A common question posed by skeptics in the supernatural is this: "If strange creatures exist, then how come one hasn't revealed itself to us yet?"
But mythical creatures of all sorts survive in this world, thanks to a principle- The Suspension of Disbelief -that allows them to walk among humans unnoticed. This principle was born from the humans' unwillingness to accept what seems strange and otherworldly as true. However, Disbelief is not all-powerful- show a human proof of something so they absolutely cannot deny it as real, and Disbelief will be shattered for that person for good. Some mythical races wish to push Disbelief and make themselves a part of the human world, while others want to remain concealed in fear of persecution. This causes much tension among the races, although it has always stopped short of all-out war. That is, until now. A little town in Fairfax, Virginia is about to experience a change that will determine the fate of Disbelief forever, and you're going to help.
One of the catches for this RP is that while I'm starting with a basic set of races to choose from, I'm also accepting other races to be added to the story by RP'ers which can then be played by other people joining. I'm hoping this will result in a fun, large canon, eventually. There are three different levels of mythicals, categorized by how strongly Disbelief effects them:
Higher Powers - Dragons, Unicorns, beasts of legend. Are just this side of being godlike in power. They're affected by Disbelief so strongly that it's almost impossible for them to convince an unwilling human that they exist, and even other mythical creatures may have a hard time accepting them at first. A dragon walking down the street in his normal form is likely to be perceived as a humanoid by most people because accepting the truth is so difficult. This is probably a good thing, because most Higher Powers would rather stay concealed and protect themselves and others from their own strength.
ONE CHARACTER PER RACE
Dragons
One of the most powerful of all mythicals, a new Dragon is born into a human family every hundred years and lives only for the duration of that century. They come in a large variety of shapes and colors with varying abilities. There's some skepticism about their existence even by other mythicals, but it's common for a Dragon to choose a companion from another race to spend most of their time with, as their existence can become very lonely. Although usually perceived to be humanoid unless they choose to reveal their true nature, they are truly a bestial creature and thus don't form romantic relationships with humanoid races or reproduce with them.
Name:
Gender:
Age (Up to 100):
Dragon Appearance (Description or Picture):
Human Appearance (Description or Picture):
Personality:
Breath Power:
Other Abilities:
Submit a Higher Power race:
Race name:
Short blurb about them:
Why they fit in this category:
Do they (as a whole) wish to reveal themselves (needs justification with Higher Powers):
For these guys, since I'm only allowing one of each, you can choose to make a character with them right away or leave it open for someone else to use.
Various pseudo-humanoid races such as animal shapeshifters and demonic forces. The most politically turbulent and chaotic group by far, too rational and plausible to be Higher Powers but too removed from humans to easily break Disbelief. Knowledge of their existence occasionally leaks into human consciousness, usually through a close friendship or romantic affair, but also possibly due to a want for destruction. For related reasons, some races in this category strive to reveal themselves, longing to escape from a difficult existence.
Skinwalkers
A humanoid race with a reputation for being vicious and ruthless even amongst each other. They live in clans consisting of 10-15 individuals and spanning several family groups, lead by an alpha male and female. Skinwalkers are born largely human-like, and remain that way until puberty. At this point they gain the ability to shapeshift into an animal and acquire the powers of that animal even in humanoid form. When they reach the age of about 25, they begin to loose their ability to heal from even minor wounds and this eventually causes their bodies to deteriorate, turning them into zombie-like husks. Many choose to marry humans or other races to save their children from this effect, as hybrids are immune to the virus that causes it. As a result there are many more half-skinwalker hybrids then with other races. Alpha males have antlers (alpha position is hereditary), whereas all females have long, dagger like nails and sharp canines.
-230 is considered old for a pureblood
-Clan ranks are Alpha (only one alpha couple allowed), Beta (only one couple allowed), Warrior, Hunter, and the low ranking, brow-beaten Curs.
-We only have one clan for now
-You can be a hybrid with any other humanoid race in the Urban Legend category, or with a human.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Hybrid Y/N and if so with what (Your powers will be weaker and your lifespan shorter, but you don't look like a zombie):
Clan Rank:
Human Appearance (Description or Picture):
Animal (RL pictures are nice here):
Powers from animal:
Personality:
Do they want to reveal themselves:
Selkies
The cousins of Skinwalkers, Selkies originate overseas from their relatives on the coast of Northern Europe. They arrived on ships with human immigrants many years ago, and have since established themselves in colonies in North America. Selkies are the source of much of the trouble among the races and whether or not to stay hidden, for an infatuation with humanity and centuries of sordid love affairs have caused a great strain on Disbelief in the species. A Selkie is born wrapped in a seal skin and as an adult they wear it as an article of clothing, and only while it is on their person can they turn into their seal form. It is a ritual for a Selkie woman to marry the man who is able to steal her seal skin, a tradition which has been extended to other species. If the seal skin is lost for good it can never be gotten again and leaves the individual dejected and largely powerless.
-If your character is 15 or under they have white hair like a seal pup
-Hybrids may wear the skin of other animals, for example if you have a half Skinwalker/Selkie with a non-marine animal
-Selkies are VERY likely to want to break Disbelief, although it's not impossible to have one that wants to remain hidden
-Age ratios are about the same as Skinwalkers
Gender:
Age:
Human Appearance (Description or Picture):
Seal Species (RL pictures are nice here):
How do they wear their skin:
Personality:
Do they want to reveal themselves:
Werewolves
Another immigrant from Europe who have established themselves in the New World, Werewolves are an iconic creature of legend who would do everything they can to avoid detection due to their fearsome reputations. In all actuality, Werewolves in their humanoid form are no more or less prone to violence then they would be otherwise, though their self control in their wolf form is significantly less. Like in human legends, they only take on a wolf form only during the days of the month when the full moon is out, but even in humanoid form they have unnatural strength that they must learn to master as they grow older, or risk causing other people harm. Werewolves share a similar pack hierarchy with Skinwalker clans, although with considerably less in-fighting.
-140 is considered old
-Pack ranks are Alpha (only one alpha couple allowed), Beta (only one couple allowed), Hunter, Guardian and Cur
-One pack for now
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Pack Rank:
Human Appearance (Description or Picture):
Wolf Form (RL pictures are nice here):
Personality:
Do they want to reveal themselves:
Direfae
Enemies of life and living things, Direfae are the things that go bump in the night- living in the periphery of your vision, waiting for a moment to strike. They wish to break Disbelief, but only for the sake of unleashing chaos into the world and causing wanton destruction. Direfae children, apparent only by the solid black color of their eyes that give them to power to break Disbelief instantly, are sent to infiltrate places of human habitation and drain the life essence of the people living there. By doing this, they can eventually grow into their adult form- a living, corporeal shadow. However, they don't have half the strength they project, and can be killed much in the same ways the other races can. Male Direfae are sterile, so females reproduce by the infecting the children of other races.
-500 is considered old
-Pretty much an Always Chaotic Evil race, although I'm willing to take REALLY good exceptions if you can convince me.
-The BEK stage is before age 18 and the shadow person stage is after age 18.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance (Description or Picture)::
Personality:
Do they want to reveal themselves (Probably):
Submit an Urban Legend race:
Race name:
Short blurb about them:
Why they fit in this category:
Do they (as a whole) wish to reveal themselves:
Psychics, empaths, mutants, and other mild anomalies. Straddling the line between science fiction and science fact, these people are in fact genetically humans, but with some differences. The populace is generally aware of their supposed existence, but actual belief in their abilities varies wildly from person to person. To most more powerful mythicals who want to remain concealed, Augmented Humans present an extreme danger as they are able to bridge the gap of Disbelief between humans and the supernatural. To this end, most Urbans and Higher Powers hide their nature from Augmented Humans as they would any other.
Psychics
Television has produced many people claiming to have psychic powers, some of them of questionable integrity. However, there is a community of true human sensitives that exists, unaware of the reality of mythical creatures but largely obscured from regular humans. The ability runs in families and can be extremely dangerous and hard to control without proper training, so most young psychics work under an apprentice until they master their abilities. There are a number of different ways psychic powers can manifest, and while no one is a master at them all each affected person has a specialty as well as a weaker, secondary power. These include telekinesis, telepathy, mediumship or the ability to see the dead, summoning demons and Arcanism, the ability to effect Disbelief to change the perception of others like a Magician might.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Primary Power:
Secondary Power:
Appearance (Description or Picture):
Personality:
Do they want to reveal themselves:
Submit an Augment:
Augment:
Short blurb about it:
Do they (as a whole) wish to reveal themselves:
You can also play as a normal human if you want, but it might be kind of boring until Disbelief starts breaking down:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance (Description or Picture)::
Personality:
How much are they willing to believe:
