Survival-interest check

[Verasaille]

I am gauging interest in a dungeon crawl type of group game. I will give you a taste of what is there to start. What I want from you as a player is to give me a vote on the setting, be it fantasy, sc-fi, or modern day.
This will be free form, I will give you a narrative, add some danger and rewards, and lead you down a scary path.

It will be a mystery, and I will base the responses to your posts on the backgrounds you choose for your characters. I will give you puzzles to work on, traps to get around, (can be decided by dice bot rolls if you agree) obstacles to work around and challenges to your character.

This is only a brief taste of what awaits you!


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Deep down in the depths...the air is warm...what there is of it. There is no sunlight here...in fact you do not know where you are. You went to bed in your home, safe and snug. You awoke here. The floor is stone, what you can feel of it, grainy and hard. There is a coating of dust on nearby surfaces. You listen carefully and may hear a dripping sound in the distance or merely an echo of one, cave sounds can be misleading.

There is a faint source of light nearby, just enough for you to make out that you are in an alcove in a larger cave. The place where you are hidden is marginally protected with a few rocks. You are not harmed, in fact you seem to be well physically. Though if you had any magic in you it seems to be dormant. It is there inside of you, but you just cannot cast. You are clothed in whatever you went to sleep in, from naked to fully dressed or in some type of nightwear.

How you got here is something you may wonder, but no answers are to be found laying here in the relative darkness. As you rise to your sitting position you look over the rocks that are screening you from view of anything or anyone else in the large cavern. It would be wise to be cautious, you are not alone.

The sensation of being deep below the surface of the earth is suffocating. The air is not fresh, it is stale and musty. The torches burn with a  snap and crackle. Whoever set you here is testing you. How you react and how you manage to survive is up to you. Look around the small space you have found yourself in.  Your primary concern is survival. Cooperation might be  necessary.

Finding a weapon and armor is just as important as finding food and water. Whatever training you might have had in your life to survive might come in handy. Who knows how  long you will be stuck here, wherever here is.  Anything useful is certain to be found only by exploring the cave. Water seems to be dripping somewhere, perhaps it is clean, perhaps not, but only one way to find out.

The air is warm if not a bit stuffy, though the torches seems to be burning all right. The alcove you find yourself in may have something hidden in it or it may not. Look around you, about a twelve foot area of room, uneven walls appear to be free from moisture.

The opening to your little alcove is not blocked and you can leave anytime you choose. As you move around a slight noise attracts your attention. Peering out beyond the rocks you can see the cavern is large,  with many alcoves like the one you are in. You look up and see dark shapes moving on the ceiling. The top of the cave is well over a hundred feet. The light does not illuminate much up there.

The room might be fifty feet in diameter and the east end of the slight oblong seems to have a shiny surface on the wall. There is darkness below that wall, and the torchlight seems to be reflected there. One thing is for certain, you are not alone here. There are others waking up just as you are.  There are two torches burning in the large room. one on either end. There is also a slab of rock in the center of the room, it appears to be about twenty feet long. There is one lit candle on it.


The only memory you have is whatever you were doing before you went to sleep.Your memories of the past seem to be fuzzy.  What happens next is up to you. To survive and get home might seem a daunting task. Unarmored and without a weapon, and no idea in the world where you are!

Most of the cave floor seems to be sandy and very dusty. Stalagmites rise from the floor in front of the alcoves, some hang from the ceiling, far above. As your eyes scan the area you see darker areas in the walls above, alcoves up there too? But they are about thirty feet up from the floor of the cavern.

A slight noise attracts your attention and you glance towards the sound. A rat scurries across the floor, stops to glare at you then disappears in a hole in the uneven floor. Might be a good idea to watch where you step. The rat is rather large, maybe the size of a housecat. It has red glowing eyes and sharp teeth and can squeeze into small spaces with ease. If only you had something to hit it with! Roasted rat is edible.

[Terian]

Could be interested, I tend to prefer sci-fi, but fantasy works too.

[Verasaille]

Thanks for your interest. I originally ran this as a generic dungeon here. and Fantasy was the theme. It would be interesting to make it set in the far future. Maybe a modern day mystery. Who abducted you and made sure you were unconscious enough to not be aware of being moved from your home? An alien race perhaps? Finally come to visit Earth and see how the inhabitants are faring, only to find widespread pollution, constant war and a futile fight over diseases that should have been eradicated long ago.

I could have fun with that!

[Arcanist]

Definately interested. Moto be honest I am not fussed. But, perhaps a modern slant? Your writing is fantastic.

[tobisquestion]

I'm interested. This makes me think of that movie "The Cube" but in a cave instead of...a cube.

Anyway, my first choice would be modern setting, but I am equally at home with sci-fi or fantasy for this one and could come up with an interesting character whichever way.

[Verasaille]

I can adapt it to any age, or setting. Right now what I am looking for are curious people who like Survivor type stories. Resources will be limited, but you can explore further into the tunnels, which I will give you a variety of ways to go. If we use a more modern slant, I ask for all of you to be human, gender does not matter. Size is up to you, though I should caution against extremes.

I will be having you wake up in smaller alcoves, in a random fashion. Therefore, if you are extremely large, you might find yourself in a tiny alcove, barely able to move! The shortest height I have for them is six feet, and the tallest is fourteen feet.

I will ask for a brief character sheet, and you will need to give me some idea of your height and weight. You will need to tell me gender, some background, such as where you grew up and any schooling or training you have had. Does not need to be detailed. I am hoping for a wide variety of skills, and if you specialize in one or another.

Any other details you wish to know? I am trying to make this fun for everyone, so the more that sign up the better.

[Dashenka]

This seems rather interesting. Though I'm rooting for a modern setting. Not too familiar with sci-fi or fantasy :)

Maybe the group of people are friends? Or at least acquiantences?

[tobisquestion]

Do love a good survivor scenario, and I have been craving a group RP recently. I'll get to thinking about what sort of character I could play, but I also like to 'fill the gaps' so I might just watch and wait to see who else submits. I'm definitely interested in playing no matter what happens, but if you don't get many more players I'll create a strong all-rounder type of character, and if you get lots more interest I'll see what sort of character covers any areas not already covered.

[Verasaille]

It was my intent to have them all strangers. This gives more emphasis on cooperating, even if it is a stranger you do not know. But I am flexible about this, like if you know someone who has signed up and you want to have an established connection, that's fine. It is optional, so the choice is yours.

I have been thinking about the modern day angle, and it actually kind of tickles me that I will be taking a group of people away from their cell phones, cars and modern conveniences and making them do without. I am not sure if any of you have ever gone camping, in the rough. That is, no running water, no bathrooms, food you might have to catch first and actually kill it, cook it and then eat it. How would you fare if you suddenly found yourself in that situation?

If we do it in the fantasy world, you can at least fake knowing something about the wilderness. As far as reasoning as to how and why this happened in the real modern world, it gets harder to explain. Who would kidnap a group of people, put them several miles underground to see how they fare? (Tapping chin here...) A mad scientist? You are part of a research group, volunteering for some experiments, because you are broke and need the cash? You think it is a reality tv show and are certain there are hidden cameras somewhere? This gets harder as I try to be plausible without taking the mystery away.

I was thinking of how many ways you could be abducted without knowing what is happening. The first thing that popped into my head was drugs. You were out partying and take a drink of something handed to you, the next thing you know, you are waking up in this place...But...that does not fit the opening of waking up in the same clothes you went to bed in and finding yourself in a very strange situation.

(Scratches the bridge of my nose) Maybe you are on a trip to some foreign location. You are unfamiliar with the native culture, even though you are relieved some of them speak English. Directed to a large hotel type building, you find it is unusual, but at least clean enough you are relaxed and fall asleep. Again, unless someone drugs you, modern day would not work if you just wake up underground without some kind of logical explanation besides "magic".

Now if we use a fantasy setting, I can go a bit crazy with the use of magic, odd critters, or creepy evil guys whisking you away while you are under some spell. But I am if nothing else, open to suggestions! Tell me what would work for you here.

[Verasaille]

People are starting to post these again, I am halfway tempted to make everyone who signs up do this as a character...

http://whothefuckismydndcharacter.com/

[Dashenka]

Aside from the many reasons how the characters got kidnapped it's also important to have a reason why.

The players don't have to know as long as the GM has a reason :) Then you could adjust the ways to get kidnapped to that.

And is there a chance they'll get out?

[Verasaille]

Oh yes, there is a way to get out, that will be the whole rp, seeing how long you take to find your way out of the caves. Of course that could be the first step. Once you are out of the caves, you have to find your way back to civilization. Let's call it stage one.

Stage two, if anyone is still with me and posting, could be a whole new adventure. I am not holding my breath here. I have seen how these group rps fizzle. But I can always hope that I get enough dedicated people to keep it going.

[Dashenka]

Sounds good. I'm game :)

[Verasaille]

Now all we need are more players willing to give me a character sheet.

[Dashenka]

Do we already have a character sheet?

[QTgirl]

I would also be interested in participating.

[Verasaille]

Thanks for your interest. I am hoping to get a few more people on board before I am ready to set this up.