[Notion]

I'm running a military campaign (By Iron and Blood) set in an alternate universe. Character, intrigue, and plot are important, though there is some violence as well. There is lots of violence. The squad is a bit undermanned as of late, so I'm looking for anyone interested in joining the fray.

I should note that I'm running another campaign that interacts with this one, but right now, that campaign has a few more people than this one does. It's important for the campaigns to have an equal amount of players on both sides.

1914

June 26th--Francis Ferdinand, along with several dozen other notable politicians and leaders go missing in Germany and Austria. A pro-slavist organization known as the Black Hand claims responsibility.

June 28th--The Austrian Empire begins a nationwide purge in a vain attempt to destroy the organization.

June 30th--The Black Hand retaliates. The organization makes use of a shocking number of highly skilled Talents. A group of Black Hand Talents summons an extra-planar entity within the boundaries of Vienna, an event which will be remembered as the Night of Sleeping Teeth.

July 2nd--Otto von Bismarck convenes with Austrian dignitaries to discuss solutions to this unconventional threat to the Central Powers.

July 3rd--A subset of the German Knights Templar, the Knights Scitex, is given control of Austria and Germany's forces. Due to their unique focuses, the Scitex are masters of the Arcane, and match the Black Hand's demonstrated power work for work. The Black Hand begins an intense campaign of terrorism within the Central Powers.

July 18th--A battle party of Scitex knights, along with several regiments of conventional infantrymen, find and destroy a Black Hand stronghold in Serbia, ending the First Crusade. Several Talented members of Serbian nobility are encountered within the stronghold and are killed. The organization's activities grind to a halt.

July 20th--Enraged at the military activities with its boarders, Serbia declares war on Austria.

July 21st--Germany declares war on Serbia to uphold its alliance with Austria.

July 25th--Russia begins mobilizing troops to come to Serbia's aid.

August 1st--Germany declares war on Russia.

August 3rd--Germany declares war on France and invades Belgium. Germany must implement the Schlieffen Plan or risk being overwhelmed.

August 4th--Britainnia declares war on Germany.

August 23rd--The BEF started its retreat from Mons. Germany invades France.

August 26th--Russian army defeated at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes.

September 6th--Battle of the Marne starts.

September 9th--Advancing German forces are flanked and almost routed. In a last ditch effort to turn the tide, a Scitex knight named Dremados Forsythe, along with his attachment of knights, hastily instructs German field Talents an advanced working known as 'bridging'. The danger and unpredictability in using this working is ignored. By the end of the day, more than half of the German army's Talents have died due to advanced arcane poisoning. They succeeded in opening several 'bridges', however, allowing a significant number of German troops to get behind the advancing French forces.

September 12th--The bulk of the French Army is surrounded and destroyed. German troops march unimpeded toward Paris.

September 15th--France surrenders to the Central Powers, ceding valuable ports to Germany and allowing the Central Powers to annex Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

October 7th--British forces begin pulling out of Europe. Britain begins peace talks with Germany.

October 29th--Turkey enters the war on Germany’s side.

1915

January 10th--The Black Hand begins striking in Russia's favor on the Eastern Front. The victorious Scitex rearrange their operations to focus on their original objective of destroying the secret society.

February 19th--Zeppelins begin an intense bombing campaign as Britain refuses the terms Germany has laid out.

April 1st--Otto von Bismarck dies on his 100th birthday. The leader of the Knights Scitex assumes control of German military command.

April 25th--The Black Hand becomes increasingly desperate as their German counterparts achieve victory after victory. They step back from field operations to work on an alternate plan.

May 6th--The Black Hand assassinates the head of the Knights Scitex. The next in line, Dremados Forsythe, takes the reigns of the Central Powers.

May 7th--The “Lusitania” is sunk by a German U-boat. American opinion is turned against aiding Britannia.

August 2th--The Germans capture Warsaw from the Russians.

August 17th--Willhem II disappears, along with a large portion of Berlin. The Black Hand is suspected. Forsythe is quick to begin setting up a system of government to maintain public stability.

September 20th--Templar and Scitex Knights on dragon back cross the English channel and light London ablaze. Zeppelin raids continue.

1916

February 12th--Coordinated operatives assassinate a dozen key Russian Talents that enable the Czar's army to keep the Germans at bay. Russian forces are over run.

April 10th--British forces surrender to Turkish forces at Kut in Mesopotamia.

May 31st--Britannia finally agrees to German demands in order to end hostilities. Germany comes into possession of the bulk of British colonial holdings.

June 2nd--The Black Hand, fearing the capture of Moscow, summon another extra-planar entity, more powerful than the one in Vienna.

June 10th--Bloodied and battered, the German army beats a retreat to regroup.

July 1st--The Black Hand find their Daemon to be harder to control and more powerful than they intended. It begins summoning more of its kind.

July 2nd--The Black Hand attempts to banish the Daemon. The ensuing fight ends with the corruption of the remainders of the Black Hand, who become little more than puppets to the dark entity.

August 5th--First use en masse of tanks on the outskirts of Moscow by German forces. The tanks prove effective in dealing with the archaic forms of combat favored by the Daemons. The Knights Scitex manage to destroy most of the daemons as they try to flee.

August 6th--Moscow is captured. Russia surrenders and agrees to cede a great deal of its western land to Germany. The Great War comes to an end.

September 10th--The daemons that escaped from the battle at Moscow cause too many disturbances to count. The German army fights the arcane threat, though does so ineffectively.

September 29th--The Knights Scitex form their own military, the Iron Legion. The Iron Legion borrows heavily from existing German forces, but are specially equipped and trained to handle Daemon slaying, among other things, along side the Knights.

1919--US loans to defeated France and Britain default. Compounded with several other internal problems, the United States spirals into an Endless Depression. Germany, meanwhile, couldn't be better.

1921--Scitex Forsythe, celebrated hero of the Great War, is elected Chancellor of newly reorganized Germany. The Scitex party becomes the most popular political party ever seen. Under Forsythe's brave new plan of widespread industrialization, Germany is taken into the future. In a cloud of feel good times, German parliament grants undefined executive powers to their Knightly leader. The size of the Iron Legion exceeds the size of the German military.

1922--Russia explodes in revolution as a great famine sweeps over the slavic nation. The poor leadership given by the Czar, coupled with the rampant Daemon incursions within Russian boarders catalyzes the common man to rise up and shuck off the noose of his capitalist oppressors.

1923--Germany's Iron Legion is invited into Russia to purge the land of the Daemon taint. Germany obliges them.

1924--The Second Crusade, short, but bloody, ends in triumph. Russia agrees to let the Iron Legion keep bases within its boarders to prevent Daemon infestations from being a problem in the future.

1925--A similar situation arises in Italy. The Iron Legion enters the nation despite the lack of invitation. Daemons and Italian troops are purged side by side.

1926--Germany finishes annexing Italy. Riots and freedom movements spring up across the country. The Iron Legion purges them as well.

1927--Forsythe almost loses an election. The runner up, Johan Krump, disappears shortly afterward.

1928--A resurgent of Daemon and Black Hand activity endangers Germany. The Iron Legion, by now the bulk of Germany's military, tracks their activity base to Africa. The Knights Scitex and the Iron Legion purge most of North Africa, and reaffirm Germany's holdings there. Johan Krump is discovered to have been leading the group of terrorists. Opposing political parties are outlawed. The public agrees with Forsythe's decision.

1930--The left wing Liberty Party comes to power in the US, promising relief from the Endless Depression.

1931--France and Egypt join the Iron Pact.

1932--After a decade of peaceful coexistence, Germany, Austria, and Russia enter into an involved alliance and trade relationship. This new alliance is called the Iron Pact. Several smaller European nations scurry to be a part of it at formation.

1933--The United States annexes Canada. Britainnia severs diplomatic ties with the US.

1934--The US allies itself with Japan and the Ottoman Empire, and then moves to seize its holdings in South America.

1935--Japan and the US go on a land grab in the Pacific, dancing around dangerously near German and British colonies. Britain allies itself with Germany, and thereby the Iron Pact, but does not officially become a part of it. The Ottoman Empire invades the middle East. Scitex Forsythe meets with European leaders to discuss proper responses to this threat.

1936--Japan invades China. Russia provides indirect assistance, not willing to get tangled into a war with the US. Spain joins the Iron Pact. Forsythe and other Iron Pact leaders threaten war if either of the Allies steps into Australia. The US, economy booming from the rampant expansion, and Japan, its dreams of an empire being fulfilled, slow down their operations.

1937--Japan and the US invade and take control of Australia. Mexico, knowing the that United Juggernaut will eventually turn its eyes to the Southern neighbor, launches a surprise attack on the States. The Iron Pact declares war on the United Trio. Japan and the US invade German and British holdings in the East Indies.

1938--Scitex Knights and the Iron Legion march into the Ottoman Empire, tearing apart any resistance. The Iron Pact divides the land amongst themselves for 'safe keeping'. The capture of the Suez canal allows the Iron Pact to move its Navy into the Pacific ocean to defend its colonies.

1939--The Iron Legion arrives en force in Mexico. The flood of soldiers helps Mexico turn back the US counterattack and push into the US.

1940--Battle of the Coral Sea: a great portion of the Japanese fleet is sunk off the coast of Australia by the Iron Pact's navy. Japan fights on, though is severely hampered. The US' navy is able to pick up the slack.

1941--The Iron Pact underestimated the industrial capacity of the US and their resolve to fight. The US pushes back into Mexico and captures its capital, leaving devastation in its wake. Evidence of humanitarian atrocities begin to arise from Japanese and American holdings.

1942--The Iron Legion is pushed South out of Mexico, but on the way capture the Panama canal at high cost. The Black Hand and Daemons are found defending the vital water way. The US is unable to move the ships made in the Atlantic to the Pacific effectively.

1943--The Iron Pact fleet dominates the Pacific. In a clever island hopping strategy, the Iron Legion recaptures dozens of islands. Among these islands are some of the southernmost Japanese lands and Hawaii. Preparations are made to invade the US homeland by different means, while Zeppelins, bombers, and Scitex Knights begin an aerial campaign against Japan.

1944--The Iron Legion launches the biggest military operation in history. The Legion undertakes a full scale amphibious invasion on the west coast of the United States, while Russian attachments of the Iron Legion move into Alaska, and quickly thereafter, Canada. Legion troops by the Panama canal move to attack US forces to the North, while the most violent naval battle ever seen takes place mere miles off the east coast of the US.

1945--The operation is a success. Legion troops march on US soil once more, taking hold of one city after another, despite heavy resistance from both civilians and the US army. Japan continues to fight on despite the massive civilian casualties and the devastation of its homeland. The US, similarly refuses to surrender. The US threatens 'promt and utter destruction' if attack forces do not withdraw. Scitex Knights on the front lines have been encountering more and more Daemon and Black Hand forces intermingled with the US troops, but they have not been posing a threat. They inform Fosythe that the threat is empty, at least from an arcane standpoint. Three days later, an atomic bomb is dropped on Berlin. Forsythe courteously informs the US and Japan that if they do not offer unconditional surrender, they will face 'promt and utter destruction' in return. Both nations refuse. One day later, an atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. Both sides continue to fight. The next day, an atomic bomb is dropped on New York. Forsythe ensures both Japan and the US that there's more where that came from. The Emperor of Japan radios Japan's surrender to the Iron Pact. The US continues to fight on, despite the Legion being a few miles away from their capital. Surprisingly, the US surrenders. A bomber carrying a third atomic bomb toward DC is called off mid flight.

1946--Scitex Knights discover that three key leaders in the Liberty Party were members of the Black Hand. The US' vice president is found out to be a Daemon, while the President had been a member of the Black Hand. The US government, decided to be tainted by extra-planar interests, is disbanded and replaced with Iron Pact military rule. Those that protest are purged.

1948--The Third Crusade begins in Japan after Daemon activity comes to a head. Scitex and Legion forces find their enemies to be much more clever this time around.

1950--Despite heavy losses, the Legion pulls a thorough purge of Japan.

1953--Mexico joins the Iron Pact.

1957--Australia joins the Iron Pact.

1960--Japan joins the Iron Pact.

1962--The United States is allowed to reassemble its government.

1963--Scitex Talents discover Daemon activity on the moon through scrying. Plans are drawn up to purge Luna.

1966--Canada and Britain join the Iron Pact.

1967--Elite Scitex Knights and Iron Legion squads become the first humans to be in space and set foot on the moon. The Fourth Crusade is short, costly, violent, and in the end, successful. The extra-terrestrial men return to Earth as heroes.

1974--People become fed up with strict Scitex regulations. Civil unrest flares up in several Iron Pact countries. Protests and rallies become commonplace all over the globe.

1977--German and British colonies are granted independence. Riots subside.

1980--India joins the Iron Pact.

1985--China begins invading neighboring providence. It ensures the Iron Pact that its goals do not interfere with the Pact's.

1988--Mild protests turn into fiery riots. Local police forces often join in with the anarchy. People demand open elections and freedom of speech. The movement demands change from the Scitex party.

1990--Daemon activity is detected all over the globe, often coinciding with the rioting regions. The Iron Legion is quick to begin the Fifth Crusade. Daemons, members of the Black Hand, and protesters are purged. Cities are left in flames, children without parents, adults without homes. Most importantly though, they are also left daemon free.

1995--Daemon activity is detected in the Middle East. The Iron Legion mobilizes for the Sixth Crusade. The Daemons prove more elusive than initially supposed. The military action drags on with little results other than domestic upheaval.

1996--Relations between China and the European Iron Pact deteriorate.

2000--Brazil, various nations in South America, and many nations in the Pacific form an alliance with China. Daemon activity is detected within their boarders, but the nations refuse Iron Legion support, and threaten nuclear retaliation should the Iron Legion attempt a purge.

2004--Covert Scitex and Legion activity within the hostile nations is found out. The Brazil-China alliance severs diplomatic ties with the Iron Pact.

2009--You've been in the Iron Legion since you turn 19, either because you wanted to serve your people, purge demons, do a public service, or not go to jail, seeing as service in the Iron Legion is compulsory within Germany. You've completed the Lehrzentrum, the Iron Legion's main training facility, located in East Germany. Very recently, you've been given a new assignment. Your COs have transferred you to the 52nd Sturm Grenadier, a fighting force fortified smack dab on the Chinese/Afghanistan border. It goes without saying that this is a hazardous change of scene.

I'm going to use a 2d12 system based on the SPECIAL rules used in Fallout. Stats will effect your character's abilities, and you will roll with specific skills to accomplish tasks.

There are 7 stats that your character is comprised of.

Strength reflects your character's... Strength. The more strength you have, the stronger you are. Strength influences unarmed and melee damage roles, carry weight, and your HP.

Perception is how alert your character is. It determines whether or not you notice important details, like landmines, whether or not someone is lying to you, or weaknesses in your enemy.

Endurance is how tough your character is. Endurance modifies your resistance to poison and arcane workings, your damage threshold, and especially your HP.

Charisma reflects how NPCs in the game world react to you and your actions. A high charisma will win you many friends, allies, and opportunities. If you have a low charisma, you may wind up thinking that all NPCs are jerks, since everyone will treat you like crap.

Intelligence influences the number of skill points you start with, as well as how many you get at level up. It also determines how often your character receives insights in game, and whether or not said insights are actually useful.

Agility is how nimble your character is. Agility determines how fast you move, how easy you are to attack, and your ability to balance, climb, tumble, ect.

Luck determines how much fate is on your side. If you have a low luck, things will more often than not turn rotten, and it will appear as if the GM hates you. A high luck, on the other hand, will be like playing the game on easy mode. Help will arrive on time, problems will seemingly take care of themselves, fame, fortune, and women will fall into your lap.

You have 40 points to distribute between the seven attributes. 5's are considered 'average'. But your characters won't be average now, will they.

Starting HP is equal to 5+Strength+2*Endurance

Skills represent your training and experience doing things.

Small Guns is your characters familiarity with firearms, from hand guns to assault rifles.
-Your starting skill in Small Guns is equal to (Perception - 5)

Big Guns is your character's ability to handle flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and machine guns.
-Your starting skill in Big Guns is equal to (Strength - 5)

Melee reflects your character's skill with the blade, truncheon, or other close combat weapon.
-Your starting skill in Melee is equal to ((Strength+Agility)/2 - 5) [Round up if average is above 5, round down if below 5.]

Unarmed is your character's fierceness when without a weapon.
-Your starting skill in Unarmed is equal to ((Strength+Agility)/2 - 5) [Round up if average is above 5, round down if below 5.]

Throwing is your character's effectiveness in launching random objects, with, or without, the use of a bow.
-Your starting skill in Throwing is equal to ((Strength+Agility)/2 - 5) [Round up if average is above 5, round down if below 5.]

Tactics is your characters grasp of battlefield situations, and is used to come up with plans or judge the validity of an existing plan. Plan ahead and you won't be dead.
-Your starting skill in Tactics is equal to (Perception - 5)

Guile represents your character's dexterity in dealing with traps and locked doors, as well as his or her ability to make himself unseen in the shadows.
-Your starting skill in Guile is equal to (Agility - 5)

Alchemy is your character's knowledge of medicines, potions, transmutations, and human anatomy. Alchemy is used to fix crippling injuries and brew up combat enhancing stimulants and chemical explosives.
-Your starting skill in Alchemy is equal to (Intelligence - 5)

Engineering is your character's knowledge of machinery and technology. This influences your ability to fix things, craft new pieces of equipment, figure out existing equipment, sabotage enemy equipment, and pilot vehicles.
-Your starting skill in Alchemy is equal to (Intelligence - 5)

First Aid is your character's ability to restore the wounded to health and stabilize critical injuries.
-Your starting skill in First Aid is equal to (Perception - 5)

Speech is your characters talent with words. How well you can convince someone to see your point of view or hide the truth from them is dependent on Speech.
-Your starting skill in Speech is equal to (Charisma - 5)

You may tag two skills. These skills receive a +2 bonus and will be easier to level up at higher levels.
You have (3+Intelligence) skill points to distribute, initially.

Although this won't come into play until later, skills level up like this:
0 to 7: 1 skill point per increase.
8 to 10: 2 skill points per increase.
11 to 13: 3 skill points per increase.
14 to 17: 4 skill points per increase.

Tagged skills level up like this:
0 to 10: 1 skill points per increase.
11 to 13: 2 skill points per increase.
14 to 17: 3 skill points per increase.

Name:
Physical Description:
Short Personality Description:

--Stats--
Strength: 5
Perception: 6
Endurance: 7
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 3
Luck: 7

HP: 24/24

--Skills--
Small Guns: 1 +2 +3 (6) Tag
Big Guns: 0 (0)
Melee: -1 (-1)
Unarmed: -1 (-1)
Throwing: -1 (-1)
Tactics: 1 (1)
Guile: -2 (-2)
Alchemy: 0 (0)
Engineering: 0 +2 (2) Tag
First Aid: 1 +4 (5)
Speech: 1 +1 (2)

I'm aiming for 1 or 2 people. Ranks, specializations, and equipment will be determined in game.

The game has, so far, progressed from boot camp to field operations.

Interested applicants should picture growing up in Germany during the early 1930's for your characters' past, except with more totalitarianism, electronic monitoring devices, nationalistic zeal, and clockwork overseers.

The tone of the story is dark, so make sure to bring a flashlight.

The game in its entirety can be found here. Feel free to read for background information. It is not necessary for applicants to read the game before applying.

There is a lack of physical might in the game right now, so strong, fast, agile, or just generally tough characters will be preferred over the brooding intellectual types, of which there are plenty. We've got a great range of skills in the current squad, but we do not have anyone with focuses in either engineering or guile.

Thanks for your interest!