Bloodborne-esque Plotting and Ideas

[Perfect Neglect]

Alright, I suppose I should start by stating that I'm not looking to be the GM of this. I would be willing to co-GM with another person or two, but this isn't something I'd want to take on alone.

That out of the way, what were people thinking of in terms of ideas for plot, history, currency, etc? Before I share too many of my ideas, I'd like to hear others'.

I will state that I was hoping to create a world unique to this RP, but stay within the same general time period. (1860's?) I was leaning toward a sort of blend between London and Paris and/or Rome - giving an expansive area to work with. Plus catacombs. That is, by no means, set in stone - it is merely a suggestion and I'd love to hear other opinions and thoughts.

So, have at.

 

[Grif ♥]

I'm not one hundred percent confident in my own ability to run a game, but in the attempt that nobody is willing to be the GM then I could be persuaded to take up the role, with help from the rest of the group of course. I'd rather not be first in line with it, though.

Along with the setting, we'll also need some kind of blight that has ruined the city. The Plague in Bloodborne and the Darksign in Dark Souls being the two prominent ones in the actual games. It turns people mad and can transform them into violent monsters, either directly or indirectly, although the specifics of that depend entirely on how we decide to flavour it, which is what this discussion is entirely about. This plague would be related to the game's "currency" in some way; the equivalent of blood echoes or souls in this roleplay.

A blend of various European styled cities sounds like a good place to start. I imagine that the centre of the city will be a castle or a spire of some sort, as is all too common with these sorts of things, and it gives us a good, simple landmark to head towards in the roleplay.

 

[Ascended Raider]

Well, currency could be blood echoes. Although if we wanted this to be a more realistic Bloodborne-type thing, we could simply say (Insert country name) coins. The plot, should be largely similar to the actual plot. Although i'd replace the 'blood moon' ritual with a more 'sacrificial' ritual. I also think it should be largely free-roam based as well. Especially considering how some characters may want nothing to do with the main quest line. (Like myself). Some people may want to be villains, others beasts, hunters, hunters of hunters... etc... So having a quest line is brilliant, but I don't think the RP should be centered around it. I think it should be a 'open world' type thing.

Now, I love your idea for the setting. 1860s London/Paris would be a perfect general setting!

Now to discuss history, we need to discuss realism and features... Such as the cthulu spiders, do they still inhabit the world? Or do we have a different twist of our own? Do the nightmares still exist? Do we have a hunters dream, and a first hunter? Do we constantly come back from death? I personally think we should copy and paste the general history of bloodborne. So cthulu spiders inhabit the world, we have a first hunter, a moon (sky?) presence, with slight alterations. Like locations, bosses etc... The only significant difference would be mechanics, so we shouldn't all be immortal, and we couldn't take a hit from a 12 foot axe and then drink a small vial of blood and be all dandy...

And I'd be willing to help Co-GM as well, I don't frankly know how to even play the role as main GM so that's not happening!

 

[Grif ♥]

I was saying to Petticoatlane earlier that, while we could use blood echoes, I was thinking that we should change it. After all, this is a Bloodborne inspired roleplay, rather than a fandom roleplay, and I felt like a different currency and curse would help make itself more unique and give us more freedom to set the world up as we want it. It also helps in the case of people like me who haven't actually played Bloodborne, and so do not know a great deal about the game itself... and would help keep us away from nasty spoilers! I love the aesthetic and the atmosphere, but considering this isn't a fandom roleplay, merely an inspired one, it seems rather lazy to just copy the history and the lore. :p

And I imagine there would be some kind of overarching plot that, while we have no obligation to take part in, would still happen in the background. If a powerful individual performs some ritual to turn themselves into an enormous monster, that might still happen, and cause problems when trying to complete our own task.

Generally I think the three things we need to start with are; a setting, a general problem afflicting the setting, and a reason for our characters being there. That last one could easily vary from character to character though.

 

[Perfect Neglect]

As appealing as open-world type RPs always sound, I have very rarely seen them last longer than a month or so... It has been my (unfortunate) experience that roleplays lacking an overarching plot tend to die quite quickly. So I am in complete agreement with Grif on that one; characters wouldn't be obligated to take part in said questline or plot - though they would still be affected by it from time to time. It is also important to have players wishing to be antagonists/villains work a bit more closely with the GM (s) to ensure that things don't get out of hand. (e.g. Character death, OP powers/knowledge, etc). Again, that's just my opinion from my past experiences.

 

[Ascended Raider]

Copy and pasting the history may be lazy, but I doubt any of us come up with one as intriguing and gripping as the one Bloodborne has. And I agree we shouldn't have some things included in the game, Blood Echoes should be replaced with-In my opinion, basic money. I never liked the idea of currency being some mythical ball of blood/soul energy. And it should be spoiler free if this is our own Bloodborne type roleplay, I agree with your take on the plot line, and a method of boss characters. Personally, I'm hoping for my character to be boss-like. (Think Gascoigne inspired, so not overpowered like a Darkbeeast Paarl type character)

Now, obviously not everyone can run around as boss level characters, and giant monstrosities. So this would obviously have to have limits. Maybe 'first come first serve' type thing, and have three slots for villainous boss players? Each one with their own villainous goal, which would undoubtedly lead to conflict with the 'good' guys. Personally I love this idea.

A setting: 1860s London/Paris type land.

Affliction: So, something that turns people into beasts that isn't a plaque? Perhaps it could be a crossover between DS and BB. Perhaps a vicious bite mark, one which infuses the wielder with mood swings and great pain. The more progressive it gets the more violent they get, and the more painful it gets. If they wish to remove the pain they must devour human flesh. And when they do so, they become more beast like until the human within is gone. (Just a random little idea).

the general reason for our characters being there could be: They live there, they were prisoners in another country, dumped there as a sentence of exile, or they traveled there for whatever reason. (Again, more random ideas.)

In terms of the story arch you both misinterpreted what I said, I don't mean have no plot. I just mean don't force people to take a large active role in it, obviously as the plot progresses it would affect the environment and the players but those players wouldn't have to be a part of the general plot group.

 

[Grif ♥]

As appealing as open-world type RPs always sound, I have very rarely seen them last longer than a month or so... It has been my (unfortunate) experience that roleplays lacking an overarching plot tend to die quite quickly. So I am in complete agreement with Grif on that one; characters wouldn't be obligated to take part in said questline or plot - though they would still be affected by it from time to time. It is also important to have players wishing to be antagonists/villains work a bit more closely with the GM (s) to ensure that things don't get out of hand. (e.g. Character death, OP powers/knowledge, etc). Again, that's just my opinion from my past experiences.

Agreed. While I have seen open world roleplays work, it usually takes a while for the players to really settle into the world, so in my personal opinion it's best to have a plot running throughout but let players follow it or drop it as they please, or as they feel would be appropriate for their characters.

Copy and pasting the history may be lazy, but I doubt any of us come up with one as intriguing and gripping as the one Bloodborne has. And I agree we shouldn't have some things included in the game, Blood Echoes should be replaced with-In my opinion, basic money. I never liked the idea of currency being some mythical ball of blood/soul energy. And it should be spoiler free if this is our own Bloodborne type roleplay, I agree with your take on the plot line, and a method of boss characters. Personally, I'm hoping for my character to be boss-like. (Think Gascoigne inspired, so not overpowered like a Darkbeeast Paarl type character)

Now, obviously not everyone can run around as boss level characters, and giant monstrosities. So this would obviously have to have limits. Maybe 'first come first serve' type thing, and have three slots for villainous boss players? Each one with their own villainous goal, which would undoubtedly lead to conflict with the 'good' guys. Personally I love this idea.

A setting: 1860s London/Paris type land.

Affliction: So, something that turns people into beasts that isn't a plaque? Perhaps it could be a crossover between DS and BB. Perhaps a vicious bite mark, one which infuses the wielder with mood swings and great pain. The more progressive it gets the more violent they get, and the more painful it gets. If they wish to remove the pain they must devour human flesh. And when they do so, they become more beast like until the human within is gone. (Just a random little idea).

the general reason for our characters being there could be: They live there, they were prisoners in another country, dumped there as a sentence of exile, or they traveled there for whatever reason. (Again, more random ideas.)

In terms of the story arch you both misinterpreted what I said, I don't mean have no plot. I just mean don't force people to take a large active role in it, obviously as the plot progresses it would affect the environment and the players but those players wouldn't have to be a part of the general plot group.

I actually really liked that aspect of the games. It meant the currency was more useful than simply buying weapons, and it had a reason for being able to level you up. Of course, while this is useful in a game, there is a lot less of a reason to have a currency system in a roleplaying game than there is in a video game, so we don't even need whatever object it is to be used as a currency, per say.

The only problem with characters playing "boss characters" is that they don't have a lot of a reason to appear outside of their boss fights, or when the antagonist character is actively doing something. We could easily have players coming up with antagonists that they could play briefly, working with the GM to come with an encounter, but I imagine just playing a boss would mean you wouldn't be as involved in the story as the other players.

We need a name for this location, actually, now that we have a general idea as to what it'd look like. I did briefly suggest to Petticoat about adding in a few more steampunk elements to this roleplay, along the lines of Dishonored. Whether we do that or not depends on the general consensus though.

Oh, it could easily be a disease of sorts. Just, preferably, not exactly the same as the blights that affected the worlds of the video games. As I've said for just about everything else, it depends on what direction everyone wants to go!

Ah, okay. At least we're on the same page concerning it, though.

 

[Ascended Raider]

I pretty much agree with most of what you said, the only thing is a boss level player wouldn't be confined to a boss room, as there would be no reason to RP them. instead they could stalk the other players, following them, and hunting them. Maybe even act as an ally at one point in betray the group. Little twists like that etc...

 

[Child of Ire]

Whoa, wait, are we reviving the Bloodborne-based role play? Slow this train down so I can clamber my way on, please.

That said, I think what you guys have decided so far is fairly solid, in terms of translating game mechanics to feasible role play conventions.

 

[Shalashaska]

Well, this has certainly caught my attention. If you're looking for a GM, I'm down. I've ran a few RPs and forums in the past, and I have a surplus of free time so I'd always be available.

We need a name for this location, actually, now that we have a general idea as to what it'd look like. I did briefly suggest to Petticoat about adding in a few more steampunk elements to this roleplay, along the lines of Dishonored. Whether we do that or not depends on the general consensus though.

I would personally like to see a few steampunk elements - it would add an extra level of creativity in terms of weapons and perhaps even enemies.

Though, that does beg the question - How prevalent will stats be? I've personally never been fond of RPs that rely heavily on stats, but I'm not afraid to run/be apart of one that uses them.

 

[Ascended Raider]

Well, this has certainly caught my attention. If you're looking for a GM, I'm down. I've ran a few RPs and forums in the past, and I have a surplus of free time so I'd always be available.

I would personally like to see a few steampunk elements - it would add an extra level of creativity in terms of weapons and perhaps even enemies.

Though, that does beg the question - How prevalent will stats be? I've personally never been fond of RPs that rely heavily on stats, but I'm not afraid to run/be apart of one that uses them.

I really don't think stats should have a place in RPs. They never work and always overcomplicate things more than necessary. Also I'd love if you could GM this for us. And although I'm not a huge fan of steampunk I'm not against it either.

 

[Shalashaska]

I really don't think stats should have a place in RPs. They never work and always overcomplicate things more than necessary. Also I'd love if you could GM this for us. And although I'm not a huge fan of steampunk I'm not against it either.

Yay someone that shares my sentiments about stats

Also, in regards to a few things I saw above:

About the whole dying and coming back to life aspect that is admittedly pretty important. This is my own take on a way something like this can be handled:

1. All Hunters have a 'Soul Gem' in their bodies (the location is up to the RPer, but the most common is the chest). When a Hunter falls in battle, before they can die, the Gem shatters and releases the souls of slain monsters to revive the Hunter. But, after the Hunter is revived, there is a slight time limit before the crystal reforms. After the crystal reforms, the Hunter will have to harvest the souls of several monsters before they're able to revive again.

It's a rough idea, I admit, but just something I thought could work. Any revisions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Also

• If we go with the Soul Gem aspect, perhaps the 'Hunters' could be called Harvesters as they collect the souls of Monsters/Whatever to 'extend' their own lives?

Continuing with this train of thought, I present the following:

"Welcome, Saviors." A shrouded figure said, his form blending in with the darkness that shrouded the room. "No... Saviors is incorrect. Harvesters such as yourself cannot be called Saviors, I believe. No, no... Though, such trivialities can be put aside for later, I suppose. The City is waiting for you, Harvesters. Can you hear her? She's calling out your name - beckoning for you to embrace her on this cold, deadly night. You must not keep her waiting, Harvester.

Just something else I thought. Though, please keep in mind it's all a rough draft meant for everyone to critique.

 

[Ascended Raider]

Yay someone that shares my sentiments about stats

Also, in regards to a few things I saw above:

About the whole dying and coming back to life aspect that is admittedly pretty important. This is my own take on a way something like this can be handled:

1. All Hunters have a 'Soul Gem' in their bodies (the location is up to the RPer, but the most common is the chest). When a Hunter falls in battle, before they can die, the Gem shatters and releases the souls of slain monsters to revive the Hunter. But, after the Hunter is revived, there is a slight time limit before the crystal reforms. After the crystal reforms, the Hunter will have to harvest the souls of several monsters before they're able to revive again.

It's a rough idea, I admit, but just something I thought could work. Any revisions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Also

• If we go with the Soul Gem aspect, perhaps the 'Hunters' could be called Harvesters as they collect the souls of Monsters/Whatever to 'extend' their own lives?

Continuing with this train of thought, I present the following:

Just something else I thought. Though, please keep in mind it's all a rough draft meant for everyone to critique.

Yeeeeeeeeessssss! Brilliant, all of it!
Although, what about non-hunter/harvester players? Would they be limited to a single life? And also, would it be similar to hollowing. As in each time you die, a tiny spec of the gem is lost, each time making the person slightly more beastly than the last. Upon losing the whole gem, you lose your own soul and evidently become a full-beast...

I'm not quite as brilliant with ideas but I'm trying nonetheless.

 

[Grif ♥]

Yay someone that shares my sentiments about stats

Also, in regards to a few things I saw above:

About the whole dying and coming back to life aspect that is admittedly pretty important. This is my own take on a way something like this can be handled:

1. All Hunters have a 'Soul Gem' in their bodies (the location is up to the RPer, but the most common is the chest). When a Hunter falls in battle, before they can die, the Gem shatters and releases the souls of slain monsters to revive the Hunter. But, after the Hunter is revived, there is a slight time limit before the crystal reforms. After the crystal reforms, the Hunter will have to harvest the souls of several monsters before they're able to revive again.

It's a rough idea, I admit, but just something I thought could work. Any revisions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Also

• If we go with the Soul Gem aspect, perhaps the 'Hunters' could be called Harvesters as they collect the souls of Monsters/Whatever to 'extend' their own lives?

Continuing with this train of thought, I present the following:

Just something else I thought. Though, please keep in mind it's all a rough draft meant for everyone to critique.

Would these soul gems be implanted/gained after becoming a hunter or would they be prevalent in every human being? I feel like if the answer is yes then it might be missing the point a little bit. Weren't the enemies in Bloodborne and Dark Souls aggressive primarily because they craved the blood/souls of others because it might restore their sanity and livelihood? If only the hunters can absorb souls, then why would the foes our characters face be so passionate in their hunt for the unafflicted?


I've actually been thinking about something that could be used as a substitute for souls/blood, and I'm drawing a little bit of a blank. We could do something along the lines of absorbing sanity or qi, although the latter fits for a much more eastern flavour than what we're going for.

 

[Shalashaska]

Years before The Feast began, before the decadence, this city was much different. But, like a woman tethering herself to a foul husband, this city was corrupted - becoming what it is today.
_______________________
The Hunger
Once upon a time, this City flourished, a stark contrast to what it is now. Most, such as myself, liken the fall of this City to the King. He was a strange man with strange tastes. He hated to see anything go to waste - and that included people. When a criminal was sentenced to be executed, he'd have their remains go through a special process to make good of everything that person was worth.

Their blood would replace his wine, their flesh becoming his meat. For every criminal that was tried and sentence, the King and his kin would feast on them. It is said that, over time, word of the King's deeds spread beyond the walls of his castle, and the townspeople that idolized him, too blinded by their own adoration, took after him. While the King feasted on the criminals, the townspeople feasted on travelers - innocents merely passing through.

It is said that, on one occasion, while feasting on an Outsider, they found a strange relic in the person's belongings. It was a clear shard unlike any they had ever seen. This shard, now known as The Goddess's Tear, apparently shattered and all contact with the Outside world was lost.
_________________________
The Feast
Several years passed and the City became known for it's corrupted townsfolk and Outsides naturally began to avoid it, the City becoming known as a taboo place.

Deprived of their favorite delicacy, the townspeople naturally turned against one another, their Hunger, coupled with the corruption from The Goddess's Tear, causing them to change as they savagely ate away at one another. With each person they ate, they steadily became more and more corrupt as they changed from man to... Beast.
_________________________
The Cleansing
Knowing such creatures could not be left unchecked, The Purifiers, a group of Hunters, stormed the city and began what is known as The Cleansing - the complete eradication of corrupted individuals. While it wasn't a complete success, with several of the Corrupt escaping into the sewers, the Purifiers thought it a job well done and left the city.
_________________________
The Starvation
After time, the history of the City was buried and new travelers arrived at the City and settled down, unaware of the monsters hiding beneath the City. At night, the Corrupt would howl, vocalizing their sorrow - unable to feast on the flesh of Humans.

Over time, the new townspeople began to exhibit strange... Symptoms. Excess saliva... Bloodshot eyes... Misshapen fingers and elongated nails...
_________________________
The Blood Moon Feast
It has begun again, Hunter. That which The Goddess's Tear still lingers in this Corrupt City, and the townsfolk are slowly changing. Some have embraced it, eagerly feasting on the flesh of their brethren while others attempt to deny it. But, be warned, Hunter... Those Corrupt from decades past? They are surfacing, and their Starvation has changed them even further, somehow enhancing the Corruption.

Beware when crossing them, Hunter, as they are not to be trifled with.

Though, I suppose neither are you....

This is just another random... Thought. Idea. I 'unno. It's a VERY rough draft, and I'd like any revisions.

Would these soul gems be implanted/gained after becoming a hunter or would they be prevalent in every human being? I feel like if the answer is yes then it might be missing the point a little bit. Weren't the enemies in Bloodborne and Dark Souls aggressive primarily because they craved the blood/souls of others because it might restore their sanity and livelihood? If only the hunters can absorb souls, then why would the foes our characters face be so passionate in their hunt for the unafflicted?


I've actually been thinking about something that could be used as a substitute for souls/blood, and I'm drawing a little bit of a blank. We could do something along the lines of absorbing sanity or qi, although the latter fits for a much more eastern flavour than what we're going for.

@Grif ♥
I think what I wrote/thought of above may solve the issue you brought up in your first paragraph.

@Ascended Raider

Yeeeeeeeeessssss! Brilliant, all of it!
Although, what about non-hunter/harvester players? Would they be limited to a single life? And also, would it be similar to hollowing. As in each time you die, a tiny spec of the gem is lost, each time making the person slightly more beastly than the last. Upon losing the whole gem, you lose your own soul and evidently become a full-beast...

I'm not quite as brilliant with ideas but I'm trying nonetheless.

That's what I was thinking, honestly. I was thinking that, when a Hunter replenishes their Soul Gem with the Souls of the Corrupt, and when the shard revives them (while 'shrinking') they'll eventually become more Corrupt (and when the entire Shard is gone, they'll become fully corrupt).

As for Non-Hunter/Harvesters, I'm not sure.

And I apologize if that first paragraph isn't entirely coherent, kind of in a rush to go out for a bit xD

 

[Grif ♥]

This is just another random... Thought. Idea. I 'unno. It's a VERY rough draft, and I'd like any revisions.

I like the sound of this a lot, actually, Jageroux. I am completely happy to let that be the basis of our roleplay if everyone else is happy with it. I wrote up a short piece about the city myself, using the information you've worked on as a basis, which might help us with ideas.

Estoic was once a vibrant city, the largest and most magnificent on the entire continent some might say, but it was in decline long before the reign of the Mad King Baldr who was responsible for its final downfall. Built on the decrepit ruins of an even older city, so ancient that even its name has been lost to the annals of history, like Estoic it quickly rose to great power and dominated the lands around it, but the perversions of greed, gluttony, and dark magics were too great for its glory to last. Estoic was doomed a similar fate, repeating the sins of the past. The people of Estoic were slaves to their cravings, and those with the power to do so would reap all they could from those they could take it from, starting with their land and their gold, and later their own flesh and blood. The upper city, where the wealthy and the important lived, were the last to hold out against the savage hunts of the lower city, sustaining themselves on the ceremonial feasts of human flesh that had become oh so common, but as their sources of meat grew scarce and their cravings grew stronger, even they turned against their own kind. Rumour has it that the last great feast of Estoic was only attended by King Baldr, as there were no others left to take part; the Mad King was all too happy to put their wasting bodies to good use.

With Estoic left in ruin, its remaining populace slaughtered by the Purifiers, the stories of Estoic fell into legend, and were eventually forgotten entirely. It was rediscovered many hundred generations later, an expanse of ruins and tunnels filled with untold mysteries. A city was built atop the old one, just as Estoic had been built on top of ruins before it. It was rechristened Drendavar, and the people who settled here hoped that the new city would eventually blossom into a great metropolis. Drendavar did indeed grow mighty, but the curse of the Goddess's Tear never left this place, and the beasts and demons that survived the great cleansing still dwell beneath it.

 

[BurdenKing]

I have been seeking such a thing as this for so long, you don't even know. Since the days of Dark souls, I have searched and journeyed through the maelstrom of the perverse and the horrid that is the internet. And finally, with the coming of the Hunger, I have found my port to lay my head down and sigh in completion.

Anywho, enough of that. You guys mind if I join you in this endeavor? I'm digging what I've seen so far

 

[Mufasa Lives]

Before I say anything on the topic, is there a set GM(or GM's) for this yet? I have a few ideas on the inner workings of this world(based off what you folks have done thus far) and would love to chat with them if the title has already been appointed.

As for the execution for the more mechanical side of things, I say we give the PC's a Souls game esc inventory system (Weapons, Armor sets, held items, spell, the jazz). The "Currency" could be measured through the traditional point system(but I think we should have the lore down solid before venturing there). As for the capabilities of the PC's, we could have it so that there is some form of "training" that they undergo(again, the Lore should be better Ironed out before we get to there), but I don't think that it'll be hard to manage, assuming that everyone acts responsibly and uses common sense. Perhaps a char sheet of sorts?

Also, I forgot to say this earlier, but do you mind if I join in? :V

 

[BurdenKing]

For currency system, I imagine using slivers from the goddesses tear would serve pretty well as currency. If they were small enough maybe. If not that, then maybe we could have it so it the corruption of the beasts we use, the amount of corruption varying between each creature sorta like the souls games

 

[Grif ♥]

Considering currency served as a way to purchase items and level up in Dark Souls/Bloodborne, systems which don't translate hugely well to roleplaying, I don't think there's any huge need to include something like it. Still, shards of the Goddess's Tear could be useful as plot items, functioning similarly to the Lord Souls found in the first Dark Souls, in that we might have to collect them from powerful bosses in order to reforge the Goddess's Tear and end the curse, perhaps.