Hello and welcome to my first forum game. This will take a suggestion game format, so there will be one character guided by your input. Anyway, on with it.
Emptiness. Darkness. Hunger. You are a manifestation of the worst mankind has to offer. Anger, hate, fear, jealousy, hunger for power.... You are all of these, and more. Your true form is incomprehensible to man, a mere glimpse having horrific consequences. So they defend themselves, unconsciously of course. Their minds conjure replacements, shrouds to hide your true nature from their mortal eyes. What do you look like to a being of mere flesh and bone?
You sense little around you, save for the telltale scent of evil seeping into the thin air from your very presence. But wait, this is no earth, there is precious little life here. A flash of color startles you, disappearing as quickly as it came. Red dust and rock as far as the eye can see. Unnatural domes rising many stories into the dim sky. Where are you?
An isolated colony, consisting of a single main dome and a number of smaller, connected domes and buildings home to some two hundred souls. The deep mine shafts supply tons of hematite to a larger colony eight hours' drive away, but they wouldn't be missed soon. Equipment malfunctions are common out here, and attacks from other, less fortunate colonies are not unheard of.
A larger colony, maybe even deserving the name of a town. It is fully self-sufficient with six large domes and a scattering of manufactories, hydroponic units, a sensor and communications array, a small spaceport capable of accepting smaller craft, a considerable garage for ground vehicles, and a small but well-staffed military outpost. This colony is home to over one thousand souls with a platoon of thirty hardened RNA Infantry garrisoning the outpost.
Appearance: Ethereal flames, shadow, humanoid, whatever...?
Location: Mining Colony/Town
Background:
It is the mid twenty-second century. Mankind first set foot on Mars over a hundred years ago, but it has taken this long for private colonies to be founded and grow on the Red Planet. Much of this delay was caused by the Third World War, started in 2047 by an ultranationalist coup overthrowing the Chinese government. Allied with North Korea and Iran, parts of Russia and India were annexed within days. Japan and South Korea swiftly fell, with the U.S., E.U. and Russia swiftly redeploying their troops to counter this new threat.
In the end, Alaska, large swathes of Siberia, and the Middle East all fell, only to be pushed back as limited nuclear strikes were authorized on Beijing and various Chinese military bases. Beijing lost over three million citizens to the attack, making it the deadliest missile strike in history. With their command, control, and capital gone, the armies of the People's Republic lost their will to fight. With the bleak reality of full-scale modern warfare revealed, new alliances and coalitions formed. The United States and Canada hastily formed the Republic of North America, with most of Europe (excepting the U.K. and Ireland) falling under the banner of the E.U. Russia, the Middle East, and conquered East Asia became the Eurasian Confederacy, and the various nations of Oceania (and Japan and South Korea) formed the Oceanic Consortium. Finally, Mexico, Central America, and South America (except Venezuela) formed the South American Compact. As decades passed and partnerships grew, humanity expanded. Mars was colonized, as was the Moon, with further plans to send humans to Titan on the books.
But you are a creation of hatred, violence, and chaos, why do you care about this silliness? Why indeed. Because power, more often than not, requires finesse. Being a cosmic abomination, this is not your strong suit, but you realize its importance and strive to improve your skill at not killing everything and painting the walls with blood, right?
Any questions on just about anything related to the game will be answered in some form, and I will be awake for approximately three hours following this post. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Railroading will be minimal as long as trolling is as well.
http://rolz.org will be used for rolls unless/until a better site is suggested.
Acknowledgements
This forum game is inspired by a multitude of forum games, video games, movies, books, fantasy universes, myths and legends, and more. Here are the ones higher on the list.
Demonhood, a 107 page forum game by NUKE9.3
Warhammer 40k, a fantasy universe you've all probably heard of
Various tales of H.P. Lovecraft, the creator of the "cosmic horror" variety of short stories
The Thing, a movie featuring... a thing, with only the drive to consume
Aurora, a 4x strategy game by Steve Walmsley, which is even more complicated than Dwarf Fortress and subject of a very long forum thread.
An episode or two of Doctor Who