The Church of the Collapse (Modern Freeform) [CLOSED]

[Totoro]

"Let not the wise man walk robbed of his vision. With eyes wide open see the world for what it truly is. Desolation approaches us all, swiftly, and to be free we must see this truth. When the end itself marches inexorably unto our lands we must take up arms and faith to shield ourselves from this coming doom. The wise man shall be protected for he shall guard himself and his flock no matter the risk or suffering he may sustain in his most holy duty. He shall hold in his hands blessed steel and with fire and brimstone bring ruin to all who may harm those he holds dear. Know this and be wise."
-The Prophet of the Collapse

The Church of the Collapse is a modern freeform group game centring around a dangerous, violent cult and their victims. The cult's enigmatic leader fervently believes that the apocalypse is coming and that his faithful must be utterly indoctrinated so that they can aide him in the processes that must take place to prevent the end of the world. While others may seek to investigate them the cult must be intelligent and bloodthirsty to keep their base of operations in rural Wyoming hidden from prying eyes while they carry out violent rituals and force new members to accept their ideologies. Whilst aspects of this game may borrow from reality it is not intended to represent any real-world people or events.

This is currently an interest check. If interested in participating please post in this thread. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

The History

Twenty-five years ago, in 1996, Marcus Oakes began to refer to himself as the Prophet of the Collapse. Living in rural Wyoming he began to preach, talking to anyone and everyone who would listen to him. Despite his words being what most might describe as madness he found a following perhaps on the back of the sheer fervent intensity of his faith. The cult he began was known as the Church of the Collapse, a group centered around an incredibly strong belief that the end of days was fast approaching. Their beliefs were heavily tied to fear of an unspecified apocalypse, faith in firearms and the fact that cult members had the right to do anything and everything necessary if they believed it would prevent the apocalypse from coming to pass.

Over time the cult continued to grow and eventually they essentially took over the small town of Briar Hallows, Wyoming. Buying up every property they could they made living in the area near-impossible for anyone who was not in the cult and eventually drove out all non-members. At this point they had established complete control of the town and they could work on outside recruitment, furthering indoctrination and stockpiling supplies and resources to become more independent.

The cult successfully kept themselves hidden from outsiders, disguising various violent rituals as a particularly high unsolved disappearance rate. Although there are suspicious eyes looking to investigate them the cult remain undetected by any who might be able to stop them, for the moment. The cult started performing kidnappings and has now reached the point of having an almost entirely self-sufficient base of operations.

The Setting

Briar Hallows is a small, rural community in Wyoming. It's population averages a little under one-thousand people but while many small towns grow rapidly it's population has largely stagnated. It is set among a valley of verdant, fertile farmland that is bordered by beautiful mountains. The valley has two small woodlands but it is mostly green, open fields and crops. The town itself has a good number of stores and simple amenities. Pride of place, and centre of the town, is a particularly large church that has been co-opted for the cult's purposes.

Out in the valley there are several farmsteads from which families who are part of the cult can manage the crops, cattle and generally care for the land. The valley is conspicuously devoid of cell phone towers and has very outdated architecture. Internet access and phone connectivity in the valley is minimal at best. Most households have deliberately limited technology and appliances and contact with the outside world is heavily monitored by the town's leadership.

The Cult

The Church of the Collapse are a cult led by the enigmatic Prophet Marcus Oakes. They believe in a coming apocalypse but unlike many cults they have not set a firm date or even cause, only that it is rapidly approaching. They believe it is a person's duty to arm themselves and be ready to defend themselves and their lived ones. Firearms and other weapons are held in high regard. They are considered holy items and things to be protected and respected. Only trusted members of the community are allowed firearms. Skills such as gunsmithing and marksmanship are extremely highly respected, particularly in men. Women who excel in these things are sometimes controversial but are given respect - sometimes begrudgingly.

They hold many traditional beliefs and often enforce outdated ideals or roles on people. They tend to believe men should be strong protectors or leaders and have a heavy bias towards teaching men to be law enforcement, labourers, doctors and business owners. The general belief is that women should be loyal and chaste, committed to a single partner and devoted to raising a family. Women are, however, entrusted with the majority of work in indoctrination whether in children or new outsiders joining the cult. They often also take the lead role in communicating with the outside. Many of the town's necessities such as farming, cooking and supply organisation are handled by women. Although these are generalisations there are people who break them and, so long as they show themselves to be valuable, they are tolerated.

Unlike many religions the cult believe particular body modifications are extremely admirable. These include tattoos and piercings. Many of the cult's higher-ups have a considerable number of tattoos or piercings. Often these will either be direct scripture from the bible or the words of the prophet and otherwise they typically at least have some symbolic reference to the faith. Within the cult use of alcohol and drugs is strictly monitored however in order to make money the cult produces meth and several other drugs, selling it in nearby areas through deals with gangs and criminals. Production of these drugs is a well-respected craft and one only entrusted to the reliable.

While the cult try to keep their members from straying they do allow some to leave for particular purposes such as attaining university education or gaining combat experience through military service. These opportunities are only granted to those the cult is absolutely certain will return. The cult has been known to send members to recapture escapees or, at least, silence them. Due to their drug trade the local area has a higher than normal crime rate and disappearance rate, both of which the cult uses to disguise their activities. Because of the cult's strictness it is very rare any real crimes are committed and so they can punish indiscretions and hide it among statistics.

Rules

1. Do not start or participate in drama. Bring any issues to me or site staff. Avoid politics, religion and controversial topics in the game's OOC and Discord.
2.  Use a reasonable standard of English. Third-person past tense spell/grammar check. Use the post header. Some errors are understandable.
3. Inform the GM if you will be away from the game for some time. (2+ weeks without IC posts)
4. Be proactive in seeking out connections and scenes. This game is heavily sandbox-focused. It requires proactivity.
5. Accept this game features graphic and potentially disturbing content. Include warnings for disturbing content in posts.
6. Discuss any sexual or violent interactions between characters in advance. IC consent and OOC consent are not the same thing. Make sure you have OOC consent from the character's writer before inflicting harm/discomfort on that character.
7. Do not godmode in any circumstances.
8. Please understand that while this game draws on a variety of inspirations including real-world religion and other themes it is not intended to represent any real-world people or groups.

Character Creation

Segment will be created if Interest Check is passed and there is enough interest to run the game.

F.A.Q

Segment will be filled out as questions are asked.

Thread Links

[impishcharm]

*peeks*

[Rylin]

I'm interested! Will this draw inspiration from Far Cry 5?

[Totoro]

*peeks*

*Spots*

I'm interested! Will this draw inspiration from Far Cry 5?

Glad to have your interest!

In terms of borrowing some art/imagery because it's really helpful and hits the theme well and being a good intro point in terms of 'If you liked that you'll probably like this', yes. But definitely not meant to be set in the same place or using the same characters. Hope that makes sense.

[Rylin]

That makes perfect sense, and was pretty much what I expected. I only asked because of the images and the similar setting and premise. I'll be hanging around a bit, then. 

[Totoro]

That makes perfect sense, and was pretty much what I expected. I only asked because of the images and the similar setting and premise. I'll be hanging around a bit, then. 

Makes sense! I was assuming someone would clock the images sooner or later. I was just cautious to mention it in case people worried about needing knowledge to get involved here.

[Amarlo]

... I'm tempted, I must admit.