sigh Just to make it clear, I'm still here and eager to continue this story, and will continue to be so. Never doubt that, at least.
And I think that would probably be a good idea, @DrabberRogue; we could certainly use an infusion of fresh blood in the RP to keep things going. As far as I can tell from looking things up, it seems that "Return to Yharnam" officially starts March 10th, so I'm planning to use that as the date when I make the recruitment-post. If you (or any of the others, if they are still lurking) have anything you want to be included in that recruitment-post, feel free to say so and I will try my best to accommodate it. You could of course also just say it yourselves in posts of your own in the recruitment thread; that might be a better look, to see your opinions coming from yourselves rather than through me.
Victor stared at the lanky Hunter blankly, uncomprehendingly, for probably a good ten seconds before finally blinking, his mouth opening but without him having the words to express his absolute disbelief of the fact that someone had just declined blood! And from a Blood Saint, too! He did not know a single Hunter, or Yharnamite for that matter, who would let such a chance pass them by unless they already knew that there was a downside to receiving that blood. This guy had no way of knowing that Adelicia's blood was just that little bit extra amazing that it would make all other blood bland and disappointing in comparison. Victor would certainly have jumped at the chance... Foreigners, he thought, barely even registering the irony of him, who had only lived in Yharnam for a couple of years, considering another newcomer as such. And only just received his first blood treatment... the craving probably hasn't set in yet. Rats. I can't bring Adelicia with us... I'll need to draw a vial or two from her, I guess, and save it for when they start to need blood. They're Hunters now; special or not, it's only a matter of time. “Okay,” he said, allowing himself to sound about as shocked as he was at the declination. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
When he argued that they should probably do something to keep the sleeping Hunters safe from more outside intruders, Victor responded with a shrug and another cursory look around the room, as well as another glance into the back room with the patients. “We could put something together, but we'll be barricading it behind us when we leave... so from the outside. It'll do more to keep anyone waking up inside than it'll keep danger out.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “The front door is intact, though. If we can find a key or something we might be able to just lock it behind us. And, unlike the stupid clods that run this clinic, we'll light the bloody incense outside to keep beasts away.” While a single censer would not be a guaranteed way of keeping beasts away, it would at least make it rather unpleasant for them to be around... and if the door did not budge immediately when they tried to enter it would make them much more liable to give up immediately, just to get away from the incense. He also thought it would work on Pthumerians, if any more of those showed up... but regular Yharnamites? Yeah, those guys from earlier definitely had to be killed.
I suppose that's a matter of debate and perspective, isn't it? I know that the remaining players - Shienvien, Legion X51 and ASTA - say that they want to continue the RP and assure me that it will continue (we have a Discord-server, so it's not quite as bad as it seems from this thread). I really want the RP not to be dead and occasionally push, such as posting fast-forwards and the like, hoping that the change in the scenario is enough to motivate people to post again. To anyone looking in from the outside? I can only imagine that it looks quite dead, and I have only hopes and promises assuring me that it isn't. I am still the GM, and I will continue as long as even a single player remains. If a new character was introduced to the story I, at the very least, would let the story of that character play out, as a GM should.
Long story short, the RP is hibernating. It appears dead, but can continue at any time. I am always ready.
Just a few teasers, hoping to get people to come back:
In the Hunter's Dream, in addition to using blood echoes to manifest objects and information from the Nightmare - by which I mean being able to "buy" items from the Birdbath Messengers, or showing items to them and having the Messengers access whatever memory of the item resides within the Nightmare - I have also expanded upon the idea from the game of being able to harness certain knowledge from the dead. Occasionally someone dying in the waking world may cause a memory to become available for "purchase" from the Messengers, allowing a character to relive an important experience from someone else's life, almost guaranteed to grant new insights. Currently, still at the start of the story, there are two memories available: "Memory of Desperation" and "Memory of Stars."
Though the characters currently have no way of knowing about this weapon, you can also read about the newest weapon I wrote:
Fulmen – Experimental One of the artifacts unearthed by newcomers to Yharnam in the wake of the Night of the Blood Moon the Tonitrus, and while the old Hunters never appreciated the destructive potential of the weapon and more modern Hunters were mostly unaware of its existence, some among the new generation of Hunters were intrigued. Hunters, craftsmen and scholars of the new workshop of the church took to disassembling this eldritch-seeming armament to discover its inner workings and find ways to replicate it, and were delighted to realize that the Tonitrus functioned on a basis of science rather than the arcane. In a matter of months the first replica Tonitrum were made successfully, much to the delight of many. For some, however, the Tonitrus was not enough. A subset of the group that replicated Tonitrus came to question the design and limitations of the old weapon, and a redesign of a “better” Tonitrus was undertaken and completed after nearly two years of development, resulting in the Fulmen.
Much larger and more cumbersome than the relatively refined Tonitrus, the Fulmen takes the form of a hefty maul with in a weight-class just below that of a Holy Blade, with a shaft measuring 150 centimeters (4' 11”), though only the two-thirds of the shaft qualify as a handle, as the remainder is wrapped in metallic coils that connect to the head of the weapon: a plain-looking, bulky metal cube wherein the mechanical aspects of the weapon are contained. The head itself weighs close to 15 kilograms (33 pounds), demanding considerable strength for a human to use it properly, but for most part being manageable to most Hunters. The box is visually marked by fissures that run parallel to its edges, basically dividing the cube into eight smaller cubes of equal size centered around the core. The wooden handle is wrapped a thick layer of cloth, and a small, circular wooden guard marks the transition between handle and coiled shaft, with this guard likewise being covered in cloth and additionally treated with beeswax in an attempt to insulate the wielder from the weapon. Unlike the Tonitrus, which required the wielder to actively generate an electric charge that would eventually dissipate on its own, the new workshop designed the Fulmen so that every swing of the weapon would generate charge for it, negating the need to manually recharge the weapon with use. The side-effect of this, of course, is that sustained use causes the Fulmen to build up a progressively greater and greater electric charge, making it more dangerous with every blow it delivers. Recognizing this as well as the potential safety issues associated with having to handle a highly electrified weapon after combat with no way of negating its charge besides waiting, a mechanism was added – triggered by a small lever just below the guard – which causes the segments of the head to split, opening the head and momentarily exposing the core of the weapon, discharging all stored energy at once... which, it turned out, can be a quite devastating attack. As with the Tonitrus, the charge of the Fulmen will dissipate over time if unused.
The first few swings with the weapon seemed to build a relatively negligible charge, though the lack of effect may owe more to the toughness of the subject than the efficiency of the weapon. The third swing marked the first time hits on the subject produced visible electrical sparks. Triggering discharge produced small visible burst of lightning, visibly searing the fur of the subject near the area of impact. Subject seemed bothered but undeterred.
First three swings repeated the pattern from first observation. At the fifth swing the head began to continuously scintillate in a manner similar to that of a charged Tonitrus, possibly denoting a similar level of charge. Hits caused the subject to visibly flinch. Triggering discharge resulted in an electric burst magnitudes greater than the first one, throwing sparks up to half a meter (20 inches) from the head. Subject was physically repelled and appeared crippled for several seconds, possibly owing to parts of its musculature being temporarily paralyzed. Flesh appeared visibly burnt near the area of impact. An additional two blows left the subject incapacitated after which it expired in a matter of seconds.
Subject 2 proved somewhat more resistant to the first three hits with the weapon than subject 1, likely owing to its larger physical bulk and protective fatty tissue. Blows did not seem significantly more effective than those of a mundane blunt instrument. Fourth blow made the subject shy away in intense pain, and the fifth blow incapacitated the subject entirely. On request, the wielder triggered discharge into the subject's head. Resulting blast of comparable magnitude to that observed in test 2. Subject's hair was lit on fire and third degree burns were inflicted to the targeted area. Subject twitched briefly upon being hit by the discharge, but then seized all signs of life and was confirmed to have expired.
The first five swings reproduced the results from prior tests on subject 1, confirming their validity. Sixth and seventh blow intensified the scintillation of the head significantly, and the seventh blow seemed to momentarily daze the subject, the combination of blunt force trauma and electrical shock possibly causing cognitive difficulty. The wielder reported feeling a faint vibration in the handle of the weapon after the seventh hit. Triggering discharge produced a sound almost reminiscent of a muffled clap of thunder as well as a bright flash of blinding light that made estimating the range of the effect difficult. The subject appeared to expire instantly, though its remains continued exhibiting random muscle-spasms for approximately ten seconds after the occurrence of death. Subject was propelled several meters away by the discharge, and area of impact was charred almost to the bone.
Weapon taken in use against high-threat target, with additional Hunters as support. First six blows seemed almost entirely ineffective, though earlier tests suggest this has more to do with the resilience of the subject than with the weapon. Seventh and eighth hit caused a reaction in the subject, triggering mild spasms in muscles near the area of impact. Ninth hit caused the subject to start ignoring all other Hunters and focus on the wielder. Tenth hit seemed to momentarily stun the subject, and left a burn-mark on impact. Eleventh hit was predictably even more effective than the previous one, but unexpectedly caused the scintillation to increase to the point where sparks successfully overcame the the countermeasures for the protection of the wielder, occasionally electrifying them. Twelfth hit caused the subject to cry out in pain and, remarkably, seem to start retreating from the wielder. Wielder was at this time being almost continuously electrified by the weapon, making combat obviously challenging. The weapon was observed to produce an audible continuous hum in addition to the sound of jumping sparks and appeared to be visibly vibrating. At this point the wielder ignored requests to hit the subject again, opting instead to trigger the weapon to discharge once the subject was in range. All crew present, observer and Hunters alike, were temporarily deafened by the resulting boom, and bloodstains found on Hunters indicate that anyone within a dozen meters needed to regrow their eardrums. A scorch-mark measuring about three meters (9' 10”) in diameter was found at the location of the discharge. The wielder was badly burned and charred, with both hands appearing to have been effectively disintegrated, and only barely survived the ordeal. The weapon was severely damaged upon recovery and required extensive repairs before further use. Subject appeared to have been slain instantly, nearly all flesh having been stripped from its torso while the rest of its remains were charred almost beyond recognition.
Conclusion: The Fulmen unexpectedly appears to built up charge exponentially rather than linearly. The first several swings receive no or negligible benefit from its electrical accumulation, whereas subsequent swings become significantly more damaging, eventually building the charge to unstable levels. It is highly inadvisable to perform more than ten successive hits with the Fulmen without discharging the weapon. If more than ten hits are made, discharge should not be triggered; the charge should instead be allowed to wane naturally, preferably somewhere it does not endanger anyone else.
And finally... false Paleblood Hunters may experience some interesting and unpredictable things when traversing the Nightmare (including the Hunter's Dream) that regular Paleblood Hunters won't. Dying will also trigger this.
Please... @DrabberRogue... @WaywardK... @Ashgan... @Habibi359, I don't know what to do. I'm still committed, but you can't very well run an RP without players. Although, if even just one player stays, I will keep serving as GM.
Victor's eyes narrowed in disbelief at Marcus' words, stepping over the debris he had been searching and around the carved corpse of the mad Yharnamite he had slain earlier as he approached the entrance to the back room to see for himself. Surely this Hunter was exaggerating or miscounting, he reasoned. Far from everyone in this world had much of an education; even Victor himself struggled with counting things if there were too many, and only learned to read and write clumsily after joining his mercenary company in his late teens. It was quite possible that these random people could not count... though Marcus' demeanor and inquisitiveness did not feel in accordance with how someone ignorant would act. He strode up to the mostly-empty doorway into the back of this clinic – for the first time fully realizing how thoroughly this seemingly quite sturdy door had been smashed to bits – and froze in place. Had he not been so dirtied with blood, the color draining from his face would have betrayed his shock and awe at the sight that met him. Not only was he surprised that Marcus had not been exaggerating, but the state of the room was much worse than he had assumed, too. Though most of the human forms in there were still on their cots, restless but undisturbed, there were quite a few overturned cots, obviously broken bones and, rather strangely and disconcertingly, what appeared to be at least one person's intestines scattered across the room.
Some ways away, across the room and toward the rightmost wall from Victor's perspective, his eyes fixed on one particular corpse that undeniably stood out: a person deeply corrupted by the scourge of beasts, mutated and enlarged almost to the point of being unrecognizable as having once been human. Victor's breath caught in his throat, involuntarily impressed by the fact that these three fresh, inexperienced Hunters had managed to slay such a dangerous creature without even possessing proper Hunter gear. These wolf-men, as Victor had nicknamed this type of creature, were some of the most dangerous prey Victor was willing to face if given the choice; he was quite familiar with how hardy and powerful they could be. In fact, the only “normal” beasts that were worse than wolf-men were the actual full wolf-beasts, which Victor tended to flee from rather than try to fight, unless he was backed up by at least another couple of Hunters. Wolf-beasts had terrified him since his first encounter with one, when one had crippled him.
He tore his gaze from the dead wolf-man, glancing quickly at the newly awakened Hunter before turning back to Marcus. He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, it's usually a bad idea to move Hunters during their change, so it's probably for the best.” Then he had an idea. He pointed at the dead wolf-man. “It's pretty impressive that you managed to kill that thing. Must've been tough for you.” He scratched the back of his head, doing his best to pretend to be thoughtful and apprehensive. “Well, since you used my last blood vial to save my life, how about we return the favor? The Bl-, uh, Lady Adelicia has extremely potent blood; a few drops and you should be back to full strength, regardless of how much you were wounded during the fight. It's a trek from here to the Cathedral Ward, and I'd frankly rather that you could defend yourselves.”
As Victor finished speaking his offer of the Blood Saint's blood, a faint whooshing sound announced the appearance of another duo of Messengers in the reception, just a couple of steps from where Marcus was standing. The little creatures turned their eyeless faces toward him and, with combined efforts, offered Marcus another rolled-up piece of parchment.
Sorry, I've been having a little bit of stress myself over exams and couldn't entirely get my head together to form a response that felt appropriate... Anyway, that's okay, @Bright_Ops. I'm sorry to see you go, of course, but as I've said several times before I won't (and can't) demand or force you to stay. And if you truly feel that you do not have the energy to post, then that's just an honest assessment of yourself and I can only respect that; it's certainly better than just disappearing without a word, at least. I will think of somewhere to put Draco so that he isn't "in the way" but available if you ever decide to come back and give it another go and want to resume playing him (or another character; there is no rule stating that you must play only your first characters).
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