Chaqery

Invasion Bay 4 RNS Richelieu Faster Than Light Transit 48 Hours until launch… ”There’s nothing quite like the smell of welding,” thought Captain Descanti as he leaned upon the railing of the catwalks and peered idly into the bay below where technicians and engineers methodically went about refitting dropships, mechs, and tanks alike. Admiral Mortiet had insisted that every last bit of equipment be made as close to new as possible for the invasion, not kept at the “battle-worn” status that the notoriously lazy Chief Technician seemed to have preferred. -Or rather, the former Chief Technician. Rumor down here on the lower decks was that Mortiet had jettisoned the old chief out of an airlock for incompetence, and promoted the technician’s far more meticulous XO on the spot. The thought was enough to make Captain Descanti chuckle. Stories like this seemed to swirl about Mortiet, creating an aura of both fear and awe that was responsible for his reputation within La Marine Royale. Reminiscing over these other stories, the young captain let his mind wonder. The faint blue glow, blended with the humming and crackling of the work below further lulled his senses. He hardly noticed the sound of boots clanking along the catwalk but a little further on, or the rustling of fabric as someone leaned upon the railing next to him. “Incompetent bastard...” were the words that shattered the Captain’s daydream. With a glance he noted that the man next to him was draped in the attire of an officer, though of the navy and not a soldier like himself. It was not until his eyes landed upon the Admiral’s shoulder bars that his features fully drained of color. “Monseigneur!” he sputters, quickly straightening into attention and producing a crisp salute. He opens his mouths to apologize, only to be met with the soft sound of laughter from the Admiral. “That’s quite enough, Captain. You needn’t revert to French for me. I’m aware it’s probably not your native tongue.” “I… yes, sir.” With an awkward pause, Captain Descanti resumes his position leaned against the rail. The silence is filled with the soft buzz of welding and repairs below. “What moon are you from?” the Admiral inquires at last, his common accented gently by a pure-french upbringing. “Saint Lo. It orbits Nouveau Normandie. My parents were deployed when I was thirteen.” The Admiral gave a slight nod, remaining otherwise silent. This was common for the soldiery. Their entire populations were born on the training moons to be deployed. Generations of soldiers who were born to die, and sire children meant to do the same. This was how war never truly affected the general populace. This also meant that there were no letters to send home when a soldier died. These men were Admiral Mortiet’s alone. And that weighed heavily upon him. The two continued their conversation, watching with curiosity the outfitting being done below. Summary The Imperial 180th Vanguard Fleet is closer now to being in the system. They will arrive shortly. Still, they are undetectable by scanners. They will likely come into range shortly. The fleet is making preparations for a system invasion style arrival. All dropships, mechs, tanks, and equipment is being outfitted and refurbished for maximum capability.

Sorry to double post, but several amendments were made to the original post to reflect the new addition of Imperial Knights into the ranks. Commoners are still highly encouraged to apply. This is the new path to knighthood.

ACCEPTED. Sorry for such a terrible delay man. I've been caught up with family matters lately.

Hey guys. Dealing with some (hopefully not serious) family health issues. Sneaky will be serving as a moderator alongside me. With this many applications, look to see an expansion upon the solar system. Keep the game going strong! I'm still writing my posts on my phone in the interim, but look to see them begin to pop up on the thread upon my return. I'm glad this game has so much interest. When it eventually draws to a close perhaps we'll start others. Anyways, have fun with it, be creative, but try and maintain a mature and fair mindset. I know everyone wants to "win", but remember that if your faction gets eliminated, after a two day cool down period you may apply again with a different faction, or in some very rare cases another group from the same. -And what is "winning" anyways? Conquest? Diplomatic take over? Or is it just survival? Some things to think about. I'll see you all when I return.

Game has started! Splitchris, Bucky, Temp I'll get to you guys tomorrow. Changes authorized for both Sneaky and Shadowo. No more changes may be made to initial force size now that the game has begun. Look to see a reinforcement application pop up over the next few days as loss counts start rolling in. Good luck guys!

Prologue: A Universe at War Peace. It is a fleeting notion that strikes the minds of intellectuals upon occasion. As mankind, and others, took to the stars it became very apparent that peace was nothing more than a dream. Across the universe blood was being spilled by the ton in the name of some sovereignty or religion. -But that is hardly our concern. No, our story is focused around the small solar system labelled XF-41212. As fate would have it, events were about to unfold that would pit some of the universe's most powerful factions against one another. These are their stories. Chapter I - Heavy Clouds An introduction to L'Empire des Étoiles The political structure of Earth by the year 2080 had nearly reached a breaking point. Across the globe, the world’s powers were enthralled in conflict with one another. The Japanese Technocracy was sweeping across Asia as the French Republic settled into war with the 4th Reich. Privatization in the military industrial complex brought with it billions of dollars spent on research and development in an eternal arms race on the hunt for the holy grail of weaponry. Assault rifles firing .30 calibre rounds as if they were nothing, grenades filled with irradiated metal shards, mech suits capable of killing entire towns, and of course, the bombs... always the bombs. At the peak of this technological advance, man drove himself into the past. World-War III found itself fought in precisely the same manner as the first, and across Earth the fields ran with irradiated blood. The end was surely nigh. Of course, those are all just stories out of the history books. Every child in the Neoterre Cluster could tell you how it ended. The great nations of “Earth” fled to the stars, taking with them critical advancements in terraforming. France, the United Kingdoms, the United States, Russia, China, Germany, and Japan all scattered across the stars, never to hear of each other again. That was over 800 years ago, or at least by French calculation. What the French had done, unbeknownst to them, was take a wormhole not to some other corner of the galaxy, but to a rift in time itself. What was Ancient history by the reckoning of many Empire historians was in fact merely a century in the span of our own universe. But to them, this was a year embroiled in the Great Wars, a massive civil war between Revolutionaries and Imperialists, just as the past 300 years had been, and just as the foreseeable future would always be. To the everyday citizen it mattered little. The wars were fought over the border systems, smaller clusters of star systems that formed the no-mans land between each of the two powers vying for control of the people, and whose allegiance shifted every few years as new military forces came to occupy them in a revolving door of regime changes and violent bloodshed. Back in the home systems, entire planets dedicated to industrial quotas shipped loads of weaponry and equipment through their chemically blotted skies to the training facility moons in orbit of the massive military planets. Orbital drydocks spent decades crafting capital ships capable of bearing the entire population of any one of these moons to the forefront of battle, where they would be permanently stationed until their inevitable destruction. It was a custom, a tradition even. Soldiers were born to die, ships to be destroyed, and war to be eternally waged. In their efforts to quell the Revolutionary forces, that a nearly mad astrophysicist by the name of Jean-Pierre Luminet discovered a means to create wormholes on a whim to theoretically transport Imperial fleets directly into the home systems of the Revolutionaries. Where they will actually end up? Well... you'll find out soon enough. ... RNS Richelieu Faster Than Light Transit Unknown System 72 Hours until launch… The 180th fleet of La Marine Royale, flagshipped by the RNS Richelieu, a Leviathan-class Titan, and under the command of Admiral Jean-Jacques Mortiet, le Duc de Nouveau Bretagne, sped its way through towards their wormhole's coordinates in formation with the rest of the fleet. The military strategists back at LMR Command on planet Nouveau Normandie (the Imperial Military's Headquarters Planet) maintained their comms link constantly to monitor the status of their assault fleet. Officially named “L’Offensive d’Ombre”, or the Shadow Offensive, Admiral Mortiet was assigned the duty of testing Monsieur Luminet's wormhole theory in a crippling blow upon the Revolutionary home systems. In the command room of the bridge, a large holo-table flickered with the images of the hopeful end-point of their FTL journey. Scouting data was being downloaded from Nouveau Normandie as the planets popped into existence, detailing planetary defense force strength and the likely patrol routes of any defensive fleets. In pure French, the language of the nobility, top brass from back in the home systems were offering their own strategic advice. Nothing interesting, just self-important commanders thinking their minds are the very fabric of war strategy. With a rather unmistakable look of boredom, Admiral Mortiet shifts his gaze from the holo-table to his nearby aid, “Lieutenant Zalé, send word to the rest of the fleet. I would like hourly updates on the preparation status of all invasion forces. As soon as we exit F-T-L transit I want all scanners up and running. We’ll evaluate our strategy from there.” “Oui Monsiegneur!” Lieutenant Zalé blurts out as he scurries off to the main comms hub. Summary -Empire des Étoiles fleet 180 is en route to the star system, whether they know it or not. They will arrive after several turns. -Given their distance from the system, they would not yet be discoverable on scans. Nor can they scan the system themselves. ((I am aware that the following roster might seem overwhelming. Take into account that the Empire relies on largely kinetic damage type weaponry. This means that the force behind the round is what depletes shield energy. This is considerably less effective at taking down ship shielding than laser or plasma weaponry would theoretically be. To compensate the French send massive amounts of ordnance down range at their foes. They have themselves adapted very advanced shielding technology, but their arrogance in their shielding has lead to a downturn in armoring in Empire vessels. If you can manage to get through the shielding the massive fleet is a lot more penetrable than it may originally seem.)) 180th Fleet force size: RNS Richileu (Flag ship) - “Leviathan” class Titan Armament: -One EMP smartbomb launching bay -6 “Citadel” class Capital Ship Torpedo bays -1 “Oblivion” class planetary bombardment array 2 “Wyvern” class Super Carriers Armament: -2 425mm dual-mounted railgun batteries -4 150mm anti-fighter “flak” howitzers -Bays capable of launching up to 100 in-atmosphere or space born fighter/bomber craft. 4 Battlecruisers (2 “Drake” class/2 “Naga” class) “Drake” armament: -12 “Helios” class heavy missile launcher bays “Naga” armament -16 350mm dual-mounted railgun batteries. 3 “Corax” class destroyers Armament: -2 “Chimera” class missile launcher bays -2 150mm dual-mounted railgun batteries 918th Imperial Army -1 Command Battalion (~1,000 staff) -10 Basic Infantry Divisions (~100,000 men total) -3 Mech Battalions (~3,000 men total) -4 Heavy Armor Companys (~800 men, ~130 tanks) -1 Special Operator Brigade (~5,000 Men) Let the game begin!

Updated the OP with a guide to ship roles and sizes. Additionally specified the starting locations more. Game starts tomorrow. Expect and opening post and then free rein for whomever desires to post first.

Draeris and Stephensj accepted. Adding to current factions list.

Yes Splitchris. There are relevant questions to such in the application.

Sneaky accepted as well. For the greater good.

Oh dear. I thought I'd accepted yours. Yes, yours is accepted. Yours as well Pok.

PENDING. Shoot me a PM about force size. I would normally be fine with it but it seems like everybody else has scaled down their starting forces considerably. Plus Orcs are some murder machines. If it would take a few chapters of Space Marines to stop the force you've got here, I'm guessing nobody else is going to have a prayer right now. Look at scaling it down some. Remember you can call in reinforcements via a reinforcement application I'll put up as things move along. ACCEPTED for both faction and moon control. ACCEPTED for both faction and planetary control. I would lightly suggest increasing your starting forces though. Shoot me a PM if you decide to do so. ACCEPTED. You may want to consider starting in orbit around one of the planets. With these starting applications, I'm setting the game start date as this coming Monday. Look for updates in this thread including a star map, etc. If you're considering it, just apply! It'll be fun I promise.

Hellfire and Brimstone A forum rp by Chaqery Before you read anything else, take note: The game hasn't started yet. This is the place where you read about the idea, and apply. Once we get some initial applications, the game will start. Hope you enjoy :) The following forum RP is a tradition passed on to my from my very first roleplay community: Harmony Roleplay, a Garry's Mod HL2RP community about 8 years ago. Simply titled "Hellfire and Brimstone", the concept was easy and fun. Players assume control of a science-fiction race and then in a turn-based method, struggle for control through diplomacy or warfare over a small solar system. It was carried with the general population of HRP for about 3 years as we travelled about. Garry’s Mod servers are typically much more short lived… it’s because there are so many. Lots of competition. When we all split up the game stopped. And I thought it would be fun to bring it here to LoTC. I've witnessed Warhammer Space Marines fight Star Wars Jedi. Halo ODST fight a totally original sci-fi interpretation of the Soviet Union. Killzone Helghast soldiers assault a Mass Effect Quarian colony. EVE Online fleets hunting Mass Effect Reapers. It turns into this giant web of factions that blend together to create some pretty interesting alliances and confrontation. The most important aspect though is that it requires a relative fairness aspect from everyone playing. Hellfire and Brimstone requires maturity, and the realization that even if you pick a faction as awe-inspiring as say the Reapers or something else, you MUST concede losses in realistic situations. To help control that, I will be moderating in instances where it seems like intervention is required. Just be cool. Let your units take losses. There will be opportunities for reinforcements later on. Current Factions (And starting situation): L'Empire des Étoiles (Fleet) The Breesha (Fleet) Protorian Council (Fleet) The Vasari (Moon Vann'gegna: In distant orbit of Planet Bogdana) The Technocracy of Japan (Planet Bushido) The Empire of Samarkan (Fleet) Remnants of the Tau Empire (Fleet) The Fourth Reich (Moon Hoffen: In orbit of Unknown Planet) Orks (Fleet) The Cerberus Federation (Planet Bogdana) Background: Small solar system: 3 planets - two moons. (This seems alarming I know, but you are free to assume your civilization is space-capable in order to transfer between planets over the course of two turns. One to start your journey, and one to arrive. After all, unless knocked out, we will assume that planetary defenses will see you coming. Hard to miss a huge planetary assault ship in orbit.) Players may select any sci-fi faction in existence, from any game, book or otherwise. They are also highly encouraged to create their own. Players applying prior to game start are encouraged to apply for one of the planets. If you do not receive the planet though, your faction may still be accepted. Have a back up plan. RULES: For the most part, anything goes. Powergaming is of course possible in any roleplay medium and is a massive NO in this forum rp. Additionally, any faction, so long as they're sci-fi is fair game. It's also highly recommended that you make up your own faction! We're a community of creative people. I feel sure some of you can create some awesome stuff. Have at it. As a general rule of thumb, this is a turn-based situation... as I'm sure those of you familiar with forum rp are more than accustomed to. Ships and their Roles Some tips that I've found useful having seen Hellfire and Brimstone done before years ago. Keep in mind that most of them coincide with the guide and tips within the Forum RP section: - I’ve seen from experience that often approaching your moves as though it’s centered around the decisions of one character, the commander, or sometimes a small cast of characters, like a command staff, often makes it seem more interesting -Include an overview of what you just did in a follow up. Make it clear cut what you just did. -Don’t be afraid to make up a faction! I’ve seen it done before and honestly they’re some of the coolest things I’ve seen. - Diplomacy is a tricky thing. Sometimes it’s best done blatantly in your post (via sending a transmission or the like), and sometimes it’s best kept secret (PMs or the like), so that your enemies never see it coming. -Don’t make a habit of crushing newcomers to the game. The beauty in it’s design is that people can join in with a fleet at any time and start doing whatever they wish. It’s no fun when you eliminate them off the bat. -Players who are eliminated must take two IRL days to chill out (often people get pretty heated when they lose)before applying to re-enter the game. I’m more than willing to let them back in. Application: Faction (feel free to explain it in further detail if it’s an original idea, or a lesser known faction): Does your faction control one of the planets or moons?: If so, name it and tell us a bit about it. Terrain, climate, how densely settled it is, etc.: Starting military forces (Be reasonable. Large is fine. Massive is a bit ridiculous. Note that you will be able to apply for reinforcements as things progress along.): Be sure to explain your faction in relative detail in your opening post.

(( Not quite sure you can make that decision. It falls to Bangi.))

As the author of the linked Auvergnian culture thread, I would agree to Auvergnian being a Heartlander culture. While open land and fields for farming and horses are very typical, Auvergnians possess a generally bourgeois attitude. -Like France, which has areas that are solely agricultural, while their overarching culture is more urban or town-based.

The tournament was still nearly a Saint's Week away and already the tourney grounds were filled with the hustle and bustle of tents being pitched and vendors plying their crafts. It was then, no surprise to hear the thunderous hoof-beats of a company of horsemen sauntering into the grounds. From the clanking of armored barding to the jingle of reins, the whip of flags and creak of plate armor, one thing became apparent. Les Gensdarmes had come to partake in the tournament. As the column casually strode onwards, the head cavalier broke off from the group and tugged his anxious charger to a halt before the grounds organizer. With a creak, the horseman opened his visor. "Nous allons gagner ce tournoi! Right men?!" he shouts, to which the entire column of Gensdarmes takes up their song. http://youtu.be/heFkmvxZytY?t=1m26s ((The song below to the tune of the video just above.)) "We're bold! We're pissed! We'll see you in the lists! Les Gensdarmes! Les Gensdarmes! Les hommes! -De guerre! Qui viennent de Finistère! Les Gensdarmes! Les Gensdarmes! -And we hail from Finistère! Oorah!" As the song draws into a closing, the men begin to beat their lances against their shields and cheer. The thrill of a tournament is what Auvergnians lived for. The hot-blooded cavalrymen of the Exercitus Imperium were no different. Marcel would be sure of that.

((Edited accordingly))

With great commotion the Gendarmes prepare themselves for war. Clad in platemail, the men clank their way to the stables, where their equally as armored horses neigh and chew on their bits, anxious to be charging down the fields of war. Marcel, for his part, does the same as the others, humming a tune as he goes. Les Gensdarmes sont prêts pour la guerre. ((P.S.))