Between a Rock and a Hard Place-open freeform dungeon crawl-interest check

Started by Verasaille, December 03, 2015, 12:17:47 AM

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Verasaille

So I am so bored I want to DM a group game. I have tried this before and got a ton of people interested but it died. I think the problem was I had too many people and too much variance in time zones, or something. So I am trying again.

Freeform in that I am the DM and I expect to lead you all through a mysterious dungeon full of monsters, npcs, puzzles and cunnundrums. I really did not intend this to be any kind of a R rated smut fest. If it happens I don't really mind, BUT...don't be surprised if the DM interrupts your fun and games with some mobs or other crazy effects.

I have had an offer of help for running this. My favorite GM, Muse. I would like to put him in charge of monsters. I will handle the narrative. I hope to have lots of fun with this.

Rules will be flexible and we all start out at the same level. Now for an opening to tweak your interest.

------------

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Deep down in the depths...the air is warm...what there is of it. There is no sunlight here...in fact you do not know where you are. You went to bed in your home, safe and snug. You awoke here. The floor is stone, what you can feel of it, grainy and hard. There is a coating of dust on nearby surfaces. You listen carefully and may hear a dripping sound in the distance or merely an echo of one, cave sounds can be misleading.

There is a faint source of light nearby, just enough for you to make out that you are in an alcove in a larger cave. The place where you are hidden is marginally protected with a few rocks. You are not harmed, in fact you seem to be well physically. Though if you had any magic in you it seems to be dormant. It is there inside of you, but you just cannot cast. You are in the clothing you went to bed in, if any. You have no weapon to use and no armor.

How you got here is something you may wonder, but no answers are to be found laying here in the relative darkness. As you rise to your sitting position you look over the rocks that are screening you from view of anything or anyone else in the large cavern. It would be wise to be cautious, you are not alone. There are two torches burning in the large room. one on either end. There is also a slab of rock in the center of the room, it appears to be about twenty feet long. There is one lit candle on it.

The sensation of being deep below the surface of the earth is suffocating. The air is not fresh, it is stale and musty. The torches burn with a  snap and crackle. Whoever set you here is testing you. How you react and how you manage to survive is up to you. Look around the small space you have found yourself in.  Your primary concern is survival. Cooperation might be  necessary
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Muse

  I'm very excited that Vera's trying this again, and eager to help. 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Muse

Vera asked me to put together a character sheet for us. 

Name:
Race/Species:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Appearance:
Brief History:

Physical Edge:
Physical Weak Point:
Social/Mental Edge:
Social/Mental Weak Point:
Magical Theme (If Any): 
Special Weaknesses (If Any):
Preferred Fighting Style: 



I made a sample: 
Name: Aurin
Race/Species: Janx (Giant)
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual and polyamorous. 
Appearance: 9' tall, broad and beefy.  Aurin has golden hair and a close cropped beard. 
Brief History. Aurin's extended family are migrant workers who put their great strength to work on construction projects. 

Physical Edge: Big and brawny--even for a janx. 
Physical Weak Point: Tall as he is, Aurin has trouble with enclosed spaces. 
Social/Mental Edge: Creative and flexible. 
Social/Mental Weak Point: Though reasonably bright, Aurin has little formal education. 
Magical Theme (If Any):  Many janx have advanced psychic abilities.  Aurin has only one talent.  It's not reliable under pressure, but Aurin can absorb destructive energy and release it slowly as harmless light.
Special Weaknesses (If Any): Janx have a very high metabolism and need to eat frequently. 
Preferred Fighting Style:  Not a formally trained warrior, Aurin is talented and practiced with bows, improvised weapons, and unarmed combat.  He's especially talented with his shovel.   
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Verasaille

I like it Muse! I want to try and make this fairly unlimited in what kind of character you make. Lets try to keep them humanoid or at least not Overpowered. Any race or orientation. Please try to remember this is mainly an adventure. I have a specific goal in mind, that is to defeat the end Boss.

Muse and I are working on making the mobs fun and interesting. The Boss will be challenging enough that you will need to cooperate to defeat it.

The main thing is I want us all to have fun.
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Etherealgirl


Senti

How would a taciturn X soldier (scout type) female. human, an alcoholic. She is skilled even when drunk, she does not have fancy powers, she is a survivor, and bloody good at that. Though one might consider she has a sort of sixth sense when it comes to danger.

May I please ask if allowed she still has a flask of her booze/weapon cleaner/paint stripper/ fire lighter...:)

Verasaille

Hello there!! I am thinking this is a fantasy world and you can be any race, though I hope you will all stay humanoid. Time or era is to be discussed. This is mainly an interest thread.

The whole idea behind a dungeon like this is survival when you start out with NOTHING, so everyone is equal.

You can find things in your alcove, and in other places in the dungeon. For the first few levels, I expect everyone to learn to cooperate and make friends. At a certain point I may or may not give you an opportunity to sabotage your party members. It is up to the players really.

I want to see what would be a good consensus of location, basic tech level and how everyone might like it to go. Like cooperative or competitive?

Once I have an idea of what would be fun for the most people, I will start accepting player character sheets. Muse is helping me with this. I defer to his long history of running games. I asked him to keep it simple. Mostly for me!  :-[ I get confused easy and I am more of an rp'er than a system game player.
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Senti

I personally prefer cooperative but that's just me. 

As for system or not I am ok either way, as have played many systems for many years, and even when I GM I use them as a guide rather than everything is set in stone.

As for Time/ setting, a soldier type can really fit in with almost any setting.
As for getting on with people being used to army type life, your squad /group/party ... one might not like them but one has to work with them and the like as a matter of survival.

I love the way haracters can slowly change too due to environment and those around them.   

Etherealgirl

Name: Erutan Talla'Vashal
Race/Species: Half-Human/Half-Faun
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Pansexual
Appearance: Slim/Slender, 5'5, Long slender ears, small breasts, pale white skin, long black dread locks, solid black eyes and sharp fang like cuspids.
Brief History: Erutan was born to a human mother and male faun. She was the product of a fertility ritual of her father's druidic circle. When Erutan was born, her mother was sacrificed to the Old Ones Who Dwell In The Earth. She was raised as part of the circle, where she learned the Old Magicks of the Earth. Always curious for more knowledge, she left her circle with their blessing to search out the dark corners of the earth.

Physical Edge: Slim/lithe, Intimidating appearance
Physical Weak Point: Erutan is slender, and not as hearty as other races. Easily brusied.
Social/Mental Edge: Strong-Willed, Inquisitive
Social/Mental Weak Point: Erutan is easily influenced by beauty and often stops to appreciate the natural beauty of something, even if it is detrimental to her safety. She also has little understanding of human culture or customs.
Magical Theme (If Any): Erutan's Magick is old and nature based. She can commune with animals, or control plants, or event the elements themselves.
Special Weaknesses (If Any): She can easily sense other people's emotions, and often times can be intoxicated by the more extreme emotions.
Preferred Fighting Style:  She is not much of a melee fighter, and prefers to stay back from the combat and pick off opponents with bow or magical spells.

(If I need to change things or add more, please let me know.)


I also like co-op settings. you know, team working together for a goal. I'm pretty flexible and easy going.

AffablyEvil

Night gathers, and now my roleplaying begins. It shall not end until dawn. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die by my posts. I am the writer in the darkness. I am the author beyond the fourth wall. I am the creative fire that burns against the uncreative chill, the warm light that eases hearts, the pen that wakes the sleeping thoughts, the text that feeds the imaginations of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Roleplayer's Guild, for this night and all the nights to come.

And so my writing begins.

Niki315

This sounds super interesting! If there is enough space for me I would love to join. I have a lot of experience with D&D, so if it is a setting with D&D influences I can be helpful if there is more need for additional management  :-)

stormwyrm

Sounds interesting... I've never done a group game before, and it sounds like it might be fun. So this is a free-form game I take it?
If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing.
O/OA/A, Requests

Verasaille

Yes a very basic freeform, in that I will have everyone start out equal. We all level together and I will let Muse handle that. I want to put more of a focus on the rp part than the system.

I just wanted a fun dungeon crawl where we learn to cooperate or die! I was thinking of having it set up so if you die you can only start again with a new character. I think this will encourage cooperation.
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

TheRaven

"Hey," said Shadow. "Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are"
The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes.
"Say 'Nevermore,'" said Shadow.
"Fuck you," said the raven.

Verasaille

I have been toying with settings and I think a more generic fantasy is something all would like. Like any good dungeon, you need an end goal.

I will be using my own world as a setting. It is here:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=221640.0

I have in mind to use this dungeon as an experiment that has been percolating in my head.

The characters you make should include only the ones I have populating my world. So far there are humans, elves and dwarves. There are also trolls, and I debated about including orcs. But I hate to use the cliche too far. The trolls are a long dead race, so the only ones I have had in my world are undead.

The main villain will be a sorcerer who created this dungeon as a source of power. He intends on sacrificing the ones he pulls in here. There are a few npcs I will toss in from time to time that were previously pulled in here and escaped the sorcerer. They will help you!
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Verasaille

Muse is going to do that for us. I am not worried about trying to run a system game, as it is confusing to me and I don't want people bogged down in the rolling and so forth. So I have decided to just have everyone rp things, and if there is a fight, then we can discuss a form of rolling dice for results.

There are only ten levels to this dungeon I am making. We will all go up in experience and gain more skills and abilities as we progress through the levels. The trick to this survival game is to stay alive. Helping each other is more important than being a kick azz killer.

I want to focus on more puzzles and challenges that do not require fighting.

Again this is just an interest thread, we do not have anything set in concrete just yet.
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

tyr4n02r

WIP, applying tho, seems like fun!

Name: Darius d'Sanguine Evokas Vancypants Galantus III
Race/Species: Human
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Appearance: Slender, fair skinned.
Brief History: (bullet points, I will give more in depth later)
~ Upper-middle class, was sent off to magic school, having a strong aptitude, and was pretty nerdy growing up.
~ To get back at his parents, he took up Illusion magic as his focus, but later moved to Conjuration, as he was never that charismatic.
~ During an unsanctioned summoning, he evoked a demonic spirit that granted him an uncanny mastery of the magic schools, but planted a seed of corruption inside of him.
~ As he performed magic, his corruption began to grow, causing his "thoughts" to become darker and more sinister.
~ His first sexual experience his does not remember, as he blacked out and apparently raped a trio of fellow students with shadow-like tendrils as well as his penis. Realizing the potential danger within himself, he used his family's connections to whitewash the incident and transferred to a different school, one which was primarily Elven/Half Elven.
~ He performed phenomenally in all classes, double-majoring in Elemental and Conjuration. While he outwardly becomes a model student prodigy, he privately meditates in moderate attempts to control his corruption and his lust.

Physical Edge:
Physical Weak Point: He sucks at most things physical. Cardio? *Pant wheeze* Dancing? *Trip* Sex? Still a virgin, so nope. Fighting? Yeah, no...
Social/Mental Edge: Has knowledge of a lot of arcana, as well as a bit of demonology. Has working knowledge of Elven culture from being in school. Also studious. Can get around with using his family's name to call in favors, and work within noble ranks.
Social/Mental Weak Point: Nervous in social settings. Inexperienced in the bedroom. Not one for a lot of fun. Lightweight with alcohol...
Magical Theme (If Any): Has proficient control over the first four magic schools, with specialty in Conjuration. Can use the other magic schools to modify Conjuration. Seems to be particularly good at Shadow and Fire elements as well.
Special Weaknesses (If Any): Using magic as more than a prestidigitation, lighting a torch) tends to fuel the demonic corruption within him. His thoughts, and later speech and actions, tend to grow darker. To quell this corruption (but not rid of it) is a sexual release. That presents its own set of problems, seeing that he gets nervous around women (and subsequently is inexperienced,) and is going to be traveling with a group of people, making masturbation difficult.
A small exception to this is elemental magic. While he has the ability to "create" an elemental presence, (in which the corruption takes effect,) he has learned to manipulate the elements around him, not utilizing his own magical reserves. The exception to the exception is Shadow and Holy. Shadow DIRECTLY uses the demonic corruption within him, while Holy/Healing magic takes so much more out of him, that he can not naturally attune to it, allowing the corruption to build.)
Preferred Fighting Style: Fighting? Haha Lolzā€¦ Running away quickly. Would use magic more defensively, may grow to offensive as necessity/survival demands. Also, would use more summons, but still wants to minimize his corruption as much as possible.
I apparently insulted Dicebot's mother, and it still remembers... you've been warned...
Mainly missing on Tuesdays, sorry.
Intro!  My Ons and Offs

TheRaven

Another WIP sheet for consideration.

Name: Asher Forlend
Race/Species: Human
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Pansexual
Appearance: Tall, lithe, fair, golden-haired
Brief History: A noble son, fourth in line behind three much more preferable heirs. He's been a social liability to his family since he left adolescence, so they more or less fund his excursions so long as it keeps him out of Midlands politics.

Physical Edge: Fit, quick and light on his feet
Physical Weak Point: He relies a great deal on precision, and his overall strength leaves perhaps something to be desired.
Social/Mental Edge: A charismatic and well-educated noble, with some magical education mixed in for good measure.
Social/Mental Weak Point: Asher is a self-aggrandizing egotist with a greatly over-inflated estimation of his own abilities and poor impulse control. Not only is his family on the outs socially, he himself is a pariah even among them.
Magical Theme (If Any): Magic that heals and improves the capabilities of himself and others; the classic buffing/healing cleric style magic
Special Weaknesses (If Any): Asher takes challenges very seriously, and will almost certainly never turn them down; only cases when his life is going to be threatened excessively, and even then he can still be convinced.
Preferred Fighting Style: Fast, lightly armored, and magically enhanced
"Hey," said Shadow. "Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are"
The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes.
"Say 'Nevermore,'" said Shadow.
"Fuck you," said the raven.

Senti

I asm going for the Sigourney Weaver Aliens 3 look, (Minus Tech obviously :) )might need help sizing pic as I am a real technophobe, and rubbish.

ArtemisHighmore


Verasaille

So I believe I have enough interest to make an OOC section in the group forums. I will ask you to use Muse's template and to submit a character sheet as he has helpfully supplied. Please be aware I am asking people to post at the MINIMUM of once a week. More often is encouraged and welcomed. If you cannot post in a timely manner, please don't waste everyone's time. The lack of posting is what kills most of the group rps I have been in. Please don't do that to me or the others who have expressed an interest. It is only fair that if we start this we want to keep it going. Thanks!

The basic premise shall be as previously noted. The Dungeon is set in my world of Tierra as listed in the link here:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=221640.0

The only acceptable races will be Elf, human, dwarf and Fae. This gives a wide variety and will allow for magic and non magic characters.

I am working on an opening post for the OOC, and I will use much of it for the IC as well.

I will edit to include a link here when I am done.

Here is the link:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=240762.new#new
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Verasaille

We have five not counting Muse and I. If anyone is still interested you need to post a character sheet in the OOC. (posted in last post)

Ethereal Girl, you need to change your character a bit to fit into my world of Tierra.

Niki315, if you are still interested you need to post a character sheet there as well.

ArtemisHighmore, the same goes for you.

After the IC starts I will let people post a character sheet as a reserve and allow them to enter if someone drops out.
I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Niki315

I've been working on finding a picture for my character but I haven't found one I like yet. I keep getting distracted... I'll probably have a character up soon though.

Verasaille

I have gone off in search of myself. If I should get back before I return, please keep me here.

Chulanowa

Kind of interested in coming back to this myself. Not sure if I'd reprise Three or try something different though, hmmm. Do characters do through you or Muse first then posted to the OOC?