R
Ringmaster
Guest
Synopsis
Hollywood. The dream of everyone at one point or another to join and be counted among its stars. But far more innumerable are those who try, fail and subside into ignominy. Its a cutthroat world, among the titans of the Silver Screen.
Apparently someone is taking that literally.
People are dying, the methods and causes resembling the Slasher films of moviedom. You are one among a select few, looking into this murder spree before like Jason from the fog he or she chooses the next victim and snuffs out another star.
Setting Introduction
Welcome to the Moonlit World.
For most people, New York City is New York City, America is America, and Earth is Earth—but there's more to the world than that.
Beneath the "normal" surface of the world are things and people which most humans don't know about, don't want to know about, and will do their best to forget about if they ever come anywhere near them. That dead body with the odd toothmarks? Attacked by stray dogs. The traces of thirty different infectious diseases on this corpse? Statistical anomaly. The Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton from the museum scattered in a thousand pieces on the college lawn? Student prank.
People won't see things they don't want to see. Most of the citizens of the world would laugh at the idea of magic, even though some wizards and witches have their number and occupation right in the phone book. It's always possible for everyone, from heroes to bystanders, to turn away and not get involved. It's often the easiest thing in the world to do. You can choose between good and evil, light and darkness, possibility and necessity, taking action and going home to curl up with a good book. The world is weirder, more wonderful, and more deadly than it seems. Some people know this. There are people who know that magic exists and know who to call when they run into it. There are humans who have been divinely blessed or diabolically cursed. There are faeries—small, big, hugely ancient and terrifying.
There are dragons, although these days it's said they consider bearer bonds as well as gold for their hoards. The Shadowlands—the world of fae and ghosts—is just on the other side of a veil from normal life; courts of vampires divide the night among them; the White Council of wizards tries to protect the innocent and stop the misuse of magic.
All of this is going on, right under our noses.
So the question really, is how exactly do any of these factions get along, much less keep things such an intense secret? Well....The answer is simple and has to do with the following, the closest to absolute law among all the factions.
The body of work known as the Unseelie Accords.
Unseelie Accords
[spoili]
The Unseelie Accords are a set of agreements (like the Geneva Conventions) that govern behavior between its signatories, who are the major powers of the magical world. The Accords include protocols for etiquette, hospitality, formal duels, and neutral ground, among other things. They were instigated by Queen Mab.
The following are known portions of the Accords.
There is no spirit of the law, only its letter.
Beings have license to deliver and receive messages, and to have safe passage granted them so long as they do not instigate violence.
Part of a pledge of safe passage or conduct is the promise not to drug any directly offered food or drink. If it is targeted at a group, rather than a specific individual, however, then it is acceptable.
If a member of the Accords is killed by another member of the Accords, one who has close relations to the deceased can demand a weregild in compensation for their death.
Should a member of one faction wrong another faction, the aggrieved party has the right to challenge their enemy to single combat:
The organisations that represent the duelers pick an emissary from the list of neutral emissaries.
The chosen emissary decides on a list of available weapons, such as magic or will.
The challenged picks the weapons, and the challenger picks the time and location.
The available weapons are not necessarily restricted to those usable by both parties. If the challenger can't use the weapon the challenged chose, they can force the challenged to take their second choice.
Each party must have a second.
The seconds collaborate with the emissary to work out the terms of the duel.
Certain places can be signed on as Accorded Neutral Territory. This means that signatories of the Accords do not start any conflict on the premises, and are bound by their honor to take any fights outside. New York City for example, has several.
The Fighting Irish Pub: Owned by a Leprechaun and as old world as can be. Generally a place to relax and gain information on local gossip.
The Brooklyn Bridge Troll Market: Its entrance set beneath it, the market serves as a place all can go glamour-less(without the disguise that makes them look human) and trade in items too fantastic or dangerous for the upper mundane world.
There are more, but suffice it to say they differ according to the nature of the city.
An individual can sign onto the Accords as a freeholding lord. The signatory is entitled to rights under the Accords, such as right of challenge.
To be signed on, the potential signatory must have three current members of the Accords vouch for them.
All supernatural factions observe the rules of interaction laid out in the Unseelie Accords. Devised by Queen Mab of the Winter Court of Faerie, the Accords are a cross between the Magna Carta and the Geneva Conventions for the various supernatural factions.
The Accords recognize major magical factions as independent political entities (or "nations") with the right to defend, protect, and avenge their members. "Freeholding Lords" are also recognized: entities of power that do not necessarily represent an entire kind, just themselves and their supporters.
The Accords lay out an important concept: magical nations are responsible for policing their own. If they don't do this, and let their people run willy-nilly, these activities can become a lawful grievance to another nation—even up to a justification for war. The Accords also lay out other rules concerning such topics as the treatment of prisoners (though the rules do little if anything to protect them), setting prices on ransoms or prisoner exchanges, laying out procedures for negotiations between hostile supernatural nations, the establishment of neutral ground, rules of engagement and territory, a basis for diplomacy, and so on.
Most importantly, the Accords establish several hard and fast rules that provide ancient (Old World) customs of hospitality and honor with the force of law. If any two things are regarded as concrete by the supernatural nations, they are: 1) the binding power of sworn oaths; and 2) the obligation of a host to offer aid, comfort, and protection to his guests.
The Accords recognize that it is mutually profitable for the supernatural nations to avoid overt or large-scale conflicts; indeed, they provide a means of settling disputes between rival nations by means of a trial of champions— based on the Code Duello—presided over by a "neutral" mediator. Any member of any nation can be asked to be a mediator, but the choice must be mutually accepted.
All in all, the Accords are extremely complex, and applying them generally leads to a lot of arguing rather than actually solving any problems (it is likely that this is what Mab intended). They do work, however—conflicts are often defused by the lengthy legal discussions. The Accords are supported by all sides, mainly in order to keep things from getting worse than they already are.
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Gameplay and Characters
The Theme is Urban Fantasy. The story will differ, depending on the choices you make and the people you interact with. Inspired by adventures such as The Wolf Among Us or Supernatural. OC or canon, how your character might become involved is up to you. The only stipulations are the following.
One, characters must fit in some way in this world. Canon types such as Bigby Wolf, Harry Dresden, Ash Williams, Zatanna and Cassie Hack are perfect fits. Characters such as Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2 or otherwise obvious characters do not.
Second, while conflict is expected, secrecy is penultimate. Like the World of Darkness setting, violating the Masquerade is prohibited and will have consequences. Even mortal enemies will team up to preserve the secret of the world. A select few people, on accident can easily be explained. A werewolf shifting in public view, caught on camera and going viral on youtube is another thing entirely.
Third, the ending will be shaped by your actions. Good or bad, is up to how your character acts.
Have fun.
Character Sign-Up Sheet
Name:
Canon(If OC, name canon origins: IE, mythology,etc):
Equipment:
Powers:
Skills:
Short Bio:
Example Character
Name: Dana Scully
Canon(If OC, name canon origins: IE, mythology,etc): The X-Files
Equipment: Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification, Holdout pistol.
Powers: None
Skills: Certified doctor, specialist in Forensic Medicine. FBI Agent
Short Bio: Agent Dana Scully is a special agent assigned to the notorious X-Files, where the unexplained or bizarre cases are entrusted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a massive scale. Vampire attacks, Angry Spirits, Eldritch Abominations and Bigfoot, they all end up here if they warrant it.
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