Post by Pandorym on May 5, 2008 20:02:44 GMT -5
The world of Half-Life 2 is a dark one, one in which Humanity is no longer in command of their own planet. Twisted creatures from worlds far beyond Earth stalk the landscape, shattering the delicate balance of the planet's ecosystem even faster than all the factories and refineries ever created. Cities become the last places of refuge, but within them lies a darker, more evil power. The Combine, a multi-dimensional empire attracted to Earth by the portal experiment gone awry that allowed so many other beings to pour through the rift in space and time, defeated all of humanity's armed forces and siezed every major city on the globe in what became known as the Seven Hours War, for that was how long it took them.
The Combine was poised to eradicate every human, strip-mine the world, and leave. This would have happened unless Dr. Wallace Breen, administrator of the Black Mesa facility which accidentally opened the portal, had interceeded on Humanity's behalf. He was able to convince the Combine that humans could be made a part of the empire if they underwent physical modification. The Combine placed Breen as their ambassador, then began to tighten the stranglehold on the remaining humans. Some they simply siezed from their homes, transforming them into the labor slaves known as Stalkers. Others, lured by the promises of increased rations and an escape from their miserable lives, joined willingly, forming the much-hated Civil Protection Department.
Most humans have only ever encountered a few of the synthetic creature-vehicles used by the Combine and never seen a Stalker, but the CPs and humanoid Combine Soldiers are reviled. These traitors are physically enhanced and empowered to deal out "justice" as they see fit. They commonly give brutal beatings with their stunsticks for no reason other than to spread fear, repeatedly searching the houses of innocent civilians and threatening them with guns. Equally frightening, however, is the prospect of living outside the city walls, where headcrabs control zombie puppets and antlions tear apart all those they encounter. Resistance to the Combine is common, but life expectancy among rebels is low. Even with salvaged combine technology and the assistance of the alien Vortigaunts, also enemies of the Combine, it has been an uphill fight to oust the invaders.
Nowhere is this more true than City 44, a half-destroyed labyrinth of streets on the eastern coast of what was once the United States of America. No one exactly remembers what's so important about the place, but the Combine seems to feel that even after almost twenty years of domination the city's freedom would be a major threat despite the fact that Breen's offices lie far, far away. A loose network of rebels drawn from all over the east coast and midwest fights to bring down their hated oppressors, hoping to serve as a shining light of hope to those still under Combine domination. You are one of these rebels, but your quest has not gone well. You lie locked in the darkness of a Combine APC, a fate worse than death ahead of you unless you can escape...
This RP is going to work a little differently than most of the ones on this site in that the players, rather than controlling the course of the action, live in the moment. If I have any takers for this it'll be my job to keep the plotline going, giving everyone ample time to truly explore the setting. While it's perfectly fine to say, "I fire my SMG at the CP, drawing a line of crimson up his chest" you may not say "Another patrol comes around the corner", because that's my job. If things don't work well this way I'll change them, but I think they will. I should post at least once a day for now, because my laptop is broken and won't be fixed for another two days or so. After that I should have plenty of posts for you to react to. The character template is below, along with a brief guide to what your characters know about the Combine-occupied world.
Note: I'm not allowing Vortigaunt characters unless the person who wants to play one truly knows how to roleplay one. PM me with an example if you want to try, and add a "Race" entry if you are accepted.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance: (At least a paragraph, please)
History: (Descriptive as possible, please. Use Wikipedia to help with past events).
Helpful Links:
Note: Keep in mind that many of the creatures depicted on the relevant pages have never been seen by your character, though they may have heard of them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humanoid_and_synthetic_Combine_in_Half-Life_2
A good list of Combine military forces. The humanoid section most characters will have encountered before (except for Elites), but only the very lucky have survived encounters with synths.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Combine_combat_technology_in_Half-Life_2
Characters will witness many of these items on a daily basis, as CPs are particularly fond of using rollermines and manhacks to dispatch rebels.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Combine_non-combat_technology_in_Half-Life_2
There is no question that characters will be aware of everything on this list, as City 44 has its own Citadel, albiet smaller than the one in City 17.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headcrab
Everyone has heard of the horrifying headcrabs and the parasitic puppets they make out of humans, though not everyone has actually seen one.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortigaunt
Vortigaunts, humanity's sole alien allies, have been heard of by most but met by only a few. They are common members of the resistance, but in city 44 most of them have been rounded up for some unknown and undoubtedly sinister purpose.
Also known to the player characters are Antlions, insectoid creatures the size of large dogs (Or taller than tour buses, in the case of Antlion Guards). These creatures have infested the countryside, and are only repelled from cities by the Combine "Thumper" technology. They are a serious threat to anyone venturing outside the city walls, for they burrow through the ground and attack without warning.
A host of other dangerous creatures that you will probably meet populate the world, but you are as yet ignorant of their existance...
I'll make the intro post once I have a couple biographies made. Provided any are, that is.
The Combine was poised to eradicate every human, strip-mine the world, and leave. This would have happened unless Dr. Wallace Breen, administrator of the Black Mesa facility which accidentally opened the portal, had interceeded on Humanity's behalf. He was able to convince the Combine that humans could be made a part of the empire if they underwent physical modification. The Combine placed Breen as their ambassador, then began to tighten the stranglehold on the remaining humans. Some they simply siezed from their homes, transforming them into the labor slaves known as Stalkers. Others, lured by the promises of increased rations and an escape from their miserable lives, joined willingly, forming the much-hated Civil Protection Department.
Most humans have only ever encountered a few of the synthetic creature-vehicles used by the Combine and never seen a Stalker, but the CPs and humanoid Combine Soldiers are reviled. These traitors are physically enhanced and empowered to deal out "justice" as they see fit. They commonly give brutal beatings with their stunsticks for no reason other than to spread fear, repeatedly searching the houses of innocent civilians and threatening them with guns. Equally frightening, however, is the prospect of living outside the city walls, where headcrabs control zombie puppets and antlions tear apart all those they encounter. Resistance to the Combine is common, but life expectancy among rebels is low. Even with salvaged combine technology and the assistance of the alien Vortigaunts, also enemies of the Combine, it has been an uphill fight to oust the invaders.
Nowhere is this more true than City 44, a half-destroyed labyrinth of streets on the eastern coast of what was once the United States of America. No one exactly remembers what's so important about the place, but the Combine seems to feel that even after almost twenty years of domination the city's freedom would be a major threat despite the fact that Breen's offices lie far, far away. A loose network of rebels drawn from all over the east coast and midwest fights to bring down their hated oppressors, hoping to serve as a shining light of hope to those still under Combine domination. You are one of these rebels, but your quest has not gone well. You lie locked in the darkness of a Combine APC, a fate worse than death ahead of you unless you can escape...
This RP is going to work a little differently than most of the ones on this site in that the players, rather than controlling the course of the action, live in the moment. If I have any takers for this it'll be my job to keep the plotline going, giving everyone ample time to truly explore the setting. While it's perfectly fine to say, "I fire my SMG at the CP, drawing a line of crimson up his chest" you may not say "Another patrol comes around the corner", because that's my job. If things don't work well this way I'll change them, but I think they will. I should post at least once a day for now, because my laptop is broken and won't be fixed for another two days or so. After that I should have plenty of posts for you to react to. The character template is below, along with a brief guide to what your characters know about the Combine-occupied world.
Note: I'm not allowing Vortigaunt characters unless the person who wants to play one truly knows how to roleplay one. PM me with an example if you want to try, and add a "Race" entry if you are accepted.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance: (At least a paragraph, please)
History: (Descriptive as possible, please. Use Wikipedia to help with past events).
Helpful Links:
Note: Keep in mind that many of the creatures depicted on the relevant pages have never been seen by your character, though they may have heard of them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humanoid_and_synthetic_Combine_in_Half-Life_2
A good list of Combine military forces. The humanoid section most characters will have encountered before (except for Elites), but only the very lucky have survived encounters with synths.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Combine_combat_technology_in_Half-Life_2
Characters will witness many of these items on a daily basis, as CPs are particularly fond of using rollermines and manhacks to dispatch rebels.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Combine_non-combat_technology_in_Half-Life_2
There is no question that characters will be aware of everything on this list, as City 44 has its own Citadel, albiet smaller than the one in City 17.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headcrab
Everyone has heard of the horrifying headcrabs and the parasitic puppets they make out of humans, though not everyone has actually seen one.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortigaunt
Vortigaunts, humanity's sole alien allies, have been heard of by most but met by only a few. They are common members of the resistance, but in city 44 most of them have been rounded up for some unknown and undoubtedly sinister purpose.
Also known to the player characters are Antlions, insectoid creatures the size of large dogs (Or taller than tour buses, in the case of Antlion Guards). These creatures have infested the countryside, and are only repelled from cities by the Combine "Thumper" technology. They are a serious threat to anyone venturing outside the city walls, for they burrow through the ground and attack without warning.
A host of other dangerous creatures that you will probably meet populate the world, but you are as yet ignorant of their existance...
I'll make the intro post once I have a couple biographies made. Provided any are, that is.