The Tribute / Lords of War [INTEREST CHECK ONLY!]

[Avast Pariah]

The Tribute / Lords of War

Mad Max-inspired | Extreme | Futuristic dystopia

Hello and welcome to my group-game proposition. This originally was a one-on-one idea, but I would like to develop this world and its characters to the point plenty of people are involved. This is merely an interest check to see who would potentially be interested in the future (in about a month or so in that case). Let me know your thoughts!

♚

"What must a man do to get a proper welcome, eh? I've come back, brother, isn't that a call for celebration?"

Your eyes, stern and borne by ire, watched how Titus reclaimed the place in your temple that was once shared. He wandered the hall thoughtlessly, filthy fingers sliding past your relics as to signal carefree contempt. You controlled your breath, letting only your glance acknowledge his being here. The sun barely touched upon Titus' body, but you saw the result of endless oil production tear at his physique and blacken his nails. You wanted to laugh, but realised he must feel the same way about you, dependent on rare women to craft something more valuable than gasoline: a son.

"You realise you need me now," Titus acclaimed, stopping right in front of you. Up close, you could see a spectre of the friend you knew, now beholden to his promise of power. "You can't survive in this gas-land much longer. You think you'd outlive the rain and the fires, but tell you what, I'll spare you the embarassment of admitting otherwise." You breathed in response, visibly unshaken. You turned on your heel, gradually welcoming the sun as you headed towards your balcony. Hearing Titus instinctively follow you made you grin on the inside.

You peered across the wide wasteland, hot and heaving, crackling beneath the volcano's potent thirst. Then, your eyes fell upon the masses a hundred-something feet below you. Each breath you took, pensive and punctuated in the silence, served as a reminder of the onslaught of the toxic air engulfing the families of New Zealand. The perpetual discord grazing across the island had lead to a battle of resources, following the downfall of human constraint. You were once four main families reigning, but the discovery of abundant gasoline had made Titus a very real threat. You heard him slowly near you as he spoke:

"I am offering you a way out, alive. You'd be stupid to turn me away and you know it. You can't keep hoarding knowledge without putting it to use, brother, because nothing spares you should you choose to go rogue," Titus looked at you for a moment, but soon averted his attention to the swath Land of Veredictum. People liked to claim they had the final say, but they all knew the land's brutality was judge, jury, and prosecutor. "Then, nothing will be impregnable. Not even this get-together you call an empire. Nothing will be culpable because people won't be able to decide a verdict with bullets in their mind. And all will be war."

♦

Following natural disasters and the fall of capitalism, the people of New Zealand entered a period of incontinence and dangerous prerequisites; also known as The Idolatry, this new age allowed for nobody to become somebody. Across the island, people got together to form families¹ and gain hoarders' rights, but only four of them were powerful enough to become a household name. Among them, the Big Titus was named.

Jack Hayes, the man of many fingers and even more triggers to accomodate them, once known as your business partner and friend. You had chosen to stick to the periphery of society and disengage with the lords calling for battles. You had ruled the production of lethal gases, conducting various experiments on the nearby desolated islands and, without meaning to, any poor soul that happened to be there. You were young, driven by veneration of the borderless life and respect of all things unpredictable. You knew living was dangerous, but dying even more so. Especially without a legacy. After some time, having finally met a woman free of disease, you became father to a daughter. Struck by disappointment, you quickly returned to work, giving leeway for Jack to become familiar with the child.

Upon finding out Jack had sold your daughter in exchange for improved apparatus, your indifference transcended into fury. Nothing could have stopped the gas war following this knowledge, turning your corner of the country into a radioactive playground. It was ugly, planting seeds of new diseases that would later plague the entire population. Then, you decided to go separate ways, building each of your empires from the ground. Perhaps you continued extracting energy from the power plant, perhaps you found meaning in another industry and recruited a new family. You were on your own, and for the first time you felt completely in control.

Several years passed until people started speculating about a second apocalypse. The second fall of nature, a phenomena referred to as The Vapor Age, characterised by electric fogs and acidic rain caused by the pervasive spread of nuclear energy. Flammable gases gave life to wildfires, providing people the incentive to mass-produce lead and similar metals to block the radiation. Many people died in the process, but some survived the brutal attacks and developed a biological resistance to external threats. Power and genetic superiority was at play, now more than ever.

Jack, high off the energy swatting the wasteland, had chosen to become a father in the midst of discord. Penetrating one of the biggest families, he had abducted one of the lord's daughters, moulding her into a warfare machine over the years. Functioning as almost the sole producer of gasoline, he had grown into the eleven-fingered figure known as Big Titus. Now, he has returned to you and offered a deal. A guarantee of survival, he claims, but you remain skeptic. Eventually you agree to cooperate on one condition: you will have his daughter. As old jaundice and reborn candour conjoin into a trying crucible, you will soon find out who your true family is.

¹ Family, in this roleplay, refers to clans or tribes rather than biological families.

♦

The characters of this story include Jack Hayes (played by me), his partner-turned-rival (YC), the (now adult) child abducted by Hayes/the daughter of YC, the other big specialist families, the members of Jack and YC's families, and the rogues. In this roleplay, you should feel free to experiment with the quirks of your characters as a result of the natural disasters (for example, blindness, forms of cancer, breathing problems, other physiological sicknesses/conditions). Quite like the (rebooted) Mad Max franchise.

Other notes (pacing, sexual activity, type of game):

• I will likely need a Co-GM as I want this game to get big and stay active.
• The game will first begin during the Vapor Age, but flashbacks to the Idolatry can be made to delve into characters' backstories and interactions (like the partnership between Hayes and YC).
• Some of the dramatic heights of the game will revolve around the daughters Hayes sold/abducted, if they decide to exact revenge or otherwise break free from their environments. In general, a lot of inspiration from Mad Max but particularly Furiosa.
• This is a sandboxed game but will have certain canon events dictated by me. These will likely revolve around natural disasters, economy or sicknesses/viruses spreading.
• There will be room for sexual content, but less of the intimate and more of the violent nature. Expect gore, non-con, violence, sickness...
• As a part of the players' knowledge, I will be making a map of the essential areas and other important things.

♚

That was the teaser and synopsis to give you a feel of the story! As said, feel free to comment if you're interested or propose any more ideas. This is only an interest check so I won't be asking for character sheets until I know enough are interested.