You awake upon a sandy beach, staring stupidly up at the clear blue sky. An exotic sun is warming you from afar, and a gentle breeze blows in across the sea's gentle waves. Were it not for the pounding anguish lodged deep in your skull, and the intense dryness of your mouth, then for a moment you could have fooled yourself into thinking you were in some kind of paradise.
Carefully, you rise into a seated position and peer around. The husk of a large sailing ship stares back at you from the sea; driftwood and cargo circle it like a pack of lazy flies. You try for a moment to remember how you've come to find yourself in this predicament, but everything seems foggy. Memories are mere smudges; coloured windows swirling in the void that was once your mind.
After a few minutes of frustration and confusion, you finally give up, and make to stand. The familiar screech of seagulls draws your eyes' attention back to the sky, and away from the wrecked ship. Something about the birds comforts you, and you quickly realise the reason for this is because you know what they are. You know that you have some memory of things. This epiphany releases a flood of previously withheld information from your battered brain, and suddenly, you feel a little less anxious.
Someone calls to you, further down the beach. You turn and see a hunched back old man limping his way towards you. His clothes are ragged, and he has a thick white beard that flows in matted locks to his chest. Gnarled fingers grip a five-foot tall wooden staff, and as the man approaches, you are greeted with a toothless smile...
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Old Man: Hello there stranger, you must forgive me for leaving you out in the sun like that. I thought you were dead. What's your name?
You: (Character name)
Old Man: A pleasure... truly. I'm Doctor Thomduke. I live here, on this blessed island. Hey! Would you look at that! A smooth pebble. Excuse me, these things are very valuable.
You: Why?
Old Man: *Laughs* Why because they're smooth of course! Can never have too many smooth pebbles, no sir! So what are you anyway? Under all that seaweed and sand, I can't tell if you're a man or woman. A human or a werewolf! And I don't like to presume. Last time I presumed one of you drifts was something, I got it wrong; my leg hasn't worked right ever since, and that was years ago. Never heard a man with such feminine tone, let me tell ya!
You: (Race/Gender)
Old Man: Well is that so? Let me get some of that seaweed off you, so's old Thomduke can take a proper look. I am a doctor, after all. You can trust me!
Character Physical Description:
Old Man: You polish up nicely now don't you? Well, everything looks fine, but let's get that sand out of your face. I can't say I'm a fan of sand, no sir, it gets stuck right up my nostrils so it does.
Character Age:
Old Man: Huh, thought you were older... never mind, that's a good thing right? Hey! Look! Right down there, move your foot for me, yes, that's it! Two smooth pebbles in one day, woohooo Thomduke mister, you're aiming for the high life! Oh, oh excuse me. Yes, ahem, where you from stranger? ... You can't remember? Well shoot, you must've taken a pretty hard knock to the skull. Saw your ship coming in, I did, ploughed right into those rocks over yonder. If it makes you feel any better, yours weren't the first to do that, and it wont be the last.
I don't be supposing that you have yourself a certain set of skills, do ya? Skills are mighty important round this island of mine.
You: (List any notable skills, i.e swordsmanship, woodcraft, herb gathering, hunting, etc)
Old Man: Wha- wow. That all? Well, it's better than nothing. Damn, when I came here, I weren't even a doctor - I was a cabin boy! Can you believe that? I guess if I've made it this far, then you'll be just fine. Anyways, with all that said, I guess I best be letting you get on. You're not the only survivor from that wreck over there, no sir, I found a few of you laying about the place. Most weren't so lucky, but that's okay, means more pebbles for us! Oh yes sir, yes it does.
Ah, yeah wait, before I go. I took the liberty of looting your there "corpse" for anything valuable. My bad, I honestly thought you were a dead'n. Here's your stuff, I don't take from the living. That's not me, no sir. I leave that kind of wickedness to the others.
Character Clothing and Equipment: (Include armour and weapons)
Old Man: Well, I'll be seeing ya down the ole dusty trail I be supposing. But hey, you look like the nice sort, so lemme give you a tip: stay away from anything old looking, over there in the jungle. Lot of mischief to be had there, yes there is. Spirits and ghouls, you know? Don't believe me? Well, maybe you should go and have a look- oh, oh oh and one more thing. Take a little care if ya be coming across some other people. Lot of them have been stranded on here almost as long as I have; makes the mind sour, being stuck in a place like this. Can't figure it out myself, I've been here most my life, and I'm fine! WAIT, WAIT, STOP, GET BACK. Yes, yes, one more step. Look, another pebble! Three's the word! Woohooo!
You leave the crazed old man to his pebble-related ecstasy, and walk over to where a small group of salty smelling stragglers have gathered. You guess from their drenched appearance that these were the fellows you shared the ship with, and something about this gives your sanity a rock on which to anchor itself. You're not alone, you have friends. Perhaps one of them can remind you of how you came to be on this island?
The group immediately take an interest in you, and names are quickly exchanged. You try and commit each of them to memory:
After the greetings are made, and the brief commotion settles, you look across the beach. The sand, it seems, tapers off into a lush jungle. It looks dark in there, and your eyes can't penetrate past the first few lines of trees. Foot paths made by many feet can vaguely be made out from the beach's edge, leading off into the jungle. A rumble in your gut, and the ache of thirst in the back of your throat, makes you consider the possible need to explore that lush environment.
You turn to your fellows, and them to you. Everyone is thinking the same thing, but no one immediately comes forwards to offer a plan. Perhaps you should suggest a course of action?
