gohKamikaze

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Drai @Eviledd1984 @Alisdragon911

A soft, golden glow slowly enveloped Hardwick's body as the healing magic slowly worked to mend his shattered bones and beaten organs. The sticky crimson trickle of blood ceased to flow from his mouth, and despite his unconscious state those that looked on noticed a slight flutter of his eyelids and several weak, shallow breaths in an irregular rhythm.

But it was the light coming from Hardwick that caught most of their attention. Streams of light ran across his body in grotesque, non-Euclidian patterns, the colours oscillating wildy between hues scarcely describable by conventional language. The rivulets of light seemed drawn to two symbols which recurred across his body: The first, a small image of what appeared to be a tree branch. The second was a warped, five pointed star containing the image of a human eye.

The healing glow began to falter, and the onlookers began to hear whispers, dark secrets of long dead cities and ancient, forgotten Gods from beyond the boundaries of space and time. The knowledge was maddening, yet the temptation to give into the whispers and to drink deeply from the font of forbidden, Eldritch Knowledge of was an incredible force almost too hard to ignore.

With a blinding burst, both healer and horror had their lights extinguished. Although now much further from the brink of Death, it seemed that holy magic would only take Hardwick's recovery so far; the rest of the journey would require the assistance of less magical means.

Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night (A Mixed-Genre RP about Dreamscapes)

@gohKamikaze

I'm interested.

@Crooked Vixen

Awesome, glad to have you on board!

I reckon if we get 2-3 others I'll post the thread and we can get started.

Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night (A Mixed-Genre RP about Dreamscapes)

@gohKamikaze

Even though I am still somewhat unfamiliar with everyone here, I am genuinely interested in this.

@The 4 Winds

Thanks man! It's alright if you don't know anyone around here; I'm still not exactly the most established of roleplayers on this site either, but that's always the best way to get to know people - by getting involved :)

Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night (A Mixed-Genre RP about Dreamscapes)

@gohKamikaze Such a cool concept. Interested. Question though, what's the time period in the real world?

@Growl

Thanks man!

The period will be modern-day, maybe ever so slightly in the future.

Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night (A Mixed-Genre RP about Dreamscapes)

Back in the day, I used to spend my time around the RP boards over at Planet Minecraft. While I participated in and helped create a lot of absolute garbage, there were a couple of rather successful concepts I managed to create and run for a fair period of time.

Through the use of powerful necromancy, I've decided to give a few of these a new lease on life. Without further ado, I present to you...

CARPE NOCTEM: SEIZE THE NIGHT

Welcome to Saxtonvale Maximum Security Prison, the harshest prison in the UK.

For crimes you may or may not have committed, you find yourself confined within its walls for essentially what is a life sentence. Every inmate is kept in solitary for a vast majority of their stay, and have no real contact with their fellow prisoners. Beatings from the sadistic and brutal guards are all too often, the food is barely enough to live off, and you have no contact with the outside world. You know you cannot win, you know there is no escape. The depressing monotony of your imprisonment crushes your soul and reduces you to a hollow shell of a human.

The only escape from the endless torment is sleep. In your dreams, you are free. You can be whoever, do whatever - and there are no guards to beat you, no four walls to hold you in. Every time you wake, you begin counting the hours until the lights go out and you can withdraw into your mind once more.

But recently, something strange has been happening. Although you still dream every night, it has been a strange series of dreams that are always disturbingly vivid and real. And with every night, you realize that in your dreams you are not alone...

'So, what is this roleplay about?'

As an inmate of Saxtonvale, you are pretty much hopeless and defenseless to begin with. As a guard, you are allowed free movement through the prison but are never allowed out of the walls - you signed up for a tour of duty, and as a result live in the prison. However please bear in mind the the RP WILL revolve around the prisoners, so I'd like to see prisoner applications. Guards will be denied if I think there's too many.

Every in-RP day, you will play your character in the prison. As an inmate, most of your time will be spent in solitary but you will be allowed to, on occasion, visit some of the recreational areas of the prison - library, pool, gym, etc. However the prison is heavily guarded, so there's no chance of escape... yet. As a guard, you will perform many guardly duties - patrolling wards, escorting prisoners, talking to the Warden, beating up inmates, etc.

However, every so often I will call 'lights out', and the real fun begins. Every night when both the day guards and the prisoners fall asleep, they are all transported to the same dream world. Although they don't realize it, everyone they meet is a member of the prison - both staff and prisoners. This dream setting will be a different one every 'night'; for example, one dream could be set in a fantasy world with orcs and wizards and knights, and the next could be set in a shopping mall. Every dream you will become a different character to suit the setting, with a different job/gear/looks/dream name/etc. When I call 'Breakfast time', your dreams will abruptly end and you will return to roleplaying as prisoners and guards until the next 'lights out'.

TL;DR, It's basically two RP's in one, with a whooooole lotta crossover.

If this sounds like it's your kind of thing, feel free to drop your name down below. Enough people, and I'll paste over the rules/character criteria along with an actual thread.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Alisdragon911 @Dark Light

The straw man went up in flames, writhing and screeching as its body turned to ash, the dry straw serving as ideal fuel for the hungering inferno that now consumed it. Hardwick heard Ayeka shout something about the fire at him, but it was faint and drowned out by the ever increasing ringing in his ears.

He stumbled out from behind the bar just as one of the other patrons managed to put out the last smouldering remains of the straw man. Hardwick looked down at the charred floorboards - already he could see the blackened marks shrinking and fading. The far wall had begun to mend itself too, the splintered timberwork reforming slowly, gradually erasing any trace that he'd had been thrown into it barely minutes before.

As the adrenaline began to calm, Hardwick became aware of just how much he hurt all over - the straw man's assault had taken its toll on his mortal body. He coughed violently. The ringing in his ears was a din mow, a fever-pitch of noise that drowned out all other sound. He coughed again, this time a concerning amount of blood flying from his mouth. His legs began to give way, and he gripped the bar to steady himself as his eyes widened and the world began to fade to black.

'D... Doctor....' came the bubbling gasp from his throat, now more blood than saliva. The world went black, and Hardwick crumpled to the floor, blood pooling from his mouth; not yet dead, but barely alive.

When revolvers ruled the West - A casual/low-advanced Western RP based on various Spaghetti Westerns etc.

@ONL So I totally forgot you were doing this until it was mentioned in the other thread. Got room for one more, or have I missed the bandwagon?

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Sorry my post was a little late guys, I've only been able to chip away at it a few minutes at a time for the past few days.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Dark Light

Darkness. Everywhere there should have been sensation, there was only darkness.

Occasionally there would be a moment where only the weakest imitation of the senses would gently fill the void - a blurry vision, a faded sound, a hint of pain - but like dreams, the more he tried to chase any particular thread the more they eluded him, dissipating into the void from whence they came.

Slowly, he began to piece the fleeting impressions together. He was in some sort of speakeasy - no, a tavern... There was... Screaming? Cries of some sort? Shadows morphing into figures - No, not just any figures, scarecrows! That's right, he was in the tavern when suddenly he was set upon by...

Oh, shit.

Hardwick opened his eyes. The straw man was standing over him, a terrible clawed hand rising back to prepare one last fatal strike. He struggled to move, but the pain and broken timbers atop him limited any attempt at escape to a weak and feeble writhing upon the floor.

But maybe I don't have to escape...

Hardwick stopped moving and glanced one last time at the creature's claw. Timing was key.

With a snarl, the straw man brought his claw down towards the detective. Hardwick used what little energy remained in his battered body to shift ever so slightly to thr right, and closed his eyes in anticipation.

The claw struck the wood, shattering most of it into thousands of tiny splinters and cleaving down through the pile to embedded itself in the floor. Had it been a second sooner, the beast would have pierced clean through Hardwick's chest but for now the claw sat barely an inch from his abdomen.

With the timbers no longer posing an issue, adrenaline surged through Hardwick's body. He scrambled from beneath the broken wood and crawled frantically behind the bar while the straw man desperately tried to tug it's claw free. Rows of strange bottles containing all mannner of liquor lined the shelves, many of which bore labels in languages that Hardwick couldn't decipher let alone recognise. Before too long he found his eyes drawn to one in particular, a familiar name printed in large letters upon the bottle: Sambuca.

He looked around. The dwarfish bartender from earlier was no-where to be found, nor was Ayeka. Beyond the safety of the bar, he could hear the little girl crying as two men (if you could call the first voice a man's) argued over whether or not she should be killed. The screaming of patrons and horrible rattling cries of the straw men were much dimmer here, and for the first time since the little girl showed up in the tavern Hardwick felt an odd sense of calm wash over him.

The serenity was short-lived. A huge claw placed itself on the bar and began dragging along the polished wood towards his hiding place. Hardwick picked up the Sambuca and weighed the bottle in his hands. It was relatively heavy - At some point it had been opened, but hardly any of it had been consumed. It would make a fine projectile, but he'd only have one chance to strike the straw man...

Strangely enough, there was a break in the bedlam. The screams fell silent, the growls faded away and the tavern fell strangely quiet. Even the horrible claw ceased its advance briefly. A voice called out, strange power accenting every word:

'Alright, it's getting late. Time for young children to go home.'

There was a brief shuffling of small, cloth-lined feet and the resounding *thunk* of the tavern door being closed, sealing their realm off from the nightmares that lay beyond. Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor as a man Hardwick had never seen walked behind the bar to fetch a bottle of wine and a glass. He glanced at Hardwick and regarded him with a nod and courteous smile before leaving, thick-soled shoes creaking on the tavern stairs as he ascended.

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity. Finally, Hardwick shakily got to his feet and looked out across the tavern, confused patrons and straw men alike looking at each other. The straw man in front of him turned slowly and let out a weak growl.

Hardwick sighed and grabbed a candle sitting atop the bar and used it to light the alcohol in the bottle. 'Oh Christ, just fuck off and give it a rest already' He said through gritted teeth, and hurled the still-burning bottle into the straw man, setting it alight.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Song Book @Dark Light

With the swiftness of a frightened housecat, Anna dove under a nearby table, her eyes darting fearfully across the room as the straw-bodied beasts advanced towards the patrons. Almost instinctively Hardwick pulled back his trenchcoat and drew his revolver from its holster, and with shaky hands swung it to point directly at the straw man bearing down on him. He breathed deeply. The creature regarded him with its grotesque painted face as his fingers squeezed down on the trigger.

*BANG*

The gunshot pierced through the screaming inside the tavern, and for a fleeting moment Hardwick's face was perfectly illuminated by the muzzle's flash - every worried crease given depth, every scar visible in perfect clarity, every tell-tale sign of a man who had been wearied by the horrors of the unknown unmistakable to all who looked on.

But the moment passed as quickly as it came, and any attention shifted to the smoking barrel of the gun and the reeling straw man, stunned by the hot lead that had slammed into its shoulder. The creature let out a raspy, guttural growl that reminded Hardwick of a cross between the rustle of dry wheat and a combine harvester. Slowly, it stood back up to its full, terrifying height and resumed its advance.

*BANG*

The second shot pierced the monster's chest, but other than a jerk from the impact there was no change to its terrible, methodical movements. Hardwick swore.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG click click*

'Son of a bitch!' Yelled Hardwick. No matter how many times he fired into the straw man, it refused to slow down - and as the last bullet left its chamber and embedded itself into the creature's leatherbound face, it finally caught up to him. With inhuman strength, the straw man picked him up and regarded him with those terrible, painted eyes one last time before hurling the detective across the tavern and into the opposite wall.