Introduction
I've seen too many inaccurate representations of each unit and want a handy little guide to be presented to them in-character. Maybe this can be placed as a readable object? Or a meta menu available as handy guide for units? It gets them introduced to the lore and refreshes their memory on how to act.Phase 1: Civil Protection (The Volunteer)
You are still biologically human. You feel pain, hunger, and fear. You joined for a meal ticket, power, or safety.Rank i4: The "Ground Unit" (Recruit)
Humanity Remaining: 90%
- The Process: You were likely a starving citizen who passed a loyalty test. You were given a stun baton, a pistol with barely any ammo, and a mask that smells like recycled rubber.
- Roleplay Mindset: Fear & Uncertainty.
- You are scared of the citizens (who hate you) and terrified of your superiors (who beat you).
- You barely know the codes. You stumble over radio etiquette.
- You still feel guilt when you hit someone, but you do it because an i1 is watching.
- Quote: "Back it up... uh... please, just move back."
Rank i3: The "Beat Cop"
- Humanity Remaining: 70%
- The Process: You’ve survived your first few patrols. You’ve realized that citizens are "Malignant"—they are dirty, rebellious, and dangerous. You start drinking the "Breene’s Water" (often theorized to have memory-inhibiting drugs).
- Roleplay Mindset: Anger & Validation.
- The "Us vs. Them" mentality sets in. You see yourself as superior.
- You use codes to sound cool, even if you mess them up.
- You abuse citizens not because you have to, but because it makes you feel powerful.
- Quote: "Get against the wall! I said move!"
Rank i2: The "Officer"
- Humanity Remaining: 50%
- The Process: Routine has set in. Violence is no longer emotional; it is just a job. You have likely undergone basic "modification"—behavioral conditioning or chemical implants to reduce empathy. You no longer remember your life before the war clearly.
- Roleplay Mindset: Cold Bureaucracy.
- You don't hate citizens anymore; you just view them as cattle.
- Your radio discipline is sharp. You rarely speak plain English to civilians.
- You are efficient. You file reports. You administer beatings with the same emotion as filing a tax return.
- Quote: "Unit 5-9. Viscon Malcompliance. Administering verdict."
Rank i1: The "Squad Leader"
- Humanity Remaining: 25%
- The Process: You are the peak of human conditioning. You are likely eligible for "Ascension" (becoming OTA). You are a fanatic. You have betrayed friends, executed rebels, and fully bought into the Universal Union.
- Roleplay Mindset: Fanaticism & Ambition.
- You view i4s as useless worms.
- You crave the approval of the Overwatch. You want to lose your humanity because you see emotion as a weakness.
- Quote: "Keep formation. Sterilize the block. Sacrifice is necessary for the Union."
Phase 2: Overwatch Transhuman Arm (The Weapon)
You are no longer "Civil Protection." You are military. You have undergone invasive surgery to replace organs, bone, and brain matter with cybernetics. You have no name, only a designation.OWS: Overwatch Soldier (The Echo)
- Humanity Remaining: 5% (Biological Only)
- The Process:
- Brain: Extensive memory replacement. Your past life is deleted. Basic emotions (love, fear, pity) are surgically excised.
- Body: Chest cavity opened. Lungs replaced with filters to breathe toxic air. Sexual organs removed (neutered). Vocal cords modified to sound synthesized.
- Roleplay Mindset: The Processor.
- You do not have "desires." You have Directives.
- You do not feel pain, only "Damage Notifications."
- You do not care if you die. You are a unit of currency to be spent by the Union.
- Quote: "Stabilization Team holding sector. Sector is not secure."
EOW: Elite Overwatch (The White Shell)
- Humanity Remaining: 0%
- The Process: You are the cream of the crop. Further cybernetics. One red ocular implant for enhanced targeting. Your brain is directly linked to the Combine "Overwatch" network (the AI voice in your head). You share a hive-mind awareness with other units.
- Roleplay Mindset: The Apex Predator.
- You are faster, stronger, and smarter than OWS.
- You view OWS as "Standard Assets" and CPs as "Bio-Waste."
- You act with terrifying speed. No hesitation. You are the Avatar of the Combine's will.
- Quote: "Contact. Confirmed. Extinguish."
Phase 3: High Command (The Architect)
OvC / SeC: Overwatch/Sector Commander
- Humanity Remaining: Negative (You are a monster wrapped in bureaucracy).
- The Process: Depending on the server lore, you are either a heavily modified Super-Elite or a human brain in a jar controlling the city.
- Roleplay Mindset: The Algorithm.
- You do not see people; you see statistics. "Birth rate," "Calories consumed," "Ammunition expended."
- You will order the death of 500 citizens to save 500 bullets if the math works out.
- You speak with the weight of a god. You are polite, articulate, and utterly soulless.
- Quote: "Advisory: Preservation of the City requires the amputation of Sector 4. Proceed."
Summary for Roleplay
- i4-i3: Struggle with the mask. Let emotion slip through.
- i2-i1: Become the mask. Hide the emotion.
- OTA: Destroy the mask. There is no face underneath anymore.
Addressing Rogue Units
It is currently possible on the server to become an informant and ally to the rebels and civilian population as a Civil Protection Unit but ONLY as a Helix or Union unit (Make and F3 request to make it happen) but here we will explain why this is the case.The Rogue Ceiling: Why You Can’t Defect Past i3
In lore terms, there is a "Point of No Return" known as the Modification Threshold. Here is why an i3 Helix is the absolute limit for a believable rogue character, while an i1 Jury is canonically impossible.1. The Chemical Leash (Rank i3 vs. i2)
- i4/i3 (The Human): At this stage, you are just a guy in a suit. You follow orders out of fear and hunger. You are physically and mentally capable of taking off the mask and running away because your brain is still your own. You are a collaborator, but you are biologically normal.
- i2+ (The Asset): Upon promotion to i2, the re-education shifts from "training" to "alteration." You are mandated to consume Memory Replacement Drugs (in the water/rations) and undergo Neural Conditioning.
- The Result: An i2 physically cannot process the desire to rebel. The chemical supplements suppress the "fight or flight" response against authority. If an i2 tried to go rogue, they would likely suffer a mental breakdown or seizure due to withdrawal from the Union’s maintenance drugs.
2. The Division of Empathy (Union/Helix vs. The Rest)
- Union: You are a beat cop. You stand on corners. You see the citizens as people (even if you hate them). You are "general infantry," and cannon fodder - So you aren't screened as heavily as specialists.
- Helix (Medical): This is the most common rogue archetype for a reason. To heal someone, you need to understand their physiology and pain. That requires a shred of empathy. That tiny spark of empathy is a vulnerability—a "glitch" in the conditioning that allows a Helix to feel guilt and switch sides.
- Why Not GRID? (Engineers): Grid units have access to the city’s power grid, shield generators, and door codes. The Combine knows this. Grid units are screened for zero creativity and absolute logic. (Even at i4) They are effectively biological robots before they even get the suit. A rogue Grid unit is a massive security risk, so they are monitored 24/7.
- Why Not JURY? (Interrogators): To reach the rank of Jury, you must have tortured innocent people to death. (Even at i4) You have to enjoyit, or at least be totally indifferent to it. A Jury unit attempting to join the rebels is a logical paradox:
- The Union owns their mind.
- The Rebels would shoot them on sight for their war crimes.
Enjoy the RP haha.