Payback - A Sci-Fi/Combat RP

[Guest]

Several concepts at work here;

Space age technology, but colonization lacks a central impetus in the form of a single government or even strong governments. Colonization took place over the course of centuries; first in the early 'freezers' that deposited colonists at their destination centuries later, and then in faster vessels that developed hyperspace capability. As the technology developed, different parts of space were put into contact with each other, with varying degrees of chaos and violence inherent in the rediscovery of these colonies, which were generally self-governing and self-sufficient, but with a wide disparity of technology that depended on when they were colonized and whether or not technological development was possible once colonization took place. It depended on the specific situation over the course of two thousand years, and the degree of success with which the colony established an industrial and technological base.

In short, the interstellar status quo is a bunch of small wars between podunk powers of limited resources for control of their neighbors.

Some worlds are richer and have a much more abundant tech base than others, but even on a planet, the technology level varies between the average person and the rulers/government/military. In many cases, however, what can't be produced natively needs to be acquired in order to keep up with the Joneses. In other words, enter the mercenary.

Those planets that do not have the native technological ability to match that of others are forced instead to trade their resources and make business deals with contractors in order to stay competitive.

The most up to date and prevalent technology standard was developed six hundred years ago, a type of powered armor with a high capacity battery system with a standardized modular mounting system that allowed for a high degree of field modification. Mercenaries from highly advanced systems (or who managed to get ahold of such a suit through salvage, presuming they also had the sophisticated control cybernetics installed -- these too can be 'salvaged' in gruesome fashion) are the modern knights, the heavy hitters of interstellar warfare, working in small (highly expensive to run) units that hire themselves out to those who cannot afford to keep a standing force or to those who need to supplement their standing forces. While not invincible, such forces have a huge edge over conventional infantry forces and even armor.

Your characters are such mercenaries, a band hired by a feudal lord to help deal with a small brushfire war against a rebel faction; the mission was succesful, but you were betrayed when payday came - the boss was killed in a rear guard action that allowed the rest to escape their former employer. For his part, the master of the planet doesn't want to just save a buck, he wants your suits and your implants to strengthen his regime.

No one's taking that one laying down.

--

Hah, so I'll fill in details, only if there's interest in this. Oh, and I think we need to avoid anything overly Japanese looking and go without the graphics and so forth. I'm more comfortable with extrapolating this from Heinlein's "Starship troopers" work than turning this into an anime thing. I respect people's hobbies and entertainment tastes, but I want this to be grittier - a blend of what Heinlein started and 16th century Italy, when the mercenaries and their condottieri (mercenary captains) decided the fate of city-states in that era.

I have a lot more to work with on development for this concept, if people are interested, but I got lazy. When I have more time and if there's interest, I can write things out more.

[Kalaam]

I am interested. I can form several character types if you need or help with the 'construction' of the armor if need be.

[dOs_BooT]

Count me in if this gets off the ground. I always thought the Starship Troopers mobile infantry armor from the novel was an interesting idea. Getting the chance to work with it and have some fun would be something I'd kick myself if I missed.

[Guest]

I'll work up an OOC soon, but this may take a bit of time to put together as I decide how to balance out the rules for the armor weapons/systems. I'm going to include a bunch of different options/packages for players to chose from, but with the caveat of limited space and limited funds.

[Uncommoner]

Sounds interesting. I always liked the Starship Troopers novel, and couldn't quite contain my disapointment with the different direction the movie took. Having a chance to be a part of something similar is too sweet to pass up, so slot me in for a spot whenever you might get this running.

[Ehoron]

Anything tech related, I'd like to jump in on.

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