Curse of the Viper Forum RPG - Capture Dat Flag!

[st4rw4k3r]

Yes, and who might Vie pick out of these many young women. >:3

[formerdeathcorps]

Sorry for taking so long, but here's my character.

Seth "Setch" Harrow
Male
17
Side 5

As with official protocol, Setch dresses in a mech jumpsuit with a crew cut.  Although he hates the drab jumpsuit colors, he favors their ability to help his brown hair and eyes blend in with every other conscript.  For concealment, however, his mech is now even uglier than the standard given to all conscripts, having been repainted numerous times to match the steel-gray of Earth's cities.  As with personal protocol, however, his nametag reads "SETCH!" rather than "Harrow" and a smirk almost always lingers on his face, especially when his voice crackles in the receiver.

All his life, Seth just couldn't stay out of trouble.  His parents spent all day mining lunar minerals, leaving little time or money for their three children.  Official school life, with its monotonous routine of studying, indoctrination, and obedience, only reinforced his will to rebel and escape (hence his nickname).  After a near shutdown with the colony's oxygen supply when he was 15, Setch was seen by a guard running from the supply tanks.  Despite his pleas of innocence, Setch's record of petty theft and schoolyard fights convinced the magistrate he was guilty of the crime.  Sentenced to a year of military service, he grudgingly learned the battlefield discipline of a soldier, but also honed more important survival skills: hiding, lying, and twisting orders to his benefit.  With only two months to go, Setch had already planned his escape from Side 5 in his mech, Steel Freedom, but the war intervened.  Setch, over his protests, was deployed to Earth to fight.  He himself was unsure how he survived the brutal horror of the last eight months, but after the near destruction of his last brigade, he was transferred to the Desert Cobras.

Camouflage/Evasion, Hidden/Suppression Fire, Close Combat only when cannot escape by any other means

MS-05B Zaku (Steel Freedom)

Cost: 130 points.

HP: 35
Speed: 10
Armor: 10
Booster Speed: 20
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Clamp Count: 3
Clamp Locations: 1 on the side of each hip, 1 under the booster pack.
Special Properties:
--None.
Usability:
[Space/Lunar/Surface/Undersea]

Built in Armaments:
None.

Right Hand: 120mm Machine Gun (2H)
Left Hand: (Used to support above)
Clamp Limits:
--Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip 120mm Machine Gun
--Left Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip 120mm Machine Gun
--Back Hip Clamp: Heat Hawk

Extra Points: 300 - 130 - 70 - 40 - 10 - 10 = 40

I'll provide a picture later.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Alright, getting your Character Sheet finished up right now.

We're only waiting on NinjaWeazel to finish up his and we're good to go.

[st4rw4k3r]

NinjaWeazel told me he was done.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Sorry, didn't see it earlier.  Character Sheets for everyone are done then!  I'll be posting the intro-bits and the first battle tonight then, but a couple things to quickly go over.  First, my impressions of this motley crew:

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful war
That started from this coastal base
Aboard this mighty Gaw.

The mate was a mighty fishing man,
The captain cold and sure.
Five more squadmates joined that day
For a four month tour, a four month tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The mighty plane was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.

The plane crashed on the shore of a desolate asian land
With Buliwyf
The Captain too,
The space-texan and wifelike May,
The assassin girl,
The doctor and Lyra too,
Here on "Buliwyf's Isle."


So this is the tale of squadmates,
They're fighting for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The fishin'-vice and the Captain too,
Will do their very best,
To lead the others intelligently,
Through the hornet's nest.

They may have phones, lights, and motor cars,
But there's still no luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
Primitive as mechs can be.

So join us here each week my friends,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven misfit squadmates,
Here on "Buliwyf's Isle."

Second, how to post your actions each turn.  In case the OP wasn't clear, a simple "1. Move Forward X spaces / etc."  "2. Fire 21 Machine Gun rounds at Tank #3. (Ammo Remaining: 78)" etc. that just lists what you want to do and tracks your ammo is sufficient for each turn.  You're free to embellish your posts as much as you please, mix dialog into or between moves, have general banter, edit your posts to correct things or continue a banter exchange, etc., but just make sure you in some way clearly label each of your 5 Actions just to make my life a tiny bit easier.

With that, we'll be starting by tonight!  Feel alive, guys!

[Celdia]

Can we come to a consensus of how to note in-character actions and speech, out-of-character speech and game-actions in a post? I'm all for no formatting for in-character actions, " " for in-character speech, and (( )) for anything out of character or game-actions. Game-actions could just be listed in (( )) in the format RoR showed above. Also, what about temporal tense? Past, present? As an example...

May sizes up the battlefield ahead of her as she levels her bazooka and calls out into her mic, transmitting to the entire squad, "Alright, gang! Let's show these E. F. scum what my father's creations can do in the hands of the Desert Cobras!" Her joyous laughter crackles across the frequency before the transmission cuts and she advances forward, targeting the most heavily armored opposition and launching bazooka rounds into its hull. As she watches the shells arc through the air, she draws up her shield to block any retaliation while transmitting on a public channel, "Bring it on! You can't stand before the might of Zeon!"

((Action 1: Survey the enemies and find the heaviest armored one I can see. Action 2: Move forward 2 spaces. Action 3: Fire my bazooka at the heavy armor target - if there's more than one, pick the closest to the squad. Action 4: Ready my knuckle shield to defend from return fire. If I don't need to survey the field to find any heavy armor enemies, then disregard Action 1.))

...and that could easily be followed up with more speech, other actions, etc etc. Its a simple format if a little condensed into blocks. A variation of play by play might be this...

May sizes up the battlefield ahead of her ((Action 1: Survey the enemies and find the heaviest armored one I can see - If I don't need to survey the field to find any heavy armor enemies, then disregard Action 1)) as she levels her bazooka and calls out into her mic, transmitting to the entire squad, "Alright, gang! Let's show these E. F. scum what my father's creations can do in the hands of the Desert Cobras!" Her joyous laughter crackles across the frequency before the transmission cuts and she advances forward ((Action 2: Move forward 2 spaces)), targeting the most heavily armored opposition and launching bazooka rounds into its hull ((Action 3: Fire my bazooka at the heavy armor target - if there's more than one, pick the closest to the squad)). As she watches the shells arc through the air, she draws up her shield to block any retaliation while transmitting on a public channel, "Bring it on! You can't stand before the might of Zeon!" ((Action 4: Ready my knuckle shield to defend from return fire.))

I'm just worried if we don't set a structure of SOME kind at the start it'll be a giant clusterfuck of different styles for presenting the different data in this thread.

Edit: Raven made a suggestion from a previous game and I've interpreted it like so:

May sizes up the battlefield ahead of her (1) as she levels her bazooka and calls out into her mic, transmitting to the entire squad, "Alright, gang! Let's show these E. F. scum what my father's creations can do in the hands of the Desert Cobras!" Her joyous laughter crackles across the frequency before the transmission cuts and she advances forward (2), targeting the most heavily armored opposition and launching bazooka rounds into its hull (3). As she watches the shells arc through the air, she draws up her shield to block any retaliation (4) while transmitting on a public channel, "Bring it on! You can't stand before the might of Zeon!"

1. Survey the enemies and find the heaviest armored one I can see.
2. Move forward 2 spaces.
3. Fire my bazooka at the heavy armor target - if there's more than one, pick the closest to the squad.
4. Ready my knuckle shield to defend from return fire. If I don't need to survey the field to find any heavy armor enemies, then disregard Action 1.

Thoughts?

[RavenOfRazgriz]

I like your interpretation of what I told you on IRC.  I'd be a very happy person if everyone formatted their posts that way, it's very easy to distinguish what's happening when and it looks much nicer than how it was done the previous times I've run the game.  Does anyone have a problem using that format, since it has both clarity and RP goodness? 

(Quick aside, you'll never need to spend an action surveying the enemies.  You're provided with a cursory look at what enemy Suits are. [Aka, what weapons they appear to be holding that are visible, if they have noticeably reinforced armor, etc., but not anything you wouldn't be able to confirm visually.]  This way you can actually plan around that information instead of being forced to kind of divine the info when making the rest of your actions during that turn.)

By the way, I'm ready to post the intro and first battle once we've got this out of the way.  It's all typed up and mapped up and all that good stuff.

[st4rw4k3r]

I like the third game play. Seems the easiest.

[formerdeathcorps]

I don't believe in weird text formatting either because it's not how writers would write a story, and it's hard on the eyes.  I personally prefer narration as just words, speech as " ", and out-of-character stuff as OOC: stuff.

I really don't mind what tense you post in or first/third person as long as each poster is self-consistent when posting actions, nor do I see a need to standardize it.  We do have forum names so we easily figure out who did what.
As for how to post actions, Raven's idea seems best.

I like Celdia's idea of posting conditional character actions, but how complicated do you want such commands, Raven?

[st4rw4k3r]

I like Raven's way, it seems best. you can talk and say what you're going to do, them foot note a action you do.
Seems very easy.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

I like Celdia's idea of posting conditional character actions, but how complicated do you want such commands, Raven?

I don't care if you have conditional or branching commands as long as they're not too complex.  You should be at least partially relying on your teammates to help you cover your turn.  Simple things like conditional Actions Celdia noted (if A happens, do this, else, do that) when they're needed critically or possibly a pivot point on your turn (say, your first 2-3 Actions are dedicated to attacking a certain unit, then you have a 4a + 5a and 4b + 5b based on whether your previous actions + teammates killed that unit.), but try not to keep it more complex than necessary.  Not only for my sake, but you also want your teammates to be able to help plan around your turn and vice-verse, and overly complex turns make that incredibly difficult.

You guys seem to be onboard the idea Celdia posted third though (footnote actions, bold dialog, OOC in parens or something obvious), which makes me glad.  Unless someone posts dissent I'll be starting things within the next few hours I think.

[Celdia]

Hooray! I'm useful!

[st4rw4k3r]

Yay!

* st4rw4k3r High Fives Celdia

[RavenOfRazgriz]

I'd say we've got the "form" we want Action posts to be in down, unless there's stupid levels of dissent, so let us get on to the game!  

(Note: I left the squares on when I made the battle map in Gametable.  You're not bound by movement ranges, but feel free to specify movement via "spaces" on the map so I can see exactly where you want to move.  Posting the maps as thumbnails, click to see full version.  If people have problems with the maps or suggestions on how to improve them, feel free to comment on them. Also, if I name-drop a character [such as in this Intro], I'll generally link to a wiki-page or similar if one applies.  Feel free to ignore them, they're more for the universe-curious and are never required reading.  The machines with linked names, however, only link to images of that machine.)

----------Scenario Intro----------

Desert Cobras... they were a so-called "Experimental Corps.", a Mobile Suit Squadron under the direct command of Zeon Earth Attack Forces leader Garma Zabi.  Filled mostly with Earth-defectors and troubled kids, however, part of their captain wondered if it had just been the place Garma threw all the pilots he didn't want as part of his main attacking force.  They were stationed at the aptly named "California Base", an expansive military base that Zeon captured from the Earth Federation earlier in the war.  Between climate changes and the debris from the Australia-destroying colony drop raining onto North America, much of the area has become a desert.  The Zeon grip of the area is incredibly tight, so it's rare for more than halfhearted skirmishes to occur, but today, something big happened - a Gaw Atmospheric Attack Carrier carrying a large payload of experimental parts and Mobile Suits had been taken down right in the nearby airspace!  Garma immediately ordered the Desert Cobra team, being one of the only teams at his disposal to have a title-bearing leader currently, to find the downed Gaw Carrier and either destroy or recover the prototypes.  It would take a while for the Federation to recover them and get them out of the area, so there should still be time to intercept the Federation Forces at the downed Gaw itself.

They had been traversing the desert, heading directly for the last known place the Gaw had been airborne without delay.  After a lull where things seemed almost too quiet given the events that had occurred, a hail of explosive fire came from their left side, crashing into the sand near the Zakus' feet.   They turned, and noticed a several squadrons of the Federation's Type-61 Tanks dug into the nearby sand dunes, their tan paint schemes allowing them to blend in rather effectively.  The squadron quickly regrouped, then turned to face their aggressors.  "Looks like a forward guard..." Atrius muttered under his breath before giving orders, "Let's take them out quickly, before they can radio ahead to the guys securing the Gaw.  Those old tanks can't hold match a Zaku as long as we stay alert."

Objective: Destroy All Enemies.
Bonus Objective: Complete the Objective in 1 Battle Pane.
Weather: Sunny.
Terrain: Surface - Desert.



(For a version without the effects, look here!)

(Tip!: Mobile Suits such as the Zaku II that have shoulder-mounted shields can make use of them during combat by moving the arm its mounted on across the Mobile Suit's chest.  Just be careful to not try and use the shield and fire the weapon held in that hand at the same time, as firing the weapon will obviously force you to move your arm and in turn most likely drop your guard.)

(Note - Time for this Battle Pane expires at midnight EST on Thursday.  Characters who have not made Actions by then will be given forced Actions based on the characters who did make Actions that Pane.)

Desert Cobras:

Atrius Schliend - "The Viper"
MS-06C Zaku II Early Production Type
Core HP: 40
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Shoulder Armor HP: 12.
Left Shoulder Armor Power: 8.
Right Hand: 280mm Bazooka - Ammo: 4.
Left Hand: Doublehanding 280mm Bazooka.
Right Hip Clamp: 105mm Machine Gun - Ammo 100.
Left Hip Clamp: None.
Back Hip Clamp: None.

Lyra Leylande
MS-05B Zaku I
Core HP: 35
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Hand: 280mm Bazooka - Ammo: 4.
Left Hand: Doublehanding 280mm Bazooka.
Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 280mm Bazooka.
Left Hip Clamp: Heat Hawk.
Back Hip Clamp: None.

May Greenfield
MS-06C Zaku II Early Production Type ["Merrygate"]
Core HP: 40
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Shoulder Armor HP: 12.
Left Shoulder Armor Power: 8.
Right Hand: 280mm Bazooka - Ammo: 4.
Left Hand: Knuckle Shield - HP 10.
Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 280mm Bazooka.
Left Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 280mm Bazooka.
Back Hip Clamp: None.

Buliwyf Herger
MS-06C Zaku II Early Production Type
Core HP: 40
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Shoulder Armor HP: 12.
Left Shoulder Armor Power: 8.
Right Hand: None.
Left Hand: None.
Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for Shotgun.
Left Hip Clamp: Shotgun.
Back Hip Clamp: Heat Hawk ["Skinning Blade"].

Florance Vie Silette
MS-06C Zaku II Early Production Type
Core HP: 40
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Shoulder Armor HP: 12.
Left Shoulder Armor Power: 8.
Right Hand: 120mm Machine Gun - Ammo: 99.
Left Hand: Knuckle Shield - HP 10.
Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 120mm Machine Gun.
Left Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 120mm Machine Gun.
Back Hip Clamp: None.

Rellia Lunar
MS-05B Zaku I
Core HP: 35
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Hand: Heat Hawk.
Left Hand: Doublehanding Heat Hawk.
Right Hip Clamp: None.
Left Hip Clamp: None.
Back Hip Clamp: None.

Seth "Setch" Harrow
MS-05B Zaku I ["Steel Freedom"]
Core HP: 35
Booster Jump Fuel: 2
Right Hand: 120mm Machine Gun - Ammo: 99.
Left Hand: Doublehanding 120mm Machine Gun.
Right Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 120mm Machine Gun.
Left Hip Clamp: Reserve Clip for 120mm Machine Gun.
Back Hip Clamp: Heat Hawk.

[Celdia]

"So much for us sneaking up on them. Suits me just fine though. I've been itching to see what Merrygate can do! Time to divide and conquer!" May squeals happily over the mic. Taking aim, she begins to unload the entire bazooka clip across the desert sands and into the center of the distant grouping of tanks. (1-4) "Drive a wedge up the center and don't let them have time to even think about getting on the horn! Go go go!" She cheers energetically as her Zaku turns to the right, leaving her shielded left side facing the oncoming enemy, ejecting the spent clip from her bazooka into the hot sand and trying to quickly reload for another volley. (5)

1. Fire on Tank 3. (3 Rounds Remaining)
2. Fire on Tank 4. (2 Rounds Remaining)
3. If still active, fire on Tank 3 again, else fire on Tank 8. (1 Round Remaining)
4. If still active, fire on Tank 4 again, else fire on Tank 7. (0 Rounds Remaining)
5. Turn 90 degrees right (facing assumed-South/Down on the map) and reload bazooka while turning.

[VampragonLord]

"Right away boss. Earth scum. Boom. Sounds simple enough," Lyra spat back over the radio. Wanting to end this quickly, Lyra scoped out the situation at hand, deciding to herself that [tank 5] would be her best mark. "Vie" being the only name she could remember, and not even quite sure *which* of her allies was Vie, 1) she called out a message to the group "Vie, give me covering fire, i'm going to rush the southern-most tanks". 2) Lyra then  charged her MS forward, aiming to close some distance between her and the tanks, her hands firmly gripping the controls, her eyes glancing about the cockpit, then double checking if she had a proper line of fire on the target. (movement - five squares east, one square north) 3) She then jerked her MS into a crouch attempting to take a bit of cover behind some of the dunes, and readjusting her bazooka over the tops of the dunes. 4-5) Lyra then took careful aim on [tank 5], before loosing a nice, neatly packed explosion from the muzzle of her bazooka, watching it whir onward, before quickly releasing a second round, waiting for the satisfying "boom". (ammo remaining - 2 )

1) radio Vie for covering fire
2) move east/right 5 squares, 1 north of current location.
3) crouch
4-5) Shoot 2 rounds (aimed at tank 5)

[formerdeathcorps]

"Damn!  Already?  All right y'all, let's go!" Setch adjusted a knob near his eyes as cold air shot through the main vent.  Fingers now hovering above the throttle, he heard a female voice call for cover, seemingly from one of the MS nearest to him.  "I'll take it, Vie."  (1) Pushing hard against his joystick while his other hand adjusted the angle of his gun, Setch eyed the enemy tank corps to catch any movement.  Once within range (2-5), he opened fire upon the turret of the nearest tank.

1) Move to the right/east 6 squares.
2-5) Fire upon the closest tank in range.  By default, this is Tank 4, but if this was already destroyed, or another tank has moved closer, that other tank will be fired upon.  If Tank 4 is destroyed, Tank 5 would be the next target, followed by 6 and 3.  Slight forward movements may be necessary to hit the latter 2 tanks (if they don't move), but it should not exceed more than 2 squares in any direction.  Tanks are fired upon until they are destroyed, but retreating tanks will not be followed.
Ammo used: 36 rounds (9 rounds per action x 4 actions)

[st4rw4k3r]

"Alright Setch, you back Lyra up." (1) Vie Moves in range of Tank 1. (2) Takes aim at Tank 1 and fires at Tank 1.

1) Moves up 3 and right 1
2-5) Fires at Tank 1 - until it dies, or half the clip is gone

((We should tile the outside of the map in letters on one side and numbers on the other, so we can say we move to E3, in place of, "I move 3 to the right."))

[NinjaWeazel]

Buliwyf waits until the bazooka rounds from May have whistled past before ramming his throttle forward, pounding his mech across the sand on a direct course for tank 1. (1-3)  "Hmph.  These things aint even half the size of a Cygnus high-atmosphere gas-minnow." The Heat Hawk slaps into his hand, blade already giving off a sinister glow of plasma arcs. (4)  "Probably not half as tough either."  His right foot leads out in a kick, blasting up an obscuring cloud of sand between him and the rest of the tanks as he circles around to avoid the machinegun fire from Vie. (5)

1-3) rushing across the sand to close with tank 1, hoping to end in the square to the Northwest of it.
4) Drawing the Heat Hawk for defensive maneuvers.
5) Generating a small cloud of sand to give partial cover, should help against getting shot since radar isn't particularly helpful.

((that's right, not attacking yet.  turn 1: Positioning.  Turn 2: Merciless destruction. >_>

[Celdia]

((Just wanted to note that I'm in favor of St4r's suggestion. Alpha-numeric coordinates would definitely be helpful and could even be used to describe a specific order of movement: I move to A5 -> A4 -> B4 -> B3 ))