Crimson Avenger
Book Wyrm
There are certain things that we know to be true about the past, that are set in stone. While we'd like to believe that our history is fixed, sometimes, fate has different ideas.
Rewind back to one of the most important battles in American history: the battle of Gettysburg. Had the Union forces not been victorious, history would have been quite different. But this time, they didn't.
When the North lost this battle, President Abraham Lincoln decided that the risks of continuing the war outweighed the benefits, and thus, let the South secede from the US to form the Confederate States of America.
Fastforward through the next few years. Slavery eventually dies out, and Britain attacks the weakened CSA, taking several territories back for the crown. And then, the first Cylinder landed in England.
The invaders were from Mars, foul tentacled things piloting tripod fighting machines. Humanity was powerless against them, and the Invaders took very little casualties. Then, just as suddenly as they had come, they died from bacterium and other germs common to Earth that the Invaders had not anticipated. This became known as the First Martian War.
Humanity knew that they would come again. During this period, massive technological leaps occurred, including reverse engineering of Martian vehicles, the utilization of steam and clockwork technology, the perfection of the science of Alchemy, and the discovery of the Fey, a lesser humanoid race with strange powers.
When the Invaders returned, prepared this time for the bacteria, Humanity was ready. Two more wars occurred, lasting over a period of 5 years in total. Though the humans took losses, (for example, the entire west coast of the US was bombed into the sea) humanity eventually wiped out the Martians once and for all. These three wars were later collectively referred to as "The Wars of the Worlds."
Fast forward again. In the wake of these wars, Germany began World War I in a grab for power, believing that the rest of the world would be weakened enough for them to seize control.
To make a long story short, Germany was beaten relatively quickly, after which the Great Depression followed. Until finally, now.
The present day. Germany is once again rising up, this time led by Adolf Hitler, and with a much more powerful military than before. No conflict has occurred as of now, but it won't be long.
This is where you come in.
Esteemed military scientist Dr. Cornelius MacCormick has begun to recruit members of a mysterious pseudo-governmental organization, dedicated to investigating and countering the threat of German exo-intelligence and research leader, Dr. Helmut Wulfhart. Not much is known about Wulfhart, other than the fact that his research delves into dangerous places man was not meant to discover.
And you have been invited to join this group.
MAPS
MAPS AND WORLD LORE:
<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/57a8c029a389e_WierdwarsWulfhartmap.jpg.0ce53ba7fa0bbd9357df48de0cddbe0f.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="27402" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/57a8c029a389e_WierdwarsWulfhartmap.jpg.0ce53ba7fa0bbd9357df48de0cddbe0f.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
This is a very basic map of how alternate North America looks at present. The majority of the land is divided between the USA and the CSA, with a small collection of British territories to the southeast, and the Tribal Confederacy to the North, a coalition of Native American tribes that worked together to obtain independence. The entire west coast was destroyed during the Wars of the Worlds by Martian forces, leaving only a chain of islands. Experts believe that the drastic sinking of California was due to the high tectonic instability in the area.
Rewind back to one of the most important battles in American history: the battle of Gettysburg. Had the Union forces not been victorious, history would have been quite different. But this time, they didn't.
When the North lost this battle, President Abraham Lincoln decided that the risks of continuing the war outweighed the benefits, and thus, let the South secede from the US to form the Confederate States of America.
Fastforward through the next few years. Slavery eventually dies out, and Britain attacks the weakened CSA, taking several territories back for the crown. And then, the first Cylinder landed in England.
The invaders were from Mars, foul tentacled things piloting tripod fighting machines. Humanity was powerless against them, and the Invaders took very little casualties. Then, just as suddenly as they had come, they died from bacterium and other germs common to Earth that the Invaders had not anticipated. This became known as the First Martian War.
Humanity knew that they would come again. During this period, massive technological leaps occurred, including reverse engineering of Martian vehicles, the utilization of steam and clockwork technology, the perfection of the science of Alchemy, and the discovery of the Fey, a lesser humanoid race with strange powers.
When the Invaders returned, prepared this time for the bacteria, Humanity was ready. Two more wars occurred, lasting over a period of 5 years in total. Though the humans took losses, (for example, the entire west coast of the US was bombed into the sea) humanity eventually wiped out the Martians once and for all. These three wars were later collectively referred to as "The Wars of the Worlds."
Fast forward again. In the wake of these wars, Germany began World War I in a grab for power, believing that the rest of the world would be weakened enough for them to seize control.
To make a long story short, Germany was beaten relatively quickly, after which the Great Depression followed. Until finally, now.
The present day. Germany is once again rising up, this time led by Adolf Hitler, and with a much more powerful military than before. No conflict has occurred as of now, but it won't be long.
This is where you come in.
Esteemed military scientist Dr. Cornelius MacCormick has begun to recruit members of a mysterious pseudo-governmental organization, dedicated to investigating and countering the threat of German exo-intelligence and research leader, Dr. Helmut Wulfhart. Not much is known about Wulfhart, other than the fact that his research delves into dangerous places man was not meant to discover.
And you have been invited to join this group.
MAPS
MAPS AND WORLD LORE:
<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/57a8c029a389e_WierdwarsWulfhartmap.jpg.0ce53ba7fa0bbd9357df48de0cddbe0f.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="27402" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/57a8c029a389e_WierdwarsWulfhartmap.jpg.0ce53ba7fa0bbd9357df48de0cddbe0f.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
This is a very basic map of how alternate North America looks at present. The majority of the land is divided between the USA and the CSA, with a small collection of British territories to the southeast, and the Tribal Confederacy to the North, a coalition of Native American tribes that worked together to obtain independence. The entire west coast was destroyed during the Wars of the Worlds by Martian forces, leaving only a chain of islands. Experts believe that the drastic sinking of California was due to the high tectonic instability in the area.
Due to a massive technological revolution that occurred between the First and Second Martian Wars, much tech native to the 40's was available up to 10 years before. In addition, many engineers were able to reverse engineer destroyed Martian Technology for its secrets, including heat ray tech, and the machinery used to create stable walker devices, taken from Tripod Fighting Machines. Other jumps in mechanical engineering include the perfection of steam and clockwork based vehicles and machines. Automatons, while rare, are also in use. The Serbian inventor Nikolai Tesla made many contributions to the engineering field, and helped develop weapons, transportation, medical equipment, and pretty much everything else.
Notable alternate technology includes landships, walkers, (2, 3, 4, or more legs) ray guns, (a personal heat ray that is very expensive and only used by the very rich) zeppelins, PFAs, (personal flight apparatuses) and Tesla's energy tower, which provides free electricity to the planet.
Chemistry and its sister fields also advanced quite a bit during this revolution. Several other fields developed as a result of this advancement, including anthrovivisection and alchemy.
Anthrovivesection is a controversial and often dangerous practice of modifying the human body through manipulation of cells and internal chemicals. Vivesection is a less dangerous and controversial offshoot which deals with animals, and is popular in places like Russia and India. Perhaps the 2 most famous (and controversial) Anthrovivisectologists were Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, who used animal and human parts to enhance human beings, and Dr. Henry Jekyll, who created a serum capable of bringing humans to nearly 5 times their normal peak condition, but causing severe mental psychosis in the process.
Alchemistry, or alchemy as it is commonly called, is a chemical based science that revolves around manipulating the molecular structure of objects to turn them into other objects. Alchemy operates on the Law of Equivalent Exchange, meaning that for anything of a certain value to be created, a substance of equal value must be consumed. Extremely skilled alchemists can create Homunculi, small humanoid creatures without free will. A homunculus stands about a foot high and has a lifespan of about 2 weeks.
<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/ss_9e863eae7b46446c921501cbb66d5ceb1a601bbe.1920x1080.jpg.ceb8ca37ce3ac0c34f89cd553274bcb2.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="27403" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/ss_9e863eae7b46446c921501cbb66d5ceb1a601bbe.1920x1080.jpg.ceb8ca37ce3ac0c34f89cd553274bcb2.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
The creation of a typical homunculus
As more and more portions of the world were explored, it wasn't long before scientists discovered the Fey, a humanoid family of creatures that have species based in almost every country in the world. The largest population of Fey lives on the British Isles. These people have gone unnoticed for years because of a unique chemical pheromone that all Fey secrete. This pheromone blocks them off from all physical perception by humans, with the exception of those possessing the Sight.
The Sight is a phenomenon found only in a small amount of the population which allows people to see Fey creatures for what they really are. This gene can be found in people with red hair, people who are the seventh child of a particular family, or people with more than 75% Irish or Scottish blood. In addition, people can temporarily utilize the Sight if they are in an altered mental state (read: drunk) or if they rub a cancelling liquid (Hobgoblin spit, Fey bathwater, and truesight ointment are all possibilities) in their eyes.
With the advances in chemistry, it wasn't long before a group of scientists figured out a way to artificially induce The Sight permanently in many people, and the field of Cryptobiology was created.
Fey are different from any other known type of animal. Their discovery effectively squashed Darwin's theories, as they don't appear to have evolved from anything, and though they all are from the same basic family, the family appears to be made up of many different types of animals, including mammals, fish, birds, plants, and any combination of such. The Fey range from animal instinct to nearly human intelligence, but can only interbreed amongst themselves (ie, no half-elves or hippogriffs). In addition, Fey tend to have peculiar abilities, such as shapeshifting, (present in pookahs and ogres) levitation, (sprites and piskies) fire breathing, (dragons and salamanders) and mind altering (straysods and leprechauns).
There is also a very small number of Ectobiologists, or those who study the phenomenon of ghosts. This field is relatively new and not much is known about the subject as of yet.
[OOG: For more information on specific types of Fey, consult these pages: http://spiderwick.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Faeries
This series was my inspiration for the Fey, and as such, it's a good place to start. Keep in mind, however, that this list is by no means exhaustive, nor is it gospel truth regarding their abilities and appearances. If you have questions, shoot me a message.]
Magic is real. However, it is pretty much to be avoided at all costs, as the only known magic is incredibly dangerous. The only known tome containing secrets of real magic (not illusions and other such science based trickery) is the Necronomicon, a book written by an insane Arab man named Abdul Alhrazed, and discovered in the early 1920's. It is currently locked away in a vault somewhere in Arkham, Massachusetts and barred from public use.
There are rumors that German scientists recovered portions of another book similar to the Necronomicon, and are now trying to use its to create weapons. However, this is pure speculation.
Other forms of so-called magic purportedly exist, such as blood magic and lycanthropy. These are also very rare and incredibly dangerous and dark.
Simply put, magic is one of those things that man was simply not meant to know.
[OOG: Even more simply put, all magic of this sort is villains only. No misunderstood werewolves, white necromancers, or sparkling Draculas.
]
RULES
Rules and Such:
1. Obey all rules.
2. Do not write on the walls, because it is very hard to remove writing from the walls (in all seriousness, feel free to "write on the wall" and message me if you ever have questions/suggestions).
3. Don't Godmode. I will give you a friendly reminder first offense, a warning second, and a hard time third. Nobody likes it when their character is pulled from their grasp and made to do something dorky.
4. Keep it PG-13. I know that this is marked as 17+, or Mature. This is because the subject matter (war, intrigue, H. P. Lovecraft) could be intense. That said, I do expect you to be mature. People who throw controversial stuff in "just to be edgy" are not acting mature. I assume you all have brains, therefore, use that wonderful thing called "common sense." Language is okay, but keep it low and fitting to the time period and your character. Romance is okay, (keep in mind that this is NOT a romance centered roleplay) but keep it low and nothing explicit. Violence is not only okay, but is to be expected, but again, keep it low and not incredibly gory. This is a story game, not a slasher film.
5. Keep to the story. This will be pretty loose, as I don't have a plot for this 100% planned out. However, there are a specific set of goals that the characters will have, and it's usually a good idea to work with or around those general goals. This doesn't mean that there won't occasionally be side quests and other such things, but there is something we're working towards.
6. Stay Period. I've posted all sorts of wonderful info and lore in the Maps tab and the overview, which should give you a general idea of the time period we're working with. That said, avoid modern lingo and other such stuff that would be out of place in the early 1940's. If you have any suspicion that an element won't be considered period, run it past me in the OOC thread or a PM, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
7. Be Committed. If you want to be in this roleplay, you have to be able to commit. If you won't be able to participate for a while, let me know and/or think of a clever way to remove your char from the story for a short time.
8. Be Serious. Please don't do dumb stuff. If you can't express common sense to figure out what I mean by "dumb stuff," I will most certainly alert you that you are writing "dumb stuff," most likely with a very sarcastic comment. You can feel free to play more than one character, but make sure to keep track of them. I will ask for you to not play more than 3 characters at a time. Also, let's try to keep this as a genuine story, not an amateur chat roulette roleplaying session. You don't have to be C. S. Lewis or Rick Riordan level, but keep it in a traditional story format, not, "*Bob does such-and-such.*"
9. Be Grammatically Correct. Again, I'm not looking for perfection, but keep in mind that capitalization and punctuation are NOT OPTIONAL. Take some pride in your work and your spelling. We want this to look pleasing to the eye and be easy to read. Don't let your posts look like something from a middle school girl's Facebook page.
10. HAVE FUN. This isn't an actual life or death situation here! Don't start flame wars with other players over things that happen here. This is meant to be fun, and I DEMAND THAT YOU FIND JOY IN THIS OR ELSE!!! (That was a joke. Don't take things too seriously. It's just a game.)
Now that you've all read through the rules, please post the word "Mustard" (or any similar condiment) along with your character to confirm that you read these.
I am confident that you all will follow these rules, and as such...
Let the fun begin!
Notable alternate technology includes landships, walkers, (2, 3, 4, or more legs) ray guns, (a personal heat ray that is very expensive and only used by the very rich) zeppelins, PFAs, (personal flight apparatuses) and Tesla's energy tower, which provides free electricity to the planet.
Chemistry and its sister fields also advanced quite a bit during this revolution. Several other fields developed as a result of this advancement, including anthrovivisection and alchemy.
Anthrovivesection is a controversial and often dangerous practice of modifying the human body through manipulation of cells and internal chemicals. Vivesection is a less dangerous and controversial offshoot which deals with animals, and is popular in places like Russia and India. Perhaps the 2 most famous (and controversial) Anthrovivisectologists were Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, who used animal and human parts to enhance human beings, and Dr. Henry Jekyll, who created a serum capable of bringing humans to nearly 5 times their normal peak condition, but causing severe mental psychosis in the process.
Alchemistry, or alchemy as it is commonly called, is a chemical based science that revolves around manipulating the molecular structure of objects to turn them into other objects. Alchemy operates on the Law of Equivalent Exchange, meaning that for anything of a certain value to be created, a substance of equal value must be consumed. Extremely skilled alchemists can create Homunculi, small humanoid creatures without free will. A homunculus stands about a foot high and has a lifespan of about 2 weeks.
<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/ss_9e863eae7b46446c921501cbb66d5ceb1a601bbe.1920x1080.jpg.ceb8ca37ce3ac0c34f89cd553274bcb2.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="27403" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_08/ss_9e863eae7b46446c921501cbb66d5ceb1a601bbe.1920x1080.jpg.ceb8ca37ce3ac0c34f89cd553274bcb2.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
The creation of a typical homunculus
As more and more portions of the world were explored, it wasn't long before scientists discovered the Fey, a humanoid family of creatures that have species based in almost every country in the world. The largest population of Fey lives on the British Isles. These people have gone unnoticed for years because of a unique chemical pheromone that all Fey secrete. This pheromone blocks them off from all physical perception by humans, with the exception of those possessing the Sight.
The Sight is a phenomenon found only in a small amount of the population which allows people to see Fey creatures for what they really are. This gene can be found in people with red hair, people who are the seventh child of a particular family, or people with more than 75% Irish or Scottish blood. In addition, people can temporarily utilize the Sight if they are in an altered mental state (read: drunk) or if they rub a cancelling liquid (Hobgoblin spit, Fey bathwater, and truesight ointment are all possibilities) in their eyes.
With the advances in chemistry, it wasn't long before a group of scientists figured out a way to artificially induce The Sight permanently in many people, and the field of Cryptobiology was created.
Fey are different from any other known type of animal. Their discovery effectively squashed Darwin's theories, as they don't appear to have evolved from anything, and though they all are from the same basic family, the family appears to be made up of many different types of animals, including mammals, fish, birds, plants, and any combination of such. The Fey range from animal instinct to nearly human intelligence, but can only interbreed amongst themselves (ie, no half-elves or hippogriffs). In addition, Fey tend to have peculiar abilities, such as shapeshifting, (present in pookahs and ogres) levitation, (sprites and piskies) fire breathing, (dragons and salamanders) and mind altering (straysods and leprechauns).
There is also a very small number of Ectobiologists, or those who study the phenomenon of ghosts. This field is relatively new and not much is known about the subject as of yet.
[OOG: For more information on specific types of Fey, consult these pages: http://spiderwick.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Faeries
This series was my inspiration for the Fey, and as such, it's a good place to start. Keep in mind, however, that this list is by no means exhaustive, nor is it gospel truth regarding their abilities and appearances. If you have questions, shoot me a message.]
Magic is real. However, it is pretty much to be avoided at all costs, as the only known magic is incredibly dangerous. The only known tome containing secrets of real magic (not illusions and other such science based trickery) is the Necronomicon, a book written by an insane Arab man named Abdul Alhrazed, and discovered in the early 1920's. It is currently locked away in a vault somewhere in Arkham, Massachusetts and barred from public use.
There are rumors that German scientists recovered portions of another book similar to the Necronomicon, and are now trying to use its to create weapons. However, this is pure speculation.
Other forms of so-called magic purportedly exist, such as blood magic and lycanthropy. These are also very rare and incredibly dangerous and dark.
Simply put, magic is one of those things that man was simply not meant to know.
[OOG: Even more simply put, all magic of this sort is villains only. No misunderstood werewolves, white necromancers, or sparkling Draculas.
]RULES
Rules and Such:
1. Obey all rules.
2. Do not write on the walls, because it is very hard to remove writing from the walls (in all seriousness, feel free to "write on the wall" and message me if you ever have questions/suggestions).
3. Don't Godmode. I will give you a friendly reminder first offense, a warning second, and a hard time third. Nobody likes it when their character is pulled from their grasp and made to do something dorky.
4. Keep it PG-13. I know that this is marked as 17+, or Mature. This is because the subject matter (war, intrigue, H. P. Lovecraft) could be intense. That said, I do expect you to be mature. People who throw controversial stuff in "just to be edgy" are not acting mature. I assume you all have brains, therefore, use that wonderful thing called "common sense." Language is okay, but keep it low and fitting to the time period and your character. Romance is okay, (keep in mind that this is NOT a romance centered roleplay) but keep it low and nothing explicit. Violence is not only okay, but is to be expected, but again, keep it low and not incredibly gory. This is a story game, not a slasher film.
5. Keep to the story. This will be pretty loose, as I don't have a plot for this 100% planned out. However, there are a specific set of goals that the characters will have, and it's usually a good idea to work with or around those general goals. This doesn't mean that there won't occasionally be side quests and other such things, but there is something we're working towards.
6. Stay Period. I've posted all sorts of wonderful info and lore in the Maps tab and the overview, which should give you a general idea of the time period we're working with. That said, avoid modern lingo and other such stuff that would be out of place in the early 1940's. If you have any suspicion that an element won't be considered period, run it past me in the OOC thread or a PM, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
7. Be Committed. If you want to be in this roleplay, you have to be able to commit. If you won't be able to participate for a while, let me know and/or think of a clever way to remove your char from the story for a short time.
8. Be Serious. Please don't do dumb stuff. If you can't express common sense to figure out what I mean by "dumb stuff," I will most certainly alert you that you are writing "dumb stuff," most likely with a very sarcastic comment. You can feel free to play more than one character, but make sure to keep track of them. I will ask for you to not play more than 3 characters at a time. Also, let's try to keep this as a genuine story, not an amateur chat roulette roleplaying session. You don't have to be C. S. Lewis or Rick Riordan level, but keep it in a traditional story format, not, "*Bob does such-and-such.*"
9. Be Grammatically Correct. Again, I'm not looking for perfection, but keep in mind that capitalization and punctuation are NOT OPTIONAL. Take some pride in your work and your spelling. We want this to look pleasing to the eye and be easy to read. Don't let your posts look like something from a middle school girl's Facebook page.
10. HAVE FUN. This isn't an actual life or death situation here! Don't start flame wars with other players over things that happen here. This is meant to be fun, and I DEMAND THAT YOU FIND JOY IN THIS OR ELSE!!! (That was a joke. Don't take things too seriously. It's just a game.)
Now that you've all read through the rules, please post the word "Mustard" (or any similar condiment) along with your character to confirm that you read these.
I am confident that you all will follow these rules, and as such...
Let the fun begin!
