[OOC] Memento Mori (Urban Fantasy)

[The Narrator]

Memento Mori.

Remember that you will die. That's the unavoidable truth of life.
In ancient Rome a slave would stand behind a victorious general, softly whispering the words into his ear.
To remind him that even with all his triumph and all his armies and wealth he would still one day part from this world.
The greatest king, the most devout pope, the richest CEO and the poorest peasant. They all fear the reaper.

If you're one of them, though, it's not about when you die - it's about how you die.

You died, your heart stopped beating, the blood stopped flowing through your veins, your inner organs stopped receiving the needed oxygen. At least that is the scientific way to see it.
But in a mystic, spiritual sense much more is happening. Nearly every religion believes that the body is the vessel to a spirit, that is influenced by the things a person does in live. They are all right in a way.

After you died you don't awake in heaven, nirvana or whatever you might have believed. You rise from your grave. You don't feel cold, you don't feel hungry, all you feel is an urge to go somewhere, a special place. A city. But you notice something, you are not alone. With you is a creature, a being. A symbol tied to your cause of death. A Memento Mori.

---
Here's some

Terminology and Definitions

Revenants - Their mission is to bring final death, many creatures or humans try to claim immortality. A Revenants job is it to take it from them. They are initially created to complete one hunt. They are bound to a Memento Mori. Old age is never a reason for becoming an Revenant, there is usually an exceptional/odd reason which would not constitute a 'normal' death in the same way dying of age is. A Revenant is different from a human in that he has the resilience of the dead. Cold or sickness won't affect him. Other than for example a zombie, a Revenant has the same character as well as the same feelings and memories as the human it once was.

Momento Mori - An immensely powerful being created specifically for the Revenant based off of how they died. They funnel their powers through them so they may do their work. The form, personality, attributes and powers of a Memento Mori can vary heavily. Some can be humanoid, others animal like and even geometric. They often communicate with their Revenant, as well as with other Revenants or Memento Moris, but they generally do not do the latter two unless required. Normally only certain supernatural creatures can see a Memento Mori, to all else he is invisible and intangible.

Level Graded Spirit - Within the global magic community, there is a general model to help categorise spirits. Ungraded spirits are weak, mostly just fragile memories which cling to places and cannot impact the material realm to any degree, while a Graded spirit can have influence over the material realm and even greater power over the supernal realm. These grades go from 1-10, with 1 being something like a self-aware poltergeist and level 10 spirit being beyond manifestation, more akin to an 'aware concept' than anything else. A Revenants Memento Mori is a 6 on that scale.

Magic - It exists in this setting, as you can imagine, but it's generally kept very well hidden from the public. Magicians come in many forms, like voodoo priests or century old alchemists.

Immortal Beings - It's in the name. This classification is about as broad as the Level Grade model for spirits, powerful vampires and magic users being among them.

Example Character:

Name: James "Jimmy" Meyers

Age: 24

Appearance:

Nationality: American

Personality: Jimmy is actually a very nice young man, he cares deeply about his friends, since they are the only possessions he ever had. He is however incredibly lazy and always up to no good. He lives in the today and never even thinks about tomorrow.
Their is a side to Jimmy that is incredibly dark, he is willing to go incredible lengths to get what he wants, and could not care less if someone might get hurt. He feels left alone in the world and mostly blames his failures on society, he can be self-ironic however.

Background & Death: Jimmy was born to a poor family in Queens. His mother loved him dearly but died when he was 9. Then his father started drinking. There were only a few times when Jimmy's Father was abusive but being at home was still a torture for the young Jimmy. The first time he took drugs was with 12. It started with alcohol and weed, later Crack, Meth and Heroin. Jimmy took them all. He dropped out of school with 15, because he never showed up there.
From then one Jimmy lived on the street. He abandoned his home and his father, who never really searched for his son after that. Jimmy did odd jobs for everyone who would be willing to pay, he sold his body, cleaned buildings, begged and stole money. All to get the next hit.
It was a wonder he even made it to 24. Jimmy was a wreck he died of an fatal syringe of Heroin.

Name: Black Tar

Represents: To give up one's own live just to have a moment of euphoria. The slow and self inflicted death by addiction and drugs.

Appearance:

Personality: Black Tar is abusive and cynical. If he speaks he puts Jimmy down in every way he can. This aggressiveness is a product of Jimmy's own self pity and regret.

Abilities: Poisonous Touch- Jimmy's veins seem darkly, even black when he touches someone and fills them with all the pain drugs can do to someone. A single, short touch, of one or two seconds can give the victim strong symptoms comparable to drug withdrawal. Up to five seconds severely paralyze the victim and weaken him. He might not even be able to hold himself on his feet. Over ten seconds of exposure to this ability will kill a person. Like a overdose.

No place like home- The only thing that has always accompanied Jimmy in his short live was the street. Now a city can be Jimmy's strongest companion. He can go into one smelling dark back-alley and come out of another in a matter of seconds. Street-dogs and rats that live from the garbage of the humans will flock to Jimmy and defend him. Doors of old, abandoned buildings seem to appear and open just for him.

As a note if you consider making a character: Keep in mind that, while Revenants may be potentially very powerful, fresh ones are not at the top of this settings food chain or anywhere near it. Think of a good, basic starting place which could then develop into something more in-depth and unique. Basically, just keep a sort of progressive story narrative in mind. A character should have two abilities at the beginning, these should grow and he will get as the story progresses. Also they way your character died may not be as important as the circumstances. A buddhist monk who set himself on fire in protest would have different abilities than a firefighter dying on duty, even though both died by fire.
All characters will start in Chicago, where they were instinctively drawn to.

This Rpg is heavily inspired by a Rpg I did a long time ago. I take not all the credit for the ideas.
If you are interested just say it!
If you have questions just ask!

[The Narrator]

@The One@Utrax@dreamingflowers@Tatsua Aiisen@mercenarius Here we go!

[Utrax]

@The Narrator
- Would heavy scars received at the time of death carry over into the Revenant state?
Part of me thinks yeah but... part of me also doesn't wanna assume, eheh.

[The Narrator]

@Utrax I would leave that up too you. I haven't made up my mind so you can decide for yourself.

[The One]

@The Narrator Also, question. Do the Revenants have the same personality? And for example, Heather. If you died by cutting your wrist, aka suicide would you still have those injuries? Would they show on the Momento Mori?

[The Narrator]

@The OneHeather would be the Revenant. And the Memento Mori could look like anything from a raven, a burning skull or a eight armed deva if you want. So I don't think I quite understand your question. Maybe you are confusing Revenant and Memento Mori?

[The One]

@The Narrator For example if a Revenant died by gunshot, would the wound show on the revenant? Would they keep their old injuries and would they show on the Memento Mori?

Do the Revenant have the same personality as before they died? Do the Memento Mori have the same personality as the Revenant?

[The Narrator]

@The OneYour first question I just answered look a few posts up. And your Memento Mori as I just said can look like basically anything so I still don't quite get the question. And concerning the question about the personality you can find the answer if you look at the first post.

[The One]

@The Narrator Ok cool.

So as Utrax said, you could potentially have scars on the Revenant. If this is the case, let's say a Revenant had a scar on the neck, would the Memento Mori also have a scar on the neck? Even if it can become anything, does it still bare the scars of the Revenant?

[The Narrator]

@The One I don't think you understood. A Memento Mori has one fixed form. However the Memento Mori can have ANY form you like. It does not have to look anything like your Revenant.

[The One]

@The Narrator Ok, I know it could look like anything I was just curious if it had the same scars as the Revenant

[The Narrator]

@The One Well if it can look like anything that is up to you too decide isn't it?

[Utrax]

*Moved to Character Tab*

[Xandrya]

Elizabeth Duncan

Name: Elizabeth Ann Duncan

Age: 28

Appearance:

Nationality: Canadian

Personality: Elizabeth's the carefree, loving personality type with a big heart. She prefers to remain positive through a hard situation than be pessimistic. But of course, everyone breaks--including her. She's had her ups and downs, but she doesn't dwell too much on the negative aspects of her life.

Throughout her lifetime, Elizabeth's been able to easily make friends. They all love her for the simple fact that she's able to keep a secret, and people can confide in her knowing that she won't go around gossiping behind their back.

Background & Death: Elizabeth's originally from Toronto, Canada. She was born into a middle-class family as an only child and raised by both of her parents. Her life growing up was relatively normal. She had her group of friends, boys she dated, enemies, etc. School was never particularly challenging for Elizabeth, and in high school she joined the "Snapshot Club" after one of her friends convinced her to become a member. It was there she fell in love with photography and everything to do with it. The very next Christmas, she asked her parents for a camera.

Elizabeth moved down to the US for college, and she went on to study photography. Throughout her university career, she joined a couple of internships to get some experience. She was a natural, and people started noticing. It was some months after graduating from college that she applied for a job as a photojournalist and she actually landed the position. She loved her current job, but when she was advised of another opportunity with National Geographic, she became overly enthused and applied. Once again, she landed the job and she couldn't be happier.

But one fateful day, as part of her current assignment, Elizabeth was in the Grand Canyon for a quick project. She was making her way down a narrow slot when she slipped and fell a few dozen feet. She landed on jagged rocks, which didn't spare any inch of her body. Elizabeth instantly started crying from the pain when she attempted to move, and decided instead to just lie there until her partner came looking for her. Even breathing hurt, so she didn't make the effort to shout for help. Things went from bad to worse as Elizabeth started bleeding out fast from the wound in her head, and when she closed her eyes to attempt to push away the pain, she never opened them again.

Name: Rocky

Represents: Frustration and anger with oneself.

Appearance:

Personality: Rocky is a bit rough around the edges. He pushes Elizabeth to the point where she becomes pissed off with herself and everyone around her, although that's usually the motivation she needs to overcome any obstacle. He doesn't take crap from anyone, and usually sits on the sidelines to watch as Elizabeth attempts to get herself out of a tough situation. He believes lessons learned the hard way are the best for self-improvement.

Abilities
Camouflage: Elizabeth can camouflage her entire body to blend in with her natural surroundings, whether that's rock, wood, etc. While in this state, she can only look like the material she's mirroring, not actually morph into it. If no one's paying any attention at all, she will disappear out of sight in a heartbeat.

Shield: Given that she has enough time to react, Elizabeth can turn some part of her body into peridotite to deflect or absorb projectiles or other dangerous items. She can't transform her entire body at once, therefore she must act quickly in order to overcome multiple attempts of attack.

[The Narrator]

@Utrax I have no problem with the cult idea. My only concern is that you gave her pretty stereotypical fire powers. Maybe make one of her something that correlates to her being sacrificed? If you want to keep the powers you chose that would also be okay so if you want you can move her into the char tab.

@Xandrya I like the character and you can move Elizabeth into the Char tab!

[dreamingflowers]

I have a question about this part.
Their mission is to bring final death, many creatures or humans try to claim immortality. A Revenants job is it to take it from them. They are initially created to complete one hunt. They are bound to a Memento Mori.

Are we supposed to take/steal immortality from humans/creatures?
How would that work? Are we a kind of angel of death?

[The Narrator]

@dreamingflowers A mixture of an Angel of Death and a psychopomp I would say. You will get more information when I start the Rp.

[The One]

@The Narrator What's the character limit?

[Sazama]

definitely interested, will start working on a CS

[The Narrator]

@The OneOne per player.
@KimmiNinja Great looking forward to your char!