Group RP: Mystery, True Blood & Supernatural basis, Vampire-Centric

[TheKnifeWon]

OK, here's the deal. I've had an idea for a group RP kicking around for a few months that never got fulfilled. Let's see if I can make this both concise and informative, huh? Look under the Spoiler only if you want to play a major, omniscient sort of role. I've honestly never tried doing a mystery story, but I'm planning to work hard and try to pull it off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If you want the RP to feel like a mystery story to you, don't read that section!

THE PROBLEM

Previously peaceful vampires have been killing humans in terrible ways, dismembering and eviscerating them, barely seeming interested in the blood. The sheriffs in the area have been doing their best to cover up and assess the situation, but have had trouble finding the reason. At this point, they've linked the culprits back to a vampire bar in the city. This is where those involved with the investigation will convene.

THE PLAYERS (GREEN roles are open, GOLD roles could spice things up/involve more players but need not be filled for the RP to proceed, RED roles have already been filled.)

Maxwell Garrington - TAKEN by TheKnifeWon

Not terribly old as vampires in power go, he's summoned by his sheriff to help get to the bottom of this. Being of a different breed, she believes he might be able to sense and combat any magic at work.

Dean Winchester - TAKEN by deaneffingwinchester

A well-seasoned hunter, he's been involved with Maxwell for a number of months. As this issue has resulted in a number of human fatalities, it is a job he'd have been eager to work on his own. He grudgingly joins Maxwell on his more formal job, figuring there was no point is separate investigations.

Carmelia Saville - TAKEN by TheKnifeWon

Vampire. One of the sheriffs of the region. The vampire bar at the center of this falls within her jurisdiction, which very much makes this her problem. It's been proving difficult to keep quiet, though; some of the deaths had been picked up by the news, but not definitively linked to vampires. That's too much, in her opinion; vamps from the Authority are starting to sniff around, for fuck's sake!

UNNAMED SHERIFF - OPEN

Vampire. A sheriff of the neighboring area, the killings have mostly been done by vampires residing in their territory. They want to get this shit sorted as much as Carmelia.

UNNAMED AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVE - OPEN

Vampire. Someone sent by the Authority to oversee, and assist in, the case, fearing that it will swell into a national incident if left unchecked.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

THE DEMON - OPEN

Demon possessing a human form. Suggested playby is David Eugene Edwards, thanks to these very demonic shots from the "Haw" video. Humor me, OK?

Anyway, this would be a symbiotic pair--or, so the human thinks. Perhaps he hates vampires and wants to see the country go at war with them. Perhaps he's just game to do whatever the demon likes, and the demon happens to love ultraviolent chaos. Whatever the case, this pair is THE CULPRIT!

He'll have appeared at the vampire bar each night of the murders and, naturally, have been extensively interviewed and come up clean every time. This is due to their working together--the demon LEAVES before anyone, whether off-screen or RPed, interviews his host.

VAMPIRE CO-CONSPIRATOR - SUGGESTION

A vampire working at the bar who is in cahoots with the demon and helps to clean up evidence of their presence there. We're presuming s/he hates 'tame' vampires and is all for the idea of open war between vampires and humans. (If this role isn't filled, I've already come up with ideas about how the demon/human combo could cover their tracks. It's an interesting angle we could take with it, though!)

HUNTERS? SUGGESTION

Human. More hunters, of the "saving people, hunting things" variety. Could be lone figures, pairs, families. May or may not care about Dean's involvement. How and when they become involved is to be discussed.

OTHER SUGGESTION

Have any ideas of characters that might be interesting? Have existing characters that might be interesting to insert? Propose 'em!

ABOUT VAMPIRES

Most vampires in this story would be True Blood style vampires. How to explain concisely. . .um. They became known to the general population about five years prior thanks to the invention of synthetic blood, presently bottled and sold as TruBlood for their consumption. They can consume nothing but blood and its synthetic equivalents; anything else makes them violently ill. They crumble to ash when killed. They can be killed by sunlight, beheading, fire or staking (anything wooden that can pierce through them counts as a stake). They have your standard superhuman physical attributes (strength, speed, senses, dexterity), which are leaps and bounds from human capabilities from the moment of their embrace, and become more pronounced with age. They must be invited into a mortal dwelling to enter safely. They can control a human's mind through sustained eye contact, called glamouring. Their blood can heal wounds in mortal creatures, through being consumed or applied to the wound. Their saliva also has a healing component to it, albeit much milder than blood. Some vampires have other gifts, such as the ability of flight, the ability to communicate telepathically with others, an especially potent healing component to their saliva, etc..

The only other 'type' that comes into this RP is Maxwell's. Mostly, he's the same as above, except with the added ability to control blood magic. This can be used in a variety of ways, both active and passive, but the more extreme the exertion, the more blood is required to fuel it. Vampires of this breed cannot survive on synthetic blood alone. While they're capable of drinking it, it does nothing to sate their appetite and, in fact, often intensifies it. These vampires are, as a group, less 'on board' with the Great Revelation, in part because of their superior ability to blend in among the human population through magic use, in part because it's intensified the power of the Authority, to whom few of them like answering.  By saying these are "Maxwell's type", by the way, I don't mean to say they all know or are linked to him--just that he's the only player-character example so far. As this is a somewhat rare breed, and one at odds with the Authority in most cases, the intent is that he'll be the only one. . .but I'm not going to force you to let me be the special snowflake.

TERMS

Sheriff - A vampire who 'controls' the vampires living in a given area of the state/country. New vampires are expected to visit with them and request hunting privileges as a formality. When there are problems - among humans or other vampires - with vampires living in the area, the sheriff looks into it and is considered responsible. They may require vampires in the area to work for them and dole out minor punishments, or be authorized to dole out major punishments.

The Great Revelation - The night when vampires went on TV, radio and internet to tell the world they existed and, thanks to TruBlood, no longer represent a threat to humans. They want to exist peacefully and openly in human society. Since then, it's become a massive sociopolitical issue. Happened about five years ago, for the purposes of this RP.

TruBlood - The first brand of synthetic blood bottled for vampires. It's made by a Japanese company and bottled according to blood type. Other brands exist, but this is the most widely available. Practically a monopoly.


The Authority - A council of vampires based in the United States that govern the vampires across the country. They issue directives to Kings and Queens to be put out to all vampires.

King/Queen - Ruling figure of each individual US state.

Russel Edgington - Not mentioned previously, but it's an incident that's in the background of this RP. This ancient vampire went on television in Mississippi and ripped the spine out of a newscaster as he started a news piece on a vampire rights amendment. He then went on a rant about how vampires did not desire equality with humans because humans are inferior, human lives are fleeting and meaningless, we'll eat you, we'll eat your children, etc. etc.. It's been taken as a terrorist act and driven public opinion of vampires right down the shitter. An incident like the one described above would only further fuel the fire of hatred and fear Edgington started.

ABOUT CANON BASES

The 'social' basis is mostly in True Blood. All details about vampires and other supes don't remain faithful to it.  The canon basis re: events stops around the end of season three. Considering my/our RP would give exactly zero shits about what's happening in Louisiana (save the Edgington stuff), it's not worth worrying about what may or may not happen in the series beyond that. We'll just assume that Roman's still leading the Authority for the entirety of this RP, OK?

Some other details about it are based in Supernatural. I won't say which because SPOILERS.

You do not need to be familiar with the above canons to participate in this RP. It does help, though! I'll be happy to explain to anyone who needs more clarification on anything, but this should probably be done in PMs (or IMs, if you're so inclined).


ABOUT CHARACTER REQUIREMENTS

Most roles are already spelled out, within loose parameters. Outside of that, please keep in mind that this RP is based in a realistic aesthetic, and measure your character's appearance and powers accordingly. If it would look really stupid happening in a live-action TV show, reconsider.

ABOUT POSTING REQUIREMENTS

Multiple paragraph players are ideal. Both players currently signed on to play at-start are multi-para players by default, so it'd be awkward playing with a bunch of people who type less. We'll try not to be ultra picky, though!

ANYTHING ELSE?

Tell/ask me. I'm incredibly inexperienced in trying to set up a group RP, or even a particularly plotted RP, so any suggestions are welcome!