Bloodborne-esque Plotting and Ideas

[BurdenKing]

Well if the hunters all came from the same order of warriors, that would imply that such an order of warriors would infact be necessary, leading me to wonder is Astoic is the only city of the modern age to be victim to some form of corruption.

Also, on the COrruption thing. We have literally not a single mechanic, just fluff. And i'm sorta pessimistic when it comes to people properly handling a response to things that would cause sanity loss in games.

I'm new here though, so maybe I'm just unfamiliar with this environment and people here actually do do that properly.

Also, why yes too many mechanics can be restricting to the point of killing a game, having no stated limit in anything can quickly spiral out of control.

The city corrupting you would make sense, but i think that would have to be developed as either the curse affecting you the long you remain in the city, or seeing things done by others to increase your corruption.

 

[Xam]

@Grif ♥
Making it a mechanic would make it too restrictive, but leaving it solely up to individual jurisdiction might also be too loose as well?

@Kingofheart
Well if we're going by the same mechanic Souls/BB goes by, it's be both Physical and Mental, although the mental goes a lot faster than the physical. As for the Hunters, I'd assumed it'd be a individual thing.

@BurdenKing
I'm not sure if we've laid this out, but I assumed the world was similar to the others, sort of Post-apocalyptic, where theres very few people left over and stuff like an order of hunters are long gone as people try and just survive, it's what would make our characters not average? How (some of us at least) are actively trying for a solution?

The corruption would be a thing that is all around I think, being in the city, talking to other people, just the atmosphere itself is toxic to peoples sanity?

The corruption thing can be subtle, justifying things to yourself that you wouldn't have before, journeying to parts of the city that no "sane" person would. Although perhaps that's too subtle?

 

[Grif ♥]

I actually second this. But i´ve also been wondering to ask what "corruption" entails exactly, is it just a mental change? or is it also physical? Can a corrupted being never pull back from corruption?

Another question i´ve been wanting to ask is if Hunters all belong to a same organization or they are all freelancers pretty much? In the case they belong to a same group, what kind of training they´ve received?

The specifics are yet to be determined, but it'll fill the same role as the Darksign and the beast plague. I think the only thing we have decided is that it gives the infected a strong craving for human flesh.

How about~
The consumption of which does nothing to help with their ailment, but it does allow one to think more clearly for a while. I imagine it would make individuals violent, erratic, and eventually cannibalistic, but feeding on human flesh might serve as a way to alleviate the symptoms for a short while... at the cost of breaking your sanity in the long run.

Physical effects are more difficult to determine, but I imagine those that refused to succumb to their cravings or were unable to feed would be most human looking. The lower city would be full of crazed, but otherwise humanoid enemies, as they were too poor to acquire much human flesh. Meanwhile the upper city, which is known for its great feats with human meat as the main event, would be filled with abominations. King Baldr, who I imagine would remain in some undiscovered tomb, having fed on human flesh in huge quantities during his reign and would have likely begun feeding again once new settlers arrived, would be a true abomination.

Well if the hunters all came from the same order of warriors, that would imply that such an order of warriors would infact be necessary, leading me to wonder is Astoic is the only city of the modern age to be victim to some form of corruption.

Also, on the COrruption thing. We have literally not a single mechanic, just fluff. And i'm sorta pessimistic when it comes to people properly handling a response to things that would cause sanity loss in games.

I'm new here though, so maybe I'm just unfamiliar with this environment and people here actually do do that properly.

Also, why yes too many mechanics can be restricting to the point of killing a game, having no stated limit in anything can quickly spiral out of control.

The city corrupting you would make sense, but i think that would have to be developed as either the curse affecting you the long you remain in the city, or seeing things done by others to increase your corruption.

That's fair enough. As I said, I just have a personal bias against mechanics like that in roleplays. Usually I find the best way is to just trust everyone, because the people who genuinely care about the roleplay will stick to it, and the people who don't'll vanish soon enough. ;D If the consensus is to implement a hard mechanic, then I'm totally up for it.

Speaking of the origin of the characters, does anyone have any ideas on how the group came together? There's the possibility that they were all part of a group of dedicated hunters as we've discussed, but if anyone else has any ideas of preferences then it'd be great to hear 'em!

 

[Shalashaska]

Spoiler

Planning for the lore is going swimmingly for all those curious! I suspect it'll be done sometime around next week, tho thats probably an overestimation.

This. This guy is amazing.

Spoiler

I think corruption would be limited if we made it a mechanic. I'd rather have the process just be something we personally keep track of, and change the way our characters react and respond to situations accordingly. I've never been a fan of too many strict mechanics in roleplays though, so I am bias against it.

That's a really good point, actually. And, when you put it like that, I'm inclined to agree.

Spoiler

I actually second this. But i´ve also been wondering to ask what "corruption" entails exactly, is it just a mental change? or is it also physical? Can a corrupted being never pull back from corruption?

Another question i´ve been wanting to ask is if Hunters all belong to a same organization or they are all freelancers pretty much? In the case they belong to a same group, what kind of training they´ve received?

I think there can be varying forms of corruption. While most corruption is a mix between physical and mental, I believe in some it can manifest in purely physical (leaving someone with a perfectly sound mind) and in other it can be purely mental (leaving them looking like a regular human being).

Hmmmm. I'm not exactly sure about that part yet, but perhaps each hunter is a freelancer? That way it gives a bit more wiggle-room in terms of their background and training, to add a bit more diversity.

Edit:

Of course Iwaku wouldn't show me there were messages other than those... Sigh.

Spoiler

Well if the hunters all came from the same order of warriors, that would imply that such an order of warriors would infact be necessary, leading me to wonder is Astoic is the only city of the modern age to be victim to some form of corruption.

Also, on the COrruption thing. We have literally not a single mechanic, just fluff. And i'm sorta pessimistic when it comes to people properly handling a response to things that would cause sanity loss in games.

I'm new here though, so maybe I'm just unfamiliar with this environment and people here actually do do that properly.

Also, why yes too many mechanics can be restricting to the point of killing a game, having no stated limit in anything can quickly spiral out of control.

The city corrupting you would make sense, but i think that would have to be developed as either the curse affecting you the long you remain in the city, or seeing things done by others to increase your corruption.

Well, as GM it's technically my responsibility to keep track of these things. While I'll naturally trust RPers to do their character justice and acknowledge things that happen which may corrupt their character - if I do see someone just completely ignoring any form of corruption at all (without a real reason) then I could just speak up about it and mention it to them.

Spoiler

The corruption would be a thing that is all around I think, being in the city, talking to other people, just the atmosphere itself is toxic to peoples sanity?

The corruption thing can be subtle, justifying things to yourself that you wouldn't have before, journeying to parts of the city that no "sane" person would. Although perhaps that's too subtle?

I can see this being a primary way of noticing mental corruption and I like it.

Spoiler

The specifics are yet to be determined, but it'll fill the same role as the Darksign and the beast plague. I think the only thing we have decided is that it gives the infected a strong craving for human flesh.

How about~
The consumption of which does nothing to help with their ailment, but it does allow one to think more clearly for a while. I imagine it would make individuals violent, erratic, and eventually cannibalistic, but feeding on human flesh might serve as a way to alleviate the symptoms for a short while... at the cost of breaking your sanity in the long run.

Physical effects are more difficult to determine, but I imagine those that refused to succumb to their cravings or were unable to feed would be most human looking. The lower city would be full of crazed, but otherwise humanoid enemies, as they were too poor to acquire much human flesh. Meanwhile the upper city, which is known for its great feats with human meat as the main event, would be filled with abominations. King Baldr, who I imagine would remain in some undiscovered tomb, having fed on human flesh in huge quantities during his reign and would have likely begun feeding again once new settlers arrived, would be a true abomination.


That's fair enough. As I said, I just have a personal bias against mechanics like that in roleplays. Usually I find the best way is to just trust everyone, because the people who genuinely care about the roleplay will stick to it, and the people who don't'll vanish soon enough. ;D If the consensus is to implement a hard mechanic, then I'm totally up for it.

Speaking of the origin of the characters, does anyone have any ideas on how the group came together? There's the possibility that they were all part of a group of dedicated hunters as we've discussed, but if anyone else has any ideas of preferences then it'd be great to hear 'em!

And this is perhaps a perfect example of how physical corruption could work.

I don't think a 'hard' mechanic is needed. I think we can just trust the other RPers and if we notice something amiss, speak up about it as we normally would in any RP.

I think it could be mix and match. Some could already be a group, some freelancers, duos, etc... It'd give a lot of leeway, in my opinion. But, more suggestions always welcome.

 

[Grif ♥]

I'm a fan of the players being freelancers who have decided to stick together. Safety in numbers and all. In every game since Demon's Souls the goal of the protagonist has always been to discover the source of the curse/disease in the setting and stop it, so I imagine our characters start off with similar goals... although due to changing circumstances that could easily change.

And I think that something else should be impacting the kind of enemies that we face as well. Dark Souls had demons and dragons running amok alongside the undead while Bloodborne has witches, old ones, and all sorts of other bizarre creatures. Just to keep the types of enemies we face a little more diverse, y'know?

I would suggest robots in the spirit of steampunk but that sounds a lot goofier said out loud. That's not to say that haywire machinery couldn't be a relentless problem to the protagonists, of course.

 

[Ascended Raider]

This is all getting hard to track, are we having a single group of freelance/duo/group of protagonists who meet up then? Or are we still including an alternate group of people who're already in the city, thus, are more corrupted, so see things differently from the newer hunters.

As for the corruption, I'm liking the direction it's headed in so far.

But robotic enemies? Steampunk or not, I wouldn't be a huge fan of something like that... Even if we did include them, we still have far more enemy types to conceive to be anywhere near DS or BBs level of diversity.

 

[Kingofheart]

Well, the freelance option may hold up best with what i had planned for a character. Basicaly he is a hunter with a certain degree of experience under his belt and who´s reason to purge the city in question is not pure at all. Rather it´s a sort of vengeance towards the connection there is between the events taking place there and the death of his daughter. Plainly, he believes that killing them all will somehow atone for his incapacity to prevent her death. This however wouldn´t mean he is a person who is completely sensitive, except for that matter alone, he is rough and simply so determined to achieving his goal, that he will look for the options viable to preserve himself enough to complete his personal vendetta. Of course that is, unless the interaction with the other characters and the enviroment somehow save him from this almost self-destructive endevour.

 

[Grif ♥]

Meanwhile I had planned on my character being in the city for quite some time, one of the few who have managed to avoid becoming infected, and working with their mentor to try and develop some kind of cure; to no avail, of course. With the discovery of new hunters my character would take to the upper streets with them in search of the true source of the disease.

The robot idea was a joke. I imagined the steampunk elements of this roleplay to not be that much radically different from that of Bloodborne. Even Dark Souls had some oddly complex devices, like elevators. I figured that there might be a power plant here and there, simple electric lighting, and a few more forms of powered transport (like trains and simple cars). Actually less steampunk and more on the cusp of the 20th century.

Although I'd have no problem with throwing an airship or two in there. Weeeeee.

 

[Mufasa Lives]

And I think that something else should be impacting the kind of enemies that we face as well. Dark Souls had demons and dragons running amok alongside the undead while Bloodborne has witches, old ones, and all sorts of other bizarre creatures. Just to keep the types of enemies we face a little more diverse, y'know?

Already handled, the the 3 Cities will have a wide array of enemies for you to fuck with......you need only unravel its mystery......but wheres an outsider like yourself to begin?

Meanwhile I had planned on my character being in the city for quite some time, one of the few who have managed to avoid becoming infected, and working with their mentor to try and develop some kind of cure; to no avail, of course. With the discovery of new hunters my character would take to the upper streets with them in search of the true source of the disease.

What I last said leads perfectly into this topic......I personally believe that the lore would be much better experienced as if the OC and Player were both foreign to the story, as if a character was even a week fresh to the madness, they would have a significant advantage over anyone new to the city. While I'm sure the allure of being a defined Harvester is extremely tempting, it'd make out for a significantly better experience if everyone was on the same level, and fresh bait. Not to say that the char can't be a Veteran warrior, or have some personal vendetta against the city...but having a high amount of experience with it would cause troubles. You'll have to simply trust me on this one unfortunately, but that's my two-cents on the matter(as someone working behind the lore).

PS.
Not only that, but considering this is souls inspired, shouldn't we stick to at least the origins and have the OC's fresh to the world? As every character in those line of games had little to no clue what they're getting into.

 

[BurdenKing]

I'm biased, but robots would be fun to have XD though, judging from the state of magic and the whole industrial revolution thing, I think I had an idea on how we could make it work.

Alchemic Automata

Basically using alchemy and steam technology at the time, people create either full on robots or robots with many biological parts stolen or donated from injured or killed workers. So these machines could be around the city, doing jobs they were designed to do, or also under the effects of the curse by affecting the bological componants.

 

[Ascended Raider]

Already handled, the the 3 Cities will have a wide array of enemies for you to fuck with......you need only unravel its mystery......but wheres an outsider like yourself to begin?

What I last said leads perfectly into this topic......I personally believe that the lore would be much better experienced as if the OC and Player were both foreign to the story, as if a character was even a week fresh to the madness, they would have a significant advantage over anyone new to the city. While I'm sure the allure of being a defined Harvester is extremely tempting, it'd make out for a significantly better experience if everyone was on the same level, and fresh bait. Not to say that the char can't be a Veteran warrior, or have some personal vendetta against the city...but having a high amount of experience with it would cause troubles. You'll have to simply trust me on this one unfortunately, but that's my two-cents on the matter(as someone working behind the lore).

PS.
Not only that, but considering this is souls inspired, shouldn't we stick to at least the origins and have the OC's fresh to the world? As every character in those line of games had little to no clue what they're getting into.

So... You're taking away character freedom? Whose to say an experienced harvester is any better off? The corruption already present in their mind could have a plethora of negatives in order to cancel out their experience. Working behind the lore is also nothing to do with the actual rules and character creation. Besides, why would the lore be better experienced if everyone was knew? Whose to say an experienced hunter/harvester knows more than the rest? They may have never left the lower level of the city. This is Souls inspired, yes. But this doesn't mean everyone has to go in blind, as in those games there was a SINGLE character. That mechanic changes now there are multiple.

Besides, it's hardly fair for you to make a decision for everyone involved based on your own opinion. I'd be interested in hearing the problems a more experienced character would bring, since all I see is a higher level of freedom and diversity with having player characters new to the city, and who're already in the city. Much like me and Grif want.

 

[Mufasa Lives]

So... You're taking away character freedom? Whose to say an experienced harvester is any better off? The corruption already present in their mind could have a plethora of negatives in order to cancel out their experience. Working behind the lore is also nothing to do with the actual rules and character creation. Besides, why would the lore be better experienced if everyone was knew? Whose to say an experienced hunter/harvester knows more than the rest? They may have never left the lower level of the city. This is Souls inspired, yes. But this doesn't mean everyone has to go in blind, as in those games there was a SINGLE character. That mechanic changes now there are multiple.

Besides, it's hardly fair for you to make a decision for everyone involved based on your own opinion. I'd be interested in hearing the problems a more experienced character would bring, since all I see is a higher level of freedom and diversity with having player characters new to the city, and who're already in the city. Much like me and Grif want.

I'm not taking away character freedom, I'm tossing in my opinion. I personally have just as much say in the char creation as you do.

I will admit though, I didn't take into account a character that's an experienced harvester/hunter yet unaware of the going on's of the city, but that still leaves the core of my concern.

I personally believe that the lore would be much better experienced as if the OC and Player were both foreign to the story

By having an OC that is wise to the workings of the city, you take away from some of the mystery of the world, no mater how little. It is(in my opinion) much better to witness than to be told. The purpose of lore isn't to be magnificent in concept(not that it should/shouldn't), but to provide the cast with a magnificent backdrop. I am merely worried that by giving some OC's a experience, it would result in deflating that backdrop.

I'm sorry for not making that clear before-hand, if I didn't.

 

[Kingofheart]

Already handled, the the 3 Cities will have a wide array of enemies for you to fuck with......you need only unravel its mystery......but wheres an outsider like yourself to begin?

What I last said leads perfectly into this topic......I personally believe that the lore would be much better experienced as if the OC and Player were both foreign to the story, as if a character was even a week fresh to the madness, they would have a significant advantage over anyone new to the city. While I'm sure the allure of being a defined Harvester is extremely tempting, it'd make out for a significantly better experience if everyone was on the same level, and fresh bait. Not to say that the char can't be a Veteran warrior, or have some personal vendetta against the city...but having a high amount of experience with it would cause troubles. You'll have to simply trust me on this one unfortunately, but that's my two-cents on the matter(as someone working behind the lore).

PS.
Not only that, but considering this is souls inspired, shouldn't we stick to at least the origins and have the OC's fresh to the world? As every character in those line of games had little to no clue what they're getting into.

If you think that is for the best i will take the advice and make something fitting more for a character who is new. Still i find it troublesome to picture a character who is pretty new at this, more on the fact that i´d have to go into detail about their former training and not depend so much on the experience to justify his prowess. I am still pretty clueless what kind of training could hunters undergo.

 

[Shalashaska]

I'm a fan of the players being freelancers who have decided to stick together. Safety in numbers and all. In every game since Demon's Souls the goal of the protagonist has always been to discover the source of the curse/disease in the setting and stop it, so I imagine our characters start off with similar goals... although due to changing circumstances that could easily change.

And I think that something else should be impacting the kind of enemies that we face as well. Dark Souls had demons and dragons running amok alongside the undead while Bloodborne has witches, old ones, and all sorts of other bizarre creatures. Just to keep the types of enemies we face a little more diverse, y'know?

I would suggest robots in the spirit of steampunk but that sounds a lot goofier said out loud. That's not to say that haywire machinery couldn't be a relentless problem to the protagonists, of course.

Robots~

And yeah, I think there may be some Hunters who are purely freelancers (only working alone) while others may travel in groups (3+) and some are just duos (2), but they ultimately wind up together in Estoic with the 'pretense' of 'saving' the City. It could allow mental corruption to manifest in interesting ways if some of the Hunters don't know each other.

Already handled, the the 3 Cities will have a wide array of enemies for you to fuck with......you need only unravel its mystery......but wheres an outsider like yourself to begin?

What I last said leads perfectly into this topic......I personally believe that the lore would be much better experienced as if the OC and Player were both foreign to the story, as if a character was even a week fresh to the madness, they would have a significant advantage over anyone new to the city. While I'm sure the allure of being a defined Harvester is extremely tempting, it'd make out for a significantly better experience if everyone was on the same level, and fresh bait. Not to say that the char can't be a Veteran warrior, or have some personal vendetta against the city...but having a high amount of experience with it would cause troubles. You'll have to simply trust me on this one unfortunately, but that's my two-cents on the matter(as someone working behind the lore).

PS.
Not only that, but considering this is souls inspired, shouldn't we stick to at least the origins and have the OC's fresh to the world? As every character in those line of games had little to no clue what they're getting into.

I think most of the OCs just need to be fresh to Estoic, with a few reasonable exceptions and leniency given.

I'm biased, but robots would be fun to have XD though, judging from the state of magic and the whole industrial revolution thing, I think I had an idea on how we could make it work.

Alchemic Automata

Basically using alchemy and steam technology at the time, people create either full on robots or robots with many biological parts stolen or donated from injured or killed workers. So these machines could be around the city, doing jobs they were designed to do, or also under the effects of the curse by affecting the bological componants.

I like this a lot, and I was going to suggest the same thing xD

So... You're taking away character freedom? Whose to say an experienced harvester is any better off? The corruption already present in their mind could have a plethora of negatives in order to cancel out their experience. Working behind the lore is also nothing to do with the actual rules and character creation. Besides, why would the lore be better experienced if everyone was knew? Whose to say an experienced hunter/harvester knows more than the rest? They may have never left the lower level of the city. This is Souls inspired, yes. But this doesn't mean everyone has to go in blind, as in those games there was a SINGLE character. That mechanic changes now there are multiple.

Besides, it's hardly fair for you to make a decision for everyone involved based on your own opinion. I'd be interested in hearing the problems a more experienced character would bring, since all I see is a higher level of freedom and diversity with having player characters new to the city, and who're already in the city. Much like me and Grif want.

I'm not taking away character freedom, I'm tossing in my opinion. I personally have just as much say in the char creation as you do.

I will admit though, I didn't take into account a character that's an experienced harvester/hunter yet unaware of the going on's of the city, but that still leaves the core of my concern.

By having an OC that is wise to the workings of the city, you take away from some of the mystery of the world, no mater how little. It is(in my opinion) much better to witness than to be told. The purpose of lore isn't to be magnificent in concept(not that it should/shouldn't), but to provide the cast with a magnificent backdrop. I am merely worried that by giving some OC's a experience, it would result in deflating that backdrop.

I'm sorry for not making that clear before-hand, if I didn't.

Think of it like a hunt or a rodeo - you have a general idea of what needs to be done, but with each hunt/bull, unforeseen things could occur because they're naturally different. I genuinely believe there can be a Veteran Hunter who enters the city with the ability to handle the monsters of the city, but unable to cope with the city. While there may be other places like Estoic in the world, at the end of the day, Estoic is still Estoic and some may not be prepared for it. I, personally, would find it intriguing to see an Experienced Hunter/Harvester go into the City with the intention of just cleaning it up, only to gradually learn he/she wasn't prepared for Estoic and what it has in store.

I think it'd be possible for an OC to have lived in the City without knowing some of the deeper, darker history and secrets that plague it. While they may know all the backroads, they may not know what all has happened in those backroads.

If you think that is for the best i will take the advice and make something fitting more for a character who is new. Still i find it troublesome to picture a character who is pretty new at this, more on the fact that i´d have to go into detail about their former training and not depend so much on the experience to justify his prowess. I am still pretty clueless what kind of training could hunters undergo.

Just take some liberties. I don't think all Hunters have to fight or be trained the same way. Some could have just taken up a weapon and, through grueling experience, learned how to handle monsters all on their own, compared to others who may have been taught by other hunters. At the end of the day, I think it'd be best if we left some freedom for people to formulate a background they're comfortable with.

 

[Grif ♥]

So we're actually going for the robot idea?

I love it when a joke becomes a serious component of a thing. 8D

 

[Mufasa Lives]

Basically using alchemy and steam technology at the time, people create...robots with many biological parts stolen or donated from injured or killed workers.

So we're actually going for the robot idea?

Fnafborne 3 confirmed

 

[Grif ♥]

Fnafborne 3 confirmed

Or Skynet Souls, by the sounds of it.

 

[Perfect Neglect]

So we're actually going for the robot idea?

I think this is now beyond me... ._.

 

[Xam]

Fnafborne 3 confirmed

Oh god no. Why would you do this.


Edit:

Alright, I'm having a little trouble understanding the components.

Are we still going for a Gothic/Victorian vibe? Just tossing in like, steampunk? Because instead of Bloodbornes world, The image in my head is more equivalent to The Order: 1886's world.

Also, if we're including robots that have "malfunctioned" and are seeking to destroy whatever they set their eyes on, are we going to partition the monsters by area? Like the undead/beasts/whatever in one area of the city and the robotic elements in the other? Or are they going to intermingle?

I think there might be potential for a scenario where the city is at war with itself, robots vs beasts/undead/whatever. Like the city is literally trying to annihilate everything inside of it, and the poor unsuspecting hunters are caught in between.

 

[BurdenKing]

idk if we're actually doing the robot thing, i was just putting forth a way a robot enemy could possibly exist in such a setting as our own.