-Kopaka Mata, BIONICLE Comic 1: The Coming of the Toa
Alright, my first attempt at an RP! Woohoo!
First, a reminder, since the chat didn't seem to take the news too well the last time I mentioned it- The Sword is but the Focus is largely based on a bunch of writing and brainstorming I've been doing for the past few years. Now, do take note that I said "based on"- as in, the RP isn't necessarily canon unless it proves compatible and everyone involved is okay with it. Otherwise, for all intents and purposes you can consider it a standalone setting, unattached to any predetermined plotlines, free to go off the rails as the players see fit. Hell, you don't even need to read the huge-ass chunk of backstory in the later half of the page; the only required reading is the tl;dr information Tohrinha helped me compile the other day (thanks soooooo much for that, by the way), located below:
tl;dr wrote:All of the player characters in this RP are Myrmidons, which are essentially two-meter-tall (on average) biomechanical mages created from exposing a specific variety of plastic figurines to a particularly weird form of magic. Their creator, titled the Boss, is a similar creation (albeit without the imposing biomechanical body) that deserted his own creator (referred to as “the Student” for clarity hereafter) and found a demonic master sealed deep beneath the planet’s surface; with his help, he learned how to use magic and create an entire army.
As of late, the Forged, a rebel faction of free-willed Myrmidons, have joined forces with the Student and conducted numerous raids on Myrmidon-connected facilities. Currently, both sides have taken major losses. Many of the Boss’s factories have been destroyed, as have many human organizations in his thrall, but the Student recently sacrificed almost all of his powers to renew the seal keeping the Boss’s master imprisoned.
Yes, you're playing as the bad guys. Deal with it.
Playable characters:
Agents: Prototype Myrmidons with varied and unique powersets and personalities. They’re the only Myrmidons that aren’t programmed with absolute loyalty to their master, and are generally used for missions that require small teams of highly-trained, independently-thinking warriors rather than armies of cannon fodder (which, by the way, still aren’t battle-ready).
Hunters: Similar to Agents, but with anthropomorphic bodies (rather than strictly humanoid forms like all other Myrmidons) and a different variety of powersets. Due to being genuinely loyal to the Myrmidon cause, they serve as the Boss’s personal envoys and bodyguards.
Notable background characters:
The Boss: Creator of the Myrmidons and, uh, their boss. Yeah.
Lehu: Leader of the Forged. Defected with five of his fellow Agents when he found out about his creator’s disregard for his soldiers’ lives, and has been recruiting actively ever since.
"The Student": The Boss’s creator. Currently allied with the Forged, and leads an army of his own creations, themselves only plastic toys with powers and minds. His powers are currently limited to animating and de-animating toys.
"August Lord": The ancient demonic power that the Boss stumbled upon during his journey of self-discovery. His existence currently unknown to the Myrmidons, he’s the Boss’s superior and a major source of knowledge and arcane support.
Character rubric:
Name:
Class:
Appearance:
Role (optional):
Elemental powers:
Basic powers:
Weapons:
Other equipment:
Personality:
History:
Welp, that's it for required reading. For more in-depth information on Myrmidon biology, divisions, powers, equipment, and examples of what your character sheets should look like, check out this Google document. Remember, I'm looking for three Agents, three to five Hunters, and (since this is my first GM venture) someone to help me out with the GM stuff. Anyone can make both an Agent and a Hunter, and both will have a chance of being picked. Just making that clear. :P
Now, as for a more in-depth description of the RP setting: the time is June 2007, and the planet is Earth- but not quite the Earth we know. (oooooooh, spooky~) There's a few differences in the distribution of political, economic, and military power compared to the real world; for example, some of our countries don't exist in their world (and vice versa), a few have different names and different styles of government than they should, there's more than one war going on, and people keep finding strange, high-tech artifacts from roughly six thousand years ago or earlier that seem oddly compatible with current tech (which is itself more advanced than what we're used to) and human use in general. This'll be somewhat visible in the first mission at the very least, but the relevant backstory for the main characters is as follows:
From the Chronicler's book... wrote:It was nearly a decade ago that an elementary-school student, living a comfortably yet ordinary life in an American suburb, had found he possessed the power to bring his toys to life, to gift them with powers and intelligence. Before long, one of his nameless creations, dissatisfied with his relatively miniscule stature and lack of purpose as a plastic plaything, left the Student on a journey of self-discovery. Eventually coming across an ancient and alien power locked away in a vault deep beneath the planet’s surface, he was given two tasks: subjugate the planet and free his new master.
Assigned the title of Boss and newly gifted with intimate knowledge of the workings of arcane magic, the animated toy immediately set out to achieve his new objectives. Via private contractors mind-controlled by himself and his august lord, he had a facility constructed on an uncharted Pacific island hidden from outside discovery by his benefactor’s influence. Then, using a year’s analysis of his creator’s abilities and the alien tech in his new base of operations, the Crucible, he attempted to replicate and magnify the power that had brought him to life.
Before long, he was successful, and from a score of diminutive plastic figurines he produced the first prototype Myrmidons. This first batch was created for purely experimental purposes, and nearly all of them were terminated after testing completed; the only one allowed to survive, a Time-user who had adopted the name of Lehu, was wiped of his memories and put into stasis until the Boss completed Arcturus, the first of his creations intended for actual use, rather than testing purposes. They and the next prototype soldier to join their ranks, Alton, quickly became friends due to the isolation, and as more and more prototypes were created, the three found themselves acting as unofficial tutors for using their powers.
For a time, the prototype soldiers trained and carried out missions without incident. Eventually, however, Lehu began experiencing flashbacks to his days as a test subject during his dreams, and at length managed to access the Boss’s private logs and research. Horrified at its contents, he immediately organized a group of his comrades into a rebel organization dedicated to using Lehu’s information to hinder the Boss’s plans as much as they possibly could. Dubbing themselves the Forged, they staged a highly destructive breakout from the Crucible and allied themselves with the Student, whose legions of living toys were a virtual army themselves.
Currently, both sides are recovering from major blows. The Boss retains only two Myrmidon production facilities and less than half of his contractors’ support, several of his more capable Agents defecting in the process. The Forged, despite the swelling of their numbers, have lost their most valuable ally; the Student, having exhausted most of his power sealing away the wayward toy’s master, is currently reduced to the original two magic abilities he was capable of using: animating and de-animating toys. Both sides are more vulnerable than they have been in a very long time. One side is planning to take advantage of it.
Welp, there ya go. ^^ And now to buisness. The first mission prompt, ripped straight from your creator's mouth (even though he doesn't actually have one), is as follows:
The Boss wrote:Welcome back to the commissioning chamber, Agents. I trust you haven’t forgotten how to stand at attention in the past few months?
…I thought not. Now, to business. Am I correct to also assume you recall our previous attempts to assassinate the planet’s champion, back when his abilities were still so dreadfully limited?
…Good, good. Despite the destruction of so many of our facilities and the loss of personnel that followed, we have indeed gained ground against our adversary and his wretched companions. You see, in the most recent raid on our assets that he took part in, he ended up expending far more power than he’d intended. Yes, his attack was a success- and yet it came at the cost of nearly all of his powers.
…Yes, all of them. My remaining spies have confirmed that his elemental powers have been extinguished, his control over arcane magics reduced to nil. Even the crystalized souls of his predecessors that he’d collected over the past year no longer respond to him as they once did. All he has left are the two abilities he began with- the ability to grant life to his toys, and, should his target be subjugated, the ability to take that life away. As of now, the only protections he has left are those of his creations, and of your more disloyal bretheren.
Now, do keep in mind that back before he’d learned to defend himself, that was all he needed- a few playthings sequestered into pockets or knapsacks, alert and ready to leap to his aid should they spot danger. At the time, the only reliable tools I had were Arcturus, Alton, and whatever aid I could wring out of the more destruction-oriented humans in my employ. Yet while both his side and ours grew in strength as the years went by, ours grew faster- and while he has dealt many great blows to the Myrmidon leigons, that growth has not faded. Now, nearly all of his progress has been undone, while ours is merely slowed. All he has to rely on are the allies he’s made so far, whereas while the Myrmidons were once a building, a few test subjects, and some scattered half-built factories, now, I have far more.
Now, I have all of you.
…You’re very welcome. From the all the years I’ve spent watching you train and fight for the Myrmidon cause, I can reasonably say you all deserve it. But I digress- there’s an assassination to be carried out, you know. Now, you’ve all seen the files identifying your target, as well as the descriptions of what allies will most likely be accompanying him in public. The datacard you’ve been handed contains the location they will be found at- a cruise liner in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Overlord Shadreth trains even now to increase his adeptness at leading his peons, but he has taken time out of his increasingly busy schedule to prepare a portal to the ship’s location. You are to assume human form, enter the portal inconspicuously, and locate and eliminate the chosen one and his cohorts when you arrive.
…Well, as it happens, at this point the means by which you achieve your objective matter little to me. You can destroy the ship itself in your search; you may confront them in person, slay them in the more secluded corners of the ship, and be gone before anyone notices you were even present. As long as the mission is completed, I will be satisfied.
…Yes, I had a feeling that would be your reaction. Very well, then. I have only one more thing to add: a reminder. I am confident that you will be able to carry out your task in admirable fashion. I will leave it to you not to betray that confidence.
…That’s what I was hoping to hear. All right, then; you’re dismissed.
Remember, this mission requires three Agents.
Notes: Although the Boss used mostly the same method of creating the Myrmidons as the Student did for his own creations, it should be noted that while Myrmidons and Forged have biomechanical bodies, the Student’s creations do not (as far as the Myrmidons know right now, at least). Other than that and some rather extreme variations in powers and body design, Myrmidon Agents and the Student’s creations are essentially the same type of being.
Also, despite Agents being limited to a maximum of two basic powers and four powers total, I won't be counting the ability to assume human appearance as one of them. There are some in-story reasons involved, but mostly it's because I'm making human form a mandatory ability for your mission. Two-meter-tall cyborg mages don't exactly blend in well with crowds, after all!
Finally, a teaser: whereas the Agent mission is more about choices (how you play your characters, and how they react to the events that befall them) and has relatively few enemies and relatively many scripted events (the number varies depending on what your characters do, natch), the Hunter mission is set to be a more conventional dungeon run, containing plenty of enemy encounters and one or two storyline bosses at the end, and is at the very least intended to be SOUL-CRUSHINGLY HARD. From what I've got planned so far, I think I'd probably fall under the "killer GM" style of running an RP, so while I'll try not to Ass Pull something for the sole purpose of making the situation a hell of a lot worse, expect some dick moves over the course of each mission, perhaps interspersed with the occasional opportunity for Cutting The Knot with an interrupt from a player character (because it's not like I won't be doing those myself). Have fun with that. ^^
