STEEL: Heavy Metal (OOC)

Status: Still accepting players
This is a Battletech inspired RP, using a similar technical/social environment but placed in an unconnected universe.

The Characters:
The Stellar Wolf Legion (Better known as The Mongrels) is one of two such battle wards that serve the Sione Confederation. (The other being the 'Rim Hawk Legion') While there is great prestige with being assigned to the Rim Hawks, the Stellar Wolves are often assigned the failures, screw-ups, odd-balls and felons of the MechWarrior world.
At the beginning of this RP, the characters will have just been assigned to Epsilon Company with the Mongrels and are being sent via dropship to investigate a communications beacon that has mysteriously begun transmission from an uninhabited moon.

Please post your characters here using this character sheet format.


Pilot Name and Call Sign:
Description: (Ht/Wt/Eyes/Hair etc.)
Personality:
History/Backstory:
Mech Name:
Mech Size:
Mech Description:
Weaponry:
Armor:
Special Information: (Mech info that is considered unique, such as recurring problems with the machinery or 'improvements' that have been made beyond normal spec.)

I just wanted to check on this idea.

I wanted to start off with a heavily mismatched mech. My pilot is very poor, and could only afford salvaged parts from his defeated enemies. So his weapons and limbs would be from several different classes of mechs.

Likewise, the mech would suffer from frequent mechanical hiccups, because of the ragtag design.

Diodri_Setera wrote:I just wanted to check on this idea.

I wanted to start off with a heavily mismatched mech. My pilot is very poor, and could only afford salvaged parts from his defeated enemies. So his weapons and limbs would be from several different classes of mechs.

Likewise, the mech would suffer from frequent mechanical hiccups, because of the ragtag design.

Definitely Mongrel, definitely approved.

Pilot Name and Call Sign: Jake Lombardi (MAZ-P2)

Description: Jake is a large, hardened man, from years of working mechanics jobs lifting parts. He has a strong back, and equally strong arms. He doesn't really give off the look of a pilot, or mechanic, more like a retired wrestler than anything. He stands 6' 6" and weights about 220 pounds. He has dark black hair, and green eyes. He usually wear a brown tank town, and a cargo vest while piloting, with a sturdy pair of jeans. When working with the mechanics, he has on, pretty much the same thing, but sports a tool belt. He usually has a cigar in his mouth, sometimes even while piloting.

Personality: Jake is a gruff man with a deep voice. He is always direct, and straight to the point. That isn't to say he's not friendly. In fact, he is a very personable person, quick to crack a joke, or give you a good (sometimes painful) slap on the shoulder. He is very focused when flying, and never hesitates when making a decision.

History/Backstory: Jake was born and grew up on one of the many space stations currently in universe. His mother was a mechanic working freelance, but mostly for the Rim Hawk Legion. Naturally, Jake idolized the Rim Hawks, and strove to be a part of them. He would always hear stories of his exploits, and signed up for their service as early as he could. Jake worked as a grunt mechanic, making minor repairs to damaged mechs, slowly saving up his money for one of his own. Several years into his career, a man when on a mission with the Legion. he was very unlucky, and a stray projectile pierced his cockpit, killing him, but left the mech relatively undamaged. Seeing his chance, Jake purchased the mech, leaving himself virtually broke, and joined up with the mech core.

Several months after joining, his group got into a large engagement. His mid-sized Shadow Hawk was performing quite well, until an unexpected weapons failure. A Lin Holder came at his recklessly. With his primary auto cannon down, Jake had no choice but to fire his lazer cannon directly at the torso of the enemy mech. The resulting explosion destroyed both crafts, scattering the battlefield with parts. The enemy pilot died, while Jake remained trapped in his mechs broken torso, until pried free.

No longer having a mech, he was expelled from The Rim Hawk Legion right there on the spot. Using the last of his money, Jake was able to tow the remains of his craft, as well as the parts from the Line Holder back to a repair bay. Spending half of his time working on repairs, and making money with other project, Jake finally got the mech running again, though it looked like a complete mess. You could compare it to Frankenstein's monster, but it ran. He was later recruited by the Stellar Wolves. Aching to gte back to piloting, Jake joined them willingly.

Over the years and fights, Jake has been salvaging parts from his ruined enemies, and adding the to his own mech. It looks like no other craft out there.


Mech Name: Mazcabre

Mech Size: Medium (55 tons)

Mech Description: The mech's look has undergone many variations over the years. Currently, by and large, the mechs chasis, is the Shadow Hawk build. The Shadow Hawk Currently has the main torso in tact. There are several patches of armor, however, that have been replaced by armor from other mechs. The mech has also retained the shoulder mounted Martell lazer cannon.

All other parts of the mech have had to be replaced. The legs in particular, are a matter of concern. On the right side, the mech sports a Phoenix Hawk leg, from a similar class of ship. However, in a recent battle, pressed for parts, Jake has had to attach a chicken style leg, from a much newer ship, a Chimera. This gives the mech an uneven gait when walking, and looks very awkward. However, the chicken leg is more stable, so the mech is the most vulnerable to tipping while standing on the other leg.

The arms are both from the same ship, an Axeman class mech. because of the Axeman's heavier size, the arms have begun to weight heavily on the chasis. To counter this, Jake has had to remove some of the armor protecting the arms to make them lighter, as well as the massive shoulder mounted auto cannon.

Weaponry:

Shoulder: 1 Martell Medium Lazer
Back: 1 Doombud long range missile 20-Rack.
Right Arm: 1 Sutel Precision Large Pulse Lazer (Axe)
Left Arm: 3 Intek Medium Lazers

Armor: Varies.

Body: Maximilian 43
Right Leg: Durallex Light w/ Case
Left Leg: StarGuard CCM
Arms: Minimal

Special Information: Because the mech is so heavily pieced together, then can be sporadic weapons or systems failure. Jake has had entire limbs freeze up in mid battle before. However, this current build, aside from the fragile arm, and the limping walk, the mech seem pretty stable. (Mechanically, not physically).

Well done - I will be working through my character this weekend, but I probably won't post him until Monday. (Holiday obligations.)

My Character will probably follow Moday as well. I am still working out the final background details. It is amusing that Dio is using axeman arms, a mech in which my character lost his/her legs starting the downward spiral of the character leading to the position with the mongrels. The mech itself will probably be pristene as he/she has shied away from combat sice the accident.

-I will play the dropship pilot/comm center

Pilot Name and Call Sign: Whelan Rastos - Whizzer

Description: Ht: 5'8" Wt:145 Hair:Red Eyes: Green
Even at age 30, Whelan has a smattering of freckles across his nose - his only other distinguishing feature is the severe burn scars across his back, ranging from the base of his neck to his mid thighs. - these are almost always covered by the grey jumpsuit of a jr. officer.

Personality: Whizzer comes across as somewhat bitter and unhappy, mostly due to the feeling that he has been unjustly punished for a collision that he did not cause. Whelan is truly near the edge of insanity - the PTSD related to the crash along with the high stress of being a combat comlink officer is beginning to wear on him.

History/Backstory: Whelan Rastos was the first pilot from the Sione Confederation to be awarded an officer's Starburst from the pilots acadamy Paros in the Inner Sphere, and was assigned to the Ios battlegroup as a Jr. Officer. His first combat mission was the debacle at Qa'an that resulted in the los of over 40 Iosian mechs and pilots. Whelan had maneuvered in against orders and under heavy fire to extract an embattled mech. Unfortunately the mech in question was overheating and exploded, just as the dropship had secured the tether - the ship then was imbalanced and hit a nearby rock formation causing it to eventually fall to ground and explode. Though Whelan survived, he was included in the court marshall that found every officer in the battle group guilty - he served 3 months in the brig and was sent home where is spent a year serving the home defense force of his home colony (Sione Atrues) in a desk position.
A month ago the Stellar Wolves put out a call that they were forming a new company, and the Atrues Colony, feeling that they could not sacrifice one of their pilots immediately promoted Whelan to the officers corps and quickly shipped him to the Stellar Wolves, Epsilon Company.

Mech Name: -

Mech Size: -

Mech Description: -

Weaponry: -

Armor: -

Other Information: The Epsilon Company uses a Union - C class dropship. This craft had been refitted for a merchant fleet use as a cargo ship, but has recently been recommisioned to the Stellar Wolves upon the formation of Epsilon Company.

Pilot Name: Angelo Bienemie
Call Sign: Killer Bee, Angel of Death
Height: 4’3”
Weight: 134lbs
Hair color: Black Eye color: Blue
Appearance: https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/evellynn/Angelo.jpg

Much of Angelo’s body is covered with rough dark red raised areas of scar tissue as a result of the cockpit fire. His dark hair no longer grows from the damage skin over much of his body. The thick coarse hair patches that do grow he keeps shaved close to the skin. His deep blue eyes are no longer vibrant and full of life but cold and sullen. He is often found staring past an object into space writing off others even before they have rejected him. His lips are dry and chapped no longer bearing a smile they once kept. Having lost both legs below the knees Angelo has incredible upper body strength. He often maneuvers himself much like a chimp for locomotion, disregarding his prosthetics or his wheel chair because of their awkwardness. Strapped to the left side of his blood red pilot suit is a Mark V blaster in case of unexpected trouble.

Personality: Angelo prefers to be left alone, choosing to spend his free time in the confines of the cockpit of his mech as opposed to his rack or the ship’s commons. Too many people have turned their backs on Angelo after the accident and he in turn has turned his back on them. "Every man for himself" the new motto he carries with him. For this reason he is headstrong and independent. Seldom there is a time when he will accept help even if offered. Much of this stems from the feeling the gesture is out of pity rather than necessity. On the battlefield he is even less dependent on others. Marching to his own drum. No longer afraid to die he wades into situations half cocked without thinking things through.

History/ Back ground : Once deemed as one of the most promising pilots the Draconis Combine had to offer, Angelo’s life has been a living hell since the mech accident in which he received severe burns to over 60% of his body. He doesn’t speak much of that day or the events which followed. Instead he chooses to remain in a constant state of denial and inebriation lashing out at all who come into contact with him. He eagerly awaits any opportunity to place hirself upon the field of battle and have it finish what it started. After several reprimands and frequent trips to the brig he now finds himself on the outskirts of society. Almost out of the sympathy from his commanding officer he has drawn an assignment with the Mongrels. Here he finds a final chance at redemption before complete expulsion from military ranks of the inner sphere.
Mech Name: Bee’s Nest (Ti T’sang TSG 9H)
Mech Description:
http://www.mechground.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1382&Itemid=1819
Weaponry: 4 Diverse Optics ER Medium Lasers, 8 Diverse Optics ER Small Lasers


I am sure there will be more to follow in the history/backgroung department.
I have used this weapons configuration because it allows me to manipulate my heat usage to accomodate the triple strength myomer to it's full ability. All weaponry will be split between the left and right torso.
The sword verses the axe. Read the explanation under the No-Dachi. The Draconians prefer the sword over the barbaric axe. This will be essentially how my mech will look.

I have the Mission Briefing ready - I will post it sometime today, and hopefully pick up a couple of players soon.
I will plan to start the IC with the Briefing, then I will post what we are REALLY going to be facing planetside here, then my pilot will make his post in IC - once Whelan makes his appearance you guys feel free to start.

THe first few posts will be pilot interaction, then we'll hit the planet.

Scratch that last plan - you guys can go ahead and begin any time, I will wait to post for Whelan and what you are facing later - work has taken up too much of my work day and I don't want to hold this up any more.

Epsilon Company consists of 12 Mechs (and pilots) about 20 mechanics and another dozen or so support personel. Feel free to write in NPCs if you'd like - just leave the Commanding Officer and 3 or 4 pilots, in case more players join.

Also, I think that I am going to ask that we be moved over to the Casual forum - With the number of combat-related posts that I am expecting it may be better suited for that side. (And it is more likely to gain some interest from new players.)

That sounds okay. I don't mind.

I will try to get to my post later today. It's sunny and Friday and that ussually makes for a bad combination to carve enough time from work to post. That and it takes a bit to get a feel for where I want to take the character. Sorry to hold things up. I will do my best.

The move is fine for me as well.

One thing none of us have addressed in our bio's is piloting and gunnery skill.

Angela could not hit the side of a drop pod at long range and only mediocre success at closer rangers. She can however pilot her mech as nobody else can. A living extension of her body.

Pilot Name: Maryn
Call Sign: Hawk

Description: A lean one hundred eighty pounds, five foot and eight inches. She keeps her nearly waist length hair in a pony-tail. She'd have cut it long ago, but it's against her family's beliefs. Her grey eyes are always on the goal at hand.

Personality: She's a driven woman and hates being told what she "can't" do. She respects authority, but she is no sheep. Short tempered at the best of times, she's usually one to bide her time plotting the best way to let you know just how she feels...and it's not always in words.

Background: What started off as a curious little girl eavesdropping to find out what this year's presents would be, evolved into a career in reconnaissance. Her curious nature keeps her always looking out for new information and learning new concepts. One of the few to escape her, though, is the Mechs. They, as well as her career in the military are quite new to her, but she's pleased with her mech's speed and survivability, they seem able to keep up with her own need for speed and love of melee. Her old tools of the trade are also making the transition easier for her, they go where she goes.

Mech: Griffon IIC 3 ( http://www.mechground.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1643 )
MechName: Zor
So far, mech is as he was issued to her. She hopes to learn more so that she can equip him as best she can.

Her mech is her best armor. She is well trained in melee fighting styles but carries a barretta for long range, it's better that way.

When she's doing well, Zor showcases her own talents well, but Zor/Maryn have been known to run like an ungainly teenager. Don't blame the mech, it's usually the pilot.

Okay, here is the combat scenario:
Epsilon Company is split into three 'Wings' (Red, Blue and Green)
Maryn, Angela and Jake are all in Green (along with a cadet pilot named Poul DiSantes - his mech is a Hussar with heavy laser scarring.)

The C/O of Epsilon Company is Carver Hilt (Also, leader of the Red team) and since the dropship will be forced to land, he has ordered Green Wing to stay put and patrol the area of the ship.)

The terrain of Urghon is a series of 'cut' canyons that are generally parallel, the walls are between 30 and 250 feet from the canyon floor. The ship will land in a large canyon (almost a mile wide and 230 feet deep.)

This should cover the info that y'all need for the next post or two - I will continue to update here when needed.

Thanks And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

After conversations with Aesalon I have impimented a few changes to my character profile.

The most important being a gender change. Angela is now an Angelo.

As there has been no interaction with Angelo between the other characters as of yet there shouldn't be much of a transitional problem.

The reasoning behind the change was Aesalon had indicated only a small percentage of mech jockies were women. With the intoduction of Maryn and another indicating a desire for a female pilot there would just be too much estrogen for poor Jake to handle.
Besides I wouldn't want anyone to jump to the conclusion that all the women pilots were washouts. We men have our fair share of failures as well.

I have made the appropriate edits to the story thread. I hope I haven't caused any great inconsistancies in doing so.

Combat Synopsis:

Okay, the attack is coming - luckily the enemy didn't expect the dropship to be guarded and sent the majority of the forces to intercept the 2 field teams - regardless, you are technically outgunned in this combat.
-The enemy is not picked up on sensors, they will be noticed when the first rocket explodes in the valley.
-There is one Battlemech ( Highlander ) on the ledge above.
-5 Hovertanks advance on the location from somewhere upcanyon (The direction of the base)
-2 Mechs ( Hellspawn ) Both freshly painted with no insignia are following behind the tanks in support.)
-DiSantes freezes, paralyzed with fear and does not respond to communication - so don't rely on him for anything.
-I would like you all to live through this...somehow.

If you have any other questions just toss em out, otherwise, shred some metal.

*cry cry cry*

I had just finished my post, only to navigate away from the page to check to OOC from information, and lost my post. I'm stupid.

I'll post tomorrow, I promise.

Pats back, "It's okay. We''ll give you twenty-four hours before blasting you away with the laser cannons."

Sorry to double post, but I needed to say this. I haven't posted because I think I am over my head with the Mechs and I get very confused on what to do. I don't want to give up on the RPG, but I'm feeling like a First Grader sitting in a Twelth Grade AP Course.

::gulp::

Battlemechs are much like humanoid shaped tanks. The cockpit itself is in the head and the pilot uses a series of controls to move/fire the machine. Size wise think transformers. They are not small by any means. They are just more versitile than their predessors of war.

Hope that helps form an image.

Okay, that does help. Thanks

I read some of the material on Mechs, though, and it felt like a foreign language to me, especially operations.

Bumping the OOC to see if people are planning on posting, or if this is game over.

I'm sorry to say this...but i got in over my head...I need to write my swan song post So I'm just waiting for a bit more action.

Hey everyone!
I finally finished BCT last week and I'm at AIT for another 7-8 weeks. Thankfully I will be getting regular computer access starting next week when my laptop arrives in the mail. I'm hoping that this RP is still going on, because I am still motivated to write about it as much as I was when I left!

I was surprised to see some action here. I think there has been a lost interest in this RP. I'm all for picking it up again, but I don't know who else is.