JohnSolaris

Abysstide: New Atlantis (high-powered apocalyptic urban fantasy RP)

I have a Discord server here where you can express interest and ask questions.

The RP thread can be found here.

---

This story takes place in a world much like our own, at least on the surface. The primary difference is the existence of New Atlantis, an artificial island megacity in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe, built through the cooperation of multiple world powers in the twentieth century. Spanning over a hundred kilometers in radius, and boasting a multinational population like no other, New Atlantis is unquestionably one of the central pillars of modern society.

However, in recent times the famed Atlantean city has fallen into uncertainty. At the culmination of political and territorial disputes between several world powers, New Atlantis was placed into lockdown four months ago, with no civilian travel permitted in or out. A veneer of normalcy was maintained by mass media, but people living elsewhere soon found themselves mysteriously unable to contact their friends and family in New Atlantis. Things looked completely normal from the outside, yet no electronic communication could go through, and those brave enough to violate the lockdown and enter the artificial island were never heard from again; it's like this city has silently disappeared from the world.

You are one of the many people desperately trying to find out the truth behind New Atlantis, for one reason or another. Perhaps you have resources and connections at your disposal that allow you to dig further and deeper than the average person. But the more you dig, the more you are met with coordinated, almost conspiracy-theory levels of effort in dodging and obfuscating the truth, in government and corporate entities alike. Just as you are about to reach your wit's end, she appears before you.

Appearing human on the most basic level, yet inhumanly beautiful by the standards of most. Casually floating in midair, in blatant defiance of physics. Tight, revealing black dress that blends into the swirling aura of darkness around her, a presence both otherworldly and intimately familiar, akin to the spiritual manifestation of human decadence and desire itself. And her eyes, orbs of unnatural amaranth, are devoid of the usual gleam of human light and reason, instead resembling the bottomless abyss that consumes all who fall into its embrace.

"You desire the truth, don't you?" Her silken voice caresses your ears. "But is it something you can handle? The world is far darker and more dangerous than you could have ever imagined..." The seductress's ruby lips curl into a devious smirk. "But I can change that. I can give you power, the power to go far beyond human limits, to find out the truth of this world for yourself..."

You try to say something, anything, but your body is paralyzed by this woman's mysterious power. Is she going to give you power like this? In your heart of hearts, you know that the entity before you is the epitome of a deal with the devil. Should you accept what she offers, there will be no going back.

"Heh, did you think I was going to give you a choice?" As if reading your thoughts, her smirk widens into a grin. "Sorry, but the potential of your soul is too valuable. I'm going to implant you with the Seed now, and send you to New Atlantis. Embrace this power and become strong for me, will you? Then you may be able to get to the bottom of it all, fix everything, and come out of this alive… I'll be watching you carefully."

Before you can react, the demoness is already very close to you, tapping your chest with a delicate crimson-nailed finger. Instantly, the whole world around you becomes a blur, and you feel like you're falling through an endless pit…

…

Eventually things stop spinning, and your eyes readjust, but you still cannot believe what you're seeing. The sky is pitch-black, crackling with streams of searing, otherworldly colors that form eldritch sigils and bathe the world below in an eerie dim light. An utterly devastated cityscape sprawls around you, the shattered remains of buildings strangled by thick thorny vines of inky darkness. Puddles of black tar litter the ground, some seeping out of large cracks, occasionally erupting into sparks of ghostly flame. Just as you begin to wonder if you've been taken to another world entirely, you see the Atlantean Spire, the massive skyscraper tower and tallest building in the world, the most easily recognizable symbol of New Atlantis itself. Several vines of monstrous size have coiled themselves around the Spire, covered in thorns and made of the unknown black substance like the smaller specimens around you, cracks on their surfaces pulsating with dreadful energy. Can this really be New Atlantis? What happened to it in the past four months, and why didn't anyone outside notice?

You are distracted from your thoughts by a sharp hiss nearby. Its source is a hideous thing straight out of some monster movie or video game, barely humanoid in shape, hunched over and sharp ice crystals protruding from its pallid skin. Darkness swirls around it, but unlike that of the woman earlier that felt like temptation itself, this energy makes every hair on your skin stand up in alert. Tattered remains of human clothing still cling to the creature, yet there is no intellect in its eyes as they focus on you, only the primal instinct to hunt and kill.

Somehow, you're not nearly as afraid as you should normally be. In fact, you feel a newfound power surging through you, something you've never experienced before; the sense of danger from the monster before you is quickly becoming insignificant in comparison. Is this what the dark goddess has given you? Can you really use it to find out the truth and return this city to normal? Whatever the case is, you're here now, and it's up to you to make the best of this unprecedented situation...

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

Bump.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

Bump.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

Oops, the total stat points available to a starting Persona should be 30, not 15. Fixed that.

Also clarified that the face of every card of the same arcana is the same, and it's only the frame and back that are unique to each person.

Also, Kyle Nucci is accepted and will be added to the character list when the sheet is posted in the characters tab.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

Player Characters

A list of player characters is here, along with their Arcana Codes, Personae, and the Personae's stats (might/endurance/finesse).

Kyle Nucci (XVIII - Moon; the Bogeyman, 13/11/6).

---

NPCs

These are the NPCs controlled by the co-GM and I. Their character sheets only contain information that the player characters currently know, and more will be revealed as the story progresses.

NPCs in HoloSys Inc.

Sophia Neumann (unknown code and Persona), the mascot of holo-augmentation and main HoloSys spokesperson

Name: Dr. Sophia Neumann.

Age: Chronologically 4; physically appears 18.

Gender: Female.

Appearance: As HoloSys's prized poster child of holo-augmentation, Sophia's body is no less polished than everything else about and around her. Her delicate facial features are a mixture of Caucasian and eastern Asian. Her fair skin is flawlessly smooth and blemish-free to the point of flagrant and nigh-unsettling artificiality. At 165 centimeters in height, her perfect hourglass figure is something most oft seen on glamor models manufactured in holo-studios, though there is the scant comfort that her moderate bust and hips do not have the grossly exaggerated proportions of actresses in the cruder sectors of the entertainment industry. Her gleaming metallic straight silver hair that reaches her mid-back, electric blue eyes, and the faintly glowing blue circuit lines present in both her irises and sparsely all over her skin complete the image of something that is more machine than human. Perhaps her beauty would have been brought out more had she bothered to dress up more elaborately, but she almost always opts for the female business casuals in simple whites, light blues, grays, and blacks.

Personality: Much like her body, Sophia's mind appears cold and machine-like. Stoic, terse, and never bothering with social pleasantries, she seems altogether devoid of emotions or desires, only following as her superiors instruct. However, since around a year ago, she seems to be mellowing out a bit. Her words and mannerisms have gained a hint of gentleness, and her humanitarian speeches are more genuine than before.

Backstory: The culmination of HoloSys's research on human augmentation in the past three decades, Sophia is an artificially created designer baby extensively implanted with bleeding-edge holo-augs since birth. So advanced were the augmentations that they grew along with her, and accelerated her physical and mental growth so that she transitioned from newborn to physiologically 18 years of age in merely three years of real time, before ceasing to age entirely. HoloSys made sure to extensively record and broadcast every step of her growth. Seeing a baby grow by a whole year every two months was unsettling, to say the least, and that's not even mentioning her unreal rate of psychological development that outstrips even her accelerated physical growth. Emotionless and machine-like from the outset, Sophia never went through anything resembling a childish or teenager-like phase, speaking like an adult as a physical toddler and finishing the equivalent of secondary education as only a little girl. She then went on to become the fastest and technically by far the youngest to obtain multiple doctorates, in theoretical holophysics, holotronic engineering, and holo-computing. At the same time, public demonstrations of her superhuman physical abilities persisted, driving home the point again and again that she is something beyond current human limits. Opinions on her are divisive, to say the least, with some seeing her as a horrifying inhuman abomination and the definitive proof that human technology and society has veered off the right path, and others heralding her as the shining example of the kind of godlike being that all of humanity will one day become. All this publicity is exactly what HoloSys wants, and she has effectively become the megacorp's main spokesperson, calmly and dutifully relaying their messages to the masses. However, since the past year, she has begun to show a hint of personal initiative, her frigid and impersonal demeanor thawing a little to reveal a hint of human kindness underneath. This roughly coincides with the emergence and viral popularity growth of the virtual idol Utasaki Aria, whose appearance is infamously a holofake of Sophia's own, which has naturally spawned vast menageries of rumors, but Sophia herself seems to pay these no heed.

Skills: Sophia possesses doctorates in theoretical holophysics, holotronic engineering, and holo-computing. When not working as a spokesperson, she conducts research alongside the other top scientists of HoloSys.

Abilities and Equipment:

The extensive public demonstrations and marketing of Sophia's superhuman capabilities has not stopped the proliferation of rumors and conspiracy theories, some conjecturing that all her achievements are holofaked. Nevertheless, the following is a list of feats she has publicly demonstrated.
- Strength: She could lift massive dumbbells, bend thick metal bars, and crush rocks with a single hand.
- Speed: She could accelerate and sprint more quickly than a cheetah.
- Reflexes: She could dodge dozens of baseballs launched at her in rapid succession, and shoot erratically-moving tiny bugs out of the air with minimal aiming time.
- Endurance: Less easily demonstrated in a sensational manner than the rest, but she could keep the aforementioned massive dumbbells aloft for minutes with no apparent fatigue.
- Regeneration: A cut on her finger could fully heal within seconds.
- Breathlessness: She was shown diving without any oxygen supply for an extended period of time.
- Unaging: Hard to demonstrate for obvious reasons, but HoloSys claimed that she does not age after reaching physical maturity and will live forever.
- Memory: She seems to have eidetic memory, able to memorize long sequences of arbitrary characters after only a short glance.
- Intellect: She can solve highly complex calculations within seconds.

She was also seen on a few occasions to utilize holotronic barriers to restrain rioters that got too close to her.

Arcana Code: Unknown.

Shadow: Unknown.

Persona: Unknown.

NPCs working with the player characters

Utasaki Aria (XI - Strength; Euterpe, 5/12/13), the team navigator

Name: Utasaki Aria (唄咲 アリア), the Azure Muse.

Age: Unknown; physically appears 18.

Gender: Female.

Appearance:

Being the most infamous of holofakes in the shadownet, Aria's face and bodily shape is identical to that of Sophia Neumann, HoloSys's prized mascot for holo-augmentation. But unlike Sophia's cold machine-like mannerisms and plain dress code, Aria is bright and animated, and puts extensive amounts of care into her appearance, making her nigh-unrecognizable as a holofake. While Sophia would have no reason to talk about such things, Aria publicly revealed her bust, waist, and hip measurements as 84 cm, 58 cm, and 84 cm respectively.

Being the fashionista she is, Aria has a wide variety of outfits, all of which are sleek, feminine, and at least a little sexy; she also sometimes experiments with different hairstyles, hair colors, eye colors, and even skin colors. In her most iconic costume, she has fair skin, glossy straight silver hair that extends to the middle of her back, and sky-blue eyes that have white pupils shaped like power symbols. A short ahoge sticks out of the top of her head, along with a pair of unusually long bright red strands that extend past her cheeks, somewhat resembling butterfly antennae. The hair at her temples is pulled into a half-up short ponytail, held together by a large glowing futuristic blue butterfly hairpin; there is also a small silver bell tied to the left side of her hair by red ribbons. Her lipstick and nail polish are both bright red and faintly glittery. She wears a tight-fitting shoulderless top that shows a mild amount of cleavage, detached sleeves that flare out around her lower arms, a pleated miniskirt, and thigh-high boots with three-inch stiletto heels. The outfit is made of a futuristic latex-like material, in shades of white, cyan, blue, and violet, with sparse highlights of bright red, covered in faintly glowing circuit patterns. The center of her chest is adorned with a red butterfly-shaped bow, and above her breasts on her bare skin is a simple red tattoo of nested heart shapes. On her back is a pair of large futuristic butterfly wings, blue with purple hues, though she often keeps the wings hidden due to their size. Below the wings are a pair of strips that resemble the "tails" of swallowtail butterflies.

[Aria's outfit is heavily inspired by a combination of outfits of two pre-existing fictional characters, and I would be a little impressed if anyone knows both. No, it's not anyone from Vocaloid or Hyperdimension Neptunia; that would be too easy.]

Personality:

The usual persona Aria displays is bubbly and cheerful, radiating optimism and warmth with every word and movement, motivated by the desire to bring hope and joy to her audience. She is also vain and utterly shameless, showing off her beauty at every available opportunity and basking in the adoration she receives, proudly stating that her body is her canvas for artistic self-expression. She exudes an air of flawless, impenetrable confidence, effortlessly maintaining her composure against the most vicious of insults and never displaying a hint of competitiveness, envy, or self-doubt. Yet when discussing serious topics, she becomes mature and level-headed, always looking at a problem from multiple perspectives with a gentle, empathic, open-minded attitude. She isn't a self-sacrificial saint, and can have a mischievous streak when dealing with people she doesn't like, but she never displays any genuine malice. Even when faced with people who repeatedly attempt cyber-attacks against her for petty reasons, or people who have committed horrific crimes, the worst she shows is sadness and pity toward these people and the circumstances that made them do what they did. Some people make the accusation that this is all an act, but if so then it's an exceptionally solid and durable one, without any lapse or crack as far as anyone has seen.

Aria has a wide range of interests that she has shared with the public. Aside from the obvious music and idol culture, she loves anime, manga, and video games, happily proclaiming herself an otaku. She's obviously bisexual and rather perverted, thinking of herself as a connoisseur of female beauty, both her own and others'. Her other areas of interest include technology, science, math, philosophy, and creative writing, sometimes delving into surprisingly deep discussions with her viewers.

Backstory:

Aria made her debut as a virtual idol roughly a year ago, which went viral and exploded in popularity due to her genuinely excellent performance as well as her incredibly bold move of basing her appearance on that of Sophia Neumann. She had no intention to impersonate Sophia or deceive, so her holofaking was technically legal, but HoloSys still exerted their immense clout to take down Aria's content from all major legal platforms. Surprisingly, rather than being extinguished and forgotten like many others, Aria simply took her activities to the shadownet without missing a beat, where her popularity steadily grew. Many hackers initially saw her as an easy target, but were again surprised when they not only failed to inflict any real damage to her cyber-defenses, but could not even find any substantial information on her real identity or location. Thus the mystery and rumors around her grew as well, with theories ranging from her being Sophia Neumann herself in disguise, to being a failed prototype of Sophia who escaped, to being an artificial intelligence, or even extraterrestrial; to those theories Aria only gave amused giggles in response. Bearing somewhat of a vendetta against her, HoloSys often tried to impede her in various ways, but she always stayed one step ahead of them, making her a symbol of freedom and rebellion against corporate oppression, despite the lack of significant political leanings in her content.

When the game begins, Aria appears to each player character just as he is about to be attacked by his Shadow, granting him an Arcana Code that allows him to tame his Shadow and transform it into a Persona. She then asks the character to help her investigate the mysterious Saklas syndrome that has been on the rise lately, of which the player character was a victim just now. When asked about her true identity and the origin of these Arcana Codes, she states that it is something she can only reveal once the player character has mastered his newfound powers, and implores him to simply trust her in the meantime.

Skills:

Bilingual: Aria is fluent in both English and Japanese.

Singing: Aria could not have attained the popularity she had without being an incredibly talented singer. Her vocal cords are the same as Sophia's, yet she uses them to produce a voice that is cute and high-pitched without sounding childish or squeaky. It is also soft and crystal-clear, smooth as velvet and gentle like a spring breeze, yet powerful and resonant when needed. She is highly versatile, capable of singing a variety of genres, including J-pop, rock, metal, techno, power ballads, jazz, classical, and even traditional Japanese enka. Her only major weakness is that she cannot do a deep, mature voice; even her death metal growls sound cute.

Dancing: The other half of her performance. Her agility and natural beauty, combined with shameless vanity and confidence, lets her effortlessly pull off dance routines that quickly capture the heart of many an otaku while singing live. She projects the moe aesthetic incredibly well, be it bright and happy, gentle and sweet, cool and elegant, or playful and seductive.

Songwriting: Aria has covered many songs by other artists, but she has quite a few original songs as well. Their tones vary from bittersweet to upbeat, but all ultimately convey optimistic messages, conveying her desire to bring hope and joy to the world.

Gaming: In addition to singing and dancing, Aria often doubles as a video game streamer. She seems unreasonably good at just about every skill-based game she plays, leading to accusations of cheating and bot abuse, though she dispelled those for the most part through live demonstrations that would be difficult to prepare exploits for ahead of time. That instead fuelled rumors that she's some sort of AI, leading to facetious Turing tests and related shenanigans on her part; though most viewers are content with just watching her perform incredibly hard gaming challenges.

Memory: Aria seems to have a nigh-photographic memory for the names of her viewers and the comments they made.

Knowledge: Aria seems highly knowledgeable in science, technology, and various bits of trivia. Maybe she has a search engine holochip implant, but she's occasionally seen holding in-depth discussions with viewers who are doctoral students or researchers. Could she really be an AI, or Sophia Neumann in disguise?

Hacking: One cannot make a living in the shadownet without at least decent hacking skills, and Aria clearly has more than enough. Numerous hackers have targeted her, but none have gotten through. In a few particularly egregious cases she'd even retaliated, teaching the attacker an ultimately harmless but still painful lesson.

Unflappable: None of her viewers have seen Aria getting anywhere close to losing her composure. She laughs and cries like a normal person, and the emotions seem genuine, yet even when attacked during a moment of apparent vulnerability her responses are quick and efficient as usual. It's subtle, but there's something almost inhuman about how her decision-making capability is not negatively impacted by emotions.

Abilities and Equipment:

Avatar Projection: Aria's body that the player characters interact with is actually a remotely controlled avatar. It is a very long-distance connection using top-secret micro-portal technology and encryption, making it almost impossible to trace in normal circumstances, though it can be jammed or blocked. The avatar is entirely made of holomatter, but appears anatomically realistic to external inspection, and can even consume food and drink. But it bleeds bluish purple holotrons when damaged, and can freely shapeshift and regenerate even when seemingly vital organs are destroyed. Its true weak point is a nigh-immaterial core that is resilient against most attacks, but the avatar falls apart if the core is destroyed, and Aria would have to send a new core from her real location to get back to the party. The amount of power Aria can channel through the avatar is limited, which relegates her to a defensive support role to the party. Her true powers are among the things she claims will be revealed to the player characters later.

Movement: Aria is highly agile, and can levitate and fly at speeds comparable to cars. She can also dash in brief bursts of extreme speed, resembling short-ranged teleportation.

Holo-Sense: Aria has a very powerful and accurate holo-sense, able to analyze information in a wide area around her, which allows her to act as the party navigator.

Holography: Aria can conjure elaborate holograms around herself. They have no physical substance, but can make quite convincing sights and sounds. She uses this extensively to enhance her idol performances, and it can be used to distract enemies, though it may not hold up well against those with powerful holo-senses.

Telepathy: By emitting psychic waves, Aria can telepathically communicate with designated individuals around herself, allowing her to share her holo-sense with them and help them see through her own illusions. The telepathic contact is not intrusive, and can be blocked out with willpower. The contents of her psychic waves are encrypted and difficult to spy on, until received by the intended recipient.

Arcana Code Bestowal: Aria is able to grant Arcana Codes to those compatible with them.

Arcana Code: XI - Strength. Like the gentle woman who effortlessly tames the lion, Aria's songs brings strength to her allies and calms aggressive Shadows. Her card is like her main outfit, in hues of blue and violet with sparse highlights of bright red; the pattern on its back is her iconic blue butterfly.

Shadow: Unknown.

Persona: Euterpe, the Muse of Song. Unlike most Persona users, Aria seems to simply conjure the card then absorb it into her body, before holotrons and miasma swirl around her to form her wings and a microphone that resembles a magical girl wand. It's unknown if her Persona is the type that becomes the user's equipment, or if her avatar is the Persona of her real self, or if she simply cannot manifest her full Persona remotely through the avatar. Nevertheless, her avatar behaves like a Persona after the card's invocation, with stats of 5 might, 12 endurance, and 13 finesse, and minor resistances to light, psychic, and electricity.

Songs of the Muse: Several types of omnidirectional auras of nigh-invisible energy that emanate from her, passing through non-magical matter and seeping through the skin to take effect. The name is only thematic, and they do not depend on sound waves or the ability to hear. She has full control over which targets are affected. Their elements are a combination of light and psychic.
- Song of Life: Targets are healed. Missing flesh and bones can be restored, but Aria advises the party to not take chances with vital organs.
- Song of Purity: Negative external influences within the target are weakened or cleansed outright.
- Song of Fortitude: Targets gain increased physical toughness and magical resistance.
- Song of Tranquility: Friendly targets are soothed, reducing their pain and negative emotions. Hostile targets are pacified, weakening their aggressive instincts.

Stunbolt: A bolt of psychic and electrical energy launched from her microphone wand that delivers numbing paralysis, but minimal damage.

Dr. Oden Schuyler (XIII - Death; N/A), the team doctor

Name: Dr. Oden Schuyler

Age: 29

Gender: Male

Appearance: 5’10” tall, pale skin, dark and lank hair hanging over one eye, other eye sanguine in color. Black jeans and shoes, red shirt, black leather jacket.

Personality: Dour, deadpan, not easily impressed. Heavy smoker, though his exhalations emerge as clouds of thick black smog rather than merely grey wisps. Fascination with life and death, and the nature of how they can lead into each other.

Backstory: Child genius. Graduated high school at 12; graduated university with an Honors Bachelor’s Degree and Master of Science in Biology and a minor in Engineering at 16; acquired subsequent MScs in Biological Science, Bioengineering, and Biotechnology; acquired a Bioengineering Doctor of Philosophy by the age of 22, with a specific research dissertation into the field of holotronic human augmentation as the technology became available and prominent. Hired as a scientist and researcher working at HoloSys Inc. during his PhD. Went missing shortly after the reveal of Sophia Neumann. Spent time in hiding working as a black market doctor and holo-aug modifier. Currently an associate of Aria, in charge of tending the group’s long-term health.

Skills: Expert in biology and holotech, in particular the nature of holo-augs down to the subcellular level and black-market medical work. Extremely high general IQ. Highly skilled holoscript user, primarily utilised for in-depth bodily examination.

Abilities and Equipment: Highly skilled holoscript user. Lacking in power, for want of a Persona; aura contaminated with traces of miasmal energy.

Arcana Code: XIII - Death. Direct ties to concepts of life and death through work. Back of the card depicts rows of diagonals running top-right to bottom-left, superimposed with a crosshatch across the middle in a shape reminiscent of a mourning shroud. Card frame is deep purple in colour.

Shadow: Unknown.

Persona: Unknown. Seemingly non-existent or otherwise incapable of manifestation, possibly due to miasma contamination.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

The contents of this post have been moved to the 0th post. I really need to figure out this 0th post stuff better.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

@Krayzikk@DJAtomika Please join the Discord server if you're interested. There are a few people there that haven't posted on this thread yet. We could talk about character concepts and see what would make interesting team dynamics.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

Bump.

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

I already made the full thread for this, but figured I might as well advertise it here to increase exposure a bit. The full thread can be found here, and a Discord server can be found here.

---

It is the year 2050. After the discovery of holomatter, a mysterious new state of matter with wondrous properties, holotronic technology has become ubiquitous in all sectors of society. Cityscapes are bathed in psychedelic holograms, the virtual reality holonet is a world unto itself, and the megacorporation HoloSys Inc. holds immense influence over mass media and governments. And in the underbelly of society, illegal holotech and programs mingle with rumors of the paranormal conspiratorial into a dizzying web of half-lies.

You are a hacker, one adept with holotech in ways that don't always play by society's rules. Recent times have been relatively calm for you until one day, as you log into the holonet, instead of arriving at your intended destination, you are surrounded by thick, impenetrable holo-fog, the sign of extreme data corruption. From the fog it emerges, a shadowy figure with an uncanny resemblance to yourself, surrounded by an ominous aura that you find unsettling on some primal, instinctual level that you cannot quite explain.

"I am the Shadow, the true self..." The shadowy figure speaks, its voice a horrible distortion of your own, before letting loose the deepest, darkest secrets that you have admitted to no one, not even yourself. But just as you cry out to reject this gratuitous affront to your very identity, the shadowy figure contorts in grotesque defiance of human anatomy, before exploding into a monstrosity from your worst nightmares.

But then you hear another voice, this one unfamiliar and mechanical. "Arcana Code installation confirmed. Initializing..." Suddenly, streams of softly glowing holotrons swirl around you, coalescing into a floating card that resembles stylized holochips. Desperately, you reach out to grasp the card in your hand, and...

Persona: Shadow of Virtuality (Persona RP except with futuristic cyberpunk VR and hackers; prior knowledge not required)

EDIT: Looks like there aren't enough people interested in this RP to get it off the ground, so I'll be closing it. My apologies to those who have expressed interest.

---

Introduction

It is the year 2050. After the discovery of holomatter, a mysterious new state of matter with wondrous properties, holotronic technology has become ubiquitous in all sectors of society. Cityscapes are bathed in psychedelic holograms, the virtual reality holonet is a world unto itself, and the megacorporation HoloSys Inc. holds immense influence over mass media and governments. And in the underbelly of society, illegal holotech and programs mingle with rumors of the paranormal conspiratorial into a dizzying web of half-lies.

You are a hacker, one adept with holotech in ways that don't always play by society's rules. Recent times have been relatively calm for you until one day, as you log into the holonet, instead of arriving at your intended destination, you are surrounded by thick, impenetrable holo-fog, the sign of extreme data corruption. From the fog it emerges, a shadowy figure with an uncanny resemblance to yourself, surrounded by an ominous aura that you find unsettling on some primal, instinctual level that you cannot quite explain.

"I am the Shadow, the true self..." The shadowy figure speaks, its voice a horrible distortion of your own, before letting loose the deepest, darkest secrets that you have admitted to no one, not even yourself. But just as you cry out to reject this gratuitous affront to your very identity, the shadowy figure contorts in grotesque defiance of human anatomy, before exploding into a monstrosity from your worst nightmares.

But then you hear another voice, this one unfamiliar and mechanical. "Arcana Code installation confirmed. Initializing..." Suddenly, streams of softly glowing holotrons swirl around you, coalescing into a floating card that resembles stylized holochips. Desperately, you reach out to grasp the card in your hand, and...

---

World Information

This is an RP based on the Persona franchise. However, it is an entirely self-contained alternate universe, so no canon characters or organizations will appear. Some mechanics are similar to those in Persona games, but some are different. They will all be explained in this section, so prior knowledge of Persona games is not required.

Also, this is a fictional version of Earth where history and physics resemble real life only on the surface level. Plot-relevant secret conspiracies aside, the laws of physics themselves are not the same at the subatomic level. This may affect some well-known pieces of popular science and history, e.g. there is no longer time dilation in Einstein's relativity. This should have no effect on most characters, but please consult me first if you want to make references to real life theoretical physics concepts. There are also some unintuitive quirks in this new physics that I had to add for the sake of consistency, but I’ll only bring them up when necessary.

World Information

A Brief History

The holotronic age began in 2021 with the discovery of the holotron, a mysterious new particle outside of the standard models of physics. It was named such because of its incredible ease of use in making detailed 3D holograms, which quickly saw widespread use in the information and entertainment industries. But it was later discovered that holotrons could be "solidified" into something resembling "hard light" when made to vibrate at specific combinations of frequencies. The physical and chemical properties of thusly-created holomatter could be fine-tuned with ease that engineers could only dream of, and permanent conversion between holomatter and normal matter was possible. Some forms of holomatter can even extract energy from seemingly the vacuum of space itself, solving a significant portion of the world's energy problems. Then holotronic microchips were invented, and the holotronic age swung into full gear.

Nowadays, holotech is everywhere. Everyday life is filled with holograms of all shapes and sizes, resembling the neon cyberpunk aesthetics of many sci-fi stories. Personal holo-projectors are used for both fashion and function. Augmented reality has practically become reality itself.

---

Virtual Reality and the Holonet

Naturally, holography saw immediate usage in VR, aided by the increased computational power of holochips. VR became increasingly integrated with the internet until the two became nearly one and the same, all websites eventually adding interactive VR support. Due to the ease of customizing one's VR avatar, even compared to personal holograms in the physical world, many people came to prefer VR over real life. It doesn't help that many jobs and gatherings are held remotely via VR, and that "deep VR" invented in the past decade allows transferring all of one's senses into a simulated world via neural implants. The holonet is now a full-fledged second reality, the solace of many who find the "real" world unsatisfactory.

---

HoloSys Inc.

HoloSys Inc. is the company that initially discovered and made use of holotrons. Merely a startup in 2021, it has grown into a megacorporation of truly titanic proportions. Through clever legal maneuvering and rumored worse methods, it secured exclusive rights to develop and produce state-of-the-art holotech, which allowed its tendrils to root deep into every sector of industry and society. None would deny that HoloSys is a bona fide superpower, and many would argue that it has assimilated the government itself. With society's vital dependence on holotech, all the data harvested from said holotech, and its control over holographic mass media, HoloSys has power over the world like no other. But political debates aside, at least the products and services provided by HoloSys are well-liked for the most part, for what it's worth.

---

Holotronic Human Augmentation

After the success of deep VR holochip implants, HoloSys began working on more radical forms of human augmentation via holotech. Due to the high adaptability of holomatter, various holo-aug implants and prosthetics were developed in the past decade, mostly for everyday utility and bodily restoration. Nevertheless, there is a push for "holorgs" with superhuman capabilities, which are already being used in certain elite military forces.

Four years ago, HoloSys unveiled Sophia Neumann, a designer baby imbued with bleeding-edge holotech from the embryonic stage. Almost more machine than human, Sophia grew from infancy to adulthood within a span of three years, learning at an unprecedented rate and easily becoming the technically youngest to obtain a doctorate. Though her inhumanly stoic mannerisms, and her very nature itself, are deeply unsettling to many people, she is marketed as the pinnacle of HoloSys's achievements, and seen by many as one of the chief representatives of everything HoloSys stands for. With Sophia's success, there is no doubt that further advancements in holo-augs will be made.

---

The Shadownet

Of course, not all is what it seems, and much lies beneath the surface. HoloSys is large but fragmented, its propaganda fraught with holes and its law enforcement far from all-reaching. As what the original dark web was to the internet, the shadownet is composed of the hidden parts of the holonet outside of HoloSys's control or knowledge. As a place where information is almost completely unregulated, there exists a dizzying swirl of rumors and conspiracy theories in the shadownet, mixed with genuine criminal activity and leaked corporate secrets, so much so that its reliability can be even worse than HoloSys-controlled mass media. Some of the most prominent practices and rumors in the shadownet are listed below.

Holohacking: Holohacking refers to the illegal production and modification, in either hardware or software, of holotech. Since only HoloSys is legally permitted to produce and modify holotech, doing so without being a HoloSys employee automatically makes one a hacker. In the dark depths of the shadownet, bootleg holotech is modified and traded, with wildly varying levels of safety and quality; some can rival even secret internal HoloSys technologies, while others can outright get the user killed.

Holofaking: With the ubiquity of holography, it's natural that it can be used to mimic the likeness of pre-existing individuals; identity verification has become far more elaborate in response. Holofaking is technically legal as long as it is not used to impersonate or deceive, but corporations like HoloSys tend to be highly protective of their imagery, launching aggressive legal assaults against high-profile holofaking cases, which mostly limits the activity to the shadownet. The most well-known holofake is the underground virtual idol Utasaki Aria, whose face and bodily proportions are copies of those of Sophia Neumann herself; a significant portion of the shadownet sees her as a symbol of freedom and rebellion against the oppressive control of HoloSys.

Holomancy: The biggest rumor in the shadownet is the existence of holomancy, the ability to manipulate holomatter with nothing but one's mind, akin to superpowers or magic. It actually exists but is rare and very poorly understood. Holomantic potential depends on the person, and may be inborn or awakened after certain significant experiences. Footage of public demonstrations of supposed holomancy circulate widely, but much of it is faked through a combination of holofakes and holo-augs; HoloSys denies its existence using that as an excuse.

Saklas Syndrome: A rumor that began circulating a few years ago, referring to rare and inexplicable cases of coma, catatonia, or psychosis following prolonged VR use; it's unclear where the name originated. The safety of VR holotech has long since been thoroughly demonstrated; even if a victim's deep VR implant is completely taken over by a hacker, significant physiological distress still causes it to disconnect, preventing the hacker from trapping the victim in VR. As a result, attempted explanations of the syndrome are speculative at best.

Other Notable Conspiracy Theories:
- Holomatter is of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin, and there exist other worlds composed entirely of holomatter.
- Other paranormal occurrences are related to holomatter, including major historical events.
- Secret underground organizations are behind HoloSys, or HoloSys itself is nothing but a front to such an organization.

---

Magic System

I call it the "magic" system, but it really covers everything that grants capabilities beyond real life modern technology. Some of these are available to theoretically anyone, while others are only available to Persona users.

General Rules

In general, every magical effect has an associated "power level", which determines the energy density of the effect, the rate at which the effect extracts vacuum energy, and how resistant the effect is to disruption when clashing against an opposing effect. Circumstantial factors like good tactics and weakness exploitation can tilt things in your favor, but there is often not much you can do if your opponent's power level is overwhelmingly stronger than yours. For Personas users and similar entities, their power levels can often be increased by practice, experience, and certain significant events.

Independently of power level, sustained exertion builds up strain at a rate inversely proportional to the user's skill and efficiency, which requires rest to recover from. Player characters can expect to regain full strength after one night of rest, though overexertion can lengthen the process. Exceptionally efficient entities can keep working indefinitely without rest at a moderate level of exertion.

There are some more specific instances of the power level rule.
- No effect can be unblockable, undodgeable, irresistible, immune, or absolute in any other way. Again, has to obey power levels.
- All effects must originate from the user and travel to their targets, even if invisibly. Otherwise the effect would have infinite speed, which implies infinite power level. For example, to manipulate a rock, you have to send out your geomantic magic to permeate that rock first.
- No magical effect can work in terms of abstract concepts or semantics. Everything must be based on physics and power levels.
- Every entity has generic magic resistance proportional to power level, in addition to specific elemental resistances. As a result, you can't directly manipulate the matter that makes up another entity's body unless your power level is overwhelmingly stronger than the target's.

There are some categories of abilities and effects that are notoriously hard to balance. You must consult me first if you want to have any abilities in any of the following categories.
- Any mind-altering effect more specific than inducing hallucinations or approximate emotions in the target.
- Space manipulation, portals, teleportation, and intangibility.
- Time manipulation, precognition, postcognition, and time travel. This category in particular is banned in all but the most extreme and specific plot circumstances, so don't get your hopes up.
- Anything that deals with the soul.

Lastly, a common type of entity is the amorphous entity made of some homogeneous substance, seemingly lacking vital organs. Such entities are held together by internal circuits of holomatter, so anything that disrupts said circuits or destroys the substance can damage the amorphous being. Strong physical blows can cause stress to said circuits as well, which takes energy to recover from, meaning amorphous beings are not immune to physical attacks.

Holotronic Powers

The most common holomantic ability is holo-sense, an extrasensory ability to detect holomatter around oneself; it can also be obtained via holo-augs. Accuracy and range improves with skill, and the most skilled can replace their mundane senses entirely with holo-sense. Most holotronic objects have specific "auras" that register to the holo-sense as synesthesia, conveying appropriate feelings of images and concepts. Certain effects can mask objects from holo-sense or block it out, which can in turn be defeated by more skilled sensors.

Holo-weapons are futuristic weapons, melee or ranged, composed of holomatter, though the term can also encompass armor and other equipment. Many of them are conjured on the spot via schematics. The energy used to conjure a holo-weapon can be reclaimed by breaking the weapon down into holomatter and reabsorbing it, though the energy is lost if the weapon is destroyed. Ammunition and explosives are almost always destroyed on use, so they cost energy, and most other holo-weapons also cost energy to maintain their powers.

Holo-scripts are specific effects composed of holomatter spontaneously projected into the world, akin to magic spells. Skilled users can modify and combine them in various ways. They almost always cost energy to use.

Both holo-weapons and holo-scripts can be conjured through specific holotronic devices, potentially implanted in the user's body. A holomancer can conjure both through his mind, though the types of weapons, scripts, and modifications he can use depend on his personal aptitudes and skills; some are generalists and others specialists.

Most holo-scripts are roughly categorized by elements and combinations thereof. Every element has a good degree of variety within itself, and someone may have aptitude for only a subset of an element, e.g. an earth user who specializes in metal. The general fighting style of each element is given, though a user with very high skill level or unusual aptitude may be able to subvert these styles (e.g. a defensive wind user with walls of compressed air). Also, note that due to the power level rule earlier, there is no elemental immunity, absorption, or reflection, only resistance.

Elements

Fire:
- Physical: Conjures explosions. Very high burst damage, but lacks defensive power.
- Magical: Conjures heat, flames, and explosions. Has both high burst and sustained damage, but relatively lacking in utility. Can cleanse and strongly buff offensive power.

Water:
- Physical: Conjures liquid with adjustable viscosity and pressure. Versatile and fluid in form.
- Magical: Conjures ice, snow, and cold. Can defend the user, and slow down or trap enemies. Can heal, cleanse, and preserve.

Air:
- Physical: Conjures wind and compressed gas. Very fast, but lacks defensive power.
- Magical: Conjures electricity and magnetic fields. Very fast, and can paralyze or disrupt enemies. Can buff agility and speed.

Earth
- Physical: Conjures earth and plant matter. Strong and durable, but relatively slow.
- Magical: Conjures toxic and corrosive chemicals. High damage over time, and can inflict a variety of physical ailments. Can heal, cleanse, and buff defense.

Light:
- Physical: Conjures solid light. Strong and versatile but lacks permanence, dissipating when disrupted. Resists natural elements but weak to dark.
- Magical: Conjures radiant holy energy. Good at disrupting, restraining, and pacifying enemies. Can heal, cleanse, and buff defense.

Dark:
- Physical: Conjures solid darkness. Strong and versatile but lacks permanence, dissipating when disrupted. Resists natural elements but weak to light.
- Magical: Conjures shadowy demonic energy. Good at cursing, debilitating, and weakening enemies. Can drain life and strongly buff offensive power.

Psychic:
- Physical: Conjures telekinetic force fields. Strong and versatile but lacks permanence, dissipating when disrupted. Resists natural elements but mildly weak to supernatural elements.
- Magical: Conjures illusions and mind-disrupting psychic waves. Bypasses many types of physical defense and inflicts mental ailments. Very good at psychic defense and cleansing mental ailments.

Nuclear:
- Physical: Conjures gravitational waves and spatial distortions. Lacking in direct damage, but can shift the battle with large pushing and pulling fields.
- Magical: Conjures nuclear plasma and chaotic energies. Weakens the structural integrity of irradiated targets and reacts violently with other energies. Can enhance magic in unpredictable ways.

Almighty:
- Physical: Conjures unidentifiable exotic matter. Powerful, versatile, and has no weaknesses, but very rare and hard to use.
- Magical: Conjures mysterious otherworldly energy. Very powerful, and nothing has resistance against it, but very rare and hard to use.

Shadows and Personae

These are the actual supernatural elements of the setting. Very few people know of their existence, and they are poorly understood in general. More about them will be revealed as the story progresses.

The Abyss, Shadows, and Shadow Palaces

The Abyss is an otherworldly realm that exists in parallel to the physical world, full of a mysterious form of supernatural dark energy called "miasma" by the few who know of its existence. It is something different from holomatter, capable of similar feats on its own, yet resonates with holomatter easily, resulting in the shallower layers of the Abyss becoming akin to physical manifestations of the deeper layers of the shadownet. Travelling through the Abyss's miasmal currents can thus take someone to a corresponding site in the shadownet and vice versa.

The shadow archetype, a concept from Jungian psychology, represents a person's suppressed subconscious desires and aspects of himself that he does not want to accept. When a person is exposed to high levels of miasma, most likely from an Abyss-linked part of the shadownet, the buried dark side of his psyche may physically manifest as a Shadow, a spiritual entity composed of miasma initially resembling a dark reflection of its host. The mental state of a Shadow ranges from animalistic to having a fully cognizant alternate personality, and its attitude toward the host can vary wildly, depending on the specifics of the host's personality. But in the most likely case where the host attempts to reject his Shadow, the psychological duress causes the Shadow to shift into a monstrous form symbolizing its nature and go out of control, wielding miasma-based supernatural powers, where it is highly likely to kill its host. The trauma of its host's death then causes the Shadow to lose the last vestiges of its humanity, resulting in rapid psychological distortion into a full-fledged monster. These Shadows are then doomed to wander the Abyss, where they may mutate, split, merge, and breed. Other forms of Shadow production also exist, such as spontaneous generation from the aggregate of mass emotions and desires, or arising from a recently dead person like a ghost.

The Abyss is typically filled with holo-fog, the result of holotronic data degradation, with vague structures resembling shadownet sites. But a very strong-willed Shadow can cause the fog to coalesce into a Shadow Palace, a concrete locale of varying size and danger, reflecting its nature much like its appearance. A Palace can further change as its inhabitants do.

Arcana Codes and Personae

The Shadow does not necessarily represent negative qualities, simply ones that have been denied and suppressed and now gone out of control. The healthiest solution is almost always for the host to accept his Shadow and reintegrate it into his psyche, transforming the Shadow's negatives into positives and becoming a step closer to psychological completion. Such a thing is easier said than done, however, and the Shadow's miasma is a power not many humans can tame.

Helping with the task greatly are Arcana Codes, mysterious holo-scripts of unknown origin and incredible complexity. An Arcana Code can permanently fuse with a compatible host to grant holomancy if the host doesn't already have it, and its presence allows the host to temper his Shadow into a Persona, a spiritual projection of his inner self. Manifesting the Persona can be taxing, but its powers are undeniable, greatly complementing and bolstering the host's. It will grow with its host and may even undergo a significant metamorphosis, but it is also impacted by the host's thoughts and feelings. If the host succumbs to major psychological trauma, it is possible for the Persona to go berserk or even regress back into the host's Shadow.

The Persona is usually named after a mythological or historical figure whose story resonates with the host's personality, though this association is only thematic, and does not imply the actual existence of mythological beings. As a result, Persona names are not unique, and multiple people can have Personae named after the same mythological figure, each presenting a different interpretation of said figure. Moreover, the power level of a Persona solely depends on the power level of the host, and has no correlation with the power level of the mythological figure the Persona is named after within its own story.

The Arcana Code manifests as a glowing holotronic circuit-like Tarot card, depicting one of the Major Arcana that suits the host. The front of the card is the same for all cards of that arcana, though the color scheme of the card frame and pattern on the back of the card depend on the host's personality. When manifesting his Persona, a shadowy figure rises out of the host, then the card materializes, before dissolving into streams of glowing holotrons that wrap around the shadowy figure and transform it into the Persona. Arcana Codes are not unique, nor is each mythological figure's association with any Arcana, due to the different interpretations of said figure that different people can have.

A list of Major Arcana and their usual meanings are listed below. I know that there are many different and complex Tarot interpretations out there, but these are the ones I've chosen to use. If this summary isn't enough, you can look at this guide. Nonstandard Arcana from nonstandard Tarot decks, such as the Thoth deck or Minchiate, are not allowed, for plot reasons.

Major Arcana

0 - Fool: [NOT AVAILABLE TO PLAYERS.]

I - Magician: Creativity, resourcefulness, cunning, focus.

II - High Priestess: Intuition, mystery, subconsciousness, emotion.

III - Empress: Fertility, life, nourishment, healing.

IV - Emperor: Authority, stability, order, tradition.

V - Hierophant: Spirituality, faith, wisdom, insight.

VI - Lovers: Harmony, sharing, connections, trust.

VII - Chariot: Ambition, victory, persistence, purpose.

VIII - Justice: Fairness, balance, honesty, morality.

IX - Hermit: Solitude, meditation, guidance, searching.

X - Fortune: Evolution, destiny, opportunity, luck.

XI - Strength: Willpower, courage, patience, self-control.

XII - Hanged Man: Sacrifice, altruism, acceptance, surrender.

XIII - Death: Termination, rebirth, change, cyclicity.

XIV - Temperance: Moderation, compromise, synthesis, duality.

XV - Devil: Amorality, freedom, domination, materialism.

XVI - Tower: Turmoil, upheaval, awakening, resolution.

XVII - Star: Hope, inspiration, peace, protection.

XVIII - Moon: Instinct, dream, imagination, trickery.

XIX - Sun: Optimism, joy, confidence, satisfaction.

XX - Judgement: [NOT AVAILABLE TO PLAYERS.]

XXI - World: [NOT AVAILABLE TO PLAYERS.]

---

Character Sheet

Character Sheet

Name: Can include full name, nicknames, pseudonyms, titles, epithets, and the like.

Age: Remember that the year is 2050. Human augmentation only became big in the past decade, so it's unlikely that your character would be outside the normal human age span.

Gender: Sex change surgeries and LGBTQ rights have gotten more robust, so non-binary gender identities are somewhat more widely accepted than they are in real life; holotech also makes it easier than ever to disguise one’s biological sex. But remember, you don't need to focus on gender issues unless it makes sense for your character and would make a good story.

Appearance: Holotech allows fashion to be considerably more elaborate and outlandish than in real life, so flashy anime-esque appearances are likely okay. If you're not sure, ask me first.

Personality: You don't have to give an extensive psychoanalysis of your character, but a general summary is helpful. Think about your character's preferences, principles, aspirations, fears, etc.. These are going to be important to the character's Arcana, Shadow, and Persona. If you want a character with split personalities or similar unusual mental features, ask me first and we'll work out how this affects the Shadow and Persona.

Backstory: Again, only a general summary will suffice, though you'll need to have my permission first if you want to have any secret parts of your character's backstory that are not revealed to the public. As the introduction suggests, the standard plot hook is that your character is a hacker of some sort, who has been exposed to miasma from some unknown channel in the shadownet and thus gets attacked by his Shadow. Your character is then rescued by the mysterious virtual idol Utasaki Aria, who grants your character an Arcana Code and helps your character transfigure his Shadow into a Persona. She'll then try to recruit your character into her hacker group focused on investigating the Saklas syndrome, where she acts as the navigator. This is expected to play out in your first few posts where your character is introduced, though if you want, you can have your character not gain his Persona right away, and instead get rescued by the other characters early on in the game. If you don't want to take this plot hook, you'll have to talk to me so we can work out something to properly involve your character.

Skills: Your character's mundane skills without the aid of holotech or supernatural powers, though this line can be blurry if your character is heavily augmented. Ask me if you're unsure.

Abilities and Equipment: Your character's holomantic abilities and holotronic equipment and augmentations that do not involve the use of his Persona. Ask me if you want to know whether a particular piece of technology is feasible in the setting. Your character is exceedingly unlikely to have any special powers not derived from holotronics or the Persona, though it's not entirely off the table if you can convince me it's a good idea.

Arcana Code: Include a brief description of why this arcana suits your character, as well as the card frame's color scheme, pattern on its back, and any unusual features it has. Keep in mind that the card's appearance cannot deviate too far from the norm due to plot reasons.

Shadow: Summarize the repressed qualities represented by your character's Shadow, as well as its human and monstrous appearances. Note that unlike canon Persona games, your Shadow's human form does not have to have yellow eyes. Make note of it if the Shadow has any abilities not shared with your character's Persona.

Persona: Summarize the thematic connections between your Persona and the mythological or historical figure it's named after, and its appearance. A general summary of the Persona's elements, abilities, and fighting style is needed, though you don't need to list every single thing your Persona can do. If you're unsure whether a specific action fits your Persona's moveset, ask me, and I'll call you out if I feel that it's an asspull. You can have a few minor elemental resistances for free, but major resistances need to be balanced out by vulnerabilities. Lastly, a three-stat system will be used to approximately gauge your character's Persona's strengths and weaknesses. You have 30 points to distribute freely among these stats, though some Personae may have multiple forms that have different stat spreads.
- Might: How effective the Persona is at using brute force in offensive and supportive moves. Does not differentiate between physical and magical.
- Endurance: The Persona's defense, sustain, and recovery. Includes capability to survive long drawn-out fights and supporting the durability of teammates.
- Finesse: The Persona's mobility, agility, precision, and ability to analyze and exploit weaknesses, in both offense and support.

A blank character sheet can be found below and copied for your convenience.

Blank Character Sheet

[b]Name[/b]:

[b]Age[/b]:

[b]Gender[/b]:

[b]Appearance[/b]:

[b]Personality[/b]:

[b]Backstory[/b]:

[b]Skills[/b]:

[b]Abilities and Equipment[/b]:

[b]Arcana Code[/b]:

[b]Shadow[/b]:

[b]Persona[/b]:

---

Rules

All guild rules apply. In addition, there are a few points that I want to clarify and emphasize.

- Each player is not limited to one character. Feel free to make multiple characters if you think you can handle it, within reason. You can make minor characters that are more akin to NPCs, and potentially turn them into major characters later if you want.

- I am someone who takes internal consistency and verisimilitude very seriously. Therefore, if I see something in your post that I believe to be a plot hole, I'm almost always going to ask you to fix it. If you don't, I may have to gratuitously retcon some things, or even declare your post invalid.

- Don't godmod. When interacting with another character, work together with that character's owner to ensure everyone's actions, reactions, and consequences remain consistent. That includes NPCs controlled by the GM and co-GM.

- I'll try to give player characters a moderate amount of plot armor and good luck. But actions have consequences, and the suspension of disbelief only stretches so far. Keep that in mind before you try to make a dangerously reckless character.

- Mature topics involving corruption on both personal and societal levels will be discussed in the plot. As per forum rules, there won't be anything explicit, nor will I make things pointlessly grimdark, but just be aware that this isn't an innocent kids' show.

- If you want to leave the game, I'll try to retcon out your character's existence. If that's not feasible, I'll try to remove your character from the plot as painlessly as possible.