Our Dystopia Imagine: the world is much as it was before. Bustling towns and cities, people out shopping and socializing, working to support their families and their territories. That’s what they call them now as a whole, “territories”. There are quite a few out there, scattered across the lands. The leaders of the past recognized the ultimate threat to civilization: a lack of resources. Mandates were put into place, huge walls were erected around already existing cities and suburbs, and the world managed to carry on. What we once new as countries has all but dissolved. We still have elected government officials for our territories, who work with and communicate with other LoTs (Leaders of Territories) to help ensure trade and public order. It’s basically the same from the past, as far as I can tell from the history books. The only thing is, you are not allowed to travel outside of Territories leisurely…for your safety, of course. And who would want to? We have everything we could ever possibly need. Rules No god-modding: we all know what this is, just don’t do it. To add, do not speak/act for another character. Stick to yours and yours alone. Be active: I -totally- understand that people have lives and they can get crazy. Been there, doing that lol. However! I do expect some sort of commitment from those who wish to join. Daily posts are always ideal, however, no more than 3 days without posting will be permissible. I like to keep my RPGs moving. I’m pretty easy going, if you have something come up please let me know! I don’t need details, but if you will be gone longer than 3 days I will need a heads up so that I may continue the story while keeping your character in mind. I reserve the right to take control of your character if you are going to be absent for longer than 3 days. If you are absent for more than 2 weeks I will write your character off. No hard feelings, but that’s how it will be. Be respectful: We aren’t children here, we know what being nice means. I’ve been on writing sites where pretentious assholes think because they can articulate themselves better than others through writing warrants them a superior being. Don’t be like that. If anyone has any issue with another player, I encourage you to DM me directly so that I may try to resolve the issue. Quality/quantity: I love detail. I love length. I don’t love long-winded writers. Please, don’t give me huge amounts of fluff. I do ask for a minimum of 2 paragraphs per post. I guess I’ll say it, but paragraphs usually consist of 3-5 sentences. So we are all on the same page here and there’s no confusion. No one-liners. No chat speak. Full, complete sentences with mostly decent grammar. I am a self-proclaimed comma whore. I put commas effing EVERYWHERE where they aren’t always necessary. I’m not perfect. But just do your best, ya know? Enjoy it!: This isn’t meant to feel like work or an assignment. This is purely for the love of writing, so please don’t stress out and have fun with it! If you are struggling in any way with a writer’s block or staying active…let me know! I’m no expert, but I would be happy to hear you out and help in any way I can. I can provide ideas and suggestions which you can choose to take or not, no offense will be taken. Setting We will all be starting off in the Territory named Chanderlin. It’s a large area, where the city size is about half of what modern-day NYC would be. Surrounding the city area are the ‘burbs’, but this is where farming/ranching takes place. Everyone lives in the city, except the wealthiest/government officials of the town. They have their own homes near the Burbs, or live in the top most suites of the skyscrapers. Most everyone, however, lives in skyscraper apartments that average about 600 square feet. No household is allowed to have more than 2 children. Lastly, surrounding the whole territory is an immensely tall and expansive wall. Fashioned after the great wall of China, the wall has a similar walkway all the way around on the top. There are garrison posts that are always manned, and in addition there is barbed wire all around the bottom and very top. There are spot lights at every garrison, along with heavily armed men. There are only 2 entrances/exits to the territory, each heavily guarded,, on the northern and southern parts of the wall. Nobody comes in or goes out without explicit permission, which is hard to come by. Character Sheet Name: (self explanatory) Age: (18+, you can be as old as you like!) Gender: (do you, boo boo) Appearance: (no pictures, only writing please) Personality: (self explanatory) Background: (Give me some background! What do you do in the Territory? What role do you serve? Do you have a job? Are you a guard, a retail worker, a farmer? Who do you live with currently? Anything in your family history you want everyone else to know? If you have any specifics you want to include but aren’t sure of how it would work in the story, let me know! I’ll help ya and guide you, clarify things as needed. I’m down for collaboration) Items: (An extra category! If your character was on a deserted island and could only have 3 things to help them survive…what would they bring? Don’t ask me why…just tell me dammit!) ___________ Again, I reiterate, this RPG is a WIP. I don't have -everything- fleshed out, but that's the fun of it all, to see where the story leads us! As previously mentioned (somewhere, lol), I do have quite a few big events already planned out. I'm not kidding when I say this dream was INSANE. On that note...buckle up folks! It's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Absolutely! No huge rush, other than me just being a generally impatient person, but that's my own issue lol! I didn't anticipate starting this until next week anyways. Gives me time to go ahead and work on my CS and starter post, while also providing players time to put together some banging CSs!
Some more background detail about Chanderlin, territories, and life within the walls: The territories were formed from previously existing cities. In essence, 100 years ago the governments of the past knew that the only way to sustain human life was by cutting it down. They did the people dirty in the past, but this is a detail not mentioned to new generations. Very few people know the actual truth, as it's not recorded anywhere (that people know of). I'm ok with ya'll knowing in a 'meta' sense that essentially they gave very little warning on when they were going to seal the gates, so those that could make into the main city area after a very short notice, and those already living there, stayed. The rest were shut out. That's one way to size down a population, but for obvious reasons isn't shared with the general public. Ok so back on track, the territories are cities from the past coast to coast (NYC, Philly, Dallas, San Diego, etc.) that were "repurposed". About half of the skyscrapers and buildings towards the central parts of the territories were kept for living/businesses, and the other half surrounding the 'city' were torn down to make space/land for farming/cattle. That being said, it's unrealistic for a territory to have -every- resource they need (this is a dystopia!), so trade is very common amongst other territories. The territory is solely run off of solar power. Vehicles are almost non existent, and are only used by government officials. Everyone else gets around by either foot or bicycle, or carriages on wheels pulled by bicycles. Every character would have been born and raised within the walls, without having ever been outside of them. If you have an idea revolving a character having been past the wall, let me know. However, it has to be compelling and deemed necessary to the character development...and -make sense-. There is no sneaking past the walls, or getting through without permission.
Name: Anna Clark Age: 28 Gender: Female Appearance: Standing at 5’7’’, Anna is one of the taller women in society. She has an athletic build, broad shoulders and muscular thighs. It’s nothing she’s particularly self-conscience about, but she doesn’t give much merit to appearances anyways. Often times she wears her medium length, wavy, platinum blonde hair up in a bun of sorts, with strands haphazardly framing her face. Just above her right eyebrow is a prominent, unseemly scar that spans from the start of her eyebrow up towards her scalp. One would think she was either sliced open or experienced some terrible accident from first looking at her. Her smile is a bit crooked, and she awkwardly only has one dimple. She wears a hoop in her nose and has porcelain skin that has jailhouse looking tattoos stamped on her with no apparent rhyme or reason. Fashion is not her thing, and she’s usually almost always in her work clothes. Stretchy, durable black or brown pants, with leather patches sewn over the knees and on each side of her hips. Usually she’s in a t-shirt that she tucks into the front of her pants loosely, with a leather jacket thrown over. Around her neck hangs a necklace with a medium-sized, crystal ball on the end. It’s a unique necklace that utilizes solar energy. It stores the energy when there is sun, but won’t be used until she clicks a little button on the side, which lights up the crystal and creates an added measure of safety when working at night (especially when the territory has minimal power due to weather). Strapped onto her is a knife holster, where she keeps a 6inch hunting knife on her at all times. If one looks close enough, they’ll notice Anna has basically no fingernails. She is constantly chewing them, not hiding her anxious ways well, but also not trying to. Often times while waiting for a customer, she can be seen leaning against her bike carriage chewing her nails and watching people with darting eyes. Personality: Anna may look a bit odd and different to many, a little rough around the edges, but she’s actually quite a pleasant young lady. Her positivity can be infectious, her optimism naïve. Despite the life she’s lived within the walls, she’s been quite content. She loves the hustle and bustle of the city, all the noises and lights (when they have them), and has a genuine love for what she does. It’s not often someone sees her upset, but when she is it’s usually with just cause. A client trying to take advantage and not pay up, that’ll set her off alright. And she has the body and knife to defend herself if needed. Background: Anna lives with a roommate in one of the 600sq ft apartments on the 11th (of 30) floor. The space is tiny, but everyone is accustomed to basically living on top of each other. Her roommate gets the single bedroom, while she sleeps on a pull out couch in the living room. She’s not one to have romantic partners often, it’s too much trouble based on her experiences and most of the people in town find her odd anyways. She has a friend, Bobby, that has been able to offer her companionship over the years as they both sort of need it…but it’s complicated. He pines for her, she wants nothing to do with a relationship. She is the queen of friend-zoning, mostly due to fear and anxiety. Her job keeps her busy, keeps her moving. Starting from mid afternoon to late at night she rides around in on a bicycle that has a riding carriage attached to it. She is, in essence, a taxi driver, and rides around all day long finding clients to transport all over the territory. Her knowledge of the layout of the territory is mostly restricted to the city, since taking people to the Burbs is just too far of a bike ride while shlepping people around. But she hustles, and she does quite well for herself. Her mother and father live in a different building, but a few blocks over. They are her life, and she works as hard as she does because her father no longer can due to illness, and her mother only does part-time work as a seamstress out of their home. Anna is a provider, a care giver, and that’s been her whole life. She went to school, up until her 16th year, but when her father fell ill she had to give it up and start working. It was a hard life, a lot of work, but over the years she’s made a name for herself, has been able to move out and live on her own, and still be able to give her parents a comfortable life. They don’t have much, but they have enough. Items: the three items Anna would most likely have on her if stranded on an island to survive would be 1. Fire starter kit 2. A tent and 3. A cooking pot
Name: Julia Age: 18 Gender: female Appearance: Julia has medium length straight dark brown hair with bangs to her brow and a satin bow on one side. She has a pretty face and cute smile when she uses one. She has milky white fair skin with slender body and soft shoulders. Not very strong physically. Personality: Julia is shy and somewhat lost in the world. Often away in her own imagination. She is warm, loving, and empathetic almost to a fault. She misses her brother Mychol and dreams of the day of his return. She loves to dress up in the lacey and chiffon gowns that she and her uncle make, pretending to be a princess. And she imagines that one day her prince Mychol will come and rescue her out of the dirty city and take her far far away. Background: Julia's mother died giving birth to her and her father disappeared from her life when she was just eight years old leaving her to be raised by her uncle Marvin. Though he is not the easiest man to get along with he takes care of her and she always does what she is told. Julia learned to be a very good seamstress and together they run a dress shop in the middle of Chanderlin. Items: 1) A little old rag doll given to her by her older brother Mychol before he was sent away to find new resources for the government. He gave her the doll along with a promise of his return. That was fourteen years ago. 2) A needle and thread 3) scissors
To clarify: Mother- died at Julia's birth Brother -Mychol was sent away when he was eight and Julia was four. (A four year difference tween the kids.) Father- left four years later when Julia was eight. After his wife's death, he didn't want anything to do with the children. That is why he sent the boy away and left the girl with Uncle Marvin.
Twisted- excellent! Love the character. I'm going to DM you and throw something your way, imma add a little more detail into that background that I think may fit nicely into future game play. Ideally I would like to get a starter post up by Monday night, but that's if we secure one more person at the very least. I know I have EF interested, however I will not be posting until a second person secures a spot. I may also decide to create a 2nd PC that I would play...but TBD.
Name: Jarrel Cass Age: 34 Gender: Male Appearance: With a medium, semi-dense build, and a height just crossing six feet, Jerry isn’t the largest man in the territory, but he certainly is one to contend in a scrap on body alone. His hands and forearms are immensely strong and calloused from years of hard work. His brown hair is cut short to a medium fade like every wall guard gets standard issued. The brawler sort of look keeps people from arguing generally, though his voice is rather calm and low. Jerry consistently is in his blue company issued overalls with his standard orange vest and hardhat. When he does finally get off work, he’s usually lounging in sweats, preferring not to get dressed up to go anywhere that has the ability to be ordered, and ready for a workout. Jarrel almost never rolls up his sleeves or takes off his shirt for others to see. Personality: Jarrel is very much a loner in his 800 square foot isolation chamber. He simply doesn’t care much for others anymore. His work is his life, and the higher in the skyscraper he resides, the happier he thinks he will feel. Jarrel is still reeling in denial that the break of his marriage was partially his fault, but his drive to now progress says otherwise. He is fixated on proving his worth. But behind the façade of being all business, there’s an aura of longing. His curtains are always open in his upper-middling apartment with a view just over the walls. He watches the sunset through them or from the tops of the skyscrapers whose panels he maintains with escapist dreams of running off and leaving his world behind in lands he’s never set foot. Background: On track with the contemporary chute of upper-middle class living, Jarrel was set right from the start to end up above most others in the city, at least in status. His father, in one of the only moves of care he showed his son, got him into the more prestigious tech schools, which led him to technical work on photovoltaic cells and other more general battery and circuit electronics. He was by no means a stellar student, but father’s money and enough to effort to get by got him the decent job. His marriage to Chelsea was more happenstance and an attempt at meeting expectation than anything else. College partners through most of the coursework, but she had a better mind for it and more drive. But when Jarrel’s father cut him off from his inheritance for becoming a technician rather than an engineer, his wife drifted too. He never strove for a greater purpose or took the initiative to make connections. When she left him for another man she had been seeing for months, leaving him a note explaining that he was a worthless loser who would never be more than a middling tech. He took it to heart. Now his apartment is more spartan than ever, more of a gym and library than an actual apartment. His life is all about giving a damn about himself and moving up now. Jarrel works out or reads up on many manuals and DIYs when he’s not working. His life is mostly simple, yet driven, shamed by his self-defined worthless past self. Yet, he is always teetering on the edge of the escape, feeling the imposter with every step up he makes. If the opportunity presented itself, he may very well take it. Items: A multitool (which includes a basic knife, pliers, scissors, etc but nothing over-the-top), a survival guide, chicken wire (more useful than one would think).
EF- Fantastic! Love that character, and appreciate all the detail you provided. I honestly don't think I have anything I would want to add to it or need elaboration on. Great! I'll be working on a post today/tomorrow, and should have something up by tomorrow evening. I look forward to writing with ya'll!
Hi, I would like to participate. If you would give me some time, I should have my character sheet done within a day.
I think the GM is posting the first IC post today, so you will definitely be fine. I would just write up a character to submit here as I don't think she will mind at all.
Sorry you guys! Coincidentally the day I wanted to get my post up, my power went out and was out for about 24 hours LOL. The wind blows too hard and our power goes, so that's fun. Anyways, I will absolutely have a starter post up today/tonight. I'm currently working on it as we speak. Vanna- as EF mentioned you do have time! Even after I post a starter, I'll still accept people. Everyone will also be working on their introductory posts for their characters so there's time for you to create one and get a starter up.
I've decided to create a posting order for now, and I may get rid of it once I see how this goes between all of us. The posting order will be random (I put your names in a randomizer I use, and it puts it all in random order so it will be fair). The posting order will only start AFTER your introductory posts. I'm running this game on another site, and had someone ask "Why can't the posting order just start with the introductory post?" My response: Only from my experience, but what I've seen from doing these is that the first introductory post usually is the time that each person gets to "introduce" their character and we can get a feel for them. How they are interacting in the city and generally get on with their days, their inner dialogue, etc. It's not necessarily a post that people dedicate to interaction with other members, because some people feel forced to interact with the first person who posts merely because they are next to post and don't want to miss a chance for interaction. I like everyone to be able to just get those introductory posts out there, and then in the ensuing posts people can sort of choose which other players they are going to start interacting with. Not everyone is going to be in the same place at the same time (if you play Dungeons & Dragons, it's quite different from the 'everyone is in a pub' sort of start). Everyone -shouldn't- be in the same area per se, since each character is living their normal, daily lives. That being said, you are absolutely welcome to start dialogue with someone during your introductory post, but it's not required. It leaves it an open playing field and let's people sort of make a decision for themselves on who they want to interact with versus making them feel forced to interact with the first person who posted. So! With that being said, the posting order after intros will be (I'm including you Vanna, but don't feel obligated if you choose not to join): 1. Twisted 2. EF 3. DD (me) 4. Vanna And without further ado: IC: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/our-dystopia.167686/
DD~ I will be joining, I'll have my character sheet done soon, but it's good to know that I don't need to rush. Thank you!
Name: Lia Ambrose Age: 26 Gender: Female Appearance: Lia is of average height with a medium build for a young woman. She is relatively thin and athletic from walking to and from work every day. Lia has brown curly hair that she usually just keeps in a messy bun so that it’s out of her face. She has grey eyes, which are extremely rare, and wears glasses which sometimes she prefers contacts because they can be annoying. Lia is very approachable, with a smile that makes you want to smile back. Her tone is sweet and soft, sometimes sounding as if she is whispering. She wears a green and white jumper and vest for her job at the local retail store, but casually, Lia wears leggings and either a t-shirt or a sweater (if it gets cold). Personality: Lia isn’t a very outgoing person, she does what she needs to do and nothing more. She would prefer to stay home and read a book or work on her paintings. Lia is a nice, kind person, and tries to be friendly as she can. Lia only goes to work to make enough money to live in her apartment and to buy the few things she needs. But she does notice the little things in life, the things that others overlook as they walk down the street. Background: Lia’s childhood isn’t one that she wants to remember, if anything, she wants to say far from it. Her parents never liked her, for what she doesn’t know or understand. They couldn’t wait until she turned eighteen, but they kicked her out of their lives forever when she was only fifteen. Lia was mostly okay with that, though it still hurts sometimes. But she has moved on, knowing that dwelling on the past only stops you from moving into the future. Lia is very smart and worked hard at any job she could until she had enough money to take some night classes to become a writer. She is single and lives alone in her small one-bedroom apartment. She’s lonely, but she’s used to it. Lia has never been in a relationship before, and though she fantasizes about one, she has no means to put herself out there. She has her pet cat Boo, who she adores with all her heart. He is more than her cat; he is her best friend and only family. Her life is simple, though she wishes there was more to it. Other than reading, painting, or taking her walks, Lia’s life is pretty uneventful. It’s like she is stuck on a treadmill, and unable to stop going. Items: A swiss army knife, a tarp, and a first aid kit
Vanna- lovely! Lia sounds lovely. I hope this world doesn't break her, I MIGHT CRY. Feel free to post your introduction post at any point ^.^
Hey! I'd like to try joining! I wrote up a character below and was hoping you could take a look! Name: Stefan Richardson Age: 28 Gender: Male Appearance: Stefan is around 5'10 with harsh, bony features and dark blonde wavy hair that he keeps clipped at neck-length, occasionally dyeing a coloured streak in his fringe whenever he has the money to. He has light brown eyes and an athletic, agile build suited for his occupation. He wears his work uniform on most days, a baggy black two-piece suit and gloves that have silver and blue reflective patches. On off days, he throws on a simple grey shirt and long jeans, maybe with a brown leather jacket if it gets cold. He naturally speaks with a mild West Yorkshire accent but covers it up with an obviously fake New York one. Personality: Stefan is outgoing and extraverted, with a passion for combat sports, parkour and anything that involves climbing something very tall and very huge. He's very adaptable, content with his meagre salary and happy to live in his tiny 2-room apartment as long as he can feed himself and keep warm in the winter. Although open to trying new things and very friendly, Stefan is very insecure about his out-of-place sounding English accent and tries to hide it, ending up sounding like a New Yorker stereotype which usually makes things worse. He's a bit of an adrenaline junkie who constantly puts himself in danger for the rush it gives him Background: Stefan Richardson was born as the only son of a proud upper class family of British descent, with many of his family members, including him, maintaining the English accent and British pride of their ancestors. But after an unfortunate lawsuit when Stefan was 7, his family lost everything they had in the blink of an eye and was forced to move out of their house in the Burbs into a small city apartment where his father got a low-paying job as an office janitor, earning just enough for his family to get by. Stefan quickly adapted to his new simple life in a new school and district, picking up parkour as a hobby to make city life more interesting. This new hobby of his proved to be something of a worry to his parents, since seeing your 14 year old son fall 3 floors down and break his leg and hip on a concrete sidewalk can be distressing. But with practice, Stefan got better as he grew older. And as for his school life, Stefan wasn't really the best student. He'd get himself pulled into fights regularly, usually because he felt like he needed the adrenaline thrill that parkour wasn't giving him anymore. He became very good at this, and used parkour as means of an emergency escape in a fight gone wrong. After dropping out in his final year of high school, Stefan, now 18, decided to move out of his parents' apartment and find his own home somewhere else. He ended up in a tiny skyscraper apartment with cheap, affordable rent and a risky job cleaning the windows of the city's corporate buildings, which tower over the rest of the city's skyscrapers. Items: A hunting knife, a zippo lighter and a length of rope.
I don't know why it won't let me edit any of my posts, merp, so I circumnavigated lol. One additional person in the mix, so updated posting order.
Announcement:Posting order will commence starting tomorrow at 5pm (sooner if Vanna has an intro prior to then). At that point, Twisted you'll have 3 days from tomorrow evening to get a post up, then EF, etc. Once the person above you has posted, you are free to make your own post. But everyone has 3 days per post, so don't feel -super- rushed. Questions? Let me knowww
What about when the inevitable conversations or interactions occur between players? Are we able to do multiple posts involving each other before the new GM direction occurs, or are we waiting?
EF- great question. I usually play these situations "by ear"...if there is a lot of interaction or dialogue going on between players I usually let it play itself out until I feel like as GM I should intervene, if anything to spice things up. Would it be helpful if I make announcements prior to me moving things along narratively? I'm happy to do so.
