By a Route, Obscure and Lonely

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  Thread: By a Route, Obscure and Lonely
  

Game Description

It has been five long days since the witch Alamyl was forcefully dragged from her cottage north of town, bound, gagged and tortured, placed on trial before the people of Kedalwick and burned at the stake as punishment for "Sundry Acts of Witchcraft."

With her beautiful ebon hair burned off and her clothes aflame, Alamyl used her dying breath to curse the village and its residents. Only the executioner and town priest were close enough to hear the curse, and they have been forbidden to speak of it. Indeed, the executioner hasn't been seen lately and rumors point to a sickness caused by the sheer evil unleashed by the curse.

Later that evening, the sun set with a strange pallor and a thick, heavy fog rolled into town. It has remained ever since.

Though the sun still rises and sets, it appears weakened and frail, and does little to burn off the fog that swirls around the town's streets. Many residents have made panic-stricken claims that the days are growing shorter - much shorter than they should be at this time of year. The veracity of their claims is hard to judge, though, since the fog blocks much of the sunlight and makes it hard to determine the movement of the sun with any real accuracy.

Two days after the execution, a farmstead located a mile outside of town was quarantined. The thirty acre farm belongs to the Evanson family and while the guards will not allow anyone onto the property, rumors are swirling about the fate of farmer Evanson, his wife and their five children.

The situation has steadily grown worse since then. There was a lynching on the third night, a minor riot on the fourth. Some residents have locked themselves in their homes, determined to wait out whatever evil has descended upon the town. Others have formed small bands of vigilantes, threatening violence and "holy retribution" upon anyone that doesn't submit to their "investigations."

A few have left the town, venturing outside of the gates and disappearing without a trace.

Things have gotten so bad that the mayor has started taking more and more extreme measures to quell the panic and stop the rumors.

Characters will be residents of (or visitors to) Kedalwick and must struggle to survive while trying to piece together what, exactly, is going on in and around the town. Those feeling particularly heroic may even attempt to put a stop to it.

The game is part gothic-horror, part survival. Additionally, there will be some sandbox aspects to the game - allowing players to choose their own route. Just be aware that there are multiple timelines at work, and bad things come to those who wait.

I expect the game to be centered around the storyline and the role-playing of the characters. Combat will be brutal and very dangerous. However, even in the midst of a blood-spattered fight for your life, I expect players to be able to write well thought out posts describing their actions.

The posting frequency will be somewhere in the range of 2 or 3 game posts per week. Please take note of this. I don't want to get the game underway and then have folks lose interest because the posts aren't coming every single day. Now, that's not to say that the game won't sometimes move faster (or slower), but I just want to set expectations. In other words, the game will likely value quality over quantity when it comes to IC posts.

Obligations of the Players

Before getting into the specifics about applying for this game, I want to steal a pertinent section from the Heroes of Horror sourcebook which details what is required of the players if we ever hope to make this setting work.

To Cooperate with the DM in Setting the Mood: A player who refuses to allow himself to be swept up in the game, and who will not portray his character as scared or shocked when the situation warrants, destroys the mood not only for himself but for the entire group. If you want to play a smirking bad ass who laughs at danger and never gets rattled or frightened, then I'm afraid you'll have to find a different game.

To Accept that Horrific Events will Happen to Them: In a horror campaign, not every ending is a happy one. The PCs will, at times, encounter opponents too powerful and too terrible for them to defeat. They will not always be able to prevent their loved ones from suffering. They won’t have as high a survival rate as characters in other campaigns. They should not expect every fight to be winnable or for every plotline to end on a positive note.

To Create Horror-Appropriate Characters: Horror works only when the characters have something to lose. A character with a rich background, goals and ambitions, and friends and family is a much better choice for a horror game than the stoic loner with no emotional attachments. If a character fears nothing, then nothing inspires fear, and while that might fit certain heroic archetypes, it doesn’t encourage horror role-playing and it won't work in this game.

To Tell the DM if it’s Gone Too Far: This is a game. This is about having fun. If the DM’s idea of horror goes further than you’re comfortable with, tell her so.

And, to that I will add:

To Make a Commitment to Read and Write: As I've already stated, the game will be somewhat reading/writing intensive. If you're not willing to actively contribute (by writing well thought out, articulate posts and by reading the posts of the other players), then others may feel that there's no sense in doing so. Before you know it, everyone has regressed to the point that posts are nothing more than one or two sentences.

To Make a Commitment to Tell a Story: The story is of the utmost importance. I will grant the players considerable leeway in an effort to help them tell their own piece of the story. However, players need to want to contribute.

Game Setting and Special Mechanics

The game takes place in and around the homebrew town of Kedalwick. Kedalwick is a prototypical medieval village and is surrounded by smaller villages and farmsteads. The region is mostly agrarian, with the usual smattering of the educated and merchant class.

The landscape and climate of the region are comparable to the U.S. state of Maine. It has low, rolling mountains, the occasional jagged peak, and dense, heavy forests. The summers are warm and humid (although generally not hot). The winters are cold and snowy throughout the region.

Game Mechanics Note:

The game could be called 3.5 (Lite!) - because the story will always come before the rules.

The game will also utilize rules for Fear and Madness. In a nutshell, Fear has an immediate, tactical effect - perhaps causing your character to cower or flee. Madness has a long-term, strategic effect - accumulating over time and bringing about quirks, phobias and possibly outright insanity.

As GM, I will roll all attacks of opportunity, but will try to incorporate any special requests from the players. Additionally, I may sometimes roll initiative to prevent a slow down in the game.

Character Creation

Starting level: 4 (Low enough that your characters are still fairly inexperienced, but high enough for them to have begun forming a unique identity.)

Alignment: Any non-evil (You don't need to be a priest or saint, but you should be willing to help those less fortunate for little monetary reward.)

Ability Scores: 28 point buy

HP: Max at first level, then use the fixed hp progression table on page 198 of the DMG. (Let me know if you don't have access to this, and I'll explain.)

Races: Any from the PHB, except half-orc.

Classes: Any from the PHB or PHB II. (I may consider other sources on a case-by-case basis.)

Sourcebooks allowed: (For skills, feats, spells, weapons, eventual PrC, etc) Heroes of Horror, Arms and Equipment Guide, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, Miniatures Handbook, WoTC Complete Series - Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Warrior (but NOT Complete Psionic). WoTC's Class books - Defenders of the Faith, Masters of the Wild, Song and Silence, Sword and Fist, Tome and Blood. Fantasy Flight's "Path of" series - Path of Faith, Path of Magic, Path of Shadow, Path of the Sword.

I'm really trying to open things up quite a bit and allow you to play the kind of character that you want. However, I can't claim to be overly familiar with some of these books, so you may have to help explain your character and I always reserve the right to decline anything from anywhere if I feel that it will adversely affect the game or storyline.

Pantheon: Standard as per the PHB (although, I may be open to adding some minor gods if asked in a convincing manner.)

Flaws: You may select a single flaw. Selecting a flaw entitles you to a bonus feat. This is completely optional, and any flaw/feat combinations must be approved. If you decide to select a flaw, please also list the corresponding bonus feat that you want to take.

Starting gear and wealth: 4,500gp (yes, this is lower than the usual starting wealth for level 4). No more than half (2,250gp) can be spent on any single item. In addition to this, resident characters can be assumed to live with their family in town, or can take advantage of a "one time offer" to spend just 250gp to have their own house inside the town walls. (ie - a home that they do not share with any friends or family.)

Application Process

I'll be looking for four characters.

In an effort to add a spark to the standard character application/selection process, and hopefully make things more fun for the potential players, I'm going to be doing something considerably different. Instead of simply reviewing apps and selecting the group as per the norm, a number of applicants will be placed into an actual in-game scenario, together, and will simply role-play while also fleshing out their character details.

Then, through a series of cuts (figuratively and, perhaps, literally), the number of characters will be reduced until only the final, "selected" characters remain.

Here's how it will work:

First, a number of applicants will be placed into the opening scene in the game... and things will become dire very quickly. Now, for sanity's sake, there is a maximum number of characters that I can allow in this opening scene - that number is probably going to be in the 7 or 8 range. So, if needed, there will be a "Qualifier" cut in which the number of applicants will be pared down to this magical number.

Once things are underway, each applicant will have a few posts to role-play before the next cut is made. Cuts will be made based upon the usual criteria - character concept, character role, attention to detail, but especially writing ability. In this way, it's really no different than any other game - I'm just giving folks a chance to play their characters for a little bit during the whole creation process.

Note that by applying for this game you agree to the following:

• You understand that you may end up playing your character for a while but still not get into the actual game.
• You understand that the opening scene is a part of the game, and so you should play your character accordingly.
• You agree to relinquish control of your character in the event that you do not make the final cut. (Players will likely receive a final "death scene" post prior to relinquishing control of their character.)

You are more than welcome to continue to flesh out your character prior to the "play-in" scene - you can even complete your character sheet if you like. The minimums that will be required for each stage of the play-in are just that - minimums.

So, with all of that in mind...

To submit a character, please go to the Applications area of the game forum and post a new thread with your character's full name as the title.

Round 1 ("Qualifier") Requirements
Name, Age, Sex, Race, Class, Alignment, Height, Weight
Physical Description (should be at least 200 words)
Optional Bonus - writing sample

Questions are welcomed...

Concept: When an evil curse spreads a horrific darkness across the land, the players must struggle to survive and piece together what is happening to the world around them.

"The world is coming to an end. Reality’s fabric slowly frays as the world winds down towards its final days. Everything in society tends towards chaos and decay, death and destruction. That's just the way it has always been. This process is not a social tendency or the byproduct of humanity’s choices - it's just fact... and you've got a front-row seat for the occasion." - Clethon, The Wise