Heavy Metal Hyperborea

Background

Fifty years ago, there was war that engulfed the world of Terra: the Hyperborean Empire took advantage of all the benefits of the Magitek revolution - bringing together Balhae Kingdom's airship concept, the war golems of Tang and Ur, and the tanks of Dassia to construct the first modern war machine. The Empire launched a war with its ally Zipang to bring down the naval powerof Dassia-Pemrose and the Liu Dynasty. The war raged for eight years and expanded nearly across the entire globe before the Old Kingdom used one of its ancient super weapons the Rah-Hylos to destroy the fortress city of Wyrmhaven and the 12th Imperial Aerial Army stationed there. This saw the collapse of the Empire's lines & forced surrender, leading to the year-long siege of Zipang before the Shogun was brough to the table. War reparation and strict limits of military size were imposed for a period of nearly fifty years.
Last year, the treaty limitations have run out, and the once-unified allied powers of the world have splintered, with Dassia-Premrose and its colonies in uneasy alliance with Huecztlan in the Aztland Accord as the premier power. Zipang has fallen into communist revolution, and once again has become a hermit kingdom. Now, with the space race to get to the moon Artemisa between Dassia and Balhae drawing all attention, there is no longer pressure on the Empire to maintain its arms limitation as had been expected by the allied superpowers, leaving only uneasy neighbors to protest. Across the empire, plans drawn out over decades are put into motion as the imperial war machine rumbles to life.
In the northern corner of the Empire, next to the realm of Sirus, Rosencruz Military Academy has been reopened, where promising cadets were sent to learn the ways of being armor riders, and a special new class of students have been gathered to test out their own capabilities and the armors the empire has built for them.

Aesthetic

1990s magitech Ace Combat

Character Creation

Character Archetype

The Ojou-Sama: High Nobles are the imperial elites, they have bonus to magic (old) and social skills and social rank

The Cometary Farmgirl: Picked out for their skills in piloting they have bonus to magitek armor combat and +3 fate points per session

The Four Murasame: The Imperial Warlabs of Thelma Mountain were never discovered and thus were never shut down and their lack of morality never slowed down. You are enhanced with magitek circuits allow for better piloting and magitek protocols: Bonus to magitek armor combat, personal combat, and magic (new), malus to social skills, malus in social rank

The Catgirl: Genetic enhancements were also seen as optional way to getter pilots, using the old alchemists of the old war for new purposes. Bonus to personal combat, magitek armor and social skills, malus in social rank and disguises.

Stats

Stats: Start with 1 in each category,18 points to spend, each rank its number in points to buy.

Primary Stats

Knowledge

Wits

Strength

Dex

Endurance

Willpower

Secondary/Derived Stats

Ether Pool: Willpower (x2) + Strength

Health Points: (Endurance x 3) + Strength + Willpower

Sanity Points: Wits x 2 + Knowledge + Willpower

Skills

Major Skills are put into broad categories; they cost their value in rank. Specialized Skills such as Rifle or Sniping give two ranks per point, and even more specific skills (such as using specific model of weapon) gives 3 ranks. You get 30 points.

Major Skills (Non-Exhaustive List)

Dodge

Ranged Combat

Melee Combat

Persuasion

Speech-making

Investigation

Stealth

Magic and Skills

Magic costs 5 x level in points, and each level they gain a signature spell. Each subbranch costs 3 x level points and every three ranks gains a signature spell. Magic spells cost core level of mp per spell (can be boosted up to three times by doubling the cost each time a boost is applied). Old magic will take longer to cast unless you use blood magic and sacrifice health points for instant cast. New Magic requires not only skill points but the appropriate magitek device - either installed in you as cyborg or in your equipment - for the spell to cast.

Old Magic:

Summoning

Curses

Bullet Time

Geass

Teleportation

New Magic (Magitek Circuits)

Energy Blasts

Forcefields

Healing

Magitek Armor Piloting

Pilot Points: As cadets, you are fairly poor at piloting at the start. Thanks to being characters in a silence game, you get plenty of xp to grow. You start off with one point in Piloting, Ranged and Melee Combat, and ten points like normal to spend on the rest.

Magitek Piloting

Dodging (instead of attacking you build up dodge points to increase the difficulty to get hit this and next turn)

Pursuing (instead of attacking directly (though you are still attacking and expending ammo / energy you will be building up pursuit points to represent manipulating the enemy to get into your cross-hairs next turn)

Ranged Combat

Carried Weapons

Internal Weapons

BVR Attacks

Satellites

Melee Combat

Parrying

Physical Attack

Beam Attack

John Wick

Special / MISC

AWACs

Jamming

Shields

Magic

Nations of the World

Pre-History

Lemuria Civilization: Antidelivian civlization, fell when Silver Dragon Comet tail impacted into Terra, left ruins everywhere.

Northern Hemisphere

Hyperborea

Eastern side of the Randgrith Mountains, home to Hyperborean Empire (of Sternhold), one of the first nations to form after the Flood, the Sternhold became the Empire roughly 400 years ago, and was the dominant power on the continent until the World War, which has saw it fall it into the ranks of secondary powers. However, the forced peace and divestment from expensive war time productionn has allowed its civilian economy to thrive - much to the chagrin to its rivals, who had hoped for a civil war with the powerful secondary nobles. Now, the Empire posed to retake its prominence on the continent.

Dual Monarchy of Dassia-Premrose is the current world power. The island of Dassia was the home to Hyperborean saga of the magitek revolution and the Premrose Kingdom had been the prominent land power rival to the Empire since the Flood. The unification of the monarchies ninety years ago had been one of the instigating factors of the Empire's aggression. With colonies on all land masses and a massive naval and sky fleet, its power projection is unrivaled by any other power. However, in every theater it faces challenges. The relaxation on the chains on the Empire's might came with backroom dealings of Imperial backing in case a serious war broke out, and eventual restoration of old Imperial colonies. Time will tell if this detente will last. Eastern border with the Empire. Has a space program.

Papal State of Old Lux, the Pope of Church of Dawn and Dusk lives here, has 2 divisions and small army of super soldiers.

Genoace Republican Sphere of Trade and Defense: A collection of old merchant city states in alliance, southern border of the Empire.

Land of the Sirius (Western) the Sirius Taiga is the largest biome on the planet and home to several small lords and raiding tribes. Many of them travel east and west to be mercenaries

POLON: Once a troubled commonwealth, the last election for the king saw the continent largest arms corporation buy the seat and turn the state into ultra-modern corporate dystopia.

Muria

Western side of the mountains, home to the Tang Khanate which replaced the last dynasty during the World War, the Tang maintain small army and massive military police to keep the populace in line, effectively controlled by the megacorporations from the victorious Balhae.

Greater Balhae Federation: The Balhae Empire gives slightly more than lip service of freedom to its client states and conquests from Zipang. The presence of Dassia colonies in many areas on the map in their sphere of influence as well as the Dassia's economic hostility towards the ruling megacorporation's has seen that one fruitful alliance fallen aside in a cold war of monarchal states and more corporate ones. Has a space program.

Qujra Confederation: A rising state of ex-Zipang colonies, famous and brutal neutral realpoltik.

Equatorial Old Lemuria and Zipang

New Lemuria: Dassia's crown jewel, a massive land state of factories, mines, and archeological digs. Originally settled by exiled criminals and losers in civil wars, it soon has become more and more prominent and its effectively independent with industrial output equal to the homeland.

'Kingstate of Ur: Located in the blasted lands, it's nearly impossible to get to due to volcanic interference controlled by the Ur magi. Home to the oldest magic archive and many secret societies take their home in the numerous towers there.

The Golden Empire which controls the major gold and diamond minds in the world, the most powerful kingdom of the southern natives, its wealth has allowed it to buy mercs and at times entire states's militaries to defends its vast holdings against Dassia and Zipang.

57th Dynasty of Rah-Templos (the Old Kingdom). A minor state that had survived the Flood intact, it had scooped up bunch of the best Lemurian gear in the aftermath and been coast riding since then.

Zipang: The home to the Western magitek revolution, it exploded into an empire that had tentacles across the world, but was defeated in the world war along with its imperial ally and ended up in the worst shape. It's suffered a communist revolution and has since withdrawn from nearly contact with the outside world. It too has a space program.

Atlantis

Massive Island Continent home to the mysterious beings' outsiders call the Fae who patronize two kingdoms.

Kahicoam a civilization dedicated to building intricate sigils into the ground. Dassian and Zipang colonization efforts meet with strange plagues and mutations despite their lower tech level.

The Anazasi Collective mostly lives in the mountains regions of the continent. They are more inclined to living underground, though they are believed to have equal tech levels as the rest of the world. Spies report their plans for invasion of the either Kahiocoam or some other power on the continent, likely backed by Balhae agents on the ground.

The Divine Empire of Huecztlan was a client state of Zipang and used their backing to consolidate its rule over its lesser kingdoms. These days, it is a client state of Dassia.

The northern most portion of the land is home to massive radioactive wreck from the time of Lemuria, isolated and home to pirates and minor colonies.

NPCS of HMH

Empire

Rosencrux Staff

Kommondant Sir Olsen: Nils Olsen, age 80 war hero

Colonel Baron Fredrick Altdorf: Piloting and Tactics, commander of the 99th Regiment of the 9th Army.

Professor Gloria Vanitas: Academics and Magic Teacher, den mother.

Professor Major (ret) Jordan Eisen, Engineering and Science

Other Section Members

Takana Miyuki: Zipang noble, archer

Alison Neismith: Sword Prodigy commoner,

Elizabita Dumont: Quiet cyborg

Ivan Bulganov: Sirian Boyar's Heir

Other Students

Meribel Fafnir: Honor and Discipline Committee member (second year)

Joachim Fafnir: Honor and Discipline Committee vice-captain (third year)

Lord Lucian Mandlestein, heir to the Grand Duchy of Alteisen,

Princess Helena, 5th princess of the empire

Dual Monarchy

Prime Minister Charles Galbraith: Former Sky Marshal, and ten year occupant of Brenton House, known as Steel Heart

Pariah-1: Unknown Ace of Aces.

Magitek Armor Library

Sigurd Mk1

HP: 30

Mobility (Ground Type): 1

Electronics: 0

Tactical Slots: 2

Shield +15 HP

120mm Rifle 10 Damage, 12 shots, 3 reloads

Tankslayer Sword: 10 Damage (25 against tanks)

First magitek armor used in the conflict, now relegated to training purposes.

Sigurd Mk2

HP: 40

Mobility (Ground Type): 2

Electronics 1

Tactical Slots: 3

Shield +15 HP

120mm Rifle 10 Damage, 12 shots, 3 reloads

Tankslayer Sword: 10 Damage (25 against tanks)

Steel Arrow Missile Launcher System:

TCAM-1 50 Damage 1 Shot

TCAM-2 12 Damage, 4 shots

Sensor Pod

Magic Circuit

Liftstone Wings

Still used by second line troops in the empire, this is the armor that upper classmen and instructors use, though such pilots tend to customize their rides.

Carnation

HP: 25

Mobility (Ground Type): 3

Electronics: 3

Weapons

Kingdom Etherbuster (Energy Riffle) 5 shots, 30 damage

Kingdom Manasword (Energy Sword): 15 damage +1 Aim

Gatting Cannons (5 damage, 30 rounds)

Shield +10 HP

Kingdom Mook Suit: Several were captured or bought during or after the war to serve as opfor for the Academy.

Terracotta

HP: 20

Mobility (Ground Type): 2

Electronics: 1

Tactical Slots: 2

Shield +15 HP

120mm Rifle 10 Damage, 12 shots, 3 reloads

Jade Halbard: 12 Damage (Double Damage vs Monsters)

JMX3 Submachine Gun: 3 (5 damage) burst damage) -1 long range

Tang Dynasty gunk suit

Raver Mercenary Fighting Vehicle

20 HP

2x 50 Cal Guns (20 rounds) 2x3 damage

Carries 12 Infantry