Live, Die, Live: A Story of Vengeance

[ThatGazzer]

Deep in the Hangman Wood,
Where nothing ever grows,
Where the air is filled with croaking crows,
A dark land where no one ever goes,
There, deep in dark, those darkest shadows
Come They Who Left Death,
When Death's door was unclosed
.- 1st Stanza, "Revenant", Nursery Rhymes For the Interesting Child, By Roth V. Baskinkelt.​

Once Upon a Time, in a forest far away...

There is an unmarked grave.

In the grave, there is a man.

He will live again.

What was his name?

[] Here Lies Kalinius Noren,
Who Lived for His Work,
And Died With It Stolen.

[] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
A Good Friend,
A Better Fall Guy.

[] Here Lies Ellis Dagart,
A Simple Man With Simple Loves,
Who Lost His Family's Loving Hearts.

[] Here Lies Tom Kilnson,
An Innocent Man,
Forced To Drink Poison.



Yes.

That's who it is, of course!

Shhh…

Do you see that?

He's waking up.



~LDL~

Where….where are you?

You remember...dying. Because of Them. You don't remember their name, their face, their voice. Everything is murky and warped, like looking through water. But you remember it's all their fault.

You're going to get your Revenge. You're going to get Vengeance if its the last thing you do. You swore it to them, you promised on your own grave that they would suffer for what they've done.

The World comes back by inches.

The sensation of cold. Then moisture. Then pressing weight, then lack of air the feeling of panic rising in your chest the only way out is up and you scramble digging your hands through the loose wet loamy earth, nails scraping up mud as you pull your body forward from your shallow grave and Breath!

Air.

A smell like fermentation and sour wine. But air all the same. Gods, how you missed it in the short time that it was away from you. If it was a short time. Death has no sense of time, really.

You're sitting in your grave. That's a little morbid.

You're naked, you notice, when you finally feel the cold, damp air against your skin.

You pull yourself up and out of the dirt and mud and look about yourself.

You are in a forest, filled with willow trees, tall and wide ones too. Things older than most king's bloodlines, if you had to guess. The ground is bare of grass, and the forest is dark. It must be night.

A glance above proves that assumption right, as the full moon fills the night sky.

You have no idea where you are.

But you do now know which way is north, thanks to the stars.

Better start moving. Something in you tells you to go a particular direction.

Question is, which way do you go?

[] North - You walk until the forest thins out into grassy hills, in the distance, smoke.
[] East - You walk until you find a river, that spills out into a massive lake. There seem to be boats in the distance?
[] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.
[] West - You walk until you find the oldest Trees, in the center, an old man.

---

Welcome one and all to LDL! I'm Gazzer, your GM.

You guys, however will be playing the part of a rare undead creature known as a Revenant. A vengeful soul who raged, raged, raged at the dying of the light until Death gave up and let you leave. They can be noted as such by their gaunt features, pale skin, bloodless wounds that weep a mixture of ash and grave mud and blue flames for eyes. It's not subtle.

Your only goal, Revenge.

But beware, as The Object of Your Vengeance is Powerful and not so easily Venged upon.

Live, Die, Live, is a mostly narrative game. Completing Goals, gaining achievements and being cool will gain you a little something I call VP or Vengeance Points. You can use these points to grow stronger, and be better able to take on That Which Has Wronged You.

Now, there are some basic rules to being Revenant, allow me to enumerate!

RULES OF THE REVENANT:

Magic Cannot Heal The Dead.

No form of magic can heal the undead, and you must suffer your wounds.

Thou Cannot Cross Thresholds.

The Magic the Gods wove into the lands and homes of Mortals is meant to keep out Monsters. Which you are one of, now.
Invitation necessary into households. Impossible to cross over "Holy Land" without dying shortly after.

Vengeance Sustains Ye.

Every action must somehow bring you closer to your revenge, if you don't take steps that bring your vengeance ever closer, you begin to weaken and die, permanently, this time. (It's a Bad End, Charlie Brown.)

But don't worry, their are upsides to being a creature that lives in the nightmares of men!

REVENANT PERKS:

Ye Live, Ye Die, Ye Live Again.

Death is not the end! Each time you die, you will return, somewhere between twenty-four to two hundred and sixteen hours later, naked and covered in dirt at the site of your grave. The only way to find sweet release from this never ending hell is VENGENCE! Or Slowly and Painfully dying denying your nature.

Vengeance Without Pause.

You don't need food, water or rest. Ever. You can keep going forever, if you have to. Also, as a member of the Undead, you can take quite a beating before you're gravedirt again. You lucky shambling mockery of life you!


Death Without Weakness.

Dying doesn't really slow you down. In fact, it makes you stronger! The only way to spend VP earned while in pursuit of Vengeance is to die. VP can be spent to give you new Supernatural Powers, like Regeneration, a Banshee Scream, a less horrifying vestige and other benefits! Spend wisely, as dying too often can give The Object Of Vengeance plenty of time to prepare for your inevitable arrival.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: VP does not bank between Resurrections. Use it or lose it)

Seek and Ye Shall Find.

You always know, roughly, the direction and distance of your Object Of Vengeance (AKA The Quarry) They cannot run, they cannot hide. Not Forever, mind. Not from you.



Remember, have fun and get your Revenge!

 

[ThatGazzer]

Character ​

Name: Jacob Jorrinson.
Aliases: Jack, Jack of Oldrye, Friendly Jack, Jojo (Childhood nickname)
Age: ...You actually can't remember.

Appearance: You don't really know, you haven't looked at your refection since you died the first time.

Resurrections: 1
Vengeance Points: 2

Powers​

Me and My Shadow (Rank 1):

In Life, you were a no good, dirty rotten scoundrel. You preferred 'Dashing Rogue' and thanks to your charm, most were inclined to agree. Not that it stopped the inevitable betrayal of your so called friends. It seems your Shadow was your only real friend in life, and so it stays by your side even in Death.

+Gain Control of your Shadow an semi-independent extension of your own body. At this rank, it can only interact with other shadows and cannot wander.
+ Minor Bonus to Sneaky Action.
- Your Shadow has a mind of its own, and sometimes moves without your direction.​

​

 

[ThatGazzer]

Shop​

Me And My Shadow (Rank 2):

A Shadow's only friend is the one they reflect, they are there when you're born, they're there when you die. They are First Friend and Last Friend.

+Gain Control of your Shadow an semi-independent extension of your own body. At this rank, it can only interact with the world through its shadows, effecting the real objects attached at half your own strength. At this rank, your Shadow can separate from you for a short period but at no greater distance than 20 ft
+ Bonus to Sneaky Action.
- Your Shadow has a mind of its own, and sometimes moves without your direction.

Cost: 3 VP


Undead Fortitude (Rank 1):

Death is many things, but most of all, it is an escape from pain and suffering. Thanks to your nature, you carry that dreaded peace of death with you, granting your body a level of resilience not seen in the living.

+ (Un)Natural Armor, At this rank, you gain a minor defensive boost against mundane weapons and a harm.
+ Skin like a gravestone!
- Skin like a gravestone!

Cost: 2 VP

Regeneration (Rank 1):

As long as you walk, as long as That Which Wronged you lives, unpunished. You will not stop. No mere wound will slow you, the fire of Vengeance within you reforging your flesh anew.

+Wounds Heal at a slow rate, turning wounds that take weeks to heal into ones that take days.
-Man, it looks creepy.

Cost: 2 VP

 

[Oshha]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

 

[LinkOnScepter]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye.

[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

This certainly seems interesting. Color me in.

Let's go test our new body on some random ne'er do wells!

 

[Cornix Argentus]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
A Good Friend,
A Better Fall Guy.

[X] North - You walk until the forest thins out into grassy hills, in the distance, smoke.

 

[BurningLaugh]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye.

[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

 

[veekie]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye.

[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

 

[Crawkid]

[x] Here Lies Ellis Dagart,
A Simple Man With Simple Loves,
Who Lost His Family's Loving Hearts.

[x] West - You walk until you find the oldest Trees, in the center, an old man.

 

[kinigget]

I am in

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

 

[ThatGazzer]

I'm gonna let this run until the morning.

In the mean time, to drive discussion I forgot to mention that each of the Epitaphs comes with a Inherent Ability. Freebie power, basically!

Feel free to speculate.

But they are related to the way they died, or to the person they were in life.

 

[egexxx]

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye.
[X] East - You walk until you find a river, that spills out into a massive lake. There seem to be boats in the distance?

 

[LinkOnScepter]

I'm gonna let this run until the morning.

In the mean time, to drive discussion I forgot to mention that each of the Epitaphs comes with a Inherent Ability. Freebie power, basically!

Feel free to speculate.

But they are related to the way they died, or to the person they were in life.

Click to shrink...

Ok, I'll try my hand:

Kalinius Noren: Obviously a very hard worker in life. Probably built up a very successful business. As such, we might have a better idea on the command/business structure of this world. Who to talk to, who is in charge, what the local prices are, if any of the shopkeepers are rivals, etc. However, someone stole everything he built up and killed him, which means that whoever did it is either exceedingly ruthless or just a damn good business man. Or the mafia/mafia equivalent.

Jack Of Oldrye: The current winning option. This guy was someone who you would really want to have as a friend. He was probably the one who people would point to and say, "This guy, man. This guy is cool." He was probably a social butterfly and had a lot of friends and acquaintances. As such, our power might have something to do with being able to make friends easily. This will help as not many people will be willing to become friends with a rotting corpse. He probably died, because one of his "friends" was a douchebag who was using him as a fall guy for something they did. Or he got framed for something he didn't do.

Ellis Dagart: Something, something, Taken reference. This guy was a family man through and through. He loved his family more than anything else in the world, and did everything he could to make them happy. This will probably give us something like "Family Bonds" or something. Where we can either tell where members of our family are at any given moment, or members of our family are more likely to help us/acknowledge us. He probably died because someone A) Killed him and his family, B) Stole his family from him and killed him, or C) Framed him for something he didn't do and made his family stop loving him, before killing him in "self-defence".

Tom Kilnson: Now this one I'm not so sure about. It's pretty obvious that this man was betrayed for some reason, but I can't tell what/who he was in life nor why anyone would want to. Maybe he was an upstanding law man who happened to get too deep into a conspiracy?

 

[Crawkid]

hmmm

Tom Kilnson: Now this one I'm not so sure about. It's pretty obvious that this man was betrayed for some reason, but I can't tell what/who he was in life nor why anyone would want to. Maybe he was an upstanding law man who happened to get too deep into a conspiracy?

Well I know some cop shows made me think that maybe someone poisoned him to get at his will or something...or thought he did something wrong and took justice into their hands without doing proper research.

 

[Xantalos]

[X] Here Lies Tom Kilnson,
An Innocent Man,
Forced To Drink Poison.

 

[Nevill]

[x] Here Lies Kalinius Noren
[x] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.

 

[Arcus]

[X] Here Lies Tom Kilnson,
An Innocent Man,
Forced To Drink Poison.

 

[ThatGazzer]

Vote Tally : Original - Fantasy - Live, Die, Live: A Story of Vengeance | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 4-17]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.
No. of Votes: 5
Oshha
BurningLaugh
kinigget
LinkOnScepter
veekie

[X] Here Lies Tom Kilnson,
No. of Votes: 2
Xantalos
Arcus

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye,
[X] North - You walk until the forest thins out into grassy hills, in the distance, smoke.
No. of Votes: 1
Cornix Argentus

[x] Here Lies Ellis Dagart,
[x] West - You walk until you find the oldest Trees, in the center, an old man.
No. of Votes: 1
Crawkid

[X] Here Lies Jack Of Oldrye.
[X] East - You walk until you find a river, that spills out into a massive lake. There seem to be boats in the distance?
No. of Votes: 1
egexxx

[x] Here Lies Kalinius Noren
[x] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed.
No. of Votes: 1
Nevill

Total No. of Voters: 11

Okay. Jack of Oldrye, and highway robbery it is!

I should have something by tonight.

Oh also,



You Have Earned: (1) VP!

Starting Power Unlocked: Me and My Shadow (Rank 1):

In Life, you were a no good, dirty rotten scoundrel. You preferred 'Dashing Rogue' and thanks to your charm, most were inclined to agree. Not that it stopped the inevitable betrayal of your so called friends. It seems your Shadow was your only real friend in life, and so it stays by your side even in Death.

+Gain Control of your Shadow an semi-independent extension of your own body. At this rank, it can only interact with other shadows and cannot wander.
+ Minor Bonus to Sneaky Action.
- Your Shadow has a mind of its own, and sometimes moves without your direction.

 

[LinkOnScepter]

In Life, you were a no good, dirty rotten scoundrel. You preferred 'Dashing Rogue' and thanks to your charm, most were inclined to agree. Not that it stopped the inevitable betrayal of your so called friends. It seems your Shadow was your only real friend in life, and so it stays by your side even in Death.

+Gain Control of your Shadow an semi-independent extension of your own body. At this rank, it can only interact with other shadows and cannot wander.
+ Minor Bonus to Sneaky Action.
- Your Shadow has a mind of its own, and sometimes moves without your direction.

Click to shrink...

So...we have a Stand?

 

[ThatGazzer]

So...we have a Stand?

Click to shrink...

Only if you get really good at posing.

 

[ThatGazzer]

[X] Jack Of Oldrye
[X] South - You walk until you find a road, on which someone is being robbed



You walk for a long time and the darkness of night gives way to the Sun, bloody and triumphant in its burning glory, leaving only thin, long shadows in its wake.

You keep walking. You hardly notice that you don't feel tired, despite the fact you've been walking barefoot in the woods for nigh on a day and a half. You spend a lot of time thinking about That Which Has Wronged you.

They were your friend, or pretended to be. In the end, you were just some...patsy to them. You grimace and you feel a heat behind your eyes. You knew they were doing some shady shit in the basement, Your Quarry insisted it was just some blackmarket middle man gig. He paid for the right to use the space, and extra for you not to ask questions. Inn wasn't making a lot of money, it never had. Everybody knew you as the sort of man who woudn't ask questions if they paid you enough. No shame in it, everybody had to eat.

But a Slaver Ring? You spit at the ground, disgusting.

Then that little, rat piece of GARBAGE.

Pinned it on you.

Sure, Ol' Jack never was a Saint. But you had some honor. Standards. Dignity, even.

Which was saying something, buck ass naked.

Still got HuNg fOr iT.

You'll get yours.

You'll get what's owed to you if you have to drag it screaming from the nine fucking hells.

You stop for a moment, when you realize your shadow stopped walking with you twenty or so feet back its legs stretching back to you, tethered to your feet it stubbornly stands. Waiting with arms crossed.

"What?" You find yourself asking your Shadow, as if this is perfectly normal.

Your inky mirror gestures to itself, then back at you.

"...It is a little odd, isn't it." Coming back from the dead was one thing, you'd hear stories all the time about someone bribing some church for a Resurrection Spell in gems worth thousands. You know the King was supposedly brought back from the dead with such magic after being assassinated, quickly and neatly ending some rumblings the city guard had about riots. It wasn't totally outside your experience.

But this? You Shadow has gone and grown a will of its own, and it didn't even ask first.

Shadow Jack (Jack Shadow?) sort of bonelessly ungulates its whole body in what you surmise is agreement. You nod back, trying to take this in stride as you did most things In Life. Except the last thing.

"So..." You begin, not entirely sure how a man is meant to go about talking to his own shadow. "Why'd ya stop in the first place?"

Your Shadow points, a little to the left.

You see it, through the trees twenty feet away is a road. Probably been there for a while, while you've been trudging through mud and stepping over tree roots.

There had been the road.

You feel your Shadow staring at you, with the ink like blackness of its ovoid head. I can't believe you didn't notice, that stare said. Communicating a good deal with very little to work with. You'd be impressed, if you didn't get the feeling you only understand so much because it's Your Shadow.

"We should be getting on that, shoudn't we?" You say, attempting to hold conversation with a mute refection. To be fair, you're a little out of practice.

Your shadow cocks its head a full ninety degrees, the cheeky fuck, and starts walking to the road without you.

"Hey!" you start, running after it, passing by it placing it behind you as is Right and Proper for shadows. Incidentally, this also puts you on the road. You hear...shouting? Curiosity peaked, you walk toward the noise to investigate. In Life, you might have walked away...but keeping your head in the sand and not looking into things had gotten you killed.

You're not the sort of man who likes making the same mistake twice.

"P-Pl-please!" You hear, one man begging several, much larger, much more well armed men. They surround him loosely in a semi-circle, cutting off a way forward for him and his wagon, The Merchant, (at least, you think he's a merchant) stands off the the side of the wagon, small chest open on the ground in front of him and filled with sliver coins. "I've given you all I can, any more and I won't m-make profit enough t-t-to keep paying your dam-damned toll."

"Well, thas too bad, innit Gov?" says the one you've picked out as leader, being the one in front of...four or five other men? Little hard to tell at your distance. His tone isn't really one that conveys a whole lot of genuine sympathy. "See, me lot gotta eat too, Gov. Toll collection is hungry work. And we is hungry, Lads, ain't we!?" He looks around to the others, who all laugh with practiced menace.

You could do something here. You could save the merchant, and kill the bandits. Hopefully, he'd be willing to part with some spare clothes as you're getting a little tired of being naked.

Alternatively, you could just...steal the clothes while the robbers and their...robee were distracted. He's bound to have something, in those other chests.

What are you going to do?
[ ] Fight yourself some heavily armed bandits naked with only surprise, audacity and your Shadow on your side.
-[ ] How?

[ ] Just steal from the guy, he's not your problem.

Did you know, your actions effect what unlocks in the shop? How you solve your problems and their consequences can give you new and interesting powers! Be sure to try new things, and remember: Death is not the End!

Click to shrink...

 

[BurningLaugh]

[X] Fight yourself some heavily armed bandits naked with only surprise, audacity and your Shadow on your side.
-[X] We shall use the teachings of the Strife of the Torment Defied! We shall bend, twist, contort, and break our body in anyway shape or form if it means we get an advantage, and get to bring the pain on these filthy scum buckets! We shall ignore the pain for we are already dead and we shall bring our unrelenting fury on these poor fools!

Edit:
[X] Play our theme song!

 

[LinkOnScepter]

[X] Fight yourself some heavily armed bandits naked with only surprise, audacity and your Shadow on your side.
-[X] We shall use the teachings of the Strife of the Torment Defied! We shall bend, twist, contort, and break our body in anyway shape or form if it means we get an advantage, and get to bring the pain on these filthy scum buckets! We shall ignore the pain for we are already dead and we shall bring our unrelenting fury on these poor fools!


Kick their asses, and try and get some information.

 

[ThatGazzer]

Afterwards, try and remember the name of the PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT who got us killed. Then, ask the merchant if he knows anyone by that name.

Click to shrink...

If you're just trying to find out where Your Object of Vengeance is, you know.

It's one of the benefits of being a Revenant. You know Your Quarry is down this road, four or five more days on foot, and up a little. Right at this very moment.

 

[Nevill]

[x] Just steal from the guy, he's not your problem.

We still were a shady sort in life, even if death made us more curious. Take advantage of the situation and move on.