Avatar's Personality: the same as Julius', perhaps a little more regal in bearing but just as grand in speech, although without Julius' habit of waffling. He is a commander who fights on the front lines or just behind them, spearheading his tactics although he specialises in taking hits rather than defeating enemies through brute force.
Artorigios appears mostly in medieval settings, specialising in the use of a bastard sword in conjunction with heavy armour, all modelled on the male Arthur from the Fate/Stay anime series. Somewhere, Artorigios acquired a weapon actually named Excalibur which seems to have almost game-breaking properties at times. Rumour has it that the avatar complete a quest chain which was only ever available for a single use. In any case, this avatar has built up a reputation as a tactician in any setting but especially in pre-1900 warfare although remains staunchly freelance.
Julius Ragnarson
Male, 21
Of average height at 5' 10" with an athletic frame suffering from malnutrition. Julius takes care in his physical appearance in as much as having his hair cut regularly and maintaning good personal hygeine levels, two things that not all 'Adventurers' will waste their time on. He tends to wear jeans with a short-sleeved chequered shirt, ironed carefully but showing signs of wear and tear and perhaps needing replacement. Usually he can be found wearing glasses, his eyesight being appalling bad although when in the Virtual Reality there is no need for such items as the image is directly focused onto the user's retina.
Personality: Mild, calm and amiable. Julius takes everything in at his own pace, methodical and careful in all his dealings. Even when worked up he forces himself to move and react at the same pace, taking the time to treat every issue or scenario with proper diligence. This can come across as frustrating to others when he is not reflecting the heightening emotions they are exhibiting but when it comes to problem solving or bringing someone down from a bout of rage there are few better than this softly spoken young man. He does not have the fiery passion of some leaders but his charisma lies in a sense of constant progression; when someone is with Julius they feel that they will always be moving forwards and that no matter what lies in the way, he will resolve the issue with his usual calm demeanour.
Underneath this calm exterior, the young man is passionate about many things. He has a strong sense of 'rightness' (he sees 'justice' as a loaded concept, since it usually relies upon at least one person being 'judged') and even, in an old-fashioned way, honour. This is what drives him as an Adventurer and he will never use dishonest tactics to get ahead of others who are competing fairly.
He may also be mildly addicted to tea, taking frequent breaks from the Virtual Reality to make a quick cuppa. He is British, after all.
History: Julius was born and bred in Britain, southern England in the county of Wiltshire to be precise. His parents had relatively well paid jobs, his father a lecturer at a relatively prestigious university and his mother a campaign manager for a local political party. With the advent of VR their jobs changed in different ways, his father moving from lecturing in rooms in great need of repair into lecturing in grandiose virtual campuses from home. It was much easier, with limitless resources at his fingertips and could be much more interactive than lecturing in reality could ever be. His mother, on the other hand, struggled to keep up with the changes. The days of knocking on doors and canvassing were coming to an end and campaigning tactics were falling behind the times rapidly. Eventually it was all out sourced to bots which could call out slogans in VR and did not need paying and so she lost her job.
For a time they carried on securely, the house bought and paid off and his father's salary sufficient to sustain them. The world decayed slowly around them, the previous decade of stagnation deteriorating as everyone hiding inside the virtual world from the real one. Contrary to what one might believe, Julius' mother was a great believer in the advantages VR could bring but struggled to beat the flood of people trying to get a job in its production and became frustrated at being unable to effect the change she wanted. When Julius' father became ill and eventually died from cancer, their struggle began. Ultimate his mother passed away from the stress of trying to maintaining their previous lifestyle while simultaneously being unable to do so leaving Julius with a house filled with ageing books on everything from theology to advanced mathematics.
Being an intelligent child, home-schooled by a lecturer and a well-educated mother (by this time the state school system was a creaking wreck and the VR schools had yet to be set up), Julius easily obtained an honours degree in history and subsequently passed his Masters in the same subject but found nowhere to utilise the skills he had earned. It was the Quest that gave him direction again and now he 'works' full time on it, having given up on searching for a normal job (few of which exist) and living off the small pension payments owed to him through his parents' deaths alongside whatever earnings he can convert from his VR endeavours.
Expertise: Julius is a scholar who can excel in any area of study he chooses. For better of for worse he chose history and this is the area in which he excels. All being said, he has a wide pool of knowledge and has a nearly photographic mind, learning anything and everything rapidly and committing it to memory with ease. As such, he is perhaps well placed to succeed in the Quest, even if his gaming skills are only just above average.
A world in ruins. A people who spurn the real and live in the virtual. A Quest grounded in both worlds, imagined by a dying woman.
It is 2043 now and the world is falling into ruin. Climate change has happened, it no longer matters whether it was man made as most believe or whether it was a 'natural' occurrence; the fact of the matter is that it has happened. Many places are too hot to properly sustain human, or other, life. Water levels have risen drastically and the weather itself has become more extreme with hurricanes, floods and droughts far more common than before.
The unpredictable nature of the weather, and the new extremity of it, have posed serious challenges to the world economy and it has stagnated for decades. Inequality is through the roof with the masses consigned to abject poverty, although the Western world is slightly better off. No longer having the wealth and authority to impose a complete rule of law the governing elites content themselves to reside in their capitals and prevent outright rebellions; by and large the whole world has settled into a depressed acceptance of the ruinous situation humanity has consigned itself to.
Perhaps this acceptance of their fate, of the disastrous state of the world, is accepted because of the rise in Virtual Reality. As the world headed into its biggest and longest down turn, advances in technology for VR rushed ahead in leaps and bounds until one company released something that could truly be called a Virtual Reality with an operating system, hardware and accessories to enter it with. By the early '20s (the new '20s, not the 1920s) VR machines were sold wholesale, televisions were a thing of the past. Bulky desktop computers, laptops and gaming consoles died out and were replaced by simple devices the size of a paperback book, capable of operating VR which overran all previous operating systems.
Accessories for interacting with VR became numerous, from simple haptic gloves and visors (the basic tools, evolutions of the bulky goggles and awkward controllers used by pioneers of VR) to full body haptic suits and even rooms designed to completely immerse oneself within the virtual world. Thanks to government schemes promoting VR for educational and health uses (it was cheaper to teach kids in a virtual world rather than maintain expensive school buildings and the same for hospitals unless necessary) most anyone could get access to VR. Those with a bit more in their pocket could shell out for the higher end tools.
All in all, the virtual world became a better place to go to than the real and so the human race spent more and more time in it. Whether they were working, sitting in virtual offices or controlling machines in a factory from the other side of the world, or spending their time in impossibly epic worlds for recreation; it was all preferable to stepping out of your front door.
Instead, you merely wake up and have something to eat and then log into the Homeworld; the central hub of virtual reality which spans the entire Earth as it was. Or perhaps how it should have been. The cities still stand tall but the sky is still blue, the weather is pleasant and the seas haven't risen so high that entire landmasses are under threat. From this Homeworld you can find a much nicer home than your own, go to virtual clubs and casinos that are far grander than anything in the real world. If you must, you go to work in a virtual office. Or you can be a little more adventurous and enter one of the thousands of other, fandom inspired, worlds which branch off of Homeworld.
Homeworld is a (mostly) non PvP world that is a meticulous recreation of Earth, perhaps a little airbrushed in places, but nonetheless accurate. From this world one can enter numerous other worlds, largely based on fandoms (Middle Earth, Whedonverse, Star Wars, Star Trek etc etc). Within those worlds different rules would apply (So no magic in Star Trek but no advanced technology in Middle Earth). The portals to these worlds are either from major cities (chargeable) on Homeworld, from guild/clan HQs (free but cost said group a lot to maintain) or a personal one situated in the personal, in-game residence (again, expensive to maintain but free to use).
We may enter some of these worlds; we may enter generic medieval worlds (for example) so that those not familiar with a particular franchise aren't confused or feel left out. This will largely depend upon who ends up joining the RP.
It has been two decades since we, as a race, have fallen into the virtual world and not returned. The creators of the Virtual Reality are a company who have, perhaps egotistically and not without opposition, rebranded themselves simply to Virtual Reality control the market completely. No unlicensed third party accessories or machines work with their system and anyone who tries and is caught attempting to use such a device will be banned for life, something akin to a death sentence now. They are perhaps the single largest company in the world and own most of the major Internet Service Providers in most countries, having bought them out to provide access to the only thing that matters: the Virtual Reality.
Its CEO, a woman named Helen Grey, founded the company and was heavily involved in designing VR as it exists now rather than just overseeing its production. Now elderly with a board of directors keen to push her out and have someone younger, and more malleable, Helen has decided on a way to elect her successor. Bound by a contract that only enables her to veto the directors' efforts rather than lead the company in a direction of her choosing, Helen has maintained the status quo. Despite numerous efforts, VR is still free to use if one has access to the hardware and accessories needed to run it.
A gamer in her youth, and privately since, Helen came up with the idea for The Quest after reading Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. a book first published in 2011 with a film released in 2018. Instructing her lawyers to find, or make, a loophole in the company's processes, Helen designed a contest, the winner of which takes her role as head of the most powerful, and wealthy, company in the world but without the constricting contract which has bound her.
February 12, 2045
Two years have passed since Helen Grey first announced 'The Quest'.
She sent out a short video message, recorded in the real world before being uploaded to the Virtual Reality and posted to every single users' personal inbox. Sitting in a sparse office behind a hard oak desk, one more suited for a professor's office than that of the world's most influential boss, she spoke to a webcam. On the top of the desk was a golden plaque engraved with her name and a photo frame although it was turned around to face her so whatever it depicted was a mystery.
She appeared as a pale woman with dark, straight hair. Although it was hard to tell from the video as she remained behind the desk throughout, she was a tall woman standing at nearly six foot tall with a lithe frame. She was wearing a black pantsuit and wore light makeup, as if she were about to go to a meeting. Very businesslike.
"Hello, everyone in the world. I am Helen Grey, founder and CEO of Virtual Reality. Today I am announcing that I have contracted a terminal illness and am not long for this world. It is not in my nature to turn to theatrics or to make a big thing out of a personal issue, however this will have ramifications for all of you."
She gestured to her right and some, clearly edited in, boxes with titles like "Proposal for Monthly Subscription" appeared, all the way down below the bottom of the video window.
"These are just a few of the plans this company's board has attempted to slip in which I have vetoed. When I created the Virtual Reality I wanted it to be something that anyone could access but now most of the board no longer share my views and wish to monetise it, making it unavailable for many of you. In turn, I was slapped with a contract which has prevented me using Virtual Reality's vast resources to launch any initiatives which would improve our current situation. For the last two decades we have existed in this stalemate but now a time has come where this must change."
She flicked her hand and the list of boxes disappeared, swiping away to the side and off the screen. Then she reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a well read copy of Ready Player One for the viewer to see.
"Normally, the board would elect their own choice for CEO and their choice would undoubtedly be someone who shares their vision. I am unable, even with my controlling share of the company, to elect my own successor by normal means, however this book gave me inspiration for a solution to this problem. In this, a man in a similar situation to myself leaves his inheritance to the winner of a game he sets up within the virtual world he created." She looks up at the camera and smiles, the first real one in the entire video; it has a childish glee to it and there is an excited shine in her eye and she speaks more quickly in her excitement.
"I have hidden clues, both within the various worlds within the Virtual Reality as well as the real one. Each one will lead you to the next until you finally reach the prize which is well hidden and will require you to have found all the previous clues. Even should I die before someone completes this Quest, no new CEO can be chosen. There will be some who will try to subvert this contest, using their money and influence to ensure the winner will lead this company in the wrong direction. I have faith, however, that it will be one of you, an ordinary user of the Virtual Reality who cares deeply for it and understands its importance to everyone across the world, who will complete my Quest."
She puts the book down on the desk and then pulls out a small gun, one used for the starts of races and it is clear what she intends to use it for.
"My personal website has been converted in a scoreboard, showing who is closest to winning the prize. Using your avatar's name, of course. The first clue is as follows:"
Bruised and battered I sailed there, To draw a line upon a Bell, A stately house now lying bare, To free us from this Cage of Hell.
The lines of text appear on the screen in flames, most likely in homage to the depiction used in the aforementioned book, and she looks up with an abashed grin.
"I never was a poet or a riddlesmith so forgive how clunky that was. Now, game... start!" She pulls the trigger on the gun, a brief bang and the video ends.
I'm looking for about four other players besides myself to engage in the Quest. We may, or may not, be working together and against each other at points and the story progresses. There is also an over-arching plot line with the Quest at its centre but distorted in its individual importance.
If there are a lot of applicants I will be choosing places on quality of characters as well as ensuring a good balance in the cast. If the general quality is sufficient I may relax the rules around how many I want to enter.
In terms of plot, as you can see there is a relatively clear plot planned for this RP although it may well veer wildly about depending whether people can guess the answer before I begin to steer the story along! The basis for the clues will be based upon my own knowledge but I have been very careful in ensuring that, with some insight and some quick googling, anyone can find out the answers; all they need is to work out a vague direction and then go from there. Once you've settled on an answer then you can either post it in character or, if you want to keep your thinking secret, PM me and I will give direction from there.
A lot of the time whether you have the correct answer or not, the plot will steer everyone to the appropriate location but I will be keeping tabs on who's 'ahead', as it were!
This is only a guide and contains barebones information. Add whatever you wish as extra, if you feel it is relevant.
Avatar's Name
Avatar's Appearance (picture preferable, alongside brief description) Avatar's Gender (does not necessarily have to be the same as the owner) Avatar's Personality (might be difficult but this should align with the owner's with some changes, depending on your character's nature) Preferred worlds (fantasy/sci-fi/fandom?)
Character's Name
Appearance (picture preferable, alongside brief description) Gender Age Personality History Expertise (what research/areas of expertise they've advanced or are using in tackling the Quest).
Please post your sheets in the OOC for review. Once we have a few submissions I'll be choosing the cast.
I'll be travelling home this afternoon so the OOC, with its associated character sheet template, will be up sometime this evening (currently 13:28 for me)
Not withstanding further interest, I'll be putting up an OOC sometime this weekend. I was aiming for a maximum cast size of five (including myself) so even three/four will be sufficient for the story and may make it better manageable, we shall see.
@GrizzTheMauler Armada was great (although I did prefer Ready Player One - it felt like more work went into it and Armada was Cline just geeking out knowing he could get published easily after his first book!)
I've added a little update at the bottom, just for clarification as I think of it. Once I have one or two more people showing interest I'll start planning an OOC out.
Everything was happening at once and Qar, for one, was glad he had only drunk two cups of wine and that it was relatively weak stuff in the first place. His wits remained sharp and he was on his feet, staff in hand as Zamonth exacted immediate retribution upon the disguised attendant. Seeing the blow, and the effect, Qar knew the man would be dead. He had seen the way Zamonth's expression had changed; he bore the look of a man on the battlefield and in so in his element, mixed with anger at being attacked in the middle of enjoying himself.
What had drawn his attention, before the server had attacked them, were the sounds of shock and horror from the crowd a little way off. Calling to Zamonth to let the man know where he was going, Qar dashed off through the crowd to find the guard lying on the floor, a deep stab wound on his back. Vizier Satiah stood over him, apparently the man had been trying to find her, one final duty, before falling. Kneeling down, Qar checked for breathing and felt the man's throat but his skin was quickly cooling and there was no discernible pulse of blood through his jugular.
"He's gone." Qar closed the man's glazed eyes before standing, looking over the heads of the crowd to where multiple masked figures were emerging. They were clearly not performers, the masks were too uniform for that and the knives they were carrying cleared up any confusion about their purpose; they were after the Viziers. That meant Nebet and possibly Aperel were in danger, depending on who was directing the masked attackers. Perhaps even the Pharaoh was a target.
"Do you know where the Priestess is? And the Pharaoh? They may well be targets themselves." He didn't have time to speak further as a masked assailant, having merged into the crowd ahead of the rest of the group, darted out at him with knife at the read. Qar blocked the attack, turning the blade aside and then twisting the bottom of the staff up to crack against the assailant's chin. The attacker stepped back, letting the blow roll off of their mask with little force before closing in on Qar again.
They aren't going to go down as easy as those slavers, are they?
Qar grimaced, reluctantly coming to the conclusion that he would need to exercise some magic on this particular battlefield. With Zamonth and Satiah here he wouldn't need to reveal all of his spells, besides which Star Fall would catch civilians in its blast radius so he would avoid using it all costs. Resorting to the only option suitable, he lowered his staff slightly.
"Burden of Knowledge." The assailant wavered a moment, worried that Qar was casting some magical attack, but nothing discernible happened and so he approached with the blade singing through the air again. Once again the physician turned the blade aside with the staff and then kicked the man's leg on its instep. The blow, although relatively light, had the weight of his magic behind and snapped the bone clean in half. Crying in surprise, the assailant fell forwards on his shattered leg and Qar's staff came down again, this time heavily landing on the man's head. The reinforced wood shattered through the mask and then through the man's skull, ending his life instantly in a bloody mess.
Turning to the others, Qar raised his bloodied staff and stepped away from the corpse, its head cracked open like an eggshell and their face no longer recognisable as human. The physician shrugged the upper half of his robe free, letting it fall down so that he could move his arms freely and without restraint; in this fight a mistake would cost him his life and he didn't want that to happen so early in the Pharaoh's reign.
"I better leave the bulk of the fighting to you two, I'm more useful as support. That is, unless one of you thinks it better to head to the Pharaoh's location. If that's the case then one of you should go and I'll remain with the other."
