For centuries, the planet known by its inhabitants as Cai had seen perpetual conflict. It seemed that none of the small states littering its surface could get the upper hand and dominate the others, though, so the wars were frequent but small and short-lived.
Until recently, that is.
General Erik Raschkrom was once among the small, powerless leaders who constantly fought for small bundles of territory. He, however, never lost. Never did he have to retreat; never did he have to surrender. Raschkrom conquered vast tracts of land, eliminating smaller states altogether, until he had built an empire hundreds of kilometers in width, spanning across the rivers and mountains that had once served as borders for the states that he conquered.
Raschkrom was ambitious and wanted nothing more than to move beyond his position of General, as most great men are, and so he easily wrested control of the empire from its ruler - who could do nothing to stop him - and declared it the Raschkrom Empire.
Now, people don't like to be conquered, and so the smaller states still in existence took a risk. They found a great military leader of their own - General Donovan Tower. General Tower knew that the trust that they had in him was great, for they had no reason to believe he wouldn't take control as Raschkrom had. At first he seemed able to handle his duties, bringing Raschkrom's armies to a standstill and convincing even more small nations to give him support in his defensive campaign. But Tower gave in.
He did so slowly, grudgingly, at first: initially all he did was dub his combined armies the Tower Coalition, but eventually he began acting like a ruler. After a few years, he began phasing out local control and the Tower Coalition became ever more centralized. Then Raschkrom attacked again, driving the Coalition forces back and killing Donovan Tower.
The Tower Coalition, however, still had great respect for their former leader. He had resisted the lust for power that Raschkrom had long since given in to.
They fought on, facing internal power struggles and a lack of significant military leadership. They fought on because they had to. They fought on because if they failed to do so, Raschkrom would be unstoppable, if he wasn't already.
And perhaps their savior has arrived in the form of a skilled young pilot named James Cain and his small group of confidants...
GENERAL INFORMATION:
James Cain is, in fact, a prominent figure in the Tower Coalition, and you are, in fact, all under his leadership. Not directly, of course. You will probably not meet him until late in the story, assuming you all make it that far.
You see, battling is a heavy part of this RPG, for obvious reasons. Obeying orders and being smart will earn you a slow but solid climb to prominence - trying to pull off crazy stunts puts you at risk of getting your zoid destroyed or (in extreme cases) your character killed, but it offers a chance to be incredibly awesome and earn my respect, if not the good will of your in-character superiors.
That said! Killing off your characters will be avoided as much as possible. I'm not trying to make anyone uncomfortable with battling. I just want you all to understand the risks involved.
High risk, high reward, hm?
APPLICATION PROCESS:
If you don't know much about zoids, this... may be difficult. But that's why such sites as Zoids Wiki exist - and you'll probably learn a significant amount from experience gained while playing, too, so don't be afraid to try.
The application form is as follows:
Name: [This should be relatively obvious - what is your character's name?] Gender: [Male or female. Again, pretty simple.] Age: [Preferably somewhere roughly between 18 and 50. Remember, they have to be fit for military duty, so don't get too extreme, although I am more than willing to accept characters outside of this age range, within reason.] Rank: [You will all begin at Sergeant. Not an officer, but not without power, either.] Zoid: [Yes, some people may own multiple zoids. No, you may not list more than one, and it may not be a Zoid X or Ultimate X. In fact, I would prefer it if you stuck with less powerful zoids on the whole. Also, if half a dozen Liger pilots apply, I will begin rejecting them, because enough is enough, eh?]
You may have noticed that the application is not very involved. Well, it really doesn't have to be. I know how powerful zoids are, and there's not much room for customization in player zoids, for balance purposes.
FINAL NOTES:
I do have a vague storyline in mind. You will be pushed towards it. If you want something to change - if you want to meet up with another player's character and they are willing as well, if you want to try a new zoid out, if you want to pull some insane but possibly awesome move - try it. Ask first if you're worried. But most of the time? I'll be open to your wants, needs, and illogical requests. I am at your disposal.
Have fun if you can. I don't want to ruin the story for you. I just want to make it interesting, and I want to keep you on your toes. So play the game with me - don't guess what I want you to do, do what you think will help advance the story in your favor.
I would refer people to the wikipedia page, but it's... very ambiguous. Not that Zoids Wiki does a very good job of explaining things either, but there aren't a whole lot of sources to reference.
As far as what a zoid is, I have absolutely no idea what "zoidberg" is. Pop culture is not my strong suit in life, so I don't recognize such names. But a zoid as I mean it is a giant mechanical animal used for warfare, to put it as simply as possible.
I'm really no good at explaining things that I already understand, and I really intended to gear this towards people who either already know what zoids is or are willing to learn quickly and act on impulse as they do so. People who can think at a rate beyond the norm, and use this skill to understand things as they pop up.
That said, if you have a specific question I can probably answer it. But general questions like, "What is zoids?" are virtually impossible to answer (at least for me), because the universe encompassed therein is so expansive and contains so much information.
Ah, I vaguely recognize that from long nights spent using television as background noise.
Anyways, alright. I likely shouldn't have used such an obscure universe and then made it even more obscure with my relatively involved modifications, but eh, it's still worth a try.
Well, it's not really a current anime, is the issue. I believe they stopped airing it a few years back, and the original models and such are from like the late 1980s. Still, I've been surprised before.
And... I suppose I'll look into Futurama sometime.
I watched both Zoids and Zoids: Chaotic Century so all I needed was a list of zoid models and a pic of each one so I had a basic idea of what it looked like. If that one is too powerful then I will go with a gravity wolf.
I've personally not watched much of the anime, so I base most of what I think, say, and do regarding zoids off of the models and Battle Story. Which is... part of why I kind of drew the story away from the original universe and went in this direction.
Anyways. I see no issue with the Redler - it's actually on the lesser end of the scale in terms of power, since it lacks guns, but still, a solid choice.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
Your division has been on the frontlines since you joined, but not until now has it actually seen any real action. Today this seems to be changing: apparently General James Cain has finally taken power over the Tower Coalition, and has begun mobilizing the forces under his command.
The only real issue at hand? There's a division of the Raschkrom Empire just north of your position, and they're pretty well dug in thanks to the mountainous terrain. A small portion of your squadron, led by Lieutenant Layton, has been ordered to fly ahead in a blatant invasion of enemy airspace, to determine how much resistance is to be expected. That is, you're being used as a scout, and nobody's too happy about it.
In a flare of flight boosters, Lieutenant Layton (piloting a Storm Sworder), a Sergeant by the name of Wauters (piloting a Redler), and you (also piloting a Redler, obviously) are suddenly ascending above the cracked wasteland of mountains and canyons below. The enemy division is not yet in sight, but Layton apparently knows the way, since he is after all the commanding officer here.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
I follow Layton and keep and eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
For a few minutes the three aerial zoids encounter nothing beyond clouds and the craggy mountains below. Layton seems very sure of his destination - he hasn't allowed the flight to waver once, simply traveling on an unvarying path through the sky.
Then something catches your eye below: it appears that the rocks are moving, but at rates far beyond a rock slide or even the speed a terrestrial zoid could be pushing them at. As light glints off the rising steel-grey objects, you realize these are no mere boulders, but are in fact Sinkers, painted in the predominantly grey Imperial color scheme. Layton and Wauters appear not to have noticed, most likely due to the fact that the Sinkers are actually behind you, having been concealed up until take-off thanks to their coloration.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
I alert Layton and Wauters of the possible enemy and wish I had the time or money to install a gun on Queen Mab(my redler).
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
Immediately noticing the threat at your alert, Layton's Storm Sworder was thrown into a hard left, slowing down and quickly turning to face the Sinkers that rose from behind. "There are four of them. Wauters, attack the left. Dragon, the right."
As soon as the orders were issues, four small missiles flew from Layton's Storm Sworder, two towards each of the central Sinkers, followed by a spray of fire from his small laser guns. The blades on his zoid's wings and head deployed outwards, charging with energy as he approached the central Sinkers. He may have guns, but like your Redler, his Storm Sworder isn't too effective at long-range.
Beside you, Wauters moves to obey the given order, his own tail-mounted blade deploying and charging with energy.
[Creativity will likely help to make combat more interesting. The Sinkers are each about fifty meters off the ground, so keep in mind that you and your allies are actually descending towards them, since you were at a higher altitude.]
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Currently in pristine condition.
I let my weapons charge as I scan for a good place to jump on my target from. I then act like I'm going to go straight for my target. If the target doesn't have a gun then I will continue with my attack. If they do then I will veer away from my target and get to the place I can jump on him from once he has fired at me. I know my plan is risky but I am confident in my speed and knowledge of guns and their range.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Some mild stress and pockmarking to armor covering the front legs, and a smattering of light burn marks to the general front of the zoid.
Unfortunately, despite being reinforced, your claws cannot charge, so you settle for lashing the charged blade on your tail around menacingly as you fly towards the Sinker on the right. Four bulky explosives streak towards you through the air, obviously torpedoes, not meant for non-aquatic combat but deadly nonetheless.
You swerve suddenly, and prove that the Redler is more agile than any mere torpedo, avoiding two of the explosives, and taking two to your front legs. A few beams come at you, but those are more difficult to avoid, and you take several shots before reaching the Sinker.
Now, the Redler is larger than the Sinker, and the Sinker was never intended for dogfighting anyways, much less aerial melee. Your Redler's claws gouge deep furrows in its back, and with a downwards kick you knock it off course, though it manages to right itself before crashing, taking only a nick to one wing.
Your Redler is, luckily, more agile and can turn far more quickly than a Sinker thanks to its Magnessor wings, so you are momentarily behind it and have the upper hand.
Layton and Wauters are engaging their targets just over a hundred meters from your right wing.
Zoid: Redler Weapons: Strike Claws (mounted in place of the standard claws), Variable Laser Blade (mounted in the base of the tail) Equipment: n/a Damage: Some mild stress and pockmarking to armor covering the front legs, and a smattering of light burn marks to the general front of the zoid.
I try to grab a wing, back leg, or a tail with my zoid's mouth. If I manage to do this then I will throw the zoid at its teammates.
