RIP RPG

RIP RPG intends to be a module hosted on a server that will be listed in GameSpy. To be developed through September 2009, it will showcase a whole new world of adventure.

Restrictions

 * 1) The rogue class is not available at level 1 (at character creation). If a player chooses to start their character as a rogue, the game will send that character to a holding place where there are no doors, no windows, and no escape (A DM will move pure rogues back into the game world if and only if they plan to devote all 40 levels to the rogue class.)
 * 2) The sorcerer class is considered a born psychic and is only available at level 1 (at character creation). Players attempting to multiclass into sorcerer will be deleveled by the game.
 * 3) The druid class is considered a member of the dragon race. Therefore it is mandatory for all druids to obtain dragon shape unless they multiclass with shifter. At that point they become part of the shapeshifter race. Druids must be selected at character creation (level 1). Players attempting to multiclass into druid will be deleveled by the game.
 * 4) The devastating critical feat is not available until level 39. Players attempting to take this feat earlier will be deleveled by the game.
 * 5) A multiclassed PC must have at least 5 levels by character level 40 in each and every class he has. If not a DM will set the PC back to level one.
 * 6) If there is more than one client connected through a (home) network, ports must be different for each client. See nwnplayer.ini, profile section for details.

Background introduction
Planet earth continues to move forward during the 21st century. Mankind has established a permanent moon and mars colonies and many underwater cities. Population has been stabilized at 60 billion people, and wars are kept to a minimum. Food production is at an all time high with advanced underwater harvesting. The standard of living for the average person is comparable to a middle class citizen in the USA during the late 20th century.

Medicine has cured hundreds of deceases, and life expectancy has increased to 120 years. For accident victims, bionics, robotics and cybernetics can return limbs, mobility, vision, sound and speech. But a new discovery is set to bring everything to an end.

Man has been able to travel at incredible speeds but the light barrier will keep him connected to one solar system. Then in the mid 70s (2075) a new technology could finally release mankind from the constrains of physics. For over a century teleportation via wormholes was believe to be theoretically possible, and one day it became reality with the RIP program, nothing fancy but the ability to rip a hole through space and time between two points in the universe and send and object or person through it.

Although the idea has been a common one for hundred of years, not until the 70s could it finally be experimented upon. The concept was simple; with enough energy, a rip could be produced and an object could be sent through it. The Alpha Project, as it came to be known, was meant to be the beginning of a new era for mankind. It proved to be so, but not for the same reasons.

Project code name "Alpha" (meant to symbolize the "beginning" of a new era) came with such a high cost that no one nation could afford it. In the end it was the English Conglomerate (made up of every English-speaking nation) and the investment of some major Indo-China global corporations that footed the astronomic bill, which amounted to trillions of dollars.

At the bottom of an ocean trench a simple hatchway marked the access point to the deepest research complex ever created. So secret that no record of it existence can be found anywhere and build with the sole purpose of causing the first ever rip.

1000 km below that hatch, in the Earth Mantle, flouting in a sea of magma at 2000 degrees Celsius exist the RIP laboratory incase in enhance armor. The first rip was meant to open a portal between two rooms so that an object could be sent through. Around these two rooms (one closer to the surface and the other closer to the planet core), the six largest nuclear reactors ever constructed where ready to fire the biggest burst of energy the Earth has ever experienced.

But all that physical energy just wasn’t enough, the experiment would only work at the precise moment, when a solar eclipse took place on the opposite side of the Earth and the equator was at its closest to the sun, With the Sun, the moon, the proximity to the earth own gravitational pull at the core and the energy burst from all six reactors, the experiment fired. With all that energy the rip was all but inevitable. From room two above to room one bellow, a distance of just 10 meters and objects was sent back and forth instantly through nuclear proof walls and flowing magma (the object was actually sucked back and forth with incredible force).

A success! Soon with future technologies and improvements to the procedure, tons of cargo, resources and even humans will be able to be transported from a base on Earth to one on the moon, Mars, or beyond instantly, and from the farthest part of the universe back to Earth! Mankind had assured its survival and could now conquer the universe.

Then the nuclear reactors were turned off, and the rip was to close. But it did not. With no energy to keep it open, all the scientists were in astonishment and at a lost, it was impossible. They didn’t realize that the laws of physics are not the only laws in the universe and could not predict what was to take place.

Then a rip was reported in Asia, it open all by itself and the world didn’t know why this was happening to them. Hours later another rip open in Africa and then one in the middle of a busy Los Angeles market where hundreds of people got vacuumed in to the unknown, never to be seen again.

Project Alpha was classified above top secret until a solution to the rip problem could be found. When one never materialized, the project was forgotten and became just another urban legend.

The average rip stayed open for no more than six hours, but some macro rips stayed open for 28 days. All rips are vacuums that sucked everything in front of them and deposited it on the other side.

It was a macro rip in India that brought the first living thing from another world. It was a simple ROUS (rodent of unusual size), it made global news and then fears when it was deem to be a bullet proof rat follow by panic when thoughts as to what else could come through a rip came to peoples minds. Six months later, in December 2078, the first “monster” comes through a rip. Immune to energy and normal kinetic force (a Super Monster), it destroyed everything from Toronto, Canada, to New York City, USA, before nuclear bombs destroyed it (and whatever was left of the eastern seaboard). The creature was originally named “The eight legged freak” a dwarf version of the species would later be known as Telf and their parasites would grow to be 10 feet tall spider like creatures that would come to inhabit Mexico and Brazil.

By the one year anniversary of the experiment, millions of people were missing, and even small cities had been completely ripped from the face of the earth. New alien creatures were ripping in constantly, some were simple animals or plants and some were even intelligent, while others were predators of the highest caliber, ferocious and almost unstoppable.

By year two people were reporting strange events; supernatural activity and men and women who were able to do the impossible, like creating a small light source above their heads and firing electric jolts out of their hands.

By year three, 10% of the planet had been bombed with nuclear devices to deal with creatures that, like Superman of the 20th century comic books, was immune to everything but total mass destruction.

By year four, the first alien power lord, am amphibian creature from a water word, defeated a monster made up of only fire with nothing else but his powers. It will later teach his powers and Knowledge to others. Mankind gets a break and they began to fight back.

One hundred years later the picture is very similar everywhere, every piece of land is under siege. Travel outside the protective walls of a town or city is extremely dangerous. Monsters constantly pour in with every rip that opens, and humans do not longer control the planet. 20th century technology will prove to be useless to stop the horde of creatures that are immune to bullets. Tanks will be open like can of sardines and the pilots eaten by creatures no bigger than a human. Planes will fall from the sky due to unnatural storms or random encounters with creatures that will come to be known as Dragons. 21st century technology will fare no better due to powers of attrition. Manufacturing could never keep up with the war efforts if every war machine was worth millions and was not more effective than a boy with a stick (an enchanted stick). Everything that people needed to survive needed to be close by and heavily protected. All Technology has been adapted and modified for one purpose, and one purpose only, survival. Most people now live in conditions that resemble the 15th century. Cities and towns maintain sewers and electric power, but there are no electric appliances because every part of manufacturing goes toward the permanent war effort to survive in the New Earth.

Chronological advancement
2010 - Population 7 billion. Twenty-first century technology improvements make life easier for many.

2021 - Population 10 billion. USA lands on Mars; China lands on the moon.

2032 - Population 15 billion. USA, Europe, China, Japan, and Russia build the first underwater cities around their national borders to deal with population growth.

2043 - Population 22 billion. USA builds the first Mars colony. China follows with a moon colony, while Russia and Europe build two space station colonies.

2054 - Population 33 billion. World War III leads to massive Earth-wide famines, and global pandemics kill 1 in 4 humans. Many fear the end of the world, but the sun does come out the day after.

2063 - Population 36 billion. Man achieves 21st century technology advancements that equal 20th century sci-fi.

2072 - Population 51 billion. Man reaches the moons of Jupiter. Plans start to terraform Mars and expand the moon base and space stations to take more civilians. Water colonies are proving very successful. The American world power, fearing that the Asian world power will reach Saturn's moons first, initiates the RIP program.

2075 - Population at an all-time high of 60 billion. The RIP program is ready to open the first interdimensional rip between two points just 10 meters apart. Success in this experiment will open the door for teleportation and instant travel to other galaxies and other Earths to colonize. A must for a planet that is overpopulated.

2077 - Solar eclipse occurs at the equator during the perihelion. The first rip ever is created. It does not close.

2078 - Hundreds of rips appear worldwide, with dozens of missing people and alien encounters.

2079 - Population 60 billion humans, 1 million aliens. Ten cities have been lost, and planet-wide martial law is imposed.

2080 - Population 59 billion humans, 2 million aliens. Estimates of 5 billion humans missing or dead, and 1 million alien creatures killed in action.

2091 - Population 58 billion humans alive, 20 billion dead; 4 million aliens now call Earth home, with unknown aliens dead.

2102 - Tracking population becomes impossible, as communication is lost with anything farther than 100 kilometers outside guarded city perimeters. Alien population is estimated at 8 million. Some settlements start to appear.

2113 - The first dragon is sighted. Massive global crusades form to exterminate all invaders.

2124 - Communication with all extraterrestrial colonies ends. With no Earth support, they die within 10 years. Dragon population increases, making air travel too risky and no longer possible for civilians.

2135 - Crusades are a failure. Human population is estimated at 50 billion and decreasing despite families having more children (4 - 12). In North America, General Joseph Siembieda makes the first alliance between two alien races that have colonized North America. The creatures known as elves and orcs start construction of the Chisago super city.

2146 - The Őœļą Ĉřōņ discover Earth and invade it via rips in Asia and Africa.

2157 - The first dragon kingdom is established in Mei long. The new Chisago state views this new Mei long Kingdom as a threat. The Őœļą Ĉřōņ build a massive slave market in Hong Kong and break a new record of 10 billion humans sold.

2168 - A Formian hive is ripped into the Manitoba prairies. Winnipeg scouts inform the authorities, and the cities prepare themselves for some form of invasion.

2179 - The Russian Federation, with the Europian Union, attacks the Őœļą Ĉřōņ forces in Asia and Africa. The Formian hive expands its territory into Winnipeg and eats its million inhabitants. Chisago City is finished and renamed New Chisago, a gigantic castle with one million citizens on the inside and two million hopefuls on the outside. General Joseph dies and his son Kevin Siembieda is appointed Emperor. The new human empire does not appeal to the dragon forces in Mei long as they build up for war.

2180 - Enter the player. Many common people now use the RIP calendar, which marks 2077 as year one of the rips. It is now 104 PR (post-rip). The Őœļą Ĉřōņ forces destroy the Russian Federation and now bands of random monsters control the countryside. The European Union decimates the Őœļą Ĉřōņ forces in Africa, but now nothing but aliens walk those nuclear-devastated lands. Emperor Kevin Siembieda marries the elven matriarch Mariam and fathers a set of twins, boy and girl, but in a turn of events, the mother and daughter are kidnapped. The Kingdom of Mei long is blamed and war is imminent. The Formian hive expands into the Winnipeg ruins.

Around the world the story is the same: Communication and transportation are all but non-existent between towns. All cities have 10-meter walls around them and the nearby farm lands to protect them from random predators that may have been ripped into the nearby countryside. Power is limited and a new form of energy is being used for everything. The master builders are called techmages, and they use the residual RIP energy to bend the laws of physics to accomplish incredible things that, for lack of another word, is called magic.

There is no air travel due to dragons and elementals destroying anything that enters their domain. Adventurers on land and sea can expect many difficult fights before reaching their destination. Life is hard for everyone, humans and non-humans alike. (Many non-humans are second or third generation and call Earth their home.)

North American kingdoms of note
It is important to note that communities do dot the land every 100-200 km, but most are ruled by a powerful ruler/protector and often do not survive after he or she is defeated by a random monster from a rip.

The biggest kingdom is the State of New Chisago, made up of humans, elves, orcs, their giant slaves, and were-mutant creations. They control a huge army of skel-droids and skel-bots plus manufacture facilities for power armors, power weapons and robots.

Population:
 * 1 million human citizens
 * 1/2 million dark elves
 * 1.5 million orcs
 * 100,000 were-beasts
 * 50,000 ettins
 * 50,000 half-breeds
 * 10,000 other (unregistered)
 * 2-3 million hopefuls in the surrounding ruins.

The second kingdom by total population is the Formian Hive of Winnipeg.

Population (increases by 100,000 per queen per year): Original population in 2168: Population for the Winnipeg siege of 2179:
 * 1 regis queen
 * 6 young queens
 * 100,000 nannies
 * 200,000 workers
 * 300,000 diggers
 * 400,000 scouts
 * 500,000 warriors
 * 1 queen
 * 100,000 workers
 * 100,000 warriors
 * 1,350,000 (One million Winnipegians kill 1,2 million Formians, but in the end they lost and became food, and the city ruins became a new Formian stronghold.)

The third kingdom by population is the Kingdom of Mei long.

Population:
 * 1,000 ancient dragons
 * 10,000 adult dragons
 * 100,000 young dragons
 * 200,000 humans
 * 200,000 halflings
 * 300,000 others.

The fourth kingdom by population is the Vermin Invasion in Mexico.

Population:
 * 500,000 vermin beatles
 * 100,000 giant spiders
 * 100,000 scorpions
 * 50,000 dryads

The fifth kingdom by population is the Republic of Île d'Orléans.

Population:
 * 200,000 humans
 * 100,000 dwarfs
 * 100,000 gnomes
 * 50,000 others

The Setara incident
Setara was a beautiful Afghan movie star and singer who had won the heart of the entire nation and was known and loved worldwide. In 2050, she made a controversial movie that enraged Iranian extremists. In the winter of that year, a group of well-equipped extremists crossed into Afghanistan from Iran and assassinated the beloved Setara while she was doing some humanitarian work near the border with Iran.

Enraged by this action, the president of Afghanistan ordered the military to hunt down the extremists and eliminate them no matter the cost. The military, also enraged by the incident, sent in six newly acquired EPAs (exterminator power armors). These had been bought from the USA just 3 months prior, under some controversy due to the fact that EPAs were state-of-the-art weapons of mass destruction. However, because Iran had developed nuclear technology, the sale went ahead.

The EPAs reached the target zone in just 30 minutes and, using satellite thermo topographic technology, knew exactly the location of the extremists &mdash; 100 meters into Iranian territory. The EPAs ignore protocol and engage the extremists on Iranian soil. Iranian authorities, perhaps overreacting, mobilized their own forces to the area in order to force the EPAs back to Afghan's soil.

Meanwhile, the EPAs had quickly destroyed most of the extremists but the extremists' known leader escaped into the city of Birjand (a city of 500,000 people in 2050). The EPAs enter the city by force and the local army opened fire on them.

Just four hours after the Setara incident commenced, the city of Birjand was in ruins, 10,000 Iranian soldiers were dead, 150 tanks and 25 aircraft were destroyed, and the Birjand population was ether running out of the city for their lives or lay dead under ruins.

The Iranian president, wounded by this aggression, ordered the entire Iranian armed forces to prevent even a single EPA from returning to Afghanistan alive. At the same time, the Afghan president &mdash; shocked by events so quickly escalating out of control and costing the lives of so many civilians &mdash; ordered the EPAs to return home ASAP.

Before the EPAs returned home though, an additional 100,000 Iranian troops will have perished, along with 1,000 tanks and 200 aircraft. Finally, under total humiliation and despair, the Iranian president ordered a total nuclear strike of the area in order to destroy the EPAs.

Five of the six EPAs returned to their home base. (One was accidentally destroyed by friendly EPA fire during the conflict.) Later, one pilot died of exposure to radiation, due to the overwhelming damage to his EPA compromising its radiation shielding. The other four soldiers were later court-martialed for allegedly disobeying direct orders not to enter Iran.

In the aftermath of the Setara incident, the whole world knew that a power armor soldier with a power sword could destroy the biggest armies, literally running them out of bullets. With that in mind, fear struck the world and a new cold war began; nations with power technology became superpowers, and nations without it begged to be assimilated in order to be protected.

It would only take four years of this fear and anger before the world would fall into the pain and suffering of World War III.