Shadowfist High School [Interest Check/Recruitment]

Started by Ciosa, July 17, 2016, 08:12:31 PM

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Ciosa

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The world you know is a lie.  History is not a march of intractable events, a sculpture carved of immutable stone - it’s nothing but soft clay, continually reshaped by those with the will and ambition to shape it.  Past, present, future - all of them can change in an eyeblink.  This is the Chi War, fought across a thousand variations of past, present and future, an endless war for control of the fate of humanity.  Tomorrow, you will be the heroes or the villains of that war. 

Today?  Today, you attend the only high school for the detritus of that war, the casualties of temporal displacement.  People like you have many names:  Distimers.  Innerwalkers.  Nether-rabble.  You are not even an adult yet - and so the factions which wage war for control of the world either do not see you, or will use and dispose of you in an eyeblink.  You have been enrolled into Shadowfist high school, where students are forged into living weapons - or die.  They are taught the secrets of kung fu, or deadly marksmanship, taught to control strange mutant powers from the radioactive future or to repair and rebuild technology lost in the Chi War.  They can be students of magic or supernatural beasts - monsters or animals transformed into a human form.  If you have survived to enroll in the Netherworld's only school, you are dangerous already - from the brightest eyed freshman to the most callous senior.  Not everyone is a simple warrior; the school trains spies and investigators, even officers of the law who will one day slip back into their own junctures and protect the populace from the deadliest spillover of the Chi War.

Shadowfist High School will not teach you how to avoid being used; that is a wisdom granted only by experience.  No - Shadowfist High School will teach you to be deadly, it will teach you to be dangerous.  Freedom comes from strength.  But others will desire your strength - and seek to use it or destroy it.  Will you be a rebel, fighting against the factions for the fate of humanity?  Will you callously sell your abilities to the highest bidder?  Will you seek to carve your own faction, and mold humanity in your own image?  That will be your destiny to carve, innerwalker.



This game is set in Robin D. Laws Feng Shui world, a world of high-kicking badasses and cinematic action.  Inspired by Hong Kong's incredible cinema, it spans magic, post-apocalyptic future, kung fu shenanigans and bullet operas - the heroes of this world aren't first level characters praying for a few experience and an extra few hit points, they're the hardened badasses of over-the-top action blockbusters.  Player characters are high school students - but they're high school students who could wade into a fight with a band of ninjas or a biker gang and come out bloody and victorious - and probably cause untold property damage in the meantime.  They didn't choose to join the Chi War - they stumbled into it by accident.  Maybe they were the child of innerwalkers who died in the war; maybe they simply found a Netherworld portal and discovered the secret world beyond our own.  Because of their youth, they were labelled non-combatants and shipped off to Shadowfist High School.  The skilled - or the lucky - will survive to graduate, only to be plucked up by the factions which dominate the secret war.  Not that those factions are beyond recruitment prior to graduation - the Shadowfist High School is steeped in no small amount of mystery on its own, and every faction wishes to know more about the elusive and inscrutable principal, and just what his own intentions are in the ongoing war to control humanity. 

Central to the game is the Chi War; anyone who can seize and gain control of a number of critical feng shui sites in the real world gains enough fortune and skill that they can create a cascading fortune which will drive all of history to the world they wish to shape.  The Eaters of the Lotus, eunuch sorcerers, serve Empress Wu Zetian, and command demons and monsters to serve her will in 690 AD.  The Ascended, a group of animals permanently transformed into human shape and determined to stay that way command the juncture of 1850, suppressing the powerful masters of kung fu known as the Guiding Hand.  Their control extends into the modern world, the present-day juncture.  The future juncture was once dominated by the Architects of the Living Flesh, a group of mad scientists who grafted arcano-tech cyberware into monsters stolen from the ancient world, creating abominations that enforced their will:  But this juncture has been destroyed by an uprising of their former creations, the Jammers.  Sentient simians fixed with cybertechnology, the Jammers detonated a C-bomb, a chi weapon, which destroyed every feng shui site in the future.  They thought this would grant people freedom, making every man the master of their own destiny - instead, 97% of the world population died, and the world was transformed into a hellish desert.  Now, the Jammers strive to undo the horrific future they've created, while the New Simian Army, formerly Jammers, strives to create an army to institute order and rebuild the wastes of the desert into a new world.  Also engaged in the war for humanity's fate are the Four Monarchs, four powerful sorcerers who once controlled the entire world - before they were displaced from it by the bravery of the Guiding Hand, who launched sneak attacks from Netherworld portals to seize the tyrannical world of the Four Monarchs and banish them into the Netherworlds.  They were too powerful to destroy; but in the Netherworld, they are nearly as powerful as they once were on Earth, and their pagodas and will define much of the Netherworld.

Between all of these junctures, the Netherworld ... is.  The twisting caverns of the Netherworld are dark and labyrinthine, opening into spaces defined by the ones who control them - anyone who has ever claimed and held a feng shui site has the ability to manipulate the Netherworld, to be shaped and controlled by any who once influenced the world.  Here, the distimers - those who have had history rewritten around them - live in exile.  The factions hide their most powerful forces within the Netherworld, awaiting a chance to strike and seize power.  Entryways into the Netherworld are myriad, and those who have stumbled within are doomed - they will forever remember their own history, rather than be written and rewritten every time the world's powerful change the history of the world.  They may wake to find loved ones or family members simply cease to exist - or have no memory what so ever of the inner-walker.  To have their eyes opened is a blessing and a curse; but once opened, they can never be closed again.



Game Details

What section will the game be placed in?

The game will be placed in the Bondage System section.   There will be an 'Extreme' thread for any and all activities outside the bounds of the Bondage forum.

Who is the RP open to?

The game is open to any member of E!

What will the player's role be?

Players will play students of Shadowfist High School, a school unlike any other.  The students are not learning mathematics and English - they are learning to hone themselves into deadly points, to become mighty masters of kung fu, deadly assassins, or powerful sorcerers.  One day, they will fight on the front lines of the Chi War, helping to change the very destiny of the world - but first they must survive mid-terms.  Tempted by various factions and the siren song of their patronage, they must decide where their loyalty will lie - or eschew any loyalties at all, making their way into the Chi War on their own merits.
      
What is the plot?

There will be an ongoing metaplot, but much of the action of the story will be shaped and driven by the players.  The bulk of the gameplay will be self-motivated, driven by the players as they establish relationships with people who might one day be their closest enemies or their deadliest enemies.  There will be mysteries around the campus and its staff to solve, as well as occasional dangers which threaten the school and the student body itself.

What is the setting?

The game is set in the world of Feng Shui, set in the Netherworld which exists to connect junctures of different eras.  Seizing control of a juncture lets the faction in control literally rewrite history to their whim - and gain untold power and control in the juncture they have seized.  The game itself will be set in the Shadowfist High School, a unique academy with life and death stakes and the strangest student body in the history of the world. 

How do I create a character?

Character Creation rules will be posted on the wiki.  Character creation is actually extremely simple, and will no be plagued with the normal systems of point buys or allocation; it is completely story driven, and while mechanics exist in the game, they are effectively invisible to the players.

Can I create multiple characters?

No.  Because of the emphasis on faction politics and for the potential for characters to come into conflict against their own characters - or ‘stack the deck’ inside a particular faction - we will be limiting players to one PC.  See below, about NPCs, though.

What do I need to play?

There are no required resources.  Information will be posted to the wiki.  Knowledge of the game world is not required. 

What about posting rate?

I am expecting to have periodic time jumps in the game, but they'll be scheduled and at regular intervals.  Right now, I'm looking at roughly a nine month real world period for each 'semester,' but I am willing to modify this based on player feedback.  I'll expect consideration for the posting rates of others.  I would like to see a posting rate of twice a week; if you can't make that, I'll ask you to stay out of larger group scenes to allow the pace to continue.  That said, there's still plenty someone who posts a little more slowly can accomplish.

What about sex?

As stated above, any and all sex is going to be at the whim of the players.  It will not be mandatory, encouraged, or discouraged.  Relationships between teachers and students will be strongly discouraged; the school's principal had never failed to discover such relationships, and has summarily banished the teacher on every occasion.

Will there be a tagging system?

We'll be using a tagging system in the game, to keep who said what, when, and where clear.


Metagame Information

Will there be a co-GM?

Not at this time.  If the game grows such that it requires a co-gm, I will make an announcement and edit this thread.

What kind of game is it?  An adventure story, or a sandbox story?

The game is going to be a mix of guided and sandbox play.  There will be adventure threads to pursue, but they aren't obligatory, and I don't even believe they will be the major scope of gameplay, nor meant to include every player.  The majority of the game will be sandbox; participating in adventures will not provide bonus experience, merely inside knowledge of the powers that be in the world.

How active a GM will you be?

I intend to be an active GM and plan to post at least twice per week.  If I cannot make that minimum, I will post in the OOC thread so the players will be alerted.  Specific ‘days of rest’ may be set aside for the GMs.  We will post such information for players. 

Will there be an OOC thread?

Yes!  Once there's enough interest, I will open an OOC thread for people to ask questions and discuss the game, as well as make connections or plot plottings.

How will decisions be resolved?

I will be the final arbiter of all conflicts.  Note that in-game conflict is different from out of game conflict.  I have an extremely small threshold for out of game conflict, and I expect my general reaction to people who repeatedly generate out of game strife will be to ask them to leave the game.  In game conflict is completely encouraged!  If two players want to have an in game conflict (such as a fight) moderated by the GM, I will be posting a summation of the conflict based on the intentions and actions of both players.  Both players will be privately PMed the resolution, and expected to stick to it.  If two players want a conflict but have agreed upon a resolution before hand, the GM will not be involved.  (Although I would appreciate being notified by both players.)

What about player versus player conflicts? (PvP)

On PvP:  PvP will be allowed, but it will ALWAYS be consensual.  That said, conflict is the heart of the Chi War, and the characters are in perpetual training to be badasses.  Insane training sequences, sparring sessions, fisticuffs and grudges should be things which happen - frequently and outlandishly.  Players who engage in conflict and agree to a resolution beforehand will not need GM oversight; they will be given bonus rewards/experience for playing.  Players who engage in conflict which requires GM oversight will also be given rewards, but expected to stick to the arbitration of the GM.

How will NPCs be handled?

After the game has been opened, I’m willing to have players adopt the role of a few members of the faculty.  This will provide an optional extra character to play, to enrich the world, and I will be considering rewarding the player’s main PC character with bonus experience if they have adequately taken on an NPC and fleshed them out to enrich the world.



Additional Information

I would ask all players to abide by the Oath of Drake.

Regardless of the Bondage forum, we expect all players to respect the offs of other players.

We request all players to communicate absences and/or dropping the game.  No hard feelings ever.  (I live in a glass house where dropping off of E is concerned, so don’t expect any thrown stones.)  Real life always takes priority, and if the game isn't for you, I promise no hard feelings on my end.

New players will be able to be added at any time. 

I ask all players to write in the third person, using past tense, for consistency.  Do your best with spelling and grammar.  I find when reading posts it is easiest if players are using the same writing style; it is jarring to continually switch from one tense to another, or from one style to another.  Please be considerate of the time of other players in writing your posts; I’d like to see a two to three paragraph post as a minimum, but if someone is routinely hitting the character limit on posts, I may ask them to reign it in.  If you include a flashback in your post, or something similarly relevant to the post but not visible to the other actors in the scene, please place it in a spoiler.


Character Sheet
Name:

WIGU:  Archetype.  ‘When I Grow Up…’  This represents the body of classes the student is enrolled into.  Students who have not selected a focus of study will end up Drifters.

Face Claim:  If a known model/actor, please post the name here.  Please don’t use anime or concept art, CGI or the like.

Melodramatic Hook:  In a nutshell, what drives the character. 

Player Name:

Gender:

Physical Description:

Class Year: Classes run continuously at SHS.  There is a week between semesters, often spent healing from end of semester finals.  After successfully passing two finals for two semesters, a character is made into a sophomore, then a junior, then a senior.  Those who fail a final are usually dead.

Sexual Orientation: (Please note: The predominant 'isms' of the time – sexism, racism, bigotry, etc are all going to be played true to the era.)

Ons & Offs:  (Please provide a link to your own, and add any character relevant ones here.)

Place of Birth: Not just the place, but also the juncture.  Ancient, 1850, modern, or future.  Those from pop-up junctures should note it here.

Personality:

History: (Must be detailed and include at least three paragraphs)

20 Questions:
The questions in red are mandatory.  Answer at least five questions, including the mandatory questions.

1. What is your character's melodramatic hook?

2. How did your character arrive in the Netherworld?

3. What juncture is the character from?


4. What are your character's favorite things?

5. What are your character's least favorite things?

6. What is your character's greatest virtue?

7. What is your character's greatest hubris?

8. Does your character have any dependents/siblings?

9. Does your character have any allegiance to any faction?

10. How does your character feel about the other factions?

11. Does your character wish to return to their juncture?  Is this possible?

12. What are your characters prejudices?

13. Is there a particular inspiration (movie, song, book) for your character?

14. What is your character's orientation, and on and offs?

15. Is your character in any cliques?

16. What is your character’s goals at SHS?

17. What is your character’s code of morality?

18. What would tempt them to break that code?

19. Does your character have any enemies at SHS, or outside of it?

20.  What is the most important thing to know about your character?

Character Sheet Code

[float=right][img height=300 padding=10]<image file here>[/img][/float][b]Name:[/b]

[b]WIGU:[/b]  Archetype.  ‘When I Grow Up…’  This represents the body of classes the student is enrolled into.  Students who have not selected a focus of study will end up Drifters.

[b]Face Claim:[/b]  If a known model/actor, please post the name here.  Please don’t use anime or concept art, CGI or the like.

[b]Melodramatic Hook:[/b]  In a nutshell, what drives the character. 

[b]Player Name:[/b]

[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Physical Description:[/b]

[b]Class Year:[/b] Classes run continuously at SHS.  There is a week between semesters, often spent healing from end of semester finals.  After successfully passing two finals for two semesters, a character is made into a sophomore, then a junior, then a senior.  Those who fail a final are usually dead.

[b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] (Please note: The predominant 'isms' of the time – sexism, racism, bigotry, etc are all going to be played true to the era.)

[b]Ons & Offs:[/b]  (Please provide a link to your own, and add any character relevant ones here.)

[b]Place of Birth:[/b] Not just the place, but also the juncture.  Ancient, 1850, modern, or future.  Those from pop-up junctures should note it here.

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]History:[/b] (Must be detailed and include at least three paragraphs)

[spoiler=20 Questions:]The questions in red are mandatory.  Answer at least five questions, including the mandatory questions.

[color=red]1. What is your character's melodramatic hook?

2. How did your character arrive in the Netherworld?

3. What juncture is the character from?[/color]

4. What are your character's favorite things?

5. What are your character's least favorite things?

6. What is your character's greatest virtue?

7. What is your character's greatest hubris?

8. Does your character have any dependents/siblings?

9. Does your character have any allegiance to any faction?

10. How does your character feel about the other factions?

11. Does your character wish to return to their juncture?  Is this possible?

12. What are your characters prejudices?

13. Is there a particular inspiration (movie, song, book) for your character?

14. What is your character's orientation, and on and offs?

15. Is your character in any cliques?

16. What is your character’s goals at SHS?

17. What is your character’s code of morality?

18. What would tempt them to break that code?

19. Does your character have any enemies at SHS, or outside of it?

20.  What is the most important thing to know about your character?[/spoiler]









Ciosa

Face Claims

Relikai:  Kashiwagi Yuki
Crash:  Angela Benedict
yesiroleplay:  Linda Cardellini
Bloodied Porcelain:  Katie Fey
Aida Rose: Chanel Iman
consortium11:  Rupert Friend

Crash

Interested....working on character...10% completed....

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Ciosa

So, I'm back, and this idea has been nibbling at my brain for days now.  Feng Shui 2 came out fairly recently, and I'd always loved the original.  It's not like the deep, abiding love I have for Seventh Sea or L5R, or with the fascinating world building of Deadlands, but it's a ... guilty pleasure.  The factions and timelines are unique and interesting, and the morality of the world is pretty clearly good and evil. 

Feng Shui always struck me as a coming of age game - these hardcore action hero types are just finding out about a war for all of humanity that has raged for ... who knows how long, and are drafted into the front lines of it by fate.  They're relearning everything they knew about the world - so I thought it would be a natural fit for a coming of age genre, the high school story.  Only in this high school, finals really are killer,, and the stakes at graduation is a job in the 'real world' that wants to use them for their abilities to seize power.  I have a lot of ideas for the setting and world, but before I got too deeply enmeshed in writing them all down, I thought I would go and ... see if anyone else was even interested in my crazy story idea.  Thanks for checking it out, and ask away if you have questions.

Bloodied Porcelain

I want no ordinary lover. I want a storm. I want sleepless nights and endless conversations at four a.m. I want passion, I want madness.
I want someone who's able to make my whole body shiver from a distance and also pull me close to make sense of all my bones.

~ Bizarre, Beautiful, And Breathtaking ~
~ O/O ~ Seeking ~ A/A ~ Mirrors and Masks ~ Poetry ~
She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like wings.

Crash


"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Ciosa


Bloodied Porcelain

I want no ordinary lover. I want a storm. I want sleepless nights and endless conversations at four a.m. I want passion, I want madness.
I want someone who's able to make my whole body shiver from a distance and also pull me close to make sense of all my bones.

~ Bizarre, Beautiful, And Breathtaking ~
~ O/O ~ Seeking ~ A/A ~ Mirrors and Masks ~ Poetry ~
She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like wings.

Aida Rose


Crash

Quote from: Bloodied Porcelain on July 17, 2016, 08:47:30 PM
... *pouts* but but... muh flag. :(

Dawwww.  *Snuggles the BP and gives her back her flag.*

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Bloodied Porcelain

Quote from: Crash on July 17, 2016, 08:49:12 PM
Dawwww.  *Snuggles the BP and gives her back her flag.*

Yay *happy noises and cuddles back*
I want no ordinary lover. I want a storm. I want sleepless nights and endless conversations at four a.m. I want passion, I want madness.
I want someone who's able to make my whole body shiver from a distance and also pull me close to make sense of all my bones.

~ Bizarre, Beautiful, And Breathtaking ~
~ O/O ~ Seeking ~ A/A ~ Mirrors and Masks ~ Poetry ~
She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like wings.

Ciosa

And welcome aboard, everyone!  I'm still working on fleshing out the wiki, but the character creation system is ninety nine percent done, and the game rules are done.  I'll be working on filling out the sections on history and the world, but if you have any questions to help generate a character idea, feel free to put 'em here or shoot me a PM.


Bloodied Porcelain

I want no ordinary lover. I want a storm. I want sleepless nights and endless conversations at four a.m. I want passion, I want madness.
I want someone who's able to make my whole body shiver from a distance and also pull me close to make sense of all my bones.

~ Bizarre, Beautiful, And Breathtaking ~
~ O/O ~ Seeking ~ A/A ~ Mirrors and Masks ~ Poetry ~
She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like wings.

Jefepato

Color me intrigued if you still have room for more players.

Tentatively, I'm thinking of playing a modern-day descendant of the Ascended with some conflicting notions w/r/t faction loyalty.

Ciosa

Plenty of space, yet. 

The Ascended are actually still in charge of the modern day.  They seized control of the 1850 juncture from the Guiding Hand, so the character might have their own reasons for spurning the Ascended.  They could just be not-so-big a fan of the various wars and control the group exerts over ... well, the entire world.  Or someone in their family could have crossed the Ascended and the leadership decided to eliminate 'a troublesome dynasty.'  The Ascended certainly play power games amongst themselves, though they're a bit less overt about it than other factions.  The character could have found refuge at the school, since Principal Yu takes everyone regardless of background.


Kokaine

Current Craving/Looking For: Romance, Adventure, Action, Humor, and Erotica. (F/Any)

Current Post Rate: Moderate

Current Posts Owed: 1/8

My O/Os

Crash


"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Kokaine

Current Craving/Looking For: Romance, Adventure, Action, Humor, and Erotica. (F/Any)

Current Post Rate: Moderate

Current Posts Owed: 1/8

My O/Os

Crash

Hey Ciosa.  What do openings into the netherworld look like?

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Ciosa

Kokaine!!!  Keep two on it!  ;)

They generally are formed inside of existing arches - doorframes, caves, entryways of all kinds.   The portal is only detectable to magical senses or a J-Meter - fairly standard tech throughout the netherworld.   From inside the Netherworld, they look like the landscape beyond - a cave, a temple, a nightclub.  Stepping into one accidentally is completely possible.

Relikai

@Ciosa

Do we post our Apps here, or PM to you? Already have one on the works.

Ciosa

PM to me, please!   But you can put your face claims here.

Crash

Quote from: Ciosa on July 18, 2016, 12:55:53 AM
Kokaine!!!  Keep two on it!  ;)

They generally are formed inside of existing arches - doorframes, caves, entryways of all kinds.   The portal is only detectable to magical senses or a J-Meter - fairly standard tech throughout the netherworld.   From inside the Netherworld, they look like the landscape beyond - a cave, a temple, a nightclub.  Stepping into one accidentally is completely possible.

Thanks.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious