Reimagining the Trojan War as High School Life

Started by Syene, October 22, 2011, 12:42:14 AM

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Syene

There has been a rivalry between the two high schools in the small town of Hellas for a long as anyone can recall. Recently, the girlfriend of the captain of the Sparta High football team left him for a popular young man from Troy High and that simmering tension has come to a boil. Fights have started breaking out -- not just the occasional brawl after a football game, but boys looking for real trouble. Rumor has it that a girl better not get caught alone on the wrong side of town if she values her virtue. The adults of the town seem largely oblivious to what's going on, thinking merely that "boys will be boys."

The game will be set in small-town, 1950s America. Characters will be high school students (age 16+) and the reincarnations of the heroes and heroines of the Trojan War. There's no expectation the game will play out as mythology does, though I would like to keep most of the sibling and imtimate relationships intact. Magic and the gods are largely absent, though a few of the more mystical characters may have some inkling that there's something very ancient playing out around them. I'm including some character suggestions below, but please feel free to select a more obscure mythological figure (try to keep them actual participants in the Trojan Cycle, if not the war itself) or even create your own past life (keep it reasonable).

I'd like to get about 3-4 characters on each side, though I would be willing to take more if I get enough interest and a co-GM.

Organization and Approved Characters (Follow link for a current list of all game threads.)




Possible Past Lives -- please make suggestions of any obvious ones I missed



Sparta High                   
Patroclus
Diomedes
Ajax
Achilles
Agamemnon
Odysseus
Menelaus
Clytemnestra
Penelope
Troy High
Polyxena
Andromache
Penthesilea
Hector
Cassandra
Paris
Aeneas
Helen




Character Sheet

Name:
Give your character's full name and nickname.
Age: Give your character's age, likely between 16 and 19.
Appearance: Describe your character or include a reasonably realistic image.
Personality: Describe your charater's personality.
Background: How did your character become the person they are today?
Past Life: Give the name of your character's past life and describe how that life subconsciously influences them.
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pendarious

this is fascinating.......If this game takes off i'd like to play the role of Odysseus
Psycho Mantis: You must spend every day pretending to act like you're falsely letting on that you aren't not unbetraying someone you don't not purport to allegedly not work for but really do! How do you keep all this shit straight without having an aneurysm?
Revolver Ocelot: *shrug* Practice.
—The Last Days Of FOXHOUND


Carlissa

Hmm... From what I remember, Paris didn't have any love interest besides Helen, did he? If I'm wrong, I would love to play as her. I just love love triangles! :P
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Syene

Glad to hear that there's some interest! Hopefully there will be some now that you've broken the ice.

I'd love to have an Odysseus -- he's one of my favorites.

Carlissa, as far as I recall about Paris, that's correct.
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Caela

This sounds like an interesting take on a favorite myth of mine. Am going to toss my hat in the ring as interested as Clytemnestra. Will work up a character sheet tonight or tomorrow night.

Syene

I would love to have you, but don't worry too much about being speedy with a character sheet until we get a few more people. I want a small game, but I think this is still too few people.
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Urbanzorro

I've always had a thing for Greek/Roman mythology. I'd be interested in playing Hector if the slot hasn't already been filled.
I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar.

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My Apologies.

Sivan

This looks like it could be a lot of fun :)  I've always enjoyed Greek/Roman mythology myself.  I'd love to take on the role of Penelope.

pendarious

Name: Thomas Anderson
Age: 19

Appearance:

Personality: Calm, Clever, Cunning young man who can be kind and gentle but only to those he considers friends. He is slow to anger but once the breaking point is reached his fury is relentless.  He doesn't much care for violence but will use it if it's the only viable option. He prefers mind games and witty debates. He is incredibly loyal to his friends and would do everything in his power to see to it that as little harm as possible would befall them. He has some charisma and is a decent leader when he has to be.

Background: He was born in a rather decent family. His father a lawyer and his mother a nurse. He grew up a studious young man who stayed somewhat physically fit as well. He has a love of chess and strategy games. He is the captain of the chess team but he also has a tendancy to help sports teams formulate strategies for big games. He often works alongside studenst such as Johnson Smith for the football team. Thomas realized when he was young that he had an irrational fear of storms though he is good at hiding it in public. His cunning and sometimes brutal tactics have often helped the schools sports teams achieve victories.

Past Life: Odysseus a greek hero who fought in the trojan war who was tasked with returning the daughter of a priest to her homeland in order to appease the god appolo who's wrath had been laid upon the greeks. After this task was complete Odysseus would spend many years traveling the world and enduring many hardships before he could get home. The effects of this are Thomas's fear of storms, His incredible good luck with woman despite being a nerd, and His brilliant strategical capabilities


I hope this works
Psycho Mantis: You must spend every day pretending to act like you're falsely letting on that you aren't not unbetraying someone you don't not purport to allegedly not work for but really do! How do you keep all this shit straight without having an aneurysm?
Revolver Ocelot: *shrug* Practice.
—The Last Days Of FOXHOUND


Syene

Wonderful to see more interest!

Both Thomas and Johnson are approved.

Once I come up with a name for the game, I'll start some threads. Anyone want to make suggestions?
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Caela

#10
Name: Cleo Johanson

Age: 17

Appearance:

Personality: Cleo is a strong young woman, a natural leader who takes control of situations without a second thought. Intelligent she is extremely loyal and not above using violence if she feels betrayed. It's well known she has a temper and that getting on her bad side isn't always healthy. She uses sports, running mostly, and working on cars as a means of working out some of her aggression but her temper is legendary anyway. With people she cares for she is quite sweet, caring, thoughtful and loyal.

Background: Cleo was born to a pretty normal family, her father was a Doctor, her step-mother stayed home and she was the apple of her Daddy's eye and she and her step-sister (being the same age) were simply raised as twins. Surrounded by love and family she learned about caring and loyalty. Being a natural leader it was no surprise that she was the Captain of her Cross Country team as well as President of the Student Council or that her, very, Type-A personality earned her straight A's without ever really needing to crack a book.

She and her sister don't have the typical step-sibling relationship. Raised together from a young age she just considers Serena her twin, no step, no half, just her sister. As different as they are she doesn't feel overly-competitive with Serena except when they run. Serena is one of the few girls on the team that can give her a run for her money, or even beat her if she doesn't pull out her A-game. It makes her work harder because she wants to win and she actually appreciates that instead of resenting it.

Past Life: As Clytemnestra she experienced the ultimate in betrayal, her husband Agamemnon, sacrificed her daughter for a fair wind to Troy. This is the origin of her anger issues as well as why she is so willing to answer betrayal with violence. After all Clytemnestra split her husband's head with an axe when he returned from Troy. The satisfaction of taking down those who hurt her, or those she loves, lives on in Cleo's heart as well as all the leadership lessons learned by ruling as a Queen during the Trojan War.


Syene

I don't want to take more players than I can handle as a GM, so I'm not going to be wanting everyone on the list of suggested characters,  just enough to keep things interesting.

Caela, I love Cleo! She's definitely approved.
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Flower

#12
I'm interested in Penthesiliea but it's late so I should have a character sheet up for her tomorrow. I couldn't sleep so I worked on it. :)

Name: Amelia Ameera Lautner
Age: 17
Appearance:(see image)

Personality: As a young woman, Amelia takes the time to think problems through rather than jump to the first option available to solve them. She is known for being soft-spoken but occasionally delivering an insult in the disguise of flattery or empty compliments. She excels in different courses that allow her to be creative, and hates being indoors for long periods of time. For some reason, the great outdoors calls to her. Often times, her mother scowls at her for behaving in less than ladylike ways. Amelia has no tolerance for some of the female students that fawn over the males since she believe that if a male can do then there is a high possibility that she can do it better.

Background: Amelia grew up in a female household, her mother and grandmother, since her father died when she was young. Interestingly, at home, her mother calls her by her middle name while at school people address her by her first name. Almost as if she’s two different people. She helps her mother with the bills by working as an after school camp leader for young girls. She enjoys staying fit by going on runs in the nearby trail or simply drawing in relative peace by the lake.

Past Life: Penthesilia accidental part in her sister's death caused her to fight for the Trojans to prove her people's great strength to others while attempting to make up for the death of her sister to the gods. There are some accounts that she wished to die a noble death in battle due to the grief she suffered from the act. During the battle, she fought honorably, killing many that crossed her path. It was only when she fought against Achilles did she fell down to the ground, about to receive what she hoped for upon joining the war. Upon removing her helmet, he stares upon her dead face and is astounded by her beauty.

The grief of her sister’s death still subconsciously influences her by making Amelia feel as if something or rather someone is missing in her life. She always trying to prove herself to her peers but cannot help but feel like an outsider. Her feelings towards the star of football star of Troy High are borderline paranoid and intrigue.

Sivan

Sorry, I did not have time to fill this out yesterday :)

===
Name: Vera Adelle Walsh.  Goes by Adelle or Addy, more commonly.
Age: 18.
Appearance: (image)

Personality:   When you first meet Adelle, she comes off as shy and perhaps somewhat meek.  As you get to know her, it becomes quickly clear that she's actually very firm in what she believes, and has the willpower to withstand quite a bit.  She'd rather ignore someone's rude behaviour, than snap at them; seeing the latter as a waste of time.  She's polite, quiet, and makes a good shoulder to cry on when need be.

Background: Adelle lives with her aunt and uncle, her mother passing away some years ago; and her father… well.  She doesn't really know, and no one really seems to want to tell her.  She's fine with that though, she doesn't really remember them anyways.  Her uncle is a rather demanding individual, expecting perfection at every turn.  Her aunt is a quiet, stay at home mother to her and her young cousin.  Adelle helps out where she can, spending a good deal of her time studying (good grades do not come so naturally to her).  In her spare time she likes to swim, spending most of her summers practically living at the beach. 

Past Life: Daughter of the Spartan King, Icarius, Penelope was forced to choose between her lover and her father.  With nothing more than placing a veil over her face, she left her family to be with Odysseus. 
  Penelope spent twenty years awaiting the return of her husband, Odysseus, to return from the Trojan war.  During those twenty years, she skirted the advances of many suitors.  She was able to do this (in part) by pretending to weave a burial shroud for Odysseus' father, Laertes.  The promise being how she'd choose a suitor upon it's completion.  But every night she would undo a part of the shroud, and this continued until she was caught by one of her servants.  Her next move was to create a contest that only Odyseuss would be able to complete.

  For Adelle, this has left her to be a (perhaps blindly) faithful young woman to those she loves.   She, as well, chooses to let her actions speak louder than her words.  Her past has also left her with a twinge of mistrust in the back of her mind, in those who could cause possible problems in her relationships.  Even with no grounds.

Kirinis

Any space for a Hector?  If not, I'll take Ajax.

Syene

Penelope and Vera look good, though it might be a little confusing to have a character named Penelope...

Hector would be great to have, as well as Ajax.
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Flower


Belisuavious

I know there has been a couple of people saying that they want Hector, but I didn't see a character sheet written up so I'm assuming that the part is still open.

Name: Richard Harold (Last name will be determined with co-operation of the Paris player, if there is one)
Age: 18, 19 in three weeks
Appearance: Richard is the typical All-American Boy, tall (6'1), fit (74 kg, barely an ounce of it wasted as fat) and athletic (Captain of the Wrestling and Soccer Teams, part of the Football team and the fencing club) and has the rugged good looks to back it up. His hair is dark brown and is about 3-4 inches long. Chocolate brown eyes, high cheek bones and a strong jawline complete his face, along with a slight scar from a Fencing accident in his sophomore year. He was lucky during Wrestling in that his worst injury was a broken nose, giving it a slightly crooked look.
Personality: Richard is something of a paradox. Until he is pushed into action, he is a very laid back individual, always cracking a joke either aloud or to himself, which is only revealed by a slight grin that he wears as though he knows something you don't (Which he does in most cases, since he is the teller of the joke). Not a violent man by nature, he will nevertheless fight with every ounce of skill and power he can muster if every other option is exhausted. He is especially devoted to his girlfriend, whose safety and well being he places over his own. Religion is not a very promenent part of his life, despite his father's insistence that answers can always be found with the grace of god.
Background: Richard lives with his parents and younger brother(s? is this purely based on the movie, the Illiad or a bit of both?) Excited to graduate and go to Hellas community college where he can pursue an engineering degree. Despite his father's reliance on the Bible to find the answer to all of lifes problems, Richard gets alongvery well with this dad, and their differences do not pull them apart but make them friends as well as family.
Past Life: Son of Priam and champion of Troy, Hector was considered to be the most noble of all the heroes of the age. A devoted son, brother, husband and father, he harbours no dark intentions and states plainly what he means. He favours direct action rather than the silly manipulations of his father's councillors.
This has led Richard to be a very straightforeward and honest person, and when he gives his word he will stick by it, come hell or high water. He suffers the pranks his teammates play on him with good grace and nevr stoops to retaliate. As the eldest brother he has made it his job to keep an eye on his younger brother, and keep him out of trouble. He seems to have a gift while in combat, whether real or in a competition, to almost guess where his opponent will be, where their weapon is or how they will react. Most of this is just good intuition, basing his guesses off his own experiences, so if he is against an opponent who is so radiacally different than he is, or if he is tricked into thinking something while his opponent does another, he will most likely be beaten.

Syene

Very nice! I'll update the initial post with a list of taken characters in a bit. I think we're getting pretty close to having enough players!
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Flower


yesiroleplay

This concept is simply wonderful!

And I thank you for reminding me of a Science Fiction classic:  Rumfuddle, by Jack Vance, which had a somewhat mischievous antagonist playing games with peoples lives by creating fantasy-football teams by baby-snatching the best athletes and warriors from history and setting them together in the same small town, or doing the same with legendary beauties from history, and setting them up as dancers in a 1920's Charleston contest.

Also:  Might I suggest that instead of "Troy High" and "Sparta High"  that you use something like "the Middleton High Trojans"  and "the Springfield High Spartans"  Both are very popular school mascots.

Finally: I'd love to play in this if you're still taking applications - I was thinking Cassandra (love the tragedy of her cursed insight)  Or, if Carlissa to create her Helen, I'd be happy to play her, because you can't play Troy without a Helen.

Syene

I'm not especially attached to the school names -- what I have right now is admittedly pretty contrived. I could see what else I can come up with...

I'll mark the characters that are definitely taken.

I'd thought about playing Cassandra, but I'm not absolutely attached to that.
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yesiroleplay

Fair enough - I'll do up a Helen.
Oh - and I sent you a PM

yesiroleplay

Name: Serena Johanson
Age:17 years.
Appearance: Golden is the adjective that best describes this young beauty.  Golden-honey-brown hair frames perfect features toned a flawless golden-light-olive that set off eyes of a deep golden brown.  Her smile shines bright as golden sunlight, and her carriage is as regal as the richest treasure.

Personality: Serena isn't just a pretty girl, she is a breathtakingly stunning young beauty, and she revels in the attention this draws.  Looks aren't everything she has, but her looks are what she treasures most.  She lives healthy and works hard to maintain her lovely body and flawless complexion. Athletics and competition are for her a means to an end.  The end being to keep her body healthy, limber, and strong and her complexion glowing with health.  She doesn't mind winning - she simply isn't overly concerned about the matter, and is happy to participate as long as she suffers no injury.  She likes boys.  She likes boys a lot.  But women are cool too.  But she has trouble making friends with women, because she's so often the center of attention that most girls quickly grow jealous.

Serena is not truly a slut.  Really.  She's just popular.  She also has very high standards and more opportunity than she could ever satisfy.  Still, at seventeen she's had more sexual partners than many have in a lifetime.  Guys - and girls - pull out their best game for her, and she truly does enjoy the game.  In fact, she craves it.  Sex is almost a letdown in her opinion. She rarely enjoys actual sex, due in part to prior bad experiences.  But mostly she avoids consummation because it means the wooing and maneuvering is over and what she loves more than anything is attention. She isn't past using sex to get that attention, but she much prefers to use the implied promise of sex, the tantalizing prospect of something more.

In short, she is much more tease than slut.  In fact, she can't help teasing.  She draws attention even when dressing down and attempting to fade into the background, not that she often tries doing either.  She likes to be liked, and so she's usually open and friendly and even a bit flirtatious.  She tries to set limits, but often those limits are outshone by her force of personality and by her stark golden beauty.  This has caused her problems in the past.  Sometimes, quite serious problems.

Background: Serena hasn't really had a hard life, she grew up in a stable house with wonderful parents and siblings that were her best friends.  She knew love and sacrifice and loyalty and is every bit as protective of her family as they are of her. Small town life was for the most part easy, almost lazy, and quite wonderful.  She seemed to know the arts of manipulation and flirtation from birth, and she had her father wrapped around her dainty little pinky before she was completing sentences.  There were problems, but none were serious and wrongs among family and siblings were quickly forgiven and forgotten.

Her relationship with her twin sister isn't typical.  They aren't really rivals, but they do compete.  Serena is good at dragging Cleo to the mall to meet boys even when the other girl would rather stay in the garage to rebuild an engine.  Both girls are in track, and while it wouldn't be fair to say Serena lets Cleo win, the fact is that Cleo does in fact win more often than not.  Still, they are fairly evenly matched and Serena can easily win a race if her sister isn't on her best game.  Their sports goals are very different, but both work hard at being their best.  Serena doesn't really think she's the pretty one, though she loves being told she is.  She isn't jealous at all of her sister's looks or skills, but sometimes wishes they had more in common.

But when you crave attention and play with fire by flirting with the wrong people, you sometimes get burnt.  No matter how much you enjoy attention you can sometimes receive too much.  Much too much in fact. Selena was only 12 when she was first raped.  Not only raped but abducted, kidnapped and held against her will in a strange town for most of the summer.  She learned many things she was too young to learn that summer.  While the experience was brutal, she managed not only to survive it, but to prosper.  Her rapist was caught when he returned to her home, breaking in to steal things he was sure would make her happy.  In the five years since this traumatic event, the girl has unwillingly engaged in sex more than a few times - mostly at the end of dates that her partners would describe as 'went well.'

The fact that she can still look a man in the eye, that she can still smile and even flirt while doing so, the fact that she can still be persuaded to go on a date, all indicate a near pathological need for attention. She can stand up in front of a crowd and cheer the local team on to victory, she can laugh and she can carry on a conversation without ever displaying the fear and pain that must be buried deep in her scarred psyche. Now in high school, she isn't dating anyone seriously, but she is active in track and field and cheer and the school paper.  She always has a smile and a kind word for those she meets, and she never shows sign of sadness or trauma. The only time she shows anger is for a cause - injustice or cruelty or callous waste all inspire her ire.  She doesn't mind displaying righteous indignation for a cause.  After all - she's been told that she was cute when angry.

Past Life:They say Helen's was the face that launched a thousand ships, but years before the war that brought her name into Myth, Helen was abducted, fought over, bartered, wooed, and generally made the center of a great deal of fuss.  Theseus of Athens abducted her when she was barely old enough to marry, claiming her for his bride by right of divine ancestry.  While her brother's invaded Athens and rescued her, she was quite pregnant by that time.  The daughter she bore was secretly adopted by her sister Clytemnestra who was already married to the great king Agamemnon of Mycenae.  The child's name was Iphigeneia, and Helen rarely saw her once the child was sent to Mycenae with her new adoptive parents.

Helen fought with the boys of Sparta, particularly with her brothers Castor and Pollux.  She was quite accomplished in the arts of the hunt and war, and as Spartans most often fought nude, so did she.  Apparently, she felt no shame nor modesty baring it all for the boys of Sparta.  A girl of her charms drew many suitors, and few knew she was no longer a blushing maiden.  Kings from across the Grecian realms came to pay her court.  Her father, King Tyndareus of Sparta was afraid to select a husband for his daughter, or send any of the suitors away, for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel.  Finally the wise Odysseus, among the many suitors but aware he had little chance to win Helen's hand,  promised to solve the problem.  If Tyndareus in turn would support him in his courting of Penelope, he would present a solution to the king's dilemma.  Tyndareus readily agreed and Odysseus then proposed The Oath of Tyndareus: that before the decision was made, all the suitors should swear a most solemn oath to defend the chosen husband against whoever should quarrel with him.  Enforcement of this Oath led directly the Trojan war.

Tyndareus, now free to choose a husband for his overly-blessed daughter, chose Menelaus of Sparta - the local boy that had already knocked her up while the other suitors postured and squabbled.  Helen was finally happy, married to a great warrior and a powerful king.  And then a decade later the gods intervened to destroy her happiness.  The vanity of the goddess Aphrodite and the silver tongue of a Trojan prince conspired to tear Helen away from her husband and her child. 

Breathlessly spirited away, she found herself living alone and reviled among strangers as her family and the united armies of Greece fought for her honor and their oaths. None know whether Helen was abducted by force or coaxed by seduction and the powers of the goddess of love, but what is certain is she badly regretted the incident.

What Helen learned from all this was that if she put the best face on things and learned to enjoy the moment, she could get through anything.

Belisuavious

Lol, little brother you got an eye for fine women.