Roleplay / Cherno Alpha vs. the World

Cherno Alpha vs. The World is a Pacific Rim-based Forum Quest hosted on SpaceBattles.com, GMed by Opensketch, coincidentally part of the devteam for Red Alert 3: Paradox and BLOODCRUSHER II. Threads are here, here, here~, here! right the heck here, over here, here, here, and finally here, picking up where the last thread cut off. It runs on a variation of a proprietary still-in-testing system named Cyberpulp.

Now with an Index of updates which covers the first 7 threads. Right below it is a Bestiary too.

It is 2026. Shit is fucked.

Cherno Alpha returns from Hong Kong after Stacker Pentecost's failed last stand against the Kaiju to a world where communication has broken down across much of the globe. Thunderstorms wrack the sky where a Category V Kaiju had unleashed a persistent electromagnetic weapon. Air travel is grounded, Category Is wander between urban centers and even more Kaiju follow. Japan is lost, Korea, lost and South-East Asia, lost. Australia? Who knows? The US hides behind a wall and Kaiju have been sighted far inland in China and even India. One lone Jaeger remains standing.

That Jaeger is Cherno Alpha.

Standing between the factory city of Vladivostok and its two million inhabitants against an ever increasing wave of Kaiju, Cherno Alpha fights for Russia. No Kaiju will get past Cherno Alpha. One Jaeger versus the Apocalypse. It's time to show the Kaijus some Russian Hospitality through the means of tesla fists, Ukrainian hardhouse, and atomic fire.

Oh yeah.

The quest started in July of 2013, running for about a year before being abandoned in 2014.

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Cherno Alpha vs. The World provides examples of:

• Alternate Universe:
  • It's set in an universe where Striker Eureka was decommissioned before being sent to Hong Kong, Gipsy Danger was never re-built until after the breach assault, Shaolin Rogue was never recovered (Which also means Newt never drifted with the Kaiju Brain), Otachi and Leatherback wasn't the first double event, Coyote Tango failed to deliver the nuke, and Cherno Alpha is presumably the last Jaeger remaining.
  • Several of the child threads which are directly linked, follow the stories of other Jaegers Romeo Blue, which was brought back from the grave near Anchorage, Verde Mouros, which was destroyed and being rebuilt when shit got fucked, Horizon Brave, which returned to defend Sydney, Crimson Typhoon, which survived Otachi and stands guard over Hong Kong, Gipsy Danger, which was rebuilt in the San Fransisco Shatterdome/museum, and Brawler Yukon, which was rebuilt in Los Angeles.
• America Saves the Day: Hugely averted - while America cowers behind its walls, it's up to Russia to save the world.
• Anti-Climax Boss: In-universe. Zodzig, being the first Cat I to appear after many Cat IIIs and IVs, was thought to be a lot more dangerous than what its category suggested, but ends up getting one-shot by helicopters.
• Arc Words: "Shit is fucked."
• An Arm and a Leg:
  • Happened most of the time for the Kaiju. In a recent battle however Cherno Alpha lost an arm during the fight against Irantir. This happened again in the battle against Ontaru in which rolling a blunder resulted in Cherno's hand exploding on its own.
  • It's happened more than once to Cherno, and the effect has been compared to the Kirk Shirt Rip.
• Armor Is Useless: Averted for Cherno Alpha, which is one of the toughest Jaeger in the world. Played straight for just about everything else. T-120 anti Kaiju tank has about as much resistance as infantry against any Kaiju attack. Several Kaijus are also specifically manufactured to be defensive but most of the time they went down in one turn against Cherno.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Cossack Delta's impact hammers deal extra damage against armored opponents, as it breaks the armor and sends fragments tearing through them.
• Awesome, but Impractical:
  • While picking a recently burnt Kaiju and using it to beat another Kaiju is very awesome, this would cause the Kaiju to spill Kaiju Blue everywhere as the body is no longer intact. Lampshaded by a forum member who says this exact trope near word for word.
  • The Incinerator Turbines can be considered to be this, since it can be easily dodged if used on a non-stunned/severely wounded target. Even then, a knocked over Kaiju managed to somehow dodge it. It can also only be used twice before shutting down due to power shortage for a turn. However, at the same time, it has armor piercing capabilities and has the most lethal damage type.
• Back from the Brink: Starting with Vladivostok having barely any infrastructure or resources and a handful of conventional units, things went up from there. By the time the fourth thread started, Vladivostok was a massive metropolis dwarfing NYC or Shanghai and it became possible to go Kaiju-hunting beyond Russian borders. Who knows where things will go?
• The Berserker: Ontaru, who would go into a rage when it had taken enough damage. He didn't get much of a chance to show this after being blinded and locked into a grapple by Cherno though.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Right when Open_Sketchbook decided to call it quits due to not having the time to GM the quest, a whopping six kaiju, three Cat I Is, two Cat II Is, and one Cat IV had exited the breach and were heading towards Vladivostok.
• Boring, but Practical:
  • Choking a Kaiju, while not as epic as using the nuclear turbines or a piston punch, leaves its corpse intact which translates to more resources.
  • A stomp stuns a Kaiju for a turn. It is possible to stunlock one through repeated stomps.
• Born Lucky: Shadows, who has an incredible ability to produce high rolls and crits. Standard practice in the thread is now that if a roll is particularly critical, all players will wait for Shadows to turn up and roll it. This has never failed. Borders on Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane. It is magic. Every time Shadows rolls low or critfails. somebody else rolled a dice earlier then her and has a higher dice or critsuccess.
• Breather Boss: After Cherno was crippled by Yaga, the week's Kaiju attack was a simple Category I. Invoked by the GM, who described that period as a "tutorial" later on.
• The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In Cossack Delta's debut simulation battle, there was a glitch that caused its tackle momentum to not be included in attack simulation. Arguably, the battle would have been folded in her favor if not for it.
• Cool Versus Awesome: The whole point of this roleplay. Cherno Alpha versus an entire swarm of Kaiju? 'Hell Yeah.
• Crazy-Prepared: Aleksis has an emergency boom box in the conn pod so that Cherno can rave even when its systems are damaged.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Nearly half of the fights have been ended completely in favor of Cherno.
  • Any time a Cat III or below gets knocked down it turns into this, as Cherno starts up a stunlock by stomping on the opponent.
• Death of a Thousand Cuts: This is what the Red Guard attempt to do to Kaiju, with varying levels of success. In the system that game is based on, Kaiju and Jaegers use the rules for humans. Red Guard units uses the rules for vermin, i.e. mice.
• Determinator: Cherno Alpha fights on regardless of its condition or even the fact that the pilots have broken bones. Fittingly, the Kaiju Mihago shares this trait.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Deliberately invoked by the GM (who designs the Kaijus) of the Kaiju Yaga. It is literally a giant hole with tentacles that has a slit in it. It also has Category 0 Kaijus coming out of it.
• Fun with Acronyms: Standardized Production, Automated Manufacturing (SPAM) system.
• Kill It with Fire: The Incinerator Turbines are the most obvious example. Incendiary weapons in general are preferred due to their ability to cauterize the wounds of the Kaiju, reducing Kaiju Blue spread.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Don't ask about Irwin and nukes in the same sentence. Just don't.
• Lightning Bruiser: After research on making Cherno faster, Cherno is now this. Running fast enough to deal with most threats, punching hard enough to end the threat in one blow and still have enough armor to withstand heavy blows.
• Logical Weakness: Generally, a Kaiju whose arms end in something other than a hand will have penalties to grappling.
• Macross Missile Massacre:
  • Cherno's Thermite Rocket Pack has only been used for this.
  • Also occurred the only time the Mechanised Infantry companies have been used, against the Kaiju Pruga, in which all 15 companies fired their RPGs simultaneously for the finishing blow.
• Meaningful Name: Cherno Alpha charges and slams into a Kaiju akin to a freight train. Also the Category 0 Kaiju named "Squishy" after being stomped on by Cherno Alpha's foot.
• Monster of the Week: There's a weekly Kaiju attack, though several expeditions have also been made to hunt "wild" Kaiju.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The nuke allowed Red Guards and Cherno to obtain an easy victory (critical strike that injured the knee, causing a walking blunder).
• No Endor Holocaust: Oh so horribly, unfairly averted. A single tactical nuclear warhead might be nothing dangerous, a tactical nuclear weapon vaporizing a good chunk of a kaiju's limb? Ouch.
• Nonstandard Character Design: While the Kaijus are based on dinosaurs and other creatures, the two Kaijus known as Willie and Joe have human characteristics.
• No-Sell:
  • Ontaru doesn't even flinch thanks to his armor when faced with a barrage of tank shells and Cherno's Thermite Rocket Pack.
  • Onderon tanked 45 artillery strike like nothing, thanks to a player decision to target his eyes, which had natural defenses. Which was then subverted awesomely when a single tank DOES manage to hit Onderon in the eye immediately afterwards and instantly kills it.
  • Kaiju ranked Category IV or up have stun immunity.
• Nuke 'em: Irwin's entrance and apparent game-breaking powers caused a panicked reaction and unnecessary usage of tactical nuclear warhead. Some of the more experienced players were not amused.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Usually said whenever a Kaiju reveals a hidden weapon. Especially when it's a low dice roll. It's hard not to wince when seeing a roll be a 1 in a critical moment.
  • Yaga got one as well after realising the crippled Cherno was still a threat, firing its Incinerator Turbines straight into Yaga's weakpoint.
  • After Onderon paralyzed Cherno, the entire thread freaked out and started considering using a tactical nuke danger close.
  • After Irwin revealed its lightning power that rendered homing weapon almost useless.
  • After Latchjaw tricked Vladivostok force into guarding the kaijuu lab, and took a fast detour toward the Vladivostok itself.
  • The Cat III Kaiju Petro, after he unleashes a magnetic weapon, causing Cherno and Cossack's joints to lock up, almost completely immobilizing them.
• The Power of Rock: Cherno has a perk called Ravemaster that makes it fight better when "accompanied by a sufficiently bangin' hard dance track".
• Random Number God: Frequently referenced. One of the dice-rollers are so lucky that their critical streak became a meme.
• Running Gag:
  • Losing a fist become one due to failure in parrying.
  • "To Cherno Alpha, losing a hand or arm, must be like Kirk getting his shirt ripped."
• Shock and Awe: Cherno Alpha's tesla fists. The Category II can fire lightning with a 20km range.
• Shout-Out:
  • One of open_sketchbook's updates referenced Wild Ronin, who got destroyed fighting a Cat IV Kaiju in her hands, after waves of invasion against multiple events. There are now over 40+ Kaijus in Japan, though not a one of them lives in Tokyo itself.
  • Every thread title is a reference to a certain media.
• Slap-on-the-Wrist Nuke: Irwin came out of a nuclear detonation with little more than a scorched leg. This gets subverted much later, since Irwin apparently lost its knee integrity.
• Super-Speed: Aquatic specialist kaiju tend to be this when they swim, and to a lesser extent, Cossack Delta is faster than a helicopter.
• Wake-Up Call Boss:
  • Gogiora, the first Category III. Until then the tanks had been useful in battles, even all but scoring a category I kill on their own. Gogiora proved just why the Jaegers were necessary by destroying all but one of the tank squadrons.
  • Onderon became this as well, due to being the first Kaiju to actually manage to incapacitate Cherno Alpha.
• Wham Episode:
  • When UN deployed a Jaeger against Vladivostok.
  • UN deploy multiple Jaegers along with conventional forces.
• Wham Line: GARAGO has a FUCKING JETPACK.
• You Can Barely Stand: After Yaga tore off Cherno's Cooling Tower and crippled its reactor, Cherno is put into this position for the remainder of the Yaga fight and the Pruga fight.
• You Shall Not Pass!: There's a weekly attack on Vladivostok, in addition to any cases where Cherno, or the conventional forces, go hunting for Kaiju to shoot.

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