Stuck in the Game (NC/EX, F for GM)

[zothab]

This is not the most unique idea, but it's one that's stayed with me for quite a while.

Essentially, it's the old chestnut of someone being stuck inside a heavily sexualised, virtual reality MMO, and being forced to achieve some or other goal before escaping.


The Game

The game is much more like Skyrim than World of Warcraft. It's more freeform, that class and skill based, where what you do is what matters more than what the game says you should be able to do. If you spend all your time making weapons, you can be the best blacksmith in the game, if you constantly fight, you're a fighter. You can buy businesses from the generic NPCs and run them yourselves, too.

The goal of the game is yo create a world that is more personal than MMOs are today, harkening back to the time of MUDs and Ultima. When everyone knew the one person who could craft mithril armour, if you met a wizard who had found a teleport spell, you remembered them, etc. The game takes this core thought and designed for it. There are no alts, fast travel (say teleports) are rare. The world may be large, but communities are local. Great players names spread by word of mouth, and rogue or embarrassments are equally well known.

The game works in seasons, restarting frequently, but with persistent characters. At the end of each season, a number of categories are rated, and rewarded with an advantage in it the next season. Then skills reset and they go again.

Because the game was promised as this ultimate freedom sandbox, where players will make their own fame, they also included a vast (and almost certainly overdone) sexual element. They assumed it would add realism, but quite quickly it would become another second life, where people used the game to carve out their own sex fantasies, complete with the griefers. Still, that could be ignored.

Death isn't permanent, but is a great inconvenience, as you spawn with starter gear, and are unlikely to be able to recover you gear as there's full loot (with rare exceptions).

The Plot

My character would have been a long time beta tester, having carved out a reputation was one of the most savage assassin in the game, one of the most coveted pedestals. Everyone knew of Ash, nicknamed the Flashing Blade, though few really knew what he or she looked like.

With the start of a new season, I'm ready to go again, except this time, there's a glitch, and instead of my usual character setup, I end up in a body designed by one of the more sex-obsessed players. It's not completely ridiculous, but definitely not something I'd ever usually use. And instead of spawning where I'd usually start, I end up in a seedier corner of the game-world.

Initially, MC will just be looking to get through the season, rank highly, and get the bug sorted out afterwards. But because this is Elliquiy, it's unlikely to go that smoothly. And it might take longer than I hope to sort it out.

The Mechanics

I'm not looking for a system game, but I do love the idea of system-esque story tropes. So, this is a guy that could have debuffs and traits gained in-game with hard effects. WELL-FUCKED: might allow for 5% extra skill xp gain, but also apply a reduction in stamina. Running in a group of slavers and you could end up with SLAVE-MARKED OF JO: Resisting commands is 10% harder.

The Sex

I'm not prescriptive, but I'm looking for a gradual corruption, as the character is beaten by a world seeming stacked against it. NC, blackmail, humiliation, marks and weird costumes- I mean gear, are all there for the taking. (As most anything on my O/Os).

Who I'm looking for

Someone to help me run the world. I'm happy to do a lot of world-building, plot pointing and brainstorming, but I'm looking for the classical GM. In my mind, the game is anything goes.

[zothab]

18 months later, but post Ready Player One, let's give this another go.