Yes fellow ultranerds, Shin Megami Tensei. For those unfamiliar with the premise of the original game, it's an amazing story (In my opinion, the best of any videogame) accompanied by deep, intense, and often hopelessly difficult gameplay. I'm going to use the story of this game with a few minor tweaks to make it easier on myself as a GM. For the purposes of this RP, any experience with this game or the rest of the series is completely unnecessary, but recommended for anyone with zsnes, a translated rom, and a lot of time to kill. If you do this, pay very close attention to the feeling of despair you have in the events just after recruiting the second party member. That messed up feeling of never feeling safe again lasts the rest of the game.
You know that feeling you get when you're excitedly awaiting other peoples' posts? My sadistic self would like to attach a little dread onto that excitement since the next round could be your last. To keep the suspense constant, I'd like a fast pace that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.
I got excited and wrote everything that would be in the first OOC post below. Criticisms are welcome!
Some people like the idea of a lawless city, some people would rather have a police state, everyone is trying to survive. Use whatever you have at your disposal to dig in, escape, start a rebel group, or even try to solve the mystery behind the insane behavior of the governments. The one limitation is that you can't be active military, police, or government (though you can be off-duty or a deserter).
It's not going to be a daily thing, but you can die. Read the rules to find out how.
Beyond the immediate threat of demons in the city, one can't help but think some far more powerful forces are at work...
You can play as a demon! Here's how:
Demons don't play by human rules, and can take literally any form you can think of from established mythology to something you just made up. They don't have shared social constructs like government, race, money, or honor. However, they are sentient and each play by their own rules. Some demons have no self-preservation instinct, some are cowards. Some welcome threats, some find any kindness offensive, yet others will only respond to being coerced by a gentle voice. To humans, demons basically make no sense, but they're each consistent among their own kind. Although they're hard to understand, they can be reasoned with and even talked into becoming allies to humans they feel are like themselves. Demons tend to be attracted to humans of a similar alignment. Since they're mostly unarmed, they tend to perish far more rapidly than humans (although they are soon replaced).
For example, a Fairy is slightly lawful and responds well to playfulness and gifts. They won't attack other fairies or anyone in the company of fairies, although they can be quite viscous otherwise. A person playing a fairy would attack humans in a deadly but lighthearted way, but would be a helpful support after some convincing. On the other hand, a highly lawful Warrior Spirit is offended by impudence or displays of weakness. It wants little more than to be respected as a horrifying threat, but will at best leave people alone rather than attacking them when given such respect. Why any of that? Who knows? You make up the rationale. You can even be intentionally inconsistent, no one will ever know.
Finally, demons that don't join with the group are going to be killed after three of their posts. They can die sooner if the person playing the demon wants, but after three posts of not being friends, they're toast. Any character that posts after a demon's third post can get the kill. For this reason, try to have a few different demons you'd like to be lined up. For people who like to experiment but get tired of failed characters quickly, this is my gift to you. This bit of info is also in the rules.
Name: Your character's name
Sex: M, F, some demons are genderless
Age: Your character's age, or “???”
Alignment: 1-10, 1 being the most chaotic and 10 being the most lawful. A pure chaotic is like Blackbeard: a lawless individual who didn't let stuff like morality get in the way of doing anything. A pure lawful is like Adolf Hitler: an individual who strives to use the law to create a completely uniform and efficient society. Chaotics don't like rules getting in their way, Lawfuls use rules to get their way. Most people are somewhere in the middle.
Type: If your character is human, put “Human” here. If your character is a demon, please specify the type (fairy, kappa, gnome, etc,). Also, all military are NPCs, though it's acceptable to be off-duty or a deserter.
Skills: Whatever you'd like, really; even magic (though you will have limited MP). All this will do is make the character more suitable to your play style. Nothing will make you safer.
Equipment: Whatever you'd like, really. All this will do is make the character more suitable to your play style. Nothing will make you safer.
Appearance: It's New Orleans, we have all types. Go crazy.
History/Personality: DON'T INCLUDE THIS SECTION. I only put this on the sample character sheet to emphasize that I don't want it on your character sheet. Any and all characterization or background should be done IC.
1. Don't be a dick, seriously. If it feels like you're being unfair, just don't do it. Controlling other peoples' characters, especially to make them easier to beat up, is pretty dickish.
2. Don't try to be invincible. That defeats the purpose of everything. The situation does leave plenty of flexibility though, as even James Bond would have trouble not getting disemboweled by a Naga. Be as badass or not as you'd like, nothing is going to make you safer.
3. If your character is killed, they're dead. Really dead. That's it for them. I'd really like for you to come back with a different character, though.
4. Always have a spare character handy for when you die.
5. Human players to be killed are determined at random through a Random Number Generator run by be. All humans get the first week for free. Before each week after the first starts, I'll RNG 1-7 to determine on what day of the week it will happen, and then RNG the number of characters to see who it will happen to. I'll put up the result on the OOC and that character can then be killed by anyone. I'll re-roll in case I get the same user twice, so if you get killed your new character has at least two weeks of life.
6. Sunday is fun day! If I get a 7, I'll RNG 1-7 again so that there will be two random human deaths that week. Whatever happens during the week, always be afraid of Sunday.
7. Demon players who don't join the humans can be killed by anyone after their third post. If they join the humans, they are upgraded to the Human roster of random vulnerability.
8. If a human character is alone and cornered by three enemy characters (The GM counts as one character for this purpose), they are dead. Think twice before becoming a loner and try not to get separated from the group.
9. If anyone feels like dying out of turn (to change characters or just be dramatic), PM me with a death you want, I'll come up with a cool death for you, or I can leave you up for grabs for the demon characters. Whichever you want.
10. When you post your character sheet, mention that it's “a good day to die” somewhere.
11. Anyone who is AWOL for three days is dead. (<<period) Don't worry, after two days I'll be thinking about how to kill your character in a really cool way. If you're free after that period please come back with your spare character.
You know that feeling you get when you're excitedly awaiting other peoples' posts? My sadistic self would like to attach a little dread onto that excitement since the next round could be your last. To keep the suspense constant, I'd like a fast pace that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.
I got excited and wrote everything that would be in the first OOC post below. Criticisms are welcome!
8:00am
Despite a few roadblocks set up to catch a Bourbon St. shooter on the run in the city since Friday night, It begins as any normal day in New Orleans. As a local would say, it's always been more of a well-run Caribbean city than a poorly-run American city. Despite the trash, the overgrown abandoned houses, the ruined roads, and one of the highest murder rates in the world, people are generally laid-back, accepting, and fun. It's Saturday morning, the perfect time to snag a cafe au lait, take a walk in City Park, or sit out on the porch and have a cold beer. It certainly looks like a typical day, the worst thing anyone expects being rain.
11:00am
Strange things are starting to happen. Rumors of insane shooters are creeping up in an unusual volume. Other rumors of man-eating creatures are more disturbing. In St. Roch, a young man opens fire on one of these mysterious things, only to have his throat torn from his neck seconds later. Similar incidents occur all over the city, claiming the lives of hundreds in mere minutes. People are starting to arm. Locals can find anything they're looking for in a few hours, from AK-47s to Uzis. Transplants have a bit more difficulty, but will likely be able to find pistols, shotguns, and hunting rifles. There are also trained swordsman in the French Quarter, never imagining they would use their skills for anything other than hobby or entertaining tourists.
12:00am
Rumors of the presence of demons is now generally considered fact
2:00pm
The Mayor declares a state of emergency in a disturbing fashion. He declares the secession of New Orleans from the United States, and welcomes the demons to purge outsiders and sort the weak from the strong. He delves into the history of the lawless identity of the city and promises a return to tradition of piracy and freedom. Many rally behind him.
2:30pm
In response to the crisis of both the demon invasion and the radical politics of the local government, the United States Federal Government sends special forces from each branch to end the chaos by any means necessary. Since the nuclear leveling of New Orleans is considered an option, a media blackout is instituted while the NSA creates hundreds of other stories to distract the public. Strangely, Congress begins to draw legislation to dissolve all local government entirely while strengthening domestic military presence. This national news is well received by many New Orleanians
3:00pm
With casualties mounting and violence increasing exponentially, the war for New Orleans officially begins. This is where our story begins. On the corner of Franklin and St. Claude between the Bywater and St. Roch neighborhoods, a random group of pedestrians, bikers, and drivers with rumors and politics on their minds witness their first demon attack in broad daylight. Some are prepared, some aren't. The story is yours from here.
Despite a few roadblocks set up to catch a Bourbon St. shooter on the run in the city since Friday night, It begins as any normal day in New Orleans. As a local would say, it's always been more of a well-run Caribbean city than a poorly-run American city. Despite the trash, the overgrown abandoned houses, the ruined roads, and one of the highest murder rates in the world, people are generally laid-back, accepting, and fun. It's Saturday morning, the perfect time to snag a cafe au lait, take a walk in City Park, or sit out on the porch and have a cold beer. It certainly looks like a typical day, the worst thing anyone expects being rain.
11:00am
Strange things are starting to happen. Rumors of insane shooters are creeping up in an unusual volume. Other rumors of man-eating creatures are more disturbing. In St. Roch, a young man opens fire on one of these mysterious things, only to have his throat torn from his neck seconds later. Similar incidents occur all over the city, claiming the lives of hundreds in mere minutes. People are starting to arm. Locals can find anything they're looking for in a few hours, from AK-47s to Uzis. Transplants have a bit more difficulty, but will likely be able to find pistols, shotguns, and hunting rifles. There are also trained swordsman in the French Quarter, never imagining they would use their skills for anything other than hobby or entertaining tourists.
12:00am
Rumors of the presence of demons is now generally considered fact
2:00pm
The Mayor declares a state of emergency in a disturbing fashion. He declares the secession of New Orleans from the United States, and welcomes the demons to purge outsiders and sort the weak from the strong. He delves into the history of the lawless identity of the city and promises a return to tradition of piracy and freedom. Many rally behind him.
2:30pm
In response to the crisis of both the demon invasion and the radical politics of the local government, the United States Federal Government sends special forces from each branch to end the chaos by any means necessary. Since the nuclear leveling of New Orleans is considered an option, a media blackout is instituted while the NSA creates hundreds of other stories to distract the public. Strangely, Congress begins to draw legislation to dissolve all local government entirely while strengthening domestic military presence. This national news is well received by many New Orleanians
3:00pm
With casualties mounting and violence increasing exponentially, the war for New Orleans officially begins. This is where our story begins. On the corner of Franklin and St. Claude between the Bywater and St. Roch neighborhoods, a random group of pedestrians, bikers, and drivers with rumors and politics on their minds witness their first demon attack in broad daylight. Some are prepared, some aren't. The story is yours from here.
Some people like the idea of a lawless city, some people would rather have a police state, everyone is trying to survive. Use whatever you have at your disposal to dig in, escape, start a rebel group, or even try to solve the mystery behind the insane behavior of the governments. The one limitation is that you can't be active military, police, or government (though you can be off-duty or a deserter).
It's not going to be a daily thing, but you can die. Read the rules to find out how.
Beyond the immediate threat of demons in the city, one can't help but think some far more powerful forces are at work...
You can play as a demon! Here's how:
Demons don't play by human rules, and can take literally any form you can think of from established mythology to something you just made up. They don't have shared social constructs like government, race, money, or honor. However, they are sentient and each play by their own rules. Some demons have no self-preservation instinct, some are cowards. Some welcome threats, some find any kindness offensive, yet others will only respond to being coerced by a gentle voice. To humans, demons basically make no sense, but they're each consistent among their own kind. Although they're hard to understand, they can be reasoned with and even talked into becoming allies to humans they feel are like themselves. Demons tend to be attracted to humans of a similar alignment. Since they're mostly unarmed, they tend to perish far more rapidly than humans (although they are soon replaced).
For example, a Fairy is slightly lawful and responds well to playfulness and gifts. They won't attack other fairies or anyone in the company of fairies, although they can be quite viscous otherwise. A person playing a fairy would attack humans in a deadly but lighthearted way, but would be a helpful support after some convincing. On the other hand, a highly lawful Warrior Spirit is offended by impudence or displays of weakness. It wants little more than to be respected as a horrifying threat, but will at best leave people alone rather than attacking them when given such respect. Why any of that? Who knows? You make up the rationale. You can even be intentionally inconsistent, no one will ever know.
Finally, demons that don't join with the group are going to be killed after three of their posts. They can die sooner if the person playing the demon wants, but after three posts of not being friends, they're toast. Any character that posts after a demon's third post can get the kill. For this reason, try to have a few different demons you'd like to be lined up. For people who like to experiment but get tired of failed characters quickly, this is my gift to you. This bit of info is also in the rules.
Name: Your character's name
Sex: M, F, some demons are genderless
Age: Your character's age, or “???”
Alignment: 1-10, 1 being the most chaotic and 10 being the most lawful. A pure chaotic is like Blackbeard: a lawless individual who didn't let stuff like morality get in the way of doing anything. A pure lawful is like Adolf Hitler: an individual who strives to use the law to create a completely uniform and efficient society. Chaotics don't like rules getting in their way, Lawfuls use rules to get their way. Most people are somewhere in the middle.
Type: If your character is human, put “Human” here. If your character is a demon, please specify the type (fairy, kappa, gnome, etc,). Also, all military are NPCs, though it's acceptable to be off-duty or a deserter.
Skills: Whatever you'd like, really; even magic (though you will have limited MP). All this will do is make the character more suitable to your play style. Nothing will make you safer.
Equipment: Whatever you'd like, really. All this will do is make the character more suitable to your play style. Nothing will make you safer.
Appearance: It's New Orleans, we have all types. Go crazy.
History/Personality: DON'T INCLUDE THIS SECTION. I only put this on the sample character sheet to emphasize that I don't want it on your character sheet. Any and all characterization or background should be done IC.
1. Don't be a dick, seriously. If it feels like you're being unfair, just don't do it. Controlling other peoples' characters, especially to make them easier to beat up, is pretty dickish.
2. Don't try to be invincible. That defeats the purpose of everything. The situation does leave plenty of flexibility though, as even James Bond would have trouble not getting disemboweled by a Naga. Be as badass or not as you'd like, nothing is going to make you safer.
3. If your character is killed, they're dead. Really dead. That's it for them. I'd really like for you to come back with a different character, though.
4. Always have a spare character handy for when you die.
5. Human players to be killed are determined at random through a Random Number Generator run by be. All humans get the first week for free. Before each week after the first starts, I'll RNG 1-7 to determine on what day of the week it will happen, and then RNG the number of characters to see who it will happen to. I'll put up the result on the OOC and that character can then be killed by anyone. I'll re-roll in case I get the same user twice, so if you get killed your new character has at least two weeks of life.
6. Sunday is fun day! If I get a 7, I'll RNG 1-7 again so that there will be two random human deaths that week. Whatever happens during the week, always be afraid of Sunday.
7. Demon players who don't join the humans can be killed by anyone after their third post. If they join the humans, they are upgraded to the Human roster of random vulnerability.
8. If a human character is alone and cornered by three enemy characters (The GM counts as one character for this purpose), they are dead. Think twice before becoming a loner and try not to get separated from the group.
9. If anyone feels like dying out of turn (to change characters or just be dramatic), PM me with a death you want, I'll come up with a cool death for you, or I can leave you up for grabs for the demon characters. Whichever you want.
10. When you post your character sheet, mention that it's “a good day to die” somewhere.
11. Anyone who is AWOL for three days is dead. (<<period) Don't worry, after two days I'll be thinking about how to kill your character in a really cool way. If you're free after that period please come back with your spare character.