INVICTUS - DAWN OF DYSTOPIA INTRODUCTION THREAD

[Creatrick]

***

This is the early 21st century and the world is in crisis...

A finance crisis in west has grown out of control and world economy fell into abyss. No nation was spared from the effects of the collapse, bringing poverty, depression, desperation and even starvation to many parts of the world. Alliances, unable to keep their promises, have started to crumble. Previous partners have turned their backs onto each other. People, having become restless, started to take things into their own hands, causing riots and bringing extreme political factions into the control...

Tensions that kept rising in the first decade have finally exploded into brutal conflicts all over the world. In Europe, the most deadly conflict since World War 2 has erupted between the historical Roman state known as ERR and the state of Turkey... Several million dead, many more maimed. Cities still lay in dust, even though the war has already ended in uneasy truce 2 years ago. The effects of such war have shaken the foundation of the entire continent...

Increasingly disgruntled people look for saviors and more and more see them in various radical groups, who promise them new world order and safety from the effects of ongoing collapse. Zealots, fascists, populists and opportunists all alike boldly step forward, challenging the old world values. Ignited by the demagogue of these groups, new deadly ethnic conflicts are starting and old forgotten ones are renewed. Feeling powerless to keep the world in peace, UN has become yet another symbol of failed unity. Democracy and liberty is slowly deteriorating...

Yet, this is also the time of technological progress, as even in the hard times, the most intelligent and resourceful manage to turn the troubles of the world to their profit. Various corporations rise around the globe with intention to gather as much influence and power. Megacorporate entities that are way more influential than some nations have become a reality and are aggressively arming themselves to protect their interests against rivals. The rivalry creates new wonders of technology, though how much is that helpful for the common man is questionable...

Step into this world on the brink of dystopia and establish your own order. Fight and compete with your ideological opponents. Oppress or liberate the masses. Destroy or rebuild.

Welcome to...

DISCORD - https://discord.gg/9BFVfUr

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is Invictus - Dawn of Dystopia?

Invictus - Dawn of Dystopia is a hybrid role-playing and storytelling forum game, based on pictures made in Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker. Players take control of nation states, corporations, PMC's, cults and various other factions that are vying for influence and power in the alternate history destabilized world of early 21st century. The actions are visualized through pictures made in Gmod or SFM.

Players are able to set their goals and try to reach them in any way they like. Be it wars, political or economical influence, terrorism, alliance creation and so on. In these conflicts and intrigue exist many ordinary or not so ordinary people, whose stories will be told.

The world in which the action takes place is an unstable, unique place. Aspects described in detail below:

• Various small scale conflicts are starting all over the world. No region is safe, as the reasons are many and most people are disgruntled over the current world affairs. it only takes a match to ignite the many powder kegs.
  

• Some nations are more stable than others, though things can change fast. No guarantee that the supposed safe haven of today won't turn into a war-zone tomorrow. The risk is high.
  

• Old world alliances such as NATO, CSTO and others are slowly falling apart due to increasing tensions. Though they are not as strong as they were before in times of stability, they are still a force to fear for pariah states and other factions who wish to use the chaos to advance their needs.
  

• Wars are unique opportunity for many, which is why this might be the new golden age for private military companies and mercenaries. Their involvement might stabilize or worsen the situation, depending on who hires them...
  

• In these hard times, people everywhere are starting to sympathize with many radical and fringe groups as their old governments have largely failed to protect them from hardship. Extreme right or left parties are on the massive rise worldwide thanks to the destabilized world.
  

• UN has failed to prove effective and is now pretty much irrelevant, though the council still works and tries to ease the tensions where possible. This allows many problematic corners of the world once again become hotspots of terrorism and crime.
  

• Some authoritarian and totalitarian states, receiving no opposition from international community, start to expand their system and push their ideologies to their neighbors. This is a massive reason for the rapidly expanding extremist factions around the globe.
  

• Values of liberty and democracy are still praised and considered as the only hope in many places, though the opinion is shifting slowly as the crises continue and desperation is rising.
  

• The world is still recovering after one of the largest and most severe financial crises in the history. Prices are high for many necessities as trade agreements have either stopped or world events influence the economy negatively. This does not mean that the entire globe is on the verge of poverty - some nations are still more wealthy than others, while the rest are struggling as before.
  

• With so many companies going bankrupt or their shares becoming cheap, several extra large corporation rise to prominence. These entities are absorbing all the power they can get and use their massive financial wealth to expand even further. Morals and rules usually don't apply to these over-reaching corporate titans. The scenario of corporate run world might be turning into reality.
  

• Some industries fall, other rise. Military industry is thriving, as demand for arms and war tech is becoming increasingly big. Surplus weaponry is filling the market where it can reach the hands of every combatant.
  

• Despite the situation, big scientific advances have been made in recent years. Advancements in medicine, robotics, genetics, physics and many other fields have brought many exciting changes to the society. Though not all are able to make use of them, it's no wonder that the new tech level will shape the world in ways nobody can yet fully imagine.
  

Players should take notice of these aspects and shape their faction for the game according to them. It's not set in the stone however, as through the actions of players, worldwide situation can change and be altered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game concept and rules

As mentioned earlier, the game is played by creating a faction and role-playing it by creating pictures in Gmod or SFM meant to portray their actions. The game itself is split into 3 parts, each of them having a specific role in creating a unique game world:

Main RP thread - the central of part of game where all the action happens. Here the player factions fight, expand their influence, create or break alliances or just cause mayhem (perhaps even try to improve the situation of the world).

Story thread - place where players write stories of custom characters as they live in, observe or try to survive in the world. Anything that happens in main RP thread can and should be reflected here. Did your nation invade another nation and you want to tell a story of civilians caught in conflict? Wish to tell a tale of soldier as he goes to war and perishes there? Or a comic about a young man caught into web of crime and corruption in his home city? All kinds of stories can be written here.

Lore thread - storytelling and lore is one of the core parts of the game, which is why all players are encouraged to invest as much effort into the uniqueness of their factions. Historical photos, custom tech, culture and explanations of lore events are posted here. It's as if reading a wiki, but in more fun picture based format!

Main rules:

1. Players can have no more than 3 factions.
2. All posts in game threads need to have at least one picture, together with description of it. Anything else is not allowed.
3. Players must to put effort in their pictures.
4. Players are required to have at least re-skinned models for their factions. For example, using plain hl2 rebels or any american marine models is not allowed.
5. Mary Sue characters and factions not allowed. Everyone has flaws and weaknesses.
6. One man army characters not allowed, unless it does not step over normal boundaries (a lone spec op might be able to fight off multiple untrained terrorists, but no Rambo men fighting entire battalions).
7. WMD's allowed, but using them on player capitals is not and every use must be discussed with another players.
8. It takes a lot of time to build massive weapons, replenish forces or acquire tech. Don't rush things and when in doubt, ask admins for clarification.
9. Even though tech is bit more advanced than in real life, humanity still can't colonize Moon or Mars. Orbit is the limit!
10.Cartoon, TF2 or lewd models not allowed.
11. The tone of thread is serious and should be kept as so, but comedic relief is allowed on minimal levels.
12. No aliens or zombies. Supernatural stuff is allowed as long as admins allow it.
13. It's not required to notify other players about action you're about to take against them, but it's very recommended to avoid confusion or drama. Remember - it's just a game!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How to join?

If you're interested in joining, then visit our new member application page and leave a request as instructed there. We welcome all people who like making screenshots and writing stories/lore!

Be aware that this is Gmod/SFM based game, so only those who use these programs are allowed to join. For several reasons, we have decided to establish minimal content control for all potential players. This includes a good grasp on posing and lighting, at least minimal skill at scenebuilding. Remember that all people here are not professional artists, so we don't expect you to be top quality screenshot artists as well.

If you're not accepted right away, then don't be disappointed as we have screenshot making thread right here on these forums to help all those who wish to improve! Don't be shy and come to ask us for help if you need it - we will be more than happy to provide!

If you're accepted, then the first thing you should do is post the introduction post in main RP thread which includes:
1. Name of faction.
2. Location of HQ.
3. Name of leader and picture of him/her (optional).
4. Short description of faction.
6. Several pictures of faction.

Then, you must send the picture of faction territory to one of admins if your faction has it, together with your faction wiki page (the page is linked further below).

After these steps are complete, you're free to begin playing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Helpful links/resources

Links:

WIKI- we have our own wiki to archive all the content and lore of player factions. All players are encouraged to contribute to the wiki as much as they can.
INTERACTIVE WORLD MAP - constantly updated world map, showing the territory of factions as well as other important things.
ALTERNATIVE WORLD MAP - non-interactive version.

Staff members:

Spartacus - admin and owner of the forum.

Creatrick - admin.

Bottle Boy - forum janitor and map manager.

If you have any questions, be sure to contact one of the staff members by sending them a private message.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!