Twisted Fates SD: Interest and Recruitment

Twisted Fates SD: Interest and Recruitment (OPEN)

As this is SD is finally nearing its next stage, there is now room for 2 more players. See below.



The Frisbee wobbled across the Quad to float down into a loafing student's waiting hands. It was a bright clear day, warm with a soft breeze that brought students out into the grassy area between buildings in droves. Roosevelt University, formerly Northeast State, was a small yet distinguished liberal arts college with 6,000 students in a sleepy rural town of 15,000. It was a wholly unremarkable location and certainly undeserving of being the site where the events of another world would violently intrude upon this one.

It started when a pale lightning bolt bereft of thunder exploded into existence, crossing the Quad in a bare instant before extinguishing as if it never had been. The people in the area had only a moment to wonder at what had happened before a low keening otherworldly wail began to assault their ears.

A red mist seeped in from nothingness all along the bolt's path like smoke slipping under the crack of a door. It quickly billowed out into a bulky cloud mass that rapidly spread in all directions. Crackling little forks of black energy danced back and forth across the wavefront. One lashed out to strike the statue of Teddy Roosevelt overlooking the fountain at the center of the Quad. Immediately, the stone figure melted and twisted like bubbling liquid before going still, its form completely changed: a massive armored Gothic warlord stood astride the fountain an oddly simple ax held aloft.

The sheer speed of the totally unexpected event meant most of the people in the area were caught completely flat footed as they stared in shock and awe, their minds struggling to quantify what they were seeing. A few instinctively fled only to find that similar blood red clouds surging from around other buildings, the expanding mist quickly cutting off their escape. The first person to come in to contact with the stuff simply fell to the ground immediately without a sound, his unconscious body shook and quivered unnaturally.

A girl let out a horrifying shriek of pain as the wavefront washed over her. Her two friends cringed as they were engulfed but both found the mist to be completely harmless, it slipping into their lungs like simple clean air. Looking outward once more, they were horrified to see that their screaming friend's hair was on fire. They moved to frantically help, one pushing her down against the grass as the other threw her jacket over her head. It did nothing, vanishing in a gout of smoke as the fire on her head engulfed it. Her hair was totally gone now and another fire had started around her hips. Her friend tried to roll her over as the other sat back in shock as she saw her face, now changed. She'd long since stopped screaming. Her eyebrows were twin licks of flame and her features were smooth, and coldly beautiful in a way they'd never been. But it was her eyes that truly shocked, for they were utterly black orbs with tiny flickering flames for pupils.

There was no recognition in the fire elemental's alien eyes, her lips curved in a sneer as she raised one slender finger into the air. A tremendous furious cone of flame erupted from that comparatively tiny digit and showered both girls, ashing them both near instantly. An expression of sinful pleasure graced her face as she floated upward on a twisting column of smoke that caressed her form clothed only in a shifting flame. From the twin piles of ash that had only moments before been her friends, two wispy figures of flame rose to join her in her assent.

Welcome to Twisted Fates!

In this SD, you play as individuals twisted into fantasy races as the university devolves into complete chaos due to the entire population being similarly twisted. The transformation process is not consistent. Some people are wholly changed mentally and physically, their memories that of the bodies they've obtained adding more to the pandemonium as these often violent personalities react to the completely unexpected situation they find themselves in. Even worse, some have changed into fantastic beasts with nothing but their monstrous instincts to guide them.

The SD will take place over several episodes (provided the first one is successful). The actions your characters take during the episode, their interactions with each other and NPC's, will have an effect on what they do during the time between episodes. Also you will be able to to prioritize the sorts of actions your character will focus on when outside your control.

Characters have levels for the sake of role playing battles versus various enemies. You start at level 5. If the opponents you are facing are level 5, then you're evenly matched and you won't totally obliterate them without effort. On the other hand, if you're swarmed by a bunch of level 1's then going wild and wiping the floor with them is entirely possible. Higher levels will require a more dire fight but success is still quite possible. High enough differences means that you'll have to be creative and work together to defeat the opponent. None of this is strict and set in stone, its just a way to adds some impetus for good role play and story telling.

Current Roster:

• Silverlord ~ Samuel Mason - Drider - Rogue/Mage
• Marduk Gunna ~ MAX S. GODHAMMER - Iron Golem - Barbarian
• Silveraith ~ Nathaniel Argentum - Angel - Paladin
• Exterminatus ~ Adali Brunestud - True Ancestor - Sorcerer
• Citrakite ~ Karalanthas - Elf - Amazon

The CS is pretty simple:

Name:
Race:
Class: (Just a basic idea...mage, fighter, ranger, rogue...there's nothing set in stone here)
Bio:
Appearance:

Personality Traits:
One Positive:
Two Neutral:
One Negative:

As to the strengths and weaknesses of each race, I'm more interested in the role playing aspects of being transformed than in comparing stats. As you choose a race, we can hash out the details. Suffice it to say that certain races give automatic bonuses to things like strength and durability which you'd represent in a battle but your opponents will still be able to harm you. Taking a vampire for example, yes, you can't be killed except for certain ways but you can certainly be damaged and incapacitated through shear brute force.

Here are some rather generic possibilities for races:

Human
Elf
Dwarf
Animal Hybrid
Vampire
Werewolf
Demon
Angel
Magical-
Pick a focus (elemental, telekinesis, healing) Your character can instinctively create magical effects along this one theme at the start. The process isn't perfect, spells fizzle, go out of control, and are generally weak. Prolonged use has negative effects on stamina, concentration, and emotional control. Through force of will more powerful spells can be attempted but the physical cost will be higher. Over time, through practice and study other spells beyond your focus become possible as you work towards the typical mage archetype. This sort of progress happens beyond a single episode as you decide what your character does during time skips.
Fairy
Merfolk
Orc
Goblin
Ogre


These are just some possibilities. If you have an different idea just let me know.

New Players

I'd like to point out the possibility of playing an unchanged human is possible. You can simply take a magical focus or... you can have access to modern weapons. In order to go the gun route, your character would need to be associated with ROTC and would lose a Priority (see below) each day as your duties to the military would take up some of your free time.

The next stage, the Daily Period, isn't like a normal SD.

It works like this:

The idea here is that we're pulling back from a minute to minute focus so that the SD can take place over a longer period of time without it taking a similarly exorbitant amount of real time. This way we can tell a bit more epic story and strengthen our characters in a more realistic time frame. With that, however, there is a loss of direct control over your character's actions.

I will put up a post that starts a day. This post will have general info about the situation your characters currently find themselves in. Once that's up each of you will need to create a post with this format:

I'll use one of our defunct characters as an example:

Throughout the day I may post events that occur around campus that your characters can react to or investigate should you choose . Generally, I'll put these up all at once in my post that starts the day so that you can use a Priority to do so, otherwise you'll just have to wait till the next day to investigate. Though sometimes your characters will do so on their own depending on their inclinations.

My posting schedule won't necessarily be one day in game equals one day in real life. That is the ideal but 2 to 3 days is probably more realistic.

Eventually, I will then put up a post that officially ends the day where you will get to see the results of your efforts.


IC Thread

Can I be a Worm That Walks?

I am in as long as I can be something evil like a Vampire. I don't do good.

Are you allowing slimes? Like semi-amorphous yet sentient blobs capable of shaping themselves?

Edit: If not, I could choose something else. I was just wondering.
Editedit: How about Driders?

All three are fine. The specifics of your strengths, weaknesses, and abilities will need to be hashed out so you're not overpowered to start.

Drider is good too.

Well then... I think I'll go with the drider. It's fairly well-balanced. None of those spells (at least any-time soon.)

Name: Samuel Mason
Race: Drider...
Class: Rogue-ish, mage-ish eventually based on the race...
Bio: Sophomore, studying chemical engineering with a few spare classes in languages, like German. Extracurriculars: Was in the anime club, Role-player. Unfortunately, I moved far away for college and don't have any local contacts, and I'm assuming the staff at the local pizza joint don't count.

Appearance: From the waist up, the body of a fairly fit young Drow, semi-handsome face now scarred by fights, fires, and females. His hair short white, and scraggly. From the waist down, the massive body of what looks to be a tarantula, massive spidery legs and abdomen moving disturbingly fast for something of their size. An abberation in all ways...

Personality Traits:
One Positive: Tries to be laid back and moderate about things.
Two Neutral: Can't stand the sight of blood other than his own. Unhealthy fascination with web-based "hugs."
One Negative: So hard to resist the hunger, the hunger for the blood of others. NOMNOMNOM!

Currently Given Traits:
Perilously Persistent Pacificator
Corruption: Drider- Lvl 1

Drider Corruption Lvl 2 Trait Obtained

• Samuel finds that only the very freshly killed prey truly sates his hunger, though other foods still provide sustenance to his body. Samuel's ability to judge right and wrong is diminished, he has taken on some of the traits of a sociopath.

Name: Damien Mason (Gothic the Vampire)
Race: Old One Vampire (Being Human)
Class: Rogue

Bio: While attending university oversees this British student was transformed into a five hundred year old Vampire called Gothic. Now he has two sets of memories and centuries of experience to call upon. Now he must deal with his new condition and the thirst for blood all while trying to survive the insanity that has been unleashed.

Details:

Single
Studying History
Newly Arrived
No friends

Personality Traits:
One Positive: Charming
Two Neutral: Smart. Resourceful
One Negative: Immoral

Can I be an Iron Golem? I'd obviously be a Barbarian.

Positive traits: Absorbing machinery. Tank cannon assault rifle!
Negative traits: UNSUBTLE. I plan to take notes from Milus Gloriosus 'Take care, I walk in LARGE STEPS!' (Except the whole getting married thing.)

Name: Adrian Malvern (Thank you Slasher for the name)
Race: Worm That Walks
Class: Wizard
Bio:
Major: Social Work
Year: 3
Clubs: Lovecraft Fan Club
Girlfriend: Do one night stands count? ;7
Magic focus: Necromancy (So I can animate the dead, summon spirits, drain life force from things, ect)

Traits:
three negative: Arrogant, Cruel, Repulsive
Two neutral: Smart, Arcane knowledge
One positive: Hard to kill

Name: BRIAN BLESSED Max S. Godhammer
Race: Iron Golem
Class: Barbarian
Bio: Left with no memories after his 'upgrade', Max awoke in his dorm, with only a name on a photo reminding him what his name was (Except for the Godhammer bit, he made that up). For the rest, he only has the vaguest inklings, prompting him to wander the land looking for his family. He knows he had at least two parents and a little sister prior to the Twisting, and what their faces looked like, but he has no idea what their current forms are, or where they could be. Max has found to his delight he is capable of integrating and discarding machinery into and from his body as needed.


The first and last time he ever got his hands on ten M72 LAW's at once.


Personality Traits:
One Positive: He's friendly.
Two Neutral: Idealistic. Keeps to his moral code.
One Negative: Max really, really enjoys fighting. At any possible opportunity.

Bios need not be complicated. I'm looking for simple things like what year you are, major, any clubs or fraternities, ROTC, that sort of thing.. Significant others on campus? This is especially important as you are all rather monstrous and will take a hit with the human and near-human factions. Having relationships with people in the community can mitigate this.

While many people on campus have been essentially taken over by their fantasy aspects, you four still have your original minds, though you can role play the aspects influencing you somewhat. Eventually they can take over fully, but its not immediate.


Drenghul, you need to choose a focus for your magic. You're not a full fledged sorcerer to start.

We're talking the ability to spam small fireballs, bolts of electricity, lifting and throwing small objects with your mind, etc....and provided you role-play a bigger build up with some sort of detrimental physical or mental cost you can throw around much larger objects or create a much stronger elemental strike. Just choose one focus, however. After the first episode, there will be opportunities to expand your repertoire through experimentation and the acquisition of spell books.

Madork, an Iron Golem is fine but scale him down to human size for now. You can eventually acquire the mechanical absorption ability but you don't have it in the beginning. I like your bio and it can work as an overall concept, but the first episode will be literally the beginning of the crisis. You will have the ability to speak as will Drenghul despite your races.

The four of you will start in a classroom right after the Change and will immediately be dealing with various enemies and obstacles. Think of it as a sort of Dungeon Crawl through the campus, so you'll all stick together as you try to figure out what's going on and survive. Things like girlfriends or siblings come into play as your character will probably want to find them. The actions you take will have a significant effect on later events as well as how certain factions treat you.

Oh and Names....Gothic and Drenghul...you need normal names to start. At some point, you could role-play a reason for taking on those monikers or perhaps they are your last names...

Edited!!!

EDIT: Will I have any of the natural abilities of a Worm That Walks?

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Worm_That_Walks

You can just list the ones I can keep. If I can keep them all just say I can have them all.

Lord Drenghul, Approved!

You have the 300ft Blindsight but as you are new and disoriented you can't use it to see through walls yet.

You can Discorporate once. At this point having it happen anymore will be too traumatic for your inexperienced mind to deal with.

All other abilities will come with time.

With Necromancy as your focus, your starter spell is throwing necromantic energy at an opponent. Essentially a projectile Inflict Minor Wound. You can cast that at will. Attempting something stronger without experience and study is possible but dangerous and unpredictable. (Essentially give it a shot if the situation is dire and I'll let you know if you succeed)

How do you get better?

Moments of Epiphany can occur during an episode and I'll let you know when you've experienced one but mostly this will occur during the time between episodes.

Once we've completed the first episode, you'll no longer have direct control of your character.

For each real world day that passes so will one in-game. Events will occur across campus which your characters will respond to based on the personalities and inclinations you've shown during the episode. You can also choose three priorities for them to focus on.

Like:

Exploration
Study
Training
Diplomacy

For example: Choosing to explore a particular area could mean that your character finds a item, a place of power, or gets the crap kicked out of it by a monster. You won't be able to die this way.
With Study, you'll have options on how to go about it and different research options.

After a week or sometimes two, we'll have another episode to play out an important event. The decisions you've made during the daily period will have an effect on the options available during that event.

Incorporated once and never again or will it be a daily or weekly thing?

Will I be able to outline what I want to do during the break or will I be riding shotgun in my body?

So no using Engulf?

It's daily but the first episode takes place over a few hours so that's why it's just once.

You'll have the three priorities for each day and you'll be able to react to things in certain instances. My point is that your character will do things and have things happen to it that are beyond your control based on various factors. Obviously, you won't be utterly destroyed through this process.

You don't have Engulf yet. But mastery of your new body is one of the things you can choose as a priority along with magic study. I'd imagine you could gain that ability by the next episode through consistent effort.

Got my bio up, figured I'd add it in there.

So we all start together or do we start in different areas?

Look! A shiny new bio!

Name: BRIAN BLESSED Max S. Godwin
Race: Iron Golem
Class: Barbarian
Bio: Left with no memories after his 'upgrade', Max awoke in a classroom. A ripped mechanic's uniform unfortunately proved incapable of holding in his new and improved manly chest as evidenced by it lying around Max in scraps, but it did provide him with his name.

For the rest, he only has the vaguest inklings left of his memory. Max knows he had at least two parents and a little sister prior to the Twisting. He could clearly remember what their faces looked like, but he has no idea what their current forms are or where they could be. So began his quest.

In outward appearance, Max S. Godwin is notable for his seven foot height, broad chest, ripped pants and steel skin. Think a metal version of the hulk, with a featureless face.

Personality Traits:
One Positive: He's friendly.
Two Neutral: Idealistic. Keeps to his moral code.
One Negative: Max really, really enjoys fighting. At any possible opportunity. While shouting loudly.

Gained Traits:
-Glorious Galvanizing Guardian

Time will be spent on Training and Exploring (preferably both at the same time).

Silverlord, Madork...

You are approved!

Gothic, just update your bio and you're good to go.

The IC thread is up and you three can post.

As to the levels..


At lvl 5 they are evenly matched with you. You can write the battle with them and show their actions. That they are the same level shows that you can defeat them on your own but it should be a decent challenge. Of course if you gang up on them, then they won't be nearly so challenging. If you want to finish them off, that's fine. If you leave them alive, if no other posters finish them off then I will write their next actions. At lvl 1, you can pretty much destroy the fairy with hardly any effort if you choose to do so. Just remember that your actions have consequences. Unless you kill all the witnesses that is, then I guess they don't.....well...hopefully they don't....

That isn't to say that combat is your only option....

I updated my bio.

Approved.

So where do I start? I am in the room with the others?

Yea, I don't know if Being Human vampires are actual corpses, so I'll remove such references to the unnamed character that stands for you.

Being Human Vampires pass for human. One was even in intensive care in one episode so if they were dead in any way if would of been noticed. They can digest food and everything else a human does.

Silverlord what is a drider?

You ask to play a Worm that Walks and don't know what a Drider is? I am surprised indeed.

Well, in theory without gods to actually mess with the process, sort of like a spider-taur. Half-elf, half-spider. Not particularly friendly usually.