Dunwater (Freeform Psychological Horror) [Temporarily Full]

[Totoro]

This game is currently in-progress with the initial cast of four characters. The original search thread gives a reasonable idea of what they have been through so far, along with the themes of the game. As the game continues there will be space for more characters to be added. I will be waiting to fully update this recruitment thread as the 'second stage' of recruitment will have some reveals that I intend to let happen in-character. If you are interested in joining this game when recruitment re-opens feel free to post here or PM me. Thank you!

Original Search Thread

I know what happened.

I can explain everything. Everything that happened five years ago when you went to visit Dunwater. The truth. It's right here waiting for you in Oakport. I have contacted your friends, too. Meet me a week from now. November 2nd, 8:00 PM at the ferry side in your home town. Tell nobody. Bring nobody. Your old friends will be there to meet you, as will I. And then, at last, you will get the answers I know you have been troubled over. Do not let fear rule you. Come home for the truth.

A friend.

Premise

A group of old friends grew up together in the small Massachusetts coastal town Oakport. When they were eighteen they collectively decided to go on a trip. A little way off the coast of Oakport there is an island called Gray Isle. On it was an old, abandoned fishing and whaling village called Dunwater. Most locals avoided it and rumours were rife that the place was haunted. Whilst trying to decide where to to the group of friends hit on the idea of convincing a local fisherman to take them to the isle. They brought various camping supplies and intended to stay in the disused buildings and explore the uninhabited island. Not one of them remembers the trip. At least not more than flashes of disturbing, nightmarish imagery From the moment they left the dockside to the moment they all came to in hospital beds eighteen days later. They were treated for psychological trauma and made a pact never to return, to leave it in the past and live out their lives. Everyone moved, aiming to get away from the memories of that place. Until five years later they were all contacted in the same manner. A mysterious slip of paper came through their door, proclaiming to know what happened. No matter how much they vowed to bury the past eventually all of the friends decided they had to find out the truth.

Game Overview

Dunwater is a psychological survival horror game. It will feature a wide variety of horror elements primarily focused on themes of distorted reality, visions, nightmares and mental trauma. Characters will be expected to be ordinary humans with flaws, weaknesses and strengths. They will be exposed to a good deal of intense, disturbing and graphic imagery of varying nature. This is not a smut game and the threats will not be sexual in nature at any point. Characters having the time for smut is very unlikely. The player characters were all friends for much of high school at least, but lost contact after their joint traumatic experience made meeting up cause them all flashbacks and fear of the past. They should be bold enough to have decided to meet back up with their other friends. The game will begin at the meeting in the fictional town of Oakport, and then the majority of the game will take place on Grey Isle and in Dunwater Village.

I currently have three writers interested and am looking for a group of 4-6. Most likely aiming to recruit 2-3 more.

Rules

1. Don't cause or participate in drama. Be respectful of other players. If an issue comes up, PM me.
2. Don't godmode either fellow players or NPC's.
3. Inform the GM if you will be unable to post for significant time.
4. Write in the third person past tense. A reasonable standard of English is required. (Spellcheck, grammar check, no one liners or overly short posts)
5. This is a horror setting. Dark, graphic and disturbing content is expected. Non-Con is not going to be featured but the game will remain in extreme due to gore and disturbing themes. If you have any severe fears, phobias or triggers that you cannot read please inform me and I will make a judgement on whether this game will likely feature that. GM posts will generally include spoilered warnings. Accept that your character will experience psychological trauma and likely some level of physical injury at some point.
6. The player characters are former friends. You must communicate with your fellow players to set up how the characters all feel about one another.
7. Respect that this game is not smut focused.
8. Recruitment will not be first come first served. I am looking for a small group of dedicated writers who function well together IC but can also communicate well OOC. Both unique, reasonable and fitting character concepts and OOC persona will be considered.

F.A.Q

Is this game connected to previous iterations of Dunwater? Only in name and core concept of psychological survival horror. The location is different, sharing just a name. There will be no references to past games.

Character Creation

Characters for this game should be ordinary, believable human beings. They have generally led conventional lives until the one traumatic shared experience. What they have done after that is up to you. I would like some to have mostly put it behind them, some might be haunted, some might have investigated or even become a little obsessed but none have returned or had further experiences. Whilst this game's CS may be quite large segments like mental/physical state are brief, connections will be filled out as the game continues and 'I remember' will be filed out with me.

It is absolutely vital that post-joining you contact other players to figure out how your characters connect.

I am biased towards those willing to use Discord to speak with the other writers discussing how the characters connect. One is available via PM.

Please send completed CS's directly to me via PM, don't post them here.

Players are encouraged to give a general idea of your concept in this thread.

The characters should generally be accepting enough to have been part of a varied group of friends. I'm going to leave it to players as to how they all met and why they were friends.

Character Sheet:

Code Select Expand

[float=left][img height=200 padding=5]http://via.placeholder.com/300[/img][/float]
[size=12pt][u][b]Overview[/b][/u][/size]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Date of Birth:[/b] The game begins November 2nd, 2018. Your character was 18 in 2013 on the first trip to Grey Isle. They should have been born in 1995.
[b]Age:[/b] 23 unless their birth date is after November 2nd, in which case still 22.
[b]Education Level:[/b] All characters went to high school together. Did yours go to further education?
[b]Occupation[/b]: What's their job?
[b]Relationship Status:[/b] Are they currently in a relationship? If so what did they tell their partner. Player characters may not be in a relationship but they may have been in the past but broke up after the first trip.
[hr]
[size=12pt][u][b]Physical[/b][/u][/size]
[b]Height:[/b]
[b]Weight:[/b]
[b]Eye Colour:[/b]
[b]Hair Colour:[/b]
[b]General Description[/b]: A brief description. Can include typical attire or style as well as physical information.

[b]Physical State:[/b] Should most likely simply be 'Healthy'. Will be updated with any injuries or other physical issues as the game goes on.

[b]Mental State:[/b] Just one sentence on their current overall mental state. Will be updated as the game goes on.

[hr]

[center][img height=200 padding=5]http://via.placeholder.com/300[/img][img height=200 padding=5]http://via.placeholder.com/300[/img][img height=200 padding=5]http://via.placeholder.com/300[/img][/center]

[hr]

[center][size=12pt][u][b]Personality. History and Connections[/b][/u][/size][/center]

[center][u][b]Personality[/b][/u][/center]

How do they act and react to situations. What do they care about?

[center][u][b]History[/b][/u][/center]

They grew up in a small coastal town in Massachusetts. What were their parents like. Early life, schooling. How were they in high school. What are their feelings on the traumatic experience they all went through, moving away from their home town and stopping contact with their old friends. What have they done with the five years of their life since that event.

[center][u][b]Connections[/b][/u][/center]

A few lines detailing their relationship with each of the other player characters. They all knew one another the entire of high school and were at least for the most part friends. Who do they miss most, how do they feel about the idea of seeing each of them again.

[hr]

[center][size=12pt][u][b]The Good[/b][/u][/size][/center]

[center][u][b]Skills[/b][/u][/center]

I would heavily recommend and appreciate list formatting for skills, or at least a neat format. These are your character's talents. Some might be natural some might be learned. List it even if it seems irrelevant. Everything from a good listener to a crack shot with a hunting rifle. Cooking, great at maths, trained lawyer. Not everything they've ever been good at but their core skillset.

[center][u][b]Equipment[/b][/u][/center]

Your character knows they are going to a place that caused them deep psychological trauma, most of which is repressed. But they also know that it is an uninhabited island. They will be stuck with what can be brought onto the ferry and what can have been transported to Oakport however they returned home. They should most likely have brought at least some level of practical supplies. They have had one week to prepare. They should not have any kind of military-grade equipment or batman-esque gadget list but more conventional survival tools. They can be armed. This segment should be updated as they use their supplies or gather more items. Again, please format this neatly not just a big block paragraph.

[hr]

[center][size=12pt][u][b]The Bad[/b][/u][/size][/center]

[center][u][b]Fears and Phobias[/b][/u][/center]

What are your characters fears and phobias? A phobia is typically an irrational fear. Some of these will be used to influence events in-character and may influence the segment 'I remember' when that's settled on. These will likely be updated as the game goes on.

[center][u][b]I Remember[/b][/u][/center]

Do not fill this out on application. Skim their memories of Dunwater in their history just describe it as a vague, traumatic event. Using their history and fears I will decide what their fleeting memories of Dunwater are.


Thread Links

IC Thread
OOC Thread
Character Sheets
Recruitment

[Mellific]

You know I'm in! ^^

[Capone]

Reading through this I thought of a character inspired by Pickman's Model. Not quite the same, but of what little Lovecraft I've managed to read, that sits alongside Rats in the Walls as stories that really got to me.

I'll see if I can put a character sheet together tomorrow, if you don't mind.

[Rel Mayer]

You know I’m in. :)

[Wolfling72]

*raises hand* Yes. *nods*

[Totoro]

You know I'm in! ^^

I do!

You know I’m in. :)

Of course.

*raises hand* Yes. *nods*

And that makes the three mentioned as interested in the first post.

Reading through this I thought of a character inspired by Pickman's Model. Not quite the same, but of what little Lovecraft I've managed to read, that sits alongside Rats in the Walls as stories that really got to me.

I'll see if I can put a character sheet together tomorrow, if you don't mind.

Heya,

It's definitely a good book and got to me to. I suppose the question is how inspired. A lot of the characters in that (Particularly Richard) are quite odd. Here I'm primarily looking for at least mostly ordinary people. I could potentially see the idea of someone artistic who's very fleeting vivid memories of their traumatic experience prompted them to move into alternative art with disturbing themes.

There's no huge rush on getting a CS together as I'm hoping to make sure all the concepts fit as a believable group of friends.

Sun

[Capone]

Heya,

It's definitely a good book and got to me to. I suppose the question is how inspired. A lot of the characters in that (Particularly Richard) are quite odd. Here I'm primarily looking for at least mostly ordinary people. I could potentially see the idea of someone artistic who's very fleeting vivid memories of their traumatic experience prompted them to move into alternative art with disturbing themes.

There's no huge rush on getting a CS together as I'm hoping to make sure all the concepts fit as a believable group of friends.

Sun

He doesn't actually see the creatures in the real world. More a coping mechanism. He was a very different artist when they were young, but the only way he could make a breakthrough in therapy was to begin painting the visions of the nightmares. To this day he continues to make such paintings and has even gotten work as a freelance concept artist. He never looks at his paintings after they're complete, just takes a photo, packages them up, then sells them to any buyers. Basically viewed as a lesser H.R. Giger, it's how he deals with the nightmares every night.

That's the general direction I was planning on, at least.

Also: if the concept of the story weren't enough to interest me, reuniting with Rel and Wolfling certainly pushes me over the edge.

[Totoro]

He doesn't actually see the creatures in the real world. More a coping mechanism. He was a very different artist when they were young, but the only way he could make a breakthrough in therapy was to begin painting the visions of the nightmares. To this day he continues to make such paintings and has even gotten work as a freelance concept artist. He never looks at his paintings after they're complete, just takes a photo, packages them up, then sells them to any buyers. Basically viewed as a lesser H.R. Giger, it's how he deals with the nightmares every night.

That's the general direction I was planning on, at least.

Also: if the concept of the story weren't enough to interest me, reuniting with Rel and Wolfling certainly pushes me over the edge.

That makes sense to me. I'm up for that kind of thing. It wouldn't be as extreme in the sense of the novel's paintings disturbing other's minds but it could be that they are very hard for him to view or for his friends to view. That'd make a fair bit of sense. I'm good with that kind of direction. I think it maybe works best if he's not especially known and more the struggling end of the artist scale.

And I'm glad you know some of the others! Positive start.

[Wolfling72]

The only thing I know for certain is that my person went with denial. They remembered nothing and liked it that way. (Dreams don't count. THAT is only the mind's way of purging the negative events of the day!) I am thinking either kindergarten teacher or a day care provider.  I have not narrowed that bit down yet. Hell, I still don't know if my person will end up male or female.

What I do know for certain is that they don't want to remember but that they go along because they are determined to prove to themselves that the whole thing was just a group of friends hyping each other up and scaring each other to death. What else could it have been?

Also, Capone, gods Man you were missed...even when I went away. So good to see you!

[Totoro]

The only thing I know for certain is that my person went with denial. They remembered nothing and liked it that way. (Dreams don't count. THAT is only the mind's way of purging the negative events of the day!) I am thinking either kindergarten teacher or a day care provider.  I have not narrowed that bit down yet. Hell, I still don't know if my person will end up male or female.

What I do know for certain is that they don't want to remember but that they go along because they are determined to prove to themselves that the whole thing was just a group of friends hyping each other up and scaring each other to death. What else could it have been?

Also, Capone, gods Man you were missed...even when I went away. So good to see you!

Loving the concept, all of that's workable to me. I'm not totally sure how E rules are going to interact with her speaking about or remembering aspects of her work with that job since they wouldn't be characters or interacted with in any way, but I'm still not sure.

[Wolfling72]

I'll ask before I finalize it. Kye or Ama would know if it would cause an issue. *nods* Though I do not believe it will as there would be no interactions of any sort beyond the memories shared. *sigh* In my mind, they wanted something concrete. That sort of job is CONCRETE. They are building up the next generation.

[Capone]

The only thing I know for certain is that my person went with denial. They remembered nothing and liked it that way. (Dreams don't count. THAT is only the mind's way of purging the negative events of the day!) I am thinking either kindergarten teacher or a day care provider.  I have not narrowed that bit down yet. Hell, I still don't know if my person will end up male or female.

What I do know for certain is that they don't want to remember but that they go along because they are determined to prove to themselves that the whole thing was just a group of friends hyping each other up and scaring each other to death. What else could it have been?

Also, Capone, gods Man you were missed...even when I went away. So good to see you!

I was missed! I feel shpeshul...

Nah, it'll be great to write with you again, and I can see my character being on the denial scale alongside yours, but perhaps maybe not so convinced. Like, trying to convince himself a bit too much.

For some reason I keep envisioning the character sniffing and rubbing his nose like a crack addict, but I dunno what it's like to use drugs so maybe I'll give him an unhealthy drinking habit.

Loving the concept, all of that's workable to me. I'm not totally sure how E rules are going to interact with her speaking about or remembering aspects of her work with that job since they wouldn't be characters or interacted with in any way, but I'm still not sure.

As long as the children don't actually appear in the story it should be fine, right?

[CandyLips]

Glad to see this one's going again! I, unfortunately, am maxed out on group games. Good luck, Sun! ^_^

[Totoro]

I'll ask before I finalize it. Kye or Ama would know if it would cause an issue. *nods* Though I do not believe it will as there would be no interactions of any sort beyond the memories shared. *sigh* In my mind, they wanted something concrete. That sort of job is CONCRETE. They are building up the next generation.

Thank you. Best to ask beforehand just in case. I think it would be fine but it would suck to have your character have this past that's interest and a large aspect of them and it's not able to be mentioned. I think it makes a lot of sense. A good way to live with denial is to find a focus that's selfless. Think of others and you can sorta forget yourself.

I was missed! I feel shpeshul...

Nah, it'll be great to write with you again, and I can see my character being on the denial scale alongside yours, but perhaps maybe not so convinced. Like, trying to convince himself a bit too much.

For some reason I keep envisioning the character sniffing and rubbing his nose like a crack addict, but I dunno what it's like to use drugs so maybe I'll give him an unhealthy drinking habit.

As long as the children don't actually appear in the story it should be fine, right?

A drinking habit would be an interesting addition. Meeting up with survival kits and someone's is full of whiskey and you know something's up. Or they think it's a party.

Glad to see this one's going again! I, unfortunately, am maxed out on group games. Good luck, Sun! ^_^

Hey!

I did try to PM people who'd been involved before but I think I missed a few people I owed PM's. Apologies. And thank you!

[CandyLips]

Hey!

I did try to PM people who'd been involved before but I think I missed a few people I owed PM's. Apologies. And thank you!

No apology necessary. ^_^

[AndyZ]

My creativity's been rather low lately, but marking this to see if ideas pop out.

[Totoro]

No apology necessary. ^_^

Thank you!

My creativity's been rather low lately, but marking this to see if ideas pop out.

Glad to have the noted interest any which way. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Wolfling72]

I was missed! I feel shpeshul...

Nah, it'll be great to write with you again, and I can see my character being on the denial scale alongside yours, but perhaps maybe not so convinced. Like, trying to convince himself a bit too much.

For some reason I keep envisioning the character sniffing and rubbing his nose like a crack addict, but I dunno what it's like to use drugs so maybe I'll give him an unhealthy drinking habit.

As long as the children don't actually appear in the story it should be fine, right?

Denial is NOT just a river in Egypt and it's big enough for everyone!!

And you are probably right about the children. Still better safe than sorry.

Thank you. Best to ask beforehand just in case. I think it would be fine but it would suck to have your character have this past that's interest and a large aspect of them and it's not able to be mentioned. I think it makes a lot of sense. A good way to live with denial is to find a focus that's selfless. Think of others and you can sorta forget yourself.

A drinking habit would be an interesting addition. Meeting up with survival kits and someone's is full of whiskey and you know something's up. Or they think it's a party.

Hey!

I did try to PM people who'd been involved before but I think I missed a few people I owed PM's. Apologies. And thank you!

That's the whole vibe I am aiming for: A sort of selflessness that replaces those fears they will never admit to. Also, I messaged Ama since I know they are on. I'll let you know what they say.

I was fiddling with the idea of a sleeping pill habit for my person but decided against it...the concept won't allow for that sort of escape.

My creativity's been rather low lately, but marking this to see if ideas pop out.

Waves to Andy

[Chreestafer]

Glad to see this is back at it!

I'd love to hop back in if that is acceptable?

[Wolfling72]

Also Sun (and others) for future reference Ama says that:

"The rule with kids is just that they obviously can't be part of any sex scene and in the same regards they can't even have heard it in the background or anything like that"

So it's fine to mention them via my characters past etc.

[Totoro]

Glad to see this is back at it!

I'd love to hop back in if that is acceptable?

Heya! Absolutely. The concept is pretty heavily altered especially regarding character creation, so I would maybe suggest a fresh concept to fit the 'group of friends' idea instead of the strangers crashed together from before. That said if you want to try and re-tool for this you're welcome to.

Also Sun (and others) for future reference Ama says that:

"The rule with kids is just that they obviously can't be part of any sex scene and in the same regards they can't even have heard it in the background or anything like that"

So it's fine to mention them via my characters past etc.

Got it. I always erred far on the side of caution when it came to those rules. I have no intention for any sex scenes to occur. If they do it'd be between the players but I would say even that's unlikely just due to the nature of their environment. And the kids will only ever be memories and can't interact with anything anyway. So, should be all good. I'm good with it then.

Denial is NOT just a river in Egypt and it's big enough for everyone!!

And you are probably right about the children. Still better safe than sorry.

That's the whole vibe I am aiming for: A sort of selflessness that replaces those fears they will never admit to. Also, I messaged Ama since I know they are on. I'll let you know what they say.

I was fiddling with the idea of a sleeping pill habit for my person but decided against it...the concept won't allow for that sort of escape.

Waves to Andy

I'm cool with the concept as I mentioned above I can't possibly see it being problematic in this game. I think it'll add a lot of drive to the character.



Based on what I know so far, and I know some who are 'in' are somewhat undecided I think one of the biggest missing things is someone who really believes in the supernatural. The core to this would be that they don't have to know what really happened, they just have the same tiny fleeting hints the others do. But they decided 'Hell is real' or 'ghosts did it', any kind of mythos they want to have created to explain it. I think it'll add an interesting dynamic to have a 'believer' who possibly irritates the friends. And they wouldn't be validated as despite believing something they'll almost certainly be wrong, and so still have the belief they created to explain the events be ruined.

Not a necessity but a loose concept I haven't heard anyone mention aiming for.

[Chreestafer]

I do have a few questions Sun. I definitely do plan to edit my last guy and adapt him to the story.  I loved the last game and was sad to see it end.

First.  Is the discord only going to be available to those who have been accepted? And Second.  As you stated its first come first serve, so should we wait to be seeking out other players to work on past connections?

I'll be working on my CS asap.

[Totoro]

I do have a few questions Sun. I definitely do plan to edit my last guy and adapt him to the story.  I loved the last game and was sad to see it end.

First.  Is the discord only going to be available to those who have been accepted? And Second.  As you stated its first come first serve, so should we wait to be seeking out other players to work on past connections?

I'll be working on my CS asap.

Heya,

The Discord is available to those with a fitting concept. I'm sort accepting pre-finalised CS here. If the CS then turns into a mess that'd be an issue but that rarely happens. If you'd like you can PM me and kinda explain how you'd adapt him since I know his backstory relied on a lot that's just not going to work here for various reasons.

And it's the opposite of first come first served. Three are 'in'. Beyond that I'm just looking at concepts and approving them as I see them.

I’ll gladly be the superstitious believer if you don’t mind. Can’t wait to join up, this will be good practice for my own horror novel. Also hardly ever see horror RPs, so I’ll be thrilled to be in this.

Edit: I’m also 23, so it’ll be cool to roleplay as myself

Do you mean yourself, or a character the same age as yourself?

[Chreestafer]

Heya,

The Discord is available to those with a fitting concept. I'm sort accepting pre-finalised CS here. If the CS then turns into a mess that'd be an issue but that rarely happens. If you'd like you can PM me and kinda explain how you'd adapt him since I know his backstory relied on a lot that's just not going to work here for various reasons.

And it's the opposite of first come first served. Three are 'in'. Beyond that I'm just looking at concepts and approving them as I see them.

Ah I see. And after looking over my last guy just moments ago I do see the concerns.  So I shall work on a new guy and PM him over to you :)

[Totoro]

Ah I see. And after looking over my last guy just moments ago I do see the concerns.  So I shall work on a new guy and PM him over to you :)

I do think that makes more sense. I would've entertained an adaptation but I honestly think it was nearly a complete rewrite needed. That makes more sense. Feel free to just give a basic idea if you want and I can see about Discord.