The Little People (Interest check and brainstorm)

Started by Chrystal, May 10, 2015, 07:29:40 AM

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Chrystal

The Little People


This is an interest check thread and also a place to hash-out and brain-storm possible story ideas for a totally random idea that popped into my head. Whether anything will come of this or not, I honestly don't know, that really depends on the interest I get and whether other people can actually relate to my idea. If enough people are interested, and enough people actually want to play the story out, without dropping out after the first few posts (which is what usually happens), I will elaborate and expand the idea, create character sheets, etc.

Inspiration: The inspiration for the idea comes from a number of sources: Terry Pratchet's "Gnome" books are one source (Truckers, Diggers and Wings). The Borrowers series of books are yet another source. And on to these please add the wealth of fantasy art-work featuring pixies, imps, gnomes, fairies, and the like.

Clarification: Fairies, in this context, are NOT fae. Fairies in the context of this idea are six inches (150mm) tall with insect-like wings. See the image above. If you can't work with this type of fairy, then this game idea is not for you. The exact capabilities that these "little people" have is something I am willing to discuss, but the ability to become human sized is something I will probably restrict, place a severe penalty on, or completely disallow. The various "established" mythologies for "Fae" are not applicable either. Instead I will establish some sort of hierarchy for characters, to be decided, if necessary.

Setting: The setting will be present day, most likely in some "enchanted forest" that exists within the grounds of an old house that has a reputation for being haunted. This place can be in pretty much any part of the world, but as the largest percentage of role-players tend to be from the USA, it's most likely that the place will be over there on the wrong side of the pond, probably in New England somewhere.

Story ideas: This is where I'm hoping for input, please? I have the obvious story, the building developer who has bought the house and it's grounds and wants to turn it into a giant slab of concrete... Or whatever. The exact details can be hashed out, but you all know the idea, because it is totally cliché and has been used in so many books, movies, tv-shows... But, yeah, totally cliché. If anyone has a better idea for a plot, let me know?

Player Characters: Most player characters will be "Little People" - whether they are fairies (see above), pixies, imps, gnomes, elves (NOT LotR), Brownies, or what, is something to be decided. I may even go with a mixture of "fairy-folk". I may also allow human player characters, depending upon the sort of story ideas and sub-plots people want. Human PCs are likely to be forced to submit to the little folks though.

NPCs: There will be NPCs in the game, obviously. Probably the developer and his work-men (unless anyone wishes to take that role?). Also the rest of the population of the forrest will be NPCs. I expect there will be a small number of players interested, and a large-ish population of Pixies and/or fairies.

Magic: Yes there will be magic. But it will necessarily be limited. Different species of little folk will probably have different abilities too. Humans will not have any magical abilities, but will have all the benefits of modern technology.

Sex: Yep, I'm expecting sex. In fact I'm rather hoping for interspecies sex, between little folks and humans. The game will be open to all players of all genders and orientations, however I will almost certainly ask that Lords create male characters and ladies create female characters. Lieges may create either, and/or neither... Human characters need to be male or female, but the pixie/fairy filk don't necessarily have that restriction. I am, however, not going to allow gender changes.

Interest and Ideas: If you are interested in this idea, please post here. If you have any suggestions for how to improve the plot and/or setting, please PM them to me. I reserve the right to decline any player, any player character, and any suggestion, without necessarily giving a reason.

Thanks.

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

mia h

How aware of humans are the little people? Are they meant to be totally off limits or and barely even spoken of or is there a certain amount of discrete interaction.

How much human technology have the little people intergrated into their lives? Are human devices forbidden or are there little people like Dorcas in the Bromeliad who adapt human devices to help the little people? Thinking about how devices have shrunk maybe there a little person who's taken an old iPad and turned into a cinema for the little people.
If found acting like an idiot, apply Gibbs-slap to reboot system.

Chrystal

#2
Hi Mia.

Some good questions, and one's I'd not considered yet.

Quote from: mia h on May 10, 2015, 09:27:17 AM
How aware of humans are the little people? Are they meant to be totally off limits or and barely even spoken of or is there a certain amount of discrete interaction.

I don't think it would be possible to live in a world dominated by "biggers" without being aware of them, but I think the situation would be pretty much that the little folk keep themselves to themselves, with only limited interaction. Most of the pixie people would be terrified of Humans (with good reason), and most humans simply don't believe in the existence of fairies. Having sudden incontrovertible proof of the existence of magical beings would completely turn the world upside down!

I'm thinking along the lines of the classic "Disney" type story, where there are a select few people who know that they exist and are trying to protect them from the world and what the world would do to them if it ever found out. But with the house and grounds being sold to a developer, suddenly their existence is under threat not from curiosity and science, but from ignorance and 'progress'.

QuoteHow much human technology have the little people intergrated into their lives? Are human devices forbidden or are there little people like Dorcas in the Bromeliad who adapt human devices to help the little people? Thinking about how devices have shrunk maybe there a little person who's taken an old iPad and turned into a cinema for the little people.

That is actually an interesting idea: take the "borrowers" theme and update it to 21st century technology... The fact that the little folk are magical means they can get around things like Netflicks subscriptions, ISP subscriptions, battery life and GPS tracking! So the iPad as a 'Piximax Cinema' would work. I definitely think I'll incorporate that idea...

So, yes, I'm working with the idea of things 'going missing', rumours of the house being haunted being all part of the mystery, the little folk being capable of not being seen unless they want to be, but being capable of moving things around...




How does this sound for a back-story?


The old house has stood in it's several acres of prime real estate for centuries, owned by the same family. The old woman who lives there now has a reputation of being either a witch (to those who believe in such nonsense), a little bit eccentric but harmless (to the more charitable) or totally out of her tree (to the uncharitable). And then she dies. At the reading of her will, she turns out to have left the house and it's grounds to "The little folk who live in the woods". Of course this is instantly contested by her great-nephew/niece who thinks the place should have been left to him/her so he/she could sell it for a vast amount of money.

But on the other side, we have the young people (who obviously would be at least 16) who have visited the old woman regularly, and have heard her stories of the little folk, been entertained by them but never (until now) actually believed in them. There is a clause in the will that if the little folk are willing, the house and grounds should be passed into the care of these young people - effectively making them 'Human caretakers'.

Complications and who does what to whom can be worked out.

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

mia h

Just had a thought if you were wanting to go the full "Disney" comedy route maybe the human's have a different agenda. So very roughly :
There's an evil-stepmother\uncle type who's also a mad scientist and discovers the little people when they take ownership of the house, they also find fairy dust or some other McGuffin that the little people make, and it turns out that fairy dust can be turned into the key component of the next huge cosmetic fad or Viagra or youth serum.

The evil-stepmother\uncle is now trying to track down and capture little people, and has even created a battery farm set up so they can harvest the fairy dust. This leads to the unlikely team up of the little people and the little big people (step-kids, nieces, nephews, local kids) to save the day.

Of course if it's a Disney film it ends with the evil-stepmother\uncle type being taken away in a straitjacket.
If found acting like an idiot, apply Gibbs-slap to reboot system.

Chrystal

Hm... Wasn't planning on going quite that far down the "Disney" road to insanity, but it's an interesting suggestion... Pixie Dust. That's what Peter Pan uses in order to make Wendy and her brothers fly in the novel by J.M. Barrie - which of course has been Disnified many years ago.



*snigger*

So, yes... interesting idea. You wouldn't want to Co-GM this? Maybe thrash out some ideas behind the scenes?

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Nymphadora

Damn! I wish I had time for more games!
You have the best ideas, Chrystal!
I'll be watching this with interest!
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azzmeister89

Interesting idea, not to use to many cliché from Disney but would you be open to perhaps a human who has fallen victim to fairy magic and shrunk to the size of a fairy? He would still have no wings or magic.

Chrystal

Um... I can't see why you would want to play such a character, unless you were wanting to explore what it felt like to be suddenly reduced to half the size of a barbie doll? In which case you would do better to start off as a full-sized human and arrange with someone with sufficient magic to have your character shrunk.

But then we have all the complications that go along with that: Why would the fairies shrink the human to their size? He would have to be the bad guy, I'm thinking, and that would be the only way to stop him from doing something really terrible. Then, once he's shrunk, how do they stop him from creating havoc? Let's face it, a human going to the authorities and saying "I've seen fairies" is going to be ignored and/or locked up. A 6 inch human saying the same thing is a lot more likely to have attention paid to him!

My other concern, aside from the story-line aspects of this, is that if I say yes to one person wanting to be such a character, everyone will then want to play a shrunk human.

So, here are the conditions:


  • The character starts as a full-sized normal human.
  • The character is about to do something really bad that can only be stopped by magic
  • The character must remain as a prisoner of the pixie-people until he has had a genuine change of heart and is returned to his normal size. (This doesn't mean he can't attempt to escape, in fact he should definitely try, but unsuccessfully).
  • ONLY ONE SUCH CHARACTER.

Otherwise, if you just want to be six inches high with out wings or magic, just be a gnome! (I'm still thinking on the various races).

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Vercile


Rustic

#9
This sounds interesting. I would love to be one of the male fairies, and getting into all kinds of mischief.  >:)  ;D

He would be a bit more of a trouble maker, and could be a bit more curious about the 'biggers' than the other fairies. He could be one of the Fairies who loves to steal trinkets, and even loves to watch them from time to time. ;) Of course this may get him into hot water, but we'll see how the story goes.

I like the idea of the background.

azzmeister89

I understand your concerns with such a character and have no problems with your conditions but have a few other possible ideas for his story if you would consider them.

1. He happened to catch one or more of them in the act of stealing from the humans and is shrunk out of panic, he decides he wants to learn about them so sticks around.

2. Keeping with the bad guy theme he decides if he can't take the pixi dust and use it for humans he might as well become the supreme evil of the fairy world.

3. He could already have a past with the fairy community for example growing up on the estate, perhaps his parents looked after the place when it was empty. Now that he's grown up he decides to help when they are in trouble.

Anyway just a few ideas, if none of these tickle your fancy I'll just stick to the captured until turns good idea.

Lustful Bride

#11
*plants interest flag*

I'd love to play an Imp, just a small bad luck demon, the kind that makes you lose your car keys, lose your left sock and makes your laptop have pop-ups despite all the money you spend on adware. (To Imps this is just funny as hell and it never gets old)


wigglebiscuit

#12
I don't mind playing a normal-sized human.

Here are my thoughts:

The human world is troublesome to fey. They can't cross certain human boundaries...like roads and fences (fey have always been tied to borders and boundaries and such). But, they can "cheat" by traveling inside a human. Yeah, like that. So if a fey needs to cross from this field to that field, or get inside somewhere, they need to hitch a ride. Of course, if you're the human "meat-car," it feels really nice having one of those things wriggling and purring inside of you.

Maybe they have trouble in human structures. They get tired easily or get headaches or some such, but if they can snuggle up inside some warm, cozy human they feel right as rain.

Finally, maybe there are some evil fey that live inside human dwellings. They have been corrupted due to prolonged exposure to technology and such, and feed off of humans by leeching their sexual energy. Ever gotten horny for no particular reason? One of those little buggers was tweaking your happy no-no place.

Again, I don't mind playing a normal-sized girl. I think it would be kinda fun, so long as it's her secret. If everybody and their cousin knows about the Little People, well, that's not much fun at all.

Chrystal

#13
Six persons expressing interest? COOL!

Okay replies to the above:

@Nymphadora: Thanks babe. If you want to join at some later time, (provided the game is still running) you know you will be welcomed with open legs arms.

@Vercile: Hi and welcome.

@Shale: He sounds like fun, and it sounds to me like you are just the sort of player I need.

@azzmeister89: hmm... Actually option 3 is a possible, but, size changing is going to be costly and exhausting magically. What I don't want is people constantly popping from one size to the other because it kind-of defeats the object of the story.

@Lustful Bride: IMPS!!! Thank you, thank you! I was trying desperately to remember the name of the one I'd missed! *kisses passionately*

@Wigglebiscuit: There will be a limited number of humans who know of the little people. (Please don't use the term "fey" or "fae", as they have implications and connotations with "sihd" that I want to keep away from, thanks). The idea of the little people travelling inside the ... ehem ... naughty bits of a human female is an interesting one. I'm quite sure that sort of thing will happen, even if it's just the fairy making an excuse to the pretty young woman to get inside her knickers!

I'm interested in all ideas and suggestions. I'm not going to use all of them (as I explained at the beginning) and I hope people don't mind? Mia and I have been batting some ideas back and forth and have come up with something that might actually work! It's by no means complete nor set in stone yet, and I'm definitely incorporating some of what I just read!

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

wigglebiscuit

Sorry about the Fae bit, won't happen again!

QuoteI'm quite sure that sort of thing will happen, even if it's just the fairy making an excuse to the pretty young woman to get inside her knickers!

Aw! I hoped to get a job as a "transporter!"

Chrystal

Quote from: wigglebiscuit on May 11, 2015, 04:37:55 PM
Sorry about the Fae bit, won't happen again!

Aw! I hoped to get a job as a "transporter!"

It's okay. Normally I would be using that term too, but I have come to realise that it means different things to different people, and I want to avoid the confusion.

And I'm sure that can be arranged...!

I am going to sort out some sort of cohesive whole and post it here some time in the coming week or two! In the mean time please keep the suggestions coming!

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

azzmeister89

Option 3 it is. You won't need to be changing him back, he's most likely going to fall in love with either the fairy lifestyle or an actual fairy, maybe both so once he's been shrunk he stays that small.

wigglebiscuit

I'd like to work out some connections with my character, if that's ok. She's human, a teenager, and something of a recluse, but she has the gift of being able to see the LPs. She does various tasks for them, including transportation (cough cough) into and out of places they can't reach, as well as other odd jobs.

She hopes to find the elixir of eternal youth...

Lustful Bride

Hmmm if my character is an imp...perhaps she can hitch a ride by partially possessing people? Being the little demon on their shoulder.

Chrystal

#19
Well, this is still kind-of up in the air at the moment. Could use a few more fairies and pixies to be honest, but the ideas so far are good. What I'm aiming at is to have four or five different species of little folk, all with different characteristics and abilities.

So:

Fairies: Mostly female, tend to be naked or dressed as flowers, have wings, have the most powerful magic that they use simply by pointing, tend to disguise themselves as flowers, dragonflies or those little fluffy seeds that float around in summer, or fireflies at night.

Pixies: Mostly male, can be naked but mostly wear clothes made from leaves, no wings, ride on the backs of tame rodents (rats, squirrels, rabbits). Magic is generally through sprinkling pixie dust. Usually disguised as leafy twigs or amphibians (they can swim), and like to sit on toadstools.

Gnomes: Can be male, female, both or neither, always naked. They usually don't travel far but when they do they tend to use underground tunnels. Magic is through herbs, roots and seeds, and mixing potions. Usual disguises are gnarled roots and fungus.

Imps: Male or female but the genders have different abilities. Female imps can pass through solid objects and can carry things with them as they do. Male imps can "jump" from where they are to anywhere the can see, within reason (Obviously they need to be able too see where they are landing, so jumping to the top of a mountain ten miles away is not allowed). They can also cause anything they can see that is small enough for them to lift to move to any location they can jump to. Imps are capable of becoming invisible. They have wings, and can fly. They are usually naked. They have the ability to whisper "suggestions" to humans.

Sprites: Sprites have no corporeal form, and tend to be seen by humans as whisps of smoke, or that odd movement in the corner of the eye. They are asexual, and their magic tends to be that of hypnosis. It is the sprites that tame the animals for the pixies to ride. Spites are the guardians, patrolling the forest and protecting it by using their powers to turn away inquisitive humans and hungry predators. Having no physical form, they can move freely, flying on the air currents. Sprites are also very few in number (Most likely NPCs).

That's what we have so far...

The humans, there are certain roles available:

The Old Witch: GM Role. Not really a witch, just an eccentric old lady who owns the old house, and who's death sparks off the story.

The Evil Nephew/Neice: Again, not really evil, just greedy and insensitive. He/she is the Old woman's closest living relative and feels that he/she should have been left the property in the will.

The Property Developer: Again, not a bad person, just someone who sees prime real estate in terms of dollar signs. The nephew/niece wants to sell the property to this character.

The Mad Scientist:. This is the same role as Dr Kornbluth in the movie "Splash". The "pixie-hunter" who goes around investigating any and all reports of "little people". When he/she hears of the old woman's will (which is so farcical it makes the news), he/she heads over to the property to try and find the little people.

The young people: These are the good guys. Young folks between 16 and 21 who have been visiting the old woman for years, have grown up on her stories of little folk, but no longer really believe in them, however they have been named as beneficiaries in the will, under a rather unusual clause. They can be related or just be friends, however there should be a pre-existing relationship between them. They can even be lovers if players wish.

There can be as many young people as you want, but I'd like there to be more little people than young humans please?

The adult roles can and probably will all be played by me as GM unless anyone actually wants those parts.

I'm also going to say okay to players having two characters but only one can be human.

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Rustic

#20
In that case I'll probably end up playing a pixie then, since they're male. Seeing as he wouldn't be able to fly, he might want to travel with humans to get to all kinds of places, such as with wigglebiscuit's character. ;) I could also see them being friends if you want.

He's going to love human culture and will want to be immersed in it. I see him being a younger pixie (16-18 in human years), always curious (far too curious) and even a bit too daring. This often gets him into trouble since his parents and other pixies tell him to stay away from humans. He'll be a collector as mentioned, and he'll love to collect all kinds of human trinkets.

May I ask what kind of magic pixie dust can do?

wigglebiscuit

Quote from: Shale on May 12, 2015, 07:16:59 AM
In that case I'll probably end up playing a pixie then, since they're male. Seeing as he wouldn't be able to fly, he might want to travel with humans to get to all kinds of places, such as with wigglebiscuit's character. ;) I could also see them being friends if you want.

He's going to love human culture and will want to be immersed in it. I see him being a younger pixie (16-18 in human years), always curious (far too curious) and even a bit too daring. This often gets him into trouble since his parents and other pixies tell him to stay away from humans. He'll be a collector as mentioned, and he'll love to collect all kinds of human trinkets.

May I ask what kind of magic pixie dust can do?

I'd be down with that. I'd like for my character to have no prior knowledge of the LP, though she would have enjoyed hearing the stories of them.

I'd like to think that my character, being an eccentric herself, would be quite close to the old lady. Oh, and the house must be an old Victorian. Something like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/74/b1/44/74b1444bf78eccf10aa8dc49885ad94a.jpg


Chrystal

Quote from: Shale on May 12, 2015, 07:16:59 AM
In that case I'll probably end up playing a pixie then, since they're male. Seeing as he wouldn't be able to fly, he might want to travel with humans to get to all kinds of places, such as with wigglebiscuit's character. ;) I could also see them being friends if you want.

He's going to love human culture and will want to be immersed in it. I see him being a younger pixie (16-18 in human years), always curious (far too curious) and even a bit too daring. This often gets him into trouble since his parents and other pixies tell him to stay away from humans. He'll be a collector as mentioned, and he'll love to collect all kinds of human trinkets.

May I ask what kind of magic pixie dust can do?

Still working on exactly what sort of magic can be magicked but yeah...

Um 16-18 in human years, for a pixie, puts him WAAAAAY below the E thresh-hold... *giggles* Okay, no, I know what you mean. Try 160 -180 years old, which would make him the equivalent of a human teenager!

I'm not sure I want to go into the whole "This is how pixies and fairies breed" thing, it isn't really relevant to the story, as they are immortal anyway. I'm thinking it has something to do more with magic and plants than actual sex.

Quote from: wigglebiscuit on May 12, 2015, 08:51:53 AM
I'd be down with that. I'd like for my character to have no prior knowledge of the LP, though she would have enjoyed hearing the stories of them.

I'd like to think that my character, being an eccentric herself, would be quite close to the old lady. Oh, and the house must be an old Victorian. Something like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/74/b1/44/74b1444bf78eccf10aa8dc49885ad94a.jpg

Please check out this post, above: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=229015.msg11236790#msg11236790

You are thinking exactly along the lines I was in regard to the house.

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Lustful Bride

Will alignment factor into anything?

Imps (despite not being all that evil) By nature cannot touch anything holy or blessed and plants tend to die around them.

Rustic

Quote from: Chrystal on May 12, 2015, 03:37:40 PM
Still working on exactly what sort of magic can be magicked but yeah...

Um 16-18 in human years, for a pixie, puts him WAAAAAY below the E thresh-hold... *giggles* Okay, no, I know what you mean. Try 160 -180 years old, which would make him the equivalent of a human teenager!

I'm not sure I want to go into the whole "This is how pixies and fairies breed" thing, it isn't really relevant to the story, as they are immortal anyway. I'm thinking it has something to do more with magic and plants than actual sex.

Yeah I just figured he was young in pixie terms, as in a teenager. So 160 years old is fine. He'll still act like a teenager, seem new to the world, and be mischievous. ;)