Check this out, it's an idea I've had for a while but kinda stalled on -
One prominent lone wolf
Object that has to be found - Artifact
Religious fanatics - Different sect that tracks the Gangsters, they send out one man, a notorious one who's sole directive is to kill all of the voodoo worshipers and all black magic users.
Underworld seedy Gangsters - Voodoo fanatics that are not affiliated with the Shaman but recognize the magic and so embark on a mission to capture the 4 people chosen in an attempt to find the shaman
Magic
Strange powers
chosen for a reason -
Witch doctor/Aztec shaman takes 4 peoples souls and uses them as his puppets to fight another evil that has taken something from him.
He says that he had gained a lot of power, so much that the ancients took notice. A lot of his power was stuck inside an object that he had created and that in an attempt to drop him down a couple of rungs on the ladder, one of these 'ancients' took it from him. He gives the last of his power to these 4 souls hoping that they will be able to fight on his behalf better than he could on his own.
The big finale ends in the realization that this shaman was the original thief, taking the mystical artifact from the ancients who in turn took it back by force. Knowing that he could not contend with them and knowing that ever since they had kept an eye on him he had to resort to his devious plan.
Each person gains a power
These 'ancients' are not physical, they exist on another plain but their power is such that they can influence events and create puppets of their own in the physical world. They create monsters to tackle the people that try to take the artifact
It begins with each of the 4 people being abducted by the shaman and waking up in a strange place. The Shaman greets them and tells them of his plight in turn offering them their wildest dreams if they can accomplish what he could not. After they accept he imbues them all with separate powers and asks them be it together or alone he wants the artifact.
The 4 go out in search of this artifact after being given a lead by the Shaman (Possible inclusion of a power that can track). They were all warned that they will not be allowed to take it freely and will have to deal with the ancients and their horrific machinations. People can become possessed by these 'ancients' and after a while begin to become very sick until they are almost rotting and dead they can transform into horrific creatures that will be very difficult to defeat.
After witnessing one of these 4 use their powers, a young boy alerts his elders. A seedy gang of Africans they are no strangers to Voodoo and the powers affiliated with it. Asking their witch doctors they are told that these 4 must be captured.
Whilst on the trail of the artifact the 4 (Possibly with one lone wolf) are set upon by the gang members who manage to capture one of them. Told that he/she will be mutilated and cut-up so the witch doctor can physically eat them (To gain their power) they too are ambushed by an unknown man. This man is terrifyingly good at killing and dispatches multiple gangsters easily. Picking up the cursed he lets them go thinking that they were just another helpless victim and not realizing that they were in fact cursed. Noticing crosses and multiple other religious symbols he/she assumes he is a holy man, thanking him before he/she leaves.
The 4 are back on the trail of the artifact and are attacked by more creatures of the ancients learning more about said artifact, where it could be hidden and what it will take to get it. All the while being hunted by the gang.
In one particular confrontation the gang is attacking the 4 before the holy man turns up as again. recognizing the person he had already saved once from the gang his interest is now peaked. He helps the 4 fight of the gang members but before he leaves he asks them why they are being hunted by the gang, they tell him the truth that the witch doctor who leads them wishes to eat them for their power. The holy man is taken a back and whilst holding his weapon ever more tightly asks them 'what power?' Sensing imminent danger the 4 run away, the holy man does not chase them but shouts his intent to kill each of them if they truly use the black magic associated with the witch doctor.
Now caught between the holy man, a gang of cannibalistic gangsters and the monstrosities of the ancients the group have no way other than to work together, find the artifact and end the hellish scenario they find themselves in.
EDIT: I've also been holding onto this for a while but never really worked out the kinks and I wanted to change a few things, see what you think - It's large though, sorry about that.
I know this is a massive wall of text and I completely understand the tedium of reading everything when your not in the mood, don't worry about it I suggest you read the 'intro' section and the 'Plot' section which will limit your reading a lot whilst telling you almost everything you need to know :D
"It was predicted a long time ago, that religion would lose the eternal struggle with science and we would all be better for it. How naive man was in those dark days. The closer we came to mastering the powers of god the more we craved his title. Scientists became fanatical, obsessed with their study into the finer details of physics, biology and chemistry. The old label of magic would not be wrongly applied, in appearance at least, to the modern advancements of technology. Many devoted themselves to this end and many perished from memory, of course there were those few that managed some notoriety in their fields, but of course there was one who led the pack.
His true name was never revealed but he is referred to as Panax. Far exceeding the capabilities of the Einsteins and Hawkings of past ages this mans intellect was unparalleled and has never since been surpassed. This lone man has come closest to the title of god and he has not let the opportunity pass him by. His peers and challengers were amazed by his advancements and in their insignificance opted for devotion rather than suffering in his wake, they realised there was no one who could match his mind and after his years of experiments his body would match his genius. It was not entirely of his own fruition when the Church was founded in his name, although the idea of a church to hail a man of science was alien, Panax did nothing to prevent its inception and implementation.
It is now 2361 AD, 247 years since the Church came to power and humanity has fallen from it's lofty ambition of old and now grapple with constant crime and the struggle of survival. Throughout the upper echelons of the church order wealth and power is commonplace as the rest of humanity was left to fend for themselves.
Almost ninety percent of the earths landmass is now covered in sprawling city slums that spew thick black fog across a once blue sky. The beauty Earth once held dulled over decades, no tropical islands and no pure transparent lakes or oceans. Everything has been adopted a monotone grey visage. However pollution, whilst rife, has become a worry of the past as gigantic terraforming machines often built into the sides of mountains constantly filter the atmosphere of all the poisons that fill it."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Intro----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello! This is an RP I've had in and around my mind for probably a few months by now. It's designed to be a very gritty and dark RP with a central plot surrounding Panax and his 'Church of Science' in this Sci-Fi RP. The setting will be something not unlike Warhammer 40k in which we will be in a sprawling hive city mostly comprised of slums. How it differs however is in the Galaxy wide strife, the RP will be sticking to Earth (With possible extension to the moon at some point) and aliens are not a part of it. Although there will be possible options to play a less than human character in the format of a ' Miscreation'. In the hundreds of years that the Church of Panax has been in power many scientists have taken to splicing species together with the inclusion of humans.
I'm aiming for this to be a High-casual style RP and whilst I don't mind the quantity you write (In fact I'm in favor of smaller 2-4 paragraph posts) I much prefer quality, so please keep this in mind. As for the rules of the RP I'm going to leave it to your common sense, just don't do anything silly or mess with anyone's character unless it's planned or agreed upon.
I'm looking at having 4-5 players for this RP as I dislike really big groups as it's unwieldy however I want some variation and for everyone to have someone else to interact with all the time.
P.S Please don't steal this idea or taking parts from it without at least asking me first, I'm planning on building this into something big be it on here with others or on my own over a long period of time.
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So, into the meat of the RP. The Church that has been outlined in the opening rules all and rules strictly. Whilst they do not care for the many underhanded goings on of the slums and it's unfortunate people if there are even whispers of you stepping on their toes they will quickly move to silence you. Panax, the pseudo-god of this RP will never actually come out of his hiding and whilst he might delegate orders etc it's unlikely although not impossible depending how this goes that he will be called into action. The Church has 'Clerics' which are essentially Henchmen with the right to do what they like, they will be the main opponent of the RP and they have no problems hiring out thugs to make your lives more difficult.
If you manage to make a big fuss then Panax has seven particularly nasty baddies dubbed the 'Revenant'. Seven beings that are rarely unleashed but still have a horrific reputation and are generally the heralds of Doom. Anyone to have even seen one let alone targeted by one has lived, if they are ever released it's not unheard of for people to evacuate entire city sectors to avoid them.
Now to what we will be doing! I firmly believe in a linear RP with a strong story line that will bond all our characters together. Sandbox RP's can be really cool and it really lets your let loose with creativity but in my experience this ends in people doing their own thing and rapidly becoming bored with nothing to do. I don't want to scare people away but if you are the type of person who likes the weird and quirky and you don't like to restrict your options to much this might not be the RP for you.
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Now with that out of the way, you will be playing a group of individuals who have a particular aversion to the Church and it's ideals. In contrast to the Church of Panax, which is born of science, you will all be partaking in a new underground Church that has reverted to the classic definition of the word as you worship a new God. the RP will center around this group and their resistance to Panax and try to raise the population in a rebellion under the banner of this new God.
This new god, named Kamouraska, will bestow some powers on your characters which will allow them to fight off the forces of the Church. Having said that you will have to be incredibly wary of using these powers because if you are caught or seen using them the Church will begin a witch hunt and you will be hunted until dead, so it is your choice when you choose to reveal your powers and it's up to you to hide your true ideals.
This will be a difficult RP in the sense that I'm not going to go easy on you, much like a tabletop game I'm going to be the GM and I will be throwing up roadblocks and the like for your characters whilst pointing them in the right direction through the use of an NPC whose involvement will most likely fluctuate between being said NPC and possibly my own character in the RP.
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Kalas