Whispered Mysteries | A modern supernatural game

[Layne Spooks]

Nestled in the Canadian Shield, in the woods of Northern Ontario sits the small community of Wawa, Ontario. With a population of only 3,035 year-round residents spread over just over 400 kilometres, it retains a small-town feel where most residents know each other by name. While many years ago it was known for its hematite ore, the mining industry has since moved out of the area, leaving the town most remembered for its Wawa Goose Monument and beautiful fishing and hiking spots. Or at least, that’s how it’s known to most ordinary people. To the more open-minded, it’s considered one of the strangest places in North America, almost like the town is a hub for the bizarre and supernatural



This game will be primarily a sandbox game, but there will be a few GM-led scenes or events along the way to keep the story going. Inspiration for this game came from sources like Gravity Falls, Supernatural, and various North American myths and legends. The tone of this game is intended to be more lighthearted (akin to Gravity Falls), but it is definitely okay if things become more intense, violent, or adult than originally planned. Being human is an option and for now, there are five supernatural species. If you have an idea for another, feel free to discuss it here or via private messages to the GMs and we can figure out if it works for the game and how to implement it.

Current Playable Species:
Werewolves
Shape Shifters
Ghosts
Lake Monsters
Sasq'ets
Humans

Supernatural Species

Werewolves

Also known as Loup Garou. They’re humans that can shapeshift at will into wolves, though it is often a painful and somewhat time-consuming process that is made easier during the full moon. They maintain their human mind while they are shifted, though their wolfish instincts are closer to the front of their mind. They heal faster and age slower than humans, but contact with silver gives them rashes, or even hives with prolonged exposure. If they are cut by silver, or it’s otherwise exposed to their bloodstream, it can be fatal.

Shape Shifters

Also known as Shifters or Bear Walkers (due to their tendency to shift into bears). They are humans who can shapeshift into anything they’ve seen in person before (including other humans). It’s not an easy or painless process, and they leave behind the skin of their previous form when they shift. They also heal faster and age slower than humans, and are impacted by silver in incredibly similar ways.

Ghosts

Also known as specters or spirits. Ghosts were once humans, though they now only remain as a shell of what they once were, haunted by the traumatic death that kept them from moving on from life. Though they often act odd and distant, they’re most like they were in life when in areas with a strong spiritual presence, or which hold great significance in the ghost’s life or death. Technology often glitches around them. Particularly, cameras, radios and televisions. They can only be harmed with salt or killed by having their remains (or the object they are tied to) salted and burned to ash.

Lake Monsters

Also known as a Qalupalik. They’re humanoid aquatic creatures, that can walk on land and disguise themselves as human for several hours at a time. While on land they can appear like a normal human though the faint smell of sulphur always clings to their skin. When in contact with water it becomes more difficult to maintain their disguise, and the more water they are exposed to the harder it becomes. When not disguised, they have scaly skin, with fins on their heads, backs and torsos as well as webbed fingers and toes, complete with razor-sharp claws. They suffer dehydration much faster than humans, and it becomes lethal much quicker as well.

Sasq'ets

Also known as a Bigfoot or a Sasquatch along with a whole host of other names. They’re humans that shapeshift into humanoid/ape-like creatures, known for protecting the forest. They have claws similar to a bear’s that cannot be retracted. When not shifted, they’re almost indistinguishable from normal humans, aside from being on the hairy side and needing a touch more deodorant than the average person. They’re stronger and more durable than all but the strongest weightlifters even when not shifted, though they tend to be reclusive, with large populations and crowds making them uncomfortable.

Character Creation

Character will have three (3) "Basic" stats, and each different species will have an additional "Supernatural" stat which will dictate how powerful they are, and how skilled they are with their species' powers and abilities. Each species has its own set of benefits and hindrances. Points in each stat will be dictated using the same rolling system used in D&D (By rolling 4 1d6s, with the lowest number subtracted. 1s will be rerolled). Depending on in-game events, additional bonuses and drawbacks will be assigned.





These are the stats every character has, regardless of species.

Physical
How physically fit/capable your character is. If you're familiar with D&D, think of this as a combo between your Strength and Dexterity stats. A lower number in this stat indicates a character is less physically fit than others, perhaps with less strength or endurance, or perhaps a physical disability of some kind. A higher number indicates the opposite.

Social
How charismatic, emotionally intelligent and socially aware your character is. If you're familiar with D&D, this is essentially your Charisma stat. A lower number in this stat indicates that a character is more socially awkward than other characters, or perhaps struggles to read and understand expressions and social cues. A higher number indicates the opposite.

Mental
How intelligent, wise and resourceful your character is. If you're familiar with D&D, this is a combo of your Wisdom and intelligence stats. A lower number in this stat indicates that a character may be less book-smart and/or streetwise than others, or perhaps has difficulty coming up with solutions to everyday problems. A higher number indicates the opposite.



Each character will have ONE of these stats, depending on which species they are. They are as follows;

Werewolves

Phasing: This stat indicates how skilled your werewolf is at shifting during (or potentially outside of) the full moon. The higher the number, the less painful the shift will be and the less time it will take to do so. They will have better instincts and be more likely to successfully shift outside of the full moon if this stat is high.

Shape Shifters

Shifting: This stat indicates how skilled your shapeshifter is at changing shapes, as well as what kind of shapes they are able to replicate. The higher the stat, the faster and more painless the shift will be and the easier time they will have accurately replicating other humans in a way that can fool even those familiar with the human they are mimicking.

Ghosts

Plasm: This stat indicates how skilled your ghost is at manifesting and affecting their environment in a way specific to them. The higher this stat, the longer a ghost may manifest for, and the more real and present they will appear to others. A ghost with a high Plasm score will be very difficult to tell apart from a living person when manifested.

Lake Monsters

Hydration: This stat indicates how long your Lake Monster can be outside of water without experiencing dehydration, as well as how well their disguise works. The higher the score, the longer they will be able to exist outside of water without becoming dehydrated, and the longer their disguise will hold up when exposed to water, as well as allowing their disguise to look more like a "normal" human.

Sasq'ets

Nature: This stat indicates how in tune your bigfoot is with nature, as well as how much of their strength they can access without shifting. The higher this stat, the more your bigfoot will be able to blend in and commune with nature around them. Higher scores in this stat also indicate that they have more access to their supernatural strength without having to shift into their bigfoot shape.

Humans

Resistance: This stat indicates how well your character tolerates being exposed to the supernatural. Someone with a low score in this stat may realize they have been talking to a ghost and experience a mental breakdown as a result, while someone with a high score may be shocked, but will be able to shrug the experience off much easier.

Each species will have its own set of these and all characters of the same species will have the same benefits and hindrances. They are as follows;

Werewolves have a -1 to Mental and a +1 to Physical

Shape Shifters have a -1 to Shifting and a +1 to Mental

Ghosts have a -1 to Physical and a +1 to Plasm

Lake Monsters have a -1 to Social and a +1 to Mental

Sasq'ets have a -1 to Social and a +1 to Physical

Humans have a -1 to Resistance and a +1 to Social.



As mentioned previously, I will be using the same rolling system as used for calculating stats in D&D, so if you are familiar with that, this section may be redundant for you, but for the sake of those who aren't familiar, I'll be explaining how that works here. Basically, to come up with a number for each stat you're going to roll some dice, four of the six-sided ones that come in just about every board game on Earth. You'll roll all four at once, and any that come up with a 1 you're going to roll again until it's a 2 or higher. Then you'll add the three highest results together and that will be your stat. Simply repeat the process for all of them, then add the bonuses and hindrances listed above.

Example

So I roll four six-sided dice and I get; 3, 5, 4 and 1. I reroll that one and I get a 5. That makes my rolls 3, 5, 4 and 5. Now I add the three highest (5, 4 and 5) together, giving me 14. That's my stat. Now I just need to repeat that process for my other three stats. Let's say I end up with 14, 13, 11 and 13. Now I need to assign what stats go where. For this example, we'll say I'm building a Ghost. I'll assign the stats like this;

Physical: 11
Social: 13
Mental: 13
Plasm: 14

Now, Ghosts also get a Bonus of +1 to Plasm and a Hindrance of -1 to Physical, so I need to add those too. That leaves me with this;

Physical: 10
Social: 13
Mental: 13
Plasm: 15

That's it! Now my character would be ready to add to the game (once I've filled out the rest of the character sheet, of course, I'll add that info later). If any of this was confusing at all, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to explain.

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[center][size=22pt]Character Name[/size][/center]

[float=left][img height=350 padding=5]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Portrait_Placeholder.png[/img][/float][b]Nickname:[/b] If Needed
[b]Age / Birthday:[/b]
[b]Gender / Sexuality:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]

[b]Eye/Hair Color:[/b]
[b]Height/Build:[/b]
[b]Distinctive Features:[/b]
[b]Face claim:[/b]

[hr][center][size=12pt][b]Character Statistics[/b][/size][/center][hr]

[size=12pt]❖ [b]Species[/b] ❖[/size]
[size=8pt]-Each stat is 4d6 drop lowest score and you can reroll 1s-[/size]
⟢ Physical:
⟢ Social:
⟢ Mental:
⟢ Phasing/Shifting/Plasm/Hydration/Nature/Resistance:

[hr][center][size=12pt][b]Character Statistics[/b][/size][/center][hr]

[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Likes:[/b] (At least 5, Nonsexual)
[b]Dislikes:[/b] (At least 5, Nonsexual)

[b]Bio:[/b] (This can be in paragraphs or bullet points of important events)

[b]Desired Plots:[/b] (Specific plotlines you’re looking searching for with this character)

[b]Additional Details:[/b]

If you're interested in joining, please PM your ideas and/or character sheet to my Co-GM Amaris and I (Layne Spooks). Hope to hear from you soon! Here's our Character Sheet thread if you're curious or want a little help getting the ideas going. We ask that you not post in it until you've received approval from the GMs.

RESERVED FACE CLAIMS:
Matty Healy
Robert Sheehan
Janelle Monae

[Amaris]

*puts down a flag* I also am reserving Matty Healy as a FC <3

[Envious]

Why hello.

[Cold Heritage]

[Shifters] also heal faster and age slower than humans, and are impacted by silver in incredibly similar ways.

This line confuses me. Does it mean that silver affects shifters the same way it does humans? I feel like I'm failing at reading comprehension.

[Layne Spooks]

This line confuses me. Does it mean that silver affects shifters the same way it does humans? I feel like I'm failing at reading comprehension.

Hi! I probably wrote it in a weird way, but I meant that shifters would be affected by silver in the same way as werewolves, i.e rashes, hives and in extreme cases death.

[Layne Spooks]

Why hello.

Hi Envi! Happy to see you here!

[Amaris]

Why hello.

This line confuses me. Does it mean that silver affects shifters the same way it does humans? I feel like I'm failing at reading comprehension.

Welcome!

[Levi]

*pulls cloak around face and lurks*

[Layne Spooks]

*pulls cloak around face and lurks*

Hi hi!

[Levi]

I think I would like to do a Ghost.

[la dame en noir]

Okay so like... this is a really neat idea. I love the inclusion of indigenous lore in here as well.

Are humans with sensitivity to supernatural beings/aura,etc allowed?

Are you also allowing folks to make more than one character? cause I'm into the Lake Monsters as well.

[Layne Spooks]

I think I would like to do a Ghost.

Awesome! I'm excited to see them.

[Layne Spooks]

Okay so like... this is a really neat idea. I love the inclusion of indigenous lore in here as well.

Are humans with sensitivity to supernatural beings/aura,etc allowed?

Are you also allowing folks to make more than one character? cause I'm into the Lake Monsters as well.

Thank you, I'm really glad to hear that!

To answer your first question, yes but it depends what you're imagining. Your human wouldn't be able to like, have a detailed and accurate understanding of supernatural beings just by looking at them, but if you wanted them to be able to see different coloured auras for different species or have a type of "Spidey Sense" for when someone isn't human then thats fine. I'd just say the accuracy/functionality of it would be dependent on their Resistance stat.

For your second question; for now, no. At the moment we'll only be allowing one character per player, but this may change in the future.

[RainyHigh]

*sneaks on in with a flag to place down*
I am interested for sure.
A small town with a remote-ish setting and supernatural creatures abound--sounds like some spooky fun.
Now to figure out which supernatural creature to apply for...
I'm at an impasse between shapeshifter, ghost, and lake monster.
*brain starts making whirling machine noises*

edit: question:
Do shapeshifters only shift into animals? I saw something about them mimicking humans. Does that mean they can shift into different humans too?

[Amaris]

They can mimic humans as well! Remember that they do leave the skin behind though when they shift out of it.

[RainyHigh]

They can mimic humans as well! Remember that they do leave the skin behind though when they shift out of it.

That sounds so wonderfully creepy.


edit:
I'd like to reserve Janelle Monae as an FC please and thanks!

[Levi]

How historically accurate do you want bios to be?

[Layne Spooks]

How historically accurate do you want bios to be?

Ooh, neat question! I'm not gonna fact check you or anything. So long as it sounds reasonably believable I'll accept it!

[Levi]

With rolling the D6 we do that 4 times in total is that correct. That's how I've read it...

So I don't forget when making my sheet!
First roll: 14
Second roll:18
Third roll:18
Fourth:19

[Amaris]

You roll a d6 four times, you are correct. BUT you remove the lowest number and if you get a 1 you reroll it.

Also everyone can put Layne's profile number in the 'send to' section of the dice roller. That number is 94871. Also I'm willing to work with anyone on their rolls if needed. Don't forget your species modifiers! <3

[BehindYou]

Colour me intrigued! For shape-shifters, is there a limit on how long they can stay in a form that isn’t their own? Or could they keep that form indefinitely?

[Layne Spooks]

Colour me intrigued! For shape-shifters, is there a limit on how long they can stay in a form that isn’t their own? Or could they keep that form indefinitely?

Hi! Nice to see you here. There is no limit on how long a shape shifter can stay in one form, though the longer they are in another form the more likely issues are to arise. Animals can't speak, and humans don't react well to seeing themselves anywhere but pictures and mirrors.

[Silver]

I am intrigued, will humans at some point become supernatural or remain human for the whole story?

[Amaris]

A human could become a werewolf or a ghost in the story, or they can stay human for the whole story. The other species are all genetic. They have to have the gene somewhere in their family tree.

[Unholy]

Hello, is this still recruiting? It looks very neat. I'm a bit of a slower poster lately though, and I wasn't sure if this would be an issue...

But 'more light hearted supernatural stuff' is sounding really appealing at the moment.  :-[

[Layne Spooks]

Hello, is this still recruiting? It looks very neat. I'm a bit of a slower poster lately though, and I wasn't sure if this would be an issue...

But 'more light hearted supernatural stuff' is sounding really appealing at the moment.  :-[

Hi hi! Happy to see you here! We're absolutely still recruiting. I don't mind a slow poster so long as you're transparent about it with whoever you have scenes with at the time. I will say though that the GM run scenes will likely have some sort of time limit between GM posts just to keep them from fading out, but thats not set in stone as of yet.

Edit; For clarification, the time limit does not mean you'll be kicked from a scene if you miss a post, your character will be moved along with the scene unless otherwise arranged ooc. The time limits also won't be a set in stone thing; if you're wanting to get a post in but just need another day or two, let us know and we'll push it back a bit.

[Amaris]

So, yea, basically there will be a GM post and a date on the top when the next GM post will be. If you need a few days, we can push that back. If you're okay with your character not really doing a lot during that round and kinda just being moved along, then another GM post will happen around that date with a new date of the next GM post.

At least that's tentatively how we're thinking of doing it. There are things to factor into if we follow through with that plan or not! I'm so excited to see your interest here!!

[Unholy]

If I have questions about how a race's ability works, is it best to post it here or ask via PM? :)

[Amaris]

If you ask here then maybe it could help others who have the same questions <3

[Amaris]

We are hoping to get things up and going this weekend! So, if you wanna be here from the beginning, then please dont be shy - Join us!

[Unholy]

Drat. I've had to scrap like three different sheets as I cannot get this character idea to come together right now. I think I will have to withdraw for now but if recruitment ever opens back up and I can make my brain WORK for a proper character I'd be delighted to re-apply later? ^^;

[Layne Spooks]

Drat. I've had to scrap like three different sheets as I cannot get this character idea to come together right now. I think I will have to withdraw for now but if recruitment ever opens back up and I can make my brain WORK for a proper character I'd be delighted to re-apply later? ^^;

Aw darn, its sad but it happens. Recruitment will be ongoing though, so you can reapply whenever you're ready!