Little Bill — Roleplayer Guild

Pine Hollow
Chapter One: Nightcall

It is Sunday, September 13th, 1987. The air is crisp and cool, and most of the trees have turned orange. 

Pine Hollow Paranormal Investigations has been hired for a minor clean-up job, removing ectoplasm causing paranormal occurrences left by a recent cleansing. The few employees there are ones missing hours, though the rest have the Sunday off. Things go well until Bill, their irate sasquatch manager, receives a concerning message.

"Why do you think they call Nessies Nessies if there's others besides the one in Loch Ness?" Oz asked, speaking over the vacuum. "I mean, I guess they call Jersey Devils that because that's where they were discovered, but the Loch Ness Nessie wasn't the first. It wasn't even the biggest, now that you think about it."

Bill didn't respond. He was preoccupied with running a vacuum through a small crawlspace to clean it of any residual ectoplasm that had been left by a recently exorcised ghost, and was hoping that his lack of any response would make Oz think that he couldn't hear him over the vacuum.

"And you know what else I think about? Alright so, you hear 'Chupacabra', and the first thing you think is Mexico, right?"

Bill shut his eyes for a moment, gathering an abundance of patience. He wasn't even supposed to be doing this job. The building was practically older than the dirt it was built on, and Bill's Sasquatch proportions meant that he had been squatting nonstop in the small space. However, Oz arrived for cleaning that day in white pants, and so his job had consisted mostly of holding the frayed extension cord of the vacuum up and off of the flammable, ectoplasm-soaked floors above the crawlspace.

"But they're not specifically from Mexico! I was watching it on a documentary last night. They're actually just reptile-like mammals that live in deserts. A lot of 'em in West Africa too. More than Mexico! Ain't that something, Bill?"

Even with a literal floor separating them, Bill found himself unable to hide from the magician.

"Yep. That's something. Say, how bad is it down there?"

Bill clicked off the vacuum and raised it up the small entryway for Oz to grab, turning around for a moment to admire his work. Today was a "Make-up day", for the few at Pine Hollow Private Investigations who were missing hours that quarter due to sickness. Even Bill, who was rarely even late, wasn't safe from make-up days. He had taken two days off weeks ago for to attend an old college professor's funeral, and was now working on the last few hours he hadn't already made up with overtime.

The crawlspace was now clean, albeit stained green from the ectoplasm that had seeped through the floorboards. A poltergeist had been exorcised in the house a week ago, and the residual ectoplasm was still causing what PHPI had been hired to clean -- A Class III Haunting, the most minor of the three to come up. They were usually caused by ghosts or the remnants of poltergeists, such as the foggy, cotton-like bits of ectoplasm Bill had been vacuuming, and only made for minor occurrences; Floating spoons, books falling off shelves, spooky messages written on bathroom mirrors after showers, et cetera. PHPI mostly covered Class III's nowadays. A month ago there had been a Class II, and a few weeks before that they had been hired to take down a mother Wendigo, but other than that, the PHPI hadn't handled any major cases in years.

Bill sighed -- Not a worried sigh, but a content one. When all was said and done, he preferred things stay quiet.

"You coming outta there, Billie? Billie Jean? You still in there?"

Bill sighed again. This time, an exasperated sigh.

"Is this some kinda bigfoot hibernation thing? Should I leave?"

Welcome to Pine Hollow, Oregon!

Pine Hollow is in many ways a quintessential small town. Everyone knows everyone, they're usually in each other's business a little too much, and no one ever really leaves. It's the kind of town where you're born, you're grow up, and you die. The town itself is beautiful, if not a little remote. There's only one road leading out to the highway, and the town is surrounded on all sides by dense forests. Fortunately, this gives the town a buffer between itself and the rest of the world. 

In this universe, monsters, paranormal entities, supernatural beings, and cryptids are uncommon, but still very real. Big cities are havens for vampires and the occasional ghost or gremlin, but are usually mostly human-populated. Supernatural beings that have more trouble blending in than the usual werewolf and mothman tend to live on the fringes of society, though there are few exceptions -- four towns, in total -- of communities in America that are at least half-supernatural. Pine Hollow is one.

OOC Info

Characters will be members of Pine Hollow Supernatural Investigations, a paranormal investigation team that does everything from exorcisms to trapping chupacabras. As the requirement for a position with the company is a six-month training course and a high school degree, characters should come from many different species and backgrounds. This RP will be as much about character interaction as it will be about plot, so there's a greater emphasis on the personality and bio sections than there is on the species and appearance section. Here are some words from the original creator for further explanation.

As far as characters go, I'd expect them to be like something out of a movie or comic book from the 80s, while also being a recognizable and relatable character. Not that they have to be a shallow joke or anything like that, but I would just prefer if that was the direction which characters were built in, if that makes any sense. Regarding their "supernatural" elements, I'm pretty open, so feel free to send ideas my way for us to discuss. However, I'd like to make the point that this is not an RP about "humans with powers," as much as it is about "inhuman monsters."

The player characters will essentially be supernatural beings that have come to use their power to fight back against the emerging evils and dangers within the supernatural community, which may be spilling over or bleeding into the "mundane" underworld. Their motivations, altruistic or otherwise, I leave up to you. I should note that while the characters should be defined as "not human," they should be human enough mentally or spiritually to be at least somewhat relatable. I'm not looking for Cthulhu's third cousin, here; utterly bizarre and alien in mindset. Honestly, if you stick with the Universal stable of monsters (we're in Hollywood, after all), you won't go wrong by me.

Here are some possible roles that would fit in the rp -- by no means are these the only available, just throwing ideas out there to help flesh out the tone and what to aim for.

• A werewolf who lobbies for Lycanthrope rights in their spare time, who frequently speaks out at panels in Town Hall about the ease silver bullets can be purchased.

• A vampire who purchases blood from butchers in an effort to avoid snapping and turning their non-vampire partner.

• A ghost who has forgotten why they do not want to leave this plane, who now spends their days working as a night guard.

• A vampire hunter hunter.

[center][img]OPTIONAL PICTURE[/img][/center]

[u][b]Name[/b][/u]
First, middle, last. A nickname they go by replaces their first name and is in quotes.

[u][b]Age[/b][/u]
Self-explanatory. If they age differently than humans, give an approximation of their age in relation to their species.

[u][b]Gender[/b][/u]
Self-explanatory.

[u][b]Position[/b][/u]
Job title and a bit of explanation specifying their work with Pine Hollow Paranormal Investigations.

[u][b]Species[/b][/u]
Though we don't have to have a cast filled with horror icons, try to stick with a recognizable species. If you're picking a popular choice, specify. Ex: Undead - Reanimated, or Undead - Frankenstein

[u][b]Appearance[/b][/u]
Whether or not you have a picture, this should be about a paragraph. Include style of dress, differences between themselves and the norm for their species, etc.

[u][b]Personality[/b][/u]
Anywhere between one and three paragraphs is acceptable

[u][b]Relationships[/b][/u]
Character Name || One word description || Something your character would say about them in quotes

[u][b]Other[/b][/u]
Anything important you haven't mentioned. This can be anything from an owned artifact to a relative of importance to info about their house. Go nuts.

Being Human: A cast of classic hammer-horror characters struggling getting by on a day-to-day basis is a core theme of the RP, so it moves to the top of the inspiration list.

Supernatural: Think early supernatural, before it got all biblical and shit. Our characters should not be as cool as the Winchesters, but it's fair to assume they'd be as well prepared.

Gravity Falls: A universe that has gnomes and little green men iand terrifying demons and horrorterrors? Check!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The reason Buffy isn't higher on the inspirations list than Supernatural is because Buffy is sometimes too cheesy. On another hand, now seems an opportune moment to mention that we can definitely focus on subplots unrelated to supernatural shenanigans in the same way as BtVS.

Welcome to Night Vale: Don't worry, we're probably not gonna get that strange. Main takeaway here is that the town is fundamentally weird, and will have a "cast" of regularly appearing NPCs representing various degrees of the supernatural.

In The Flesh: The same original theme of "supernatural folk getting by", but also, drama about things that don't pertain to their supernatural characteristics. I don't just want to see werewolves, I want to see werewolves struggling with alimony payments. 

X-Files: Because the answer to any given question has an equal likeliness of being "demons" or "cryptids". Though I'd like to stray away from aliens for the most part, I wouldn't object to a stranded grey alien in our ranks, if that's your thing.

1. Basic guild rules apply.
2. Be excellent to each other.
3. Use proper grammar and syntax. Each post should be a minimum of three paragraphs.
4. No speedposting.

IC Info

Though Pine Hollow has an abundance of supernatural citizens, humans still hold a slightly higher population percentage. In addition, because most families are either entirely human or comprised of a human and a supernatural being, humans are still the most represented group of Pine Hollow.

The forest surrounding Pine Hollow is known by the locals as the Barrens -- aptly named for the inhospitable soil brought on by layers of pine needles. Aside from the pine trees, many types of thistles, bushes, briars, and a species of thorny smilax native to Pine Hollow can be found in the Barrens as well. Other than the pines and their thorny neighbors, little life can be seen in the barrens. The few deciduous trees in the forest are gnarled and black, and not even lichen or moss grows on the many strange stones in the forest. Aside from the flora of the area, it is known for its high population of ghosts, each with varying degrees of malevolence. Tourists and locals alike are warned to not visit the Barrens after dark.

Surrounding Pine Hollow is the concrete moat that is Main Road, a circular road that goes around Pine Hollow's perimeter, separating the Barrens from Pine Hollow. The town has a population of about 2000, which seems large until one takes into account the short but notable drives between homes through patches of winding forest roads, and the percentage of the population that prefers to remain unseen, such as the mole people and bogmen.

Pine Hollow is largely a lower middle-class suburb with a few mom-and-pop family businesses scattered around the town, though most purchase their goods at the vampire-owned MegaMart, a somewhat accepted necessary evil of Pine Hollow and the rest of Western Oregon. Pine Hollow is seen as very rural by outsiders, though it is far from the postcard towns found in most of rural maine. For what it's worth, Pine Hollow is a cluster of blue-collar families and old buildings with peeled paint, slightly separated by swathes of tall, looming pine trees that refuse to be cut.

Note: This isn't a list of every race, just a few of them to help flesh out the established universe.

Zombie: A human who has been reanimated from death, through means of necromancy or science. They are constantly hungry, and though they have cravings for the flesh of the living, many manage to lead productive lives by suppressing their urges with meat-based diets. Most prefer the term "reanimated" due to the connotations associated with "zombie".

Alien: Short and grey-skinned, little is known about our extraterrestrial neighbors other than their intelligence and affinity for hot desert climates.

Chupacabra: A Mexican variant of the Common Goblin, with a penchant for red meat. Most are about three feet tall, and resemble bipedal, hairless coyotes. They are a protected species.

Swamp Creature: A fishlike humanoid. Despite their species name, Swamp Creatures are found in freshwater and saltwater alike. However, only 4% of Swamp Creatures live outside of Louisiana.

Ghost: The soul of a deceased human who has unfinished business on earth. Most are harmless, though some enjoy frightening humans. Particularly vengeful or angry ghosts are known as poltergeists, which are considerably more dangerous.

Werewolf: Technically a human with an incurable disease, werewolves are humans who turn into large bipedal wolves when in sight of a full moon.

• Werebear: A less common transformation in America, werebears are humans afflicted with a similar virus that is rarely found outside of rural Russia.

Sasquatch: A tall, apelike hominid. Originally seen as stewards of the forest, their numbers have been steadily declining for decades. 

Goblin: Short, scrawny and green. They are known for stealing babies and replacing them with one of their own, which is called a changeling.
• Gremlin: A subspecies of goblin, gremlins have instinctual urges to dismantle and hijack machinery. They are shock-resistant and secrete oil from their skin, making it difficult to capture one without a tranquilizer.

Vampire: A human who has been given vampirism. Other than a set of retractable fangs and pale skin, vampires are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and stop aging after they have been turned. Sunlight harms them, but is not instantly fatal. As undead, they are vulnerable to holy symbols.

• High Vampire: A species entirely separate from humans. They are similar in appearance to humans, though high vampires have long fangs, pointed ears, batlike facial features, and are almost always bald. They are not undead, but very long-lived, and can give humans vampirism. Humans turned by a high vampire are susceptible to mind-control by the high vampire. As high vampires are not undead, holy symbols have no effect on them, though they have allergies to garlic. Sunlight is instantly fatal to them.

Demon: In short, Demons are technically the ghosts of the exceptionally cruel and evil. They are much more powerful than ghosts and poltergeists, and are usually dealt with by trained, professional exorcists. Usually, humans who become demons after dying follow one of the three Abrahamic religions -- Christians and Jews become demons, while Muslims become jinns.

By and large, magic has mostly left this world. Only some are born able to perform magic, and few ever even become aware of it. Aside from that, magic is seen as unpredictable, dangerous, and usually the least practical solution to any problem.

Even with its waning popularity, there are still some wizards in the business of charming devices, cursing people, and (very rarely) reanimating the dead for various fees. Though it isn't known to the public, America's most highly guarded buildings (The Oval Office, Fort Knox, Guantanamo Bay, etc.) feature some kind of magical protection as well.

Founded in 1950, PHPI has been Pine Hollow's sole paranormal investigation company for thirty seven years. Originally solely a private investigations company, PHPI now offers services for nearly every matter pertaining to the paranormal, from paranormal animal control to performing excorcisms, providing paranormal protection to city property, and a multitude of other jobs. Though originally a well-respected company, the lessening demand for a private investigations company in a small, sleepy town has left them with a severe lack of funding.

Though they have a crew of office workers such as secretaries and accountants, the most common job at PHPI is Investigation. Investigators are equipped with standard equipment for dealing with vampires and other undead such as ghosts and poltergeists, as well as nets, bear mace, and steel cages for paranormal creatures with less sentience.
Use the Ghostbuster's office interior for any picture references, save for the pole.

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