Gravitational Force
Dark Lord of Creativity
Wherever you were, whatever you were doing, whoever you were with, that is no longer the case. You're standing on a beach under an alien sky in an alien place, a green sun shining in the sky and silver sand beneath your feet. The waters around you shimmer and hiss and the smell of acid invades your nostrils as you cough and make your way up from the shore to escape the fumes. Further ahead you can see a forest of metallic trees from which glowing crystal orbs hang.
Looking around you you can see other people, all looking as confused as you are. You suddenly feel a chill, and looking up you see a massive shadow blotting out half the sun. In the shifting darkness in front of you a figure appears, seemingly unconcerned by your distress. Their body is obscured by the robes and mask they wear but you can sense the wrongness radiating from them. They spread their arms wide as they address the crowd.
"Welcome one, welcome all! Welcome to all of you who now have the opportunity to seize a great destiny in the Ascension Game! Fear not for your safety and don't worry, for I'm here to explain what's going on! Each of you has been chosen from your worlds for a chance many would kill for and you will likely need to kill to keep. Claim victory in this challenge with the powers you will receive and rewards beyond your wildest dreams will be yours! Rejoice, for ahead of you lies the most important event you've yet experienced in your lives!"
Clapping their hands together, they look around expectantly.
One young man steps forwards. "What's going on?! Where are we? Who the Hell are you?! Send us back NOW!!!" He raises his hands to threaten the target of his anger.
The figure turns to him and the crowd instinctively draws away from the questioner as if somehow knowing what's going to happen. The figure cocks their head beneath their hood.
"Didn't I just finish explaining? You're here because you were chosen. Where 'Here' is and 'Who' I am is irrelevant to that. Well except for me being authorized to do THIS to you if you ask stupid questions or otherwise prove yourselves in need of correction:"
A tentacle ending in a syringe-like protuberance shoots out from beneath the figure's cloak and plunges into the man's neck. His eyes widen as it injects something into him and he collapses to the ground twitching in paroxysms of laughter as his face contorts into a forced rictus grin. The figure turns back to the crowd and you feel your bodies freeze and find yourselves unable to do anything but listen as the figure continues speaking.
"He'll be fine within an hour. Now since I'm all about fair play and sporting chances, here's some examples of good questions: 'What's the event?' 'What powers will we get?' 'Is there food and medication?' 'What do we get for winning the event?' That sort of thing. I won't be there in the near future but you will want to also consider questions such as 'What is that monster and how do I stop it eating my face?' 'How do we maintain group solidarity in the face of perverse incentives, moral hazards, and the various nefarious individuals among us' and 'Would death be preferable to my current situation?'"
They pause and shrug.
"The answer to that last one is 'No' by the way, so think positive and focus on surviving, because the name of this Game is 'Survive on this island of deadly dangers and untrustworthy strangers for long enough to figure out and fulfill the win condition.' It's a bit of a mouthful, but I like how it sums it all up. For the rest of the relevant details, let's see: you'll have to wait and see what powers you get, there are supply caches of necessary goods and materials scattered all over the island, and you'll have to win to see what the prize is. Personally I'd view surviving what you're about to go to through as your main concern, but don't let me stop you from hoping. Also please keep in mind that in the case of emergency your fellow survivors can double as food! Let's see, I think that wraps it all up. Now don't forget to have fun and I hope you enjoy your time here! Ohandyou'realsonottheonlyonestransportedheresowatchoutforotherworldlybeingsbye!"
They vanish in a burst of shadows as you find yourselves able to move again. But before you can do anything you find yourselves falling to the ground in a clearing in the forest. It seems like the group you were in has been split into smaller groups and scattered around the island. As you pick yourselves up you get one final surprise as you feel your bodies change...
Overview:
You will be playing normal Humans from worlds like our world who have been transported to an island in another dimension and must now figure out a way to survive using the powers you have received. You will need to find supplies and shelter, face dangers in the forms of hazards, monsters, and those among you who have decided to abuse the power they now have, and figure out how to win a game you don't know the win conditions for.
You'll have multiple powers related to a specific theme for each of your characters. These powers may take the form of physical mutations directly related to the power gained (Increased speed may result in legs that resemble those of a gazelle, super strength showing in swollen muscles and overgrown bones, etc.) but not all will be and who has what powers won't be easy to guess. Some can be hidden, some will be obvious.
Currently your characters are in a group consisting only of them, but you'll find other groups as this goes on. How these interactions go will vary.
My guarantees as GM:
Your responsibilities as players:
I've got openings for up to 5 players (or possibly more if there is enough interest and people capable of handling that large a group).
A CS and OOC page will go up when all the slots are filled. If requested by the majority of the players I will create a Discord once we've gotten started.
Feel free to ask any questions you need to, I am happy to answer them.
Looking around you you can see other people, all looking as confused as you are. You suddenly feel a chill, and looking up you see a massive shadow blotting out half the sun. In the shifting darkness in front of you a figure appears, seemingly unconcerned by your distress. Their body is obscured by the robes and mask they wear but you can sense the wrongness radiating from them. They spread their arms wide as they address the crowd.
"Welcome one, welcome all! Welcome to all of you who now have the opportunity to seize a great destiny in the Ascension Game! Fear not for your safety and don't worry, for I'm here to explain what's going on! Each of you has been chosen from your worlds for a chance many would kill for and you will likely need to kill to keep. Claim victory in this challenge with the powers you will receive and rewards beyond your wildest dreams will be yours! Rejoice, for ahead of you lies the most important event you've yet experienced in your lives!"
Clapping their hands together, they look around expectantly.
One young man steps forwards. "What's going on?! Where are we? Who the Hell are you?! Send us back NOW!!!" He raises his hands to threaten the target of his anger.
The figure turns to him and the crowd instinctively draws away from the questioner as if somehow knowing what's going to happen. The figure cocks their head beneath their hood.
"Didn't I just finish explaining? You're here because you were chosen. Where 'Here' is and 'Who' I am is irrelevant to that. Well except for me being authorized to do THIS to you if you ask stupid questions or otherwise prove yourselves in need of correction:"
A tentacle ending in a syringe-like protuberance shoots out from beneath the figure's cloak and plunges into the man's neck. His eyes widen as it injects something into him and he collapses to the ground twitching in paroxysms of laughter as his face contorts into a forced rictus grin. The figure turns back to the crowd and you feel your bodies freeze and find yourselves unable to do anything but listen as the figure continues speaking.
"He'll be fine within an hour. Now since I'm all about fair play and sporting chances, here's some examples of good questions: 'What's the event?' 'What powers will we get?' 'Is there food and medication?' 'What do we get for winning the event?' That sort of thing. I won't be there in the near future but you will want to also consider questions such as 'What is that monster and how do I stop it eating my face?' 'How do we maintain group solidarity in the face of perverse incentives, moral hazards, and the various nefarious individuals among us' and 'Would death be preferable to my current situation?'"
They pause and shrug.
"The answer to that last one is 'No' by the way, so think positive and focus on surviving, because the name of this Game is 'Survive on this island of deadly dangers and untrustworthy strangers for long enough to figure out and fulfill the win condition.' It's a bit of a mouthful, but I like how it sums it all up. For the rest of the relevant details, let's see: you'll have to wait and see what powers you get, there are supply caches of necessary goods and materials scattered all over the island, and you'll have to win to see what the prize is. Personally I'd view surviving what you're about to go to through as your main concern, but don't let me stop you from hoping. Also please keep in mind that in the case of emergency your fellow survivors can double as food! Let's see, I think that wraps it all up. Now don't forget to have fun and I hope you enjoy your time here! Ohandyou'realsonottheonlyonestransportedheresowatchoutforotherworldlybeingsbye!"
They vanish in a burst of shadows as you find yourselves able to move again. But before you can do anything you find yourselves falling to the ground in a clearing in the forest. It seems like the group you were in has been split into smaller groups and scattered around the island. As you pick yourselves up you get one final surprise as you feel your bodies change...
Overview:
You will be playing normal Humans from worlds like our world who have been transported to an island in another dimension and must now figure out a way to survive using the powers you have received. You will need to find supplies and shelter, face dangers in the forms of hazards, monsters, and those among you who have decided to abuse the power they now have, and figure out how to win a game you don't know the win conditions for.
You'll have multiple powers related to a specific theme for each of your characters. These powers may take the form of physical mutations directly related to the power gained (Increased speed may result in legs that resemble those of a gazelle, super strength showing in swollen muscles and overgrown bones, etc.) but not all will be and who has what powers won't be easy to guess. Some can be hidden, some will be obvious.
Currently your characters are in a group consisting only of them, but you'll find other groups as this goes on. How these interactions go will vary.
My guarantees as GM:
- I am here to help you help us all tell the story. If you ever have questions, comments, concerns, ideas for the RP, or just want to chat I'm willing to listen and respond. Just let me know what you want or need.
- I'm here to help. I don't kick people out for questioning me and I view player feedback as a valuable resource in making better RPs.
Your responsibilities as players:
- You will need to be willing and able to write at least 3 detailed, literate paragraphs per main post. If a post would be smaller I'll use messaging to consolidate them into a single post.
- You will need to let me know if you won't be able to post during your turn. As long as you let me know it's fine but otherwise I'll eventually have to kick you out so the others can post.
- No controlling another player's character without their consent.
- If I ever tag or message you I'll need you to respond as soon as possible. Real life comes first, but please at least say if you can't respond beyond saying you have real life stuff that needs to come first.
- Be nice to each other. If you are having problems with another player let me know and I'll see what I can do to solve it.
I've got openings for up to 5 players (or possibly more if there is enough interest and people capable of handling that large a group).
A CS and OOC page will go up when all the slots are filled. If requested by the majority of the players I will create a Discord once we've gotten started.
Feel free to ask any questions you need to, I am happy to answer them.