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Luned
12-17-12, 09:18 PM
Read this quest here! It's turning out freaking amazing and is totally worth your time. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25044-Child-of-Darkness)



Beneath the city, the belly of Ettermire groans with a growing population of grotesque and violent sewer-borne creatures. Late night disappearances have become alarmingly common and the residents are beginning to notice that something isn't right. With some digging, one might discover that this new problem isn't mere coincidence; something has affected the urban fauna, which means someone must be at fault.



It's sort of a cross between teenage mutant ninja turtles, various superhero plots, crime noir, horror, and a bunch of other stuff (I may or may not picture a carnivorous, mutated rat king living in the darkest depths of the sewers, appropriately nicknamed Splinter). The genre can be pushed in whatever direction we want.

I'm seeking 1-2 writers to participate in a thread (maaaybe 3). Be available to post at least once a week. Your posting style doesn't matter, I just prefer to write with active people who want to have fun. All types of characters are welcome, from the heroic to the antiheroic, both fighters and non-fighters, including possibilities for the role of the individual at fault for the mutations (mad scientist/alchemist, perhaps?). (Note: I might not use Luned, I'll likely choose the character from my stables who would have the best dynamics within the group that evolves.)

If you're interested, post below or drop a line on AIM and we'll start a conversation. I'm going to be a little choosy about participants, but only because I want to put together an interesting team! People who bring ideas to the table or have goals for their characters that can be worked into the plot are preferred, I want the thread to be canonically significant to everyone involved if they desire it so.



Plot stuff:

Flint is hired to do a security detail on an important black market shipment destined for Ettermire. It contains various products of value, the most valuable of which being Swaysong. Luned travels to Ettermire to obtain a modest quantity of Swaysong and stumbles upon a mess, as something happens and the shipment is stolen right out from under them. Flint and Luned both embark on investigations of their own, then end up working together when they bump into each other over a lead regarding the sewers and encounter the first of the mutants. They discover a little dark elven girl named Helethra there and escort her home, where they learn she lives in a medical research facility with her mother Ezura, who is an expert in biological oddities. Ezura agrees to help them if she can. Somewhere in there, Ezura consults with Dianus concerning working with the occult. The next day, when they go back to the sewers to continue their investigation they encounter the rat king, Flint probably kills some stuff (with Aurelianus' help?), and they find Mesta there on "research". Luned assists in identifying an unusual substance in the dissected remains of the creature. This lead ties into the girl's mother's laboratory from before, but before they can go back to investigate this further, Helethra reappears in the sewer... but different. dundundun! (Tusk and I figured out the mother/daughter backstory, but it feels too much like spoilers to write it all here!)

Swaysong XX: A powerful, illicit substance sourced from the closest thing Althanas has to angels.

Ezura: Tall and surprisingly wiry for her scholarly vocation, this intimidatingly built dark elven scientist spends her days cooped up in her Mutter Museum (http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/)-like laboratory where she studies medical oddities and attempts to find a cure for her daughter's ailment. When science fails her, she turns to the occult.

Helethra: Quite young and about four and a half feet tall, this elven child is troubled beneath her sweet surface due to the social anxiety that surrounds her deformity. Her arms, legs, and face are covered in plant-like growths, which build to the point that her skin begins to resemble the rough, cracked earth more than a child's.



Notes:

• Doll thing

Tusk
12-17-12, 11:26 PM
I'd love to, if any of my characters work for what you've got in mind. Throm (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25011-Thrommesh) is probably my most "heroic" character, and would work best in a group, but if you need a villain, consider Flint. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24631-Flint-Skovik-(Level-0))

I'll try and be on AIM as much as I can as the week goes on, but my schedule is all over the place at work because of the holidays.

Luned
12-18-12, 12:40 AM
Cool! I've got questions about how your characters might fit into the plot, so I'll PM you about it. (No big deal about AIM, it's just convenient sometimes.)

Aurelianus Drak'shal
12-18-12, 03:52 AM
I'd be up for it, if you'll have me. I don't have AIM, unfortunately, but you'll find me here most nights.

I can offer Aurelius as an anti-hero for the group, and he can handle himself in a fight..

And to be fair, how could anyone pass up an opportunity for sewer mutant shenanigans?

Schematism
12-18-12, 07:18 AM
Volunteering! :)

Luned
12-18-12, 12:37 PM
PMs sent! I have some ideas brewing, but they're completely changeable at this point.

Luned
12-19-12, 01:13 AM
Been talking to you folks and holy crap, so many awesome ideas! So far we've got a general plot and it's looking awesome. If more people are interested in participating, even after we've gotten started, speak up. I want to keep the number of people participating on a large scale relatively small, just because threads can quickly become unmanageable, but there are plenty of opportunities for cameos and such if they might have something to contribute!

Anyways, we've got a general plot brewing. We can keep brainstorming in this thread if anyone thinks of improvements! Btw, there's plenty of wiggle room with the outline below, I'm just a planner so I like to make sure it all makes sense as a starting point.

Flint is hired to do a security detail on an important black market shipment destined for Ettermire. It contains various products of value, the most valuable of which being substance XX. Luned travels to Ettermire to obtain a modest quantity of XX and stumbles upon a mess, as something happens and the shipment is stolen right out from under them. Flint and Luned both embark on investigations of their own, then end up working together when they bump into each other over a lead regarding the sewers and encounter the first of the mutants. They discover a little girl there and escort her home, where they learn she lives in a medical research facility with her mother, who is an expert in biological oddities. She agrees to help them if she can. When they go back to the sewers to continue their investigation they encounter the rat king, Flint probably kills some stuff, and they find Mesta there on "research". Luned assists in identifying an unusual substance in the dissected remains of the creature. This lead ties into the girl's mother's laboratory from before, but before they can go back to investigate this further, the little girl reappears in the sewer... but different. dundundun! (Tusk and I figured out the mother/daughter backstory, but it feels too much like spoilers to write it all here!)

Substance XX: Needs a name, but I'm bad at names. It is possibly sourced from a creature found on another plane. Suppose someone has learned how to summon them directly to Althanas; perhaps this is what catches Aurelianus' attention and gets him involved with the conflict?

Aurelianus Drak'shal
12-19-12, 03:15 AM
So far, so good. Must admit, I am SO glad the Rat King may be making an appearance. Such a fun concept.

And as for my reason for getting involved, I like it- Aurelius is still pissed off about being chained to this plane, so if he finds someone who can come and go at will, sheer vindictiveness will win the day. :P

If you want, I can get involved in the search a little earlier, by sheer coincidence; Aurelianus finds a portal left open somewhere in Alerar, pops through to find it goes to one of the many Hells, realises with it open, something could have come through, and starts trying to track it down. When, dun dun dun, it leads him to the Ettermire sewers.

Luned
12-19-12, 11:28 AM
Sounds good! Maybe they can converge in the sewers either the first time they run in with the creatures, or the second time when it's the rat king dungeon boss battle? (Otherwise Flint will be doing all the killing of stuff, as Luned's fairly useless and Mesta seems more scholarly about the whole ordeal... could use an ass-kicking addition.) We've got some time to figure out specifics.

I'm hoping to get an intro up between Thursday and the weekend, btw, to set the mood and background of the substance and stuff!

***Also: Edited plot outline into first post for easy reference. Mordelain's character Dianus will be participating to help develop the backstory behind the mother/daughter, plus I added basic descriptions of their characters.

Aurelianus Drak'shal
12-19-12, 12:35 PM
Well if you need an arse-kicker, Aurelius can get involved whenever you need him. :P

Luned
12-22-12, 03:31 AM
Here's the thread! (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25044-Child-of-Darkness) You can skip the first chunk if you want, I've just been waiting for an opportunity to establish Ags' business IC... sorry about the length.

Flint: Go ahead and post whenever you're ready, but no rush or anything! I figure you can deal with the setup and theft any way you want, whether the substance just mysteriously disappeared or there was an ambush or something else. Luned could be walking in after everything's happened or in the middle of any action you have in mind. The only real plot points are the thief is Ezura (unrecognizable if they see her) and she'd have escaped through the sewer (obviously).

Others: Once we're done establishing all that jazz, we can figure out when you'll come in. : ) : )

Also, I have no idea what the heck to call the substance. I tried to invent a few clever names tonight and my friend told me they all sounded like perverted slang, so maybe someone else can give it a shot. haha

Luned
01-05-13, 02:50 PM
Aurelianus: Would it be IC for your character to have underground connections and possibly be inspired to hunt down some Swaysong that is rumored to be missing? Just trying to devise a good reason for him and the others to meet up when they go into the sewers for the second time. I'm not sure what would fit the background of your character best, since I think we've gone in a direction that doesn't touch on the planes thing.

Aurelianus Drak'shal
01-05-13, 07:34 PM
Underground? Yeah, that's easy enough. He's an Anarchist, so he'll have connections in all sorts of illicit dealings.

And as for the Swaysong, you may not have touched on the planes, but you have touched on one of Aurelius' pet hates- angels. He despises the divine, so if he has the chance to get involved with something harvested from them, he'll gladly take it on.

Not only that, but if the Swaysong can be used for certain purposes, Aurelius may try to hunt it down to see if he can break his bindings to this plane. I leave the choice of how you want to introduce me completely at your discretion.

I can work with anything, so go nuts.

Dianus Ogham
01-07-13, 02:38 PM
Hello all.

Thank you, Luned, for the wonderful explanation via PM.

On behest of my own madness, I've gone for a shorter post to build up to Dianus and Ezra meeting, and the remainder of your PM coming to fruition. It felt too epic to cram all that into one attempt - it'd break flow for a 3000 word block to bitch slap the reader. It is entirely draft, so will amend as needed, hopefully I can catch up and contribute to an already stellar thread :). Thanks again for having me!

Scarovese
01-22-13, 07:51 AM
I realize that this is already well underway and you all have a plot set up, but I wanted to offer my own character for cameo involvement. At the beginning of my second quest (currently in draft) Scar is going to be heading out into Ettermire to get a feel for the city. I'd love to pop into this quest and have some chance encounter with a character or two, maybe unwittingly lending support or throwing up an obstacle. I don't know how that would work and it you'd be interested, but I'd love the chance! Let me know :)

Luned
01-22-13, 01:19 PM
Sorry, we're almost done with the quest, actually! There are only a couple more rounds of posting left, so it's a little too late to bring in new people. Thanks for your interest, though, and good luck finding threads. : )

I'm hoping to do another group one after this and the tournament wrap up, too, so keep an eye out in a few weeks.

Scarovese
01-22-13, 01:51 PM
I certainly will, thanks!