IntroductionFire. Air. Water. Earth.
Long ago, the nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Earth Empire attacked. Not even the Avatar, master of all four elements, could prevent what happened next, and when she tried, she was struck down. Twenty-seven years passed and no sign has been seen of the new avatar. The world stands perpetually on the brink of cataclysmic war, with little hope of recourse.
The Almost War, as some call it, began on that day 27 years ago when the Avatar fell. The world shocked at this turn of events, the President of the United Republic became desperate to find a countermeasure, now seeing the lengths the self-appointed dictator of the Earth Empire was willing to go to. He found his countermeasure in the Earth Empire's own secret weapon and its defected inventor. He had discovered that through electromagnetic processes, the spirits could be converted into massive amounts of energy, powerful enough to create the world's first superweapons. Through some means or another, the President convinced him to divulge his design, and today the UR and EE stare each other down in an uneasy peace, held back from war by the threat of mutually assured destruction. Planes bearing bombs and airships able to strike from hundreds of miles away secure the borders. Conflicts rage between the humans and spirits as the latter are harvested to fuel the increasing stockpiles, and yet are still unwilling to abandon the world.
The world is ripe for mercenaries, to deal with the spirits and perform subterfuge for or against either side. Smuggling across the fortified borders is a dangerous but profitable game. Organized crime is always looking for more muscle, and people who would dare to operate in the most fortified areas. And, of course, dissenters and would-be insurgents are looking for whatever help they can get.
This is where you come in.Setting DetailsIn this world, select people are born with the ability to manipulate one of the four elements using a specialized form of martial arts, known as "bending." Only one person, the Avatar, is capable of bending all four (or more than one at all), and is tasked with maintaining and restoring balance in the world: upon death, the Avatar is reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle. Until recent history, the world has been divided into four nations along elemental lines.
Beige = Earth Empire
Grey = United Republic
Red = Fire Nation
Blue = Water Tribes
The nations:
Earth EmpireUntil recently, this nation was a monarchy known as the Earth Kingdom. But a little less than 30 years ago, a band of radicals known as the Red Lotus assassinated the Earth Queen, fragmenting the nation and plunging it into chaos. A young woman named
Kuvira, hailing from the secluded yet progressive city of Zaofu where the specialized skill of metalbending is taught to those who are capable, stepped up to take charge of the situation. Assembling a highly trained and modernized army, she led a three-year campaign to reunite the nation, welding warring states together and bringing hordes of bandits under the rule of law. The Earth Empire was born when she refused to turn over power to the royal heir, and instead closed the borders.
Kuvira holds absolute power, willing to do anything to keep her nation safe and united, and will tolerate no dissent. The powerful military strictly enforces internal order, but despite her use of prison and reeducation camps, Kuvira is beloved by a majority of her people, at least overtly. She brought development and resources to many poverty-striken areas, and brought an end to rampant banditry and civil war.
Fire NationThe Fire Nation has always been an advanced and prosperous land. Nearly two centuries ago, they began a war with the rest of the world that raged on for a hundred years and utterly destroyed the Air Nomads. They slowly pushed towards victory with their steam-powered technology, until the Avatar put a stop to it. After the war, the Fire Nation shared its technology with the world, sparking an industrial revolution and taking their new place as an economic powerhouse. They are a hereditary monarchy, ruled by the Firelord.
Firelord Izumi is the current one. Daughter of the Firelord who signed the peace accord all those years ago, she continues his non-aggressive policies, and denounces the use of spirit weapons. Yet, she knows well that without the WMDs of the United Republic, their allies, they would have no counter to those of the EE.
Water TribesThe water tribes have always been somewhat poor compared to the other nations, due to their location at the poles, but this has also left them relatively protected in their isolation. In modern times, they've found wealth in controlling the polar fisheries and forming large fishing magnates. 30 years ago, the Northern and Southern tribes split into two separate nations after a brief civil war, though they remained allies afterward. The Northern tribe is led by the twins
Desna and Eska, cousins to the late Avatar, who are rather severe yet aloof rulers. The Southern tribe is led by
Tonraq, father of the late Avatar.
United RepublicDuring the hundred-year war, the Fire Nation colonized large territories of the eastern Earth Kingdom, and at the war's conclusion, some of these territories had been co-habited by people of both nations for generations. Rather than repatriate the Fire nationals, the Avatar back then and the (then) new Firelord founded a new nation, intended to serve as a symbol of international cooperation. However, resentment for these lost territories lingered amongst some in the Earth Kingdom, and with the rise of the ultra-nationalism of the Earth Empire, it flared from its long dormancy to fever pitch.
Since its inception, the United Republic has been a center of innovation and trade, and before the Almost War, its military mostly performed peacekeeping and police operations. It is led by an elected President, currently
President Raiko, serving his 6th, but not consecutive, term. He was in office when the Almost War began, and since then the stress has aged him considerably.
The world is industrialized, and thus has progressed along similar lines to our own, but their are marked differences. Most importantly, firearms were never developed, due to the availability of people with combat abilities comparable to early ones. At the onset of the Almost War, the world had technology roughly comparable to 1910s-20s, and now 27 years have passed.
Spirit weapons: these take the form of either bombs roughly comparable to thermonuclear weapons or beams of extreme range and power.
Rules/MechanicsThis will be a hub-based mission game, running on a simple d20 system, with 1 being critical failure and 20 being absolute success.
Character Sheets:As described in the intro, you are a mercenary in this world.
Name: The character's name. Mention if they have a real name vs preferred name/alias/nickname here
Age: An important detail
Appearance: Goes without saying. Make sure to mention eye color. Unless they're always hidden somehow for some reason.
Background: Where they come from, how they got their present situation, what their behavior/personality is like. All that good stuff.
Skills/Abilities/Traits: What can they do? What traits do they have? Disadvantages? These will be resolved, after some judgement, into a number of traits that give + (or -) modifiers to rolls in relevant situations. One doesn't have to be a bender to be an effective mercenary; vehicles, gadgets, stealth, weapon mastery/specialization, working with an interesting vehicle or pet, and other skills are all possible.
Combat Style/ MO: How do they fight? If they're not the fighting type, what do they do?
Posessions: What stuff do they have?