Discuss Work In Progress RP Backstage

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[center][img]http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k528/PhilBoothman/gallery_447_1.jpg[/img][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif][i]Your past holds the secret to our future...[/i][/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]In the year 3082, the nation of [b]Argyll[/b] was a prosperous, peaceful land populated by happy citizens and ruled by a benevolent monarchy. Clean, renewable energy powers the nation, disease and pestilence had been eliminated by advances in medical science, and poverty was almost non-existent.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]In short, people were happy.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]But come the dawn of the 32nd Century, things began to change. People started getting abducted from the streets and their homes, disappearing without a trace; [b]the Citadel[/b], an enormous and supposedly-abandoned building in the centre of [b]Argyll City[/b] becomes a hive of mysterious activity; and highly advanced new weapons began appearing on the streets with terrifying destructive power.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]Within a few short years, the world had become a far darker place.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]Finally, in the year 3109, the cause of this change made itself known. A race known only as the [b]Beholders[/b] revealed themselves to have infiltrated every single aspect of human society over the past three millennia, acting as passive, peaceful observers. But after so long spent merely watching the human race, the Beholders finally decided that they deserved more.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]They began to take control, and before long they had deposed the monarchy and established their own totalitarian government, ruling over humanity with an iron fist. As the human resistance soon discovered, the Beholders were beings of great power, unmatched by any normal human strength, and for every one Beholder killed, forty humans were killed. It was not long before the resistance faded, and only a select few still championed the cause.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]But there is still hope. There was an [b]organisation[/b], known by many names throughout history but now forgotten, dedicated to fighting the influence of the Beholders: a war in the shadows, neither side making themselves known to the wider world. By the end of the 30th Century, this organisation was all but wiped out by the Beholders. But a handful of descendants of the organisationâ??s members survive to this day, the ability to fight the Beholders laying dormant in their DNA.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]Until now.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]A mysterious man, known only as [b]Washington[/b], has spent his life attempting to find these individuals, and now his research is finally coming to fruition. He has worked long and hard, and he finally believes he has found them, scattered across Argyll but brought together to face their spiritual and biological destiny.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]They are humanityâ??s only hope.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]---[/font][/size][/center]
[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]Welcome to an epic, ambitious and as-yet untitled new RP (suggestions on the title would be helpful, Iâ??m pretty much drawing a blank). The above description gives some detail as to the world in which we will be playing, but itâ??s not quite as simple as that. This RP will span millennia, and the lives of dozens of characters throughout that time, in the quest to rid the land of Argyll from the tyranny of the Beholders.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]The initial setting will be the present-day (the year 3115) Argyll, and in terms of tone weâ??re looking at a distinctly neo-noir quality to proceedings: grimy surroundings, heavy rain, darkness and neon, all adding to the oppressive, dystopian nature of the Beholdersâ?? rule. Iâ??ll get into more detail as I see interest, but this is a general idea of the kind of thing weâ??ll be looking at.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]As you may well have guessed, our characters will be the descendants of members of the organisation dedicated to fighting the Beholders. However, every player will also be writing for four other characters, namely the ancestors of their â??coreâ?? characters, as we traverse the ages: the mechanics of this will be revealed in the beginning of the RP proper, but the basic information youâ??ll need is that for every new chapter, or â??Eraâ?? of the story, you will be required to create a bespoke character for that particular time period, with some similarities to your core character but also a number of differences. Ideally, Iâ??d hope that every character we create gets a roughly equal amount of play-time, with the core characters probably getting slightly more than the ancestors.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]As for the different Eras, the style of them is up for discussion amongst those involved. Due to the fact that Argyll, the world in which this RP is set, can be considered a â??parallelâ?? universe to our own, we can play around with the history of the world: for example, the early Era could be a skewed version of the Roman Empire, while for the late 19th-early 20th Centuries we could even fit in some steampunk as an altered version of Victorian times.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]In terms of plot, I have an idea of the basic structure as well as some gnarly plot twists to throw in at various points throughout the narrative, and Iâ??m interested in maintaining a fairly high level of mystery and uncertainty to the plot. Essentially, while defeating the Beholders is the main plot, the characters discovering what is really going on, and what exactly Washington is up to will be a secondary, but similarly important plot strand.[/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]Itâ??s likely to take a fair amount of work from everyone involved to build both numerous characters and numerous worlds, but I believe if we invest a little time and effort into this RP, it could be really rewarding. If and when this RP comes to fruition, bear in mind that I am more likely to take people on board who have offered assistance in character- and world-building, so at the very least give it a shot![/font][/size][/center]

[center][size=4][font=georgia,serif]You can use this thread to register interest, give feedback and raise any enquiries you may have about the RP. Iâ??m looking forward to hearing your input![/font][/size][/center]

[Orcus]

[font=georgia,serif]Yes. Just yes. I'm in.

As for a name, I don't know if it's too simple/cheesy, but you could call the RP "The Beholden", with the title referring to both the character's owing their ancestors for allowing them to fight against the Beholders, as well as the character's "owing" their cause/struggle to the Beholders. Just an idea.[/font]

[font=georgia,serif]I do have a question about humanity in 3115. You mentioned disease and pestilence had been wiped out--was this through tampering with the Earth's atmosphere or some form of augmentation placed upon humans? And if it's the later, would they be mechanical augments or biological tampering? [/font]

[font=georgia,serif]Otherwise I think this sounds brilliant and intriguing... And somewhat coincidental, because I was just reading up on Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, some gamecube game I apparently missed, which features playing as characters from different time periods. I was thinking how cool that sounded, and then voila![/font]

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[font=georgia, serif]That's not a bad title, I'll definitely keep it in mind![/font]

[font=georgia, serif]My thoughts on the lack of disease were that by that point in this world's history medical science had advanced to the point that they had wiped out all existing disease, and are advanced enough to immediately combat any kind of illness which develops. The downside of this is that the humans have little to no immune system, but that probably won't really be a factor in the RP. I basically put that in as a sign of Argyll being a utopian society up until the Beholders took control.[/font]

[font=georgia, serif]I actually played Eternal Darkness back in the day when I had a GameCube, and I actually hadn't made the connection. In my mind, the idea of revisiting ancestry came from Assassin's Creed, and the process behind this in the RP is likely to be similar to the process in AC. But Eternal Darkness is as good a reference point as any![/font]

[font=georgia, serif]Thanks for your questions, I'm always glad to have you on board![/font]

[OMNOMNOMALY]

Yes. Because I miss you guys :(

I'll come back though and be productive later - it's 1 AM for me and I'm off to the doctor's in the morning ã? ã?  Edited May 16, 2012 by OMNOMNOMALY

[Boo]

Awesome idea. The backstory of the Beholders could be more buffed up, them being aliens who have come to reap the human race before they evolve too far, (lol, Mass Effect) but like Orcus I'm having an Eternal Darkness reference in my head, which is ace because Eternal Darkness is a gem.

Actually I think illness could play a cool role, as warfare comes with injury and injury causes infections and stuff. Edited May 16, 2012 by Boo

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[font="georgia, serif"]Hey guys, just so you know I haven't forgotten about this: I have the final exam of my degree on Wednesday so I'm stuck in revision hell right now. But by the end of next week I should be about ready to kick things off and post an Audition thread, so keep an eye out for that! I'll be checking back here sporadically over the next few days, so if you have questions then please continue to ask them![/font]