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This is a spin-off of a novella I was writing a while back, I've kind of given up on it (though not totally) and figured I would change it into an rp. This is somewhat reminiscent of an rp I started about a year or two ago as well.
This is a very detailed rp, and the sign-up is alot of reading on its own. you's been warned.
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The Ahd'me came into view in the dark briefing room, with a torn leather jacket, alot of fur (because it was winter), and a wolf's face, stood with a posture that showed authority and cynicism, all in one. If the scar on his eye wasn't cliche enough, the way he lit his cigar was. He began his briefing-
"The AHDME. Animal-Human DNA Mixture Experimentations. Their origin is of no real importance, but to satisfy you- the government decided it would be a good weapon idea if the DNA of humans was combined with the worlds most powerful predators.
The top candidates were the mountain lion, timberwolf, and jaguar. Nowadays, you see alot of somewhat domestic varieties- those came later.
But you see, somehow it leaked into the public, sold for real cheap. People were edgy at first, but alot jumped at the idea. A few were some criminals desperate to never be found, a few were freak-heads who decided they weren't good enough without a tail, and a few were just really damn cold."
He gave a wheesing laugh, and he was the only one. Not that he seemed to care. He coughed up alot of the foul smelling smoke, then continued.
"Alright, so I don't know why the public took to it so fast, it was out of hand before it could be illegalized. What I do know is, by 2045, 13% of America's population was Ahd'Me. That was about 40 million people then. Once it got out of the states, it got really out of hand. God knows Cambodia was full of officers looking like walkin' furballs. Same with most of the Middle East and Africa. China thought it was intimidating, for sure. They even made a drug out of it- you changed into something, changed back to a human in an hour. Supposed to get you high. Anything longer than that, and you stay the way you look when you needle yourself. They called it Lycan 60."
"And, aside from all of that, China and Russia decide they ought to team up. China gives their officers DNA from a Komodo dragon, Russia gives theirs ones from grizzly bears. Kind of like the Tom Clancy book. Heh. Anyways, they took over a good bit. Around 2090 they were the biggest dogs in the park. But, like every expansive nation, they couldn't keep track of all those people they conquered, and pretty soon -2120, to be precise- their world empire fell into dissarray."
"And that's when the New USA was constructed. They blamed the Ahd'Me serum in its entirety for the takeover. by 2134, they banned it totally. And then, the decree they made in 2156 should be what matters to y'all."
"Now, the Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution states that the right of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. But it does not, I repeat, does not mention anything about species. And, tehcnically, that's what you and me are, different species. So people can pretty much do whatever the hell they want with us. That's what the new Amendment said. Some people have a problem with this, but the US isn't what it used to be. People with problems with the state have a habit of dissapearing and never being seen again."
"So, you're here, the Ahd'Me Liberation Force. We say Force, not Front, because we're hunted and killed on sight. We need some Force. Each one of you might be an Ahd'Me for some various reasons. I don't care what they are. We are all fighting to survive. Maybe you had some parents of the same race. Maybe you did it to escape detection. Well, if you dissapear here, there's no way anyone's detecting you...unless you tell them where you are. And if we thought you'd do that, you wouldn't be here. You'd be dead- what would you expect, we've been doing this for about fifty years."
One guy spoke up. "That's almost when the law was passed!"
"The day the law was past, kid. We been here since the beginning, and with any luck we might just be here to see it end, if it ends. With all that said, welcome to your new home, in the slums of New Seattle. Don't piss on the carpet, either!"
Again, the joke was only funny to him, but he seemed to make up for it, as his response was uproarious, a mixture of laughing and hacking up cigar smoke-. The lights flickered to life in the dim briefing room, and the occapants slowly got up, filed into line, and left.
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Alright. The story picks up pretty much right after that scene. That tells you what you need to know about the world, except for tech, which I'll try to be brief on.
(BTW, the year's somewhere around 2204.)
Slum tech: (You'll be starting in the slums, mind.)
In the slums of New Seattle, most basic needs of life are atomically recycled from sewage, so there's no need to actually buy things- just pay taxes. (kind of a state property system.) The Ahd'me have almost totally taken over the slums, so there's a metrorail system for transportation. It goes pretty much take you a mile from anywhere in the slums. However, it requires special permission to go into the upper city, especially since anyone who isn't human winds up with bullets in them.
Slum Weaponry. Anything from a pipe with a sharpened end or a .44 Magnum, or any gun you can think of that'd be available to a citizen in the US today. You might be able to get your hands on "futuristic" tech later, but you can't start with it. Also, gunsmithing is a very common job in the slums, so you may make your own guns and bullets. NOTE: If this is the case, you will likely be armed with something simple. Anything more complicated than a revolver is pushing it. Also, the black market has some prevalence, so common automatic weapons, like an AK-47 or Ingrams Mac-10, might be within your reach. might. But not at the very beginning of the rp.
City Tech: It's all on foot from here. Ironic, since if you were human, you could just hijack a rental jet-taxi and fly to wherever you needed to be. But you have to walk heavily disguised if you plan to stay alive for too long. Basic needs are taken care of by buying them at the local store, unlike back home, where you eat what was once your own poop. Kinda gross, huh?
City Weaponry: Some weapons from today continue to prosper, and some do not. Weapon tech had a huge boost in the Russio-Chinese takeover, and New USA has pretty much assimilated all that tech. Ballistic weapons are still used commonly due to cheapness, but any combat force more elite than a patrol officer is going to have an energy weapon of some type, from a stun baton to a laser pistol. Getting these weapons usually means killing a SWAT officer, which is pretty hard, needless to say. Even if you get them, ammunition will be a problem, and is extremely expensive on the black market.
An added note on the Ahd'Me serum: You can change into another type of Ahd'me even if you're already one. Some people are even addicted to transformation, and are the essential crack addicts of the slums. You can be an addict if you want, but note that Ahd'me serums are expensive, and it's doubtful you have much money. Most, if not all, of what you have should be what's given to you and what you make yourself. No rich characters.
General rules and notices:
1. no sex.
2. keep language to a minimum.
3. If you're planning on being a traitor, which can mean anything from endangering to killing your fellow player's characters, PM me first, so I can give or deny you permission. This also means someone else might betray you. So if you get killed, no whining. The only reason I'll deny permission is if it messes with the plot, or a subplot that character's trying to achieve- it has nothing to do with you. You are also free to make another character if your original one dies for any reason, at any time. You can betray friendly NPCs as much as you like, but note this will prolly get all the real players to turn around and shoot you in the face.
4. I will be in semi-control of alot of the plotline, but I will leave enough for player decisions to have a notable effect on where it leads. You might end up selling out all your buddies for amnesty, or you might wind up assassinating the President of New USA, save your people, tra-la-la-la-la. Of course, this assumes the plot goes anywhere in the first place.
5. You can be any Ahd'Me you want, but nothing mystical - no unicorns, dragons (except Komodo dragons) etc. And, since the rp starts right after a strictly Ahd'Me briefing, there will be no human player-characters in this rp. An Ahd'me can look as human or as animal as you want. They can look totally human except for a set of cat ears and a tail, or they can walk on four legs and have trouble speaking because their vocal chords are messed up.
6. Virtually anything except rape can go into your character bio. Anything else goes- but for once, I would like to see someone with at least one living parent. Even two, if I may be so bold.
7. No copyrighted characters, or anything with a heavy resemblence to one. No Lucien, no Mad Max, no modernized Inuyasha, period, end of story.
Making your character: General ideas. Your name can be as exotic as you want it, just make sure that if it's exotic enough your character has an ethnicity to match.
Also, rules for weaponry. You have 6 "weapon" points to use on whatever weapon you want. The thing is, each weapon you can start with has a certain number to go on with it. When they all add up to six, you're done.
Weapon graph:
Small melee weapon (switchblade, knife 12" in length or less): 1
Large melee weapon (Blade, pipe, spear-like weapon, machete, whatever): 2
Complicated or "special" melee weapon (vibrating sword, knife with plasma coating, katana): 5 (this means that this is going to be your primary weapon, so be ready to melee. Alot.)
Small revolver: 2
Double-barrelled, one-shot-per-barrel shotgun: 3
Large revolver (nothing stronger than a .357 Magnum- that's alot of leeway!): 4
Semi-automatic pistol (nothing stronger than a 9x19): 5
Crude automatic weapon, like an uzi: 6.
Oh yeah, and no attachments until you're actually playing the rp. Your revolver can't start with a scope or speed-loader, your katana can't start a design of Shania Twain half-naked on it.
Just a note on the side: I know that semi-autos probably don't dominate revolvers this much (actually, if they did, I wouldn't know- not all that big on guns, all I learned was from counter-strike and Clint Eastwood), I put extra weapon points on there for realism, a revolver is easier to make with basic tools, which is all the Ahd'me have, and an automatic would have to be bought off the market, as would any ammunition. Also note if you get two of any weapon, the second one comes at the same cost as the first.
Also, these are your personal weapons- occasionally you might be issued some other equipment.
Human/animal DNA balance:
Different people have a different reaction to the Ahd'Me serum. There's absolutely no way to tell how you will react until you actually do. Even if you're an Ahd'Me by birth, the serum is independant of normal genes and you may be much less or much more sensitive to it than your parents. This is basically what tells if you're a talking animal or just have a curiously pointed and hairy set of ears, like a cats.
I have an abridged version, for the people who dont want to read, and the unabridged, for the people who want to learn more of the details. The abridged version is, technically, the Ahd'me scale, and the unabridged is the human scale.
Animal DNA 0%: Immune or human. No real point going any further on this.
Animal DNA 5-less than 1%: severely hyposensitive. The serum barely changed you, if it did at all.
Animal DNA 6-20%: Moderately hyposensitive. The serum had some notable changes, but they could be disguised.
Animal DNA 21-49%: Mildly hyposensitive. The changes in your DNA are difficult to disguise, but it is notable that you are more human looking than most.
Animald DNA 50-60%: Normal sensitivity. Most Ahd'Me are around this region.
Animal DNA 61-70%: mildly hypersensitive. You are a little more animal-like than your peers.
Animal DNA 71-80%: Moderate hypersensitivity. From a distance, you could even pass for your inherent animal.
Animal DNA 81-99+%: Severely hypersensitive. It is difficult for you to manipulate things, and if you're really hypersensitive you might even have some mental retardation.
City scale: This uses "degrees" of Ahd'Me, noted from their general physical appearance.
Degree 0 Ahd'Me: Totally, if not virtually immune to Ahd'Me serum. Anywhere between 100% and 94.99% Human DNA. However, the serum itself does not ever leave the system, even if it has no effect, so a degree 0 Ahd'Me can still be punished if they're caught. Also, there's degree 0.2-0.8 Ahd'me, which have a slight tendency to be somewhat like their inherent animal, but only in such a way that no one would really notice. The slums welcome Degree 0-.8 Ahd'Me with open arms, as they make apt spies. Height range and lifetime is virtually uneffected.
About 2% of Ahd'Me are degree 0.
Degree 1 Ahd'Me: Human 95%, Animal 5%: You've likely only have one animal trait, such as always landing on your feet or having birthmarks that look curiously like tiger stripes across your waist. You can easily pass for a human, and, if you have the money, can get most of the services in the city. The unfortunate side is, your physical abilities aren't enhanced much.
Average Male Height Range: 5'5"-6'6".
Average Female Height Range: 5'-6'
Average lifetime: 90 years
4% of Ahd'Me are Degree 1.
Degree 2 Ahd'Me: Human 80%, Animal 20%: You're recognizable as an Ahd'Me, but you can usually disguise yourself as a human if you so wish. You might have strangely scaly skin, a tail, etc. Your face may have changed to be recognizable as your animal whilst retaining some human traits. You might have better balance than usual.
Average Male Height Range: 5'1" to 6'8"
Average Female Height Range: 4'10" to 6'4"
Average lifetime: 85 years
8% of Ahd'Me are Degree 2.
Degree 3 Ahd'Me: Human 60%, Animal 40%: You're clearly recognizable as an Ahd'Me, and it is very difficult to disguise yourself as a human. You probably have fur over most or all of your body, your face is likely changed to be mostly animal, et cetera.
Average Male Height Range: 4'9" to 6'10"
Average Female Height Range: 4'8" to 6'8"
Average lifetime: 80 years
18% of Ahd'me are degree 3.
Degree 4 Ahd'Me: Human 50%, Animal 50%: Your feet may have been disfigured so wearing human shoes and the like is difficult. You are totally covered in fur, feathers, scales, whatever, your head is barely human, and if your inherent animal has an extra organ or limb, so do you.
Average Male Height Range: 4'5" to 7'
Average Female Height range: 4'6" to 7'
Average lifetime: 75 years
38% of Ahd'Me are degree 4.
Degree 5 Ahd'Me: Animal 60%, Human 40%: Your voice may take on certain traits of your inherent animal. You may tend to go on all fours as much as on your feet. Your thumbs also might have become slightly smaller.
about 20% of Ahd'me are Degree 5.
Average Male Height Range: 4'1" to 7'2"
Average Female Height Range: 4'4" to 7'4"
Average lifetime: 65 years
Degree 6 Ahd'Me: Animal 80%, Human 20%: Your voice is very difficult to understand (to most), you can walk on two feet with difficulty.
about 5% of Ahd'Me are degree 6.
Average Male Height Range: 3'9" to 7'4"
Average Female Height range: 4'2" to 7'8"
Average lifetime: 45 years
Degree 7 Ahd'Me: Animal 90%, Human 10%: Unless your inherent animal is something very large or small, you could probably pass as them except to a highly trained eye. Weapons are made for these kind of Ahd'Me, but they have difficulty manipulating objects with finesse, as their thumbs are not opposable and they must walk on all fours.
Average lifetime: 25 years
Average Male Height Range: 3'5" to 7'6"
Average Female Height Range: 4'0" to 8'
about 4% of Ahd'Me are degree 7.
Anything past 90% animal DNA (designated as degree 8.1 to 8.9 Ahd'Me) risks mental retardation. You can be this if you wish, but note that you will not be much more than an usually smart animal. Most people might only see you as a pet, and, depending on how little human DNA you actually have, they may not be far off.
91%: Anything a thirteen year-old couldn't learn is past you. It is likely you only speak one language, and far from perfectly.
94%: Fourth-grade mental limit. You can read with some difficulty, and you likely do not speak very well.
97%: You can speak, but only barely- your ability to grasp any kind of concept will never go past that of a child. You cannot read.
99%+: Virtually indistinguishable from an animal.
Obviously, no Ahd'Me serums totally destroy human DNA, but in some very rare cases it can be virtually obliterated from the system. Degree 8.9 Ahd'Me are considered animals and are granted amnesty from anti-Ahd'me laws and are often sold as unusually well-behaved and intelligent pets. However, alot of people find the idea of having a pet that was once a human disturbing.
Ahd'me population of degree 8.0-8.9's-
8.0-8.5: 0.6%
8.6-8.7: 0.325%
8.8-8.9: 0.065%.
Finally, my character sheet. I'd prefer it if yours was in the same format.
Name: Gabriel Devston
Age: 25
Inherent animal (This is the animal you resemble as an Ahd'Me.): Fox
Ahd'Me Class: Degree 5
Weapons: "sword" salvaged from a lawn-mower, .357 Magnum.
Appearence: This fox Ahd'Me has an unusually dark brown complexion, wears a modest set of jeans, white shirt, and leather jacket. He is usually seen with his large revolver (which tends to unsettle people), but always takes his mower blade, which he can use with effectiveness, to any place more dangerous than usual.
Bio: Raised by his aunt, Gabriel never knew his mother and father, only that they disowned him after they realized that the Lycan 60 effected the genes they passed on, isolating the semen and carrying on Ahd'Me genes instead of human ones. He doesn't feel very bitter- the only other option would have been to kill him, and he knew that they made a risk taking him to the slums. They might still be alive. They might not.
Oh yeah, and I know that in the Ahd'Me degree thing, the women get bigger than the men as the degree changes. This is because most female animals are larger than males- we humans are kinda reversed.
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