Exaltica: Eden Awakening Saga [Sign-ups and OOC] Options

[Sailerius]

Would you like to play a game?

Exaltica is a space opera-themed, character-driven role play that I shall be running. It is set in an original universe and will prioritize interesting storytelling and the development of inter-character relationships. Let's take a brief look at the setting.

1200 years ago, humanity made an innovation that changed the course of history irrevocably: The Nexus. The Nexus is a method of tunneling through space in a way that defies the conventional laws of physics, allowing journeys which would normally take untold millenia to take only a few days. Almost immediately after the Nexus Network became operational, humanity dispersed throughout the stars and began populating the universe. Good timing, too, because not long after, humanity's homeworld -- what was its name again? -- and everything within twelve lightyears of it fell silent, never to be heard from again.

Fast forward to the present. Countless planets throughout the universe have been populated by humans. Although we've searched long and hard for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, we've so far had no such luck. Maybe we really are alone out here. Anyways, we're governed loosely by the United Federation, which administers the Nexus Nodes and occasionally mediates in particularly nasty conflicts. Aside from that, most worlds are self-governing and their cultures are widely varying.

Sound like fun? Excellent! Read on.

I should start by outlining a very important rule:

I am God.

I reserve the right to force things to happen, to resolve conflicts, to kick you out, to exploit your character's backstory, and to assume control of your character if you abandon the game or get kicked out. That said, I am a fair and just god and will not exercise my divine power unless necessary. My primary goal is to facilitate the creation of an engaging and interesting story, so everything I do will be in the interests of that objective.

I'm going to expect a certain degree of maturity and effort on behalf of you if you choose to play. You must be able to distinguish between what you know, what your character knows, and what other characters should know. I can and will hide information from you if your character has no way of knowing this -- and I encourage you to do the same to other people. In other words, if your character does or says something that you don't want other players to know about (or don't think that they should), then tell me privately. This is to create dramatic tension. After all, what's the fun if you know everything before it's revealed?

In addendum to what I just said, I will also be cooperating with you to develop your character's backstory in order to weave it in with the story of the world and with other characters'.

That being said, I'm going to treat you all respectfully and assume you're competent unless you prove otherwise. If you do something that bothers me, I'll alert you--in that case, please don't do it again.

I won't bother to enumerate rules about things like godmoding and post length because those are petty and honestly, I expect that you're all mature enough that you don't need to be told what not to do. Respect other people. No post length requirement as long as you contribute something interesting.

EDIT: There is one rule I forgot to mention. If you're going to be absent for two weeks or more, say something ahead of time! If you do not post for two weeks or more without a reason, I will assume you've left the game and I will seize control of your character.

Now, let's get to the fun part! Character creation! Read this section very carefully. There are two parts to a character profile: public and private. The public part of your profile will be posted here for everyone to see. The private part of your profile will be PMed or IMed to me directly. You are not to share the details in your private profile with other people unless their characters have some way of knowing that piece of information!

Put some thought into this. Once the game has started and your profile has been cemented, I will hold you to it if you contradict it -- especially when it comes to moral and belief.

For more information about the world/setting, read the below section.

PUBLIC PROFILE
Name:

Age:

Gender:

Appearance:

Personality:

PRIVATE PROFILE
Race: Are you a naturally- or artificially-born human? (See next post for details)

Family: What is/was your family like? Do you get along with them? Do you live with them? Are you still in touch?

Education: How much schooling or professional training have you had? Are you still in school?

Occupation: What's your job? Are you still in school? Do you have a part-time job? Do you have a professional career? See next post for ideas.

Hobbies: What do you like to do?

Talents: What are you good at?

History: Describe your past.

Moral: Name one thing you will always act on, regardless of how much of a bad idea it is at the time. (Examples: "I will always accept free food", "I will always protect the lives of children")

Belief: What one thing will you always believe to be true, regardless of any evidence to the contrary? (Examples: "People are genuinely good", "Anything is possible through hard work")

Fear: What's one thing that will always make you tremble in terror?

Turn-on: What's one thing that will always excite you?

Hope: What one thing do you really look forward to in the future?

Dread: What one thing do you really not looking forward to in the future?

Regret: What one thing do you wish you could change about your past?

Accomplishment: What one thing have you done that you're most proud of?

Crime: Name one reason you should be in prison.

It's okay if you're having trouble coming up with ideas for some of the fields. In that case, ask me for ideas! I'd be glad to collaborate with you to help you build a character. Remember not to post your private profile!

Trueborns
An unfortunate consequence of humanity's evolution into space has been the subjection of the body to a constant barrage of potentially-harmful cosmic radiation. Although preventative measures were taken, it wasn't enough. What started as isolated incidents a couple hundred years ago has erupted into an epidemic that has had a crippling effect on human civilization: infertility. The vast majority of humans are incapable of having children (and even fewer are capable of having live ones).

Well, crap. That kind of puts a stopper on that whole manifest destiny thing, huh?

Fortunately, if there's one thing that people are good at, it's reproducing. The problem has been sidestepped by advancements in artificial birth technology, which became commercially viable and brought to the mass market by Tetracorp. Nowadays, it's the norm that two parents go to a Tetracorp-sponsored doctor's office to have DNA taken and return 9 months later to pick up their machine-birthed newborn.

Although not as romantic an idea as the natural process, artificial birth does come with its benefits. Parnts can pick and choose certain genes that get passed on, causing the effective annihilation of most genetic disorders. As a result, artificially-born children are on average healthier and have greater longevity.

The societal benefits can't be ignored, either. Women don't have to take maternity leave and don't suffer from the potential health risks of childbearing. The practice is so common now that some doctors don't even know how to perform a natural delivery due to its increasing rarity.

Children who are born naturally are referred to as trueborns, although there is no way to distinguish them by sight. In fact, it's hard to distinguish them even from a DNA sample. That doesn't change the fact that there has been some discrimination against trueborns, though. It's commonplace for employers to demand genetic records when one applies for a job, which some trueborns argue enables them to unfairly judge applicants by their genes rather than by their talent.

It goes both ways, though. Just as there are some who think of natural childbirth and the children who result from it to be antiquated and disgusting, there are those who think see artificial birthing as unnatural and an abomination. People always need something to fight about.

Callback chips
Every child birthed by Tetracorp is fitted with a microchip called a callback chip. This chip contains detailed information about the child's medical information and can be used as a transmitter to track their location in case of an emergency.

Sin
Officially known as the NSA Effect, Sin is a bizarre manifestation of energy which appears to transcend the laws of physics. Certain individuals are capable of producing Sin to create effects such as heating, freezing, artificial gravity, and so on. Its practice is universally illegal, although there are some questionably legal job offers for people who can do it.

Assume your character is incapable of this unless I inform you otherwise.

Utrecht syndrome
A mental disorder associated with lethargy, depression, social isolation, and a deterioration of the sense of self. An unusually high number of Utrecht syndrome sufferers turn to substance addiction in order to compensate for the emptiness this disease causes. Because of its strong association with illegal substances, suicide, and social detachment, people look down on sufferers as being lazy or good-for-nothings. There is no known treatment.

This condition is rare and is known only to manifest itself in trueborns.

The Nexus Network
The technology that made all of this possible. Most people don't understand the science behind it. Basically, a Nexus Node is a kind of gateway connected to another Nexus Node. Traveling into one transports you into a Nexus tunnel in an extraspatial dimension, enabling you to make "shortcuts" through the universe.

The UF owns and runs all of the Nexus Nodes. Because so few planets are inhabitable and they're spread so far apart, the Nexus Network is integral to traveling between them. The infrastructure built around them is kind of dated and there has been pressure on the UF to update it for ages, but you know how fast the government is to get anything done. Because Nexus tunnels exist only between two points, each Node only has a single destination. For example, imagine you have two sets of nodes, A/B and C/D. A can travel to and from B by Nexus and C can travel to and from D, but you cant use the Nexus to get from B to C or from A to D. Because of the convoluted layout of the Nexus Nodes, it can sometimes be very inconvenient (and expensive) to get where you want to go.

Oh yeah, and you want to make sure that if you're traveling by Nexus that you're on the right kind of ship. Did I mention that exposure to the Nexus is lethal? Not only is it legal, but it will disintegrate matter the instant it enters the Nexus tunnel. Fortunately, a special kind of protection called ER shielding protects most ships from the effects of Nexus exposure.

We found that out the hard way.

The Moon of Morgan
This is where our story begins. Morgan is the small inhabited moon of gas giant Archimedes and has recently recently been in the news for its contraversial new law banning artificial births. It has a large population of trueborns and has been historically a center of trueborn rights. Currently, the government of Morgan is facing immense political pressure from a number of groups, including Tetracorp and has had to dispatch troops to put down riots.

The United Federation
The government. It's a representative democracy that doesn't interfere much, preferring to delegate responsibilities to individual worlds. It does, however, manage the Nexus Nodes and occasionally interferes in civil rights issues. On rare occasions, it sends the military to intercede in conflict between worlds.

The UF also owns a secret organization that everyone knows about called Oraph, which develops and tests experimental military technology, including the Nexus. Oraph's headquarters is on the planet Erza.

Culture
Times have changed, but people haven't. There are still schools, universities, libraries, labs, theaters, movies, and music. You can get a job in teaching, researching, cooking, cleaning, and more. Of course, there are also more exciting jobs; perhaps you're an officer in the UF military or the captain of a cargo ship. Maybe you're a colonist exploring new worlds to populate or a pop star known throughout the universe. Your only limit as to what you can do is your own imagination. Of course, I might punch you for suggesting something, but that's always a looming possibility.

This post has been edited by Sailerius: Mar 23 2011, 05:22 PM

[Sparrowsmith]

I'll be keeping tabs on this, might make a profile depending on how time treats me.

[Ereth]

PUBLIC PROFILE
Name: Aiko Moreno

Age: 19

Sex: Female

Appearance: Tall (six feet!); bronze skin; short, black hair; brown eyes. She is most often seen wearing an apron over a simple work frock and practical shoes. When the weather is warm, she likes wearing sun dresses and sandals, but will switch to sweaters, long-johns, heavy pants, and boots when it's cold.

Personality: Aiko's shyness makes it hard for her to get along with most people, but she tries. Aiko is generally a very giving person. As an aspiring pastry chef, she is always happy to share her sweets with others, even if she can't cook anything else that's worth a damn. But if you enter her kitchen uninvited, beware!

This post has been edited by Ereth: Mar 8 2011, 10:29 AM

[Nicsp]

Next time just edit the second part into your first post, kay?

This did grab my attention, i don't have time now but i'm gonna read through all of that some other day and decide if i'm gonna join or not.

[MysTaFoX]

Interesting...

I'm that decibel guy. Anyway, when might you actually start this? Any ideas?

[Sailerius]

Interesting...

I'm that decibel guy. Anyway, when might you actually start this? Any ideas?

A week or so. Whenever I get 5 people.

[Ganonfrog]

You know I'm in. Making a character now.

[Hirei]

BAM! First proifle '3'


PUBLIC PROFILE
Name: Arel Mathis

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Appearance: A slim woman with brown shoulder length hair, with bangs that slightly cover her right eye. A pair of well-used steel-plated navigator's goggles sits on her head. Usual attire includes a sleeveless simple dark blue hooded jacket with numerous pockets, dark green cargo pants, black steel-toed boots, and either blackcolored tanktop or long sleeved shirt depending on the weather. In one of her jacket's pockets Arel carries a pair of leather gloves.

[Show/Hide] image

Personality: Arel is a very strong-willed person, who is able to make decisions quickly and logically. She is moderately comfortable talking with others but prefers to stay immersed indoors in her navigation or mechanical work. Rather stubborn, she sticks to her decisions like glue.

This post has been edited by Hirei: May 6 2011, 12:09 PM

[Nicsp]

All right, here we go. I'll be PMing you the private part of the profile in a few minutes.

PUBLIC PROFILE

Name: Lars Olimar

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Appearance: Lars is a pale young man with a very clean complexion and very slim, he is always using his special reading glasses which are attached to his clothes by a small silver chain. His hair is bleached white and messy, covering his ears and spiking out in different directions. His left arm is artificial, a machine created by him when he lost his original arm, it is highly similar to a normal human arm with the obvious difference that it's made of metal, there's also several wires plugging pieces of the arm to each other which shine and spark occasionally once the arm is close to overcharging. He is always using his labcoat, the left sleeve of the coat is ripped off so it doesn't mess his mechanical arm. Below the labcoat he wears a white sweater and jeans, alongside with heavy black boots which make him look slightly taller than he actually is.

[Show/Hide] Click for badly drawn picture.

Personality: Lars is, first and foremost, for the lack of a better definition, a nerd. He constantly makes jokes related to internet memes and is as clumsy with words as someone can be. Despite his several failures in his experiments he still refuses to let any of them bring him down, he is forever optimistic and will always try looking at the bright side of life. He doesn't take anything seriously, for the most part, oftenly joking about anything. Lars also shows to lack good-sense, his approaches towards problems tend to be, suffice to say, unusual, even though this causes him to have very creative ideas every so often.

This post has been edited by Nicsp: May 26 2011, 04:33 PM

[Ganonfrog]

(Playing two characters with the permission of the GM.)

Name: Shaomei Zhi (Zhi is her given name.)

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Appearance: Zhi is a very professional and elegant looking woman. She has a slim and tall build, accentuated by her long, black hair, which she usually has tied up. As her name suggests, she has quite a bit of Chinese ancestry, and her appearance still reflects this.

She usually dresses in quality business wear during the week, and similarly sleek outfits during her breaks. She's rarely seen without light makeup or a pair of heels, even in her own home.

Personality: Zhi's attitude is just as businesslike as her looks. As the manager of her advertising agency, she makes sure to treat every encounter she makes as a opportunity to prove her worth, and rarely ever lets herself stumble. She would much rather put herself under stress and high expectations than make a bad first impression.

Included in this outlook are a friendly persona, an eye for class, and a strong determination to get things done. She will almost always speak highly of her coworkers and family, and makes sure that they live up to her statements, whether they want to or not. While she's not completely clean of underhanded business practices, the people who know her usually either respect her too much to care, or are too afraid to bring it up.

She seems to have a particular soft spot for her younger brother, despite his antisocial behavior.

-------------------------------------------

Name: Shaomei Jun (Jun is his given name)

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance: Jun is an average height, slightly athletic young man of obvious Chinese heritage. His black hair is razor cut, relatively short and swept out of the way of his left ear. His face is fairly slim, with black eyes that seem to be permanently locked in a judgmental stare.

A small communications device can usually be found around the area of his left ear, while also being complimented by a few piercings he refuses to take out for work. When lazing around, he usually wears pretty typical casual wear for a college-age kid with an attitude, but more often than not, he doesn't get a chance to change when he's out of the house. Instead, one can usually find him in his janitor's uniform, looking like he really doesn't want to be wearing the thing.

Personality: Around his sister's advertising agency, Jun tends to be regarded as something of an oddball, and a bit of a nuisance. His somewhat cocky, but quiet attitude, mixed with his lack of tact and disinterest in his work usually winds up pushing people away from him.

His refusal to talk to anyone in his natural voice doesn't really help matters, either. For some reason that no one can really place, he almost always communicates through the device he keeps by his ear, using an artificial voice program.

Yet, despite his many flaws, Jun has a strong respect for his sister, and is entirely capable of getting good work done when he puts his mind to it. While a lot of people find it a bit hard to believe, Zhi insists that there's something at least vaguely pleasant under his rough exterior. Maybe someone, somewhere, will have the patience to see this one day. Maybe.

This post has been edited by Ganonfrog: Mar 6 2011, 09:44 PM

[slaix223]

Well, here's my profile. Can't wait to get this started!

PUBLIC PROFILE
Name: Nathaniel (Nate) Mirrias

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance: The only distinct feature about Nate is how tall he is, at least compared to most of his peers. Beyond that, he tends to wear indistinct clothing, has short and messy black hair, as well as blue eyes. He usually has a bag slung over his shoulder, containing tools, research papers, and his laptop, the latter of which is what he is usually seen using.

Personality: To most people, Nate generally isn't seen as a person you can easily talk to. Most people who see him would think he's one step away from becoming a nervous wreck, which probably is compounded by how often he spends on his laptop, doing nothing but researching for his degree. When Nate manages to be calm however, he is generally kind and polite to others, and always willing to help out where he is needed. Unfortunately, these moments seem to have decreased over time, making him hard to approach in general.

[Ryuga]

I know that the RP started already, but I was wandering if you are still accepting members.

[Sailerius]

Sure thing. I might not be able to work you in from the beginning, but it's not too late to jump in.

[Ryuga]

Thanks. I'll post my profile sometime tomoorow then.

EDIT: It's up.

PUBLIC PROFILE

Name: Morgan Whyte

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Appearance: Morgan stands 175 cm. His dark blond hair is short and kept tidy. His eyes, are a pale green. His features are rather soft, and otherwise, he has no other real distinguishing features. Due to his office job, his usual attire is the formal, dress shirt, tie, dress pants, package.

Personality: When working, Morgan tends to act as professionally as possible, all the while preferring to be by himself, and leave others to their business. When invited to even the minor of social events, however, he is often enthralled, acting sociable and getting friendly with others. To others is seems like he was a rather extraverted, and outgoing man when he was younger, but is growing introverted as he ages.


This post has been edited by Ryuga: Mar 9 2011, 10:02 AM

[Hirei]

I think we can all agree on this:



This post has been edited by Hirei: Mar 19 2011, 11:42 AM

[Ereth]

I love this so much.

[Hirei]

Another doodle: Pertaining to the rp

[Ereth]

I wuv you too, Rei-chan.

[TheFierceDeity]

PUBLIC PROFILE
Name: Jesse Anderson

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance: This guy reminds you of a curious squirrel. He has deep-set blue eyes that are like two chunks of lapis lazuli. His silky, wavy, jet-black hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a lionfish's spines. He is very tall and has a lean build. His skin is china-white. He has a large mouth. His wardrobe is unusual.

Personality: stands up for those he loves and cares about - likely stubborn, and is a solid supporter.

[Queue]

Name: Voroth

Age: 33 - 38

Gender: Male

Appearance: What you'll definitely catch first is the foggy, beaten up red visor that he wears across his eyes to completely cover them which connects to his slightly pointed ears. Voroth is no nancy boy however and is quite the looker standing at 6'4"� with a very athletic build. He has seen his fair share of combat and deaths and this shows clearly from his tanned, scarred skin and black ruffled up hair.

A long dark navy blue cloak covers the majority of his body with the set of UF military boots being easily seen when he walks or runs. What you won't see is the black skin tight kevlar type combat armour that covers the majority of his body except the lower portion of his black pants.

He has a few accessories here and there, a pair of advanced forearm guards that contain many explosive weapons and a pair of spiked fingerless gloves that when Voroth makes a fist, look like animal claws.

[Show/Hide] Old Pic

linkie

Old and dated, his tail would need to change.

Personality: Voroth assumes everyone an enemy and follows this to the heart unless he changes his mind about a particular individual. He is slow to trust and is generally very grumpy and assertive. Careful girls, sugar coating isn't on his agenda. (think generic anime badass)

This post has been edited by Queue: Mar 23 2011, 07:54 PM