I've opened this thread so we can polish all the rough edges and set the bases of this world before launching the real deal. A lot of the things about this story will be crafted on the go, but I'd prefer to have a solid foundation before venturing into dangerous and unpredictable territory.

The rough synopsis I have right now, is the next one...

In the near future, mankind has become the target of the Xenomichaniae, a powerful “race” of inter-dimensional beast-machines set on eradicating sapient life. In just a few years, the battles against this entities has almost ruined Earth, as our technology is not enough to combat them.

However, just as hope seemed lost, a miracle happened: Mankind uncovered a mysterious alien artifact, known as “The Legacy”, which contained the knowledge and the blue-prints for the technology Earth needed in order to fight against this new enemy. Thanks to the combined efforts of every nation in the world, and the technology contained within “The Legacy”, the war was eventually won, and Earth is steadily being rebuilt, better than ever, thanks to the technology uncovered thanks to the alien artifact.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that the battles against these beasts still continue in the present day, because the fissures in the reality that allowed them to enter our dimension haven't been repaired. So, in order to combat the constant flow of invaders, a special task force was created to combat them: The Guardian Force. A multi-national team created which uses powerful Super Robots and advanced to protect common people from the inter-dimensional menace.

Another mission of this team, is to safeguard “The Legacy” and its secrets, as it is the constant target of nefarious people who want to use its power and knowledge for their own selfish purposes.

The important points I've defined so far, (they're still subject to chance in this stage, thought... So, if you want me to make a change, this the time to speak) are:

• A good way to describe this upcoming story would be: GaoGaiGar + Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Dai-Guard + Patlabor; with a dash of everything good about Super Robot Genre series.

• A key concept behind this story is “Idealism”. I want to depict a world where humanity has finally managed to put aside their petty differences in the face of a threat that no one could possibly face on their own, and they continue to this day, because the menace isn't going anywhere any time soon.

• However the fact that it will be and idealistic story, doesn't imply all will be sunshine and rainbows, as I want to include that contrast between light and darkness I admire so much, with lots of opportunities for drama, sacrifice and tough battles!

• The Xenomichania, more commonly know as Xenomechs, are ultra-advanced inter-dimensional constructs, with no real sapience nor morality, only the unrelenting urge to destroy. They're rather powerful, a threat that only Super Robots can fight on equal terms.

• Originally designed with a different purpose in mind, which involved contacting other sapient life-forms, the Xenomechs' program has been corrupted beyond recognition, and now their purpose is "Exterminating All Sapient Life". So, not only Earth has been under constant attack by them, but also countless of other worlds where intelligent life exists. They aren't pawns anymore, because they grew too powerful and uncontrollable for anyone to tame them.

• Right now, the Xenomechs are an automated, self-sufficient and self-replicating force which "evolved" beyond the control of their creators. They're constantly “evolving” by improving themselves with more powerful weapons and technology. Their "nests" are actually giant factories of the size of entire planets, from which they relay their troops all over the galaxy. (or galaxies, maybe...?)

• the reason why the Xenomechs haven't swarmed Earth with their most powerful creations in order to finish the job, is because they have an "upload limit" which determines the quantity and quality of the troops they can send through the rifts at any given time. However, as time passes, this limit increases exponentially, until we'll reach the point when they can use a full-scale Zerg Rush... Or, just send a "Final-Boss-Class" unit capable of finishing the job on its own. The longer the fight goes on, the harder it will get.

• The Xenomechs also have a very advanced form of Super-DRM that would make Electronic Arts cringe in terror! This means that trying to manipulate them or reverse-engineer them doesn't work, and I imagine an event in the backstory, where the Guardian Force tried to create a mech with their technology, only for it to turn rogue and try to kill everyone.

• Also, deliberate and constant contact with the Xenomechs has the tendency to corrupt noble persons, and to amplify the vile qualities to those who where already villains, which is why the heroes won't be able to craft mechs based on them... But the villains (humans, and even other aliens) will, believing they will be able to control them, while unwillingly turning into their puppets.

• The same rifts that allow the Xenomechs to invade Earth, will also cause weird mutations, and the emergence of strange powers among humans, and other complex animal life-forms. In response to this phenomenon, a series of Bio-Labs will be created in order to help the mutants to control their powers, while also studying how to harness their exceptional biological abilities in order to improve mankind! No Transhumanism Allowed will be utterly defied on this story!

• Besides “conventional” mechs, there will also be Mechanical Lifeforms in the vein of the Transformers, who will come in all different kinds of forms and styles.

Besides that, there are a bunch of spoilerrific points I'm keeping under-wraps right now, and that I'll only discuss with Kkutwar and Strigon (my co-GMs) in private by the moment.

Also, there are a bunch of questions and points we'll need to define before properly starting. For example:

• Where will Guardian Force's main base be located?

• Will there be international branches besides the main team?

• For how long the war against the Xenomechs has been going on?

• What is the current state of the world right now?

...Among many other questions, I'm surely forgetting right now.

So, let's get to work so that we can start with this story!

• Where will Guardian Force's main base be located?

• Will there be international branches besides the main team?

• For how long the war against the Xenomechs has been going on?

• What is the current state of the world right now?

The Springfield the Simpsons live in, U.S.A. In serious, since the world was nearly ruined and humanity is rebuilding it better than ever (along with the unknown deciding process for mutant powers), I would say the world map would be rather different to our own. So I would imagine the main base being someplace the entire world can go to with relative ease.

Besides that, I highly doubt the Xenomechs focus on one area so there should be international branches and other teams. It makes more sense having a group near a possible area than sending one team halfway across the world to deal with it. Regarding the war, since Earth got trashed and humanity needed a foreign device to save themselves I would say ten years tops. Additionally, I would say most tech pre-war would be useless and more a desperation thing against mutants.

Speaking of mutants, I imagine bio-technology and genetic mods have been derived from them? Makes sense to give everyone superpowers when you're facing near-unstoppable monsters that need giant robots to kill. Though I kind of imagine a genetic/sanity limit if you try to abuse mutant-derived genetic-mods. Allowing someone twelve million superpowers would be a horrid mess, and that much genetic modification to a fully developed creature should kill them. Its one thing to make life glow in the dark, its a whole other issue trying to give them tentacles.

I'm interested, but this should be in Signups. I'll add some comments later.

@KK: Indeed. Power at a Price will be at full effect here, and these will usually carry some kind of disadvantage.

...No, it won't be possible to have combo like "Power: Omnipotence. Disadvantage: Being So Beautiful, It's a Curse", or something like that. The stronger the power is, the worst the disadvantages get, which may go from a having a particularly grotesque appearance, to serious cases of Power Incontinence, among other things.

I'll need your help refining this aspect of the world, because you have more experience with super-powers than I do... However, if I see something too overpowered and/or overtly exploitable, we'll have to tone it down to keep dramatic tension.

@Stratofarius: Neat! It would be nice to have a potential roster of players ready before starting up... Though, it might take a little time (maybe a week, or so) before we officially launch the RP.

Hmmmmm... Is there a way to move this thread to the Sign-Up page, if that's the case?

edited 26th Jul '13 8:45:26 PM by VPhantom

I was wondering if there is "core consciousness" for the Xenomechs, the source of the corruption and the driving force for their systematic extermination of all life; the Rogue AI that led them to becoming like that.

Also, Is "The Legacy" left behind by one of many alien races that succumbed to the Xenomechs, or is it by the Xenomechs' original creators?

@Strigon: The existence of a "core-consciousness" is certainly a possibility, but also an "end-game" revelation that we can craft as the story progresses.

"The Legacy" is actually one of many such devices sent to several other civilizations in order to given them a chance to fight against the Xenomechs. (and yeah, they are also protected in such a way that they don't work if tampered by Xenomechs)

They weren't crafted by their original creators, but by one of the most successful civilizations in the war against them... Whether they're still around, or not... That's something we'll decide as the story progresses.

edited 26th Jul '13 8:55:14 PM by VPhantom

The xenomechs are technorganic right?

More "tech" than "organic"... Some of their characteristics might make them look like living organisms at times, but they quite detached from the biological side of things.

Mechanical Lifeforms doesn't really apply to them either, because they're no really alive, nor conscious of anything that doesn't involve their terrible mission.

So they're basically a virus/malevolent cancer upon reality? Please tell me that when the climax nears, we won't go full-on Gun/Diebuster; ending with the solar system getting a makeover similar to Poland during WW 2...

edited 26th Jul '13 11:27:49 PM by strigon

Hopefully not to that scale; they don't have interest in destroying planets all-together, only the sapient lifeforms that habits in them. The horrible collateral damage they cause it's mostly an unavoidable consequence of their powerful weapons and ruthless methods.

...So, you have already watched Gunbuster + Diebuster, or did you just read about them?

Just read. But the climax should definitely mirror that of Pacific Rim's, if only to shout out an awesome film.

So, we haven't even started and yet you already have an idea for the ending?! Ha ha ha ha! Actually, that's rather cool, and apparently an excellent writing exercise, too! (as a matter of fact, I'm also "guilty" of it)

In any case, my recommendation for both of them still stands, because those two are friggin' awesome.

Also, what do you have to say about the questions I stated on the introductory post? Plus, I have a new one right now:

• What kind of defenses will the new cities use? Will they be dome-cities? Will they have some sort of energy field? Or will they have something else altogether?

edited 27th Jul '13 9:21:23 AM by VPhantom

The Cities will be protected by energy fields and patrols of Slightly less super robots! Domes would only make the people feel anxious and boxed-in.

edited 27th Jul '13 9:45:30 AM by Strigon

That works for me! I guess a lot of these defenses will be of the automated kind of variety, with several AI-driven mechs meant to subdue the invaders and/or to keep them busy while the big guns arrive during the greater crises.

Also, what's you opinion about the other points? ("Where will Guardian Force's main base be located?", "For how long the war against the Xenomechs has been going on?", "What is the current state of the world right now?")

Also, it's worth noting that the "defined points" I've mentioned aren't actually set in stone right now, and I'm encouraging suggestions and "complains" at this moment, because once we start, it will be more difficult to modify them.

Besides, I'll need help to name some of the important locations of the story, including the name of Guardian Force's main base and its current commander.

edited 27th Jul '13 10:37:17 PM by VPhantom

As I said before, the Main base will be in Japan since it was they who was first attacked and the ones who spearheaded the whole program. But there are also branches in every major city in the globe, with the Guardian Force America continental defense command in Nevada being the 2nd largest and most advanced base behind the main HQ in Japan.

As for the war, I'm with Kk with it raging on and off for the past 10 years and the world is slowly but surely recovering, repairing and expanding from Xenomech probing attacks and through the use of the tech provided by "The Legacy".

Say, do you think that the name Ark of Wisdom or Ark of the stars is a better name for "The Legacy"?

edited 28th Jul '13 10:42:29 AM by Strigon

Bump. Just in case.

I apologize for not having replied back as of lately... I've been kinda "scatter-brained" in the past few days... And not all that motivated, to be honest. In any case...

@Strigon: I'm all OK with those suggestions! So, we'll go for Japan as their main base, and a conflict which has lasted roughly 10 years.

Also, I like the idea of changing the name of "The Legacy" for something else; that was mostly a place-holder name in any case. How about Galaxy-Ark? Or Cosmo-Ark?

Also: Any suggestions for the name and anything related to the Guardian Force's commander?

Since he'll be character all the GMs will use, I'd like to include a little bit of everyone in him... If possible, because if I see something that greatly clashes with my plans for him, (or her? maybe...) I'd have to edit said characteristic.

Cosmo-Ark is a great name.

As for our commander, make him something of a penny pincher; but not to the extent that he would endanger the lives of his men since it's expensive to maintain and arm the super robots. And I think his name should be fitting for a man of the military... With the surname Walker for example.

Oh and this is something I cooked up in my boredom. The (In progress) list of Xenomechs that attacked Earth.

Wave 1 (1st year)

1. Raijin (Japan)

2. Daitengu (Japan)

3. Anansi (Mexico)

4. Gigaceratops (Spain)

5. Seismotherion (France, Debut of first super robot ever, The Japanese Ronin Alpha)

6. Manterror (California)

7. Orthos (Turkey)

8. Kameras (Japan, Ronin Alpha sacrifced itself along with it's pilot to defeat Kameras by overloading it's Negative-Energy reactor)

14 months respite

Wave 2 (3rd year)

1. Tannhauser (Germany)

2. Scuttler (Philippines, Debut of 1st American Super robot, the Buster Dempsey)

3. Deathstinger (Texas)

4. Fenghuang (China)

5. Gottfried (Belgium, Debut of First European Alliance super robot, the Grosse Gustav)

6. Blastiodos (New York, Double-teamed by Grosse Gustav and Buster Dempsey)

7 & 8. Phobos & Deimos (Britain, ended up killing the pilot of Buster Dempsey, but Grosse Gustav managed to kill the both of them)

9 months respite

Wave 3 (5th year, 10 new Super robots were made)

edited 30th Jul '13 12:57:39 PM by Strigon

This better not become Pacific Rim: The RP. That, and why does Ronin Alpha make me think Cherno Alpha? I guess it makes sense Earth could of found the Ark by the first year's end, but that does seem a bit early. Sure, Earth should easily reached near-destruction in one year but still. Seems a bit too easy for some reason.

Though the main base isn't where we'll be focusing our characters will it? It still makes more sense the main base would be in a neutral zone that people of differing ethnics and cultures should have minimal problems working together. Regarding defenses... Domed Cities would look suspicious, since it wouldn't keep out/in powerful enough Xenomechs and it wouldn't exactly stop rifts from forming inside. Plus, it would seem more likely to be a massive bomb than for anyone's protection.

Though why would there be Mechanical Lifeforms? Even in an idealistic setting it seems stupid to mass-produce sentient robots, as at least some will go evil and cause a waste of resources & time for Earth's reconstruction. Furthermore, what about the rifts causes mutations? As far as I know those rifts are just a connected point between two universes, and saying that causes mutations is like saying fiddling with time causes mutations.

Plus, I doubt Humanity has fully learned the secrets of the Ark otherwise they should have limitless energy and no problem mass-producing planet destroying Mecha to take out any Xenomech that shows up. Seriously though, does that list Strigon made seem too Pacific Rim? I haven't watched it (starting not to because of the constant talk/references/influences), so I wouldn't know if I'm just being an uneducated idiot.

The sentient robots are an alien race. Initially suspicious and possibly hostile at first, but they're no friends of the Xenomechs so they'll obviously be allies of man one way or another.

I think V is a bit confused about the mutations, I envisioned that the mutations are caused by the organic bits and radiation leaking out of the breached energy cores of dead Xenomechs.

Japan IS a neutral zone, things like boundaries, countries and nationalities have taken a back-seat to cooperation in combating the invaders and ensuring the survival of the human race.

Me and V already agreed that Domes wouldn't work and active defenses like energy shield generators and patrols of defense mecha would work just as-if not better than any old dome. And the reason why they haven't completely won the war yet is because the Xenomechs are constantly improving and modifying themselves to facilitate the destruction of Humanity easier and faster. That and many of the Xenos humanity has fought so far aren't even the worst the invaders have to offer.

And as for the list... Give me better names (By better, I mean not just using a descriptive name like, Sky Dragon or Titan Squid) for the Xenos and then we'll talk.

edited 30th Jul '13 10:26:00 PM by Strigon

@KK:

I'd like for you to refine the details related to the mutations caused after the start of the Xenomechs' invasion, including their origin and nature... After all, that plot-point was included precisely because of you. But, if you think it might be too difficult to make it work in this story, we can scrap it all together... That would actually make my work easier, because I wouldn't have too worry too much about super-powers and stuff. But, as I've said, that's your call!

I'd also like for the Cosmo-Ark to be discovered some time after the start of the conflict, (roughly 2 or 3 years after it) right after the world decided to start working together against the invasion. And, yeah, the technological leap that mankind will achieve thanks to it will be rather drastic, but also hindered due to the amount of resources they'll have to use to fight the Xenomechs.

Now, why bother with Mechanical Lifeforms? Because they're quite useful, d00d! And I'm not talking only about combat, but for space-exploration, which will be key for mankind as the war progresses, because they'll need more resources (and allies!) in order to build the BIG weapons they'll need to face the true strength of the Xenomechs.

@Strigon:

Indeed, what mankind has faced until now is just a fraction of the real power of the Xenomechs, which is mostly limited due to the "upload limit" I mentioned earlier, which exponentially increases as time passes by.

I actually like those naming conventions! The tone of this story won't be 100% Pacific Rim-esque, but I'd like to use names like those, because they're rather cool. It's as simple as that.

I'll have to think about the other points you mentioned, because right now I'm still kinda "scatter-brained".

Others concepts/ideas I have right now, are...

• One of the technologies mankind will develop thanks to the Ark are warp-drives and interstellar gates, which they will use during the first years in order to mine resources from all around the solar-system in order to build the most complex Super Robots and weapons.
  
  Also, they'll use that technology order to send robotic probes all around the galaxy in order to find more resources, and possible worlds mankind could emigrate to in case things start getting seriously bad on Earth... Of course, that's a plan everyone hopes will never happen, because only a fraction of humanity would be saved that way.

• There's also terraforming technology inside the Ark, which is being used in order to repair the extensive ecological damage caused by the Xenomechs... But, that project is going slower than the others, because of how many resources mankind is assigning to the defense aspect of things right now.

• Xenomech's warp technology is actually rather imperfect, which is the main-reason why they have that "upload limit" that prevents them from sending the big-guns to eradicate sapient-life on Earth in a swift-strike. They "dig" "tunnels" through hyperspace in order to reach their targets, and as traffic increases through those tunnels, they grow "larger", allowing for more complex and powerful weapons to pass through them.

• Also, the reason why they haven't reverse engineered the technology inside the Cosmo-Arks, (remember, they have been relayed to other sapient races) is because they're programed to short-circuit/self-destruct in case Xenomechs ever enter in contact with them. If the Xenomechs ever acquired the warp-drive technology inside of them, they'd become unstoppable and capable of annihilating almost any race in just a matter of seconds!

Well, spatial portals shouldn't be capable of infecting people and since the Xenomechs are mostly mechanical creations (plus the fact radiation, even if it gives you superpowers, is likely to kill you either way)... Yeah, I guess it would be simpler removing that aspect at least for Mutants. I still think genetic modification and engineering would be possible, and I'm sure there's some doodad in the Ark that could cause physical mutations if you weren't careful.

Though I don't understand, even with the upload limit, that the Xenomechs couldn't get at least one through for every year. It does feel more right that the discovery of the Ark wasn't for two-three years, though... Perhaps one of these planets that's being studied/explored for human civilization has a group attacked by a Xenomech, and later Guardian Force sends out a squad to find out what happened? So we get a battle in space and stuff.

V? Are you still around? Cause This hasn't gotten any new posts for some time now.

Interested.

Personally I think the base should be anywhere other than Japan. Mainly because every main base is always set in Japan, because mecha stuff is generally made there, and I want that to change for this. I'd agree with anyone saying the main base shouldn't be in the United States either.

I don't mind the idea of branches per-se but apparently one of the core ideas of the RP is that mankind is presenting an unified front, so all of the typical NIHON BRANCHU ICHIBAN vs MURRIKA HECK YEA nonsense shouldn't fly. You know, that thing where everyone just sticks to their end and doesn't even seem to share the most basic research notes on their respective projects at best, and engage in pointlessly agressive rivalries at worst?

Honestly a massive floating fortress that can move around and deploy units where needed sounds better than a single immobile base. Or make it adaptable, able to traverse land, sea and air because why not. If you want branches just make the fortresses smaller and give each a distinctive name, design, crew, etc. Each fortress can defend specific zones, with the added bonus of being able to rotate assignments for whatever possible reason.

For the cities, depends entirely on how the xenomechs arrive and their general means of attack I suppose. As an easy example, Pacrim had them emerging from a literal fissure in the ocean in an easily detected manner, how do these arrive? Orbital drop? If they can just materialize anywhere on the surface via portal, then perhaps massive underground complexes would be the safest bet?