The Return was six months ago.
And yet it has barely begun.
Entire regions of the Earth remain battlefields. Burned-out husks of cities litter the world, stomping grounds for the Ancients. Humanity has survived the beginning, taking victories where it could, fighting back with what weapons it had, defending what had to be defended and abandoning the rest. The entire world is at war - the old alliances have collapsed and become little else than paper, replaced by the only things that were prepared for this war - the ancient conspiracies and forgotten state divisions, the remote research facilities and the guarded military bases. The cities and countries that remain 'safe' live in eternal fear, putting their faith in conventional weapons of limited use - and the stranger weapons of half-humans and experimental technology. But even they are rarely enough to stop the Ancients.
The Deep Ones rule the oceans, the forces of mankind huddled in a handful of protected safe harbors. With every incursion, they grow more numerous, enslaving what they do not devour. The primordial Titans roam unchecked, rising from the very earth itself. They leave destruction in their wake, treating the insect-like mankind with indifference at best. From the hungry void, the Star Gods are finally beginning to arrive en masse, descending from the skies with alien technology and minds. Stranger or worse beings roam in the darkness, ever-hungry, ever-hunting.
The ballistic missile, the nuke, the gas cloud still remain humanity's most effective weapons, but when those stockpiles have been emptied, what then? When the Ancients have adapted and changed, what then?
Taskforce EUROPA has defended the continent to the best of its ability, saving much, losing more. But to kill Titans, men are not enough - and so EUROPA has begun building Olympians, great war machines towering above the highest skyscrapers, powered by the remains of Ancients themselves. Experimental weapons are being converted to use for their warships and armies. But their energy weapons are inferior copies of the Star Gods' bio-technology, their missiles barely enough to pierce Abyssal crests. It remains to be seen if anything they possess will be enough, in the end.
Over the Atlantic, where Central America falls deeper and deeper under the sway of the Deep Ones and where vast Titans battle Star Gods throughout the north, the US government has announced the USMW program - Mechanized Walkers, smaller cousins of the Olympians. Unlike EUROPA's creations, they are claimed to be pure human technology, crewed by unaltered men and women - but will this symbolic victory be of any worth against the Ancient Return?
In Russia, the Ark Projekt continues its development of the KOSCHEI fighters, rumoured to be capable of flight outside the atmosphere. They've proved to be effective, but as the Return begins in earnest even they can be overwhelmed and swept aside. Their other weapon, a joint project with China and East Asia, are the Hounds, inhuman amalgamations of technology and Enemy flesh shaped after predators, powered by imprisoned Ancients tortured to the point of feral madness. They give the machines minds of their own, crazed by bloodlust, like animals. The danger of 'bleed-over' to the pilots is brushed aside in the face of the greater and increasingly possible danger of human extinction.
All over the world, humanity is creating new weapons... but it may still prove far too little. Without the Shackled, mankind will fall... but their blood calls out to them, every night, and as they grow more and more powerful they begin to lose more and more of their humanity.
This is a revival/sequel of
Their Coming Is At Hand the first. Things... haven't exactly gotten better.
If it strikes you as familiar because of giant robots, feel free to include 'Pacific Rim' in the list of influences below, though obviously del Toro stole the idea from me in the first place. The quoted first post below is still mostly accurate and additional information will be found beneath it.
The Earth is ancient, both in body and in mind. Mortal life has not always ruled it, and their age is now at an end. Its old masters, the Titans, are awakening, terrifying giants kilometres in size, carrying mountains - or even cities - on their backs. But they are not the only beings looking to master the world - from the abyssal depths that connect all worlds, the Deep Ones rise, singing dreams of prophecy and destruction, bending man's will to their own and bringing madness wherever they go. From the black void between worlds come the Star Gods, grown fat from devouring stars, alien and incomprehensible to man in their goals and thoughts. And beyond, even stranger and more ancient beings, turn to Earth with hunger on their minds.
This all was foreseen. Forces and invididuals from the dawn of history have long prepared for this day. Beneath the illusion of everyday normal life, ancient conspiracies and prophecies of doom form a network of defense, employing the Enemy's own weapons against it. Ancient-mortal hybrids fill their ranks, and slumbering beasts bound to the will of mortal bodies are their potent weapons. But will these halfbreeds and imprisoned gods retain loyalty to a dying race when their true brethren arrive?
The ever-advancing technology of mankind may prove surprisingly devastating against these beings, but will it be enough? Once the nuclear stockpiles are emptied, the ballistic missiles wasted, the armies of humanity broken and scattered and their defenses cracked open, who will step up to guard mankind? Secret, long-buried projects in deep underground complexes? The weapons of the enemy turned against them? It will not be the 'simple willpower and courage of normal men and women', in times where your mind and body can be taken from you by the mere thoughts of dark gods.
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Eldritch horrors from the stars, incomprehensible monstrosities from the ocean depths and ageless titans from the Earth's crust awaken-slash-arrive and decide mankind's time is over and the Earth is theirs now, bitch. The nations of the planet, aided by experimental tech and ancient conspiracies, fight back as well as they can. But their best hope really is you, the players; the Shackled. Hybrids of both Ancient and mortal DNA, whether 'naturally'-created or in a lab tube somewhere, and normal humans housing ancient horrors in their heads are the best bet for survival.
This RTD takes influences from Lovecraft and other weird horror authors, to Neon Genesis Evangelion, to the game Prototype. You play these hybrids or folks with imprisoned gods in their heads. There are also Enemy Slots I'll pull into play at the worst possible moments you can also create and play.
The Ancients
The Earth is ageless beyond understanding. It is not merely physical age. The very core of it, the being of Earth, has existed since the dawn of time. All life on the world's surface is imbued with its presence. Today that is the races of man and the animal kingdom – but in aeons past, that spark belonged to another race entirely. Their deaths shaped the surface of the world, and now the spark is shifting again. With the land itself rising up to walk across the Earth's surface once again, what will become of mortal man?
Titans come in a variety of sizes, but on average fall somewhere between two hundred meters and three kilometres, while their width and diameter can differ dramatically. Their form is often humanoid or an animal of Earth, alive or long-dead, but some take to stranger shapes.
Being of the Earth and born of the Earth, Titans are almost universally hostile to powers from outside it meddling in its affairs. Their view on its present favored, the ever-present mortal race of man, varies. Their age is at an end, and some of them have no greater wish than to speed them along.
Common Subtypes
Mountain/Solid Form: With a splintering of the earth and wail of ancient stone, something breathes again deep beneath the high peaks of the land or in the lifeless badlands. Usually falling to the higher end of the height scale, these ancients benefit from an extremely high 'natural' toughness owing to the vast masses of stone upon them.
Wilderness Form: With a groan of earth and crack of wood, something comes into consciousness beneath a vast marshland, dense forest, or vibrant jungle delta. In an eyeblink, all pretense of sentience is wiped away as the awakening Titan bends the simple-minded fauna and flora of its new form to its will. Walking, slithering or even flying onwards, these ancients benefit from constant growth and life on them, regenerating wounds in moments.
Inhabitated Form: There are few corners of the world not taken over by mankind. Their cities have sprang up everywhere, as have their great fields of crops, canals, fortifications, roads and railways. Titans who once went to the long sleep in a world of little life now find themselves carrying the great wonders of man on their backs, bursting with the frantic mortals. What this entails for them remains to be seen...
Unique Form: Make up your own! I'll determine the final bonuses and penalties for balance, but go wild.
In the Abyss that connects all worlds, beings of vast, dark intellect dwell. They once fed on the Earth, and will again - the barriers between realities are weakening. Their influence has already touched and corrupted minds for thousands of years, birthing hundreds of prophecies and visions, inspiring macabre art and creation. Hunger consumes them all, their cold home devoid of bright, satiating life.
Flesh-smiths and mutators of terrifying capability, the Deep Ones corrupt all they touch. Their black touch sucks entire continents of life. Twisted hordes of Deepspawn follow in their wake, and their mere thoughts reduce thousands to mindless slaves. Terror is the herald of their arrival, madness their foremost weapon.
Physically, the Abyssals vary in shape. Often, they resemble bizarre combinations and mockeries of deep sea creatures such as squids and ameobas - likely having corrupted these animals into their likeness in the first place - but stranger and more alien forms are known. They vary in height and diameter, from a few dozen metres to over a kilometre. Their thick black shells provide ample protection from most mortal weaponry.
Common Subtypes
Dreamsinger – Bringers of madness and dark inspiration, these beings twist and bend the minds of mortals and ancients alike with glee. They are the corruptors, the manipulators, the shapers of minds.
Great Mother – From the coldest reaches of the Abyss come beings born for the purpose of growth, of the spread of Abyssal life. Gene-smiths and assimilators of natural life, they carry within them great swarms of Deepspawn and corrupt flesh.
Vanguard – Vast in size and strenght, ever-hungry, ever-growing, Vanguards hide behind layers of black armor that can withstand even direct nuclear detonations. They can reduce cities to rubble and mountains to dust with their devastating organic weaponry. Most purely deathly and destructive of all Deep Ones.
Perhaps the most disturbing of all Ancients, the 'Star Gods' come from dying stars and arrive on Earth for purposes only they can fathom. Some look unsettlingly humanoid, with long, overly-elongated limbs and golden wings, some bear less recognizable shapes. All share something known as a Nexus Field. An invisible storm of energy centered on the Star Gods' hearts, it has myriad uses, defense being just one of them. The Star Gods possess weapons most easily recognizable as technology, sleek machines capable of generating immense blasts of energy, and 'wings' that double as semi-organic solar sails.
The Star Gods fought over the Earth millions of years ago. Their return has long been prophesied, but their goals and thoughts remain unknown - perhaps they are incomprehensible to mortal minds.
In terms of height, Star Gods vary. The Angels often fall somewhere between sixty and two hundred meters, while the Collectors and Colossi are significantly larger, up to several kilometres.
Common Subtypes
Angel – A disturbing humanoid Star God, with long, elongated limbs, bladed tentacle-like appendages and 'wings' of light. Fast, mobile and skilled with the Nexus Field, capable of using it in states unseen with other types.
Colossus – A kilometres-wide, four-to-six-legged crawler with thick armor. Basic Nexus Field. Heavily-armed, its back bristling with organic cannons and energy weapons. Sometimes capable of flight or burrowing underground, like sort of a gigantic beetle.
Collector – Collectors are composed of cylinder-shaped shells hidden behind dozens of hardened claw-like appendages drooping down around it as it flies across the world. Unlike the other two most common Star God types, collectors bear little resemble to anything Earth-like, and have no eyes or recognizable facial features. Collectors feed by landing on populous areas, digging itself in with the claws, and sucking everything into its shell. Unarmed, but apparently capable of corrupting and mutating devoured lifeforms and technology into mindless monstrosities, Collectors have an extremely strong Nexus Field, though they lack the Angels' terrifying skill in using it.
During the past few million years, humanity has not stood idle. Ancient conspiracies and state divisions both have seeked to harness the powers of the Ancients against them. Gene-splicing and 'natural' remnants from the old times have led to hybrids, beings with both Ancient and mortal DNA. While they may look human on the outside, they possess greatly increased physical might and toughness and fragments of Ancient powers. Whether they will remain loyal to mankind as the influence of their Ancient side grows remains to be seen.
The darker alternative has been imprisoning and binding slumbering Ancients into mortal bodies and their wills. Incapable of containing such great powers, these mortal shells usually burn out quickly, or draw into the trapped gods' power and become immortal or near-immortal themselves, helping themselves to their might. They are in even greater danger than the hybrids of losing control to their Ancient side, which for them is no mere tempting whisper, but a vast, calculating intelligence raging against the walls of its prison.
But humans are not the only ones to use these weapons. The Ancients themselves are capable of focusing their will into Avatars inside mortal bodies. They can pass for human and subtly work against mankind unseen and unnoticed.
Hybrid – A creature of two worlds, born from the seeds of man and ancient both, unwelcome in both. The last of the ancients set forth the bloodlines of the hybrids and modern technology has been used to fabricate more. Bent into or willingly in the service of mortals, they are now at last regaining the power that should be theirs.
Imprisoned Ancient – Sleeping giants can offer little resistance – is it any wonder the mortals, even with their limited minds, could harm them? But to go even further, to enslave and bind, to limit their existences to pitiful shells of mortal flesh, held in place by mortal minds... they have had time to cultivate their wrath, and with the mortals' bonds on them weakening, it seems like they will soon get a chance to unleash their true power.
Avatar – The ancients can be subtle in their methods, too. Putting their form into a lesser host, they wield another sort of power entirely. They will take what is theirs unseen, from the inside.
With Earth a battleground, it is only a matter of time before other entities are drawn there as well. Ancients can come in many forms and purposes.
If none of the three above interest you, you can choose to be a Unique-spawn (hybrid/imprisoned ancient) or play an Unique Enemy. All the details are up to you, with balance tweaking by me.
I always planned to include giant robots (which leads me to suspect del Toro totally stole the idea from me), but never got that far. The small scale of the game was innately problematic with the really non-small scale of the Enemy, and thus everyone gets the possibility to some kind of aid. Mainly, super-advanced aircraft, giant robots, and the like.
That doesn't mean the Shackled-level play of the game is going to go anywhere, but it was never going to be feasible to fight the Ancients on foot. So, we bring on the big guns. This will also bring more sense to Enemy players, who can now directly take on their counterparts. Don't for a moment think this makes fighting Ancients easy, as the poor, smoking corpses of my combat tests could tell you. Thankfully, you're more than human.
The timeskip allows me to introduce important aspects of the game and plot that I never got around to introducing. Like giant robots, yes, but many other things besides that. This is to my obviously biased opinion, a Very Good Thing.
Olympians of EUROPA
Perhaps the most impressive of all the new weapons of humanity, the Olympians are vast humanoid warmachines up to eight hundred metres or more in size. While dwarfed by many Ancients, they are certainly the largest and heaviest of humanity's various counterparts. Olympians are piloted by lone hybrids or imprisons, who integrate with the giants' systems while onboard - in a way, when in the command centre, they are the Olympians. They're fueled by a power source derived from the Ancients themselves by classified means, which grants them incredible power and energy supply and seems to be cheaper than the traditional power methods of the Americans. Some claim this also makes them vulnerable to Ancient attacks, especially mental ones as favoured by foes such as the Abyssal Dreamsingers, but EUROPA high command emphatically denies these claims.
Each Olympian is a custom-built model, with integrated weaponry and a set battlefield role. Some are more flexible than others, but Olympians are expected to work in teams where they can fill each other's weaknesses. Many of their weapons are simply upscaled versions of conventional human arms, but often they possess some variety of energy weapon drawn from their Ancient-powered cores.
The naming scheme of Olympians is unsurprisingly Greek - the first two Olympians are known as Zeus Aegiochos and Zeus Astrapios - veering into Roman mythology in planned extensions. Only a handful of Olympians have been built, but they have proved their effectiveness - atleast against lesser Ancients. The quick speed of their construction has raised suspicions that some were already being built at the time of the Return.
The US Mechanized Walkers
The old 'only superpower of the world' was quick to replicate the Olympian model. Ranging from the USMW-1s that rise to a hundred metres to the USMW-4s which are only six or so metres and meant for support of conventional forces, they are an extremely expensive project that's succeeded in bringing hope back to the American people, if little else. A dozen or so USMWs have been constructed, the first models already obsolete from both major flaws and better understanding of Ancients. USMWs are humanoid, though often barely so - practical concerns, rather than impressive appearance, have dictated their construction. They are known for their mobility and flexibility, possessing little permanent equipment and instead relying on modular, mass-produced weapons of different uses.
The USMWs are manned by crews of three to six, at their most basic a driver, a gunner and a commander. All USMW personnel are pureblood humans recruited from the rest of the US military, and while this reliance on '100% good old human ingenuity' could reduce their effectiveness, especially against Abyssal enemies, as well as showing worrying attitudes towards half-bloods, has been lauded as a great victory, atleast on a symbolic level.
The USMWs are named after a word 'resonating with the American public' and a color corresponding to their weight classification. The USMW-1s are Greens, the 2s Blues, the 3s Reds and the 4s 'Rainbows' (which has given birth to no end of mockery). Opinion of the names vary - the USMW-1 'Yankee Green' and USMW-2 'Patriot Blue' spring to mind, but with even their limited victories, the American people love them and love their crews.
Sino-Russian Hounds
The Hound Project, a joint initiative between the Russian and Chinese governments and their allies, has resulted in a fusing together of human and Ancient 'technology'. Purposefully built to resemble predator animals, the Hounds range in size between fifty to three hundred metres, though as they are usually moving on four legs they do not stand as tall as the humanoid weapons. The Hounds' movements are perfectly animal-like which is just one of many factors springing from the source of their power.
Like Olympians, the Hounds use the Ancients' power against themselves. In this case, however, the Ancient is still alive, imprisoned inside the core of the Hound like those imprisoned inside human minds. Tortured as it is harvested, the Ancient-Hound mind is feral and savage, seeking to kill and draw blood. It knows no fear and will stop at nothing until the target is dead. Though the pilot can control and rein it in to an extent, they can fall trap to its blood frenzy and go out of control for times. This had led their handlers to abandon carefully-planned tactics for the most part and just allow the Hounds to rampage towards the general direction of the enemy. Some pilots are affected even after leaving their weapons - a phenomena called the 'bleed-over'.
Though modeled after animals and certainly possessing impressive human-designed 'natural' weapons, Hounds often possess missiles and other weapons set in their bodies. As Hounds are not expected to be accurate or cautious, these are usually cheap - relatively, atleast - conventional arms. The main weapon of the Hounds is their ferocity and top-of-the-line augmented teeth, fangs, beaks and whatnot. Many Hounds are designed to spit acid-like energy drawn from their captive Ancient and harness its power in other ways.
The Hounds have no naming scheme, each pilot allowed to grant one personally - within guidelines, as the governments wish their weapons to cause terror rather than confusion or mirth.
The Ark Projekt
Largely forgotten before the Return, the Ark Projekt was dedicated to finding a way off the planet for humanity. They believe - and perhaps still do - that the Ancients could not be defeated, but that escape was possible. The evacuation ships remain unfinished, as pressure from Moscow has made the Projekt focus more on the KOSCHEI fighters and other weapons. Unique aircraft utilizing the Nexus Field of their pilots, Star God half-bloods, they have proven much more effective than unaltered fighters. The venerable KOSCHEI itself has been rendered obsolete and the new generation is rumoured to be capable of flight and survival outside the atmosphere. The Ark Projekt continues to research ways into reverse-engineering Ancient, mainly Star God, technology.
KOSCHEI fighters, also known as Nexus Fighters, rely mainly on the skills and unnatural abilities of their pilots. The weaponry they possess are usually upgraded forms of conventional arms. Their heavy make and requirements have made them less nimble but also less fragile than normal fighters, though they are certainly not meant to take direct hits from the Ancients they fight. Two squadrons of KOSCHEI exist, though pilot training and availability has delayed further construction. The fighters and their pilots are largely unknown to the general public as per the Projekt's wishes.
The Nexus Fighters' naming scheme so far has been focused on Russian and Slavic mythology, as the name of the first prototype, a reference to Koschei the Deathless, shows.
Other
Many other efforts at new weapons, less organized and more desperate, exist. India, for example, possesses a nation-wide missile system governed by an automated computer system designed before the Return that has proven surprisingly effective at stopping incursions, though the cost of using it has led to a substantial downsizing of India's conventional army. Experimental technology being what it is, few of humanity's projects prove of much use. As time passes - if humanity survives the coming storm - this may yet change.
Secretive organizations, such as the Society working for the Russian government, or the Lemurian Fellowship claiming to be heirs to Atlantis, are rumoured to possess a variety of weaponry and projects effective against the Return. Many of them have found their fabled weapons they've safekept from ancient times aren't the Ancient-killers they thought they were, though, sometimes proving weaker than basic modern-day human weaponry.
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Err... well. There are unlimited Enemy spots, who will be introduced to the game when the stars are right and in no particular order. There are also unlimited waitlist spots. However, my old players were surprisingly enthusiastic to play again, so the starting six slots will not be free unless any of them back out. Feel free to waitlist yourselves, though - I'm sure I'll get them killed soon enough.
Name:
Gender:
Nationality:
Shackled Type: (Hybrid or Imprisoned Ancient)
Ancient Type: (Star God, Abyssal, Titan or Unique. Determines what's in your head/in your blood, your powers and abilities, your starting scenario, etc etc. If Unique, you'll have to tell me about the ancient as well.)
Description: (Physical/mental, self-explanatory. May give you some special traits.)
Optionally;
Superweapon Type: (See the Superweapons of Man spoiler)
Superweapon Name/Title/Codename: (Some Superweapons may have naming schemes you are recommended to emulate - you can also let me give the name, if you wish)
Superweapon Description: (Physical appearance and form, battlefield role - equipment and special abilities can be listed, but you may not necessarily get all of them).
So what if you wanna be a cosmic horror beyond human understanding? That's okay, I've got you covered. Enemy Slots are a genius invention stolen from Deviation-22. You'll create an Enemy, I'll add it to the list, and when the stars are right, I'll throw you in to cause havoc, destruction and death.
Name/Codename/Title:
Enemy Type: (Star God, Abyssal, Titan, Shackled or Unique. Please specify a subtype as well. You can also make an unique subtype, too!)
Form/Description: (What you look like, are shaped like, how big you are, etc. May give special traits and determine weapons and attacks.)
1. adwarf - Alfonz Wulfric (Imprisoned Unique)
2. Caellath - Alexis Zielkov (Prototype Superman)
3. Tiruin - Alessa T. Tairon (Star God Hybrid)
4. wolfchild - Calla (Abyssal Hybrid)
5. mcclay - Alex Vondgas (Imprisoned Titan)
6. Talarion - Aaron Gray (Abyssal Hybrid)
Enemy List1. Toaster - SarCha the Broodlord (Abyssal Great Mother)
2. Xantalos - 'Quaritch' (Unique Ancient)
3. Harry Baldman - Jitch 4758/The Egg (Unique 'Ancient')
4. draco1234 - Rourk (Wilderness Form Titan)
5. Criptfeind - The Bishop of Detroit (Inhabited Form Titan)
6. Objective - Shaix-Jilaid (Wilderness Form Titan)
7. miauw62 - Stronghold (Star God Collector)
8. Rolepgeek - Estelle/Horseman-4 (Unique Ancient)
Waitlist1. GUNINARUNIN - Rick Neil Ronin (USMW Pilot)
2. Draignean - Razvan 'Roz' Moro (Imprisoned Unique)
3. SomeStupidGuy -
4. sjm9876 - Harold 'Irontooth' Rorikson (Unique Hybrid)
5. Unholy_Pariah - Bruce (Unique Hybrid)
Returning players may use their old characters (that includes Enemies) or create new ones. If the first, there may be some sort of multiple-choice questions thing to determine what you've been doing in these past six months, though not necessarily. Please repost your old app if you wish to continue playing them - without the Superweapons of the new apps, mind you.
New players - I can guarantee someone's gonna die sooner or later, so the waitlist isn't that a bad place. The more people on it, the more comfortable I feel killing everyone off.
Author
Topic: Their Coming Is At Hand II - an Eldritch Invasion RTD (Turn 9!) (Read 23686 times)