Welcome to Necropolis. Or, as its residents more commonly call it, Gravetown. Created 2,000 years ago by an otherwise-unknown sorcerer-gone-lich, the purpose of Gravetown's existence is to mutually benefit the living and the undead. For the living, there's no longer the fear of the undead plaguing their world and taking their lives. For the undead, it meant a world entirely their own, where there was no holier-than-thou faction out to kill them all.
While the creator of Gravetown has since disappeared, his dream still stands strong. The city has since grown, developed, and has become a sanctuary for undead of all forms, where both magic and technology have grown. Barring a few distinct differences, most prominently how all its residents are undead, Gravetown is otherwise your everyday city. Why are there no living? It's thanks to a miasma the city's creator spread over the city; an otherwise-invisible gas that is lethal enough to kill any living thing with a single breath. To the undead, it's just as safe as breathing air.
So whether you're a ghoul inhabiting the city's nastiest neighborhoods, a banshee who makes her living singing, or a lich entrusted with the ambitious duty of maintaining Gravetown, what ties you together with everybody else? You're a citizen of this city. That's it.
And to conclude this opening post, a little more information about Gravetown.
Accepted characters
Arlear - Rattle'von'clatter
UnendingEmpire - Natsumi Fujiyama
GreenGoat - Cornelia IV von Elzbern du Swarztheim
Raineh Daze - Kitty
BlueBravado - Trist Malis Bain
silavor - Zephias Cromwell
Cadvin - Khaemtir
Silyan - Caiomhe Keiri O'Dair
The Book Thief - Salem
Rin - Lin Mei
VitaVitaAR - Lin Wei
While the creator of Gravetown has since disappeared, his dream still stands strong. The city has since grown, developed, and has become a sanctuary for undead of all forms, where both magic and technology have grown. Barring a few distinct differences, most prominently how all its residents are undead, Gravetown is otherwise your everyday city. Why are there no living? It's thanks to a miasma the city's creator spread over the city; an otherwise-invisible gas that is lethal enough to kill any living thing with a single breath. To the undead, it's just as safe as breathing air.
So whether you're a ghoul inhabiting the city's nastiest neighborhoods, a banshee who makes her living singing, or a lich entrusted with the ambitious duty of maintaining Gravetown, what ties you together with everybody else? You're a citizen of this city. That's it.
I - The first rule of Gravetown. You do not talk about...sorry, wrong RP. The first rule is that you're expected to post at least once every four days. If you'll be unable to meet this requirement for a time, please inform Greengoat or myself. If you go seven days without posting or explaining why you can't post, you will be treated as having left the RP.
II - I'd say "don't kill anybody" here, but that's kind of harder to do in this RP than it would be in others. Since, y'know...you are already dead. Still, try not to kill anyone. There's laws against that in town, y'know?
III - Before all others, Greengoat and I are the creators of this RP, effectively making him my co-GM. Luckily, at least one (probably two) of us is/are pretty laid-back about GM stuff.
IV - Undead only. No exceptions.
V - Everybody has a favorite scent. To show how you took the time to read this over, please post yours (not your character's) beneath the image of your character. If you have no sense of smell, please let me know, and I'm sorry. Failure to follow this rule can and will lead to me rejecting your character without explaining why.
VI - In accordance with the rules of Roleplayer Guild, please be cool like the Fonz. If you don't know who the Fonz is...god help you.
VII - Before anybody begins to think otherwise, let me explain where the technology and magic levels are. Technology is right around where it was in the 1980s. No cell phones just yet, no internet, very few computers. Magic is just a little bit below the typical fantasy story. Not a driving force, but certainly there.
II - I'd say "don't kill anybody" here, but that's kind of harder to do in this RP than it would be in others. Since, y'know...you are already dead. Still, try not to kill anyone. There's laws against that in town, y'know?
III - Before all others, Greengoat and I are the creators of this RP, effectively making him my co-GM. Luckily, at least one (probably two) of us is/are pretty laid-back about GM stuff.
IV - Undead only. No exceptions.
V - Everybody has a favorite scent. To show how you took the time to read this over, please post yours (not your character's) beneath the image of your character. If you have no sense of smell, please let me know, and I'm sorry. Failure to follow this rule can and will lead to me rejecting your character without explaining why.
VI - In accordance with the rules of Roleplayer Guild, please be cool like the Fonz. If you don't know who the Fonz is...god help you.
VII - Before anybody begins to think otherwise, let me explain where the technology and magic levels are. Technology is right around where it was in the 1980s. No cell phones just yet, no internet, very few computers. Magic is just a little bit below the typical fantasy story. Not a driving force, but certainly there.
(image here pleaseandthankyou)
Name:
Species:
Gender:
Age: (include how old you appear as well)
Occupation:
Personality:
Bio:
Stuff you often carry: (pretty much your inventory)
Type of magic, if any: (one only unles you're a mummy or lich; please reference the bestiary for how likely your species is to have magic. more for convenience than combat, so...)
Anything else?
Name:
Species:
Gender:
Age: (include how old you appear as well)
Occupation:
Personality:
Bio:
Stuff you often carry: (pretty much your inventory)
Type of magic, if any: (one only unles you're a mummy or lich; please reference the bestiary for how likely your species is to have magic. more for convenience than combat, so...)
Anything else?
And to conclude this opening post, a little more information about Gravetown.
Gravetown is divided up into seven districts; six above ground and one beneath. These districts are all different in attitude, style, and occupants. Please pay attention, as your dream home may be right where you don't think.
Necropyrgos: Technically a district but really not, Necropyrgos is home to the liches that keep Gravetown running to this day. The whole thing is one notoriously tall tower in the dead center of the city, and it can be seen from any point in Gravetown as long as you're above ground. There's a few houses around the tower, but these are exclusively for non-liches who work in the tower. The first floor is open to the public at all times, but above that is highly restricted.
Vania: Also called the "Dracula District" by some non-vampires in Gravetown, Vania is the home of the upper crust of society. While vampires more often than not live here, any form of undead can make their homes out of the small castles that dot this district, located in a circle around Necropyrgos. The place is what you'd expect from the top rung of the social ladder.
Undertown: You'd think that with its name, Undertown would be the underground district. Nope. Located in the city's northern reaches, Undertown is a sprawling ghetto. Most commonly inhabited by zombies, ghouls, and people who've got nowhere else to go, the law is loosely enforced here when it actually is. Odds are, your dream home is not here. Not a very friendly district.
Mortem Park: Located in Gravetown's southern reaches, Mortem Park is a district dedicated to some successful experiments of liches since past. Plants that resist Gravetown's natural miasma live here, but so do people. The primary residents of this part of town are dullahans, almost making it like a small town within the big city. There's also a very fine Irish pub here called Morgan's Mug. Dullahan-owned, of course. Altogether not a bad place, but the people in the Park look out for their own. Mess with one, and you'll answer to dozens.
Foggy Lake: Reaching toward Gravetown's western limits is Foggy Lake, a large lake that, as the name may subtly imply, is blanketed in a dense fog at all times. Some suspect that the "fog" is an extremely dense concentration of Gravetown's miasma, but there's no way to prove it. Regardless, incoporeal undead, such as ghosts or banshees, often make this foggy lake and the numerous tiny islands that dot it their home. Since people outside Foggy Lake don't come often because the fog makes travel very difficult, the residents are usually pretty happy to have visitors.
Yomi: A little slice of Oriental culture that ironically enough inhabits Gravetown's eastern areas, Yomi was given its name by the people that live there. From Chinese jiangshi to Japanese yuki-onna, the residents of this part of town are almost invariably undead who hail from Earth's eastern nations, and typically distrust outsiders. The culture of Yomi is, predictably enough, a melting pot of Chinese, Japanese, and other Oriental traditions.
The Crypt: If Undertown is the bottom of society, and Vania is the top, then The Crypt can be considered the vast middle range. With several exits into any given district, The Crypt is as broad as its residents. One could see it as the ideal neighborhood for anybody looking to live the suburban dream in their afterlife, with plenty of housing and widely varied shops and services. While any form of undead can be expected here, most mummies choose this area as their home, and as such make up a small majority.
Necropyrgos: Technically a district but really not, Necropyrgos is home to the liches that keep Gravetown running to this day. The whole thing is one notoriously tall tower in the dead center of the city, and it can be seen from any point in Gravetown as long as you're above ground. There's a few houses around the tower, but these are exclusively for non-liches who work in the tower. The first floor is open to the public at all times, but above that is highly restricted.
Vania: Also called the "Dracula District" by some non-vampires in Gravetown, Vania is the home of the upper crust of society. While vampires more often than not live here, any form of undead can make their homes out of the small castles that dot this district, located in a circle around Necropyrgos. The place is what you'd expect from the top rung of the social ladder.
Undertown: You'd think that with its name, Undertown would be the underground district. Nope. Located in the city's northern reaches, Undertown is a sprawling ghetto. Most commonly inhabited by zombies, ghouls, and people who've got nowhere else to go, the law is loosely enforced here when it actually is. Odds are, your dream home is not here. Not a very friendly district.
Mortem Park: Located in Gravetown's southern reaches, Mortem Park is a district dedicated to some successful experiments of liches since past. Plants that resist Gravetown's natural miasma live here, but so do people. The primary residents of this part of town are dullahans, almost making it like a small town within the big city. There's also a very fine Irish pub here called Morgan's Mug. Dullahan-owned, of course. Altogether not a bad place, but the people in the Park look out for their own. Mess with one, and you'll answer to dozens.
Foggy Lake: Reaching toward Gravetown's western limits is Foggy Lake, a large lake that, as the name may subtly imply, is blanketed in a dense fog at all times. Some suspect that the "fog" is an extremely dense concentration of Gravetown's miasma, but there's no way to prove it. Regardless, incoporeal undead, such as ghosts or banshees, often make this foggy lake and the numerous tiny islands that dot it their home. Since people outside Foggy Lake don't come often because the fog makes travel very difficult, the residents are usually pretty happy to have visitors.
Yomi: A little slice of Oriental culture that ironically enough inhabits Gravetown's eastern areas, Yomi was given its name by the people that live there. From Chinese jiangshi to Japanese yuki-onna, the residents of this part of town are almost invariably undead who hail from Earth's eastern nations, and typically distrust outsiders. The culture of Yomi is, predictably enough, a melting pot of Chinese, Japanese, and other Oriental traditions.
The Crypt: If Undertown is the bottom of society, and Vania is the top, then The Crypt can be considered the vast middle range. With several exits into any given district, The Crypt is as broad as its residents. One could see it as the ideal neighborhood for anybody looking to live the suburban dream in their afterlife, with plenty of housing and widely varied shops and services. While any form of undead can be expected here, most mummies choose this area as their home, and as such make up a small majority.
If it hasn't been brought up enough times yet, Gravetown is home exclusively to the undead. Listed here are all the forms of undead recorded as living here. Please note that just because a particular undead isn't listed here, it doesn't mean they don't live there. Just that there's no major record of them yet.
Skeleton: Artificially created by liches, skeletons live for one purpose only. To serve. They require no sustenance whatsoever, effectively enabling them to work indefinitely. If a skeleton's owner discharges them, they are sent out into Gravetown with a will and life of their own. Their personalities can vary infinitely, and they can be found in pretty much any part of Gravetown. However, the ones living in Vania or Necropyrgos pretty much always are in the service of a vampire or lich, respectively. They are proven to always be incapable of any form of magic.
Zombie: The stereotypical, slow-moving, hungry, dim-witted zombie. Their mindless behaviors and savagery shown in Earth's horror films were a bit of an exaggeration, of course, as zombies can and usually will prove to be quite friendly. This doesn't change the fact that they're still not the sharpest tools in the shed, nor does it change that a large percentage of them live in Undertown. Unfortunately, the dull mind of the zombie means he's incapable of magic.
Ghoul: Deemed by many to be a cousin or evolution of the zombie, the ghoul is sort of like the opposite of their dim-witted cousins. They're far faster and are about average for intelligence, but they can't take nearly as much abuse as a zombie ever could. Almost always found in Undertown, these guys hold themselves higher than zombies. Gangs in Undertown are statistically proven to be led by ghouls 95% of the time. Every once in a while, an especially smart ghoul may come around who can use magic, though what type is a guessing game.
Jiangshi: Whether they can be classified as zombies or vampires depends on who you ask. What matters is that jiangshi are stiff reanimated corpses from China, though how stiff they are is often exaggerated. While their arms may perpetually stick forward most of the time, their legs have some degree of flexibility. Their stiffness can be undone from rigorous dailey stretches, but it takes a few years to match up to the average denizen of Gravetown. They almost always live in Yomi, and have a bit of a reputation for distrusting non-jiangshi. Possibly because of how they were created, jiangshi have a natural proficiency for black magic.
Yuki-onna: Incoporeal residents of Yomi, yuki-onna are the beautiful ghosts of Japanese women who died in the snow. Their skin is white as snow, as are the kimonos they typically wear. The exact demeanor of a yuki-onna depends on their demeanor when they were human, and as such can be just about anything. Possibly because they are incoporeal, there are some yuki-onna who choose to live in Foggy Lake instead of Yomi. Yuki-onna are often more active during the winter months, and the buildings they reside or work in are known to be notoriously cold. Being able to control ice magic is one of the core traits of a yuki-onna.
Ghost: A ghost is just that. The bodiless spirit of somebody who passed away. Arguably the most widely-varied form of undead, a ghost can boast any sort of personality, have any degree of skill in any form of magic depending on their intelligence, have died in any way, and could have been anybody in their life. While the vast majority of ghosts live in the Foggy Lake district, they can be found just about anywhere in town.
Banshee: The spirit of a woman known for having some impressive lung power, a banshee is known for a few things. For starters, her infamous wailing is the mythological core of a banshee, but there's more to these ladies than that. Banshees are also known to be able to change their form to whatever suits them, but their typical purpose as messengers of death is kind of redundant in Gravetown. They're most commonly found in Foggy Lake, but it's not uncommon to find a few scattered around Mortem Park, either. They typically are capable of water magic.
Dullahan: The infamous harbingers of death from Ireland, these headless riders are a bit like one gigantic family. Word travels fast among the dullahan, and they're a very tight-knit community. They statistically live in Mortem Park 99% of the time, and are known to altogether own at least half the district. Possibly because they can't act as harbingers of death anymore, dullahans often love to fight, though they usually have a hard time keeping their heads attached. While rare, some dullahans are capable of varying forms of magic.
Mummy: The bandaged bodies of Egyptian leaders, many mummies are probably older than Gravetown itself. As such, they're extremely wise, though rare in town, most often living in The Crypt or Vania. While it's unknown how they reproduce, they seem capable of it somehow. Younger mummies, or ones born in Gravetown, seem to have bodies not as dried-out as others, and as such require less bandages on their bodies. Perhaps because the older ones are so old and wise, they seem to be a walking spellbook when magic becomes the topic. Ironically enough, they're also great doctors.
Vampire: Arguably the most notorious form of undead, the vampire's legends are far from obscure and rarely exaggerated. Capable of turning into a bat, extremely strong and swift, and sometimes powerful sorcerers, vampires are a proud race that always reside in Vania with some one-in-a-million exceptions. While the sun still proves a hazard to these haughty blood-suckers, they're still the top rung of Gravetown's society and when all added up, probably own about 90% of everything in town.
Lich: The leaders of Gravetown, liches are hands-down the rarest form of undead in town. Naturally masters of all forms of magic, they remain in the black iron walls of Necropyrgos at all times, leaving only to enforce law when the police are vastly overwhelmed. Short of this, very little is known about liches, as they almost never leave the tower, and remain in service as one of Gravetown's leading figures until he or she dies. It's said that there are never any more or less than thirteen liches in Necropyrgos, and that their death rate is only one every 500 years. Some rumors even say Gravetown's founder still remains among them.
Skeleton: Artificially created by liches, skeletons live for one purpose only. To serve. They require no sustenance whatsoever, effectively enabling them to work indefinitely. If a skeleton's owner discharges them, they are sent out into Gravetown with a will and life of their own. Their personalities can vary infinitely, and they can be found in pretty much any part of Gravetown. However, the ones living in Vania or Necropyrgos pretty much always are in the service of a vampire or lich, respectively. They are proven to always be incapable of any form of magic.
Zombie: The stereotypical, slow-moving, hungry, dim-witted zombie. Their mindless behaviors and savagery shown in Earth's horror films were a bit of an exaggeration, of course, as zombies can and usually will prove to be quite friendly. This doesn't change the fact that they're still not the sharpest tools in the shed, nor does it change that a large percentage of them live in Undertown. Unfortunately, the dull mind of the zombie means he's incapable of magic.
Ghoul: Deemed by many to be a cousin or evolution of the zombie, the ghoul is sort of like the opposite of their dim-witted cousins. They're far faster and are about average for intelligence, but they can't take nearly as much abuse as a zombie ever could. Almost always found in Undertown, these guys hold themselves higher than zombies. Gangs in Undertown are statistically proven to be led by ghouls 95% of the time. Every once in a while, an especially smart ghoul may come around who can use magic, though what type is a guessing game.
Jiangshi: Whether they can be classified as zombies or vampires depends on who you ask. What matters is that jiangshi are stiff reanimated corpses from China, though how stiff they are is often exaggerated. While their arms may perpetually stick forward most of the time, their legs have some degree of flexibility. Their stiffness can be undone from rigorous dailey stretches, but it takes a few years to match up to the average denizen of Gravetown. They almost always live in Yomi, and have a bit of a reputation for distrusting non-jiangshi. Possibly because of how they were created, jiangshi have a natural proficiency for black magic.
Yuki-onna: Incoporeal residents of Yomi, yuki-onna are the beautiful ghosts of Japanese women who died in the snow. Their skin is white as snow, as are the kimonos they typically wear. The exact demeanor of a yuki-onna depends on their demeanor when they were human, and as such can be just about anything. Possibly because they are incoporeal, there are some yuki-onna who choose to live in Foggy Lake instead of Yomi. Yuki-onna are often more active during the winter months, and the buildings they reside or work in are known to be notoriously cold. Being able to control ice magic is one of the core traits of a yuki-onna.
Ghost: A ghost is just that. The bodiless spirit of somebody who passed away. Arguably the most widely-varied form of undead, a ghost can boast any sort of personality, have any degree of skill in any form of magic depending on their intelligence, have died in any way, and could have been anybody in their life. While the vast majority of ghosts live in the Foggy Lake district, they can be found just about anywhere in town.
Banshee: The spirit of a woman known for having some impressive lung power, a banshee is known for a few things. For starters, her infamous wailing is the mythological core of a banshee, but there's more to these ladies than that. Banshees are also known to be able to change their form to whatever suits them, but their typical purpose as messengers of death is kind of redundant in Gravetown. They're most commonly found in Foggy Lake, but it's not uncommon to find a few scattered around Mortem Park, either. They typically are capable of water magic.
Dullahan: The infamous harbingers of death from Ireland, these headless riders are a bit like one gigantic family. Word travels fast among the dullahan, and they're a very tight-knit community. They statistically live in Mortem Park 99% of the time, and are known to altogether own at least half the district. Possibly because they can't act as harbingers of death anymore, dullahans often love to fight, though they usually have a hard time keeping their heads attached. While rare, some dullahans are capable of varying forms of magic.
Mummy: The bandaged bodies of Egyptian leaders, many mummies are probably older than Gravetown itself. As such, they're extremely wise, though rare in town, most often living in The Crypt or Vania. While it's unknown how they reproduce, they seem capable of it somehow. Younger mummies, or ones born in Gravetown, seem to have bodies not as dried-out as others, and as such require less bandages on their bodies. Perhaps because the older ones are so old and wise, they seem to be a walking spellbook when magic becomes the topic. Ironically enough, they're also great doctors.
Vampire: Arguably the most notorious form of undead, the vampire's legends are far from obscure and rarely exaggerated. Capable of turning into a bat, extremely strong and swift, and sometimes powerful sorcerers, vampires are a proud race that always reside in Vania with some one-in-a-million exceptions. While the sun still proves a hazard to these haughty blood-suckers, they're still the top rung of Gravetown's society and when all added up, probably own about 90% of everything in town.
Lich: The leaders of Gravetown, liches are hands-down the rarest form of undead in town. Naturally masters of all forms of magic, they remain in the black iron walls of Necropyrgos at all times, leaving only to enforce law when the police are vastly overwhelmed. Short of this, very little is known about liches, as they almost never leave the tower, and remain in service as one of Gravetown's leading figures until he or she dies. It's said that there are never any more or less than thirteen liches in Necropyrgos, and that their death rate is only one every 500 years. Some rumors even say Gravetown's founder still remains among them.
Accepted characters
Arlear - Rattle'von'clatter
UnendingEmpire - Natsumi Fujiyama
GreenGoat - Cornelia IV von Elzbern du Swarztheim
Raineh Daze - Kitty
BlueBravado - Trist Malis Bain
silavor - Zephias Cromwell
Cadvin - Khaemtir
Silyan - Caiomhe Keiri O'Dair
The Book Thief - Salem
Rin - Lin Mei
VitaVitaAR - Lin Wei
