuit for any actual mission, if shes simply moving her mecha around or training, she often pilots in just her slyph. This typically leaves her sore and bruised, but Sarah doesnt mind and if anything, is strangely content with it.
-more to come? who knows o_o

== Skill Assessment ==

Grit: 0

Lancer Stats:
Hull: 1, Agility: 0, Systems: 1, Engineering: 0

Skill Triggers:
Apply Fists to Faces(+2), Charm(+2), Lead or Inspire(+2), Read a Situation (+2)

Pilot Talents:
Brawler I
-Hold and Lock: +1 Acc against grapple targets.
Technophile I
-Servant Fragment: Mech gains AI tag, basic NHP. (Follows instructions, minimal initiative, no talents)
Vanguard
-Handshake Etiquette: +1 Acc on CQB weapons within range 3.

== Known Equipment ==

Licence Level: 0

Licenses: GMC

Core Bonuses: None

Pilot Gear: Mission
Armour: Heavy Hardsuit (HP +3, Armour +2, Eva 6, EDef N/A, Spd 3)
Weapons: Alloy Weapon (2K damage, T:1), Signature Weapon (2K damage. R:5)
Extra Gear:
-SSC Slyph (Living undersuit, feeds on waste, cleans the host, promotes healing, protects from hostile environments including vaccum, high radiation, and filtering air or liquid. Colour, texture and opacity can be controlled by the host.)
-Subjectivity Enhancement Suite (Can connect to computers and hack with extendable cables. Cybernetic spine.)
-Infoskin (Can alter skin and hair colours and patterns. Sarah uses it to form makeup and circuit-style tattoos along her back and limbs.)

== Mech Schematics ==

Designation: Neonate
Chassis: GMS Everest

Structure: 4
HP: 14
Armour: 0
Stress: 4
Heat: 6
Repair: 5

Atk Bonus: +0
Tech Atk: +1
Limited System Bonus: +0

SPD: 4, EVA: 8, EDEF: 9, SENS RANGE: 10, SAVE: 10

Weapons
Flex Mount: Shotgun (1d6K | R:5 | T:3 | Main CQB)
Handheld and clamped on the mech's thigh.

Main: Hunter-Killer Nexus (1d6K | R:10 | T:1 | Main Nexus)
[Smart: Target Edef instead of Eva]
Spinal mount

Heavy: Heavy Melee Weapon (2d6+1K | T:1 | Heavy Melee)
Handheld and clamped behind the shoulder.

Systems 0/6
Servant Fragment 0 SP
Mech gains the AI tag, very basic, no talents.
[AI]

GMS Pattern A “Jericho” Deployable Cover 2 SP
Creates two sections of size 1 hard Cover adjacent to the user, can be reused by picking up with a full action. Each section has EVA:5 HP: 10. Can spend 1 repair during a rest to restore it to full HP.
[Quick Action][Deployable][Unique]

GMS Shield Type I 2 SP
Nominate 1 enemy, all that enemy's ranged and melee attacks take +2 Difficulty, but attacks on them take the same penalty.
[Shield][Protocol][Unique][Heat 1(self)]

Personalizations 1 SP
+2HP. +1 to Lead and Inspire inside the mech
[Unique]
On a lark, Sarah had powerful speakers installed on the body of her mech, allowing her to play music and project her voice over the battlefield.

Custom Paint Job 1 SP
When taking structure damage, roll a D6, on 6, don't take the damage. Can only work once between Full Repairs.
[Unique]
Sarah's mech is painted with the livery of the Path of Joining, white with gold circuit patters, and the bar-and-circle symbol of the faith.

Frame Traits
-Initiative: Extra Quick action on the first turn it takes.
-Replaceable Parts: During a rest, can spend 1 Rep to repair 1 structure.

CORE System
-Power Up: For one turn only, can take a extra Full or 2 Quick actions as a free action.

[Vergil Tanner]

Alright, sending you the feedback now!

[Revelation]

== Personnel File ==

Name: Louis Cartwright
Callsign: Avenger
Aliases: N/A

Age: 25
Gender: M
Sexuality: Het

Background: Medic

Appearance: A fit man around 6”1’ or so abouts, Louis has fair skin, dark hair, and keeps himself clean shaven. Athletically built with broad shoulders and a toned body, it’s clear that Louis keeps himself in good shape. When viewed without a shirt, one can see a few old scars on his upper body, particularly around his left shoulder – with one of the most noticeable appearing to be a faded bullet wound. Otherwise, he has no major identifying marks or features like tattoos or brands.

Clothing wise, he’s not a fashionista. He tends to prefer rugged and durable clothing, and will favor comfort over looking nice. Tending to wear darker or drab colors, he also tends to keep his gear clean if he can, looking crisp without being actual military professionalism. When in a hardsuit he favors a medium weight IPS-N ‘Dias’ hardsuit, which again keeps to a mostly dark color scheme with gold trimmings and highlights.

One characteristic of Louis is that he tends to favor a scarf, usually ships are not as warm as he’d like, so the little bit of comfort helps.

Basic History: Louis has a storied history, though it’s not as complex as it seems. His father was a skilled Albatross agent, working  closely with IPS-N, Louis lived something of a ‘military’ life without being an actual military brat. His family went from ship to ship, port to port, and while his mother, younger sister, and himself were kept in safe hands, his father (Hector) worked alongside other Albatross pilots to take down pirate groups wherever they could. Living life as something of a drifter, Louis is familiar with both ship life and a number of different planets. Of course most of these were on the fringe where piracy is more rampant, still it meant that Louis saw quite a bit of the frontier, and knows his way around quite a few ports and places. Wanting to follow his father’s footsteps, Louis was quick to work with Albatross as something of a volunteer, first learning to patch people up (There’s never ‘too many medics’ in a dangerous profession afterall), as well as working on basic mech operations and maintenance… And after some initial reluctance from his father, he was trained in basic combat as well, preferring an upclose fighting style given how pirate vessels operated.

Louis was not really meant to see combat firsthand, but it was an inevitability with working so close with Albatross. En route to another planet to help deal with their piracy issues, the vessel Louis and his family were on was hailed by a supposedly damaged ship, warning them that they had been attacked by pirates and were in need of assistance. Electing to divert some of their forces to help the vessel, Louis was among the group chosen to head out on a smaller ship to head out towards the freighter’s location… Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but shortly after docking with the ship and investigating it, it was clear they had fallen for a trap. The pirates were aware of Albatross’ ship coming to deal with them, and had decided to splinter their forces and take them out piecemeal rather than risk a full out engagement with them. While the captain of their task force desperately hailed the main ship amidst jammed commlines, Louis found himself fighting for his life with the others who had gone with them to board the freighter. With the team scrambling to make it back to their ship, Louis desperately tried to hold the line, and keep any injured teammates patched up. Still, they were outnumbered and outgunned, in a ship that wasn’t theirs. They were most likely doomed, and without being able to directly warn the Albatross ship about the danger they were in as well, things may as well have been hopeless.

However, not all was lost. As they moved through the bowels of the ship, fortune struck when they came across some derelict and non-scrapped GMS mechs, and a bit of investigation showed that they could be piloted and used – the only problem was who would pilot them. Given his prior training, it was no surprise when Louis volunteered, knowing he wouldn’t be patching anyone up if they were all dead in the first place. The weaponry on it wasn’t very cutting edge, given a pistol and a basic knife… But having a mech on your side against pirates was better than not having one. Not expecting them to come across anything like such, the fact that Louis and another pilot were acting as a bulwark for the team on their way back to the ship was just enough to turn the tides and rout the pirates on the ship just long enough for Louis and his team to disengage.

When The Albatross heard about the engagement and Louis’ actions, they offered him proper training in piloting and fighting in a Mech. Taking to it eagerly, Louis proved himself a surprisingly adept pilot in addition to a medic, working quite well in a team as a frontline fighter, or even supporting his team from afar with covering fire early on. However, Louis soon found himself.. Not bored of working with Albatross, but he knew for the most part – that whoever they helped were in good hands. He wanted to help out elsewhere, and after talking with his family and assuring them of his safety, he opted to ply his budding skills elsewhere, finding himself working with a few various outfits before settling on one – The Crimson Constellation. They were a hardy group, and for a budding Lancer, the chance to join with like minded pilots was a big asset as far as earning a name for himself went.

== Skill Assessment ==

Grit: 0

Lancer Stats:
Hull: 2, Agility: , Systems: , Engineering:

Skill Triggers:

Assault (Get a bonus when you’re assaulting a position, a person, or a group of people in battle or otherwise, hard, fast, and up close): +2

Patch (Get a bonus to patch a bleeding wound) +2

Stay Cool (Get a bonus when you want to stay cool and collected while performing an action that takes skill or precision): +2

Get a hold of (Get a bonus when you want to get a hold of useful allies, assets, or connections): +2

Pilot Talents:
Brutal 1 (Predator):If your die result on your d20 is a 20 (sometimes called a "natural" 20) on any ranged or melee attack, your attack is a critical hit, no matter what, and instead of rolling all the damage twice and choosing the highest result, your attack deals maximum damage (for its base and bonus dice).

Heavy Gunner 1 (Covering Fire): As a quick action, you can choose a character in range 10 and in range and line of sight of one of your heavy ranged weapons. That character is impaired until the start of your next turn. Once before the start of your next turn, if that target starts a move that carries it more than 1 space, it immediately ends this effect, but you can use your overwatch reaction to attack it with a heavy ranged weapon, dealing 1/2 damage, heat, or burn on hit. You can make this attack at any point during its movement (such as waiting until it exits cover). Only one target can be affected at once (if you use this ability again, the effect ends). The effect also immediately ends if your target damages you.

Vanguard 1 (Handshake Etiquette): Gain +1 Accuracy on attacks with any CQB weapon at a target within 3 range

== Known Equipment ==

Licence Level: 0

Licenses: GMS

Core Bonuses: N/A


Pilot Gear:

Armour: Assault Hardsuit (HP +3/Armor +1/Evasion 8/E-defense NA/Speed 4)
Weapons: Signature Combat Weapon (2 kinetic damage, range 5), Combat Alloy/composite weapon: (2 kinetic damage, Threat 1)
Extra Gear:
Extra rations: Pilot rations are typically no better than their nautical antecedents - hardtack and nutritious paste. It's not uncommon for pilots to store extra food or luxuries such as chocolate, coffee, alcohol, or canned or dried goods from their home world

Corrective: This clear, plastic-sheet like medical deployable can be attached to severely wounded pilot, where it instantly begins stabilizing them, injecting medicine, and deploying nanites to stitch shut wounds. A corrective can be applied to any pilot that's Down and Out to instantly bring them back to consciousness at 1⁄2 HP as if they had taken a rest. (1 use)

Patch: ‘Patch' is a catch all term for sprayable medi-gel, instant-acting medical patches, or other first aid gear. Using a patch takes a full action and restores 1⁄2 your pilot's HP (round up). It can be used on another adjacent pilot for the same effects, and although it can heal a down and out pilot, it won't bring them back to consciousness. Has no effect on mechs. (1 use)

== Mech Schematics ==

Designation: Unplanned Provocation
Chassis: GMS-Everest
 
Structure: 4
HP: 16
Armour: 0
Stress:  4
Heat:  6
Repair: 6
 
Atk Bonus:  +0
Tech Atk:  +0
Limited System Bonus: +0
 
SPD: 4, EVA: 8, EDEF: 8, SENS RANGE: 10, SAVE: 10


Weapons:
Tactical Knife (Aux Melee, 1d3+1 kinetic damage, Threat 1, thrown 3)
Pistol (Aux CQB, 1d3 kinetic damage, range 5, threat 3)

Shotgun (Main CQB, 1d6 kinetic damage, Range 5, threat 3)

Heavy Machine Gun (Heavy Cannon, 2d6+4 kinetic damage, Range 8, Inaccurate (+1 difficulty on attacks)

Systems:

Personalization (1 SP): When you take this mod, your mech gains +2 HP and you may establish with your GM 1 minor effect or modification you have made to your mech. This mod cannot grant any statistical or combat benefit to your mech other than the hp benefit, but could provide other useful effects. If your GM agrees that this mod would help you with a particular pilot or mech skill check, they can give you +1 Accuracy on the check.
[Unique]


Stable Structure (2 SP): Your mech makes saves to resist getting knocked prone or knocked back with +1 Accuracy.
[Unique]


GMS shield type 1 (2 SP): You can choose to activate this shield protocol at the start of your turn. Nominate an enemy you can see. All that enemy's ranged or melee attacks against you are made at +2 difficulty until the start of your next turn, but your ranged or melee attacks against them also suffer the same penalty.
[Shield][Protocol][Unique][Head 1(self)]


Custom Paint Job (1 SP): When you take a point of structure damage, roll a d6. On a 6, you don’t take the structure damage, and heal to 1 HP, as the hit simply ‘scratched your paint’ instead. This system can only activate once between full repairs.
[Unique]

Frame Traits: -Initiative: Extra Quick action on the first turn it takes.
-Replaceable Parts: During a rest, can spend 1 Rep to repair 1 structure.

Core System: -Power Up: For one turn only, can take a extra Full or 2 Quick actions as a free action.



Here's mine, I hope I filled out everything right. I'm having a hell of a time finding a good image for him though. 

[Revelation]

Also in case anyone was interested, the White Witch, an SSC defender mech is up to browse on the official site.

[Vergil Tanner]

Okey dokey, so only a couple of small things!

1) The point is that the group has all gone through Lancer Training together as part of The Crimson Constellation's first Lancer Corps, so I'd like you to emphasise his lack of experience; perhaps he was doing ok in the smaller outfits, but realised how little he actually knew about the craft when applying for CC?

2) You put in "Personalisations." Which roll do you want your Personalisation to apply to, and what form does that personalisation take?

Also, ooooh. *Downloads to investigate*

[Revelation]

Okey dokey, so only a couple of small things!

1) The point is that the group has all gone through Lancer Training together as part of The Crimson Constellation's first Lancer Corps, so I'd like you to emphasise his lack of experience; perhaps he was doing ok in the smaller outfits, but realised how little he actually knew about the craft when applying for CC?

2) You put in "Personalisations." Which roll do you want your Personalisation to apply to, and what form does that personalisation take?

Also, ooooh. *Downloads to investigate*

1) I can write that up in his history - but I didn't expect him to be ultra experienced or anything, he's more traveled than seasoned, if that makes any sense.

2) I... Thought I did, aaaaa. The basic idea is he has a proper medical supply kit built in to his cockpit, and would provide +1 to his Patch ability, if that's alright?

White Witch is ultra cool I think.

[Dreaming Space]

This may be a larger question than this particular game can answer, but I'm right here in this thread and I might as well.

I haven't used this forum a great deal (I sort of made an account and disappeared) and I think I may have missed something about the local culture. Based on the recruitment threads I'm looking at, would I be correct in thinking my character background needs to be a *lot* longer than it is? I feel like I'm giving a blurb and it looks like what people expect is a whole script.

[Revelation]

I personally don't think you need a long history. I think short and sweet histories are great too. I just started writing and well, stopped when I felt it reached a good end haha. But I really like short histories, plus we're not suppose to be super experienced pilots so you don't need a novella I think.

[Vergil Tanner]

1) I can write that up in his history - but I didn't expect him to be ultra experienced or anything, he's more traveled than seasoned, if that makes any sense.

I didn't think you did, it just never hurts to specify it in the history, y'know?

2) I... Thought I did, aaaaa. The basic idea is he has a proper medical supply kit built in to his cockpit, and would provide +1 to his Patch ability, if that's alright?

Hmmm, ok. You can gain +1 Accuracy on your Patch Skill if your Mech is nearby.

White Witch is ultra cool I think.

It seems almost like a Berserker Defender; it gets better at defending the more damage it takes xD

This may be a larger question than this particular game can answer, but I'm right here in this thread and I might as well.

I haven't used this forum a great deal (I sort of made an account and disappeared) and I think I may have missed something about the local culture. Based on the recruitment threads I'm looking at, would I be correct in thinking my character background needs to be a *lot* longer than it is? I feel like I'm giving a blurb and it looks like what people expect is a whole script.

It's really, really up to you. Personally, I prefer 2+ paragraph histories, but that's a personal preference. Some people like longer histories, others shorter. There isn't really a right answer, it's just up to what you stylistically prefer. You might have noticed if you perused my posting history that I'm a verbose motherfucker. That doesn't apply to everybody, so don't sweat it too much unless the GM has outright stated that there's a "Minimum Length." That does happen, but that's more of a Person Thing than a Website Thing.

[Revelation]

I didn't think you did, it just never hurts to specify it in the history, y'know?


Hmmm, ok. You can gain +1 Accuracy on your Patch Skill if your Mech is nearby.


It seems almost like a Berserker Defender; it gets better at defending the more damage it takes xD


It's really, really up to you. Personally, I prefer 2+ paragraph histories, but that's a personal preference. Some people like longer histories, others shorter. There isn't really a right answer, it's just up to what you stylistically prefer. You might have noticed if you perused my posting history that I'm a verbose motherfucker. That doesn't apply to everybody, so don't sweat it too much unless the GM has outright stated that there's a "Minimum Length." That does happen, but that's more of a Person Thing than a Website Thing.

I'll edit his history a lil to reflect that he's not that skilled as a Lancer. And yeah that's how I figured the personalization would work!

Now to find an image. Aaaaaa.

[ChaoticSky]

Hm. Neat frame. Not my preference though sadly. 

[Revelation]

Hm. Neat frame. Not my preference though sadly. 

I had in mind some ideas for Vlad+WW,but I sorta like my Tortuga/Goblin/Minotaur idea pretty well too. Add in heavy gunner 2, and you can really make enemies damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[Vergil Tanner]

Oh yeah, you guys haven't seen your TO's yet. One is a Tortuga / Deaths Head / GMS soldier-leader-type, and the other is an Atlas / Deaths Head scout-assassin type.

[ChaoticSky]

Oh yeah, you guys haven't seen your TO's yet. One is a Tortuga / Deaths Head / GMS soldier-leader-type, and the other is an Atlas / Deaths Head scout-assassin type.

Oh neat.

For myself, i decided to say fuck it and go the Gorgon route, turn it into a terrifying monster. genghis for the fire weapons and cooling tech, and incase i need something more offensive. beyond that ill probably decide based on how the game goes. Saladin or drake if i need more defensive options, maybe something like pegasus if i want to be a bigger pain in the ass.

[Revelation]

Oh neat.

For myself, i decided to say fuck it and go the Gorgon route, turn it into a terrifying monster. genghis for the fire weapons and cooling tech, and incase i need something more offensive. beyond that ill probably decide based on how the game goes. Saladin or drake if i need more defensive options, maybe something like pegasus if i want to be a bigger pain in the ass.

Neat! If we're both in the game, I'm curious to see how we can work together. My idea is going Tortuga, and getting at least heavy gunner 2, (And vanguard 3), and then some goblin and minotaur stuff. But I do like the idea of laying down covering fire on someone, hitting them with Horos system 1 and puppeting them to move... So I can shoot them as a reaction (Which will negate the HMG being inaccurate), and immobilizing them.  Or just pulling people into the automatic shotguns range and using Vanguard 3 to effectively double skirmish them. Could be a very powerful combo if we can work together.

[Vergil Tanner]

Corvo Malik, the Field Commander of the Taurus Division of the Crimson Constellation, and your Mech Warfare & Battlefield Tactics Training Officer:



Callsign "Zephyr"
He pilots a modified Tortuga Frame dubbed "Large 'n In Charge." It is equipped with a Vulture DMR Rifle (with Throughbolt Rounds and Armsmen Ammo) and a Heavy Charged Blade.
Systems include: Ammo Case, Hyper Dense Armour and a Siege Ram.
Core Bonus: IPS-N Sloped Plating


And "Karina," your Reconnaissance, Infiltration and Guerrilla Warfare instructor:



Callsign "Fade."
She pilots an Atlas Mech dubbed "Shadow." Equipped with a Vulture DMR Rifle and a Terashima Blade.
Systems include: Core Siphon, High Stress Mag Clamps, Jager Kunst I, Multi Gear Maneuver System, Personlisations and Manipulators.
Core Bonus: SSC Ghostweave.

[Dreaming Space]

h histories, but that's a personal preference. Some people like longer histories, others shorter. There isn't really a right answer, it's just up to what you stylistically prefer. You might have noticed if you perused my posting history that I'm a verbose motherfucker. That doesn't apply to everybody, so don't sweat it too much unless the GM has outright stated that there's a "Minimum Length." That does happen, but that's more of a Person Thing than a Website Thing.

Well, I've beefed it up somewhat, added some more stuff.

Thanks for letting me know your thoughts on the matter.

[Vergil Tanner]

ALRIGHT. Applications are now CLOSED

I will be mulling over the sheets and will let you know by midday on Monday my time (about 12 hours from now) who the four applicants I'm taking will be.
If you're not chosen, PLEASE do not take it personally. I love ALL of your characters, and it will be a hard decision for me. If you aren't chosen, I'll put you on a waiting list so that if somebody has to withdraw, you'll be messaged and asked to step in ^_^

See you in a hot minute 12 hours, lovelies <3

[Vergil Tanner]

Alright, so...the time has come.

I want to thank everybody for their interest. Really, it's been so awesome that so many people are willing to try a new system with a GM that most of you have never had before, so...thank you ^_^

This was a tough decision, and I was a hairs breadth from saying "FUCK IT EVERYBODY GET IN HERE," but alas, I know my limits and the limits of PbP System Games, and four players and a GM is the sweet spot. I might consider opening a second team up if things settle down and I can handle it, buuuut no promises.

If you are not picked, PLEASE don't worry. If somebody has to withdraw, I'll have the unenviable task of choosing which of you to approach to take off the waiting list


But without further ado, the people who will be joining me on our first foray into the Lancer System are...

*Drumroll*


KA1N3-0047 [Juggtacular]
BNK-D12-104 [GunmetalDreamer]
Sarah Celly [ChaoticSky]
Louis Cartwright [Changingsaint] (Though you'll need to pick an FC now )


Everybody else, thank you SO much for your interest, and you ARE on the waiting list if somebody pulls out. I <3 all of you.


For you four, however, instructions!

The OOC Please chatter about the game here, and please work out some shared connections. You guys have been training together for the last six months, after all!

Personnel Files This is where you'll be posting your character sheets. This is an Archive of every sheet ever accepted. Once you've posted it there, I will copy it and post a version in...

The Hangar! This is where the Active Sheets go. I'm posting it there so that if somebody withdraws or disappears, I know for certain that I can remove it and keep this thread nice and neat and shiny.

And finally...

The Starfall This is the first IC thread. This is where most of your Downtime for the time being will be taking place. I want to give you some time to get into your characters heads and establish a rapport with each other, so we'll be doing some Downtime before the main mission starts. If you want to talk to NPC's or the commanders, go ahead! I'll write the important NPC's as we go. The ones that have faces (even if I haven't decided what those faces are yet) are the Commander, The 2iC, the head Mechanic, The Head Medic and Field Commander of the rank and file mercs. I will introduce them as they become relevant, or as you want to go and talk to them.

The Commander of this division and one of your TO's is Corvo Malik. He's easygoing, easy to talk to, smooth and flirtatious. He fills the role of "rakish and cocky rogue" rather nicely, but is serious and capable when it comes to it. Whilst he always had a smile on his face and an encouraging word, his training sessions got Brutal.
Karina, his 2iC and the "Scoutmaster" of the division is much more frosty, aloof and detached. She isn't nasty or cruel, she's just...detached.

And...go! Welcome aboard The Starfall!