Dive into the Sky

Introduction

The Principality of Belka has stood unbowed and unconquered for all of its five centuries of existence. In the last few decades it has withstood the impact of the Ulysses asteroid and the Hofstadter uprising, only to rise even stronger than before. Through these turbulent times and all of those that preceded them, Belka’s Knights have risen to the challenge of defending it from opportunistic foreigners and from those who would try to break it from within. Today they stand ever ready to destroy Belka’s enemies be they foreign or domestic; they stand as a flaming sword in the righteous cause of national survival.

You are an Ordinary Belkan High School Student. Or perhaps not so ordinary. You have scored well in aptitude tests and show promise in your rudimentary pilot training. One day, a representative of Gründer Industries, Belka's largest defence conglomerate with close ties to the Knights approaches you with an unprecedented offer: Join a top secret program for the duration of your service and you stand a good chance of joining the Knights themselves...

Overview

Concept

Ace Combat meets Strike Witches/Sky Girls/Infinite Stratos

Rules

(Source: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Dive_into_the_Sky) Published here to make it more accessible, note that this is still very much a WIP system) Incorporation of Wings United is still forthcoming.

Character Creation

Stats

Characters are defined by a number of stats, which determine different aspects of their performance.
The stats and their basic descriptions are:

● Attack: A character's ability to engage enemy targets. Covers attacking with weapons, and acquiring targets at range. Doesn't care whether they're ground or air targets.

● Mobility: A character's overall agility. Covers the ability to make sharp turns, stop suddenly, and otherwise maneuver on the air, as well as general coordination and agility.

● Wits: Measures a character's ability to think on their feet. Covers things like outsmarting an enemy with some creative trick, convincing people to do what you want, solving all the math that's technically involved in flying, and other feats of mental agility.

● Speed: How fast you can move. Roll this for outrunning or chasing down enemies, making quick flybys (and buzzing the control tower), rushing from place to place, or for reacting really quickly to a surprise or event.

● Defence: Your shields and general defensive ability. Can be used as a last-ditch to stop damage, block with a melee weapon, or stop some projectiles.

Each stat starts at 1 and is capped at 5. You have 9 points to distribute among them.

● Stress: How well you can withstand the strains of combat. Add your Mobility, Wits and Defence scores and multiply them by two to derive this value.
● Hits: Your damage absoption capability, everyone starts with two hits.

Archetypes

Each character has two archetypes: an Ace Style, which determines how they gain Ace Points, and a general character archetype which determines how they earn Friendship Points. Both archetypes say something about how the character tends to behave. Select one of each that appeals to you.

Ace Styles:
1. Knight: You live for honor and pride. You might have a personal code of honor, or refuse to attack disabled enemies or targets that can't fight back.
2. Soldier: You can read the tide of battle. You're a consummate soldier who knows when you must put mission above all else.
3. Bloodthirsty: You actively seek the death of your enemies. Maybe the Allies killed your parents, maybe the government propaganda machine worked a bit too well, maybe you just like killing people, but you always want to destroy every single enemy you see.
4. Cool: You always keep a cool head, especially in combat. This doesn't mean you're emotionless, just that you're level-headed and your emotions rarely get the better of you.
5. Hotblooded: You burn with passion. You're impulsive, and tend to shoot first and ask questions later, or fly in at full speed with a rebel yell, no matter the odds.
6. Top Gun: You're smooth, skilled, and can turn the tide of battle single-handedly. Allies tend to respect you and enemies tend to fear you. Maybe this has gone to your head, and you're arrogant, or tend to show off, or maybe you're humble about your achievements.
7. Veteran: You were recruited for the program from a young age, and you have considerable experience with RFs and you know all their quirks, which you use to your advantage. You start with three Skills of your choice, but the rate at which you gain Ace Points is halved. You could take your seniority seriously and demand the respect you're due, or you could be more of a mentor instead.

Character Archetypes:
1. Tsundere: You're a bit unsure of your own feelings, and tend to have trouble expressing yourself. This tends to result in treating even people you like rather harshly. Maybe you take time to warm up to other people, or maybe you're just in denial.
2. Bottle Fairy: You're fun-loving, like to party, and if you're old enough, you like to drink, too. You tend to be cheerful and enjoy being around cheerful people. Probably, you'll try to cheer others up. Might be a bit of a prankster or a tease.
3. Heroine: A rather straight-up protagonist type. Earnest, maybe a bit of an idealist. Maybe a bit headstrong, too.
4. Older sister: Whether or not you actually have a younger sibling, you act like you do. Either you're a “big sis” for other members on your team, or you really do have a younger sibling somewhere. If you actually have a relative, they could be anywhere from another PC (if their player agrees), to a civilian living nearby, to dead.
5. Mentor: You tend to like taking other people under your wing. You sort of help and teach others, either by example, or by giving them training.
6. Sexy: You're attractive, and you know it. Whether this means flaunting natural charms, or just acting a certain way is up to you.
7. Bravado: You're boisterous, loud, and boastful. You tend to enjoy yourself and probably get along with anyone else who does the same. You're often informal, possibly to the chagrin of your more military-minded peers.
8. Rookie: You're fresh meat. You probably only joined recently, and may be unsure of yourself. Or, maybe you're full of naive ideals and other such notions your older peers may frown upon.
9. Prankster: You enjoy joking around. Specifically, playing practical jokes on your peers. You're also the sort who'd buzz the control tower.
10. Early Test Subject: (requires Veteran) You were one of the first test pilots in the program, and the early mind-impulse links required some rather drastic modifications that have changed your personality considerably.

Game Mechanics

Dice and Rolling

The basic system in DitS is as follows: to preform an action, roll a number of 6-sided dice (d6) equal to your character's relevant stat plus one (minimum dice pool is 2d6, maximum 6d6). The total of all dice values is your check result. If it's over an opposed check result or a certain threshold for success, you succeed.

Static Values/Thresholds (for d6s):
● 3-6: Really easy. Why even roll? Or, just good enough to squeak by.
● 7-11: Average difficulty, or average success.
● 11-16: Challenging, and impressive success.
● 17-24: Requires an expert.
● Continue extrapolating as necessary.

Ace Points and Friendship Points

Characters can earn Ace Points and Friendship Points by playing to their archetype. Ace Points are earned by behaving in manners consistent with a character's Ace Style or by doing something particularly impressive, without the use of Ace Points to aid the action. Characters also earn one ace point for each enemy aircraft downed. Friendship Points may be earned when behaving in accordance with a player's general Character archetype, or by roleplaying out bonding with their friends and allies. Generally, it's the GM's call to reward points for either case. Players also gain one Ace and Friendship point at the beginning of a session.

Only one Ace Point my be spent by a character in a given turn, although they may spend more than one Friendship Point, but only to assist different allies.

Spend Ace Points to:
● Roll an extra die on one action, or reroll the dice for an action.
● Muck with the narrative. This might require GM approval, but a player may spend an ace point to declare an interesting moment of coincidence to make things more interesting or beneficial to their character.
Whenever Ace Points are spent on a roll, things become instantly awesome. Whether the result is a success or failure, it must be described in a more dramatic or impressive way.

Spend Friendship Points to:
● Give an ally an extra die on one of their rolls, or gain an extra die on a roll to assist an ally.
● Rush to a wingman's defense, taking a defensive action for them (however, you'll take any stress damage).
● Restore a wounded ally's concentration, reducing the difficulty for Wits checks to stay in the air after taking too many hits.
● Make a Mobility check to rush in and rescue a severely damage ally, catching them in midair. You then have to carry them to safety.

Rüstungsflugzeug

Rüstungsflugzeug (Armed Aircraft) V is the project name of Gründer Industries' 5th Generation Fighter Program, but is a cover for the Rüstungsflugzeug (Aircraft Armour) Program which the PCs are in.

RFs are highly modular powered exoskeletons controlled by mind-impulse links capable of air maneuvers at least equal to modern high performance fighters. How they are capable of this is a closely guarded secret.

Variant Types Forthcoming

Combat

Combat is executed in a series of rounds. At the start of every round, everyone involved in the combat makes a Wits roll. This determines turn order. If characters team up with their wingmates, use the lowest initiative. Then, in order of initiative, declare and resolve actions and roll for results. Examples would be jockying for position to get a firing solution (Mobility vs Mobility), firing a missile (Mobility vs Attack) etc.

The loser takes Stress damage equal to the measure of success. If they lose all Stress points, you lose a hit and restores Stress to maximum value. At this point, the character must make a Wits check to keep airborne or potentially suffer additional effects. Once a character has lost all hits, they're either shot down, disabled, or in some other way forced out of the battle.

Factions and Organizations

The Principality of Belka

Belka boasts the second largest economy, size and population on the Osean Continent after the Osean Federation, as such, it is a key player in the continent's politics. Throughout the 20th Century, it has been in a number of wars with its neighbours which are a cause of numerous border disputes that continue to this day. The wars, along with close ties to Osea due to its support during the long Cold War with Yuktobania, have led to an economic boom in Belka in the late 20th Century, though this has begun to slow down as well, and this has only been exacerbated by the impact of the Ulysses asteroid. These economic problems, along with lingering effects of the war, were a major impetus for the defeated fascist uprising in 1997.

Belka maintains its strong military tradition through universal conscription for all able bodied males and females at the age of 18, who are required to serve for 12 months in the military. Civilian service exists as an alternative for conscientious objectors, but the longer 36 month service term means that it comparatively uncommon.

At present, Belka is a constitutional monarchy in which de-jure power is concentrated in the democratically elected Reichstag. However, the current monarch - Princess Maria Theresa - is extremely popular with the populace, and wields significant influence on it through "her" party, the Crown Loyalists.

The Belkan Chivalric Order of the Rose

More commonly known as "The Belkan Knights", the Order dates back to the original founding of what is now known as North Belka. The knights swore an oath to protect and defend the people of the Belkan Confederation against all enemies, an oath that is still sworn at induction, and repeated annually. Today, it is essentially an independent arm of the Belkan military, with its own command structure, logistics and so on, all of which answers to the Supreme Grand Master of the Order, who is responsible only to the Council of Grand Masters. Numerous monarchs and governments have attempted to assert control over the Order, but none have succeeded due to their large base of popular support, and their independence is now constitutionally enshrined. This support comes primarily from the Order's central role in Belka's national myth, one of the toppling of tyrants and of struggle against external invaders.

The Order poaches the best and brightest from the regular military, and its equipment and funding are provided by the business conglomerates of North Belka which have strong historical ties with the Order.

Gründer Industries AG

The shining success story of post-war Belka, Gründer Industries is the largest industrial conglomerate in the country. Based mainly in North Belka, G.I. produces everything from computers to cars, washing machines to state of the art combat aircraft. The majority of G.I.'s production facilities came through the Ulysses impact unscathed, and are now operating at full capacity supplying those countries that were harder hit with heavy machinery and other essentials for rebuilding.

G.I. is the main equipment supplier of the Belkan Knights, providing them with state of the art hardware developed in tandem with input from the Knights. They also have close ties with a number of Osean defence contractors and produce several aircraft and ground vehicles under license. However, the Osean government's refusal to allow a partnership with Douglas-Martin Aerospace or the export of the F-22 has resulted in G.I. starting its own 5th generation fighter program, details of which remain highly confidential.

The Osean Federation

The Osean Federation is the largest state on the continent of Osea, and is the second largest in the world. More commonly known as Osea, it boasts the world's largest economy and the most powerful military. Throughout its history it has often swung between periods of pacifism and interventionism, much to the chagrin of its neighbours. In recent years, the majority of its attention had been taken up by its rivalry with Yuktobania, but with this threat reduced, it has begun to turn its attention to matters closer to home.

Other Osean Factions

The Allied Powers

The Allied Powers is the name of the alliance between the The Kingdom of Sapin and the Republics of Ratio, Gebet and Recta. All these countries had been defeated by Belka during the First Belkan War and consequently lost portions of territory in the peace settlements. When Belka invaded Sapin in the late 1970s, the other three countries, fearing a repeat of the first war, immediately declared war on Belka. The haste at which the alliance was formed is evident in its rather unimaginative name, but its effects were clear. Belka was not in a position to fight, and they soon pushed onto Belkan soil, where they hit the brick wall of the Belkan Knights. This time, it was Belka that threw in the towel, ceding a number of provinces from East and South Belka in an Osean brokered peace deal.

Today, the alliance has expanded into a framework that includes a number of economic agreements. The impact of the Ulysses asteroid led to widespread destruction in Sapin and Recta, and there has been talk of the creation of a free trade zone to aid the rebuilding of their economies. All of the countries are also involved in a border dispute with Belka over the peace treaty, and Osea is attempting to arbitrate a peaceful settlement.

The Belkan Liberation Front

The front organization of a number of Southern and Eastern Belkan insurrectionist groups fighting for reunification with Belka, they formed after the impact of the Ulysses asteroid led to an increase in the government burden placed on them. They are covertly supported by Belkan intelligence agencies.

The Republic of Ustio

A small country located to the southwest of Belka. Known in some circles as the "boot of Belka", Ustio shares a common language and culture with its larger brother, but has so far avoided annexation due to an ancient pact with the Knights.