Two years ago, eight people went missing in the small North Dakotan town of Caulder's Hollow. The incident rocked the nation as they'd somehow disappeared at the same time from entirely different locations. There was nothing in their backgrounds that tied them together. They were a mixture of Caulder Hollow natives, tourists, and passers-by. Yet, when the clock struck 11:43 PM, they were gone. The forestry agency searched the surrounding wilderness. The authorities turned the town upside down. There were alerts sent to the Canadian border, and federal agents did statewide sweeps. Yet, the eight were never found. The news died down eventually, and the town went back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be considering it lured tourists from all over trying to discover what happened to the missing eight of Caulder's Hollow.
Our story isn't about them, or at least at this moment it isn't. They are players in this grand game, but they're the obstacles, not the entrants. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Tonight, in the early spring of April, Caulder's Hollow was about to receive some very surprising news. Mara Swain, a recent high school graduate and one of the missing eight, was found on the banks of the Pembina River outside the Evershine Outpost. She'd been discovered by a couple of students from Hightower High. She was unconscious at the time, but she was alive. To hear the teens tell the story, the door to the Evershine Outpost was bright purple only for a moment as Mara Swain tumbled out. In a flash of light, the door returned to normal, and Mara was there. One might assume they were drinking, but the next bit of their story couldn't have been falsified. Mara was dressed in clothing that didn't resemble anything on Earth, and it was made of a material that seemed to be both liquid and solid at the same time. On her hip was a globe made of transparent plastic that held a small, clockwork creature. On her back, sprouting from her flesh like veins of gold and crystal, were huge angelic-like wings. In one hand was a dagger, seemingly to be made out of the same material as her clothing. Blood coated the tip of the blade. Mara's forearm was bleeding from what looked to be a self-imposed wound. When later cleaned by the paramedics, they noticed it glowed, luminescent in the light of the ambulance. More so, it said something...
News broke of Mara's return like a thunderclap across the valley. It'd only been an hour, but the world was already watching. Maybe with her return, the other seven would also come back? That'd be quite some hopeful thinking, considering the exact opposite happened that evening.
At 11:43 PM, you feel this gnawing sensation in the pit of your stomach. You might question where it came from, but you know what you have to do. You have to find the nearest door and walk through it. Stumbling through whatever obstacles that come between you and it, the pain subsides when you grab the knob and turn. The world disorients for a second. Your awareness feels like it's on the inside of your body. Your innards exposed to air so cold it burns like the sun. A prickling sensation passes over your extremities and into the core of your body. Unsure if your heart is on the inside or out, you feel it skip a beat. And then another. Was it slowing down?
Next thing you know everything snaps back into reality. Your skin feels on its skeleton where it should be. Yet, the odd tingling sensation won't leave you. You look around to find that the landscape around you is far from Caulder's Hollow. The sky above is a deep black and purple, eight moons hanging in the air. The ground underneath your feet is compacted earth, but there are slivers of glowing areas akin to metallic veins. You turn around to see that the door you passed through is fading away. You can't get your fingers around the knob before it dissipates entirely. You become aware of a large corrugated metal sign you hadn't seen before. A buzzing fluorescent bulb points towards what's written on it.
Our story isn't about them, or at least at this moment it isn't. They are players in this grand game, but they're the obstacles, not the entrants. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Tonight, in the early spring of April, Caulder's Hollow was about to receive some very surprising news. Mara Swain, a recent high school graduate and one of the missing eight, was found on the banks of the Pembina River outside the Evershine Outpost. She'd been discovered by a couple of students from Hightower High. She was unconscious at the time, but she was alive. To hear the teens tell the story, the door to the Evershine Outpost was bright purple only for a moment as Mara Swain tumbled out. In a flash of light, the door returned to normal, and Mara was there. One might assume they were drinking, but the next bit of their story couldn't have been falsified. Mara was dressed in clothing that didn't resemble anything on Earth, and it was made of a material that seemed to be both liquid and solid at the same time. On her hip was a globe made of transparent plastic that held a small, clockwork creature. On her back, sprouting from her flesh like veins of gold and crystal, were huge angelic-like wings. In one hand was a dagger, seemingly to be made out of the same material as her clothing. Blood coated the tip of the blade. Mara's forearm was bleeding from what looked to be a self-imposed wound. When later cleaned by the paramedics, they noticed it glowed, luminescent in the light of the ambulance. More so, it said something...
News broke of Mara's return like a thunderclap across the valley. It'd only been an hour, but the world was already watching. Maybe with her return, the other seven would also come back? That'd be quite some hopeful thinking, considering the exact opposite happened that evening.
At 11:43 PM, you feel this gnawing sensation in the pit of your stomach. You might question where it came from, but you know what you have to do. You have to find the nearest door and walk through it. Stumbling through whatever obstacles that come between you and it, the pain subsides when you grab the knob and turn. The world disorients for a second. Your awareness feels like it's on the inside of your body. Your innards exposed to air so cold it burns like the sun. A prickling sensation passes over your extremities and into the core of your body. Unsure if your heart is on the inside or out, you feel it skip a beat. And then another. Was it slowing down?
Next thing you know everything snaps back into reality. Your skin feels on its skeleton where it should be. Yet, the odd tingling sensation won't leave you. You look around to find that the landscape around you is far from Caulder's Hollow. The sky above is a deep black and purple, eight moons hanging in the air. The ground underneath your feet is compacted earth, but there are slivers of glowing areas akin to metallic veins. You turn around to see that the door you passed through is fading away. You can't get your fingers around the knob before it dissipates entirely. You become aware of a large corrugated metal sign you hadn't seen before. A buzzing fluorescent bulb points towards what's written on it.
Caulder's Hollow was founded in 1843 by Hiram Hightower, and is the third oldest town in North Dakota. In the beginning, it was just a trading post, Evershine Outpost, that grew in size from the commerce of settlers traveling through and a bustling fur trade supplied by the surrounding woods. The origin of the town's namesake is a mystery. Many people believe it comes from the perfect "hollowed out" area that the town calls home along with the name of Hiram's first son, Caulder Hightower. Currently, its biggest income is from agriculture endeavors, the mercantile industry, and tourism. It's a quaint town surrounded by gorgeous trees, elevated terrain, the Pembina River, and a wind that people swear they can hear music on.
GUIDELINES
- This RP is High Casual, meaning I don't require a million words, but the words that you give me should be readable and add something to the scene.
- Posting pace is once a week. If we get going and the pace is faster than that I'll be so happy, that's totally fine. I'm more okay with characters having back and forths than I am with collabs. Let me know if you're unable to post. I'll send out reminders before I put the next GM post into motion.
- I expect politeness from everyone involved in the OOC. (I don't mind cattiness in the IC as it doesn't derail the scene.) If you have any problems, let me know.
- Fill out the Character Sheet below. (The parentheses should give you an idea as to where to write.) I know it looks like a lot, but the majority of it's a one to two-word response. I just wanted to spice things up. Quick Note: Remove the space between the https:// and i.imgur to make the pictures work. The coding language wouldn't let me do it any other way. It'll also tell me you read this.
- After you're done, PM me with the link to your CS and three rumors about your character. Two are false, and one is real.
- I'm accepting 4-8 players, but more or less depending on the quality and quantity of the sheets. I'm just giving myself a reasonable limit.
- If you have any questions, please ask!
- Discord Link: N/A
THE STAT SHEET
I can feel you asking me now. Why are there two sheets? The idea is that after you fill out the character sheet, you don't have to go in and edit it. It's a monument to your character at the start of the game. The one below, on the other hand, will be routinely updated as we go along. It also takes up less space and is easily editable. I figured the police wouldn't ask what do you think your stats are.
Everyone starts with βΌβΌβΌβ»β»β». You then edit them based on your three starting traits. These are your character's skills, knowledge, or prowess. Each of these traits will add one point βΌ to a stat but reduce a point β» from another. If you would like, on one trait you can add two points βΌβΌ, but subtract two β»β» from another. No stat should go below one or be at a six.
As much are artefacts go, leave them empty for now. In the inventory, put whatever your character would have on their person whenever they passed through the door. You don't have to be hyper-specific, just anything that can be used as tools or objects of survival. Copy and paste the list code however many times you'd like.
- πΉππ»π: As it sounds. Your character's physicality. Their strength and constitution.
- πβπΌπΌπ»: Not only how fast they are, but how dextrous they are.
- ππβπ»: Intelligence, cunning, and problem-solving skills fall into this.
- βπππ: Your charisma and the ability to act under pressure.
- ππππ: Your willpower and ability to resist temptations.
- βΌβ»β»β»β»β» : Untrained
- βΌβΌβ»β»β»β» : Below Average
- βΌβΌβΌβ»β»β» : Average
- βΌβΌβΌβΌβ»β» : Above Average
- βΌβΌβΌβΌβΌβ» : Highly Trained
- βΌβΌβΌβΌβΌβΌ : Inhuman
Everyone starts with βΌβΌβΌβ»β»β». You then edit them based on your three starting traits. These are your character's skills, knowledge, or prowess. Each of these traits will add one point βΌ to a stat but reduce a point β» from another. If you would like, on one trait you can add two points βΌβΌ, but subtract two β»β» from another. No stat should go below one or be at a six.
Example:
RESEARCHER:
[+1 MIND; -1 COOL] Character Name spent a lot of time studying to finish their doctorate and became quite skilled at finding what they wanted where they wanted. Unfortunately, that also made them have a tendency to talk a lot about it.
As much are artefacts go, leave them empty for now. In the inventory, put whatever your character would have on their person whenever they passed through the door. You don't have to be hyper-specific, just anything that can be used as tools or objects of survival. Copy and paste the list code however many times you'd like.
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