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Lords of The Seven Points [Gothic Fantasy involving Cosmic Horrors]

Updated OP.

Lords of The Seven Points [Gothic Fantasy involving Cosmic Horrors]

@Sierra, at the moment my thought process is potentially traveling to the Academy and investigating a missing group of Pilgrims.

Edit: Starting out, I'd like the group of characters to be just be leaving one of the cities and entering the Wastes. Then, during their journeys to hear about another group going missing.

Lords of The Seven Points [Gothic Fantasy involving Cosmic Horrors]

The Arcane Well sits on a plane unto itself and is the source of power Mages draw from in order to weave their grand works of magic. Each Mage is connected to the well the way all moving water is eventually connected to the ocean, forming a web of magic enveloping our world. The Mages of The Academy have studied this conenction and delved into the msyteries of magic surrounding our world. Like any learned person of the age, they have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Their thirst brought the attention of gods... or so they believed. These gods offered them a deeper knowledge, and in their arrogance the Mages of The Academy accepted. They were granted vast knowledge of the cosmos and of the true nature of the gods before them, seeing through the masks they wore. The knowledge shattered their minds and drove them mad. The gods used the Mages in their broken state to navigate the currents of magic and poisoned the Arcane Well with their vile touch. The corruption twisted the Mages into vile things of nightmare, resembling the very gods who broke and twisted them. The corruption spread to any who drew power from the Well.

From the Twisted, the Blight spread as a disease. When it touched those not connected to the Well, the Blight turned the unfortunate sufferers to creatures resembling walking ash and cinder with grotesque tendrils sprouting from their bodies. It began with clouds of ash spreading forth from the Academy. Everything the clouds engulfed became twisted and corrupt. From the clouds came the infected, who came to be known as Shades. They spread through the land, carrying the disease with them, husks of their former selves. The smart fled their homes, but there were those who tried, and failed, to destroy the growing number of Shades. Eventually the surrounding lands from the Academy became wastes of ash and ruin infested with creatures touched by the Blight. Out of the ruin, came seven Lords and their army, wielding powerful weapons of powder and lead.

These Lords constructed the great city of Thorbou, containing the Blight to the wastes and preventing its spread any further. They offered refuge to those willing to pay the price; something of great value to them paid as tribute to the Lords of The Seven Points. There were those unwilling to pay offering to the Lords. Groups of these people banded together to form small villages and hamlets fortified against the infected creatures in the few areas still habitable. They grew fearful and barred their walls to all outsiders. The willing flooded the city, giving up their greatest treasure to the Lords. The price did not stop after the entrance toll, however. The Lords asked for monthly offerings from their subjects. If they could not pay, they were given a choice: stay within the city walls and enter into service to the Lords or leave the city and brave the wastes in search of safety, for those from the wastes were forbidden to travel beyond the walls to the untainted lands there. The Lords constructed their city to prevent the spread of the Blight and kept those form the wastes there or sent them back to the wastes. Within their walled city, the Lords reigned as gods over their subjects. As such, they were the law and enforced it with an iron fist. The most heavily enforced and punishable law was the use of Magic within the city. Any found practicing Magic were branded traitors and seen as attempting to bring the Blight. As punishment they were burned upon the stake for all to bare witness.

Then came the Pilgrims, a group of men and women who chose to leave the protection of the city and wander the wastes to do what they could to aid those living there. They were, at one time, viewed as great men and women willing to help any and all they could. Gradually they became the subject of ridicule by those who stayed within the walls of the city. The Pilgrims constructed their monastery near the gates of the city. They serve as guides to those leaving the cities, including: the Lords’ own men sent out on order from the Lords, the unfortunate who choose the wastes over service to the Lords, and even those wanting to leave the wastes and find refuge within the walls of the city. The Pilgrims accept any into their ranks, those willing and unwilling. The unwilling can choose to be sentenced to joining the Pilgrims for committing a crime against the Lords; if they do not they are left on their own to wander the wastes. Each new Pilgrim is marked; the willing on their right forearm, and the unwilling on their left wrist; on their right wrist is the brand of the Seven-Point Star they received upon entering the city but with a line struck through it. The brand is given to show they have been cast out and will prevent the individual from reentering the city. The brand is the sigil of the seven-point star.

Each Pilgrim, even the unwilling, is also gifted a Doll. A Doll is a porcelain construct housing the soul of a deceased Pilgrim. A Pilgrim can have the soul within a Doll pass along a message to another Pilgrim. Dolls communicate to one another through the spiritual realm, despite this they have not been affected by the Blight. Dolls resemble the appearance of the Pilgrim whose soul inhabits the porcelain shell and retain their personality and memories from their time amongst the living. Dolls also act as guides and even teachers to the Pilgrim they are paired with.

---

My idea is to bring a Gothic atmosphere to a fantasy/Victorian setting reminiscent of Bloodborne, Darkest Dungeon, Berzerk, and even Dishonored. I would like a dedicated group of about four players at the most who care about character interactions and development. The main plot would revolve around the cast, either willing or unwilling, being in the ranks of the Pilgrims. As Pilgrims, the cast would explore the wastes until they heard about a group of Pilgrims who were guiding the Lords' men having gone missing deep within the wastes near the Academy. The Dolls of the cast report that the Dolls of the missing group are gone, as if erased entirely. No trace of their spirits remain. As the group nears the Academy, the environment becomes stranger and the threats more dangerous. As the plot progresses, the cast will learn more about the corruption that caused the Blight as well as the Lords of The Seven Points.

Mote

I think you're right. The way I understood it when I first read it, though, may it seem like the characters were sucked into a different, sort of Fae, world by the Mote they were touching.

Mote

Could my character perhaps already have been sucked into this fantasy world prior to the others? Not by long. Possibly a month at the most? Definitely not long enough to know much about the world.

Mote

With it being subtle, what sort of concoctions would an alchemist be able to make? And, would an alchemist be able to make crazier things once transported to the new world?

Mote

Is this still accepting? Also, are characters able to be magic users?

'Save the world' fantasy adventure. ( Not typical RP)

I'll throw my interest in.

Absolute Comics: Rebirth

NIGHTWING:

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Blüdhaven | January 2^nd, 2018

---

Best thing about not being a cop anymore? Not having to follow jurisdiction boundaries. Some creep runs off from The Blüd? I follow him, stay tight on his heels until I catch him and turn him over to the local authorities. Doesn’t always paint us masks in the best light, but we do what we do to keep people safe and do what the police can’t to make sure that happens. That’s what brings me out on a cold night like tonight and plants my feet on the rooftop I’m on. That, and the siren going off at one of the hundreds of business in this city that think an alarm is gonna keep crooks from robbing them. In case you’re wondering: they don’t. If anything, alarms make the crooks better. It’s sort of like a symbiotic relationship between the two. The better the alarms get, the better the crooks get to beat the cops, and the better the crooks get the better the alarms get to alert the police faster to stop the crooks. I casually step off the rooftop and fire a grappling cable at the building across from me, swinging toward the blaring alarm.

---
“Come on, damnit! Hurry the hell up before the blues or Nightwing get here!”

“Calm your ass down! We got it, go!”

The door of the van slams shut as the two runners jump in with their bags laden with goods stolen from the jeweler. The alarm went on and on as the driver shifted into drive and rocketed down the alley and onto the main road beyond. The sound of the alarm came back as they ran a red light three blocks away.

“Damnit! The blues picked up our trail!”

“You just worry about driving and getting us the hell out of here!”

A squad car flew through the confused traffick at the light, in pursuit of the van full of criminals. The policemen called into the station to confirm they were in pursuit and had the suspects in their sights. A streetlight caught the metallic surface of a gun muzzle a brief second before a bullet sailed through the air and hit the hood of one of the squad cars, causing the driver to swerve slightly, but she managed to maintain control. Her partner was quick to lean out of the passenger window and return fire, aiming for the van’s tires. His shots hit high and missed their mark, but sent the criminal back into the van to seek cover for a moment before returning fire. The gunman’s bullets whizzed past the policemen and struck the hood, but the sudden firefight definitely slowed the policemen’s pursuit.

“I’m calling in back up. This is too much,” the driver shouted as her hand found the radio strapped to her shoulder. She pressed the button down to yell into the microphone when a lucky shot from the van hit the passenger-side tire and sent their squad car into a lightpole. The driver got clear of the wreckage and pulled her own piece in time to see the van crest a hill and vanish from her sights. She shoved the gun back in her holster and returned to the car to pull her partner free of the wreckage. He was out cold. She pressed the button down on her radio and requested medical aid at her position and gave the station the direction the robbers were headed in when she crashed.

“Good job, kid! Helluva first job, huh!?”

The older runner in a skimask thumped the younger on the back. He was still holding the pistol in the same position as when he fired it. The thump on his back caused him to lower it then drop it to the floor of the van. The two other men didn’t seem to notice and were rejoicing in losing the squad car.

“We’re almost out of city limits. Then we can lay low and split our earnings.”

As the van crossed over the bridge and out of city limits, one of its tires were hit and burst. The skidded off the road and spun around until it came to rest against a tree. The driver was the first out, rubbing his head and holding a pistol before him, looking around. As the back of the van opened, a shadow fell upon the driver from above.

---
I jump down from above, hitting the first crook with my knees and roll back to my feet. I kick his gun away from him as he rolls over and looks up into my face.

”How about making this easy on both of us and just staying down?”

My answer came in the form of one of the other crooks coming out of the van and aiming down his sights at me. Lucky I hear the door creak and dive forward out of instinct as the guy fires off a few shots. I let one of my sticks fly right before I hit the ground and roll. It hits home and knocks the pistol out of the thug’s hand. I’m on my feet and running him down before he can get his hand on his piece again. I sweep his legs and end it with a good taze from the end of my remaining escrima. The one I hit from above is back on his feet and fires off a shot before I can turn. The bullet whistles past my ear. Too close. I dive behind their van as he fires off more shots. I hear him approaching the van and slip under it to the other side as reaches the hood. That should confuse him.

“What the - ?”

Perfect. I love when they play their roles right. I toss down some smoke pellets at his feet and launch myself into the cloud, switching my mask’s visuals to thermal. I knock his gun from his hand with my escrima and then crack him in the bottom of the chin with it. The smoke around me clears to reveal another one in a skimask, holding a gun and shaking in his boots. He drops it with one look from me and throws his hands up.

---
The kid dropped the gun and threw his hands up to surrender. The guy with the sticks was standing over the other runner from the job. He looked at the gun and back at the criminal, then leapt at him.

Absolute Comics: Rebirth

_{FIRST APPEARANCE : NIGHTWING}

THUNDERSTRUCK

(Really, Cap?)

J U M P C I T Y

---

^{December 4th, 2017 | 6:41p.m. | S.T.A.R. Labs}

"This is Captain Marvel. I'm at S.T.A.R. Labs, but this wasn't a break in... it was a break out."

I hear my comm buzz to life with Billy’s voice as my cycle rumbles beneath me. At his words, I take the next turn to head toward S.T.A.R. Labs. There’s no telling what or who broke out, and the quicker we deal with the situation, the better off Jump City would be.

”I hear ya, Cap. I’m on my way to you now.”

I race down the street on my cycle, avoiding traffic with motions that are muscle memory at this point in my career. It’s a strange thought that I’ve been in the game so long that racing a motorcycle down crowded streets is muscle memory to me, and that I know this city as well as Gotham or Blüdhaven; well, maybe not as well, but still pretty damn well.

I see the lights of the police cars as I close in on S.T.A.R. Labs, and I pull my bike away from the lights and instead park it in a nearby alley, then use a trick from the Bat to slip into the building unseen by the police. I drop down straight into a puddle of something. I bend down to examine the putrid-smelling puddle. It looks like sludge from the landfill mixed with sewage; it smells just like it looks. I pull away and look around. I don’t see Billy where I entered. I pull up the records of villains being held here from the lab’s database. The holoscreen fizzles into life floating over my gauntlet. I cross reference the sludge with the database. I’m not surprised to see the ichor-plastered “face” of Plasmus pull up on my screen.

” Great…” I whisper to myself before opening the comm up, “Cap, I’m in. I found a puddle of something nasty. I checked the lab’s database. Looks like we’re dealing with Plasmus. I’ll track his sludge trail. Don’t let the police get involved. They’re not equipped for this; I saw them on my way in.”

I cycle through my mask’s vision frequencies and lock on to the sludge’s makeup. My vision goes red as my mask’s lenses start scanning for other sludge puddles. Soon a trail pops up along the floor of the lab, and I follow it.