Mirandae

The Spirits Within: Stigma

I remember, dear! I was going to send an invite your way when the ooc came around.

The Spirits Within: Stigma

Fabulous! The out of character should be around before the weekend, then!

@Frettzo
The character creation process is very much an interactive ordeal, indeed!

The Spirits Within: Stigma

Yeah, totally with you on that. But, from my experience there is always someone that gets lost in the translation between interest check and ooc. A few players that stick around would be awesome. I'll definitely shower them with love!

The Spirits Within: Stigma

I'm happy that you guys are excited, but I hoped that there would've been at least a few more interested, so I'm a bit reserved at this time.

The Spirits Within: Stigma

@DJAtomika
Hey, hey! You could do either.

@Archangel89
That's great!

@clericbeast
The setting is a bit different, though. There is no Elysium in this version, for example. And Helston is a small town, but perhaps there would be one or two luxurious houses there.

The Spirits Within: Stigma

@Eschatologist
I Googled "/k/ommando" and while I don't quite understand male bonding rituals yet, I did understand the gist of what a /k/ommando is. I'm sure you can find a lot of good stuff on this page, and some version of The Big Guy could possibly suit your idea!

@clericbeast
Hey! While anyone is welcome to join, I do hope that nothing serious happens this time that you have to leave again. It would be a major bummer. Take some time to browse tv tropes! It's great for forming ideas for characters. I'm quite positive that you'll find something decent.

The Spirits Within: Stigma

OOC

Click image for music

• Quasi-futuristic action adventure inspired by Final Fantasy and Half-Life.
• Extensive, epic story with sandbox elements through different 'timelines' and 'flashbacks'.
• Magic through spirit possession and gun & sword combat with monstrous creatures.
• Codex with a lot of information about the world of Libra. Also room for player created lore.
• Player characters are childhood friends, 'Guardians', and badasses.
• Reboot of previous attempts. A lot of old problems have been solved. Anyone welcome to join.

Premise

Thirty years ago, the Calamity crashed upon Libra and brought with it a horrible disease named Stigma, which corrupts both nature and humanity. That which fall victim to the infection transforms into nightmarish creatures known as Mordrem. Some of them evolve into brutal killing machines, whereas others remain inanimate husks. They thrive on the consumption of Gaia, which is a substance of life deep within the earth.

All life is of Gaia and each life has a spirit. Through their life on the planet, the spirits gather experiences and memories with which they return to Gaia upon destruction, allowing Gaia to grow and create new life. Many believe that Gaia is the remnants of Etro, the infinite entity that created the universe from itself. The Stigma is the antithesis of Gaia. When the Mordrem consume enough Gaia, they are released from their torment, but destroy all life in the process.

The presence of the Mordrem caused a great migration of spirits. They abandoned their physical embodiments in search of powerful sanctuaries. The people of Libra became the primary respite. Those that accumulated a high spirit density became known as Guardians, which grew extremely powerful. They could exert the natural power of spirits as magic, punch through concrete walls without a scratch, jump across incredible heights and distances, and survive wounds that would otherwise kill.

The war with the Mordrem has consumed most parts of the world. Their relentlessness and evolving nature has forced humanity to adopt a strict military culture. Individual governments were disbanded to form a central authority, military schools became mandatory for all children, and a lot of daily convenience was stripped in exchange for security. The central government known as Sanctum conducts a brutal, religious-fanatic regime that is only making things worse. Their most dreaded division is the Inquisition, which roots out Stigma corruption amongst humanity.

In an unfortunate event, a slumbering threat awakens and takes upon itself to seek revenge against that which abandoned it. This is felt all throughout Libra, as the Stigma intensifies and the Mordrem heed the voice of the alpha predator. Only a few can stand against the inevitable demise of the world, and they are unknowingly of the same energy signature as the threat itself.

Characters

The player characters in this story are childhood friends, and Guardians. They were born in the same town and had a special relationship with a boy named Samuel Valentine. Unfortunately, he died in an attack by the Mordrem when they were eight years old. The player characters were subsequently sent to a military academy named Oakridge, which has been their home and school for the past fifteen years. On a mission together, the friends discover a disturbing truth about their past that sets them on a path of cosmic importance.

Information

I use different 'timelines' and 'flashbacks'. They offer a sense of sandbox freedom to an otherwise linear story. For example, if you want to dedicate a flashback to 'school life' at the academy, you can. Tired of the main story? Focus on different timelines or flashbacks instead for a while. Timelines also allow me to advance the story without interrupting existing interactions or events. You can create new timelines and flashbacks whenever you want and use them as a means for collaboration or solo writing.

My constant endeavor is to make you feel important and powerful, which is why I encourage the use of tropes. Collect them during character creation and throughout the story itself. They are not a substitute, just a complement that makes my job easier. Here and here are good places to start looking for tropes that suit your character ideas. You can begin right away and brainstorm tropes for your character, here in the interest check, if you want to.

There is no specific player limit, but there is a character approval process. Being nice and courteous to your peers is crucial, as is acknowledging their actions. Further, your account must be registered a certain amount of time prior to the interest check in order to participate. Inactivity for more than two weeks means that you probably have better things to do. Players that arrive late will portray another childhood friend, but one whom attended a different school. Although, he or she has been in constant contact with the other player characters.

More things to come in an out of character thread, if we get there.

Welcome to Santa Somabra [Fantasy Noir]

Okay, my part in the collaboration with @potatochipgolem and @XSilentWingsX is done! There will be a fourth part that concludes the interaction. And with that I'll take my spells and potions elsewhere, to new adventures!

I hope that you all have a great time with this!

Welcome to Santa Somabra [Fantasy Noir]

“...Right, I almost forgot-” Vigil muttered absent-mindedly, snapping out of his troubled thoughts, he reached into his vest pocket and promptly placed a small paper bag on the table. “From the family cellar.” Perhaps out of habit that he hadn’t forgotten the household custom of bringing a small token to the witch every time they visited her so far out in the woods.

“Oh, thank you,” a rare smile broke out on Sophia’s lips as Vigil presented the bantam paper bag. Whatever was inside she would surely make use of. The man knew that she was always in search of ingredients for her alchemical practices, whether rare or common. Some intriguing, exotic scent lingered inside gift. Sophia only faintly took it in without witnessing the content. She would relish and tinker with it when her guests had returned to pulsing city.

“Actually I did come for your expertise.” He continued though not having found a place to sit, not many spare seats left in the hermit’s home. “There’s something we’d like you to take a look at,” Vigil hoisted up and opened the briefcase slightly, fishing out several scanned copies of what appeared to be pages of a book. A worn, old, decrepit tome with faded words written in a sickly crimson. “I couldn’t translate these even with the archives.” He explained, placing them by a bowl of betel nuts within reach of Sophie.

Sophia put the gift aside and beheld the next set of items presented to her. She was curious at first, but soon found herself turning the pages upside down, sideways, and back again in order to comprehend their contents. Surely, she had seen the symbols before, but not of this caliber. These were extremely ancient writings, ones that barely Sophia understood herself. The woman muttered and hummed softly as she inspected the text. Most of it remained a mystery, but she did not have to understand it in order to know what it was.

Max watched the witch closely, her expression one of polite curiosity. She was quite interested to see what the woman would say next. “We were sure that someone of your talents would easily be able to unravel these secrets.” She sat perfectly still as she waited, her appearance somehow less… human than it had seemed before. Her eyes were rather cold, expressing a mixture of distrust and irritation.

“This is more than just a secret, dear…,” Sophia began, arranging the pieces of paper in the correct order. The woman then broke her concentration and looked at Maxine, then Vigil.

“This is proto-Dravidian language. Even if I can’t read it myself, I know exactly what it means and who wrote it,” she said, piled the papers together, and handed them back to Vigil. “Nothing good will come out of you meddling in this,” Sophia said and slowly stepped closer to the man. “The contents of that text make what I do look like I’m playing with crayons and coloring books,” she continued, staring deeply into Vigil’s eyes. It was clear he was not comfortable with it but he seemed to stand his ground and stared back with defiance.

A sarcastic smirk emerged from her presence, a light puff of air escaping her breath. “Luckily for you, all of it was written by a madman and probably won’t do you any harm.”

“A madman...?” Max questioned curiously.

Sophia let go of her somewhat intimidating, but comical stare and seated herself by the cauldron, stirring its contents.

“Dravidian language is spoken in southern India, but that text is written in proto-Dravidian, which means that it was conceived before any kind of history of the world mattered. It is said that a mad necromancer by the name of Telugu created an extremely complex ritual that could blur the borders of life and unlife, and into this ritual he poured all of his insanity. Some apprentices of his later attempted to translate his incoherent scribbles, which then became what you have there in those pages,” Sophia said. The woman threw a few rat bones and old mushrooms into the mix of the cauldron, and then turned to Vigil and Maxine, who watched her expectantly.

“It’s a prophecy, of sorts. It entails the return of Telugu’s spirit in the flesh, and the very presence of whoever or whatever that possesses it will strike fear and panic into the hearts of lesser minds,” she said. Sophia chuckled at the thought. “Nasty stuff, but nonetheless frivolity.”

Max arched an eyebrow. “How wonderful,” she deadpanned. She tapped a finger against her leg impatiently, glancing at Vigil before she turned back to the witch. “If you’ve nothing more you can tell us, perhaps we should go. We don’t want to trouble you further,” she continued. Max did not want to remain in the witch’s house any longer than she had too, already feeling as though she had been there too long.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

We who complain here should roleplay together. It would probably make for the most peaceful and perfect roleplay in the history of everything!