Modern Dark Fantasy - [EX]

[Question Mark]

Loved the philosophy you expressed int he first post.  Count me in.

I like the Outwoods idea.  And the cyberpunk one.  And the dark, alternate-reality city one.  So...  I'll go along with anything you guys decide!  :D

[LadyDiscord]

This does sound very good. Perhaps there are beings that are both organic and machine that are involved here.

[OldSchoolGamer]

I'm thinking that thousands of years ago, two tiny black holes collided at the Earth's surface.  The explosion, while not massive in conventional terms, reached into multidimensional space, opening up a rift in the space-time continuum.  The area is stable...mostly...but events such as solar flares and tectonic activity can cause telluric currents that open up, at least for a time, connections between our world and others...as well as between our world and versions of Earth that might have been (alternate histories).

Because the area is away from commercial air traffic routes, and sparsely populated, its properties haven't been investigated--yet.  The locals avoid it because of some unexplained events there, like the woman who was found, as well as cattle mutilations.  There's a local legend of a tall, greenskinned bipedal creature with a piggish snout, a little like a localized Sasquatch, but the story hasn't gained wide enough circulation to have many folks coming to look.  And then there's the fact about fifty souls have disappeared in that stretch of woods over the two hundred years or so the area has been inhabited...

[Indigo]

Hah! I like it.

My mother was raised in a small, valley mountain, superstitious 'village', really (less then 200 people) I own land there and this reminds me of there....as there is something 'unnerving, beyond, other' about the place.

Might be just me, but I can easily see(TyTheDnDGuy)'s idea as quite workable, depending on tweaks to make it good for everyone...maybe some localized, 'tech ranch', where a bunch of savvy folk like their fresh, unpolluted air, but want all the benefits of big city 'connection', so someone spent good money to have stable internet and a barn full of random technical equipment.  Of course, opposite that would be the 'ritualists', or those who like their own plot of land free of tech, but maybe with small groves of trees...like aspens or 'fairy rings/mushroom circles' where they do their own thing...then there are the rest that think the previous two kinds of people are insane and never invite them to their bbq's.   :P

...everyone though...is wary of the stretch of woods which lie dark and deep, just beyond their perimeter

[Question Mark]

I'm thinking that thousands of years ago, two tiny black holes collided at the Earth's surface.  The explosion, while not massive in conventional terms, reached into multidimensional space, opening up a rift in the space-time continuum.  The area is stable...mostly...but events such as solar flares and tectonic activity can cause telluric currents that open up, at least for a time, connections between our world and others...as well as between our world and versions of Earth that might have been (alternate histories).

Because the area is away from commercial air traffic routes, and sparsely populated, its properties haven't been investigated--yet.  The locals avoid it because of some unexplained events there, like the woman who was found, as well as cattle mutilations.  There's a local legend of a tall, greenskinned bipedal creature with a piggish snout, a little like a localized Sasquatch, but the story hasn't gained wide enough circulation to have many folks coming to look.  And then there's the fact about fifty souls have disappeared in that stretch of woods over the two hundred years or so the area has been inhabited...

Brilliant!  Brilliant!  I wholeheartedly support this idea!

Hah! I like it.

My mother was raised in a small, valley mountain, superstitious 'village', really (less then 200 people) I own land there and this reminds me of there....as there is something 'unnerving, beyond, other' about the place.

Might be just me, but I can easily see(TyTheDnDGuy)'s idea as quite workable, depending on tweaks to make it good for everyone...maybe some localized, 'tech ranch', where a bunch of savvy folk like their fresh, unpolluted air, but want all the benefits of big city 'connection', so someone spent good money to have stable internet and a barn full of random technical equipment.  Of course, opposite that would be the 'ritualists', or those who like their own plot of land free of tech, but maybe with small groves of trees...like aspens or 'fairy rings/mushroom circles' where they do their own thing...then there are the rest that think the previous two kinds of people are insane and never invite them to their bbq's.   :P

...everyone though...is wary of the stretch of woods which lie dark and deep, just beyond their perimeter

And this one as well!  I'd be one of the tech-savvy people.

Hey, these ideas are so frikken' awesome, we should totally make a roleplay out of it.  liek, srsly

[Atlus]

Below is an attempt at blending several elements and genres described previously. It approaches the outwoods idea from a cyberpunk angle. Here goes nothing..

Resources waned, population sizes boomed, and then the world ended. But no one really seemed to notice. There was no fire or plague, just a certainty that what was old would never be new again. As the population began to dwindle science set about the task of making the world a better place. Great leaps in telecommunications, man-machine interfaces, and nanotechnology were made. But it was too little too late.
Centuries later, mankind lives in the ruins of it's former glories. Sprawling cities that once supported millions now hold thousands or less. The technology of days gone by enables the inhabitants to survive but only barely. And everyday one of science's greatest follies closes in.
Originally the nanites (we can think of a better name later) were meant to convert garbage into useful enzymes and fertilizers. This worked for a time but not quickly enough to produce crops. The program was then expanded to produce larger, faster maturing livestock. This worked as well but not well enough to feed even half the people. It was at this point that the scientists decided to allow the nanites to intuitively search out new resources and report back. This worked, until there was no one to report back to.
Now centuries later, the nanites conduct their own experiments. Any sparsely inhabited area is a potential nanite experiment. Some are benign. Occasionally these experiments even bestow abilities on those exposed. Other nanites have produced flora and fauna both beautiful and deadly. Others still have produced horrors before unknown by man or beast. The end goal of these experiments is the betterment of mankind. But what does a machine consider "better"?


That was longer than intended. Long story short. Humans in ruins of cities. Cities surrounded by horrors in woods. Humans have tech. Some humans have magic. Horrors have...whatever the hell they want. Did I mention that what made the nanites go crazy was magic?

[LadyDiscord]

I love it when do we start!. Wait but what is the purpose..what would be our characters reasons to existing..will some be these farmers and others horrors? Maybe both? Will the cities have like a 'dark city' feel to it...no sunlight? More night than day?

[Indigo]

*claps her hands*

I'm there, wherever 'there' may be...

[Question Mark]

Your idea is cool, Atlus, but I'm finding myself liking TyTheDnDGuy's and Indigo's concepts more.   :-\  I like the idea of a (relatively) normal and stable world, in which exists a small area where everything just isn't right.  There's something wrong in this little patch of forest, something unnatural.

That idea always sends shivers down my spine.

[Atlus]

I love it when do we start!. Wait but what is the purpose..what would be our characters reasons to existing..will some be these farmers and others horrors? Maybe both? Will the cities have like a 'dark city' feel to it...no sunlight? More night than day?

I love Dark City and while I wasn't going for that vibe consciously there are definite similarities. I can't really think of a good reason for their to be more night than day unless the particular city we play in happens to be geographically located so as to get very little sunlight.
Whether or not PCs can be horrors still needs discussing, as does the purpose. One possible concept is that a means of controlling the nanites has come to light. It would then be up to individual characters whether they would shut them down at the cost of the potential reemergence of mankind, destroy the means of control so that man can proceed towards the machine ideal of betterment, or take control of them and effectively achieve godhood.
This is just one possible story push though. Suggestions are welcome.

[Atlus]

Your idea is cool, Atlus, but I'm finding myself liking TyTheDnDGuy's and Indigo's concepts more.   :-\  I like the idea of a (relatively) normal and stable world, in which exists a small area where everything just isn't right.  There's something wrong in this little patch of forest, something unnatural.

That idea always sends shivers down my spine.

I tried to incorporate as much of that as I could and still keep the cyberpunk and magic elements alive. One of the reasons I lean away from a big stable world is that it leaves too many places to run to. Haven't you ever been watching a horror movie about some haunted place and thought "Why in the hell don't they just stick a for sale sign in the yard and leave town?" Sure once you're stuck inside you're stuck. But once you're inside it doesn't really matter that there's a whole big world out there.
I understand that arming humans magically takes a little of the creep factor out. It's a bit like the difference between Night of the Living Dead and Resident Evil. Sure the zombies are the same but in resident evil you play as a heavily armed special ops trooper. I have a bazooka, why should I be scared? To this end I think that the magic that the humans possess should be limited, and that those humans who possess great magic are typically a part of the problem as opposed to the solution.

[GreenHavok]

I have read everything posted so far, and i am very interested, regardless of how the world turns out. I don't have any input at this time other than to show my interest, but if anything comes to mind, i'll be sure to share it :)

[Question Mark]

What if...  We start off in Ty and Indigo's world, then a group of us for one reason or another winds up in that little patch of forest.  We slip through the tear in reality, and when we finally manage to exit the outwoods, we come out to Atlus' world.

It's a rough idea, and can be refined a lot.  But that's the basic premise.

[OldSchoolGamer]

What if...  We start off in Ty and Indigo's world, then a group of us for one reason or another winds up in that little patch of forest.  We slip through the tear in reality, and when we finally manage to exit the outwoods, we come out to Atlus' world.

It's a rough idea, and can be refined a lot.  But that's the basic premise.

That's pretty much what I had in mind...hence all the disappearances I mentioned.  The area is, at times, a nexus to these other worlds and alternate universes.  Sometimes what is There, comes Here.  And, sometimes, what is Here wanders into the Outwoods and ends up...There.

[Atlus]

I think we're getting closer to a solidified idea. I'm not tied to the setting I proposed though I still don't quite follow Ty's either. Is the main division between the two the fact that there is a stable world to run to or is there something else? Is it a matter of relatability to characters that come from a world similar to our own? What say you all? Another thing that will impact or decision is the means of arbitration i.e. the system. Now that we know generally what we want it's time to figure out what rules will give it to us. Suggestions?

[Thufir Hawat]

I think we're getting closer to a solidified idea. I'm not tied to the setting I proposed though I still don't quite follow Ty's either. Is the main division between the two the fact that there is a stable world to run to or is there something else? Is it a matter of relatability to characters that come from a world similar to our own? What say you all? Another thing that will impact or decision is the means of arbitration i.e. the system. Now that we know generally what we want it's time to figure out what rules will give it to us. Suggestions?

I get the impression that it's going to be a gritty game, or at least the proposed settings imply that from what I can read.
If we have basically two different settings/planes linked together, a generic system seems to be the obvious option. I'm familiar with GURPS and BRP, and they are both a good fit for a gritty game (and with optional rules, they can be made even more or considerably less gritty).
Oh, and there are legal, free and shortened variants of both on the web, in case someone doesn't own the books ;).

Now, I might have misread the intended tone of the game. For a setting without firearms, but with deep-burning passions, the free quickrules of The Riddle of Steel are a good fit - or NEMESIS, if you want to underline the fear and despair. For a pulp story, Spirit of the Century is probably best, but it's long, but I really don't think anyone wants pulp-level super-characters.
Well, these are my suggestions - there are lots of them, but it will impact the game significantly, so I decided to give you more choices... ;D
Maybe we/you should start discussing not only the setting, but what genre you want to play and how you imagine the tone of the game (these can be rather different things)?

[Atlus]

Very good points Thufir. I should have time tomorrow to look over some of the systems you mentioned. As for tone, it hasn't been discussed but I think it's been implied. Given the current settings I think gritty and fear soaked are our tone. If I've gauged that wrong let me know. Genre, I think, is where the two settings we have differ. For the most part they're the same setting but one has more of a sci-fi spin on it. I don't want to lose the feel of isolation from the sci-fi version. Other then that I'm open.
I hesitate to go with the falling from one world to the other idea mostly because it'll be hard to manage. Getting all the characters to a point where they can meaningfully interact is hard enough with just one plane of existence. With some planning I think it might be possible to play through the version in the woods as the fore story for what will happen in the future. The pacing would have to be fairly brisk to keep things interesting but I think it could work. We may even cause the future story to occur. Thoughts?

[Thufir Hawat]

Work it backwards. Tell the players to create characters that can interact meaningfully from the beginning!
Of course, killing someone is also a form of interaction, so you might want to be more precise in the wording if that is to be a team game... ;D

[Atlus]

So far I'm leaning towards NEMESIS. It's a bit more involved then I was looking for, but it's precise and quick and has all the mechanics we'll need. More updates as they occur.

[Thufir Hawat]

Yes, NEMESIS is using Greg Stolze's ORE system. With just one roll for anything, it ought to be fast, which is a big bonus for forum games ;).

Everybody, if you have different suggestions, feel free to offer them before the GM picks a system!

[Indigo]

I am not familiar with much beyond GURPS, but am a quick learn, so I can see no issue for me using the above suggested.  Does anyone have any links for NEMESIS? I will go browse to see what I can find...

Also...I wouldn't mind playing more then one character as befitting and/or needed.  That way, if death comes for one, I still have another.

[Callie Del Noire]

definitely sounds like a fun idea (or rather ideas) I would enjoy a modern fantasy or cyberpunk game.

Anyone check out the 'Nightside' series by Simon R. Green. All sorts of overlap there.

[Thufir Hawat]

Indigo, I only offered free systems for obvious reasons, so here is a link for NEMESIS.
http://www.nemesis-system.com/what-is-nemesis.html
It's also a free download, so you can look up the rules from this link. I guess we might not be allowed to use spells, at least not in the beginning, and it might be a bad idea even if we are, but you've got to ask the GM about this... ;)

[Indigo]

Ah...thanks for the link. 

...lovely...I'm liking it already.

[Question Mark]

I am not familiar with much beyond GURPS, but am a quick learn, so I can see no issue for me using the above suggested.  Does anyone have any links for NEMESIS? I will go browse to see what I can find...

Also...I wouldn't mind playing more then one character as befitting and/or needed.  That way, if death comes for one, I still have another.

Yup.  What she said.