“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
Munich 1923:
The Great War has come to an end, but the world seems as much on a precipice as it did a year ago. The Russian Czar and his family have been executed by Bolsheviks while the flames of revolution have spread to Germany as well; There have been multiple coup attempts this year, French and German troops have occupied the Ruhr and both inflation and political violence are on the rise.
Against this backdrop, you have received a mysterious letter inviting you to a meeting of the ‘Nachtwache’ out the back, after the show at one of Munich's more infamous cabaret's. Apparently, someone has recommended you to them, though who that was and who they are, is a mystery…
Welcome to the Wild Beast of the Earth, a Gothic Horror inspired RP set in the interwar years with our first 'case' in the city of Munich. In this RP, you will take on the role of one of the 'Night Watch', or 'Nachtewache', tasked with investigating paranormal and occult phenomena and putting a stop to them.
Character death will be a real thing. While I don’t intend to play this unfairly, if you make a suicidal decision, the results will be predictable and, as such, I will recommend that people consider making a second character, just in case number one ends up getting eaten by an eldritch horror.
You will be outclassed by most, if not all, of the creatures you encounter, but you have a team at your back and by working together you should be able to prevail. There will also, usually, be more than one possible way to tackle the beast… provided you have investigated thoroughly.
WHO ARE YOU?
You can be anyone you want to be, provided the person is someone who could have existed in 1923 Munich. Perhaps your character is a big-game-hunter? A reporter? A demobbed soldier? A nurse? A member of the clergy?
The RP is set in Munich though I am very flexible about backgrounds. If you can write a reasonably sensible reason for them to be there though bear in mind their might be some bitterness against you if you were on the other side of the war (bear in mind the section on early 20th century attitudes).
I’m assuming everyone is generally competent, but depending upon your background, at certain points, I may give you with additional information that other people might not be able to glean on their own, so a mix of different backgrounds will make the team stronger.
The only limits to your character are:
- You are not a child. It doesn’t make sense for the setting – this is gothic horror, not an anime or YA novel.
- Magic users/carriers of magical artefacts are currently not allowed, though I may open these apps up later.
- You are not a supernatural creature. The supernatural monsters you will encounter are not misunderstood or secretly nice, they are hard-wired to want to kill you in creative and horrible ways.
- If you create multiple characters, make them separate, not people with pre-existing relationships. Feel absolutely feel free to make a pre-existing relationship with someone else’s character though!
THE SECRETS OF THE WORLD, KNOWN ONLY TO A FEW...
This section will be expanded as the RP goes on and you discover more about the world.
Monsters
There are monsters in the world. They want to kill you.
This section will be expanded with the information you learn from the various things you encounter in your travels.
Demons
Demons exist in Wild Beasts of the Earth and they are extremely dangerous. Demons cannot be killed though you can exorcise them or kill the host body. The exact wording of the exorcism is unimportant, though it’s likelihood of success depends upon the righteousness of the person attempting it.
Magic
Magic similarly exists in the setting and can, theoretically, be learned by people, though the spells are subtle and generally involve gathering ingredients before they can be cast. Similarly there are magical artefacts in the world, most of which are extremely dangerous to people unfamiliar with the mystic arts. Probably best not to play with them if you value your limbs or sanity.
Religion
The existence of demons and hell is established in the setting and some characters may decide that this implies the existence of a deity/force for good as well. That being said, there is no direct IC evidence for or against the existence of a benevolent higher power and you may realistically write a character of any religion or philosophical belief.
EARLY 20TH CENTURY ATTITUDES
While OOC, racism, sexism etc. is definitely NOT, in any way shape or form, ok, many forms of bigotry were alive and well 100 years ago. Hence why I've marked this as 18+.
While I do not, in any way, condone any of them, I also don’t think it is helpful to sanitise the setting and pretend they didn’t exist; that does a great disservice to all the people who campaigned against them over the last century. While the Night Watch, in this RP, is an egalitarian society, and the world is increasingly as well, some of the NPCs you encounter may display bigotry of one form or another (which might well be exploitable to a cunning character). Similarly, if you want to explore those topics in your own characters (an older gentleman being opposed to women’s suffrage, for instance), I’m not going to censor that, provided you do it sensitively.
NB: This is not an invitation for you to spout hate speech. Remember that you are still writing in the 21st century and some words are ALWAYS unacceptable. If you have any doubts, ask.
The bigotry you almost certainly see in the thread is classism and (if someone brings in a character from the Allied Powers, particularly the French or Belgians) hatred of the people seen as Germany's oppressors... at least while we're in Munich. This will probably flip later.
CHARACTER APPLICATION
You will notice some things about this character application form aren’t normal.
First, I haven’t asked for equipment. When you go into a mission you will be given equipment from the Night Watch's armoury, so there is no need to say you have a pistol and six bandages before the thread starts up. The Order don’t want you to die and will give you the stuff you need to stay alive, if you ask for it. That being said, there is the option to list some personal effects, to help develop your character.
I also haven’t asked what your skills are. As I said previously, I’m assuming all characters are generally competent, however, what you’ve written in your background will determine whether I make things easier for you, or not, if you attempt something. For instance, a librarian might know how to use a rifle, but probably won’t be as good at hitting a moving or distant target as a former Ottoman sniper.
Finally, there is no personality section. Your backstory should give a good idea of how your character is going to behave, but more importantly, I don’t want you to feel like your character is fixed. In a good RP, characters grow and develop over the course of the story and might end up being totally different from how they started.
All of this is intended to make it easier for you to write an app… while also allowing me to throw an occasional plot curve-ball your way!
When it comes to actually making an OOC app, delete the bits in parentheses - they are there to give you guidance.
... so you've got to the bottom. Awesome work! Does this thread interest you? If so, do you have some idea of the type of character you would like to have in it?
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