13 replies to this topic

[Black Six]

RPG Forum Text-Based RPG Contest 27 Submissions

All RPG Contest 27 Entries should be posted here. They will be added to the list as we get around to it; don't fret if your entry isn't on the list immediately after you post it.
You have until 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, March 24th to submit entries.

NOTICE: If there is a note by your entry saying that it does not meet the requirements, reread the Contest Rules and then send Black Six a PM if you are still not sure of what is wrong with your entry. You have until 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, March 24th to edit your post and fix your entry.

Also, please be sure to check out the RPG Contest Topic for important updates and announcements.

You can review others' entries in the Review Topic.

• MYSTERY - Toa Levacius Zehvor
• Shadows of Fate - ninjamonkey3000
• We Live. For Now. - Canis Lupus
• Undying - Eduard Bernstein
• The Dead World - ToaOfAwesome
• Reborn in Red - Zakar0%
• Transformation - The Lorax
• AfterMath - Strackkorotus Withdrawn
• Dystopian - Replicant
• It's All in Your Head - Elrond of Rivendell
• Desolation - Lord of Adders Black
• Riddles of War - Dual Matrix
• The Spherus Magna Social Observation Experiment - Clockwork Kineticist
• The Best Laid Plans - Tyler Durden
• Title - Author

Total number of valid entries: 13

NOTICE: if you have an entry that is in violation of the rules and edit it to fit, please PM Black Six to notify the staff. Similarly, if you add a title to an untitled RPG, do the same. We are only human (well, okay, the jury's out on that) and are liable to miss the changes.

Edited by Black Six, Mar 24 2013 - 11:26 PM.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

MYSTERY

 

New Island Discovered!

 

After twenty years of planetary exploration, a new island has been discovered in the seas of Aqua Magna by a series of satellite images. Strange wind patterns and the chaotic weather of the region have prevented all attempts to reach the island by aircraft, but a research post has been established on a smaller island located two hundred Kio off the eastern coast.

 

The Universals who discovered island have dubbed it as Arcieram’Peridius [‘lost mystery’; ‘mysterious place that has been lost], or Windy Island for short. Contact with the remaining Turaga of Metru-Nui and an inspection of old charts reveals a place of similar geography to the island of Mata-Nui, and a series of unmanned probes launched from orbit have shown sources of protodermis intertwined with the natural landscape.

- Rovan, DM-DN Reporter

Year’s End, 652 NE

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Unlocking the Mystery!

 

We at DM-DN are proud to be your number one source of updates for everything happening on Spherus Magna, and in keeping with this tradition bring you the latest update on the newly discovered Windy Island.

 

In their latest press conference, the Spherus Magna Planetary Exploration Department has begun investigations of the island, and discovered a way to breach the hostile weather conditions surrounding the Windy Island. Despite failed early attempts to allow airships and sea craft to make the voyage, a single safe pathway has been identified in the water, large enough for specially designed submarines to pass through. Already, research camps are being set up on the island.

 

More information will be provided as we receive it – and remember, folks, that you heard it from us first!

 

- Keirah, DM-DN Reporter

Midyear 653 NE

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The Lost Mystery – Found at Last!

 

A little over a year after its discovery, it has been deemed safe by the government for explorers and private researchers to make their way to the Windy Island – Arcieram’Peridius. Researcher’s Retreat, the island just to the east of it, is being settled as this is written down by the very first to see the newly found land. Fortifications are being established in case of unforeseen world.

 

Even now, treasure hunters, explorers, and scientists from all corners of the civilized world come in order to explore the new island. The first submarine is scheduled to leave the forward station next month, and take the first of this group to the newly discovered island. Mata-Nui’s speed to them all!

 

- Kumo, DM-DN Reporter

Starfall 654 NE

 

SETTING

 

Mata-Nui defeated Teridax, the planet of Spherus Magna was restored, and the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe (Univerals) generally got along well with the natives of the world. Things generally happened as they did in canon, only without Kopaka and Pohatu going to the red star. However, all characters taken by the Insane Great Being are still missing, along with the Inika.

 

The year is currently 654 NE (New Era*). The worlds largest superpowers are the Metru-Magna Coalition and the Alliance of Six Kingdoms; there are also many other countries, from independent nations to colonial territories. Almost all weapons trade is controlled by the only thing close to being a rival to the two, the Melting Blades Entente. At the moment, there is general peace amongst them; the only squabbles in recent years between the Coalition and Alliance have been solved via diplomatic means. It is with this peace that exploration has been made prevalent, and the discovery of new lands has been made - including one island more interesting than most.

 

Though officially called Arcieram’Peridius, the massive island has simply been nicknamed the Windy Island due to the turbulent weather conditions surrounding it. There is a smaller island nearby known as Researcher’s Retreat, and a settlement has been established along its western coast, along with a forward base.

 

You are among those who have come to the island. Your reasons are your own – but like all others who have come, this place is a mystery to you; a mystery for you to discover. To assist in getting you started, descriptions of the island and its people are provided below. At the end of this post, a number of possible plot hooks that players may consider pursuing are also provided.

 

* NE (New Era) begins at 1 NE, which itself began halfway through the previous year on the old Bara Magnan calendar, after the Battle of Bara-Magna.

 

LOCATIONS: PART ONE

FORWARD OPERATIONS – RESEARCHER’S RETREAT

 

Due to the comparatively mild weather conditions and pleasant landscape of the island east of Arcieram’Peridius, it has been dubbed Researcher’s Retreat. Some refer to it as East Island for its positioning.

 

Vessels travelling to Researcher’s Retreat rarely encounter trouble. Getting to the Windy Island is the hard part. There is but a single path, only able to be navigated by submarine, which connects the two under the water. Leaving the path under the water is risky at best; on the surface, even warships can be shredded by the winds and waves.

 

On the western coast of Researcher's Retreat is a growing settlement called West Watch made up of some two thousand people who have chosen to settle and colonize the newly found island, and prepare to one day expand to the Windy Island itself. It has proven quite able to support itself with some outside support.

 

West Watch provides the opportunity to buy and trade, and many who plan on heading to the Windy Island use it as a place to plan and socialize before the trip. The settlement has dual leader; Turaga Elhmak heads the actual town and its people, while the scientific outpost located with it is under the control of its chief scientist, a Vo-Matoran named Jeiras.

 

Just off the coast of West Watch is an isle that borders the underwater route. It has been converted entirely into a fortress by the Metru-Magna Coalition, and is guarded by a number of Glatorian and Toa under the command of Toa Krakua. Recent diplomatic arrangements have also led to it garrisoning a number of soliders from other factions, though in lower numbers.

 

LOCATIONS: PART TWO

LOST MYSTERY – THE WINDY ISLAND, ARCIERAM’PERIDIUS

 

Arcieram’Peridius is a massive island, a little shy of half the size of Australia. It is a very peculiar location for a number of reasons –

• It is composed of roughly 20% protodermis, something that should by all rights not naturally occur.
• It has a shape suspiciously similar to the now destroyed island of Mata-Nui.
• There is a rumor going about that satellite scans of the area in the past had not revealed the island; it simply appeared on the scans one day. The SMPED scoffs at this, but refuses to show older scans, insisting the area was never looked over before.
• Ancient ruins cover the island in random places. The structures are very similar in design to the old sketches and records recovered from the archives that showed the prehistory of Metru-Nui, along with many of the other older structures of the Matoran Universe.
• While a few purely organic flora and fauna have been found, the vast majority are bio-mechanical – the landing site, for example, has ‘grass’ with blades composed of a very thin bio-metal, which is consumed by metal plated caterpillars which, when studied, eventually formed a cocoon and later emerged as armored butterflies with bat-like wings. Though not all of these creatures show traces of protodermis, many do.
• The empty shells of Rahkshi and Bohrok are found littering the island, including a very large number of Rahkshi of Heat Vision, like the ones employed during the Battle of Bara-Magna six centuries ago.
• There are signs of random elemental occurrences across the island – scorch marks across the landscape are one of the most obvious, though most are more subtle.
• Floating islands. To put it simply, large pieces of rock – sometimes large enough to keep a small forest or a lake on – hover in the sky anywhere from twenty to two hundred Bio over the Windy Island. Sometimes, large areas of the ground where they appear to have ripped out can be seen below, or found with no island to be seen. Whatever force holds the islands in place makes it impossible to use elemental powers within a square Kio of them, sometimes more depending on the size. They also mess up compasses and most scanners. They tend to gather in clusters, and are surprisingly commonplace.
• Though called the Windy Island, the weather doesn’t begin to act up until one gets some three Kio off the coast, or reaches the highest mountain tops. The unnatural weather is incredibly destructive, keeping the island quite isolated from the outside world.

 

These aren’t things noticed only by common people, and the numerous worldly governments have hired search teams and numerous research expeditions to travel the surface of the massive island. A rough map of the island can be seen by clicking the thumbnail below –

 

 

Brown = Desert /// Light Green = Hills, Plains /// Dark Green = Forest, Jungle

Red = Lava Flow /// Light Grey = Ice Covered Mountains

Dark Grey = Normal Mountains, Volcanoes /// Blue = Water

 

The areas of the island are fittingly referred to by names similar to those of their counterparts on Mata-Nui.

 

• Ga-Wahi is the central-eastern area of the island, and it is one of the most hospitable and fertile regions of the island. It is also the best explored, and has only a few ruins or other distinguishing features in it. A number of research bases are found here, especially around the coastline.
• Ta-Wahi is the mountainous region to the north of Ga-Wahi. There are two massive volcanoes in area, along with lava flows. Most of the area is coated in thick layers of ash. A few research bases can be found here. There are a number of ruins here.
• Po-Wahi is the desert area that covers the northern region of the island. The largest ruins on the island have been found in this area, mostly buried under the sands. Archaeological dig sites are becoming commonplace here.
• Ko-Wahi is the mostly frozen mountain range in the western area of the island. Few ruins have been found here, or research bases set up.
• Le-Wahi is a very diverse area in the southern region of the island covered in forests, thick jungles, and murky swamps. Many ruins can be found here, and a high amount of the floating islands – some with ruins on them, even. Research camps are being set up in the region.
• Onu-Wahi is the labyrinthine, underground tunnel network of caves that runs under the island. Very few have tried exploration.

 

Players must always be wary of randomly occurring attacks by both rivals from the mainland and the creatures that inhabit the island – some small, others strong and incredibly powerful.

 

PEOPLE & FACTIONS

THE LITTLE PEOPLE IN THE BIG WORLD

 

There are three major factions in the outside world, all attempting to take as much control as they can over the research on the Windy Island –

 

Metru-Magna Coalition: The Metru-Magna Coalition controls the most land and manpower of the factions, and is composed mostly of Matoran and Natives. Though the Coalition possesses numerous scientific advancements, it suffers in terms of advanced weaponry. They have maintained field advantages with the largest number of Toa among any group. The primary leaders of the faction are Toa Tahu and Chancellor Raanu.

 

Alliance of Six Kingdoms: The ‘Six Kingdoms’ that form this alliance are those of the Barrak-Kal – Pridak, Mantax, Kalmah, Ehlek, Malum, and the Shadow One. Though infighting was commonly early on, the faction has maintained stability much like an individual kingdom under the relatively even control of Pridak and the Shadowed One, the largest power players amongst the group. The Alliance possesses domination of the seas and powerful military forces, along with the largest diversity of species, but lacks the numbers and land of the Coalition.

 

Melting Blades Entente: The Entente was once a small alliance between Vortixx and Skrall, exchanging advanced weaponry for protection against attack. In time, many of the old Skakdi warbands joined as well, along with other surrounding kingdoms. Though none enjoy doing business with the Entente, both of the other major powers and many smaller nations are forced to do so, especially in times of conflict. The Entente’s leaders are Roodaka, Nektann, and Tuma; it is assumed most orders came from the first.

 

Due to the power each faction holds, nearly everyone residing on the island hails from territory claimed by one of the three. The Coalition had the most power on the island initially, as they discovered it, but the Alliance was quick to put their fingers as far in as they could. Behind both their backs, the Entente has purchased all but a few shipyards and docks, and taken control over who can enter or leave the island.

 

Players are encouraged to join up with each other; there are no necessary forms that need to be filled out to make a group and explore the island – just get out there and do it.

 

Here are some of the more important NPCs that can be encountered –

 

Name: Krakua

Gender & Species: Male De-Toa

Description: Krakua is a Toa of Northern Continental build, though taller and slimmer in form. He has black and silver armor, and wears a Suletu shaped like a light grey Hau. Krakua exhibits the Toa traits of honor and nobility very well, and despite all of things he has seen keeps to the Toa Code. Due to this, he can be a bit too nonviolent for the likings of some of his men, and is considered too overprotective. He greets his fellow Toa under the terms of ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ in all cases, and has a habit of humming to himself.

Abilities: Krakua possesses the Elemental Power of Sonics, along with incredibly acute hearing. He wears a Great Suletu, providing him the power of telepathy. He possesses mental shielding that prevents him from psychic assault. Krakua is a skilled swordsman and a powerful user of Sonics.

Equipment: Krakua wields a weapon known as the Sonic Vibration Sword that acts as his Toa Tool, serving as a conduit for his elemental powers and as a melee weapon. The weapon has no edge, but can be vibrated elementally to the point that it can slice through something. He generally fights with it blunt-edged, to avoid killing his opponent.

History: Krakua hails from the Tren-Krom Peninsula of the Northern Continent. He was taken from his home in De-Koro by the Order of Mata-Nui and prepared to become a Toa one day. He eventually took on the mantle within the centuries between the Great Cataclysm and Destiny War, and assisted the Order during the time before and during the War with tasks that wouldn’t involve lethal force. He assisted the order during the Siege of Mata-Nui by awakening a horde of Bohrok under the city, and later helped the resistance against Makuta Teridax. After the Battle of Bara-Magna, Krakua became a member of the Security Department of the Metru-Magna Coalition alongside a number of his former Order allies, and was eventually stationed as the head of the outpost near Researcher’s Retreat, under the direct request of Turaga Vakama himself.

 

Name: Elhmak

Gender & Species: Male Ba-Turaga

Description: Elhmak is a hunched over Turaga with white and purple armor. He wears a Noble Miru of light purple coloration. Elhmak is a wise individual, and looked up to as a member of the community. He is also a rather shrewd trader and businessman, and quite a good talker. He cares for the settlement on Researcher’s Retreat, and wishes to keep it independent from the three major factions – however, he is losing ground. He can be rather stubborn and isn't above using others to help the settlement. Ehlmak also exhibits much pride in himself and the settlement he has done so much to help with establishing.

Abilities: Elhmak possesses trace amounts of elemental gravity powers. He also has the ability to use his Noble Miru for levitation. He isn’t a master of combat, but can still hold his own with a sword for a short time.

Equipment: Elhmak possesses a scimitar for use in combat, and also carries a staff tipped with an amethyst head that acts as a focus for his elemental powers. He also carries a concealed dagger.

History: In the Matoran Universe, Elhmak was once of the last Turaga of a small Ba-Koro on the Southern Continent. Upon reaching Spherus Magna, he helped with the establishment of a number of new settlements. In time, he came to Resident’s Retreat, and helped with the foundations of a new village that people could settle. Elhmak has expressed a particularly close bond with the settlement he helped build, and has no desire to leave any time soon.

 

Name: Jeiras

Gender & Species: Female Vo-Matoran

Description: Jeiras is a blue and white armored Matoran wearing a blue Huna. She constantly moves about and talks in a rush, and is incredibly fidgety when somebody forces her to stand still. She is generally considered to be a genius. Jerias is incredibly meddlesome with the affairs of those below her, and can be rather rigorous with keeping their jobs under control, due to her being a perfectionist.

Abilities: Jeiras possesses an increased resistance to electrical shocks. The common joke is that instead of gaining resistance from her element, it just shocks her so she can't stand still. She is incredibly smart, and adept at using all forms of technology. She has a major in archaeology, and is a good shot with a handgun.

Equipment: Jeiras carries a revolver with her at all times, and is miraculously able to remain steady when aiming it. She also carries a bag full of all sorts of pieces of equipments and randomly jotted down notes of research.

History: Jeiras originally came from the Southern Continent, and later migrated to Spherus Magna. Though an independent worker, she was hired by the Metru-Magna Coalition as their top scientist, to be positioned on Researcher’s Retreat for the researching of Arcieram’Peridius. Since her arrival on the island, what was originally mostly a focus on flora, fauna, and weather patterns has been changed to a great deal of effort poured out into exploration and helping get dig sites established across the island.

 

TRANSPORT

ROLEPLAYING GAMES ON SPEEDERS

 

The Windy Island is huge, and unless you have a Kakama or Kadin, it will take a great deal of time to transverse it. There are only a few large transport vehicles, as it takes a long time to bring all the pieces to the island. Luckily, there is one thing small enough to pass through – speeders; small vehicles that can be ridden by one or, in a pinch, two people at a time.

 

Every character on the Windy Island has a speeder, unless you really don’t want one for whatever reason. It’s pretty much essential – if you’re not moving on a speeder, or with some kind of speed boost, you’re going nowhere fast; thus, confined to one Wahi for nearly the entire game.

 

Speeders are incredibly versatile. Capable of moving across solid surfaces with ease, or heading straight up at an angle less than 70 degrees, or even achieving flight for a few minutes (long enough to reach the tops of the floating islands), they allow access to most anywhere on the island. Standard speeders can even move over the surface of water as long as they stay in motion.

 

Speeders function with a combination of Kanoka Disks and normal power sources that combine Native and Universal tech. They can move at incredible speeds, going as fast as 200 Kio per hour or faster. However, the design and safety precautions placed on them only go so far, and moving past that speed will cause physical damage. Speeders do nothing to improve reflexes, and speeds too great are dangerous in areas with numerous obstacles.

 

Speeders generally hover a few inches over the ground, and even when they’re not flying, they can propel themselves upwards up to ten feet in the air with a boost up. The standard look something like the speeders from Return of the Jedi.

 

GAMEPLAY

EXPLORING A SANDBOX RPG

 

Mystery is a sandbox RPG. This does not mean you can do everything you want – however, the island is true to its name. There are plenty of mysteries to unlock. You can come across minor things that are peculiar or strange to advance your character’s personal story as you feel necessary. If it seems out of place or too big, or you’re unsure, get permission from the GameMaster.

 

There are many ways to play through Mystery. You can do the obvious and explore the island to uncover its lost mysteries, both those of the players and the GM. This will help yield progress along the ‘main’ story the most, and will provide the best rewards like character ability improvement (if that’s what’s important to you). If you follow this path, you can either strike out on your own and explore, or follow the plot hooks listed at the end of this post.

 

You could also engage in the political debates between the factions of Spherus Magna from on Researcher’s Retreat. You could also attempt to keep it independent… or under your control.

 

While these are the major ways, it’s up to you how you want to play, and what kind of story you want to become part of.

 

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER
STEPS TO CREATE YOUR VERY OWN EXPY OF INDIANA JONES

 

You are allowed to have up to six characters, all made with the following form –

 

 

Name:

Gender & Species:

Description:

Abilities:

Equipment:

Speeder Customizations:

History:

 

 

Keep your names like something that would fit in Bionicle.

 

Under the ‘Gender & Species’ heading, if the character is a Universal and has some form of elemental affinity, the prefix should be placed before the species (‘Male Ta-Toa’). There are no restrictions to gender due to elemental nature.

 

‘Description’ should describe your characters appearance, personality, and character flaws. Note - character flaws are not some kind of physical weaknesses; they are any kind of limitation, imperfection, problem, etc. that is present in character who would otherwise be perfectly functional. This should be well thought out, and actually be something that could really effect the character.

 

‘Abilities’ should describe your characters special skills, abilities, powers, and anything extraordinary. If they have any weaknesses, place them here as well.

 

‘Equipment’ should list all weapons and other items a character has. It’s generally assumed most characters also carry some other pack or packs to put things and to contain a few unlisted items, like a lightstone or two, but not any extra weapons or anything that doesn’t make sense for that character to have.

 

‘Speeder Customizations’ describes any specific traits or modifications to your speeder (unless you don’t have one). Don’t go overboard.

 

‘History’ should describe in no less than seventy-seven words the past of your character up to this point – where they came from, what they’ve done, and all of that good stuff. More importantly, it should describe why they’re on the island, and who they work for/with, if anyone.

 

RPG RULES

STANDARD ROLEPLAYING GAME ETIQUETTE

 

What are these rules?

 

1. Follow all BZPower and RPG Forum rules.

2. Do not godmod (autohit, autododge, bunny, gaining items out of nowhere, metagaming, etc.)

3. Do not make OOC only posts in the Discussion Topic.

4. Do not double post.

5. Comedy and romance are allowed, but the comedy must no be stupid or random, and shouldn’t break the mood; romances are required to be more realistic and less rushed than the Star Wars prequels.

6. Keep travel realistic. Do not instantly appear from one place to another. It’s a huge world! Use posts that detail your travel, and interact with other characters who are with you for some time before getting there. For the sake of moving the plot, you don’t need to wait for too long before you reach the next point in order to keep the story in motion. However, if your group is racing against a much closer group, you shouldn’t miraculously overtake them. That’s not right.

7. Get permission before doing anything that would majorly change the RPG.

8. The most important rule in the RPG - stay true to your character, and keep IC interactions very separate from your OOC ones. Put effort and thought into every post you make. Develop your character, and bring them to life. This doesn't mean just sitting around talking, either. Roleplaying your characters whilst in the middle of exploring the world and furthering the story is the solution you should always take. This makes the game move faster, and keeps people interested in the story.

9. Have fun!

 

Finally, when posting, posts must be done as such –

 

 

OOC: This is where you make statements ‘Out of Character’, and is not a necessary part of the post. Such statements address another player, rather than from one character to another.

 

IC: Character Name / Character Location

For each character you are making a post for, have a separate IC section (unless there are two in the same location, and you make it easy to determine who is being discussed). This is where you describe what a character does, what they say, what they see, and what they think. Tell it in third-person limited, or first-person if you’re one of those people.

 

 

Punishments for breaking rules are –

 

First Offense – Warning via PM! May be skipped if your crime was severe enough to warrant it.

Second Offense – Public warning!

Third Offense – At least one or your characters meets a terrible fate ranging from injury to death.

Fourth Offense – All of your characters meet some terrible fate ranging from severe injury to annihilation. You are down to two characters.

Fifth Offense – You lose all remaining characters and cannot make any more – you are no longer welcome in this RPG, unless enough of your fellow players vouch for you to be allowed back for a final shot at redemption with a final character.

Sixth Offense – There is no redemption for you.

 

GETTING INTO THE GAME

WHERE TO START PLAYING

P.S. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT

 

The final note is getting into the game. Players may begin play in Researcher’s Retreat, or anywhere within Ga-Wahi. Wherever you start, get involved! Do something interesting, and don’t just sit around while waiting for the plot to advance! If you think something would be cool, do it. (Just remember rule #7) Otherwise, get together with someone else who is doing something. If these aren’t enough options, you could try to follow the actual story –

 

• There is a large campsite set up in the Ta-Wahi region where a number of archaeologists are attempting to uncover the secrets of a larger ruin, which appears to be an ancient city. The Coalition funded expedition will be mounting soon.
• Recently, another ruin quite similar to the first was found in the Ko-Wahi region, at its border with Le-Wahi and Ga-Wahi. It appears to be the entrance to a temple. None have entered it yet, though moves made by the Alliance suggest it won’t be long before it has been claimed.
• One of the submarines making the trip from Researcher’s Retreat never completed the trip. No distress signals were sent, and occasionally a signal appears suggesting it may be intact…
• Another submarine trip is leaving from Researcher’s Retreat to the Windy Island in short time, and preparations are being made now. It should set forth quite soon.
• There are rumors of a massive dragon beast being spotted in the Ta-Wahi region, and a number of hunters are attempting to track it down.

 

There’s one thing I want nailed into everyone’s heads – if you’re entering the game, or just introducing a new character, there are better things to do than say ‘open for interaction’. This will be welcome at the start of the game, but after that, you should feel free to simply approach or run into another character and start up interaction (and, if necessary, retcon it out if it turns out they went inactive). That’s the best way to get things moving.

 

Oh, and one more thing - in the (slightly modified to the circumstances) words of Gary Gygax, father of RPGs and the ruler of us all. "Superior play makes the game more enjoyable for all participants, GM and players alike. It allows more actual playing time. It makes play more interesting. [...] Successful play means long-lived characters [...] that become like old friends; they become almost real. Characters with stories related about their exploits - be they cleverly wrought gains or narrow escapes  -bring a sense of pride and accomplishment to their players, and each new success adds to the luster and fame thus engendered. [...] Playing well is a reward unto itself, and old characters are often remembered with fondness and pride as well. If you believe that [Mystery] is a game worth playing, you would certainly find it doubly so if you play well."

 

What exactly does this mean? Well, if you follow most of the advice I have on here, and everyone follows the rules, and everyone tries to keep the RPG moving, then this is exactly how it will happen. Just stay true to your characters, and please stay with the RPG as long as you can. If you plan on ceasing play, I would prefer if you left some kind of note in the Discussion topic or sent a PM or something. That way, we can move your characters to the wayside or whatever needs to happen and let everything move forward.

 

GIVING THANKS

TURKEY IS NOT OPTIONAL

 

Well, it took me a little while to get my thoughts collected to actually go ahead and write this out. But, you see, I think it's something that I need to do - say a few 'thanks' to people.

 

I would first like to thank all of those who have played in an RPG I have written. It's when you actually act as the GM that you learn the most about what you can do, and about your skills as a writer. You can start to experiment with new things, and find out how well they work... or discover they don't actually work at all. I have to apologize for anyone who was a guinea pig in any of these events.

 

I would also like to thank everyone else who I've RPed with on this forum, because you can't run an RPG very well if you don't know how to play the blasted things. This definitely applies to any GMs who have had to deal with me in the past. That certainly can't be very easy.

 

I would like to thank anyone who I've debated with, because it's really entertaining, and developing new ideas is a lot easier during a competition - even when people start raging.

 

I'd like to thank the people I know in my personal life, even if none of them will ever see this because they don't come on BZPower. Especially over the last two years. There's a lot of stuff that can change in a persons life, and a lot of hands have guided me along the way. I'm sure some of them wish I wasn't a snarky... or argumentative... or opinionated... well, I certainly have a long list of character flaws. But that's what makes us human.

 

With that said,

Levacius Zehvor

Edited by Toa Levacius Zehvor, Mar 20 2013 - 09:03 PM.

[ninjamonkey3000]

I know this is very sudden considering I just came back recently, but I had an idea I just wanted to try out, let loose.

 

Shadows of Fate

 

History of Mata Nui

Only a few years ago, the island paradise of Mata Nui was in peril as the evil Makuta reigned with his Rahi.  Prophecies told of ancient warriors known as Toa, but they never came.  The Turaga sent 1 Matoran from each village to find Toa Stones and defend the island as a last resort.  This group formed of Jala, Maku, Huki, Onepu, Kongu, and Matoro, found the stones and defended the island as Toa, weakening Makuta enough to leave him stranded in his own lair.  However, the Turaga told of dark secrets from the past, and sent the Toa to a tunnel to a mysterious land.

 

It's been years since the Toa left to find the long lost cities the Turaga called 'Metru Nui', but they never returned and we never heard of their fate. The Turaga became more and more paranoid, turning their villages into defended towns or fortresses, and Matoran rarely leave their Koro.  Our unity is breaking, our duties abandoned for luxury, and our destinies unclear.  Some think the Toa died.  Some think they are fighting the longest battle in history down there.  But I believe perhaps something more is happening.  Rahi are going wild and it seems Makuta has been preparing his forces.  The Turaga say that if the Toa are truly dead, then there is no hope left for our island.  But I say we stand up.  I say we fight for what we have.  We must succeed where the Toa may have failed.

- Chronicler Takua

 

More About Shadows of Fate

Shadows of Fate is an RPG based on my own alternate universe of BIONICLE- the Toa Mata never landed on Mata Nui, meaning the Matoran had to form their own Toa from Jala, Kongu, Matoro, Maku, Huki, and Onepu.  They were sent on a mission to see if Metru Nui was ok- but it was far from that.  Long abandoned, vicious Rahi and rogue scavengers fought for control.  Long ago, the island felt a widespread tremor- little did they know this was Jala's Nova Blast which the Toa were caught in.  The city was in ruins, with only the stronger pieces remaining along with the underground levels.  This blast also turned the tunnels from Metru Nui to Mata Nui into a giant chasm and created large canyons and shifting landscapes on Mata Nui.  With an exit from the wasteland, forces like the Dark Hunters begin to creep up onto the island...

 

Users can create up to 3 of their own Matoran characters of any of the 6 main elements, and roleplay a life that is both prosperous and fearful as the Rahi threaten the paradise they built.  Because Makuta was trapped and the Bohrok never woke up, the Matoran had time to build their villages from bare-bones and almost tribal to small towns.  There will be a sort of buying items, and widgets exist, but it will be treated not as a rigid record for items- simply purchasing items in RP.  You don't have to keep a record of widgets, but roleplay your spending wisely- Matoran don't have unlimited money.  If we have to determine winners, fights between players will be decided by me (and co-GMs) based on the skill of roleplaying and a quick think of who would be more effective in a fight like this.

 

There will be a variety of locations- like the Bzprpg, there will be the Wahis, along with the Kini-Nui and the Chasms of Fear (the large chasm system left behind by the Nova Blast) as separate locations. In addition to the starting story, I have many ideas planned for potential story after this starting point- this is simply the beginning of an alternate history of the BIONICLE franchise we all know.  I hope people enjoy the idea of Shadows of Fate, and I'd like to see it made a reality.

 

Locations

 

Ta-Wahi

Ta-Wahi has changed since Jala became Toa of Fire.  Vakama has insisted on upping security, and Ta-Koro is now a huge fortress- no individual houses, just one big castle with rooms for the Matoran, shops, armories, forges- you name it.  The Ta-Matoran rarely ever leave, due to the huge lava moat.  Outside of here, the landscape hasn't changed much, aside from a large lava river the tremors caused that goes right through the Charred Forest.

Ga-Wahi

Ga-Wahi has also changed since the Toa formed.  The once tranquil lilypad village of Ga-Koro has become somewhat of a port town where Ga-Matoran sail large transports to foreign islands.  There are also more defenses, with the gates to the village being locked with a complex water puzzle.  Due to the Ga-Matoran staying closer to home, the waters of Ga-Wahi are full of fierce Rahi, and it seems storms are more common.

Le-Wahi

Le-Koro has probably changed the most from the old days.  The jungle is a bit smaller due to a higher demand for wood, and the Le-Koro Matoran now live on the ground, with large outposts that pierce the thick cover of trees replacing old treetop homes.  There are more Rahi there than before, although they are usually deeper in the center of the jungle to avoid Matoran looking for more wood.  There is also a large lake  formed during the tremors known as Lake Iruini.

Ko-Wahi

Ko-Koro has changed quite a bit from before the new Toa team was formed.  During the tremors, large avalanches combined with the extreme cold formed a natural wall around Ko-Koro.  The Matoran carved out a tunnel that goes through the bottom of Mount Ihu up to a higher ledge, and from there they can traverse the island.  The mountainous lands have been carved by tremors and erosion into a jagged rocky wasteland of cold.  Rahi are also more common than ever, brought out by the rapidly changing landscape.

Po-Wahi

The deserts and rocks of Po-Wahi have been changed by the tremor to a huge degree- where the Motara Desert once was, a huge canyon has taken its place.  Po-Koro has been forced to move from the middle of the deserts to a system of caverns similar to Onu-Koro inside the canyon wall.  These tunnels include small carts and a station that traverses nearly the whole island.  To the Po-Matoran, quakes and tremors are almost daily due to the shifting rock.

Onu-Wahi

Onu-Wahi's rubble and dirt has been sifted quite a bit by the tremor, resulting in an ever-shifting plain of dirt, small rocks, and other earth.  Underground, however, Onu-Koro has grown and grown- protodermis was mined to make reinforced plates that reduced the shock of tremors, and the mines have been refined into levels similar to the Metru Nui Archives.  There is also a new tunnel that leads into the Chasms of Fear.

Kini-Nui

The once grand temples of Kini-Nui have been reduced to ruins by the tremor.  Those who are foolish enough to venture into the valley will find that that tremors caused huge avalanches of rock to fall, and that the temple itself has been damaged, with many cracks and pieces of crushed rock.  The carvings and statues all have been slightly cracked and have plantlife growing on them in mysterious patterns.  Some believe Makuta's lair lies below this area, but no one has ever ventured down there but the Toa.

The Chasms of Fear

Across the island, small tunnels to Metru Nui had existed- some too small for travel, some used by the Turaga when they were Toa themselves.  However, the tremor's largest effect to the island by far was turning all these tunnels into a giant system of caverns and chasms.  The system connects at various places, but due to the vertical nature of this, they all end up one place- an odd, twisted nightmare of ruins of buildings, beings that strike fear into the heart of a Toa, and flowing protodermis.  Some suspect it to be Karzahni itself, but in reality, it is the ruins of Metru Nui.  Those who dare to enter the chasms won't just be in a funnel, though- there are many ledges, both crafted and natural, and small caverns.

 

Player Info

 

The rules of the roleplay are very basic, but must be followed.

• 1) Have fun.  This is important.
• 2) No godmod/autohit/autododge.
• 3) Respect not only GMs, but fellow players.
• 4) Don't act like your character has infinite widgets- we aren't asking for a set-in-stone record of widgets, but keep in mind they don't just have bottomless wallets.
• 5) Try to keep your backstories and things reasonable- I don't want to be running around with mysterious spies from some order who know what Metru Nui is or anything, just a reasonable RP.

 

Consequences for broken rules-

• First Offense: Let off with a warning, maybe loss of one item depending on the rule broken.
• Second Offense: Another warning, loss of 2 items.
• Third Offense: Last warning, loss of 3 items, no posting in the RP for 24 hours.
• Fourth Offense: Loss of 4 items, one character injured in-story, no posting in the topic for 48 hours.
• Fifth Offense: Loss of all items, two characters injured in-story, no posting in the topic for a week.
• Sixth Offense: Banned from RP, all characters severely injured or killed.

Players will have to put in a profile to begin, in the profile topics.  The template is like this-

 

Name: Should be fitting for the BIONICLE universe.

Element: Duh.

Appearance: Sum it up well in 25 - 50 words.

Personality: Tell a bit about how they act, 30 - 50 words.

History: 25 - 40 words will do.

Equipment: Just whatever assorted items they have on hand when you begin.

 

All players will begin in their home village, with 1 powerless mask, some assorted equipment, and a bag to store things in.  From there, they may explore the island as they please, fighting, relaxing, discovering- just go wild and unearth the secrets that this alternate universe holds!

 

If a player is exceptional in roleplaying or has done a deed in the story (such as slaying a powerful Rahi, finding something of importance, etc.), they will be rewarded- such rewards include new weaponry/tools, a discussion/interaction with a major canon character (usually the Turaga, who will be roleplayed by GMs), or a pet/mount such as a Ussal Crab or Gukko without having to tame one in-story.

 

INPCS (Important Non-Playable Characters) will be roleplayed by GMs- such INPCS include the Turaga, and potentially races besides the Matoran such as Skadki,  In such an event that another species does appear, soon afterwards, I plan to make that race playable- the reason for why not from the start is that they have to be properly introduced not only as a race, but as a difference from the main story of BIONICLE.

 

I hope you enjoy this quick description of how Shadows of Fate would be like, if needed by the staff I'll add more, but I feel this is a satisfactory submission- once again, will add if needed.  Please leave feedback over in the discussion topic if you like it!

Edited by ninjamonkey3000, Mar 08 2013 - 08:53 PM.

[Canis Lupus]

We Live. For Now.

 

"Onua Nuva here. It has been thirty years since The Crash. The way I see it, this all began a hundred years ago, with the Light Teridax’s prophecy. You see, Light Teridax can see the future using a power of the Makuta of his universe. He said that a event would come that would change our lives forever. It would devastate Spherus Magna. No one believed him because our Makuta didn’t have the power of prediction. What a mistake that was. Never the less, he was leader of the great city of Atero Nui and this wasn’t enough to remove him from office. He began to prepare the city for this disaster. Seventy years later, The Crash occurred. A giant space ship appeared out of a warp jump and collided with Spherus Magna. Earthquakes hit the lands, dust clouds blocked out Solis Magna, our sun and worst of all, people were turned into strange mutant freaks. Plants died out in a matter of months. The only remnant of civilization that survived The Crash was Atero Nui, due to Light Teridax’s plans. Now I got to go. Mutants are comi-"

 

This is the last trace of any of the Toa Nuva: a recording made by Onua Nuva. The recording device was found in a campsite with signs of a fight. All of the Toa Nuva are presumed dead. Spherus Magna is now a desolate desert without sunlight. Mutants roam the deserts, and food is scarce. Spherus Magna is now a dog-eat-dog world with survival of the fittest as it’s only rule.

 

Factions:

 

Atero Nui: The only form of civilization to survive The Crash. It has an artificial light source powered by Light Teridax’s powers. While life here is easier than any where else on Spherus Magna, this does not mean life is a walk in the park. Everyone must work long hours. To live in the city, you must be able to produce 1.5 times your food consumption. Technologically advanced races can provide solely for the MU inhabitants. Rahkshi live in the city, but are not citizens. To become a citizen of the city, one must compete in an all out, non-lethal gladiator match with  has fifty contestants. The last three standing get citizenship. As for a government, the city has what would best be classified as a communism. Everyone gets the same amount of resources, no matter their social standing or job. The city is governed by Light Teridax and a ruling council that changes. Innovation is strongly encouraged.

 

The Crusaders of the Lost Mask: This is the only major organization to come into existence after The Crash. They have one mission: Find the Mask of Life, which had left the main areas of Spherus Magna to recharge its powers and find evidence of the Great Beings. The Crusaders do not know why Mata Nui or the Mask has not detected the disturbances that have occurred lately. They want to find it so Mata Nui and the spirit of Toa Ignika can fix the planet with the powers of the mask. They are very chivalrous, and almost all are can be classified as good. One can find a wide selection of species in the Crusaders. Any being that can use the powers of a Kanohi has an Elda along with their ordinary mask. The Elda, unfortunately has a size limit and the Crusaders have not found the mask yet. They have three small, permanent outposts. The Crusaders are led by Jaller, Kongu and Takanuva, the only three major Toa from before The Crash that are not missing or dead.

 

Mutants: Whatever caused the crash released a mutagen into the air that turned ordinary people into partially animal mutants. MU inhabitants were fused with Rahi, SM natives with SM native animals. All mutants have only a basic sapience. After becoming a mutant, one has the sudden urge to travel to the site of the crash, where the mutagen levels are incredibly high. After going there, some mutants then return to scene of Mata Nui and Makuta’s fight and steal pieces of those robots. After going to the site of The Crash, they wander the world. They are extremely dangerous, as they can use the powers of both of the two creatures that form them.

 

The Survivors: If you are not mutant, Crusader or Atero Nui citizen, you are a survivor. Survivors are the nameless masses trying to survive in a lifeless world. Survivors are representative of 80% of the population of Spherus Magna. If you have something someone else wants, you stand a great risk of being killed by that someone. Some groups of survivors have set up small, temporary encampments, and others have formed militias. If you live in an encampment, you are not safe. In fact you are pretty much the exact opposite, a sitting duck. You are a target for militias, raiders and anything else. Life is extremely hard, and you are always looking for ways to improve your life.

 

Location:

Most of the terrain of Spherus Magna is the same, just deserts. The Great Sea still exists, but all it provides is water, and not even very clean water at that. The object that caused The Crash hasn’t been moved, and is surrounded by clouds of mutagen. There is no more weather of any sort, do to the fact the sun has been blocked out. The three major resources food, water and weapons are all extremely scarce. The entire world is very cold. To the north are the very high and hard to pass Black Spike Mountains. It is always cold and dark.

 

Gameplay:

This game’s plot is very thin, which allows you to do whatever you want. You can join the Crusaders and hunt for the Mask of Life or you could find your way to Atero Nui and compete in the gladiator match for citizenship. If you want to do something, do it. (Within reason, of course.) Whatever your PCs do will not affect the world on a global scale, but it can on a smaller level. You could team with a couple Bo-, Av- and Ga- Toa and make a forest.

 

Rules:

1. All BZRPG rules, and BZPower rules are in effect here.
2. Do not godmod, metagame or bunny. Your PCs are not invincible.
3. Respect the GMs.
4. Use IC for when you are RPing as your PC, and OOC when you are not. Put your PC name and location next to IC.
5. Keep comedy and romance down to a minimum.
6. No elements or powers of that nature. You may have custom masks, but they must be pre-approved.  Custom species are allowed, but must be pre-approved as well.
7. Please use proper grammar and spelling in your posts.
8. Banned masks are the Ignika, Vahi, Olmak, Kraakhan, Avohki, and the Mask of Creation. Banned species are Makuta, and members of Botar's species. 
9. Your PCs must be approved by staff.
10.  Have fun!

 

Punishments:

Breaking the more serious rules of 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9 will get you varying offenses.

 

First Offence: You get a private warning.

Second Offence: One of your characters is seriously injured.

Third Offence: All of your characters are seriously injured. One is killed.

Fourth Offence: All of your characters die except for one. The living one is seriously injured.

Fifth Offence: Your last character dies. You are permanently banned.

 

 

Profiles:

Fill out this form for your characters. You may have up to five PCs and ten NPCs.

 

Name: This must be Bionicle themed.

Element, Species & Gender:  Have your elemental prefix in front of your species. Gender is not limited by Element.

Kanohi: If applicable.

Powers: If applicable.

Affiliation: You may be a Mutant, Crusader, or Survivor. You may not be a New Ateroan when you begin the game. (You may compete in the gladiator match during the game and possibly gain citizenship, but you will more likely lose.)

Weapons: You may start of with one basic weapon.

Abilities: Your characters traits. What can they do?

Weaknesses: You must have one, exploitable weakness.

Personality: What your character is like.

Background: Who your character was before The Crash, what happened to them over the past thirty years, etc. etc.

 

Once your PC is approved you can start RPing. You may start wherever you want, and remember Rule 10!

Edited by Canis Lupus, Mar 12 2013 - 07:42 PM.

[Lithuanian Lightning]

(Suggested OST: Two Steps From ###### – Strength of a Thousand Men)

 

***

 

Radamir! Radamir the Blessed! King of the Wild Hunt! Your subjects call to you in the dark of night!

 

Come to the world, and deliver it from evil! Wipe this evil scourge from our home realm!

 

We ride, on our spectral mounts as the wind howls by! We ride, bearing the swords of destiny!

 

We seek vengeance, we seek justice! We seek to unleash our wrath on the living world, to remind them that the dead live again! We seek glory, to remain immortal in songs of fear and terror! We seek freedom, we seek deliverance, we seek to die, this time for real!

 

***

 

Our universe is in ruins. We have burnt it, burnt it to the ground with our own hubris and foolishness, caused chaos and war, destruction and wrath. Our cities have been razed to the ground, our lands turned to dust, our dreams lost in the wind and the darkness. The last remains of civilization remain locked in an eternal struggle with this dark fate.

 

Our universe is dead. All is dead. We are dead. The darkness has engulfed our lands, the lands we died to protect. We died courageous: we met our death smiling and brave, with our king at our head, as the Makuta slit our throats and pushed our bodies off the cliffs of Destral. But even after death...

 

We are alive, barely. A small pocket of Matoran, Toa and Skakdi refugees fled to the abandoned remains of the Makuta fortress of Destral. We came here, thinking this would be a suitable location to withstand the storms of fate. We tried many places before: the Southern Continent, from whence the rabid bandit gangs that would kill and and devour any living thing that could still be eaten chased us, and Daxia, where the swamp devoured the earth, and even looked on the ruins of once-glorious Artakha before coming dangerously close to being devoured by Crystal Serpents now with no master to control them. We dared not go to the southern islands, of whom now only a few atolls remained as the protodermis ocean devoured them... we dared not go north, where only chaos reigned. At Destral, we foolishly thought we found refuge...

 

Even after death, our thirst for vengeance is strong. Once, our king Radamir the Blessed, the greatest Toa to walk this earth, led us to Destral to challenge the rule of the Makuta. Radamir took us across the sea to the seat of that savage race and laid siege to the beaches of this god-forsaken island. We burnt their watchtowers and fought them for justice and honor, freedom and liberty.

 

The Brotherhood of Makuta's war upon the rest of the world was a devastating catastrophe. It left civilization in ruins and set loose such evil that it destroyed their war machine just as much as it destroyed the rest of the world, forcing them back into Destral as the world collapsed in a series of both natural and unnatural catastrophes. We had no idea what forced them out, caused their deaths, but we felt glad once we reached these shores, convinced that we were finally safe.

 

We fought in the name of vengeance for the ones we loved. The Toa Code no longer mattered: we killed in the name of our king and in the name of those we loved. But in the end... we lost. We fought bravely: we fought all the way up to the highest towers, took down many famous Makuta: Krika, Chirox, Gorast, Antroz all died by our blades. However, ultimately it did not matter. Radamir was wounded in the assault on Mutran's quarters, and the Makuta took this opportunity to counterattack and push us back to the gates. Our king fell into the hands of the enemy. Our men, hard as they tried not to be, were demoralized. We had nowhere to run besides away, and that was something we would not do. We hopelessly observed as the Brotherhood's counterattacks and sallies made our siege pointless. The Makuta captured those few of us who remained alive and executed us, pushing us off their battlements into the sea of protodermis, Radamir leading us for what we thought was the last time.

 

When the first deaths came, when the alarms in our camp went off at night, we realized something was wrong.

 

But we live, even after death. We have sought the death of all the malicious and vile Makuta who still lived after our attack, and we have had it. But we still seek our vengeance and our freedom. Darkness rules this world, and we will not rest until we have slipped free of its grasp and broken free into eternity.

 

We do not know why these specters hound us. But we are sick and tired of running. We will not run.

 

We will not hide. We will have justice!

 

We will not surrender and let death blindly take us. We will live!

 

We are the Wild Hunt!

 

Undying

 

The Plot

 
The elders say that it was the failure of the Toa Nuva to raise Mata Nui from his slumber that doomed the universe we dwell in.
 
The Brotherhood of Makuta, especially its deputy leader Icarax, proved more clever than ever their own overlord Teridax. As the Toa rushed to the swamps of Karda Nui to awaken the Great Spirit, the Makuta opted for a completely unorthodox approach - the destruction of the dome of Karda Nui entirely by making the dome's ceiling collapse upon them, trapping the Toa within, and, judging by their failure to awaken Mata Nui, also killing them. It proved to matter little within a few weeks, however, as Icarax, at the head of a massive army - Teridax himself was nowhere to be found - assaulted the free peoples of the Matoran Universe.
 
The war lasted a century, with both sides - the Order of Mata Nui, and its allies, and the Brotherhood and their allies - failing to gain any significant victory over the other. The weapons that both sides used grew more and more destructive and caused more and more collateral damage, to society, to civilization, to the world. On the hundred and sixteenth year of this horrible war, Metru Nui lied half-sunken into the Silver Sea, the Southern Continent was a terrifying, lifeless wasteland of ash and smoke to rival even Karzahni, and even the great city of Artahka was razed and transformed into ruin. The Makuta suffered similar losses. Gradually, they simply could not feed their armies trapped in distant realms - for the realms were horrific and desolate - and, leaving them there, they retreated to their fortress in Destral, too weak for any further conquest - not to mention, there no longer was anything left to conquer.
 
Thousands upon thousands of refugees - hopeless, homeless individuals - wandered the lands, seeking some sort of refuge. This was a moribund existence on a dying world - there were few resources to feed them, and only a few Toa still left to guide them. Slowly, the universe settled into anarchy.
 
A hundred years later, three shiploads of refugees landed on an island. An island crowned with a once mighty, now abandoned and derelict, fortress. A sole island, rounded by the vast protodermis ocean. It didn't take long for the refugees to discover that this was the island of Destral, once the home of the Makuta, and the place they had retreated to after their failed conquests.
 
It didn't take long for the refugees to discover the source of the Makuta's demise, either. It was not old age that finally claimed them, no. It was their own pride, personified, that finally defeated them.
 
It was the Wild Hunt - a host of ghostly Kikanalo-riding warriors, once followers of a mighty king named Radamir who once led them here to Destral to challenge the might of the Makuta, to no avail. Radamir and his kin, however, were not easily defeated, as the Makuta would discover - they returned to life as ghosts, as spectral riders haunting the ruins of Destral. These were not your ordinary visions of the dead; these were actual material creatures, actual people that could, apparently, talk with each other, think, make plans, and most importantly, they could kill you.
 
The refugees' contact with the Wild Hunt, who, despite the Makuta's deaths, did not seem willing to return to rest, went rather painfully. The Wild Hunt slew a number of refugees and torched their camp; it was only because then a curious little Skakdi, named Turag, discovered that the Wild Hunt feared the most - fire (as it was rather ignorant of them to come and torch the place) that the refugees even survived.
 
Before long, they found themselves in a lose-lose situation. They could not flee from Destral: having camped within the fortress, they found making their way back to the old dock nigh impossible with the Wild Hunt rampaging 'round the island, and their old boats were now destroyed as well. Fighting the Wild Hunt proved difficult, even though the specters had a paralyzing fear of fire. For every time a specter was slain, they'd return again 24 hours later, upon a cliff that the Wild Hunt named the Sorrowcliff, and again they'd begin their relentless assault, again, again, and again. For the Hunt believed these refugees were merely servants of evil – for that was the only explanation they had for why they had not been put to rest even after their vengeance – and that vengeance they sought.
 
There remained no way out for the refugees except to fight. And fight they did.
 

TL;DR

 
Long story short, this RPG is set on Destral, where a group of spectral riders called the Wild Hunt are waging an endless, unstoppable war against the living, in this particular case, a group of refugees fleeing a now desolate Matoran Universe. Will you break free of this haunted island, and lead the refugees away from this terrible place? Will you somehow smash the Wild Hunt's curse upon you? Or will you, as a Huntsman, claim your vengeance upon the living world and destroy it, in hopes of your redemption? It's up to you.

 

Factions

 
The Refugees. The Refugees are exactly that – a ragtag bunch of refugees. They can be of pretty much any origin you can think of (as long as they‘re not members of an outlawed race) and can be as old, pretty, powerful or wise as is reasonable according to the basic rules of the game. How your character joined the particular group of refugees that was heading to Destral is pretty much up to you – these people formed as packs of wandering Matoran, Skakdi, Vortixx, Toa, et caetera, grew and grew until they numbered a few hundred people wandering the Southern and Northern Continents before they came to this island. A few might even have arrived on their own. There are two things they all have in common: they are not undead, and they are enemies of the Wild Hunt (although that’s almost completely unrelated to their own choices). Most of them are settled in the Refugee Camp in the northeast of the island, which functions somewhat like an anarchist commune slash direct democracy – there are no actual leaders mainly due to the refugees’ differences and inability to decide on any, and decisions are made by camp-wide referendum. The refugees do appoint several notable offices – veterans of various wars are generally posted as leaders of military defence groups. When they need food or supplies, the refugees either loot the Destral Fortress or fish – with obscenely long fishing lines – off the cliffs of Destral. Sometimes, the more adventurous among them wander into the lower levels of the fortress dungeons and slay the scores of Rahi that roam them.
 
The Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt are a vast army of spectral riders – usually riding Kikanalo, that are just as spectral – of various species. Their one major unifying trait is that they are all former members of King Radamir’s army that he led to a hopeless, yet fierce assault upon the Makuta of Destral. Most of the Wild Huntsmen are Toa, but that’s not a rule. The Hunt is typically fiercely loyal to their king – even in this state of undeath, and usually – after a century of such a state – fiercely devoted to the goal of breaking this curse upon them, whatever its source. Radamir, and most of the Hunt, supposes that the curse comes from them having failed to fulfill their destinies – which they see as cleansing Destral, if not the world, of all evil.
 
The Wild Hunt not only launches assaults on the refugees. Due to the refugees’ staunch resistance despite the rather unhealthy way the Hunt hugely outnumbers them, they have moved on from cannon-foddering the battlefield (and returning to life afterward), which has proven ineffective against strategic weapons such as barricades, spike and lava pits, and generally fire, to strategic attacks at key choke points and attempts to force through the refugees’ defensive lines. As a result, they have been forced to occasionally pull back, gather their strength, wait for their fallen fighters to be reborn, and wait for the refugees to accidentally make an opening. For this result, they have established the closest thing they have to a base – they gather at a field before Sorrowcliff, where they have established, around a flat stone named the Altar of the Fallen, a gathering point for the Hunt before they march to war.
 
A notable feature of the Hunt is their appearance. They all look like normal people, except for one distinguishing feature: their eyes are filled with nothing but a cold blue flame. From one rim to the other, a Huntsman's eyes are bright blue. Their blood is also peculiar: instead of normal red, it is a ghastly, almost transparent blue liquid that is so unthick (compared to actual normal blood) that it seeps through your fingers.

 

The Wild Hunt

(gameplay specifics)

 
Players may find the gameplay specifics of the Huntsmen rather unusual. First of all, communication between the Hunt and the refugees via traditional methods – namely conversation – is entirely frozen. Null. Void. It doesn‘t exist. Anything a Huntsman says will sound, apparently depending on the Huntsman‘s personality, as either a loud screech, a quiet hiss, or some other unintelligible sound to any common refugee. Moreover, no Huntsman can die – their unachieved destiny effectively bars their door to the afterlife, and unless said destiny – which Radamir, King of the Hunt, assumes is the wiping of all evil from the island – is achieved, the Wild Hunt will not have their rest. The specters can be slain – to provide brief respite for the refugees. However, this merely means that they will be reborn in a location called Sorrowcliff (further info in the Locations section) – from whereupon they will again begin their quest for vengeance. Thirdly, the Wild Hunt fears fire. Huntsmen can suppress this fear – this is less a rule than a guideline. Think of it this way: fire is something the Hunt wants to avoid, and the last thing it will do is intentionally come into contact with it – but that does not in any way mean that you should have your Huntsman immediately die upon such contact. It’s more a pathological fear than an actual susceptibility. (We will be expecting good RPing from you people. Don’t have your Huntsman as a tough macho specter guy who ain’t fearin’ no fire – I do not approve of hipstering, except when it’s my fellow GMs doing the hipstering.) Fourthly – Huntsmen do not feel pain (broken hearts and shattered dreams don’t count) and therefore attacks that are based on causing them pain rather than damage are pretty much doomed to fail. Stunning them is also impossible. They can’t go unconscious, either. Kill them or they’ll kill you. (And even if you DO kill them, there’s a distinct possibility they will kill you either way.)
 
Last of all, the Wild Hunt cannot use their elemental powers. Elemental powers appear to have been inextricably linked with the biologies of their original bodies, rendering them impossible to use in the afterlife.
 
UPDATE: Going to elaborate on a couple of things I forgot, neglected, or didn't think of but was later reminded of. Huntsmen are killed rather like normal people. They bleed, and if they bleed too much, they will die. If you pierce them through the heart, they die.
 
Once they die, they vanish into thin air. The next day (in-game) goes with your character being just sort of out of the game, and then he reappears once 24 in-game hours (not "real life" 24 hours) pass.
 
APPENDIX TO THE UPDATE: If you people find it difficult to play with having to go twenty-four in-game hours with your character wandering the paths of nonexistence, I'll probably make it less. We'll see how stuff works out.
 

NPCs

 
There are none.
 
Yes. You heard that right.

There are no NPCs. Well, nominally. Just so we're clear: I mean important, staff-controlled characters, not NPCs in general.
 
Staff characters will be posted in the profile topic, and will be essentially treated as ordinary characters – at least on paper. They will only be played by their players and will be only as strong as any other characters. There is one exception – Radamir, the King of the Wild Hunt, who I will play, is pretty ###### invincible for any starting character, but that’s just so I have a potent tool to keep rulebreakers in line. Not to mention, it gives something for you people to strive for. Play well, play cleverly, and you might just become more powerful than him. If I feel like it.
 

Locations

 

 

Destral Fortress

 
The old fortress on Destral has effectively become a frontline for the Hunt and the refugees. Because the only way from the southern to the northeastern courtyards (where the refugee camp lies) is via the fortress’ hallways, the refugees have mostly adopted tactics of barricading shorter hallways, littering longer ones with traps, and firing endlessly on the enemy as they made their way through, rather like a tower defense game.
 
Throne Room
 
The Throne Room, the heart of Destral, is a place none save maybe the King of the Hunt dare tread. First of all because it now lies pretty much empty, thus rendering it useless for scavengers – and then secondly because both the refugees and the Hunt share a myth that the darkness of Destral’s past - that they both understand as more an abstract, theoretical concept than a physical threat, hence why people who go in and out are not under any actual threat – still lies within. It’s a cold place – a long hall with just one entrance, where at one end lies an old throne – now slashed in two by a tact sword movement usually attributed to Radamir the Blessed. Nothing else remains in the Throne Room – the tables have been carried away to use for barricades by the refugees, and the masks that once hanged on the walls were taken and reused.
 
Dungeons
 
The ancient dungeons of the Makuta are another mostly avoided location, except for more major and larger ones that are often also used as a battlefield. Both the Hunt and the refugees have not as of yet properly examined the deepest levels of the dungeons, and monsters beyond imagination are said to lurk within. Well, that, or they’re just called by their usual name that is rather within imagination: Rahkshi. Their Kraata now lacking even a set of masters, they’ve retreated far from daylight, deep into the bowels of Destral. Similar fates have occurred to other Rahi that once served the Makuta.
 
The higher levels, because they were used as repositories for food and supplies, are often looted by the refugees for useful tools and things.
 
Laboratory
 
And then there’s Mutran’s old laboratory. It’s also not particularly used to people visiting – but that isn’t because they don’t want to, it’s because they can’t. Everyone who has until now tried to access the laboratory has failed. The door is equipped with a voice recognition system and the need to enter a password of all things – and a lock that seems rather uninviting to any attempts to pick it. To elaborate, around said lock is a… decoration that happens to be shaped in the likeness of a takea shark’s jaws, and there’ve been rumors that some days they seem to just slightly move when foreign fingers are placed just a bit too close.
 
Pity, too, because anything so protected must be priceless. Even more importantly, potentially useful.
 

Courtyards

 
Refugee Camp
 
The Refugee Camp is in the northeast of the island, a huge makeshift village where most refugees opt to live, except in cases of misanthropy so extreme they’re willing to risk their lives to stay alone. Most of the makeshift huts they’ve set up are wooden lean-tos built upon foundations of buildings that were once used as barracks to house the thousands of servants the Brotherhood of Makuta had back then. Some more clever refugees have built more acceptable accommodations – accommodations they often share with other refugees, to save space.
 
Sorrowcliff
 
Sorrowcliff has, effectively, become the very pinnacle of the Wild Hunt’s unfortunate pseudo-existence. It is a cliff before the sea, where the followers of Radamir were once led for their execution – and it has become the place where the specters return to upon their deaths. Before Sorrowcliff lies the large, flat, meteoric stone named the Altar of the Dead, used as a marking point for where the Hunt gathers before they ride out to war. Sorrowcliff is the Hunt’s sorrow, the Hunt’s home, and the Hunt’s destiny.
 

Profile Form

 
Profiles ought to be posted in the Discussion Topic for approval, whereupon they can be moved to the Profile Topic. Any co-GM (Krayzikk or Tyler) or the head GM (Dovydas) can approve the profiles, but the head GM reserves a right to scream, “WAIT JUST A SEC” if his co-GMs approve a profile but he sees a problem. The head GM also reserves a promise to do this as rarely as you see a donkey passing through Manhattan.
 
Below is the profile form. If you deem it necessary, you may add extra points at your leisure.
 

Name: (Meaningless unenforced suggestion no. 47: think of something you haven’t used before.)
Gender: (Male, female, or otherwise)
Species: (All species are allowed, save Makuta and Botar’s species. Custom species have to be approved by the head GM first.)
Faction/Affiliation: (Wild Hunt or Refugee)
Element: (if applicable.)
Kanohi: (if applicable. Outlawed masks: Olmak, Kraahkan, Avohkii, Mask of Creation, Vahi, and anything else that is unreasonable that I haven’t thought of yet.)
Other powers: (if applicable. These are things like Skakdi laser vision. You’re not getting one of these if you haven’t given up your element, your Kanohi, or both)
Equipment/Weapons: (Be reasonable, don’t make yourself a walking armory.)
Appearance:
Personality:
Biography:
Other:

 

Rules

(designed by Krayzikk)

• 
  
• A. First of all, no gmodding of any kind. This includes but is not limited to autohitting, insta dodges, and metagaming. The first two should be clear, but in case they are not, I will explain. You cannot automatically hit a PC opponent. Nor can you dodge any attack of their's that you should not be able to. Metagaming is when your characters know something they should not, simply because you, the player, knows it. NOTE: Just because Wild Huntsmen can't die, doesn't mean that you can autohit them.

B. I'm adding a subsection of this to directly address anyone thinking of playing as one of the Wild Hunt. You have some advantages, a fair amount of them. But to use one as an example, immunity to pain has disadvantages as well. You can't feel when you're hurt, can't know how badly you're hurt etc. Play in accordance with these inherent disadvantages.

• 
  
• Realism. Even in a Bionicle setting, there are ways that you cannot behave. You cannot, for instance, have a Toa of Ice freeze the island and then decide to make some ice sculptures while you're at it. Nor will you take on a swarm of NPCs and win just because you're a PC. You are not superior to everyone else. In fact, you're not superior to anyone at all. All powers have limits, as do your characters. Be wary of breaking them.
• Use “IC” and “OOC”. IC stands for “In-Character:, and OOC stands for “Out-of-Character”. For example:
  
  IC:
  
  The Ko-Toa hurled a globe of ice at his pursuers, hoping to trip them up and make his escape.
  
  OOC: Anyone want to give him a hand?
• OOC discussions should be taken to the discussion topic, or PM. No more than one OOC only post will be permitted in a row.
• Respect the staff (Dovydas, Tyler, Krayzikk, KNI). I shouldn't have to make this clear, but this rule is broken an unfortunate number of times. The staff know what they're doing, and their job is to keep an eye on the game. If you feel one is being unfair, try talking to them. If you still feel they are, contact one of the other staff members or the Head GM. We'll sort it out.
• We would rather not use it, but we have a punishment system in place. First offense is just a warning, and a slap on the wrist. Don't do it again. The second one will be accompanied by another warning, and a significant detriment to your characters occurring in-game. Depending on the severity of your actions, this could be either injury or death. The third offense will, depending on the severity of your offense, be either a temp or permanent ban.
• Have fun.

Staff

 
Head GM - Eduard Bernstein (Dovydas)
Co-GMs – The Snark Knight (Krayzikk), Tyler Durden (Tyler), Bane of No Isles (KNI)
 

Thank You

 
From an early age I’ve been taught that there are two things most important in life. One is lasagna. The second is saying “thank you”, when a thank you is necessary. This is one of those times.
 
First, let me thank Krayzikk and Tyler for helping me run this thing. I’d go crazy, probably, if I tried running an RPG on my own. You two are also great friends and I appreciate your support.
 
Second, thanks be to RAZGRIZ, Legolover-361, Kal Grochi, Kal the Guardian, KNI, Zarayna and the remaining host of people I have had the honor to roleplay and generally socialize with in my time here on BZPower. Also to all the old players of Gangs of Metru Nui, my first and classic TBRPG, which I still remember with a burning passion of mixed rage and affection – which is good, I guess, because that either means my players had a habit of inciting fierce and unadulterated rage or the thing was done very well to incite such feelings in me. Probably both.
 
Last of all; let me thank the makers of the Witcher computer game, because god knows where I’d be without it.

Edited by Eduard Bernstein, Mar 24 2013 - 06:16 PM.

[ToaOfAwesome]

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It all started one peaceful moment in an uncharted region in space at an unknown time. It was a peace broken by the glow of a colonizing ship dropping out of hyperspace. If sound could have traveled in space, one would have heard the roar of an inferno, the thunder of metal ripping, and the scream of the spaceship’s speed. As its doomed pilot valiantly maneuvered the craft and its countless passengers in stasis to safety, he realized that the beautiful blue planet he saw ahead of him would be the last thing he saw. Checking the dials, the pilot saw that there was almost no power left. He aimed the craft just right, and let its momentum carry it to the island he was aiming for.
 
With a monumental impact and slide, the pilot’s plan worked. The ship crashed bottom first on the island, ripping the passengers out of stasis, but with unknown consequences. The hero is said to have died, engulfed in the orange explosion that flooded the cockpit in seconds. The passengers, no memory left, made their way out of the wrecked ship. The majority had survived, and they soon started a life on this strange world. With limited knowledge, the survivors looked to the main computer for guidance. They soon learned to build houses and farm, and became aware of a past they had been stripped of. They didn’t know much, mostly just stories and data.
 
They started learning about their knew lives as well, things that either hadn’t been put in or were wiped from the computer during the crash. They learned that they lived on a moon with five other siblings that orbited around a planet that orbited around a star by itself. The survivors named the moons after people from the main computer’s stories.
 
The moon they lived upon was called Nokama Magna, as it was covered in oceans.
 
The moon closest to them, which was also the biggest moon, was named Tuma Magna, as it dominated the skies.
 
The next moon was named Tahu Magna, because it glowed red with the hundreds of active volcanoes upon its surface.
 
After Tahu Magna came Matoro Magna, named such because it was brilliant white, a product of the sunlight reflecting off its icy landscape.
 
Then came another world, one that was gold and bright, therefore being named Kini Magna.
 
The last of the moons was called Iruini Magna, because, being almost opposite to Nokama Magna’s orbit, it seemed to “teleport” around the skies.
 

The star was named Mata Nui, in honor of the Great Spirit.
 
There was one world, however, that was not given a historical name. This world was the planet they all orbited right outside its rings. It was called The Dead World. The Dead World was a huge and barren place, torn and dilapidated, with a massive chunk ripped out of its side.
 
Along with astronomy, the survivors discovered many other things. The survivors apparently had means to reproduce. Using technology and genetic modifications in their heartlights, they were able to start new generations. Soon, crossbreeds started to emerge, as the technology created hormones, not towards any particular species, but any that had the technology implanted in them.
 
The main computer from the ship soon became like scripture to them, being all that was left of their once glorious past. The best part was that, although there were obviously disagreements in life, there were no wars like talked about in the main computer. Then one day they came across blueprints on the computer, but not for houses or spaceships, but weapons.
 
It didn’t take long for people to get the idea that with weapons at their side, they could get anything they wanted. They split into factions quite soon, and took possession of worlds. They fought over all kinds of things, spreading farther and farther into space. Soon the inevitable happened, and the war spread to The Dead World.
 
 
SPECIES THAT CAME FROM SHIP AND EXTRA INFO ABOUT THEM
 

NOTE: Matoran, Turaga, Agori, Zesk, and Bone Hunters' DNA is not compatible with any species but themselves and each other. Keep this in mind when making a crossbreed.

Spoiler

Various Rahi
-Generic Rahi from the Matoran Universe. These Rahi spread around the moons, which strangely were devoid of all animal life, despite plant life. These species are non-playable.

Matoran Species
-Includes Matoran, Toa, and Turaga of every element. Playable.

Agori
-Playable.

Glatorian
-Playable.

Vortixx
-Playable.

Skakdi
-Playable.

Skrall
-Includes leader-class Skrall. All normal Skrall have slight psionic powers, due to the fact that any purebred Skrall would have to have had female Skrall in their family tree, which have psionic powers. Playable.

Various Unnamed Species
-These species include the species of Axonn, Brutaka, Johmak, Hydraxon, Botar, Nocturn, all six Barraki, Krekka, and Sidorak. Playable.

Bone Hunters
-Playable.

Zyglak
-Playable.

Bota Magna Vorox/Zesk
-Bota Magna Vorox/Zesk are normal Vorox and Zesk, only intelligent. Playable.

 

Other Species

-PM me if you want another species not listed or a variation of one and see if I approve or not.

Crossbreeds
-Playable. If you want a character to be a crossbreed, PM me of what it is a crossbreed of (can only go back one generation, previous generation cannot be crossbreeds) and if I approve it, then I’ll give you the details of what that crossbreed is like.

TECHNOLOGY
 
The technological level is roughly a bit more than the average technological level in the Matoran Universe when at its prime. There are also Kanohi masks suited for any species or crossbreed.
 
The Kanohi Kanasi:
There is a mask called the Kanohi Kanasi, The Mask of Space. It is a secondary mask created, as the name suggests, for doing things in space. It is designed to be worn over a primary mask. When put on, the primary mask will disappear until the mask is removed again. The powers of the primary mask are programmed into the Kanasi, so that the it can use its own power and the wearer’s previous mask power.

 
The Kanasi has multiple powers of its own. One power is that displays pop up on the mask’s visor that the wearer can turn on or off. These displays include physics calculations, scans, the status of the wearer, calculator programs, etc. Another is that it allows the wearer to communicate with other wearers of this mask within a certain range.
 
Also, this mask allows the wearer to withstand harsh conditions found in space (vacuum, heat, cold, radiation, etc.), and to breathe in places like space, underwater, toxic environments, etc. For spacewalks, it allows the wearer to stick to surfaces and propel himself or herself through zero-gravity.
 
The Kanasi also makes the wearer look as though they are in a lit room, so that others in space can see them. They can turn this on or off. One of the last powers is night vision. Lastly, the wearer automatically gains a basic understanding of whatever technology they are near, allowing wearers to fix damage or drive vehicles, even if they have never done so before. Below is a picture of a Kanohi Kanasi.
 
Front: https://lh5.googleus...anasi_Front.jpg
Side: https://lh4.googleus...Kanasi_Side.jpg
(Sorry that the images are a little dark.)
 

 

Space Battle Suit:

Space Battle Suits are especially made for use with the Kanasi. When troops are released into space, they usually wear these along with that. Sometimes, however, they are used in other places like land, underwater, etc. There are also many variations of this. These are some of the most used variations:

 

Standard: The standard battle suit provides medium protection and has small rockets on the soles of the feet. It can communicate with the ship, other suits, etc., and has a retractible knife on the bottom of each wrist, accompanied by a miniature backup laser/grappling hook on the top of each wrist. If the suit belongs to a captain or squad leader, it has red decals painted on it.

 

Goliath Artillery Suit: The Goliath Artillery suit is a powerful and thick protosteel suit with giant retractible energy-guns for hands. It also has powerful rocket boots, a modified Kanasi made to be more durable than a normal one, and large retractable bayonets.

 

Stealth Suit: The stealth suit is embedded with the properties of a Kanohi Volitak, allowing it to remain unseen. Aside from that, it is a normal standard battle suit.

 

Hijacker Suit: The hijacker suit has the ability to become magnetic, allowing it to stick to the sides of ships. It has all of the normal features of a standard suit, except that it has a miniature plasma torch on it's pointer finger, allowing it to cut or weld metal.

 

Pilot/Engineer Suit: The Pilot/Engineer suit is a standard suit, however it also has a toolbelt with the basic tools and devices needed to pilot or fix things.

 

Space Warfare:
Since there are battles in space, many technologies have been developed to fight in space. On battleships there are typically an array of missiles and various lasers and energy canons. These are often accompanied by larger and more powerful versions of Midak Skyblasters or Cordak Blasters. There are also one- to five-person fighters that come from the hangars. These usually carry small missiles, lasers, and other weapons depending on the size.
 
However sometimes, individual soldiers will be released into space wearing Kanohi Kanasi. They usually have long-range weapons (no projectile weapons, though), or melee weapons with long-range capabilities. Releasing individual soldiers into space is rare, however, so this will not happen usually unless something huge is going on.
 
Cloaking devices and force fields have, in fact been invented, but cloaking devices are made using the same ingredients as the Huna or Volitak, and therefore have the same weaknesses. Also, force fields can be weakened and destroyed, but it’s hard. You would usually have to use a heavy ship weapon or combined mask power.
 
Kanoka Properties:
Many ships, machines, etc. have parts built using Kanoka Disk properties, giving them the abilities of either that Kanoka, or of a mask if the Kanoka are forged together.
 
 
 
LOCATIONS
 
There are many locations. Go here for a description of all of them if you need a place to start: https://docs.google....6xnjDm5TZo/edit
 
 
 
FACTIONS:
 
For a more descriptive but lengthy thing about these factions, go here: https://docs.google....UIQmCGLqmM/edit
 
Mangai
The Mangai Faction is a Faction that believes in peace, honor, etc. It is divided into two parts: the more warlike part is the Aki, and the wiser part is the Rua. They currently live on Nokama Magna. This faction is playable, but you must choose Aki or Rua, because they are kind of like two factions in one, and therefore cannot have any neutral members.
 
Avsa
The Avsa Faction, once a close ally of the Mangai Faction, inexplicably became cannibalistic and evil, getting energy from their victims. This was first discovered in what is now called The Avsa Incident, and were exiled into space never to be seen again. They still are alive though, and seem to have found a way to harvest living beings from planets or ships without being near there, or at least detected. This has caused many sightings of ghost ships, ships that suddenly lose contact without warning and are found completely abandoned. This faction is not playable.
 
Purebreds
The Purebreds live on Tuma Magna, and are defending Matoro Magna from the Hordika Faction. They believe that there should be no crossbreeds (or “Mutts” as they call them), and that purebreds are superior to crossbreeds both socially and biologically. They have been known to keep crossbreeds as slaves. Not all purebreds are in the Purebred Faction, and do not all think they are superior etc. This faction is playable, but you must be a purebred for obvious reasons.
 
Hordika
The Hordika Faction derived from a massive group of ten thousand crossbreed slaves of the Purebreds that rebelled and took over Iruini Magna. They are the mortal enemies of the Purebreds, but are respected greatly by the rest of the Factions. They have strong morals and sense of honor and are fighting for Matoro Magna. This Faction is playable, but as they have not yet accepted recruits, your player must be a crossbreed.
 
Cordak
The Cordak Faction is a destructive and powerful weapon-producing Faction that has never before lost a war. They own Tahu Magna, and are the main military force in the Faction Wars. This Faction is playable.
 
 
 
RULES
 
1) Follow the basic BZPower and RPG forum rules (duh).
 
2) Do not Godmod (meta-gaming, auto-hitting, etc.), get objects out of nowhere, or any of that other stuff nobody likes.
 
3) Do not break the rules (somebody’s gotta write that…).
 
4) Use the basic OOC: and IC: thing in the BZPRPG. However, if you end up doing a game changer (see below in various places) THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED, write it after GC: (game changer).
 
5) If you are unsure about a rule, PM me.
 
6) Do not make a post entirely OOC:. Also, no double posting unless it’s really quiet and nobody’s posted for at least twelve hours.
 
7) If you want to have something funny happen, don’t go out of your way to do it, and don’t let it make things weird.
 
8) Do not bring a character back to life or make another closely resembling him/her. If you’re dead, you’re dead.
 
9) You can add things like romances, grudges, etc. but be realistic, and don’t mess up somebody else’s character by saying that you hold a grudge with them and the guy doesn’t even know that his character does. However, you can develop things like this with another person's character as long as the other person approved.
 
10) Take time to travel, and don’t just go teleporting around.
 
11) Be informative and writer-ey in your posts. Nobody wants to hear, “My guy walks over to your guy and punches him and stuff. The end,” Wow, I was utterly captivated by the suspense.
 
12) Warning system:
 
            First warning: you are warned in a PM.
 
            Second warning: A certain amount of your characters are suspended from the RPG. Length of suspension and amount of characters depends on severity of action. Their suspension will be worked into the story, like maybe they were captured.
 
            Third warning: I will kill off a set amount of your characters. Once again, their deaths will be worked into the story.
 
            Fourth warning: Suspension for varying amount of time, once again being worked into the story.
 
            Fifth warning: You’re outta here for the rest of the period and in half of the next period if this wins again.
 
13) If you think something you do will start a major “game-changing" event (see "GAME-CHANGERS"), PM me first.

 

14) Respect the staff and do as they say. If you suspect very much that one is not following the rules, you can PM me. If that staff member is me... the end is nigh.

 

 

 

TOA KAITA

Anybody with Toa DNA can form a Toa Kaita. You can form a Toa Kaita of any number of people. All the elements of the members will be at the Toa Kaita's disposal, along with the mask powers, normal powers, and any other abilities. The members of the Kaita must choose a controller player in OOC:. The controller player is the one who will ultimately control the Kaita. If the member's wish, they can have the Kaita be controlled by all of them. Anybody can leave a Kaita, however it will dissipate the Kaita, making the other members have to reform. The weapons are also combined. The gender of the Kaita doesn't REALLY matter, however it will be decided either by the gender of the controller player if applicable, the majority's gender, or whichever the members decide for it to be.
 
 
 
CHARACTER CREATION

Name: Make sure it is Bionicle-like and not already taken.
Faction: It is okay to be neutral or factionless, but if you later want to join a Faction make it one you think would except you. If you plan on being in a Faction, you may want to join now.
Gender:
Description: Be vivid. You can post a picture in addition to or instead of.
Elemental Influence: This occurs in everything, even Vortixx, but in some species (like Vortixx) only manifests itself in color and MAYBE personality. If you are a crossbreed with mixed elements, choose one to be dominant for your powers if applicable. You can mix them for your personality and appearance, however.
Species: If you are a crossbreed PM me first for approval. Also, if you want to be a machine or something, PM me for that too.
Kanohi: Anybody can have Kanohi now, as Kanohi for other species were invented before the Faction Wars even started.
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: Optional, and be reasonable with this, too.
Vision Power: Only for Skakdi or characters with Skakdi DNA.
Age: This is optional. Granted, Bionicles live a very long time, so just say how old they would be in human years. It is okay to just say “old” or “a child” or whatever.
Weakness: Your character cannot be invincible!
Biography: Your character’s history. Be relatively thorough and make sure it corresponds with your storyline.
Any additional info you deem important.
 
Here are the Kanohi you can use:
 
NOTE ON KANOHI: Make sure you take into account what masks Toa consider “immoral”. This does not mean that immoral Kanohi are prohibited, but if you are a Toa or part Toa and have this mask, please provide an explanation as to why you have this mask if one is applicable.

 

Spoiler

Kanohi Hau The Mask of Shielding
Kanohi Pakari The Mask of Strength
Kanohi Miru The Mask of Levitation
Kanohi Kakama The Mask of Speed
Kanohi Akaku The Mask of Vision
Kanohi Kaukau The Mask of Water Breathing
Kanohi Huna The Mask of Concealment
Kanohi Ruru The Mask of Night Vision
Kanohi Mahiki The Mask of Illusion
Kanohi Matatu The Mask of Telekinesis
Kanohi Rau The Mask of Translation
Kanohi Pehkui The Mask of Diminishment
Kanohi Kualsi The Mask of Quick Travel
Kanohi Calix The Mask of Fate
Kanohi Kadin The Mask of Flight
Kanohi Sanok The Mask of Accuracy
Kanohi Iden The Mask of Spirit
Kanohi Zatth The Mask of Summoning
Kanohi Tryna The Mask of Reanimation (immoral)
Kanohi Arthron The Mask of Sonar
Kanohi Faxon The Mask of Kindred
Kanohi Volitak The Mask of Stealth
Kanohi Garai The Mask of Gravity
The Mask of Biomechanics
The Mask of Growth
The Mask of Healing
The Mask of Psychometry
The Mask of Rebounding
The Mask of Sensory Aptitude
The Mask of Scavenging (immoral)
Kanohi Crast The Mask of Repulsion (immoral)
Kanohi Avsa The Mask of Hunger (immoral)
Kanohi Shelek The Mask of Silence (immoral)
Kanohi Jutlin The Mask of Corruption (immoral)
Kanohi Felnas The Mask of Disruption (immoral)

 
Here are the Elements:

Spoiler

Fire
Ice
Water
Stone
Earth
Air
Jungle
Lightning
Iron
Magnetism
Plasma
Sonics
Gravity
Psionics
Crystal
Sand

 

Here are the Vision Powers:

Spoiler

Heat Vision
X-Ray Vision
Telescopic Vision
Laser Vision
Impact Vision
Infrared Vision
Thermal Imaging

If you want to make up one, ask for it to be approved by me first via PM.

 
 
 
GOAL
 
In this game you basically want to live your life while fighting for your faction. This does not mean you should kill somebody of another faction without provocation (unless your character is like that), but definitely fight the enemy. For example, my super awesome hypothetical Mangai Faction dude wouldn’t walk into a tavern and slice some random Purebred Faction guy’s head off because he wasn’t in my faction (unless I was in the Hordika Faction, then I might do that), but I might go to The Dead World and attack a group of enemies. (This is mostly okay because The Dead World is basically a giant free-for-all battlefield.) Otherwise, have fun! Go on an adventure with somebody, do something amazing, get into a space battle. It doesn't matter. It's all about how much you enjoy playing.
 
 
 
“GAME-CHANGERS”
 
A game changer is an action that will or could lead to and event that will change the RPG radically. For example, flying a ship into an enemy city and destroying everything. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST PM ME BEFORE ENGAGING IN WHAT COULD BE A GAME CHANGER!!! When you type a game changer, put it in the largest size font.
 
 
 
WHERE THIS SHOULD GO
 
For truth, let it go where it goes. This game has barely a future or past written in stone. The survivors’ descendants know nothing but a few legends and scraps of history and what they themselves have done. They are just now fighting on The Dead World, a place avoided for centuries.  It’s a new time. Whether it is a time for fear or a time for hope is your decision. Truth-be-told this is a sandbox RPG (personally I find that the best kind). You decide where it goes, and so do the other players. What if a Faction emerged from a group of players who shared a common belief that spread, or if one of the moons was literally blown to shrapnel in a huge battle sparked by, you guessed it, a player. Game-changers, which I have already mentioned, are not something to avoid just because you need approval. They are the building blocks for something actually happening. This isn't some RPG like the BZPRPG where it is all official and has a straight story course and everything, this is a group of players, inevitably no where near as massive as the one that plays the BZPRPG, getting together and creating a story.
 
 
 
WHERE TO START
 
Start wherever you want. You can see the link to the locations stuff in LOCATIONS. A good way to start is to pounce on somebody and attack them, of course you either win epically or die humiliatingly, so this approach is best avoided by anybody less than super-confident with themselves.
 
 

STAFF

To players: Respect these guys. They are the "big dudes", and one of them is me.

To staff: Be respectable. You are the "big dudes", and I am the biggest of them all in this game. Also, don't warn somebody without getting my permission.

To everybody: If a staff member creates a character, they are automatically a staff character, meaning that if you break a rule and one or more of your characters is suspended or terminated, these characters get to do that so as to work it into the story.

 

ToaOfAwesome (main guy)

Characters:

Spoiler

Name: Katok
Faction: Mangai, Rua
Gender: Male
Description: Katok has shiny silvery white armor all over his body with sharp and crystalline designs on it. He has a sender, muscular build. His heartlight is blue, and his eyes are the same color, but with fiery orange pupils.
Elemental Influence: Ice and Fire, fire is dormant and manifests itself as limited heat resistance.
Species: Toa-Vortixx (Votax)
Kanohi: Kanohi Faxon, The Mask of Kindred
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: Protosteel scythe and shield.
Vision Power: None
Age: 34
Weakness: Katok is at times conflicted because of his personality, leading him to make stupid decisions or not be able to think things through well when in one-on-one combat.
Biography: Katok was born into the Mangai Faction. His father was a Toa of fire in the Aki part of the Mangai, and his mother was a Vortixx of ice in the Rua part of the Mangai. Eventually he decided to embrace the ice side of him, and when he grew older he chose to be in the Rua part. Katok soon turned out to be, not a clash of fire and ice, but a practically perfect mix. He proved to be a great battle commander and engineer, and so was embraced by both parts of the Mangai, even though officially he was a Rua. He fought in many battles, but he had a good friend since childhood who was in the Avsa Faction, so when the Avsa incident took place, he didn’t fight quite as much. In his most recent battle, his Kanohi Mask was smashed to bits, and he replaced it with a Kanohi Faxon. He later met Kanara, who he became great friends with. Now he goes on various missions for the Mangai, usually on the same missions as Kanara’s, as they specialize in many of the same things, and actually first met each other on a mission to defend a ship.
Personality: Being a child of both fire and ice, Katok is at times conflicted. He mostly retains the calm and strategic mind of his mother, who had the element of ice. However, the fiery side of him, which is what grants him his skills in leadership, also shortens his temper at times. He controls this quite well, but once in a while it can burst out and make him reckless in tough situations. Nevertheless, parts of his fiery side partly cancel out the lone-wolfishness of his icy side, making him a great combination.

Name: Kanara
Faction: Mangai Faction, Aki
Gender: Female
Description: Kanara sports a typical Iron element color scheme. She has a burnt orange mask, hands, feet, breastplate, thigh armor, and bicep armor. With that, she has grey fingers, arms, legs, and torso. Contrasting with the reddish colors of her body are a blue heartlight and eyes. She has a slim, muscular form and usually has burnt orange strips of cloth wrapped tightly around her forearms and hands and also her shins and ankles.
Elemental Influence: Iron
Species: Glatorian-Toa (Torianen)
Kanohi: Kanohi Calix, The Mask of Fate
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: Protosteel bo staff that can retract to become smaller. She also has a knife strapped to her right thigh.
Vision Power: None
Age: 27
Weakness: Recklessness
Biography: As a child she was the daughter of a renowned blacksmith. He was killed by a group of Visorak. The faction that sent these Visorak is still unknown, but Kanara has ever since hated Visorak. Nowadays she fights bravely for the Aki, and met a Votax named Katok, who is now one of her best friends.
Personality: Although reckless and a little bit young for her occupation, Kanara is a good fighter, relying on her great speed, strength, and agility to get out of sticky situations, all of which are only amplified by her Kanohi Calix.

 

Canis Lupus (will not be staff if his RPG wins)

Spoiler

Name: Korun
Faction: Hordika
Gender: Male
Description: A tall, slender Toa. He has dark blue armor, with some gold highlights. On one shoulder, there is the mark of his former owner burned into him.
Elemental Influence: Psionics.
Species: Toa/Glatorian (Torianen)
Kanohi: Calix
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: A long, thin protosteel sword. It is incredibly sharp.
Weakness: When it comes down to close range, physical fighting, Korun is useless.
Personality: A trickster. He is very formal, and prefers politics to fighting.
Biography: Korun is the child of a Toa and a Glatorian who were once part of the Purebred faction. He was kept a secret, and shortly after birth, his parents fled with him. However, Purebred guards were following his parents, and they had to split up. The guards caught up to his mother and killed her in front of Korun. His father escaped the planet. Korun was spared because he was just a child. He was made a slave, and was freed when the other crossbreed slaves revolted.

Name: Gorik
Faction: Cordak
Gender: Male
Description: A large, muscular Skakdi. His armor is a pastel green and black.
Elemental Influence: Crystal is dominant element. Iron is secondary, and manifests as a increased endurance.
Species: Skakdi/Toa (Skadoa)
Kanohi: Kakama
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: War-Hammer that can fire Lightning blasts and Cordak blaster.
Vision Power: Heat Vision
Skakdi Third Power: Can fire blasts of energy from his hands.
Weakness: Without his Kakama, he is very slow. He is very proud, and that can be used against him.
Personality: Is very proud, and brave. He is a typical warrior.
Biography: Gorik was born on Tahu Magna in West City. He was trained to be a warrior, and will gladly fight for the Cordak faction. He is incredibly angered by the Avsa faction, and wants to kill all of them, because one of his best friends and comrades was captured by them and eaten alive.

 

gooplux6

Spoiler

Name: Tokna
Faction: Cordak
Gender: Male
Description: Purple mask, hands, and feet. Orange eyes and heartlight. Everything else is black. He is lean and muscular for his size, but still kind of short like a Matoran.
Elemental Influence: Gravity
Species: Matoran
Kanohi: Noble Kanohi Miru
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: An electric sword that can shoot an electric discharge.
Vision Power: none
Age: 24
Weakness: Tokna, being born in space and spending the first part of his childhood there, does not feel completely safe on real land, and at times becomes insecure or paranoid when confronted with a battle on land.
Personality: Tokna is grim and wise, and is a skilled fighter. Many underestimate him for being a Matoran, but this is most certainly not the case. He doesn't talk all too much, but still is social when he needs to be so.
Biography: Tokna was born in the temporary artificial moon made for the Cordak by the Hordika. He became a skilled fighter very quickly, and although not a Toa, is a formidable opponent. He is technically a civilian, but nobody thinks of him as one. The Cordak military has been thinking about recruiting him and, although it is against the rules, do not mind him fighting with and for them as long as it doesn't mix things up.

 

GlatorianOfAwesome (my brother)

Characters:

Spoiler

Name: Makkow
Faction: Mangai Faction, Aki
Gender: Male
Description: White mask, armor, feet, and hands. Light blue arms and legs. Silver body, shoulders, and Nuva breastplate. Green eyes and heartlight.
Elemental Influence: Ice
Species: Toa
Kanohi: Kanohi Huna, The Mask of Invisibility.
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: Sword, shield, knife.
Vision Power: None
Age: 51
Weakness: Not very good at using technology.
Personality: Wise and experienced, Makkow is a calm and respected warrior. He prefers to use instinct, mind, and skill in battle rather than technology.
Biography: Experienced and athletic, Makkow is a retired Aki guard. He still is a good fighter, and although no longer a professional, is still an active fighter for his faction. He retired after the horrific Avsa Incident.

Name: Lamko
Faction: Hordika Faction
Gender: Male
Description: Dark blueish grey arms and legs, silver and dark blue mask. Silver body, feet, hands, and armor. Green heartlight and eyes.
Elemental Influence: Lightning
Species: Crossbreed between leader-class Skrall and Zyglak. (Mega-Skylak)
Kanohi: Kanohi Garai, The Mask of Gravity
Weapon(s) and Other Equipment: Electric spear, flamethrower.
Vision Power: None
Age: 26
Weakness: He is inexplicably afraid of heights, and tries as hard as he can to avoid flying or participating in battles involving releasing soldiers into space.
Personality: Lamko is an avid freedom-fighter who hates the Purebred Faction. He is ruthless in battle, making him a much-desired warrior.
Biography: Lamko is a skilled warrior. He was born into slavery a few years before the Hordika revolution. He was too young to fight in the battle at the time, but trained to become a Hordika warrior when he was old enough. He lives on Iruini Magna.

 

PM Me if you want to be a staff member!

 

SOME NOTES ON THE WORLDS
 
-Let's be honest here, there are a LOT of locations. Why did I put so many in? I did this because in a universe this big, you can do something alone or look at where others are and do something together. The extra locations also provide lots of plot devices and opportunities for game-changers. (Game-changers aren't necessarily all that bad, and can even be pretty fun!)

 

-There are always battles raging in space, so it is okay to make up one.

 

-There are always battles in parts of Matoro Magna, and many places on the Dead World, so along with it being okay to make up some of those when needed, you can also make up camps or minor bases on these places, especially the Dead World.

 
 

Good luck, contestants!
-Massimo A.K.A. ToaOfAwesome

 

NOTE: I have edited it. Sand is now an element and there are now spoiler tags. I have also edited the Google Doc on locations. I have also put "Good luck, contestants!" before my name and edited the NOTE ON THE WORLDS. (Now called SOME NOTES ON THE WORLDS.) I have also added the category "Space Battle Suit" under "TECHNOLOGY". I have also added the category "STAFF". I added some stuff to "WHERE THIS SHOULD GO". I added rule #14. I added in notes to the players and staff in "STAFF" I put in Canis Lupus's characters and added gooplux6 to "STAFF". I added a note under the category about the species that came from the ship. I have added GlatorianOfAwesome to STAFF. I have added "To everybody:" to "STAFF". I added the "TOA KAITA" category. I added to the Vision Powers. I have put in gooplux6's character.

Edited by ToaOfAwesome, Mar 23 2013 - 11:28 PM.

[ZakarOMEGA'D!]

Reborn in Red

 

Note: If you do not know the full extent of the Red Star’s purpose, go here then come back, so I don’t get a ton of people asking about this. Thanks!

 

“Hurry! He needs a mask, quickly!”

“All we’ve got for Noble Masks is a Miru!”

“Just give it to him, he can change it later if he wishes.”

Turaga Lhikan, who thought he had sacrificed himself for Toa Vakama, opened his eyes. An action that he really shouldn’t be able to do if he was dead. There was a Ga-Matoran and Ga-Toa standing to the side, looking down on him with concern.

“Where am I? Is this some sort of afterlife?”

The Toa sighed, eyes lowering as she spoke.

“No, sir. This is the Red Star.”

“Wha-what?! Where is that?!?”

“We’re not truly sure, sir. All we know is that we died, but somehow were revived by this huge machine. Maps and schematics that we’ve found have told us the name of this place, and ‘talks’ with the beings who keep this working-and want us gone-have shown that it was supposed to send us back to our Universe. The problem is, it doesn’t. And so, we’re stuck here.”

Lhikan sat in silence for awhile, absorbing the information. Finally, he spoke once more.

“Are there any limits on who is revived, that you know of?”

“Yes. We’ve come to the conclusion that the Red Star needs a body to work with. Beheaded beings can be revived, disintegrated, absorbed, and burned to ashes cannot.”

Something flared within Lhikan then, thoughts of meeting those he thought was gone.

“Then, have you seen any of the Toa Mangai?”

The Toa turns sharply, gazing at him with an intensity that he hasn’t seen from her before… or has he…

“Where did you hear of them?”

Lhikan met her gaze entirely, not shrinking back or glancing away.

“Where did I hear of them? Oh, I’m not sure… perhaps from my own mouth, when I proclaimed the name?”

She gasped, eyes widening.

“L-Lhikan?!?”

He grinned slyly.

“Yes. I presume you didn’t recognize me, Naho?”

“N-no. This-this changes everything about where you’re needed.”

The Ga-Toa made her way to the door before turning to address Lhikan again.

“Come, old friend. It’s time you met all the rest, and the Makuta too.”

He frowned.

“Makuta? Why would I want to talk to that Karzahni-spawn?”

“This isn’t the Makuta you’re thinking of. Come, brother. It’s time you met your home for the next forever and a day.”

 

Overview

 

So, you just died. (Or maybe you're living in this mechanical Star.) Great job. Luckily for you, the MU has a nice little back-up system called the Red Star for when that stuff happens. (Sadly, you get to deal with all them revived beings that should really just be dead.)

Unluckily for you, this Red Star is also broken in the fact that it’s a one-way trip up. (Annndddd they're stuck here.)

You’re stuck. (Have fun with them.) Once again, luckily for you there’s friendly people here that are already living within this Red Star. (Oh, and these cool dudes that have already gotten here made a settlement.)

And there’s also these Kestora people that are constantly attempting to wipe you all out, destroy the Revival Pods that brought you here, and make slaves out of the ones the come out of the Revival Pods they own.

(And of course these beings refuse to be destroyed so you can have some nice, quiet peace. So of course you've gotta use their own kind against them, and destroy the pods they're coming from.)

Have fun trying to get home.

(Good luck with them cool dude invaders!)

 

Locations

Well, there’s the Red Star.

And then there’s Spherus Magna.

Guess which you’re in.

-->Red Star (Map is here)(Kestora-Controlled is Purple, Revived Controlled is Green, Red indicates importance.)

Ding ding! Anyway, this behemoth of a construction is large enough to have separate zones in it. What fun! As a note, the Red Star is built somewhat like an onion, or a circle maze, with curved hallways and rooms spreading outwards from Karda. The zones you inhabit are somewhat like a disk, with much more outwards expansion than upwards.

Zones include:

-Karda: Quite literally ‘The Core,’ this is a small room in the center of the Red Star that probably controls most of the strange occurrences that happen within these halls. It’s in the middle of the Star, and really the only reason why people know it exists is from maps left in certain rooms. Neutral Zone, as no-one has found it or been able to claim it.

-Hui-Wahi: More commonly called ‘the Maze’, its true name is ‘Region of Confusion.’ Aptly named and nicknamed, it’s an absolute terror to try to go through, traps at every turn and Kestora around about half, and it rearranges itself constantly. (Actually, most of the traps are in the middle of hallways, not corners, but whateves) Karda sits at the middle of Hui-Wahi, which is why no-one has gotten there yet. Strangely, though, most adventurers are just sent out of the maze if they fall into a trap, perhaps paralyzed if they went just a bit too deep. Neutral Zone, because it can’t be used for anything but reaching Karda.

-Kestora-Metru: Where the Kestora live, eat, and all that good stuff. There’s only 3-4 routes into the city, all constantly guarded. This is where the Kestora have all their science stuffs that they’ll use to dissect/brainwash/mutate you, so entering isn’t advised. Besides, the only reason one could ever have for going in there would be to save some sort of cool dude that got themselves captured, but somehow not killed. Important locations are the Labs, placed in the middle for protection. Kestora-Controlled, which should be obvious.

-Revi-Metru: Once a large storage hanger and then a mass jail for the stranded MU inhabitants, it’s now been transformed into an active city of all species and ages, the few common things between them being death-experiences and Kestora hatred. This is the seat of power for the Revived Council, is the place to go to buy nearly anything, where a spare room is never more than a door away, and is the safest place in the Red Star for MU beings. Most of the buildings are either ramshackle or formed from elemental abilities, and aren’t just rooms in the Star, so strange happenings occur less. Important location is the Council building, near the middle of the city. Revived-Controlled.

-Wahi of Reviving: Ah, yes. This is where it all happens, where MU inhabitants are recreated from death into new life so that they could be returned to the Universe, and continue upholding the balance! Key word being ‘could’. This is one of the major battle zones, both sides wanting to have control over more of the Revival Pods, which actually produce the revived beings. 9 in total, 3 Kestora-Controlled, 3 Revived-Controlled, and 3 are constantly contested. Half controlled by both sides, actual border wavers.

-Storage A & B: These are two large storage rooms, filled with random objects, tanks of Protodermis, silos of organic material: a scavenger’s paradise. What was once C is now Revi-Metru, but that doesn’t really matter. Both have a gigantic crane near the middle, which could be useful fro those who need something heavy moved a long distance. The Kestora control most of A, while the Revived control most of B. The border between the two wavers back and forth, but not as much as in the Wahi of Reviving.

-Bo-Wahi: The Region of Plants, named for the fact that it’s a giant greenhouse, artificially lit, that provides food for both sides. There’s 3 Revival Pods here, but they only remake Rahi that now inhabit the jungle this has come to be. It’s the largest zone by far, extending higher, lower, and farther than any other. Mainly Kestora-Controlled, but the Revived have about 1/4 of it, and no-one really patrols it due to the amount of dangerous Rahi. But, there are rumors of knowledge to be found here, if one dares to enter...

-The Workings: The name given to the zone outside the inhabitable disk everything resides, this is where the Star makes its light, has the propulsion systems for lift off help, large computers to set an orbit, and more. It’s just a wall of wire, metal, gears and tubes. One would have to destroy their way through it, bushwhacking to the extreme, especially due to the fact that it’s all made of Protosteel. Hard to get to, you’d have to blow a hole through the outermost passages to get there. Neutral zone, as it’s uninhabitable.

 

Factions

 

Kestora: Small, Turaga sized beings with red, black, and purple armor. While they haven’t shown any sort of elemental abilities, their weaponry is much more advanced than what MU inhabitants have, including elemental-dampeners, laser blasters, paralyzing beams, form-fitting exo-suits, and more. They’ve kept these weapons from MU beings by blowing up any weapons not in the possession of a living Kestora after a battle. Led by a Dikatior, their society is akin to a ‘True Communist’ one, where all are equal and get the same amount of everything. They move with such coordinated attacks one would think that they have some sort of hive mind. They use the beings from their Revival Pods to fight against thier breathren, using specialized hypnotism devices to keep htem under control. They aim to just outright get rid of the Revived, hating them for not only have elemental abilities, but coming from a grand Universe while the Kestora have been stuck on the Red Star for forever. They can wear Great Kanohi, and use them to great effect.

 

Revived: Former inhabitants of the MU that died and were revived here in the Red Star. Made up of most species from the Universe, they have a varied and versatile workforce. Technology is as a whole much less developed than what the Kestora have, but is sufficient for their needs. Toa, Skakdi, Vortixx: all are given a chance. But be warned: those who break the peace will not be allowed back. Led by the Revived Council, which has a number of important beings from all ages working together to keep the Revived alive. Makuta Jeluk, Turaga Lhikan, Kodan, Vornisl: all on the Council, all had died, and all wish to bring their people back to a land where they can be safe.

 

Renegades: Beings that have committed crimes, simply wanted to leave, or were exiled, this is the name for those who don’t align themselves with either the Kestora or the Revived. No true leader, they’re not really a faction at all.

 

What’s going on

Well, a quick summery of what’s just happened in this here Red Star leading up to where you come in would be something like this;

-Teleportation back to MU breaks (Around time of Matoran Civil War)

-Makuta Jeluk breaks free from holding cells the Kestora used to keep MU inhabitants under control, mass breakout and transformation of Jail into Revived-Metru (Around time of assassination of those who knew where Artakha was)

-The Revived find Storage Room B, supplies are boosted, production of weaponry, armor, and others things increase 

-Revived make a huge offensive attack, push borders to where they are today

-Lhikan arrives, government solidified from loose war alliances into a true faction

-Explorers find maps of Red Star in Hui-Wahi and Bo-Wahi, pieced back together to get a full notion of the Star’s layout

-Toa Nuva Kopaka and Pohatu are transported into part of Hui-Wahi, are brought to Revived-Metru by Mavrah

-Events in the RPG begin

 

Other

There’s a few more things I’d like to go over before we get to the rules & profiles, k?

First of all, this will likely be made AU if the story serials are ever continued. Still, this is tied to the current chapter of the serials and the function of the Red Star in general.

Second, while it may not seem like it, there are many little story ‘leads’ that you can follow if you want to get into a storyline. I’ll point out a big one, trying to find a way into Karda to find out what’s in there, but the rest you can find for yourself.

Third, only join this RPG if you’re going to stick with it. I may sound harsh, but look at it this way: in the last 2-3 contests, at least 1, if not 2 or all 3, RPGs fizzled out due to lack of players. I’ll do my best to keep this up and running, but it’s up to you, the players, to make this be a grand adventure.

 

Rules

-All BZP rules, in general and pertaining just to this forum, apply.

-Respect people.

-IC and OOC are beautiful things. Announcing who and where a post takes is even moreso.

-Posts=Readable. Better the spelling and grammar, happier everyone else is.

-Humor should stay low, romance even more.

-Your character is just as good as all the others, and don’t be other people. Be yourself.

-Profiles-->Discussion Topic-->Approval-->Profiles Topic.

-Have some PHUN!

Consequences will be decided if and when a rule is broken.

 

Profiles

Take form. Fill out form. Post in Discussion Topic. Get Approval, put in Profiles Topic. Play game.

You may have up to 4 characters. Up to 1 extra character may be awarded to those who deserve it, and there is the possiblity of getting a Makuta character if you're really good.

 

Name: (Bionicle-y. Need I say more?)

Gender, Species, Faction: (Yes, it’s combined.)

Equipment: (All that good stuff that your character carries around on a daily basis.)

Powers: (All the abilities that your character can use. Mask powers are included here. Things not allowed: No Light Toa, Taka's the only one currently. No one-of-a-kind masks, no Legendaries, and no Makuta.)

Appearance: (Picture is best, but 25 words works too.)

Personality: (25+ words. It’s not hard, peeps.)

Biography: (75+ words. Look, it’s this simple: 25 for life in MU, 25 describing death, 25 on Red Star life. I may be a bit more forgiving for Kestora, however.)

 

Blank copy:

Name:

Gender, Species, Faction:

Equipment:

Powers:

Appearance:

Personality:

Biography:

 

Important Characters:

 

-GMCharacter-

Name: Makuta Jeluk

Gender, Species, Faction: Male Makuta, Revived

Equipment: The Makuta of the Red Star, as he’s been christened by the populace, carries a large broadsword too heavy for most to carry without a Pakari. He wears a Mask of Emulation.

Powers: All 42 powers of a Makuta, along with being able to analyze and copy other’s powers with the Mask of Emulation.

Appearance: Large, tall, and imposing, Jeluk towers over all but the Vortixx, standing at 1.5 times the size of a Toa. His armor is Metru Red and black, with the black going over the red in most cases. Hanging off his back are two cloth-like strips, making the illusion of a tailed jacket. His sword is sheathed on his left hip.

Personality: Jeluk is grim, stern, and cold. He doesn’t show his emotions all that much, but it’s known he has a heart for all of the people living in Revived-Metru. He’s often the one to give an unbiased view, point out holes in tactics, is often known as the Judge in comparison to the rest of the Council, who's varying personalitys often clash.

Biography: Jeluk was one of the few Makuta that didn’t become jealous of Mata-Nui, and stood with Miserix when Teridax challenged him for leader. He was killed in the battle, having been stabbed through the throat by Icarax, and was revived in the Red Star, still having a body to be revived with. He was kept in a cell for quite sometime, until he evolved with the rest of his species into pure Antidermis. With his new gaseous form, he was able to escape his cell, free a Toa of Iron, free his armor and have the Toa fix it to fit with his new form, and then stage a prison break and release all that were captured. He was on the front lines of the war until Revived-Metru was completely liberated, and then took a position of helping fortify and set up the city. To this day he resides there, keeping everyday tasks working smoothly as the rest of the Council works on gaining more territory.

 

-StaffCharacter-

Name: Vornisl

Gender, Species, Faction: Female, Skakdi, Revived

Equipment: Not much, actually. Just a patchwork sword, which has been fused together from pieces of broken ones she's come across after a battle, and other various weapons that change constantly. You want a certain weapon, she probably has one.  

Powers: Elemental Psionics powers when used in conjuction with another Skakdi, 'Loyalty' Eyebeams that can temporarily force an enemy to work for her, (Works about as long as a Vahki Staff) and the ability to influence other's emotions. This is unfocused, however, so if she wants one person to calm down everyone's going to calm down.

Appearance: A deep blue frame with golden armor, but by this time other colors have sneaked in, as gold isn't all that common of a color to find. Stands shorter than male Skakdi, and is about average for a female Skakdi. Her face was once quite beautiful, but has now attained both the Skakdi grin mutation (which is more of a frown for her) and scars, marring it. Bright sky blue eyes havn't been effected by this, however, which has been a mistake that's occurred before.

Personality: Vornisl is a leader through and through, though most of her skill has come from experience. She's not as quick to anger as others of her species, which stems from the fact that she'd always been mild-mannered before. When she's not being a leader, she can be kind and helpful, often personally training those in the army who are falling behind in their class.

Biography: Vornisl was just a satchel-maker on Zakaz, way back before any Makuta messed with their genes. She had always been shy and polite, moreso than other Skakdi, and so when they were mutated Vornisl took it better than most. The mutation which had made most more angry and irritatable, gave her the confidence she needed to truly get out into the world, instead of staying holed up in her hut forever. True, she was more angry and irratatable as well, but her meek nature from before lessened that impact. After many other events occured, she was eventually killed due to circumstances that she refuses to talk about, and was sent to the Red Star. She was stuck in a cell with the rest of the MU inhabitants, until the breakout, when she proved her worth. Eventually, she become the General of Offensive Forces, who has a place on the Council along with the General of Defensive Forces, which currently is Lhikan.

 

-StaffCharacter-

Name: Dikatior Wardin

Gender, Species, Faction:  Male, Kestora

Equipment: Absolutly anything he wishes to use, although he prefers pencil, paper, and HypnoSaber, which can be used as both a light-sword and hypnotizing device. Wears a Great Kanohi Rode.

Powers: Only that of his Mask, Truth. Able to detect when someone is lying and see invisible or disguised beings.

Appearance: Black frame, with indigo armor and mask. No other colors are present, other than the lime green of his eyes. Stands slightly taller than most Kestora.

Personality: Cold, ruthless, leader that wants the Revived gone. Not known if he has any true personality behind that.

Biography: Not much is known about Dikatior Wardin, even amongst the Kestora. He was just there one day after the old Dikatior died, having been voted into the position, though no-one knew why. Perhaps he was a part of some Kestora Special Services. Perhaps he was part of nearly-illegal experiments. For all the Kestora care, though, he could've come from anywhere. He does as they want: attempts to get the Revived out.

 

Thanks to ninjamonkey3000 for the name Revi-Metru, and thanks to all of the RPers on BZP. You peeps rock.

 

Regards,

Zakaro

Edited by Zakar0%, Mar 23 2013 - 10:10 AM.

[The Lorax]

Across the island, all was peaceful. Light was just beginning to creep into the dome. Birds called to each other, announcing the arrival of a new day. Insects hummed between flowers, enjoying the balmy late spring weather. It could not last, however. The idyllic scene was about to be broken by a terrible scream.

It was a scream of horror, revulsion and fear, all rolled into one blood-curdling yell. Soon, it was joined by another, and another. All across this island paradise, hundreds upon hundreds of throats let out similar cries as they woke to find gruesome, twisted monsters in their villages, their homes, and even their mirrors.

The Transformation had begun.


SUMMARY

This RPG is set 72,000 years before the Great Cataclysm, on the Island of Zakaz.
Maukta Spiriah has infected the entire island with a series of viruses that turned the native Skakdi from a peaceful, prosperous race into grotesque, vicious warriors. Chaos has erupted as the Skakdi awoke to find themselves in varying stages of transition, and only intensified in the next three days as the changes were completed. The government is trying to keep a lid on things, but are failing miserably, as officials are dealing with similar transformations to everyone else.

In the tumult of the change, some have embraced their new nature and powers in an attempt to seize power. Chief among these is the former head of law enforcement, a Skakdi named Nektann. He has gathered a group of criminals, rogues and power-mongers to take control of the island for his own ends. He has some competition, but as of now, his army is the largest rebel group.

The Makuta himself is nowhere to be found, and many believe him to have left the island. The only sign is a squadron of Visorak he left to guard his fortress and prevent anyone from coming or going to and from the island.

One thing is clear, however. Zakaz is now a very different place, and will be transformed even more in the coming weeks, months and years.
How it is transformed is up to you to decide. Will you join the rebels, using you newfound powers to gain wealth and influence? Will you attempt to put down the rebellions and restore peace to Zakaz? Are you going to throw you lot in with the Makuta, and submit to whatever plans he has for the island?
Whichever you choose, you will alter the fate of your homeland.


THE STORY SO FAR:

Day 0:
Makuta Spiriah sends out his viruses to mutate the Skakdi race. They do not take effect immediately.

Day 1:
This marks the beginning of the Transformation. Overnight, the viruses have begun to take effect and the Skakdi’s bodies have started to change. After the initial attack of island-wide panic, they gather together in each village as well as the capital to seek answers. It is revealed that the Makuta caused the virus, but for what purpose is unknown. Not much more progress is made in any of the meetings. They soon break up out of fear, anger, and uncontrollable flashes of power.

Day 2:
By this stage, the Skakdi are looking mostly like their mutated forms. Everyone is in panic mode as more and more changes occur. There is looting and violence in the streets as everyone tries to hoard supplies or find a cure. Civilisation grinds to a screaming halt. Many buildings are damaged. There is little coordinated response from the Zakaz government because they are just as confused by the changes as everybody else.

Anyone who tries to leave or enter Zakaz encounters Visorak. The island is cut off from the rest of the Matoran Universe.

Day 3:
The mutations are now complete. Nektann sees the way things are going and defects from the Avan to form his own faction. He releases several notorious criminals on his way out, and begins recruiting scoundrels to join him in seizing power.

Still reeling from the loss of one of their top men, the government begins to put together a response. King Malok declares martial law, but the Avan prove too few to be truly effective against such widespread disaster. Some quiet is achieved in the streets, but crime is still rampant, as every Skakdi fights for themselves or their small group. Most are beginning to gain some control over their powers by now.

There is still no sign of the Makuta, but those loyal to him are a force to be reckoned with, as they defend his tower from all assailants and clamp down on any malicious or destructive activities in the surrounding area. They appear to be plotting something, but as yet, nobody knows what.

Rumours are flying that a Skakdi of Quo-Nari named Makan has (or has almost) isolated a cure for the Skakdi’s mutation. The respected, if slightly eccentric doctor was unfortunately killed in a riot in Quo-Kuna, but his work still exists… somewhere. If it can be found, completed and used, there may yet be hope for Zakaz.

All of the islands major factions are showing an interest in this. The Zakaz Government wants it perfected and used widely, Makuta’s Devotees want it destroyed so that the mutation is permanent, while various rebel groups want to obtain it because of the power it represents and to gain more influence on the island. It could be a powerful bargaining chip, and the warlords know it.

Day 4: Beginning of the RPG. From here, events are (mostly) under the players’ control. 


FACTIONS

All across the island, beings are banding together for protection or in pursuit of their goals. The four most important ones are listed below.

Zakaz Government

The government of Zakaz exists to keep the peace and to make sure that day to day activities across the island run smoothly. Malok, the king, has supreme power, but most often has not used it. He finds that most conflicts can be resolved without resorting to that, and prefers to work with his subjects to find solutions. Under Malok, there are several ministers/advisers who oversee various areas of the administration, such as trade, law enforcement, mining, agriculture and dealings with other islands.

Goals:

• Keep order on Zakaz.
• Find a way to cope with the Transformation or reverse it.
  • Investigate all possible cures for the mutation. If any turn out to be useful, use it on as many Skakdi as possible.

 

Nektann’s Rebels

This group, led by the former head of the Avan (law enforcement organisation), is composed of individuals who have given in to their darker sides and are using their newfound powers to wreak havoc in the city of Atia. As yet, their influence is weak outside the city’s walls, but what began as a group of criminals hungry for power is quickly solidifying into an army.

Goals:

• Subvert whatever the government is doing.
• Gain more recruits.
• Launch an attack on Atia and attempt to seize power.

 

Makuta’s Devotees

Right now, most of Zakaz hates Spiriah for transforming them as he did. It is well known that the Makuta was the source of the infection, but nobody knows the details of how or why he did it. This faction, however, includes many beings who are loyal to Spiriah, including his team of Toa Hagah. These beings go against strong public opinion, and believe that the Makuta of the island will provide a solution to their problems. They reason that the Makuta had a purpose in mutating the Skakdi as he did, and do not know that the experiment went horribly wrong from Spiriah’s perspective, as well as everyone else’s.

Goals:

• Stop anyone trying to undo the Makuta’s mutation.
• Await the Makuta’s return and maintain the faction until he does.
• Convince everyone else not to kill Spiriah as soon as he shows his mask.
• Defend the Makuta’s fortress.
• Exercise the Makuta’s will on Zakaz, whatever that may be.

 

Neutral Citizens

In the days since the Transformation began, most of the major factions’ activities have taken place in the capital, Atia and the surrounding lands. In other locations around Zakaz, people are responding to the situation in their own ways, most often fighting for resources or trying to find ways to undo the effects of the virus.

Goals:

• Survive the chaos.
• Do whatever your character wants.

 

Player Created Factions

It is encouraged that players create their own groups. If your character thinks they could do a better job than King Malok, great! Get some followers and mount a coup. If they think they can be a better warlord than Nektann, form a group and go take him down. If they desire peace and want to help their people through this difficult time and emerge stronger out the other side, good for them. Find some help, form a group and make it happen. If they hate Spiriah and live for revenge... well good luck on that one, but you'll need an awful lot of backup to take down the Makuta. It could happen though.

If you want to form a group with a goal and a name, be my guest. The new faction will not, however, get any NPCs or vast resources. You can have a name and a goal, and even fortify one of your character's homes against attacks. Over time, these factions may grow to rival the main three if players put enough work into them.


LOCATIONS


Here are two maps of Zakaz. The first shows the island and the nari borders, the other only shows landmarks. Some important locations are described below, in the state they were before Spiriah released his viruses.


 

All of the locations below are named in the language of the Skakdi, rather than Matoran. Note that the words used here are a little different, as the characters are all speaking a different tongue.


Te-Nari
The southern region of Zakaz is dominated by Mount Krahn. The volcano feeds numerous lava streams. It erupts so frequently that the sides of the mountain are completely bare of any life, as if even nature has given up trying to colonise the place. Further afield from the summit, however, volcanic ash provides excellent fertiliser to sustain forests and fields alike. The Skakdi of the region grow much of the island’s food. The forests are easily navigable for travellers, because occasional forest fires keep the foliage from growing too dense.

Situated between two lava streams is Te-Kuna, the village of fire. The buildings here are constructed from blocks of black volcanic stone.


Ana-Nari
This region of Zakaz is only inhabited underground, where a network of tunnels and caves are home to many Skakdi. Most of the tunnels are concentrated just north of Te-Nari, but there are also underground roads leading to other places of note around the island, such as the other settlements. The tunnels are lit both by torches and a series of mirrors that reflect the light from the dome into most major tunnels.

Irnakk’s Maw is a giant cave entrance that opens onto Te-Nari, and where many of that region’s lava flows re-enter the earth. Many of the mirrors take daylight from this opening, and it is said that, when viewed from a distance, the glinting lenses look like flashing teeth in a gigantic, fiery mouth.

Ana-Kuna is the village of earth. The village is found within a giant cavern with two rivers running through it; one of water, the other of lava. The dwellings here are carved into massive Stalagmites, many of which reach to the cavern’s ceiling, hundreds of bio above. Ana-Kuna is known for its mineral wealth and the skill of its craftsmen in making all sorts of tools, weapons and armour.


Pi-Nari
Zakaz’s region of stone is a vast canyonland along the south-western coast. The Kona and Malana rivers flow down from Quo-Nari and Lake Turano before joining at Furl Drop, a giant, multi-level waterfall that descends more than 500 bio to the floor of Mara Canyon, the largest on the island and home to Pi-kuna. After the joining, the river is known as the Karoro.

Pi-Kuna, the village of stone is recessed within the eastern wall of Mara Canyon. The vertical stone here has been worked into a huge collection of ramps, stairs and ladders that connect the many balconies of the stone village. Each balcony leads into a house or shop within the cliff face. The warm, orange-brown stone gives a cosy feel to the homes here, as well as a majestic view at sunset when the canyon is lit with bright lights and deep shadows.

The Skakdi of Pi-Kuna are adventurous and famous for their skills in combat, sports and survival. The harsh, dry landscape they inhabit provides few resources and harbours many dangerous rahi. As if those weren’t enough of a challenge, bungy jumping and hang gliding are available in the canyonlands, though notoriously dangerous for any who choose to join the daredevils.

Also to be found in Pi-Nari is Spiriah’s Tower. This is the Makuta’s base on Zakaz, where he works his dangerous experiments. The tower itself is built on top of a cylindrical spire of stone, so as to only be accessible by those with the power of flight or some other way to bridge the canyon. There is a bridge to the tower, but it can disappear in an instant, controlled by some mechanism with in the tower. As of the RPG's beginning, the bridge will not be there.


Quo-Nari
Quo-Nari is the mountainous, icy region of Zakaz’s north. High in the Pili Mountains, steep cliffs and ravines dominate the landscape. Glaciers are also a common feature in many valleys. The altitude and cold prevent many plants from growing here, but the hardy shrubs and grasses that do survive often have medicinal properties. Also rumoured to exist here is the jugo tree of legend, which is said to undo any wound or mutation. It is thought that Makan's elixir was derived from this plant.

Quo-Kuna, the village of ice, is the most isolated on the island. It is a quiet place, with most Skakdi preferring to stay indoors to do their business. The homes here are built from cement studded with heatstones, and packed closely together in order to give the outdoor spaces some protection from the cold and the alpine winds.

Quo-Kuna is not an industrial town – there are too few resources up in these frozen lands, but instead the people here make a living from their skills. Quo-Nari boasts many of the island’s best doctors and healers, trained in the use of the region’s plant life. It is also a haven for artists of all types. The peace and stunning views have inspired many great works, from music to sculptures and paintings.


Gu-Nari
Gu-Nari is the region of water, and reaches from the north-eastern coast to Lake Turano, and the smaller Lake Roto. The region has a damp climate, and is filled with marshes, wetlands and wide fields. It is home to many of the island’s rahi, including heards of Tahtorak.

The main feature of Gu-Nari is the Awa River, which flows from Lake Turano in the centre of the island to the Silver Sea. The river runs clear and cool over the moist terrain, providing an easy way of travel for mariners, who both fish the river for its abundant food supply and ferry other Skakdi up and down the river.

Gu-Kuna, the village of water is situated in an underwater cave in the Awa River. Protected from outside attacks, the town is only accessible by swimming or airtight vessels that run on tracks along the riverbed. An air pocket allows the village to stay dry, if a little humid, and is kept fresh by a large skylight that also lights the settlement. The dwellings are built around the edges of the cave on solid ground. Most are constructed from wood, which is abundant in the swamps and forests above.

Gu-Kuna is the transport hub of Zakaz. The large port outside the Gu-Kuna cave holds all types of boats, from large sailing ships ready to take on the silver sea or Lake Turano, to small rafts better suited to the swift-flowing canyon rivers of Pi-Nari. For overland transport, Gu-Kuna is the home base for domesticated Tahtorak, which are used as steeds for the Skakdi.


La-Nari
This region of Zakaz is a lush rainforest, the Rata Jungle, is often covered by curtains of swirling mist. The shining droplets reduce the visibility among the dark, evergreen trees, and can give it an unearthly feel, not to mention make it easy to get lost in. Between the gargantuan trunks, there is very little undergrowth. Instead, a thick layer of moss serves as the carpet. It can conceal dead trunks and pot holes, however, so watch your step.

Some of the more remote parts of this rainforest remain unexplored. Strange tales are told of these regions and what beings might reside there. Some say ghosts, some say walking trees, while other describe beings alien to anything else in the universe.

The La-Nari forest overlaps with Ana-Nari, with trees on the surface and tunnels beneath. Just who owns this part of land, however, has never been a problem – neither group wants to use the other’s area.

The greatest feature of this forest is undoubtedly the forest monarch, Mahana. This giant tree reaches 50 bio above the rest of the forest, its canopy extending like a dome 100 bio across on top of the rest of the forest’s roof. More than just a big tree however, Mahana is alive and sentient. Her mind watches over the forest, wherever trees grow in La-Nari. What she makes of it, however, is anyone’s guess, and communication is fraught with difficulty. Her thoughts are revealed in the swirling patterns and arcane symbols that are in constant motion across her bark. Some say that the pattern of these will predict the future, while others assert that the patterns of mist move in unison.

La-Kuna, the village of La-Nari is situated a good distance from Mahana, because nobody had the guts or gumption to build anything too close to the revered tree, let alone it in. Instead, the wooden houses are built on the ground. They are well camouflaged, however, and unless one knows where to look, they could easily miss it in the mists.

La-Kuna Skakdi are known as builders and engineers. It is they who produce the great ships of Gu-nari and construct all kinds of buildings across the island.


Atia
Atia is the capital city of Zakaz, and is neutral territory where beings of all elements and backgrounds meet. Almost surrounded by Lake Turano and the Awa River, Atia is a much larger city than any of the kuna. A wall surrounds the city, but the gates are always open, as the fortifications have not been needed in a long time. The city is a hodge-podge of architectural styles and cultures, allowing it to feel like home to all of its diverse inhabitants as well as highlighting the peaceful co-existence of so many in one place. Important places in and around the city include:

Lake Turano, which is the largest body of water on Zakaz. The huge lake borders 6 of the 7 regions, and is a gateway for travellers, as well as providing water for much of the island.

Mana Palace, where the King of Zakaz lives, rules and deals with the people. The current holder of that title is named Malok, a Skakdi of magnetism. The palace is the city’s largest building, reaching out from a small, central tower built of a mixture of stone and wood. It lies in the middle of the city, surrounded by a park. Most of the palace is open to the public for dealings with their king and his administrators.

Avan Headquarters is situated adjacent to the main gate of Atia, and serves as the fortress that Mana is not. Built from thick stone and iron, there are only two entrances. One is the main gate, the other a secret underground passageway leading into the palace. The large building towers over the small houses and businesses in other parts of the city, with several battlements equipped with projectile weapons. Inside, the place is a warren of various chambers used by Zakaz’s law enforcement, including a small jail.

Traders’ Square. Just as the name suggests, this part of Atia is the commercial hub of both the city and Zakaz. Goods of all kinds are traded here, from food and water to medicines, tools, trinkets and weapons. The last is much less common than in other parts of the MU, because Zakaz doesn’t usually have much trouble aside from the occasional plague of rahi. Much of the trade that goes on here uses a barter system, but there is also a currency known as the grala – small gold spheres engraved with various symbols that signify their worth.

Nektann's hideout is the base for this warlord and his criminal gang. The base is in what used to be one of the largest shops in the city, one selling fresh produce from Te-Nari. Here, the villains are well supplied, but the design of the building and many exits make security a problem.


ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ZAKAZ

Technology Level
The level of technology on Zakaz is greater than that of the Matoran on Mata Nui, but nowhere near Xia standard. The Skakdi can make some pretty cool tools and structures, but they are nowhere near modern day technology or the ‘magical’ technologies produced on Xia and Nynrah.

The currency of Zakaz is the grala. These can be used like widgets to buy things in the markets of Zakaz, but most Skakdi just use a barter system. Gralas are small gold spheres engraved with various symbols that signify their worth. These are notoriously difficult to counterfeit.

Mutated vs. Non-mutated Skakdi.
Prior to the Transformation, the Skakdi were smaller and less powerful than they are now. They were shorter than most toa and had small spines down their backs. Their faces were more normal and their jaws were much smaller than the gruesome grins we saw on the Piraka sets. They had the ability to use great kanohi, and also possessed the latent elemental traits seen in Matoran (heat resistance for Ta-Matoran, lung capacity and swimming skills for Ga-Matoran, etc), only stronger. If your character is not of one of the main elemental types, you can make up the trait that goes with their element (but keep it reasonable).

As a result of Spiriah’s virus, they have grown taller and stronger, their spines have enlarged and their jaws have sprouted huge teeth. They have lost the mental discipline to access the powers of kanohi, but have gained other abilities.

Chief among these new powers is the ability to use elemental powers to a toa level, but only when working together with another mutated Skakdi. Second is a vision power, such as X-ray vision or laser vision. These powers work by shooting beams from the Skakdi’s eyes, and whatever those beams hit is affected by the power. Finally, each mutated Skakdi gained a third power. These are highly variable between individuals, so be creative when coming up with your own unique powers. Be cautious in this, however, of over-powering. The Pirakas’ abilities should be considered the upper limit here.

The final and perhaps most disturbing change for the Skakdi is the transformation of their minds. While pre-mutation Skakdi were mostly calm, friendly sorts, Spiriah’s virus has given them an inclination towards high tempers and violent outbursts.

This game takes place three days after the original infection, which took about that long to do its work and completely transform all the Skakdi. Most characters will still be getting used to their new powers, and will not be experts yet.
 

In a small break from canon, both mutated and non-mutated Skakdi will be able to form Kaita, with the proviso that the characters who create the fusion must be controlled by at least two different players. Both types of fusions (mutated and non-mutated) will gain stature and strength, as well as having access to all the powers of the individuals who created it. A Kaita formed by three non-mutated Skakdi will also affect the fused kanohi of the three, and allow its powers to be used to a higher level than they could be otherwise. For example, if one member of the Kaita wore a hau, the resulting fusion would be able to not only create force fields around themselves, but in other places as well, and then be able to manipulate those fields and move them around. If one member of the Kaita wore a huna, the resulting fusion would be able to make themselves invisable and also cast no shadow, even in the brightest lights. They could still be detected by other senses, as per the normal huna.

 

GAMEPLAY

In this game, you will play as one of the inhabitants of Zakaz. This can mean that your characters can be Skakdi or other MU species that happen to be on Zakaz at the time.

This is very much a sandbox RPG, so your characters’ actions will determine the course of events. Zakaz may end up much like it did in the canon universe; a war-torn desolation, or alternatively, it may turn out to be a very different place. Your actions will determine which and how. So have fun. Go visit Makan's house or take a look at his body. Pick fights over a bag of food. This world is just waiting for you to make it come to life.

With that said, a “sandbox” game does not mean that there will be no overarching, GM-run plot. There will be, but which direction it takes will be determined by what the players do in the first few weeks of gameplay. There are a few ways this game could go, but only the one that fits best with what the players are doing will be put into action.


CHARACTERS

Most characters in this game will be Skakdi. It is, after all, their island. Other MU species will be allowed, but bear in mind that they will be heavily outnumbered. If you can concoct a good reason for a non-Skakdi character to be on Zakaz, go ahead and play them. It is likely, however, that they may have been affected by the Makuta’s viruses in some way.

The same applies to non-mutated Skakdi. These are playable if you can think of an excuse for them not to have been on Zakaz at the time of the infection, and also a way to get them back past the Visorak guards.

As with any RPG, there are some canon powers that cannot be used. These include:

• The legendary masks, for obvious reasons.
• The olmak, avohkii, krahkan and mask of elemental energy, all of which are unique. There are none of these masks in existence other than the ones shown in the canon story.
• The elements of light and shadow, because there are no naturally occurring Skakdi of light or shadow, and the shadow leech hasn’t been invented (and won't be for thousands of years yet).
• The mohtrek, because insta-armies are annoying.
• The mask of undeath, because unkillable zombies are no fun.
• The mask of mutation, because things can't be solved that easily.
• The komau (great mask of bunnying), the sanok (great mask of auto-hitting) and the Mask of Clairvoyance (great mask of meta-gaming). While it is possible to use these responsibly in an RPG, I’d rather save everyone the trouble of sorting out how they should and shouldn’t be used within good RPing etiquette.
• The mask of conjuring, because it is rediculously overpowered.

You cannot play as a canon character. Make your own.
There is no limit on how many characters a player can control at one time. If this is abused, however, it can be changed.

Fill out this character profile and submit it for approval. This layout is designed for a Skakdi character, so for other species it will need a bit of altering. Feel free to change the format if you wish.

Name: Make it sound BIONICLE-ish
Species: Something from the MU, but not Makuta.
Gender: Male, Female, unknown, neither, somewhere inbetween…
Faction: Pick one from above, make your own, or neutral.
Home Region: Te-Nari, Gu-Nari, Atia, traveller, etc
Element: Only to be used with another mutated Skakdi
Vision Power: Heat, x-rays, etc
Third Power: Be creative!
Equipment: What do they have with them?
Appearance: What do they look like? A MoC, drawing or description will do.
Biography: About their life.
Personality: What are they like? How do they act?
Skills/Strengths: What are they good at?
Weaknesses: What are they bad at? What hurts them?


NPCs

Name: Malok
Species: Skakdi
Gender: Male
Faction: Zakaz Government
Home Region: Atia
Element: Magnetism
Vision Power: X-ray vision
Third Power: Mind reading and limited telepathy

Equipment: Crown and sceptre of Zakaz

Appearance: Malok is a tall but thin Skakdi whose armour is mostly gunmetal grey. His secondary colour is royal blue, and is displayed on his torso, hands and feet. The crown he wears is made of gold and is set with six stones in a circular pattern, each the colour of one of the main six elements. In the centre of the circle is a transparent diamond. Since his transformation, it doesn’t fit on his head too well.

Biography: Malok has been King of Zakaz for a few thousand years now, and has overseen the growth of the Skakdi nation. He lives in Mana Palace in Atia, which is his seat of power. Since the Transformation began, he has tried to use his influence among his race to calm the chaos, but has not met with much success.
Personality: Malok is a charismatic Skakdi with good people skills and considerable wisdom. He is the closest thing to a Turaga you are likely to find among the Skakdi. He tries to rule Zakaz as fairly as possible, and genuinely wants to see his people flourish. As for the Transformation, he has found the mental changes the most difficult. Anger and violence are the opposite of what he stands for, so having them become a greater part of his personality is very difficult for him.

Skills/Strengths: Malok is an excellent speaker, and has a disarming style that makes other people want to agree with him. He has a quick mind and a strong will.

Weaknesses: Malok is not a great warrior, though he can fight passably if the occasion calls for it.



Name: Nektann
Species: Skakdi
Gender: Male
Faction: Nektann’s Rebels
Home Region: Atia
Element: Water
Vision Power: Lightning vision
Third Power: Physical Invulnerability. This means that he cannot be hurt by physical attacks like whacking him with a sword. Arrows will just bounce off him, axes will only get bent. He can hit whatever he likes and fear nothing. Energy based attacks, however, will hurt him. This invulnerability also extends to any weapon he uses.

Equipment: A large scythe, which he wields will deadly strength and precision. This is not the crescent scythe seen in the set, but a similar weapon. He also carries a dozen daggers and a mace as backup.

Appearance: Nektann is much larger than the average Skakdi, muscular and well armoured. His appearance is much like the set, but he has not yet obtained his crescent scythe at this point in history. His weapon is still a scythe; just a different one.
I picture him something like this MoC by Toa Cehk. All credit to the builder.

Biography: Prior to the Transformation, Nektann was head of the Avan, the law enforcement of Zakaz. He did his job ruthlessly and efficiently, and under his watch, crime was low. He held great influence among the government, and was tipped by some to become the next King of Zakaz.
On finding out that the Skakdi were being mutated into super-powered monsters, Nektann’s darker side took control and he took advantage of the confusion for his own gain. He set free many criminals and began recruiting many other Skakdi in a bid to seize power and rule the island. He has been unusually quick to discover his powers and how they can be used.

Personality: Nektann is a ruthless being, using whatever force is necessary to achieve his goals. This made him very effective has head of the Avan, but now it makes him a nightmare to his enemies. He has embraced the dark side of his new nature, though his mind is still cunning and sharp as a dagger.

Skills/Strengths: Nektann is a deadly warrior of great strength and skill, particularly with his chosen weapons. He is a quick thinker and has a devious, shrewd mind, as well as inside knowledge of the Avan and Zakaz Government.

Weaknesses: Nektann is vulnerable to energy-based attacks, and is not particularly agile.


Name: Spiriah
Species: Makuta
Gender: Male
Faction: Brotherhood of Makuta (also leader of Makuta's Devotees)
Element: Shadow
Kanohi: Jutlin
Powers: Spiriah has access to all 42 kraata powers as well as telepathy, the use of a shadow hand and the ability to infect kanohi. He has the ability to create kraata and, by extension, Rahkshi. Since he has not yet evolved into gaseous antidermis at this point in history, the process of creating kraata is slow and yields weak slugs.

Appearance: Spiriah is a shapeshifter, so his appearance can change at will. For the most part, he will appear as he did in the set.
Biography: Spiriah was created by Mata Nui along with the other Makuta from a pool of liquid Antidermis. He then became a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta, working experiments on Rahi and creating breeds to populate the universe, though he lacked the skill in doing so. Following the Matoran Civil War, Spiriah was assigned to supervise the islands of Zakaz and Artidax.
Spiriah saw potential for the Skakdi to be used as soldiers for the Brotherhood, and came to Zakaz to experiment on them. When he thought he had the right mix of viruses, he unleashed them over the whole island through the air and water, resulting in the Transformation. He then left the island, planning to return later to check on the results.

Personality: Spiriah is arrogant like all Makuta, but unable to live up to this standard; he lacks skills in Rahi creation, and is deficient in leadership traits, acting more in the role of a follower. Though he aspires to greatness, he is incapable of achieving anything of significance.

Skills/Strengths: He’s a Makuta. He has power beyond anything other species can dream of. Attack him and you die.


Name: Banua
Species: Toa
Gender: Male
Faction: Makuta’s Devotees
Element: Gravity
Mask: Gold faxon in the shape of a kadin. This was presented to him by his former team mates on entering Spiriah’s service. The shape is to honour a past hero - Jovan

Equipment: Orbit Spear and Rhotuka Launching Shield

The Orbit Spear has the power to change the point where the gravity that affects the target originates from. For this power to be triggered, the spear must touch the target. For example, if a foe was touched by the spear, they might find gravity pulling them towards, say, a tree, rather than the ground.

His rhotuka have the power to cause explosions wherever they strike.

Appearance: Banua’s primary colour is black, with gold and purple highlights in roughly equal parts. His tools, hands and feet are gold, while his upper limbs are purple. Also in this colour is the BoM insignia across his chest. He is a thin, wiry toa of about average height. His armour is made of precious metals.

Biography: Banua is the leader of Spiriah’s Toa Hagah team. Before entering the Brotherhood’s service, he was one of the Toa Nynrah. He was chosen to become an elite guardian, and was assigned to Spiriah’s team, which he now leads. It is his job to deal with any threats to his Makuta’s safety.
Banua has not had much to do with the Skakdi before, except for acting as a bodyguard during Spiriah’s occasional visits to Mana Palace. Generally, he has spent time in Spiriah’s tower when on Zakaz, but much more time on other islands. He speaks Skakdi passably, but would much rather converse in Matoran.
During the Transformation, he and his fellow Hagah were taken to a sealed-off chamber to protect them from any ill effects caused by the viruses. He was left on Zakaz when Spiriah left to go back to Destral.

Personality: Banua is a cautious leader, always giving situations due consideration rather than a quick, rash response that might lead to trouble later. That is not to say he cannot act quickly when the situation demands it, but it is not his preferred MO. He has a serious personality, and stays focussed on the job. He is not often jokey or jovial, but relies on others to lighten up a situation.

Skills/Strengths: Banua is a good leader and a clever strategist. He is very loyal to the Makuta, and has great skill with his powers.

Weaknesses: He does not have the physical strength to match most post-mutation Skakdi, so he prefers to fight at a distance. At close range, he could be beaten in physical combat.

NOTE: Banua is one Toa Hagah, but the rest of Spiriah’s team are open for creation by players. If you want to play as one, make a character. Five players who want spots will get them. The other Hagah can also get some of the few powered weapons on the island (spears and rhotuka launching shields).


RULES

All BZP rules apply, obviously.

In general, don’t do anything that detracts from other peoples’ enjoyment of the game. All the usual RPG fallacies fall under this, such as god-modding, meta-gaming, bunnying, auto-hitting and the like. For more on these, see the BZPRPG, where you will find some great descriptions and more details on the subtleties of these.

Use IC and OOC to separate what your character(s) do from you talking to other players. If all you have to say is OOC, use the discussion topic.

Unlike in some other RPGs, there is no rule against wreaking huge destruction on the landscape. We know that in the canon universe, the island was turned into a barren wasteland by the wars of super-powered savages, so there is no reason not to pound a few landmarks out of existence if the situation requires it.

No nova blasts or other apocalyptic, island destroying attacks. Destroy your immediate area: fine. Destroy the entire region or island: not fine.

Do not kill or injure somebody else’s character without permission. The same goes for (character) life changing events.

GMs have the right to do anything they see fit in the IC world. This includes punishments for rule-breaking and rewards for making positive contributions to the RPG.

Please read all of the above before you start playing the game. It will help everyone out, you included. 


GLOSSARY

This is a list of all the terms I invented for this game. Most were made up on the spot, so this is to help myself and others keep track of them.

Ana- – the Skakdi prefix representing earth
Atia – the capital city of Zakaz
Avan – the law enforcement agency of Zakaz
Awa – a river in Gu-Nari, flowing out of Lake Turano
Furl Drop – a waterfall at the meeting of the Malana and Kona Rivers
Grala – the currency of Zakaz
Gu- – the Skakdi prefix representing water
Karoro – a river flowing through Mara Canyon
Kona – a river flowing from Quo-Nari into Pi-Nari
Kuna – a Skakdi word meaning ‘village’
La- – the Skakdi prefix representing air
Mahana – a giant, sentient tree in La-Nari
Malana – a river flowing from Lake Turano into Pi-Nari
Malok – a Skakdi, the current King of Zakaz
Mana Palace – Malok’s dwelling in Atia
Mara - a canyon in Pi-Nari, the location of Pi-Kuna
Mount Krahn – a volcano in Te-nari
Nari – a Skakdi word meaning ‘region’
Pi- – the Skakdi prefix representing stone
Pili Mountains – mountain range of Quo-Nari
Quo- – the Skakdi prefix representing ice
Rata – the forest of La-Nari
Roto – a lake in Gu-Nari
Te- – the Skakdi prefix representing fire
The Transformation – the changes wrought on the Skakdi by Spiriah’s virus.
Turano – a lake in the centre of Zakaz. 
 

Edited by The Lorax, Mar 17 2013 - 01:48 AM.

[Replicant]

 

“They’ve done rather well this year, haven’t they?” The speaker was haggard, his hands shaking slightly as he wrung them together. 

 

“Who?” The source of the response looked equally fatigued, but in a different fashion, his frame gaunt and the bone structure of his skull visibly imprinted into his unhealthy face. His eyes, a shade of yellow that reflected his generally anemic appearance, were not nervous, but impassive, careful maintained so that not a single emotion would escape. 

 

“The Bureau of Giving. Metal production up by 20%! We’re closer to winning this war than ever.” As the Matoran spoke, his hands began to shake worst than ever, the skeletal digits and distinct joints quaking with an unseen terror. However, his eyes, just like those of his companion, were carefully guarded. The green orbs, sunken into his sickly head, looking like those of the dead, both at peace and utterly tormented, a façade of happiness and contentment.

 

“Oh, of course. Those Zakaz swine will be ground into the dust soon enough.” The other Matoran, his yellow eyes as unflustered as ever, looked downward to the newspaper lying on the table between, staring at it blankly as he read, never lifting it from it‘s limp position on the table.

 

The obnoxious screeching of an alarm filled the room, and the Matoran, with machine-like movements, stood up, carefully placed their chairs back underneath the table, and exited the room with dozens of other Matoran, all of them looking utterly brain dead, as if someone had removed their biomechanical cerebrum and replaced it with a propaganda pamphlet.

 

* * *

 

They next day, the yellow-eyed Matoran was back, sitting at the group of tables designated to citizens of his area in the district of Ta-Metru.  

 

There was a general air of anxiety and nervousness in the air as everyone politely spoke to each other, their mannerisms contrasting with their soulless eyes, and almost pre-programmed sounding voices. “Did you hear?” “Of course I heard. It is such a shame, our own citizens betraying us.” “I certainly hope that none of those terrible, hideous monsters try to get me to commit such a crime!” “We have to kill these swine quickly, they’re infecting our precious Empire!” “Don’t doubt in our Emperor, he will fix this. I’m sure he has it all planned, you’ll see.” “Well, most certainly he does. I’m just worried that more lies will spread to our district.” “Oh, you’re scaring me now. Sub-district 34 isn’t awfully far away from ours.” “Oh, I’m sure the Enforcers will be visiting the residences there.” “I think it’s better that way! More hangings, more morale boosting, that’s what I say.” 

 

The yellowed-eyed Matoran stared at one of the Sub-District 36 tables several feet away, their loud voices carrying the topics of discussion across the room. There were few people sitting in his area, and all of them quiet, so there was no chance of a respite from the constant talking of the Sub-District 36 citizens. 

 

Holding his head in his hands, the yellow-eyed Matoran began to sob, staring at the Sub-District 34 logo imprinted on the table, his hands shaking as they filled with his tears. 

 

Story:  

 

Welcome to The Great Empire of Metru-Nui. We observe you for your own good, so that if an accident occurs, we can send someone to help you in a very small amount of time. Coincidentally, if you choose to be disruptive, we can remove you from public, until you learn to behave yourself. Surveillance is constant, screens and security cameras watch you from every angle, not a single inch on the entire industrialized island of Metru-Nui is free of observation, for your own good, of course. You, beloved worker, can seek “freedom”, and live a life of hardship and fear, or you can worship The Empire, your benevolent benefactor, and live a comfortable life. I think the correct choice is clear.

 

The Empire is ready to support you and love you, but you must love it in return. Love nothing else, for nothing else is worthy of your love. If you are found wasting your love on another, we shall have to re-educate you, so be wise and adore us over any other. The Empire gives you everything, your residence, your food, and all we ask for in return is your absolute loyalty. Worship us as we deserve to be worshiped, with every atom of your bond and soul, and you will never want. Do not love us as we deserve, and there will be repercussions. 

 

The Great Empire is ruled by the wise and benevolent Emperor, once called Dume, and he is the one who shall protect you from the terrible, blood-curdling horrors of Zakaz, and the trail of death it leaves in its wake. Below him, to share his wisdom and rouse you into working harder and faster, are The Six Elders, once known as Turaga, each one representing one of the six basic elements. Their names are Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju, and they are to be respected and honored, for each of them has control over an entire Metru.

 

We have the highest hopes for you, worker, but if you fail to meet our expectations, we would be forced to remove you, so that you do not taint your fellow labor force. We’re sure you understand the reasons for this, and we’re also sure you’ll try your very best to remain useful, but if you don’t, perhaps the Enforcers will have to pay you a visit. What are Enforcers? The are exactly what their name implies, a finished version of the “Vahki” prototype, the ultimate in protecting your peace and wellbeing, as well as the ultimate in capturing and terminating those who wish to be difficult.

 

Our soliders, brave, courageous souls, will rarely, if ever, seen by you. They travel rarely, and only in secure Chutes, and play no part in your work, so you have no reason to possess knowledge of them. There have been citizens too curious on the topic of our military than is healthy. If you show signs that you are beginning to join this crowd, a cell in a Re-Education center shall be prepared for your arrival, dear citizen.

 

One last thing on the topic of The Empire‘s Citizens; The Masses. You will meet them on the street, within the factory or bureau, and they are not to be feared. They might be taller, stronger, and faster than you, but they are not better than you. You are elite. They are to be ignored, and to be reported if they pause working. The Enforcers are more than capable of dealing with them, no matter the number of them, so do not hesitate to report them. Other members of The Masses may resent you for doing so, but what do they matter? They are mere proletariats, you are the middle, the comfortable height above grueling work and below the difficulties of ruling, they are the depths, the pits of existence. 

 

We are at war with the demonic, vindictive barbarians of Zakaz. There is another island, Xia, but they have never acted against us, and they have never acted for the interest of Zakaz. We at war with the spiteful Zakaz savages, and no one else. It is wise to remember this, citizen, if someone tries to convince you otherwise. Remain faithful, and report him to the nearest Enforcer. 

 

All we ask of you, worker and citizen, is trust, obedience, and a good work ethic. These are all easy enough in theory, but some seem to find problems with them, and those who do so always end up trying to convince others that we ask for more, that we are not kind. Please, for your own good, do not listen to them. We love you, and all we ask for in return is your love and loyalty. If you do not agree with this proposal, there is a lovely Enforcer outside, and I’m sure he can take you somewhere to clear your mind.

 

Locations: 

 

Ta-Metru: 

 

 

“A busy Matoran is a happy Matoran, for quick work is rewarding work.” 

 

The Metru of Productions, Ta-Metru is composed gigantic factories, with living quarters and mess halls scattered throughout the Metru, split up by Sub-Districts (Where citizens and The Masses take residence), numbered from 1 to 60, the lowest numbers being the darkest, dirtiest rat holes of The Masses, the largest being the most prestigious residences of the most efficient workers. The skyline of Ta-Koro is that of smokestacks and plumes of smog, with fire belching from the widest, most active of the industrial, utilitarian factories of gunmetal steel. 

 

Ga-Metru: 

 

 

“Trust in the Emperor, pride in the Elite.”

 

The Metru of Re-Education, and the location of the Empire’s Navy, Ga-Metru is easily recognizable for its appearance, dozens of islands, sprawling with concrete builds, windowless and surrounded with several fences of barbed wire, as well as mine fields, if the structure is particularly important. There are few living quarters in Ga-Metru, all for Re-Educators, those who administrate the prisons and Re-Education centers, and those who keep them in working order. There are 36 Sub-Districts, no longer numbered for living condition, only for what island they are located on. In the Metru of Re-Education and the Metru of the Empire‘s Armada, there is an emphasis of belief in the Emperor for those being Re-Educated, and an emphasis for striving to be the strongest, most vicious being possibly in the Empire‘s Armada. The slogan of Ga-Metru reflects this well. 

 

Le-Metru:

 

 

“For Peace and the Law.”

 

The Metru of Law Enforcement, and the Metru of The Great Empire’s Military, Le-Metru is a massive military base, dotted with Enforcer hives, with everything connected by Chutes and surrounded by Airship ports. The Chute system of Le-Metru is put to maximum use, with Enforcers being transported across Metru-Nui constantly, and the Military able to reach wherever the need to be in mere minutes, either to fend off an attack, or to ready themselves for deportation. The Chute system has been modified slightly, requiring a pass, implanted in one’s organics, possessed only by the most influential citizens and the Military, to be used. As well as this, the Chute’s speed of travel has been increased, so that Enforcers can arrive even sooner, to quell any disturbance that arises.  There are only 12 Sub-Districts in Le-Metru, for the only citizens allowed to take residence there, either temporary or permanent, are mechanics and Airship pilots. Four of these Districts are located directly next to Enforcer Hives, and these are, obviously, where mechanics live. The other eight are located on military bases, and serve as temporary residence for the Airship pilots who arrive with their cargo, and wish to rest for a few days.  The Le-Metru slogan is simple and to the point, reflecting those who occupy the Metru of Violence, as some take to calling it. 

 

Po-Metru: 

 

 

“Might Makes Right.”

 

The Metru of Chaos is what most call Po-Metru, the City of Stone. There is no true purpose for the establishments there, only randomly scattered businesses, surrounded by thousands of residence buildings, all of them ramshackle and in a state of serious disrepair. Where there were once deserts there are streets,  monoliths and statues are now the cornerstones of the larger buildings, all signs of a previous setting has been assimilated into the current look of the Metru, creating a revolting mix of past beauty and modern hideousness. The dignified civilization of before is hidden behind the bestial violence of today in the streets of current Po-Metru, called by some The Metru of Brutes and The Metru of the Mad. Many of The Masses make their homes here, and thus it is not uncommon to be greeted with horrendous sights of violence when one awakes in the morning, roused by the sound of The Masses competing for the right to travel to the other Metru, on rickety Airships, no longer suitable for military use, and condemned to a life of carrying half-mad beings, having just survived the often fatal gauntlet of the street, to their places of work, brutal factories that, to them, are havens of cleanness. Every member of The Masses wants to reach these factories, and thus, the unofficial slogan of the Metru of Chaos, “Might Makes Right.”, describes their willingness to smash each other’s brains to bits in the name of a ride on the Airships rather well.

 

Onu-Metru:

 

 

“Thoughts can be dangerous, for the Emperor sees all.”

 

The Metru of Research, or The Metru of Information, or the Metru of Knowledge, Onu-Metru goes by several names, but all of them have one thing in common; Details. Onu-Metru keeps track of every word spoken, every movement made, every piece of media released, and it is more than ready to edit all of this information when ever correction is needed. All of this manages occurs in The Archives, a system of tunnels spanning the length and width of the entire island, and now, thanks to advancements in recent years, delving deeper than sane man would imagine going. The Archives hold more information than a mind could imagine, and all of it is easily available to the citizens who reside there. The residents of Onu-Metru rarely see the sun, and the are, shall we say, distorted. Their eyes are, at least three times larger than any other being found in The Empire, their bodies are shriveled and almost devoid of muscle, and their fingers have turned into long, bony claws, used both for digging and for typing on the tiny keys of the dozens of typewriter-esque information-translating instruments of their “inputs”, bizarre machines on which the “Unders” (The common name of the residents of Onu-Metru) write/re-write dozens of documents at once. The “inputs” span entire rooms, and connect to the Archives, which now resemble, in many ways, modern digital libraries and encyclopedias. There are only six Sub-Districts in Onu-Metru, each one representing a section of The Archives under other Metru, with otherwise literally no difference between the six. Onu-Metru, on the map, appears to be a dome of protosteel, a single dot of color on a landscape of post-apocalyptic, desolate black. The reason for the emptiness? As well as managing the details of a citizen’s life, Onu-Metru manages the details and the information of The Empire’s military forces, both land, air, and sea. Part of this military information is the effectiveness of weapons, from mundane pistols to explosive missiles of devastating power. The slogan of Onu-Metru “Thoughts can be dangerous, for The Emperor sees all.”, reflects the paranoia of the Matoran (and the mind-games that the local Enforcers enjoy playing) rather well.  

 

Ko-Metru:

 

 

“Obedience is Happiness.” 

 

The Metru of Entertainment and Diversions, Ko-Metru is the only Metru to have an official name with two components, and the only Metru to constantly cooperate with another, Onu-Metru. Ko-Metru resembles a bizarre mix of beautiful, translucent crystal palaces and cold, hard steel-gray skyscrapers, metallic framework connecting metal and glass additions to the gigantic Crystal Towers, and buildings, rivaling a Tower’s height, thin and stylized with square-shaped windows and absolutely nothing spherical, attach directly into the snowy, almost arctic terrain of the Metru. All of these structures have one thing in common: They are tipped with gigantic instruments reminiscent of antennas and radio dishes. Ko-Metru is the transmitter of entertainment and broadcasts for the entire island, sending news, and motivational speeches every where, leaving no space in The Empire without the latest news, the most recent military victory. Ko-Metru’s relation to Onu-Metru is simple: Onu-Metru receives the information first, corrects it and edits it for the citizens good, and then sends it to Ko-Metru, who sends it everywhere in its reach. The population of Ko-Metru is almost devoid of members of The Masses, instead almost entirely middle class citizens, all of them zealous for the message they are conveying. A message that could be identified by totalitarian by the youngest being, composed of little more than demonization of The Empire’s enemy and worship of The Emperor, yet accepted by thousands as truth, simply because after being told it so many times, they choose to accept it as truth, for doing otherwise, for even thinking of it otherwise, would result in their death. The slogan of this Metru is rather apt. 

 

The Throne:

 

A monolithic structure rising several hundred, perhaps even a thousand, feet into the air, The Throne is a massive, three-sided pyramid, with the monstrous, spiked Crown of The Empire painted in crimson on the white stone of each side, visible from hundreds and hundreds of feet away. The Throne connects the six landmasses of the Metrus, and serves as the motivational, morale-boosting symbol of The Empire, more terrifying and psychological than any flag, imprinting any who see it with a sense of smallness, weakness, and helplessness, things that only The Emperor, who, along with the Six Elders, resides in The Throne, can cure you of, as he makes his glorious speeches in front of this intimidating, cyclopean monument.

 

Character Profiles & Character Creation Information: 

 

Name: (Please, keep it reasonably Bionicle-ish. I don’t want to see “Bobby” and “Johnny”, nor do I want to see “KillStealer169” or any other name with digits and a distinct 9-year old videogamer feel)

Gender: (Should be simple to fill in)

Social Class: (Explained below)

Appearance: (At the very least, describe body coloring, basic appearance, and Kanohi design. I want at least four sentences.)

Occupation: (What does your character do? Are they skilled at it? Do they hate it, or do they adore it?)

Metru: (Sub-District as well, if applicable. You can describe whatever Sub-district you create, I‘ll confirm if it fits in with game world as I approve the profile.)

Personality: (What does your character think about their current situation? Are they becoming insane? Are they cold and manipulative, compassionate and kind? Do they like betraying their co-workers, do they attempt to spread their rebellious thoughts and opinions?)

Alignment: (Either Loyal (to The Empire), Neutral, or Rebellious)

 

Blank Profile:

 

Name:

Gender:

Social Class:

Appearance:

Occupation:

Personality:

Alignment:

 

Social Class:

 

The way you fill out social class, comparable to Species in most other RPGs, determines the type of life your character lives, as well as his species. There are two Social Class available for players to role-play, Workers, and The Masses

 

Workers: Once known as Matoran, Workers are the highest-ranking factory personnel, the information modifiers, the message broadcasters, the re-educators, the airship pilots. Workers make up around 20% of the Empire’s population, vastly overshadowed by The Masses. While in possession of somewhat-better living conditions than The Masses, they are watched very closely by Enforcers, seeing as they are the ones modifying the information that everyone accepts as truth. When filling out Social Class, be sure to add what type of Matoran the Worker is.

 

The Masses: The Masses, on the other hand, are almost devoid of law enforcement, only bothered by the Enforcers when one of them shows hints of a rebellious nature. They are dived into two sub-classes, each composed of a different species. One, Sidorak's species, possesses the height and physical prowess of an average Toa, are the Plebeians, commonly referred to as the Plebs, are the “blue-collars”, performing industrial work that should require protection, along with extremely large amounts of pay, but lack both. The others, Krekka’s species, are the Drudges. The Drudges, a bit taller than Plebs, and three times as wide, have the strength and endurance of a Kane-Ra, but the intelligence, and agility, of a hammer. The Dredges, obviously, are the sub-class that assume the extremely laborious positions in the Empire. The Masses (Which consist of approximately 70% Plebs and 30% Drudges) make up almost 80% percent of Empire, and are the hordes who work the factories, the mechanics and janitors keeping everything in working order, the residents of Po-Metru, the true workers of The Empire.

 

Examples of how Social Class should look: 

 

Social Class: The Masses, Drudge.

Social Class: Worker, (Le-Matoran).            

Alignment:

 

I know this is a pretty simple concept, but I wanted to remind players of something. While Rebellious sounds like the obvious and only choice to most players who are reading this, I wrote Loyal there for a reason. 

 

While it doesn’t sound very appealing, being a loyal, double-thinking citizen who loves nothing more than betraying their less “virtuous” companions definitely has its perks. For example, you might even gain access to greater power and influence if you are loyal enough. 

 

The Loyal alignment would most easily be compared to Evil in any other RPG, so, if you feel the need to create a villainous PC, this would be the most intelligent option.

 

Character Approval and Character Profiles:

 

Instead of the usual posting in discussion topic and all that, this RPG’s characters will be approved by PM, so once you’ve written out the profile, PM it to one of the GMs, and then post it in the profiles topic. As normal, only one character profiles post per player. 

Character Impact on this RPG’s World

 

I’m sure many of you have noticed the rather limited character creation options, and no doubt a large percentage of you find it distasteful, or limiting. I would like to quickly address this matter, so that the question of PC power remains undisputed. 

 

Your characters are not powerful, nor are they important.

 

At least, not at first. Consider the profile you submit to a GM via PM a Level 1 character, to use a term familiar to most videogame or tabletop RPGers. A Level 1 character should never be able to ravage a nation, destroy a world, or bring an empire to its knees. But as a character progress, as they grow and become defined, their powers and skills develop through experience, while their naivety and greenness transforms matures into intelligence and cunning. Your character will not begin as the being who destroys The Empire, or improves it, but a citizen, who is only as great as your imagination, and your creativity, traits that should have no limit. 

 

So, keep in mind that you are responsible for your character’s power; Handle it intelligently and creatively, and you’ll have no problem at all. Handle it childishly and without caution, and prepare for repercussions.   

 

Rules:

 

1: All BZP and RPG Forum rules apply.

2: I will be the Game Master (GM) for this RPG. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

3: You are not powerful. Remember this. You are a citizen in a totalitarian government, you can not punch an Enforcer, nor can you magically locate explosives to destroy The Throne with. You are not powerless, you still have your mind. RP intelligently, treat other players, as well as NPCs, fairly, and, above all, remember how carefully you are being watched, and reflect this in your posts.

4: Do not treat the Enforcers as your personal military force if your character is of the Loyal alignment. If you report something, and it turns out to be untrue in any fashion, your character will be punished by the Enforcers, in a rather painful and physically damaging way. 

5: Be considerate of other players. Below is a strike system, so you know how many tries you have before you are banned.

 

1: Another player reports you/I read one of your posts and find you being unfair and rude, I give you a PM of warning.

2: You continue, and thus you are punished (The punishment will depend on the situation), and I give you a one-week ban from the RPG.

3: You are banned permanently from the RPG.

 

6: If you and a fellow player have an argument, first take it to PMs, and then, if they refuse to cooperate and reach an agreement, PM me with the problem.

7: Please, try to keeping your spelling and grammatical errors to a minimum.

8: If you think there is a problem with the game, or the way the game is being run, please, send me a PM, and I will try to fix the problem.

Rewards:

 

Yes, this RPG will have rewards. Do something I consider exceptionally intelligent or well-planned, and your character will get something to assist them. I won’t say exactly what the rewards will be, but I will say this much: If you’re planning to create a character that wants to earn a reputation, avoid the Enforcers, get promoted in The Empire, or harm/inhibit The Empire, you will want one of these.

 

Ending Notes:

 

Lastly, I want to say I am looking forward to what rebellions, schemes, and other ingenious things players are going to come up with, and, as GM, I hope I can help keep this RPG enjoyable and interesting. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

[Elrond of Rivendell]

                      It’s All in Your Head

 

Incoming transmission from Turaga Eryon…

 

Hello, friend, and welcome to Metru Nuva. I hope your stay with us will be pleasant. If you’re new here, be sure to stop by our welcome center, which has all the information you need to make your stay a comfortable one. Oh, and don’t forget to try Turaga Luya’s new drink, Double-life. It’s very stimulating-

 

Transmission interrupted.

 

New message from: Toa Rehu, New Metru Security and Investigation

 

“I hope you got most of that introductory message, but if you didn’t, too bad. We have a situation. For all visitors, heed my warning. Don’t drink Double-Life.

 

Why, you ask?

 

Put simply, Double-Life is tearing this town apart. It’s an addictive drink, one that leaves the body intact, but brings the mind to an unhealthy dependence upon it. Turaga Luya seems to be controlling and corrupting everyone through it. I think even Turaga Eryon is being influenced by it, and-

 

*garbled mumblings and shouts in the background*

 

 

-I can’t stay. They’re coming for me. I’m emailing you everything I know, along with my investigation results to you. If anything happens to me, keep the investigations going. Keep calm, stay safe, and for karz sake, DON’T GO OUT AT NIGHT TIME.”

 

Transmission ended.

 

File received. Downloading… Downloading… Downloading…

 

Error. File transmission interrupted. Partial file available. Do you want to view?

 

 

Casefile 126665            Name for reference: “Sleepwalking”

 

Investigator: Toa Rehu          Date: 700,000 A.L.

Case Number: 984037776

 

First sighting: District 7 “Lightning-strike tavern”

 

Crime: Murder                       Perpetrator: Jole, Matoran of fire (Male)

Scene of crime: Security vehicles arrived at the scene of crime to see the perpetrator throttling another patron outside. Suspect appeared to be doing it in his sleep, as witness reports said that he was throttling the victim with his eyes closed. Would not respond to mandatory warnings. Shocked with low-level shock guns. Refused to respond. Shocked again with high-level shock. Short circuited and went into Cardiac-arrest. Died without regaining consciousness.

 

Sub-file: Documented Evidence, failed to open. The file may be corrupt or fragmented.

 

Opening folder: Vital information

 

History of Metru Nuva

 

Metru Nuva was founded by 4 of the original 6 Toa Inika after the reuniting of Spherus Magna. Originally cobbled together from pieces of the Makuta robot, and parts from the original Metru Nui, Metru Nuva was a ramshackle colony built on and around the ruin of a past age, that grew into the largest city on Spherus Magna, barring New Atero. Because of the great crash, much of the technology in the old Metru Nui was destroyed, and much of the innovation of the last hundred centuries was lost to the Matoran and Agori. Using what was left of the technology, these original matoran began to piece together the technology of the past.

            Today, Metru Nuva is far beyond the technology of the past, and no longer uses the craftsman’s process of making masks. Production of disks is now relegated to programmed machines, and variables in disks are obsolete. Mask-making is now an ancient art form, handed down from master to apprentice. Finding one today is scarce, as most masks are pressure-molded from disks into existence. Airships and hover-cars are common household items, and the average matoran lives in complete peace and freedom. (Note: This means that all original characters are dead. Character Preservation is allowed, however.)

            Metru Nuva is governed by the Council of 4, in accordance with the 4 original founders. The current governing council has ruled for almost 30,000 years, with the exception of Turaga Luya, Turaga of Light, who recently became the fifth member of the ruling council, a move that has been met with no small resistance from the Matoran of the city. Resistance, however, is dwindling, with the popularity of her drink, Double-Life, being so high.

 

Opening file: locations

 

Locations

 

Metru Nuva is built on two levels; the top level being known simply as “upstairs” and the bottom level “The basement.” Each level has three koros:

 

Upstairs: Air, Lightning, and Water

 

Basement: Stone, Fire, and Iron

 

In the center of the city is a giant head, once the mind of Makuta, buried in the ground beneath it. Still, the face of the robot extends high above the skyline of skyscrapers, and the nose extends above the atmosphere, far into space. Within this head is the civic center of Metru Nuva. All Metrus in the city are built on and around this head, and correlate to this.

 

Forehead upstairs: Ga-Metru

Forehead basement: Po-Metru

Left side upstairs: Vo-Metru

Left side downstairs: Ta-Metru

Right side upstairs: Le-Metru

Right side basement: Fe-Metru

 

Ta-Metru: The forge, as usual. Being in the basement section of the city has somewhat embittered some of the members of this Metru, and a hotheaded fanatic is never unusual. Graffiti is a common sight, and the fires of Ta-Metru burn constantly, giving off a somewhat eerie glow to the basement. Boiler vats, pipes, and steam seem to be the life of this part of the city, giving life to a theme many are now calling "Steampunk," to reflect both the attitude of the Matoran, and the backdrop of the Metru.

 

Prominent Place: The boiler room and the forge. Both are extremely important, as both coexist with each other. The forge provides the heat for the steam-powered and pneumatic machines down here. The water acts as a cooling agent for the almost uncontrollable forges, making it cool enough that industrial machines can forge masks, weapons, and tools with the heat, without damage to vital parts. The entire Metru is arranged in concentric circles around the forge, with the lesser production buildings on the edge, and the most needed near the center.

 

Po-Metru: Although Po-Metruans are not great fans of being underground (they can’t build tall sculptures), they greet the challenge of building with that optimistic cheerfulness that characterizes their hardy race. Style and functionality are combined in a beautiful blend. It is the most visited part of the downstairs area. If you're creative, head to Po-Metru.

 

Prominent Place: The Square. Literally. A giant square courtyard in the center of the Metru, filled with beautiful architecture, and in the center, a statue of Mata Nui, bordered by a giant flower garden filled with miniature representations of Spherus Magna's cities and history.

 

Fe-Metru: Being underground doesn’t seem to affect most Iron tribe members much. Then again, nothing seems to affect them much. Most simply carry out their daily chores without complaint, preferring to leave style and art to the up dwellers. They are primarily miners, with thick heads and even thicker bodies. This view of life is transferred to their buildings. (Think square, drab, and uninteresting) However, it has also become one of the greatest breeding grounds for the Double-Life drink. Refinement and production of metals has slowed, causing a shortage in the other Metrus, and strange things have begun to emerge from the mines...

 

Prominent Place: The mines. These semi-organized halls extend far into the ground, extending far beneath even the basement of MN. Be sure to take a map, a flashlight, and a toa with you. There are dangerous things down there.

 

Le-Metru: Upbeat, always moving, innovating. This is the tallest metru, and by far the largest. Interweaving cables, chutes, and streets are a must in this city, and getting lost is ditto. Due to the nature of Le-matoran, very few seem addicted to the Double-Life drink. (Theme: futuristic)

 

Prominent Place: The hive. Essentially the communications and transport center for the entire city, The hive is actually a decentralized group of buildings on the side of the Metru closest to the face. All buildings are guarded with electric gun-wielding matoran, with instructions to subdue or kill anyone without the a pass. You must be given a pass to get in here, or break in. Otherwise, you will be tasered, with no exceptions.

 

Vo-Metru: The word here is hyper. This is a breeding ground for the immature, crazy, or just plain stupid. Electricity is constantly flashing from the sky, often striking people and turning them into super heroe- wait, wrong story.  It also happens to hold the power source for the city. Gambling, drinking, and being robbed are the norm here, and matoran here learn quickly to keep their disk launchers close.

 

Prominent Place: Lightning Strike Tavern. Basically, if you're a drunkard, con artist, or gambler, you're here. The tavern is a gambling and drinking establishment that extends up 10 stories, and spans several thousand square bio.

 

Ga-Metru: This is a place for philosophers, scientists, scholars, and geniuses to meet. Almost all the innovative ideas come from here. Many of these scholars never come out of their rooms, so there is little knowledge of what goes on inside. (Think Tibetan monasteries)

 

Prominent Place: Nuva Temple. Basically the meditative place for monks, scientists, and dreamers. This is one of the only places where drinking Double-life is not viewed with scorn, as many scholars use it for medicinal purposes, as well as studying it and its effects. However, Turaga Luya has put an invisible hand upon the temple, and many scholars refuse to attempt to study the drink, for fear of displeasing the Turaga.

 

Opening file: Important information and rules

 

Important information

Very little is known about the drink Double-Life. What is known is this: It’s highly addictive, and pulls you into a fantasy world where you can create anything, be anyone, interact, and fight with others on the plane of the mind, and move at the speed of thought (I repeat, you CAN play, interact, build, fight, etc. in the dream state). Beware, however, if this sounds tempting. Each time you go in, it becomes harder to get out. If done too many times, the user becomes entrapped in that world, never waking. These creatures are what are now commonly called “Sleepwalkers.” (Note: Any reference to zombies is intentional) These Sleepwalkers seem to be placid during sunlight hours, so day dwellers are usually safe. However, don’t go out at night. These sleepwalkers appear to be somewhat intelligent, and can think somewhat independently. They also commit violent acts randomly, and you can never be sure if a sleepwalker will ignore you or attack you. (You CAN play as sleepwalkers!) They move fast and are stronger than they appear. There doesn’t seem to be contagion from bites or scratches, but keep your distance, all the same.

          Turaga Eryon, Chairman of the council, for reasons unknown to us, is ignoring this, calling this an outbreak of plague. We suspect he himself is under the influence of small amounts of Double-Life himself, and has become a slave to the whims of Turaga Luya.

 

Factions

There are several factions within this city, most radical, some logical.

 

The Naturalists: Mostly made up of Agori and Glatorian, this group has shrunk from the technological leaps Metru Nuva has made, preferring to live a simple life on the outskirts of Ga-Metru. Don’t let this fool you, though. They are by far the most agile and well-trained fighters, using only simple weapons to achieve their goals. Most are neutral to the council of four, although a recent uprising has been made against the fifth member of the Council, Luya. All Naturalists despise those addicted to Double-life, exiling them from their society.

 

The Dream-Worshippers: Also known as “Sleepwalker buddies.” Most of them are half gone from usage of the Double-Life drink, but the ones who can still coherently think argue that they are simply returning to a “Naturalistic state of mind.” This is the main producer of sleepwalkers.

 

The Sleep-Busters: These are also known as “Sleep-killers.” All of them have a distinct hatred for all sleepwalkers, and simply kill or detain on sight. Most are basement-dwellers blaming the upstairs for the problems caused by the drink. Becoming one is easy. Kill as many sleepwalkers as you can. The group is very anarchistic, although several heads have appeared, including Toa Drox, an ex-mercenary and Toa of Iron, and Mantox, a nomad Toa of Magnetism.

 

The Investigators: A group dedicated to the study of sleepwalkers, and the cure. These are usually the even-keeled ones, who simply want to get to the bottom of the epidemic, and find out who’s behind this. They resort only to non-lethal experimentation on sleepwalkers, and refuse to drink Double-Life, on grounds of safety. Those who disagreed joined the Inside Agents. Both groups supply each other with information, and occasionally work together. Toa Rehu used to head up the team, but his recent disappearance has caused unrest and disorganization in the ranks, leading to a power struggle. Leadership of this organization is up for grabs (Decided by contest at the beginning of this game).

 

The Inside agents: A breakoff from the investigators, these matoran and toa have joined together in a coalition to find out what’s happening to the matoran from the inside, in other words, from inside the dream state. These beings have discovered that 20 uses of Double-Life in recommended amounts will turn someone sleepwalker. They continue to go into the dream state, however, convinced that they can find something to cure the disease. To do so, however, they tag team, making sure to go in groups, and tallying usage of double-life, in order to keep the members of the team from becoming infected. The leader of this organization is known only as Sojourn, a former security spy. Very little is known about this individual, other than the fact that he is a known toa of shadow.

 

The Survivors: This is less of a group, and more of an individual choice. These are the people who simply hole themselves up, hide, and hope that the sleepwalkers don’t find them. Only a few exist, most hunted down by sleepwalkers.

 

(Note: These clans are just starters for your imagination. If you have a better idea, tell me, and I might add it to the list)

 

opening sub-file: rules

 

Rules:

 

1.     All BZPRPG rules apply.

2.     You can live in the dream world permanently (a.k.a., be a sleepwalker and act as a sleepwalker), interacting with other chars in the dream-state, but state so in your description if you do.

3.     Character creation is limited to 7 chars a person

4.     After 20 uses of Double-Life, your character becomes a sleepwalker. Period. You can stay in the dream world for as long as you like (time passes at twice the speed of real time in dream state), but that’s the cap to usage of the drink. You can continue to interact with others in said dream state, and play as your character, but your char is subject to the commands of Turaga Luya, or one of her thinking minions (that’s a contest to win for later)

5.     If you die in the dream-state, you simply get kicked out of your dream. If you die as a sleepwalker, however, you die permanently.

6.     All Solid-state holographics, giant laser cannons, phasers, lightsabers, etc. must be approved by a moderator. If the machine doesn’t exist in the canon universe, explain it, its limitations, and power source.

7.     Custom Powers is ditto. Powers allowed without explanation: The original elements, Darkfire, Kinetics, Crystal, Eyepowers for Skakdi, and Mask powers/kanoka disk related powers.

8.     NO METAGAMING!

9.                        NO GODMODDING! And I must stress this. In the dream world, you can make yourself look like whatever you want to be. However, your attacks, defenses, parries, and dodges will be as if you were in the real world, albeit much faster. At the same time, so will everyone else’s. Your dreams can only influence you, not others. If you want to kill endlessly, you can imagine up a shotgun and hundreds of zombies and kill endlessly, but THEY ARE NOT REAL! If you play with a PC, treat the character as a PC.

10. All players must post what character they are, and where, after IC (ex. IC(Noob, unknown)). If you’re drinking Double Life, the location is dream state. Sleepwalker rules are the same, but you can only posts the sleepwalker’s actions in third person, if the action is in the real world.

11. Warnings will be given in the following

§             Pre-warning: Minor infraction of rules. These are simple warnings that are given through discussion or PM. They do not usually have an effect on your characters, though repeated infractions can lead to full-fledged warnings.

§             Warning 1: Given through PM. You have violated a rule of some sort. Nothing happens to your characters, but take it easy, and correct your mistakes.

§             Warning 2: You just did a no-no. Minor to major injury to one of your characters.

§             Warning 3: I'm getting tired of this. Fix your problems, or suspension will be necessary. Death to one of your characters, and injury to the rest of them.

§             Warning 4: That's it. All your characters are killed, and you are suspended from this RPG for at least 2 weeks, and maybe permanently. Your characters will not be revived.

12. Have fun!

 

For character creation, please use the following:

Name: (Make it original, NO EXPIES!!)

Species: (suggested species: Toa, Skakdi, approved custom species, vortixx, and Steltians)

Gender: (Don’t make me explain this to you   Male or Female, man or woman, boy or girl, you get the picture)

Powers: (Elemental, Skakdi vision powers, approved custom powers, Skakdi third powers, and spinner powers if the character has one)

Mask: (Allowed masks:  Hau | Kaukau | Miru | Kakama | Pakari | Akaku | Huna | Rau | Mahiki | Komau (can only affect rahi) | Ruru | Matatu | Calix | Elda | Suletu | Kadin | Iden | Arthron | Faxon | Zatth | Garai | Volitak | Tryna | Jutlin | Avsa | Felnas | Shelek | Crast | Mask of Scavenging | Pehkui | Mask of Clairvoyance | Kualsi | Mask of Emulation | Mask of Growth | Mask of Rahi Control | Mask of Psychometry | Rode | Mask of Charisma | Kiril | Mask of Possibilities | Adaption | Biomechanics | Fusion | Healing | Incomprehension | Rebounding | Sensory Aptitude | Undeath | )

Appearance: (It can be short an sweet, or long. I’d suggest long)

Weaknesses: (This is a must)

Strengths: (this might be obvious later, but if you want, it can be included)

Equipment: (Include anything; weapons, medikit, that pack of gum in the character’s back left pocket, etc.)

Sleepwalker, or no: (Simply put whether you’re a sleepwalker, or not.)

Story: (Story always adds depth to a character. Having a well-defined story is often the difference between a well nuanced character and a simply terrible. This way, you have a pattern guideline for a character’s decisions, when you have trouble getting in-character. This is not a requirement, but you’ll get Elrond-points for other things later, like custom weaponry.)

 

Wait for approval, then get in the game!

 

Special thanks to The Lorax, who helped me to proofread and cover up the plotholes.

 

 

-Elrond

Edited by Elrond of Rivendell, Mar 23 2013 - 10:11 AM.

[Lord of Adders Black]

Desolation

 

 

 

Life is harsh in Bara Magna. Ain't nothin' but sand and heat and decent folk can't live off either o' those. Head out into the wilderness and you ain't gonna find anything that wont try t' use your bones for toothpicks. Nothin' else out there but the sand and the heat…

Oh, and a quiet little town called Desolation.

 

The town was founded years ago by the Fire Tribe, metal-grubbin' hot-heads that they were, mid-way between the furnaces they called home and the great arena of Atero. Dropped it right on top of sinkhole sittin' on a rich vein of exsidian, with a lake nearby for drinkin' and powerin' water-wheels. That this put it in the ominously named Creep Canyons did not figure into their careful calculations. Nor did the Ice Tribe's interest in keeping their…whats that word…mono-polly on exisdian. The two almost had their Glatorian come to blows over ownership of the town afore making an agreement to share. With the two tribes backin' it the place became a boom town, flourishing as long as they were pullin' exsidian out the ground.

Which, these last three years, they haven't been.

The vein dried up. No more fancy metal. So no more interest from the hot-heads or the cold-hearts. The place has been gettin' by on passin' trade and the curiosity of travellin' folks but make no mistake, the town called Desolation is sick and dying. It has become infamous as a haven for those whose activities are of a…dubiously legal bent. Thieves and smugglers and crooks of every colour infested the town like a plague of black-hearted crows, and quickly established themselves as under no law. The old Sheriff used to stand up to them where he could, and did a lot to keep the town feelin' fresh and polished even if it were rustin' underneath, but this last month he were found lyin' in his office, stricken with a killin' blow to the head that was, accordin' to everyone, completely accidental. And if you buy that I got something that came out the backside of my Sand Stalker I'd like to sell ya. 

Thing is, we already got a new guy willin' to take up the sheriff's star. And he might even be able to give this town a bit of a fixin' up. Just one slight problem. This new sheriff? He be one o' them Skrall…

 

 

The Setting

Welcome to Desolation. Population: You. Its a small town on Bara Magna out the way of the other major settlements and, ever since it stopped mining exsidian, out of their thoughts. As such the honest folk who used to make a living there have become beset by outlaws who use the place as a safe refuge. And since the only person willing to act as the town's sheriff in the face of these rogues is a naturally suspicious Skrall, the townsfolk are between the devil and the deep blue sea. 

Will you play as a humble townie just trying to make their way in life? A noble swordswinger trying to clean the town up vigilante style? Or one of the outlaws themselves, growing rich and fat off the labour of others?

 

 

Profiles

Currently no limits on character creation. Just fill out a profile, get it approved and off you go.

 

Name:

Species:

Gender:

Appearance:

Equipment:

History:

 

Example:

 

Name: Black Buck

Species: Skrall

Gender: Male

Appearance: He's…a Skrall. Long of limb and spiky of armour. Though he has replaced the black of his armour for dark red in an effort to fit in more, an effort that is somewhat negated by the long black coat he wears, complete with matching stetson

Equipment: Skrall shield and longsword. Thornax launcher

History: The Skrall with no name turned up in Desolation the very day the Glatorian previously holding the role of sheriff was killed. This, naturally, made people a bit wary of him. People tend not to believe in coincidence in Desolation. Even when he took up the mantle of town sheriff himself the suspicion barely lifted. People started referring to him as "that black buckethead" which became abbreviated into his informal name even when he ditched the black armour in favour of crimson. 

Despite the ill-will that surrounds him like a cloud he's actually been one of the most effective forces for good in the town, breaking up many cartels and crime-rings that would have driven the town all the swifter to its doom.

 

 

Locations 

Desolation is only a small town, but it has many places that have become hubs for activity in one form or another...

 

Madam Imadam's: A humble inn run by a Water Tribe Agori under the pseudonym of Imadam, it is a tavern and boozer to the regular locals, and a hotel and stables to the passing company who are only staying in Desolation for a day or two. It is one of the few places to remain consistently profitable in these hard times, enough to maintain the building which is twice the size of any other in the town. Imadam herself is a useful friend to have, as she and her staff often her many secrets spilled by tongues loosed by drink...

 

Slim Sideways: Like Imadam's this is a place you can go to get a drink and play a round of cards with your pals. Its a bit more...low-rent than that establishment though, and refrains from offering rooms. It gets the name because it was one of the last places to be built in Desolation, and the competition for space forced it to be built on the sinkhole itself. As such, half the building is actually built vertically, clinging to the rock wall. Little porches are set into the walls for tables and chairs, with stairs running to and from them. This...unnerving situation puts off a lot of folk, so the place has become a mainstay for the shadier customers, who value the privacy.

 

Sheriff's Office: A simple squarish box of a room in the centre of Desolation. This gives it a very sturdy look, only enhanced by the hefty stone work that went into constructing it. And what shows on the surface is only half the building, as there is another layer underground; a lock-up intended to more securely hold longer-term prisoners, at least before it became impractical to do so.

 

Ghost Street: Four main streets spear out from the centre of Desolation, looking like a X from above, and Ghost Street is the one that runs north-west. It used to be the route people heading to Iconox would take, and as the exsidian business died out, so did Ghost Street. People living there either moved on or moved out, leaving the street a dusty shell of its former self. Its a bitter reminder of the fate in store for the entire town, so people rarely go there, leaving it for the silence and tumbleweeds.

 

Church of the Beast: Nobody rightly knows who built the Church of the Beast, or why. It stands just outside the town, though can easily be reached by following the south-east road known as Church Street, a strange lopsided construction made of what appears to be wattle and daub...except where there should be rods and sticks to support it are glistening white bones. The bones are from any species living in the desert, no preference has been made, and the run through the Church as they would have done through their original owners. Most notably there is a skull of something huge and horned that nobody has been able to identify hanging on the lintel of the main doors, staring down at all who enter, which gives the Church its name. The townsfolk have left the Church standing as the tourism generated by curious visitors is one of the few things keeping the town alive.

 

 

 

 

Rules

• BZP Rules apply, obviously
• No god-modding (e.g. controlling someone else's character, having your character do something impossible). And if someone god-modes against you, don't do it back, tell a Staffie
• This is a Text-Based RPG, so to join in you post what is basically a miniature story for what is currently happening to your character
• Don't bunny (meaning control extensively) other peoples characters without their permission
• No silliness such as suddenly firing cream pies from your Thornax. Believe me, it's not as funny as you think
• Don't glory hog or continuously degrade someone else's character
• Use IC for In-Character and OOC for Out-Of-Character
  
  e.g:
  IC: The Agori leapt from ledge to ledge, trying to escape the enraged Rock Steed
  
  OOC: Hey Randommember1, care to join in?

 

A big thanks to all who have RPed with me, making me better at it in the process, and everyone who has criticised and advised me to make my ideas better as well.

[Dual Matrix]

RIDDLES OF WAR:

Storyline:

It is 1001 AGC, Makuta Teridax took control of the Matoran Universe and banished Mata Nui into the unknown. Everything went like in the normal Canon up untill Bara Magna. For Mata Nui wasn't banished to there but he was flung out into space and his location remained unknown. Makuta efforless conquered Bara Magna and took new beings into his army. (Reprogrammed Baterra, Skrall, Bone Hunters and Vorox.) With these new additions he easily defeated the Rebellion inside his body and the Order of Mata Nui was dispatched. Teridax then recreated the Makuta using antidermis, to let them rule over his inner body while he focussed on Galactical conquest, hower he altered them so, that they could not make virusses or plot against him. Also he turned all Matoran into his own Shadow Matoran servants to prevent them from rebelling. He then assigned two Makuta to each island in the Universe. After that he focussed back on Galactical conquest and was never heard of in his inner body again.

Hower, the Order had faked defeat and had retreated to the unguarded southernmost island named Xievia and created a foretress there, fittingly naming it "New Daxia". Their powers grew and started plotting to reclaim their univers. But a Makuta named Yovanon discovered their precense and reported it to the new brotherhood. In fear of Teridax ' reaction to their inattention, they assambled an incredible army force and marched to Xievia. They were able to push the Order back but their lack of Militairy knowledge prevented them from taking over New-Daxia. They created a wall to defend themselves from the Makua armies, and many battles were fought after that, always resulting in huge losses for both factions. Also the order was able to free some Shadow Matoran, most turned out to be Av-Matoran.

Two Days Ago:

A strange temple appeared before the coast of Xievia, containing ancient dicriptions about an invincible "Army of Death" and huge walls carved with riddles. This invincible was a spark of hope for both factions wanting to end the wart as soon as possible. Dark hunters were spotted on the island the firsth time, there exact whereabouts remain unsure.

The Riddle Carved on the wall:

"IN THE SHADOWS OF A GIANT, REVEALED BY A MID-DAYS SUN LIES THE ARMY HIDDEN, ACCESABLE ONLY DURING CLOUDLESS RAIN"

Both faction tried solving this riddles, but only to fail.


And the rest, is up to you to decide...

The RPG:

As you may have noticed this RPG is made to be easily altered by the player, so please do so

This RPG is meanly about two things: RIDDLES AND WAR.

Do you love letting your mind solve puzzles or are you rather a fighter, this RPG is always something for you.

You can alter the game itself by many ways, e.g solving riddles, creating new locations, creating new factions or winning certain major battles on the battlefields. You should post as GER: (Game Editing Request) when doing so.

You can take controll of every Canon character!!(With some little exceptions of course)

Factions:

Order of Mata Nui:

Location: Right side of the island.
Base: New-Daxia
Goal: Free the universe of the Makuta
Leader(s): Counsil of Tuyet, Turaga Helryx, Turaga Tahu and Melding Teridax. Solve the riddles to end the war sooner.
Allies: Av-Matoran
Army: Toa, Order Members, Various Matoran, Krahka

Brotherhood of Makuta:

Location: Left side of the island.
Base: New-Destral
Goal: Crush the rebellion. Prevent Teridax from discovering what happened. Solve the riddles to end the war sooner
Leader(s): Yovanon
Allies: Kra-Matoran Workers
Army: Visorak, Rahksii, Makuta, Skrall, Baterra, Bone Hunters, Baterra.

Dark Hunters:

Location: Scattered all across the island, hidden from sight.
Base: A hidden base located somewhere on the left side of the island.
Goal: Try to earn something of the raging war.
Leader(s): The Shadowed One
Allies: None, (Corrupt Members of other Factions)
Army: Dark Hunters

More to come for people can create their own.

Locations:
 

Xievia:

 

 

Mt. Mataro:

A high Mountain covered by snow, beware of Rahi and Dark Hunters when scaling it. There are also many caves inside beware of inhabitants when investigating one

Lavola Jungle:

A deadly jungle filled with unknown Rahi and other Creatures.

Temple of Light:

The Most Sacered place on whole Xievia, a smalll circular building lit by bright glowing lightstones, it is connected to both sides of the wall by small land bridges. Hower it cannot be used to get to the other side of the wall because of the so named walls of respect, beings of the Brotherhood and the Order and all the other factions can not go trough the opposite door, unless one of the other side wants so. Hower Dark hunters can pass trough. This temple is the home of all riddles and the center of hope for all combatants on the island. Their respect is that high that no being will ever fight or steal a thing inside this temple. Only Dark Hunters have that great disrespect to just ignore the sacredness of the Temple.

New Daxia:

The last remaining foretress in the hands of Good. Heavily guarded and protected this building serves as the Base of Operations of the Order of Mata Nui.

Av Matoran village

The freed Av-Matoran crafted a village out of sicks for themselves, they live there in medium peace, hower it is heavily guarded by them.

Lake KauKau:

An extremely deep lake, controlled by the Order, it is the only non-salt water source on the island and is exremely wanted by all factions, underwater there are caves which serve as homes for water-breathers.

Sea of Sands:

This dry No-Ones land is home to many hideouts of rebelling factions.

Wasteland of pillars:

This strange part of the desert which has vertical pillars of about 32 foot long sticking out of the ground is very misterious, the desity of pillars grows near the center. In the center there is the central stone sticking out in both lengt end thickness. This location was the host of a very bloody battle in the past.

New Destral:

Created by the Brotherhood to oppose New Daxia, this heavely guarded city foretress is the main base of the Makua and the home of the Shadow Matoran.

Dark Hunter foretress:

Secret base of the Dark Hunters, it's location and even it's existance is unknown.

And many More Locations YOU can make...

Profiles:

 

A profile needs to be createn this way;
 

Name: (Name)
Species:(Intelligent Rahksii, Toa, Makuta,...)
Element:(If applicate)
Powers: (E.G: Av-Matoran Power, Skadi Vision power,...)
Personality:
Brief History:
Faction: (Dark Hunters,...)
Tool:
Special Items:

 
 

Equipment and Characters:

• You can be a Canon character, feel free to take whichever you want unless he's already taken or listed as death. (A list will be made to keep track on this.)

• Hower, feel free to make your own characters with their own background.

• All Known Canon Species are allowed, even Makuta(No GB's(Velika is allowed!) or Elemtental Lords) So all ones listed here or here.

• All Known Kanohi are allowed(All Masks have their Canon Limitations, Masks of elements are allowed)

• The sole Exception to the above rule: Vahi, Ignika, Mask of Creation, Avohkii and Kraahkan are not allowed. The Olmak can only be used as Teleportation withing the island itself and to create portals to the Field of Shadows.

• Beings can only cary Two Special Items(Kanohi or Foreign Tech, eg: You can have Two Kanohi, One Foreign Tech and a Kanohi or Two Foreign Tech) Note: Toa Tools with special powers also count as this.

• Kanohi should only be worn by beings who have them in Canon(Note: Skadii Can Wear them)

• Self made species are allowed, as long as you can specify what the powers are and a Moderator of the RPG approves it.

• All Canon Elements are allowed except Light(Hower Taka Nuva, Av-Matoran and Umbra can use it)

• You can design your own elements, hower, a RPG moderator needs to approve it.

• You can make as much characters as you wish, hower up to Two Canon chars are allowed, to give newer members a chance.

• As for Foreign Tech, let your imagination flow (Keep it not too overpowered.)

Rules:

• Be fair (What else is left to say)

• Follow the BZPower Rules, this should not be a problem right?

• There is No Godmodding, instant Hitting, instant Healing, Instant Travel(Except for Teleportation users) or Being the Puppetmaster.

• Respect the Temple of Light, there's no fighting, stealing or crossing the Mental Gates Except you're a Dark Hunter

• There is No Riddle Stealing if someone recovers a tablet of Riddles you've got to know the text on it from someone who has it, you cannot just know whats the riddle.

• Battles are diceded opon who's the better RP'er this is not too hard right? , hower if there's a problem concerning a battle you can drop a staff member a pm and he'll decide the battle.

• Respect Eachother, that'll make the Game much nicer.

• There is no stealing or killing other persons characters without permittion of him. Hower Tablets of Riddles can be stolen that way.

• Make use of IC(For in character) OOC(For Outside Character) and GER(Game Editing Request). The latter can be used to change he story of the RPG itself, if you solved a riddle you use it, if you create a new faction you use it,....

• Enjoy the game

Edited by Dual Matrix, Mar 24 2013 - 03:18 PM.

[Zeal]

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 

Hello, good sir/ma'am. I am Overseer Kyrus, and you have been selected to be a part of our social Experiment.

 

The purpose of the Spherus Magna Social Observation Experiment is fairly self-explanatory; to isolate a large group of civilians, introduce scenarios into the Control Zone, record the reactions of individuals in the Experiment Logs, and then categorise them into a number of Archetypes, which will be used for future experiments.

 

However, to keep the population of the Control Zone in check, we need Supervisors. Up to five Volunteers, people who have stepped up to the mark and offered to be placed inside the Control Zone, will be placed under your watchful eye. It is your job to observe and record their daily lives in the Experiment Log, for the purposes of gathering data on how people would react to different scenarios, as well as to help create different Personality and Physical Archetypes.

 

The Control Zone is a sealed dome designed to simulate a Day/Night cycle and Weather in a small suburban settlement. All Volunteers are given separate housing, although some may choose to live together if requested. Houses are equipped with standard facilities, kitchen, living room, lavatory, etc. In place of pantries and refrigerators, however, there are food and drink dispensers. Ingredients may be ordered through the dispensers, if Volunteers wish to prepare their own food or drinks. Houses are also equipped with a Terminal with which receive news of current events and communicate with others inside the Control Zone, as well as send and receive mail to those outside.

 

Unbeknownst to the Volunteers, the inside of the Control Zone is completely reconfigurable. Buildings can be instantly constructed or deconstructed in the event of an overabundance or scarcity of Volunteers. This can be used to simulate a wide-scale disaster in one of the many scenarios we have planned. Hardlight-Hologram Projectors are also placed all over the Control Zone, so that we can simulate scenarios involving civilians without the need to hire actors, and directly address the inhabitants of the Control Zone.

 

I myself will be writing entries in the Logs concerning major events in the Control Zone. I also have the authority to write about individual Volunteers, independent of other Supervisors.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

You are a Supervisor in an Experiment to determine how different people would react in different given circumstances. Volunteers have been sealed inside a giant, reconfigurable dome, in which we introduce variables and scenarios into the society. You are to record their lives in the Experiment Logs, which will be used to collect data on different members of society, and group them into Archetypes.

 

 

MAP

 

 

 

Note: This is what happens when I don't oversee the cartography process. Remind me to fire him.

 

This is an incredibly simplified representation of the Control Zone. As you can see, the outer rim is a forest, to obscure the wall on the lower portion of the dome separating the Experiment from the rest of the world. Inward from that is the Housing Ring, where all accommodation is located. Further in from that is the Market District, where, of course, all shops are located. This can range from specialised food not available from our dispensers, to tools, materials and other specialised items that a Volunteer may need for a hobby or other such project. Dominating the middle of the Control Zone is the Central Tower, a city hall where Volunteers gather for official announcements from the Overseers, and Great Spirit Park, a public park for purposes of recreation.

 

 

VOLUNTEER PROFILES

 

NAME:

(What is the name of your Volunteer? Please, no impersonators of important figures)

SPECIES:

(What species are they? Toa, Matoran, Glatorian, or Agori?)

GENDER:

(Self-explanatory)

APPEARANCE:

(What do they look like?)

POWERS/ABILITIES:

(What exceptional talents do they possess?)

EQUIPMENT:

(What do they frequently carry on your person?)

PERSONALITY:

(What are they like as a person?)

BIOGRAPHY:

(Who are they, and who were they?)

 

 

SPECIES GUIDE

 

Toa

The only species allowed in the Experiment capable of using Elemental Abilities, the sudden abundance of Toa has downgraded their status from folk-hero to guard or other such muscle-for-hire jobs.

 

Matoran

The thinkers of the population, they are mostly seen in laboratories and workshops, inventing and tinkering with tech. Physically smaller than Agori, but slightly more intelligent.

 

Glatorian

Physically strong, and skilled in the use of tools (and, if need be, weaponry).

 

Agori

The working men, they take on the task of physical labour. Larger than Matoran, but of average intelligence.

 

 

NOTES

 

If a Volunteer wishes to bring a custom-made Kanohi into the Experiment, it must be made within reason.

 

Illegal Kanohi include the Ignika, Vahi, Avohkii, Kraakhan, Mask of Creation, Olmak Sanok, Komau, Mohtrek, Clairvoyance, Aki, Rua, Tryna, and Mask of Possibilities. I'm not even sure where a Volunteer could get one of these.

 

Illegal Species include those not in the Species Guide above.

 

Illegal Elements include Sand, Rock, Light, and Shadow.

 

A maximum of five Volunteers are allowed in a Supervisor Group.

 

 

 

RULES

 

First of all, all established, unspoken rules of society still apply (BZPRPG rules).

 

Supervisors are asked to be truthful in the depiction of their Volunteer's routines and interactions That said, no Supervisor is allowed to extensively log or "bunny" the activity of a Volunteer from another Supervisor Group. The same applies to the (hopefully unlikely) depiction of battle. Supervisors are however permitted to briefly comment on Volunteers outside their group (no bunnying/autohitting).

 

Supervisors are asked to clearly define between Volunteer Perspective (VP) and Supervisor Perspective (SP) posts. That said, no purely Supervisor Perspective posts. We have a Coffee Room for that (no OOC posts in the gameplay topic).

 

Volunteers are disadvised from fighting the Civil Protection officers, as they are well-trained, and you will probably end up minus one Volunteer at the end of the conflict (don't kill large groups of guards/NPCs at a time).

 

Volunteers are not given any knowledge of the inner workings of the Experiment. If your Volunteer(s) tell others of important Experiment data, assume they are lying. (no metagaming).

 

Supervisors are asked not to "troll" or "flame" the Experiment Logs. This will not be tolerated. Insults directed at other Supervisors will also be grounds for punishment.

 

Respect the Overseers, for their word is law. If we disagree with you, it's likely for a good reason.

 

Overseers reserve the right to injure (severely or otherwise) or even remove Volunteers for purposes of advancing the Experiment. It's in their contract, they knew what they were getting into.

 

 

PUNISHMENTS

Supervisors are to abide the rules. If rules are disregarded, the punishments will escalate as follows;

 

FIRST OFFENCE: Your first and only warning. Heed our advice at this point.

SECOND OFFENCE: One of your Volunteers will be grievously injured.

THIRD OFFENCE: One of your Volunteers will be removed from the Experiment, and any requests to have another Volunteer join your group will be denied.

FOURTH OFFENCE: All of your Volunteers will be removed. You may have one more Volunteer join your group if you wish to gain favour with us again, after which we will allow you three others.

FIFTH OFFENCE: You will be banned from participating in the Experiment permanently. Please, don't let it come to this.

 

It is also strongly advised that you use good grammar, simply because it annoys the heck out of me. Please use good grammar, for the sake of your fellow Supervisors' collective sanity.

 

Welcome to the Spherus Magna Social Observation Experiment. Please do well. The future of Spherus Magna depends on it.

 

 

Okay, this is pretty much the ONLY part of this RPG that will be out of character, along with the various notes dotted around the place. All other interaction with me or my admins will be done in-character.

 

Okay, so, as you've probably gathered, you are a Supervisor. No, not you, acting through a character, are a Supervisor, I mean YOU. As a MEMBER OF THIS WEBSITE and THIS RPG. You will type as you would type, not as your character would. You will make comments based on what you think, not what your Volunteer thinks. Your display name is your codename within the Experiment, for reasons of privacy. You are you. You will create our story from the viewpoint of you, experiencing the elaborate scenarios that I and other players will concoct.

 

On the surface, this will be played as any traditional forum RPG, you make things up, you write things down, others write things depending on what you write, etcetera. However, you will be doing so from the viewpoint of an Experiment Supervisor (how many times do I have to say it?). And in time, maybe you yourself will become a victim of my game.

 

Enjoy yourselves, and try not to drown in the self-referential nature of the Spherus Magna Social Observation Experiment.

[Dallas Winston]

“Hey, I’m gonna visit the sky today

Hey, I’m gonna dance on the clouds today

And make it rain on everybody beneath us

Just because they try doesn't mean they can be us

No, nobody can be us…”

 

The Best Laid Plans

 

A Tyler Durden Production

 

*****

 

They rise thousands of feet into the air, towers of blackened steel, their glowing orbs of lights fiery torches in the eternal darkness of this polluted wasteland. 

 

And from them comes a message, droning in the air of a perpetual night. 

 

“Please, all craft evacuate Sub-District 1745. Gas leaks have lead to emergency conditions. Do not enter. Repeat: all craft evacuate Sub-District 1745, a now off-limits zone.”

 

The broadcast fizzles out.

 

Silence falls.

 

And it starts again.

 

Sub-District 1745. 

 

Home to twenty three hundred citizens, wiped off of the face of the planet. 

 

They tell us it is gas leaks. 

 

But even children think otherwise.

 

*****

 

The Story So Far

  

You give a man a nut and a bolt, you give him the resources to build God. You give him a screwdriver and wrench to go with it, and you challenge him to do it.

 

The Matoran and Agori had to learn that the hard way: not very long after the death of Makuta Teridax, everything was all about peace and goodwill between the two vastly different species. The humanitarians of the two societies brokered different deals, negotiated day and night, worked to try and unite the yin and the yang that the two cities had become into one autonomous shape. Suffice it to say, it went nowhere, fast. The Agori just didn't have the trust in the Matoran and Toa, considering them half-sentient at best, while the Matoran and Toa, proud beings by any right, refused to deal with the scorn their organic counterparts bestowed on them whenever they so much as walked across the street. Tensions flared, and soon, elements followed suit. On the brink of a war they knew they couldn't afford so soon after the destruction of their old home, the Toa and Matoran fell back to the old Great Spirit robot and began cobbling together a masterpiece.

 

The best part of a masterpiece, as any true genius will tell you, is that no one knows what exactly it is you're putting together, so naturally the Agori and Glatorian were taken by complete surprise when on a day like any other, a masterpiece, in the form of a city, shot itself up into the clouds, carrying along an entire civilization for the ride. And what a masterpiece it was: the city was an entirely self-sustaining work of engineering, just as much art as it was a habitat. The Great Spirit robot had been torn apart, its technology repurposed and its technological quirks used to create the city of Phan-Metru.

 

But as much as the Matoran engineers tried to avoid cutting corners, a project of Phan-Metru's magnitude just didn't work like that. Namely, the problem had popped up over and over again during conception, design and construction was also the problem that needed to be solved most: how to power the city. Self-sustaining technology was all well and good sounding, but the Great Spirit Robot's machinery was completely totaled by the Melding, and the Prototype Robot's power source would be good for about fifteen minute's worth of energy before completely evaporating. Mata Nui's power was gone and the Ignika's usage to power a city would have detrimental effects on the entire population. The debate raged on for weeks until finally, one Nynrah Ghost posed an idea that was mad, pure folly, but the more and more the engineers thought about it, the more and more they liked the idea.

 

The city, the engineers decided, would run on Antidermis.

 

There had been tests run on Antidermis in the first days of the new civilization, and it was discovered that when mixed into a certain compound and distilled just right with Toa Power, Antidermis would react placidly enough that it could be bottled up and still used as an energy source, without the volaitility of the original Antidermis. With that in mind, enough Antidermis was "purified" so that the city could properly run autonomously. And run it did. It ran hard and it ran valiantly and it ran like a dream for a good fifty years or so before there were any problems. As a matter of fact, it ran so long that the government didn't even believe there would be any problems.

 

Until there was a problem, and when it hit, it hit with the force of a sledgehammer.

 

The Antidermis had escaped: somewhere, in the purification process, something had gone wonky, and quite a bit of sentient Antidermis slipped through the cracks in the Phan-Metru security system before the entire control room was put on lockdown; it's not enough to completely quell the leak, but it at least keeps the city floating for now. The Antidermis, as of now, is AWOL. The Suits are not quite sure what became of it, though The Powers that Be have certainly taken note recently of the fact that there is a slowly climbing variety of violent crimes taking place in areas that don't fall into the purview of the Rabble: the press has also caught onto this fact, and is doggedly pursuing the cause of the growing crime rates, unaware of the broiling, hellish substance beneath their very feet that both gives their city life and could be its death.

 

Welcome to the world you live in: some of the Antidermis used to power Phan-Metru has escaped, with more leaking slowly by the day. Who screwed with the once-perfectly running machines, enabling a leak? Why do they want to knock the city out of the sky? Where is the Antidermis at now, and is it related to the growing surges of crime and hostility throughout Phan-Metru? That's what the Suits would like to know, but they're running out of time to figure it out. The Gumshoes are looking for answers, and fast, and the Rabble is growing impatient with the increasing opaqueness of their government. The Coppers are on standby, ready to fire on their own family and friends for the good of their country. The city in the skies is floating above civil war by just an inch, and one good shove from any side...

 

Well. You get the idea.

 

*****

 

Factions

 

 

This game is rather outside the box when it comes to factions. There are no factions in this game in the traditional meaning of the term, due to the motives and objectives of various groups being mostly incompatible one with another. However, there are four main "interest groups", if you will. These would be the government, the press, the military, and the masses, or as they are popularly referred to, the Suits, the Gumshoes, the Coppers, and the Rabble.

 

 

The Suits

The main goal of the Suits is, primarily, keeping the entire city in one piece and under their control. With the situation worsening every day, they now resort to often authoritarian, mostly underhanded, tactics to retain power and order, often at the expense of the other groups. As of yet, they still retain command of the Coppers, but if cark goes down, and the Rabble - which by now remains, aside from all the catastrophes, the most likely thing to break the Suits' grip over the city - gains an upper hand over the Suits, the Coppers can turn the tables on their employer. The Suits' relationship with the Rabble, while we're at it, is rapidly deteriorating - the Rabble are gradually and anything but slowly losing more and more rights, being forced into more and more difficult conditions of life every day. The Gumshoes aren't entirely safe, either: for now there's still a free press, but that right just might slip, given the proper motivation.

 

Good Karma: Friends in high places; assistance from the Coppers, when required.

Bad Karma: Characters are almost universally hated, often victims of personal or propreitary attaks

 

 

The Gumshoes

The Gumshoes have, primarily, one objective: to discover the truth of what the cark is actually going on here. Unfortunately, nowadays that's becoming a rather difficult task. The Suits, as mentioned before, still allow free press - but what "free press" means in this city, exactly, is a matter as subjective as deciding what music is the best to listen to when cooking risotto with salmon while drinking a cup of hot chocolate. They are usually under constant surveillance, if somewhat passive, by the Coppers, and viewed with immense distrust by the Rabble. With no friends, no subordinates, and no supporters, the Gumshoes, more than ever before, have to rely on their own wits and skills to reveal what the actual rabid pancake is going on.

 

Good Karma: Access into otherwise restricted areas; can get high ranking sources in Suits or Coppers.

Bad Karma: Their dogged protection of their sources leaves them open to persecution and smear campaigns.

 

 

The Coppers

The Coppers do, mostly, what they're paid for - maintain order. Under the current circumstances of life in Phan-Metru, the task is neither the easiest nor the most simplistic, which is often problematic because thinking is often not a Copper's favourite pastime - they prefer donut eating. With the Rabble being more and more troublesome every day, more often than not the Coppers find themselves the enforcers of the Suits' authoritarian ways, more often protectors of the regime than of the law. It is under these circumstances that many of them find questioning - yes, their brain cells are active enough to process such complex thought, I know, amazing, right? - their loyalties.

 

Good Karma: Access into otherwise restricted areas; the Suits and Gumshoes, when required, may give assistance.

Bad Karma: Characters are occasionally hated, almost universally disrespected; need to follow orders from the Suits.

 

 

The Rabble

Lastly and unfortunately leastly, there's the Rabble. There are about 200,000 people on this city, but only an obscure, perhaps ten percent minority is not part of the Rabble. They are the the overarching grey masses of working class citizens pushed to the very edge, living a shallow existence on a dying city where the Coppers are untrustworthy, the Gumshoes are untrustworthy, and the Suits are doing their very best to maintain an atmosphere of mistrust by both willingly and unwillingly pushing the Rabble further down. The Rabble, of course, resents this, and when capable, or when it thinks itself capable, it resists. It is the Rabble who are the most dangerous threat to the Suits, though it may not look that way - there is nothing stronger than a guy down on his luck who is just trying to survive and might just possibly decide that tossing a rock at you will help.

 

Good Karma: Support from other members of the Rabble; undisputed control over some of the more...lawless...regions of the city.

Bad Karma: Terrible financial status; disrespect from the Suits, often from the Coppers.

 

*****

 

The City Itself

 

Picture a city the size of Metru Nui, but largely divided by class instead of by element. A city of 20,000 strong and growing, Phan-Metru is an amalgamation of the latest and greatest tech from the old Matoran Universe, plus a series of generational improvements and experimental ideas. Viewscreens like those of Metru Nui line the skies, along with budding chute systems where personal speeder races - highly lucrative, but totally illegal - have become the norm in many parts of the city. Meanwhile, the center of the city itself and its outskirts have become where the well-to-do stay, along with many journalists and cops who don't work the beat in the grimier parts of the city.
 
Places of Interest
 
Plaza Nuva - The throbbing heart of Phan-Metru, the Plaza Nuva is the business and tourism center of the city. It's the place you want to be if you expect to have any sort of quality of life beyond lower middle class. Businesses, police stations, and high rise condominiums dot the streets, stabbing up towards the skies like giant Protosteel swords, attempting to impale the clouds. Almost always crowded with people.
 
Typewriter Town - As you can plainly guess, this is where most of the Phan-Metru journalists camp out and talk. It's a quiet little part of town, with cafes, low-key bars, and various parks and the like; it's almost as if the entire district were solely invented for the sake of having Gumshoes meet up with their sources inconspicuously. There are about half a dozen small residential buildings, but nothing much in the way of creature comforts beyond a simple safe house for a high-placed source.
 
Gearheadville - Screw Antidermis: adrenaline runs through the very veins of this part of the city. Speeder stores, garages, repair shops...if you can think of it, and it pertains to personal transportation, it's in Gearheadville, and it's in spades. The mechanics are a wily sort; jaded and rough, always stained with a touch of motor oil. They know more than they let on, too: Gearheadville is where you go if you're looking to get involved with a street racing league and earn a few bucks. Just expect to earn yourself a bit of a rap sheet while you're there.
 
Stab 'N' Grab - Not exactly The Ghetto, not exactly Gearheadville, but close. the Stab 'N' Grab, as it's so coarsely named by the more highbrow citizens of Phan-Metru, is not the kind of place you want to rep. It's similar in appearance to the Plaza Nuva, if darker and more wicked. The air is slightly thicker and more dangerous here, as though there's blood intertwined with the carbon and oxygen. As you'd expect, there's no honor among thieves here at the Stab 'N' Grab, so don't just watch your back, watch your front, your sides, your diagonals and your wallet, too. 
 
You may have noticed I said wallet: yes, I know bringing your cash into a place called the Stab 'N' Grab doesn't sound smart, but this little corner of the sky happens to have the best black market this side of the stratosphere. Technology months - sometimes even years - ahead of what the Suits have under their belt can be found in prototype form, depending on who your connections are. Background checks for weapons? Well, well, it looks like we have a funny guy on our hands.
 
The Ghetto - You may have noticed I mentioned The Ghetto. Also known as the Outskirts ('Skirts) or the Fruit Loops for their distinct shape and coloration, this place is almost as aptly named as the Stab 'N' Grab: this part of the city is pretty much the epidermis of town, wrapping around Plaza Nuva in three levels color coded Blue, Green, and Red, Blue on the outside edge of the city, Green in the middle, and Red being the closest to the city itself. Repping these colors in the wrong places could get you robbed, beaten down, or worse if you don't play your cards right, but they all share a certain camaraderie in that a good 80 to 85 percent of the population calls one of the colors home. Many of the chutes from Gearheadville that are home to street racers run through The Ghetto as well, as well as certain black market operations that have been pushed out of - or escaped from - the Stab 'N' Grab, so it's not uncommon to see a good bit of crime here, either.
 

 

*****

 

Rules

 

 

1. No god-modding. Most of you probably know what this means, but in the event that some of you do not, there are three basic types of modding. The first is autohitting, wherein you hit another PC without either permission or having given a chance for them to respond. The second is metagaming, which is when your character knows something they should not be able to know. Like a character all of a sudden knowing what is happening across the city with no reason. Finally, no performing things your character should not be able to do. This means no elemental manipulation at insane levels, like using lightning to atomize a solid object. No dodging things that you should not be able to dodge. That includes "sudden feelings" that make you want to dodge an unseen attack. And no "He tripped, acidentally avoiding the attack". Both of those are very large no-nos. In conjunction with the above, Nova Blasts are expressly forbidden without prior staff consent.

2. As you might have guessed from the above, there is no "Thou shalt not kill PCs" rule. If your character is put into a situation where they cannot escape without modding, your character will die. This does not mean, however, that you have permission to go around killing other people's PCs. Character death will be strictly monitored.

3. Use IC (In Character) and OOC (Out Of Character) in your posts. Example:

 

IC:

 

Vakama ducked down, barely evading the shadow hand that grabbed the pillar above him. "Going to have to try harder than that!"

 

OOC: Anyone want to back him up? I'm kind of outgunned.

 

4. Keep OOC only posts to a minimum. And by minimum, I mean that one or two is allowable, but any more than that, and I'm going to step in. PMs are around for a reason.

5. Respect the staff. This includes the Head GM, and any other staff members that he may hire. They are where they are for good reasons,  and they are just trying to do their jobs. If you feel a staff member is being unfair, contact one of the other staff member, or the Head GM, and we will sort things out. 

6. As much as we would prefer not to use it, there is a punishment system in place. The first offense will come with an official warning, carried out both in PM and in the topic. Second is a warning, plus a major character injury. This is your last chance to turn back before we have to start bringing out the heavy consequences. Third is a temporary ban, the length of which will be decided based on the severity of the offense. The fourth offense will kill all of your characters, and carry a second temporary ban. This is your last chance to turn yourself around. The fifth offense will ban you from the game, forever. Leave the topics, do not come back. Now, due to the inherent flaws of a tier system, some of these skips can and will be skipped over if your action is severe enough to warrant it.

 

*****

 

Character Creation

 

This is the profile template you'll be using. Please note, that species such as Makuta, Great Being, Krahka's species, and a few others are explicitly forbidden. The Glatorian and Agori are more or less banned due to the backstory, unless you have a really good reason. Masks such as the Avohkii, the Mask of Shadows, the Vahi, Olmaks, Masks of Summoning, and the Olisi are forbidden. Any and all unique masks are forbidden, and the staff reserve the right to deny any overpowered masks that we have not yet thought of. Elements are the same story: no Light, no Shadow, no custom elements except Crystal and Oil.

 

 

Name: Pretty straight forward. Keep it Bionicle-y, and no canon characters.

Species: Again. Pretty self explanatory. See the above for any banned species. 

Gender: Do I even have to point this one out?

Appearance: What your character looks like. 

Powers: Here's where you list your element, your mask, or any other power types inherent with your character.

Skills: Good at using your element? Strong fighter? Psychologist? What your character is good at.

Weaknesses: You have to have one. What is your character bad at? What problems do they have?

Equipment: Here's where you put your weapons, your pencils, your first aid kits. What does your character carry with them?

Bio: Your character's past. What are they like? What have they been through? Also doubles as your character's personality section. Must be at least two sentences long, and if you go for the minimum, they'd better be exceptional sentences.

 

*****

 

Dedications

 

Even though this was mainly an in-house production, and I kept most of the details to myself beyond the introduction and basic premise, I think it would be apt here to make some dedications and special thank yous to the people who not only inspired me to make this game possible, but to the people that inspire me on an all-around basis almost every single day of my life. Get some Kleenex handy, smoke if you got 'em: there are feels on the horizon and there's no way around 'em.

 

Special thanks to the people who inspired me to get into the RPG forum: to everyone who's still kicking that played Requiem, this one's for you, to Exo-Fat, you mad frickin' genius, to anyone who ever read one of my pre-2011 "open for interaction" posts and figured "eh, why not?" this one's for you. Thanks for giving me a ride for this long and this far: from here on out, it's my turn to drive. Be warned, I don't like speed limits.

 

Special thanks to everyone in the BZPRPG that, for some unfathomable reason, put me and my writing on a pedestal and gave me a shot to shine in a game where nobody is really supposed to shine. Special thanks to Dov and Krayzikk, who will stay up at night as late as they need to if it means me pitching them one of my crazy ideas during a hallucinogenic fugue staTe. Special thanks to Snipe for so much more than I could ever list. Special thanks to Grochi for giving me a chance to keep my insult Humor sharp. Special thanks to Vorex for keeping my real insults sharp. You all are my muses. Never change.

 

Much love to everyone in my WC crew: here's to Ghost, aka David Tennant's young doppelganger, you're pretty alright, even if you are the new kid. To Veef/Corv, aka Commander Shepard, aka Joss Whedon of Western Europe, you have an incredible talent for doing what you do: you're a genius artist, a great writer, and one of the realest and kindest people I know. To Francis, aka the Master of Disguise, aka OG Fruit Bowl, I have nothing in my heart for you but love and admiration. We've been doing this thing togethEr since the beginning, and I want to thank you for giving me a boost when I've felt like quitting, having my back at the good times, the bad times, and the worst times, and being just a general astounding human being every day. Special, special thanks to Biebs and Rene, aka Dr. Jekyll and Mister Indeterminate Gender, aka Beauty and the More Beauty, aka What Would I Do Without You Two?, two of the most astounding human beings I've ever come across, for their constant love and encouragement, whether it's necessary or not. I'm proud to have you two as spouses, and I'd like to thank both of you or molding my writing Style and making me what I am as a writer and a person - or, rather, what people tell me I am - more than either of you could ever know. 

 

Finally, last, and anything but least, thank you to Nuju Metru, aka Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of San Francisco, aka Brunette Joffrey, aka Skinny Love, aka The Cheerio Bandit, aka Aaron. Whether you know it or not, RPing under you This past year, getting to know you, hanging out late at night telling terrible jokes and coming up with actors for our characters, all that stUpid stuff that we took for granted ended up changed my life. Even though I maDe sure never to tell you I even had an RPG concept caught up, even though you never saw a word that's in this post before today, your fingerprints are on almost every inch of this entire game from the intro to even these dedications. You have so many talents, and I got nothing but faith that you're going to use them to the best of your ability, squared, throughout your entire life.  You're going to change the world by the time you're done with it: it's just a matter of when you start. I'm honored to call you one of my best frIends in the world, and I love you, Aaron, even during the times where I pretend that you're not, and that I don't. Here's tO the future: it's ours for the taking.

 

Take care, everybody. Enjoy the game, and God willing we'll all meet again in Techna III: The Search for a Proper Ending.

 

-Tyler

 

I'm seriuos about the Techna thing.

Edited by Tyler Durden, Mar 24 2013 - 06:11 PM.