Breaking Point Discussion

Welcome to the discussion topic for Breaking Point. This topic is for extended OOC discussion for the game, as well as profile approval. The profile form can be found below and all profiles should be posted here for approval and archival purposes.

Have fun.

Name: Self explanatory.

Age: Also fairly self explanatory.

Gender: I feel like I really don’t need to explain these first three headings; gender goes here.

Occupation: What does your character do for a living? If they’re military, please note rank here as well, bearing in mind that most of your characters aren’t going to be very high ranked.

Appearance: What does your character look like? Please be detailed. You don’t have to write a novel just about how your character looks, but please be more detailed than just jotting down a few characteristics.

Equipment: What does your character carry? Weapons, medical supplies, things of that nature go here. Also use this spot to denote possession of a Walker.

Skills: What is your character good at? Be reasonable, they’re not some unstoppable super-ace.

Personality: While I understand that personalities are hard to pin down at first, please include an overview of your character’s general behavior.

Bio: Every character has a history, and here is where you outline that. This can be incredibly detailed, or fairly basic; just please give a decent overview of their past, even if other characters will not know it.

Weakness: No one is perfect. What is your character’s weakness, be it a fatal flaw or an insufficient skill?

Profile for Arsenal Walkers:

Base Model: Even customized, all Walkers have a base frame. The ones that players can start with are outlined above. If you wish to use a custom one, that is permissible; but you have to give a fairly detailed overview, and be aware that it must fit in with other mass produced models.

Designation: Even mass produced machines need something to differentiate them. What is this specific unit called?

Appearance: Describe its appearance, with particular attention to how it differs from a stock model.

Armaments: What are its weapons? Be reasonable, and bear in mind what the model of your choice could feasibly use.

Weakness: All machines have some kind of flaw.

Pilot: Self explanatory. Who pilots it?

Fuel Depletion - Due to the higher powered thrusters, and Chloe's reckless fighting style, the Zephyr requires refueling a lot faster than other Arsenal Walkers.

Name: Frederick “Freddie” Hitcherson

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Occupation: Forward Scout for the Federation. E-3, Lance Corporal.

Appearance: Freddie is...short. Very, very short. Topping out at a whopping five-foot-three, it’s surprising he’s a military man. His hair is cropped as short as he is, making it almost hard to tell it is a light brown. His skin is oddly pale, mostly due to how much time he spends inside. Rarely is he seen without a cup of coffee in his hands, and bags under his eyes. His eyes match his hair in color, and are slightly almond-shaped. His face is oddly pudgy, though it matches his fairly stocky frame as well.

Equipment: The ARSU M-1 AW. At least one coffee cup on him at all times. A small first aid kit. A pistol. A pocket knife. Not much else, other than the clothes on his back.

Skills: Unsurprisingly, Freddie is a very, very good scout – capable of easily scoping out a situation, reporting, and maneuvering out of the situation quickly. If forced into combat, he proves a fairly accurate shot, and is adequate at melee combat as well.

Personality: The first thing one would notice about Freddie is his somewhat energetic attitude. Not bouncing off the walls, but certainly not someone who lazes around and does little. He is almost never seen without a cup of coffee, fueling his very clear addiction to caffeine. He is very loyal to most people he considers allies, and that consists of most of the people he works with.

Bio: Freddie has lived a standard life. Not too exciting, not too dull. Average student, not much going for him aside from enrolling into the military and becoming an AW pilot.
Yep, just...fairly normal life and stuff. Not too special.

Weakness: He’s short. A good short fighter will tend to lose to a good tall fighter when it comes to contests of leverage. And, while his skills within his AW are admirable in regards to combat using a knife, it oddly doesn’t transition well to him.



Base Model: FAW-014 Scout

Designation: ARSU M-1 (Armored Recon and Scouting Unit Mark-1)

Appearance: The ARSU M-1 is an incredibly bog-standard FAW-014 Scout unit. Like many of its kind, this AW lacks a significant amount of armor along most of its body. What differs it from most other Scout units? A small, square box can be seen on the outside of each leg, each holding a vibroknife to be used in hand-to-hand combat. The boxes can deploy the respective vibroknife quickly, allowing for ready use in combat situations. The mech is painted a muted grey and green color – decent enough camouflage from aerial units for the pilot, at least. The sensor array located on the head is slightly less armored than usual, allowing for more sensitive and telescoping viewing.

Armaments: One (1) AW-grade carbine, designed specifically for mid-ranged combat. It fires off a burst of two (2) bullets at a time. Two (2) vibroknives, in case one gets lost during combat. Enough (???) AP, AW-grade rounds for previously mentioned carbine, to combat vehicles and other Arsenal Walkers.

Weakness: The ARSU M-1 is not the best AW in terms of direct combat. While it is capable of engaging opponents at decent range, its rifle is not powerful enough to stop much of anything without a few solid rounds to it.

Pilot: Freddie Hitcherson
 

Name: Susan Geraldine Bellona Dreary

Age: 26

Gender: female

Occupation: AW Pilot, anti-aircraft (dogfighting) specialization. Lance Corporal (E-3).

Appearance: 170 cm. 65 kg. Brown hair (bob cut), brown eyes, fair skin. Very shapely and well-toned physique. Almost always either in dress uniform or in a g-suit. Face almost always wearing a smile.

Equipment: FAW-022 Raptor, Survival Kit, KA-BAR, Handgun (9mm)

Skills: Susan specializes in piloting aerial vehicles, having originally trained to become an airplane pilot before the introduction of the FAW-022. She has experience with many airplane models as well as with helicopters.

Personality: Off-duty, Susan is polite, professional, and pleasant to be around. When in combat, however... Let's just say the heat of battle brings out the worst aspects of her personality. Namely, urges to utterly annihilate every single enemy in sight. Notably, she only becomes a raging, sadistic monster when on the battlefield; tick her off anywhere else and she maintains perfect, if irritated and sarcastic, decorumm

Bio: Born to a family of pilots, Susan grew up around planes. Her dream as a child was to become a pilot, joining the air force go learn how to fly a plane. Learning quickly, she ended up as one of the Federation's rising stars, going from transport pilot to combat specialist in a few short years. Due to her performance record, she was among the pilots selected to test the new Arsenal Walker model FAW-022... And she's been stuck with it since.

Weakness: Susan is not really a ground combat specialist. While she is very good in the air, she has trouble with simple tasks like walking and coordinating the arms of the mech (though she suspects that might be a hardware problem).

Status: DESTROYED

Base Model: FAW-022 Raptor

Designation: NaF-22 (Not an F-22)

Appearance: NaF has been painted in a blueish grey color similar to that of a military jet fighter.

Armaments: Rifle (100mm mech version of M1 Garand), Head-mounted Vulcan Guns (20mm), Combat Knives, Missiles x8 (AIM-120 AMRAAM x6, AIM-9 Sidewinder x2)

Weakness: Susan suspects that some of the fly-by-wire systems in her AW are defective. While no problems have been detected so far in airplane mode, in bipedal mode Susan finds it hard to balance and move around. Or maybe she's just paranoid about falling over and/or tripping over something. Regardless, she tends to stick in airplane mode and in the air a lot.

Pilot: Susan

Ladies and gentlemen, The Beat has dropped. (Xae is coming with Reggie eventually. I promise. )

Base Model: FAW-016A Gunner
Designation: Молот Тора (pronounced Molot Tora)‏. Means the Hammer of Thor‏ in Russian, has been 'affectionately' named MTV or The Beat. Most often referred to as the latter names if the person's been around the base long enough. In fact, Ethan has joked about being able to tell when a newbie comes in just by listening to what they call the mech.
Appearance: The Beat is a large mech, as is to be expected with a FAW-016A Gunner, towering over the pilots below at a solid 25m (excluding additional height from railgun aiming). Atypical for a FAW-016A, The Beat features dual railguns protruding over both shoulders. For those less inclinded to decode the words, it has a total of four railguns. Needless to say, firing all four at once basically kills the mech. More often, the dual dual railguns are used for increasing the rate of fire to roughly double that of a normal Gunner, though this is at the cost of more time spent immobile. Missile pods are located in the shoulders, featuring the standard heat-seeking explosives, with a few varients depending on the battle. Miniguns are located on the mech's wrists, manly used for firing on non-armored combatants.

For defense while immobile, beyond any escort mechs that The Beat may have, there are also six automated .50 caliber machine guns mounted at various points across The Beat’s armor. Two are located on the upper arms, another two are located on the knees, and there is a pair for the feet. These turrets use a mech’s IFF to determine hostility, and take a few seconds to fire in case a friendly mech has their IFF disabled for any reason.

MTV uses an axe for melee, much like other Gunners, however the blade of the axe is a chain. This allows MTV to dig into and cut through armoring or trees much easier, however the chain is very noisy and cannot always be on, forcing it to be actively turned on a few seconds before its cutting ability comes to fruition.

The Молот Тора's most unique system is the MASS, the Movable Anchoring Spiked System. Looking almost like the bottom of a cleat, plates of MASS armoring cover the mech's soles, knees, elbows, and hands, notably the front of the hands and fingers rather than the palm. The impressive thing about the MASS is that the spikes of the 'cleat' have a limited range of movement, varying from very little for the knees, elbows, and soles, mainly to extend to grip into soil or retract to pick up. However, the MASS on the hands have some amount of movement in an almost joystick fashion, tilting to sides and coming together to help to clamp around smaller objects, as the sides of the spikes are covered in the same rough, gripping material as the tops. Combined, this makes the Молот Тора a very stable mech when it's in its typical three-point landing firing stance.

Lastly are the cameras located on top and as scopes on the railguns. The camera on top is wired down to Reggie's seat so that she can make sure nobody's coming in from above, while the cameras on the scopes are used by Ethan to help with aiming. Notably, though, it is a dark blue all over, with gunmetal and silver elements cropping up across the frame. Notable instances of these metallic elements are the mech’s shoulder-mounted missile pods, retractable wrist miniguns, quad railguns, and MASS. The Beat’s paintjob is far from uniform, though, having been beaten up and damaged many, many times, and has therefore very obviously been repainted innumerable times.
Armaments:
Two sets of FAW-016 railguns, one pair over either shoulder

6x auto .50 machine guns. Located on the upper arm, knee, and foot for both left and right sides of the Beat.
Shoulder-mounted heat-seeking missile pods (May be switched for other kinds of missile depending on mission)
Wrist-mounted GAU-8 Avengers, firing 30mm depleted uranium rounds
Standard Gunner axe, with an additional chainsaw blade in the axe’s blade.
The MASS, or “Movable Anchoring Spiked System.” A series of movable spikes on the Beat’s knuckles, elbows, knees and soles (knees and soles).
Additional cameras. Not the best feed, but there’s one for either pair of railguns for aiming, and a third on a 360 degree pan-tilt mount Reggie can look through to watch the Beat’s back.

Hidden from sight and unmaintained, The Beat still has a functional, though certainly not optimized or well-polished, electrical surge protection system. A remnant of Молот Тора's original pilots and modifications, it would at the least allow the mech to safely move live electrical wiring without negative repercussions and possibly even remain functioning through an EMP blast, though that is more than debatable at this point. 
Weakness: The Beat is slow. Like, really slow. It's easily outpaced by any other mech, trucks, and sometimes even sprinting humans. In addition, its shoulders are less armored than usual to accomodate the four railguns, and the insides of the knees and elbows are a vital weakness in terms of both the arm and the MASS armoring connections. Plus, with the amount of explosives it carries, if a major hit was to impact it at the very beginning of a battle, there is a real danger of the entire thing just imploding on itself. The cameras are also relatively vernerable, being able to be blown out with a good shot from a handheld rifle.
Pilots: Rejiva in the main seat, controlling movement, while Ethan is the main gunner. These roles are variable and flexible, but overall it follows those general roles.

Base Model: FAW-007G Warrior

Designation: Koschei the Sightless, but also called “Smoky the Bear” for the smoke grenades it uses

Appearance: Koschei is painted in a uniform white color, coupled with red trim and markings. The other most notable departures from the normal Warrior on Koschei are its grenade tubes mounted on each shoulder, and the armored transport pods on its back for bringing wounded pilots away from the front lines.

Armaments: A mech sized (30mm) handgun, standard Warrior machete, support munitions (White Phosporous smoke screen grenades, chaff, flares, flashbangs. Each munition has eight shots per deployment, four per set of tubes.), armored transport pods mounted on the mech’s back that can be used for moving injured pilots back to the rear lines, or for carrying supplies to the front lines.

Weakness: Koschei the Sightless’ primary weakness is its lack of actual weaponry beyond the handgun included for self-defense, due to its role as support and retrieval. Otherwise, the joints in the arms of Koschei are exceptionally delicate, due to the precise movements the transport pods’ contents can require, making them notable weak points.

Pilot: Andrei Isidorov

Andrei and his mech, as well as the edited Beat, approved.

Name: Samantha Aife

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Occupation: Lance Corporal / E-3. AW Engineer/Mechanic specializing in weapons systems

Appearance: Tall (176cm) and lean, dark and outdoorsy complexion (some dark freckles). Olive skin, green eyes and dark straight hair, kept neat and shoulder length, worn in a bun when on duty. Usually found in standard issue military uniform, forgoing the long sleeved top for a black T-shirt while performing mechanic work. Off duty wardrobe consists of various styles of clothing with a consistent muted ivory and navy color scheme

Equipment:

• Scathath (Arsenal Walker)
• Satchel containing several multipurpose multitools for working on Walkers
• Colt Python .357 Magnum
• Downscaled personnel version of Scathath's TUCK
• Shoulder holster for the above two items

Skills: Great shot, fairly athletic and eleven years of working on, in and around Walkers

Personality: Serious and dedicated to anything she sets her mind to, she finds it difficult to deal with orders or decisions she didn't make or doesn't approve of. People count themselves lucky if her goals and plans align with their own. Has a bit of a major sugar and ice dichotomy going on

Bio: A tinkerer, tomboy and overall incredibly precocious child, she found it incredibly hard to be satisfied with things and was always on the search for how to "improve" them. She did not grow out of these traits, but rather they became more overwhelming and she became involved with a local gang and their small time drug and weapons trafficking. By seventeen she was facing a litany of charges. Because of her intelligence, street smarts and mechanical aptitude, she was offered parole pending good behavior with the stipulation she enroll in the military and one of it's new AW oriented branches. She agreed and was released on her eighteenth birthday. Eleven years later, she has made quite the name for herself for both her infamously abrasive and promotion-proof personality and quirks and her incredible knack for Walker maintenance, repair and weapons development

Weakness: Minor issues with teamwork, mainly relying on others. Acute anosmia

Base Model: FAW-007

Designation: Scathath

Appearance: Dark urban camo paintjob. The only notable difference it has from a standard 007 is it's (perhaps excessively) streamlined design

Armaments:

• Tactical Utility/Combat Knife. A melee weapon resembling an oversized utility knife. It is a vibrating blade type weapon that has a sectional blade stored in the handle, capable of extending from 20cm to 140cm in 20cm increments, the sections can be snapped off with a sharp angled twist. Some could call it a weakness, but it allows for disengagement from situations that would otherwise leave a melee weapon stuck and useless, they could also be jammed into Walker joints and snapped off, preventing full movement capabilities. The holster that contains the weapon contains four replacement blades
• Standard FAW-007 Combat Rifle, modified for more fire power at the expense of full auto firing capabilities
• Three anti-walker flashbang grenades

Weakness: Scathath is not designed for underwater combat

Pilot: Samantha Aife

Name: Sofia “Scar” Scarlett.

Age: 23.

Gender: Female.

Occupation: Forward Scout, Lance Corporal (E3). Also dabbles in botany.

Appearance: Around 5 foot 4, Sofia is slim and wiry, usual opting for a more casual outfit of loose black jeans, grey T-shirt and a green-dyed leather jacket. Her dark hair is usually kept tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail, and her eyes are a vibrant green colour. She has numerous scars from her accident, the most prominent of which is a crescent-shaped mark on her right cheek. She has a smaller gash next to her left eye, which she usually hides behind her sunglasses.

Equipment: The Riscatto. A pair of aviator sunglasses with red-tinged lenses, a semi-automatic 9mm Luger handgun which uses ten round magazines, and a pair of kukri knives kept in an X-shaped sheath on her lower back, specifically designed and weighted for throwing. In addition to these, she owns a mobile phone, digital watch and a radio earpiece.

Skills: She has trained extensively in unarmed and hand-to-hand combat to compensate for her injury, and has excellent scores on the firing range with numerous weapons. In addition, she has exhibited an extensive knowledge of all kinds of plant life, able to name and describe most forms of flora from memory.

Personality: Despite having the appearance of a battle-hardened soldier, she’s still a rookie, and has yet to be part of any real combat operations. Determined to prove her worth, and encouraging to others who do the same, she is usually open and friendly, albeit a little reserved about her past.

Bio: Born in Italy as Sofia Nicolette, she started working with Arsenal Walkers at the age of 21, but early on in her training she was hospitalised when the Walker she was piloting malfunctioned and crashed itself into a barracks. She and the other victims were compensated for their injuries and she spent the next year recuperating before applying to join the garrison at Horizon. After being accepted, she changed her name, and did her best to put her past behind her, logic dictating that the chances of her winding up with another malfunctioning mech were incredibly slim.  

Base Model: FAW-014 Scout.

Designation: Riscatto – Italian for Redemption.

Appearance: Painted in varying shades of green with crimson highlights, it’s been modified for maximum speed and manoeuvrability at the cost of defensive capabilities – its lightweight armour being completely ineffective against most mech-sized weaponry.  

Armaments: An upsized falcata sword, and a mech-sized semi-auto rifle that fires 30mm HEAT rounds held in fifteen-round magazines. It can also carry up to three “Thorns”: explosive devices of Sofia’s own design. Simple metal spikes packed with plastic explosive, they can be stabbed like a stake into a surface and will detonate – with the explosion directed towards the spiked end – a few seconds after the button on the end is pressed. Useful for crippling enemy Walkers or breaking through obstacles.  

Weakness: Fast-moving and manoeuvrable, its armour – as mentioned above – provides very little protection against anything bigger than a standard assault rifle or machinegun. As well as this, the positioning of the cockpit and lack of additional cameras means the pilot’s visual range is somewhat limited.

Pilot: Sofia. 

test team 4 assemble

I don't see anything wrong with Samantha or Sofia. Unless Blade has any objections, both approved.

Hey everybody. I just happened to see this RPG on the board and I was wondering about giving it a try. I'd just like to make sure I have a clear idea what I'm getting into first.

So from the looks of it, this is some sort of military-type RPG where we're playing as characters caught in some kind of interplanetary war. We're all playing as characters in this city environment that I assume is supposed to be located somewhere on Earth (it is, right?). I presume that we're all caught in the middle of this war or political intrigue or whatever the conflict is. That's about right, isn't it?

It's a super robot show cleverly disguised as a game.

Hello, Atton. Most of the questions you have are outlined in the first post of the game topic, but to give brief answers... The game is a military-type game, in large part, though that is largely due to the main draw of the game rather than a necessity for characters to be military. Space colonies were established thirty years ago, tensions are currently high between them and Earth, with the threat of war hanging over everyone's heads.

Setting is, for the moment, the city of Horizon which grew up around a Mass Driver. Primary weapons for war are the Arsenal Walkers, which are basically 20m-ish mecha. 

Feel free to ask any more specific questions you might have, and I would recommend taking a look over the RPG first post. Particularly the intro and the technology section.

I've already read the first post, I just wanted to make sure I understood it correctly. I think it's making a little bit more sense but I don't suppose I could get some clarification on what exactly a "mass driver" is? I also feel like I should ask how hard the science is going to be in this RPG. It doesn't look like we're going to go into full space opera mode just yet but I get the feeling it's not going to be perfectly realistic at the same time.

Okay, I've got some ideas for a character. I'll just need to think of a backstory. I don't suppose anyone has any advice on what is the best way to go about creating one?

A mass driver is a method of launching things into space. Specifically, an electromagnetic catapult that works more or less the same way as a rail or coilgun; it is just used for launching ships into space instead of launching bullets. As for how hard the science is going to be... Somewhere around the middle of the spectrum. Things aren't going to be pulled out with no explanation for what has happened, but the explanation for what happened won't always be completely accurate to science. 

The tech of the game is a good example; all of it is rooted in plausible science, but the concepts are largely theoretically, or potentially exaggerated. EM Drives have a basis in science, but it is an unproven and relatively untested one. The power cores sufficiently small and powerful enough to be used by a Walker also have their basis in sound concepts, but not ones that have been tested all that much or proven to be correct. Rule of Cool is rarely in effect, but at the end of the day realism is secondary to having fun. Within reason, that is.

Yes, Raz, Xaeraz, and Zak. I'm looking at all of you.

As for making a character, I would recommend taking a look through what other people have made. If you have any questions, Blade and I would be happy to answer them.

As for making a character, I would recommend taking a look through what other people have made. If you have any questions, Blade and I would be happy to answer them.

Okay, then. I think I'll still need some time to think about it, but perhaps I could write down the ideas I do have and get some feedback on those. Maybe that will help me think of something for backstory. There's a couple other areas I still need to figure out as well so let's see what I can come up with:

Name: Casey Maxwell

Age: 30

Gender: Female 

Occupation: Navy SEAL*, Colour Sergeant, part-time drill instructor

Appearance: Tall, thin. Almost never seen out of uniform**. She keeps her hair cut short and often stands firm.

Equipment: She almost always keeps a pistol at her side, but she is willing to shoulder an assault rifle when necessary.

Skills: The standard skills that could come from someone of her experience; these include traits such as hand-to-hand combat, sharpshooting, bayoneting, as well as agility and strength. She is also very good at ordering people around and for this reason is sometimes tasked with training new recruits in her spare time.

Personality: Tough and strict. Though she is not totally without emotions or humanity, one would not immediately guess it by looking at her. She is rough on those beneath her ranks, and often gets aggressive. Because of this, she is not a favorite among the enlisted soldiers, but her skills make up for that.

Bio: 

Weakness: Because of her no-nonsense attitude and her harsh treatment of other soldiers, Casey is not very good at social interaction, or discussing anything outside of military tactics.

*They still have SEALs in the future, right? I don't know. I've just recently found myself wanting to write a female SEAL. If not, is there some other sort of special ops group that serves a similar function?

** I'm assuming that military uniforms in this world don't look that much different from today. If there have been any changes I would appreciate some clarification in this regard.

Given that I have to follow my own rules, the following is approved by Blade.

Atton, I'll edit in some comments shortly.

Name: Benjamin Armbruster

Age: 24

Gender: Male.

Occupation: AW Pilot, E3, Engineer . Assigned to AWOL Test Team 4

Appearance: Roughly average height (which is to say, hovering at around six feet), Benjamin is of a fairer complexion than one would expect for a resident of Horizon. Being a pilot he has to maintain a proper level of fitness, but his build is more lean than muscular. Blue-eyed and brown-haired, Ben usually wears the Federation Armed Forces uniform with a partially (or fully) undone coat to avoid getting anything on the uniform while working on his machine. Ben is actually relatively handsome and friendly-looking, if you can get him to stop staring at a control panel or computer for a while. Usually has a standard Federation sidearm holstered at his side, along with a tablet computer for diagnostic work.

Off-duty he dresses in relatively inconspicuous garb, usually jeans and a t-shirt for casual wear, given the warmer climate.

Equipment:

-FAW-007[GD]

-Standard Issue Federation Sidearm

-Tablet Computer

-Federation Comm Unit

Skills: Benjamin is a reasonably skilled pilot, in theory. With only one actual real combat engagement over his career, most of his demonstrated comes in the form of simulated combat. With a degree in Engineering, specializing in Walkers and their weapons, he found himself transferred to the Test Team after more than a few requests for materials to work with. Transfer to the Test Team was the only real way to actually grant him a degree of freedom with his work, as well as move it somewhere that it wouldn’t damage service equipment if a test didn’t quite pan out. Also a decent shot with a gun, though not quite so much as when inside a Walker.

Personality: Benjamin is friendly, if occasionally a bit eccentric. His sleeping hours are odd, his ideas for modifications are occasionally thought up at extreme hours of the night, and he seems to find his job to be almost as much play as it is work. His nose is often buried in a simulation or the chassis of a Walker (usually his own) working on his latest idea. That said, he can be fairly personable and talkative when he’s not working. Seems to have the almost amusing habit of lapsing further and further into his native (German) language when aggravated, starting with the accent before slipping all the way back into the language.

Bio: Born and raised in Germany, one of the Federation’s first member states, Benjamin had always had a fondness for tinkering. Computers, cars, almost anything that could be taken apart and (maybe) put back together was fair game. Though his field of study changed numerous times in his mind, it was always some kind of engineering. Similarly he had always planned on attending college and going into the workforce afterwards.

Joining the Federation Armed Forces, in truth, had been about going to college. By enlisting for a few years, his tuition would be paid. He was transferred to Panama almost immediately after enlisting, and spent the first few years of his career attending a university in Horizon as well as serving on the Federation base. It was there that he decided, once and for all, that he was going to work with Walkers. They fascinated him, and he wasted no time in ensuring he learned as much about them as he could. Shortly before he finished his Bachelor's Degree, he had reached another conclusion; working on a military base excited him. After finishing his degree, he changed his plans to enlist in the military for the foreseeable future. On what should have been a routine assignment along the border of a non-member state, he had his first (and only) taste of real combat when an “unsanctioned” assault by the state’s military led to a brief border skirmish.

He has been stationed at Horizon’s Federation Armed Forces base for several years, though he was only transferred to the Test Team a little under two years ago, shortly after finishing his degree.

Weakness: Benjamin, while quite knowledgeable about how mechs are assembled, has only the most minimal knowledge of how humans are put together. If someone is injured, Ben’s knowledge will be very limited. Secondly, while a good shot with a gun, he is a mediocre close-range combatant at best. Disarm him or get too close and he will be on the back foot.

Profile for Arsenal Walkers:

Base Model: FAW-007[G] Warrior

Designation: FAW-007[GD] Vernichten (The designation “GD” stands for “Ground Destroyer”, though it has been noted to share its initials with one the words most commonly said when something goes wrong with it.)

Appearance: Painted primarily in a matte silver, the Vernichten is accented in midnight blue. Despite some minor signs of wear and tear, the Warrior is kept in top working order at all times. It has, for the most part, been made sleeker than the standard model, and painted to minimize the risk of reflecting the sun. The first, most obvious deviation from the norm are the gunmetal gray additions attached to its shoulders. Though integrated smoothly, their presence is clear. Caution labels are printed clearly on each devices’ surface, with caution paint lining their edge. Second most notably is the head unit, being of a non-standard design with green, eye-like sensors underneath a prominent, forehead mounted visor. Lastly, something only really noted once one circles around to the back, is a large, hose-like cable protruding from near the Vernichten’s thrusters, the end of which is carefully stored near its waist.

Armaments:

-PTX-03C Marksman’s Rifle: Long-barreled rifle, semi-automatic. Maintains a higher rate of fire than a sniper rifle, while also maintaining a longer range than an assault rifle. Customized by Benjamin for use with the Vernichten; miniaturizing the coilgun systems used on larger machines, the rifle derives the relatively small amount of power needed from a battery stored within its chassis. Rechargeable from the Warrior’s power core by way of the cable, this potential connection serves one more notable function; by connecting directly to the Vernichten’s power core, the PTX’s range and power are vastly increased. They remain, however, well below the power of a Gunner’s main guns; the PTX’s boost serves for a more powerful, more pinpoint shot than what is normally available. This comes, however, at the cost of both rate of fire and a shared detriment with the Warriors. While connected, the Vernichten cannot move without interrupting the power connection.

-Heat machete

-120mm Smoothbore Shotgun: Usually issues with Scouts, serves as the Vernichten’s backup weapon. Loaded only with canister shots, rather than the variety usually afforded to those using it as a primary.

-Shield: Standard issue riot shield, modified with spikes towards the bottom enabling the Vernichten to stab it into the ground for stationary cover. Stores both the Vernichten’s heat machete and its backup shotgun on the interior.

-Missile Banks: One set on either side of the Vernichten’s shoulders. Designed to lock onto a target location and fire, the missiles do not possess heat seeking capabilities. They are, instead, designed to be effective as a swarm. Though they can be fired one at a time, they lack for effectiveness against anything but stationary targets this way. Once fired, the launchers cannot be reloaded in the field, and are instead released from the Vernichten’s shoulders by a manual switch inside the cockpit. Eight per side. Slows the Vernichten down while attached, for this reason are usually fired in a single salvo before being discarded.

Weakness: So long as the missile banks are attached, the Vernichten is slower than normal. Once the launchers are purged it resumes normal speed, slightly above average for a Warrior, but its primary weakness remains the same; the power cable that enables the PTX-03C’s recharging and powerup causes a weak point in its armor. A direct hit to the point where the cable connects to the Warrior runs a real risk of breaching the power core, and thus causing the reactor to instantly shut down, leaving Benjamin in a useless machine.

Pilot: Benjamin Armbruster

rejected x1

armbrusterbaxtered [2]

-Tyler

thank you for the buffer posts folks

because those were obviously intentional

Anyway, Atton: The only two flaws here, firstly, are that you kind of have the wrong military. Military characters for this particular games are from the Federation Armed Forces, rather than a country-specific military. A group similar to the SEALS might exist, but they wouldn't be named such. Secondly, her rank would be a bit too high. With one exception due to necessity of the posting, characters have been around the E3 rank mark. It's plausible, and allowable, that Casey would be further up, but maybe not quite that much.

thank you for the buffer posts folks

because those were obviously intentional

 

Anyway, Atton: The only two flaws here, firstly, are that you kind of have the wrong military. Military characters for this particular games are from the Federation Armed Forces, rather than a country-specific military. A group similar to the SEALS might exist, but they wouldn't be named such. Secondly, her rank would be a bit too high. With one exception due to necessity of the posting, characters have been around the E3 rank mark. It's plausible, and allowable, that Casey would be further up, but maybe not quite that much.

Okay, good. At least we got that cleared up. Now if I'm understanding this military ranking system correctly that limits most players to anywhere between corporal and private. Let's try this again.

Name: Casey Maxwell

Age: 30

Gender: Female 

Occupation: Special Forces, Lance Corporal, part-time drill instructor

Appearance: Tall, thin. Almost never seen out of uniform**. She keeps her hair cut short and often stands firm.

Equipment: She almost always keeps a pistol at her side, but she is willing to shoulder an assault rifle when necessary.

Skills: The standard skills that could come from someone of her experience; these include traits such as hand-to-hand combat, sharpshooting, bayoneting, as well as agility and strength. She is also very good at ordering people around and for this reason is sometimes tasked with training new recruits in her spare time.

Personality: Tough and strict. Though she is not totally without emotions or humanity, one would not immediately guess it by looking at her. She is rough on those beneath her ranks, and often gets aggressive. Because of this, she is not a favorite among the enlisted soldiers, but her skills make up for that.

Bio: Casey has been through thick and thin, as an experienced member of the armed forces. She is often reluctant to talk about her pass in any extensive detail, though it is known that her family does have a military background and Casey has been through some difficult experiences.

Weakness: Because of her no-nonsense attitude and her harsh treatment of other soldiers, Casey is not very good at social interaction, or discussing anything outside of military tactics.

I'm not quite certain on things.

For one, Casey's profile is barebones beyond even the basics(Hair colour? Eye colour? What's that?), and just seems like it could use a revisal.

Secondly, you state that she's rough on people beneath her rank, when she's the same rank as the other enlisted people in the RPG currently? Seems a bit like it could use a rephrasing, there.

Secondly, you state that she's rough on people beneath her rank, when she's the same rank as the other enlisted people in the RPG currently? Seems a bit like it could use a rephrasing, there.

That was probably the result of her originally being conceived as being a Colour Sergeant, but I had to change it when I was told that rank was considered too high (though I could make her a sergeant if that's considered acceptable). It was also my understanding that as a Lance Corporal she would have some authority over the soldiers, even if it was mainly privates. 

I'll work on revising her appearance. There's still a few details I need to figure out.

Name: Lukas De la Rosa

Age: 29

Gender: Masculine / Male

Occupation: Field Medic / Doctor / Poet / Lost Soul / Traveling Man / Certified Surgeon I Swear

Appearance: Attractive, as vouched for by himself.  At a meter seventy-eight, he doesn't cut the most imposing figure, something which his, admittedly exceptional, lean musculature doesn't help.  This, with his relaxed posture, only adds to his overall lanky appearance.  His features are soft and expressive, full lips, downturned nose, not overly sharp bone structure, though he has his mother's angled, dark eyes.  His complexion is somewhat tanned and noticeably olive, with thick, dark hair, generally kept just long enough to show that it is in fact wavy, and nearly black eyes.  Generally wears white medical jacket when on duty, and vest and pants when not.  Keeps himself neat, with a clean shave.  Needs contacts, prefers glasses.

Equipment: Standard issue combat pistol, ID, ballpoint, comm, occasionally is allowed to use a modified Arsenal Walker.

Skills: He's got a Doctorate in both Fine Art (with a focus in written arts) and medicine, not that either are really recognized by the greater educational body of the Federation.  Nonetheless, he's got sufficient practice in both, giving him a sharp mind and ability to think on the fly.

Personality: Relaxed, nonchalant, and easily amused.  His intellect rarely shows through in the best of times, save when he's working.  Appreciates life for what it is and not what it could be.

Bio: As far as he knows he was born in Japan, somewhere, at least the records show that his mother was Japanese.  Not that he cares all that much, as he was raised in the colony New Berlin, located at Mars' fifth Lagrange Point, by his father's sister, who didn't really know his mother.  His aunt worked as a technician in the far out colony, and her near constant work gave him ample amounts of freedom within the enclosed habitat.  And even beyond, as he took every opportunity to transfer from one colony to the next.  It was here that he got his medical education, and while Earth-based academics may not recognize the “degree” as valid, the fact that he obtained it when he was seventeen attests to his studiousness, if nothing else.  Seventeen in Earth years, that is.  Five years back he finally made his way to Earth, and despite the smell of the place, stayed long enough to land himself a job as a civilian contractor with the Federation base at Horizon.

Weakness: He can shoot a rifle and knows enough about anatomy to know where to hit someone to make them stop moving, but his martial skills are lacking.

Base Model: FAW-014 Scout

Designation: Cielos Azules

Appearance: Slightly more robust than the standard Scout model, though only through the additional mechanical supports and quick lock joint clamps.  It's rather new looking, with stark white plastic composite armor built to provide protection against impacts rather than heavy arms fire.  Yellow and black hazard patterns adorn its armored limbs and torso.

Armaments: Other than a standard 212 mm recoilless rifle built into the machine's right forearm, it lacks any dedicated offensive weaponry, instead being packed with tools and mechanics for search and rescue operations.  Heavy duty actuators allow it to precisely lift objects far heavier than its own weight, while a multitude of smaller appendages fold out from the walker's chest, like some giant insect.  Each has fine manipulators or specific cutting implements.  A heavy duty mining grade cutting laser is affixed to the left arm of the machine, for cutting through rubble or the armor of a downed Arsenal Walker.  Like most Scouts, it does possess jets, though these allow more precise hovering and VTOL-like maneuvering than bursts of speed.

Weakness: Not equipped for combat.

Pilot: Lukas De la Rosa

I see no issues, Lukas approved, unless Blade catches something I missed.

This Lukas fellow seems like quite the character. Maybe once I get my profile approved we can meet up somehow.

Okay, let's try this again. Take three:

Name: Casey Maxwell

Age: 30

Gender: Female 

Occupation: Special Forces, Sergeant, part-time drill instructor

Appearance: Tall, thin. Almost never seen out of uniform, which usually consists of standard-issue combat fatigues (barring circumstances which necessitate her wearing combat armor). She also has little concern for her appearance. Her raven hair is usually cut extremely short for reasons of practicality, and she rarely if ever applies makeup.

Equipment: She almost always keeps a pistol at her side, but she is willing to shoulder an assault rifle when necessary.

Skills: The standard skills that could come from someone of her experience; these include traits such as hand-to-hand combat, sharpshooting, bayoneting, as well as agility and strength. She is also very good at ordering people around and for this reason is sometimes tasked with training new recruits in her spare time.

Personality: Tough and strict. Though she is not totally without emotions or humanity, one would not immediately guess it by looking at her. She is rough on those beneath her ranks, and often gets aggressive. Because of this, she is not a favorite among the enlisted soldiers, but her skills make up for that.

Bio: Casey has been through thick and thin, as an experienced member of the armed forces. She doesn't talk much about her past, mainly because it matters little to her. She once had a loving family, but her experiences in special forces took their toll on her mind and quickly brought an end to that. All that Casey understands now is military protocol, and as far as she is concerned the army is all she has left. 

Weakness: Because of her no-nonsense attitude and her harsh treatment of other soldiers, Casey is not very good at social interaction, or discussing anything outside of military tactics.

nothing to see here, folks; move along now

-The One and Only-

Name: Guinevere “Gwen” Talal [nee Tylers]

Age: 25

Gender: Feminine / Female

Occupation: AW Engineer / Battlefield Mechanic / E3 Lance-Corporal / Licensed QT

Appearance: Fairly average, all around. 5’8”, reasonably muscular given her hands-on profession, no distinguishing scars, with a complexion that skews towards darker. She has one tattoo running down the length of her left shoulder blade reading, “There was, in the oldness of time…,” and another running down her right which reads, “3.14159...,” both in black ink. Her face is pretty, albeit unremarkable, with her startling green eyes and her hair being its two most distinguishing marks; black, for the most part, short, untamed and sticking up in odd directions, flecked with various different colours, as though she kept experimenting with dying it different colours but could never settle on one choice.

Equipment:

- The Ghastly Cutie [mech]

- Federation comlink

- Toolbelt with sundry small repair tools

- The Ex-Boyfriend [semi-automatic pistol]

- Pilot goggles

Skills: Excellent mechanic, steady hand in battlefield repairs, decent shot and decent combat ability w/ mech. Good people skills, depending on who you ask.

Personality: Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Bubbly, friendly, excitable, and has unusual ways of making connections in her brain. Also somewhat mercurial, being able to switch from wild and crazy to sullen and sulky to stoic and determined to smiley and cheerful to devastated and depressed at the drop of a hat. Loves loves loves machines, forms bonds with others with supernatural speed and fortitude. Proud person.

Bio: The daughter of a technology magnate, Gwen grew up in surrounded by gears and gadgets and without many worries about finances and day-to-day survival to distract her from plunging head-first into the study of machines. When the Arsenal Walkers were first introduced, the precocious eighteen-year-old genius with stacks of comic books and manga in her bedroom responded in about the way you would expect: she was one of the first people to sign up as a military engineer because ~ GIANT ROBOTS ~ !

This caused a bit of schism between the eighteen-year-old girl going into military service and her understandably-concerned parents.

Weakness: Little combat ability outside of her mech, makes rash decisions where her friends are concerned.

Base Model: FAW-014 Scout

Designation: The Ghastly Cutie

Appearance: Mostly unchanged, save regarding the addition of armaments; the outer plating of the Cutie is painted a dark green, with under-armour being midnight black. TYLERS written in thick white lettering across its upper back, with TALAL written in the same script coming down from the T in the former name. A set of small thrusters are on the back of its legs, allow the Cutie to “jump” short distances.

Armaments: Two vibro-combat knives, two mech-sized (30mm) handguns, “dazzlers” on each shoulder, which, when triggered, flash a sequence of light intended to temporarily disorient those who see it.

Weakness: Lacks the durability or weaponry of larger mechs.

Pilot: Guinevere “Gwen” Talal

-Void

 O H M Y G O D Y E S

Oh, okay, this looks like an interesting new character, the sort of raw recruit fresh out of training. 

Both Casey and Gwen, after discussing them with Blade, are approved.

Yay! Now I can finally get started.

It was dark in the square, about as dark as it could get in a colony built in outer space.

Um what???

If she's actually with the Federation, they ain't in space, at least not on colonies.

And, uh. it's kinda. not dark. Because artificial sun.

Also, those methods are kinda, you know, a bit. abusive. Beyond drill sergeant or anything.

 

It was dark in the square, about as dark as it could get in a colony built in outer space.

 

Um what???

 

If she's actually with the Federation, they ain't in space, at least not on colonies.

 

And, uh. it's kinda. not dark. Because artificial sun.

 

Also, those methods are kinda, you know, a bit. abusive. Beyond drill sergeant or anything.

 

Oh, okay, I think I misunderstood Riku's explanation of what a mass driver was. So it's more like a space port, then?

Horizon is a city that contains a spaceport, yes. A mass driver is the mechanism used to propel spacecraft off of Earth.

Okay, that makes a bit more sense. Maybe I should go back and edit that detail.

I've read some terrible BDSM stuff in my day but man