Adventure: The Culling
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Earth.
A lone star amongst many. Will it fall alone?
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File #22313, Address to the Council of *classified*. Speaker: *classified*, now deceased.
Humans live on Earth. That's not saying much; humans live everywhere. In fact, we're so common, we're considered the weed of the galaxy.
But let's not talk about the rest of the universe. It's Earth we're interested in. And it's weird so many humans live there, too. Ther're more humans living on Earth than any other planet.
Let's keep in mind, folks, that civilisation on Earth has only been around for, oh, let's say at most, ten millenia? The important part, anyway. But we know for a fact humans have been around the galaxy longer than the Istar Oracles. And there's no evidence of humans ever coming to Earth. Why would they? Earth was deep within alien borders. It's not a planet that has that much of anything- oh, uranium, I suppose. But even long ago there was more efficient power supplies avaliable, and there's no evidence of mining before present time.
We've dug long and hard, people, through all sorts of libraries, databases, we've checked alomst *every damn page* on the Holonet, we've gone down to Earth and poked around ourselves- sometimes barely escaping with our lives. I should mention that now: You think the galaxy is a dangerous place? You havn't seen Earth.
All sorts of freaks live on Earth. I've seen gunslingers so accurate they can thread a bullet through the eye of a needle- at 300 feet. Don't believe in magic? Go to Earth. The Cabal of Dastran is, without a doubt, a very real and powerful force of mages, based throughout the planet. They've got their hand in everything, and anyone who finds out about them- well, let's just say I'm lucky I'm alive.
Don't believe in gods? Greater figures? I've seen priests reattach limbs with their faith. I've seen them bring back people on the brink of death with a cup of holy water. I've seen them call down heavenly fire by pointing at objects of displeasure. I hope that's some higher power looking out for them, because if that's something anyone can do...
I see you've all brought your weapons to this meeting. They'd do you no good on Earth. There's a swordsman on Earth who'd laugh at you for bothering to draw it- then he'd move so fast, you wouldn't have time to scream as his sword lashed through your body in a hundred bloody strokes- you wouldn't have time to pull that trigger.
And that's the ordinary stuff, people. People on Earth- some aren't even people anymore. They're anything they want to be. A tiger one day, a man the next. Age and body have no meaning to them.
Even technology on Earth- though generally dated and obsolete by comparision- rises occaionally far above the norm you'd expect for such a planet. They have a theory- Moore's Law, I think- that states that microprocessor speed doubles every 18 months.
*Eighteen Earth Months*. I shouldn't need to tell you how impossible that is. At least, to us.
But I should come back to our main point. Humans live on Earth. And they're not just ordinary humans, either. We're a prolific race, it's true; so you'd expect a decent number of humans to just be really good at what they do. That's nothing special.
But on Earth? Sure. There's plenty of stupid people there. They think they run the planet, you see. They don't see these people running amok. If you go to Earth, you probably won't see them, either- until you start doing stuff. On Galactic business. Then you'll find them all coming out of the woodwork in great numbers. A whole new world, hidden behind the facade of day-to-day life will emerge. Some of them will want to help you. Some to kill you. Some just want to scam you. Some might want to fuck you- you're, to them, of course, an alien.
And even these avatars of brilliance that live on earth- most of them don't have a clue they're just one star among a billion habitable planets. Who keeps up the illusion?
I'll tell you who. The Galactic Council forces the best of humanity down on that planet. People who, with a flick of their wrist and a drop of will could turn it all back in our favour. And we, my friends, must set this in motion!
We must go to Earth, and set things right for the people there! We will bring out the geniuses among the cattle, the fighters from the weak. And when they are brought to us, we will reforge this galaxy! No alien or agency will see us beaten again! We will convince them of our righteousness, and we will-
#File ends. Video of Strike Operation #22313 follows. Target: Council of *classified*. Would you like to view the censored version?
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Want to play? Then you'll need to know who you aren't, won't you?
You're an Earthling. That is to say, you live on Earth, you come from Earth, and you've lived there all your life. Aliens? Spaceships? Phaw! The only aliens are those damn immigrants who live in the apartment next to yours and *don't stop smoking crack*.
Well. You might be able to accept aliens. You ain't no normal guy- you've got weird abilities that set you apart from the norm. Whatever they might be, too- you might be a brilliant athlete, capable of running across water, surviving in artic conditions with nothing but a pair of shorts and a thermos, able to punch through a brick wall- and into the guy behind it.
Or you might be a mage- one of the last who belongs to the Cabal of Dalstran. Black Warlocks all, quite able to hurl bolts of destruction across long distances, control the pathetic minds of those around you- the world is your oyster.
Perhaps one of the few remaining Kensei left on the world. Oh, sure, they call them Kensei, but they're not restricted to Asia- a group that spanned countries while the Roman Empire was still in infancy. Brilliant swordsmen all- the best really are capable of deflecting bullets and moving faster than sound.
Whatever you are, you're not normal. But truth be told, you're not as good as these legends might indicate. Sure, swordsman you might be- heck, you might even be able to dodge bullets. But if anyone asks, that's anticipation and instinct, not just moving really fast. So you can do a few magic tricks? So? Anyone could, if they bothered to learn.
Thing is, that's not true.
And you're only just about to find that out...
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As the above paragraph implies, you're a Special Person. Don't feel limited or anything to the examples I've given; there's plenty of room for improvisation and whatnot.
Looking for about 4 people. This game is rated M for Mature: Only people who have a clue about gaming need apply.
System will either be BESMd20 or Hero Systems. I like them so much, I want to use them both, but that's not possible. I'll toss a coin or something. BESM is more likely to produce a Heroic game of Daring Do (how ironic), while Hero Systems is likely to make more realistic sense.
(A note on my philosophy: BESMd20 was built with infinity in mind and *then* applying restraints; Hero was built with reality in mind and the developers saying "How would doing *this* work in real life?" If that makes any sense...)
The game is *loosely* based on the Omake Adventure world me and Dune pissfarted around with a while back. If you actually read it, more power to you.
Because he's a *cool guy*, and he run the original game, Dune gets a reserved spot.
Looking to start mid-November, when I finish Finals.
I *will* be posting more background info later- including what system and Carthrat's Guide to Character Generation for his Fully Awesome Game which Beats You Down.
And remember: There ain't no Paradox. There's just a whole lot of really nasty people.
I call spot. I'll undoubtedly play a Kensai ("I LIEK SWORDS!" ). I vote for Hero system as I'm not a fan of BESM in any sense and I think Hero can be used for a reasonably dramatic game if you know what you're doing (Ask Brian =P).
Dracos
But... but... BESM has cooler art! ;_;
So does whitewolf.
Are you going to suggest something?
Dracos
I just want more excuses to look through the book. ;_;[/code]
Okay, how about this, I'll light the front cover on fire.
Then you have the excuse to read through as fast as possible.
Dracos
How about I stab your voodoo doll? Right in the *bicep*?
Tentative in. I need to get so much shit together beforehand, though, that it's not funny.
I'll let you know a few weeks down the line, once Hop is finished and a few other things are nearing completetion.
Quote from: CarthratHow about I stab your voodoo doll? Right in the *bicep*?
Oooh... darn wait... you don't have voodoo powers!
Dracos
I'm interested, too. I'm going to vote for HERO system, seeing as I bought the damn book and want to make use of it. ;.;
Bjorn
Actually, a question occurs to me. Is this going to be a forum-based game, IRC, or a combination of the above (and at what expected ratio)?
My IRC time doesn't seem very compatible with Rat's. If IRC sessions are going to be occasional (once a week or so), then we can probably swing things, but more often than that and I should probably bow out.
A combination of the above, no doubt, as my IRC times are incompatible with *everyone* when doing them on the fly.
I won't be doing that, however, so we should be able to settle into a nice balance. I'll see how things work out.
I'll note for the obvious: I'm in school. There is 'no' time when I can do a 12 am + irc session. Whether planned or not. =) So if you plan to do these, you'll have to work that into consideration.
Dracos
IRC sessions are handy to have, I guess, but we can live without them, generally speaking.
I'd like to be in. I've already got a kensei character concept, if that's cool. But no worries, Drac, my concept should be odd enough not to overlap yours. ;)
Religions of Note Within the World
1) Church of Selene
The Church of Selene has strong origins in Europe, particularly France, England, and Spain. It's know that they hold *many* ancient old estates and mansions as part of their holdings, along with all sorts of antiques, books, and whatnot. In general, they have enough money to do pretty much whatever they want, and they're not above throwing it around in order to get the right people to the right places.
Selene, the goddess, is associated with celestial bodies as a whole, though her primary link is with the Earth Moon, Lunar. Her clerics portray her as a benevolent deity, and many of them are employed as doctors, paramedics, defence lawyers for the poor, and aid workers.
Quite a few clerics also take a more aggressive approach, seeking to root out all sorts of evil as it appears.
This all being said, Selene herself is more of a neutral figure. She certainly lends her power to her chosen, and the majority of these figures are kind and just people.
A few, who gain her powers for reasons unknown to the rest of the flock, participate in all sorts of criminal activities; drugs, criminal aid, corrupt lawyers, whatever. This are a minority, but a steadily growing minority at the same time.
No cleric of Selene is supposed to hurt another, but they come into conflict often enough anyway. If two members are at odds with each other, they lose all mystical powers for the duration; in general, both clerics give up and go away, leaving whatever groups are involved to fend for themselves.
Selenites are generally rich enough to be above bribery and mercenary duty. They focus far more strongly on the causes and motives involved; exactly what drives a Selenite is often a mystery to all involved. There are no real 'Churches' of Selene, unless you count every house in which a Selenite lives; they all become a temple to the Goddess.
Recently, the Church has been copping a great deal of flak from the other power groups. The Church of Mystrix, usually on even terms with Selene, has recently begun making aggressive noises towards them. The reason for this is unknown to outsiders; apparently, there was some kind of fight a few months ago, in which a Selenite killed a Mystrix devotee. Details are generally unknown.
What motivates Selene herself is unknown to outsiders. All that is really known is that you can't expect any one thing from a Selenite.
2) Church of Mystrix
In stark contrast to the Church of Selene is the Church of Mystrix. While the Selenite clergy are generally rich, comfortable, and doing what they will at their leisure, the average Mystrix Devotee comes from a city slum, lives off McDonalds muffins and way too much pepsi, is in cahoots with several gothic clubs, wears black clothes, dyes her hair red... and all the rest of it.
Mystrix herself is the self-styled goddess of Magic. The Cabal of Dastran was initially not impressed with this title, but upon discovering that the church had all sorts of horrible magic they'd never heard of (and the Cabal has heard of alot), they decided to 'allow' Mystrix her status. Mystrix promotes the use of magic in all its forms; she would like nothing more than to see magic being used in everyday life by all humans, everywhere. As a result, she *hates* most technology. She's got no problem with it being used by her own clergy, of course; but she loathes how it dominates the world, as the 'Dominant Paradigm'.
These days, devotees hang around in large gangs, wandering around and beating up Clerics of Selene wherever they can find them. Animosity has grown to such a ridiculous height that the Clerics have started hiring bodyguards, while the Devotees have started paying the Cabal with astonishing amounts of drugs and magical lore to get them to go out and punt around the Selenites.
Much like Selene, there aren't any real churches to Mystrix. The advent of the mobile phone means that every Devotee can easily find others nearby, and quickly congregate to do whatever needs doing. It's somewhat ironic that for a deity so against the spread of technology, the Devotees use it so often.
3) Other Religions
Most religions are, simply put, frauds. Christianity is *not*, at least, in part. Nobody really knows what happenes to the spirits of people upon death, and many people don't really want to.
There's all and sundry gods out there, many of whom have *very little power*. However, those gods who have only a few devoted believers are among the most dangerous; these people have all of their gods power vested in them, making them as potent as any Selenite. With almost blind fanaticism to spreading their deity's message, they're capable of truly radical acts.
Most Divine power is vested in Selene and Mystrix, however, and out of all the groups that hide themselves from public scrutiny as a whole, these powers are the ones that seek to spread themselves more thoroughly.
Cabal of Dastran
The Cabal of Dastran is the last non-religious magical power of any note. Mages fall into two main types; those who are in the cabal and those who aren't. Those who aren't fall into a further three types; Dead, Running, or so powerful that the Cabal leaves them along.
The goal of the Cabal, founded by Kelas Dastran in the days of yore, is to rule the world. Some might argue they've already fulfilled this goal. They have people everywhere, and they have people watching those people, and people watching those people, and... *things* watching those people.
The reason the Cabal hasn't outright come to claim the world is very simple. If they revealed themselves, they'd get flattened by the collective might of the rest of humanity- and they'd probably lay waste to huge chunks of the world in the process, but at the end of the day, they'd all be dead.
Nobody likes the Cabal (except *maybe* the Church of Mistrix, who regard the Cabal as a bunch of dogs to be used as needed), but nobody can deny it's power (again, except the aforementioned Church, members of which take great delight in putting wayward magi in their place.)
The current head of the Cabal, Guy Reigheart, claims direct decendance from Dastran himself. His current plan is about as crazy as that of his ancestor; he plans to create a Mind Control spell *so powerful* that he can dominate the entire world at once. Needless to say, not all of the Cabalites are thrilled with this option, but since most can't compare with him, they generally just hope he'll die of old age before his plans come anywhere near something resembling fruition.
The average Cabalist has free reign to do as he wishes- when he's not under orders from a superior. The pecking order in the Cabal narrows alarmingly quickly, so there are only a few Cabalites who really give the orders. Reigheart spends most of his time in his magical laboritories, leaving the rest of the bigwigs to do what they please.
The majority of Cabalists are black warlocks, who revel in their power and enjoy using it to dominate the humans around them. They must be careful, however- more than one mage has met his end at the hands of a vengeful Selenite, Kensei, or other vigilante. Their magic runs the gamut from destructive to cognitive to manipulative- if the Cabal hasn't heard of a spell, it probably doesn't exist.
A few Cabalists are good people who have been forced to join the Cabal or die. Because assassination is the only real way to gain more political power within the Cabal, very few of these mages (even the talented ones) are in positions of controlling power. They try to stem to atrocities performed by the Cabal, and head off other Cabalists in their own quests for power.
There are only two real groups of people Cabalists fear. The first is the Church of Mystrix, who have all sorts of strange counters for Cabal magic, and have a philosophy of hammering down the Cabalist that sticks up.
The other people are Kensei. Cabalists, oddly, *never* hire Kensei for any operation. Because these swordmasters are incredible dangerous, often very clever, and are always spoiling for a 'challenging fight', Cabalists often find themselves put into positions where they will be forced to fight these men. Often, they'd rather run away- something of which many Kenei are taking note, and therefore adjusting their 'hunts' accordingly.
Hm. I have a concept for a non-Cabalist (running) mage. I'll try to flesh out a background asap.
Brian:
I've heard. And anyway, you know me, I claim an area and then make the concept that fits there later. =)
Rat:
Hum. Will have to read later.
Dracos
GM to GM question here, Rat.
Are you planning on using any of the PCs from the Adventure incarnations? I don't object on principal, but I would like to chat with you if you are going to use any.
THE PC, Dune, and most likely not. I'm sure he has more important things to do. Same goes for his gang.
NPCs? Maybe. I'll chat with you about that. Certainly they're around.
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Kensei
Kensei is a term used as a whole to denote swordsmen so skilled that they can excise supernatural ability through their intense focus.
You can further seperate these humans from other warriors who are simply 'skilled' by their motivations. Most swordsmen fight for a cause they strongly believe in; rather than intense focus, their belief and emotion give them strength. Kensei, however, derive their ability from their sheer skill. He may brag about his abilities, he may fly into a temper, he may fall in love, but when it comes to a fight, he never lets these things stir his skill.
That's not to say he won't fight *because* of these emotions. It's a fine line to draw. However, most Kensei fight because they live to perfect their abilities. Morality frequently takes second place among these men; first and foremost is the fight. To find worthy fights, they ally themselves with many different groups, often supporting themselves as mercenaries. They only wish to engage the strongest of foes they encounter; they disdain weaker men as not worth dispatching.
Some Kensei have strong views on killing; some do not. While their first priority may be to improve their skills, they are still only human, and thus can be driven by all the same things any normal man can be drove by. The greatest battles they hope to fight are against other swordmasters. As a result, their numbers are kept low (eliciting a giant sigh of relief from the rest of the community).
Despite the name, Kensei use all sorts of weapons, and come from all sorts of places. The origins of the traditions are found in the ancient times, when civilisation had not yet fully formed on Earth. Almost every culture has some example of these masters, and while presently, most Kensei originate from Japan, they can be found all over the world.
The core traditions of all remain essentially the same, and can be summed up as follows;
1) Always seek to improve your skills.
2) Petty Feelings are a mere distraction.
3) To Fight is to Live.
Fewer kensei than ever are accepting of the second tradition, which may soon fade into obscurity. However, it is the truth that the greatest masters follow all three, counting their days only by the flesh they cleave, and acting like you'd expect a psychotic murder-starved maniac to act.
Among other power groups, Kensei have quite understandably gained a reputation as insane mercenaries. Their numbers are thankfully few, but as so many people have found themselves attacked by uncannily skilled swordsmen for no good reason, many groups try their hardest to avoid the Kensei alltogether- or hire one of their own. Perhaps these fighters will kill each other, leaving the real thinkers alive and well.
*WAves the flag of I suck*
Yeah, I meant NPCs. I think you got the drift, though.