The Great Desert on the Southern Continent isn't something you would expect massive armies to shed blood over. Its trade route's offerings are meager compared to the money being thrown at its conquest. Yet the two largest nations on this world are throwing everything they have into taking it. While the sand means little to them, hiding within is the Living City. Once it was an unmatched alchemical marvel. While not the largest alchamech born from the human imagination, it was among the most advanced. It was a loyal servant to its entire population, rivaling smaller nations. It cooked their food three times a day. It farmed the food it would later cook. If there was too much sun, it would put up shade. If it hadn't rained in too long, it would pour water from the sky. It maintained beautiful parks and gardens, legendary in their spender. Every want or need was met instantly and without hassle. Yet it these soldiers are not seeking it out for peaceful purposes. Deep inside its belly was what is perhaps the greatest alchemical treasure trove in the world: the library that the city maintained. It is thought to contain lost arts from all the greatest geniuses in history. If it is still intact, then the Living City would be out-shown by the wonders within. Whoever captures and processes these books could claim near instant victory. The lost Mountain-sized Alchamechs, rifles that can place bullets directly into their targets even from across the world, Purified that can be mass-produced while retaining unmatched combat power, perhaps even the legendary philosopher's stone.
But there are three problems with this. To start with, the Living City got its name because it was always in motion. Six legs moved its mass across the planet, over the oceans, through the jungles, through the desert. It was said that this left it independent. No land could claim ownership of the city, save itself. It was lost a centuries ago, and has only recently been tracked to this desert. Second, the enemy has heard about it and is after the same thing. They will kill you for it if they get the chance. They would kill you even if it didn't benefit their search. Discovering the city would be difficult without bullets flinging your way. Third, this might be a big lie. Or a bunch of big lies. Many modern scholar's view the "Lost Arts" as exaggerated fiction, the city included. While many alchemical miracles exist into the modern day, they are often regarded as a mystery and rarely retain the full power they where said to possess. Even if the city was real, and the library was real, and its contents where as powerful as promised, there is no telling if the library is actually intact.
Still, that doesn't seem to bother the generals...or perhaps there is a different reason you are slugging it out in this litterbox?
"Where is the ground you must know here
And the well that is so clear
And what is the dragon with the tail
Or else the work shall little avail"Ripply Scrolls, 15th century alchemical text.
Alchemist, some of the worlds first scientists. It is said that in our world, they invented many useful things, from gunpowder and hermetic sealing to Calculus. In this world, they did much, much more.
After discovering Aristotle's folly of the four elements, Alchemy was truly able to shine. Once true hermetic principles and the element of the periodic table was discovered, a kind of Alchemical renaissance took root across the world. Even by the middle ages, fields where fed with the equivalent of Green Revelation technology, aided by the symbols and sigils the plants grew into, increasing the amount of food available by stunning amounts The New World was discovered by Alchemy-powered ships, leading to a global society swiftly forming with the assistance of Alchemy. Many of the wonders we have in the modern world where invented in the span of years, alchemy computers with powerful symbols as keys, cars, medicine, advanced robotics... the list goes on and on.
Of course, none of this stopped humanity from fighting. While the massive industrial power created large cities with unbelievably tall buildings, the roads between the cities hadn't been able to develop nearly as quickly. Especially to enemy cities. Rather than develop wheels or treads, the Alchemists of the world looked toward Nature for inspiration. The war machines of the world where designed off of the animals who live on its surface-including Humans themselves. Powered and protected by modern alchemy, the Alchemecs often dominate the battle field, with only other Alchemecs or highly skilled and specialized infantry standing in their way.
The march of advancement went on for years, with no sign of stagnation. The nations that exist now are much different than the ones in our world, as one could imagine. You where born well after the "Alchemical Renaissance", living in a strange world almost mirror to our own, where alchemy is the true king. The nation you live in, Hermes Trismegistus, has been at war with neighboring Ostanes for years, in a fight that may very well shape the earth.
*****
Alchamech is something of my favored vat-born designer baby. Its a setting I made years ago, tried to get it off the ground a couple of times, and failed miserably at each point. But at each point people have gotten interested, and at each point I have seem some interesting and imaginative characters get made, so I press on! In my way-too-many years in RPG gaming, I have seen many great games die. Some slowly and painfully, others quick and mercifully. I have also seen many succeed, at least until their inevitable deaths. So I'm trying this "Freeform Experiment"! One of the leading cause of death for forum games is player and GM attrition, especially in turn based games where stalling can lead to death. Active players and active GMs lead to a long game life, especially if the game can go on without certain players input (preferably without leaving the less active players behind).
So I'm here attempted one of my first guided-"freeform" forum games! For those of you unfamiliar with the play-style, basically you post what you want to do and the GM/other players respond. No waiting in line, no/very limited dice rolling, essentially a pure storytelling game. It has been a while since I played this style, and it has its own risks, making this an EXPERIMENT~! The "guided" part comes from your character sheet. While you can do anything, you arn't a god. What you can actually accomplish is based on who you are. An Officer can order his to fire, or shoot down a mook or two with his own pistol without problems. If he is up against a stronger NPC such as an imposing Mech, he could order his men to fire at it to observe the results. He couldn't immediately decide that the mech exploded into a thousand pieces, or jump up and pull the pilot out of the cockpit and instakill him, that'd be powergaming (unless the opponent was a less-opposing mookmech, in which case go-ahead
). Be cool, but don't overdo it! And go easy on me, its been forever since I tried freeform.
To make your character, you choose one of four classes:
Alchamech Pilot: The pilots of the titular "Alchemechs", as one could likely guess from the name. Normal humans who drive magical war machines. They often possess good reflexes and aim, or at least those who don't don't tend to live long. The machines are created one at a time without the aid of mass-production, helping leading to an amazing variety of size, shape, and function. They can range from a suit of armor that the pilot can scarcely fit in to massive titans that look like walking battleships. Alchemech pilots typically undergo a short training period, spending several months learning what symbols do what and how to use the machines effectively. They often bond with a single machine their entire carrier, if not lives, performing routine upgrades as technology advances. This is standard practice due to the habit of machines forming "Homunculus", AI-like intelligence, when a single pilot integrates with them.
Alchemist: A combination of chemist and magician, the lifeblood of the world. After studying for years in a college, you have learned how the world works and are able to change it with simple drawings and orders. As a military alchemist, you serve a role somewhere between combat engineer and ground-infantry, using your knowledge to help build defense, repair equipment, and destroy the enemy. Some alchemist choose one focus, such as destroying things, and generally choose to focus even more on that, such as "Destroying things with fire", often finding themselves in specialized roles. Unless an alchemist is particularly focused on transmutation, they won't be opening chasms under enemy formations. The average alchemist can make a small trench to hide behind at a moments notice, but would need at least minutes to make fortifications capable of holding a location. To make up for this offensive weakness, they are issued Caster guns. Caster guns are mass produced like normal guns, often taking the form of revolvers or large-caliber single-shot weapons. What makes them unique is their ammunition, hand made by the alchemist it is issued too. These tend to be potent alchemical concoctions, fitted to the alchemist's unique fighting style. This ranges from vials of acid capable of eating through an alchamech's armor, to a payloads of poisonous gas deadly against infantry, to explosive shells.
Officer: A normal human, who doesn't pilot a mech or throw magic around. Instead, you used your time to advance through the ranks, either through an ROTC-like program, through field experience, or by simply paying your way up the ladder. This gives you something just as powerful: Authority. Officers command a small group of loyal infantry troops from the start, and have sway over the overall military strategy, while being capable of directing the fire of Alchemecs and alchemists. It is typical for someone, on obtaining the rank of officer, be given a Alreona type Homunculus using their own DNA as a base. Alreona Homunculus are flask-born "sons" or "daughters" of the officer, bonded like a machine. They are the Officer's most loyal soldier, fanatically so. They act just as humans do, and have a diverse appearance ranging from young children to grey-haired elderly folk older in appearance than the ones they are protecting. These Alreona give the Officer a fighting chance in "one-on-one" fights and protect them from everything that wants them dead.
Purified: It is often said the goal of Alchemy was to purify the body and soul. You got the body part down. The Purified are alchemically augment super soldiers. This can take many forms. Some have special tattoos or symbols that glow when activated, filling them with strength or energy. Others where horribly injured, having to replace their own flesh with specially made flask-flesh or Alchamechanical parts. Others where simply "born" this way, like Alreona type homunculus or even a achemicanicle butler with a particularly impressive hurmonculus of its own. They are typically sent to combat alone with their weapon of choice and plenty of ammunition, and are often able to take even an Alchmech in single combat. Some particularly strong Purified can bisect an Alchemech with a single blow of a sword or axe, others simply pump high-caliber lead into the cockpit at point-blank range.
With this freeform experiment, the character sheets have been transformed into a line of questions to help build your particular character. Many of the questions are abstract to give you an idea of what fits into each category if the question doesn't seem relevant just skip it and write down what is relevant. As in past games, each class has its own sheet:
Name: What your pilot is called, alongside any nicknames and callsigns.
Inventory: What you have on your actual person? Alchemech pilots tend to travel light, it is recommended you have a backup weapon in case you are caught outside of your vehicle (such as the standard issue Mauser PDW), and specialized alchemech pilot armor.
Piloting skill: How good are you at maneuvering your alchemch? How well can you aim? Are they a novice, perhaps with natural skill on their side, or a battle-worn veteran? Do they let the machine make up for their lack of skill in a certain area, or are they held back by its poor performance?
Alchemechal Synchronization: How "In Tune" you are with your Alchemech. Much like alchemy itself, alchemech piloting is as much an art as a science. Some people fall into the cockpit and feel like a part of the machine. Others feel like they have to fight their own vehicle just to get it to work. Naturally, plenty of people fall between the two extremes.
Alchemechal Mechanics: How well do you understand the inner workings of your own machine? Can you barely make field repairs without a well-stocked hanger? Or are you good enough to adjust your machine on the fly?
OOM: Out of Mech. Most Alchemech pilots spend their combat time in their machines, but sometimes they find themselves vulnerable during an ambush, or if their vehicle is rendered inoperable. How do you fare in these situations? Generally pilots are the weakest out of their mech, capable of being defeated even by mooks. Of course their piloting skills often become applicable outside of combat, a stealth sniper isn't going to forget how to hide just because he doesn't have a ton of metal and cloaks backing him up. In short, what are you capable of without your machine, that is not directly related to your machine?
Alchemech: The machine you will pilot for the rest of your career. It is a pilot's best friend, often literally. Factory manufacturing is impossible, each Alchemech is hand built by skilled alchemists, making each completely unique. As such, all of their statistics vary from machine to machine.
Size: How big your Mech is. Bigger means it takes more to knock you down, you can carry more and bigger weapons, and how much damage you can do hitting things. Smaller means it is easier to hide and to use the environment to your advantage, easier to avoid getting hit entirely, and often (though not always) maneuver. The smallest are basically tight exoskeleton, average starter Alchemechs are generally about the size of three trucks stacked on top of each other. Try not to be silly big.
Armor: The physical and magical armor that protects the mech from damage. How much of it do you have? Light, medium, heavy? Any special qualities, weak points, or fancy descriptions?
Weaponry: Your guns and non-gun fighting implements. They generally fall into two categories, "Light" and "Heavy". Light weapons are meant to take out low-armored targets like infantry, while Heavy weapons are meant to take out enemy armor. Your light anti-infantry machine guns could chop down a mech if you give them enough time, or if the mech was small enough, but your smoothbore AM gun will do the job quicker. Likewise your AM gun might have trouble picking off the swarm of infantry that the machine guns would take care of easily. How many weapons do you have? How strong are they? Do they have special effects? How accurate are they? What do they look like?
Homunculus: The power of your mech's AI. Not all alamechs have one, and their development is a poorly understood phenomena to modern alchemy. If you do have one, how advanced is it currently? Is it basically Siri, following simple commands in a robotic way? Or has it advanced to human level intelligence acting as your second co-pilot? What is its personality like? Is it talkative, or a silent ghost that performs its function professionally? How skilled is it at manipulating the machine and following your commands?
Maneuvering: The speed and agility of your mech. How fast can you go, and how well can it control that speed? It differs from piloting skill in that this is the limits of the machine. Can you speed across the battlefield like a jet, dodging attacks as they come? Are you a slow and lumbering hulk of metal? Do you have great agility but poor speed, or vice versa?
Special: As I said before, each mech is unique. This stat is open, allowing you to make special additions as you see fit. I will have to approve them, but it adds a personal touch that helps you connect with the machine.
Backstory: The charactery part of your character. What is your story so far?
Appearance: How do you and your machine look?
Name: What you are called, alongside any nicknames and callsigns.
Inventory: What items you have on hand. Alchemist generally have a Caster gun and wear alchemist robes, though other outfits are becoming more common (especially in the desert).
General Skills:Basically the same across classes, boils down to "What are your not-class-specific talents".
Combat Skill: How good is your alchemist at shooting, stabbing, and otherwise making the enemy hurt? How skillful are they with weapons? How good is their aim? What is their preferred combat style?
Dodge: On the flip side, how good are they at diving for (or making) cover? How good are they at dodging enemy attacks? Lets not turn everything into an "I dodge XD"
Physical Characteristics: How strong, agile, fast, etc are you? Alchemist are still human, so they (probably) can't dodge bullets or throw a car over their head, but nothing is stopping them from being particularly athletic within human reason. Of course alchemist are often bookish types, nothing is stopping them from being particularly nonathletic either.
Alchemical Skills: The knowledge your character has of alchemy allows him to do certain "Spells", this outlines how skilled you are in their use and any areas you specialize in.
Alchemical Reserves:Essentially mana. How much can you do before exhausting yourself? Can you work a room's worth of material without rest? A house's worth? A fort's worth? While this effects replenishing Caster shells, it doesn't effect how many shells you can have at once.
Alchemical Duration: How long your alchemical effects last. While transmuted material remains that way permanently, other effects can erode away quickly. For example, if you set an alchemical fire, how long would it last? Seconds? Minutes? Hours?
Alchemical Weapons: Attack "spells" that allow you to do damage. These include Caster Shells and Weaponized Transmutation. Weaponized Transmutation includes effects such as turning the air in the room into poisonous gas, transforming something into lead while it is over the enemy's head, or opening pit traps under the opponent's feat. Caster Shells are just as wide-spread as far as effects go, and can easily be made to fire essentially any effect you can think of. Weapons generally fall into two further categories, "Light" and "Heavy". Light weapons are meant to take out low-armored targets like infantry, while Heavy weapons are meant to take out enemy armor. Your light anti-infantry poison shells could bring down a mech if you give them enough time, or if the mech wasn't air tight, but your armor-devouring acid shells will do the job quicker. Likewise your acid shells might have trouble picking off the swarm of infantry that the poison would take care of easily. How strong are your weapons? Do state any specialty you plan on having, such as "Alchemical weapons: Poison Gas WT (Weaponized Transmutation) Light".
Alchemical Armor: This is your ability to toss up armor to keep you and your buddies from dying. It must be actively cast, but is generally easier to cast than weaponized transmutation and may be placed in Caster Shells. How strong is your armor, and how many people can it protect? Is it personal armor, protecting only yourself from harm? Can in defend your entire squad? Does it offer reliable protection against small arms, with an armor value like a mech? Does it instead make it harder for the target to be hit, protecting them from Heavy weapons? What does it look like? Does it have any weaknesses? Keep in mind that Alchemical Duration is in effect for most armor.
Alchemical Transmutation: Your ability to rearrange matter. Generally, alchemist can use this to repair mechs and shape the battlefield. It tends to take longer to perform than anything in Alchemical Weaponry, but doesn't rely on duration for its effects. This is also what is used to make Caster shells, typically during down time rather than on the battlefield. How fast can you transmute material? Are you focused in it to the point that you could make a trench in the blink of an eye, or would it take you minutes? How good is your control? Can you easily repair intricate details, or struggle to even make straight lines? Is there any material that you are especially adept with, or alternatively have problems with?
Alchemical Medical: Your ability to heal people. This can be done either with Caster Shells or medical alchemy, both with the end effect of stopping life-threatening injury. Unless the wound is instantly fatal, a talented medical alchemist can probably save your life. How talented are you as a medic? Can you instantly heal a mortal wound, or do you struggle to heal a scrape? How long does it take you to finish treating the patient? Do you have a ready made Caster Shell, or does it take hours to finish your advanced alchemical surgery?
Backstory: The charactery part of your character. What is your story so far?
Appearance: What do you look like?
Name: What you are called, alongside any nicknames and callsigns
Inventory:What items you have on hand. Officers generally wear a uniform, with weapons and equipment appropriate to their squad type.
General Skills:Basically the same across classes, boils down to "What are your not-class-specific talents".
Combat Skill: How good is your officer at shooting, stabbing, and otherwise making the enemy hurt? How skillful are they with weapons? How good is their aim? What is their preferred combat style?
Dodge: On the flip side, how good are they at diving for (or making) cover? How good are they at dodging enemy attacks? Lets not turn everything into an "I dodge XD"
Physical Characteristics: How strong, agile, fast, etc are you? Officers are still human, so they (probably) can't dodge bullets or throw a car over their head, but nothing is stopping them from being particularly athletic within human reason. Less athletic officers aren't unheard of, especially among the less hands-on types.
Squad: Officers are in charge of a squad of men, who will follow their every (Logical) order. As an Alchemech pilot's character revolves around his machine, you revolve around your men. An officer without soldiers under him is just a high-valued target.
Size: How many men are following your orders? Are you the leader of a single squad? Two? Three? Four?
Experience: How well-trained are you men? Are they conscripts who's combat knowledge ends at "point this end away from face"? Fresh out of boot-camp? Decorated veterans with or without your presence? A rag-tag mix of all-of-the-above?
Weaponry: As an officer revolves around his men, his men revolve around their weapons. What guns do you have? Weapons generally fall into two categories, "Light" and "Heavy". Light weapons are meant to take out low-armored targets like infantry, while Heavy weapons are meant to take out enemy armor. Your light anti-infantry machine guns could chop down a mech if you give them enough time, or if the mech was small enough, but your recoiless AM rifle will do the job quicker. Likewise your recoiless rifle might have trouble picking off the swarm of infantry that the machine guns would take care of easily. How much damage can your weapons do? Is your squad all similarly equipped? Do you have specialist, or specialist squads?
Leadership: How good are you at leading your men? Are you an icon of inspiration, or do they get confused over your poor wording, or even worse ignore orders when it gets down the the wire? What is your leadership style, and how do your men respond to it? How to soldiers who arn't your men respond to it?
Alreona: Your faithful bodyguard, always by your side. A flask-born homunculus meant to protect the squishy high-valued target that is an officer. They are the main reason that armies are not immediately decapitated by super soldiers bum-rushing enemy commanders. They are based on their assigned officer's DNA, making them effectively "sons" and "daughters" of their charge. Do you have one, or was yours killed in battle or simply never assigned? How competent are they in combat? Do they have the same fighting style as the squad or the captain? Do they have any special skills or hobbies outside of combat? While their conditioning means that "fanatically loyal" is a near universal character trait, what is their personality beyond that? What is their relationship with their charge like? Are they viewed as family, or as a useful tool?
Special: No two squads are the same, some things just make your squad stand out. This could include specific soldiers who stand out from the rest, petty officers under your own, unique training or equipment, or anything else you can come up with.
Backstory: The charactery part of your character. What is your story so far?
Appearance: What do you look like? What does your Alreona look like? What does your squad look like (in general, unless it is small enough for an itemized list and you feel like proving those details.)
Name: What you are called, alongside any nicknames and callsigns
Inventory:What items you have on hand. As Purified are an incredibly varied lot, this generally includes whatever weapons and armor you are focused on.
General Skills:Basically the same across classes, boils down to "What are your not-class-specific talents".
Combat Skill: How good is your Purified at shooting, stabbing, and otherwise making the enemy hurt? How skillful are they with weapons? How good is their aim? What is their preferred combat style?
Dodge: On the flip side, how good are they at diving for (or making) cover? How good are they at dodging enemy attacks? Lets not turn everything into an "I dodge XD". As Purified have super-human abilities, those with exceptional agility can even block bullets with a sword, or dodge incoming fire (if not easily, especially at the start of the game).
Physical Characteristics: How strong, agile, fast, etc are you? You may or may not be human anymore, so your limits are much higher. Can you lift a car over your head? Can you cut through light armor with just your fist? Are you agile enough to dodge bullets? Quick enough to race mechs? Or are you still mostly human? Is there only certain parts of you with super-human abilities? Can they be toggled on and off? Try to still stay sane here, they can always be increased in the future.
Purified Abilities: What augmentations you have undergone that sets you apart from the "normal". Some powers have to be "turned on", though it is usually something that happens instantly. Just don't get hit by surprise!
Armor: Any extra defense you have, either as part of your body or some form of equipment. Are you made of metal, giving you protection from light weapons? Do you have a shield carved from a fallen alchamech? Do you have an ability that makes it harder for you to get hit?
Weapon Specialty: Purified generally focus on one or two weapons, though exceptions occur. Weapons generally fall into two categories, "Light" and "Heavy". Light weapons are meant to take out low-armored targets like infantry, while Heavy weapons are meant to take out enemy armor. Your light anti-infantry machine guns could chop down a mech if you give them enough time, or if the mech was small enough, but your massive AM Axe will do the job quicker. Likewise your silly-sized axe might have trouble picking off the swarm of infantry that the machine guns would take care of easily. Are your weapons enhanced in any notable way? How much damage can they do?
Specialties: Purified tend to have exceptional skill a focused area, truly allowing their enhanced physical abilities to shine. Is there one particular action that you focus with and excel in?
Special: Each Purified is its own little snowflake, meaning additional powers can show themselves in odd ways. Purified are perhaps the broadest group, meaning the possibilities for Specials are nearly endless. Just say what your idea is!
Backstory: The charactery part of your character. What is your story so far?
Appearance: What do you look like?
Our
discord.
Our
IC
