Julian84
2013-08-04, 03:46 PM
Oddness - Invitation Only. Public Opening TBA.
MRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92q-bWLeq0A)
“Here we are, sit down, take a load off, relax now. This’ll only take a minute, but you might feel a bit of a pinch. Kidding, kidding, only kidding. Now, if I was twenty years younger I might be able to tell whether if yours is a familiar face or not, but these days they all blend together, blurring the lines, kinda like a Monet, y’know what I’m saying? Now, you wanted to- Oh, right, you want the downlow, the skinny, I gotcha.
What’s to know? This is the big city, the big apple, the crown of the empire state, jewel of the Hudson, New York, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, where people are made and broken every day without a pause or hint of hesitation. ‘Course, this here is the Heights, small name in a big place, supposed ta’ be quiet or somethin’, but don’t let anyone fool you, this place has its own share of weirdness! Sure ya got your normal stuff, gangs from outta Harlem, two-bit crooks trying to make their way in a dog eats dog world, busy bees trading the pollen of who’s doing what to whom for how much? Eh, who knows? But believe you me, weird stuff has been going down here in uptown, people just don’t want to fess up to it, and it all started when that crazy cat Xander set up shop down by the fancy school, his whatshamacallit, ah, the M.R.R.? I dunno, man, but he’s got his finger in all sorts of pies and the people just dig it, y’know what I’m sayin’? Then you got weirdness like witches and covens and kids wearing too much dark clothing, like that one fella who hangs out in churches and whatnot, whatshisname, ah, Vince? Vinnie? Wears a skull ring, keeps to himself. Bad news, my friend, best to just steer clear. Then, get this, some fella, got a weird vibe to him, an energy, like crystals, y’know? Anyhow, this guy, he’s searching the city… Looking for a gal in a white gown, but doesn’t know her name… You can find this guy in Xander’s sometimes, just looking at the art like its gonna bring him some sorta clue… I dunno man.
So there ya have it, welcome to uptown, little name in a big city! We’ve got all sorts of kooks and crazies… But we call this place home. And what a place it is, too… Every day, you never know what’s going to turn up, though you might not even believe your eyes – Vampires, psychics, magicians from the orient!
…All sorts of oddness.”
Setting: Manhattan: Hudson Heights, Harlem; Lower Bronx - Modern Day
Features:
Before creating your character, roll a d8 once. The result will correspond to one of the four features listed below. These features exist to provide some guidance in what sort of character you create – some will be from myth and legend, others will have supernatural or superhuman power, some will have some form of influence over everyone else, and others will just be connected to these events, observers in the grand scheme of things… Though with their own plans and agendas. A character can be anyone or do anything, and so long as it fits within the constraints, or lack thereof, in their feature, it will be perfectly acceptable to use.
(Note: Forum Dice Roller not appearing to work here. Redirect to wizards of the coast online dice roller or any other of your preference and report rolls to either Julian or Valik)
Mythical 1
You are a creature of myth and legend, either disguised or trapped in a human form to live in secret amongst humans. Perhaps you are trying to regain your old form, or are trying to forsake your inhumanity for a normal life. Perhaps you are young for your kind, living in secrecy, or perhaps you are centuries, even millennia, old, and are simply trying to make a contented existence for yourself.
(Note: Mythologies used are limited to Romanic-Christian and Medieval legend. Any other must be approved by Mods first.)
Powerful 2-3
You were born different from everyone else… You were born special, with a power that no one else possesses, a power you discovered in your childhood. Perhaps you had immense strength, or could not be harmed, or could control fire with your mind… This power may be a source of dread for you, a sign of your inhumanity that others will reject… Or it may not bother you at all, even bringing you great joy.
Influential 4-5
Through your own cunning and brilliance you have secured yourself a position of influence and power… Or perhaps it was through your own blind luck and hard effort. In either case, you hold sway over many, with information not all could possess, a charismatic attitude that commands loyalty and respect… From some, at least. Your arrogant manner may have gained you a few enemies, or your power has attracted predators waiting to devour you. You are a known entity, or a shadowy figure, but your ability to move and shake the world around you with but a phone call is very, very real.
Connected 6-7-8
You do not possess great heritage, or superpowers, or influence… No, you are the common man, the cog in the machine, the ant in the colony… But you are inexplicably connected to the events at hand, in ways you don’t always fully understand. Someway or somehow, you know someone of great power, or witnessed events of great import. You are everpresent, but unseen… And in time, you may find yourself with the skills necessary to play a very important part. You are not insignificant. You are not unimportant. You are a thread in a tapestry, and your loss could destroy the whole tableau.
Character Sheet:
The sheet is lovingly borrowed from other campaigns. All players can create a maximum of two characters each. These characters must be reviewed by the moderators before being given approval for play. We encourage players to swap backstories and create characters whose pasts are tied to one another. If another PC raises significant questions or doubts about a character, a review session may be called to deal with the issue.
Example Character Sheet
Age: Timeless.
Gender: Male
Height: Average.
Weight: Average.
Side: ???.
Feature:
Appearance
The most generic of everymen.
Background
The character’s history.
Personality:
As generic as generic can get.
Abilities:
Write a bunch of stuff your character can do here. The more specific the better!
Notes on Discretion and Devious Behavior
One of the most important aspects of a game like this is the potential for secrecy, plotting, twists, and surprises. With so many characters from so many walks of life, and various connecting backgrounds, there is no single over-arcing plot. It is a random and volatile mesh of plotlines all thrown together. Anything can happen, to anyone, at anytime. And not knowing who did what, how, when, and where makes it all the more fun.
However, as a Freeform, Play-By-Post game, the element of secrecy can be a hard one to keep a hold on. Here are a couple ideas that are highly encouraged, to allow for a more sneaky, devious, and wonderfully surprising game:
1. When posting your character sheet for all to see, please feel free to omit ANY and all details that you see fit. If you want, you can reduce your character down to nothing but a description. Whatever you need to hide things you want to keep as surprises for later. -However, you still need to fill out a full, detailed sheet, and PM it to the Moderators, Valik Sparks and Julian84. We do have to approve it, after all.
2. Please feel free, at any time, to privately contact another player, and roleplay out a mini session in which you might do something like... Offer them a job. Ask them for information. Give them information. Make an appeal. Or even blackmail them. This will allow for, say, an Influential character to hire an Connected or even Powerful or Mythical character to do something to another character, and the target won't even see it coming! -This will also mean that during public posts, discretion would have to be used when describing your characters thoughts. Replacing specific names or information with vague titles like, "The man who hired me" or "The job I'm working". -NOTE: You do not need Moderator approval to initiate a contact of this nature with another player. You don't even have to tell us you did it. Yes, that means you can even get the drop on your Mods.
Hopefully this will allow for some great surprises and fun story elements. Happy plotting everyone!
Important Links:
IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297699) - Play the game here, sillies.
Character Registry (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296167) - Post finished character sheets here.
Player Registry:
{table=head]#|Player|Character|Activity
1|Julian84 (Moderator)|Lorena Lee|Ragnarok fangirl bait
2|Valik Sparks (Moderator)|Anton Briar|Don’t look in his basement
3|Babel_Matrix|Seung Kim|Running down a dream
4|Jellyfish|Alexander Mifferly|A minor in interior decorating
5|Reverend1124|Vincent Price|The crows knows
6|LordDeathKeeper|Rory Hunter|Now that's a spicy meatball
7|Cgrela|Sergei Zmeya|Say my name
8|Demented_Dragon|???|???
9|LadyMarinette|Elizabeth Sparks|Eat your heart out, Haley Joel Osment
10|McGrowly725|Isaac Dolan|A mountain of references
11|Jade_Tarem|Nora Blaise|A hymnbook in all but name
[/table]
Notable Places and Faces (Under Constant Construction):
10 Wood Academy
Located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, 10 Wood is a moderately priced private school for the generally well-to-do of the city. Sporting a small class enrollment, though, it has only three hundred students, all packed into a four story renovated studio apartment. Here, the academy teaches all the basics, focusing on a very relaxed and open style of teaching to allow students to grow into themselves with some semblance of peace. Older students are allowed a pass to leave during their free periods, and local hang-outs for the kids include shops, diners, and small courtyards.
The school is led by Miss Hetty Edmund as the principal, with Geoffrey Arcade the director of the school board. They are a little short-staffed, and a few of the teachers have to pull double-duty to ensure that all subjects are taught properly.
The North Coven
Established in the late fifties, the North Coven is a quiet little organization of wiccans, witches, and all others who believe they practice magic… Whether they really do or not. Over the decades, their numbers have waxed and waned, coming down to only a couple dozen in the modern era. The coven is led by Sarah Taft, a young witch with no real power, who erroneously believes that the cloisters, a nearby abbey built on the Washington Heights are the source of the coven’s power… When in reality it is simply an art museum. The coven itself is relatively close by to the cloisters, located across the Harlem River in Kingsbridge.
The M.R.R. and Alexander Mifferly
Mifferly Reductionist Retailer (M.R.R.) is a department store in Hudson Heights, selling everything from shoes to groceries to electric singing towels. It’s about the size of a Staples, but with two upper stories. There’s a café where people can meet and chat, lovely floors to lie on and watch the movies on the ceiling, mazes you can navigate to find the products you’re looking for, and a perfectly charming wackjob in charge of it all.
Alexander Mifferly (Xander for short) owns the place; he’s something of a celebrity within the store, and rather well-known outside as well. The random nonsensical nature of his ideas make any kind of practical shopping impossible, but it’s more of a recreational experience anyway, so people are willing to overlook the fact that nothing ever makes sense and it takes twice as long to find what you’re looking for. There’s never a boring day at M.R.R., which makes it a popular teen hangout, as well as a magnet for all sorts of strange happenings.
Gangs of Harlem and the Five Families
Born from a century of unscrupulous practices, the gangs of Harlem are the street crews associated with the five families, the powerful Italian mafia which controls crime within the big city… And beyond. These gangs engage in racketeering, money laundering, theft, murder, and whatever else pleases them… But they have a code of honor enforced by the upper echelons of the organization, where the mixed gangs will not cause violence against each other… Or risk starting a turf war. Harlem is controlled by the Genovese family officially, but representatives of the Gambinos, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno families are active there as well…
The officers and enforcers are easily identified by their finer clothing and sense of dress. Smaller crews are determined by various smaller markers, such as colors, gang signs, or style of dress. There are some smaller gangs not affiliated at all with the five families, independent crews usually based off of ethnic or class divisions. These gangs are erratic, temperamental, and very dangerous. Those affiliated with the five families can sometimes be relied upon for protection from these dangerous elements and others… For the right price, of course.
PAIRO
The Psychic Anomaly Investigation and Research Operations division. As far as you're concerned, they don't exist. But as long as we're talking about them anyways... They're a government sect. Like the FBI, only smaller, more specialized, and heck of a lot more classified. There are strange things out there in the big bad world. Strange people too. People who can do things that defy logic and explanation. Nothing like the comic books. They can't topple buildings with their mind, fly to the moon, or turn Miami into the newest Ice Age Expose'. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're not terrifying in their own ways.
A Pyro can conjure a handful of fire out of thin air. A TK can pick your pocket from the other side of the block. A REMI -that's REM-Inducer- can make you start to dream while you're taking your morning coffee at work; and geez, what if you were on the road? The list goes on. Psychics. They're out there. Not in mass, but enough to catch the eye of Uncle Sam. It's not just rumors and stories anymore. It's a viable threat. And PAIRO is dedicated to dealing with any and all Psychic-related events.
It is PAIRO's job to gather intelligence, intervene for Psychic-related crimes and misdemeanors, and most importantly, to guard the thin veil of secrecy that still manages to hide Psychic presence from the general public. PAIRO is not above kidnapping, or even killing Psychics if they deem it 'necessary' to further their goals and protect the nation as a whole. Agents of PAIRO are well-trained, warned of every known Psychic ability and tactic, and on rare occasion, PAIRO even employs Psychics themselves. Why a Psychic would work with an organization like PAIRO is up to them. It varies from being born into the company, to just doing it as a way to spare oneself from dissection, to perhaps even more twisted and convoluted thought processes.
MRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92q-bWLeq0A)
“Here we are, sit down, take a load off, relax now. This’ll only take a minute, but you might feel a bit of a pinch. Kidding, kidding, only kidding. Now, if I was twenty years younger I might be able to tell whether if yours is a familiar face or not, but these days they all blend together, blurring the lines, kinda like a Monet, y’know what I’m saying? Now, you wanted to- Oh, right, you want the downlow, the skinny, I gotcha.
What’s to know? This is the big city, the big apple, the crown of the empire state, jewel of the Hudson, New York, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, where people are made and broken every day without a pause or hint of hesitation. ‘Course, this here is the Heights, small name in a big place, supposed ta’ be quiet or somethin’, but don’t let anyone fool you, this place has its own share of weirdness! Sure ya got your normal stuff, gangs from outta Harlem, two-bit crooks trying to make their way in a dog eats dog world, busy bees trading the pollen of who’s doing what to whom for how much? Eh, who knows? But believe you me, weird stuff has been going down here in uptown, people just don’t want to fess up to it, and it all started when that crazy cat Xander set up shop down by the fancy school, his whatshamacallit, ah, the M.R.R.? I dunno, man, but he’s got his finger in all sorts of pies and the people just dig it, y’know what I’m sayin’? Then you got weirdness like witches and covens and kids wearing too much dark clothing, like that one fella who hangs out in churches and whatnot, whatshisname, ah, Vince? Vinnie? Wears a skull ring, keeps to himself. Bad news, my friend, best to just steer clear. Then, get this, some fella, got a weird vibe to him, an energy, like crystals, y’know? Anyhow, this guy, he’s searching the city… Looking for a gal in a white gown, but doesn’t know her name… You can find this guy in Xander’s sometimes, just looking at the art like its gonna bring him some sorta clue… I dunno man.
So there ya have it, welcome to uptown, little name in a big city! We’ve got all sorts of kooks and crazies… But we call this place home. And what a place it is, too… Every day, you never know what’s going to turn up, though you might not even believe your eyes – Vampires, psychics, magicians from the orient!
…All sorts of oddness.”
Setting: Manhattan: Hudson Heights, Harlem; Lower Bronx - Modern Day
Features:
Before creating your character, roll a d8 once. The result will correspond to one of the four features listed below. These features exist to provide some guidance in what sort of character you create – some will be from myth and legend, others will have supernatural or superhuman power, some will have some form of influence over everyone else, and others will just be connected to these events, observers in the grand scheme of things… Though with their own plans and agendas. A character can be anyone or do anything, and so long as it fits within the constraints, or lack thereof, in their feature, it will be perfectly acceptable to use.
(Note: Forum Dice Roller not appearing to work here. Redirect to wizards of the coast online dice roller or any other of your preference and report rolls to either Julian or Valik)
Mythical 1
You are a creature of myth and legend, either disguised or trapped in a human form to live in secret amongst humans. Perhaps you are trying to regain your old form, or are trying to forsake your inhumanity for a normal life. Perhaps you are young for your kind, living in secrecy, or perhaps you are centuries, even millennia, old, and are simply trying to make a contented existence for yourself.
(Note: Mythologies used are limited to Romanic-Christian and Medieval legend. Any other must be approved by Mods first.)
Powerful 2-3
You were born different from everyone else… You were born special, with a power that no one else possesses, a power you discovered in your childhood. Perhaps you had immense strength, or could not be harmed, or could control fire with your mind… This power may be a source of dread for you, a sign of your inhumanity that others will reject… Or it may not bother you at all, even bringing you great joy.
Influential 4-5
Through your own cunning and brilliance you have secured yourself a position of influence and power… Or perhaps it was through your own blind luck and hard effort. In either case, you hold sway over many, with information not all could possess, a charismatic attitude that commands loyalty and respect… From some, at least. Your arrogant manner may have gained you a few enemies, or your power has attracted predators waiting to devour you. You are a known entity, or a shadowy figure, but your ability to move and shake the world around you with but a phone call is very, very real.
Connected 6-7-8
You do not possess great heritage, or superpowers, or influence… No, you are the common man, the cog in the machine, the ant in the colony… But you are inexplicably connected to the events at hand, in ways you don’t always fully understand. Someway or somehow, you know someone of great power, or witnessed events of great import. You are everpresent, but unseen… And in time, you may find yourself with the skills necessary to play a very important part. You are not insignificant. You are not unimportant. You are a thread in a tapestry, and your loss could destroy the whole tableau.
Character Sheet:
The sheet is lovingly borrowed from other campaigns. All players can create a maximum of two characters each. These characters must be reviewed by the moderators before being given approval for play. We encourage players to swap backstories and create characters whose pasts are tied to one another. If another PC raises significant questions or doubts about a character, a review session may be called to deal with the issue.
Example Character Sheet
Age: Timeless.
Gender: Male
Height: Average.
Weight: Average.
Side: ???.
Feature:
Appearance
The most generic of everymen.
Background
The character’s history.
Personality:
As generic as generic can get.
Abilities:
Write a bunch of stuff your character can do here. The more specific the better!
Notes on Discretion and Devious Behavior
One of the most important aspects of a game like this is the potential for secrecy, plotting, twists, and surprises. With so many characters from so many walks of life, and various connecting backgrounds, there is no single over-arcing plot. It is a random and volatile mesh of plotlines all thrown together. Anything can happen, to anyone, at anytime. And not knowing who did what, how, when, and where makes it all the more fun.
However, as a Freeform, Play-By-Post game, the element of secrecy can be a hard one to keep a hold on. Here are a couple ideas that are highly encouraged, to allow for a more sneaky, devious, and wonderfully surprising game:
1. When posting your character sheet for all to see, please feel free to omit ANY and all details that you see fit. If you want, you can reduce your character down to nothing but a description. Whatever you need to hide things you want to keep as surprises for later. -However, you still need to fill out a full, detailed sheet, and PM it to the Moderators, Valik Sparks and Julian84. We do have to approve it, after all.
2. Please feel free, at any time, to privately contact another player, and roleplay out a mini session in which you might do something like... Offer them a job. Ask them for information. Give them information. Make an appeal. Or even blackmail them. This will allow for, say, an Influential character to hire an Connected or even Powerful or Mythical character to do something to another character, and the target won't even see it coming! -This will also mean that during public posts, discretion would have to be used when describing your characters thoughts. Replacing specific names or information with vague titles like, "The man who hired me" or "The job I'm working". -NOTE: You do not need Moderator approval to initiate a contact of this nature with another player. You don't even have to tell us you did it. Yes, that means you can even get the drop on your Mods.
Hopefully this will allow for some great surprises and fun story elements. Happy plotting everyone!
Important Links:
IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297699) - Play the game here, sillies.
Character Registry (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296167) - Post finished character sheets here.
Player Registry:
{table=head]#|Player|Character|Activity
1|Julian84 (Moderator)|Lorena Lee|Ragnarok fangirl bait
2|Valik Sparks (Moderator)|Anton Briar|Don’t look in his basement
3|Babel_Matrix|Seung Kim|Running down a dream
4|Jellyfish|Alexander Mifferly|A minor in interior decorating
5|Reverend1124|Vincent Price|The crows knows
6|LordDeathKeeper|Rory Hunter|Now that's a spicy meatball
7|Cgrela|Sergei Zmeya|Say my name
8|Demented_Dragon|???|???
9|LadyMarinette|Elizabeth Sparks|Eat your heart out, Haley Joel Osment
10|McGrowly725|Isaac Dolan|A mountain of references
11|Jade_Tarem|Nora Blaise|A hymnbook in all but name
[/table]
Notable Places and Faces (Under Constant Construction):
10 Wood Academy
Located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, 10 Wood is a moderately priced private school for the generally well-to-do of the city. Sporting a small class enrollment, though, it has only three hundred students, all packed into a four story renovated studio apartment. Here, the academy teaches all the basics, focusing on a very relaxed and open style of teaching to allow students to grow into themselves with some semblance of peace. Older students are allowed a pass to leave during their free periods, and local hang-outs for the kids include shops, diners, and small courtyards.
The school is led by Miss Hetty Edmund as the principal, with Geoffrey Arcade the director of the school board. They are a little short-staffed, and a few of the teachers have to pull double-duty to ensure that all subjects are taught properly.
The North Coven
Established in the late fifties, the North Coven is a quiet little organization of wiccans, witches, and all others who believe they practice magic… Whether they really do or not. Over the decades, their numbers have waxed and waned, coming down to only a couple dozen in the modern era. The coven is led by Sarah Taft, a young witch with no real power, who erroneously believes that the cloisters, a nearby abbey built on the Washington Heights are the source of the coven’s power… When in reality it is simply an art museum. The coven itself is relatively close by to the cloisters, located across the Harlem River in Kingsbridge.
The M.R.R. and Alexander Mifferly
Mifferly Reductionist Retailer (M.R.R.) is a department store in Hudson Heights, selling everything from shoes to groceries to electric singing towels. It’s about the size of a Staples, but with two upper stories. There’s a café where people can meet and chat, lovely floors to lie on and watch the movies on the ceiling, mazes you can navigate to find the products you’re looking for, and a perfectly charming wackjob in charge of it all.
Alexander Mifferly (Xander for short) owns the place; he’s something of a celebrity within the store, and rather well-known outside as well. The random nonsensical nature of his ideas make any kind of practical shopping impossible, but it’s more of a recreational experience anyway, so people are willing to overlook the fact that nothing ever makes sense and it takes twice as long to find what you’re looking for. There’s never a boring day at M.R.R., which makes it a popular teen hangout, as well as a magnet for all sorts of strange happenings.
Gangs of Harlem and the Five Families
Born from a century of unscrupulous practices, the gangs of Harlem are the street crews associated with the five families, the powerful Italian mafia which controls crime within the big city… And beyond. These gangs engage in racketeering, money laundering, theft, murder, and whatever else pleases them… But they have a code of honor enforced by the upper echelons of the organization, where the mixed gangs will not cause violence against each other… Or risk starting a turf war. Harlem is controlled by the Genovese family officially, but representatives of the Gambinos, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno families are active there as well…
The officers and enforcers are easily identified by their finer clothing and sense of dress. Smaller crews are determined by various smaller markers, such as colors, gang signs, or style of dress. There are some smaller gangs not affiliated at all with the five families, independent crews usually based off of ethnic or class divisions. These gangs are erratic, temperamental, and very dangerous. Those affiliated with the five families can sometimes be relied upon for protection from these dangerous elements and others… For the right price, of course.
PAIRO
The Psychic Anomaly Investigation and Research Operations division. As far as you're concerned, they don't exist. But as long as we're talking about them anyways... They're a government sect. Like the FBI, only smaller, more specialized, and heck of a lot more classified. There are strange things out there in the big bad world. Strange people too. People who can do things that defy logic and explanation. Nothing like the comic books. They can't topple buildings with their mind, fly to the moon, or turn Miami into the newest Ice Age Expose'. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're not terrifying in their own ways.
A Pyro can conjure a handful of fire out of thin air. A TK can pick your pocket from the other side of the block. A REMI -that's REM-Inducer- can make you start to dream while you're taking your morning coffee at work; and geez, what if you were on the road? The list goes on. Psychics. They're out there. Not in mass, but enough to catch the eye of Uncle Sam. It's not just rumors and stories anymore. It's a viable threat. And PAIRO is dedicated to dealing with any and all Psychic-related events.
It is PAIRO's job to gather intelligence, intervene for Psychic-related crimes and misdemeanors, and most importantly, to guard the thin veil of secrecy that still manages to hide Psychic presence from the general public. PAIRO is not above kidnapping, or even killing Psychics if they deem it 'necessary' to further their goals and protect the nation as a whole. Agents of PAIRO are well-trained, warned of every known Psychic ability and tactic, and on rare occasion, PAIRO even employs Psychics themselves. Why a Psychic would work with an organization like PAIRO is up to them. It varies from being born into the company, to just doing it as a way to spare oneself from dissection, to perhaps even more twisted and convoluted thought processes.