Alteira: The Bounty Hunters (Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anime)

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The Philosoraptor

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Welcome to Alteira.
phuoc-quan-04.jpg
World of opportunity... And bloodshed. A bastard hybrid of swords and mechanical sorcery, Alteira has suffered through a dozen world wars in just as many years. And plenty more seem on the horizon. The techno-centric and ethically hollow Protera war with the honor-bound and socially backwards Arcturii, as a new breed of genetically honed demons form their own hordes in the northern territories. But that's not what this story is about.

Instead, we go beyond social boundaries. Beyond war. To the seediest corners of the world, to farthest extremes. And here we come across the most ragtag of congregations: The rogue lawmen of Alteira, hunting war criminals and outlaws for a living. Among them, creed and race and gender is irrelevant... For the most part. As long as you can swing a sword or shoot a cannon, you're welcome among their ranks.

And this year, the bounty hunters are having a field day. The infamous Cardin Marcinos, the Butcher of Ymora, has fled into the Far Territories. The price on his head? 5,000,000,000 Ilyans, a joint bounty put up by the leadership of both the Protera and the Arcturii for his crimes. And it's attracted the attention of almost every hunter in the world. Including you.
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Some additional information:
  • The Arcturii are basically medieval, culturally, fighting with swords and bows. However, to accompany their increased physique and senses, they wield far deadlier, and far larger, weaponry whan normal humans can wield, as well as a form of magic created from Rift Crystals. Their society, as mentioned, is far closer to medieval Earth than the modern day. Women are largely still stuck in a supportive role, with few exceptions. They are lead by an oligarchy known as the Circle, comprised of the Seven Lords, powerful warriors who rule over the seven subdivisions of the Arcturii Empire, the Imperia Arcturus.
  • The Protera are far more advanced technologically than the Arcturii, but are physically closer to normal humans than the Arcturii. They typically use energy-based projectile weapons, typically of excessive size. Ruled by the Technocrat, a mysterious overlord, the Protera Dominion is divided into various genetically-engineered castes, with each caste pertaining to a certain role.
  • Bounty Hunters are rejected by both factions, discarded from militant forces for varying reasons or entering into the business for their own gain. The Empire and Dominion tolerate their existence as a necessary role in society, taking care of loose ends left by both without wasting government resources.
  • Technology varies based on location. Within the Dominion, hovercraft and energy-based weaponry is common. The Empire, however, is far more primitive. The most advanced technology is synonymous with 1890s North America. Most Arcturii fight with large melee weapons, some altered with their limited technology.
  • The Hollowed, the collective name for the cryptic creatures dominating the Far Territories, are demonic and ever-evolving monsters. They are infinite in number, and can never be killed the same way twice. There is no uniformity, but all of the Hollowed are united by a theoretical hive mind. Enemy to the Protera and Arcturii, only one man has been known to walk among them safely. And his life is already forfeit...
Any interest would be greatly appreciated!
 
I'm Interested !
 
Interested.
 
Dawww stop it you. I've been role playing for 7 years now.
 
Possible interest here.
 
This has also caught my attention
 
Potentially interested.

As for questions; what kind of magic can you wield with rift crystals? Do the protera have things like power armours? Lightsabres? Non-energy-based weapons? How easy is it to come by ammunition and resources for Protera anyway? What kind of equalisers do Arcturii have to not be left in the dust by hovercrafts (cause mobility is pretty important if you want to claim the bounty)? What is out main villain wanted for in the first place? How are relations between the two factions? Given the merc company's inclusive ideology, how do Arcturii respond to that? I'm assuming it's dominated by Protera?

Have at it.

EDIT: What changes are made by genetically engineering a Protena? Are these biological like, idk, denser muscle growth, or are we going full cyborg? Also if they in general have loose morals, why are there those rejected from society anyway?
 
Potentially interested.

As for questions; what kind of magic can you wield with rift crystals? Do the protera have things like power armours? Lightsabres? Non-energy-based weapons? How easy is it to come by ammunition and resources for Protera anyway? What kind of equalisers do Arcturii have to not be left in the dust by hovercrafts (cause mobility is pretty important if you want to claim the bounty)? What is out main villain wanted for in the first place? How are relations between the two factions? Given the merc company's inclusive ideology, how do Arcturii respond to that? I'm assuming it's dominated by Protera?

Have at it.

EDIT: What changes are made by genetically engineering a Protena? Are these biological like, idk, denser muscle growth, or are we going full cyborg? Also if they in general have loose morals, why are there those rejected from society anyway?
YES. Someone asking questions. I think the others might be dead...

  1. Magic is relative, really. The rift crystals themselves only provide the power. You have to create a focus for them to create anything. The Arcturii use words from their own culture tattooed upon their bodies as focuses, which cause something in accordance with the word ("Fire" makes a boom). A lot of it, however, has to do with the individual's actual mental focus. If you can concentrate and, for lack of a better word, believe that you can do something with it, a rift crystal can do almost anything. Because of this supernatural element, fewer Protera, who are relatively faithless, can use the rift crystals as easily as the zealous Arcturii.
  2. Protera do have power armor, and smaller devices that could be considered close to lightsabers (though they'd be closer to the plasma cutter from Dead Space in my book). More commonly, CQC weapons are non-energy based, but because power armor is a tad unwieldy, they're generally incorporated into it (arm-blades and the such), and aren't as effective as the weapons wielded by the Acrturii.
  3. Ammunition is almost a household item inside Protera territory. Outside, however, you'd better be packing some heavy gear if you want to have a steady supply.
  4. As mentioned earlier, the Arcturii are a physically superior species. The few mounts they do have are about as fast as a Lamborghini, leftover genetic experiments that found a home as domestic steeds in the Empire. The Arcturii themselves, however, prefer walking or running, being able to travel almost as fast as a human on horseback would. While they aren't necessarily as fast as the hovercraft of the Protera, the Arcturii still have their advantages.
  5. Cardin Marcinos is an ex-Imperial citizen, wanted for terrorism, various assassinations across Alteira, smuggling, extortion, and a wide variety of other crimes. However, most notably, he's wanted for war crimes he committed as a consultant hired by the Protera in the last war between them and the Arcturii. While the war itself was not nearly as bad as the previous wars, Marcinos committed the single most violent act in Alteiran history by detonating a neutron bomb over a battlefield, killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides in one fell swoop, and made off with some smaller Protera-manufactured WMDs, which he used to commit further acts of terrorism against the Imperium over the next few years. The Arcturii want him because he betrayed the Empire, and the Protera want him for embarrassing them with his theft.
  6. Between the Arcturii and Protera? Deeply hostile at all times. Even the stateless bounty hunters aren't safe in territory that they weren't born in. The Arcturii are regarded as failed experiments that should have been eliminated long ago, whose very existence is an affront to Proteran pride (for the most part, this is correct). The Arcturii, on the other hand, despise the Protera for their technological reliance and heresy for claiming the Arcturii are mere rogue experiments. Wars happen every other decade, and can last for almost half a century, at worst.
  7. Actually, no. Cardin Marcinos himself is an Arcturus, but there are plenty of others. Some go rogue because they survive their comrades in battle, and are shunned for failing to die honorably. Others are cast out for being too violent, displaying the Arcturii's increased risk of genetic instability. Some others just aren't born to live with the dogma of the Imperium. Because of this, there are just as many Arcturii in the business as the Protera. However, reasons for leaving their society are far more unbalanced. Protera leave because of a lack of faith more than the Arcturii, who are more often rejected.
  8. Historically, the result of genetically manipulating a Protera created the Arcturii. Hence why, in a society almost lacking in rules, Proteran scientists are forbidden from manipulating their own genes. The most they can do is, as you said, cybernetic implants.
  9. As to why they leave society, most Proteran bounty hunters leave for personal reasons. Some are unhappy with the no-personal-experimentation rule and other few rules of Proteran society, others are straight sociopaths who cannot stand the peacetimes.
 
Hm, how does the mercenary company maintain unity? I'm reading a lot of conflict in the world on many levels discouraging teamwork (discrimination, racism, sociopathy, etc.) and I'm not sure how you see the interaction-dynamic work. Why would persons within it band together and what are dominant motivations not to kill each other or form some kind of camaraderie?
 
I have some interest in this, curious about the bounty hunters as well, though I have some idea how that works.
 
Hm, how does the mercenary company maintain unity? I'm reading a lot of conflict in the world on many levels discouraging teamwork (discrimination, racism, sociopathy, etc.) and I'm not sure how you see the interaction-dynamic work. Why would persons within it band together and what are dominant motivations not to kill each other or form some kind of camaraderie?

Bounty hunters, as part of the job, aren't nice people. Despite being rejected or having left society, they will still carry personal biases. However, the fact that they became bounty hunters (a generally lawful-neutral or lawful-evil role) indicates that they have something in common: A desire for money. While it's not unheard of for cooperating bounty hunters to suddenly turn violent to one another when the mark has been taken, for the most part, a need for self-preservation combined with greed generally holds groups of bounty hunters together. Think Star Wars. Many of the bounty hunters possess mental instabilities, biases, etc. However, they band together frequently for various reasons.

As for interaction, it would differ from person to person. A deeply racist Arcturus would have a hostile dynamic with a deeply racist Protera. However, if one of the former were to be partnered with a friendlier individual, they may affect the former's perspective, and even grow on them (like a benign tumor). This is largely up to the players, as long as they try to follow the lore.
 
I don't think lawful is the alignment you're looking for, but as I understand it, bounty hunters need the support of a greater network (either in terms of firepower, specialists or information) in order to be successful. That about right?

Not a criticism, but personally I don't feel great about RP's where everyone holds each other at gunpoint. Of course, this is up to what kind of characters are created, so I think I'll hold back a bit until I see others their sheets. I hope you understand.
 
The only question I have is who, if anyone has inbetween tech, such as Mid 20th early 21st Century.

On the one end we have Moon lasers, on the other we have the Maxim Machinegun. Surely someone has automatic (or semi) rifles of the 1950's Erea. Or one side is too stupid, the other too snobish.

And so the bounty hunters are basically like the Mandalorians. I can work with that. Might could rework them in the same fasion as the German states, moste noteablly Hesse of the 1700's ,or as I brought up the Mandalorians, like a coalition of misfits that do your work for a price.
 
Possiiiiiible interest. I like it but my slow brain is trying to absorb it, so I don't really have questions right now. !!!
 
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