The Simulacrum (CRASH TEST!; CoO and open RPG)

The Simulacrum - Limbo

Our network is interconnected via a botnet-server which can be accessed and augmented through virtual reality (VR). Many different companies and organisations already make use of this technique to recruit and manipulate young or gullible subjects into their ranks.

The Limbo is an anonymous pre-world akin to the Dark Web but based on virtual reality. It is here where the anonymous avatars meet to travel into ever expanding choices of branch worlds.

The Simulacrum - War World

The Children of Omega have a rich history of competition, risk and reward. We annually host a voluntary series of matches which eventually end up in one penultimate encounter.

This is the first year where outside participants are allowed. Open invitations with passcodes to certain inviduals and companies have been handed out either through ballots from the church, direct mail, the internet or other means.

The honor of being host varies each annual holding. This years host will be @theengima . The host will be in charge of the announcements, broadcasting and later on be the mind to the Homonculi Omega's body.

Numbered Homunculi - Alpha (α),Beta (β), Gamma (γ) etc.

These chromatic beings are spawned in seperate instanced locations together with one according team . They will have a Greek symbol on their chest indicating the team they were created from.

The Homunculi will adapt to the present team members and have the abilities of the member it focuses on, leaving it open to attacks for the other members.

After sustaining an attack from any member, 1 HP is subtracted and the creature will become invulnerable for a very short period of time so it can't be taken down instantly by three seperate attacks.

Homunculi Omega (Ω - The Raid)

Exponentially scaling hit points (eHP). It starts with at least 10 HP when there are 10 or less participants. If there are more than 10 participants inside the "War World", the eHP will percentually rise. (ex: 20 people; The Amalgam will have 20 HP, Aegis Phase will begin at 14 HP and the Final Phase will be initiated once the HP threshold has reached 10 HP)

Phase 1 - Amalgam

After defeating all the numbered homunculi, the surviving battlers will be teleported. The Amalgam will spawn in the newly created collective instance where everyone now resides. @theengima , the host, will be in control of the vessel.

Appropriately named, the Amalgam will have the collective powers of every participant, but only one at a time. Similar to the numbered homunculi, it has a small window of invulnerability once attacked. Once it reaches 7 eHP, the goliath- like construct will undergo a transformation and re-emerge as the Aegis.

Phase 2 - Aegis

The newly established Aegis now has access to two powers at a time. The teams will now have to work together to find strategies and damage this gargantuan beast. Compared to the moderately mobile Amalgam, the Aegis is vastly impaired. After receiving damage it will have a larger duration of invulnerability than before. The visual queue for these windows are the shimmering lines circling along and around it. Once they begin to flicker, the timer is almost up and the teams can prepare to attack. After successfully being drained of 2eHP , the contenders will enter the final phase.

Final Phase - Berserk

The Climax. Having been backed into a corner and damaged to the point of 5 eHP, the construct will undergo its last evolution and forsake it's previous defensive nature for raw power.

The Berserker may hold up to three powers and there will be no invulnerability timer once attacked. Running completely amok, this behemoth will be able to move faster than the Amalgam and it's attacks are now more widespread.

To injure it, the combatants will most likely have to make HP risking decisions. The less eHP the Berserker has, the more reckless it becomes. Faster attacks, broader spread of destruction.

Once the host has been felled, all participants are relocated to Sector 24 for their rewards.

Party/Team System - Sector 24

Before venturing into the "War World", the participants must form parties inside the lobby area aptly named "Sector 24" (Omega is the 24th symbol in the Greek Alphabet, corny i know :p) which they can access inside "The Limbo".

Once inside "Sector 24", their anonymity is forlorn and similar to a sports class, everyone gets to choose at least one partner to match up with. Parties may be formed with acquaintances, chapter members, cross chapter, or total strangers. How you approach someone to form a party with (either beforehand with someone you know, someone you've heard of but never met or a complete stranger) is up to the judgment of each individual themselves.

Every combatant has 3 eHP. After they defeat their designated numbered Homunculi, it will be refreshed.

If a participant reaches 0 eHP, that person's link to the War World is severed and they will find themselves inside "Sector 24" again (free to leave or stay and wait for the others).

Spoils Go To The Victors... And Participants

A participation reward will be sent to everyone after the competition has ended as an incentive for the invitees to join the battle. Any team that has scored points will be rewarded accordingly from the Children of Omega's Business Chapter.

The prize pot consists of charitable and voluntary donations to promised causes the Church of Omega vouched publicly to assist in.

The party reward for reaching the most points is rewarded 65% of the pot, the party in second place is rewarded 20% of the total sum and third place gets what is left.

For reaching the most hits in this competition, one participant is granted a wish the Church could feasibly fulfill that will not directly endanger the organisation.

___

OoC thread for questions and everything not RP related

The War World will only open once all teams have been established in Sector 24. (either we come to that conclusion in the OoC thread or the first post we post here is our signup / intro into Sector 24.

There are no direct drawbacks to anyone since this all takes place in VR. How you get into VR is up to you (Base, internet café etc.). Everything inside the Simulacrum is completely anonymous data wise, so you could see this as a canon event (We as a team will).

This may just be a training RP for all people involved, but still don't forget to have fun and not take this too seriously. Go by your own pace and don't compare yourself to others. This is how you will grow in the future.

The Gathering

It's that time of the year again. The annual Simulacrum was about to be underway but with special circumstances this time around. Usually this would just be a measurement of prowess between the internal branches, but as the times change, so do the conditions.

Letting outsiders take part in this competition stemmed from the thought process of Yin Wei, who himself has had quite the revolutionary past inside the organisation. Endlessly repeating the cycle of testing their mettle internally would eventually lead to a type of echo-chamber. It is important to have all, or at least most of, the anonymous data to really comprehend their standing of power in this world. No better way to achieve this then to have indirect mock battles with the inclusion of formidable outsiders for direct comparison.

The research facility Yin resided in was located at the Antarctica, a place so barren and outlandish you barely have access to rest of the world.

"F'n Wi-Fi..."he muttered to himself

It was nigh impossible to have an anonymous and sustained connection from there. He needed to come up with something that would cover this issue, and surely those of others not tech savvy or in lesser conditions.

Together with the help of the other members of the science division, a "key" and VR visors were manufactured and sent to the designated participants with instructions on how to use them. The visors have a simple USB plug-and-play feature. If the users do not possess a device with the adequate ports you could go to your friends, family or an Internet cafe. As long as you have the key and it's code, your access will be granted from any place on earth.

While the devices were being shipped out, Yin Wei was already on route to one of the central meeting points of the Children of Omega to access the server world undisturbed, the final word.

A sense of awe overcame him when he arrived inside the monumental building. There was no time for sightseeing however, because all he came to do here today was play. Once he put on the visor and plugged it into the USB-port, a tingling sensation trickled down the back of his cranium. His body was now in a sleeplike state, unable to move it outside of the virtual reality he now accessed.

After a heartbeats moment, Yin's senses adjusted to the new digital surroundings. The anonymous overserver named "Limbo" was a cesspool for criminal and vile activity. Every passing avatar hid the users true identity, which here probably meant someone worth killing in Yin's eyes.

"I wonder if I could come back here later on after the whole thing is over. Maybe get personal and have a chat with some of these miscreants, find out where they live and have some good old fashioned fun"he thought to himself"Ah, this must be it huh? @razcaz really outdid himself with this. Sector 24. Kind of looks like a star gate."

After entering the key code Yin was prompted with multiple windows detailing the system and stipulations behind this years competition.

"Hmm what's this? Golems this year? Interesting. @TheEngima is the host this time huh... Total douche canoe. What else is there let's see... Agree to blah... possible trauma warning blah... NDA blah... Agree agree agree. Let's get this on already."

The upper echelon in general were always very competitive, so it was a surefire thing that none of them would want to be in the same starting teams. Yin was the first to arrive at the scene apparenlty and eagerly awaited the faces that would unveil themselves once they've entered Sector 24. Waiting with his back leaned against the simulated cold pixelized wall, he would agree to form a team with anyone as long as he would be able to go against the others.

Evan woke up upon a plush over-sized bed, laced and stuffed with the finest of feathers. The smell of high price vodka still in the air. With a loud yawn he stretches his arms to the sky while cleaning the sleep from around his eyes. Next to him lay two naked women, still asleep, with a satisfied look across there faces. Immediately, Evan slaps one of them across their backside, bragging “Still down for the count huh, babe” as he rolls over to the dresser. Upon it laid a fresh gram of Columbian Cocaine, he proudly snorts a line, through a rolled up hundred dollar bill. “Oh Yeah” he shouts as he cleans his nostrils, “That’s what daddy likes” wrapping a sheet around him like a toga, he jumps out of his bed! As always the first thing he does is look in the mirror, checking out his good looks as his ego was higher than the effects of the drugs he was on, then finishes with a minute or two of flexing his muscles all for show. “That’s right!” he remarks as his biceps are blaring “Welcome to the gun show!” Soon enough the two ladies in the bed slowly begin to wake up, as one of them remarks “Hmm where are we?” which Evan simply replies “Right were you are suppose to be sweetie, right were you are suppose to be!” With great pride he checks himself out in the mirror again, this time focusing on his facial good looks, then tosses the ladies a proud grin. “You two stay where you are, Daddy’s got some other business to take care of” followed by an even prouder, “I’ll be back in a few hours, but don’t worry. I got plenty of time set aside for you two!”

Still a bit groggy, he stumbles to his game room and upon entering heads straight to the closet. Lying there on the top shelf on top of a pile of adult magazines and a rack of pool balls was a dark red suitcase with the omega symbol painted on the front in all black. With great care he removes it from the shelf and places it on top of a desk in front of his computer, where with the flip of two simultaneous steel locks, opens it to reveal a top of the line virtual reality set, just his size. The helmet, which covered the full head laid next to two high tech gloves for full use and a thumb key that he immediately plugged in. Like a pair of old boxing gloves, he slid the gloves on marveling at the design, while throwing a few jabs to get the feel. As for the helmet he lowered it upon his head like a crown while mocking “Ding Ding” as the opening sound of a bell. Then with a flip of an on switch he was immediately swept away to Sector 24, where he would then get orders from a higher power on how to proceed. Before he knew it Evan was in full Stomp mode, tusks and all, standing in a new digital surroundings with a virtual console hovering right in front of his face. Upon it was a long list of rules and regulations, followed with a waver in case of any injury that might occur during the game. In haste he quickly signs at the bottom followed by a swipe left, then immediately gets back to what is important, him! Despite the vast space enveloping him, he was still glad to be a part of this challenge and as always carried himself in a ready position. All he needed now was for more to arrive and to hear the man in charge give them the ready to go!

"I take it that we can count on your... discretion, correct?"

"You haven't had any issues with us in the past. Why would you now?"

Melina Hawkins always bristled at the idea of working with Silicon Edge's "mystery client". He wasn't the only employer who refused to reveal his identity, but he was the only one who insisted on speaking to them directly, despite the fact that he always hid behind voice changers. It was always easy to tell when they were dealing with him though. The way he spoke down to them, like he was talking to a bunch of children, never failed to irk her.

"Because this is a special case. You won't be charging into some third-rate despot's mansion and gunning him down. You'll be stepping into a very different environment."

"Well than wha—"

"Don't interrupt. This is a project very dear to me, and I don't need you bunch messing it up like with that Mars fiasco. In fact, I don't want to see any of you failures near the project. The only reason I'm contacting you now is because you lot have been charged with testing the RE:SIN project, correct?"

Melina grit her teeth, biting back the venomous invectives she so desperately wanted to spit at him.

"Y—"

"Of course I'm right. In the next hour you will receive a package containing three VR headsets. Dole them out to Kellan Matsuda and the rest of the RE:SIN unit. I trust you can handle that at least, can't you?"

He cut feed before the slew of insults she'd been reciting in her head could escape her lips. Soon after there came a knocking on the door. The package had been delivered as promised. The anger burned in Melina, but she did as she was told. When she finally found Kellan he was silently training in the company gym, as always. She tossed the package to him, turning away as she spoke.

"Matsuda. This arrived for you and your unit. Priority one."

Kellan Matsuda caught the box out of the air without a word. He nodded to her as the other two RE:SIN soldiers entered unbidden. No matter how many times she saw it, it always creeped Melina out how they seemed to know exactly when they were needed by another of their number.

15 Minutes Later

SIN S-1, online
SIN S-2, online
SIN S-3, online

After surveying the information packet, the three logged in simultaneously, careful to survey their digital environment as closely as they would a warzone. Their target was listed as a series of digital golems, said to adapt to the foe they faced. Donned in the armored shells they trained in, they sized up the current stock of possible allies.

A giant man, equal parts elephant and human, maneuvered brashly around the digital space. He was noisy. Brutish. But clearly powerful. He might prove to be a powerful ally, but that also meant he would contribute equal power to their enemy. Something to consider.

The only other was a pale child with hair as white as his skin. He was slight. Physically unimpressive. Likely just a boy who'd stolen an entry code for access to the enlistment prize. Likely, but not certainly.

Matsuda wordlessly guided his two allies to the corner with the pale entity. As they approached they could see that he was frail, but no child. Matsuda stared for a time, about to address their possible ally before an unfamiliar face cut in.

"Ah, participating yourself, are you Yin?"@warlock360

Glost chuckled to himself, tossing his platinum blonde hair off to one side. Even in the digital environment, he wore his trademark red sunglasses.

"I never would have guessed that you would participate personally, but I suppose that's a luxury you have when your division runs itself. Me, I'm just popping in to introduce my proxies. This is Kellan Matsuda, leader of the RE:SIN Soldier unit at Silicon Edge. We took great lengths to port in the specs for their armor and weaponry, so I hope they put on an impressive performance."

Donovan eyed the three soldiers in their carbonadium shells scornfully. The look was cold, and carried clearly unspoken threats.

"I trust you'll let me know if they do well, and perhaps even volunteer some of the Science Division's own improvements? That would be lovely, but I won't hold my breath."

Glost laughed easily, shaking his head to dismiss his own suggestion. "In any case, I am anxious to see what the different divisions have on offer. It should be a fun show."He grinned, settling into a seat as the others began to arrive.