Topic: Epic romance and adventure with Werewolf: the Apocalypse (Female player sought)

[Archermonkey]

        Romance!

Adventure!

Scandal!       

What more could you ask for?

The Introduction...

Once upon a time, I played a Werewolf game in which I had a character that I loved.  I loved him not only for the character that he was, but also the richness of his backstory.  Yet that story potentially covered hundreds or thousands of years, and I never really explored it more than was necessary to determine the starting point of the game, and the general influences that it would have on him.  Now I'd like to explore it further, and I'm looking for a player who wants to create this epic World of Darkness tale with me.


The Premise...

In the ancient history of the Garou a stone age Silver Fang chose cowardice over courage.  His one act has cost his Tribe, and possibly the Garou Nation and Gaia Herself ever since.  Rebuked by Falcon for his inaction the Garou sought out Phoenix to help him rise from the ashes of his inglorious act, and vowed that he would not rest until he had atoned.  Phoenix has ensured that it is so, and that Garou has been reborn time, and time again, his soul unable to find peace until he performs final contrition or the Apocalypse has ended.

There is another who has been on the journey also, one who has been a hero to the Garou Nation over and again, their deeds sung through the ages as their soul is reborn in this grand cycle.  When that ancient Garou performed his misdeed he had a mate - a Kinfolk warrior-woman whose bravery knew no bounds.  She faced trials untold to come to Phoenix after her lover had made his bargain, and swore to be there with him always, to stand by his side as he fought through life after life.  Their love could transcend death, but even that would not be the greatest trial.  Somewhere down the ages she earned such respect from one of the Tribal Incarna that she has been born in each life since then as a Garou herself, leaving it forbidden for them to express the love that their souls had so long shared.


The Game...

Two souls reincarnate over and over again, from the stone age, through to the modern era.  Sometimes their recollections of the past are nearly perfect.  Sometimes they are hazy left only as a bare instinct, or recurring dreams.  No matter what their essential connection remains; even if they cannot understand how or why they are connected, they cannot help but feel intensely about one another.  But that isn't to say that it will always be romance and passion.  Sometimes they might channel their feeling into pack loyalty.  Sometimes it might become rage, as the tension created as they each try to deny their hearts spills over into their dealings.  Sometimes it might be simply the deepest and most loyal of friendships.  And what happens if they are born as siblings?  Or as members of the same gender, if one or both of them are utterly straight?  If the passion remains, how do they express it?  And if they don't then how could they suppress it?

For some of the time he is Garou and she is Kinfolk, and while their love is encouraged rather than forbidden there are dangers too.  For the rest, she becomes reincarnated as a Garou, and the union they have known for lifetimes becomes illegal in the eyes of their own people.  They will be of consistent type (Kinfolk or Garou), and Tribe (Silver Fang for my character, whatever European Tribe you choose for yours - Red Talons and White Howlers excluded, of course; I like Shadow Lord for it, personally), but their Auspice can change from life to life, as can their Breed, and even their gender (though I would prefer this one to shift only occasionally).

Across the lifetimes they share, they face countless challenges, and earn their place in the Silver Record time and time again.  They also suffer great defeats, and perhaps even one or both may fall to the Wyrm for a time.  What I want is to tell a series of tales across history (with inspiration taken from both real world and World of Darkness events) that allow us to play countless variations on the same theme.  Love, the strength it grants, and the weaknesses it creates for those who are born to die in Gaia's service.  Cyclical thematic and plot elements will also be explored, as the characters make the same mistakes over and over until they finally learn and forge themselves into something better and stronger.


My Ideal Partner...

Ideally I'd like to write with someone who has not only (significant) familiarity with, but also passion for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse setting - and preferably an understanding of that setting that does not differ too greatly from my own.  I'd prefer a female player for this role, as the subject line says.  I'm looking for someone whose posts are consistently greater than one short paragraph: this is intended as an epic tale, and as such it will require detail and effort to craft, but I believe it will be worth the work.  In a similar vein, I'd like someone who will post with regularity.  I'd like to see once a day for the most part, but that's not required.  (More would not be unwelcome.)  Finally I want someone with whom I can collaborate, who can take on my ideas and run with them, but also provide their own thoughts and themes to weave into the tapestry.

This will not be first-come-first-served, but rather I will wait until I find just the right player for the role.  Apologies in advance to anyone who may be passed up.

[Archermonkey]

A Clarification...

It seems that I wasn't as clear as I hoped on one aspect of my idea, so I'll elaborate here.

When thinking of character ideas, try not to take too strongly to the idea of a particular person, but rather to a few key qualities which define your character's soul.  After all, part of the joy of this concept is the ability to play so many variations on the central theme, to be able to explore it so many different ways, with different attitudes and hopes and expectations, and fears.

As an example, here are some of the incarnations that I have in mind for my character:
*  A zealot of a Philodox in Mesopotamia who loses his sight but gains some perspective after trying to judge the Mokole as unworthy of Helios' patronage.
*  An arrogant French knight who is an expert duelist.
*  A Theurge Klaivesmith from Ur to whom the concept of Honour is something real and alive.
*  A wise and gentle Roman Metis historian whose advice is never heeded until it is too late.
*  A pirate.  I haven't figured out more than that for this one, but I'm satisfied with the starting point!

The only common threads are the ancient duty that follows in some way through each life, and the fact that each are Silver Fangs.  There are other aspects which will carry through to a greater or lesser extent also, but personally I don't want to limit myself in the possibilities of what I can play.  And I certainly don't want to limit any of you as my partner, save to say that we should each be limited but also enriched in our concepts as they build off one another, and as we design the counterparts for each others' characters in each incarnation.  Then there's also the joy of creating both of our characters together for some incarnations, based solely on what kind of interactions or problems we want to see take place between them.

All that considered, it would probably be well if the Tribe you chose could conceivably have members in a variety of locations throughout history, so that we're not restricted by that.

[Archermonkey]

Questions and Answers...

Here are some questions I've been asked thus far, and the answers to them.

Question.  How much time do you want to spend playing out each incarnation?  How in depth would you want to be going?  Would we start writing at where they meet?  And how long would they be together after that?
Answer.  A lot of those questions would best be answered in collaboration.  I would like to spend some time delving into the details of several lives, but some might be treated as only a short arc, or even a single, especially significant scene.


Question.  How true to the books will you be running this?  Would we be drawing up character sheets for each incarnation?  Or are we using [the White Wolf source material] more as a guideline?
Answer.  Very true setting-wise (though not necessarily with regards to canon npcs).  In terms of character sheets... I'm not terribly bothered either way.  For those lifetimes we spend more time playing with, character sheets would probably be helpful.  For the ones that are dealt with in a quicker or more cursory fashion, freeforming should be simple enough.


Question.  How prominent do you intend sex to be played in this game?
Answer.  I'd like it to be an element, partly because I'm on Elliquiy since I enjoy adult RP, and partly because I think that properly used it can be a powerful means of expression, particularly between two characters to whom that kind of intimacy is forbidden... where does the line get drawn?  At what point does guilt give way to passion, or vice versa?  All those sorts of things are valid questions in the context of the relationship that play on their characters minds.  That being said, the story is about the characters and their journey.  Sex will be an element, but it won't be a focus by any means.

If there are any questions that aren't answered here on in the descriptions above, please just ask me via PM.

[Archermonkey]

This request thread is closed.  Thank you to all who've shown interest.