We mingle among the masses of those who live the lives we wish we had, in constant fear that they will find us...
The alleyway was very dark, except for the tiny fire in its cavernous depths. It could scarcely be seen; the shadows of the people huddling around it overcame its fragile rays of light.
"How long have they been after you?"
"Three months."
He can't be much older than 17, thought the grizzled old man, stroking his thick facial hair, deep in thought. "And you?"
"A couple of years now, give or take. And the two of you?"
"A while now. I think it's been...what, a decade now? Is that about it?"
"Yeah," said the man next to the bearded old man. He looked to be in his 40s, but he could have been younger. The weight of the world had a way of making you look older, and wiser if you were lucky. The woman's voice came up again.
"Lucky...considering the average expectancy is a year after discovery."
"Those bastards always manage to get you somehow...find some way to get your DNA. They got me after arresting me for parking in a no-parking zone and forcing me to get a breathalyzer because those dips**ts thought I was drunk."
An uneasy silence followed. Suddenly the old man raised his head.
"You hear that?"
Nothing. Then a faint tone. Then louder, and louder, until it was loud enough to wake the terror in their hearts.
"S**t. They're onto us."
"This way!" The deceptively young man sprang to his feet, leading the way. All of a sudden the dark alleyway seemed to light up. There were no photonic manipulators among the four, which could only mean...
"Freeze! Surrender or we'll shoot!"
"Get away! I'll hold them off!" the woman shouted to the others. As the others ran the soldiers opened fire with expert bursts. The woman extended her hands towards the soldiers as they fired. One bullet, two bullet...soon a wall of bullets could be seen suspended in front of her. Abruptly they seemed to reverse, then speed the opposite direction, taking out the squad with their own bullets.
She didn't hesitate, running forth down the alley and out the end, to see an armored half-track right on the street. She dived and rolled out of the way just in time, running away as fast as she could and rounding the corner, with the halftrack in hot pursuit. Seeing an old metal fire escape connected to the building on the side of her, she worked quickly, tearing the stairs off with a sort of telekinetic force and crunching them into a massive metal spear. It stayed suspended by her side just as the halftrack popped into view, and then she willed the spear to go right where the engine was. It punched a hole through the vehicle, crushing its inhabitants.
Turning around she found herself surrounded by personnel. Armed personnel. She smiled as they opened fire, knowing that their bullets were useless. Her smile fell as her last thought flashed through her head: The bullets were plastic...
The boy, the man, and the old man ran through the alleys, scaling chain-link fences and braving enemy fire in their direction, running zigzag in order not to keep in one position. Finally the man lost secure footing, falling hard. The boy slowed down momentarily to wheel around and help him.
"No! He can take them on by himself."
They reached the end of the alley to find an opening surrounded by multiple vehicles and armed personnel. The two stopped.
"Leave it to me," said the old man.
He thrust his palms outward, and a blue glow seemed to emanate in from of them. Suddenly it blasted out in a wide arc, freezing everything solid in a 50 foot radius. Even before this was done the old man was running, then sliding on the ice in front of him.
"Can't do it like I used to...still got most of it though," the old man said as they ran into another alley, climbing another fence--but it was his last. The bullet hit him solidly in the back, puncturing his lung. This time the boy stopped.
"Go..." the old man gargled, as his lung started to fill with blood, "save...yourself..."
The boy was gone, terror rising in his heart.
I must not panic, I must not panic, I must not panic, I must not--
The clearing was full of them. His terror enveloped him. The pain and the panic merged, and then all of a sudden he couldn't hold it in anymore.
I never wanted this!
The frustration burst into insanity, and the subsequent explosion instantly incinerated the troops there and left a smoldering crater and several collapsed buildings where there had once been a cursed child and the force sworn to purge him of his sin.
----
Author's note: Just a teaser into the universe of a new RPG...been a while since I last ran one. More to come!
Dang, never expected it to be this popular. Let me warn you though, this RPG is a lot more complex than most around here. At the same time though, it'll offer some more freedom as well.
I don't have the time to do more than three people in this, so let me cover some of the complexities in the hopes that maybe you might find it's not for you, or it might go over your head.
The story, as you hopefully gathered, is in a future where certain people, known as Manipulators, are actively being hunted for being a "danger" to the public. Manipulators are capable of controlling the physical (fire, water, earth, air), or even less tangible elements like people's thoughts and perceptions or light. Players will play as Manipulators and seek to investigate their origins while evading the police force and the "Hunters," an underground organization seeking to capture Manipulators alive for their own mysterious purposes.
While the system used is more or less a "choose your own adventure" type, you will rarely be given an "ABCD" style choice. Instead, you'll be given a narrative of what happens, a description of your surroundings, and a list of items in your surroundings you can potentially manipulate with your powers. Using your imagination and clever use of the resources around you will be rewarded.
Another way this is different: As a Manipulator, the odds are stacked against you, and if you make a bad choice, you WILL die. That's right, you can have a game over. I will try to be somewhat lenient, but life is hard, especially when you've got two major organizations trying to either kill you or milk you of your powers.
This RPG uses levels to indicate your mastery in Manipulating your element, but there are no attribute points (they never get used anyway). Instead, you can learn skills of your own choice, whether it be hacking, sharpshooting, larceny, or simply coming across money and becoming rich. There are experience points to pay for learning skills, but more detail on that will come later.
There isn't any health bar either. Being a Manipulator, you have to rely on your feelings and your intuition. Therefore, you have a "Status" telling you if you feel seriously wounded, or if something's broken, etc.
A Manipulator must also be in control over himself, more importantly. Your psychological state of mind is very important. Each player will start with 100 "syche," which is used to perform Manipulation. However, being in a negative psychological state of mind will drain your psyche, and if your psyche reaches zero, then you become insane and lose all control of your powers, in effect meaning that it's game over for you. However, there are a number of ways to regain psyche: Being in a positive mood, resting, eating, or meditating.
These are several of the mechanics I hope to use in this RPG, and while they may seem complex I am trying to introduce new ways to shake things up around here. Hopefully it's got you guys thinking about the commitment it'll take to survive in a truly hostile world. I'll post the application tomorrow and then registration will begin, first come first serve. If you don't get in though, fear not. I'll keep you on a waitlist, and if some one doesn't survive, your story will start if you're next on the list.
Follow the instructions exactly, or else your application will not be processed. By creating a character sheet, you promise you'll be active and that you will follow the GM. If you have any questions, just ask.
Character sheet
Name: Age and Race: Type: [See instructions and list below.] Status: Healthy Experience points: 0 Psyche: 100 Inventory: $40, [One item of your choice. Preferably it should be related to your skill, but it's not a requirement.] Skills: [Choose one thing that your character is good at. It can be a skill (hacking, freerunning, drawing), something they're good at (martial arts, intimidation, subterfuge), or simply something that gives them an advantage (charisma, being rich).]
Types This is very important. Each type has two subtypes. These are the types you gain levels in. Choose a main type, then choose one of the subtypes in it to start at level 1. Later you can spend experience points to gain levels for either one. The format should be something like: Water - Ice (Level 1), Aqua (Level 0).
Water: Immune to drowning and freezing, capable of altering water flow and movement Ice: Can freeze water and objects Aqua: Can boil water, change water pressure
Fire: Immune to burning and electrocution, capable of moving fire and current Pyro: Capable of combusting things Electric: Capable of electrocuting things
Earth: Very resistant to physical damage, capable of shifting sand Metal: Capable of molding metal objects Rock: Capable of making and breaking rock
Air: Resistant to inclement weather and asphyxiation, capable of levitation Wind: Capable of creating gusts of wind and whirlwinds Cloud: Capable of creating fog, mist, and other conditions of weather
Photonic: Immune to darkness or blindness, capable of becoming invisible Dark: Capable of making people more sensitive to darkness, as well as causing pain Light: Capable of emitting bright flashes of light, as well as lessening people's pain
Psychological: Immune to torture or trickery, capable of reading people's true states of mind Psychic: Capable of altering people's perceptions (e.g. instilling a feeling of dread, or inducing a placebo effect) Illusionist: Capable of disorienting foes and making them hallucinate Natural: Immune to poison and animal attack, capable of psychometry (seeing someone's memories by touching an object or a living thing) Zoological: Capable of controlling animals Botanical: Capable of stimulating plant growth, making organic matter poisonous
Sample character sheet Name: Parsat Age and Race: 22, Chinese Type: Photonic - Dark (Level 0), Light (Level 1) Status: Healthy Experience points: 0 Psyche: 100 Inventory: $40, first aid kit Skills: First Aid (capable of administering first aid)
Name: Moat Age and Race: 15, American Type: Fire-Pyro(Level 0)Electric(Level 0), Status: Healthy Experience points: 0 Psyche: 100 Inventory: $40, Fire Axe Skills: Acrobatics(Good at jumping, climbing, and running)
