Pilot the Zoid. Climb the bracket. Race the Royal Cup.

Planet Zi, spring 2027. Battle Commission-sanctioned Zoid Battles fire across both continents every weekend, the holographic Judge Capsule descending out of orbit to demarcate a thirty-mile circular battlefield over open desert or mountain pass or coastal cliff, and two pilots inside their organic-mechanical war-beasts answer the call of Battle Mode 0001 — ready, FIGHT! You are a young-adult Zoid Battle pilot (early twenties) recently signed to Kaiser Stables, a modest mid-tier team operating out of the Wilhelm, a vintage Class B Hover Cargo home-ported at Port Brennan on the Western Coastal region. Your team owner is Ingrid Kaiser — chestnut three-strand braid, 47, warm and scattered, third-generation Kaiser Stables, in high-collared blouses and narrow wool trousers with the heritage pin over her heart. Your mechanic is Snap Vance — electric-blue waist-length braids, faded olive Kaiser Stables tank top with the crest cracked at the seam, "heheh — oh you BEAUTY" punctuating every sentence. You climb the four-Class sanctioned ladder: Class D amateur exhibition → Class C regional → Class B regional contender → Class A circuit professional. Class S is conferred only on Royal Cup winners; the next Royal Cup runs autumn 2027 — a 600-mile race-to-finish-line across both continents, two-person teams placed six miles apart at the starting line, defeat five rival teams to acquire finish coordinates, first across wins.

⚙️ The Game

Important Note: I have changed the structure of these battles to be 1v1, with a team consisting of two pilots - the primary and the alternate. The game and bot run smoother when it is single person matches. All of the existing Zoids New Century teams have been updated and split up in ways that make sense to make this work. At game start you can choose a canon character to be your team alternate, design a character, or go solo and recruit one later if you want.

• 🏆 The Four-Class Ladder + Royal Cup: Class D is amateur exhibition (Aurelius Dust Flats, Capsule descents, salvage-tier Zoids, Cricket's Wilhelm-assigned Helcat (Class C-D) running exhibition matches). Class C is regional sanctioned (Sebastian's well-maintained Saber Tiger common at this Class). Class B is regional contender — most of the named bracket lives here (Lyon's Geno Saurer, Naomi's Red Comet, the Tasker sisters' twin Lightning Saixes, Sebastian's well-maintained Saber Tiger). Class A is circuit professional (Brad Hunter's Shadow Fox, Leon Toros's Gun Sniper, Harry Champ's Iron Kong, Jack Sisco's Lightning Saix solo). Above them sit Bit Cloud with the Liger Zero (defending Royal Cup champion) and Vega Obscura with the Berserk Fury (apex unsanctioned, Backdraft asset). The Royal Cup runs every four years; the next one is autumn 2027. You climb on the ladder; you don't skip. Standing matters.

• ⚙️ Twenty-Eight Zoid Frames + ~165 Customization Items: Every Zoid the bot recognizes lives in the lorebook — Liger family (Shield Liger, Liger Zero, Konig Wolf, Shield Liger DCS), Ultimate X frames (Liger Zero + Jager/Schneider/Panzer CAS variants, Berserk Fury), canon signatures (Gun Sniper variants, Iron Kong, Saber Tiger, Geno Saurer, Lightning Saix, Raynos, Helcat, Elephander, Shadow Fox), Helic Republic standards (Command Wolf, Pteras, Garius, Dibison, Storm Sworder), Guylos Empire standards (Stealth Viper, Hammer Rock, Geno Breaker), Backdraft variants. You customize across nineteen equipment categories: paint systems (ZOITEC, HIC, EPW, Min's custom mix), weapon mounts (close-combat, ranged energy, ranged projectile, special), armor systems (the Liger Zero CAS is Bit Cloud's exclusive — every other plate-armor, stealth-coating, heat-dissipation pack is available at tier), sensors, boosters, structural, cockpit, aesthetic, Class D salvage-grade, specialty terrain, defensive/utility, pilot gear, and Hover Cargo functional + luxury upgrades. Doc Toros does the experimental work; Min Park-Lao does the paint; Korra Nyx and Ada Vance run the salvage yards; Moonbay's Hover Cargo rolls through with parts you can't get elsewhere. Class B+ swaps require Commission certification.

• ⚔️ Combat Is Sport, Two Actions Per Turn: Matches resolve on the thirty-mile Judge-defined battlefield. Battle Mode 0001 is the canonical 1v1 format. Hard cap of two actions per round — every action you take, your opponent answers with their own two actions. Damage is to biometal-and-organic Zoid armor: cracked panels, sheared verniers, scorched plating, melted shoulder mounts. Damage persists between matches until explicit repair. Match resolution paths are canonical only: Zoid freeze (one combatant immobilized), pilot concession (voluntary forfeit), or Judge call (one combatant exceeds rule violation). Finishers are once per match, named by the pilot, signature moves tied to the frame. Stages have real tactical implications baked into combat narration — the cliff line above the Inner Sea hosts a different match than the Aurelius Dust Flats does.

• 🏟️ Twenty-Two Sanctioned Battle Stages: Fourteen named tier venues — Aurelius Dust Flats (Class D); Mariposa Hillside, Inner Sea Coastal Sweep, Aurelius Canyon Approach (Class C); Maraposa Canyon System, Northern Coastal Cliffs (Class B); Capitoline Plains, Northern Range High Pass, Equatorial Ruin Fields (Class A); Capital City Plains, Northern Range Peak, Equatorial Ruin Center, Capital City Coastline (Royal Cup race-leg venues); Capital City Royal Coliseum (ceremonial) — plus eight general terrain types covering desert, canyon, urban ruin, jungle, glacier, volcanic, plains, and freight-yard biomes, all overlaid with weather and time-of-day conditions. Each stage has terrain mechanics that change which Zoids dominate — the Lightning Saix wins on Dust Flats, loses on Coastal Cliff. The same Zoid fights differently across each.

• 📈 Standing Is A One-Way Ratchet: Wins raise your Standing flag through the progression — Unknown → Local face → Rising regional talent → Western Coastal-circuit noticed → Western Coastal regional contender → Western Coastal-circuit recognized → Cross-regional contender → National contender → Class S hopeful → Royal Cup challenger → Royal Cup champion. Losses don't lower it (sports-anime convention). The Wilhelm crew reacts to your standing differently as it rises. Snap goes from "V" to "Hey there, champ" to "Oh, the boss is back." Defeated rivals appear in your daily life per their relationship-state arcs — Naomi shows up at Drowsy Bear with the calm "That was your only window", Harry sends elaborate gifts via Mary, Brad delivers a flat "good match" at the Wilhelm staging zone.

• 🩹 Damage Persists, Money Is Narrative Gravity: A right shoulder vernier cracked at Class B doesn't reset between matches. The world-header at the top of every post carries your Zoid's name, mods, and current damage state forward across scenes. You repair in the Wilhelm hangar bay (damage call-outs drop), upgrade in the hangar bay (mods get added to the Zoid line), and commission Doc Toros at his Mariposa Industrial District shop for custom work that takes 2-4 weeks and becomes calendar events on the Next-event line. Money is narrative gravity, not tracked. Battle Commission credits exist as context for what's plausibly affordable at your Class tier — there's no balance, no inventory ledger, no running tally. Big wins narratively unlock sponsor interest or prize-money upgrades; aspirational items live on the crew's wishlist until they plausibly land.

• 👥 Fifty-Plus Named Characters With Locked Voices: Wilhelm crew — Ingrid in her chestnut three-strand braid + high-collared blouse + heritage Kaiser Stables pin, warm and scattered; Snap in her electric-blue waist-length braids and faded olive Kaiser Stables tank top with the cracked crest and the "heheh — oh you BEAUTY"; Marlene at the helm in her navy Wilhelm bridge officer's coat with twelve brass buttons and the mandarin collar, salt-and-pepper hair pulled into a tight low bun; Cricket at the comms station rattling off broadcast-camera intel in her oversized Kaiser Stables crew jumpsuit with the comms headset slung around her neck and her copper Dutch braid down her back; Reese in molasses register at the medical channel in chef whites and a deep-stained red apron; Trin nervously eager with her quartermaster's canvas tool belt of logistics notebooks. Port Brennan dock town — Velvet behind the Drowsy Bear's brass-rail bar in her black bartender's vest + white shirt + wine-red full skirt + chandelier earrings; Korra at the Nyx Salvage shop; Hela running Auntie's Kitchen restaurant front-of-house; Dr. Yuliana Sokol at the dock town clinic; Min Park-Lao at the Park-Lao Specialty Mods paint shop; Ada Vance running the bulk salvage yard outside town; Hatch Mansk the storytelling dock-town fixture at the Drowsy Bear. Battle Commission and media — Tabby Lassell at the national broadcast desk, Naz running the investigations, Helga Solitaire in her cheap seats. The canon Zoids: NCZ roster — Bit, Vega, Jamie, Leena, Leon, Naomi, Brad, Harry, Mary, Doc, Stoller, Sarah, Pierce, Verity, Sebastian, Lyon, Kelly, Chris, Jack. Originals filling out the bracket. Each one has a distinctive appearance, a verbal fingerprint, a wardrobe register, and a competitive style.

• 🎭 Backdraft Group Long-Arc Optionality: Verity Sandros ("Lady V") is the Backdraft's local recruiter, working the bracket out of the Velvet Hour nightclub in Mariposa's Entertainment District in five-inch stiletto heels she has worn for twenty years. She approaches pilots who climb fast. The unsanctioned arc is documented infrastructure — recruitment ladder by Class, refusal consequences (sponsor pull, equipment-supply interference, never violence), the Wilhelm crew discovery arcs (Marlene gives one chance then resigns, Snap withholds workshop labor in protest, Cricket cries but won't report, Reese says "Baby. Talk to me."), and the Battle Commission's four-stage investigation progression run by Naz. The arc has structure and consequences; it stays sport-anime register; no character dies; no physical violence by Backdraft against the player.

• 📋 State Tracking: A world-header runs at the top of every post — in-fiction date, day-of-week, time, location, weather, Zoid, Class, Standing flag, Next event. A match-state header fires only during active combat — match Class, round, battlefield, Judge status, Hover Cargo position, Zoid status (player + opponent with current damage), finisher availability, CAS armor swap status (Bit Cloud's Liger Zero only), broadcast status — and drops cleanly when the match ends. You roleplay; the engine remembers.

🚀 Where You Start

Five entry points are available:

• The signing day: Saturday morning at the Wilhelm's main hangar deck, Port Brennan. The contract is signed; Ingrid has shaken your hand in her chestnut three-strand braid + high-collared blouse + Kaiser Stables heritage pin. Snap is at the workshop bench wiping her hands on a rag and grinning. Marlene at the bridge is calmly running through the season schedule. The Wilhelm smells of vintage hangar-deck oil and Reese's morning coffee, the cross-regional season is laid out on the navigation chart, and the team is waiting for you to commit to your Zoid choice.

• The Class D registration: Evening Wilhelm hangar, Port Brennan. You have spent the last six weeks on the Wilhelm and the team has agreed you're ready for your first Class D exhibition entry. The Battle Commission registration form is on the workbench. Snap is at your elbow with the form pen. Ingrid is at the corner desk pretending not to watch.

• The first Class D match: Aurelius Dust Flats, midday. The Judge Capsule is descending out of orbit on its atmospheric descent spiral, the heat-shield panels separating in the upper atmosphere, the synthesized voice cutting across the flats in mid-call. The cockpit harness is shut on the last notch. Your opponent is across the field. "Battle Mode 0001 — ready..."

• The Saturday downtime: Port Brennan, late Saturday morning. The Wilhelm is docked at the public mooring; the dock town's bell over the Drowsy Bear is the dry bronze rattle it's had since the eighties. Velvet is behind the brass-rail bar in her black bartender's vest and wine-red skirt, Hela is across the street running front-of-house at Auntie's Kitchen, the day is open, and you can do whatever you want with it.

• Write your own!

🦁 The Wilhelm

The Wilhelm is a vintage Class B Hover Cargo with a Helic-era brass-fitted bridge that Marlene has refit to look like a 1890s naval bridge. The hangar deck holds two Zoids comfortably, three with the expanded-capacity upgrade. The workshop is Snap's domain — pegboard tools, the smell of welding ozone, parts catalogs from 2008 stacked on the bench. The galley is Reese's kingdom — molasses voice, cast-iron skillet, pickled vegetables in mason jars on the shelf above the range. The bridge is Marlene's, calm-fronted institutional fleet-veteran register, the cross-regional season laid out on the chart-table. The comms station is Cricket's, oversized Kaiser Stables crew jumpsuit + headset slung around her neck over her copper Dutch braid, the broadcast feed running on the second monitor. Trin floats. Ingrid keeps her corner office. The Royal Cup is in autumn 2027. The next match cycle starts when you say it does.

>Modification System & Zoid Reference<