ships gone down with the lanterns lit
-Sharon Olds
-Sharon Olds
We're all monsters, y'know. Maybe some more than most.
concept
This is an ocean journey through a world that in daylight is full of whimsical beauty, color and imagination -- but at night, the mysterious and enormous Anima rule the land and sea. One young pirate would steal a ship of his own and sail for the rumored island of the Anima's origin, gathering a crew along the way. Some say there are untold riches hidden within the old tombs and cities there; others claim there is a well of power, or a fountain of youth -- but the gleam in the pirate's sharp smile promises a fortune far greater.
inspirations taken from One Piece, Mushi-Shi, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, among others!
world
In daylight, the world is a strange and whimsical place full of thick bright forests and hidden doors. The deserts teem with fairies, and selkies sing across the ocean. Animals here may be of a different size and serve a different purpose to civilization: roosters saddled like horses, rabbits kept to guard the grain against mice. Curiouser still are the cities and settlements that dot the countless islands of this world.
At night the color vanishes, the laughter goes still, and the Anima rise. These are ordinary animals -- deer, fish, dogs, owls -- whose colossal size can sometimes dwarf even the highest clock-tower. Their eyes glow murkily, as if out of a tremendous depth, haunting in the dark. They are rarely hostile, but are known to be quiet, wise, and indifferent to the common problems so small below them.
Different cultures have different interpretations of the Anima, but one story remains the same: when a particularly strong-willed person dies, their spirit is simply too powerful to disappear. It takes a different form instead -- one that matches the strength of the spirit.
gameplay
The game begins with Sorn, a shark-toothed pirate about to steal a ship for himself and anyone who'll come with him to the island without a name. I'd like to run a single short adventure to introduce each individual PC, based on that PC's character sheet and/or the player's ideas for an adventure to properly introduce their character. This means that most players won't get to post for a long while, but the proper integration of each character into the story I think will be worth it.
The core of the story is therefore in the character-centric mini-adventures, and not in the main plot. We may never make it to the island-with-no-name, but there'll be plenty of mysteries along the way.
characters
Characters may be human or of any race the player can imagine, as long as they are original. Please be mindful that any NPCs, locations, factions, world histories, kingdoms -- anything outside the character itself -- is automatically forfeit to the GM to use and manipulate as needed by the story. You control your character and your character alone, but bring on your ideas and story prompts!
rules
There's one golden rule: Don't Surprise the GM. My PM box is open: we can work together to arrange for character secrets and hidden things, big reveals and plot twists, but I absolutely must know everything you know about your character. I promise I will never be happy with a surprise reveal -- but I can help build up to it, if I know it's coming. ;)
