Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands (Interest Check)

[ThisOneGal]

F I R E B R A N D S
GM: ThisOneGal
System: Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands / Freeform GM-less
Group: Bondage (Human) | Characters Cap: 2

This is an interest check for MFZ: Firebrands. It is technically a GM-less system, but I'll be acting as GM to guide players and un-stick situations. In general however, players are encouraged to make up cool stuff as they go along. It is not technically a completely freeform system, but the rules are more prompts for RP than mechanics. The number of players is uncapped, since we'll lose a number to attrition, and by the time that happens we should have a reasonable number of players left. This is my first attempt in many years at running a game on Elliquiy, and my second overall.

MOBILE FRAME ZERO
The year is SC 0245. Humanity has spread through the Milky Way, using transit gate technology to colonize the galaxy. Mobile frames are the hard-working, hard-fighting combat- and labor mecha that they’ve brought with them.

You are romantic ace mobile frame pilots, caught up in an undeclared war for the future of the Bantral system.

INTRO
THE BANTRAL SYSTEM IS NOT AT WAR.
Bantral was never, until recently, a wealthy colony. The planet had resources enough just to maintain its own small society, but none worth exporting. There was never any need for the corporate sponsors of its initial colonization to interfere with its administration. In the halls of Solar Union commerce, land shares on Bantral traded for nothing, no cost, no gain. You might throw “all of my land shares on Bantral” into your golf wager as a joke, or give them as a prank gift to a friend.

Recently, though, there was a minor development in an obscure biochemical processing technology, and the novel features of Bantral’s ecosystem went from being a scientific curiosity to being an untapped and unknowably deep wellspring of wealth. Land shares on Bantral are no longer an ignored asterisk on anyone’s balance sheet.

The handover of administration and power from the descendants of Bantral’s original Terran colonists to the newly-interested legal rightsholders—the self-proclaimed “Landowners”—has been cheerful, orderly, and mutually profitable. There have been a few isolated spats, of course, but there’s been practically no protracted, bitter, bloody war of resistance between the displaced old Bantraesh aristocracy and the offworld Landowners. When a Landowner uses the threat of violence to force a hereditary great family to give up their land, keeping them on as guides and entertainers, it’s “cheerful.” When they offer them in exchange a negligible sum, it’s “mutually profitable.” When a fiery company of Bantraesh irregulars responds by raiding their holdings and seizing arms and materiel against future battles, and local insurrectionists take advantage of the upset by forcibly occupying a biochem processing facility, and the Landowners respond with ruthless crackdowns and martial law, these are “a few isolated spats.”

To admit otherwise would be to invite the intervention of the Terran Transit Authority’s mediation and peacekeeping forces. Then no one would get rich from Bantral but the TTA.

FACTION: THE BANTRAESH
The Bantraesh are the aristocratic families of Bantral. You are a hereditary warrior prince or princess of a noble family, a mobile frame ace pilot, and the offworld “Landowners” have robbed you of your wealth and estates. You’ve been raised to believe that the wealth of Bantral belongs to the Bantraesh.
Bantraesh of the same family are your friends. Bantraesh of different families are your rivals. The Landowners and the Revolutionaries are your enemies.
Choose (or make up) three attractive qualities. You’re: beautiful, cultured, enthusiastic, fiery, passionate, radiant, rich, severe, strong.
Choose a name that will be easy to remember.
Choose a family name too.
Mobile frames are the walking combat- and labor mecha that humanity brought with them to colonize the galaxy. Your mobile frame is military model, probably a Chub, custom-built for you personally, armed and armored in grand style, kitted out in heraldic insignia and the colors of your house.
Your soldiers are your siblings, your cousins, and your household guard. Think of them as knights, retainers, and loyal warriors.

BANTRAESH

» You’ve been entertaining interloping offworlders in your family estate…
…And they’ve proven gracious and easygoing, and you’re warming to them.
…And they’ve been thoughtlessly presumptuous with your best goods.
…And they’ve been treating you as a servant.
» You’ve been meeting in secret with the noble heads of other local Bantraesh…
…And they proved bickering, shortsighted, stupid and jealous.
…And they agreed to follow your plan, but first you must show results.
…And they demanded that you lay off your violent, dangerous actions.
» You’ve been training with your soldiers…
…And your soldiers showed themselves quick, flexible, and well-disciplined.
…And your soldiers were concerned more with fashion and style than with fighting effectiveness.
…And you were very nearly caught out by an enemy.
» You’ve been prowling the transit highways for unguarded offworlder shipments…
…And you spotted a fine prize with only a small escort.
…And by chance you discovered that your yourself were being watched.
…And you discovered that the offworlders have doubled their escorts.
» You’ve been seeking support from the revolutionaries…
…And they demanded that you denounce your own family first.
…And you found them lax, under-coordinated, and poorly led.
…And they agreed eagerly to fight with you in return for arms and supplies.
» You’ve been taking offworlders hunting, fishing, and touring your family’s estates…
…And you contrived to abandon them in a mucky lowland place.
…And they proved bright company, cheery, appreciative, and outgoing.
…And they acted fools and boors, spoiling the sport.
» You’ve been spending time with your immediate family, trying to get a handle on what’s happening…
…And your sibling goaded you to fight more fiercely than you have been.
…And all agreed to bear these insults with patience, to be revenged in future.
…And instead you fought bitterly and split yourselves.

FACTION: THE LANDOWNERS
The Landowners are, according to Solar Union law, the rightsholders to the wealth of Bantral. You are a mobile frame ace pilot employed to defend and secure their rights.
The Landowners, their soldiers, and their officers are all your friends. Officially, the Bantraesh are your rivals, but when fights break out, they’re your enemies. The Revolutionaries are your enemies.
Choose (or make up) three attractive qualities. You’re: confident, conflicted, educated, fashionable, friendly, good-hearted, sophisticated, striking, thoughtful.
Choose a name that will be easy to remember.
Choose a company name, unit designation, or squad callsign too.
Mobile frames are the walking combat- and labor mecha that humanity brought with them to colonize the galaxy. Your mobile frame is a high-end military model, probably an Osprey, armed and armored to your exact specifications, bearing the insignia of your company and rank.
Your soldiers are like you, professional war fighters employed by the Landowners. Think of them as a military unit under your command.

LANDOWNER

» You’ve been drilling maneuvers with your squad…
…And they showed excellent discipline and team spirit.
…And they stumbled over each other like raw, uncoordinated recruits.
…And they’ve been overworked; they’re tired, sloppy, and impatient.
» You’ve been scouting and touring the region with hired Bantraesh guides…
…And they contrived to abandon you in poor and unfamiliar ground.
…And you were struck by Bantral’s marvelous vistas and untamed beauty.
…And they treated their servants with shocking high-handed cruelty.
» You’ve been patrolling, maintaining an armed presence…
…And a group sporting populist emblems threw bricks and garbage at you.
…And a child ran up to you, screaming at you to go home.
…And a company in a drinking house toasted and cheered you.
» You’ve been escorting goods and equipment along the transit highways…
…And you came under fire from afar, but continued unchecked.
…And you found and disabled a terrifyingly large bomb hidden by the roadside.
…And you enjoyed the outing in the high, gorgeous countryside.
» You’ve been off duty, drinking and relaxing with your fellow soldiers…
…And you found that you couldn’t fully relax and enjoy yourself the way they did.
…And afterward you confronted a band of angry Bantraesh, cursing you and brandishing arms.
…And the next day, revolutionaries firebombed the establishment.
» You’ve been off duty, going among the locals in civilian dress…
…And someone tried to murder you with a knife.
…And you were met not with hostility but with a kind of wary friendliness.
…And you saw an old Bantraesh noble beating an underling with a cane.
» You’ve been tracking revolutionaries and taking them into custody…
…And one escaped when her friends waylaid you on the road.
…And one begged you to let her free, which you did.
…And some of them were bearing arms stolen from the Bantraesh, or provided by them.

FACTION: THE REVOLUTIONARIES
The undeclared war between the Landowners and the Bantraesh is an opportunity for the people of Bantral to rise up. You are a revolutionary captain, a mobile frame ace pilot, fighting for freedom from both hereditary tyranny and offworld rule. It’s your opinion that the wealth of Bantral should belong to its people.
While both the Bantraesh and the Landowners are your enemies in principle, some of their more sympathetic individuals, families, and squads are your rivals and friends in practice. And while in principle the revolution is entirely your friends, in practice it contains rivals and enemies as well.
Choose (or make up) three attractive qualities. You’re: charming, dashing, devoted, down-to-earth, funny, generous, idealistic, inspiring, kind, resolute.
Choose a name that will be easy to remember.
Choose what you do, the profession or occupation of your daily life. Choose something that brings you into regular contact with the Bantraesh, the Landowners, or both.
Mobile frames are the walking combat- and labor mecha that humanity brought with them to colonize the galaxy. Your mobile frame is a repurposed labor model, probably a Hi-Leg or Commissar, much repaired, armed and armored with mismatched and makeshift systems, with no insignia except maybe a symbol of uprising, justice, or liberty.
Your soldiers are your fellow revolutionaries, working people committed to fight for their own rights and self-determination. Think of them as your friends and colleagues pushed into a desperate corner.

REVOLUTIONARY

» You’ve been quietly building support among the people of the region…
…And you had a close run-in with a Bantraesh counterintelligence agent.
…And you’re pleased with the armaments you’ve collectively amassed.
…And some of your colleagues are getting restless to strike.
» You’ve been conducting surveillance of the offworlders’ transit shipments and troop movements…
…And you expect a lightly-escorted materiel transport tonight.
…And after several assaults and losses, they’re committing double escorts.
…And you saw a friendly meeting between Bantraesh and offworld officers.
» You’ve been seeking Bantraesh support against the offworlders…
…And they dismissed you, saying that they did not need the help of rabble.
…And they promised you food, safety, and money, but not arms.
…And they demanded that you commit yourself to their cause instead.
» You’ve been seeking support from the offworlders against the Bantraesh…
…And they promised to deliver arms and intelligence in return for future loyalty.
…And they didn’t understand the situation, but made vague promises.
…And you came away with a caseful of hard cash.
» You’ve been overseeing the retrofiture of labor frames for combat…
…And it was slow, filthy, exhausting work.
…And you were pleased and impressed with the cunning work of your technicians and makeshift armorers.
…And you feel certain that the forces you must face will crush and destroy you.
» You’ve been raiding Bantraesh plants and warehouses for materiel…
…And you seized the mobile frame of a night guard.
…And you nearly blundered into a deadly ambush, but pure chance revealed it to you in time.
…And there are a dozen crates of munitions in your home, right now, visible to any who happen to look.
» You’ve been meeting with your spies in the local Bantraesh households…
…And today one of them was apprehended and missed your meeting.
…And they told you that the noble heads of the family have sold out to the offworlders after all.
…And today you didn’t keep your meeting because someone was following you.

Because of these events, there’s something about you, some detail of your mood, your actions, your appearance, that everyone else might notice. Decide what the detail is. The next game you play, say it.
Because of these events, there might be something, some news, gossip, or intelligence, that everyone else has heard. Decide whether there is. If there is, then at the beginning of the next game, whether you’re playing or not, say it.

[Outcast]

I have heard this mentioned, but never seen this much of a write-up.  An interesting setting! 

[ThisOneGal]

Yeah, I've been wanting to play a game of it for a while, but my normal group was never interested. Hopefully it picks up some traction here on e.

[GunmetalDreamer]

Oh, hey, neat.  I rather like MFZ: Firebrands, though the last time I played it the group had difficulty getting in the groove.  I'd be happy to give it another go.

[ThisOneGal]

Glad to see someone with experience likes it. Looking forward to playing with you if this gets off the ground.

[Rashol]

I'm not sure I'm the right person for this one in spite of my love of mecha. It sounds like PvP is supposed to be a thing. And that's not my thing.

[ThisOneGal]

That's fair enough. Thanks for commenting; good to know why people may not be interested.