HeySeuss

The Hidden People [Fantasy/Modern]

Rusty the Werewolf Alpha

Name: Rusty "Streak" McKenzie
Description of Character Concept: Rusty is the current reigning Werewolf Alpha and president of Wild Hunt MC, an outlaw motorcycle club. While he might be a threat to the order, if he were more motivated, he is a bit of a hedonist and easily distracted from leading the prophecized (among werewolves, anyway) werewolf revolution. Also, why "Streak?" Because Rusty has been known to ride past gatherings of church ladies in the total buff when given enough unidentified and enthusiastically swallowed drugs.

...yes, and: Rusty was essentially working as a mercenary for Count Caradoc de Lacy, who promised him a place to settle in New Camden with his club if he helped put down the old mummy. He and Caradoc went back to the 1960's when Caradoc was one of the first Counts to realize that Rusty was easy so long as you let him make some dough to fund the party lifestyle and didn't take the Werewolf Revolution rhetoric too seriously. Rusty only had a couple of packmates with him, but signed on. Rusty, used to fighting other supernaturals, dealing with prancing vampires claiming lordship and aristocratic sorcerers claiming divine right to rule such and such a city, was all too happy to get into a scrap with some dusty old corpse essentially commanding everyone to kneel. Unfortunately, he drastically underestimated Nemsemet, things ended badly, and now Rusty is regretting that he ever got involved. The rest of the club is all over the place, and nowhere near New Camden. He now has first hand knowledge of what a horror Nemsemet is.

Lore Stubs

Name: The Museum of Outsider Art
Type: Location
Info: Everyone in the supernatural community knows that this avante garde museum of all sorts of unusual abstract/industrial art is sitting on a ley line. Ever seen a demon take form from the world's largest ball of bras? That happened once. The place is decorated like Graceland, as an homage to the schlocky, 1950's culture that New Camden considers 'authentic.' Aficionados love the coffee shop as, for some reason, the remains of the demon's presence infuse the beans, which are artisanally roasted on site. The curator is Sarah Calvert Rabinowicz, known for her avant-garde approach to art and museum curating. Also a pretty capable self-taught exorcist.

The Hidden People [Fantasy/Modern]

OOC up: Click here to find.

The Hidden People [Fantasy/Modern]

_{I like this art enough that I was like, "That's gotta be Nemsemet."}

Instructions

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• Post your character sheet here (so I can approve it) using the template provided below.
• Please do not post anything else here, all questions and comments should go to the OOC tab.
• Please put each character sheet and lore stub (see below) in hiders on the same post. Please update this post and do not add new posts.

Character Sheet

Character Sheet

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Name:
Description of Character Concept: (Two, three sentences needed on who the character is. For example, "Pathologically inquisitive dragon plutocrat running stock brokerage, investment bank and huge vault full of treasure under city" kind of sums up what we have in terms of where they fit in.)

Yes, and:

This is a character exercise for how our characters know each other and relate a bit. See the OOC thread for more details. You can put "TBD" here for now, but you need to read the sheets above and add to the story the first person starts. If you are the first person posting, you get to explain your character's relationship to Caradoc de Lacy or another member of the court through a specific event that befell your character.

Lore Stubs

Lore Stubs

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Type: Such as, but not limited to: Place, Person, Organization, Religion, Species, Historical Event
Information (Brief): Three or so sentences; what it is and how it is relevant.

The Hidden People [Fantasy/Modern]

_{I like this art enough that I was like, "That's gotta be Nemsemet."}

TL;DR Summary

---

• Discord Chat FOR GREAT BRAINSTORMING, right Boo?
• I put on the 18+ tag because this RP was attempted two and six years ago, and it involved a lot of drug use and descriptions of fairly graphic violence.
• Very brief system for creating character concepts and also for adding briefly described items of lore for the setting.
• Modern Fantasy; the supernatural exists, but hides itself from the mundane realm.
• Set in the fictional city of New Camden, Northeastern United States in August of 1987.
• New Camden's magical community, including vampires, monsters and a variety of other things, are ruled by a Court, and its current head is the Count Caradoc de Lacy of New Camden, along with his Lord's Council of representatives of the largest communities within New Camden.
• Lord's Council representation includes the undead, goblins, and shapeshifters, others to be determined.
• Across the world, no one's particularly in love with the Courts; all supernaturals are taxed, but some find it easier to pay than others. The inequities of the system, which range from currency payment to service to the Lord or their designees, create tensions; some benefit, some suffer under the pecularities of the system. All the same, the primary raison d'etre of the Courts is to keep humans in the dark, an agreement that survival is based on secrecy.
• All the leaders were wiped out by an ancient warlock, an evil that has taken over the city with an army of supporters; some summoned, others recruited from those who felt discontent with the status quo ante.
• Now the mortals are the targets of a new order that wants to come out of the shadows and rule. And this new order has a seemingly invincible leader.
• The characters, from a variety of different backgrounds as magic users/supernatural beings, are fighting against this, and probably against some mortals too.
• If you like adapting fairy tales and mythology to modern day settings and helping with lore creation/setting building, this is an RP for you.

In Character Info

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Like many cities across the US, New Camden, when established, soon attracted a supernatural population that followed the mortal one; feeding off them, living among them, concealing themselves from them. But they were always kept in check and in line by the Concealment Edict, which was enforced ruthlessly by an alliance of vampire elders, wizards and others that had survived the purges of the Inquisition. And it was the Concealment Edict that established courts within the cities to see to it that the supernatural population hid themselves. Some could move about in plain sight, others were essentially banished to the sewers or whatever other hole they could find.

This system also imposed an onerous degree of servitude upon the members of the community; they paid taxes up to this system in a variety of forms, either by paying money up to the Court or through indentured servitude. Some beings are able to put their talents to use and quickly accumulate wealth, which makes payment of the taxes easy. Others struggle in the modern world, forced to hide or otherwise unable to accumulate much in the way of wealth to pay the tithe. The latter end up as indentured servants in this system, creating a hierarchy of haves and have nots.

Until only couple days ago, the system functioned. However, a New Camden Museum of History exhibit that included an ancient Egyptian mummy arrived in town. A young mage that was studying the exhibit attempted, unwisely, a spell on the artifact, and the mummy, unknown to mortals and the magic community alike, revived, fueled by that magical energy (and siphoning the rest of the life energy off that hapless young mage.) He claimed to be Nemsemet the Terrible, and demonstrated powers of the sort only heard about in legend...only, there is very little to be gleaned about Nemsemet without digging – his name seems to have been deliberately eradicated from the histories.

Nemsemet quickly eradicated the Count Caradoc and his advisors, those who stood with him anyway, and proclaimed himself ruler of the city – not simply ruler of the city's underworld of supernatural beings, but its ruler entirely. It would seem a pompous claim, except for the way the sorcerer quickly eradicated those that faced him in open combat; many on one and he was still standing and practically unscathed.

In any case, Nemsemet quickly proceeded to rally many of the city's various undead into his cause, to take over the city and rule its mortals directly, unsubtly. Others, besides the undead, have joined him for a variety of reasons. Those that do not join his, at least for now, shadowy war against mortal government and institutions are considered foes and the ancient tyrant's minions are purging those individuals.

It is, perhaps, a hopeless battle, but there are a few willing to do what they can.

Out of Character Info

---

The RP is essentially about a shadowy war in the city streets that can easily become a terrible out and out war as the supernatural elements of the city. The characters don't merely have to discover how they can kill Nemsemet, and that's a tall order in and of itself, but they have to make some very hard decisions about who to save and when and where to fight.

The characters may well have reasons to not lament Caradoc de Lacy, but if they're in this group, they're at least somewhat aligned with those that do not agree with Nemsemet. As he is a brutal tyrant that uses raw power to eradicate foes, it's entirely possible that your character's motivation is revenge. Your character may also be part of the courts of another city, investigating the very disturbing rumors and phenomena present in New Camden.

Characters can be a variety of different types of supernatural being, so I am encouraging a degree of creativity. Lycanthropes, vampires, other undead, a variety of faeries, spirits and generally 'supernatural' types of beings (including half-angels or half-demons; come to think of it half-a lot of stuff... :) ) These factions all exist and individuals within these factions may well have their reasons to rally against Nemsemet...or to. It works both ways. Where there is civilizations, there are protectors of the status quo who benefit, and people who want to overturn it, who stand to benefit.

The Hidden People [Fantasy/Modern]

_{I like this art enough that I was like, "That's gotta be Nemsemet."}

TL;DR Summary

---

• Discord Chat FOR GREAT BRAINSTORMING, right Boo?
• I put on the 18+ tag because this RP was attempted two and six years ago, and it involved a lot of drug use and descriptions of fairly graphic violence.
• Modern Fantasy; the supernatural exists, but hides itself from the mundane realm.
• Set in the fictional city of New Camden, Northeastern United States in August of 1987.
• New Camden's magical community, including vampires, monsters and a variety of other things, are ruled by a Court, and its current head is the Count Caradoc de Lacy of New Camden, along with his Lord's Council of representatives of the largest communities within New Camden.
• Lord's Council representation includes the undead, goblins, and shapeshifters, others to be determined.
• Across the world, no one's particularly in love with the Courts; all supernaturals are taxed, but some find it easier to pay than others. The inequities of the system, which range from currency payment to service to the Lord or their designees, create tensions; some benefit, some suffer under the pecularities of the system. All the same, the primary raison d'etre of the Courts is to keep humans in the dark, an agreement that survival is based on secrecy.
• All the leaders were wiped out by an ancient warlock, an evil that has taken over the city with an army of supporters; some summoned, others recruited from those who felt discontent with the status quo ante.
• Now the mortals are the targets of a new order that wants to come out of the shadows and rule. And this new order has a seemingly invincible leader.
• The characters, from a variety of different backgrounds as magic users/supernatural beings, are fighting against this, and probably against some mortals too.
• If you like adapting fairy tales and mythology to modern day settings and helping with lore creation/setting building, this is an RP for you.

In Character Info

---

Like many cities across the US, New Camden, when established, soon attracted a supernatural population that followed the mortal one; feeding off them, living among them, concealing themselves from them. But they were always kept in check and in line by the Concealment Edict, which was enforced ruthlessly by an alliance of vampire elders, wizards and others that had survived the purges of the Inquisition. And it was the Concealment Edict that established courts within the cities to see to it that the supernatural population hid themselves. Some could move about in plain sight, others were essentially banished to the sewers or whatever other hole they could find.

This system also imposed an onerous degree of servitude upon the members of the community; they paid taxes up to this system in a variety of forms, either by paying money up to the Court or through indentured servitude. Some beings are able to put their talents to use and quickly accumulate wealth, which makes payment of the taxes easy. Others struggle in the modern world, forced to hide or otherwise unable to accumulate much in the way of wealth to pay the tithe. The latter end up as indentured servants in this system, creating a hierarchy of haves and have nots.

Until only couple days ago, the system functioned. However, a New Camden Museum of History exhibit that included an ancient Egyptian mummy arrived in town. A young mage that was studying the exhibit attempted, unwisely, a spell on the artifact, and the mummy, unknown to mortals and the magic community alike, revived, fueled by that magical energy (and siphoning the rest of the life energy off that hapless young mage.) He claimed to be Nemsemet the Terrible, and demonstrated powers of the sort only heard about in legend...only, there is very little to be gleaned about Nemsemet without digging – his name seems to have been deliberately eradicated from the histories.

Nemsemet quickly eradicated the Count Caradoc and his advisors, those who stood with him anyway, and proclaimed himself ruler of the city – not simply ruler of the city's underworld of supernatural beings, but its ruler entirely. It would seem a pompous claim, except for the way the sorcerer quickly eradicated those that faced him in open combat; many on one and he was still standing and practically unscathed.

In any case, Nemsemet quickly proceeded to rally many of the city's various undead into his cause, to take over the city and rule its mortals directly, unsubtly. Others, besides the undead, have joined him for a variety of reasons. Those that do not join his, at least for now, shadowy war against mortal government and institutions are considered foes and the ancient tyrant's minions are purging those individuals.

It is, perhaps, a hopeless battle, but there are a few willing to do what they can.

Out of Character Info

---

The RP is essentially about a shadowy war in the city streets that can easily become a terrible out and out war as the supernatural elements of the city. The characters don't merely have to discover how they can kill Nemsemet, and that's a tall order in and of itself, but they have to make some very hard decisions about who to save and when and where to fight.

The characters may well have reasons to not lament Caradoc de Lacy, but if they're in this group, they're at least somewhat aligned with those that do not agree with Nemsemet. As he is a brutal tyrant that uses raw power to eradicate foes, it's entirely possible that your character's motivation is revenge. Your character may also be part of the courts of another city, investigating the very disturbing rumors and phenomena present in New Camden.

Characters can be a variety of different types of supernatural being, so I am encouraging a degree of creativity. Lycanthropes, vampires, other undead, a variety of faeries, spirits and generally 'supernatural' types of beings (including half-angels or half-demons; come to think of it half-a lot of stuff... :) ) These factions all exist and individuals within these factions may well have their reasons to rally against Nemsemet...or to. It works both ways. Where there is civilizations, there are protectors of the status quo who benefit, and people who want to overturn it, who stand to benefit.

Poland Partitioned - the third World War in 1947 (alternate history)

Definitely thoroughly interested.

@Starboard Watch

We had a couple questions come in through Discord as well, re: some of the treaties that might impact the borders of Poland.

One such question involved the Oder-Neisse line that stipulates a 1937 border, which includes East Prussia in Polish territory.

Would also imagine that Kalinigrad/Konigsberg/Krolewiec would be part of the Third Republic of Poland's territory owing to the Baltic landings that used Gdansk primarily, but probably include that as well. By the time Potsdam would have happened, it would be a fait accompli.

Granted, this is also one of the first places the USSR would hit.

Poland Partitioned - the third World War in 1947 (alternate history)

List/Timeline

- Alternate WWII-timeline.
January 1944

- The details of the Tehran Conference between the UK, USA and USSR are leaked, including the verbal agreement about the disposition of Poland. When this comes out, it is a shock to the Western Allies. Roosevelt is pressured by election year politics to take a stronger stance in support of the Polish Government in Exile and other governments in exile add their pressure on Members of Parliament in the UK.

April 1944

- The Warsaw Uprising happens about April 1944, the Polish Independent Parachute brigade is dropped in. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) provides assistance as well.
- Churchill and Roosevelt, pushed by internal political considerations, such as the outrage of Polish-Americans on the homefront, when details of the Tehran Conference are leaked, require Soviet permission to land aircraft in their airspace as part of the supply effort to Armia Krajowa forces. They push the Second Front issue and force the USSR to accept that RAF and USAAF aircraft will land to refuel in USSR-controlled space, similar to the protocol for missions over other parts of Europe.
- As a result, the Armia Krajowa, reinforced by the Independent Polish Parachute brigade and anti-tank equipment and other needed supplies, is able to turn Warsaw into a fortress against German forces, similar to Leningrad, diverting troops that might well have defended other advances.

September 1944

- Eisenhower decides to support the Warsaw siege with an airborne drop of Allied paratroopers, instead of targeting Holland. Operational control is under XVIII Airborne Corps under the command of Lt. General Matthew Bunker Ridgway, who adds his acumen to the ongoing battle, and much needed command and control. Allied Airborne forces are able to extend the siege even longer, even as the Germans focus their defense against the Soviet push further south, leaving Northern German defenses somewhat strained.
- George S. Patton, provided with the supplies needed to continue his push, is able to recapture a significant area of Germany in the intervening months while the Russians swing through Lwow, Lubin and Krakow, bypassing Warsaw and Northern Poland entirely, installing the People's Republic of Poland in power in those Soviet-Occupied regions. Western Allies are able to take Gdansk in early 1945 and reinforce Poland by land and by sea.

May 1945

- As a result, Berlin is taken by Western Allies, as the Soviet Advance is considerably delayed due to animosity between the Republic of Poland and the USSR, as well as the politics of the Allies. The Soviet sphere of influence rests in the Southern part of East Germany, whereas the Western Allies are able to create a land bridge to the Free Polish forces.

March 1946

- Compelled by the degree of threats and demands the USSR makes on the Western Allies regarding Poland, the North Atlantic Treaty and NATO are established to provide a common defense of western allies against Soviet aggression.

January 1947

- Poland and Germany are both occupied by the Allies, with the Third Republic of Poland and the People's Republic of Poland negotiating reunification in secret.
- The USSR becomes aware of these negotiations and attempts to occupy Southern Poland, causing the collapse of their puppet government and claims by the Third Republic on all People's Republic of Poland territory.
- The USSR does not recognize these claims, setting in motion a conflict among allies as it attacks Polish forces in Poland and pushes for the parts of Poland it did not previously occupy.
- Article 5 of NATO is invoked.

Synopsis of Plot

Alternate History can be a bit of a bear because you have to change some things and might overlook some others. I hopefully came up with a plausible reason for the Polish Government-In-Exile to have commitments honored but the real intent is to create an RP based on the scenario of the Poles, implausibly, being able to restore their rule to some of Poland, mostly through some changes to the political currents at the time.

That is to say, if you are interested in the RP, let's talk. The Discord is over here.

I am willing to consider having storylines that are diplomatic and political, without turning into a Nation RP. The plot would be enhanced with characters that the player wants to play and I am fine with multiple characters because I know this is definitely a niche taste.

@gunther@captainbritton@Byrd Man

Star Wars: Outer Rim Diplomacy

When I posted Vando was doing a perimeter sweep to see if there were any threats to the Senator. What sort of bad guys or lurkers could possibly be out there? I could have him re-enter the meeting room and let the other security personnel know what is out there.

@Gunther

Good question. I'd say there's a degree of surveillance by the Rothanan Security Service, but it's not necessarily targeting the Senator so much as securing him.

Though, in practice, they could easily start surveiling the Senator and his team.

Star Wars: Outer Rim Diplomacy

"They've got some blasters, but what's available on the black market here isn't what they would need to do more than hunt and peck occasionally," Clang was a flyboy, but he was also an ex-ganger and knew his way through the seamy underbelly of these places in a way that allowed him to feel situations out carefully. It was hard to say why, but Shan seemed to have a good instinct for sifting through the chaff to get at a decent seeming lead, "But what they really need is computing and communications equipment and the expertise to use them." Rothana was what amounted to a surveillance state, and the surveillance was sophisticated. It was a tall order, but the planet also was a high value target to compromise in such a fashion.

"Quid pro quo; we get them set up, they are able to reciprocate. That is the deal they want to hammer out." Rothana's air defenses were formidable to the point of making regular use of aerial combat vehicles or starfighters on a regular basis a good idea -- eventually, they'd pile on the resources and shoot everything out of the sky. These guys needed the technical assistance to become more sophisticated, to expand their capability to slice and spoof and allow movement. It might involve more than that, but that wasn't Shan's problem. His problem was this unit's mission of engaging in diplomacy of a decidedly dangerous sort.

He shrugged as the Senator's aide made it clear that the Senator himself should avoid the meeting; it made sense. The senator was watched. His staff were not as watched, and Rothana's surveillance systems were so large that there were, inevitably, gaps that they took advantage of. Sending the Senator to meet with others made sense. It would also mean that Clang was driving the Senator, and wouldn't be meeting these folks again.

"I'll transfer the contact info over to Leto and let him work it out; contact was made through underworld types. One other thing; the locals think that the local fixer might sell us out, if they think there is some profit in it. This broker in the initial contact, Dras Don, does not know on whose behalf I am working, but might have some inkling of what is afoot here." That was said with a shrug, "Still, they might try to fork us over to the local counterintelligence authorities. We let slip to Dras Don that the meet was going to be at the Rusty Rudder, another fine establishment. They're going to put locals on the surveillance to see if some bounty hunters working on contract for the ISB show up. If so, they want Dras Don taken out from our side, while they put out the word that spice dealers were getting very impatient about a short count. We would need to create the impression of a flurry of borrowing activity to support that. We've been very careful to control what he knows and who is exposed, but he's a loose end."

That, of course, was the dirty end of the business.

Star Wars: Outer Rim Diplomacy

I think we should have NPC's or second characters as redshirts. Also, I think a droid. But let's figure out the droid's quirk rather than throw one in.

Being the Outer Rim, the ability to speak Huttese and move and groove with the grottier elements of society would work.