13 replies to this topic

[Misk]

Spoiler

So a while ago, I posted a little idea in the idea thread, and only now, a year and a half later, am I ready to make this a thing. I have a better idea of where this might be going now and how it may happen.

 
Now then.
 
The House is going to be a bit of an experiment. There is most definitely a story, but I'm going to try and see if it can be developed at the players' pace, rather than dictated by plot points and sequences I lay out and have the players go through (not that there's anything wrong with that style, of course). Little bits of the story, or rather, the mystery, will be given out in bite-sized chunks depending on what the characters in the story do.
 
 
The Premise: A group of strangers wake up in a large mansion. They have no idea how they got there, where they even are, or how to get out. Try as they might, they can never seem to escape the house. The front door never budges an inch, the windows unbreakable, and the walls solid as steel. Though there is little cause for alarm, as there is more than enough food to last them a substantially long time, there is running water, and electricity. Despite this, there are no signs of an owner. And if they got in, there must be some way out, right?
 
 
Stuff About Things: I will say upfront, after concerns made in response to the original idea being posted, that this is not really "horror." There are no dangers present within the house. There are no monsters, no ghosts, no grotesque mutants or whatever that want your head. If there is any horror at all, it is only of an existential sort if even present, outside of any horror you as the players bring into it yourselves.
 
 
I will not have any characters of my own in this. My job will solely be to be the house itself and to dispense clues in the various forms they may take. That is, I describe the rooms, the house itself, and various little things that can be found in things such as books, cabinets, etc. etc. All character interaction is between you.
 
 
The House is not all that it seems. The fact that it's unbreakable is only just the tip of the iceberg. At certain points, things in the house or even the house itself may change. And, with permission obtained through PM, I may also do something small to a character (such as change their memory), though in the end all strange effects will be reversed to normal. I may also let certain "events" happen, though still nothing life threatening (i.e., the power goes out) and with simple fixes. All of these events though will contain some sort of clue to what the house is and what everyone is doing there.
 
 
I am considering making a basic map (geometry-only unless someone wants to volunteer their art skills to an experimental RP for some reason) of the house as well for player convenience.
 
 
Before we go on to the rules, I would like to say that any questions or suggestions you have before we start should be said now.
 
 
The Rules
1. The House cannot be broken out of. There is only one way out of the house, and you have to find it. Attempts to will not be penalized but they will also not be successful.
 
2. I decided on open character enrollment. In the end it doesn't really matter if it's an original character or not. Be whoever you want.
2 1/2: Though if you're using an original character and care about character continuity, I would highly suggest making this non-canon to any ongoing development. You may not be in danger, but that does not mean this won't still produce severe continuity snarls if that's something you worry about.
 
3. For right now, multiple characters are allowed, up to 2 or 3. Maybe more, we'll see how many people are interested in doing this.
 
4. Do not use divine or semi-divine characters unless you can properly justify them being unable to break out of the house.
 
5. Character death is on and allowed. But. as stated earlier, there is nothing in the house that wants to kill you. That I control, anyway. You can all kill each other if you really want to.
 
6. Characters that have no relation to each other are preferred but not required. In fact having a handful that know each other might be better than having everyone be a complete stranger, but so long as everyone doesn't know everyone.
 
Again, questions, comments, suggestions, please say them. Otherwise post those profiles.
 
No deadline yet, we'll just see how this goes for a while. Watch this space, I'll put a sign-up deadline once I think it's appropriate.

[chief]

I am actually interested in this. I'll look further into this once I get home from work. However it's a unique concept. So... consider me in. I do have a few questions I'll bring up once I get home.

[Misk]

By all means, ask away. I'll answer when I get on, too.

[ILOVEVHS]

Nice idea. Would do well for dealing with the mind.

[Misk]

Nice idea. Would do well for dealing with the mind.

That is sort of the vibe I was going for.

[Vlad Yvhv]

1. Ah, yeah! I was hoping this one would get beyond planning stage. I love the idea and think it could be an awesome RP. RP that makes you think is always a good thing. And this one promises to get those brain juices really flowing.
2. So long as it's a per-round posting, rather than free-for-all, I'm in. Though slower, It's a lot more fair to people who can't be online all day. Free-for-all posting tends to exclude slower posters. That's my only concern about this.
3. I'd love to throw "Jed" ("Jed" the "Exterminator", not Jed Colmillos the Omnian) into this. If he survives, it would make a nice addition to his collection of weird stories. And if not, I can make it non-canon (or say it was a nightmare or something).
4. MS Paint can be useful for making basic floor plans and not-so-detailed maps. I've used that in Sandstone and Coyote's Challenge.

[Misk]

So long as it's a per-round posting, rather than free-for-all, I'm in. Though slower, It's a lot more fair to people who can't be online all day. Free-for-all posting tends to exclude slower posters. That's my only concern about this.

I think we can open that to a vote. I'd be fine with either.


EDIT: Added Poll for this.

MS Paint can be useful for making basic floor plans and not-so-detailed maps. I've used that in Sandstone and Coyote's Challenge.

Yeah, I've done that before too. It won't look very pretty but it'll get the idea across.

[Vlad Yvhv]

Pretty can be nice, but also tends to make images have larger file sizes, which is bad for someone with 31k dial-up. Nothing wrong with utilitarian.

[Vlad Yvhv]

Hmm... Since so far, we have a landslide for per-round posting, I think I'll go ahead and toss my hat into the ring officially. Let me know if any of Jed's items shouldn't be in there, and I'll edit them out.

 

Name: (CLASSIFIED). Alias: "Jed Carpenter".

Age: 35.

Species: Human.

Gender: Male.

Occupation: "Exterminator". "Hyper-Black Projects Troubleshooter" for the US govenrment. Runs an actual extermination business in his off-time.

Physical Desc: Native American. Roughly 5ft 3in tall. Weighs around 175lbs. Black hair, with a few strands of grey creeping in, with an average-length cut. Not-quite-clean-shaven stubble level. Above-normal body hair. Dark brown eyes. Unusually shaped scar on his left wrist.

Clothing: Black and red plaid short-sleeve snap-button work shirt with 2 pockets, and a black nametag with "Jed" embroiderd in red, above the left pocket. Dark blue jeans, relaxed fit. Black leather steel-toed workboots. Dark brown well-worn leather belt, with "holster" for his multi-tool. Aged pewter cross on a black leather strip. Black chrome aviator sunglasses with black titanium frames. Black trucker's cap with red lettering that states: "Jed's Extermination Service: 1-800-I-KILL-EM". Wears a green-and-grey watch with green canvas-backed leather strap on his right wrist.

Mental Desc: He is a fairly easy-going guy, so long as he's not actively being provoked. It takes a LOT of weirdness to phase him. He often comes off a bit redneckish, or backwoods, most of the time. But he has knowledge of things most people wouldn't expect from that aspect of him. He is quite used to finding himself in situations that would make most people freak out in short-order. He has a fondness for Country and pre-90's Rock and Southern Rock, and a distinct hatred for Rap and similar genras, but will tend to enjoy "anything that has a good tune to it". He sometimes humms to himself when trying to fix or work on something. In situations where it's clearly not going to impact the security of the USA, he enjoys recounting some of the weird situations he's found himself in. Though he generally tries to get along with others, he has no compunction about having to kill someone, if he feels he's justified in doing so. When not working, he enjoys being a casual gamer and watching Action, Horror, and Sci-Fi movies. Though not one for technical jargon, he is a quick learner and can fix complex machinery and electronics if given a manual and the proper tools and parts. One of his biggest pet peeves is when people still used outdated theories, such as the "we only use 10% of our brains" theory. HIs other major button is people who insist on correcting his grammer or pronunciations. Though not typically killable offenses, he is perfectly fine with decking someone who persists in these courses of action.

Background: Official records of who he once was are classifed to a point of being unknown to Jed's superiors, and are rumored to have been destroyed. According to computers, there is simply no such person, and never was. All records of "Jed Carpenter" as a person begin with a 22-year old "Jed" opening his extermination business in Southeastern Kansas. What is knowable is that at some point in his life, "Jed" became a "Troubleshooter" for the US government. The precise details are often classied, but the basic idea is that he would be sent in to "clean up" the aftermaths of varioius projects and situations that the deepest levels of the government deemed too sensitive for public knowledge. Killing rogue scientists developing bio-weapons, monsters resulting from genetic hybridization projects, a zombie outbreak, proof of alien contact. That sort of stuff. He would also take on more mundane "kill this person or group of people with extreme prejudice" missions that would ruin the reputation of numerous government agencies if he ever had the mind to talk to the press. If what can be compiled from his conversations about himself to others can be believed: 1: he was born and raised in Kansas. 2: He was raised on a farm. 3: He has a brother. 4: His father died of cancer. 5: The cross was a highschool graduation present.

Items Of Note: Jed's trusty "Super Multi-Tool" is notably larger than more conventional multi-tools. It folds out to form a pair of linesman's pliers. The knife blade is 3.5 inches long, and roughly 1/16 inch thick at the back. There is also a metal file with a teethed back edge, a small crescent wrench, and a ratchet driver mechanism. Jed tends to carry a number of heads for the ratchet driver in his right shirt-pocket, including: 1 reversable phillips/flathead, 1 box ratchet converter, 3 different types of star-heads, 3 common allen wrench sizes, and complimentry sets of common US and metric ratchet socket sizes. His wallet is a simple black leather tri-fold wallet, and is typically carried in his right-front jeans pocket. A black leather-bound notebook and metal pen usually accompany his phone (a simple black flip-phone) in his left shirt pocket.

Etc.: Jed typically drives an old black 80's era Chevy 4x4. His voice bares striking resemblance to Farkas from Skyrim.

[Misk]

Wonderful. Let's see if we can get any more profiles from others.

[RedAuthar]

Just not a good week for me to post....

Try to get something up next week or so. 

[Vlad Yvhv]

Oh... Something I forgot to mention... None of my characters drink, smoke, or do drugs. I can't RP something I don't condone.

[Misk]

Oh... Something I forgot to mention... None of my characters drink, smoke, or do drugs. I can't RP something I don't condone.

I can't help but feel such things would ruin the atmosphere, anyway, personally.

[Vlad Yvhv]

I usually remember to put something in there about that. If anyone wonders why Jed doesn't, it's similar to why I don't: He's seen those actions ruin the lives of people he's cared about. Also, Native Americans are more prone to addiction, because we lack the more extensive history of substance abuse that other races tend to partake of, so we didn't develop as much resistance to those substances. The easiest way to avoid becoming an addict is to avoid the stuff all together... Just figured I should make sure everyone knows about that part of Jed.