synodiporia_ooc | Emodriver Frame Phileon: Jaunt Info

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Emodriver Frame Phileon: Jaunt Info

Emodriver Frame Phileon
a mecha space opera Jaunt of love and war
September 20 - October 30

Earth stands accused of a terrible crime, beset by the forces of the Aurigan Empire! The greatest advantage the Earth Defense Forces have is the X-Pression Virus, which allows them to channel emotions - and their new mecha weapons drawing on it, the Emodriver Frames!

On a secret base on Phobos, AEGISCorp is putting the finishing touches on a weapon that can change the course of the war, the Emodriver Frame Phileon! The crew of the ESDF Assault Carrier Valiant and its new pilots and crew are dispatched to collect it.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Princeps and their General have gotten wind of Earth's secret weapon, and stand ready to bring down the full might of the Empire on those who would dare strike at their beloved Imperial Consort.

One way or another, the long stalemate will be over... But who benefits from this terrible war?

Find out in the thrilling continuation of Doki-Doki no Gakuen, Emodriver Frame Phileon!

World Info | Setting Update | The Mechs | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Infiltrator Directory | Skills | Calendar | Locations | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

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In the world of Chikyuumaru—one of two official names for a planet more commonly called Earth—for the past several generations, people have been finding ways to cope with the mutagenic epidemic called X-Pressure. X-Pressure is unique in that it makes the body more like the mind in unprecedented ways, and over time, the stigma of infection has faded, and people have adapted to the unique abilities left in its wake.

Among the most common strains of X-Pressure are Audiocaudal Syndrome - developing animalistic ears and tail - and Ganymede Syndrome - the acceleration or regression of aging processes to leave an individual with a physical & hormonal maturity typical for those between 14 & 18 years old. Slightly less common are Tiresias Syndome--involuntary transformations in response to a specfic stimulus such as hugs, hot water, stress, or quacking sounds, which are mostly cross-sex but are sometimes cross-species--and Doppleganger Syndrome--the transformation into whoever you are most associated with in the moment.

But it’s not all bad. A large percentage of people are naturally immune to X-Pressure, and even those affected can lead normal lives - in fact, there are advantages. Social Techniques, or S.Tech, have long been recognized as a powerful advantage in business, politics, romance, and entertainment, but many X-Pressure carriers have a heightened grasp of S.Tech, becoming true adepts, able to use words and gestures to convey their message by manifesting glitter, or hearts, or flower petals, changing the weather around themselves, or in a variety of other ways.

More information about S.Tech and X-Pressure strains can be found here.

Edited 2019-09-15 00:27 (UTC)

The better part of a century has passed since the Travelers were last in Chikyuumaru. Both robotics and space travel have improved immensely in that time. In particular, the Emodriver Frame system, which allows the control of mecha or “Frames” through S.Tech, has revolutionized the way humans interact with machines. The Emodriver Frame was the brainchild of Dr Dara Eskandar (who Travelers might remember as their classmate from the Jaunt at Doki Doki no Gakuen), whose research was bought out by AEGISCorp in a deal that included Dara becoming their former head researcher for her troubles… and by former, we mean that she vanished mysteriously a few years prior to the current Jaunt.

This lead to an era of lucrative asteroid mining and orbital manufacturing, punctuated with intermittent acts of space piracy and political terror. The nations of the world developed astromilitary forces to fight back; the most celebrated and effective of these was the Japanese Space Self Defense Forces, but the American Aerospace Force, the Palestinian Space Navy, and the United Korean Space Command among others also had storied victories against piracy and terrorism.

Five years ago, a Munghungwa Dynamics outpost on Mars intercepted a transmission of extraterrestrial origin. Further investigation by the nations of Chikyuumaru discovered an alien beacon in geosynchronous orbit around the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. It was the creation of an interstellar polity calling itself the Aurigan Empire, which soon sent a stargate and a minor expeditionary fleet.

The vast majority of the Imperial aristocracy were from a species calling themselves the Aurigans - gracile humanoids with bluish to purplish skin tones, long pointed ears, and some telepathic abilities. Their middle and underclasses were a mix of Aurigans proper and their many subject species - including the felinoid Shuil, the draconian Rukh, the centauroid Hwinhee, and dozens of others.

For a time, there was a detente and even some limited trade.

Things came to a head two years ago. A diplomatic summit in the Martian province of Tharsis turned ugly after the Aurigan emissaries were unexpectedly infected with the X-pression Virus. Records of the ensuing chaos are fragmentary, but it resulted in the bloody massacre of both Imperial and terrestrial innocents called the Battle of Tharsis. A desperate Aurigan captain in command of the battlecruiser Heavenly Mercy ordered the sterilization of the city with a tactical antimatter bomb. Only the quick response of the Japanese Space Self Defense Force carrier Hosho, its escorts, and its Emodriver Frame wings were able to destroy the lone battlecruiser before it could launch the bomb.

The local Imperial Princeps, while they disavowed the actions of the Heavenly Mercy's captain, blamed the people of Earth for what they considered to be an unprovoked attack with biological weapons - and for the disappearance and presumed death of their consort. They formally declared the beginning of the Aurigan War.

In response, the people of Tharsis and their sponsor nations demanded a unified Terran astromilitary to counter the threat: the Earth Self-Defense Forces. They have been able to hold the line against the smaller but vastly superior Aurigan Fleet, with occasional raids, but that's about it; for their part, the Aurigans are unable to effectively conquer the larger ESDF-defended cities and bases with their smaller numbers.

The vast majority of ESDF materiel is supplied by AEGISCorp, with Munghungwa Dynamics and Dubai Space Industries leaders among the others; soldiers and fleets are drawn from around cis-Martian space. Lately, an AEGISCorp skunkworks on Phobos announced the development of a new Emodriver Frame - the Phileon, a testbed for new S. Tech weapons that they believe could turn the tide of the war.

Our story begins when the the ESDF flagship Valiant receives new orders: to travel to Phobos, take on Project Phileon's mechanics and test pilots, and to see what the Phileon is really capable of.

EDF designs include but are not limited to:

The EDF-35 Tengu, a 'variable frame' with spaceplane, humanoid, and hybrid forms. Armed with a nosemounted/handheld gauss rifle, turret/head mounted point defense laser, a harmonic knife for close-in work and a respectable number of missile hardpoints, this Emodriver-compatible jack-of-all trades is used extensively in constricted terrain.

The SF-57 Firebird, a reentry capable space superiority fighter, armed with twin-linked gauss/ions, a sniper laser, and missiles. An older model with a less advanced Emodriver system, it's pre-war ubiquity and it's grace and reliability made it very popular among the troops.

The EDF-38 Centaur, a ponderous and heavily armored humanoid artillery unit with a gauss howitzer, a rocket driven breaching axe, and a missile for every occasion. Most pilots hate flying this brick, leading those that do to have a close community within the ESDF and a reputation for unflinching nerves.

Then there's the titular Emodriver Frame Phileon. This humanoid mech is designed to be superior to the Tengu and to its Imperial counterparts, with a plasma sword/plasma beam in a pistol-like basket-hilt emitter, a handheld energy shield, missile hardpoints on the shoulders, PDF laser on the head. In addition, it has a highly experimental chest mounted S. Tech emitter that can, in theory, be used directly as a weapon. It receives broadcast power from a "Philia Core" stored on a nearby base or ship, and therefore has a limited operational range on internal batteries. There are very few of these, and only one is fully operational at Jaunt start.

Also there are various ships from the fleet, with the ESDF flagship Valiant being an assault carrier (a la the Macross, the Yamato or the Nadesico.) Common ship roles are scout Corvettes, Patrol Torpedo Boats on raiding missions, glass cannon Frigates, dedicated point defense Destroyers, mobile Cruisers with long missions, heavily armed defensive Battleships, and hilariously undergunned but strategically important Carriers to shuttle fighters and mechs around. (Not to mention the collier/tankers, transports, and dropships that can't fight but win battles.)

In general ESDF designs are utilitarian and boxy, in Terran blue and gold, built around lines similar to the oceanic navy - complete with mainmasts and "sail"-like radiators. ESDF ships favor electromagnetic cannons firing both ion packets and magnetic slugs, lasers for point defense, and several kinds of conventional and fusion missiles. They stole energy shields from the aliens but have to angle them, concentrating coverage or mounting them on mecha arms. The Valiant was the testbed for the Binary Fusion Cannon, an extremely powerful spinal mount cannon with a long warm-up and cooldown that lobs a hypervelocity plasma beam.

Aurigan designs include:

The Cataphract, a humanoid mecha primarily armed with a cutting plasma lance on the end of a long pole and a hand-held energy shield; the lance doubles as a ranged weapon. They are far stronger in melee combat than comparable human designs, able to cut mecha and tanks in half. Generally they're rewards - flown by individuals knighted by the Imperial Crown for service to the Empire.

The Sylph, A swift dragonfly like four-winged interceptor with a tail-mounted plasma beam and numerous other nose-mounted beam weapons. Generally, the Imperial Navy looks on Sylph piloting as a very dangerous assignment by the Empire, with some claiming it's a suicide posting.

The Ogre, an energy-shielded heavy semi-humanoid bomber armed (unusually for the Empire) with missiles, as well as with a heavy beam cannon and a spiked ball on a chain with a variable-gravity head. Assignment to an Ogre is seen as unexciting but relatively safe grunt work.

Aurigan ships tend to conform to the same combat roles as the Earth fleet, although they tend to eschew missiles when they can avoid it in favor of tracking energy balls. Instead of patrol torpedo boats, their raiders are Artillery Ships, built around small spinal mount beams with minimal crews. Their defensive ships they call "Dreadnoughts" and their cruising missions are assigned to "Battlecruisers." The Aurigans have a technically superior but numerically inferior fleet.

In general Aurigan ships are quasibiological, resembling plants or fish or cephalopods; their radiators look like flowers. Their color schemes tend toward purple, green and pink, with gold trim. Alien ships are built in nanomachine tubs on Imperial Forge Worlds and fire all sorts of exotic beam weapons. They have omnidirectional "bubble" shields and may have some psychic defenses.

PS: Ace pilots have broad latitude to customize their loadout with preferred weapons. That's our excuse for custom Emodriver Frames and we're sticking to it.

Edited 2019-09-15 00:30 (UTC)

If you’d like to put your hat in the ring for one of these parts, let us know which one here. Casting will be done during the day on the 17th. Note: Some of these may have secret emotional connections/romances with others!

The Aurigan Princeps: The political leader of the Imperial forces, seeking answers for Earth's crimes - real or imagined. They are an honorable opponent who expect and demand that the war be conducted without unnecessary cruelty or bloodshed.
The Aurigan General: The military leader of the Imperial forces and a peerless strategist and tactician, willing to do whatever it takes to make Earth another jewel in the crown of Auriga.
The Dispassionate Researcher: The current head researcher of AEGISCorp, and the brilliant scientist responsible for the theory behind the Emodriver Frame Phileon. Without their secret research, the Phileon would be impossible.
The Ambitious CEO: A powerful wheeler and dealer who worked their way up from the marketing department of the companies that became AEGISCorp, they're the affable public face of the company, and of the Phileon project.
The Brilliant Engineer: The young genius responsible for actually building the Phileon. A newly rising star within AEGISCorp, working directly with the EDF to train the Phileon's pilot candidates.
The EDF's Rising Ace: The green final test pilot of the Phileon, with precisely the right S. Tech training to fly it; youth and speed are on their side even if they lack experience. They're convinced they can win the war on their own; the EDF probably can't win without them. Has a serious crush on the Civilian Idol.
The Imperial Spy: Secretly embedded into a wing of the EDF under deep cover, their mission is to hunt down information about the Phileon project and the secret details of its construction.
The EDF Admiral: The last and greatest EDF soldier in the fleet, given command of the Valiant and the unit containing the Phileon. Their command is authoritative, and their strategies more methodical than brilliant.
The Seasoned Veteran: The decorated wingleader of the Tengu squadrons on the Valiant and survivor of the Battle of Tharsis, the Veteran has seen almost as many battles as the Admiral has. Their unenviable task is to teach the Rising Ace some discipline.
The Civilian Idol: Charismatic, cheerful and beautiful, the most popular singer in cis-Martian space performs for the benefit of the EDF and the civilian front all across the Solar System, the war permitting.

Edited 2019-09-15 00:32 (UTC)

Infiltrators and Investigators will be newly arrived staff for the ESDF task force Valiant, the Aurigan Empire's forces over Jupiter, or for the civilian skunkworks on Phobos. Pilots, officers, bridge bunnies, mechanics, and other support staff - including civilian contractors from AEGISCorp and their competitors - are all fair game!

It might also be possible to be a pirate or corporate privateer crew with independent ships. Give the mods a heads up if this is a thing you’re interested in.

Aurigan Imperial forces include not just the Aurigan species proper - that is, graceful and slightly telepathic blue space elves - but also the catlike Xuil, the draconian Rukh, the centauroid/equine Hwinhee, and dozens of other species the Aurigan Empire have absorbed. Imperials over Jupiter do not begin with the X-Pression Virus, but can be infected by it!

Also note that it's entirely appropriate to be an Aurigan or Imperial subject who defected to Earth, the ESDF, or AEGISCorp, in which case they might begin with the X-Pression Virus.

Once you’ve solidified your plans, pop over here to let people know what faction you’re rolling with!

Mecha Piloting - the ability to pilot mecha and fighters.

Starship Piloting - the ability to pilot starships.

Alien Form - Allows you to take the form of the invading aliens! The Aurigans proper are blue/purple skinned space elves, but they’re an Alexandrian empire with tons of petting zoo people as second class conquered citizens. Feel free to make up subject races/species for this in addition to the examples given above.

Emo-Driver Engineering - allows you to create and maintain Emo-Driver gear, designed to work with S. Tech abilities to even greater effect.

Emo-Driver Equipment - Equipment that runs on or enhances S. Tech powers. Allows people to focus S. Tech powers through them for a greater effect, or a specific effect that's otherwise impossible, like a telekinetic railgun that "glares daggers" that inflict actual harm, or an empathic interface on a mecha.

Sci-Fi Equipment - basic bits of 'hard' science fictional equipment, from Sonic Spanners to Plasma Rifles to Hand-Held Shield Generators.

(A Specific Model of Mecha) - Congrats. You get to keep your mecha. You'll need to keep it maintained and you'll need to get it out of a really big Hammerspace to use it on a Jaunt, but the option is there. Ammo replenishes in liminal but not on a Jaunt. This only works to get mecha: no fair stuffing the entire Valiant in there. If it's an Emodriver Frame, it works with and is partially powered by S. Tech.

Hangarspace - A really big Hammerspace needed to bring planes, trains, and automobile suits with you into a Jaunt. Available as a Liminal Skill (with Hammerspace II and Liminal Power), or as a Weaponized Emotion technique.

For those Infiltrating as Aurigans, a psychic race, most Psychic Skills that are not listed as Infiltrator/Investigator or Network specific use. (You must have prerequisites in place to take Psychic skills, as usual. Aurigan psychic abilities do not grant access to the Traveler Network.)

All S. Tech Skills, and:

Weaponized Emotion - Requires either S. Tech Mastery or Emo Medi. Allows the use of military grade S. Techs, such as:
--Burning Passion - Focus anger into your strikes to deal more damage; usually manifests as blazing plasmatic auras around your fists/weapons, but doesn't need to
--Hot-Blooded - Shrug off damage through sheer bloody determination
--Eye of the Storm - Keep cool and above it all; become difficult to track
--Flash of Insight - Become aware of hostile intent before the trigger is pulled
--S. Tech Shield - Protect yourself or a friend from hostile S. Tech
--Contemptuous Dismissal - No-sell a single attack from an unworthy foe
--Tearful Strike - Channel your vengeful sorrow into uncanny accuracy
--S. Tech Hangarspace - as per Liminal Hangarspace
--AND MUCH MUCH MORE

Edited 2019-09-15 00:48 (UTC)

September 20: We Happy Few - New heroes of two worlds take the stage!
September 28: The Battle of Phobos - Clash over the Gateway to Jupiter!
October 6: Burial at Space - Reflection over Falling Stars
October 14: Red Alert - Sudden Strike on the Valiant!
October 22: Operation Samhain - the final battle for the fate of two worlds!
October 30: Liminal Space return!

Because the Liminal return will be coming late in the month, assuming the schedule stays on-course, the mods are planning to put up a forward-dated Liminal side log players will be able to muck around with.

After the roles are cast, we'll have players check in here to announce them!

The EDF Skyhook/Military Base in Pontianak, Malaysia
The Aurigan Stargate "Flower of Empire" /Military Base over the Great Red Spot of Jupiter
The AEGIS manufactory / mining town on Mars
ESDF Task Force "Valiant" (centered around that Assault Carrier)
Imperial Task Force "Fury of Empire" (centered around that Dreadnought)

The Earth-Mars, Earth-Jupiter, and Mars-Jupiter corridors

Edited 2019-09-15 00:38 (UTC)

This Jaunt is player Bliss’ baby, with the original Doki setting devised by mod Matt. Mods Airdra and bii are also helping to take point on this jaunt.

Edited 2019-09-15 00:40 (UTC)

Since Titans are basically fleshy mechas, would it be acceptable to use the Titan form in space, assuming an oxygen supply is brought into the Titan upon transforming to allow the human body inside to breathe?

A Titan would, at the very least, raise eyebrows with the ESDF and the Aurigans alike. You might be able to get away with claiming it's a very secret prototype or based on stolen Aurigan biomachinery, but it would attract scrutiny.

That said, if you hooked up proper life support systems, there's no reason it wouldn't be effective! It would also be able to wield appropriately scaled handheld weapons.

So what sorts of mascots and pets can be justified on this Jaunt? Could alien critters have made their way to Earth, or would S. Tech Mascots be a plausible excuse for any and all buddies?

S-Tech Mascots are an eminently believable excuse for the usual menagerie Travellers manage to pick up!

Note that this only works in Earth-controlled territory; the Aurigans haven’t got S-Tech ~~yet...~~

The “oh we got this from the Aurigans before the war” excuse is only marginally more suspicious.

Sweet. Piyo is safe.

What's the usual size range for mechas?

Maybe I’m overthinking it but I can’t figure out how the X-Pressure/S-Tech stuff works if you’re investigating. It’s something everyone has (in terms of humans at least) but some express it and some are just carriers? Does that mean investigators could manifest X-Pressure/use S-Tech skills on the jaunt and then decide not to keep them? Are the virus expressions innate but you’d have to actually be taught an S-Tech skill?

Most are 15 to 21 meters tall - comparable to jets. Experiments with larger heavy weapons platforms are ongoing; on the ESDF side this is to test the upper limit of Emodriver compatibility, while the Aurigans like to have shock and awe weapons in their pockets.

1: It is something that almost every human has, but some have the various syndromes and some are asymptomatic.
2: Investigators may use S-Tech on the Jaunt and can either pick up the skill or not (and get “cured” on their return.)
3: The syndromes are innate and involuntary on the Jaunt; picking them up as a Skill gives you control over them.
4: You would need to figure out or be taught how to use S-Techs.

Thanks!

Mmkay. So the colossal titan, at 60 meters, will definitely stand out even beyond just being a flesh monster

Alas!

~~Which is not, of course, to say "don't do it" - just "this is a terrible idea."~~

We'll just have to see how believable the whole "secret government experiment" thing is, I guess

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Emodriver Frame Phileon: Jaunt Info

WORLD INFO

SETTING UPDATE

THE MECHS

CASTING CALL

INFILTRATOR/INVESTIGATOR ROLES

INFILTRATOR DIRECTORY

SKILLS

CALENDAR

PLOT ROLE ANNOUNCEMENTS

LOCATIONS

PLAYER RESOURCES

QUESTIONS

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