Grey Matters [Fantasy w/Horror themes | Guided Storytelling] - Open Recruitment

[RampantDesires]

You are a wonderful human.

Quoting this for truth <3

We'd love to have ya Aidaryn and there is definitely room for more nefarious types, but sadly Michelle Malkin doesn't really have any fantasy leaning photos out there that I can find.  We could go the like ... extreme face crop route, but I'm trying to stay away from entirely modern-looking pics/visuals for this.  If there's any kind of fantasy art inspiration that appeals to you for her we could probably use that for feel and vibe and creatively crop the face so that it works.

Keep in mind also that we already have several criminal leaning characters, so there is going to be overlap there and often times the broader and more diversified your character is it can make it harder to find a place to settle in.  That being said this group is very much about writing what you want to write and there being a place for almost anything.  Our Big Bad is a very equal opportunity employer :P 

Going to get some stuff settled this morning, then work on own characters, and hopefully *crosses fingers* write ups after that. 

[RampantDesires]

<Thrall>

Name (Current):Reynold "Ren" Brent

Name (Former): Elias Mitchell
Physical Description: Right at six feet he has a body that says he's used to some physical labor though not one that trains extensively for it.  Currently clean shaven it's something he has to work at, like we're talking twice a day to keep the stubble in check.  Dark hair is shoulder length and has a natural wave that makes it hard to pull back when he's working but he tries to keep it mostly tamed. 
Perk : <Magical> A process that has taken him years to tinker with and perfect Elias has found that a blend of alchemical and inborn magical talent allows him to craft specialized inks that when used to tattoo individuals allows him to bestow small 'gifts'.  Health and vitality are the most common requests, luck, grace, strength.  He got a lot of sailors looking to be better swimmers, some people wanting to be able to sleep less each night and still feel rested. He can tailor work for almost any request.  These effects are permanent, well unless the work gets damaged which sometimes just happens naturally with age.
History/Archetype: Gypsy, vagabond, wanderer.  Elias fell into a migratory life traveling with a small caravan of similarly ... odd individuals.  Entertainers and outcasts of various sorts, they went from city to city never staying long enough to strain their welcome before moving on to the next.  Could he have made more money and had a more stable life settling down and opening a shop of his own?  Probably, but it isn't about money, it's about the experience.  Meeting people, seeing new places.  A group that is no more after being attacked on the road.  Elias somehow made the useful cut and was repurposed instead of devoured.  Lucky him.
Assigment/Cover Story: Artist in residence.  Thanks to a wealthy patron Ren is able to travel and set up shop in new cities like Luxton where he displays his work and takes on students for a limited time.  If few manage to meet his exacting standards and end up leaving not just his workshop, but the town as a whole in a huff that isn't his problem is it?  He's there to stir up drama where he can, and of course feed his Master.
     Looking For: Patron. 



Vices: Beautiful things.  Must have them.  A GOOD party, none of this swanning around and little finger food nonsense but actual dancing and drinking until the sun comes up again. And yeah, sex is pretty okay too.
Sexual Preferences:I don't write a lot of M/M but I'm willing to give it a go, though he's going to lean more toward 'pretty'  men as well.  With women it's going to lean toward body worship rather than rough and tumble sex, but maybe some of the latter as well. 
Expectations: Fill 'er up.  You want to write smut I'm sure we can make it happen.
Hard Limits: Filth themes, hardcore torture.  Dub con's fine, outright rape... lord you better have a stellar IC plan/pitch for it.



The Struggle: Ugh it is exhausting keeping this polished exterior up.  Why does he bother?  These people are pretentious and worthless, he's glad they're going to be killed... wait no he isn't?  He likes people, and people like him.  Who is this pompous asshole in the mirror?



The Goal: Though his initial plan will likely be to run and get the hell out of this cursed ass town Elias feel bad enough about his part in everything to stick around and at least TRY to help.  It might take him awhile but he'll work on something to give those who want it some level of psychic resistance, cause like hell is he going to be brainwashed again thanks.  When it comes to the actual fighting, well he might give that a miss since his basic brawling and self defense skills picked up over there years aren't likely going to be much use against a bloody dragon, but good luck with that.  Okay fine, someone teach him how to hold a sword. 





Is this just so you could make a Rembrandt joke?  Guys I use a random name generator, and yeah it gave me a list but this was third on it so take it up with the generator, not me.  What was I supposed to do NOT use it?  Have you met me?

[Aidaryn]

Quoting this for truth <3

We'd love to have ya Aidaryn and there is definitely room for more nefarious types, but sadly Michelle Malkin doesn't really have any fantasy leaning photos out there that I can find.  We could go the like ... extreme face crop route, but I'm trying to stay away from entirely modern-looking pics/visuals for this.  If there's any kind of fantasy art inspiration that appeals to you for her we could probably use that for feel and vibe and creatively crop the face so that it works.

Keep in mind also that we already have several criminal leaning characters, so there is going to be overlap there and often times the broader and more diversified your character is it can make it harder to find a place to settle in.  That being said this group is very much about writing what you want to write and there being a place for almost anything.  Our Big Bad is a very equal opportunity employer :P 

Going to get some stuff settled this morning, then work on own characters, and hopefully *crosses fingers* write ups after that.

No problem. Let me give it another try. I don't know why she jumped out at me for some reason.

[RampantDesires]

Claudia Kim might be an okay substitute?  Between Marco Polo and Fantastic Beasts she has a lot of costume options out there :P  And has a totally badass vibe

I'm biased, I loved her as Dr Cho in Avengers and it makes my heart weep that we haven't seen her again.

Other people might have better suggestions.  And keep in mind that that is just a suggestion please don't feel like you need to take it.  The art route and original face crop/claim is totally viable too!

[Aidaryn]

Claudia Kim might be an okay substitute?  Between Marco Polo and Fantastic Beasts she has a lot of costume options out there :P  And has a totally badass vibe

I'm biased, I loved her as Dr Cho in Avengers and it makes my heart weep that we haven't seen her again.

Other people might have better suggestions.  And keep in mind that that is just a suggestion please don't feel like you need to take it.  The art route and original face crop/claim is totally viable too!

This is a good suggestion and I'm going to build something more suitable for her and that doesn't overwhelm the game with assassin types.

Just so I don't try it again, I can admit that my original face claim is a person that I think of when I'm looking for inspiration for someone I don't like but I'm willing to dig into to figure out what makes them tick. So I should not have even considered using that person because that's a pretty slippery slope for a forum that's supposed to be about imagination and fun (even when it's darkly delightful instead of sunshine and rainbows). I don't wish bad things on them, it's just easier to disconnect when I'm open to all options.

[RampantDesires]

You can absolutely keep that as a background, but you might make her 'cover story' new personality/assignment something a bit different in order to give you more options going forward.  There's a delicious irony in a former master thief/assassin type being a constable or some such, or even the boring monotony of being a baker or something mundane.  It lets you explore the conflict of 'I'm meant for bigger things than this' being an adrenaline junkie type without an outlet as she breaks through the mind control and remembers/reclaims pieces of herself. 



Just a general update that the group is up and running but there is plenty of room for new characters and even current people looking for some big character ties and places to start.  We're going to be doing our first mental state roll on Friday so you haven't missed anything except for this beginning kind of explorative planning part. Which yeah, big thank you to all the current players for being patient with me and asking questions and being awesome. I luff you <3

[RampantDesires]

<Thrall>

Name (Current):Myra Tillery
Name (Former): Lady Gabrielle Lucciano
Physical Description:   Just a hair over one hundred pounds on a five foot two inch frame she's gonna need help reaching things off the top shelf thanks.  This new version of her wears her emotions plainly on her face, anger, amusement, arousal, it's all written pretty clearly there on those delicate features.  Fond of bright colors and literally letting her wavy dark brown hair down Myra is generally pretty easy to spot in a crowd.  She has a tendency to 'talk with her hands' gesturing wildly and sometimes knocking things over.  Seems to be in her early to mid twenties, skin that was recently flawless is starting to get a few freckles from sun exposure, and her hands are quite frankly carnage from being in water and doing manual things, but she'll get some callouses eventually right?
Perk : <Wealthy>  Not only is her noble family obscenely wealthy but they are also more than moderately fond of her and will be actively looking for her safe return. Though she herself is well removed from any real position of power, save making a political advantageous marriage, something that she had just succeeded at before being taken.  (I would absolutely be down for someone playing another person she was taken with, either her husband to be, another noble, an attendant, anyone with previous history that we can lean on later in play, this can happen at any point really they wouldn't have moments of recognition until the conflicted stage, so I'm in no rush for this).
History/Archetype:  Twenty two other women would have to die under swift and horrible circumstances before Gabrielle would be considered ruler of Vichtau, a large city state four weeks travel to the north west of Luxton (indeed pretty much on the opposite coast) that specializes in the production of textiles and is generally considered the fashion capital of the world (at least according to them).  Her distance from the seat of power however has never bothered her, she quite loves her life of idle parties and gossiping, she looks forward to marriage and the challenge of increasing her husband's political power... at least she did.  Being taken on the road was not something she ever could have planned for.
Assigment/Cover Story: Barmaid at the Rusty Nail.  Myra came to town with her <person> with some generic story of being evicted baselessly from their family's land mid-harvest (the story will change a bit based upon whoever she is telling it to in order to garner the most sympathy, for some it might be her rejecting the unwanted advances of the head of house, others she was framed for stealing to cover her aunt's own gambling addiction, but she will always play the wide eyed 'poor me, I'm the victim here' card).  She was pretty much immediately offered work at a local tavern and took to it well enough, she is great at chatting up patrons, getting them to linger and spend more time and money.  Is also exceptionally good at drugging their drinks, which not only allows her to provide common fare of travelers who will likely not be missed, but lets her subtly manipulate the perceptions and reputations of the townspeople.  Guy's falling down drunk, insists he only had one drink, but it's hard to argue with the evidence in front of your own eyes, clearly he's an unreliable witness, and hey if he goes missing a few weeks down the line, well he was clearly in a downward spiral.

<Looking For> Husband or sister to live with so that she's not constantly spending all her time at the tavern.  From any section EXCEPT High Society would be fine. Rhynarion has very kindly offered to take this one on <3
Someone to play the tavern owner, a local taken and converted by Ixkarion early on in his planning. 


Vices: Attention, affection, and adoration, yes please tell her she is beautiful and take care of her. Cleanliness, baths, fresh clothing, things that smell good.  Sex.  Connection.
Sexual Preferences: Gabriella knows that purity is important to her future husband and she needs to bear him strong and legitimate children.  Myra is more than happy to use sex to further her own (and by that I mean her Master's) goals.  Sex is just another weapon.  Getting people to drop their guard, destroying someone's reputation with some rape allegations, whatever needs to be done really.  As she progresses through the hedonist phase she'll realize that yeah, sex is actually pretty awesome and fun, we should definitely do more of this.  She'll enjoy some mild exhibitionism especially
Expectations: Sure why not, lets do this.  I'm up for all kinds of pairings but eventually I'd like to get her settled into a primary coupling just to make that the struggle/final break free from control all the more gut-wrenching :P
Hard Limits: While I'm down with her getting pregnant in our little adventure I'm super NOT into sexualized pregnancy and just .. would rather not.  Your standard gore/vore/bathroom play nopes, but really other than that I'm pretty wide open to anything people want to write.



The Struggle:She is meant for finer things than this mindless drudgery, people are meant to be waiting on her thank you very much.  She's supposed to be with someone else, he's going to be disappointed/angry.  The murder ironically isn't going to bother her as much, lower-class people die all the time boo hoo so sad, but unless she actively kills someone with her own hands it'll be real easy for her to just pass the blame onto the monster who put them all here.  Her lost reputation is going to be the thing she struggles with the most.  She's flawed now, unworthy, broken...



The Goal: .. and probably still really pissed off. It will take her time to write the letters and whatnot, but people WILL be coming for her and they will bring resources and manpower to help deal with the thing that dared take her.  She might not be able to get her old life back but she can make damn sure that thing dies.  Gabriella herself will be all but useless in combat.  Would you like some moral support though?




Dropping this here and highlighting the looking for bit because she's new and I'm totally down for some character ties both immediately and to be discovered later down the road.  Let's do this :D

[Nadore]

<Thrall>

Name (Current):Mira

Name (Former): Karryn
Physical Description:   Mira is a gorgeous woman of Asian descent that looked 34 years of age, stood at 5'3" tall, and weighed approximately 115lbs. She had a lean, but fit and voluptuous figure; with fat in all the right places. She had well-endowed breasts and buttocks that made it clear squats were one of her favorite forms of exercise. She wears an odorless perfume that secreted her pheromones and has an incredibly noticeable effect on men in particular. She wears a kimono in an extremely revealing fashion. Her cleavage is always on full display and her kimono is worn to always show off one or both of her legs, which may or may not show off her undergarments or lack of.

Perk : <Magical>Fortune Teller, Oracle, and Seer powers.
History/Archetype: Born into a poor farmers family. She had lost her parents due to war when she was still an infant and was raised by the elders of the small village that she lived in until she hit the age of 14. From then, she was trained in the art of bullshitting, Fortune Telling, Oracling, and Seering, although 'trained' is pushing it. She merely unlocked the abilities of Fortune Telling, Oracling, and Seering which greatly helped her make a living in the Asian city-state of Kokujin.

Assigment/Cover Story: The new 'Exotic Goods' merchant in town. She's an information broker, through Fortune Telling, that only takes information as payment. Also sells some weird exotic items and adult toys, which can be paid for with money.

However, rumor has it, that knowing the unknown secret phrase will net you much more than just fortune-telling.


Vices: Gathering and selling information, flirting and seducing her customers, sweets.
Sexual Preferences: Men, rough, group, interracial
Expectations: Play it by the ear, if the smut makes sense then go for it.
Hard Limits: Toilet stuff, gore (don't delimb her during sexy time please).



The Struggle: Her sweet and kind nature contradicts her Jaded and brutal personality that the Elder Brain had instilled upon her. Thus when push comes to shove, that sweet and kind personality is going to have to take a backseat.



The Goal: To control the chaos and madness of the town of Luxton with the power of information and blackmail.





Here's my proposal for the Exotic Goods Trader + Underworld informant type of character!

[Beorning]

Hello! I've found your game and I think the idea is ingenious :)

I have a question: thralls' mindsets / personalities. Are they all supposed to be awful and twisted? Also, how much free thought do they have at the beginning? I see that, initially, they were referred to as drones / automatons - but as I look at the way you are playing them, they seem be actually quite capable of thought?

[RampantDesires]

Hey there Beorning!  I'm glad you like it :-) The group does have a .. dark feel.  They know that their purpose in town is to kidnap people and send them back to their Master, they're also to infiltrate into positions of influence and gather information and soon start sowing some discord among town members so that he can take over the region fully.

I don't know that their new personality has to be AWFUL persay, but they don't really have 'right and wrong' thoughts and are pretty much psychopaths all focused on what best serves their Master.  They are programmed to try to fit in among the townspeople, so they don't generally APPEAR to be villainous but what goes on under the surface is indeed quite warped.  The identities they were given are... sometimes half formed and awkward things, mashed together by a being that (though he devours it) does not fully understand human thoughts and emotions.  He took bits and pieces of what he's taken from other's heads over the years and mashed them together along with what he THINKS humans are like colored with some of his own dark tendencies to make these perfect little drones to see his grand plan done.  Even from the beginning part of them understands that this isn't natural, that there are pieces missing and inconsistencies in their own thoughts and histories, but that doesn't matter, only serving Ixalion (or whatever is name is, I don't have it pulled up right now, the Big Bad :)

That will fade over time and those inconsistencies will weigh heavier and heavier, and in his arrogance it never occurred to him that their own wants and needs might surface to make the struggle even more pronounced, or that they might eventually break free from his control. It will be a most rude awakening all around :P

[Beorning]

Thank you for replying :)

To clarify - so, the characters aren't mental zombies, but more like super-devoted cultists? They do think, plan and feel - it's just that it's all (initially) fully focused on serving the Master?

Also, if I understand correctly, the characters don't just get new memories, but also new personalities? If so, does there have to be any point of overlap with their true personalities? What I mean is: are their new personalities warped versions of their true selves, or can the Big Bad turn anyone into anyone?

Finally, when the individual desires etc. surface (the Hedonist stage), are these the desires of the original personalities, or something originated from their new ones?

Sorry for asking so much, I'd like to make sure I understand the concept :)

[RampantDesires]

No you're fine, I like questions, especially ones about passion projects that I actually have answers to :D

I'd say super devoted cultists is a great description yes for when they are Thralls.  Kind of in a very Thulsa Doom from Conan manner if that helps at all?  He could tell any one of them to jump off a cliff and they would do so happily and without hesitation.  It is an absolute devotedness at the beginning.... However their Master is not IN town actively directing them, they are not in direct contact with him though he has some limited ability to broadcast telepathically (which might strengthen as our PCs feed him and become in game flavor more going forward), so instead the rely entirely on their base programming when it comes to making decisions.  How does this benefit Ixalion? They have no real personal drives. That being said one of their instructions is also to do their best to fit in among the towns people, this often includes PRETENDING to care.  They are essentially actors doing their best to pay this role to the best of their ability though they will not always hit the mark.  This can include ... I don't know .. laughing at jokes that they don't find funny or may not understand but they know laughter is the appropriate social response, feining romantic interest because they know it will get them what they want not because they're actually interested. Ect.


I leave how much overlap between the base personality and the new one up to the player.  For me personally I adore contrasts and have tried to set mine up as wildly different (with some basic anchor points).  I justify this by saying that our psychic dragon creature is malevolent and doesn't rely entirely on expediency or most efficient methods of reprogramming.  Sometimes it is about enjoying that delicious dark irony.  He takes delight in forcing people to act in ways that they would not normally, perhaps even (though it is not stated in game because again I want to leave the door open for people to make their own decision here) feeding on the psychic torment of that repressed personality being locked behind this new miss-matched facade.  Some people like to go a different route and instead make a character that is a more ... dark mirror of themselves which can make what we call 'the struggle' or the final stage of breaking free from mind control especially difficult and gut wrenching.  How much of that was this monster influencing their behavior and how much was just THEM 'let off leash' so to speak.  It's kind of an interesting psychological character exploration and there is room for whatever you the writer find most compelling.



For the Hedonist phase ... honestly these are your desires of what you want to explore as a writer being layered on your character  ::) But if I were to pick one or the other I would say that they're the needs and wants of the original personality coming through.  They might not understand why they want or enjoy something, for Rainy's half siren character one of the things coming out here is a strong tie to the water, and need for freedom and being unbound.  Stuff that makes them start to question WHY they're doing some of the stuff they're doing more strongly and struggle against the mental commands in an effort to find themselves again.  For some it is just purely physical pleasures I'm not even gonna lie here.  Perhaps in their previous lives they had sexual hang ups and now get to experience new things WITHOUT those traumas/learned biases/expectations weighing them down.   Again there's room for a lot of tailoring in this section.

I'm going to stop writing here because I have a tendency to get excited about stuff and just WORD VOMIT all over everything.  Hopefully I managed to touch  on it all and it makes more sense now and now less :-)

[Beorning]

Once again, thank you for elaborating :)

One more question: if I understand correctly, the thralls don't initially remember who they were? But do they realize they aren't who they claim to be? I.e. does Myra realize she's not really a peasant girl? If so, does she recall being Gabrielle?

[RampantDesires]

As Thralls they believe that they are the new personality.  They will likely notice .. inconsistencies and blank spaces in their memories, things that don't add up, but they don't question them especially at first. So in Myra's case she only knows herself as that peasant girl... even if that doesn't always make sense and feel right, because all that matters is serving Ixarion.  She notices that she's not exactly suited to this hard labor she's putting in at the tavern now, the work is difficult her body is having a hard time adjusting, shouldn't she be better at this?  Oh well, as long as her Master is happy with what she's doing it's all good, how can she do better tomorrow?  She believes that she is married to her 'husband'  they have a history, but in private they probably don't really behave like married people because it doesn't serve their purpose, no one can see them so why bother.

Again there is a lot of room for players to tailor how they experience this, our brain dragon is a new abomination still exploring and developing his powers, he didn't program them exactly the same way and I'm totally cool with it as a GM as long as the general tone and premise of what's happening stays the same the fine details are entirely open to player interpretation.

Then their old wants and desires start coming on line.

Then they start to actually feel things, old memories bubble in.  Wait this is WRONG and not who I am, why am I doing this?

Then eventually the mind control shatters, they remember everything they've done, but also who they were before all this happened and it is up to them to try and live with that ... and get their revenge perhaps on the thing that did it. 

[Beorning]

Thank you! That explains matters for me. Again, sorry for asking all these questions...

Now... is there any particular role you feel needs filling among the Master's little group of infiltrators? Or a character type you feel is already covered enough? I looked at the cast list and I think you have enough of high society people already, for example?

[RampantDesires]

Let me ask in the OOC if people have requests or suggestions.  I know that ihinka is always on the look out for more servant types, she currently has Red and Rainy, but she might also enjoy a tradesman type to bully into doing stuff.  ::)

I havent' checked in with Wyatt lately because I suck at follow up sometimes, but there's always room for more peacekeeper roles (even if the actual Sherrif position is filled) Town watch, a kind of market place enforcer who keeps an eye on things for merchants.  Merchants.  We don't have any of those yet.

I know it's almost worse when things are this wide open to try and make a character.  At the end of the day it's going to always boil down to what are you excited to write.  It might take some work and light tweaking to get them in a comfy position but we can absolutely make almost anything work.