TFARCHIVE FORUMS

Since we're starting off the game right at the end of peacetime, so a lot of our characters (maybe even most of them) won't be soldiers right off the bat. What do you suppose your guys are doing before the shooting starts, and how are they going to get involved in the war?

If you think it would make sense for your character to be tied into someone else's backstory, don't be afraid to ask. Speaking for myself, I'd love to include other folks' characters in my guys' backstories so that they've got some friends or enemies right off the bat.

Red Alert: Red is a security expert, so he's either going to be working in police or private security. Heinrad and I have talked about him being Nightbeat's partner but I'm not sure whether we decided that was a good idea or not. If he is a cop, he'll definitely be the Mulder-type who sees criminal conspiracies behind everything. He'd probably be investigating something Decepticon-related as the game starts, perhaps tracking down a mole or a traitor.

Silverbolt: I can't see Silverbolt doing anything other than being a soldier. His fear of flying probably kept him out of front-line duty, but his personality and no-nonsense demeanour makes him a perfect fit for a base commander or someone in command of an administrative squadron. I'm not sure exactly where he'll fit in to start, though.

Smokescreen: Smokey is going to be a big, big divergence from the version I'm playing now. Instead of being a borderline-evil compulsive liar who sees everything in terms of tactics, in the new game Smokescreen is a pleasant and genuinely caring person -- hence why he's in his bright, cheerfully-garish Universe body instead of the darker, more brooding Alternators one. I see him as someone who doesn't like to solve problems with violence and prefers to use brains, misdirection and guile instead. A trained psychiatrist (and by implication, a medical doctor too), his role among the Autobots would be like a more-useful version of Counsellor Troi: helping individual Autobots cope with the loss of their homeland on the one hand, and providing tactical input and using his psychological skills to anticipate how the enemy will react to the Autobots' plans on the other.

As for why he'd join the Autobots...in one of the old Find Your Fate books I got as a kid, Smokescreen talks about how the Decepticons' experiments with antigravity caused his home to drift out of the planet's gravity well. I quite like that and think I'll adapt it to fit for our game. Perhaps he was living on an orbital habitat, and someone like Shockwave or Predacon was renting lab space there for their experiments?

Jetfire: As per my discussions with Clogs, Starscream and Jetfire are going to be scientific research partners who explore far-away worlds. When they discover that Zeta Prime is using their data for nefarious purposes, the two of them end up siding with the Decepticons. I assume he'll eventually have enough of the 'Cons and their evil and switch sides, but that remains to be seen.

Lugnut: Lugnut was a petty criminal who had been sentenced to off-world exile, in much the same way that the UK sentenced criminals to transportation to Australia. Megatron rescued him and his fellow undesirables and gave them shelter in Kaon, earning Lugnut's eternal loyalty. I'm toying with the idea of saying that Nightbeat and/or Red Alert are the ones who arrested him, to create a bit of a rivalry.

Megatron: A former miner who rose to fame as a gladiator, Megatron is the Lord of Kolkular and High Governor of the Province of Kaon. Rather than lead a violent uprising he and his Decepticon followers used their popularity to seize power through legitimate means, although with quite a few shady behind-the-scenes dealings and more than their fair share of mysteriously disappearing rivals. Once he rose to power he abolished democracy and declared himself dictator, presumably to the cheers of his many loyal supporters. In theory he's subordinate to Zeta Prime and the central government, but in practice envoys from Iacon are turned away at the border if they're lucky and simply disappear if they're not.

Predacon: Predacon is simply an amoral scientist. He's fairly old and has the equivalent of postdoctoral degrees in dozens of different fields. He moved to Kaon because Megatron was willing to allow the morally-grey research that the Church forbids everywhere else. Before Kaon he lived on a series of far-flung orbital habitats, disreputable ones that were willing to turn a blind eye to his work in exchange for his services as a scientific consultant.

Soundwave: One of Megatron's closest advisers and the closest he has to an actual friend, Soundwave is the sort of person who likes to work in the background. Outside of Megatron's inner circle, few people would know the name 'Soundwave' before the war breaks out and even fewer would know how important he actually is. He was designed as the sentient core of Cybertron's communications network and wired into it from the moment he was brought online. An entire solar system's worth of transmissions is murder to manage, and it was thought that a specialized living brain would do a better job than artificially-programmed routers and hubs. More than that, though, the government intended for Soundwave to function as a living ECHELON system, listening in on every transmission that passed through him and using his intuition as a living being to decide what might pose a threat. He's good at his job, but he quickly grew to resent what had been done to him. He began to support Megatron in secret, feeding him useful intelligence and doing what he could to mask his leader's activities without tipping the Autobots off to the fact that he'd turned on them.

1)Scoop

I'd like to develop something that was just hinted at in the current game and that is his background as a reporter. He's probably worked most of the slots in the download and is auseful contact for the likes of Nightbeat. I see him being embedded in a unit and through various trials and tribulations ending up discovering that he actually has a knack for soldiering

2)Nightstalker

I see Nightstalker being the equivalent of the Swiss Guard and being a longtime part of the Primal Protection detail

3)Bombard (fanmade)

Bombard is a no nonsense soldier. He has worked his way up through the system and the ranks. He commands a brigade of artillery and will probably as such know Silverbolt. I imagine that artillery will have wained in importance due to the long period of peace and because of that he will be frustrated. H ewill probably be something of a Cassandra figure having been trying to improve various deences to no avail much like the situation in Singapore in WW2

Decepticons

1)Weirdwolf was the Master of the Hunt in Iacon He operated the sporting activities of the hunt, maintained the kennels, working with the huntsman. He grew increasingly frustrated as the hunt tended to be rather snobbish and looked down on him as a professional rather than an amateur like themselves. He was injured when he was kicked in the head by one of the petro-ponies during a hunt which left him with a speech defect. Talking to himself constantly in a weird sing song and scrambling his sentence. Such behaviour was seen as inappropriate and several of the hunt committee organised to have a vote to have him dismissed and replaced. Robbed of the job he loved and blaming the hunt for losing his position Weirdwolf retreated to his flat and gradually drank himself into a stupour. Increasingly unstable he decided to wreak his revenge by hunting those who had voted him off. He stalked and killed several of the committee responsible for his exile before being forced into exile in the Cybertronian underground.


2)Venom tbc

3)Scavenger will be resuming his role as a mining engineer. He was involved with the company that Megatron worked for as low to middle management . obssesed and involved with his work of finding mineral deposits he is oblivious of the cost to the workers. Not bad just blinkered. Because of this role and the realisation of how badly the miners were being treated. He is desperate to prove himself thus explaining his eagerness to please.

4)Squawktalk enlisted for two years in the Airforce he was promoted to Sergeant and worked as an communications specialist. After his discharge from the military, He went to work in the advertising industry, as a copywriter as part of his duties Squawktalk produced radio and television commercials . He discovered while pitching his ideas that he had atalent for mimicry and found work doing radio plays and voice overs. concurrently with this work he began adventure novels. His most famous creation was the adventurer and archeologist Relic. While researching the plots for his novels he himself developed a passion for Archaeology and Xenbiology especially the study of different languages which he discovered he had a talent for. Despite his passion and enthusiasm he is seen by professionals as a nouvel riche amateur and source of funds. One of his excavations comes to the attention of the Church who wanted him to stop the dig. Their insistenc ebecame mor eforceful and he was forced to flee to Kaon to escape them which is where he is when war breaks out.





5) Finback - retired Navy , discharged because of his rust condition he misses the life on the ocean wave. Eeking out an existence on his pension and savings he is confined to a hover chair and in his original pretender body. He tries to recapture his former existence by hanging around bars and telling tall tales. When war seems inevitable he tries to reenlist but his medical condition hinders him. Drawn to Kaon by rumours of a possible cure due to research being done there he finds himself unable to afford the surgery and forced tomake a tough decision...

Great thread. I think I've mentioned backstories in passing to Warcry and Springer85... time to post the whole shebang, then.

1) Grimlock: Grimlock would be one of the outcasts living in Kaon, participating in the deadly gladiatoral games there. A former soldier, perhaps? Kicked out of the army for over-usage of violence? This would lead him to be offered a place in the Decepticon army. However, since Grimlock is a noble soul deep down, he refuses to take part in a rebellion. When the war broke out, he would later join the Autobots when it's clear that he has to take sides.

If I go with the former soldier background, it would be feasible for him to be old friends with Kup like in War Within. Warcry and I have talked about him developing some sort of rivalry with Jetfire, but nothing specific yet.

2) Gunrunner: His bio has already given us a backstory so we'll go that route. He would most likely be a soldier, commandeering one of several experimental combat vehicle armours. When the war broke out his team would be ambushed by Sixshot and several others, thereby leading to the deaths of his entire team. Gunnie will survive just by the virtue of his armour taking the hits for him.

3) Sentinel Prime: Since Sentinel would be getting the Matrix later, he would need to be at a high position in the command. I was thinking of his Animated background as a boot camp officer, but that doesn't sound too feasible to be a candidate of the Matrix. Although Optimus was a dockworker/archivist, so who knows? Since his weapon is a lance, I'll presume he has learnt quite a fair bit of melee combat, so he must've been formally trained somewhere. Definitely he'll need some closeness with Nova Prime, in order for the him to pass the Matrix to him. Springer85 has also suggested he be one of Kup's former students. One of his less stellar ones, of course.

And he would hate hate hate Optimus Prime. No idea why, though. Any ideas Hein?

4) Warpath: Warpath would be one of Sentinel Prime's team of soldiers or security officers. He would be present when Sentinel would undoubtedly be killed, and... well, we'll see what I have in store for him.

He seems like the kind of guy who would hang out with someone like Brawn.

5) Obsidian: Obsidian would be my attempt at creating any sort of lengthy backstory. A former war general that has led countless campaigns in defense of Cybertron, with the age of peace Obsidian became basically useless and is relegated to menial tasks. Maybe even a conflict with Zeta Prime? This would lead him to question the current government. The deluded former general would later stumble onto Kaon and the Decepticon movement. The Decepticon propaganda, that Cybertron's Golden Age has fallen to disrepair under the incompetent Autobots, would vindicate Obsidian's misgivings about the Autobot government. Being a fanatic zealot to Cybertron's fate, Obsidian would immediately join the Decepticons, fully convinced that they are the only chance of Cybertron ever regaining its glory. Thus he would turn his back on everything in the Autobot army. Little did he know that the civil war that is to come would ravage his beloved Cybertron...

Talked to Springer85 about this. Obsidian would be a former war comrade to Kup, and when Obsidian changed sides he would offer Kup the same chance... but would be disgusted when Kup refuses, thinking that he doesn't have Cybertron's best interests in mind. Would probably know a bunch of old people like Ironhide and Zeta Prime as well.

6) Scorponok: a bit of a tough one here, because Scorponok's got some backstories to tie together. Warcry suggested he be a construction worker (which would explain for his large size and his odd body design), probably working in a city close to Kaon. I'll use that. I would probably have him dabble in xenobiology or somesuch of science, since he's interested in that sort of stuff. Perhaps a cohort of Predacon? He'll learn his strategist and leadership stuff from Obsidian. And most definitely I'll find a way for him to be good buddies with Deathsaurus.

7) Sixshot: Sixshot won't exist before the war. He'll be built when the Decepticons (Shockwave or Predacon or Scorponok or a combination thereof) perfect triple changing and later six changing, being sparked by a Vector Sigma node captured by the Decepticons in their campaign. Perhaps some of my guys would lead the thing. Sixshot would be like Captain America (instead of his world-destroyer status, although propaganda would insist that), then, some sort of super soldier to carve a path through the Autobot ranks. However due to his experimental state he wouldn't be used in large capacities. One of his first missions would be hit-and-run attacks to destroy a bunch of soldiers. Namely, Gunrunner's party. Later on, when the Decepticons are convinced Sixshot could be used as a living genocide weapon he would be deployed against wherever Depth Charge is living. BOOM! Two rivalries done. I could see him developing some sort of detachment from life in general, since all he know from his life is that he's built as a weapon and nothing else. Perhaps Sunstorm might convince him to join the faith of Primus? Just a random thought.

Since he's a heck of a powerhouse, he probably won't be used much on Earth. Phase six, yo.

8) Skywarp: Skywarp... I haven't decided for him yet until I saw Warcry's backstory for Lugnut. Can Skywarp be one of the other prisoners with Lugnut? Because when you think about it Skywarp is one heck of a loyal Decepticon. Might even get some camaraderie with Lugnut at the same time.

Blackjack wrote:Warcry and I have talked about him developing some sort of rivalry with Jetfire, but nothing specific yet.

Since the 'Cons are going to be trying to recruit them at the same time...maybe Grimlock tries to talk Jetfire into leaving with him, but Jetfire stays because of Starscream? That could be how it starts, anyway.

Blackjack wrote:Can Skywarp be one of the other prisoners with Lugnut?

I like that idea a lot.

Lugnut's going to be doing his first mission for Megatron as the game starts. Want to have Skywarp tag along?

Warcry wrote:Since the 'Cons are going to be trying to recruit them at the same time...maybe Grimlock tries to talk Jetfire into leaving with him, but Jetfire stays because of Starscream? That could be how it starts, anyway.

Ace.

Lugnut's going to be doing his first mission for Megatron as the game starts. Want to have Skywarp tag along?

But of course.

The game is starting when the war has just begun, right?

Kup: Kup's already in the army and is responsible for training the new recruits. Teaching them basic hand to hand combat, how to fire a weapon and such. He'll be quite a hardass and won't really take crap from anybody. Has been in many battles alongside Obsidian and will think of him as a friend, even when Obsidian chooses to join the Decepticons.

He has seen lots of horrible things in his time, which made him lose his faith in Primus.

Jazz: Already a Special Forces commander so no big change there. Haven't developed much of a backstory yet, but working on it.

Ultra Magnus: He won't be a soldier from the start and will probably be working as a transporter of heavy things. He has a clear sense of right and wrong and will most likely be the Captain America of the Autobots. A great soldier and does everything by the book. No doubt he'll have a run in with Sixshot

Wheeljack: He'll be busy working on various kinds of projects. Some of which are Gestalt tech, triple changer tech, maybe even space bridge tech. This would probably place him in Kaon too. He'll be the kind of mech that'll invent great things that were meant to help their race, but sadly end up being used as weapons in the war. His prototypes have a nasty habit of blowng up in his lab, destroying half of it in the process before being perfected

Springer: Since he won't be triple changer from the start, his alt mode is going to be a race car type. He'll be a racer on Cybertron and wil have an incredible fan base which will make him a little cocky. Sadly, when most of his fans are going to be blown away, he'll sign up with the Autobots for revenge. Since I saw somebody pick Yoketron, I'm thinking of having Springer study under him. If the controller of him would like that The sudden loss of fame and fortune will make him very determined to put a stop to Megatron's actions, because he wants everything to return to the way it was.

Volks: He'll be a hacker and a good one too. His skills will probaly make him a wanted mech by the Decepticons because they want him to hack his way into various systems. He hacks out of sport and does it because he can. Never has any evil intentions with it, but does it to prove that there's not a system on the planet that's safe from him. He's a religious guy, so that'll automatically make him an Autobot.

Landmine: He'll be a miner from the start, mining for various kinds of things. He won't be a Pretender from the start, but if the staff will allow me, Wheeljack will eventually develop the Pretender process. The Shells will prevent a mech to become infected by Dark Energon and will provide additional protection when he's out in space, miningfor things.

Razorclaw: He'll be probably be in charge of a fuel deposit or something. Don't know yet.

Actually, I'd been thinking about starting a thread for Universe-style bios.....

Starting with the Autobots.....

Ironhide: As old as(or slightly older than) Kup, in charge of Zeta Prime's security detail. Ornery, gruff, well-nigh invulnerable, and..... eh. The way he is now, really. Voiced by: Peter Cullen

Nightbeat: Loves a mystery. And having him partnered with Red Alert should be interesting to say the least..... Voiced by: Pierce Brosnan

Tracks: I'm figuring that starting out, Tracks is going to look like his War Within design. Effective warrior, maybe a little prone to being flash. It's only when he gets to Earth that his narcisisstic side comes out. Voiced by: Mike McConnohie

Hot Rod: This should actually be kind of interesting. Roddy's always had that one major event in his past(interfering in the Prime/Megs fight) to color how he's played. Now he doesn't. All he's got for a background is being a punk kid who, so far, has managed not to get thrown in prison for something. Maybe if a certain gruff old Autobot took the punk kid under his wing? Voiced by: either John Barrowman or Will Friedle.

Roadbuster: Already in the army(probably trained by Kup). Confirmed gun nut, hence all the guns he carries. Voiced by: Toby Longworth

Orion/Optimus Prime: Not long out of boot camp(probably where he met up with Sentinel Prime), he's got excellent leadership potential..... as long as he lives long enough. Voiced by: Peter Cullen

For the Decepticons......

Bludgeon: He's going to start out looking like the inner Pretender robot before going to his ROTF body(I'm figuring an accident in transit from Cybertron). Possibly the only true Master of Metallikato(no others have popped up as openly as he has, not that he's advertising his presence). Voiced by: Alan Oppenheimer

Straxus: Straxus has a firmly held belief in control. Having seen the way things are going as the Autobot's governance of things declines, he throws his lot in with Megatron. He believes that the laws should be upheld with no quarter given due to circumstance. He's not sadistic, just driven and focused. Voiced by: James Earl Jones

Rad: An explorer at heart, Rad travels all over the galaxy discovering new worlds, new peoples, new sights, always learning, always doing. When he is on Cybertron, he's a higher learning instructor at an academy just outside Iacon. He was a bit a tendency to ramble. Well, blather a bit. Well, really it's more talking in circles. But only sometimes. Well, usually, really. Voice: David Tennant

Blaze: A former member of the military who went through command school with Sentinel. After spending awhile in the standards, Blaze made his way into an elite Black-Ops group. After several exceptional years in the service, he took an early retirement and fell off the radar for awhile. Recently, he turned back up in connection with the deaths of multiple (corrupt) officials and a few military lab explosions. Once tensions started rising and rumors of war began to stir, Sentinel managed to arrange a meeting with his old friend, hoping to talk him into silencing the loudest voices of seccession and maybe delay a full out conflict... Voice: David Hayter

Gobots: A member of the standing army, Gobots leads a pretty simple life; work his shift, grab a glass at the bar, maybe go watch a gladiator match or a race with his buddies. An all-around nice guy, he'll help out a friend without hesitation, and'll stick right by your side when you need him. He's a competent fighter though, and the rush of live combat is a thrill like no other. Voice: Tom Hanks (Green Mile)

Sunstorm He of the nuclear core, Sunstorm tends to keep to himself. Not because of any shyness, however; because he has a terrible habit of irradiating whoever he's around if he's not careful. He's currently employed as a religious scholar. For now he's not really crazy (a bit arrogant) but he won't exactly handle his power difference with human tech well... Voice: Keith David

Deathsaurus: A white collar criminal who's bought his way out of his sentences, Deathsaurus runs the underworld of Kaon. He first found Megatron during the latter's election campaign, and donated a significant amount to the campaign. Now that the Decepticons are gearing up for war, Deathsaurus has made himself the primary arms dealer and development funder of the Megatron's new army. Voice: Alan Rickman

Hardtop: A quiet, nerdy fellow, Hardtop never really pictured himself in the military, but a recruiter who saw him in action at the local Lazerwar* arena convinced him otherwise; turns out, Hardtop had a keen eye and enough patience to make a top of the line sniper. So, he enlisted in the military, and was one of many drawn into by Megatron's charisma. Overall, the army job isn't too bad; gives him plenty of time to catch up his reading at least. Voice: Tobey McGuire

Astrotrain: Deathsaurus' right-hand man and newly-assigned head of tech-development, Astrotrain may be a bureaucrat, but he's a top-level bureaucrat in one of the largest criminal organizations on the planet, and you don't get there by being a spineless paper-pusher. Astrotrain is efficient, assertive, and precise. He knows that a well run group should reward those who do best, and let go of those who fall under par. He also believes that hardest working member (himself, naturally) should get the best toys for himself, thus a crude, early form of triple changing, amounting to little more than wings and a booster tacked onto his hoversled mode. Voice: Jeff Bridges

Sky-Byte: A high-up in the Cybertronian Navy, Sky-Byte is an ambitious sort of guy, who worked his way up with his cunning and charisma. On the outside he's rather goofy, prone to dramatic postures and spontaneous song, but on the inside his mind's always running, planning, aiming for the top. When things are going his way, he's happy-as-can-be (which, for him, is really quite happy) but as soon as things start to look down, he flies into a panic, often throwing him even further behind. His life will be forever changed the day he discovers Earth poetry... Voice: Cam Clarke

*kind of Cybertronian paintball/laser tag

@Hein: we need to figure out a backstory on why Sentinel and Orion hates each other so much...

Perhaps Kup sensed the potential that Orion has in him and Sentinel is jealous of that?

Perhaps...

Let's have a sample backstory: Despite Sentinel's hardwork and strict adherence to the rules, Orion/Optimus have always showed initiative to be a leader and whatnot, leading guys like Kup and Zeta to commend Optimus. This would lead to a jealousy between Sentinel, who, no matter how hard he tried, would always stumble upon his pride, leading to his bitterness at Optimus and his general jerkass attitude.

And Sentinel would gradually realize that Optimus is the better Autobot when he hands down the Matrix, most likely just as he is about to die.

Although some incident in the past like in Animated would surely clinch the deal...

Mentally I'm going with Sentinel running the Autobot equivalent of an Officer Command School here.....

That works. Op winds up being one of those people with "natural charisma", leading others to listen to him no matter the situation. And he's got initiative, so people like Kup and Zeta notice him and commend him, even if what he's done(delivering a memo or something) wouldn't necessarialy warrant it.

Sentinel would probably lack the "natural charisma". He's respected and listened to because he's earned it through hard work, coming up through the ranks, unlike this wet behind the audio receptors kid who everybody likes as soon as they meet him.

As for why Sentinel hates him........

It would start subconsciously, I'd guess. Some inner part of Sentinel recognizing that Orion(I was thinking of switching to the Optimus Prime name after he gets the Matrix) is a natural leader. As it grows, maybe he notices that the other cadets pay more attention to Orion when he says something than they do to him when he's lecturing. If it's a training scenario, the other cadets listen to Orion before they even think about Sentinel's orders.

Even if Orion doesn't percieve that he's got a natural ability to lead(I liked elements of the early "Op as Leader" glimpse we got in the Ironhide mini), Sentinel would be picking up on it.

Eventually all of this built-up anger over this punk recruit Sentinel sees as usurping his position causes Sentinel to have Orion lead what should be a simple overnight patrol somewhere. one that Sentinel has arranged to cause an "accident" that, on paper, will be Orion's fault. And as Orion will be dead, or at the least incapacitated for a long period of time, as a result, Sentinel is seeing this as a win for him.

Unfortunately, not only does Orion survive unscathed, he manages to save the whole group of recruits, heaping even more praise on Orion's shoulders, and even more resentment and hatred on Sentinel's. Sentinel did a good enough job of covering his tracks that nobody knows he was the one who planned the near-fatal accident(I was thinking a map error that sends Orion and his team into the target area of a live-fire artillery drill). Orion has suspicions, but no proof to back them up.

Sound viable?

Sunstreaker: Gladiator. He is a gladiator. But he won't be some run of the mill gladiator. A run of the mill, win-some-lose-some gladiator. No he is one of the best, because he wants to be the best. In fact I am gonna say that by the time this RPG starts he'll be pretty much undefeated. He'll have no real losses to his name except one, to Megatron and his pride and ego will be what turn him into an Autobot. Simply to get another chance at Megatron.

Unlike Megatron he won't have taken his fighting fame to the next level. He'll stay a gladiator because he is good at it and because he thrives on the attention he gets. He is famous for what he does and how he does it, with the flare of a showman and the ruthlessness of a viking.

Song that inspired: Sparkle and Shine - Econoline Crush

Sideswipe: Also a Gladiator, but he doesn't really have the aptitude for it that Sunstreaker does. They used to work in tandem in 2-on-2 battles, but Sunstreaker eventually moved to one-on-one after railing out Sideswipe for holding him back. Sideswipe also works as a bouncer and muscle for a local energon bar. He doesn't really resent Sunstreaker, since he didn't really enjoy the seriousness that the gladiatorial arenas came with. He wants to fight as much as his brother but not in the spot light, hence the bouncer gig. Will likely join the Autobots with his brother. He doesn't much care for their cause at the start, but Sunstreaker wants a shot at the one guy who beat him and Sideswipe isn't about to try and hold him back or pick the other side.

Song that inspired: Zero - Yeahyeahyeahs.

Brawn: Construction worker. Not just an expert at taking things down, but it really is his favorite part of the job. He looks at Cybertron and sees buildings that he's helped build and that makes him proud, damn proud. He didn't design them, he didn't pay for them, he dug in and knocked what was there before down and then poured his oil and energon into putting the new building up. He would also be the transformers definition of a blue-collared red neck. Does his job, goes home and has his fun, recharges and does the same thing the next day.

Song that inspired: T.N.T - AC/DC

Blaster: Unlike Soundwave, he was designed to work on a much smaller scale as far as comm's traffic goes. He was built to lighten the load, and eventually transferred from comm's traffic in general to strictly entertainment traffic. Not just relaying the traffic, but also creating it. He has both the top watched and top listened to shows in all of Cybertron as well as being a musician. There is probably nobody on Cybertron who doesn't know Blaster's face and cool and calm mannerisms. His voice flows so smoothly he could say just about anything and have people cheering for more and tuning in everyday. Both his shows revolve around music, cybertronian or otherwise, current events and comedy. He also has guests on every now and then.

Song that inspired: Derezzed (NTEIBINT Remix) - Daft Punk


Blitzwing: Former military, but his lust for battle and the relative peace on Cybertron left him bored. He left and became a mercenary off planet for a while. He returned as Megatron began to build his army and quickly joined up. Will not start as a triple changer, but will be volunteering for the science behind the upgrade near the beginning of the game.


Song that inspired: Feuer Frei - Rammstein.

? ? ? ?: Unknown. Amnesiac warrior, not on Cybertron and won't be starting the game being played.

Song that will inspire: One - Metallica

Nightstalker materilises from the shadows next to Ironhide.

"looks like we're working together chief."

Only have a few of my characters sorted out for backstory, haven't figured out anything special for Dirge, Tracer, or Hound yet.

Yoketron and Terabolt: Longstanding member of the Temple Knight order, Yoketron has been involved in protecting Temple Knight interests and relics all over Cybertron, and occasionally off planet. Aside from tutoring recruits into the TK order, he most often functioned solo, until he was sent out to the Dead End region to help quell fighting in the lawless region. It was there he countered a young caretakerless sparkling, Terabolt, and sensing potential he took her on as his personal apprentice. The two have rarely been appart since then, even after Tera's training is completed near the start of the war.

Raiku: A maitenance worker before things heat up, Raiku was part of a team that would handle repairs, maitenance, and monitoiring of various equipment and relays all around cybertron, though most work centering near Iacon. Raiku inadvertantly becomes involved in war matters when he begins detecting anomalies in various systems created by Soundwave.

Hound: ???

Dirge: ???

Tracer: ???

Heinrad wrote:Mentally I'm going with Sentinel running the Autobot equivalent of an Officer Command School here.....

Yeah, something like that. Officer Command School sounds a hell lot more posh than 'Boot Camp', though.

That works. Op winds up being one of those people with "natural charisma", leading others to listen to him no matter the situation.

-snip-

Even if Orion doesn't percieve that he's got a natural ability to lead(I liked elements of the early "Op as Leader" glimpse we got in the Ironhide mini), Sentinel would be picking up on it.

All of these would work well in their hate relationship, and a very viable excuse as well. Sentinel works so hard to get to his lofty post, but with a word or two Optimus/Orion could get people to respect him more than Sentinel. That would get people angry, I bet. Perhaps Zeta or Kup or Ironhide would comment in passing that Optimus has more potential than Sentinel or something?

Eventually all of this built-up anger over this punk recruit Sentinel sees as usurping his position causes Sentinel to have Orion lead what should be a simple overnight patrol somewhere. one that Sentinel has arranged to cause an "accident" that, on paper, will be Orion's fault. And as Orion will be dead, or at the least incapacitated for a long period of time, as a result, Sentinel is seeing this as a win for him.

Unfortunately, not only does Orion survive unscathed, he manages to save the whole group of recruits, heaping even more praise on Orion's shoulders, and even more resentment and hatred on Sentinel's. Sentinel did a good enough job of covering his tracks that nobody knows he was the one who planned the near-fatal accident(I was thinking a map error that sends Orion and his team into the target area of a live-fire artillery drill). Orion has suspicions, but no proof to back them up.

Sound viable?

Hmmm... while Sentinel might be the kind of jerk to ignore other people's work, or stop Optimus from doing something that is technically 'right', or hire bounty hunters and hitmen to do his dirty work, he isn't exactly the type to arrange accidents to deliberately kill Optimus. While I could see this happening, perhaps Sentinel only wanted to simply humiliate Optimus instead of kill him? After all, to humiliate in front of everybody would be jerkish enough, but to kill would be downright maleficent.

I figured if Sentinel was commandant of the Cybertronian equivalent of West Point or Annapolis with elements of the Naval War College(the Cybertron War Academy, perhaps?), the officer rank he held when taking over command would be restored when war broke out. Otherwise, if we just go with what he is in the Animated episode "Autoboot Camp", he's just a D.I. with a serious attitude problem.

He might not deliberately send Orion into the live-fire exercise. Just change the map coordinates to run Orion and the others through rougher and more inhospitable terrain. The end result being to make Orion look like he can't command effectively. Charisma is one thing, but if you can't lead ants to a picnic, what good is it? After they've been sent out, Sentinel discovers that he's sent a bunch of cadets into a live-fire exercise.

Or..... Sentinel could just be harder on Orion than he is on anybody else. He makes it obvious that he hates Orion, takes every opportunity to dress him down in public for even a percieved error. Orion's certainly not going to want to be the president of Sentinel's fan club.

Mmmm, I like that. So Sentinel justifies sending Orion/Optimus' group through harder terrain by seeing if he got the guts, something Sentinel is convinced Orion doesn't have, but is really trying to humiliate Orion. But somehow Sentinel screwed up and sent Orion into a live-arms exercise... only for Orion to emerge victorious and unsatched.

While guys like Magnus would diss Sentinel for not being able to be as good as Orion in the battlefield (he is kind of bumbling at times).

Autobots:
1) Rapido -> is an expert planner and tactician. Seems like he would have already went through a good bit of training to have properly developed those traits. I have been thinking about placing him under Jazz's command perhaps. Thoughts?

2) Highbrow -> Seems like he would be a researcher somewhere. With his memory and penchant for wanting to know everything about everything, and wanting to make sure others know it as well, he'd want to be out at the forefront of breaking discoveries. Maybe he joins Wheeljack in Kaon?

3) Topspin -> He will start as a soldier. Maybe friends with Springer already so as to convince him to join a particular group of troops - the type of troops that could get Springer famous again for being a member of perhaps?


Cons:

4) Clench -> mid-level aristocrat in Kaon. Little bitter that his position has less meaning with Megatron in power. Toying with the idea he might have organized or funded the gladatorial arenas as well. Still open to suggestions on him.

5) Thrust -> If it's alright, I'll put him with Skywarp and Lugnut in the prison-ship. He was a thug that preyed on lesser bots, and was sent away because of it?

That would probably do it. There could be other things as well. Things that Sentinel will praise other cadets for doing, he'd either berate or barely recognize Orion for doing.

If asked, Sentinel could simply say that he sees "potential" in Orion, but the only way he can bring it out it to be hard on him.