Compendium

Subject: Compendium Sat May 22, 2010 10:56 pm

It's a lifestyle choice really. It wasn't like one day you woke up and said, "I'm bored, I think I'll go and kill me some monsters!" No, for some reason, since you were a kid you were just different from everyone else. You could never just follow the crowd. Even though it wouldn't have been so much easier, you always seemed to get lost along the way. That's probably why, as the years flew by and you aspired, like everyone else, to get the house, the cool car, the boat, the cabin to keep the boat at, the time-share, that it just all seemed pointless. Not because you weren't a hard worker, and definitely not because you have something against being comfortable. Hardly. It was because of all the damn vampires.

Monsters exist in many shapes and forms. From the pedophile that lives down the lane to the corrupt judge who abuses their power with impunity. They're everywhere, but society has become content to sweep them under the carpet. Now at some point in history, no one can really be sure when, but that festering quagmire became our foundation. Why? Well its a no brainer really, but this isn't some kind of philosophical debate on the ethics of man-kind, this is a story about what's really happening in the world. It's about them. Y'know, the Vampyres. They control everything! They really do!

It was hard to accept at first. Sure, you've always been a 'believer', but com'on, 'Vampires rule the world'? Really? Well, its true. Society has always been fascinated with the incubus. Sex, domination, immortality, what more could a person want? At least that's the way we're programmed to respond. A deep seeded way of thinking lovingly cultivated for centuries by creatures that we all believe are the fabrication of our own minds. Creatures that have possibly existed since before the dawn of man, ever so slightly manipulating our society through the centuries, keeping their nest safe and well stocked.

You did the research. You found the proof, although its all circumstantial. Every story, every movie written in the last few centuries have all been influenced and supported by an unknown silent partner. Someone who has had a significant impact, not only in literary debauchery but also the sex trade and anything else that survives upon degrading the morals of society. Its all connected, but you can talk until you're blue in the face about conspiracy theories. That road's already been blocked. People have been turned complacent about such matters. Your stories would fall on deaf ears. They'd just dismiss you as a nut, a whistle-blower, and you'd be tossed in the looney bin and they'd win.

Naturally, at one point you stopped and took a long, hard look in the mirror, staring at the person you were becoming and the voice reason screamed, 'Seek help!', and you considered it. You considered it, until the phone calls started. Things starting happening — unexplained things. At first you thought you were just imagining it, but then other people in your life were effected by your investigating. You wouldn't back down though. The price was heavy but you found the looking glass and once you put your eye to it there was turning back. Not after what you saw.

Vampires are everywhere. Not the cape wearing guy with the bad hair and dollar store fangs saying, 'I vant to suck yer blood.', but in the sense of immoral, soulless people who survive by sucking the life out of those around them. Not exactly something you can drive a stake through, but you learned that all this 'evil' was being fed by a single source, and over time it had birthed what was once only fantasies and nightmares.

You could see it now. The blindfold had been lifted and you couldn't put it back on, but would you if you could? You now see the world for what it is. Monsters are real. They hunt every night. They are vampires in the sense that they live upon the blood of others, creatures born in the images of their creators. Beings which you now know do exist. God-like monsters that have turned your world into a cesspool of deceit and moral degradation. Creatures that answer to one name. A name that when mentioned paints a picture of gothic beauty and passion because that is what they have made it to be. You and others like you know the truth and their is only one way to fight back.

ALL VAMPIRES MUST DIE!

Subject: Re: Compendium Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:51 am

SETTING

This is a modern day setting that takes place in North America because the freedoms of the 'new world' provided the ancient and powerful Vampires with a blank slate. The old world possessed superstitions that kept them at bay, but once they crossed the ocean there was no stopping them.

Your character is, to be blunt, a 'monster hunter'. They are among those rare individuals who are able to witness the supernatural known as VISIONARIES. For some reason, they are attuned it. Many people are, but most only catch glimpses, your character's get the big picture every day, seven days a week. When regular people are around these people who are more aware, it rubs off and things that would not other wise be seen become apparent, although their minds may not fully rationalize what they see.

This awareness could be explained as being able to see through the 'Veils between Realms'. It does not allow your characters to see everything with crystal clarity, it just means that if there are signs around, they'll pick up on them. Once they become more aware of what they are up against, then they'll see more.

CHARACTER CREATION RULES

You get one Main Character and can have as many Sub-characters as you would like. (Refer to the SYSTEM TOPIC for more details)

No filthy rich hunters that can afford rocket launchers and high-tech weaponry, please. You can be independently wealthy, but it's just not fun when someone has an unlimited arsenal and wealth at their disposal.

Your character's experience can be whatever you want, from novice to seasoned, but you may want to keep your experiences down so that you haven't 'been there done that' too many times. It's nice to have the experience but nobody likes a know-it-all. Just keep them balanced.

You are HUMAN and only Human. The moderator will decide during the story if there might be something strange in your character's blood line. If the writing warrants it, such a twist might be thrown in.

(While it may be unavoidable that your characters will end up being Sam and Dean Winchester types, from the series Supernatural, the characters from the TV series are off limits.)

THE MONSTERS

Monsters are generally evil. They don't always have to be diabolically stupid and they are never nice. You can throw in anything from werewolves to demi-gods, whatever floats your boat, but generally the 'hunters' get involved with them because they are doing something nasty. There are exceptions though, because your character is more aware of things, they are attuned to the Realm of Faerie. Faeries are very real, but should more or less be portrayed as they are in Hellboy or the movie Pan's Labyrinth. Many of the monsters your characters will be dealing with can possibly be defined as Faerie, such as Goblins or Kobalds. Faeries range from being mischievous to malevolent depending on their kind.

In reality, the power of the ancient, god-like Vampires, have conjured all these creatures. They live again, and if they never existed before, they do now. All monsters are admissible but the true Vampires that are cause of all the new 'evil' are simply unattainable. The characters will definitely not encounter them in the early chapters, and even when they do, it will just be a close call.

MAGIC

As a VISIONARY, magic is very real for your character. Ancient rituals, and spells which are reliant upon a willingness to believe and whose effects were generally the psychosomatic effects of a deranged or weak mind, will actually work for them.

Charms and talismans generate actual power when in their presence. In order to survive in a world where monsters will seek them out because they are different, VISIONARIES will have to use them to survive. Many supernatural creatures will be unaffected by modern weaponry. Your character will have to learn how to utilize charms and perform rituals.

Magic can basically be whatever a person chooses, but know that these powers will ONLY have power over the supernatural. A VISIONARY will be able to use their magic in the 'normal world' on 'normal people', but it will lack the power it otherwise would have against a creature susceptible to enchantments. Humans are, in short, extremely resilient against magic, which is why the power of it waned as they began, more and more through the centuries to dominate the world. Unfortunately, your character being mid-way between realms are more effected by magic than most. Their sensitivity to the supernatural works against them in this respect.

Subject: Re: Compendium Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:27 pm

SYSTEM

This story will be semi-directed. It's completely free-form, except I'll keep an ever watchful eye on the time of day and make sure it keeps on track. I'll also make 'moderator posts' once in a while to initiate time of day transitions when appropriate. Just about all monsters are reliant upon the night in some form or another, so naturally daytime dialogue should be short in most cases.

Character write-ups are not necessary in the beginning. You are free to introduce sub-characters and main characters without need of establishing any history. My reasoning, is only to make this more of story-tell, rather than a role-play. By eliminating a history, we must incorporate it in our writing as character development. After they have been written, you may then transfer some of that information to the 'character gallery' and start building up some reference material. Of course it all boils down to whatever works the best for you.

Everyone gets one main character, but you can have as many sub-characters as you want. That's why write ups really aren't necessary. You may want to submit some sub-characters and see where they go before turning one main.

All sub-characters are expendable. The writer that has created the sub-character stays behind the wheel so long as he/she does not interact with another writer's character. Once that happens, their lives are in the hands of the writing. For example: If your sub-character provokes another writer's character who say, has a bad temper and tends to shoot first, and ask questions later, the writer of that character had no choice but to write their character appropriately. Thus, the character with the bad temper will shoot the instigator. Some creative writing can of course come into play, but the point is that when we have to be accountable for any inaccuracies in our posts. This does not mean we have to write under a microscope, this just means, simply... don't get too attached to your sub-characters. They are just a means to an end and they are 'community characters', just always respect the personalities that have been given to them.

This story is all about the monsters. Magic, is really just a means to an end. These Visionary Hunters, are not trying to learn all they can about magic to become all powerful, because that would turn them into that which they are hunting. We should always try and maintain a definite line between Humans and Monsters at all times, and as previously stated these, creatures of darkness will never be our pals. ALL VAMPIRES MUST DIE!

In this story many of the monsters are loosely termed as Vampires because they all, in one way or another, survive by feeding upon Humans or 'goodness'. To them the term Vampire has become a generic term, because it was the rare, true Vampires that spawned all the evil in the world and re-awakened or gave life to monsters conjured by the Human mind and their own.

In short, this is just a good old fashioned, simple, monster-killing story. There are no monsters trying to be Human because they are depressed over what they are... they're monsters... they're evil... ALL MUST DIE!

» COMPENDIUM
» CTHULHU - Compendium