Luctor Et Emergo - (Horror, Cosmic, Urban Fantasy, B-Movie Monsters) - LGBTQIA+

[Intimate Ink]

Centerton, Arkansas
June 22, 2025, 6:50pm

The final cars of commuters begin to roll into the city, weary parents coming home to children still buzzing with the excitement of summer vacation. It's another record-breaking day of heat, and too much of the recently repaired pavement along the streets has begun to prematurely crack like the city itself is a membrane and shell that something is determined to emerge from. The thick, rolling fog that seems to come from nowhere and stretch over the suburb is met with confusion by some, while others welcome the momentary reprieve it gives from the heat.

Some of the children take it as an invitation to go out to play after their parents forced them inside and away from the unrelenting temperatures. Some people lock themselves at home, following their instinct to shutter away from what they cannot see around them. Small clumps of people at the ironically named Preacher's Son bar gather around and whisper about what the fog means; generations and beliefs clash as rhetoric of 'God's Judgement', global warming, 'and not a fucking thing' linger side-by-side.

There's more that comes from the fog than talk, though. Like some comedy-horror camp movie a thick sludge oozes up from Erica Diaz's shower drain, which she had previously believed to be clogged by her careless sister's infuriatingly long hair. She screams as the acidic blob comes into contact with her feet, burns her skin as it crawls up her body, envelopes her, and eventually absorbs her. As she is digested, she doesn't appreciate the campy humor within the classic horror moment.

Erica's not alone, though. Six more victims will succumb in similar manners, each time the blob growing fatter and fuller until it is a shambling mass that retreats to the sewers as the fog lifts. There is no evidence left, of course, each relegated as missing person's.

It's too coincidental. It's too B-movie horror schlock to simply be a coincedence; someone or something is pulling the strings. Something cosmic...

.... but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.



Luctor et Emergo is a guided sandbox game about the survivors of bizarre, macabre events that often sound more like the plots of B-horror movies and grindhouse flicks than anything they know of reality. The events and monsters often times seem disconnected, like anthology pieces in the repertoire of a horror fan. The fog is a constant warning, as if always there to set the stage for some supernatural arena to unfold. Characters within the game will find through their backgrounds some compelling reason to chase down the growing numbers of events that are occurring across the United States, save those people that they can, and search for answers about why it is happening.

Luctor et Emergo is a free-form game and is ultimately not based on any system. There will be no rolling, just a character sheet and writing. It draws inspiration from multiple sources including television's Supernatural, American Horror Story, contemporary cosmic horror, classic slasher movies, grindhouse, creature feature horror, and more. While they serve only as inspiration, those familiar with the gaming systems Fear Itself or Slasher Flick may recognize some familiar bits.

The Calling

It began with nightmares. Nightmares that never really ended since fog descended upon your character's city. It was a fog that brought with it some terrible monster attack that left multiple people within it wounded, mentally unstable, dead... or, sometimes, worse. Your character would have been targeted enough to have seen one of these creatures that were supposed to be limited to books, movies, and campfire tales. They also lived to see the fog lift and the supernatural manifestations go away. The nightmares would persist, though. At first it would be memories of their experience, but then it would be about the horrifying experiences of different people entirely. Places that your character had only visited or never had been surfaced in their minds. They would see the fog, see glimpses of other monsters, other happenings. They would see the innocent and the not-so-innocent alike fall to the monsters, if only in small glimpses. Perhaps worst of all, sometimes they would wake up to the news days or weeks later, hearing of missing people and unexplained tragedies that occurred in those places that they dreamt of.

The call would finally come from an audio frequency - maybe a radio, a computer speaker, or their earbuds on the way to a morning commute. Try as your character may to get other people to hear it, no one else would be able to. Your character might think that they were going crazy, but they had been attacked - and survived -by a monster; that experience alone would lead most people to believe your character had gone insane. What's another symptom of insanity?  The sound would start with a name: Abigail Sloan. It would come again and again at random times, repeating like a disconnected mantra. Eventually the static veil would part long enough to hear a city and state within the United States: Ellinwood, Kansas. Finally, the name of a location would be given: The Wolf Hotel.

The story of how much or how little your character resisted the call to investigate is yours to tell, but resistance would do nothing to stop the nightmares and only cause the static interruptions to get more pervasive.

Upon arrival to Ellinwood, Kansas your character would find others like them who would have had the same nightmares, the same strange audio disturbances. Most would be just as new and confused, but a very few would have the smallest kernel of an answer.... Eventually the characters would unite under a common, if uncertain goal: Decipher and travel to the location of one of these nightmares. Investigate the area and do whatever could be done to stop - or at least lesson - the damage that the next supernatural attack caused.

Please note that while there will be some brief interactions to help provide partial answers and motivations to your character, players need to come prepared with the own ability to get their character on board with joining up to stop the monster attacks. While the GMs acknowledge that this is an important and interesting part of character development, it is something that players need to be willing to explore and express on their own time, separate from the core of GM scenes. In the GMs experience, long prologues with back-and-forth conversations based on convincing of individual characters to join plots tends to slow down momentum and lead to game attrition. GMs wish to work with you however possible to support your individual character's path, but overall game health and the needs of other players must be balanced.

Game Structure

The game will be divided into timespans; each timespan will take place at a different location within America, where characters believe that the fog will arrive and a horror-related scene will unfold. Initially, players will have little understanding of what is about to happen, nor the why behind it. Characters will have the opportunity to interact with other player characters as well as NPCs along the sandbox portion of the timespan. Attempts to interact with the world, such as investigating what might happen, trying to persuade others to leave, or simply take part in daily interactions may ultimately help or hinder the timespan's outcomes. At the conclusion of each timespan will be a GM-run scene that unfolds the events that occur in the fog, and how successful characters were at their desired objectives (whatever those may be.)

At the conclusion of the timespan characters will, as a group, move on to another location in America where they believe a new horror will go down. Through these timespans characters will begin to understand more and more what is going on, and develop better means to potentially stop it.

Character Powers aka Do I Really Have To Play a Plain Human?

Since they are often a prominent feature of games, particularly of the urban fantasy genre, let's address the question of powers directly: You will see that there is a place for powers on your character's sheet, along with a power shared by all starting characters. You will also notice that there is nowhere in character creation to add any additional powers. This is intentional.

Characters will have the opportunity to develop supernatural powers as the game progresses. These will largely be low to moderate in strength; there will be no characters flying around pelting the ground with fireballs above while deflecting gunfire with a psychic forcefield. This is not the game for that. Powers will be simple, specific, and flavorful.

The nature of powers that characters have access to develop will often times rely heavily on the decisions and outcomes of the previous timespan. Allies and enemies made, monsters defeated, and NPCs that survive or die will all influence the abilities that characters develop, albeit often in unexpected and possibly outright unpredictable ways.

NPCs

Semi-frequently invitations for existing player characters to run NPCs will be offered. Forum games often vary in the roles of NPCs, and since they are an integral part of Luctor Et Emergo, it is worth explaining their functions. First and foremost, NPCs are not expected to be long-term characters that players get unreasonably attached to: they can and most likely will die (or worse,) in the same timespan that they are created in. This might mean that they are around for a scene, or maybe they will be around for three. Even if they do make it through the timespan, however, they will likely not be utilized again. This is meant to directly discourage players getting attached to writing or playing with NPCs in ways that are not intended, as this story does not work without casualties. Reluctance to accept this aspect of play will future disqualify a player from running NPCs.

Who the character is will ultimately be a collaboration between the GM and player volunteering to run the NPC. Most NPCs will come with some sort of specific purpose or objective, such as providing player characters information and background, seeking to unite or divide the group, or acting as a meaningful on-screen victim to the horrors that player characters are fighting against. Beyond specific needs and roles, writers will be allowed to bring some of their own creativity and thoughts to NPCs, and hopefully make PCs consider the interactions with these characters meaningful, if likely fleeting.

Quests

During each timespan a series of 'quests' will be provided to players. While some of them will include GM involvement, they will be largely structured to encourage independent play between player characters, or between NPCs and player characters. There are more players than GMs, and players will be expected to participate in some (but not all) of these quests to facilitate player-to-player interaction. This does not mean that GMs are not here to help facilitate growth of your characters and design seeds to facilitate the plot; it does mean that that the responsibilities of character building and world-building to some degrees are expected to be shared. As a rule of thumb, we ask (but do not directly enforce) that however many gm-run scenes a player is involved in, they should be involved in that number of non-gm led scenes plus one.

Restricted Concepts

Character concepts of 'lone wolf' types and characters who players design to be deliberately unlikable to others will be heavily scrutinized. While there is fun and value in these characters, in the GMs experience they often struggle to land in group games since it becomes progressively harder to come up with reasons why other character seek out those who are dismissive or unpleasant to them. Additionally, concepts of characters with extraordinary pasts or professions will be heavily scrutinized; if you wish to play such a character, please contact the GM to discuss their viability before working on an application. As a general rule this is not a game about the extraordinary SEAL Commander or the holder of three doctorates and a peace prize. This is a game designed to support concepts of ordinary people who may very well be asked to become extraordinary in their own way through the chronicle.

Questions & Answers
1. What board will the game occur on?
Due to the horror themes within the game, the game will be posted on the Extreme Boards.

2. Does that mean that all types of extreme content are going to be posted in the game?
No, but players are expected to understand that since this is an adult horror game, some sexual and disturbing elements are going to be part of the story. Players will not be prohibited from incorporating sexual or extreme content into their play, so as long as it stays within Elliquiy site policy and is true to the themes and their character concept within the game. To help mitigate discomfort, however, sexually explicit and particular extreme content is to be posted in optional threads that are separate from the main story-line of the game. Players will be asked to put any particularly extreme or sexually explicit content in these threads in order to minimize the chance that readers will be exposed to content that they do not wish to read.

3. Can my character die?
Yes, but that's not going to happen randomly and without opportunities to change the outcome. In order to create a tense, setting-appropriate atmosphere, in-character actions need to have in-character consequences. Surprisingly enough, the game doesn't function without player characters, however, so there's going to be effort made to keep writers and their creations around. If a character is headed down a path where their life is going to be seriously put into question, GMs will contact players and discuss with them what is going on and potential options.

4. What happens if I leave the game?
In accordance to Elliquiy policy, the GMs will assume control over the character and provide that character a leave that is appropriate to the setting and situation, one which most of all is designed to keep the integrity of the game-world intact and protect other player's characters from going off-track.

5. Do I control the actions and fate of people in my characters life, such as their NPC family and friends?
No, unless you are playing an NPC designated by the GM, the only character whose actions you have control over is your own PC. The reason information about your character's family, friends, hopes, and fears are routinely solicited is precisely so that these things can be potentially put into play by the GM. Sometimes a discussion will happen first, other times it won't, depending on the circumstance. This means that sometimes bad things might happen to a PC or the people and things that they care about. Then again, good things might happen to. If you have a lot of time invested in a character and feel the need to control their fate and the fate of those associated with them, then this is not an appropriate game for that character.

6. How many characters will participate in the game?
There is no formal 'cap' at this time. Given the content of the game, I do not anticipate that there will an overwhelming number of applicants, but time will tell. If you would like a more up-to-date number, please reach out. I'll do my best to answer with what information I am given at the time.

7. What are the posting requirements for the game?
No firm requirement exists, but if writers are losing track of what your character is doing and how they are progressing because of such a low posting frequency, we will need to talk. No one expects writers to be available constantly; we all have times when we can not pay attention to roleplay due to life circumstances for awhile. Most GM-led scenes will be posted with a 5 - 7 day turn around, which is intended to allow player characters to post before the next GM post. If you miss three of these posting windows in a row, expect a respectful nudge to see what your intentions in playing are.

8. Can I play more than one character?
Only one PC per player will be allowed at this time. However, opportunities will exist for players to write NPCs if they so choose.

9. Will there be a Discord server?
Yes, however every attempt will be made to ensure that all important information and communications exists in both places, so that those who do not wish to join a Discord do not have to.





Please PM all sheets to Intimate Ink for consideration (do not post applications on the interest board.)

Recommended Ability List (this will come up as you work on the sheet, promise!)

Alertness & Situational Awareness
Animal Handling & Training
Artistic Expression & Appreciation
Athletics & Sports
Balance & Coordination
Biology & Chemistry
Brawl & Street Fighting
Computer & Information Technology
Disguise & Impersonation
Dodging & Escape
Earth & Environmental Science
Empathy & Lie Detection
Etiquette & Blending In
Firearm Identification & Use
Flattery & Seduction
Foreign Language & Lost Language
Forensics & Investigation
History & The Humanities
Interrogation & Intimidation
Law & Bureaucracy
Library Science & Research
Lying & Subterfuge
Mechanics & Machine Repair
Medicine & Nursing Care
Melee Weaponry & Tactics
Occult & Conspiracy Theory Studies
Outdoor Survival & Flora Identification
Persuasion & Leadership
Photography & Surveillance
Psychology & Social Science
Stealth & Hiding

Luctor et Emergo Character Sheet v1.0:

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[font=courier][/font][center][img height=250]https://i.imgur.com/U4dcjBz.png[/img] [img height=250]https://i.imgur.com/mNShwJQ.png[/img][/center]

[center][size=36pt][font=courier][b][u]Character Name[/u][/b][/font][/size][/center]

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[b]Also Known By:[/b] [i]Provide any alternative names or nick names for your character here.[/i]
[b]Faceclaim:[/b] [i]Name of play-by / faceclaim, or put 'unknown' if not known. No drawn references will be accepted.[/i]

[b]Height:[/b] [i]Height in feet and inches.[/i]
[b]Age:[/b] [i]Age of your character in years.[/i]
[b]Eye Color:[/b] [i]Character's eye color.[/i]
[b]Hair Color:[/b] [i]Character's hair color.[/i]
[b]Tattoos, Piercings, Scars, and Distinguishing Marks:[/b] [i]If applicable, briefly describe any specific tattoos, piercings, scars, and other distinguishing marks on your character. A couple sentences should suffice.[/i]

[b]Personality:[/b] [i]In one to three sentences, please briefly sum up your character's personality. Consider this a quick reference that other players can use to know what their character's early impressions of a character might be. You might consider if they are more outgoing or reserved, if they have any particular mannerisms, if they like planning ahead or are more spur-of the moment... whatever you think might be particularly obvious in early impressions.[/i]
[b]Gender and Sexuality:[/b] [i]OPTIONAL. Please provide anything you would like players to easy-reference about your character's gender and sexuality here including preferred pronouns, gender identity, sexual orientation, or sexual partner preferences.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Americana (and beyond...)[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Since the setting of the game is not fixed, it is important to establish basic locations that are meaningful for your character. While players will [u]not[/u] be asked to have any knowledge of the locations that they provide, players should be prepared for the people and places that their characters have been to potentially come up. This includes them being put in danger. While international answers are okay, [u]please ensure that at least one of the three answers is located within the United States[/u], as there are no plans for the game to move to international locations at this time.[/i]

[b]Where would your character say they 'grew up'?[/b] [i]Name of city or town, or if they moved around a lot, simply state that.[/i]

[b]Are there any people or places of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here:[/b] [i]This does not need to be detailed. A few sentences max should suffice.[/i]


[b]Where was your character living prior to the start of the game?[/b] [i]Name of city or town, or if they were transient, simply state that.[/i]

[b]Are there any people or landmarks of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here:[/b] [i]This does not need to be detailed. A few sentences max should suffice.[/i]


[b]OPTIONAL: Is there any other location that your character has been that you'd like to mention here for potential use? This can include a 'dream destination' that they never have actually been.[/b] [i]Name of city or town, and its significance to the character. Please delete this question if left blank.[/i]

[b]OPTIONAL: Are there any people or landmarks of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here:[/b] [i]This does not need to be detailed. A few sentences max should suffice. Please delete question if left blank.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Attributes[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Players should spend 7 points in attributes. These represent their general ability to manage situations that are physically, socially, or mentally demanding. These will be used as a general reference and comparison point. Consider a '2' to be average, and anything above a '5' to be virtually impossible for a human to reach without supernatural assistance. Since you're playing a human... don't go above a five.[/i]

[b]Physical:[/b] [i]0[/i]
[b]Social:[/b] [i]0[/i]
[b]Mental:[/b] [i]0[/i]


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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Abilities[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Your character's abilities refer to those things that they have received some level of skill, training, or have at least spent enough time doing for a level of competency to develop. Please refer to the list of abilities in the reference thread. You may list an ability that is not listed provided that it follows a similar format and scope. Please know that once a character is approved with an ability not on the example list, it will be added to the list as a suggestion for other applicants to have. No abilities will be unique to your character.[/i]


[b]Adept:[/b] [i]List one ability that your character has, which would often be considered their strongest. This is what some might say that they do 'best'.:[/i]
[b]Skilled:[/b] [i]List two abilities that your character is considered quite skilled at, though they are not considered their 'best'.[/i]
[b]Practiced:[/b] [i]List three abilities that your character has practiced at enough to be considered a little above the average.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Powers[/b][/size][/center]
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[b]Shaky Prophet[/b] - Your character is intermittently plagued by nightmares and sensory hallucinations that foretell the coming of the fog.

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Reputation[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Reputation represents your character's favor (or lack thereof) with various NPC groups in the game. Please leave this section blank.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Inventory[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Inventory represents any significant items (including weapons) that your character has found, stolen, or earned during the game. Please leave this section blank.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Character Questions[/b][/size][/center]
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[i]Please answer the following questions. One to five sentences per question should suffice.[/i]

[b]Describe the life that your character was born into. What was their relationship like with their family? Were their any early-life experiences that particularly influenced them as a teen or adult?[/b] [i]Answer here.[/i]

[b]Prior to organizing with the other PCs, your character survived some sort of event where they were attacked by some sort of monster, alien, or other creature. Please describe the attack here. Be sure and mention if anyone around them did not survive the attack that they considered particularly meaningful, including family, friends, pets, or role-models.[/b] [i]Answer here.[/i]

[b]How long has it been since your character witnessed the attack? How has your character coped, negatively or positively, knowing that monsters exist and most of the people around them do not believe them? Has their fears, attitudes, or relationships changed any as a result?[/b] [i]Answer here.[/i]

[b]Please provide any information that you would like to share with the GM about your character's potential goals, hooks, and character growth.[/b] [i]Answer here.[/i]

[b]How has your character dealt with being plagued by the nightmares and audio disturbances since they were attacked? What motivations do they have for following the calling to Ellinwood, Kansas, and what motivations do you anticipate them having for joining a team dedicated to trying to prevent (or minimize) future monster attacks?[/b] [i]Answer here.[/i]

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[center][size=32pt][font=Courier][b]Connections[/b][/size][/center]
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[b]Name[/b] - [i]Please use this space to write about any connections with PCs or NPCs you wish.[/i]






Example / Approved Character Sheets:

Stefan Molnár

Stefan Molnár

Also Known By: N/A
Faceclaim: Silvui Tolu

Height: 6'2"
Age: 28
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color:   Brown
Tattoos, Piercings, Scars, and Distinguishing Marks: Stefan has a small, brown, circular birthmark on his right knee. He also has a tattoo off a compass on his left wrist.
Gender and Sexuality (Optional): Cis-male, he/him

Personality: Stefan can be reserved until he reads a room, but can also be quite engaging once he has a sense of the people around him. He tends to be thoughtful, often times borderline nerdy in his responses. He's neat, and composed in appearance with a somewhat eclectic style.
Gender and Sexuality: He/Him pronouns, cis-male

Americana (and beyond...)

Since the setting of the game is not fixed, it is important to establish basic locations that are meaningful for your character. While players will not be asked to have any knowledge of the locations that they provide, players should be prepared for the people and places that their characters have been to potentially come up. This includes them being put in danger. While international answers are okay, please ensure that at least one of the three answers is located within the United States, as there are no plans for the game to move to international locations at this time.

Where would your character say they 'grew up'? St. Helena, California

Are there any people or places of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here: Stefan's parents and sister still live there. Stefan's parents have largely retired from their winery. Their names are János and Viktória. Stefan's sister has largely taken over, but has been struggling to after the destruction of the vineyard in the fog. In terms of landmarks, Stefan's childhood home and the winery are there. He also went to school at the Greystone Academy, which is also in the region.

Where was your character living prior to the start of the game? Cape Town, South Africa

Are there any people or places of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here: Stefan's old work colleagues at the Test Kitchen still are there, but he largely severed contact after the presumed loss of his husband and adopted child. Stefan has particularly strong memories of Boulder's Beach due to the time he spent with his family there.


OPTIONAL: Is there any other location that your character has been that you'd like to mention here for potential use? This can include a 'dream destination' that they never have actually been. Stefan has been an avid world traveler. He has worked in both Jacksonville and Miami Florida for a time.

OPTIONAL: Are there any people or places of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here: Stefan's best friend, Kaitlyn, lives in Jacksonville, Florida and he has very fond memories of spending time in the Avondale and Riverside Historical District.

Attributes

Players should spend 7 points in attributes. These represent their general ability to manage situations that are physically, socially, or mentally demanding. These will be used as a general reference and comparison point. Consider a '2' to be average, and anything above a '5' to be virtually impossible for a human to reach without supernatural assistance. Since you're playing a human... don't go above a five.

Physical: 1
Social: 3
Mental: 3

Abilities

Your character's abilities refer to those things that they have received some level of skill, training, or have at least spent enough time doing for a level of competency to develop. Please refer to the list of abilities in the reference thread. You may list an ability that is not listed provided that it follows a similar format and scope. Please know that once a character is approved with an ability not on the example list, it will be added to the list as a suggestion for other applicants to have. No abilities will be unique to your character.


Adept: Persuasion & Leadership
Skilled: Foreign Language & Lost Language, History & The Humanities
Practiced: Empathy & Lie Detection, Etiquette & Blending In, Library Science & Research

Powers

Shaky Prophet - Your character is intermittently plagued by nightmares and sensory hallucinations that foretell the coming of the fog.

Reputation

Reputation represents your character's favor (or lack thereof) with various NPC groups in the game. Please leave this section blank.

Inventory

Inventory represents any significant items (including weapons) that your character has found, stolen, or earned during the game. Please leave this section blank.

Character Questions

Please answer the following questions. One to five sentences per question should suffice.

Describe the life that your character was born into. What was their relationship like with their family? Were their any early-life experiences that particularly influenced them as a teen or adult? Stefan Molnár was born to Hungarian immigrants in the Bordeaux-style wine-making business in St. Helena California. His family was close-knit and a mix of traditional immigrant values and the social pretension needed to serve the affluent customers of Napa Valley. Stefan and his sister both grew up at the winery and absorbed much of their early knowledge and passion there. Stephen would go off to the Oxbow Academy and later sommelier school, while his sister would study to take over the family business.

Prior to organizing with the other PCs, your character survived some sort of event where they were attacked by some sort of monster, alien, or other creature. Please describe the attack here. Be sure and mention if anyone around them did not survive the attack that they considered particularly meaningful, including family, friends, pets, or role-models. The attack happened at the primary estate vineyard of Stefan's family winery, Szépasszony Vineyard, located near To Kalon Vineyard. Though Szépasszony was not the only vineyard in the area effected by the horrors of the day, it certainly was the site that most effected Stefan. The fog had descended earlier that day. Stefan's husband, Luke van Zyl, and their recently adopted child, Aidan, were walking in Szépasszony vineyard because Luke was telling Aidan about his profession as a viticulturist. Stefan was at a small guest house not far away. He heard the screaming first and looked out to see the unbelievable site of the vineyard vines stretching out from the ground, forming monstrous limbs and movements, tangling around the workers and other people walking through the vines. Though the people would try to escape, more of the vines would spring to the ground and bind them. Even as Stefan was running outside an inferno interrupted in the vineyard among the others in the area effected. Not knowing where his family was, Stefan tried to find them in the chaos of engorged vines, smoke, and fire, but he could not locate them in time. While there were some bodies recovered that were burnt by the blazes, most people were missing, seeming to have been swallowed up by the earth itself. Luke's body was found with death confirmed by complications of the fire; Aidan's never was, leaving his fate uncertain. The media quickly dismissed the occurrences as yet another tragic California wildfire and Stefan was left to make sense of the horrors he saw on his own.

How long has it been since your character witnessed the attack? How has your character coped, negatively or positively, knowing that monsters exist and most of the people around them do not believe them? Has their fears, attitudes, or relationships changed any as a result? It has been 14 months since the attack. Stefan has gone through various phases since the tragedy. He was initially overcome with grief and rage, trying desperately to get the world to believe him. His own families influence largely silenced him; they had just lost their flagship estate vineyard and had the bad press of the fire. They could not afford the press of Stefan going publicly mad on top of it. Stefan did not leave the vineyard for nearly a year, foolishly believing that Aidan might return. That did not happen. By that time he was not just experiencing nightmares but also the hallucinations and audio interruptions. He had made plans to return to a less prestigious role at The Test Kitchen in Capetown so that he could at least continue living in the home his family built and find a way to move on with his life. That was when the hallucinations got worse, though, and he found himself drawn to Kansas.

Please provide any information that you would like to share with the GM about your character's potential goals, hooks, and character growth. I would like to see Stefan's skills in language and persuasion particularly come up as useful in play, if possible. I'd appreciate work dedicated on him closing the chapter of his life with Luke and Aidan after the tragedy; I would like him to learn the ultimate fate of Aidan at some point... whatever that is. I'd like Stefan's very upper-class sensibilities challenged, though also not in a way that comes off as too cliche. Even though Stefan comes from privilege, he isn't overly sheltered or helpless. I predict that he will do well when exposed to different people and ways of thinking, he just needs the chance to be exposed to them.

How has your character dealt with being plagued by the nightmares and audio disturbances since they were attacked? What motivations do they have for following the calling to Ellinwood, Kansas, and what motivations do you anticipate them having for joining a team dedicated to trying to prevent (or minimize) future monster attacks? Stefan has found the disturbances oddly comforting since it gives him some small hope that he is not going to be left with making sense of what happened on his own. He has felt torn about following them because he had the plan to return to Cape Town and pull his life together, but he's enough of a realist to know that was going to be an uphill battle. He will be motivated both out of a sense of wanting to prevent others from experiencing his lost, and potentially have Aidan's fate confirmed.

Connections

Name - Please use this space to write about any connections with PCs or NPCs you wish.

Joshua Rodriguez

Joshua Rodriguez

Also Known By: Josh, J,
Faceclaim: George Alsford

Height: 6’1
Age: 31
Eye Color: Gray
Hair Color: Brown
Tattoos, Piercings, Scars, and Distinguishing Marks: Josh’s left ear is pierced, and he has two tattoos–a cupid on his left upper arm, and a wishbone on the meat just above his right-hand thumb. Both were done in prison. He also has a scar on his right inner wrist, from his first–and last–night trying to work at a pizza joint. Most notably he has several large slash marks across his chest, like a large wolf side-swiped him.

Personality: Outgoing, crude, sarcastic, and with a bit of a dark sense of humor. Despite that he is genuinely a good person, and is usually the first to volunteer to help out. He has a fondness for literature and cooking, and tends to be a stress-baker given the opportunity. Beyond the spiky shell you'll never find a more loyal friend, or more tenacious enemy.
Gender and Sexuality: He/him. Male-leaning sexuality, though it won't stop him from hitting on chicks.

Americana (and beyond...)

Where would your character say they 'grew up'? Newark, New Jersey. Yeah, yeah, say what you will about Jersey but it’s his turf, even now. He knows those streets and breathes that smog and feels home, and even out on the streets a piece of him was left behind.

Are there any people or places of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here: His retired parents, and his librarian sister, as well as a bevy of friends. Before everything went down, he figured he’d never even leave Jersey. Shows what he knows, huh? The major place of interest in Newark is the theater that his little brother was taken from; specifically the alley behind it, but the place has always given him the creeps even before that.

Where was your character living prior to the start of the game? Living, settling down? Nah, that’s not for him, not anymore. Ever since his brother was taken, all he’s done is go from place to place, hotel to hotel. West coast, east coast. It doesn’t matter, does it?

Are there any people or landmarks of major personal significance still here for your character? Please provide them here: He’s followed leads across the country and that’s taken him to a lot of bizarre landmarks. Everything from the Liberty Bell to the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. Coincidence, meaningful, or all in his head? Fuck if he knows. He’s met a lot of good people, though, even if his rusty social skills don’t always make him the best company. Doesn’t stop him from doing odd jobs for cheap for people that need shit done, though, like this old woman named Ethel who’d call him ‘petal’ one moment and ‘shit stain’ the next depending on her mood. She made killer apple pie, though.

OPTIONAL: Is there any other location that your character has been that you'd like to mention here for potential use? This can include a 'dream destination' that they never have actually been. Dream destination? Hell, he’s always wanted to check out the Grand Canyon, or see the redwoods up in Washington. Those sort of natural places that are still untamed, still unwild. Almost like a natural liminal space you can get lost in forever, or look up and really get a sense of how small all the petty shit is.

Attributes

Physical: 4
Social: 0
Mental: 3

Abilities

Adept: Firearm Identification & Use
Skilled: Alertness & Situational Awareness, Brawl & Street Fighting
Practiced: Forensics & Investigation, Interrogation & Intimidation, Library Science & Research

Powers

Shaky Prophet - Your character is intermittently plagued by nightmares and sensory hallucinations that foretell the coming of the fog.

Reputation

Inventory

Character Questions

Describe the life that your character was born into. What was their relationship like with their family? Were there any early-life experiences that particularly influenced them as a teen or adult? Messy, maybe. Parents used to argue, and while Josh never questioned their love it wasn’t exactly a low anxiety kinda place, y’know? But that’s growin’ up poor in Jersey. His older sister ended up working at a library, and he spent a lot of time there. Introduced his brother to it later. Something he regrets, a bit. Blames the kid’s interest in Shakespeare pushing him to drama, and if it hadn’t been for that damn theater… well. It is what it is. Early-life experiences? Heh. Yeah. The first time he stole the wheels off a car. He dropped out of highschool to help provide for the family, and there’s only so many ‘jobs’ an uneducated kid can get. He can’t regret having done it, though.

Prior to organizing with the other PCs, your character survived some sort of event where they were attacked by some sort of monster, alien, or other creature. Please describe the attack here. Be sure and mention if anyone around them did not survive the attack that they considered particularly meaningful, including family, friends, pets, or role-models. That fucking fog, man. Jersey ain’t exactly the pea soup capital of the world or nothin’, but it gets its fair share. Nothing like this, though. This was thick, and he could practically hear his own heart as he crossed the street to go pick up his little brother after the kid’s rehearsal. He’s still… not really sure what he saw. He knows his brother screamed. He knows he felt like he got hit by a fucking truck and thrown into a wall, and the shadow of a large wolf standing on two legs. Josh never found his brother. Never saw a body, either, and thinks–knows–he’s alive. He just has to find him.

How long has it been since your character witnessed the attack? How has your character coped, negatively or positively, knowing that monsters exist and most of the people around them do not believe them? Has their fears, attitudes, or relationships changed any as a result? His parents don’t understand. They’ve gone silent and cool, lost to their grief. They don’t even argue anymore, it’s like they’re not there. Josh’s sister? She gets it. Believes him, even. She sends him leads occasionally, articles or local legends, pushing him from location to location. Maybe she really does believe or maybe she just thinks he needs it to cope, Josh doesn’t know. Doesn’t really care. He just has to keep moving. Fears, though. Yeah, he’s got a few of those. He sleeps with a gun under his pillow these days. How long has it been since the attack? Heh. He's got that memorized. Six months, twelve days.

Please provide any information that you would like to share with the GM about your character's potential goals, hooks, and character growth. Lots of potential with running into his brother again, but perhaps he’s different. Turned into a werewolf, or perhaps he blames Joshua. Maybe Josh himself ends up turned into a werewolf, and having to deal with all of that. Maybe he ends up being sent bad leads by his sister, or having to go back to town and find her missing, too. He’s not even really sure what his goals are at this point, he’s mostly trying to find leads, information, and generally seek out places his brother might be or have been taken.

How has your character dealt with being plagued by the nightmares and audio disturbances since they were attacked? What motivations do they have for following the calling to Ellinwood, Kansas, and what motivations do you anticipate them having for joining a team dedicated to trying to prevent (or minimize) future monster attacks? What’s more nightmares added to the lot, really. Josh never slept well at the best of times, so this isn’t much different. Creepier, more real. But if it helps get him closer to his brother, he’ll take it. It’s why he ends up in Ellinwood. It’s just another lead. Yeah, this one is different. But that just makes it that much more important. He won’t need much pressure to join a team, not if it means having more hands on board following up on leads to his brother. And that’s basically what this is, right? Following the fog. Making sure no one else has to mourn like he does, or his family does.

Connections

Name - Please use this space to write about any connections with PCs or NPCs you wish.

[GnothiSeauton]

Marking my interest here.  Looks like a lot of fun.

[Envious]

Heeeeello.

[Intimate Ink]

Marking my interest here.  Looks like a lot of fun.

Great to see you here, thank you!

Heeeeello.

Heelllllooo back, always nice to see Envi! 

[Miss Nyx]

Tentatively interested. I can’t say if I’ll have time to commit, but I just wanted to let you know the concept is awesome. 😊

[Wyatt]

You had me at the acidic blob 

[Intimate Ink]

Tentatively interested. I can’t say if I’ll have time to commit, but I just wanted to let you know the concept is awesome. 😊

Thank you so much for the kind words, I"m glad to hear you like it!

You had me at the acidic blob 

Hey, good to see you, it's been a moment. Gotta love that acidic blob closure!


Obviously, if anyone ends up with any questions, let me know.

[MightyMaiden]

I am quite intrigued/interested!

I'm interested in the idea of a (slightly) foreign character, in this case, Canadian, who would bring that different, but not really different, perspective to things, as well as not be fully aware of all the Americana, or understanding of some of the normal aspects of America. but figured I'd check to see if that was cool before I put together a character sheet.

[Intimate Ink]

I am quite intrigued/interested!

I'm interested in the idea of a (slightly) foreign character, in this case, Canadian, who would bring that different, but not really different, perspective to things, as well as not be fully aware of all the Americana, or understanding of some of the normal aspects of America. but figured I'd check to see if that was cool before I put together a character sheet.

Great to hear your interest!  Canadian characters are very welcome, and she sounds like someone I'd love to see join.

You'll notice on the application sheet that I do ask that you name one place in America that has some significance to the character, even if it just is a destination they have always wanted to see (but never have). If you can't come up with one appropriate, though, that is flexible or - better yet - give me a nudge and maybe we can brainstorm something together. I'm a huge lover of international characters/concepts/games, I just figured I'd try to keep some ties to America with this one as a nod to some genres/influences.



Hope this helps,

Iink

[Xurtan]

Interested, obviously. B-movie shlock is my jam.

[Intimate Ink]

Interested, obviously. B-movie shlock is my jam.

I did have a feeling that I'd be seeing you around. Call it a Spidey Sense.   Look forward to the writing!!

Iink

[Captain Whitebread]

I love B movies.

Are you familiar with an obscure old RPG called IT CAME FROM THE LATE LATE LATE SHOW?

[MightyMaiden]

I actually have a copy! it's on my shelf next to Macho Women with Guns

[Captain Whitebread]

Ah but do you have Fortune Cookie Theatre, the Exploitation Sequel?

Or the sequels to Macho Women, Renegade Nuns on Wheels or Batwinged Bimbos From Hell?

[MightyMaiden]

I have Renegade Nuns on Wheels, Batwinged Bimbos from hell and Macho Women with Guns The Final Chapter (Part 1)
but I never got Fortune Cookie theatre

[Captain Whitebread]

I’ll have to send you a picture of it.

[Intimate Ink]

I am familiar with from the Late Late Late Show and Renegade Nuns/ Batwinged Bimbos but not familiar with Fortune Cookie Theatre and The Exploitation Sequence. I'll check it out. There are certainly all manner of resources and inspirations I'm wanting / have pulled from, just tried to provide a basic idea of things I suspect many people would be familiar with.  I appreciate the thoughts!!

[MightyMaiden]

Apparently, there was a 3rd book for late, late, late, show as well, (though the RPG geek entry shows multiple versions and covers.. it's messy

It came from the Late, Late, Late show
It Came from the Late, Late, Late Show II: The Exploitation Sequel
It Came from the Late, Late, Late Show III: Demonna's Revenge

[Captain Whitebread]

A QUEST!

I must find the sequel sequel

[Xurtan]

Now I'm just generally curious, with everyone having come from different avenues of thought/experience. What's everyone's favorite B-movie inspiration or monster? I love me some werewolves, but gotta admit I have a soft spot for mummies. For all they rarely get used anymore. Rude af.

[Intimate Ink]

Now I'm just generally curious, with everyone having come from different avenues of thought/experience. What's everyone's favorite B-movie inspiration or monster? I love me some werewolves, but gotta admit I have a soft spot for mummies. For all they rarely get used anymore. Rude af.

Hmmm... my tastes have changed over the year.  The various B-movie iterations of demons are a tempting answer, though...

[Captain Whitebread]

Big stompy monsters, big stompy robots and anything done by Asylum

[Xurtan]

Hmmm... my tastes have changed over the year.  The various B-movie iterations of demons are a tempting answer, though...

I am for some reason reminded first of Psycho Goreman, which came out a few years ago. It certainly fit a lot of those old B-movie tropes though, and was surprisingly decent for what it was. *thinks* Oddly, I don't know that I've run into many demon specific films, so many of them are focused around the other 'big' ones a la zombies, vamps, etc. I'll have to hope we see some in Luctor! >.>

Big stompy monsters, big stompy robots and anything done by Asylum

Classics! Some of the special effects in the old stompy films were a mix of ingenious and hilarious, so I definitely remain a fan. Thinking of utilizing the idea in your character's past?

[MightyMaiden]

The blob, slimy aliens.. goo-spewing monsters.. hmm.. I think I have a type.. Messy! :)

[Envious]

Ghosts!