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| The Depths of the Mind; An interest poll | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: December 9, 2012, 6:38 pm (518 Views) | |
| NTNP | December 9, 2012, 6:38 pm Post #1 |
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Admin
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Welcome to the Depths of the Mind, an RP created by NTNP (Dustin). In this story, our characters will be taking place in a modern fantasy set in the fictional town of Siren’s Bay in South Carolina USA in the year 2017. Siren’s Bay is a small coastal town, best known for a moderate sized port where anglers dock along with a few smaller cargo ships that favor the port due to its relaxed security and low fees. The town itself is rather unremarkable with less than 10,000 in the town and another 6000 in the surrounding area. A small community college is there along with a barely surviving city on the edge of economic collapse thanks to the failing economy and a number of storms that seem to get worse with every passing year. The story begins rather mundanely as our characters begin experiencing terrifying nightmares representing their own fears, weaknesses and uncomfortable truths that they would much rather ignore about themselves. The most unsettling part of this dream is that it always ends the same. A figure will appear, always saying the exact same words “I am the shadow, the true self.” It looks like you, dresses like you but something is deeply off about this imposter, this doppelganger. While the exact parts of the dream might differ from night to night, that never changes. In the end, you are powerless to stop it. The shadow always ends the dream the same, by taking your life. This one thing unities everyone in this RP, they possess the potential to pass through the veil between the mortal world and the spirit world when they dream and enter into a place known as the Sea of the Unconscious. While each person might experience their role in the world a little differently, they all are forced to face the realities this potentially eventually. This is perhaps not true for you, but this is just one of many possible beginnings for our tale. For weeks now, you have faced the cascade of nightmares every time you shut your eyes and now your mind feels like it is playing tricks on you from the lack of sleep. When things get quiet, you can hear a voice whispering to you, saying things that terrify you and shame you. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see it. The image of this “shadow” standing in a crowd or looking back at you in a reflection of a mirror haunts your every waking moment. Moreover, the dreams, oh if anything they have only gotten worse with each passing day. Now it feels even more real than before… maybe you are losing your mind? When going through your daily routine in Siren’s Bay, you start to notice things. Every so often you’ll see someone that you can almost recognize, as if you had met before. They seem like they recognize you too, but neither of you can remember where. In a crowd, you’ve started to notice an increasing number of people who seem on edge, as if something was stalking them. Then it starts to dawn on you, maybe they are having the same bad dreams as you are… As you, and those like you (fellow PCs) start talking about terrifying dreams that they have had there is one thing you know, they are all about different fears but share one quality... that saying that the doppelgangers say, “I am the shadow, the true self.” Now as you lay down to sleep one more time, praying for something other than the nightmare, you will awaken somewhere entirely new. You are battered by waves, cold and chilling as the night sky devoid of starlight and clouds. A full moon, azure as the sea shines down upon you as you make your way to the shoreline. Something is off here, this isn’t how you remember the dream. Slowly you find yourself on an island, one of your mind’s own creation. Buildings are there, some that look like your home, workplace or school, while others that share a different time or place like a middle ages castle, a Victorian prison or a futuristic tower. This is where your dreams took place; this is the land that your mind has cultivated over the course of your life. This is your island in the Sea of the Unconscious. As you go into a familiar building, the one your dream took place in, you will start to experience it again, just like you did before. The same words, the same actions but now it does not feel like you are being drug along a path any longer. And for the first time, when you come face to face with your shadow you do not become paralyzed with fear. You can argue back, you can rally against its words. However, it is to no avail. No matter how strong your will, you cannot overcome this shadow… not alone. Returning to the world of the waking after dying, again, to the shadow it feels like something has changed. Going to a mirror, looking out a window… you can see clearly now, the shadow is here. During the morning ritual of brushing your teeth, it will be there smiling back at you. You can hear its voice taunting you, telling you that this time it will take your place. That you will be the one lost in the Sea of the Unconscious, not it. As hard as you might struggle, the body cannot go without sleep forever. Eventually you will have to return there, to your nightmare. However, this time, you won’t be alone. One of the people you have met in your time since starting these terrors is drawn into your dream alongside you. Be it a dear friend, a lover or just someone that you met only for a moment… there was a connection there that bound you together. As you wash up upon the shoreline, this other dreamer will be there beside you. Before you could not overcome the shadow alone, no matter how hard you tried it was impossible but now, with the help of another, you just might be able to. Going through the nightmare again, especially with another person who sees the very worst parts of you is humiliating, painful and demoralizing but there is no other choice. When the nightmare finally comes to its inevitable end and you come face to face with the shadow, it seems to change in the face of this new dreamer. Unable to hide its true form, the shadow becomes a monster. Now you have to fight if you want to survive. Alone this creature would be too much to handle, but together you can overcome it! If you fail, the dream will end and both the dreamer and the guest(s) will be expelled back into the waking world to recover and then return in the nights to follow. Nevertheless, when the shadow is finally defeated, the dreamer will have to make a choice… can he or she accept that the things that this shadow has said were true? Can this person accept that their fears should not cripple them? If the dreamer can own up to their nightmare and accept it, then the shadow’s power will become their own. In accepting the darkness within, you have awakened a Persona, a facade that gives you strength here in the dream. A persona is a figment of the mind, usually taking the form of a well-known figure such as a hero, a god, a villain, a monster or a figure that the person knows of and envies for a particular reason. With this persona, they can face the shadows within their own dreams and that of their newly met friends (other PCs) as they struggle to explore this unknown world of their dreams and face the things within. Over time, the characters that must find answers if they hope to survive now that they know what resides in our dreams… what is the Sea of the Unconscious will ask questions? Why were we (the PCs) able to reach it in our dreams? What is causing us to come here at night? Why are we being drawn together? what is a shadow, what is a persona, why were we given these powers? When we dream, where do we go? Somewhere deep down, we all know the answer. To a world of perpetual darkness, a night sky without stars or clouds and a beautiful, ever growing moon high above. Every night we hear the call of the sea, the never ending pool from which all things are born, forgotten and remembered… the Sea of the Unconscious. This is where our dreams are born. In a place that has existed just beyond our grasp since the dawn of humankind. When our first ancestors shut their eyes and let their minds wander into the enteral, this place became our birthright. This is heaven, hell, nirvana and Bahaman. This is the source of all we creation. We were conceived from this sea of the mind, and to it we will return when our days upon this mortal realm have come to an end. Somewhere deep below the waves, high above the islands of our dreams and nightmares we will return to the Depths of the Mind. So what do you say? Are you interested in exploring the Depths of the Mind? |
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| Matttheman89 | December 9, 2012, 6:55 pm Post #2 |
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Assassin
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Are you going to be controlling each character's shadow? And is there no penalty for dying in the dream? |
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| NTNP | December 9, 2012, 7:30 pm Post #3 |
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Admin
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Each character, in order to join the RP, must create their own "island" in the Sea of the Unconscious. On certain nights (or when the character wills it) they can travel to their island in their dream, either alone (which is not recommended) or in groups. At first this action is random, but once a bond has been created, the characters can choose to go together into their dream world. Upon entering that island, the characters are thrown into the middle of the dream. Whomever is the dreamer is in control of the dream. They will act as the "admin" for that dream, meaning that all the action then depends on them from that point onward until all the characters have died, they have defeated the "shadow" creating the dream or the characters have chosen to leave of their own volition for some reason and return to the world of the waking. If a character "dies" in the dream of another person, they suffer absolutely no ill effects other than waking up in a cold sweat due to "dying" in the dream. However for the dreamer it is different. They will begin experiencing the signs from the beginning of the RP, seeing the shadow in the mirror, seeing it in crowds, hearing the voices etc. If this persists for long periods of time, then that character will eventually become possessed by the shadow, resulting in a true danger in the waking world where a single stab or a gunshot wound wouldn't just stir you from your slumber but end your life for real. |
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| Winters | December 9, 2012, 8:13 pm Post #4 |
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Hee-ho
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Obviously, there's more to the RP then just defeating our Shadows. Mostly, I'm curious, what happens during the daytime, outside of the Sea of the Unconscious? |
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| NTNP | December 9, 2012, 8:27 pm Post #5 |
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Admin
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When outside of the Sea of the Unconscious, all the characters will live in the real world... in particular in the town of Siren's Bay. When there, all characters will have to go through their day to day routines. Most characters (unless you particularly want to do something for some reason) will between the age of 18 to 24. At that age, most characters will be living on their own. In particular, they might be living at the community college's dormitory, in one of the apartment buildings in town, at a family home or potentially somewhere else near the area. The characters may work at one of the various locations in town (your choice if you want me to make it or you to make it), go to classes, attend church, hang out at the mall, drink at the town watering hole etc. During their "off" hours, these characters will go about whatever their daily routines might happen to be. However, there is an additional requirement for the RP. Unlike in most stories, characters cannot grow more powerful on their own. In order to overcome a shadow, a person requires comrades in order to succeed. After a shadow becomes a persona, there is a limited amount of development it can obtain. Then it must be fused away in order to grow into becoming a new persona. Doing so requires friendships though. Only when two (or more) people share a deep feeling of connection such as comradely, friendship, rivalry, infatuation etc can they grow and have their persona become stronger. For those who are fans of the RP, this is a social link. While there won't be an individual "number" or "level" associated with it, by working together and developing both characters (which your shadows will help you do anyways), by working through the various fears, tribulations and issues that the shadow itself represents. So to answer your question Winters, outside of the dream your character(s) will work out their own feelings and thoughts in order to develop your characters and become a more full person in the process. However, I promise that you wont ALWAYS be able to just glide through your life without any interaction from the plot. There is an overarcing plot, a myth arc if you prefer, that you will experience from time to time in the narrative that will interfere with your normal life along with your dream life. Just keep it in mind. |
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| Keith | December 9, 2012, 9:40 pm Post #6 |
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Mage
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sounds trippy |
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MAP OF HYRULE BESTIARY WORLD NOTES
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| Winters | December 10, 2012, 11:43 am Post #7 |
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Hee-ho
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What do you have planned in regards to NPCs? I know the Velvet Room is out, so I hope you've got an equally creepy guy planned. Could you elaborate a bit more about the Sea of the Unconscious? A general overview would be nice. Additionally, what can you tell us about the individual islands of the PCs? Are they like dungeons? Will there be other enemies to fight, like generic Shadows? |
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| NTNP | December 10, 2012, 1:50 pm Post #8 |
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Admin
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The Sea of the Unconscious is the connection between the mortal world and the spiritual one where people's minds go when they sleep. Most are never aware that they have crossed over and only those with the "potential" can remember more than fragments of their times there, let alone make that world bend to their wills by summoning persona. I imagine it like a great ocean, with hundreds of islands doting the horizon in every direction. Each person creates an island of their own mind and as bonds are created, their islands will move closer together and eventually become one. By the end of the series, for example, my previous heroes will have become so interpersonally tied together that they have made their five islands come together into a single, greater island. When first starting out, the sea will bring you to the islands. When going to sleep, if you are being ‘drawn’ to someone, then instead of waking up on your island you’ll wake up on the shoreline of his or her personal dream land. Obviously as events happen the ‘unite’ an area together their particular part of the sea will begin to show the signs of it. Using a real life example, if this RP took place in New York and then September 11th happened there, then the people within would all begin seeing planes above, the sound of sirens etc showing their united thoughts. There will be a number of "minor" NPCs that you will encounter when in the waking world. These are mostly just one shot characters, however depending on the situation they might have additional plot information tied into them so it will be worth while to remember that they are present there. Alternatively, when in the Sea of the Unconscious, players will occasionally come across "dreamers" lost within the sea who will not remember what happens there except in the form of bits and pieces. Also on occasion, the characters might interact with something truly supernatural in both the world of dreams and in the waking world. Although this is rare, usually these encounters provide great opportunities or unparalleled dangers. While the majority of the "enemies" you will fight in the dream world will be shadows created by your fellow RPers, there will be situations where you will face off against fellow Persona users or even creatures far greater than the mere imitations that are summoned by the collective unconscious. |
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| Onime No Ryu | December 10, 2012, 2:04 pm Post #9 |
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
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Do you have organized tier lists of the Persona monsters on hand, or are we allowed to have just whatever and it'll grow stronger over time? Also can we make custom Personas? |
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| NTNP | December 10, 2012, 2:27 pm Post #10 |
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Admin
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There is a "tier list" of persona, so to speak. Generally starting persona are less capable and only gain so many abilities before they have reached their full potential. After reaching their "max" status, they must be fused away to transform themselves into a stronger persona. This process requires not only having a 'fully empowered' persona but also by developing a bond between two or more characters. I will use a simple "level up" system for this RP. When a character (or characters) defeats a shadow, who function basically like bosses in our usual RPs, they are rewarded for this experience. If a character is brought into a friend's dream to defeat the shadow then they gain a "level up" where one of their personas can gain an additional move. If the character is the dreamer and originator of the shadow, then they have the option to either turn that shadow into a new persona OR gain a new move for a pre-existing persona. This process continues ad nauseam until a persona maxes out and must be fused away to become a higher tiered version. You can and should make your own personas as much as you wish. While you might want to keep in mind that there are 5 tiers of persona going from "weakest" to "strongest" so you don't start out with something like Ares, the god of war, as your tier 1 person and then have him "grow" into something mythologically weaker like a shinmagami or a pyro jack. |
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| Onime No Ryu | December 10, 2012, 2:29 pm Post #11 |
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
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So can we get a list or link to the 1st tier Personas? |
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| NTNP | December 10, 2012, 2:39 pm Post #12 |
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Admin
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There isn't a definitive list. It is up to the players to choose what persona they want to appear where on a tier from 1 to 5. After all, choosing a good 'persona' should be tied into the character as much as anything else. Someone who is a joker might want to start with say Jack Frost as his first persona, or a more serious person might choose someone like Odysseus. However I can share the "nuts and bolts" of how this process is done: Spoiler: click to toggle Edited by NTNP, December 10, 2012, 2:39 pm.
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