There was not a lot of warning when the end came. There were signs, but there were always signs. One night everyone was going about their lives, worried about the possibility of an Apocalypse, and then the next night it was here.
To the general public, as most of the main even was caught on tape, the end started in L.A., the city of angels indeed. An earthquake ripped through the city at around 11:30 in the morning, and by noon, the entire city was in chaos. A thick black cloud had settled over the city, blanketing it in some kind of unnatural twilight. At first, the reports were just of riots. Local gangs had taken to the streets like crazed militants. Soon after, however, there were reports of monsters, and demons. News casts flooded the airwaves with images of angels and demons, werewolves and vampire, fairies and dragons. Most images on the ground quickly ended, the reporters dying a horrible gruesome death at the hands of one monstrosity or another. Even the choppers were keeping their distance as some of the monsters flew, and did not discriminate foe from reporter.
Near three in the afternoon, the streets of the city were washed in blood, the sun-blocking cloud had turned into a storm of stone hail and blood rain, and even gravity itself seemed to lose all sense of order. At exactly 3:33, the devil himself made an appearance.
This image, though effecting people in a wide range of ways, became the beacon of the end times. It also marked the end of the battle of L.A.
California was not the only casualty, however.
Cairo Egypt has been overrun by wraiths and zombies, the jungles of South America and Africa have come alive... Literally. Trees and unheard of abominations stalk the land day and night. Navy all over the globe have come back with reports of monsters in the deep before going silent. Snow has fallen over Mexico. Scientists report massive quakes as the continental plates shift.
The time is now 11:00pm, and though L.A. rests in a deathly silence, no word has reached the public from within. The cloud had dissipated around sunset just as fast as it had arrived.
OK, so I haven't tried to run anything other than 1x1s I a while, because everything I do is done by phone. Obviously this makes longer post more difficult. If you are patient, I can get at least one reply per person per day. Sometimes more if I'm lucky, sometimes less if there is a lot or I have to research. If you Ever have questions, an idea for the game, or wish to do a small side game, feel free to PM me. I'm pretty nice, but my time is important to me, which is why a mature (that's not just age ladies and gentlemen) group is needed. I stated before I won't kill anyone without your consent... While this is true, I can still gridlock your character if you choose to be a dick. There is a difference between you playing a character who is a dick, and You being one. Please know the difference. There are worse things than death.
Now, I tend to run a sandbox, character driven game. I have set the scene. You must have enough grasp of your character to know what you would do next, or the wherewithal to follow someone who does. If your just going to sit there alone and refuse help or guidance, you will be left, or eaten. You will all be starting in the same general area. (Not L.A. or Cairo) from there you may choose to work together, or split up. Many of you are likely natural enemies, but in the face of the Apocalypse, there is a bigger threat at hand. I will split replies into hiders if you are in separate areas adding to the mystery as well as allowing people to function without waiting on others. If player 1 is on constantly, and can reply instantly, but player 2 only gets on once every couple days, it may not be a good idea to have them together. Only rarely does this cause timeline issues but I can make them work out. There is a whole world to travel and it is possible that characters may never meet.
This is a high level game. It is possible, even likely, your character has underlings of some sort. You may be a prince of a city in vampire, alpha of a pack in werewolf, have a cult following in demon. I am leaving these NPCs to you. Yes that means your nasty elder vampire may have a city at her command. Your enemy has armies. Your main focus is on your character. That said, I will permit multiple characters as long as you can keep up with them. I will add details about restrictions in each section below. If you have questions, PM me.
Monsters are Real! Angels are real. Devils are real! Have they always been here, or has something released them from the gates of hell? The end has not reached every corner of the world yet, and looking out the window at the blue skies, hearing the song birds, smelling a freshly cut lawns... Surely this is some kind of hoax.
Humans are at the bottom of the food chain in this struggle to survive. The hidden world is no longer hidden, and the laws they abided by no longer stand to keep you safe. While you may not be effected now, it is only a matter of time. You are food. Cannon fodder. A weak link... Unless you prepare yourself, and in a hurry. Maybe Crazy Dan up the street talking about hunting vampires wasn't so crazy after all...
Justification of comes bitter sweet. For years you have trained, prepared, researched, and fought for the survival of a race that laughed at you and called you crazy. Who's laughing now? Sure as hell isn't you! Your covert battle against the creatures of darkness just turned into world war three! Do you seek out the defenceless and protect them the best you can? Do you choose a side, fighting for the greater good, or do you use this period of chaos to take down as many of these inhuman scum as you can. The choice is yours, but regardless of how much firepower or faith you may wield, you are after all, only human.
To the hunters on a network, reports flooded in. Phones rang ceaselessly. It was a broad call to arms. It was war! Groups were forming everywhere, safe houses shared, and plans hatched. Even in places untouched, hunters were gathering to pool their resources. Most prejudices were set aside in favor of survival, both individual and for friends and family. --------------- Very little restrictions here except that you can't be a psycho trying to help destroy the world. You can be descended from Helsing, a priest with true Faith, or the leader of a black ops military group. You can start with a baseball bat or a military bunker of tanks. I'm not joking.
The masquerade is broken. The whole world watched as 'normal people' turned to ash, fed, and performed impossible feats on the streets of L.A. Sabbat flooded the streets in reckless abandon, embracing their beasts and letting loose like never before. But all is not well, even to those whose time has come to shine. The secret True Black Hand has been cut off from their home in the dead Enoch. Mass numbers of their members have simply disappeared.
The Camarilla is in complete anarchy. Their foundation has been shattered, their opposition is in the streets, and their members are fighting to stay alive. In most places, the Camarilla have simply become a cluster of vampires trying to stay alive. The high council has turned on itself, at a loss of what to do. The Tremere have locked themselves in their chantries, some say to make a spell to save them all, some say to cower and try to save themselves. The Giovanni have collapsed. Their leader has been destroyed along with most of the hierarchy, and the dead no longer have laws they abide. Many of the Giovanni strongholds are now massive houses of horrors, owned by the dead alone.
The Justicars, forsaking their futile attempts to uphold the laws have bound together, traveling to every loyal city to help calm the chaos the best they can. ---------------- Dust off the elders book. I'm allowing anything 5th gen and younger. You can be a prince justicar, or archbishop. You can be any clan or bloodline. I have 2 restrictions. 1) No Baali. The devil worshippers have gotten their wish but its not what they thought. They are the enemy and not playable. 2) You have to be working towards some kind of preservation. It doesn't matter if you are trying to return things to normal, survive to rule the human race as a god, or simply protecting friends and family. You need to be fighting against the destruction of the planet, which is what you are facing.
Yes I added all changing breeds here. I'm also doing my ST notes first here because I have a lot to say on the matter. In the story leading up to this point, I have brought back many of the extinct Fera as well as the Croatian tribe of Garou. In this storyline, All the changing breeds get a forced vision of a memory sent by the eldest of the Mokole. They were created by the angels Luna, Gaia, and Helios to hunt down and kill the fallen angels in the time of the War of Heaven. Each had their jobs, and now that the fallen have returned, their true purpose has also returned. Without a heavenly host to fight for, however, it is up to the individuals to decide their battles. 1) No Wyrm creatures. They are under full sway of the enemy... 2) If you want to play a Fera you found online, pm me a link to it so I can look it over. I'll likely be OK with it, but I make no promises. (I have seen were chihuahuas. Don't... Just don't) ------------
The shockwave of memories that shot through the layers of Umbra and into the once noble Malhan, hunters of the fallen ones, was a devastating blow that effected the changers in varying ways. Did it fill a whole that used to contain purpose? Did it reenforce their own beliefs, or did it shatter everything they thought was true. Regardless, the truth was out, and with it, the mistakes of the past. Changers long thought lost to the War of Rage have started appearing all over the world. The once martyred tribe of Croatians have come to reunite with their Uktena and Wendigo brethren. And all remember why they are there. A scent, something that had built so gradually that it had gone unnoticed, suddenly fills their being. The Fallen. The taint of these beings make the vampires look like they just got splashed with mud. Like the Leeches, these beings have varying degrees of taint, some trying to redeem themselves. It is up to you to decide whether they are worthy of such redemption, or should be sent back to the abyss. Though... They have escaped once, what is to stop them from doing it again?
Something else has happened. A fallen has found redemption. This may be speculation, but you can feel it. The presence of the host for the first time since your exile. Do you lash out at the redeemed, bitter at the one who has lost sight of the cause? Do you seek them out to find the secret? Is it possible?
You can forget the signs of the end times. You Are the end times. Whether you have been a round a while and have worked your way into the system, or if your fresh out of the pit, you know the world has changed from what you knew, and you also know what will happen when the stronger fallen break free. What you may not know, is that the Earthbound are already getting the ball rolling on the end.
Then came Lucifer. Where you were in the city, or saw it on the news on the other side of the world, the Morning Star was seen by the Fallen for the first time since they were cast into hell. And for the earthbound, the reaction was just as powerful. Do you blame your former leader for being locked away? Are you angry and suspicious of him since he was never seen in hell? Do you rally to again fight at his side, or do you turn on him like a rabid dog. That is up to you, he was in L.A. a few hours ago. The earthbound know this too, and they do not intend to let him escape again.
The Mists have faded, Banality mostly vanished in a single afternoon. This is Autumns final heat wave before the snows. The doors to Arcadia have been flung wide. Chimeras, the Tuatha de Danaan, Thallain, Adhene, and the Tithed Ones move restlessly in their bonds, or openly on the world for the first time in centuries. Rumors of David's return have spread as fast as the rumors of his murder. While your kingdoms struggle to survive, the mortal world struggles just as hard.
Among it all, an echo of memory shimmers through. More memories of war, but not the seelie and unseelie or shadow court that you are used to. This memory predates even those. They were of a war of angels and demons. All these memories include a memory of your own death. A lone owl Pooka has translated dream of this for ages, a past life depicting the fae souls as the dead Angels and demons. Arcadia as the afterlife of the celestials.
Do you choose to believe this? Do you fight for your kingdoms, or your mortal friends and family? The choice is yours. ----------- Obviously none of the bad guys. Other than that, your pretty free. Kith, seeming, rank, house. Doesn't really matter. If you want Correlation between demon and Changling, let me know.
OK ooc first again. I changed the timeline here. I favor wraith only a fraction less than demon, so I kept them present. In WoD timeline, the Maelstrom that broke the walls of hell was also the one that brought about the end of Wraith. I set the cracks back a Maelstrom. The last big maelstrom is the Apocalypse. ------------------ The last great Maelstrom is coming, a fleet from the Kingdom of Jade sails towards Stygia, and echoes from the Flayed Lands can be heard like the rhythmic beating of drums. The end is near. The Ferrymen have gathered in Dis, and are now spread across the shadowlands on some unknown mission. What is worse, the soul forged metal that half the underworld is founded on, has lost its solidity as the souls regain a margin of what they were.
The shroud is collapsing all around the world, giving wraiths direct contact with the world of the living. Spectres and Wraiths war on landmarks and ghettos in full view and reaction of the world already panicked. Egypt has become a black whole to wraiths and spectres alike. Something massive has taken Egypt and even the minions of Oblivion do not seem free of its clutches.
Speaking of Oblivion, the Labyrinth has sundered. Malfeans are stirring through the labyrinth, but there is a fracture in the ranks. Oblivion has proven itself to be, in fact, the walls to hell itself.
Furthermore more rumors are coming in about a mass of destruction coming from the Far Shores, of strange Angels of Death waging battle in the tempest, and of things clawing out of the walls of oblivion. ------------- Round 2. Yes you may play a Ferryman. I'll even let you play a spectre or malfean as long as you are preventing ultimate distraction.
Mummy's and Kindred of the East.... Well get with me on this. What I can tell you is there are no new ones. Mummies who die will be swept up by the Maelstrom.
I am still working on this, but if it seems interesting,and you have knowledge of the system (or are willing to research it) place a comment so I can tag you when its done.
@thedragonsimonI'm interested in this, but I want to run a character idea by you first. My idea is actually a character I've run in the past in an IRL cWoD campaign. The general gist of it is that he's a private investigator who's well-known for taking cases relating to superstition and paranormal incidents, even after the police had thrown them out as being hoaxes. The thing is, during one such case where he was investigating a cult, he was captured and made the victim of possession by a demon. However, due to a Hunter arriving shortly after the possession, and the following fight, the demon lost his memory of actually being a demon, and believes himself to be the private investigator. My thought is that all this happened prior to the apocalypse, and now the private investigator is using his knowledge of the WoD creatures to dig into why the apocalypse is happening.
@DepressedSovietIt's plausible. Are you using Demon: the Fallen rules for demon, or an Antagonist from another book. (This makes a big difference on how things play out.)
@DepressedSoviet that's fine. With your Demon memoryless, you'll have next to no Faith or demon powers though. You can surpass the usual caps for mortals obviously, and you can keep one point of faith so all your passive abilities will work. You won't really have much torment either.
That said.... Your character would likely have been glued to the TV during the battle of L.A. seeing the full glory of the Morning Star would effect both the human and demon psyche in powerful ways, its not likely he would still be without his memory after that. What you may want to do is build your human traits high (especially your influences) then give basic demon starting abilities. Faith will be easy to come by now. Would also make for interesting roleplay as the human psyche would be able to still be present as the demon wakes back up. Also puts you in direct line for my sub plot which involves the human and demon psyche working together.
@enkasA lone hunter, part of an organization, Head of an organization, or part of a party? A full army may be a bit much, but being a big wig at something like the society of Leopold is not out of the question.
Oh, and mortal hunter, or Hunter the Reckoning hunter?
@enkasA lone hunter, part of an organization, Head of an organization, or part of a party? A full army may be a bit much, but being a big wig at something like the society of Leopold is not out of the question.
Oh, and mortal hunter, or Hunter the Reckoning hunter?
I want to play a hunter part of some group, planning to play a nun from Saint Claire, so I suppose she'd be very mortal, although able to invoke true faith
