Lancer: Dragons Of The Ring (Recruiting)

[Gideon020]

​

"We have a problem."

"Stating the obvious wastes time, Liaison. Get to the point."

"The Emperor has been assassinated, along with their entire bloodline, it's an uprising across the entire empire."

"Perpetrators?"

"A conspiracy of key nobility and military leaders. We believe them to be in league with local Ungratefuls and counter-corporate opposition."

"Will this put the Crown Jewel under threat?"

"Analytics strongly suggest that there will be an attempt to occupy and utilise the Crown Jewel for their benefit instead of the Corporation."

"Well, looks like we'll need to begin asset reclamation and install a new ruling bloodline. Have a list of candidates drawn up and start looking for contractors to fix this mess. Make sure they're the type to keep their mouths shut, I do not want the Crown Jewel to be leaked to the rest of the galaxy."

"Understood."
​

---

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Discord Link: Dragons Of The Ring
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This is a game of Lancer 1.8 for a max of eight people, play-by-post with appropriate tabletop to forum house rules regarding ranges and cover in combat.

Character Creation with a publicly available copy of the Lancer 1.8 ruleset will be on discord while this thread will be for any OOC chatter and questions to the GM.

To sign up, before going to the Discord, provide some details about your character:

Player Name:
Character Name:
Gender: Non-binary genders now supported.
Species: Transhuman characters are now allowed, as are posthuman successor species created by an extinct branch of humanity before the 'present day' as well as uplifted animals. Due to the fear of un-controlled AI, robotic characters are disallowed.
A note on Expies: Expies are perfectly fine except that they cannot have openly-supernatural abilities. For example, making the classic Saber from Fate/Stay Night as a Noble who's damn good with a longsword in and out of a mech is fine, but her 'Excalibur' can't fire off an energy blast made of pure magic. Getting it to fire an energy blast in general though, will require an adventure.
Description: Write/draw/screenshot a description of your character including age, what homeworld they originated from, their culture, their background and why they became a mercenary. Whether it's a posthuman catgirl supersoldier that has the muscles, and gut, of a Warhammer Fantasy Ogre, or a little kid who found a mech and escaped slavery in a very violent and permanent manner, put it down here and then conduct char creation on the Discord server according to your intent.

The IC Thread will be written up when at least 3 Players are ready, doesn't matter if they posted first or last, they just have to be ready to go when asked.​

 

[Gideon020]

Active Players Go Here

 

[Gideon020]

Spare meat for the grinder goes here.

 

[Kensai]

Interested. Getting on Discord in a minute.

 

[LuteStrings]

Player Name: Lute Strings
Character Name: Miho Keller
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Description: Born in the Colony planet of Vudiria, Miho was a pretty average girl, all things considered. She worked in a mechanics shop, she did her work, she learned the tools of the trade, and she seemed to keep her head down. And then, first chance she got, she hopped off-planet to a Core world, marched up to the nearest Union office, and signed up with the Union Navy. She quickly got a reputation in her squad as a hot-headed girl who would often rack up punishment duties from talking back to her superiors, as well as being remarkably capable of smuggling in contraband like booze and smokes. Eventually, however, the Navy and her both came to the realisation that someone like her wouldn't do well in the strict regulations, and she was discharged. Left without a job, and with a longing to get back into a fight, she found the first mercenary company that would take her, signed up, and never looked back. She stands at 23 years old subjectively, but closer to 50 real years of age.

Spoiler: Image

 

[Simpli]

=}+{=

Spoiler

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Character Name: Cécilia Bachelet
Gender: Female
Species: Human

Sheet

=} Description {=

"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."​

Can you imagine the longing and hunger for knowledge that grasps someone who takes their first steps into what is the Union? Can you imagine suddenly being part of not only a petty Empire that squabbles over a few rocks and thinks itself on a mission from "god", but of a human civilization that spans the stars and is as varied as you can imagine: interesting, frightening, intriguing and even alien to your own understanding of what it means to be human?

When I grew up the tales of the homeworld were just that: tales of a time when our far-removed ancestors came to these distant stars and laid claim to a single rock in the Sangraal March: the Holy Seat of the Prophet-Emperors today. Back then I grew up believing in the myth that it was a sign from god and a miracle when the first Emperor found the gift of the heavens and was able to unite the cities of our Throne world by weapons and machines forged by gods hand.

I was content, part of a noble family and even if I was five times removed from the heir of the family title and the land, I never had to content with hardship outside of what was deemed training for us. It was my bane or my impossible luck that one of these training escapades got myself the attention of the priesthood – and from there it wasn't long, before I was put onto a transport: "Chosen" as they told my family and send of to the edges of Imperial space, to meet those who choose me.

Thus, I met god.​

Or rather: the gods of technology and Trade that created our Empire. They were called the Hansa-Morpho Corporation and were just as much gods, as the Prohpet-Emperor was to the peasants who toiled on the lands of my family. Powerful, distant and with weapons and soldiers that could crush any opposition to them – but did that make gods?

The Priests told me and others that were brought before the corporation that we were Chosen for a higher purpose – if you could call bleeding and dying for the wishes and wallets of others a noble cause. Many of us died as we were deploying around the marches, saw worlds that were not part of the Empire, worlds we didn't think did exist in so many shapes and flavours – and worlds we destroyed as we were send in to facilitate "negotiations" and secure "company equipment".

My chance for freedom came when I died – or at least that is what is on my official files with the company: Cécilia Bachelet, Squad Leader, Trouble-shooters – Deceased on one little dust ball or another in a skirmish with another mercenary company hired by another corp. My unit was left for dead and I barely made it out alive, surrendering days later to a company that found my skills to their liking.

I hadn't imagine I would ever see home again – at least not till this offer came.

=}+{=​

 

[Enmascarado]

Mecha Battles you say?~

I have never played Lancer, but I know about it, sounds interesting.
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Player Name: Astaroh-M
Character Name: Alexandria Smith - Callsign "Comet"
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: 22
Description: To reach the skies, that has always been Alex goal, born in Lunaro, a simple and quiet colony planet, daughter of a mechanic woman and a old veteran pilot, Alex has had a fascination for mechs since she was a child.

She grow up with tales and mechanical soldiers fighting, running, flying, and with each tale her desire grew with it, her desire to one day, live one of those tales.

Learning all she could from both parents, she trained and trained, worked non-stop, until she was ready to join a merc company.

Spoiler: Appearance

Sheet

 

[Strunkriidiisk]

Fuck yeah, Lancer. I'm all over this.

Player Name: Strunkriidiisk
Character Name: Kai Moreau - Callsign "Psycho"
Gender: Male
Species: Human

Spoiler: Appearance

Like this, but with the inclusion of a massive burn scar over one cheek and running down his neck and obvious cybernetics in and around one eye. One cybernetic arm and leg, but those are less obvious.

Description: Kai was born on a sleepy colony known as Gaul. Life on Gaul was simple, yet dull for him, and for lack of better prospects he signed on with a locally-contracted mercenary company that the colony had kept on payroll for decades, in the hope that he might be one day rotated out to one of the company's other main groups and sent elsewhere. Kai got his wish, but not for several years and not before a life-changing epiphany.

A large and highly-organized raider group hit Gaul a year after Kai joined the merc company, and he was involved in the fighting. The combat he experienced was fierce - the pirates had their own mech pilots in their ranks, which meant that fighting was more brutal (and more destructive) than anything he could have imagined. Kai had the bad luck to be caught and trapped in the burning rubble of a collapsed building during the battle, and certainly would have burned to death had a friendly mech pilot - part of another mercenary crew that had been passing through the area between jobs and decided to throw in, as he learned later - tore him loose and called for medics.

That experience yanked Kai out of his former listlessness. He struggled and trained and studied to become better, to become considered worth training as a pilot, all in the hopes that he might one day be able to meet the anonymous pilot who saved his life, and thank them.

Sheet

 

[Druby]

Player Name: Druby
Character Name: Finn Kieron
Gender: Male
Species: Human

Description: Born in one of the Core Worlds, Finn had little in the way of needs or wants unfulfilled. All in all, it was a rather dull existence, and true fulfillment in a post-scarcity society really came from personal drive or interests. Finn found his on the omninet. The ominet connected everything and everywhere, and while almost everybody interacted with it in someway, Finn fell into the crowd of those who almost dedicated their whole lives to it. He delved its depths, talked with the like-minded, and most of all, he found that he had a desire to learn the truth. Not for any righteous or just cause, no, Finn simply found that he had an insatiable curiosity and constantly wanted to know more, to peel away the half-truths of the world and discover the reality of it all. Some might have called Finn a conspiracy theorist, but he was never self-delusional, nor did he have any patience for absurdities. So then, did it really seem so strange that Finn wanted to know more when he learned of the existence of HORUS? He wasn't a member of the group by any means, if anything Finn was a bit skeptical of it all, but HORUS represented an even deeper layer of truths that he had yet to discover, and that tempted Finn all the greater.

In the end, Finn joined up with the Union Navy in order to get off his planet. The omninet connected vast swathes of Union space, but it wasn't everywhere, and that meant there were places he couldn't reach. He pushed himself in order to become accredited as a pilot, as the best of the best, they usually had the best accesses. He was known for pushing boundaries, mostly in terms of clearances and intelligence, but he served honorably with no real intent on breaking his contract, and upon finishing his term, he became a mercenary instead now working his way across the stars as he sated his own desires for the truth.

Spoiler: Image

Char Sheet

 

[Gideon020]

Due to the fact that I don't have time to map and the rules are meant for a tabletop, the following is in effect to make gameplay easier on the forums, and creative a bit more narrative fodder for roleplay.

All-Range Combat:
Unless the GM specifically designates enemies as Out Of Range, enemies are considered to be at CQB/Melee, Medium and Long Ranges to weaponry. Generally, 1-5 is CQB/Melee, 5-8 is Medium, and 10+ is Long Range.

Sensor Ranges fall under the same considerations.

Active Battlefield:
No battlefield is static or turn-based, except for the gameplay here. Feel free to describe small actions like bullets sparking harmlessly off plating, explosions flashing in the distance as tracers stitch the skies, your mech firing at infantry and light armour, downing aircraft with casual bursts of fire, or moving to dodge incoming fire from other threats when engaging in Free Actions.

Narrative Movement:
Your Mech's Speed Stat is now an Accuracy modifier when engaged in movement. By default, movement is not rolled for unless the battlefield is marked with Difficult, Dangerous or Impassible Terrain, or other threats are present that hamper casual movement. Difficult Terrain is a general +1 Difficulty while Dangerous Terrain is +2 Difficulty with failure requiring an Engineering Skill check to prevent it inflicting damage as per the rules. Moving adjacent to an enemy will be the typical call for a Movement roll with the Speed Stat modifier, against an enemy's Agility as they try to prevent you getting within arm's reach. Skilled opposition can use their own Speed stat in this manner, to represent their greater skill at handling their machine, so level the playing field where you can.

Teleportation, on the other hand, requires a Systems Check to avoid accidentally coming back to reality half-way inside a building. Failure inflicts damage as per the rules.

Knockback and involuntary movement is now narrative but mechanically will just end adjacency when imposed, with Knockback now always invoking a Hull Check to avoid being rendered Prone.

The Slowed Status halves your Speed Stat and thus your Accuracy for movement rolls, rounding down to a minimum of 1.

Electronic/Visual Warfare:
Hide and Search Actions are unaffected; if you don't move to Light Cover at the least when engaging in a Hide action, you will be instantly spotted because you are out in the open, and Search is required to locate Hidden targets with sensors and your own eyes. Players are encouraged to be creative in how they engage the Hide Action, whether creating dust clouds, firing a distracting burst of gunfire, or just ducking and weaving through the battlefield.

Cover:
Unless stated otherwise, Light Cover is always available, with Heavy Cover being reserved for specific areas and locations. Battlefields with Difficult Terrain impose an Agility Check when moving into cover. On a failure, your clumsy handling or ill-positioned mech is still considered out in the open. Cover can only be destroyed by certain talents and traits.

Moving Into Range:
Out Of Range enemies can either enter into range as reinforcements, or be moved into range by the players pushing forward to an Objective.

Reaching and Clearing Objectives:
Reaching an area with an objective is entirely narrative. You are either there and about to deal with the Objective(s) and defenses or you are not and pushing forward. Players cannot leave an area with an Objective until it is cleared or failed.

Timed Objectives and Extraction:
Timed Objectives will be failed if they are not cleared in a certain number of turns. This timer will not start until the players are in the area. Extraction becomes available when all Objectives are completed and there no enemies that are Adjacent or Engaged with a player. Once Extraction is called, the mission ends.

Rest Stops:
Players will receive a chance for a Rest every 2-4 combat areas to repair, heal up and engage in roleplay.

Talent Modifications:
-Ace Rank II: Roll 1d6 before rolling 1d20+Speed Stat. The result may be added to the Speed Stat as additional Accuracy and half of the result is taken as Heat to a minimum of 1.
-Crackshot Rank II: The difficulty penalty is now invoked when shooting Out Of Range targets.
-Centimane Rank III: Blinding Swarm pretty much renders the target blind, so they can only use Search Checks to detect anything adjacent. Otherwise, no change.
-Drone Commander Rank III: The number of enemies that can be hit by Invigorate must be equal or less than the total number of allies and drones on the battlefield. Out Of Range enemies are unaffected.
-Juggernaut Rank II: You can pick which enemy is affected because narratively, you just sent that first son-of-a-bitch flying.
-Skirmisher Rank II: You now simply ignore engagement and do not provoke reactions.
-Stormbringer Rank II: Concussive Burst is now a knockback against a single target, but both the target and adjacent player allies must roll Agility or suffer Knockback.
-Stormbringer Rank III: This is now an attack against all enemy targets that are not Out Of Range.
-Vanguard Rank II: You now simply ignore all cover when using CQB weaponry.

Mech, Equipment And Protocol Modifications:
-Sekhmet AI: IFF coding updates means that the AI will prioritise Enemies before going after Allies, so make sure to shut her down before she turns on your friends!
-Nelson Skirmisher Trait & Ultimate: The mech now ignores engagement and does not provoke reactions when moving after attacking. Perpetual Motion Drive now gives +4 Accuracy on Agility, Evasion, and Move rolls.
-Tortuga Throughbolt Rounds: This mod ignores cover and can penetrate impassible barriers such as reinforced walls.
-Mourning Cloak Exposed Singularity: Now acts as a +1 Accuracy to an Agility Check not to appear inside walls or another mech when reaction-teleporting.
-Swallowtail Scout Drone Nexus: 1d6 enemy targets on the battlefield lose Invisibility and Hiding Status and cannot reacquire them until the drone is destroyed or recalled. Deploying player automatically knows the HP, Evasion/E-Defence and Heat of any target they choose on the battlefield.
-Swallowtail Athena AI: All player attacks ignore cover and all players know the HP, Evasion/E-Defence and Heat of all targets on the battlefield. All targets lose Hiding and Invisibility until the protocol ends and Out Of Range targets are now considered in range for player weapons fire, but not Melee, Cone or CQB attacks.
-Swallowtail Cloaking Field: Cloaking Field only affects allies who are adjacent to you.
-Balor Hive Drone: You can now order the drone to grapple an enemy, which is dealt damage every turn it remains grappled. It must disengage if the user wishes it become light cover or a mobile hazard again.
-Pegasus Mimic Gun: The 1d20 roll is now only for the damage of the...weapon, which is still equal to half the roll, rounding up plus one.
-Genghis Explosive Vent: Targets must be adjacent to be to caught in the vent's blast.

 

[Artificial Girl]

Throwing up this post to mark interest. Will be putting together a character ASAP.

Player Name: Artificial Girl
Character Name: Amira Sayrami
Gender: Female
Species: Human

Description: Born and raised on the distant world of Open Sky, Amira knew a life of hard work and free living from an early age. Open Sky was a green world on the edges of Union space, a place with wide open fields of tall grasses and rolling hills. Her people were modern day nomads, herding their livestock across the rambling plains and valleys of Open Sky's main continent in a constant effort to make ends meet. To say she grew up in the saddle would be appropriate, if the saddle was attached to an all-terrain vehicle. Her life was hard, but some might say idyllic. There was always space, always family, always the open plains and skies of her home. As she grew into a young woman, at the age of fourteen she joined her local militia, a force of men and women who could come together to defend the commune and the way of life that they loved.

Then came pirates. A raiding party in the employ of some corporate baron or monarchy seeking loot. And people were loot. Though the militia, including the young Amira, fought stubbornly they were no match for the heavily armed and armored raiders who rocketed down from the sky and scooped them up like so many grains of sand from a beach. Hauled from her world, separated from her family, Amira didn't know what fate awaited her. The pirates delivered her to the corporate baron that was their employer and seeing the teenage girl's spirit, he determined to make use of it. She became a soldier in his service, a janissary working to earn her way free of his oversight, though there was yet no change of escape. While the Union's laws forbid slavery and indentured servitude, the realities of the edges of known space are different. In all but name, she was a slave-soldier and she was trained into a Lancer, used as a favored bodyguard or problem solver, and now rented out to the highest bidder with most if not all of her corporate contract fees going back to her 'employer.'

Amira, now nearing 30, is good at what she does and knows that one day, the Baron will let his guard down. And then Amira will wreak her bloody vengeance. Until then, she bides her time. And she waits.

Spoiler: Image

 

[Rat King]

If y'all are still recruiting...

Player Name: Rat King
Character Name: Suvarna, Called the Beloved
Gender: Non-binary; presents androg.
Species: Human / Cyborg
Description: Suvarna is from the edges of Union; the reaches of space beyond the Core. Distant colonies that are nominally under Union's control. They are part of a small religious sect that, until relatively recently, held themselves in relative seclusion. There's is a belief system focused on the cycle of reincarnation; on the concept of kharma and the idea that one must strive to find enlightenment and one's place in the wider universe. They achieve this through a variety of methods, but the blending of flesh and metal is one of them; leaving behind the limitations of flesh and building for one's self a personal temple is considered one of the steps along the path.

Suvarna left their homeworld on a pilgrimage; that of a wanderer seeking to see the rest of the galaxy and to both spread and find their sense of enlightenment. To see the teeming mass of humanity and to bring to them the message of Truth; to bring to them the fact that we can only surpass and overcome our fate by mastering the self, in all senses of the word.

One must work, though. One must find employment or one will languish in some forgotten spaceport for the rest of one's days.

And Suvarna had, in their previous life, been a part of the militant order; the sohei of their peoples' temple-planet. To fight in the defense of one's home was easy. To fight for money was another - but it is not for material goods. It is for survival. It is to bring enlightenment; to liberate others from the bonds of their current lives and to speed them on their way to the wheel.


Image to come once I find one that's relatively close to the one kicking around in my head.

 

[Enmascarado]

1.8.5 is here.



Direct link: LANCER Public Beta - Google Drive