Apologies for abruptly vanishing there, I was feeling kinda strung out from balancing a bunch of RL things at once along with writing, so I took a break from creating things for 6 days in order to avoid becoming burnt out. Now, like a shitty reversed version of Christian Genesis, I return to work on the 7th day!
Feb. 25, 2020 - wrote 421 words for Respect Your Elders turn 9.
Apologies for abruptly vanishing there, I was feeling kinda strung out from balancing a bunch of RL things at once along with writing, so I took a break from creating things for 6 days in order to avoid becoming burnt out. Now, like a shitty reversed version of Christian Genesis, I return to work on the 7th day!
Feb. 25, 2020 - wrote 421 words for Respect Your Elders turn 9.
Take care of yourself mate...you know it's kind of ironic, this talk of reverse Genesis. After all, now we Lizardmen who suffered the loss of a critical temple-city to the ocean, bring forth the flood against someone else.
Take care of yourself mate...you know it's kind of ironic, this talk of reverse Genesis. After all, now we Lizardmen who suffered the loss of a critical temple-city to the ocean, bring forth the flood against someone else.
Wasn't that another chapter or something? I only ever read the actual bible when I was a kid because I was bored, so I've forgotten a lot of it. But the thing with the flood was significantly after the genesis myth.
Wasn't that another chapter or something? I only ever read the actual bible when I was a kid because I was bored, so I've forgotten a lot of it. But the thing with the flood was significantly after the genesis myth.
But yeah, the flood's gonna be fun to write.
I'm fine, just been feckin busy (or at least feels like I've been).
Didn't write anything day before yesterday (Feb. 26), but I had about 10 minutes of free time the entire day so I'm not counting that.
Feb. 27, 2020 I wrote 116 words, gonna see what I can't get done today.
That turned out to be 234 words! I'll probably post the last accrued research bit tomorrow, that'll still give me about a week or so to finish up this one section and do some more work on the Ork Stabbening.
I only threadmark days that I could've written but didn't for whatever reason, as a way of reminding myself to buckle down and spend even 20 minutes on something. Or the little random snippets I've sometimes done.
Speaking of which, I don't believe I did any real writing yesterday (Feb. 29). Admittedly I was answering questions and whatnot, as well as hanging with a friend, buuuut I should've put some time aside so that gets the SHAME sticker. Today I did some stuff though.
March 1, 2020 - wrote 290 words for Respect Your Elders turn 9. Almost done the Plan segment now, which leaves me just a few pieces away from completion.
March 2, 2020 - Had to delete some progress and redo it better, so I'm not entirely sure how many words I actually wrote today. Not a ton though, probably around 60 or 70.
Aye, I'm alright. A combination of increased work (I'm in healthcare, so coronavirus just means I get more shifts if me coworkers get sick) and my brain deciding to pull some form of short-term depression or something (I hate saying that because it seems fake, but it matched all the classic depression symptoms only it faded away after about 11 or 12 days) has impeded my progress as of late. I've been writing a bit, though. I'll get back to reporting it in this thread when I have something actually substantial.
Aye, I'm alright. A combination of increased work (I'm in healthcare, so coronavirus just means I get more shifts if me coworkers get sick) and my brain deciding to pull some form of short-term depression or something (I hate saying that because it seems fake, but it matched all the classic depression symptoms only it faded away after about 11 or 12 days) has impeded my progress as of late. I've been writing a bit, though. I'll get back to reporting it in this thread when I have something actually substantial.
That's the thing though, I haven't really been working that hard. It's just that my brain has been Uncooperative, which means either my brain chemistry's borked, I have to go through some form of character development arc to resolve an issue I don't realize I'm having, or something else (possibly that I have actually been working relatively much and just don't realize it).
But hey, what're ya gonna do, only got the one brain, gotta work with it.
That's the thing though, I haven't really been working that hard. It's just that my brain has been Uncooperative, which means either my brain chemistry's borked, I have to go through some form of character development arc to resolve an issue I don't realize I'm having, or something else (possibly that I have actually been working relatively much and just don't realize it).
But hey, what're ya gonna do, only got the one brain, gotta work with it.
I will give you the advice that people gave me not half a day ago when I was struggling with my quest update
If your brain is fighting you every step of the way, punch that fucker into a wall and turn it off. Write without knowing what you're going to write. Just disassociate for an hour and wake up having written 2000 words of an update you didn't know you were writing.
A technique I've learned to get the brain flowing is to just stream of consciousness write into a google doc for a bit. Don't bother editing or trying to make it coherent. Just whatever you're thinking, even if it's repeating the same word because you're stuck on it or lamenting that you can't think of anything. Whatever. Just write.
It's not a 100% guaranteed fix, but it's given me the occasional breakthrough.
I will give you the advice that people gave me not half a day ago when I was struggling with my quest update
If your brain is fighting you every step of the way, punch that fucker into a wall and turn it off. Write without knowing what you're going to write. Just disassociate for an hour and wake up having written 2000 words of an update you didn't know you were writing.
A technique I've learned to get the brain flowing is to just stream of consciousness write into a google doc for a bit. Don't bother editing or trying to make it coherent. Just whatever you're thinking, even if it's repeating the same word because you're stuck on it or lamenting that you can't think of anything. Whatever. Just write.
It's not a 100% guaranteed fix, but it's given me the occasional breakthrough.
Funnily enough, that's what I usually do as a part of my writing process. Almost none of my stuff is edited after the fact, I jut churn it out and let it lie.
Anyhow, got a good bit of progress done today. Forgot to count but I'd call it around 500-600 words or so?
Wrote around 1384 words today! The ork assassination missions have been planned out in my head for a while now, so it's just a matter of laying them out.
Oh right, while I was solidly in bleh-land I went and reread a collective roleplaying game I was involved in back when I was still only just developing my writing skills (I'm talking, like, first forays into moderately lengthy snippets territory), got nostalgic, and decided to write up the opening post of a hypothetical spiritual sequel to it. I probably won't run it right just now, given my previous track record with running multiple projects at the same time (though maybe with this quarantine that could change...) but I figured I'd show off the opener at least.
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The year is 2032, and the world is rotting. It is not a visible sickness; in fact, by many standards, the world has never been better. Business is booming, profits continue to soar, the great cities of the world grow without limit. It is a withering of the soul that afflicts humankind. Gargantuan corporate entities amass more and more power and wealth to themselves, squeezing out any semblance of competition in the markets. The gap between rich and poor grows ever larger, the common masses slaving away for subsistence wages while the ultra-rich elite hoard their treasure like the great dragons of old. The air grows thick with smog, water clouds with particulates, and every day the goodwill of humanity dies just a little further.
There are those who say that there never was any magic in this world, that the gods of old were fictions devised by humanity to explain the unknown. Even among those who believe in the supernatural, the vast consensus is that whatever magic there once was, it left long ago. But there are those who hold out hope still – daughters following pagan traditions laid down by mothers dozens of generations ago, ghost hunters, amateur mages and satanic cultists, all hoping against hope that their dreams are not in vain.
It is only now that those hopes are vindicated, for it is the dawning of a new Age, and magic has come back into the world. Seven individuals, through a cosmic fluke, have awoken to find the fire of the gods running through their veins. Humanity's sole dominance over the world has ended, for now it is the Age of Renewal, where the divine is reborn and myth reenters the world.
You are one of these new gods. What form your power takes is up to you – what matters is that you wield it. You will change the face of the world, reshape it to your liking, and rule over it for an age or more.
Welcome to Age of Renewal, a game where you play as a god! This is a little different from most godhood games - where many focus on the gods shaping and reshaping the world with their power, creating mortals, and fighting over worship and power, this game is not set in an unshaped universe, or even a primitive world where fantasy tropes hold sway. Instead it is set on our own Earth, just a little ways into the future - not far enough that everything's become cyberpunk, but just far enough that the world has effectively turned into a corporatocracy.
The world doesn't believe in gods anymore. It has its own idols, history, and the murky grey hubbub of everyday life that the supernatural just doesn't fit into. Yet here you are, the avatars of a new Age, changing everything you touch with the magic at your fingertips. What kind of god you decide to be is up to you - are you a monster, some great demon sealed away long ago, only to awaken now? Are you a child of this new age, a downtrodden worker with images of impossible technology running through your head? A practitioner of the old ways, perhaps, an amateur witch or wizard whose magic starts to actually work?
Of course, you won't start out a full god, and for the moment you'll have all the troubles a mortal has to deal with - you've got a body, and god or no, you'll have to pay the bills if you want the lights to stay on. What's more, the world will react to your actions. Magic up vast riches out of nowhere and you may just get the taxman on your ass. Attempt to set up a cult devoted to you, and you might find that the criminal underworld doesn't like you poaching their recruits, and has sent a hit squad after you.
That said, let's lay out how this will work.
Turns: Each turn will take place over the course of about six months (for now - timescales are apt to change as the game progresses), starting in January 2032. The choices you make determine what your character does over that time span.
Setting: This game is set in a gigantic, generalized amalgamation of every big city. It has a hundred names, but none that really matter. It's the concrete jungle of the near future, where the skies are perpetually grey, the air is smoggy, everything is run by corporations holding so much power they resemble crime syndicates more than chain stores, and everyone's looking to step on the guy below them for a chance to climb up the societal ladder.
In other words, the perfect sandbox to grow your legend in! It's got pretty much any feature you can think of - sleek financial district, outlying slums, walled-off suburbs, decaying ghettoes, seedy docks and wharfs - if it fits in with the image of a city crumbling from the inside out, it's there.
Actions: These are what you do in a turn, and they're divided into three main categories.
Null Acts: These are when you do something without the assistance of any supernatural abilities, such as talking with other people or robbing a slew of houses. Some will automatically succeed, but more challenging actions (i.e. robbing a bank) may require the roll of a 20-sided die to see if they succeed.
Half Acts: These are when you call upon your powers to aid you in an otherwise-mundane endeavour. They still require a roll - you can pull off an impossibly long shot, but if your target trips over a curb just as you fire, you'll still miss - but you'll recieve a bonus to your roll that depends on your Power (see below).
Full Acts: These are cases where you exercise your abilities to supernatural ends. Summon a subservient spirit to your side, smite your foes with inexplicable bolts of lightning, create a potent artifact with powerful abilities. Full Acts will generally always succeed unless directly opposed by another Full Act - what can't be controlled are the consequences of using your power.
You have 1 Full Act per turn, which you can divide into 2 Half Acts. You can't stockpile Acts, with the exception of 'leftover' Half Acts (if you spend only one Half Act in a turn, leaving the other) which may be used the next turn. I may hand out additional Acts as I feel is appropriate, such as if your character has amassed a large amount of worship or some other such accumulation of power.
There's no limit on the number of Null Acts you can do in a turn, but please just use them to detail important stuff; don't spam a billion of them per turn.
Character Sheets:
Name: Self-explanatory.
Epithets: What title or titles are you known by? Leave this blank for the moment, you'll accrue them as time goes on. Think of these as your godly titles.
Appearance: What do you look like? What's your outfit?
Backstory: What was your life before this? This helps me to create plot hooks for your character and keep things balanced.
Theme: What flavor do your abilities have? Do you wield classic, wizardly magic, or the dark powers of hell, or something else? This helps to keep characters feeling distinct from each other.
Symbol: What symbol represents you? Can be anything really, just make sure it fits your general theme as it's likely to become your calling card.
Skill: What were you good at before you became a god? Grants a +5 to rolls relating to this skill.
Power: See below explanation. This starts at 1.
Power is the measure of how close you are to becoming a full god. It goes from 0 to 5, with 0 being an ordinary mortal and 5 being a full-on god. Your Power is increased by leaving your mark upon the world – gathering worshipers is a method of this, but far from the only one. Vanquishing mighty foes, attaining a long-sought goal, and making the world different in some way are all ways of increasing your Power. Each level increases the scope of your capabilities, allowing you to perform mightier deeds.
0: Mortal – You are ordinary, and have no supernatural abilities.
1: More Than Human - Something has awakened in you that elevates you beyond the norms of humanity. +2 to Half-Act rolls.
2: Heroic - You are a larger-than-life figure, a hero in the classical Greek sense, who may commit great or terrible deeds in equal measure. +4 to Half-Act rolls.
3: Myth - Striding out of the mists of legend, your influence harkens back to the power held in olden days. +6 to Half-Act rolls.
4: Demigod - You stand at the threshold between the mortal world and the divine. +8 to Half-Act rolls.
5: Divine - You are a god incarnate, master of all you survey. The only thing that may oppose you is one of your own kind.
Name: Viktor Drachenseele.
Epithets:
Appearance: He seems at first glance to be an older gentleman with hawkish, severe features – his longish hair is silvery, his eyes are steel, and the suit and tie he wears are slate grey. When angered, however, he changes – his hair shines a reddish gold, his eyes go slitted like that of a great predator, and his teeth seem to sharpen, almost becoming fangs.
Backstory: Long ago, a greedy dragon threatened many kingdoms with destruction, having enthralled the minds of many men to his will. Through the efforts of many heroes, he was defeated and sealed away underground. He laid dormant for thousands of years, his body decaying and turning to dust over the years, until his tomb was breached by an earthquake. Now he returns to his old hunting grounds, clad in mortal form, seeking wealth and power as he did in the past.
Theme: Viktor uses his powers in a classically draconic fashion, exercising power over fire, twisting the minds of mortals to his will, displaying unnatural strength, and other such things.
Symbol: A dragon with red eyes coiled in on itself.
Skill: Moneymaking, both legal and illegal.
Power: 1.
Hugo Johnson, on the whole, was a rational man. Numbers were his trade, the office cubicle his domain, and in all his forty-seven years he'd never seen anything to shake his placid conviction in the mundanity of everyday existence. Bergensen Inc, the accounting firm he managed, was a very middle-of-the-road company – it had never done all that poorly, but never enjoyed any big successes either. It was able to survive by existing beneath the notice of the gargantuan whales that swam in their particular market, snatching up the jobs that giant conglomerates like Ymir and Arges considered beneath their notice. It was a miniscule, uneventful existence, and Hugo was content with it.
All that said, there was something about the man across from him that made the hairs on the back of his head stand up.
Viktor Drachenseele was tall, unnervingly so, and possessed of strong, angular features. His silvery hair was pulled back tightly from his face, and his body was well-built under his slate grey suit. His steely eyes gleamed from under hawkish eyebrows as he stuck a broad hand out to shake. "I am glad you could meet with me, Mr. Johnson," he rumbled, his German-accented voice deep and resonant. "Our partnership is sure to be a fruitful one."
"Erm," Hugo said, scratching at his bald spot. "It's always nice to have a new client interested in doing business with us, but I'm afraid I haven't been told what you're here fo-"
Viktor raised a finger and Hugo stopped speaking, halted by an irresistable compulsion. "I am not from around here, Mr. Johnson, but where I am from it is customary for he who comes calling to propose what he intends to enter into. Do I have your permission to do so?" His gaze bored into Hugo's brain, the slitted eyes seeming to glow. The accountant nodded numbly, his mediocre willpower not able to fight Viktor's magnetism.
The grey-haired man grinned, a wide smile with large white teeth. "Excellent," he rasped, and began to speak.
His voice seemed to become layered and melodious, resonating deep within Hugo's skull.
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
And as he listened to Viktor speak, he gradually lost his train of thought. What had he come here for? He couldn't remember. Drachenseele's eyes were shining like bloody diamonds, sharp light exuding out from within his skull. He could not look away.
He was brought further and further under the man's thrall as his serpentine voice spoke, the thrumming tones reverberating into his soul. Drachenseele was Master. Master was All. His Will Be Done.
"Yes," Drachenseele hissed. "Very good, my thrall. You are the first of my servants, entirely mine in body and soul. Mine to command. You shall serve my every whim as it was in the old times. You'd kill yourself for me if I asked, wouldn't you?"
Hugo nodded. There was no question. Master was All.
"Good. There is no need for that, however. There is much to accomplish before the day is out. I must assemble a proper hoard before I may truly be comfortable in this city."
Full Act: Viktor enthralls Hugo Johnson, the head of Bergensen Inc, a small accounting company. Hugo will obey his every wish and assist him with his goals as well as he is able. For now, he is to continue his regular duties and act as normal, giving Viktor a face to hide his financial dealings behind.
Null Act: Viktor, through Hugo, guides Bergensen Inc through its financial decisions, attempting to increase the company's wealth and/or influence as much as possible.
You can use pretty much any kind of writing technique in your acts - first person, omniscient narrator, SCP-style documentation, whatever pleases your fancy. Just keep the quality high if you can manage it, and remember that I'm looking to make this more of a shared narrative than a play-to-win game. What's interesting is always better than what's optimal.
If you're interested, PM me a character sheet and accompanying example Act - I'll list all the sheets later, but for the duration of the choosing I wanna build a bit of mystery. If you have any questions as to whether an idea you have would work, don't hesitate to message me either. I'll be accepting 6 players (though this number might raise if I get a lot of good entries).
Funnily enough I've never actually looked into Shadowrun beyond seeing a few memes about small children killing PCs with alarming ease, so any similarities are entirely coincidental.
And inspired by? The post is practically a stencil sketch of the original post of that game, though it'll go through some changes should I end up running it. Did you end up reading it through my sig or something?
Funnily enough I've never actually looked into Shadowrun beyond seeing a few memes about small children killing PCs with alarming ease, so any similarities are entirely coincidental.
And inspired by? The post is practically a stencil sketch of the original post of that game, though it'll go through some changes should I end up running it. Did you end up reading it through my sig or something?
Nah, I don't think any of them were SIs.
...
well, maybe one particular character had elements of that, but that wasn't a major factor. Everything else was just OCs as opposed to my semi-unoriginal idea, which in hindsight I really didn't play out as well as I should've.
