In This Fine Town Of Arkham
A Night At Wilde Hall
"The ancient, mouldering, and subtly fearsome town in which we live – witch-cursed, legend-haunted Arkham, whose huddled, sagging gambrel roofs and crumbling Georgian balustrades brood out the centuries beside the darkly muttering Miskatonic." - H. P. Lovecraft
Premise
The Wilde Woods are old. The gnarled roots run deep, and the dark trees are older than Arkham itself. A few paces between those twisted trees, and the thick, contorted branches above blot out even the midday sun. The Wilde Woods are a place of shadows, and legends have long persisted that creatures of darkness roam the depths of the forest. Anyone with any sense does not roam into the Wilde Woods. Birds do not sing, animals do not wander, the air itself seems to not dare to move, the breeze choked by the thicket of branches and blackened leaves.
Yet, in the heart of the forest, on the edge of the inky depths of Thornbank Lake, in a place where the light of the sun is little more than a distant memory, there stands Wilde Hall. The grand manor house dates back to the early days of Arkham, the Wilde family claiming to have been amongst the first to reach the shadowy corner of Massachusetts, their family name ingrained into the very fabric of the town. Few can truly say whether the Wilde family took their name from the Woods, or whether they lent their name to the twisted forest, but in the centuries that have passed, the family and the shadowed depths of the Wilde Woods have grown synonymous with one another.
Only the Wildes truly understand the winding paths of the forest, like the veins of some nightmarish creature. For generations, the Wilde family has emerged from the trees, conducted their business about the town of Arkham, and then returned to the Woods. They have always been a guarded family, amassing wealth from all across Arkham, and beyond, and yet rarely venturing from the grandness, and solitude, of Wilde Hall. In recent decades, those ventures have grown even more rare.
As the century dwindled, the self-styled Lord of Wilde Hall, Elias Wilde, abruptly passed. Ownership of Wilde Hall, and the numerous businesses that bore the Wilde name, passed to the only child of Elias, Avery Wilde. A sickly youth, little more than a girl, the vultures quickly began to circle, expecting the Wilde family, old and grand as it was, to crumble under the weak hand of Avery. And yet, quite the opposite unfolded. New investment poured into Arkham, dragging the Wilde businesses into the modern age. Any who stood in the way of progress were dealt with, whether by candied promises, or ruthless efficiency. The Wilde family prospered, and with it, so did Arkham. One thing had changed though, no longer did the Wilde family emerge from the depths of the Wilde Woods.
Avery has not been seen in Arkham since her father's death, and those that wish to hold audience with the Wilde matriarch must brave the shifting shadows of the Wilde Woods. To facilitate this, perhaps even to encourage it, over the decades since her sudden rise to power, Avery has begun to regularly host balls, grand occasions that bring the rich and powerful of Arkham into the heart of the forest, carriages and even automobiles snaking their way along narrow paths to reach Wilde Hall. In recent years, these events have only become more luxurious, more decadent, but ever more secretive. An invitation to a Wilde ball is worth more than its weight in gold, for it is an invitation to step through the looking glass.
You have heard rumours of these lavish parties, but you would not expect to receive an invitation of your own. Yet you have a burning need to reach Wilde Hall, and one way or another, whether through violence, guile, or some other means entirely, you have succeeded in getting an invitation into your possession. These affairs have long been masquerade balls, the idea of the hidden identity rigorously enforced, or at least so you have heard, so it seems only fitting that you slip in unnoticed. The night has finally arrived, and with a grim determination, you prepare to make your way to Wilde Hall.
Overview
Setting: Lovecraft's Arkham, and the surrounding area
Time Frame: 1920's Prohibition-era America
RP Tags: Historical, High Casual, Advanced, Large Group, Eldritch Horror, Mystery, Tabletop
Characters: Journalists, students, professors, detectives, criminals, socialites, private investigators
Themes: A period mystery drama, with a heavy dose of Lovecraftian horror. Your character will have their own personal motivations for attending the Wilde Hall ball, as well as goals as a group with your fellow PC's.
Style: I'm looking for three or four paragraphs per post as a minimum, and I'll be expecting regular and engaging posts.
Rules
- Be excellent to each other. This means show respect to everyone, player, GM or lurker, whether that's respecting the choices and decisions of other players, or simply be courteous to one another.
- No meta-gaming of any kind. There may be moments in this RP where the players are separated, and discover different things. Unless you were present, or were told about it, you don't know about it. End of.
- Real life always comes first, but please only join this if you envision that you will have the time to participate, and also let me know if you are going to be away for a prolonged period of time. Characters can be made NPC, but I prefer to know if you are dropping out, or merely going through some real-life issues.
- I'm aiming for the updates to come every 1-2 weeks, so please aim to post at least once between updates. If someone fails to post within this time, I won't hold everyone else up, so don't risk getting left behind!
- This is intended to be a role-play that everyone can enjoy, so please put effort into your posts! You should (hopefully) have no shortage of things to write about, so I expect at least 2-3 solid paragraphs per post. I would prefer acceptable spelling and grammar, but I'm not demanding professional level stuff! A lot of people role-play to improve their own writing skills, I know I certainly have, so you're welcome as long as you put effort into your post.
- I am intending to use 'hidden stats' to make rolls throughout this RP, modelled on the roleplaying system 'Call of Cthulu'. No prior experience with that system is required.
- This is a mystery RP, and there may well be information you hold that is not common knowledge. While I cannot force you not to share this knowledge, I do hope that people will buy into the idea of hidden agendas and goals!
- Please select your own colour for your character, and use that colour code for your application. If a colour is already claimed, please refrain from applying with it.
- This RP is set in 1920s America, and draws heavy influence from the works of Lovecraft. Both of those facts require a quick disclaimer. Lovecraft held deeply racist and outdated personal views, but we can still appreciate the brilliance and imagination of his art, without celebrating the views of the artist. In a similar vein, the 1920s played host to a number of views that are outdated today, whether that regarded race, gender, sexuality or religion. I will not be intentionally leaning into any of these aspects, but be aware that they do exist in the world of this RP.
- I intend this to be a narrative heavy roleplay, with a lot of moving parts and intrigue. With that in mind, I would rather a smaller dedicated group, than a larger, more patchy group. Applications will either be accepted, put on the back-burner, or rejected (with feedback), but I am planning to accept no more than half a dozen players, if that.
- I reserve the executive power to reject, or to expel, any character, and I do not need to divulge my reasoning. Hopefully I will never have to, but this is a reminder.
- If in doubt, follow the words of Lady A - The Rpers Guide To Etiquette
Character Sheet
Final Thoughts
Thank you to everyone that has made it this far! This is the second iteration of an idea that I've had for a good while. The first one had to be called short due to a number of things rearing their heads and robbing me of my free time, but in the time since, I have done a lot of work fleshing out the story and background to this roleplay, so it should hopefully be back bigger and better! It will still provide plenty of of mystery, suspense, thrills and cosmic horror! Something sinister is always afoot in Arkham, and Wilde Hall is no exception. The characters must work together if they are to survive the night, but each player also has a private objective, some goal that has drawn them to Wilde Hall, some secret agenda that they must achieve for their own ends.
You may notice that the Character Sheet is quite thin on the ground (namely the lack of any real background), and that ties directly to the mystery of the RP. Apply as normal, with the Character Sheet template provided, and I will then work with you to create your 'secret agenda', and develop the skills that you'll use throughout the roleplay.
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask, either here in the OOC, or through PMs. I am always happy to answer any queries, no matter how detailed or vague they may be, and it never hurts to ask.
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