Another Gothic Roleplay
The Setting
1840, mid-Victorian era with a notable twist—mankind is haunted by all manner of supernatural creatures when night falls. There is a place somewhere between the material world and Hell, one where phantoms wander ceaselessly and horrors resigned to the shadow of imagination dwell. When the sun sets, this realm of darkness descends, letting lose a miasma of darkness and allowing awful creatures to wander between realms. Not every city and country of the world deals with this threat directly (this realm does not directly connect to the Earth everywhere), but tread lightly! Where you are going, these horrors of the night are less than a stone's throw away—they're behind you!
Magic exists in this alternate Earth as well. Humans have utilized runic magic for centuries, carving and writing symbols that exude power and transmute elements. Other cultures rely on alternate methods—Christians utilize crosses and sacramental wafers while pagans use rituals and totems to assure the protection of local gods and supernatural beings. Only recently has technology developed to the point of mechs and weaponry that can fight the horrors of the night on its own.
Your characters were born in the Barony of Cardenbury, an English territory in Eastern Europe (I mentioned this is an alternate universe, right?). It has been under English occupation for the past 200 years, and thus, the culture has forgotten much of its ancient, Slavic roots. Lord Cardenbury's family ruled over the territory since long before the past two centuries, but they submitted to England's rule in order to avoid war. Their territory is already steeped in the blood of ancient warfare from the Romans to the Huns, and that has made their soil as rich with blood as it is darkness.
The Plot
This is going to be a character-based roleplay. There isn't going to be a sole plot that I develop, rather, the plot will largely be based around what your characters care about and their goals. Because of this, the character sheets will need some work and creativity. Will you play a monster hunter who keeps his village safe or a spy trying to undermine the Cardenbury family? Will you play a rebel who wants to see Lord Cardenbury reject the oppressive English influence on your homeland? Will you play a servant of the supernatural, making pacts with pagan gods or, Heaven help you, a creature of the darkness? Will you fight against the darkness or strive to learn its secrets? The path you choose through the history and desires of your character will become your boon and your bane as well as the focus of the roleplay.
The Rules
- As GM, I reserve the right to toss players out of the thread for any reason. I strive to be fair and polite as much as possible, but if I see someone breaking the rules or spreading toxicity outside of the story, the offending player will be warned and later removed if he or she does not correct the behavior in the thread.
- No godmoding, controlling the characters of other players, or using out of character information to meta your way through a situation. Horror is pointless without some sense of helplessness, so I expect characters to have exploitable weaknesses and enemies that they will not always be able to defend themselves against.
- No Stereotypes. Because this roleplay relies on creative characters connected to the world around them, the Anti-Social Assassin is not going to cut it here. Neither will the Cute Girl with a Dark Side. Forget about orphans raising themselves on the street, noble children running away from an oppressive father, and similar tragic tropes. The character you create will have people he or she is connected to and goals he or she cares about, not just a smattering of abilities and personality attributes to fight against the darkness. Surviving alone is not possible in this world—you will have to rely on others to help you get through the night because, seriously, the darkness has a personal agenda against you.
- Follow the forum rules. Things like smut obviously don't belong in a public thread, and you already knew that because you're an advanced player on this site.
- Post quality and length? I assume anyone reading this far is already capable of what I'm looking for.
- Have fun and feel free to ask questions whenever you have them!
Discussion/Updates
This is still an interest check in the works, so feel free to express interest and ask questions!
I got a map together, so this is the gist of the physical setting.
