I'm planning an RPG based on Martial Law being implemented in the United States. For the sake of maintaining synchronicity and a regular narration style, I'll be writing out the RP myself while interacting with the players via PM. I will try to maintain your personal writing as much as possible but will have to change things based on the reality of the situation, the voice I am trying to express and the limitations of the character's skills.
This is also important because characters will not oppose each other in this RP, but work together against Paramilitary (Which I plan to call The Jackals), Black Ops, Riot breakers and whatever else
First and foremost, I want to make sure people are interested. I've written out a basic introduction and character sheet for you to look at in order to understand what I'm aiming at.
I'm also welcoming ideas for the context of the RPG. Various questions come to mind such as what technology does/should the US government possess and use against the civilian population. There are a lot of possibilities to work with such as how the paramilitary operate, when the Black Ops come in, etc, and I can sort it all out myself but if you want to pitch in, it's welcome.
For the role-playing style, there are decisions to be made as far as whether or not to flee the city you start in, when, where to go, and many other possibilities. I don't want to give away too much but I'll say that I will be facilitating the creation of underground resistance forces. However, you'll be the ones designing your hiding places.
In a short while I'll post a draft of the introduction.
Let me put it this way, I'm closing the applications on joining paramilitary and military forces. Whether your characters choose to give into the fear, propaganda and division is up to you. Not everyone is going to wake up one morning and decide to be a guerilla warrior, obviously. It's also possible to join the paramilitary after the start of the game if you seek them out, but in the beginning everyone is a civilian and you choose who your allies and enemies are for yourself.
Essentially this is what I'm thinking.
For the introduction, I describe how economic collapse have caused riots through the country in order to forcibly obtain resources that only 42% of the United States population can still legitimately afford, as well as express general dissatisfaction with the government's inaction during these crises.
During these times, the United States invented another terrorist group, but instead of being Muslim founded this was simply a "secret cult" of devil worshipping terrorists that wanted to do as much harm to the United States as possible. In a video released by these members (predominantly white), they claimed to possess two nuclear bombs that have been successfully smuggled into the United States and planned to use that technology for a blood sacrifice. Obviously just like al queda and 9/11, this terrorist organization does not actually exist at all.
Using this as a pre-empt, both military and paramilitary forces have subjected people to Catch and Release, threats against their careers, and etc for supposed terrorist connections. By the beginning of the RPG, more than 40,000 people have disappeared.
So who is the paramilitary? Private enterprises owned by the banking families, trained to protect their company assets and by extension most of the resources available in the country. They go by names such as Blackwater, the Jackals and M-13.
Eventually it becomes routine, people get used to seeing paramilitary walking around harrassing anything out of their narrow view of "acceptable." Riots get suppressed, and people in riots get their names blacklisted so they can't fly out of the country as wel as many other various, unforeseen problems such as having their bank accounts frozen without cause or evidence. More proactive dissidents begin seeing men in black suits driving their children home from school just as a little nod to remind them to stay on their toes.
Then one morning it hits, well, two of them. There's a nuclear attack within the United States. The targets were Chicago and L.A., and the downtown centers of both these areas were eradicated. People are forced to watch their flesh melt off their bones before the flash turns them blind and the radiation slowly kills them.
One by one, cities begin going off the grid. Tanks roll down populated streets, major city centers and cut off so no one can enter or leave. That's when this story begins, probably set in Seattle, Washington or possibly the District of Colombia.
Okay and here's what I'e got for a character sheet
Skill points: 12
H2H
Boxing/Wrestling (1)
Martial Arts (2)
Black Belt (3)
Melee Weaponry
Stick Fighting (1)
Knives (2)
Samurai (3)
Infantry
Private (1)
Marine (2)
Green Beret (3)
Sniping
Scout (1)
Marksman (2)
Sharpshooter (3)
Stealth
Thief (1)
Navy Seal (2)
Ninja (3)
Survival
Boyscouts (1)
Rangers (2)
Comanche Eagle Warriors (3)
Technology
Mechanic (1)
Electrician (2)
Engineer (3)
Information Technology
Networking (1)
Programming (2)
Hacking (3)

I am so down for this, Omnius Deus. I'll just wait for a complete and official character sheet. However, a question about what you have so far: are the different "skills" you can purchase from each category unique and seperate, or is each one a respective "tier" in the category itself? Also, how much realism is intended for the RP? Is there the opportunity for players to bring in certain science fiction elements, such as greatly advanced technology? Or even the possibility of sci-fi-flavored government conspiracy themes? Aliens, psychics, etc etc? Hehehe....
Last edited by Techno; 10-06-2008 at 12:17 AM.
Achievements:
Sign me up.![]()
"One of the most adventurous things left us is to go to bed. For no one can lay a hand on our dreams."
Dream Journal: DreamWalker Chronicles Latest Entries: 01/13 thru 01/22 - "Tatano", "Indecent Proposal"(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
They act as tiers, I'm still working it out to make sure they're completely even but there are not respective traits yet, of course they change what your character will be able to get away with doing and what his success rate would be.
As far as sci fi, to an extent it's definitely do able. At first I was going to use tectonic technology or tesla-like death rays instead of nukes, but I figured it was too far fetched that terrorists could get their hands on such things so the government won't be using that stuff until later. I'm welcome to ideas on technology, though.
I figure if a conspiracist can dream it, we can include it. So far they've come up with psychic armies that can track you down with their minds, death rays that caused tsunamis and earth quakes already, the only thing I'm a little bit wary of is aliens because I don't know how to fit that in exactly.
As far as player technology goes, it's up to what resources you can utilize. We live in a technologically oppressive society, and for the most part players simply wont have access to technology in the beginning of the game unless they have invested skill points in technology in order to repair the grid after it gets shut off, and use it for things. While the potential of that skill group is to even the playing field (an engineer could potentially create some pretty amazing traps and ambushes), it's a skill that comes in handy later rather than sooner, like information technology.

Typically, aliens would be the masters pulling the puppets' strings in this scenario, making the government put Martial Law into effect for some devious plan that they might want to enact (need for human experiments, population reduction, genetic manipulation of captured humans, etc), but of course the final decision is up to you. Pertaining to the topics you just mentioned, is the clarification for each THING you were talking about (advanced technology, psychics, etc) going to be greater depending on how involved the characters are? Or will you be creating a plot that flows in a certain way you have already determined?
For example, if my character gets psychic powers will they slowly become more involved and aware of the psychic armies and eventually uncover a psychic conspiracy? You may not answer if it could destroy the suspense or drama in the plot. Also, tell us to what extent can the characters themselves be affected by the advanced technology/supernatural forces/etc. that are at the disposal of the government. If you want us to privately discuss with you what we can and cannot have, and individually work out what a character could start out with (aka psychic power-wise), please mention so. Sorry, I just NEED to know if my character can throw shit with his mind.![]()
Last edited by Techno; 10-06-2008 at 07:04 PM.
Like I said at the beginning I'm going to try to keep on key, so while your character may develop that later, it'll probably happen through government experimentation or something in order to make sure he doesn't start off as a badass, but becomes one later.
While I do have some ideas in my head as to how this show will unfold, it's nothing compared to the ideas I don't have.
Here's the sign up sheet
Name
Gender
Age
Description (please be as detailed as possible)
Personality (try to help me understand the character, rather than just listing adjectives)
Preliminary Assets
Choose 5:
Solar power generator
Hidden room
Fake ID
Fake Paramilitary Outfit
Alcohol
Pistol
Extra ammunition
Automobile
Home security
Shotgun
Attack dog
Smoke bombs
Electronic lockpick
E.M.P
Radar scrambler
Skills
Points to spend: 12
Some skills come with equipment
H2H
Boxing/Wrestling (1)
Martial Arts (2)
Black Belt (3)
Melee Weaponry
Stick Fighting (1) (Bat)
Knives (2) (Knife)
Samurai (3) (Sword)
Infantry (Assault rifle)
Private (1)
Marine (2)
Green Beret (3)
Sniping (Sniper rifle)
Scout (1)
Marksman (2)
Sharpshooter (3)
Stealth
Thief (1)
Navy Seal (2)
Ninja (3)
Survival
Boyscouts (1)
Rangers (2)
Comanche Eagle Warriors (3)
Technology (Crowbar, toolbox containing different items depending on level)
Mechanic (1)
Electrician (2)
Engineer (3)
Information Technology (Laptop with varying capabilities)
Networking (1)
Programming (2)
Hacking (3)
Last edited by Omnis Dei; 10-06-2008 at 08:38 PM.
Achievements:
Sounds like this could be the ground work for a decent fallout 3 mod.
Art
The ability to happily respond to any adversity is the divine.
Dream Journal Shaman Apprentice Chronicles

Name: Jake Wright
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Description: Jake stands up at 5'10", 150 lbs. of toned muscle, having short brown hair that is slowly growing back from his military buzz, deep brown eyes that convey empathy and compassion, tanned skin from the Arabian days, and a good physical frame. However, there are a few bullet scars that are on his body that he received from serving in Iraq a year ago. Jake is usually seen dressed public wearing clothing that conveys a relaxed and laid-back character, which suites his character well.
Personality: Jake is a simple individual who has been led his entire life to believing a complex lie, one he is tired of following. He is somewhat bright, but not bright enough to stand up on his own two feet and make serious decisions for himself without at least one thing going wrong on his part. He is good-natured, but can be led to a bad temper and can let his testosterone get the better of him (for better and for worse). A typical undergraduate college male, Jake is very sexual, but he is quite sweet at the same time and does little to offend others. He can be considered too kind by some.
Preliminary Assets
Hidden room
Pistol
Extra ammunition
Automobile
Home security
Skills
H2H
Boxing/Wrestling (1)
Martial Arts (2)
Melee Weaponry
Stick Fighting (1) (Bat)
Knives (2) (Knife)
Infantry (Assault rifle)
Private (1)
Sniping (Sniper rifle)
Scout (1)
Marksman (2)
Stealth
Thief (1)
Survival
Boyscouts (1)
Rangers (2)
Information Technology (Laptop with varying capabilities)
Networking (1)
Programming (2)
Name:Carlito Javier
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Description:
Green plaid flannel jacket over gray t-shirt, blue jeans ripped on the left knee and worn out construction boots clothe this Mechatronics Engineer.
This geek doesn't have masking tape holding his glasses together. Hell, no! He welded that shit back together! Hazel eyes are magnified by the thick lenses. Despite his age, his hair has whitened. Carlito's full head of hair and full beard are uniformly cut at 1 cm. What can be seen of his skin deeply tanned.
He stands at 5'9". Despite the image of utter geekiness, Carlito is surprisingly fit and well-built.
Personality:
Carlito is very much the strong, silent type. In a meeting, he'd mainly sit there, slouched in his chair, arms crossed, chin in his chest and glaring at whoever is speaking over the top of his glasses with critical eyes. He only puts in his input when asked directly or if he has something he deems worthy of saying.
Very few of the people Carlito works with will be able to strike a friendship with him. His one true friend is his dog, Spike. They are rarely seen apart. When Carlito thinks he is alone, or in the middle of the night, he might be overheard muttering his worries and woes to the dog.
When left to his own devices, he'll begin designing devices and start building them from scraps.
Carlito will not hesitate to harm or kill in an encounter. In fact he has a rather dark side to him which sort of explains why he seems so withdrawn. He'd be first to volunteer torturing information out of prisoners. But he's beyond the stage of torturing without purpose.
Oh yes, he has a phobia of rats.
Preliminary Assets:
Solar power generator.
Hidden room.
Pistol.
Attack dog.
Radar scrambler.
Skills
H2H
Black Belt (3)
Infantry (Assault rifle)
Marine (2)
Survival
Rangers (2)
Technology (Crowbar, toolbox containing different items depending on level)
Engineer (3)
Information Technology (Laptop with varying capabilities)
Programming (2)
I want to make one too now! (Probably wont be able to find much time for her but just for s&gs)
Name: Emilia Lombardi (I know, star fox)
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Description: Emilia prefers shorts or skirts with stockings rather than jeans and she despises dresses. Her top can very in color but it's usually a regular tank top or a t-shirt. Her bangs are kept swept to side of her face like a curtain over her forehead while her long brown hair descends to her bra line. She's not pale, but has less color to her skin than the average Italian American. She also prefers a minimal when it comes to make up, which is usually none. Her face really doesn't need it. Her best feature, if not her charming, shy smile, is her eyes. Pale brown, the shape isn't even for words. You can't call them sexy, or sweet, or mysterious or alluring or anything. The only word I can think of is something vague, like magnificent.
Personality: Emilia finds her self elated or upset very easily, caused by very little things. Her mood can shift radically based on the slightest change, such as getting a stain on her shirt or seeing a rainbow. She has a lot of mental vitality, but has trouble expressing it to others, often stubbornly defending her ideas that she completely opposed only weeks ago. She has a tendency to dey her past, to deny doing things and saying things. When it comes to people especially romantic partners, her mood can shift radically as well. She can get so suddenly caught in the heat of the moment she'll forget all her former attachments and give into the affair. It's not just with sex, either, it can be with business and projects and all sorts of things. She just switches from extreme passion to cold disinterest and back.
Assets:
Fake ID
Alcohol
Shotgun
Smoke bombs
Electronic Lockpick
Skills
Melee - Samurai 3
Sniping - Sharpshooter 3
Stealth - Ninja 3
Survival - Eagle Warrior 3
I'm going to Oktoberfest but I'll be back on Tuesday and the introduction is almost done. In the meantime here's a sneak peak:
It was midnight in Washington DC. The Oval Office was ignited by a single, rectangular lamp bent over a report the thickness of a brick sitting on the President's desk. His tiny, chimp like eyes peered through the darkness behind his banana like nose as he did his best to swallow all the big words and legal jargin
A few thumps his the door.
“George?”
“Come on in Laura,” he answered.
The door opened and his wife was appeared as a silhouette in contrast to the hallway lights. “Darlin'” she whimpered, “It's thursday and I already bought that dildo you wanted...”
“Quiet down dear, this is important!” he replied dismissively.
“What is it?”
“There's some weird junk in this bill they wrote up, I don't get it.”
“What?”
“Well I don't know, here it says that 'under given authority of invest parties in such locations where invests are present or within such districts where deemed nec'sery by parties involved and including pretenses under Doctorate B756, privately contracted protection units may where within protects such investments under means deemed nec'sary without agreement of state authorities.”
“Wait, what? Why were you reading?”
“I was playing around on google and saw an article by Alex Jones. He said that private soldiers can declare martial law without my authority.”
“What?!” Laura exclaimed and pulled the bill over to her side of the desk, followed by the lamp.
“It's no use, Laura, women can't read.”
“Wait but what does it all mean?” she asked, skimming through it.
“Well, you know Alex Jones is just a conspir'rcy theorist, but he says it means I have no power anymore and the big multinational companies and banking families enforce the law.”
“But, you're the government! You can just undo it!”
“I already signed it last week.”
“But you control the military!” Laura countered.
“But the treasury is in debt to the Chinese, if the military steps out of line they'll make me pay.”
“Is it really a time to thinking about this? They're executing a coup to turn our country into a test civilization for Blade Runner!”
“Stop being hysterical Laura, this is not a time to talk about music.”
Laura shook her head, “Look, did you call Dick?”
“Yeah but the vibrator made his heart stop again. Heh, I told him to turn that thing off.”
Speaking of the devil, his phone rang. He pulled it out, seeing the familiar picture on the screen of Dick Cheney's scowling face with a dab of cake on his nose; a picture from his last birthday.
“Hello?” Bush answered.
“George! How the fuck are you?”
“I'm not so good, Dickie.”
“What's wrong?”
“Well, this bill, the Economic Rescue Package, there are some weird laws in.”
Dick took a deep breath.
“Like what, George?” he asked, unflattered.
“Well, like all the... you know the paps and M-13--”
“Georgie, do me a favor, and shut up. Okay? I have dealt with your shit for 8 fucking years and I am sick of it. Yes, we sold the fucking country and it's entire population in it as slaves to serve multinational companies, what the fuck do you want me tell you? You stupid dipshit, with your stupid “texas” accent. You were born fucking Connecticut!”
There was a click followed by the dial tone.
Last edited by Omnis Dei; 10-10-2008 at 05:52 PM.

This sounds kick-ass. Count me in.
157 is a prime number. The next prime is 163 and the previous prime is 151, which with 157 form a sexy prime triplet. Taking the arithmetic mean of those primes yields 157, thus it is a balanced prime.
Women and rhythm section first - Jaco Pastorious
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