Bloodstains and Ballgowns
This is the foundation of the world that will encompass the story ‘Bloodstains and Ballgowns’. If there is enough interest, I will add more information about the direction of the story, character roles/relationships, and so forth.
It’s nearly a thousand years in Earth’s future. 800 of those years passed in relative peace…until the long feared WW3 came to pass. However, the war did not come about because China finally got fed up with the US, or the US lost patience with Russia, or any other combination of human nations.
During those last 800 years, the human race actually managed to do a few things right. Science made renewable energy sources viable for just about every aspect of day-to-day life. Healthcare had defeated cancer, HIV, and AIDS. Hunger was no longer a problem. Endangered species had been rescued, the forests were being restored, people were actually caring about the land.
And that would be the undoing of our peaceful society.
With more and more people venturing out in to the wild, with less and less garbage clogging the waterways, polluting the earth, and destroying the natural havens of the world, magic decided to return. Faerie creatures, eldritch beasts, popular monsters of modern fiction, even beings for which people had no name. And even these enlightened humans reacted rather predictably.
The war between humans and magical beings spanned over fifty years, with massive casualties on both sides. It was the apocalypse that everyone had feared, just not the one anyone had expected. Eventually, the war caused the collapse of both societies, and an uneasy peace came about as everyone tried to rebuild. The survivors saw that it would be an easier road if the two sides worked together. The different races began to live together, even intermarry. And when a new government was formed, both Faerie and Humans were a part of it. A Faerie man and a human woman became the new King and Queen. Some questioned the installation of a monarchy as the head of government, but in truth, they were figureheads above the parliament and the councils.
Of course, not everyone was happy with the new cooperation between man and Faerie. Various rebel groups cropped up over the years, both human and Faerie, but were quickly defeated. Eventually people figured out that the interracial alliance was going nowhere, and malcontents kept their grumblings to themselves, or stirred up only small messes.
176, P.A.(Post-Apocalypse: a new calendar was started with the founding of the new government, marking years from the time the war ended): present day, and a new rebel faction has risen. Their message, however, is not protesting the two species working together; they protest that not enough is being done to bring them together. While only small pockets of active resistance remain, there are still many ways that humans and Faerie try to segregate themselves, without making a fuss in government. Human and Faerie only settlements are common; members of these communities despise those who are the offspring of human-Faerie pairings. The slurs and stereotypes about ‘mixed-bloods’ are far worse than any used when humans segregated members of their own race. The new rebel faction, calling themselves the White Hands, wants to stop this, and they want the government to help. The government believes that forcing the two sides together will spark another war, a war that will either remove them from power, or leave no survivors.
Will the country dissolve in to war as the rebel’s demands are ignored? If so, who will win? Will a peaceful solution be found? That’s for you to decide.
GM Roles: Rebel leader, Mixed-blood member of the royal court/government. The rebel leader role would actually go to my co-GM, so that we can keep the story moving.
Other roles will be other members of the court and government, members of the rebellion, Faeries and humans who want the races to remain separate. Maybe the King and Queen will even get involved, not satisfied to remain figureheads with such a large issue threatening the world once more. The rebel leader might need a second in command of some kind. Just have fun with it!
Character considerations:
Technology: Plenty of tech remains from before the apocalypse. Some knowledge has been lost, but enough information was stored in such a way that it survived the crash, and people have been able to rebuild. Of course, with the combination of magic and technology, there are nearly infinite possibilities. If characters have magical abilities, or skill with weapons, there are very few limits with this story, aside from the obvious (god-modding, invincible characters, etc.)
LGBT: People are far too distracted fretting about faeries and elves and vampires and such having relationships with humans to be overly worried about girls liking other girls or boys liking other boys, or both, or if a guy isn't entirely comfortable being a guy, and vice versa. Of course there are some people who will stick their noses in things that aren't their business, but for the most part, there is very little discrimination over this issue.
5-7-2015 Update:
I remembered that I should probably put some expectation of sexual content on here. Given the inclusion of supernatural beasts, mixes of magic and technology, and the post-apocalyptic setting, I think that this story belongs in the Extreme section, to be on the safe side, namely for the high possibility of incidents of bestiality. Just remember, that is not a definite thing, and all such interactions must be worked out between players beforehand. Don’t write someone in to a position they’re uncomfortable with.
Remember to tag posts that have anything above light content, so that if people don’t want to read it, they can avoid it!
5-11-2015 Update:
When you are ready, send me a PM with your character sheet, a character image no larger than 250x250, and the title 'Bloodstains and Ballgowns'. Make sure to specify whether your character belongs to the rebellion, if they are a member of or loyal to the government, or if they are neutral.
When we have enough characters to start, and my co-GM is ready with the rebel leader, I will speak with those making characters for the government or neutral, and my co-GM will speak with those with characters for the rebellion, to give you more information about the current state of the world, and the state of your respective organizations.
