Heavy Metal Hyperborea
Fifty years ago there was war that engulfed the war, the Hyperborea Empire had taking the advantage of the Balhae Kingdom's airship concept, the war golems of Tang and Ur, and the tanks of Dassia to construct the first modern war machine putting together all the benefits of the Magitek revolution and launched with its ally Zipang, a war to bring down the naval Dassia-Pemrose and the Liu Dynasty. The war raged for six years and expanded nearly the entire globe for eight years before the Old Kingdom used one of its ancient super weapons the Rah-Hylos and destroyed the fortress city of Wyrmhaven and the constituting 12th Imperial Aerial Army, which saw the collapse of the Empire's lines forced surrender and the another year long siege of Zipang before the Shogun was brough to the table. War repatriations and strict limits of military size was imposed, for a period of nearly fifty years.
Last year the treaty limitations has 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 primer power. Zipang has fallen into communist revolution and once again become a hermit kingdom, and now with the space race to get to the moon Artemisa between Dassia and Balhae there are no longer pressure on the Empire to maintain its arms limitation as there had been expected by the superpowers leaving only uneasy neighbors to protest. Across the empire, plans decades drawn out are put into motion as the Empire war machine rumbles to life.
In the northern corner of the Empire, next to the realm of Sirus, Rosencruz Military Academy has been reopened, it was here the promising cadets were sent to learn the ways of being armor rider, 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.
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 States
- 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 Riffle or Snipping give two points per rank, and even more specific skills (such as using specific model of weapon gives 3 points). You get 30 points.
Major Skills (Non-Exhaustive List)
- Dodge
- Range Combat
- Melee Combat
- Persuasion
- Speech-making
- Investigation
- Stealth
Magic and Skills
Magic costs 5 points level, and each level they gain a signature spell. Each subbranch costs 3 points and every three ranks gain 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 your pretty poor at piloting at the start. But thanks to be characters in a silence game you get plenty of xp to grow. You start off with one point in Piloting, Range 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 crosssite next turn)
- Range Combat
- Carried Weapons
- Internal Weaopns
- BVR Attacks
- Satelites
- 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 till the World War which has saw it fall it into the ranks of secondary powers, however the force peace and divestment from expensive war time machines has allowed its civilian economy to thrive to chagrin to its rivals who had hoped for a civil war with the powerful secondary nobles. Now its 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 massive naval and sky fleet its power projection is unrivaled by any other power, however in every theatre it faces challenges. The relaxation on the chains on the Empire's might came with backroom dealings of Imperial backing in case a series war would break out and restoration of old Imperial colonies. Time will tell if this dente 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 and 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 supernova into empire that had tentacles across the world but was defeated in the world war along with its imperial ally and ended up in worst shape. Its 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 and are more incline to living underground though 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. Reports are there Balhae agents on the ground.
- The Divine Empire of Huecztlan was a client state of Zipang and which saw it consolidate its rule over its lesser kingdoms, these days 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 Vechile
- 20 HP
- 2x 50 Cal Guns (20 rounds) 2x3 damage
- Carries 12 Infantry