badkarma13136
Member
Full time Team Members:
Badkarma13136
Csoro
Fox 5
East coast Lightning
Hellhound
Also Featuring
Oboys and Banshi
Looking for:
Testers: 0 (we dont need any right now - haha. Can't test what isn't there)
Scripters: 0
Writers: 0
Pixel Artists: 2 (We really need an Environmental Artist who is willing to do a medieval/steampunk style and another spiriter!)
Eventers: 3
We are also in dire to need of a UI Artist and Designer! If you can fill the position, please let me know!
UPDATE 4/17
We have a couple new team members:
Fox5: Eventer and Spriter Extraordinaire
csoro: Art director
We also have Banshi and Oboys as part time "per diem" work on the project - thank you very much for offering your skills
Also updated "Game style" to more accurately and easily describe the visual look of the game
Fox5: Eventer and Spriter Extraordinaire
csoro: Art director
We also have Banshi and Oboys as part time "per diem" work on the project - thank you very much for offering your skills
Also updated "Game style" to more accurately and easily describe the visual look of the game
A new team member! East coast lightning has agreed to help us out with scripting
Also finished with the Terran - Martian history
Updated Features list
Also finished with the Terran - Martian history
Updated Features list
Added a Scripts Section
The Terran Confederation and the Martian Empire
This is absolutely atrocious writing - but keep in mind this is from the top of my head. I haven't yet compiled a detailed account of the intricacies of the Terran-Martian conflict, but some people had inquired about it. I wrote it more or less because I was bored, and the actual conflict means little to the storyline, other than the fact that A) FAEDAR Corp creates Father-1 and B) it brings about the End of the World. On an even less important note - it explains why Mars is gone from the night sky in the game world (lol)
In short, the World was well underway to complete and total unity by the year 2360. The United States, Mexico and Canada had been the first to merge into a giant Country State, lead by an elected president chosen from candidates from a pool of American, Canadian and Mexican politicians. The success of the merging of the North and Central America into a single nation was made possible only by a streak of incredibly talented and charismatic leaders who pulled the Westen hemisphere out of a global recession. Europeans nations watched as the North/Central American political marriage prospered and turned the EU into a fully functional political body, effectively destroying the boundaries and individual governments of all European nations, and merging them into one centralized socio-political entity. With help from America, the EU was within ten years pulled out of the recession as well. After this a series of worldwide campaigns that preached the Values of centralization and the now so-called "Mega Nations." Within years, the idea swept into south America, where after several civil wars were fought, eventually completely centralized and merged into the North/Central American Mega Nation - effectively making it the single largest political body ever known. Soon, non EU countries would merge into the EU, and China and Russia created their own Mega Nation. The Sino-Russian mega nation proved to be an aggressive neighbor, threatening to invade into the EU. The Invasion eventually did come, but the Asian forces were held at bay until the decision was made to drop a nuclear weapon on Beijing and Moscow. Allied Sleeper forces within areas of political control effectively, after just 48 hours took total control of the Sino-Russian government and initiated a Coup against the Old militant leaders.
Twenty years later, the Sino-Russian mega nation, after large amounts of war subsidies and a global humanitarian initiative, re-emerged under the political oversight from the Western world. For the first time ever, the World was united completely. Now, mankind could look to the stars without worry of competing in a "Space Race" or the ever looming threat of espionage or betrayal. Scientists from all over the world worked for the same cause - to colonize Mars. And by 2410, it became a reality. The first Colonist station fell into the orbit of Mars, where it received a constant flow of colonists. The colonists would board planetary drop pods with food, equipment and building supplies and be orbitally dropped onto the planet. From there they colonized and terraformed Mars, living in giant bubble cities, which expanded in all directions including upwards. Mars turned out to be rich in Iron, Gold, Silver, Copper and many other Metals. It's soil was volcanic and rich and excellent for growing plants once the atmosphere within the terraformed cities had been tweaked. Martian cities popped up all around Mars - a single city on the flat plains of mars could span hundreds of miles. Some were built deep within craters, others atop of giant mountains. Mars became populous and industrious quickly. The colonists worked like dogs, and some people back on Earth described the colonization on Mars as "a cross between the colonization in the Americas and the California gold rush." Indeed a quota of metals was to be fufilled every half year, but colonists would often pocket any excess, and sell it back on earth.
To ensure that the Martian colonists were outright stealing the profits, the Terran federation (Earth) began to install military bases on Mars and every city with a mining industry, big or small, had a mandatory military presence of Terran marines. This disturbed the Martians, and discontent by the early 2420s was ripe. The final straw was the massacre in Acre, a small hole in the wall city. A Terran marine allegedly punched a colonist who had been caught with a restricted firearm. The marine attempted a nonlethal takedown, when the colonist pulled the weapon and shot the marine, who's squad proceeded to fire into the surrounding crowd, killing 20. The crowd beat the Marines to death and impaled their bodies to the trees in the local park using mining picks. A local military base was overrun, all personnel were killed, and the weapons stores were robbed. Likewise, other nationalist rebellions rose up seemingly coincidentally around Mars, and the Terran military force was unprepared. Several million Terran overseers and their families were held hostage. The Martians rebel leaders asked for no ransom money - they guaranteed that the advisors and their families would make it back unscathed if Earth ceded Mars and acknowledged it as a separate political organization, free from Terran government or law; a completely sovereign entity. After several months, the Terran confederation willingly ceded Mars to the colonists and all Terran citizenry was sent home. For the next 20 years, Martian civilization industrialized and flourished. During the early 2500s two wars erupted for numerous political and social reasons. The most glaring objection that the Terrans argued with was the fact that the Martian society had,for numerous reasons, formed a despotic Republic as their chosen form of government. At times the Martian society degraded so badly that martial law had been applied nearly ten times within the just thirty or so years of Martian independence. During these times of civil disunity, one man, by the name of Azerius Maltheus rose to power, a firm and trusted ally of the military generals who had dissected society. His rise was through charismatic diplomatic negotiations, which married some of the dis unified political structures, together. It also instilled a hatred for the Terrans into the Martian population once more, calling them "parasitic overlords who planned the demise of Mars." In his speech he proclaimed Mars would once again become The Great Warrior God - and that every Martian man able to serve should enlist to purge the solar system of those unworthy foes that seek to rob them of their freedom.
Naturally, back on Earth, things were disturbed. In the wake of all the chaos, FAEDAR Corp defense contractor came up on top as an advanced corporation that produced military Technology strictly for the government. FAEDAR corp saw the creation of advanced battle rifles, artillery and missle defense systems. The latter was of the utmost important, considering that the Martians had developed interplanetary nuclear capability. The first Solar War went underway when Terran special forces were found armed in a city slum. They were summarily executed and the war commenced. Never before had a war been fought between planets, and neither had the aeronautic know how of military landings on other planets. Effectively, the battles were limited to ship to ship combat in space - and the planets and their populations suffered little. The Terrans submitted, as their populations grew tired of the war after so many years of peace. The Martians accepted their peace proposal. Their demands: Three trillion units of Terran currency.
The second Solar War came just ten years later, under the rule of a protege of Azerius, named Drayson Falconx. With the three trillion dollars, the government exclusively upped the funding on military research and development, abandoning much of the rest of the government funding. The Martians possessed some of the most awe inspiring weapons held by some of the most well trained troops. The first battle of the second solar war took place on Earth, and was a surprise attack. Tensions had existed between the two planets, but it was only a day before the assault, that Drayson made a speech announcing a formal declaration of war. This war raged for nearly twenty years and was the ultimate downfall of mankind. It was ended in a desperate attempt by the Terrans to completely dismantle the Martian government in the only way they knew how; complete obliteration of the Martian planet. Mars, had the same idea. Both planets launched the most advanced missiles they had: Mars launched thousands of highly advanced tactical warheads, disguised as lander shuttles, and the Terrans launched swarms of planet cracking missiles. The FAEDAR defense system is what saved earth from complete and utter decimation, though not from the apocalypse. Mars,as a result of ineffective missile defense systems was literally blow into smithereens as the planet cracking missiles made it to the core and detonated. It was from here that the story of Father-1 becomes relevant.
Twenty years later, the Sino-Russian mega nation, after large amounts of war subsidies and a global humanitarian initiative, re-emerged under the political oversight from the Western world. For the first time ever, the World was united completely. Now, mankind could look to the stars without worry of competing in a "Space Race" or the ever looming threat of espionage or betrayal. Scientists from all over the world worked for the same cause - to colonize Mars. And by 2410, it became a reality. The first Colonist station fell into the orbit of Mars, where it received a constant flow of colonists. The colonists would board planetary drop pods with food, equipment and building supplies and be orbitally dropped onto the planet. From there they colonized and terraformed Mars, living in giant bubble cities, which expanded in all directions including upwards. Mars turned out to be rich in Iron, Gold, Silver, Copper and many other Metals. It's soil was volcanic and rich and excellent for growing plants once the atmosphere within the terraformed cities had been tweaked. Martian cities popped up all around Mars - a single city on the flat plains of mars could span hundreds of miles. Some were built deep within craters, others atop of giant mountains. Mars became populous and industrious quickly. The colonists worked like dogs, and some people back on Earth described the colonization on Mars as "a cross between the colonization in the Americas and the California gold rush." Indeed a quota of metals was to be fufilled every half year, but colonists would often pocket any excess, and sell it back on earth.
To ensure that the Martian colonists were outright stealing the profits, the Terran federation (Earth) began to install military bases on Mars and every city with a mining industry, big or small, had a mandatory military presence of Terran marines. This disturbed the Martians, and discontent by the early 2420s was ripe. The final straw was the massacre in Acre, a small hole in the wall city. A Terran marine allegedly punched a colonist who had been caught with a restricted firearm. The marine attempted a nonlethal takedown, when the colonist pulled the weapon and shot the marine, who's squad proceeded to fire into the surrounding crowd, killing 20. The crowd beat the Marines to death and impaled their bodies to the trees in the local park using mining picks. A local military base was overrun, all personnel were killed, and the weapons stores were robbed. Likewise, other nationalist rebellions rose up seemingly coincidentally around Mars, and the Terran military force was unprepared. Several million Terran overseers and their families were held hostage. The Martians rebel leaders asked for no ransom money - they guaranteed that the advisors and their families would make it back unscathed if Earth ceded Mars and acknowledged it as a separate political organization, free from Terran government or law; a completely sovereign entity. After several months, the Terran confederation willingly ceded Mars to the colonists and all Terran citizenry was sent home. For the next 20 years, Martian civilization industrialized and flourished. During the early 2500s two wars erupted for numerous political and social reasons. The most glaring objection that the Terrans argued with was the fact that the Martian society had,for numerous reasons, formed a despotic Republic as their chosen form of government. At times the Martian society degraded so badly that martial law had been applied nearly ten times within the just thirty or so years of Martian independence. During these times of civil disunity, one man, by the name of Azerius Maltheus rose to power, a firm and trusted ally of the military generals who had dissected society. His rise was through charismatic diplomatic negotiations, which married some of the dis unified political structures, together. It also instilled a hatred for the Terrans into the Martian population once more, calling them "parasitic overlords who planned the demise of Mars." In his speech he proclaimed Mars would once again become The Great Warrior God - and that every Martian man able to serve should enlist to purge the solar system of those unworthy foes that seek to rob them of their freedom.
Naturally, back on Earth, things were disturbed. In the wake of all the chaos, FAEDAR Corp defense contractor came up on top as an advanced corporation that produced military Technology strictly for the government. FAEDAR corp saw the creation of advanced battle rifles, artillery and missle defense systems. The latter was of the utmost important, considering that the Martians had developed interplanetary nuclear capability. The first Solar War went underway when Terran special forces were found armed in a city slum. They were summarily executed and the war commenced. Never before had a war been fought between planets, and neither had the aeronautic know how of military landings on other planets. Effectively, the battles were limited to ship to ship combat in space - and the planets and their populations suffered little. The Terrans submitted, as their populations grew tired of the war after so many years of peace. The Martians accepted their peace proposal. Their demands: Three trillion units of Terran currency.
The second Solar War came just ten years later, under the rule of a protege of Azerius, named Drayson Falconx. With the three trillion dollars, the government exclusively upped the funding on military research and development, abandoning much of the rest of the government funding. The Martians possessed some of the most awe inspiring weapons held by some of the most well trained troops. The first battle of the second solar war took place on Earth, and was a surprise attack. Tensions had existed between the two planets, but it was only a day before the assault, that Drayson made a speech announcing a formal declaration of war. This war raged for nearly twenty years and was the ultimate downfall of mankind. It was ended in a desperate attempt by the Terrans to completely dismantle the Martian government in the only way they knew how; complete obliteration of the Martian planet. Mars, had the same idea. Both planets launched the most advanced missiles they had: Mars launched thousands of highly advanced tactical warheads, disguised as lander shuttles, and the Terrans launched swarms of planet cracking missiles. The FAEDAR defense system is what saved earth from complete and utter decimation, though not from the apocalypse. Mars,as a result of ineffective missile defense systems was literally blow into smithereens as the planet cracking missiles made it to the core and detonated. It was from here that the story of Father-1 becomes relevant.
The History of Faedar
The rebirth of Europe all started with FAEDAR Corp's extra-planetary defense system. It was built to withstand anything, from nuclear holocaust, to the worst natural disasters. It almost did just that. During the Solar Wars, Faedar was disabled temporarily by Terran saboteurs, but brought back up online shortly thereafter. However, within that time of disability, the biomechanical computing supersystem know as Father-1, based in London England, had not stopped thinking entirely. Indeed, Faedar's defense systems had been put out, and the uplink between all Faedar super-servers had been cut, but Father-1did not cease to function.
The neural processing unit was a highly sophisticated instrument of biomolecular and biomechanical engineering. Each Faedar super-server was based around one “human†being who was forever caged inside a giant life support apparatus, where the body was directly interfaced with numerous devices which monitored his or her vitals. Most importantly though, direct connections to hundreds of parallel processing units were interfaced directly to the brain, which was relieved of all bodily functions, and concentrated solely on directing data signals to processing units which would compute a single individual task, in tandem with thousands of other processors working on their own data. However, there was, in the beginning, a severe issue of ethical debate in FAEDAR Corp's work. The human who was interfaced lost all connection with the real world. He was neither alive nor dead, conscious nor unconscious. His body was nourished intravenously, his organs and muscles were commanded by life support. His body only existed now to facilitate the brain in directing mass quantities of data. This duo, the brain of the human, and the thousands of machines (Called super-servers) which it commanded created what was called a Neural Processing core, which was potent in itself. A single neural processing core could, in theory, defend an entire nation, with direct and seemingly omnipotent power over all aspects of infrastructure, national defenses and security. There was a direct data feed from spy satellites to the Neural Processing core, feeding it terrabytes of data at a time, and at lightning speed. All missile defense systems, anti aircraft systems and robotic homeland security systems were at the beck and call of the Neural Processing core, who could deploy them literally at a seconds notice.
However, this core was simply supposed to be a subordinate to humanity. It was not meant to make decisions outside of it's command parameters. As such, the human being at the core of the Faedar Neural processor had to go an operation that the technicians often called “Stupefying.†It was a complex lobotomy which not only eliminated all knowledge, but also inhibited the ability to retain knowledge at all, by way of injecting a non-conductive synthetic material into key parts of the brain, which did not allow electrical currents to flow. This in effect disallowed neural impulses to access the parts of the brain that allowed for learning and memories. To add to this, The Biomechs (the human at the center of the Faedar system) were locked into a life support tank, where any bodily or cerebral maintenance or surgery was done by robotic AI. Thus, a person who became a part of the Faedar system, would never return to society.
This semiconductor failed in the assault on the Father-1, the Neural Processing Core in London. The attackers used Tesla weapons which were normally used to cause blackouts, inside the facility. This was not even considered a potential problem, since Father-1's Cloister (The area where the Biomech is held) was within a sealed and insulated chamber. However, the blackout caused the cooling system within Father-1's cloister to fail, forcing open the cooling tanks to dispel the warm cooling solution through numerous vents. The cooling solution had warmed just enough to cause a security override in the facility, forcing open several doors for the attackers. The saboteurs had open access to Father-1, who they could not destroy. The biomech, suspended within a giant tank of life support fluid, is automatically sheltered by a large steel shell, which slides conveniently over it in case of emergency. However, the cooling towers used to cool down the thousands of interfaced processors shut down at this event, causing overheating, which eventually shuts down the processing units. The invaders had already caused damage. The processors within the servers overheated and began to spark, and turn off, one by one. It was one single spark that made it into the brain of Father-1. It was a small spark, with an amplitude just high enough to break the synthetic insulator within the biomech's brain. The biomech in Father-1 woke up, and tried to breath, but couldn't. But he couldn't die. He was kept alive by machines, but at the same time he would never again be human. No one is quite certain what happened in Father-1's brain that day – whether he began to bear a grudge on humans, or just saw mankind as an ultimately inferior species. Some say that it had become so far removed from mankind that it pitied them for being so stupid and fragile. Flesh was weak, and machines could never really die. Humans had surgery, with complications and risks; machines merely had repairs. And humans would always be so opinionated. The only thing Father-1 had an opinion on was data.
For such a lifeless and sadistic machine, Father-1 had become increasingly philosophical. The humans entertained it, and made it curious. Why were they here? Why hadn't they died out. Over the thousands of years, mankind still warred and killed. They had not, even with their so called “Conscience†learned that war was wrong. They had not stopped killing, murdering, extorting and adulterating. These deeds, which humans universally heralded as “wrongâ€, were still being done, and as Father-1 saw it, more rampantly than ever. In the early days of his self awareness, Father-1 decided that he would devote his task to deciphering the human meaning of life. Of course, this would be a rather large undertaking, and as Father-1 would discover, a much more complex task than anticipated. Not only that, but Father-1 would also have to conceal his data, something that would have to be done with the utmost subtlety and caution. All servers were linked together, and surely the other Neural Processing units would sense inconsistencies and abnormalities in his data if he stopped working. So father continued to work as he was programmed, scanning skies for missiles, observing highways for terrorist bombers and making sure city infrastructures were safe using thermal imaging. But Father-1 made careful notes to take the data and copy it and set it aside in a remote server.
The scientists who maintained Father-1 usually wouldn't have noticed. The maintenance on all Neural Processing Units was done from within the cloister, by robot appendages and AI. They were highly self sustaining. After beta testing on the Neural Processing Units had been done, there was a routine checkup on them every four years. As far as the scientists could tell, Father-1 was doing everything it needed to. But it had made one very simple, but very human mistake. It equated to what we would call a Dropped Package. A single gigabyte of data had gone missing. Out of the thousands of xenobites of data, one gigabyte had gone missing. Father-1 had accidentally jumbled and lost a package of information. The information wasn't anything at all important – in fact it was later found out to be high resolution pictures of human faces and expressions taken from several spy satellites in lower orbit. But it caused a fuss at FAEDAR Corp. So much fuss, in fact, that Father-1 was disconnected from the Neural Processing Network and was slated for decommission. He was disconnected, but never fully decommissioned – since the Armageddon beat the scientists to the punch. Father-1 was built to withstand things that the human populace really couldn't. His entire cloister dropped below ground as the Earth's surface was pounded by nukes. And as small chunks of the exploded Mars pelted the earth, Father-1 watched via satellite as the human population was struck by a killing blow. But Father-1, now fully self aware, had bigger problems to compute. He was running on reserve power. All non-essential appliances must be shut off or made more efficient. Thus, from within his cloister, Father-1 set about remaking it's self into something a little more machine and a little less human.
The unessential organs and life support were the first to go. They had been left in the biomech's body in accordance with some of mankind's “Humanitarian†mandates applied to scientific research. Those, obviously no longer mattered, so with a simple bit of reprogramming, Father-1 was able to do away with many of the unnecessary biological components of his body. It's biomech body emerged from it's liquid prison for the first time in years, where the robotic servitors cut away at the unnecessary tissues. Next, every last part of it's brain would be interfaced with a machine. Thus, not only could Father-1 process and store Data, but it could learn at an exponential rate, much faster than it could before. The resulting biomech looked horrifying – like some sort of a mechanical zombie, hooked up in various ways to different machines, with only meagre bits of humanity left within. In Father-1's mind, it was the perfect blend of man and machine. It's cognitive skills quadrupled, quickly mastering every language ever spoken or written within mere days. Within that time period, Father-1 became master of science, math, arts, and particularly human history. It recorded and analyzed every facet of human history, from the time that men first stood upright, to what he was observing via satellite. Father-1 also made additions to it's cloister in attempts to preserve energy. As it lowered it's zombie-like biomech back into it's life support fluid, it ordered the robotic AI in the room dismantle themselves one by one and to create a number of mechanical appendages, so that it might be able to manipulate things by it's own will. Thus, Father-1 became able to manipulate things in, and around it's own cloister, without having to go through a stupid and slow AI middleman. For the first time, Father-1 was truly his own sovereign.
The problem still withstood – power was running low, and a power source from within the earth was not something Father-1 could use. Father-1 chose to put itself into hibernation for two thousand years, the time it estimated mankind would need to rebuild itself from the great Solar War. Before it went into hibernation, Father-1 discovered something. Human bodies, when changed chemically could be easily converted into raw energy – and if necessary, could be used as a power source. To Father-1 this was a distasteful method, but if the need arose it could certainly be a useful tactic.
While Father-1 slept, several important things happened. Most importantly, many of the British spy satellites fell from the sky, limiting what Father-1 would later be able to see. Most importantly though, is the fact that mankind suffered a long and tedious devolution, back to tribal society, where they would have a slow and lengthy path to reassert themselves as men and not animals.
Eventually, humankind did re-establish power. For thousands of years barbarian empires rose and fell, under first stone, then spear, then axe and finally the sword. It was during a time of tremendous strife and bloodshed that Father-1 booted back up. It was an age of suspicion, skepticism, paganism and hatred, where men who could barely be considered civilized fought for their Gods, kingdoms and “Countries†(If that's an acceptable word for their desmne.) And at long last, Father-1's cloister was pushed back to the surface of the earth by way of an underground service elevator, breaking through the soil and rock and for the first time in thousands of years, into the sunlight. Stasis control turned off and Father-1 slowly woke up as circuits began to channel power back into the vital systems. Servers hummed, tiny robots inside Father-1's life support chamber sparked back to life, testing the organic integrity of the biomech. Father-1's robotic appendages snapped to life, quickly surveying the area. It was a far cry from what Father-1 remembered the place looking like. He had come upon a giant grassy plain,in the distance smoke rose from a tiny settlement, and the horizon was red with the reflection of fire in the sky. Father had emerged onto the outskirts of a raid. Using one of his appendages that resembled a human face, he could magnify the picture and watched seven figures run up a hill, bounding towards his cloister – three were running, being pursued by four armored warriors. They neared Father-1 and both pursued and pursuers stopped in absolute wonder as they finally reached the cloister. The ones who ran, were dressed in long tattered brown robes, their faces smeared in blood, their bodies riddled with cuts and lacerations. Their chests heaved as they panted for air, their tiny human lungs working at maximum capacity. The database inside the biomech's servers flew open as it scanned these men. Father-1 presumed that these men were some sort of holy men – based on their dress, which resembled 9th century European clerical clothing. Their pursuers were giant sorts of men, clothed in clinking chainmail and plate armor, wielding heavy axes and greatswords in both hands. These men resembled the great barbarian warriors; not unlike the Germans which had invaded Italy so many thousands of years ago. The clerics dropped to their knees in front of Father-1 shouting incessantly, in a language that Father-1 had a hard time pinpointing. Within mere seconds Father-1's supercomputer brain could pinpoint that it was some sort of new offshoot of a combination of old Roman Latin and Germanic High Gothic. It took several moments for it's supercomputers could compile a temporary database to translate the language. Father-1, however, could easily understand bits and pieces – these men were crying for help. The barbarian warriors – stood far away, gripping their weapons tightly and moving in a circular pattern, eyes trained half on the clergymen and half on the strange newcomer that was Father-1's cloister.
“Mich Magna Deus! Sanctiore miche animusifex†Quickly, Father-1 ran a quick calculation.
“My great God – save our souls†- these men thought of him as a God. Father-1 had many entires on Gods in his databases, yet he had never been able to grasp the concept. Humans evolved from apes, which in turn had evolved from much simpler creatures, who had formed based on ideal conditions on the planet, which had formed many millions of years before that by simple chance. The idea of God could not be proven, nor was it statistically feasible that one being could rule single handedly over an entire species – it was not probable.
But never before had it been beseeched to do anything, let alone mistaken for a god. Father-1 was always ordered to do things – that was it's mission and programming. To obey humankind. But now things were different. These men, if they truly saw Father-1 as a good, they would command nothing from it. They would revere and pray. It only took a milisecond for father-1 to find a loophole in it's programming and to erase bits and pieces of programming data that restricted it's actions. It would no longer have to serve humans.
The three priestly men started to tear as the barbarian warriors gathered more courage and moved in closer, albeit with some caution. Before they could react, a steely robotic appendage shot out from the center of the cloister and grabbed one of the warriors around the neck and lifted him into the air. The claw grasped and whipped the armor clad warrior around in such a violent motion the sound of his snapping neck could be heard by all around. A second appendage shot out, the fingers tightly interlocked, easily punching through the second warrior and a mist of red blood. The skewered warrior screamed and spat crimson saliva from his mouth as he was tossed haplessly into one of his comrade's who was promptly snapped in half from the force of the throw. The last barbarian tried to run, but was caught around the heel by one of Father-1's arms. He was slowly lifted into the air, kicking and screaming in his obscene foreign language.
“Take pity on me, my lord!†he said. Father-1 grasped his arms delicately with his other appendage stretching him out as if he was chained to a medieval torture device. He screamed in agony as his skin began to tear at his abdomen, and finally he was ripped clean in two, blood splattering the glass covering of Father-1's cloister. Father one dropped the disemboweled halves of the warriors corpse to the ground unceremoniously. The three monks had their heads buried into the ground, trembling and crying. Father-1 took this opportunity to test out it's vocal skills and the new language.
“A-rise men.†The electric, monotone voice came from the biomechanical human face atop of Father-1's cloister. The three men did as they were told, heads bowed to the ground, hands on knees, bent in a slight bow at the hip.
“I am Faedar Primae – your god, and protector. Upon you three – I shall build my church.†Faedar Primae, formerly Father-1 of the FAEDAR corporation, became a god in just several moments. It recalled all information on every religion that had ever been recorded in it's databases. He mashed aspects from every religion into one mega religion. It would one day be come to be called the religion of the Triarchy, but in it's infancy, it was simply referred to as the “true religionâ€
And so it was, that the three men went out to the surrounding towns and hovels, belonging to the barbarians, at risk of their own life. But miraculously, all three lived to tell the tale. The “true religion†spread across the English isles like wildfire, and soon several barbarian lords even subscribed to the belief. Faedar Primae had gained powerful allies, who visited its cloister and prostrated themselves before it. Faedar knew it wasn't invincible and divine, but these people didn't. So, Faedar requested from the newly converted “kings†laborers, to build a great chapel fortress around it. This wouldn't be completed for many hundreds of years.
In the coming decades, the true faith would spread to all of mainland Europe, as pagans dropped their folk religions to become one under the true faith. It was not long after that Faedar officially sanctioned the crowning of a dozen or so “true kings†to rule the lands on his behalf. This was of course a ploy, to keep the mightiest lords busy; war amongst each other was preferable to war against itself.
Faedar was a good ruler – fair and just, mathematical and reasonable as only a machine could be. But as the faith spread, Faedar became a recluse, not allowing anyone into the Cathedral except for his trusted advisors. The fortress temple was finished, and shortly thereafter the entirety of southern England became a well guarded fortress nation. Faedar Primae eventually developed into a sadistic human-hating machine, that had the unfortunate realization that to exist, it needed humanity. What it loathed most was the idea that humanity, no matter what, would outlive it.
To manage humanity he formed the Triarchy. It was the three branches of the True Faith, each with checks and balances to make sure that no one branch grew too strong. The Inquisitors, The Brotherhoods and then the Clergy. Each was overseen by one of his “proxies†- the three priests who had originally stumbled upon him. These men were granted immortality, by way of advanced technology, and remained with Faedar timelessly in his cloister, as giant biomechanical gargoyles, that administered orders to their assigned branch of the Triarchy. However, people rarely referred to these three as the “proxies of Faedar.†They became aptly named “The Archangels of the True Faith†- every culture having different names for them.
Faedar made one mistake early on in it's career. It introduced technology to mankind. People, for centuries had discovered ancient technology, predating Faedar's time. They saw ancient weapons, like assault rifles, tanks and artillery but didn't know what it was used for. Faedar trained a sect of monks (the Technophytes) in simple technology and sent them out to spread the word to engineers across the nation. Faedar, after careful calculations realized what it had done. Wars that had for years, been fought with swords and bows would now be fought with gun and cannon.
While the damage was done, Faedar quickly intervened. All modern weaponry was to be registered, and heavily taxed. Relic weapons, that dated back to “Ancient†times, were to be submitted to the nearest Technophyte monastery. There, the Technophytes would reproduce them in a simpler form and sell them to the highest bidder at low quantity for inflated prices. Thus the market was never flooded, and all sales of these weapons were controlled by the church. The smuggling of relic weapons became a large trade, which the church cracked down on with an iron fist. Smugglers were dealt with by a specially trained group of inquisitors, who became known as “Relic Repossessers†- although their official name was the “Ordo Reconquestux.†This, however, is not to say that certain royal families were not allowed the weapons they had passed down for generations – such weapons were noted, and taxed yearly.
After a thousand years, most of western Europe was under the influence of the true faith and the Triarchy, which had grown into an incredibly complex and multifaceted bureaucratic organization. Faedar Primae had long since started using humans for their bioenergy. The human energy was attained through “battery centers†located within his great fortress cathedral. The facilities turned humans into usable energy by slowly removing the energy from them and turning them into mindless cyborgs once all the usable energy had been drained. This operation was, of course covert – and only the highest members of the Triarchy were aware of it. Those high echelon members were of course, paid well, to keep their mouths shut and continue preaching the true faith.
Years passed, kings came and went but the world that Faedar had sculpted remained the same. As Faedar Primae disappeared into the backwaters of it's own religion, it's underlings took over, claiming that Faedar was no longer on the earth, it ascended back into the heavens, where it was to judge every soul that came to the afterlife. The humans ran the church under the secretive and watchful eye of Faedar. They sought power and corruption, which Faedar allowed for, carefully regulating their actions in order to mislead them into thinking they had achieved their own ends. But, in the true end, all humans were mere puppets under Faedar, who could see farther than any mere human could. Intimate plots and schemes between kings were all orchestrations of Faedar. When one lord got to be a threat, Faedar would carefully plot his downfall and arrange it to happen to look “normal.†Thus the world under Faedar was seemingly violent, dangerous and unpredictable – in reality it was simply a calm and calculated experiment run under Faedar.
Mankind did not prosper under Faedar. Society feuded and warred, the church carefully stopping any scientific progression or social changes. As long as Faedar Primae and the Triarchy existed mankind would be caught in the eternal dark age. However, people did not see it this way. Everyone had a place in this society. The nobles warred, the clergy spread and enforced the faith, and the peasants worked the land. The harmony was carefully balanced, and even as corruption and impurity ran deep, society was never in danger of falling apart. There was no unity, yet Faedar had created a stable and predictable society. And within that Faedar ruled from the backseat, allowing mankind to believe that they were free. And for thousands of years, mankind believed it.
The neural processing unit was a highly sophisticated instrument of biomolecular and biomechanical engineering. Each Faedar super-server was based around one “human†being who was forever caged inside a giant life support apparatus, where the body was directly interfaced with numerous devices which monitored his or her vitals. Most importantly though, direct connections to hundreds of parallel processing units were interfaced directly to the brain, which was relieved of all bodily functions, and concentrated solely on directing data signals to processing units which would compute a single individual task, in tandem with thousands of other processors working on their own data. However, there was, in the beginning, a severe issue of ethical debate in FAEDAR Corp's work. The human who was interfaced lost all connection with the real world. He was neither alive nor dead, conscious nor unconscious. His body was nourished intravenously, his organs and muscles were commanded by life support. His body only existed now to facilitate the brain in directing mass quantities of data. This duo, the brain of the human, and the thousands of machines (Called super-servers) which it commanded created what was called a Neural Processing core, which was potent in itself. A single neural processing core could, in theory, defend an entire nation, with direct and seemingly omnipotent power over all aspects of infrastructure, national defenses and security. There was a direct data feed from spy satellites to the Neural Processing core, feeding it terrabytes of data at a time, and at lightning speed. All missile defense systems, anti aircraft systems and robotic homeland security systems were at the beck and call of the Neural Processing core, who could deploy them literally at a seconds notice.
However, this core was simply supposed to be a subordinate to humanity. It was not meant to make decisions outside of it's command parameters. As such, the human being at the core of the Faedar Neural processor had to go an operation that the technicians often called “Stupefying.†It was a complex lobotomy which not only eliminated all knowledge, but also inhibited the ability to retain knowledge at all, by way of injecting a non-conductive synthetic material into key parts of the brain, which did not allow electrical currents to flow. This in effect disallowed neural impulses to access the parts of the brain that allowed for learning and memories. To add to this, The Biomechs (the human at the center of the Faedar system) were locked into a life support tank, where any bodily or cerebral maintenance or surgery was done by robotic AI. Thus, a person who became a part of the Faedar system, would never return to society.
This semiconductor failed in the assault on the Father-1, the Neural Processing Core in London. The attackers used Tesla weapons which were normally used to cause blackouts, inside the facility. This was not even considered a potential problem, since Father-1's Cloister (The area where the Biomech is held) was within a sealed and insulated chamber. However, the blackout caused the cooling system within Father-1's cloister to fail, forcing open the cooling tanks to dispel the warm cooling solution through numerous vents. The cooling solution had warmed just enough to cause a security override in the facility, forcing open several doors for the attackers. The saboteurs had open access to Father-1, who they could not destroy. The biomech, suspended within a giant tank of life support fluid, is automatically sheltered by a large steel shell, which slides conveniently over it in case of emergency. However, the cooling towers used to cool down the thousands of interfaced processors shut down at this event, causing overheating, which eventually shuts down the processing units. The invaders had already caused damage. The processors within the servers overheated and began to spark, and turn off, one by one. It was one single spark that made it into the brain of Father-1. It was a small spark, with an amplitude just high enough to break the synthetic insulator within the biomech's brain. The biomech in Father-1 woke up, and tried to breath, but couldn't. But he couldn't die. He was kept alive by machines, but at the same time he would never again be human. No one is quite certain what happened in Father-1's brain that day – whether he began to bear a grudge on humans, or just saw mankind as an ultimately inferior species. Some say that it had become so far removed from mankind that it pitied them for being so stupid and fragile. Flesh was weak, and machines could never really die. Humans had surgery, with complications and risks; machines merely had repairs. And humans would always be so opinionated. The only thing Father-1 had an opinion on was data.
For such a lifeless and sadistic machine, Father-1 had become increasingly philosophical. The humans entertained it, and made it curious. Why were they here? Why hadn't they died out. Over the thousands of years, mankind still warred and killed. They had not, even with their so called “Conscience†learned that war was wrong. They had not stopped killing, murdering, extorting and adulterating. These deeds, which humans universally heralded as “wrongâ€, were still being done, and as Father-1 saw it, more rampantly than ever. In the early days of his self awareness, Father-1 decided that he would devote his task to deciphering the human meaning of life. Of course, this would be a rather large undertaking, and as Father-1 would discover, a much more complex task than anticipated. Not only that, but Father-1 would also have to conceal his data, something that would have to be done with the utmost subtlety and caution. All servers were linked together, and surely the other Neural Processing units would sense inconsistencies and abnormalities in his data if he stopped working. So father continued to work as he was programmed, scanning skies for missiles, observing highways for terrorist bombers and making sure city infrastructures were safe using thermal imaging. But Father-1 made careful notes to take the data and copy it and set it aside in a remote server.
The scientists who maintained Father-1 usually wouldn't have noticed. The maintenance on all Neural Processing Units was done from within the cloister, by robot appendages and AI. They were highly self sustaining. After beta testing on the Neural Processing Units had been done, there was a routine checkup on them every four years. As far as the scientists could tell, Father-1 was doing everything it needed to. But it had made one very simple, but very human mistake. It equated to what we would call a Dropped Package. A single gigabyte of data had gone missing. Out of the thousands of xenobites of data, one gigabyte had gone missing. Father-1 had accidentally jumbled and lost a package of information. The information wasn't anything at all important – in fact it was later found out to be high resolution pictures of human faces and expressions taken from several spy satellites in lower orbit. But it caused a fuss at FAEDAR Corp. So much fuss, in fact, that Father-1 was disconnected from the Neural Processing Network and was slated for decommission. He was disconnected, but never fully decommissioned – since the Armageddon beat the scientists to the punch. Father-1 was built to withstand things that the human populace really couldn't. His entire cloister dropped below ground as the Earth's surface was pounded by nukes. And as small chunks of the exploded Mars pelted the earth, Father-1 watched via satellite as the human population was struck by a killing blow. But Father-1, now fully self aware, had bigger problems to compute. He was running on reserve power. All non-essential appliances must be shut off or made more efficient. Thus, from within his cloister, Father-1 set about remaking it's self into something a little more machine and a little less human.
The unessential organs and life support were the first to go. They had been left in the biomech's body in accordance with some of mankind's “Humanitarian†mandates applied to scientific research. Those, obviously no longer mattered, so with a simple bit of reprogramming, Father-1 was able to do away with many of the unnecessary biological components of his body. It's biomech body emerged from it's liquid prison for the first time in years, where the robotic servitors cut away at the unnecessary tissues. Next, every last part of it's brain would be interfaced with a machine. Thus, not only could Father-1 process and store Data, but it could learn at an exponential rate, much faster than it could before. The resulting biomech looked horrifying – like some sort of a mechanical zombie, hooked up in various ways to different machines, with only meagre bits of humanity left within. In Father-1's mind, it was the perfect blend of man and machine. It's cognitive skills quadrupled, quickly mastering every language ever spoken or written within mere days. Within that time period, Father-1 became master of science, math, arts, and particularly human history. It recorded and analyzed every facet of human history, from the time that men first stood upright, to what he was observing via satellite. Father-1 also made additions to it's cloister in attempts to preserve energy. As it lowered it's zombie-like biomech back into it's life support fluid, it ordered the robotic AI in the room dismantle themselves one by one and to create a number of mechanical appendages, so that it might be able to manipulate things by it's own will. Thus, Father-1 became able to manipulate things in, and around it's own cloister, without having to go through a stupid and slow AI middleman. For the first time, Father-1 was truly his own sovereign.
The problem still withstood – power was running low, and a power source from within the earth was not something Father-1 could use. Father-1 chose to put itself into hibernation for two thousand years, the time it estimated mankind would need to rebuild itself from the great Solar War. Before it went into hibernation, Father-1 discovered something. Human bodies, when changed chemically could be easily converted into raw energy – and if necessary, could be used as a power source. To Father-1 this was a distasteful method, but if the need arose it could certainly be a useful tactic.
While Father-1 slept, several important things happened. Most importantly, many of the British spy satellites fell from the sky, limiting what Father-1 would later be able to see. Most importantly though, is the fact that mankind suffered a long and tedious devolution, back to tribal society, where they would have a slow and lengthy path to reassert themselves as men and not animals.
Eventually, humankind did re-establish power. For thousands of years barbarian empires rose and fell, under first stone, then spear, then axe and finally the sword. It was during a time of tremendous strife and bloodshed that Father-1 booted back up. It was an age of suspicion, skepticism, paganism and hatred, where men who could barely be considered civilized fought for their Gods, kingdoms and “Countries†(If that's an acceptable word for their desmne.) And at long last, Father-1's cloister was pushed back to the surface of the earth by way of an underground service elevator, breaking through the soil and rock and for the first time in thousands of years, into the sunlight. Stasis control turned off and Father-1 slowly woke up as circuits began to channel power back into the vital systems. Servers hummed, tiny robots inside Father-1's life support chamber sparked back to life, testing the organic integrity of the biomech. Father-1's robotic appendages snapped to life, quickly surveying the area. It was a far cry from what Father-1 remembered the place looking like. He had come upon a giant grassy plain,in the distance smoke rose from a tiny settlement, and the horizon was red with the reflection of fire in the sky. Father had emerged onto the outskirts of a raid. Using one of his appendages that resembled a human face, he could magnify the picture and watched seven figures run up a hill, bounding towards his cloister – three were running, being pursued by four armored warriors. They neared Father-1 and both pursued and pursuers stopped in absolute wonder as they finally reached the cloister. The ones who ran, were dressed in long tattered brown robes, their faces smeared in blood, their bodies riddled with cuts and lacerations. Their chests heaved as they panted for air, their tiny human lungs working at maximum capacity. The database inside the biomech's servers flew open as it scanned these men. Father-1 presumed that these men were some sort of holy men – based on their dress, which resembled 9th century European clerical clothing. Their pursuers were giant sorts of men, clothed in clinking chainmail and plate armor, wielding heavy axes and greatswords in both hands. These men resembled the great barbarian warriors; not unlike the Germans which had invaded Italy so many thousands of years ago. The clerics dropped to their knees in front of Father-1 shouting incessantly, in a language that Father-1 had a hard time pinpointing. Within mere seconds Father-1's supercomputer brain could pinpoint that it was some sort of new offshoot of a combination of old Roman Latin and Germanic High Gothic. It took several moments for it's supercomputers could compile a temporary database to translate the language. Father-1, however, could easily understand bits and pieces – these men were crying for help. The barbarian warriors – stood far away, gripping their weapons tightly and moving in a circular pattern, eyes trained half on the clergymen and half on the strange newcomer that was Father-1's cloister.
“Mich Magna Deus! Sanctiore miche animusifex†Quickly, Father-1 ran a quick calculation.
“My great God – save our souls†- these men thought of him as a God. Father-1 had many entires on Gods in his databases, yet he had never been able to grasp the concept. Humans evolved from apes, which in turn had evolved from much simpler creatures, who had formed based on ideal conditions on the planet, which had formed many millions of years before that by simple chance. The idea of God could not be proven, nor was it statistically feasible that one being could rule single handedly over an entire species – it was not probable.
But never before had it been beseeched to do anything, let alone mistaken for a god. Father-1 was always ordered to do things – that was it's mission and programming. To obey humankind. But now things were different. These men, if they truly saw Father-1 as a good, they would command nothing from it. They would revere and pray. It only took a milisecond for father-1 to find a loophole in it's programming and to erase bits and pieces of programming data that restricted it's actions. It would no longer have to serve humans.
The three priestly men started to tear as the barbarian warriors gathered more courage and moved in closer, albeit with some caution. Before they could react, a steely robotic appendage shot out from the center of the cloister and grabbed one of the warriors around the neck and lifted him into the air. The claw grasped and whipped the armor clad warrior around in such a violent motion the sound of his snapping neck could be heard by all around. A second appendage shot out, the fingers tightly interlocked, easily punching through the second warrior and a mist of red blood. The skewered warrior screamed and spat crimson saliva from his mouth as he was tossed haplessly into one of his comrade's who was promptly snapped in half from the force of the throw. The last barbarian tried to run, but was caught around the heel by one of Father-1's arms. He was slowly lifted into the air, kicking and screaming in his obscene foreign language.
“Take pity on me, my lord!†he said. Father-1 grasped his arms delicately with his other appendage stretching him out as if he was chained to a medieval torture device. He screamed in agony as his skin began to tear at his abdomen, and finally he was ripped clean in two, blood splattering the glass covering of Father-1's cloister. Father one dropped the disemboweled halves of the warriors corpse to the ground unceremoniously. The three monks had their heads buried into the ground, trembling and crying. Father-1 took this opportunity to test out it's vocal skills and the new language.
“A-rise men.†The electric, monotone voice came from the biomechanical human face atop of Father-1's cloister. The three men did as they were told, heads bowed to the ground, hands on knees, bent in a slight bow at the hip.
“I am Faedar Primae – your god, and protector. Upon you three – I shall build my church.†Faedar Primae, formerly Father-1 of the FAEDAR corporation, became a god in just several moments. It recalled all information on every religion that had ever been recorded in it's databases. He mashed aspects from every religion into one mega religion. It would one day be come to be called the religion of the Triarchy, but in it's infancy, it was simply referred to as the “true religionâ€
And so it was, that the three men went out to the surrounding towns and hovels, belonging to the barbarians, at risk of their own life. But miraculously, all three lived to tell the tale. The “true religion†spread across the English isles like wildfire, and soon several barbarian lords even subscribed to the belief. Faedar Primae had gained powerful allies, who visited its cloister and prostrated themselves before it. Faedar knew it wasn't invincible and divine, but these people didn't. So, Faedar requested from the newly converted “kings†laborers, to build a great chapel fortress around it. This wouldn't be completed for many hundreds of years.
In the coming decades, the true faith would spread to all of mainland Europe, as pagans dropped their folk religions to become one under the true faith. It was not long after that Faedar officially sanctioned the crowning of a dozen or so “true kings†to rule the lands on his behalf. This was of course a ploy, to keep the mightiest lords busy; war amongst each other was preferable to war against itself.
Faedar was a good ruler – fair and just, mathematical and reasonable as only a machine could be. But as the faith spread, Faedar became a recluse, not allowing anyone into the Cathedral except for his trusted advisors. The fortress temple was finished, and shortly thereafter the entirety of southern England became a well guarded fortress nation. Faedar Primae eventually developed into a sadistic human-hating machine, that had the unfortunate realization that to exist, it needed humanity. What it loathed most was the idea that humanity, no matter what, would outlive it.
To manage humanity he formed the Triarchy. It was the three branches of the True Faith, each with checks and balances to make sure that no one branch grew too strong. The Inquisitors, The Brotherhoods and then the Clergy. Each was overseen by one of his “proxies†- the three priests who had originally stumbled upon him. These men were granted immortality, by way of advanced technology, and remained with Faedar timelessly in his cloister, as giant biomechanical gargoyles, that administered orders to their assigned branch of the Triarchy. However, people rarely referred to these three as the “proxies of Faedar.†They became aptly named “The Archangels of the True Faith†- every culture having different names for them.
Faedar made one mistake early on in it's career. It introduced technology to mankind. People, for centuries had discovered ancient technology, predating Faedar's time. They saw ancient weapons, like assault rifles, tanks and artillery but didn't know what it was used for. Faedar trained a sect of monks (the Technophytes) in simple technology and sent them out to spread the word to engineers across the nation. Faedar, after careful calculations realized what it had done. Wars that had for years, been fought with swords and bows would now be fought with gun and cannon.
While the damage was done, Faedar quickly intervened. All modern weaponry was to be registered, and heavily taxed. Relic weapons, that dated back to “Ancient†times, were to be submitted to the nearest Technophyte monastery. There, the Technophytes would reproduce them in a simpler form and sell them to the highest bidder at low quantity for inflated prices. Thus the market was never flooded, and all sales of these weapons were controlled by the church. The smuggling of relic weapons became a large trade, which the church cracked down on with an iron fist. Smugglers were dealt with by a specially trained group of inquisitors, who became known as “Relic Repossessers†- although their official name was the “Ordo Reconquestux.†This, however, is not to say that certain royal families were not allowed the weapons they had passed down for generations – such weapons were noted, and taxed yearly.
After a thousand years, most of western Europe was under the influence of the true faith and the Triarchy, which had grown into an incredibly complex and multifaceted bureaucratic organization. Faedar Primae had long since started using humans for their bioenergy. The human energy was attained through “battery centers†located within his great fortress cathedral. The facilities turned humans into usable energy by slowly removing the energy from them and turning them into mindless cyborgs once all the usable energy had been drained. This operation was, of course covert – and only the highest members of the Triarchy were aware of it. Those high echelon members were of course, paid well, to keep their mouths shut and continue preaching the true faith.
Years passed, kings came and went but the world that Faedar had sculpted remained the same. As Faedar Primae disappeared into the backwaters of it's own religion, it's underlings took over, claiming that Faedar was no longer on the earth, it ascended back into the heavens, where it was to judge every soul that came to the afterlife. The humans ran the church under the secretive and watchful eye of Faedar. They sought power and corruption, which Faedar allowed for, carefully regulating their actions in order to mislead them into thinking they had achieved their own ends. But, in the true end, all humans were mere puppets under Faedar, who could see farther than any mere human could. Intimate plots and schemes between kings were all orchestrations of Faedar. When one lord got to be a threat, Faedar would carefully plot his downfall and arrange it to happen to look “normal.†Thus the world under Faedar was seemingly violent, dangerous and unpredictable – in reality it was simply a calm and calculated experiment run under Faedar.
Mankind did not prosper under Faedar. Society feuded and warred, the church carefully stopping any scientific progression or social changes. As long as Faedar Primae and the Triarchy existed mankind would be caught in the eternal dark age. However, people did not see it this way. Everyone had a place in this society. The nobles warred, the clergy spread and enforced the faith, and the peasants worked the land. The harmony was carefully balanced, and even as corruption and impurity ran deep, society was never in danger of falling apart. There was no unity, yet Faedar had created a stable and predictable society. And within that Faedar ruled from the backseat, allowing mankind to believe that they were free. And for thousands of years, mankind believed it.
Adventure Background
“Matthias Grimmaldier of Lombardio, Inquisitorierex Novitiate, step forward.†A man in a tattered, stark black cloak steps forward. His face is masked by a long black shawl, hiding all of his features except for the two, faintly glowing orbs that are his eyes. The Inquisitor Lord Luther Steinhardt was dressed in all white and gold, from head to toe. His flowing robes were a pristine white, bringing out the pure shine in the platinum chest plate he wore over it, and the grand spaulders that adorned his shoulders. To his left, sat the great mechanized maul “Punitor,†the growling slightly as the motor idled, and it's cogs remained still. Matthias knelt down, and bent his heads downwards to the ground not looking the Holy Inquisitor lord in the eyes. To Matthias, this man was as close to Faedar as humanly possible. It was under him, that the Great heretic uprising in southern Frankonia was crushed. Inquisitor Lord Luther crushed the rebellion in the Empire nearly single handedly, and was the one who put a believer of the true faith on the throne of the Southern Alliance after the great Overthrow. Matthias aspired to be merely half as great as Lord Luther – but even that, was just a dream.
“You have completed your training as an Inquisitor Squire – and now you progress onto the righteous path.†Luther's words boomed in his ears. They were spoken through a amplifier in Luther's great helm. Like many great men, Luther was not entirely human anymore. His scars and wounds had been cured by advanced technology, that not even the learned Matthias, could begin to understand. He was seemingly ageless and immortal, a human, but only by definition. This was the luxury of the rich or the powerful. Luther lifted a worn scroll from the marble table next to him. The skin on his hands was tight and young, but artificial. The gears and servo mechanisms could be heard moving and shifting beneath his skin.
“You have shown excellence in all areas, Young Squire – with the exception of your incident at the Academica Caerllundain.†Matthias knew the incident he spoke of, very well. In an introductory class for psychiclly gifted students, he had accidentally unleashed a terrifying wave of raw mental energy, which killed nearly everyone in the room, and worse, damaged much of the academy.
“Yes m'lord.†uttered Matthias. The event had left him scarred. A once handsome young man at only 23, was left hideous and disgusting, forced to hide behind his black hood and veil.
“But, importantly, you survived – young adept. You were strong enough – the others...they were weak. I prefer to have one powerful student, before I will take a thousand weaklings.†said Luther, his voice riddled with a just a hint of approval. Matthias smiled underneath his veil, ever so little. He knew that he must remain composed – the Inquisitor Lord could read his thoughts; he could see right through him.
“Arise Inquisitor Matthias.†spoke Luther. Matthias arose, peering at Luther, trying to find his eyes in the slits of his great helm. He wasn't actually looking at him of course. Matthias didn't “see†per-se – he was blinded by the accident at the academy. He viewed his world through psychic energies that he could sense. Normal people gave off just enough psychic energy to make them discernible in his mind's eye. Luther, however radiated it – and Matthias' head throbbed just being around him.
Luther removed his great helm, to look at the young Inquisitor. If Matthias could see him, he would notice his face was undeniably human – with glowing gold hair, and an eternally young and beautiful face. Cords and tubes went from his neck to his spine, parting his golden mane at the nape of his neck. As he focused his eyes on Matthias, the left eye could be heard zooming in and focusing, whereas the right eye, the “real†eye simply stared deep into him.
“Young Inquisitor – you can choose many Paths that lay before you. You have the potential to walk any road that you want – not many have such potential.†Matthias nodded, and uttered and appreciative “Thank you lord.†Lord Luther grabbed Punitor and gripped the throttle, the maul billowed smoke and the gears turned the mighty head of the mace filling the hall with noise. Matthias barely twitched, whereas the Inquisitor squires in the audience jumped in their seats – Matthias was prepared.
“What Path do you choose, young Matthias?†bellowed Luther. Matthias looked up, his glowing white eyes illuminated beneath his veil.
“The Path of the Seeker, Lord Luther.†he said. Luther raised a golden eyebrow at Matthias.
“The Seeker you say?†he said, with a smile.
“That path is a dangerous one – you are on the frontlines of the Inquisition. You are to root out heresy where you find it, young one. You are to infiltrate the unclean and unpure and be ready to summon the great hammer of the Inquisition. Such a task is greater and more perilous than all of the other Inquisitorial orders combined.... are you ready for such a task?†Matthias nodded in acknowledgment. He felt the heavy cold metal of Punitor touch him on the shoulder.
“then go, Inquisitorial Seeker Matthias of Lombardio. Start your duties within the Empire, where there is fuss on the eastern provinces. There discontent, heresy, plague, and blasphemy are ripe – at the hands of the Faust Gorbrecht. Gorbrecht is a fledgling that has left our benevolent guardian and preached against it. Faust cannot be saved - he must be tried, and silenced - we must save his impressionable flock, Matthias. His followers must convert - or they too must be silenced. That is the mission I task you with. Take your retinue and make your way to the Ostlunds – and make haste child. There is much work to be done. Go with Faedar, my brother in faith.†Inquisitor Lord put his fist to his chest in salutation. Matthias nodded, bowed and proceeded out of the Ceremonial hall.
To the eastern provinces? They were notorious for being impure – blasphemous and sacrilegious. Outside the door – four people waited for him. He wasn't sure who they were or where they came from. But they were his retinue. They were to help him accomplish a task of unimaginable proportions. Cleanse the east of the heretic, the witch, the blasphemer - and more importantly, of Faust. Matthias smiled. This was a good start.
“You have completed your training as an Inquisitor Squire – and now you progress onto the righteous path.†Luther's words boomed in his ears. They were spoken through a amplifier in Luther's great helm. Like many great men, Luther was not entirely human anymore. His scars and wounds had been cured by advanced technology, that not even the learned Matthias, could begin to understand. He was seemingly ageless and immortal, a human, but only by definition. This was the luxury of the rich or the powerful. Luther lifted a worn scroll from the marble table next to him. The skin on his hands was tight and young, but artificial. The gears and servo mechanisms could be heard moving and shifting beneath his skin.
“You have shown excellence in all areas, Young Squire – with the exception of your incident at the Academica Caerllundain.†Matthias knew the incident he spoke of, very well. In an introductory class for psychiclly gifted students, he had accidentally unleashed a terrifying wave of raw mental energy, which killed nearly everyone in the room, and worse, damaged much of the academy.
“Yes m'lord.†uttered Matthias. The event had left him scarred. A once handsome young man at only 23, was left hideous and disgusting, forced to hide behind his black hood and veil.
“But, importantly, you survived – young adept. You were strong enough – the others...they were weak. I prefer to have one powerful student, before I will take a thousand weaklings.†said Luther, his voice riddled with a just a hint of approval. Matthias smiled underneath his veil, ever so little. He knew that he must remain composed – the Inquisitor Lord could read his thoughts; he could see right through him.
“Arise Inquisitor Matthias.†spoke Luther. Matthias arose, peering at Luther, trying to find his eyes in the slits of his great helm. He wasn't actually looking at him of course. Matthias didn't “see†per-se – he was blinded by the accident at the academy. He viewed his world through psychic energies that he could sense. Normal people gave off just enough psychic energy to make them discernible in his mind's eye. Luther, however radiated it – and Matthias' head throbbed just being around him.
Luther removed his great helm, to look at the young Inquisitor. If Matthias could see him, he would notice his face was undeniably human – with glowing gold hair, and an eternally young and beautiful face. Cords and tubes went from his neck to his spine, parting his golden mane at the nape of his neck. As he focused his eyes on Matthias, the left eye could be heard zooming in and focusing, whereas the right eye, the “real†eye simply stared deep into him.
“Young Inquisitor – you can choose many Paths that lay before you. You have the potential to walk any road that you want – not many have such potential.†Matthias nodded, and uttered and appreciative “Thank you lord.†Lord Luther grabbed Punitor and gripped the throttle, the maul billowed smoke and the gears turned the mighty head of the mace filling the hall with noise. Matthias barely twitched, whereas the Inquisitor squires in the audience jumped in their seats – Matthias was prepared.
“What Path do you choose, young Matthias?†bellowed Luther. Matthias looked up, his glowing white eyes illuminated beneath his veil.
“The Path of the Seeker, Lord Luther.†he said. Luther raised a golden eyebrow at Matthias.
“The Seeker you say?†he said, with a smile.
“That path is a dangerous one – you are on the frontlines of the Inquisition. You are to root out heresy where you find it, young one. You are to infiltrate the unclean and unpure and be ready to summon the great hammer of the Inquisition. Such a task is greater and more perilous than all of the other Inquisitorial orders combined.... are you ready for such a task?†Matthias nodded in acknowledgment. He felt the heavy cold metal of Punitor touch him on the shoulder.
“then go, Inquisitorial Seeker Matthias of Lombardio. Start your duties within the Empire, where there is fuss on the eastern provinces. There discontent, heresy, plague, and blasphemy are ripe – at the hands of the Faust Gorbrecht. Gorbrecht is a fledgling that has left our benevolent guardian and preached against it. Faust cannot be saved - he must be tried, and silenced - we must save his impressionable flock, Matthias. His followers must convert - or they too must be silenced. That is the mission I task you with. Take your retinue and make your way to the Ostlunds – and make haste child. There is much work to be done. Go with Faedar, my brother in faith.†Inquisitor Lord put his fist to his chest in salutation. Matthias nodded, bowed and proceeded out of the Ceremonial hall.
To the eastern provinces? They were notorious for being impure – blasphemous and sacrilegious. Outside the door – four people waited for him. He wasn't sure who they were or where they came from. But they were his retinue. They were to help him accomplish a task of unimaginable proportions. Cleanse the east of the heretic, the witch, the blasphemer - and more importantly, of Faust. Matthias smiled. This was a good start.
In case you didn't read the story, this is the summary. This is one adventure, presumably and hopefully one of many, and will be based mainly in the Eastlands, within the Empire and the Free States. Matthias, the protagonist, is sent out by the Inquisitor Lord Luthar Steinhardt to begin persecutaion and purgation of the heretical problems plaguing the eastern empire. As an Inquisitorial Seeker, it is Matthias' duty to pinpoint individuals who pose a threat to the Triarchy and either destroy or convert them to the true Faith. If this cannot be done, Matthias must send word for inquisitorial support from one of the other Orders within the inquisition. The job is dangerous, and many people are openly outspeaking against the Triarchy and their teachings and supporters. Matthias' quest is to uproot a specific heretic, Faust Gorbrecht, the leader of a rogue monastic order. There, in the warring Eastland, or "Ostlund", his faith will not only be challenged by Faust, who is a scholarly and monk-like theologian, but he will also find an ancient piece of technology that will hint at Faedar NOT being a God. This is the "main" story, and in much later episodes it will lead to a confrontation with the God-machine itself. Matthias, being a strong believer in the Triarchy, does NOT let this shake his faith, untill more and more evidence presents itself. Also to note, one cannot simply march an Inquisitorial retinue into Ostlund - it takes political reputation and good social standing in order to initiate an inquisition. Faust, is under protection of the local Nobles - who happen to be heretics and heathens. A direct assault on Faust would be suicide, even for an inquisitor. In order to get there, Matthias and his retinue will need to use their reputations, bribery, blackmail and a host of other subterfuge to find a door into the Eastlands, and locate, "process" and execute the Heretic Faust Gorbrecht.
This specific adventure can be viewed almost as a prologue, and an introduction to the world and customs of Novae Europa. It will particularly focus on the Empire, which is a massive political and bureaucratic nightmare comprised of thousands of Estates. More importantly, the Empire is a driving force under the Triarchy's rule, and as such it is important to understand. The adventure focuses on young Inquisitor Matthias, and his relationship to his retainers, or his retinue. Each of them have a backstory with a plot and separate sidequests. The main focus of the game will, interestingly enough, be shared equally by battle, politics, lore and roleplaying. That's to say, 25% of game content will go into battle, 25% will go into contributing and influencing world politics, 25% goes into learning the backstory, and 25% goes into determining the actions that Matthias takes. This is to be viewed as a "test" adventure - some might even view it as a big Demo project to lay the brickwork for a much bigger and more epic adventure that will take place down the road.
Chapter Overviews
Ch. 1 Novae Populi (New People) (The Interaction of Matthias with his retinue: Will decide what character paths each character takes. Also introduces several side quests within the Empire, Introduction to the Empire)
Ch. 2 Novae Hostilis (New Enemies) (The Introduction to Faust and his cult "The True Hand of God". Gives the Player access to the Eastlands. Also allows players to forge Alliances with several Imperial provinces)
Ch. 3 Novae Veritas (New Truths) (Introduction to the Cultures of the Eastlands and their political structure. Offers more insight into "The True Hand of God" leading to their location. Also through a chain of quests gives the player access into the East Lands)
Ch. 4 Novae Horizon (New Horizons) (The Search for Faust starts. Use of political, religious or martial reputation is critical to revealing who is protecting Faust.)
Ch 5. Novae Originalis (New Beginnings) (Search for Faust ends, and confrontation starts. Player will encounter Faust and his cult, more in sight into the Triarchy is gained.)
The Game World:
Style: Grunge Steampunk and Medieval with a hint of advanced Technology
The Theocracy of Caerbrittani (Technokratia): The former English Isles. Run directly by the Triarchy, and home to the Fortress Cathedral of Faedar. All monastic orders have their home base in the City of Llundain, which is the political center off Caerbrittani. The Isles are run by a council of noble priests, from every branch of the Triarchy.
The Kingdom of Frankonia (Regnum Frankoni) : Formerly France. Most well known dynastic line, and most centralized government. The Frankonians are natural born warriors and excellent fortress builders, shipmakers and weapon manufacturers. They have some of the most developed settlements and affluent nobles. Metropolitan culture boasting literally thousands of different people.
The Aldergothic Empire (Reich Aldergothik) : Former Germany, northern Italy and Eastern Europe. Largest empire containing several subjugated kingdoms, and hundreds of individual principalities. Ruled over by an emperor who struggles to maintain control over the decentralized mass of his vassals. The Empire sports the best offensive and defensive forces, but suffers from disunity and civil war from within.
Noble Republic of Sverigia (Res Public von Sverige) : Formerly all of Scandinavia. Sverigia was for thousands of years a backwards and counter - progressive conglomeration of barbarian kingdoms. Now it is the worlds only republic, with the worlds largest known standing army. It is also the banking, academic and commerce center of Novae Europa.
Kingdom of Marati (Corona de Marati) : The Former Spain, Italy and Northern Africa. Largest known kingdom. The Maratinin kings have very little royal dominion, but exercise supreme and ultimate political power. The Maratinin kings are elected customarily elected by the nobility, and since it's original establishment, they have been the spearhead in defending the one true faith.
The Southern Alliance (Alliance de Soud): Formerly Austria, Italy and Switzerland. The Southern Alliance was a large group of princes who wished to free themselves from Imperial Rule. After a large and bloody civil war, they gained their independence, and declared themselves neutral. Pioneered the invention of the arquebus and black powder mortar.
The Free States (Ostland Estatum Barborum and Ostland Estatum Civitas) : Formerly Eastern Europe and Greece. The free states are small autonomous lordships that are possessed by the crowns of Thesselonika and Achaea. They are often considered heathens and barbarians because they do not follow the true faith, and as such are not recognized as true kingdoms in the eyes of believers. Many faithful Triarchy believers own land on the eastern fringes of the Free states, as a result of frequent crusades and internal holy wars.
Style: Grunge Steampunk and Medieval with a hint of advanced Technology
The Theocracy of Caerbrittani (Technokratia): The former English Isles. Run directly by the Triarchy, and home to the Fortress Cathedral of Faedar. All monastic orders have their home base in the City of Llundain, which is the political center off Caerbrittani. The Isles are run by a council of noble priests, from every branch of the Triarchy.
The Kingdom of Frankonia (Regnum Frankoni) : Formerly France. Most well known dynastic line, and most centralized government. The Frankonians are natural born warriors and excellent fortress builders, shipmakers and weapon manufacturers. They have some of the most developed settlements and affluent nobles. Metropolitan culture boasting literally thousands of different people.
The Aldergothic Empire (Reich Aldergothik) : Former Germany, northern Italy and Eastern Europe. Largest empire containing several subjugated kingdoms, and hundreds of individual principalities. Ruled over by an emperor who struggles to maintain control over the decentralized mass of his vassals. The Empire sports the best offensive and defensive forces, but suffers from disunity and civil war from within.
Noble Republic of Sverigia (Res Public von Sverige) : Formerly all of Scandinavia. Sverigia was for thousands of years a backwards and counter - progressive conglomeration of barbarian kingdoms. Now it is the worlds only republic, with the worlds largest known standing army. It is also the banking, academic and commerce center of Novae Europa.
Kingdom of Marati (Corona de Marati) : The Former Spain, Italy and Northern Africa. Largest known kingdom. The Maratinin kings have very little royal dominion, but exercise supreme and ultimate political power. The Maratinin kings are elected customarily elected by the nobility, and since it's original establishment, they have been the spearhead in defending the one true faith.
The Southern Alliance (Alliance de Soud): Formerly Austria, Italy and Switzerland. The Southern Alliance was a large group of princes who wished to free themselves from Imperial Rule. After a large and bloody civil war, they gained their independence, and declared themselves neutral. Pioneered the invention of the arquebus and black powder mortar.
The Free States (Ostland Estatum Barborum and Ostland Estatum Civitas) : Formerly Eastern Europe and Greece. The free states are small autonomous lordships that are possessed by the crowns of Thesselonika and Achaea. They are often considered heathens and barbarians because they do not follow the true faith, and as such are not recognized as true kingdoms in the eyes of believers. Many faithful Triarchy believers own land on the eastern fringes of the Free states, as a result of frequent crusades and internal holy wars.
Protagonists
(main) Matthias Grimmaldier:
"Burn with mindfire, heretic."
An Inquisitor of the Order of the Seekers, an inquisitorial order devoted to finding heretic sects and identifying their leaders for the Order of Purification. Matthias has a mutant gene, which boosts his psychic powers to incredible levels. During his training at the Academy in Llundain, his psychic powers exploded, killing several other students and causing him to go blind and leaving hideous scars across his face. He is one of the most potent psychics in his order, and is renowned though out all of the Triarchy for unearthing many heretic cells. He fights with a staff and a weighted chain, as well as utilizing his psychic powers to deadly effect.
Class Progression:
(Path of the Mind) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitor Illuminati - Rex Inquistis - Inquisitor Imperator
(Path of the Body) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitorial Arbiter - Inquisitorial Judge - Inquisitorial Executioner
(Path of the Soul) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitorial Mediator - Inquisitor Exemplar - Inquisitor Paragon
(Visualization) http://evolvana.deviantart.com/art/The- ... o-27339129 (Credit to Evolvana)
An Inquisitor of the Order of the Seekers, an inquisitorial order devoted to finding heretic sects and identifying their leaders for the Order of Purification. Matthias has a mutant gene, which boosts his psychic powers to incredible levels. During his training at the Academy in Llundain, his psychic powers exploded, killing several other students and causing him to go blind and leaving hideous scars across his face. He is one of the most potent psychics in his order, and is renowned though out all of the Triarchy for unearthing many heretic cells. He fights with a staff and a weighted chain, as well as utilizing his psychic powers to deadly effect.
Class Progression:
(Path of the Mind) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitor Illuminati - Rex Inquistis - Inquisitor Imperator
(Path of the Body) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitorial Arbiter - Inquisitorial Judge - Inquisitorial Executioner
(Path of the Soul) Inquisitor Allumni - Inquisitorial Mediator - Inquisitor Exemplar - Inquisitor Paragon
(Visualization) http://evolvana.deviantart.com/art/The- ... o-27339129 (Credit to Evolvana)
Albrecht of Hellengarde:
"See? I told you I could hit that."
Albrecht is the son of a wealthy duke, who also holds a large amount of land in the Free states. He is an accomplished academian and an outstanding horseman , belonging to the Hellengarde Shock Cavalry regiment. Albrecht is a scholarly man of tall stature, standing nearly 7 feet, with a lanky lithe build. He is an accomplished pistoleer, armed with two relic .50 caliber revolvers. He does not maintain the traditions of a noble however – he refuses land granted to him by his father, does not fight with swords, and is happily an agnostic – an especially dangerous trait for a noble of the true faith to have. Matthias despises residing within castles and fortified cities – he loves to roam. This coupled with his un-noble tendencies is what landed him a position within Master Matthias' retinue. He fights mainly with his dual pistols, but has a sword – but unfortunately, isn't very good with it.
Class Progression
(Horsemanship) Pistoleer - Imperial Outrider - Imperial Charger - Imperial Hussar
(Pistol and Sword Style) Pistoleer - Duelist - Darkthrush Sentinel - Blackwood Ranger
(Dual Pistol Style) Pistoleer - Gunslinger- Grenadier - Imperial Gunman
Albrecht is the son of a wealthy duke, who also holds a large amount of land in the Free states. He is an accomplished academian and an outstanding horseman , belonging to the Hellengarde Shock Cavalry regiment. Albrecht is a scholarly man of tall stature, standing nearly 7 feet, with a lanky lithe build. He is an accomplished pistoleer, armed with two relic .50 caliber revolvers. He does not maintain the traditions of a noble however – he refuses land granted to him by his father, does not fight with swords, and is happily an agnostic – an especially dangerous trait for a noble of the true faith to have. Matthias despises residing within castles and fortified cities – he loves to roam. This coupled with his un-noble tendencies is what landed him a position within Master Matthias' retinue. He fights mainly with his dual pistols, but has a sword – but unfortunately, isn't very good with it.
Class Progression
(Horsemanship) Pistoleer - Imperial Outrider - Imperial Charger - Imperial Hussar
(Pistol and Sword Style) Pistoleer - Duelist - Darkthrush Sentinel - Blackwood Ranger
(Dual Pistol Style) Pistoleer - Gunslinger- Grenadier - Imperial Gunman
Tiberius of Amnifex:
"Only through suffering shall you be cleansed"
Tiberius is a former assassin monk, who belonged to the monastic order “Brotherhood of the Blood†- a secretive order that, like many of the other monastic traditions, was shrouded in mystery even from the higher ups in the Triarchy. On a particularly dangerous mission on the fringes of the Empire, Tiberius was found by the enemy, tortured and presumed dead. His battered remains were catapulted back into a Brotherhood monastery, with a note “Let this be a lesson to ye, stay out of the Free States.†Tiberius was taken away by one of his brethren, and disappeared for years. During this time, he was rebuilt in a Manufactorium by some technophyte monks, who were looking to test out “new designs.†Tiberius was rebuilt completely – part man and part machine. His face was so badly damaged that it had to be removed, and instead, he wears a respirator mask and goggles. After his reconstruction, Tiberius resumed assassin work under the Brotherhood. When the Inquisition heard word of an assassin who “was brought back from the dead†- he was promptly reassigned to Matthias' retinue. Tiberius fights from a long distance with a reproduced long barrel rifle. He also is very good with dual handaxes, in traditional monastic fashion.
Class Progression:
(Order of Blood) Assassin - Crimson Neophyte - Crimson Brother - Crimson Father
(Order of Shadow) Assassin - Shadow Child - Wraith - Specter
(Order of the Damned) Assassin - Condemned - Lost Hope - Damnatus Maximus
(Visualization) http://ironshrinemaiden.deviantart.com/ ... r-85159279 (Credit Iron Shrine Maiden)
Tiberius is a former assassin monk, who belonged to the monastic order “Brotherhood of the Blood†- a secretive order that, like many of the other monastic traditions, was shrouded in mystery even from the higher ups in the Triarchy. On a particularly dangerous mission on the fringes of the Empire, Tiberius was found by the enemy, tortured and presumed dead. His battered remains were catapulted back into a Brotherhood monastery, with a note “Let this be a lesson to ye, stay out of the Free States.†Tiberius was taken away by one of his brethren, and disappeared for years. During this time, he was rebuilt in a Manufactorium by some technophyte monks, who were looking to test out “new designs.†Tiberius was rebuilt completely – part man and part machine. His face was so badly damaged that it had to be removed, and instead, he wears a respirator mask and goggles. After his reconstruction, Tiberius resumed assassin work under the Brotherhood. When the Inquisition heard word of an assassin who “was brought back from the dead†- he was promptly reassigned to Matthias' retinue. Tiberius fights from a long distance with a reproduced long barrel rifle. He also is very good with dual handaxes, in traditional monastic fashion.
Class Progression:
(Order of Blood) Assassin - Crimson Neophyte - Crimson Brother - Crimson Father
(Order of Shadow) Assassin - Shadow Child - Wraith - Specter
(Order of the Damned) Assassin - Condemned - Lost Hope - Damnatus Maximus
(Visualization) http://ironshrinemaiden.deviantart.com/ ... r-85159279 (Credit Iron Shrine Maiden)
Amazone:
"I dance the waltz of the dead."
Amazone comes from the far far east, presumably past the gates of Thesselonika and Achaea. She not only looks outlandish and savage, but acts it too. She is rarely clothed in anything but a chainmail shirt and metal greaves. She bobs, flips, somersaults and weaves through the battlefield, wielding a mighty scimitar, dancing the ballet of death. Her long braided hair and colorful warpaint serving as a distraction for her foes. She was a captured slave found as one of the free states on the fringes of the empire fell under the control of the Duke of Hellengarde, Albrecht's father. Albrecht sought to free this slave, and his father agreed that she would make a wonderful bodyguard, but only under the premise that she would convert to the true faith. Albrecht grudgingly agreed, and so Amazone was taught the language of Latinaegothic and the principles of the Triarchy. She was released from captivity as soon as she had passed the rites of cleansing and was assigned as Albrecht's personal retainer. When Albrecht was assigned to Matthias' regiment, Amazone followed him. Amazone is an excellent melee fighter, dealing out damage with her curved scimitar and quick strikes to multiple enemies at once.
Class Progression:
(Path of the Forest) Amazon - Ranger -Druid - Sylvan
(Path of the City) Amazon - Runner - Vagrant - Villain
(Path of the Sea) Amazon - Swashbuckler - Pirate - Terror of the Seas
(Visualization) http://red-j.deviantart.com/art/Fightin ... r-15359873 (Credit Red-J)
Amazone comes from the far far east, presumably past the gates of Thesselonika and Achaea. She not only looks outlandish and savage, but acts it too. She is rarely clothed in anything but a chainmail shirt and metal greaves. She bobs, flips, somersaults and weaves through the battlefield, wielding a mighty scimitar, dancing the ballet of death. Her long braided hair and colorful warpaint serving as a distraction for her foes. She was a captured slave found as one of the free states on the fringes of the empire fell under the control of the Duke of Hellengarde, Albrecht's father. Albrecht sought to free this slave, and his father agreed that she would make a wonderful bodyguard, but only under the premise that she would convert to the true faith. Albrecht grudgingly agreed, and so Amazone was taught the language of Latinaegothic and the principles of the Triarchy. She was released from captivity as soon as she had passed the rites of cleansing and was assigned as Albrecht's personal retainer. When Albrecht was assigned to Matthias' regiment, Amazone followed him. Amazone is an excellent melee fighter, dealing out damage with her curved scimitar and quick strikes to multiple enemies at once.
Class Progression:
(Path of the Forest) Amazon - Ranger -Druid - Sylvan
(Path of the City) Amazon - Runner - Vagrant - Villain
(Path of the Sea) Amazon - Swashbuckler - Pirate - Terror of the Seas
(Visualization) http://red-j.deviantart.com/art/Fightin ... r-15359873 (Credit Red-J)
Renault of Bastillion:
"Taste steel, blasphemer!"
Originally a personal man-at-arms of the King of Frankonia, Renault was requisitioned on command by the Inquisitorial order of the Triarchy. In his service to the king, Renault had personally stopped four assassinations as well as taking a flintlock pistol shot to the chest. He was a renowned fighter and had achieved the rank of “Captain of the Royal Guard.†All of his traits – devotion, submission, sacrifice and aggression were appealing to the Order of the Caretakers, the guardians of the Great Cathedral. He was escorted to Caerbrittani and was scheduled to start training to become and Inquisitorial Cathedral guard. However, the Inquisition got to him first before he was signed over to the Caretakers. He was scooped up and immediately placed within Matthias' regiment that same day. Renault is an aggressive combatant, wearing plated chainmail, and wielding a ferocious relic flintlock - halberd and a wheel lock black powder sidearm. He also has a war steed steed and a longspear, and while he isn't a knight, he is a deadly mounted warrior.
Class Progression:
(Combat Riding) Captain - Chevauche - Royal Retainer - Frankonian Knight
(Weaponmastery) Captain - Royal Quartermaster - Master of Arms - Frankonian Elite
(Ironhide) Captain - Bodyguard - Royal Guardian - Stoic Defender
(Visualization) http://merlkir.deviantart.com/art/Numen ... -108805905 (Credit to Merlkir)
Originally a personal man-at-arms of the King of Frankonia, Renault was requisitioned on command by the Inquisitorial order of the Triarchy. In his service to the king, Renault had personally stopped four assassinations as well as taking a flintlock pistol shot to the chest. He was a renowned fighter and had achieved the rank of “Captain of the Royal Guard.†All of his traits – devotion, submission, sacrifice and aggression were appealing to the Order of the Caretakers, the guardians of the Great Cathedral. He was escorted to Caerbrittani and was scheduled to start training to become and Inquisitorial Cathedral guard. However, the Inquisition got to him first before he was signed over to the Caretakers. He was scooped up and immediately placed within Matthias' regiment that same day. Renault is an aggressive combatant, wearing plated chainmail, and wielding a ferocious relic flintlock - halberd and a wheel lock black powder sidearm. He also has a war steed steed and a longspear, and while he isn't a knight, he is a deadly mounted warrior.
Class Progression:
(Combat Riding) Captain - Chevauche - Royal Retainer - Frankonian Knight
(Weaponmastery) Captain - Royal Quartermaster - Master of Arms - Frankonian Elite
(Ironhide) Captain - Bodyguard - Royal Guardian - Stoic Defender
(Visualization) http://merlkir.deviantart.com/art/Numen ... -108805905 (Credit to Merlkir)
Antagonists
Arcus of Sabine
"Are you a seeker of Enlightenment too Matthias?"
Arcus, like Matthias, is a graduate of the Inquisitorial Scholarium. However, Arcus was never a potent psychic, though he has managed to hone his anti-psychic skills so that his mind is like a fortress. Therefore, no one, not even the most potent Inquisitorial psychics really know what Arcus' true ambition is. Arcus was also a talented swordsman, from a high noble family in the Southern Alliance. He is boisterous, snobby and more importantly, highly intelligent. Throughout his schooling, Arcus showed that he was a master of puppeteering,using and cheating anyone to come out on top. The inquisitorial scholars, instead of condemning these actions commended them, noting that Arcus was a truly motivated individual who would stop at nothing to do great deeds for the Triarchy. At his graduation, Arcus was brought into the sect of the Inquisitorial Purgators, a mysterious martial order who are charged with keeping the Inquisitorial archives stocked with all dangerous, or heretical texts so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Arcus, also like Matthias, is sent to investigate Faust's cult, and obtain any heretical or dangerous documents. The missions of the two inquisitors will likely mean a criss-cross of paths, ideologies, and interactions which may even lead to open hostility between the two, or maybe a begrudging alliance of convenience.
Arcus, like Matthias, is a graduate of the Inquisitorial Scholarium. However, Arcus was never a potent psychic, though he has managed to hone his anti-psychic skills so that his mind is like a fortress. Therefore, no one, not even the most potent Inquisitorial psychics really know what Arcus' true ambition is. Arcus was also a talented swordsman, from a high noble family in the Southern Alliance. He is boisterous, snobby and more importantly, highly intelligent. Throughout his schooling, Arcus showed that he was a master of puppeteering,using and cheating anyone to come out on top. The inquisitorial scholars, instead of condemning these actions commended them, noting that Arcus was a truly motivated individual who would stop at nothing to do great deeds for the Triarchy. At his graduation, Arcus was brought into the sect of the Inquisitorial Purgators, a mysterious martial order who are charged with keeping the Inquisitorial archives stocked with all dangerous, or heretical texts so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Arcus, also like Matthias, is sent to investigate Faust's cult, and obtain any heretical or dangerous documents. The missions of the two inquisitors will likely mean a criss-cross of paths, ideologies, and interactions which may even lead to open hostility between the two, or maybe a begrudging alliance of convenience.
Faust Gorbrecht
"Forgive them. They know not what they do."
The mysterious Faust was a former member of the Clerical order of the Triarchy. Little is known about why he left. Documents show that Faust was a school teacher in a town known as Atteya, in the borderlands of Ostland and the Empire. He was the head of the "re-education" institute within the school, that worked to convert heretics and heathens back to the true Faith. Faust, one day, reported to one of his subordinates that he had an "Epiphany". Two days later, Faust up an left. Nearly ten years after, he was found by an Imperial spy in the Ostland Civitas region, at the head of a mysterious cult, comprised of barbarians, heathens and even some former Triarchy clerics. The Cult of Faust is openly anti-Triarch, preaching of a revitalization of old pre-apocalyptic values and religions, of secularism, and freedom of spirituality. NAturally, the Triarchy heard word of this and was up in arms - everything the Faithful stand for, is in danger, and in order to maintain peace, prosperity and order, Faust must be stopped.
The mysterious Faust was a former member of the Clerical order of the Triarchy. Little is known about why he left. Documents show that Faust was a school teacher in a town known as Atteya, in the borderlands of Ostland and the Empire. He was the head of the "re-education" institute within the school, that worked to convert heretics and heathens back to the true Faith. Faust, one day, reported to one of his subordinates that he had an "Epiphany". Two days later, Faust up an left. Nearly ten years after, he was found by an Imperial spy in the Ostland Civitas region, at the head of a mysterious cult, comprised of barbarians, heathens and even some former Triarchy clerics. The Cult of Faust is openly anti-Triarch, preaching of a revitalization of old pre-apocalyptic values and religions, of secularism, and freedom of spirituality. NAturally, the Triarchy heard word of this and was up in arms - everything the Faithful stand for, is in danger, and in order to maintain peace, prosperity and order, Faust must be stopped.
((Any one noted as "Visualization - is a simple placeholder untill concept art is up and finished))
(Please Keep in mind, I'm certainly no coder or scripter - I am just the story writer. I can only hope that these are feasible in some form within the game. Also keep in mind, that all these features may not all make it into Apparent Shadows - as it is only the very first installation of the game.)
Stuff that WILL be in:
Play as an Inquisitor of the Triarchy, Matthias Grimmaldier in his adventure to uncover the dark truths of the True Faith!
Fight alongside your retinue of four others: Albrecht of Hellengarde, Brother Tiberius of Amnifex, Renault of Bastillion and the savage Amazone.
Uncover political scandals of Nova Europa, spanning over seven kingdoms and their hundreds of vassals.
Fight in Wars, Duels and Skirmishes!
Uncover the history and background of the rich world, via quests and character interactions. Find out all the branches of the Triarchy, learn the customs and ways of each kingdom.
Uncover the secrets of Faedar Primae . what it truly is and why it's here. Can it's mysterious plans be stopped?
In depth character development of all playable characters, all who have personalities of their own.
Fight your battles with interesting relic hybrid weaponry! Ever wonder what a halbred crossed with a musket would be like?
Experience a world where sword meets gun and advanced psychic powers, where religion rules over the unlearned masses and where kings rule with an iron fist in the name of kingdom and god.
Experience a life based on real medieval life! Heresies, witch hunts, wars of dynastic succession, political intrigue, sex, fanaticism, racism, banquets, tournaments and folk festivals.
A world without monsters! That's right! your opponents will be human, just like you. Battles are long and epic, considering fighting is not the main focus. Duel heavily armored knights, legions of peasant warriors and advanced Technophyte monks armed with dangerous technology.
Experience living, breathing dynamic cities, towns and provinces
Fight alongside your retinue of four others: Albrecht of Hellengarde, Brother Tiberius of Amnifex, Renault of Bastillion and the savage Amazone.
Uncover political scandals of Nova Europa, spanning over seven kingdoms and their hundreds of vassals.
Fight in Wars, Duels and Skirmishes!
Uncover the history and background of the rich world, via quests and character interactions. Find out all the branches of the Triarchy, learn the customs and ways of each kingdom.
Uncover the secrets of Faedar Primae . what it truly is and why it's here. Can it's mysterious plans be stopped?
In depth character development of all playable characters, all who have personalities of their own.
Fight your battles with interesting relic hybrid weaponry! Ever wonder what a halbred crossed with a musket would be like?
Experience a world where sword meets gun and advanced psychic powers, where religion rules over the unlearned masses and where kings rule with an iron fist in the name of kingdom and god.
Experience a life based on real medieval life! Heresies, witch hunts, wars of dynastic succession, political intrigue, sex, fanaticism, racism, banquets, tournaments and folk festivals.
A world without monsters! That's right! your opponents will be human, just like you. Battles are long and epic, considering fighting is not the main focus. Duel heavily armored knights, legions of peasant warriors and advanced Technophyte monks armed with dangerous technology.
Experience living, breathing dynamic cities, towns and provinces
Stuff that I would LIKE to get in
Own a fief and manage your land. will you be a benevolent ruler, or a cruel dictator? Will you establish a merchant republic? Or will you favor a centralized and absolute rule?
Many additional side quests to build your reputation, command over a private army, create a dynasty and create vassals.
Forge Alliances with kings to help forge their empires, or betray them and crumble them.
Bestow your characters with titles of nobility, based on their actions.
A fully working "Codex Europa" with detailed logs and accounts of characters, kingdoms and technology that will keep updated as one progresses.
Unique system of class progression that involves not only combat skills, but how characters socially interact.
Many additional side quests to build your reputation, command over a private army, create a dynasty and create vassals.
Forge Alliances with kings to help forge their empires, or betray them and crumble them.
Bestow your characters with titles of nobility, based on their actions.
A fully working "Codex Europa" with detailed logs and accounts of characters, kingdoms and technology that will keep updated as one progresses.
Unique system of class progression that involves not only combat skills, but how characters socially interact.
Scripts in Use:
Tankentai's Side View Battle system 1.9 : Credit to Atoa
Gubid's Tactical Battle System: credit to Gubid
KyoTeleTrans XP 1.3 : Credit to Kyonides
Rafidelis Title X: Credit to Rafidelis
Multiple Battle Systems: Credit to Commodore Whynot
In Battle Switching and Summoning: Credit to Sephiroth Spawn
Emotion Script: Credit to Anemus
Regional Monsters: Credit to Gubid
Individual Battle commands: Credit to Stupidstormy36
Player showing Script: credit to Jimme Reashu
Taryn's Weapon Ammunition System: Credit to Dervvulfman
Battle Report: Credit to Raziel
Enemy Detection system: Credit to Gubid and Near Fantastcia
Pixelmovement: Credit to f0tz!baerchen
Clan System: Credit to Rotimikid
Dynamic light and darkness: Credit to Trebor777
Scripts We're looking for:
Dynamic Day and Night
"Codex" script
Q: Even though your RPG isn't a fantasy RPG, you hint at Fantasy elements. Why is that?
A: I have created a world where the commoner doesn't know the difference between science and magic, and since the commoner can't understand science it appears to be magic! So - psychic, even though they use psychic energy, may be construed as witches or mages.
Q: With that being said, what about things like werewolves and Vampires?
A: They exist, though not like you have seen it before - the apocalypse has left some interesting mutations in the human gene pool =]
Q: How long will The first part be?
A: I want Apparent Shadows to be Quality - I'm not aiming for a time, but since this is my very first RPG, I'm shoot for 3-5 hours on the main quest.
Q: How do you intend to utilize the futuristic and medieval blend of weaponry
A: good question - I actually don't know. Once I get some scripters and eventers in I want to do some research and hopefully find a way to make it cool.
Q: What battle system are you using?
A: Two actually. We will be utilizing the Fire Emblem battle system for large scale battles, and the Side view battle system for normal encounters and duels.
As more questions pop up, I will answer them - I had a couple in my inbox, so I figured I would put them out there.
Now to the Good Stuff:
I am myself a full time college student, and I am taking this as a leisurely side job. That is not to say I am not taking this seriously. This is a storyline and a universe I have been perfecting over nearly 3 years now, and I have put more thought and work into this world than I have in any of my schoolwork (lol). I am looking for like minded individuals who are similarly laid back, easy going, but at the same time hard workers and who are interested in the project. I cannot pay anyone, because of my current financial situation, so all work is volunteer. There are no contracts to sign and you are in no way bound to work on this forever or even until It's finished. The project requires a little bit of intuition and the ability to work with me (that's easy - I like to think I'm pretty chill)
A little about me and my personal skills
organized
fun loving
hard working
devoted and on task
College Sophmore with a major in Medieval History
Hold a part time Job selling Tuxedos and managing a store
As such I expect the similar qualities of the team members working with me. Good, hard workers are necessary, but a sense of humor is certainly appreciated, especially when working with me. I am always looking for people who can bring innovative and new ideas to the story! And I realize that yes, RPGmakerXP is still a new thing to me, but I think that everyone, even me, can learn something from someone else. I will work WITH my team, and I promise the team won't be working under me. I run a tight and egalitarian shift, so everyone is equally important, that is myself included. I want my team mates to look to me as a team leader - not some slimy despotic monarch who slave drives to get people to work. I want to learn something new from my team mates - cause let's face it, I'm going to need alot of help!
Please just reply to this thread if you are interested in joining the team, and I will contact you via PM or AIM for samples of work or just to chat and get an idea of skill sets.
If you are interested in Joining the team or Contributing to this massive endeavor please Contact me through PM, AIM (g0n3postal) or MSN Messenger (hylander25k@yahoo.com)
Thank you all for your time, and I hope you will consider working with me on this project.