go to quarters, masturbate furiously

rolled 96 = 96

WELL I FOR ONE THINK IT'S OBVIOUS WE SHOULD HEAD OVER TO THEM CHICKAS AND CHAT THEM UP. AARON CAN BE OUR WINGMAN.

>>18516206
>The dice speak!

With Aaron gone, you consider your chances. Two young ladies, both fairly attractive. One dashing young pilot. Yes, this can only end in victory. You stroll to their table, smiling happily. You open your mouth to speak, charming greetings hopping to mind.

"Mister McGraff." The girl with the pilot ring looks up from her meal. "I'm Louise Delay. Third Legion, Fifth Squad. This is Seven Zero Eight, my mechanic." Her tone is cheereful and friendly as she motions to the girl sitting across from her, who smiles calmly. "Today's the day you get your Demi, right?"

A couple of things pop to mind from what she says. The first is a small reminder that the Empire fields five Demi Legions, each with ten Squads of roughly fifty people each. The second is the reminder that each pilot is assigned an engineer, who usually follows them around and sticks with them. Almost a personal assistant ontop of keeping your Demi in tip-top shape. You wonder if you'll be assigned an engineer today, and deem it very likely.

>>18516360
Forgive me, perhaps I should have asked:
>Response?

rolled 88 = 88

What outfits is everyone in? I keep thinking back to the 'Roman Empire with mecha' thread and imagining everyone in togas.

>>18516543
The standard uniform cadets wear when not out training: Brown loafers, trousers, and tunic, with a black band around the right upper-arm. It's generally believed cadets like yourself don't need anything fancy, but you'll be issued a proper military uniform when you are placed with your squad.

>>18516581
I guess I'll check back in like... an hour or so. See if I got any responses.

>>18516451
"As far as I know. I'm looking forward to it. If you don't mind my asking, do you have any advice for a newbie?"

rolled 45 = 45

Well, since we're introducing ourselves to a senior soldier, maybe we could ask her about her own service? What sort of action she's seen in the theater of war?

Seduce the women.
Haha, no, I'm just kidding.

I have no idea how to seduce women.

>>18517180
I recall an old story...

Player: I seduce the barmaid.
DM: What do you say?
Player: If I knew that I'd be fucking a waitress right now.

>>18517104
>>18517088
"Hm, advice?" She rubs her chin. "Well, I'd say always stick with your squad. No matter how confident you are, there's always a chance you'll step in it and need your buddies to pull you out. Otherwise, I guess just normal stuff like follow orders, don't try to crack open your Demi, etcetera."

She pauses when you inquire to her experiences. "I've mostly been on the northern front, up in the Lord Spine mountain range. Lots of stolen Demis up there. Heresy of the highest sort, you know? The savages up there... Smart. Real smart and real dangerous. Pop out of nowhere, hit a patrol. Kill the pilots, drag the Demis off. Couple weeks later they throw them back at you, their own people piloting them. Gods above only know how they manage that without proper engineers."

>>18517292
Could they be forcing proper engineers to work with them?

>>18517323
As far as you know, that's like... super unlikely. Most engineers are pretty damn fanatical about keeping Demis in the right hands.

rolled 33 = 33

Who wants to cook up a scheme to try and find out what it is that makes the Demis work and why people are so obsessed with keeping it a secret?

>>18517347
Interesting. Engineers are mute, correct?

>>18517368
That was specifically mentioned as likely to cause the Empire to bring down the hammer on us. At best, we'd be forced to become an engineer.

>>18517380
Yessir, made that way by the church so they can't spread the secrets of the Demis if they ever lose faith/are interrogated/etcetera.

>>18517403
Can't they still write?

>>18517430
Son, they chop out your tongue so you can't speak of it. What do you think they'll do if you try to keep at it? Most engineers are either loyal/fanatical/terrified enough to not try it. But who knows for sure, eh?

>>18517446
Do they actually do any complex communication, or do they only use body language and hand signals?

>>18517476
Mostly body language and hand signals, but nothing so complex as sign language. They CAN write, but they rarely do so unless it's like... writing a note to a superior engineer regarding complex problems they are having with maintenance. Stuff like that.

Hello, elegen/tg/entelmen. I'm working on a homebrew RPG system, dealing with large armies. Akin to 40K. I have an initiative system that I like, and it's a good framework for the combat system, but thats all I have. Does anyone have any suggestions where to look to next? I'm lacking inspiration...

>>18517534
...I do believe you attempted to make a new thread, but posted in an established one. ...maybe.

>>18517499
Just because it'll probably come up later - what are the rules on pilot/engineer fraternization?

>>18517611
Discouraged, but there's no real punishment for getting caught. On that note, the same rule applies for pilot/pilot fraternization.

>>18517644
Alright, back to the conversation. Ask her what type of Demi she pilots and how she likes it.

>>18517672
You nod in understanding. "Thanks. So what sort of Demi you got?" You ask, absently sitting at the table with them. She smiles widely.

"Close combat. I'm a couple ranks up from you, so I've gotten to do a little upgrading. I usually use dual claws and blades on the shins. A lot of people call it impractical... Heh, they're just jealous they aren't agile enough to do the stuff I can do!" She proudly boasts. Her engineer simply nods in silent agreement.

"How about you, Arnie? What sort of Demi you hoping to get? Er... can I call you Arnie, or do you preffer Arnold?" She asks, seemingly slightly embarrassed.

>>18517776
"You can call me Arnie if you want. I suppose I don't really have a preference either way. I scored fairly middle-of-the-road. I certainly couldn't match you close in."

>>18517857
She grins. "Few can! Well, the upper ranks probably could, but noone on our level can. You should really think on it though. The way you scored, you'll probably get a choice between a melee or ranged type. Don't wanna be blind-sided by the decision, do you?" Her grin widens. "Here's hoping you go for close combat, I might be able to teach you a thing or two while here on base. Course, if you go ranged your friend Aaron could give you some good tips."

>>18518009
"A difficult choice indeed."

Grin, excuse self. Let's get to the temple-hangar early.

>>18518045
She salutes a bit as you leave, then returns to her breakfast.

Stepping outside, you look around and take a deep breath of the cool morning air. Sun's coming up over the tree-line of the forest to the east, and it's just starting to warm up. Looks like it's going to be a perfect day, and no better day for your big day.

You make your way to the temple-hangar. It's a big building, on the far side of the base. Easily three stories tall, and a thousand feet square, the outside facing the base is marked with four high towers. Each tower has a open doorway on the front, and a twenty foot tall, silver plated Demi in it. Guards, of course. The two flanking the door look to you as you approach, and you bow your head slightly as you go past and into the hangar.

Inside the building is massive and mostly open. The two side doors feature a dozen stations for holding and repairing Demis, and most are filled with basic ones of the melee and ranged types. Engineers are working hear and there on some of them, incense and candles burning at the stations.

>Continue in next post.

You look around and spot a couple of people of interest.

One is Aaron. He's sitting in the open cockpit of a ranged Demi, dilligently testing the controls. You note a young man sitting in the cockpit behind him, in a seat behind the pilot's seat. You recall that it's common for most Demi pilots to be accompanied in their Demis by their engineers. They monitor and manipulate various vital systems, and pray to the gods that the war-machines stay powered.

The second is your teacher and commanding officer, Regional Commander Zoria. She's an older woman, but still tall and imposing, wearing the officer's uniform of a white tunic, black trousers and boots, and a massive blue greatcoat and beret. She's watching while engineers work to maintenance to side-by-side Demis, one melee, one ranged.

>Who you gunna talk to?
>Aaron, bro.
>Commander!
>Other?

>>18518469
The Commander, first.

rolled 36 = 36

>>18518469

Meet Commander Zoria, find out about the Demi we'll be piloting, and meet the engineer assigned to that Demi.

rolled 73 = 73

>Other?

Snoop on the engineers working on the Demis, see if we can't learn something

>>18518597
>Uncool, /tg/ dice. Uncool.

Curiousity overtakes you as you attempt to sneak a peek at the engineers' work. You wander over towards one of them, intent on only a liiittle bit of heresy.

"McGraff! Get over here!" You hear a woman yell. You look, and see Commander Zoria looking straight at you. Her expression is vaguelly annoyed, with one eyebrow cocked and her arms crossed.

>How do you respond to your boss?

>>18518789
"My apologies, Commander. I know I'm a bit early."

>>18518789
In the future, you should probably take consensus, not whoever rolls the highest. Otherwise, someone's going to roll a hundred for suicide, or something like that.

>>18518868
I was thinking the same thing, but I said highest roll in the first thread, so I was trying to stick to it. I think I'll go with consensus from now on.

>>18518850
You hurry over, apologizing to your commander. She rolls her eyes and motions to the two Demis she was watching.

"These are two of the new base Demis we just got in. One melee, one ranged. You scored an eighty six out of a hundred on your test. Suprisingly equal, forty three out of fifty on both melee and ranged sections. Regional Command hs agreed with me, you should get your choice." She turns to you. "Questions?"

>>18519123
Inquire about the unit to which we will be assigned if we make either choice.

>>18519123
I need to run an errand. It'll take me like... fifteen to twenty minutes. Thirty if I run into unexpected problems. I'll answer any and all questions when I get back.

Fair advice: The Commander can answer ANY question, other than the heretical or stupidly irrelevant ones.

>>18519283
In that case, I'd like to know how engineers are assigned, if there is a choice of equipment, and exactly how much freedom we have as a soldier.

>>18519184
>>18519318

>The units
"Well, the melee is your standard light Demi. Thin, lightweight armour, pretty quick and agile. It's got two hands, so it can use virtually anything. The ranged is a bit heavier than usual, bit on the slow side. The armour is decently thick, though a bit on the cheap side, and and it's only got one hand, the left forearm ends in a circular shield."

>How engineers are assigned
"Well, they're generally chosen based on your psyche profile. They get picked on the basis they'll work well with you, though they are their own person, so there will be conflict now and then. The two Demi have two different pilots though, one specialized for assisting with aiming systems, while the other will help with balance so your close combat skills will be smoother, less likely to send you to the ground on a bad step."

>Choice of equipment
"Melee has a choice of short sword and buckler or a two handed axe. Ranged only has a light rifle, your choice of bayonette or scope."

>Freedom
"Well, you're still a soldier, expected to follow orders. As a pilot though, you're assume to be intelligent and adaptable enough to be able to go through with those orders in the way you deem to be best."

rolled 42 = 42

>>18519318

Figure out how to get our own engineer, and what kinda weapons we can get.

>>18519728
I was asking about whether Demis operate as a unit and how we'll be assigned, sorry.

>>18519792
"Hm? Oh. I actually can't tell you that, mostly because I don't know. You'll be recruited by one of the Squads by the end of the week, that's for sure though."

>>18519792
And yes, Demis do operate in units within Squads, though unit size varies Squad to Squad.

>>18519883
I don't have any more questions. My vote is for Ranged, with a scope.

rolled 15 = 15

>two handed axe

We are Arnold, a man of the Empire, and we pilot a giant mechanical axe murderer.

>>18519947
>>18519903
Gunna need some agreement here, gents.

>>18520105
I guess we can go with the axe. We can always switch at a later date, right?

>>18520182
Yessir.

>>18520197
It's decided, then.

>>18519947
You inform her of your decision. She hides a chuckle as she nods. "Alright." She whistles sharply, and the two engineers look up. "Nine Oh Nine, front and center!" She orders, and the young woman working on the lighter melee Demi climbs down and hurries over.

"Mister McGraff, this is Nine Oh Nine, she's trained as a melee assistant. She'll do all the maintenance on your Demi unless you do somethign stupid like get it ripped in half or something, and she'll be in the cockpit with you, keeping your machine running. By day she'll stick with you, don't abuse the right to order her around or I'll kick your ass. By night she'll sleep in the engineer barracks, they're seperate from the normal barracks." Nine Oh Nine holds out her hand to shake. What do you do, soldier?

>>18520327
Shake her hand, of course.

"Pleased to meet you, Nine Oh Nine. I think we'll work well together."

rolled 51 = 51

Shake hand, resist urge to inform Nine Zero Nine she's moe.

>>18520387
She smiles happily, shaking your hand. "Alright then!" The Commander says. "Nine Oh Nine, Arnold has decided to use one of the two handed axes. Have one brought and prep the Demi for a patrol." Nine Oh Nine nods and heads off with a smile and wave to you.

"McGraff, go tell Arnold that you're going on your first field mission. A patrol around the outer perimeter of the base. Nice and easy." She orders, motioning for you to get moving. How do you handle the order, my friends?

>>18520616
>McGraff, go tell Arnold

What

>>18520634
Herp. Aaron, not Arnold. Go tell Aaron. My bad, it's starting to get late and I'm starting to get stupid.

>>18520679
Let's go tell Aaron, then.

>>18517499
What, that makes no sense then, if they're able to write, they're able to divulge secrets, thus making them mute is kinda pointless, and encourages them to desert because their bosses are people who made them mute.

>>18520772
Most engineers are raised from birth for their profession, leading to fanatics. If someone like you gets made into a mute, you're not one hundred percent sure, but logic dictates they're probably watched for any signs of defecting.

>>18520713
You head over and tell Aaron of your job. He nods calmly, idly adjusting small knobs and sliders on his Demi's console. He finally looks up and smiles. "So, are you ready, Arnold? First time in a real Demi, first time in the field. Not likely that a lot will hppen, but still... It's exciting, right?"

>>18520862
"Yeah, it is. I can't wait to get out there."

Time for a test drive.

rolled 60 = 60

"So, Nine Oh Nine? Is this your first time inside a Demi too?"

>>18520963
>>18520908
You head back and climb into your Demi, Nine Oh Nine behind you. She shakes her head calmly, twisting several small knobs and prodding a couple of gauges. Dozens of controls cover the console infront of you, as well as two large joysticks, with two pedals at your feet (complete with straps that go over the top of your feet to hold them on). But you know this. You've trained for it for damn near a decade.

You expertly bring the Demi to life, and it roars with the voice of the gods. You can see outside through a that wraps around from your left to your right in about a two foot tall, four foot long strip. You can't see up or down without moving the whole Demi, but as a combat type, you will rarely need to. You manipulate the controls, reaching out with the mighty armoured hand of your Demi, and grasp the axe that several mechanics brought to you on a rolling table of sorts.

"Alright, Arnold, can you hear me?" You hear, coming from a small speaker on the console. It's the Commander, speaking to you through a comm-link. A small manipulation and you are on the right frequency to talk to the Commander and, hopefully, Aaron. What you got to say, McGraff?

>>18521117
"I hear you, Commander."

>>18521178
"Atta boy. Let's get you out there. And seriously, don't crash on your very first mission. You'll make me look bad!" You can see her grinning widely. You head on out, Aaron following behind you. With every step, every motion, you can feel the nearly unbridled strength of the Demi, the nearly unbridled strength of the gods themselves. The true, earth-shaking might of the Empire! Yes... This is a good day.

>Alright, that's it for night, Valian/tg/uardsmen! See you... Let's say on Monday, same time: 5:00PM Central.

>>18520820
Cutting out their vocal cords still doesn't make sense though, if they're raised from brith to be fenatical then making them mute is pointless, if they do manage to overcome their indoctrination, not being able to speak isn't going to stop them, as they can just write down all the secrets instead.

Not only does it take more works and makes them more likely to turn traitor, but it also does nothing to stop them from leaking secrets.