Big Game

So one of the biggest challenges to immersive roleplay in CoX is the idea of continuity. The problem is that while the story narrative in the game does move on the game world for the most part doesn’t actually change. For example you might retake Fort Darwin, but as soon as you finish that mission has finished it is still in longbow hands. Also isn’t it weird that everyone and their dog has done the same specific job for the same contact, and so on. Obviously this is because the game has been developed for everyone to experience so if you do in-game stuff IC you either do it as part if your own private continuity or re-skin the details in someway. Another problem for roleplayers is the idea of continuity slips, where a character makes an IC claim that conflicts with your own or other characters continuity. There is IC ways to incorporate or dismiss these ideas (“I call BS”/“Poor deluded soul”/ That was more of a raid than a full blown invasion”, etc.), but what if there was a way where you could IC not worry about anything and even take it all on board if you like? Then it dawned on me you can! So the idea behind this thread us to brainstorm a new tounge-in-cheek RPVG (well probably more likely Rogues) that embraces the idea of roleplaying in a broken continuity. My idea is a Rogue Ouroboros Mender sick of waiting for the Coming Storm, etc decides to hit the timestream for good times personal gain, etc. Along the way he meets other like minded time travellers, refugees from other timezones, people he forgot to put back and has a series of adventures with them (think Time Bandits, Legends of Tomorrow, the Exiles, etc). Unfortunately somewhere along the way someone did something bad which broke the timeline causing a cosmic event known as a Chronophase. These Chronophases are essentially where events might repeat, events from alternate realities phase in and happen in our own, etc. This helps explain the IC idea that Statesman is dead, but also in Independence Port, narratives not moving forward, DFB ad-infinitum, etc. The VG know the timestream is broken but can’t remember what caused it. Additionally as all members were somehow involved in the original Chronophase event they have been dislodged from continuity and perceive many of the irregularities where others might not (Protects others IC continuity also makes me think Castaways being a good VG name). Additionally while they realise it is probably a good idea to find out what happened and repair some of the damage the fractured reality has opened up a number of opportunities for personal gain. Therefore while the group would have a main plot their day to day stuff can be simply stealing s***, hooking up with classic Hollywood babes, historical souvenir collecting, etc. Now as much as it pains me I don’t actually have enough game time to run a VG, however I am quite willing to let someone else take the helm and put it together. As for myself I have a toon who can join the group and help with plotting, but I think leadership belongs with someone who can devote significant game presence. Not only that I even reserved the name Clockwatcher on Everlasting which I would give up to someone who potentially might want to use it as the Rogue Mender who originally kicked things off. Anyway I have waffled on a bit. Ideally I would like people to discuss if they’re interested in joining, concept characters, plot ideas, and of course find someone to actually lead the group.

I’m personally in favour of considering CoX Homecoming as a rebooted continuity for my characters. After all while a lot of people are back in game there are still so many characters missing that were integral to past rp interactions. Not only that this is an ideal time to make changes to characters, wipe back story/past rp you are not happy with and start fresh but with more focused concepts. As for time period I think I’ll do my best to avoid saying it is any specific date or reference certain ingame events as having as happened. However should any community my characters interact with come to a consensus on continuity I would most likely adopt that continuity as I much prefer rping in a shared universe.

Deep in the oldest urban quarter of Cap Au Diable there is and at the same time is not an area of town known as the “Alleyways”; a strange place that is perpetually shrouded in an oppressively thick unnatural fog. The Alleyways dimly lit streets made up of houses and shops seemingly stuck in the time of the town’s founding are not on any official map but may be stumbled on those touched by the supernatural or with the whiff of magic about them. Making their home here is a motley collection of creatures Human, Demonic, Undead and Fae seemingly living cooperatively if not in actually in harmony. Amongst all this wonder and mystery is an infamous little drinking hole known as ‘the Bar of the Damned’. From the outside there is little to distinguish the establishment from any other building in the Alleyways. The architecture is typical of every other building on it’s street and every window filthy enough to obscure what lies within. Indeed if not for the oppressive gloom of the fog and a couple of hundred years of built up grime the building itself would still have much colonial charm. The only thing betraying the building’s purpose is In a heavily weathered and rotting wooden sign hung shaped like a tankard that hangs above the door. Once one passes through the heavy wooden door they find themselves in a strange, sorrowful, yet comforting place. Inside patrons are confronted with the fact there is wood everywhere. The well maintained walls, floors, and ceilings likely constructed from local lumber centuries earlier. However most wouldn’t really notice it’s colonial craftsmanship due to the grey tree trunk like pillars supporting the ceiling as well as the lattice of grey woody vines creeping across the walls, pillars and ceilings they support. Growing out of the twisting vines are small black petaled flowers each with a glowing central bud that provided the tavern with a spooky but soothing light. Even the tables which appear to have been grown out of the floor had their own twisting vine with a single flower growing out of the centre like some sort of living candle. The grey of the wood and dim light projecting a somewhat melancholy atmosphere that is somehow lifted by an unusual but wholesome woody smell. Despite it’s exotic aesthetic the tavern’s most prominent feature is the long wooden bar itself. Placed along the back wall the bar looks as if it had been carved from a single grey log. The surface being perfectly smooth and finished but the front still keeping some of it’s rounded shape. What is most striking however is not the wall of unusual, interestingly shaped bottles behind the bar but rather the dozens of howling faces seemingly carved into the front of it. This relief of tortured looking souls no doubt being the reason for the tavern’s ominous sounding name. Sat at a dozen different tables drinking from shiny metal tankards or fine crystal glasses was an assemblage of shifty looking humans, mischievous fairyfolk and creatures known to go ‘bump in the night’. However nestled amongst all the weirdness was a man wearing a black t-shirt and orange and black tiger striped cargo pants who managed to look the most out of place of them all... ‘Geez! I really gotta remember to get the damn client to sign the damage waiver when I take these jobs.’ The Brooklyn accented Italian American “Big Game” said to himself as he flicked through the heavily reduced payout from his last job. Big Game had once been something of a mercenary goon before setting himself up as a self proclaimed ‘professional monster hunter for hire’ after watching some bad, but entertaining horror flick on the TV. Earlier that day he had taken a contract to remove a particularly pesky fairy from some Arachnos bureaucrat’s residence in Haven. However, in his characteristic ‘wing it to win it’ and ‘all guns blazing’ approach Big Game had punched some pretty sizeable holes in the clients home with his heavily modified multi-function Vanguard assault rifle. With an audible sigh Big Game tossed his cash onto the table next to a pile of monster hunting paraphernalia including his rifle, hat, and the small children’s net on a bamboo cane he’d originally planned to capture the fairy with. He then picked up and glanced at a clear ziplock bag containing a pair of glistening but almost transparent wings. ‘Still, the money I’m gonna make on these should keep me in beer and Cheetos for a while.’ He thought to himself. As he contemplated the street value of authentic fairy wings and tossed the bag on top of his equipment. ‘Gawd knows I worked hard enough for ‘em.’ Big Game remarked as he stared into the reflective surface of his tankard to look at the various cuts, scrapes, and bruises he got during the encounter. From the table across from him he heard a snigger from the particularly weasel-like Red Cap mercenary “Scrat” to which Big Game responded with a one fingered salute. ‘Another pest control job huh Mr. Fedele?’ Big Game turned on his seat to face the bulging eyed hunchback “Marty” who’d addressed him by his real last name. Marty worked as a pot boy in the Bar of the Damned and despite looking kind of weird was always friendly. ‘Marty, how many times have I got to tell ya? Call me Tony, youse probably the only freak in dis joint dat aint looking ta gut me or shish kebab my @ss.’ Big Game said almost prophetically just as a hulking dark grey werewolf wearing military fatigues and with a huge machine-gun strapped to his back started to stomp his way past the table. As the beast passed Big Game he let out a none too subtle growl. ‘Aww, don’t worry about “Wardog” Mr. Fe... Tony. You know no one can touch you while you are in the bar. Besides looking at your face it’s the outside world that’s going to kill you. Must of been a real nasty critter right? Big Game turned his back on the werewolf before placing his tankard onto the table. ‘Yeah fairy removal. Them Disney movies really don’t prepare you for just how scrappy them b*tches can be. Wasted a couple of hundred hollow points and a grenade on “Tinkerbell from hell” before finally winning that argument.’ Big Game then reached down to the side of his chair and picked up a wooden baseball bat emblazoned with the words “Monster Mash”. ‘Sometimes you gotta go back to basics’ he joked as he wiped a bit of blood and hair off of the bat onto his cargo pants. ‘I am surprised you manage to figure out how to kill anything when all your research is done though low budget movies and Saturday morning cartoons’ a gravelly voice interrupted. Big Game looked up again and standing before him was an archaically dressed Vampire sneering in his direction. Despite being in no danger himself Marty became overcome with fear and quickly scampered off into one of the back rooms. Ignoring this the Vampire put both hands on the table and started to snarl and eyeball Big Game. ‘You don’t belong here. I should rip your throa... urrk!’... The Vampire stopped mid-threat, his body visibly tightening and his skin started to turn more grey than it already was. From the floor a number of the same grey woody vines that already worked their way about the tavern began to wrap themselves around and start to burrow into the Vampire’s left leg. All of the light buds in the immediate vicinity seemed glow more intense and a look of sheer panic flashed across the Vampire’s face. With a smirk Big Game gestured towards the bar. Behind the bar stood “Aurelie”, the owner of the Bar of the Damned, an elfin-like beauty with long golden hair, pale smooth skin, and milky white eyes known for having few words and a mostly melancholy demeanour. As the Vampire met her gaze and the creeping vines buried deeper in to him he could see her skin began to grey and crack like dry wood. Her long straight hair started to blacken, curl and the ends began to split and mat itself together to almost look like leaves. Her eyes hen started to fill with inky black swirls until they became solid orbs of obsidian. As if all that wasn’t disconcerting enough in front of her the faces carved on the front of the bar seemed to move and stretch outwards toward the Vampire. All the while she said nothing but, it was obvious everything was happening at her behest and the Vampire knew what he must do if he wanted to survive. ‘M... m.. my apologies M... mr Fedele. I... I.. sseem to overstepped my bbounds. I.. I deeply regret m.. my actions this evening’ the Vampire struggled to say whilst looking furtively between Big Game and Aurelie. Aurelie must of been convinced the Vampire had learned his lesson as her eyes began to whiten, and her hair and skin started to change back. Just as she reverted to her normal form the vines up the Vampire’s leg started to retract and crawl their way back into the tavern floor. Without hesitation the Vampire turned and hobbled his way out of the bar while Big Game grinned to himself before turning and blowing a kiss to his saviour. Meanwhile Aurelie simply turned her nose up to Big Game before turning away and proceeding to stack some bottles behind the bar. ‘You really oughta be more careful M... er Tony. That wasn’t just some drifter bloodsucker. He is one of “HER” lackeys.’ Said Marty as he scampered back to the table. For a moment Big Game seemed confused until he realised Marty wasn’t speaking about Aurelie, but rather the Vampire noblewoman, whose name he never bothered remembering, who had set up court in Cap Au Diable. ‘You keep antagonising her subjects and she might come after you herself.’ Big Game chuckled to himself. ‘Aw come on Marty, I doubt I’m even on her radar. Besides if she comes after me I guess I’ll get my hands on a set of Vampire fangs I can sell at a premium.’ As soon as Big Game said it he had suddenly become inspired and glanced down to the floor. Sure enough there was faint scuff marks where the Vampire had been dragging his leg. He then hurriedly started to gather his equipment. ‘What’s up Tony? You going?’ ‘Yeah, sorry Marty someone has a dentist’s appointment.’ With that Big Game threw his hat on and marched purposely out of the Bar of the Damned...

((One thing I miss about the original CoH is the interactive storytelling made possible through forum rp. Whereas in-game rp is focused on fast paced ‘in the moment’ social interaction or IC adventuring the rp forum allows the crafting of more complex detail rich stories. One such thread I always thought had such amazing potential (even if it was criminally underused at the time) was ‘the Bar of the Damned’ open rp thread set in what we lovingly referred to as the ‘Unionverse’. Unfortunately despite my best efforts I am still unable to find anything of the original threads to give credit to it’s creator (really sorry, hopefully someone will remember) or to link to so others can get some enjoyment of that particular work. Instead as a tribute to the original I want to start a new Everlasting based ‘Bar of the Damned’ open rp thread. What follows is a self contained short story featuring my main, introducing the bar, some typical patrons and the area where the bar is situated. So as I am not just ripping off the original I will be making a number of changes both to the owner and the bar itself. It is my hope that after my original story others will use the thread as an interactive rp space to introduce characters, plots, or weave their own mini dramas. Something for posters to the thread to consider is that much like Pocket D the Bar of the Damned is considered neutral ground which is enforced by it’s owner Aurelie. Within the confines of the bar Aurelie should be considered more than powerful enough to deal with any serious aggression or outbreaks of violence. As I previously said the thread is a tool to introduce characters, plots, and social interaction not a fight venue. Anyway fair warning to all my next post is lengthy and where I have not written anything since before the original game’s shutdown might be a little rough. However I hope at least some you will enjoy the read and be inspired go engage in a little forum roleplay.))