Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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Hello. You have been selected to participate in an experiment, courtesy of the Institute of Natural Survival Instinct Preservation. You've been summoned here today to test your ability to make the most important decision in the history of mankind. To kill...or be killed.

This is based on a survival RP I participated in here years ago (under a different account). If you have to compare it to something, it would be somewhere between Battle Royale, Mad World, and Portal. However, it is simpler than BR, less gory than MW, and has more freedom that Portal. Rather than trying to be the last person alive either by killing everyone or hiding, you only have to kill one person. Just one. But it's not quite that simple. To make things even simpler, and more sinister, everyone will be supplied with a flip phone. At the start of the experiment, everyone will receive a text from the GM (via private message) with the name and face of someone else. You will have to kill that specific person. No one will be told who is hunting them OOC. You will have to decide whether or not you can bring yourself to find and kill a specific individual, with the knowledge that someone ELSE is hunting YOU.

A few quirks:
1. I'm making it extremely easy for players to leave and join. The only way to die is being killed by another player. If you want to leave, the GM will kill your character, giving the person targeting you the opportunity to get their kill and win. If you want to join, you'll be funneled into the test, and an existing player will be assigned to you, with you assigned to their previous target. To avoid continuity troubles and characters being put in "sleep mode," the GM will reserve the right to permanently kill your character, with the player having the option to roll in again with a new character at any time, to keep the story moving.

2. Everyone's phone is connected to the GM's phone. They are given one (ONE) phone call to the GM. You can use that call whenever you want, to say whatever you want, but only once. Want to make threats? Ask for help? Try to make a bargain? Feel free, but make it count.

3. While the GM won't be able to control the elements or use elaborate traps, I can send in "assistants" to force players towards each other or away. The assistants will likely be soldiers, armed with automatic weapons, who force players out of hiding. But they might also be medics or arms dealers, willing to make a bargain. All of them will be controlled by the GM. This is avoid things becoming monotonous or repetitive for the Institute (and the players).

4. Rather than an abandoned town, there will be a superstore in the middle of the map, with food, water, supplies, camping gear, and weapons of some form. Survival is not the problem. No one is going to die from starvation, freezing to death, etc. unless you do it on purpose, though the assistants may be on hand to keep that from happening.

5. I am going to actively screw with the players. I might start the game by telling you all that one of you is a psychopathic killer with a history of mental instability even though none of you are. I might send you text messages to encourage/discourage/give hints. All texts will be sent via PM only, though players will be allowed to reveal what they say IC if they so desire.

6. I will supply an overhead map of the area with building labels. You will not have access to an actual physical map IC. The map will not shrink, areas will not be sectioned off, there will be no electric clouds of death.

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A few things to note:

1. Teamwork will be discouraged, romance is not allowed. The point of the experiment is to see if a human, on their own, is capable of making the decision to obey the order to kill another human. You can TRY to team up, but expect the GM to try to disrupt it via an assistant. This isn't the Hunger games, where working together to kill other people is a potential strategy. You have to kill one specific person, and you might be the one on your teammate's list.

2. Keep the language and behavior PG-13.

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Sample CS:

Name: (first and last)
Age: (at least 18. Can be any age past that)
Sex: M/F (as stated earlier, romance is not going to be a factor)
Appearance: (height, weight, hair, eyes, clothing. Pictures are fine)
Personality: (a few descriptive words or sentences)
Skill: (optional. List something your character is particularly good at doing. If you pick a skill, expect it to be tested)
Background: (three paragraphs max)

Inventory: (used as a reference for what your character is holding or carrying. Feel free to post and update it in the OOC)
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So there you have it. Survival at its simplest and finest. I'm aiming for 5 players minimum, 10 players maximum. Questions, comments, concerns, etc. would be great. I have an interesting underlying "plot twist" that explains the experiment as well that I look forward to sharing.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by tigersloth
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tigersloth 99

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interested, claiming a spot
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Cryfest
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Cryfest The Cynical Jerk

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I'm interested :)
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Interested.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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I had forgotten to add an Appearance: slot to the CS. Adjusted.

So a few points of discussion.

FIRST
The idea here is for each person to kill one and only one person. I had considered the prospect of it secretly being a "Hunger Games" scenario where, instead of being released, a character would be texted another person to kill until only two were left. But that conflicts with the real intention of the experiment. It also means the game will drag on, and the longer a game runs, the higher the risk of players deciding to leave. I would like for this to have a definite start point and end point for the player.

SECOND
One of the key elements is the ability for players to join and leave without impacting the story or any other players. For killing them instantly, if need be, I have a couple options. Let me know which one(s) you prefer.
1. Have them try to escape and die.
2. Kill them with an explosive collar, which was used in a different RP. Or some other insta-kill device.
3. Have them collaborate with another player to get themselves killed.

THIRD
I'm also fiddling with things for the GM to send to the characters via phone. "Forgot to mention: you have been injected with a slow-acting toxin. The only existing antidote is resting in my pocket. You have about three days." Thoughts?

FOURTH
Also! I need a way to cycle day and night. I could base it on a time zone, I suppose, but that's hard on players in different time zones. Right now I'm considering making every other IRL day (in one set time zone) could be a whole day. Monday: Day 1, Tuesday: Night 1, Wednesday: Day 2. I could update it IC. Or I could just leave it go and not worry about day and night, as assume the entire experiment takes place through one very long day.

---

@tigersloth
@Cryfest
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And anyone else interested.
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@Mattchstick

This is sounding better and better! I think it could be a combination of one and two on how to insta-kill a character, depending on the player. I like the phone texting aspect of the game as it really sets the stage- as for a slow acting toxin, I don't know if that works depending on how long the game ends up lasting, especially if your doing day/night cycles. If the experiment was only one day long I'd be down for it though. I like the idea of day and night cycles except if someone doesn't post a reply during the same cycle as whatever they are situated in- it might get a bit confusing?

All great ideas with no easy answers and I'm excited to play :)
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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The things the GM will be texting are all "stress modifiers." There is no actual toxin. It given the character a false sense of urgency. I don't know if I mentioned it already, but the only way to die is being killed by another character, with "exploding collar thing" as a fail-safe for players who just stop posting and disappear. Personally I don't like exploding collars. I don't want the players to worry about trying to take it off or deactivate it or figure out how it works (all of which are realistic decisions), because none of that is relevant to the point.

Of course, the desire to escape will always be there. I don't doubt that players will work hard to find a loophole, since you can't just up and kill someone else without getting it worked out between them and the GM. Speaking of which, something everyone needs to understand is that the GM has the right to kill your character at his discretion and dead characters cannot be revived. This does not mean I may kill characters for no reason or because I find it amusing, nor may I kill characters because I personally don't like them. This means that, should you conflict with another player OCC, the GM will decide the outcome, which will most likely be based on what would have realistically happened. I will absolutely work with players, and if Player A is willing to let Player B's character survive, we'll make it work, but I will not go back-and-forth with players who really want to have their way and generate drama.

That'll be in the rules.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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I'd like people to keep in mind that, since new characters can be added at any point, players with dead characters can roll in with a new character whenever they want. Keep that in mind, because it puts your character in more danger from other characters. This doesn't mean you need to be in a rush. Character development is important. But the goal of this experiment is to find people capable of killing other people. Since the only way to die is by another character, worst-case scenario I might roll in a character myself...
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Perpenheimer
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Interested.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Monacho
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Interested. This is the first time I've seen a concept like this.

When it comes to you killing players off, perhaps it could be a randomized fate? Similar to a spinning wheel in which you have numerous methods laid out and randomly choose. Or have them die in a character-specific way, that's determined throughout their gameplan or life (from the bio). Though I don't think in most cases the latter would be instantaneous.

My pick, from the list, are the collars.

Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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When it comes to you killing players off, perhaps it could be a randomized fate? Similar to a spinning wheel in which you have numerous methods laid out and randomly choose. Or have them die in a character-specific way, that's determined throughout their gameplan or life (from the bio). Though I don't think in most cases the latter would be instantaneous.


I'm going to make (or find) an overhead map of a medium-sized town/cityscape OOC. That way, players can keep track of where they are and what they see, which will allow them to "randomly encounter" other players. It'll also let me force players towards each other. Like I said in quirk 3, I won't be able to kill people, but I certainly won't be telling characters that, and automatic fire or mortars will likely do a lovely job of moving people in a specific direction.

Also, the store. Forgot to mention this: the store at the center of the map is a no-kill zone, with four identical doors (north, south, east, and west). I'm not going to let anyone get away with hiding in it to ambush other characters, or get away with camping. There are checkout lines at each door, and everyone will be supplied with a credit card of sorts with infinite credit. This will give players a better sense of remembering what they bought, make it a little less hectic, and will provide useful data to the Institute.

So when you start, you'll have a flip phone (which makes browsing the internet and emergency phone calls impossible) and a credit card with infinite credit.

My pick, from the list, are the collars.


I'll put it to a vote.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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I now have five players and have reached the minimum. I'll get an OOC up either today or tomorrow, and I'll start the game Saturday to give new people a little more time to join. And, you know, hammer out some rules, approve CS's, build a map, and settle on how exactly this whole thing starts.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Mattchstick
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Mattchstick This little light of mine...

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I made a map in Google SketchUp. Rather than one superstore, I've split it into a supplies store and a food store, so that players will have to be even more active than before. I tried to keep it diverse. Let me know what you think.

http://fav.me/dbu183p

Legend
White: Start Location
Lines: paved roads
Dark Gray: blacktop (parking lots)
Dark Green: trees. Two of them are mistakenly shown as gray circles, sorry about that.
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G: Gear/Supplies store
F: Food/Water store
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Tan: farm field
Brown: farmhouse
Purple: two-story townhouses
Red: one-story brick houses and brick paths
Purple: radio tower
Light Green: military base/checkpoint
Yellow: power plant and power lines
Blue: apartment complex
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Cryfest
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@Mattchstick looks good! I like that you separated the two, requires more out of the characters.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by tigersloth
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tigersloth 99

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busy with work but will drop in when im freed up
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