Emeth

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

Thanks. I'll look into it when I go on lunch.

What should an interest check do to convince you?

Honestly, not much. Half the work is done by other players. The first time I read the OP, I'm skimming for the most important information about the setting, then I'm heading straight for the approved character sheets. If the characters seem fun to interact with, I might join just for that. If the GM is approving overpowered characters with hilariously dumb backstories, that's a deal-breaker. Likewise, if the GM's own character gives me "main character" vibes, then they'd better be cooked to perfection. If the GM's character is basically godmodding in their own backstory, that's an instant nope. I am 100% reading everything in the character tab before I commit to pitching my own. Maybe that goes beyond the scope of the question being asked here, but I think it's an important part of how I decide if I'll play or not.

If the characters look good, I'll re-read the OP, looking for details I might have missed the first time. Primarily what I need are some consistent themes and tone to bounce off of. I like to make thematically designed characters, with appearance, personality, history and skills that make sense together. Uniquely original settings are great for this, but not required. Not every character in every story needs to grow and change, but I do like to include that, so if there's opportunity to create a character who's in over their head, that's also a plus for me. As long as I have a vague concept for a character in mind by the time I'm done reading, you probably have me.

Which leads into the other major thing I'm looking for: some kind of interesting conflict. I love a good dialogue between well-defined characters with different mindsets. Verbal sparring with precisely-chosen words dripping with subtext is the kind of thing that's hard to do if there's no kind of conflict going on. For me, the more complex the conflict, the better. I like it when characters with wildly different motivations can come together for something, though if that something is saving the world in some generic sense, I might pass. Sometimes, actually maybe a lot of the time, lower stakes and highly personal conflicts are just more interesting.

As for additional plot details... I don't mind if some aspects of an interest check are intentionally left vague to set up some kind of reveal later, but if it looks like the main thrust of the story won't be explained until well after the thread is underway, I probably won't sit through the opening fluff to find out if the GM actually has plans or is just making stuff up as they go. Other than that, not picky.

Setting is also a whatever. Worldbuilder's disease is a thing though. I'll read a good wall of text if it's written well and interests me, but that's a risk you're taking there. You could have the coolest setting on the forum but if nobody joins because TL;DR, it doesn't really matter. It's also a waste of a good setting if the characters, conflict and story are so boring that everybody quits. Easy 4th place for me.

After I read the OP and the character tab, I'm reading the rest of the thread. What the GM doesn't approve and why, and whether or not you agree with their decisions will tell you a lot about whether or not you'd enjoy their RP. It's all there if you look for it, and I don't think it's entirely unfair to draw reasonable expectations from it. I have a soft "rule of three" when it comes to the whole character design process. If I can't come up with an idea that I'm totally in love with after 3 cracks at it, or the GM shoots me down 3 times, I bow out. Likewise, if multiple people made characters that I liked and they all got shot down, I'll take my keyboard and go home, thanks.

I guess I could mention some 1x1 interest check specifics too. I read basically all of them—sometimes for my own sick amusement—but the ones I skim through most quickly are the ones with vague or done-to-death premises that demand smut up front, and/or give nothing but a list of pairing prompts and a list of kinks. I'm also a bit tougher on grammar when reading 1x1 threads. I've done a few good RPs with one or two players whose posts were basically an unintelligible mess, but I'm gonna need more than coffee to survive that if I only have one partner.

This post probably reads as more critical than I mean to be. I'll add a disclaimer that I'm not talking to or about anyone in particular. But I do think there's a lot of lurking going on here. It's "safer" to get sold on someone else's idea than to try and sell your own and be down in the dumps because nobody seems interested. So, to summarize all of this in a feel-good statement at the end, as long as your OoC is coherent and makes some kind of concrete promise about the kind of story you want to tell, and the characters you approve as GM are fun and interesting to play with, the actual A to B plot threads and micro level details of the setting don't actually matter to me that much.

Gods of the Multiverse

I was going to wait maybe another week before suggesting it, but yeah, there's clearly demand for this concept and I like all the characters here that got finished. If anyone here has had success GMing in the past, I'd defer to them, but if no one else volunteers I suppose I could be convinced to draft up something similar.

Emeth is in Too Many RPs (Indefinitely Closed)

Guess I'll bump when I hit page 2 and hope that's not annoying.

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

It's been a day, haha. In RPG time that's like, a few minutes.

I'm curious about your suggestions though.

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

Hm. HMM.

Okay, I really like Kali, but if you do end up deciding that deities are off limits, I did come up with another idea today that I could try.

Azazel, the Scapegoat. Take a more "bullied kid" approach to her backstory and personality. Can summon hands still, but only one or two. Could do something with the laying on of hands ritual (curses?) and summon chains of darkness to bind enemies and cause general havok. Sacrificial decoy dolls could also be a thing, to draw enemy fire (and maybe cast hexes? I like hexes).

It's a complete 180 in tone at this point but I like non-gloomy dark mages and can always do another.

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

Learning curves and power creep are fun. I'm down for either a temporary or permanent nerf if you think she needs one. I'll leave it up to you whether or not she's the Kali, or a clever impostor. Like I said, it doesn't matter to me where she ranks. I can play the hotshot newbie with an undeserved A rank, or the girl who hates demons more than anyone but got tricked into a contract with one. If it's worth anything, I like playing characters who make mistakes and take a lot of punishment instead of overpowering stuff, hence the wimpy first draft.

Would it be more appropriate for the department's attention to be drawn away by a Titan, then? I'd like her archenemy to be a Devil so she can at least fool herself into thinking she could take him alone. Her decision to hunt demons alone doesn't make much sense otherwise, I think.

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

Thanks for clarifying.

Federica Simonova

• Name: Federica Simonova (Nickname: Rika)
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
  
• Personality: Willingly embraces the "weird and loud" foreigner stereotype, making zero effort to hide her Russian accent. Breaks the ice with extreme prejudice, and lives to spite the concept of personal space. Has a heart as big as her presence, and smiles just as wide—but with an ego to match. Rika loves the spotlight, and relishes in the praise of her peers and the people. She lacks some sensitivity and doesn't quite know what to do with people who brood regularly. Puts her enemies down before putting them under: Sass 100. Has a strong sense of justice and difficulty holding her tongue about it. Morally grey, she is not—nor is she intimidated by authority; she could very easily butt heads with the pope. Firmly believes the old proverb that the fastest way to a person's heart is through the stomach. Loves giving food and receiving food, or better yet, recipes. Has a deep respect for anyone who isn't afraid to work up a sweat. A bit jaded about romance.
• Skills: A multi-talented mechanic. Played basketball and did judo in high school. Loves cooking and running (and when no one is looking, free-running). Trains with a "run, fight, run" regimen; has lots of stamina and endurance. Not very muscular, but deceptively strong for her size, thanks to her Shadow Contract.
• Contracted Shadow: Kali
• Contract Type: Possession
• Contract Rank: B
• Contract Ability - Rip and Tear: What better way to destroy a demon's soul than to just tear it out and crush it with your own hands?
  
  • Phantom Limbs: Arm-shaped protrusions of spiritual energy that have effectively replaced the use of her own limbs. She can comfortably use up to four; more can be summoned, but not without complications. The more that are summoned, the smaller and weaker they collectively get. A single, giant phantom limb is strong enough to easily pick up and throw cars, and a pair of hands can quickly create a protective barrier around herself and a small group of allies or civilians. Four of them are still strong enough to sweep away crowds of Beasts like detritus from the surface of a pool, and perhaps restrain a Monster or two. A pair of limbs out of a summoned ten can still flip cars and lift heavy objects like oil barrels with minimal difficulty. A single one is always enough to snatch a person out of harm's way. Phantom limbs can be severed at the joints and destroyed, but they grow back at a steady rate that shouldn't be underestimated.
  • Dark Mother's Instinct: A state of dulled emotion and heightened coordination that's required to allow for up to ten phantom limbs to be used. To conserve neural resources, the rest of Rika's body hangs limp from the phantom limbs like a doll on strings, left in a state not unlike sleep paralysis, only able to slightly move her mouth and glowing red eyes. Despite appearances, though, Rika is actually more in control of herself here—not less. It's not a "berserk mode." She still tries to avoid using it because of the creep factor, though. It also takes her a few seconds to grow the limbs out or regain control of her physical body when entering or exiting this state, so it has to be used wisely.
  • God Hand: A one-handed point-black punch technique that, when used at full power, can shatter concrete walls, bulletproof glass, and thin metal barricades in one shot, after a short charge. This, however, is the ideal, non-combat use case. The more phantom limbs she must use to restrain or swat away her enemies during a fight, the weaker the impact of the punch becomes. Conversely, the more allies she has around to keep them away for her, the better.
• Brief Backstory:
  Grew up in an under-served district of the city, populated mostly by foreigners like her. This is the cause attributed to the tragedy that took place there. A Devil appeared at the same time that a Titan was attacking a more populated area, and both were accompanied by scores of Beasts for minions—the local DDF simply didn't have the resources to manage both disasters, and gave it their all to stop the one. Many of Rika's friends and neighbors would die in the ensuing chaos. Rika used everything she had available to defend herself and her mother: a crowbar, the fire extinguisher—and a desperate gambit with a propane tank—but it was all very nearly useless. Her mother would barely survive and spend the rest of her life bound to a wheelchair. Rika herself was hospitalized, losing an arm to the propane explosion, partial movement of her other hand to nerve damage, and spent four days in a coma.
  
  

  ---

  
  During her slumber, many beings would visit her in her dreams, drawn by the desperate fury that still lingered in her mind, knowing that help had never come, and that Devil that had destroyed her life had gotten away with it. Believing falsely that she was at death's door, she would refuse them all; she wouldn't make a deal with a Devil. However, her heart was swayed when another being emerged from the darkness, shining like the moon, with the appearance and demeanor of divinity.
  
  "What are you? Another demon?" Rika asked skeptically, noting the extra pair of arms and blue-tinted skin.
  
  "Unto the feeble and the wicked, yea, a demon. To others, a god," the being replied with patient gentleness. "Your bloodlust burns bright like the morning stars. The demons see it, and are drawn to it, like the moth unto a flame."
  
  "But what are you?" Rika insisted.
  
  "Many things. I am the hand that guides and protects the weak and lost sheep—that pushes the strong to conquer and to subdue all. I am that which pierces the veil of the night sky, and guides the souls of the dead unto salvation. A being of creation, and destruction—to be abhorred and honored."
  
  "That's quite a resume," Rika quipped. "Come to take me to the next life? That might not be so bad..." she coughed.
  
  "You are not yet dead," the being continued, without missing a beat. "You, too, require a hand to guide you. I come bearing gifts that will help you on your journey."
  
  "Journey?" Rika scoffed. "I don't know what state my body is in right now, but I do know I'm in no shape to go anywhere."
  
  "Your fire has become unquenchable—your choice, inevitable. Now, choose," the being insisted. "A sword, to bring you the heads of your enemies. A rod of iron, with which to call judgment from the heavens. A crown, to turn the faces of all who behold your glory against your enemies. Choose only one," she warned, using her free hand to gesture to the other three.
  
  "Don't... think... you can trick me... so easily..." Rika responded, her breath ragged as she rose from the hospital bed inside her mind, and slowly staggered toward the self-proclaimed god. "Do you... even know... what I want..? ...This," she said, taking the being's remaining, empty hand. "That hand... which protects the lost sheep... all that. I want... that power... Hm..? How do ya like that..?" the mortal girl looked up at the radiant being with a grin, thinking herself rather clever.
  
  The spirit looked down at her coldly. With one swing of the sword, she severed Rika's hand. "It is done," she said simply.
  
  "Aargh! What?! What is?! What have you done?!" Rika screamed, on her knees and clutching her wrist in agony.
  
  "I have done as you asked: I, Kali, will be your hand. You will be my vessel," she replied coolly.
  
  "I didn't agree to be possessed!" Rika protested.
  
  "I never offered my hand," Kali countered coldly. "Yet, you do require one; therefore I pardon your insolence. Be honored, girl, that your spirit intrigues me such that I have allowed it. It is too late for regrets. The cast have assembled. The curtain rises, and the stage of time waits for none. Go."
  
  "You totally are... a demon, aren't you..?" Rika groaned as Kali disappeared in a haze of blue light. "Seriously..? Ugh... Screw you..." she exhaled, crumpling into a heap on the floor.
  
  ...
  
  "Aaughh!!"
  
  "In here! Someone get her back on the morphine!"
  
  "She's in shock!"
  
  "Quick, help me move her!"
  
  ...
  
  

  ---

  
  When next she woke up, Rika was immediately relieved to see that the hand Kali had severed was still there. However, she tried to move it, but couldn't quite get it to work. The feeble grasping motion she was able to do wasn't enough to confidently hold the nearby glass of water. Her other arm was gone from the elbow down. Her other arm, though, was able to lift the much-needed water to her lips.
  
  "Pffpptt!" Rika coughed, as the grogginess lifted and the whole "third arm" thing settled in her mind.
  
  Later that day, Rika would learn of the carnage left behind by the Devil—who died, and what happened to survivors like her—but she refused to be broken by the news. Unlike her mother, she could still walk—at least, that's how she thought at first. It would take months for her body to heal, and additional weeks of physical therapy before she could actually do it. She pushed through, with just one thing on her mind. "I'll kill them... I'll kill them all," she'd tell herself as she struggled, from hospital bed to shower and back again, relying on her phantom limbs only to save herself from falling, in the hopes of regaining the use of her legs as soon as possible. She refused a prosthetic arm, for the simple practical reason of not really needing one, and not wanting to have to remove and clean it all the time just to look a bit more "normal." She was a foreigner living in Japan; how "normal" could she be?
  
  The local DDF had been informed of her new abilities, and almost as soon as she was discharged from the hospital, they offered Rika a job with them—but she refused. Unwilling to trust the DDF, believing that their negligence was responsible for what happened to her life and community, she hunted demons on her own for a few years, looking for the Devil that destroyed her home. The understaffed local branch was, approximately, happy to have her unofficial assistance in covering the area, but the locals were divided. Some said her presence there was just one more reason why the DDF wouldn't come to help them, if such a thing ever happened again. Others saw her as a guardian angel, and preferable to the DDF. In the end, it hardly mattered. Her final solo mission was a botched job involving several Monsters that resulted in some significant damage to the district's infrastructure, and would have cost her life if the DDF hadn't shown up to save her from succumbing to her injuries after the fact. The DDF then offered her a choice: join them, and be trained properly, or be forced to stop. They might have tried tickling her ego a little when they said she was too valuable to lose, but regardless of their motive, it was nice to hear—and it was also nice to be a fresh recruit with some experience.
  
  She still hasn't found the Devil who killed her friends.

Federica MK. II, featuring:

• More Power
• More Backstory
• More Anime
• More(?) Arms
• And Knuckles

Hopefully, I'm getting warmer.

Shadow Contract: A Demon-Slaying Action RP

I have to say, a power boost is not what I expected. I expected her to be nerfed for soloing several monsters (and almost losing, but still). The descriptions are probably the culprit; I'll try expanding them after I get off work and see what you think. I did expect a request for more backstory and was hoping for a little help. I know that she doesn't want to make a contract with a demon. Does it have to be a real entity from history or can I just make one?

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