Yup.

Yeah, I'm still here. I check in every now and then, but everything just completely died a couple months ago. What happened?

Yeah guys, what the heck? Everybody just simultaneously decided it was time to stop posting.

Lame, guys. Lame.

OOC: What's happening guys? I can see where Ravenglass might be waiting for me, but what about the rest of you?

Cheryll stood at the helm as the ship crashed against the ice. Shards of hail rained onto them with each crushing blow to the ship's hull. All the meanwhile, the doctor was making jokes. She wasn't paying much attention though... She had a nasty feeling that the iceberg pinball game wasn't the most deadly challenge for the party. Still, she had to do something. The crew was getting nervous. Ascerbus and Oren looked as if they were about to jump ship.

"We're not swimming. Or at least, I get the impression that you aren't. What have you got up your --" She was cut off as the bow smashed heavily into another iceberg, sending a crack through the entire deck. She saw Oren and Ascerbus leaping off of the rig onto the icebergs around them - they were trained for such agility, after all. More importantly though, she saw the mast falling in her direction, threatening to crush her...

Congratulations! I didn't think you were that young. But hey, just remember that it gets a lot better from here on out for you. Middle school is hell, High School is boring, but college is loads of laughs and good times, if you let it be.

OOC: Sorry about the time delay – at first I was going to leave time for everybody to give their character some type of orientation before this, but the last couple of days I honestly just haven't gotten to posting. Graduation, exam schedules, etc... Sorry!

It was as Oren had predicted. There was never any intention of the ship surviving their landing. Cheryll stood at the front of the ship, looking somehow different, with a fiery charge in her eyes set straight forward.

“No need to try and avoid the ice – it's a losing battle!” She shouted to the helmsman. “We'll go straight through. All decks, brace for impact! Get ready to abandon ship! When you hit the water, the current will take you to shore! We'll meet in the central valley!”

She was of course referring to the strange two-pronged claw formation made from the icy mountains on the shore. But a lot of good that did him! It was great to know what to do when he got to shore, it was the getting there that proved ever problematic. If they were headed straight through, they'd have at least six holes in the ship by the time they were still the great span of 500 feet away.

“You got that kid?” Oren said to Ascerbus after getting back to the deck and approaching the young shadow-wielder. He had abandoned the crow's nest – there was no point anymore. “We're going to stay on this ship for as long as possible. We'll ride it in until we can cross with the least amount of swimming... 'cause once we hit that water, there's no guarantee we'll be surviving the swim.”

Crash!

The ship jolted forward as the wooden starboard side ripped around the ice cap. From here on in, they were at the mercy of the tugging currents. Cheryll was right – there was no point in even trying to navigate through. The ship was pulled sideways straight into another ice cap, and the port side let out a strange scream as the hull was punctured.

Oren could see that the ship was getting lower and lower in the water already. He take a sip of whiskey and said, “Here's to hope!”

7. Battle RP Guidelines

Well this can bring up a couple of interesting issues at first. For starters, in a fight based RP. The purpose of the system is combat, rather then plot, this means that there are a few new rules such as no Auto hitting, logic interruptions and the like. I?ll delve into that in a minute, but first let me introduce you to the most important thing in combat role-plays: what is considered a fair fight.

A fair fight often is when you post an attack, and the opponent posts a response if they are hit or not. A fair fight is logical, makes sense, and has each character as equals until the victor is decided. A fair fight only can come to a victory in one sides favour if the otherside admits defeat.

In a RP fight, typically its not about who has the best abilites, who makes the fastest sword stikes or even who is the most litterate. It?s about forcing your opponent into a logic corner until they have to admit that their character is killed. This ultimately takes a lot of smarts.

However, there are some big No-No?s everyone should be aware of.

AUTOHITTING!
First of all, the biggest issue is that of auto hitting. Auto hitting is a nasty habit that some new RPers out there have. Auto hitting, as the name would imply, is where you actually just strike an opposing character without giving them a chance to block.

For example
N00b wrote:
I draw my sword and slash you across the chest. Your cut in a horrendous fashion and blood goes everywhere. YOU DIE!!!11! Lol OMG!

Well this has the obvious problem of the person who was being attacked had no opportunity to guard to begin with. N00b just struck the opponent and killed them. End of story, this is obviously not fair.

A Good RP would write something like this.

Good RPer Wrote:
I drew my sword, and prepared to slash down vertically, hoping to cut you across the chest. My intent was to kill you in one move.

The good RP here uses the format of preparing for a strike, this is okay, but still it means the person you are attacking has the issue of being able to control how your fight turns out. This means that it gives them an excuse to GodMod. (I?ll explain GodModding in a minute.)

An Excellent RP on the other hand writes something like this:

Swordsman
My character draws his sword, raised it and slashed down, hoping to leave his opponent with a ghastly cut across his chest. If it were not blocked, the opponent would be killed.

This is excellent, not only is it in 3rd person, which increases the format of the post dramatically. But it also has a forum of objectivity. In this post, you attack, but you also give the opponent the opportunity to dodge/counter attack. You lead up to the attack; you don?t actually post its outcome, that?s the defending characters responsibility.

GODMODDING!
Now the counter to auto hitting is GodModding. GodModding is much worse then auto hitting because it is much harder to prevent. GodModding is where, as the name implies, means that you make your character virtually unstoppable, unbeatable, and un-killable.

Now I?m not saying that there is nothing wrong with dodging a hit. In-fact, there is not anything wrong with dodging every hit if you can do it logically based on your character. The problem is when you do this in situations where your character would normally not be able to guard or escape. Let me give you an example

Swordsman wrote:
You are strapped to a navel cannon with an unbreakable chain. I fire the cannon. You are a regular human being. (Thus logically you cannot escape)

Now normally, under anyone?s rules, if you were in this situation you would be blown to bits. However, somehow you manage to escape?

N00b wrote:
I jump of the cannon, using my average human speed and strength; I am unhindered by the unbreakable chains. I survive like always!!!!11! lol OMG! And even though you pulled the cannon as I still on the chains, I bend time with my NORMAL HUMAN MIND, and then escape.

Sigh, I?m not even going to explain what is so wrong with this. (GodModding) I feel it?s pretty self-explanatory. GodModding will be punished ruthlessly, in other words the presiding judge can ?puppet master? (puppet mastering is controlling an other persons character.) your character, post for you, and the report the actual outcome of the fight.

You will be ?unfairly? treated if you attempt to GodMod. So Beware.

:: Logic Interruptions ::
Another Important term you should get familiar with is logic interruptions. Logic interruptions are a sound part of combat where you take what the opposing character did, and use it against them. Logic interruptions are highly important, yet be sparing in the use of them. To many can leave bad blood between two people.

There are three types of logic interruptions:
First, and probably the most important is the defensive logic interruption. This logic interruption is used to defend your character from an attack. Lets say we have a scenario in which one character is a mage, and the other is a swordsman.

The Mage Wrote:
I Prepared my spell, a whirling mass of fire appeared over my head. I slowly spoke the incantations my family had passed down for generations.

?Hello, would you like some candy??

The words, like always, brought a glimmer of a tear to my eye. It took a while, but the fireball began to grow in intensity. Then I released it in a flaming torrent at my foe.

Now, the mage broke no rules in casting his spell. However, that doesn?t mean he is invulnerable to a counter attack.

The Swordsman Wrote:
I watched for a split second as the mage began to cast his spell. The fiery death that soon would be launched towards me worried me. Thus, like any smart man, I drew my sword and attacked him. ?That should end his attack?, I thought to myself.

Now naturally, the mages spell has been interrupted, possibly cancled. This means that his spell besides what he posted in his post would not have the opportunity to be launched. This then means the mage would have to disregard his post after the logic interruption and have to continue with the fight as if he had never completed his spell.

For those DnD buffs, this is very similar to an ?attack of opportunity?.

Next, and most importantly comes the offensive Logic Interruption. This type is used to attack a character, rather then defend you from an attack. This type, unlike the previous one does not change the actions the opposing character took, but rather takes advantage of them. There is not a real issue with this logic interruption, since most people will naturally use it. The main purpose behind this type of logic interruption is that ?I don?t necessarily stand around while you do your thing.? For this example, let?s say to people are fighting on a rooftop, and one jumps off and the other jumps off to follow him. ((Kind of like that dumb matrix scene.))

Trinity Wrote:
I jumped off the building to escape my pursuer.

The Agent Wrote:
I saw the human female jump off the building. I was sure of the pathetic life forms demise, but just to make sure I jumped off the building as well. Hoping to reach towards her and grab her. Making sure my own body would weigh her down, and rocket her to ground even faster.

As the ?agent? jumps to follow trinity, she is still falling, but she still can also perform other actions.

Trinity Wrote:
As I watched the agent jump off the building after me, I drew my gun and began to fire at the location the agent would soon be.

Of course, unlike the matrix, trinity probably would end up getting a face shot on the agent. Thus this would possibly kill the agent.

The final type of logic interruption is Mechanical. This type is almost identical to Defensive logic interruptions. However it is used only after their has been an OOC (Out Of Character) debate. This type of logic interruption is usually used by only a judge, and it is to correct incidences of GodModding or auto hits.

Example:

Swordsman Wrote:
I slash my sword at you, I aim for your neck hoping to get a slice.

1337 NinaJ Wrote:
I dodge your attack by running through the blade. Then I teleport right behind you and throw a million Kunai! Because they have accelerated due to the moon, the kunai hit you with impossible force. Their million-ness cuts you to pieces, I win!!!11! lol OMG!

Swordsman Wrote:
((Occ: you realize that IS impossible under any of the rules of physics, in ANY sense? But relax; I?ll get a Judge to judge the fight.))

A PM to a Judge later.

Judge Wrote:
((I agree with Swordsman on this one 1337, your attack was impossible, thus I will post what would of actually happened in all fairness sake.))
1337 Ninaj jumps back and avoids the swing.

These, in a nutshell are logic interruptions.

6. Character Creation Guide

Well, to quote someone else on this, I would probably say:

The best way I know to explain it is in percentages.

Most players divide their characters up on three things subconsciously. The three primary statistics for a fighter of any kind is Physical, Mental, Spiritual.

If you are mostly focused on Physical, you will find that your body is a well toned machine, capable of taking a great deal and dishing out just as much. With physical being your primary concern, you'd find that your body won't be affected by magic, where as mental powers would blow you to bits.

Spiritual powers give you an extreme connection to your body and soul without touching any kind of physical training. This gives you magical ability to turn psi fighters into minced meat, but a warrior will turn you into a hackey sack.

Mental power simply means that you are so focused in your mind that you can manipulate the world around you with thought. As such, you can turn the physical fighter into a child at your feet, but because magic is, in fact, intangible, you can't touch it.

Combining this or that would seriously drain that sort of statistic. Like... A Phy/Spi would be able to throw flaming punches, but would crumble under intense pressure of mental power. Spiritual and Mental warriors are outstanding against most things, but a single hit would turn this guy into a grave filler. Mental and physical fighters are great too, but they really can't touch magic. It hurts them. Bad.

Yep.

Also, another thing that this person didn’t mention was that you could develop a ?themed? Character. Such as a drunken master or the like. Whose abilities are all centered around a certain idea.

:: Application Forum ::
User Name:
Characters Name:
Age:
Bio:
Apperance:
Short Description of what your does:
Physical, mental, or magical:

PM me all applications, I will need to review them to make sure your character is fair.

5. Player Scores/Standing

Not currently applicable.

3. The Rules

-Obey the TOS of this site.
-Be respectful.
-Listen to the fight Judges. These people are chosen for their high degree of logic in fights. ((Though you don?t have to listen to them outside this thread.))
-NO GODMODDING, NO AUTOHITTING
-Stay in brackets when talking out of character Like so: ((Hello, How are you.))
-You do not need to join the arena to fight in the arena. You join so that you can be placed in the rankings. ((a soon to come feature, once I figure out the higharchy))


4. Battle Types

Type 1 :: No weapons can be used by any fighter.
Type 2 :: No energy, Ki, or magicks can be used by any fighter.
Type 3 :: All fighters are rendered completely blind for the duration of the match. Type 4 :: All fighters' equipment, clothing, and item weight triples.
Type 5 :: All fighters are linked together by an indestructable 20 ft chain held around the waist.
Type 6 :: A magnetic field surrounds the fighters, pulling away all metallic equipment.
Type 7 :: A time bomb is set in the ring, which will detonate after five full rounds of battle, unless it finishes before then.
Type 8 :: All fighters are injected with a poison that lowers their physical abilities.
Type 9 :: All fighters have their hands tied together behind their back, with knots that cannot be undone.
Type 10 :: All fighters become completely deaf.

Arena Types

Setting I :: The pit remains unchanged, just a simple hole in the ground, with obsidian walls and a hardy packed dirt floor.

Setting II :: A winter wonderland, to say the least. The ground turns into tundra and permafrost, covered by a layered of powdered snow. Hail, snow, and sleet also fall from the sky at a moderate pace. Temperatures will drop as well, to nearly freezing.

Setting III :: Talk about a weaponmaster's dream! The pit transforms into a miniature Roman colosseum, complete with a sandy floor, and all manner of weapons dotting the walls. Swords, lances, guns, claws, if you can dream it, it is there.

Setting IV :: Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. In all honesty, this is probably one of the hardest arenas to take advantage of. The pit fills completely with saltwater, submerging and threatening to drown both combatants, not to mention the stinging effect salt will have on the eyes and wounds.

Setting V :: It's getting hot in here...Seriously though, volcanos are not the greatest place to fight. The middle of the ring will be drastically reduced to a small 10 meter circle, all the rest of the floor becoming molten lava. The heat is sure to make you work up a sweat, too!

Setting VI :: Now I'm free; free fallin'! No, really, you are, if you make the wrong move. The entire pit seems to fade away, leaving both fighters standing on one of hundreds of small platform that dot the open sky. Be careful you don't fall, though. It's a long way down...

Setting VII :: Welcome to the Jungle! Actually, it's quite unwelcome. The thick foliage is sure to restrict the movement of even the most deft of thieves, and the trees will stop most large attacks. The humidity itself can be enough to stop a man cold. Or hot, as it would be.

Setting VIII :: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Indeed, welcome to Hell! Scorching heats welcomes you, not to mention the brimstone that will make your eyes water. Of course, that won't matter very much. All the combatants will be surrounded in utter darkness, invisible to each other.

Setting IX :: Yay; the light at the end of the tunnel! This is Heaven, alright. Of course, you should be celebrating. Both fighters are rendered invincible (but not invulnerable) so fight like you mean it! Also, the massive amounts of mana in this place will keep you from running out of spell energy.

Setting X :: You wouldn’t like it when it’s hungry. The Arena has a violent nature of its own, attacking with the sand that covers the desert-like setting. Pits of quicksand open at random, and tidal waves of sand will shoot forward from time to time to consume the combatants.

Setting XI :: MORTAL KOMBAT!!! You remember the first movie – a narrow bridge over a massive spike pit. The spikes are thick and sharp, capable of putting a very large hole through anybody who falls into it.

Setting XII :: Who ya gonna call? In the middle of a large abandoned ghost town, the fighters face off with all types of houses, a large theater, and even a small armory as either cover or the stage for their brawl.

2. Introduction

There are four mountains in the world, scattered among vastly different cultures and scenery, with something far more to them. Several cultures in the past and present have discovered these mountains and explored them to find a large golden arch with a black drape covering the entrance… an enticing portal, but a venus fly trap of sorts to all who dare approach.

Those who have entered were separated from the world they knew, instead brought into an entirely different sort of place. The architecture seems old, yet completely foreign – Onyx steps led downward on a steep incline, winding for what seems like miles, with a gigantic onyx column encrusted with peridot rings every few feet. Each ring seems almost like a watchful eye, staring at whoever descends the stairs.

Aye, the walk alone frightens many. When they reach the bottom though, they have another mile of walkway lined with the same onyx pillars ahead of them before the real fright begins. The sandy trail seems to take days, but eventually comes to its close at a very peculiar site…

A coliseum with an unfathomed size was erected entirely out of stone, with several of the strange peridot circles along the top of the circular arena. Two great gates lay before the adventurer, almost screaming out to them – “Come in, come in! We’re waiting for you!”

Most cannot resist. Many simply don’t want to. Either way, the world entered when the adventurer walks into the great iron gates is something completely different from the one they were used to. Blades slam into each other, combatants sleep soundly in small cots on the inside, but it is the center that catches the adventurer’s eye – A brutal fight rages inside, each party using incredibly high force. Magic is slung around, weapons brandished and prepared to kill…

This place is known, even in legend, only as The Battle Arena.

Key areas in the Arena

Central arena: this arena, despite its simple appearance, is a work of unknown magic. It is capable of complete morphology change, making it possible for several different types of battles to occur.

Infirmary: this place, like the arena, is advanced. Enough so that it can always bring a character back from death, and keep em going! (Just so when you lose a fight, you don?t always need to make a new character.)

“I have walked through the gates of Valhalla and fought for a lifetime. I return to you today to warn you that Odin’s eyes cannot see this arena.”

Valhalla, some have called it. Others revere it still, but not as the battleground for their Gods. Most know it as folklore, spoken about in battle-centered cultures. Some, however, know it more intimately. Some have seen it. Some have fought in it. It is their tales that tell the strangest stories of all about the Arena – but the common agreement is that, in this place, the Gods have turned their eyes from them.
The thing is, most of the people there prefer it that way. A warrior’s paradise…

The Battle Arena

1. Exposition
2. “True” Introduction
3. Rules
4. Battle Types
5. Players and Scores (during tournaments)
6. Character Creation Guideline
7. Battle RP Guidelines

Yes, this is largely a copy of Megell’s old Battle Arena, with a few twists of my own. He and I talked about it and concluded that it would be fine if I were the one to bring it back. Hopefully it enjoys a similar success to the old BA.

OOC: I figure it's time to end the boat scene. It was essentially my tool to figure out the types of bonds that will be formed between the characters. I think we've established that, and I don't want to do much else on the boat. Any type of sea attack pretty much guarantees all of our deaths, because the sea creatures in this world are enormous and are, without doubt, more than capable of destroying the ship in a second. That in mind, the best option now is a time skip.

Any character development or relationship development you want to have ellaborated upon by/with another player, feel free to discuss this through PMs. I'm always happy to be surprised by players' collaboration. Ahoy!

Oren sat atop the crow's nest on the fifth evening, watching the icy waters around the ship with what can only be described as boredom. The days had become routine: Wake up, eat, drink, and maybe talk to the kid. The nights were even more routine - every evening, he had his shift in the crow's nest for an hour. After watching nothing for an hour, he would head to dinner and then lay motionless in bed for hours before finally drifting off to sleep. He was trying his hardest not to get back into the habit of pushing himself to a daily pass-out. Addicted as he was, he knew that he would have to think clearly once they hit land.

Land. If only. All Oren saw were icebergs... but then, there was something that seemed too large to be an iceberg. Upon closer examination though, maybe not - it was just a very large cluster of icebergs. And they were headed straight for it for some reason. Watching for a moment longer, Oren saw why. The moving horizon opened the view like theater drapes to reveal a giant landmass behind the cluster of icy spikes.

He shouted down to Cheryll, "Hey! I see land, but there's no path to it! How are we getting through here?" Before she answered though, Oren had the feelitng suspicion that there was no intention of this ship making it through in one piece. Damn. It was about to get very cold...

Did somebody join the forum to make us buy viagra? This seems an odd choice, what with the teenage Canadians dominating the forum's population...

"Hey, don't just walk away from me!" Oren shouted as Hector turned to Cheryll. Being completely ignored set him over the edge; he walked forward, dropping his katar and getting ready to beat his fleshy face to a pulp. Before he got that far though, Hector had started to cough up blood. He collapsed, complaining about his rib. Damn. Oren knew that he must have still caused some damage by kicking off his chest.

And now he was asking for painkillers. Oren had a lot of that, including some intravenous stuff, but his addiction clamped his mouth shut before he even began to make the offer. 'What if I run out?' he thought. Why should I give this guy peace when I can't have it?' It was in that moment that Oren saw the extent of his problem... would he really let a man lay in agony so he didn't deplete his stash?

The answer was yes. He would. Oren said nothing, but he did get on the ground to try and lift Hector onto a bed. With Cheryll's help, they got him up onto the bottom bunk of the nearest bedset. After, Cheryll began ranting about teamwork and trustworthiness... Oren wasn't listening. Thinking about the drugs made him want another pill, and he was going through his usual futile hesitance. Despite all of the fights he had won in his life, Oren had never won this fight with himself. The score now was 0 and God knows how many.

He shamelessly took a pill out of his pocket and popped it right in front of them all.

Oren watched Hector's body carefully, looking for any kind of opening in his steel frame. 'Nothing... Damn,' he thought. The only way out was to put himself into even more of a predicament than he was already in and just hope that Hector was too slow to catch him. He thought about his options for what seemed like thirty or so seconds to Oren, but in reality only a small fraction of a second had passed. The decision was reached to go for the Hail Mary approach.

Utilizing his quick-moving muscles once more, he brought his legs out in front of him and propped them on Hector's broad chest, preparing to launch himself off into a back flip in order to distance himself from the steel juggernaut. Once he was back on his feet, he would either have to give up or keep looking for a weakness...

~~~

Cheryll rushed to the bottom of the ship at the sounds of yelling and the clash of steel. Already, a fight had exploded among the crew. She peeled through the ship, rushing as quickly as she could toward their origin with her rapier now drawn. She didn't want to have to put herself in the middle, but if the men were going to beat each other to death anyway, she'd rather them beat the one who couldn't die.

She ran into the room to see Hector and Oren in a full out brawl, Oren holding his blade and Hector completely covered in steel. Off to the side stood another member of the party, Ascerbus. Light was dancing around him madly, and his eyes gave the impression that he wanted in on the action. Cheryll was more worried about Ascerbus drawing blood than either Hector or Oren - the two of them would probably fight for hours without even touching each other. The shadow-clad assassin however was a completely different story...

"Apologize? Huh," Oren began, "I'm not sorry. I never actually did anything, other than fail to understand your shouting. You're the one that did all the yelling and punching."

But Oren didn't really see what he could do against the steel body. Armor piercing weapon as it may be, it couldn't go through a body made entirely of steel. Even his bullets would bounce off... but maybe if he fought long enough, he'd find a weak point. With a smirk, Oren jumped into the air. It was the perfect temptation for Hector to try and hit Oren like a limp pinata. At the first sign of movement, however, Oren planned to deliver a well-aimed kick to the moving joint. It was only a theory, but maybe Hector was forced to de-metalicize joints with movement... Hopefully, because otherwise Oren probably would be a limp pinata, not to mention attract everybody on the boat that was looking for a fight when his body was slammed into the ship.

Oren saw the knee flying like a rocket toward his chest, packed with all the deadly force it would need to break right through his sternum and damage internal organs. He quickly sidestepped the steely blow and, more to test the durability of Hector's body than for anything else, brought his katar slamming down into the leg that had just shot at him. It bounced right off, not even leaving a mark on his body.

"Ah... I won't be able to hurt you like that, will I?" said Oren aloud, keeping an eye on the steel man. He could already tell this match would end up a stalemate. Oren couldn't hurt Hector, and Hector's body was too bulky to achieve the speed necessary to hit Oren. If it came to a battle of attrition though, Oren knew he would lose...

Fallout 3 Oblivion with Guns

Not really. The leveling mechanisms are entirely different, to where you actually feel like you're making progress in Fallout. You don't just walk around jumping into firepits, either - encounters in the environment will sometimes just kill you. Plus, it has a more substantial plot.

As much as I loved Oblivion, I felt Fallout was a much better game, all around. Like I said, I actually felt like I was accomplishing something, not just jumping into firey holes for 10 hours.

Fallout 3.

Yes.

OOC: Virgil and I did something in his post that I want to point out – in dialogue situations, rather than make small posts and waiting for someone else to reply with another short paragraph, you can contact the person whose character yours is talking to and work out the post with them beforehand, thus streamlining the process.

“You’re a lofty one, aren’t you?” said Oren, humored by his manner of speech. It was just as hazy and shadowed as he was. “Alright, we’ll get out of the sunlight.”

So Oren was right – the kid couldn’t even operate in the direct sunlight. But he was also wrong about his control – he was better than Oren initially thought. He had perfectly removed all light from the perimeter of his hands. Very interesting indeed… What else could the kid do?

The pair of them walked off of the ship deck, passing an old man on their way into the crew’s cabin. Inside, it was still cold, but it was much darker save for the columns of light from the row of windows on one side of the ship. They went through this room down a trapdoor near the entrance and made their way into the crew’s dormitory, lined with several bunk beds. It was very dark here, and Oren could tell that the kid loved it.

“So,” Oren began, “You mentioned an injection. I was given my ability the same way… I can’t begin to count the days I spent locked up, praying for a chance to escape. It actually never came until a couple of kids decided they were going to bust out with me. Nero and Eron… They couldn’t have been older than 14. They took my ability and made them far more powerful than I am, albeit underdeveloped at the time. What’s become of them, I have no idea… So what’s your story? What brought you here?”

Oren offered this story as a gesture of good will. He didn’t tell it often, but knew that it might open things up to further indulge his curiosity. Essentially, Oren had just found a new item of interest. Oddly enough, while his mind was occupied talking to him and watching the light move in slow motion, the pain was dampened. Even if it was only for a few minutes, it was worth it.

Oren had seen many things, many abilities, in his life. One thing he had not seen yet, however, was what this kid next to him was doing. He was moving light around like it was nothing, like it didn't even require him to focus. He was notably impressed. As he watched, it only took him a second or two to figure out how his power worked. He could control energy associated with light, but he didn't seem to like it too much – his skin was far too pale. If anything, he liked to move it away from him. But he had to be somewhat new to this, because his control seemed sloppy. It was unlikely that anyone else would notice, but Oren's mind had gone into hyperdrive when he began to focus on the kid – he was seeing things in slow motion, giving him time to analyze it. In the same stroke as his inexperience, however, he saw the kids potential – there were shimmers that seemed like they were breaching far beyond the visible spectrum.

'Interesting,' thought Oren. 'Very interesting. I wonder what he's thinking about?' He was intrigued enough to actually approach him, something very uncommon with him. People normally bored him. They were too simple. This kid probably was too, but at least his ability was enticing enough for him to start a conversation.

“What's going on in that head of yours, kid? You seem very focused on something,” Oren said in his gruff voice. He wasn't looking at him instead staring off the side of the ship, but the target of his sentence was clear.

The man’s wild-looking eyes and less-than-charming smile would likely have frightened a normal woman. Cheryll, however, had seen far worse in her long life. The odd thing about him was that he had not been a recipient of one of her letters. In fact, she’d never seen or heard of him before in her life. All of the others, even Oren and Ascerbus, she had at least heard of from prison camp records. Not him though.

But no, that wasn’t right – the last name was familiar. But from an odd source. Was she mistaken…?

’So either I should have him killed,’ Cheryll thought, ’Or make him useful to me.’ She weighed the options while he spoke and made her decision before he finished. With a smirk, she replied, “We can always hope, right?”

But while that might be the answer everybody was able to hear, she drew closer to the doctor. Wistfully, she cast her hair aside and moved in toward his ear, whispering, “I’d like to speak with you in private tonight.”

She stepped away and turned around, leaving a key to the captain’s cabin in his hand. Maybe this would turn out well for her after all…

OOC: Alright! Badass. Everyone that I was waiting for is here, save for Megell, but he’ll come when he comes I guess. I’m probably not going to take more than one or two more people, just so that the situation doesn’t get out of hand in group combat scenarios. Having to wait for 10 people to post before you can do anything is a pain.

That aside, I’m going to lay down a ground rule – if you are inactive for four days, I will assume control of your character temporarily. If you return within a week from the day I take control, you may continue playing and I will relinquish control of your character. If not, I will write your character off somehow, most likely by killing them. Any questions, comments, or concerns should be sent to me via PM.

So, let’s get this show on the road!

Oh, and by the way - any new character sheets, PLEASE SEND THROUGH PM.

It hadn’t been very long since the small group of travelers set sail from New River, but the frigid cold hadn’t taken more than a few hours to set in. Oren felt fine, relying on the whiskey he’d brought to give him warmth and company. He wouldn’t approach the others -some of them were creepy looking, and others just looked like they’d be a buzz-kill. Whatever. At least when he was intoxicated, the time passed a little faster.

’Still,’ Oren thought, ’I need to be at my best for this trip.’ But then, what was his best? If his mind was clear, his head hurt too bad to function. If it wasn’t, his powers felt like they did years ago, when they were young and unwieldy. Would that be enough…? He pondered this while tossing one of his bullets in the air to see if he could catch it between his thumb and index finger. He was testing his thought speed and reflexes. He caught it perfectly, as always.

As he thought about this longer and longer, his mind guided him away from any relinquishing of his habits. Whether that was his addiction or his rationality speaking was something that even Oren didn’t really know. He just liked the option that let him escape the pain, one deep swig of whiskey at a time.


“Oren, was it?” asked a woman’s voice. Cheryll Adams, the captain of their expedition.

“What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Not checking to see if his sarcasm had phased her, he took another drink and tossed the bullet into the air again, higher this time.

“Well, when you can make time, we need you to take a shift watching for icebergs or sandbars in the crow’s nest. I think you’ll have an opening in your schedule in about an hour,” she said in an orderly tone. Then, just as soon as she had come, she walked away.

“Bitch,” mocked Oren quietly. Still, at least he’d have a nice view from atop the wooden vessel. The coastline to the east was majestic in its own right, and the sun should be setting in about an hour. The arctic seas were never more enticing than when the sun reflected brilliantly off their waters. And for now at least, he was happy with that – just the boat, the coast, and the sea. It was a break from all the damn trees. He’d been looking at damn trees since he was born, and they’ve only gotten less and less impressive over the years.

The night would be soothing; almost as soothing as the whiskey he had just poured down his throat. He snatched at the bullet again, but his attempt was soon followed by the thud of it hitting the ground. Damn.

As long as you can post once a day, you're welcome to jump into the RP I just put up. I'm not restricting access at all with this one, so if it ends up a little big, oh well. I think it'll probably cap out around 5 players though, maybe 6. That's within an operable range, assuming everyone is reliable.

Naturally, it'll probably die eventually, as do all RPs... but I'm gonna try and keep this one kind of short, so maybe we'll get a ways into it before one of the members stops posting or vanishes. Hell, maybe it can go all the way if I assume some level of God Modding in the case of inactivity. I might just kill off characters that prove inactive for a few days. We'll see how it goes.