MrSkimobile

Rerun: Blackguards!

Brorin Foul

Brorin's voice stuck in his throat as the images and words flooded his mind. Sulfrey. Barbarians. The God-King sitting in his dead hall. That knowing smile. Red hair. A scar. Hordes of horned knights pouring over the kingdom. Blood. Then silence.

Then noise. The walls crumbling down. The world slipping away from him. Darkness closing in on him. Heart pounding, eye flitting, but nothing. Nothing but noise! And through the haze... That smile...

"Why do we keep him, father?" - "You will find out in the end, son." Echoes carry far in a church...
"I've got a treat for you, a right Foul task today." Those smiles...
"You still not dead yet?"
"You...? Why...?" Now it was his turn to smile...

Brorin's knees buckled as he fell into... Softness. A wheat field? He felt a cool breeze run through his eye socket. And there were birds! His heart calmed at a steady pace, only to flare up again as he noticed his mask had slipped. With trembling hands, he picked it up and put it back where it belonged, over his fair, unblemished half-face. You could dress up a monster, but why cover up the truth?

Grabbing his cane - his equipment all seemed to be there, alchemy satchel and all - he pushed himself up through what dizziness still lingered. Finally he could get a good look at these "chosen ones". There was a huge, brutish woman, not one to mince words that one, not even with the Warden, what few words she knew. A pale giantess surveying the scene with a stone-cold detachment, or was it dejection? An elf with a high and haughty posture, but hiding something in a sleeve of her dress. A ghostly girl, shy and red-eyed. A man who seemed too pridefully robed to have been a mere criminal, a psychopath, perhaps? A dark beast, its armor bloodied already. A lanky, silver-haired, ember-eyed man. And a halfling hidden in all their shadows. And then there was him... Blackguards, all.

What a joke. What a cruel joke. For a moment Brorin turned away, toying with the idea of leaving them in the dust of this soon-to-be destroyed land. Plagueborn were despised everywhere equally anyway, it wouldn't make much of a difference wherever he went. But he quickly remembered that he will do what She has said. That is all. He snickered, nodded, then he went silent. He truly wasn't getting out of this one, was he? They truly would have to kill a God-King, weren't they? And no one would truly lose a night of sleep for them if they died... would they? He muttered a verse from under his rasping breath. "Even the fools will find out they fit in the end, huh? Damned witch..."

Brorin turned back to the ones nearest to him. "Which way's east, friends?"

Neon Noir (Cyberpunk Crime Thriller) - CLOSED to new players for now

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Are you still in? Yeah, why? Meet me at the usual spot. Be in good shape. What's the rush? We've got a new job. Details? Encrypted. Meet me. Fine. Give me 30.
[EOT]

Took you long enough. Traffic's a nightmare. What's so urgent? We're hitting a [D̡̗͍̘̬̜̎̕A̦̲̤̩̓́̅̇T̛͖̠̄͊̃̂A̰͑͒̎ ̢̜͔̎ͅC̪̅̇́͒Ò͔̫̙̺͇̍̒͝ͅR͍̎͐́̆͝R̘̘̺̩͍̀̇̉͗͊Ù͈̦̻̒̌̽͝P͕͇̼̈̀T̻̘̓͋̽̐͊̈́I̛̗̺̣̠͛̚͜͝ͅO̮̮̼͕̥͛̆͊̓̐͆N̪̥͍̩̄͑͊]. Again? This one's different. They're up to something big. What kind of something? Not sure. But someone's willing to pay a fortune for it. Sounds risky. That's why they hired us. Any backup? Just us. Great. What's the plan? Infiltrate, retrieve, get out. Simple enough. Don't underestimate it. We move in five.
[EOT]

You good? Yeah. You? Got what we came for. What about security? Dealt with, permanently. So now what? Lay low. Wait for our next move. Should we be worried? Always.
[EOT]

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Welcome to Neon-York! The year is 2177, human cybernetic augmentation and robots are commonplace, and recently, a series of crimes have reverberated the Pyramid-City of Neon and Chrome across all of its three city layers. From the lower-city districts to the upper-city penthouses, no one seems safe, as a clear connection between them is missing save for one: a complete wipe of the victim's brain. As private investigators, fembot fatales, slumdog mentalists, and possibly mental cases too, you will deep-dive into crime scenes, computer systems and cybernetic minds across the city to uncover the madness behind the mystery.


^{(Image source: Rolly Rocket by Valenberg on DeviantArt}

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About the Game

Neon-Noir is a comfy-dystopian cyber-sleuthing RPG inspired by the settings and the feel of Cyberpunk 2077, L.A. Noire, and Eclipse Phase.

Player count has currently 0 free spots. So please check back later. Happy to have you!

The code of conduct:

• Standard board rules apply.
• Don’t be a d*ck (but don't be too easily slighted either).
• We play a minimum of once-weekly updates.
• Though roleplay may involve mature themes, there will be no explicit 18+ roleplay.
• Anything else can be discussed and determined by the group in OOC.
• The GM decides on matters that can’t be resolved by the group, and can always be consulted.
• Keep real-life politics, religion, and drama 'off the table'.
• Most importantly: Have fun!

The Fate Accelerated PBP system (thread): in this game we will use the Fate Accelerated system adapted to play-by-post. It is a minimal system of rules for collaborative storytelling games (see the thread if you want a thorough explanation with many examples, or here for a one-pager quick-reference). As it is a narrative-first system, play will not be very different from your usual RPG on this site. The changes will mostly be in how challenge and conflicts are resolved (elements of randomness), in that players are rewarded for acting in-character (even when that means getting into trouble, or failing sometimes), and in how players can add to the setting. If you have any questions about it, please don't hesitate to ask me. I will remind players of the rules as they become relevant, and will check-up with you, and update these as we learn what does and doesn't work.

Submit your Character Sheet for approval in OOC, using the template in the Resources below. Notice how it is quite minimal. This is on purpose: this lets other players quickly understand your character and how to interact with them, it gives you a lot of freedom in how to apply and develop your character in-game, and through the Fate system, these aspects can come back to help you (without your character becoming overpowered), or bite you in the ass. In my experience, it works best to focus on a few meaningful aspects you’d find interesting to play rather than choosing what you think is ‘optimal’, or very rigidly pre-defining the entirety of the character. Also consider if it fits the established setting (see the Glossary below).

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Resources

Character Sheet

[header with the character name, colored by IC speech color - check if it is sufficiently legible and different from other players'!]
[optional image representing the character - if possible, credit the source]

Name: character name, colored by the speech color you'll use in-character
Gender: M/F/W
Refresh: how much Fate Points this character starts with each chapter, usually 3
Description: a 1-paragraph summary of the character, including appearance, personality, skills and history

Approaches: how does this character approach challenges: Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, Sneaky?

• Good (+3) at: pick 1 approach
• Fair (+2) at: pick 2 approaches
• Average (+1) at: pick 2 approaches
• Mediocre (+0) at: pick 1 approach

Aspects: 5 short-and-sweet descriptions of the character, 1 for each of the following categories. Each aspects has to be one single meaningful and descriptive fact/aspect about the character. These can be invoked in-game for 1 Fate Point to get bonuses on rolls, or can be used to compel you into action, so make sure to think about how you want to actually play this character. Any flavoring, details and interesting or fun facts about the character are better put in the description, writing sample, and the trivia sections.

• High Concept: short phrase summarizing your character as a whole
• Trouble: short phrase summarizing a flaw or obstacle that frequently complicates this character's life
• Want: short phrase summarizing what this character wants, or what's really important to them
• Relationship: short phrase summarizing their relationship with another (preferably player) character
• Extra: short phrase summarizing any other thing you think is important to know about this character

Stunts: special abilities/traits/items the character can use for 1 Fate Point

• Because I am/have/know trait/item/ability, I can create an effect/get a bonus when some in-game condition is met.
• add more, up to 5 in total; try to vary them, some utility, some combat, some trivial, some 'ultimates'. Ask GM for help if needed.
• if you want MORE than 3, up to a max. of 5 stunts, your Refresh will be decreased by 1 for every stunt over 3 as a trade-off. That means each chapter you'd start with LESS Fate Points, and therefore would be able to USE your Stunts/Aspects less often out of the gate!
• Making Stunts is often the most difficult thing to get right on the first go. SO ASK GM IF YOU'D LIKE HELP!

Trivia: anything else you want to add about this character that isn't essential, but still fun to know

• Possibilities: face claim, speech color, theme song, other fun facts (favorite drink, NPC connections, etc.)

Writing Sample: 2-3 paragraphs of IC writing illustrating this character (for example their life, mindset, potential storylines and themes).

EXAMPLE Character Sheet

Name: Lola Shon
Gender: F
Refresh: 3
Description: Based on her utilitarian looks alone, you'd never take her for the feisty and ruthless business woman she is. With short black hair, tanktop, several guns hidden in the pockets of her cargopants, critical eyes, and a blabbermouth that would put the Mid-City Neurovid actors to shame, Lola Shon is a large personality in a petite frame. No surprise too: a brainstim-dealer's job is a hard life - a successful one, even harder - and Lola has quite the resume. Currently endebted to the Staten Island Thugs, she scours the city with her Centurion Hoverbike and trusty guard dog for their next big job.

Approaches:

• Good (+3) at: Sneaky
• Fair (+2) at: Quick, Flashy
• Average (+1) at: Forceful, Careful
• Mediocre (+0) at: Clever

Aspects:

• High Concept: I am the hottest brainstim-dealer in this blasted city.
• Trouble: I only look out for numero uno.
• Want: I need to pay off my debt to the Staten Thugs, and soon.
• Relationship: Bacchi is my trusty guard dog, and my only friend.
• Extra: I’ve kitted out my hoverbike with some surprising modifications.

Stunts:

• Because I Always Shoot First, I can gain a +3 bonus on Attacking Quickly during the first round of a Conflict.
• Because I Have The PR_SEC v.12 Package Installed On My Neural Chip, once per chapter/session, I may declare I found a way past or out of trouble.
• Because I Have Many 'Medicinal' Stims, once per chapter/session, 1 Mild Consequence may be Recovered on anyone during a conflict.

Copyable Character Sheet Template

[hider=CHARACTER_NAME]
[center][h1][color=]CHARACTER_NAME[/color][/h1]
[img][/img]
[sup](image source: [url=]... by ... on ...[/url])[/sup][/center]

[b]Name[/b]: [color=][b]CHARACTER_NAME[/b][/color]
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Refresh[/b]: 3
[b]Description[/b]:

[b]Approaches[/b]:
[list][*] [b]Good (+3) at[/b]:
[*] [b]Fair (+2) at[/b]:
[*] [b]Average (+1) at[/b]:
[*] [b]Mediocre (+0) at[/b]:
[/list]
[b]Aspects[/b]:
[list]
[*] [b]High Concept[/b]:
[*] [b]Trouble[/b]:
[*] [b]Want[/b]:
[*] [b]Relationship[/b]:
[*] [b]Extra[/b]:
[/list]
[b]Stunts[/b]:
[list]
[*]
[/list]
[b]Trivia[/b]:[list]
[*]
[/list]
[b]Writing Sample[/b]:
[/hider]

Player Post Footer

... ROLEPLAY AS USUAL. Feel free to use your own title card. When using the footer (only really necessary during conflict/contest/challenge scenes, don’t forget to remove the ‘dot’ in the [.hr] in the template ...

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Action: actions plus rolls ex. Attack Forcefully + Invoke (1+2+2 = 5) | FP: FP cost of the action, ex. -1 | Stress: if any stress boxes have to be ticked, ex. tick 1 | Consequences: if any consequences are taken, ex. Concussion (2)
Scene: LINK_TO_SCENE | Tag: player tags, ex. @MrSkimobile

Copyable Player Post Footer Template

[.hr][b]Action[/b]: | [b]FP[/b]: | [b]Stress[/b]: | [b]Consequences[/b]:
[b]Scene[/b]: [url=]SCENE[/url] | [b]Tag[/b]:

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Glossary

Glossary

This glossary keeps a list of descriptions and aspects of the various locations, creatures, items, and other worldbuilding elements for this story. Entries are listed in alphabetical order, and will be added or changed as the game progresses. If you have any ideas for worldbuilding elements, feel free to propose them for GM approval!

↦ AI: Artificial Intelligences are computer programs that imitate (some would say surpass) biological brain functions. Though some are highly specialized, most general-purpose ‘local’ AI are limited to human-level intelligence due to energy and compute limitations.

↦ Bits: the currency of the world in 2177. Though it comes in different forms, from parallel resource and reputation systems, to company-internal productivity points and monthly allocated processing power, everything can be reduced to bits in the end.

↦ Cybernetics: broad term for technological augmentations. Robotic limbs, multi-spectral eye-cams, neural interfaces, pheromone dispensers, smartwatch skin-graft, multi-functional nanite-tattoos. You name it, they probably have it. Most bio's are augmented in basic ways.

↦ Extranet: once advertised as ‘the internet, but more!’, this network of networks of information systems, digital twins, AI’s, roaming Minds, and layers upon layers of augmented and virtual reality, has grown to permeate most of everyday experience, with most physical objects in some way being linked to it.

↦ Human: good old-fashioned (mostly) flesh-and-blood humans.

↦ Neon-York: the massive arcology city formally known as ‘New York’. It is made up of 3 interconnected layers stacked on top of each other like a pyramid, shielded from the outside environment. The Lower City comprises its original boroughs plus a sprawl of many more recent ones, with a tangle of high-speed skylanes and optical datalanes for travel running throughout. The Lower City houses most of the city’s inhabitants, from the ungoverned and indentured to the neo-religious communes, sub-urbanites and data center tenants. The City Center is its second tier, mostly made up of commercial, cultural and governance districts, and houses the travel hubs connecting it to other megacities. Last, but not least, the Upper City is a truly mysterious place, said to be occupied only by the most important influences of the city.

↦ Omni-fab: devices able to (dis)assemble most items to and from a raw ‘basepaste’ and (bought and paid for, of course) specification files. A.k.a. replicator, fabricator, 'fab. Small-scale devices found at servicing stations are often called 'microfab', whereas 'macrofabs' are used in large-scale fabrication.

↦ PID: ‘Persistent Identifier’, collection of a personality’s records (birth/creation/modification timestamps, passport) and other tracked data (certificates, medical/criminal/ad history). Used as a form of official identification, but also to authenticate aspects of a personality (clearances). A.k.a. Profile.

↦ Power: ah, power, that most wanted and despised thing… But who wields it in this world of ruthless business interests, AI anarcho-trolls, government gangs, and x-celebs? A good question! To which not even the quantum computers, cracking chaos theory conundrums 86.400.000 milliseconds a day 7 days a week, have an answer. Skulls may crack and bits may clank, but who truly owns the soul of a man?

↦ Shape: the physical form a ‘personality’ currently inhabits. A.k.a. form, case, container, can, bin. These can be "bio's" such as the trad-born and pod-born, but also cyborg, robotic, or even entirely digital.

Rerun: Blackguards!

Brorin Foul

You have woken.

Brorin's eye flickered open. His breath, stuck in his throat. His heart, aflutter, yet heavy, weighed down by a magic ancient and terrible, waiting for him. Disorientation. A mere whisper never stirred him from his sleep here in the Maw. No, here he was safe, watched by friends, as he watched them. But this whisper? This one did. He felt the familiar streaks of cold tracing his body. All of it. And it was damp, like it was after a night filled with delirious dreams. and through the haze...

That voice –

That voice –

"Here to gloat at me once more, she-devil?" Brorin gasped, barely managing to push the words from his throat, stiffened by her invisible chains. It could well have been a death rattle, unless...

Patience, the Warden says, her voice like breaking glass.

Yes, he remembered the first time she revealed herself to him. Appeared in all her vainglory. Made a mockery of him. Beauty. A woman. The only one who never flinched when she saw his half-decayed form. Who gave him a second chance, or whatever this was. How dare she. Brorin gritted his teeth. Was it anger, fear?

All in due time. They are waking.

He heard the stirring forms around him. Who were they? Hearing their bodies move it was clear he wasn't with his own kind anymore. No, no dragging limbs, they were too controlled. Their breaths too... perfect. So then... What was he doing here? Why was he chosen?

All in due time.

Rerun: Blackguards!

Brorin Foul - The Plagueborn Apostate

Brorin Foul

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^{(source: Plague Necromancer Unmasked, by Hoken45 on Deviantart)}

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Name

Brorin Foul

Race

Plagueborn Human

Gender

Male

Age

28

Appearance

This young man is in his late 20's, and has striking eyes, one a piercing green and one an empty gaping eye socket. His black-and-white hair is cut short and unkempt. He is tall and pale from his banishment, but almost half of his body is heavily scarred, pitted, and discolored a purplish brown, all the way up to the left side of his face. He wears dark robes as a warning to others, and a half-face mask which covers his 'regular' skin and leaves his plagued side exposed for all to see. He often walks using a cane.

Personality

Brorin is standoffish, but not in a shy or reluctant manner. He stands fast and has fully accepted his monstrous appearance, and uses it without remorse to intimidate and keep others at bay. He chooses to mostly associate himself with people that are like him - different, downtrodden, diseased. He views the world through one core principle: that everything has an equal and opposite reaction. Everything that lives, dies. Everything that thrives, withers. Everything that is beautiful, will become disfigured. And he has no qualms helping this along when it suits him, though he does have a strange sense of etiquette about this. Still, every now and again he has outbursts in which he seems... not fully himself. After these, he often scourges himself, but whether this is truly for penitance, even he himself hasn't figured out yet.

Background

Brorin is a Plagueborn, a human born to parents during a time of great plagues. Brorin survived, but with one side of his body permanently scarred, and with a ragged, impotent breath. He doesn't know what happened to his parents, all he knows is that they gave him up to the mercy of the church. There he learnt The Holy Law via the whip's teachings, and was put on tasks befitting to one of his nature: corpse cleaner, grave digger, rat catcher. He met other Plagued on the streets during this time, and offered them the Law's solace, according to his own interpretation. In time, he got to know most of them, and knew he could count on them whenever he needed help. The other church-wards quickly awarded him the surname he lacked before: Brorin "Foul". Their whispers, the condescension in the priests' voices, the envy of their normalcy stirred parts of his heart he'd try to bury, but strange whispers started calling in his sleep. Swarming voices that spoke to his insecurities, his jealousy, his grudges. And one day he gave in. Even to this day he doesn't know exactly what came over him besides the short flashes of remembrance he has every now and again, but he does know that when it was done, the church had gone up in flames. He was cuffed before long and cast into the banishment of the Maw to suffer his own chosen path. Though life in the Maw proved hard and filled with suffering, he was quickly welcomed by others like him, others who somehow knew of his title. The Foul Gang was born, and though small, they managed to carve out a small territory for themselves which they held with a fierce, some would say ruthless, devotion.

Talents

Brorin has a high resistance to poison and illness due to his Plagueborn nature, as well as a high pain tolerance, to the point of near-feelinglessness on his plague-affected side. He and other Plagueborn often share an immediate solidarity, a stark contrast between non-Plagueborn, who are quick to shun and avoid him due to his monstrous intimidating appearance. He has an intimate knowledge of the Book of The Holy Law, as well as knowledge of alchemy and medicine from his tutelage in the church. These he has adapted to create various types of bombs (such as acid, freezing, and smoke bombs), as well as mutagenic substances which, when imbibed, can temporarily alter his Plagueborn's tissues into things truly horrifying (such as claws with paralyzing venom, quickly healing chitinous armor, or a hive structure housing insect-like minions).

Flaws

Due to his lacking breath and constitution, he is bad at tasks requiring very high amounts of stamina or strength without taking a mutagen. He is quick to judge others, and has a habit of isolating himself. Every now and again he has strange outbursts in which he seems not fully himself.

Equipment

Brorin owns a horn-carved cane which doubles as a bomb-throwing lever, and as a scourging whip. He also has a satchel with inside it a ragged copy of the Book of the Holy Law and some simple alchemy tools. He wears a simple leather vest underneath a dark hooded robe, and a half-face mask.

Miscellaneous

N/A

Rerun: Blackguards!

Took a bit longer as my original idea was too similar to another posted character. So here's the draft of my char. If you have changes you'd like me to make, please let me know and I'll be happy to.

Brorin Foul

Brorin Foul

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(source: Plague Necromancer Unmasked, by Hoken45 on Deviantart)

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Name

Brorin Foul

Race

Plagueborn Human

Gender

Male

Age

28

Appearance

This young man is in his late 20's, and has striking eyes, one a piercing brown and one an empty gaping eye socket. His black-and-white hair is cut short and unkempt. He is tall and pale from his banishment, but almost half of his body is heavily scarred, pitted, and discolored a greenish gray, all the way up to the left side of his face. He wears dark robes as a warning to others, and a half-face mask with a mirror-like sheen which covers his 'regular' skin and leaves his plagued side exposed for all to see. Due to his weakened physique on one side, he often walks wearing a cane.

Personality

Brorin is standoffish, but not in a shy or reluctant manner. He stands fast and has fully accepted his monstrous appearance, and uses it without remorse to intimidate and keep others at bay. He chooses to mostly associate himself with people that are like him - different, downtrodden, diseased. He views the world through one core principle: that everything has an equal and opposite reaction. Everything that lives, dies. Everything that thrives, withers. Everything that is beautiful, will become disfigured. And he has no qualms helping this along when it suits him, but he does seem to have a strange sense of etiquette or rules about this. Still, every now and again he has outbursts in which he seems... not fully himself. After these, he often scourges himself, but whether this is truly for penitance, even he himself hasn't figured out yet.

Background

Brorin is a Plagueborn, a human born to parents during a time of great plagues. Brorin survived, but with one side of his body permanently scarred, and with a ragged, impotent breath. He doesn't know what happened to his parents, all he knows is that they gave him up to the mercy of the church. There he learnt The Holy Law via tutelage by the whip, and was put on tasks befitting to one of his nature: corpse cleaner, grave digger, rat catcher. He met other Plagued on the streets during this time, and offered them the Law's solace, according to his own interpretation. In time, he got to know most of them, and knew he could count on them whenever he needed help. The other wards quickly awarded him the surname he lacked before: Brorin "Foul". Their whispers, the condescension in the priests' voices, the envy of their normalcy stirred parts of his heart he'd try to bury, but strange whispers started calling in his sleep. Swarming voices that spoke to his insecurities, his jealousy, his grudges. And one day he gave in. Even to this day he doesn't know exactly what came over him besides the short flashes of remembrance he has every now and again, but he does know that when it was done, the church had gone up in flames. He was cuffed before long and cast into the banishment of the Maw to suffer his own chosen path. Though life in the Maw proved hard and filled with suffering, he was quickly welcomed by others like him, others who somehow knew of his title. The Foul Gang was born, and though small, they managed to carve out a small territory for themselves which they held with a fierce, some would say ruthless, devotion.

Talents

Brorin has a high resistance to poison and illness due to his Plagueborn nature, as well as a high pain tolerance, to the point of near-feelinglessness on his plague-affected side. Any tissues on his plagued side can also be quickly regenerated when injured. Furthermore, his Plagueborn tissues secrete a strange miasma, which he is able to release through the pores of his plague-affected side and which can take several different effects, from temporary poisoning or paralyzing an enemy who comes into contact with his skin, to attracting and controlling insects using pheromone-like fumes. He and other Plagueborn often share an immediate solidarity, a stark contrast between non-Plagueborn, who are quick to shun and avoid him due to his monstrous appearance. He has an intimate knowledge of the Book of The Holy Law, as well as basic knowledge of alchemy and medicine from his tutelage in the church.

Flaws

Due to his impotent breath, he is bad at tasks requiring high amounts of stamina. He is quick to judge others, and has a habit of isolating himself. Every now and again he has strange outbursts in which he seems not fully himself. When faced truly on his own, he is rather frail and weak.

Equipment

Brorin owns a horn-carved sword-cane, a scourging whip, and a ragged copy of the Book of the Holy Law. He wears dark robes, and a half-face mask with a mirror-sheen.

Miscellaneous

N/A

Rerun: Blackguards!

@Red Wizard Working on it. Will post the CS this Sunday.

@Skwint Every good crew needs some fresh meat. ;) Seriously, though, that just means the character will have more options for character development during play.

Rerun: Blackguards!

I'd like to join, and am thinking of making a victim/harbinger of bad luck, think a Harvey Dent-esque cleric of Beshaba.

Hello there!

Hello everyone,

MrSkimobile here. I've been play-by-post roleplaying on and off for decades now, from Pokemon to Star Wars to DND, all kinds of genres and settings. I like writing a lot, but I do have a full time job, so I won't be posting every single day. My other hobbies include boxing, painting, reading and running.

I suspect casual/advanced section would be a nice place for me to check out, but I'm not quite sure what the etiquette is regarding joining games. Can I just go into the OOC section and ask to join?

Looking forward to create nice things with you all.