The pitch and concept is simple, your character is yourself in an alternate version of reality. Not just any reality, but one where the world is not quite as you know it here, a grim-dark, twisted reflection of itself. It is not pleasant, it is not kind, and it is most certainly not safe. Why, you might ask? Because if the greatest economic recession in history and rampant, unchecked crime and corruption were not enough, there are more disturbed, more frightening things in the darkness; the things people either will not or cannot regularly see or experience. Man is a monster already, the sort of creature that will kill you for the few dollars you have in your wallet, but what is worse is that not everything is just a man. There are monsters here and they are unquestionably more dangerous, more devious, and more destructive than any world rife with poverty and illness alone... at least individually. You have to do battle with them both.

How you ended up in this situation is up to you, but one way or another our timelines diverged. Yet fate now seems intent on bringing you and a few other seemingly random individuals together in an opportunity to do something about the bleakness of the future, however small and insignificant it might be. You are not heroes, the things you are going to be tasked with doing at times not heroic, but if you do not do them, who will? Perhaps you might just succeed or perhaps you all might just die trying. Either way, whatever you pursue or however you pursue it is up to you and your company. All I need know is, would you take that gamble? Are you willing to test yourself, even if that means you might actually lose?

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Yes, you are playing yourself, you read that correctly. All we are going to do is file off the details of who you really are. You will recreate yourself using the d20 System rules, namely those found in a hybrid Third Edition and d20 Modern game. How, you might ask? You will pitch what you can for your character, the other you, based on your background and other associated information. Why you have the ability scores, the skills, the classes, and feats you do. This character for all intents and purposes is yourself, other than details such as personally identifiable information, of which are removed; name, birth date, residence, et cetera. All of those are irrelevant, but for the better I assure you. But... what about magic and exceptional classes beyond the default ones in d20 Modern?

There best be an exceptional reason you can call yourself a "ranger" or think you have the background to be so much as a "fighter". As it is, you are playing a gestalt character one way or another, but consider anything from Third Edition to be as elite as it gets. Unless you are an actual black belt in any of the martial arts, or its equivalent, do not bother with "monk"; unless you have spent your life dabbling in the occult and strange, you are certainly not a "warlock" or a "wizard". So on and so forth, but the good news is, is that you start at 2nd character level and take the best of both d20 Modern classes. If you so happen to die, let us note fate is not so forgiving; death is permanent and a new character is just a regular person.

I digress, for one reason or another you will begin in the northwestern tier of the United States, either the states of Washington or Oregon, to be determined at a later date. You and your companions-to-be are brought together under unusual circumstances. You certainly do not have ties to one another or your past, but your options are clear; either work together for the best or work apart and hope for the best. After all, this game includes everything from supplementary sanity rules to massive damage rules and is played with a tactical mindset. It is dangerous and it is gritty, so if you cannot handle either, I recommend staying far, far away. Speaking of...

If you cannot commit, fully, to a complex edition as this game and its rules, in addition to its supplementary ones, let alone being consistent in activity and posting, do not bother. We do not want players who cannot learn, will not learn, will not post, or will not be proactive. No ifs, ands, or buts. We need four absolutely dedicated players. If you are inexperienced or have a "busy" lifestyle that does not allowed reliable posting and game execution, you are not the audience being sought out, do not waste my time or that of other players.

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The first rule is that what the Dungeon Master says, goes. I have been a Dungeon Master for years in this edition and I have run this setting two other times at actual tables; I know what to expect and I have largely refined it down to a science. Exceptions will arise of course, but at the end of the day I retain executive power. If you are not certain what I mean by something, ask, never assume.

The second rule is, is that there is not mercy here. If the dice land where they land, that is what happens. If you become inactive, you are gone, no more of this nonsense about being "busy" or "things came up". You either tell us all and best get working on a solution, fast, or you are out and are likely not coming back. Expect to post, at least, once every three days; the more the better. Consider the quality expected at minimum casual posting and at maximum anything advanced. At the bottom of your posts, you will have a section containing the mechanical effects of your actions, assuming you did anything that requires rules applications, be it rolling a Diplomacy check to persuade the police that you are not responsible for something, to running thirty feet, crouching, taking a shot, then dropping prone.

The third rule? This is a game in a world where everything is terrible, people are still using tape-based devices and flip phones, most cars are from the 1980s through the early 2000s, crime, poverty, addiction, and all equally twisted things are common. This is a mature game but not an adult game. I might imply certain things, but under no circumstances will we make the leap. Violence, limited gore, and other associated ilk are going to be present. Terrible things are going to happen here and a large component of the game is a "What would you do?" scenario, that is the reason you are playing yourselves; please do not lie about that and be dishonest. This game is far, far more entertaining to learn about one's self and others around them when put in hypothetical and stressful, at times disturbed, scenarios. If that is not for you, then this game is not for you.

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If you have questions, comments, concerns, the like, post them here in this topic. I will be working on the actual post and eventually a Discord. The game itself will be played predominantly on the Discord to better simulate a live experience, with each chapter being played out here on the forum at its closure; I will write an overview of the events as a narrator, then ask you to portray your character's recollection of them and opinion on it in their own posts. Much of it will be "mission" based, meaning each instance of events is a small chapter over a large arc, so do expect to write several in-character pieces for the chapters. Recall this might be as simple as a day in the life to something outrageous such as having narrowly avoided death against a cult that is attempting to learn actual dark magic.

This post is relevant as an overview for those who were interested before when I spoke on it off the cuff in the Roleplayer Guild Discord. As such, those being mentioned here, this is mostly for your notice as a courtesy for your interest and hopefully a further explanation beyond the brief bits you received, as well as a place for you to pose your questions for all to see and have answers to.

• @Silvan Haven
• @Hekazu
• @catchamber

So on and so forth, but the good news is, is that you start at 2nd character level and take the best of both d20 Modern classes.

This confuses me, the underlined part that is. Both? I was fairly certain there were more than two, though I am probably just taking it too literally.

But yeah, sure. Every three days is absolutely doable for me. By the way, are we running a separate Sanity score or is it somehow tied to Wisdom? Trying to figure out the priority order for the stats once assigning them becomes topical.

The majority of players will have a d20 Modern class on both sides of their gestalt is what I am alluding to there, @Hekazu. For example, in place of being a Smart Hero 2 / Fighter 2, it is far more likely a player will be a Smart Hero 2 / Dedicated Hero 2, or even a Smart Hero 2 / Dedicated Hero 1 and Fighter 1. More or less, Third Edition classes are miniature prestige classes because they are direct upgrades to the d20 Modern classes. A Strong Hero, the fighter archetype parallel, is still far weaker than just a fighter from Third Edition. It is more or less a selling point to try and argue how or why someone would qualify for them; of course as the game goes on this becomes far easier as they can simply level in what they believe to be the most appropriate class based on their experiences.

Sanity score is tied to Wisdom, giving you a bonus to it in the form of adding to the total maximum as well as acting as "resistance", essentially Damage Reduction for incoming sanity damage. Ability scores however, are going to use, likely, a 21 point buy. A player will assign their ability scores appropriately, with nothing below an 8, and it should reflect the whole of their character. Each player will then fill out their own assessment of that person's ability scores, based on the character profile they read over, then they will then be totaled and averaged out.

Just popping in to say that yes, I'm still interested. Minimum three days to a post is doable especially on Discord. Still need to read up on the relevant mechanics but I'll do that over the next few days.

I need note it is a maximum of three days to post via a Discord and someone who continually takes the maximum amount of time will raise more problems than resolve them, @Silvan Haven. Just because one has a maximum of three days does not mean a post takes three days to complete, hence the reference to "More is better." essentially. Given the game is casual up to advanced, asking for two paragraphs, the sort of minimum, is not much - about half an hour of work at most.

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Still seeking one more dedicated and experienced player for this setting.

There is still room for one more player and as a side note, "Session Zero" will be held on this upcoming Saturday the 17th to build characters, clarify matters, and answer questions.

We are still accepting one additional player and will expedite assisting in character creation. The game will likely begin this week, likely Wednesday.

This seems like a really cool idea. Where are the character creation posts, so i know what I am potentially getting into.

Considering it is mostly run on a Discord, you can find them there. The only question I have is are you regularly available to play, as in, at absolute maximum, no more than three days between activity, @William Cade?

Considering it is mostly run on a Discord, you can find them there. The only question I have is are you regularly available to play, as in, at absolute maximum, no more than three days between activity, @William Cade?

I'm not quite sure at the moment - as in I will get my new work schedule after Spring Festival vacation - so if you find someone that knows for sure give the spot to them.

So long as a slot goes unclaimed you will have first to it for the time being and may join at a later date, @William Cade. That said, please do inform as soon as you are aware.

So long as a slot goes unclaimed you will have first to it for the time being and may join at a later date, @William Cade. That said, please do inform as soon as you are aware.

Will do - I should be getting my new schedule around the 23rd or 24ish.

I'd be interested in throwing my hat into the ring for this, although I'm a little unsure which class I'd end up falling into given my personal experience, training and knowledge.

I mostly work from home and so can make posts daily with ease, but occasionally I may have to be offline for a couple of days due to work. On these occasions I'll usually be able to give plenty of notice before hand, a couple of weeks in most cases, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem I hope.

The generic classes of the gestalt, the d20 Modern classes are flexible and vague enough to categorize people. More of than not it comes down to skill selection more than anything else or the difference between the finer, primarily mental, ability scores as Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma; the physical ones are much easier to apply and compare, @Genni. That said Third Edition classes, appropriately, are more difficult to qualify for, especially as they become more and more exceptional or otherworldly. All the same, if you are still interested and available to, by and large which I stress, post at least every three days at absolute maximum without great forewarning or delay after, do send me a private message.

This topic has two slots still open for any potentially interested parties. Thus far in the game, the original players are about to be introduced to the actual world abroad, meaning it is a solid opportunity to dive in if you are considering it or wish to. Again, the largest requirement and expectation is to be familiar with Third Edition, the rest can be explained later on. If you have questions, send a message.