The RP takes place 2 years before the events of Star Ocean 3. The Pangalactic Federation's war with Aldian is winding, as both sides annex more and more planets. The Federation's forces are overextended, and they have turned to recruiting mercenaries and soldiers of fortune to help bolster their defenses on the perimeter of their territory. The Vendeeni are conspicuously silent throught the entire ordeal.
With the general loosening of Federation controls and power, more and more independant organizations come to the forefront. One such organization is the Klausian Anti-Federation movement Quark. On the fringe of the Federation territorries bordering the independant planets of Klaus, the group, portrayed as terrorists by the Federation media, sends aid to planets that refuse to join. Recently, it was rumored that the leader of Quark, Cliff Fittir, handed over leadership to a young human girl, who claimed to have been a victim of natural rights violations on the part of the Federation. The girl, Maria Traydor believes she had been genetically modified against her will as a test subject for Federation Symbological Genetics: The modification of a human being's genes in order to give them the abilities of races which code for the ability to use Symbology without Symbols. While the Federation denies all claims of wrongdoing, many secretive projects and their heads within the bloated Terran beaurocracy have secretly pushed for war on Quark. Assasination attempts have become more frequent, and Quark has become more agressive in its movements into Federation space.
At Observing Station 6 in the Elicoor system, home to a number of undeveloped planets, the flagship of Quark, Diplo, (Short for diplomatic vessel.) docks with a number of Klausian frigates in order to resupply. From that station, a number of curious individuals will meet up and become embroiled in a secret plot that may very well affect the entire universe...
"Who..WHO THE HELL AM I! *Faint*"- Fayt Leingod
Race: (List later)
Personality: (Please, for the love of God, don't just say something like "A loner that likes to kill." I like characters with personality.)
Political Organizations: (List later)
Personal Posessions: (Anything that can be carried that the character uses frequently. Note that high tech items have a disturbing tendancy to break when stranded...)
Property: (Don't make your guy too rich. This is large stuff, like ships or homes. I need to approve this area. It's also fine to link with another character and share a vessel plotwise.)
Technology level: (This is the factor deciding whether your character is medieval, etc. or a person from modern, high tech society in SO. If you'r from an underdeveloped planet, your character is going to have a low technology level. If you're from say the Federation or Klaus, you are going to have a high tech level. If you're from Greeton on Elicoor, aka. modern tech, you have a medium, but that should be rare.)
Battle skills: (Special moves. This area is optional but if you want to fight, you might want to get a little creative here.)
Symbols: (Basically magic, also known as Heraldry or Runology. Your character has a small, unobtrusive tatoo placed somewhere on their body that allows them to cast spells. Certain species are naturally endowed with symbological abilities. Remember, a fighter isn't likely going to have a crapload of symbols all over him. And if you don't want your character to look like they have tatoos all over, it's okay to cover the symbol with paint or something as long as it was etched in your skin in the first place.)
"Hey! Did you forget? Mirage is a Klausian, like me. She can take care of herself."- Cliff Fittir.
The Pangalactic Federation, the largest political body in the universe, has designated races as either humanoid or human. Human races are any species that evolved from apes like Earthlings did. Humanoids are everything else.
Earthlings: This is pretty obvious. Humans are most numerous in the Sol system, but have migrated to hundreds of worlds across the galaxy. They are quickly becoming the most populous species. There isn't anything particularly special about them. But you knew that already, right?
Alphalians: Variety of Humans that migrated to Elda III near the star Alpha Centauri. (Note: I'm guessing on this because of the "alpha" in their name. It seems to make sense.) They are biological identical to Earthlings, but have a taste for culture. Think of them as intergalactic poets and writers.
Expellian: Expel was an underdeveloped discovered by the Federation hundreds of years before SO3. The indigenous species of Human has an unstable gene pool in which a feline ancestor, the Fellpool, is mixed. Occasionally a child born of two recessive genes has Fellpool characteristics. Other than a higher than average affinity for Symbology, Expellians are very similar to Earthlings. However, they do seem to have another strange subspecies with a totally different physiology than that of a human, one with pointed ears. (The Federation doesn't know this, but it is an entirely different species, the Nedian, which lived on another planet before it was destroyed in Star Ocean 2.) These particular Expellians are able to heal using Symbology in their DNA. This has made Expel one of the leading medical Symbology research planets in the Federation.
Elicoorian: Elicoorians hail from the planet of Elicoor II, the one Fayt and Cliff crash on in Star Ocean 3. Obviously from their appearance, they are basically human, but posess a unique ability to see Symbological energy in a visual form everywhere. Certain Elicoorians have the ability to see more than others, as it is a very rare trait and vestigal.
Tetragenots: They resemble humans, but stand out immediately because of their prominent third eye in the middle of their forehead. The species has a different physiology and evolutionary process so they are not referred to as a human species. They live on satillites orbiting the remains of their planet, which was destroyed by solar flares a few centuries before. Tetragenots have a highly structured social caste system, emphisizing nobility and have a parliament of the richest families that comprise their political representation in the Federation. They exhibit a great deal of influence, and while the species was once reclusive, more and more of them have immigrated to other worlds. As might be expected, Tetragenots make superior marksmen due to their third eye, increasing their perception.
Klausian: The evolution of this species from the Klaus system occured differently than that of Earthlings, and thus they have a vastly different biology. Although look like Earthlings, aside from the tell-tail lines encircling their neck like a strange tatoo, Klausians can have up to three times the muscle power (possibly even more) of even the strongest Earthling, and posses incredible reflexes. This can be attributed to the slightly increased gravity of their homeworld's harsh environment. They are generally taller than Earthlings.
Klausians are generally feared throughout the Pangalactic Federation as thugs and terrorists, banned from intergalactic fighting circuits and shooed out of common trade routes. As evidenced by their political decision to stay out of the Federation, the Klausians are isolationists who would rather keep to themselves. Supposedly, there are no overweight or ugly Klausians. This is a paradox that will likely remain unsolved.
Vendeeni: The Vendeeni are a secretive race that is unofficially at war with the Pangalactic Federation. Wheras humans evolved from apes, the Vendeeni evolved from cartiligenous fishes, much like sharks. They have a humanoid body structure but lack facial features besides nostrils and a pair of eyes split far apart on the sides of their heads. They are hairless and have a pale, fishlike complexion, of course. Their strange, downward slanting jaw makes it look like they are always frowning. (And probably encumbers them when they try to eat.) The technology of the Vendeeni is actually superior to that of the Pangalactic Federation, but since they keep to themselves, this fact is not known to a great number of people.
Velbaysian: This is the species of Peppitta and Gonella from SO3. They are nomads that don't have a home world. Despite their resemblence to humans, although they tend to be darker and smaller, they have a highly sensitive nervous system that makes them capable of incredible acrobatic feats. They also possess great strength, nothing compared to a Klausian, but still greater than that of a Human. However, they have poor stamina, because their muscles can't eliminate lactic acid, so they have to have cool down periods. Velbaysians are frequently circus performers.
Menodix: Small humanoids from the Sanmite Republic on Elicoor II. They evolved from racoons and still retain their tails and their whiskers. They tend to be very quick and agile, and skilled at taming beasts, but have an annoying tendancy to talk too much. Like Roger S. Huxley.
Rezerbians: A humanoid species with a fondness for authoritarian government, a severe weakness to ultraviolet light, and the family tree of a leach. They feed primarily by sucking the internal fluids and organs out of other creatures. This instinctual drive to feed has them feared as murderers and criminals among other species. They have a remarkable regenerative ability and wear suits and protective gear often to avoid being burnt by the sun. Distinguishable by their strange multi-faceted eye surfaces, which peer out from between their eyelids, but look like those of a fly.
Fellpool, Foxtail, Featherfolk, Felinefolk/Roakians, Lycanthropes: Of all these, the Roakian is most common. They have some cat like features but are mainly humanoid in appearance. Their entrance to the Pangalactic Federation was prompted by the war with Lezonia, because their blood can be used as a powerful light filtration substance. Controversy over the use of this particular species in the past has since quieted down. (This is from Star Ocean 1) The Fellpool are Expellians with the Felinefolk gene in them. Other than that, very little is unusual about them. Feather folk are an avian species that resembles humans but have large wings. They are very frail and weak because of their light bone structure, but can fly for reasonable distances. Foxtails are demi-humans that have a pair of tails like that of a fox, but are able to shapeshift into the form of other aniamls. They cannot hide their tails however. (Obvious japanese mythology reference.) It's pretty obvious that a Lycanthrope is a werewolf. This is an unstable mutation that occurs in multiple species, and so these are a rare breed of humanoid.
Dolphin: They are a humanoid species that resemble, obviously, dolphins. On their homeworld they can swim whenever they want, but outside they need to constantly hydrate themselves or risk drying out. They are short, fat and *really* look like dolphins with little arm-like fins and a pair of legs with webbed feet. Most Dolphins like nothing more than to swim all the time, but some have actually ventured outside of their world.
Rondo Liukians: I doubt any of you want to play as the big fat strongmen when you can just play as a Klausian. Why be strong and ugly when you can be strong and innately good looking due to your race?
Edificians: We're not visiting Edifice. Sorry mermaid fans. T_T
Aldians: The species from Aldia has never before allowed a single one of their ships, during their perpetual war against the Federation, to be captured intact. They are a textbook hostile alien species, that has not made any effort to make peace with the Federation or strive for contact. For this reason, no living being has ever seen an Aldian. They might as well not exist.
Lesonians: There is not enough information on this hostile species.
Vanguardians: There is no way to bring a character from Vanguard into the story, besides, they're very weak.
"Come to think of it, I guess I don't like the Pangalactic Federation very much at all." - Random unnamed soldier on the Diplo.
There are three major powers in the Milky Way galaxy, which you will be RPing in. The largest is that of the Pangalactic Federation, second, the Aldian Empire, third, the Vendeen.
Pangalactic Federation: Think of it as a more agressive UN. The Federation used to be called the Terran Alliance, but was changed when more planets than the ones in the Sol system were brought into the fold. The Pangalactic Federation is a democratic, representative government-based organization that makes first contact with alien species and allows them to join on a basis of choice. While this would seem like a good thing, the Federation is highly biased towards Earthlings and Humans, naturally. It is also replete with secret military projects and financial fraud involved with its constant war with the Aldian Empire. Many alien species have chosen not to join the Federation for fear of being dominated through beaurocracy by Humans, some of the most notible being Rezerb, Lesonia, and Klaus. The Federation's massive galactic navy is state of the art, loaded with technology based on the principals of "Creation Energy" (Discovered on the planet Millocenia in Star Ocean 2.) This is a mysterious force that relies on a Quadratic Sphere and Key assembly that somehow produces more energy than it takes in. It allows the ship to use powerful Creation Cannons and Creation Engines, just to give you an idea of how advanced Federation technology is. It is very rare that any ship outside of the Federation navy possesses Creation Cannons, but Creation Energy is becoming more common as a source of power in most spacefaring vessels.
Besides policing its various states with its navy and legislating on universal natural rights laws, etc. much like today's UN, the Federation is a keeper of intergalactic measurements within its territorries, newly discovered technologies and planets, and is responsible for protecting underdeveloped planets.
Aldian Empire: The Aldian equivalent of the Federation, the territory the Empire posesses is unknown, but it is believed to be almost the same size. Unlike the Federation, the Aldians capture planets by force and dominate the local ruling bodies to suit their needs. This philosophy means that the Federation and Aldian Empire cannot coexist. They have been fighting a war almost constantly for years now. The Aldian Empire is extremely mysterious because their ships self-destruct without fail when captured. No live specimen of an Aldian has ever been seen or accquired, and they never take prisoners of war. The Aldians once posessed almost 70% of Federation Stations in the Milky Way, but were eventurally driven out by the heroic efforts of their navy.
The Vendeeni: As posessors of their own Empire, the shark-like Vendeeni have their own military force, although it's weaker than the other two powers. Their technology is highly advanced, some even say the the Vendeeni have disruptor weapons that can warp reality. However, few people have ever even seen a Vendeeni, and far less have had a sample of their technology. Although the Vendeeni are neutral, their actions towards the Pangalactic Federation have been hostile towards namely one science: Symbiological Genetics, the engraving of Symbols onto the very genes of a human being in the same way that some Expellians seem to have Symbols in their genes. The Vendeeni are masters of space-time theory and thus they obviously know something the Federation doesn't.
Klausians: The Klausians have an independant representative body that legislates over Klaus's two inhabitable planets. They have adamantly refused to join the Pangalactic Federation due to their dedication to self-determinism for Klausians. Their technology is about equal with the Federation, but they have less Creation Cannons on their ships and a smaller military, obviously. This independance has led to a number of anti-Federation terrorist groups evolving, and it is well known that the Federation suspects the Klausians of encouraging this resistance.
Quark: The largest Klausian anti-Federation group. Quark never engages in open hostilities with Federation forces, but sends aid and negotiates through Federation law with planets that resist Federation rule. Supposedly Quark's leader is a young Human woman, but few have ever actually seen her. As a Klausian organization, Quark would be formidible if it had equal military forces with the Federation, as the Klausians are never ones to back down from a fight. But because they are weaker, they are forced to maintain a semi-legal humanitarian aid program.
Other than this, there are smaller political organizations. You can have loyalty to a home planet, etc. or be from their government service, within reason.
Elicoor has four territories. Aireglyph, the largest, military power, Aquaria, the enemy of Aireglyph, a holy, peaceful, religious state, Greeton, the technological nation with a great degree of racial diversity that doesn't associate with any of the others, and the Sanmite Republic, which is comprised mainly of Menodix and demi-humans. The Elicoorians are based mainly in the two large kingdoms that are at war. Technology is essentially the 1600s on earth.
More coming. Sorry if I put you into a coma. You can read all of this in the game's encyclopedia by the way.
Last edited by Cascade
on Sat Apr 16, 2005 5:06 pm, edited 4 times in total.