[HEADING=1]Bliss - War of Independence[/HEADING]
Bliss is back in an improved version. We made first contact, and the results were devastating. A plague with biblical proportions enveloped the world. A widespread addictive drug rendered many humans to live out the rest of their lives like sheep waiting for the slaughter. After a short period of silence, the Aliens attacked, waging a war on Terran soil. Claiming territory for the protection of Planet Earth, the colonization of Terra had begun, and would soon expand to dozens of Alien nations seeking a piece of the dark planet. Humans were slaughtered, Governments were toppled, Puppet regimes were put in place to oppress the people and squeeze every last drop of profit from them. The earth became a well of natural resources and slave labor for the extraterrestial beings. Military installations were founded on Terran Soil, and wars were fought over our homes. Masive Space Ports were constructed throughout the planet, colonial administrations established, alien colonies founded and human lives lost in every step of the way.
This is the story of Planet Earth and the Human Race, and how it advanced to the Next Technological Age - as Slaves under their new Alien Overlords.
The Road so Far
At first it was a trickle. Rumors, whispers, shady dealings in the halls of power. They come in peace, they said, we want to trade, they promised. The Aliens spoke to heads of power, promising them gifts. The answer they received was the same, and they all demanded discreet dealings. What would happen if the world knew about extraterrestrial life?The Cult of Bliss was founded at that time, and soon became a movement to change the world. Following the rapture and the return, followers numbered in the million across the world. Sermons invited folk to Bliss, offering a ?happy-pill? to make everything better. Individuals relinquished their possessions to the church and grouped together for protection. Those loyal to Bliss did not fight, did not resist, did not attack. All they were after was true Bliss.
The day ?The First War? erupted the world burst asunder. The nations of earth couldn?t possibly deal with the invading threat. At the same time the land was ravaged old scores were settled by vengeful nations. No united front could present itself against the alien forces, and even if they did the humans were powerless to resist.
Battles raged on earth soil and humans were its unwilling spectators. Casualties mounted in the tens of millions from the fighting alone. Later this event became known as ?First Contact?, or ?The First War?. Two Alien Nations descended upon earth to resolve their dispute, placing their battlegrounds in regions across the world. Massive weapons flashed, machine fought against machine, and all the while people were dying.
They were dying of the plague. Fever, boils, blood oozing from every orifice - it was the black plague reborn.
Although nestled deeply in the cockpits of their murderous machines, many of the Aliens have traversed the earth wearing sophisticated suits to compensate for the difference in environment earth presented. Otherworldly germs descended upon the already shaken locals, causing a massive plague among them. The deaths caused by the illness stacked higher than the casualties from the war, quadrupling the amount and reaching staggering proportions.
Every human was susceptible to the plague, but it seemed as if those of Bliss were completely immune. Their customs and abuse of mind-altering drugs had shielded them from the effects of the plague. Few knew of the otherworldly origins of the drug itself, and how it was designed to also be a cure for the disease. In time humanity adjusted and the plague became obsolete, humans having developed their own natural defense against it.
The world changed after that.
The winning side was interested in the planet he had so recently ravaged in a war, and portraying themselves as liberators, the Alien nation, called ?Beta? by the common man, decided to bestow it?s ?benevolent? rule on the natives. They offered knowledge and cooperation in exchange for land to build space-ports and military installations, supposedly to intimidate the other alien nation.
Mexico answered the call, ceding territory to the Alphas and allowing them to build earth?s very first space-port. Mexico had benefitted greatly from its arrangement with the aliens, and as its neighbors were cannibalized, beaten and carved open Mexico remained whole, projecting influence over its neighbors and becoming one of the last free places on earth, as long as you didn?t mind living under the Betas.
India was the second nation to agree to the Beta?s demands, allowing them to build a military outpost in its southern coast, in exchange for advanced military technology to win the arms race against Pakistan. The World Superpowers stood shocked at the Indian military when it was equipped with earth?s first mechanical soldiers, sentient android infantry, heavy mechanized moving fortresses and WMDs beyond human comprehension. In the following years, utterly terrified by India?s progress, Pakistan enlisted the aid of several neighboring nations including Iran and China to take down India once and for all. India had become the Asian dominant power ever since, its influence stretching from eastern africa to Indonesia.
Other nations considered a deal with the Betas, but by then it was already too late. In a few years of uncertainty, many races and nations of Aliens descended upon earth, colonizing as they saw fit. The Alphas who were fighting the Betas not too long ago cooperated in their rape of the planet. They were well-coordinated, dividing earth neatly among themselves and avoiding conflict among each other. Massive Space ports were built in large islands, an ideal location for the interplanetary infrastructure. The UK became one of the world?s largest trading hub, a massive space-port serving all of the European region. Major space-ports were built in Mauritania, Madagascar, Greenland, Singapore, Japan and Sri Lanka. The further away from a major port, the harder it was for the colonizing forces to gain and control the region.
The World Today
First contact was established forty years ago, and in those four decades the earth had changed drastically. Those born in this new world scoff at the tall tales of the old survivors. They have long forgotten about the borders of nations and the history of the world. There is no time for studying when there are production quotas to be filled. The world today is a complete mess. Only three countries on earth rule themselves - Mexico, India and Iceland. The rest are ruled by puppet-governments or were conquered by the Aliens. Spaceports litter the globe, and alien industries drain the planet dry. Wholesale murder is an acceptable fact of life, and the majority of alien colonial administrations don?t give a damn about human lives as long as the quotas are filled. Many young people are illiterate, and life expectancy drops to twenty in some harsh colonies. Collaborators, Quislings and Traitors use Alien superior technology, violence, fear and propaganda to keep the local population in their place, doing the Alien?s dirty work for them.
Pockets of resistance litter the globe, mostly in regions where Aliens have little control or interest in. Crazy rebels charge head-on at Alien military installations, commandeering enemy military hardware and sabotaging alien factories. Brave individuals infiltrate administrations to sabotage the alien colonial machine from within, and aid revolutionists outside. Shrewd investors and managers strike deals with Aliens, using their resources to secretly fund the resistance. People live under occupation, under the iron boot, and their only hope for a brighter day is an addictive drug that promises Bliss.
Iceland is the Alien?s private joke - the island remained independent since it didn?t have anything of value on it, and in a short period of time became the safe haven for refugees everywhere. Nowadays Iceland is overcrowded with people from
all across the globe. They live in terribly poor conditions, face shortages of basic commodities and with no means of escape. It had become the slum of the world, where resistance groups go to die and brave revolutionaries become homeless drunks.
The Aliens built infrastructure to support their growing industrial machine and advanced the technological abilities of man centuries into the future. The Human Race had reached a new space era? as slaves.
The Colonizers
Beta: The first Alien race to colonize earth, the Betas control large swaths of land in the Americas and Asia. They are three-legged creatures, more akin to insects than humans. Their tough skin is brown, if you would even call that a skin. They?re surrounded by a natural exoskeleton, have high endurance and tolerance to pain. Their upper body is similar in nature to humans, although their arms act more like pincers. They have small white eyes, flat nose and a vicious toothy mouth. Rich Betas sport a wig made from human hair, considered the utmost fashion in the aristocracy. They have no formal civilian colonies on earth, but they do keep barracks for troops stationed in the colonies.Betas are the bastards born out of the Alphas? space-faring experiments. They are of a rigid class-based system, value obedience and initiative above all. They comprise hundreds of sub-cultures within their society, but all of them bow down to the system and the aristocracy.
Their machines are large, crude, tripedal and utterly vicious. They utilize crude robots as plain infantry, but the best soldiers the Betas have to offer are themselves. They are armored in a mechanized suit, walking on all three, able to use close-range and long-range weapons. The heavy weapons they showed during the first great war was the flying fortress, a slow-moving massive tank manned by several Betas and their small computer-controlled flying machines, similar to flying saucers.
Alphas: The second Alien race to colonize earth, the Alphas control large swaths of land in the Europe , Oceania and Africa. . They appear humanoid in essence, thin and very tall figures, hairless, large eyes and transparent skin, showing blood vessels and delicate bones underneath. The weight of their heads is barely supported by their own bodies. They are rarely seen on earth themselves. They are the only species to have built colonies on earth, sealed domes and terraformed environments within.
Alphas were, according to their own records, the first ever sentient race to have domesticated and dominated space. They have made numerous contacts with planet-bound species before, their reactions alternating from cooperation to outright annihilation. The Alphas value freedom above all, and each Alpha is a master of themselves. They worship intelligence and look down upon underdeveloped nations. They are governed by a council of Alphas, each attaining their position through a lottery system.
Their machines are notable bipedal, elegant autonomous designs. They are controlled by a sentient A.I., while some delicate fighting machines are manned by Alphas sitting comfortably in their homes. The only time when Alphas come to the battlefield in large numbers is inside a command center, required to handle large amounts of independent military units.
Omega : These smaller colonial powers did not directly colonize earth, and instead prefer to rule through puppet-regimes. They control nations in Oceania, the Caribbeans and all of the smaller regions the big players ignored. They are never seen in person on earth.
Their military presence on earth comprises of a collection of different robots and androids. They lack the firepower to handle the two other big players, and are satisfied with winning just against humans.
The Major Factions on Earth
Earth Resistance - The fabled network of human agents working in tandem against earth?s Alien overlords. They are often portrayed as terrorists by Alien propaganda. Figures showing their continual defeat in places all across the world are shown to discourage people from revolting. In reality they are a large network of small pockets of resistance across the world communicating through the darknet to avoid Alien tracking. There is no command structure, no great plan, no organization between the groups. The resistance varies in its tactics, from the infiltration of the local administration and sabotage of factories, to outright war in the jungles.The Collaborators - Dubbed ?Quislings? by disgruntled humans, these individuals have chosen to work for the Aliens. They form the puppet-governments, the Alien approved political parties and administration.They fill the ranks of ?peacekeeping? and ?police? forces, serve as ?guards? in Alien installations and abuse their powers as they see fit.
Overseers - Human businessmen and leaders who work with the Aliens, managing earth?s industries according to their demands. They hold some power as humans, representing large human communities, their loyalties swing between human and alien, depending on how they can keep their position.
Mexican Holy Empire - Born in religious zeal, the Mexican Empire is the last Catholic nation on earth, the rest having fallen to the colonizers. The Empire is the most developed nation on earth, but its people live under the watchful eye of the administration. Undesirables are transferred to the care of the Betas, while Mexican colonies in the former USA and central america make progress on integrating even more territories the aliens had deemed too costly to control themselves.
Republic of India - A major player in the world, India had made great leaps of progress with the help of the colonizers. India is the last bastion of liberty and freedom in the world, the human democracy on earth. Unrest grows underneath, demands to boot out Betas intensify with every incident between the alien garrisons and the local population.
Icelandic Vikings - A rag-tag group of refugees and freedom-fighters smacked together into the most densly populated area in the world. Their activities revolve around supporting themselves financially, gaining contacts with like-minded individuals and occasionally attacking shipping lanes for supplies. There isn?t a government in Iceland and anarchy reigns supreme.
Cult of Bliss - The Cult of Bliss is a popular movement through earth, showing presence in every corner of the world. They preach tolerance, love and nonviolence. They accept the alien occupation. The Cult leadership has a direct line to the Alien colonizers, which makes them out to be Alien sympathizers. Many of the cultists are in fact merely addicts of the Bliss drug, and do not follow the doctrine of the faith, but are forced into it through the effects of the pill.
Bliss produces and distributes their drugs, which is a staple of their religion. Bliss Cultists are often seen as collaborators even though they lean towards neither side. If forced to work they will comply, but only if they are allowed to continue with the practice of their faith. Cultists become dependent on the drug and Bliss rituals, showing signs of withdrawal when denied their fix. The majority of them become catatonic when forced away from the faith while a few become extremely violent and dangerous.
The UN - Having lost its purpose, the United Nations act as a council of regions under Alien control. A puppet in all but name, the UN condemns terror attacks against the aliens, discusses terms of trade, resolves territorial disputes with the aliens as arbitrators and serves as the major diplomatic link between humanity and the aliens.
The Cult of Bliss
The Cult of Bliss was founded by a charismatic fellow named Raymond Shepherd, an african-american from the state of Ohio, claiming to have seen the truth. He preached tolerance, love and above all, the pursuit of happiness - and the final achievement of Bliss. He denied racism, nationalism and all that separated man, instead hoping to unite humankind with Bliss. He gained followers in the thousands, and one day declared those who give themselves to Bliss will be rewarded.
One year later the rapture occurred and Bliss cultists disappeared. The world was in uproar and major organized religions were shaken by this development. People converted to the cult in hopes of ascending as well, and many of the old world institutions were shaken or broken. It had been another year until they all returned, barring the prophet himself, Raymond Shepherd. They brought little shreds of Bliss with them, a drug which they began to use in their religious rituals.
Their ranks swelled, as was their influence and power. Each member gave as much as they could, since they would need nothing for true Bliss. Another Rapture was rumored to occur, but instead of rising to the heavens that day the heavens came crashing down, and Aliens first landed on earth. The majority believe true Bliss is the aliens and will come through them, which is why they haven?t resisted foreign occupation.
The faith split - those of the old guard rejected the drug, instead sticking with the teachings of Raymond, but the great majority of the faith turned to the drug. Members participating in the sermons were asked for donations, and those at the top of the pyramid became powerful leaders on their own. The splinter group itself opposes the alien invasion through non-violent means, but they form a meager minority among the many Bliss users and abusers.
Nowadays the Cult is a major player in world politics.
Game Mechanics
Since this is a large-scale game spanning the globe, working in different arenas simultaneously, each player will not play merely as one character, but as a group of characters connected in some way. The player will take control over Rebel Groups, Trading Associations, Drug Cartels, Families and much more. The range of possibilities is limited only to the arena where you play. The same kind of operations happening in Columbia will not be possible in Singapore, and vice-versa. There are currently four regions in the game:
Alphas control Japan and the UK, and have nominal presence in Singapore.
Betas control Colombia and SIngapore.
Japan is GM'd by SirDerpy.
UK is GM'd by Frission.
Singapore is GM'd by Baddamobs.
Colombia is GM'd by Mr.I'vebeenframed.
I will coordinate the four arenas, operate factions outside of the GM's control and dictate the pace and direction of the RP. This isn't just about you - there's a whole world out there, and it's struggling for independence.
Player submitted sheets will include the organization and several key-characters. You could bring in new characters as long as it doesn?t conflict with anything else. Characters dying is a likely occurrence. It leaves room for epic last stands and legendary sacrifices.
