Character Creation Guide 2: Create Harder

Character Creation Guide:

More information on the setting at The Imaginos-Concern Knowledgebase Wiki

The setting of TOR has several different factions, all with their separate histories and general attitudes towards the conflicts of Dimension 010. If you are interested in the creation of a Pather or Deathblessed member, please speak with me (Friend/Ershin) and I will give you a more detailed explanation. Below is a short write-up on each of the major factions.

The Commonwealth of Great Gaia: The oldest of the factions and most populous, the Commonwealth has been around for over one thousand years and has been the one of the biggest influencers of culture, media and general attitude in the System next to the former Marcien Sovereignty. Throughout the last millennium of conflict, the members of the Commonwealth have taken their existence in stride and continue to persevere.

General Attitude: Commonwealth members are proud of their cultural heritage. Be it from terraforming to agricultural pursuits, the mélange of cultures, traditions and peoples make for little intolerance within the Commonwealth’s population. Trusting and sympathetic towards most major plights, members of the Commonwealth want what’s best for everybody above all else. The Commonwealth’s races are varied and most major cultures continue to practice their way of life however they can.

Appearance: Members of the Commonwealth look much like the original Earthlings did in the last millennium. Those from Armstrong City and Luna are usually a little paler than their Earthen brethren.

Abilities: The Commonwealth holds the largest population of metahumans in the entire System. Since they are so varied, there's no one particular trait the Commonwealth metahumans possess.

Possible Archetypes: Geo-Def Soldier, Doctor, Agricultural Specialist, Imaginos Space Force or Peacekeeper Member, Space Transportation (Space trucker), Hyperspace Gate Technician

Locales of Interest:

Shangri-La Metro Complex, North America – The largest city of the Commonwealth, the Metro Complex is a sprawling, wondrous city spread across the northern section of the western seaboard of the former United States of America. The Metro Complex is a megalopolis that serves as a testament to the COGG’s patience and perseverance.

Armstrong City, Luna– The capital of the Commonwealth, Armstrong has survived two invasions and several wars yet still remain the heart of the people. Located in several bio-domes situated upon the Sea of Tranquility, Armstrong City’s rich history makes it one of the ideal living spots in the System.

The Co-Op, North America – The Sunbelt Co-Operation or just Co-Op as it’s known to most, is the largest agricultural society in the System. Spread over several hundreds of miles, the Co-Op ‘s residents live on the surface of tensegritic, thin-shell environmental domes that sit upon the farmland. These structures allow the burgeoning population of the Co-Op to live without worry of damaging the fragile ecosystem of the farms situated in the domes below them.

Strengths: Usually agreeable, earnest and hard-working, a member of the Commonwealth exudes a certain folksy-cum-whimsical charm.

Weaknesses: Their weakness is that they’re notoriously passive towards things, given their come-what-may attitude towards life outside of their microcosm. Even after wars and invasion, this attitude has been their biggest flaw.

Jovian Satellite Alliance: The members of the JSA are a fractured lot. Brought together originally by common interests and now only by war, the JSA’s population always seem to be untrusting and worried about the state of affairs in the System. After the destruction of Callisto in 3024, the JSA’s major settlements have been relegated to just two moons: Europa and Io. Militaristic and suspicious of all people, including their own, the JSA’s gun shy attitude towards the rest of the System always places their actions under the spotlights of the media.

General Attitude:

Native Europa: Truly militaristic, the Europans value strength and solidarity above all. Standoffish, stubborn and even prudish at times, the original Europan stereotype of the proud, vainglorious soldier exists even after the political coup d’etat thrown by the Cielo Azul Party of the former Free Nation of Callisto. Europans are of Middle-European heritage, but some seeping of Callistan culture has entered into their own.

Callistan: For Callistans, power is not only earned, it’s their birthright. Noblesse Oblige for the Callistans isn’t a suggestion, it’s the way things are and the way things should always be. Even after the destruction of their lands, the Callistan attitude never faltered, leading them to overthrow their neighboring society of Europa after emigrated there 70 years prior. Callistans are Spanish-Castille based and their names are usually indicative of this heritage.

Ioan: Another small hodgepodge of people, the Ioans are nigh-xenophobic, given their history of being descended from criminals of all creeds and calibers. To this day, Io is a den for all things illegal and as such, its people are usually somehow related to the seedier side of the System. There is no set naming convention for the Ioans.

Appearance: Due to substandard equipment over their development, the Jovians have grown to be considerably paler than their Inner System colleagues. The appear differs between the major factions slightly; Native Europans are considerably stockier and fairer than the Callistan. The Callistans themselves are lithe and noticably taller than the standard Inner System human (Men - 6' - 6'8" average, Women 5'10" - 6'4" average). Lastly, the fringe colonists of Io have many similar traits to the Callistans, but are a bit shorter due to their superior artificial gravity generator in the colony of Jenever. It is also not uncommon for some Ioans to suffer from hypopigmentation or albinism.

Abilities: Jovian Metahumans tend to have a type of second sight that allows them to periodically and uncontrollably sense dangerous situations before they happen. The downfall of this ability is that like all probability-based abilities, it's based on something that could happen, rather than what will. Metahumans within the Satellite Alliance are few and far between.

Possible Archetypes:
Native Europan: Career Soldier, Terraformer, bioengineer.
Callistan: Noble, Privateer, Aristocrat.
Ioan: Slaver, Smuggler, Trader.

Locales of Interest:

New Warsaw, Europa: Situated on an artificial island in a slowly melting sea of ice, the city of New Warsaw is as unforgiving as it is cold. Despite being initiated nearly 500 years prior, the substandard terraforming equipment used by the JSA has resulted in Europa being miserably cold and underdeveloped environmentally. The culture and lifestyle of the Europans reflect this, as they are as stoic as the land they try to tame.

Esperanza, Europa: The Callistan seat of power on Europa and home to the La Patria Real, the complex of stately buildings and rises built to showcase the power of the Cielo Azul, the political party that originally controlled Callisto. Now after overthrowing the League of Equality, Europa’s former government, Esperanza stands as a reminder that the elegance, grace and undying spirit of the Callistans will exist long after their homeland’s destruction. Esperanza’s climate is as cold as New Warsaw’s, yet the neo-classical architecture add a certain otherworldliness to the city.

Jenever, Io: A small outpost on a deadly, volcanic surface, the city of Jenever is home to a few thousand brave souls who wish only to barter, trade and sell whatever comes their way through smuggling, extortion or any means in which they can acquire it. If a person is from Jenever, they’d sooner not mention it, as it comes with a hefty price.

Strengths:

Europans: Proud and stoic, the Europans exhibit a gusto that is rarely seen in the beaten down masses of the System.

Callistan: Perhaps even more proud than the native Europans, the Callistans have a passion for life, battle and power than makes them natural born leaders.

Ioan: Shifty, silvertongued and quick-witted, the Ioans have guile usually not seen anywhere in the Inner Planets.

Weaknesses:

Europans: Stubborn and set in their ways, the Europans have little tolerance for backtalk and second-guessing.

Callistans: Hubristic and resentful, the Callistans believe their way should be the only way. They oftentimes have a victim complex that makes them prime targets in the media.

Ioans: Given their very nature, they have a hard time making lasting friends, since they’d sooner sell said friend into slavery for money.

More information on the setting at The Imaginos-Concern Knowledgebase Wiki!

The Saturnus Coalition/Walkers of the Desolate Path: The members of the Saturnus Coalition are members of the emergent religion known as the Desolate Path. The Walkers of the Desolate Path is a cult of personality surrounding a mysterious and powerful man known as Trygve Heyerdahl. In 3122, the Coalition was a quiet community, relatively untouched by the ravages of war and the Godless conflict. However, that year was the year when the Godless assaulted the colony of Herschel on Mimas.

For reasons still unclear, the Godless began to colonize Herschel. Its natives fought valiantly against the beasts, but without any sort of weaponry to fight against enemies of that nature, they were slowly being overrun. It was in great consternation that the decision from the Illuminati Organization, the chief combatants against the Godless at that time, ordered an orbital bombardment on the city, killing the remaining 700,000 people along with the Godless forces.

The destruction of Herschel was considered a regrettable yet necessary decision. The other members of the Coalition were appalled by the ease of which their capital city was destroyed. Half a year later, a man named Trygve Heyerdahl appeared in the small mining town of Ophelia, located on the edge of the Gertrude Grid colony on Titan. Trygve seemed like a mad man at first. His thatch of platinum blond hair, his unusual gauntness and sharp eyes gave him the classic appearance of some sort of super villain.

His ranting nearly went unnoticed, but slowly over time, his words garnered the attention of some of the men and women who had lost their families of friends in what he was calling the Herschel Genocide. He began to preach to them the value of life and of death and how to strive for a meaningful memory rather than fleeting celebrity now.

His teachings, which he called the Bleak Gospel, slowly spread throughout Ophelia. Within a year, it gained the attention of a small congregation of miners and laborers on the fringes of society. Miraculously, Heyerdahl travelled to the site of the orbital bombardment and in a flash of light, the men and women who perished in the assault were reborn at the crater. These people became known as the Deathblessed and Heyerdahl’s power consolidated.

In the few years that have passed since the Herschel Genocide, these Deathblessed and the men and women of the Coalition that joined the religion of the Bleak Gospel, the Walkers of the Desolate Path, built a utopia the likes the System has never seen before.

General Attitude:

The attitude of the Pathers and Deathblessed are very positive ones. They see life as a celebration punctuated by one final rebirth. Knowing that they will relinquish their immortal souls for the greatness and power to do what they believe is right. Celebrity is fleeting, do only what matters and be remembered for that. Everything they do and say reflects this. Pathers, the humans of the Desolate Path, do everything they can in hopes of becoming one of the Deathblessed. The Deathblessed themselves do everything they can to make sure it’s all for the greater good.

Appearance: Well-built, athletic and at the peak of human condition are all things that describe a member of the Deathblessed. Pathers are often usually very gaunt and wiry, creating an interesting juxtaposition between the two branches of the religion. Deathblessed members usually wear a black half-cape over their clothing to represent the darkness of space and emptiness of the universe. Pathers wear grey or white half-cloaks. Those that wear grey are closer to becoming a member of the Deathblessed, whereas those in white have years still before they're closer in the Grand Queue.

Abilities: The Deathblessed are amazingly adept, clever and adroit; a fair trade-off for the loss of their immortal soul. However, this exchange means that any and all wounds acquired by the Deathblessed is exaggerated, meaning a non-lethal knife wound taken by a human could cause near-exsanguination for a Deathblessed member.

Possible Archetypes:

Pathers: Proclaimer/Preacher, Sexton, Verger

Deathblessed: Soldier, Fighter, Pilot (Deathblessed have their own Archetypes already, please check here to see them)


Locales of Interest:

Herschel City, Mimas: In less than twenty years, Herschel has gone from a smoldering crater to a massive city of Venetian and European Renaissance-mixed design. Massive canals and large thoroughfares cross through the city, which are filled with flora and fauna of all kinds along with the tall spires and golden rooftops of the domiciles of the Pathers. In the center of the former crater is a gigantic complex of obsidian black buildings that tower over the city below. This complex, known as Naught's Embrace, is the shrine of the Deathblessed, dedicated to the everlasting memory of Heyerdahl and his teachings.

The Black Emperor: The capital ship of the Deathblessed and Trygve Heyerdahl. The Black Emperor is a 12,000 meter long city-ship, clad in black, gray and taupe. With a crew complement of nearly 50,000 of the Deathblessed, the Black Emperor is the mobile capital and testament to the strength they bring to the System Alliance. The Black Emperor also houses a sizeable crew of System Alliance Peacekeepers aboard it.


Strengths:

Pathers: Ambitious and bold, a Pather will try their best to serve the greater good, no matter the cost. Failure means a shamed life and death, doomed to repeat the eternal cycle for all time, instead of getting their one, great attempt as a Deathblessed.

Deathblessed: Amazingly adept in several key skills, the Deathblessed are at home in any technical field, on any battlefield or behind the soldiers, providing invaluable tactical information.

Weaknesses:

Pathers: Pathers are also known zealots who, in an attempt to get into the Grand Queue of Unmaking (the system in which new Deathblessed are made), will try to do whatever they can to get noticed, despite this going against their core tenets.

Deathblessed: The Deathblessed have the problem of being quite uncaring when it comes to normal, mortal people. Since they believe all mortal life is recycled through the Great Cycle, sacrifices here and there will not matter much in the long run when it comes to the normal men and women of the System Alliance. This detachment makes them contemptible by many of the members of the Peacekeepers and of those in the System.

More information on the setting at The Imaginos-Concern Knowledgebase Wiki!

Sovereignty Remnant: Founded in the early 2100s, the Sovereignty was the second oldest consolidated power in the System and its biggest influence of life, culture and technology. Mars was settled en masse by the Lunar Democratic Labor Party of Armstrong City, a group of men and women who felt that the bias and preferential treat of the New Asia Initiative, a political group that was founded in the wake of the Great Battle to protect Asian refugees, would tear the Commonwealth apart. They left Luna behind and settled the nation of New Albion in the Chryse region of Mars.

After skirmishes with the New Asia Initiative who also settled upon Mars farther to the south of New Albion, the LDLP defeated the NAI in what would be known as the Martian War and forced the NAI to live within a small 100 kilometer by 100 kilometer plot of land in Tharsis, where they founded the cities of Meng-Ran, Yamato and Yi.

After the death of their leader, Milton Marcus Martin in 2109, the ruling council of the LDLP and New Albion opted to continue Martin’s legacy on by digitizing his personality into various algorithms programmed to just, fair and unerring in judgement. Denzel Martin, the grandson of Milton Martin, designed the groundwork of would later be known as the KING Supercomputer. Lead by the KING Supercomputer and the Council of Nine, the nine men and women who funded and lead the expedition to Mars, the LDLP declared New Albion as the Marcien Sovereignty.

Over the next millennium, the Sovereignty transformed Mars into one of the ideal locations for humanity to thrive upon. Terraformed land, an atmosphere that was breathable, albeit thin in comparison to Earth’s and an ocean to the north of New Albion and Cydonia.

Despite the abuse of power and class disparaging within the Sovereignty between its members and the people of the NAI, the Sovereignty thrived until its deal made with the Macrocosmic Concern in 3130. The deal lead to what the Concern called a clause of condemnation and extirpation to be passed and ended in the destruction of Mars by their god-like superweapon known as the Ziz.
Now only a few years after the destruction of their homeland, the Remnants try to find a way to survive after losing everything they once had.

General Attitude:

Both: Remorseful, shell-shocked and bitter, both the New Albionites and the members of NAI are dazed and confused about the destruction of their homeland, families, cultures and the wars in general.

New Albionite: Once proud, the common New Albionite is now a ticking time bomb, ready to exact revenge upon the enemies of the newly formed System Alliance. More than 40 percent of the Remnants have enlisted into the System Alliance in hopes of destroying the Concern. New Albionites follow a Great Britain-like naming scheme.

New Asian Initiate: Saddened by the second loss of their identity and cultures, the members of the New Asian Initiative’s struggle to preserve what little they continue to hold onto from the Earth. Most Initiates are returning to the Earth to reclaim their ancestral homes and rebuild their livelihoods and cultures instead of fighting in the Wars. This does not mean there aren’t any NAI soldiers within the System Alliance though. NAI members follow an Asian-theme naming pattern, mostly Chinese (the largest of the NAI members), Japanese and Korean.

Appearance: Much like the Commonwealth's members, the various citizens of both cultures are quite similar to the original Earthlings. However, due to the lower gravity, Martians tend to be a fair bit taller than their Commonwealth equivalents. Most Martians are nearly the same height as the average Ioan (Men: 5'11" - 6'5" average, Women: 5'8" - 6'2").

Abilities: Martian metahumans exhibit the same sort of variety in metahuman abilities as Earthlings do, however the number of metahumans that existed within the former Sovereignty were nearly double that of the Commonwealth's.

Possible Archetypes:
New Albionite: Imaginos Space Force or Peacekeeper, former Knight of the Sovereignty,
New Asian Initiate: Bioengineer, Terraformer, Hyperspatial Technician.

Locales of Interest (Note – These are now gone)

Devonshire-upon-Chryse, New Albion, Mars: The former seat of power on Mars, Devonshire was the crowning jewel of the Sovereignty’s efforts. With its towering skyscrapers marrying traditional Old English styled legislative buildings and home design, it was considered to be the perfect reflection of the new, prosperous life humanity had found after the loss of Earth.

The New Asian Initiative City Grid – Meng-Ran, Yamato and Yi, Tharsis, Mars: Built within a 100km x 100km area on the Tharsis Plateau, the NAI’s City Grid expanded upwards instead of outwards. Since space was at such a minimum, the City Grid was essentially three separate arcologies, each housing their representative’s cultures and ways. The city of Meng-Ran was all but destroyed by the Godless in the early 3000s, but a majority of its population escaped to the two other arcologies and were able to rebuild their section once more.

Strengths:

New Albionite: Determined to work, the New Albionites strive onward, throwing themselves headlong into the fray to keep their national pride up instead of focusing on the tragedies that have befell them.

New Asian Initiates: Patient and wise, the New Asian Initiates believe that the best way to correct the damage of losing their home is to recapture the culture that made them great to begin with.

Weaknesses:

New Albionite: Impetuous and hot-headed, the New Albionite’s zealous attitude toward the War often make them too emotional to fight properly. This anger and remorse carries over into their personal lives. The remnants of the New Albionites are known to be volatile because of this.

New Asian Initiates: The NAI carry with them what is known as the Asian Curse. Originally known as the Japanese Curse, the Asian Curse is that tragedy and sorrow follow the populace of Asian countries wherever they may go.

The legacy of the Curse had largely started to fade away, but now after the destruction of Mars, this old racist wives’ tale is making a return and is doomed to follow many Initiates. As such, the NAIs are usually gun shy or selective of whom they speak or interact with.