The Rift: A Nightmare in the Making

[MIIDD]

Meet The Rift, a two-dimensional, multi-massed, sentient being made up of portals leading to different destinations. Some destinations are set, and others are constantly changing; yet The Rift controls all entrances and exits of its own fruition. Some portals, or "rifts" lead to different timelines, universes, and dimensions entirely. It is unknown what The Rift desires to achieve as of present day, but it is evident that it has the capability to intervene in any and all events. The limits of The Rift have yet to be successfully measured in a comprehensible capacity, making it a threat for mankind to fear above all else.

Now, this is an incredibly rough concept that I've been playing around with. What I'd like is someone/some people to help me out with polishing it up. I'd love to make this the basis for a group RP, but I'm not the best people-manager, so having an interested party to help me start off and whatnot would be a godsend.

The idea is to have The Rift's portals scattered throughout time and space to welcome a diverse cast of characters into the RP. Because of The Rift's sentience, there won't be any war-parties or organized armies getting through to common ground, so the spontaneity of bringing specific characters to a single time/place will serve as the counterbalance to any preprepared tech, materials, and abilities. As for why The Rift would draw random people to a seemingly random time and/or place, I'm currently going with the idea that because The Rift is what it is, it is aware of a crisis that would end up destroying the world, or more importantly, itself, and forcefully employs heroes to handle it.

I hope I've at least captured your attention at this point. Now let me introduce the characterized "GM" of this idea. I call him Squalor.

Squalor is a mutualistic parasite attached to The Rift. They both benefit each other in one form or another. More specifically, The Rift provided Squalor with existence and power, so Squalor protects The Rift and its entirety. I'll include a more in-depth description under the spoilers.

Spoiler

Squalor usually looks like a normal crow, but it has the ability to alter any element of its physical form, such as mass, density, shape, etc. However, instead of a crow's call, it has two voices that exist outside its own dimensional plain. One is a calm, soft, and kind masculine voice, and the other is a sweet, delicate, and compassionate feminine voice. Both voices usually speak at once in whatever language is required of them at the time. Not only is Squalor's voice on another plane of existence, but so is its entire being. In short, Squalor is an entity that exists outside its physical form entirely.

Spoiler

In terms of character, Squalor is an extensively stoic inter-dimensional individual. It fails to comprehend human/alien jargons, and it shows no understanding of "street-smarts" whatsoever. Its voices are able to mimic expressions, but it doesn't respond well to them. Squalor is also very focused. It refuses to take its eyes off of whatever has its attention at the time. It has yet to display a truthful showing of emotion, so nobody is sure if it really can.

Though Squalor is, in a sense, deathless; its body can be crippled beyond use. However, it is capable of pursuing another body, but only one that is weak-willed and simple in design (like birds). After finding a new body, Squalor requires time to adapt and conform the body to its powers. Finding the body proves to be less of an issue, but there is still a flaw in its process. Squalor is only able to take over bodies that enter into a Rift, because that is where its initial being exists. Because of the numerous Rifts (both hidden and revealed) encompassing earth (as well as other planets), large flocks of birds are constantly traveling through them, thus providing Squalor with a large supply of bodies. Squalor is also limited in other ways. Other than its host body's senses, Squalor can only use the common senses on whatever enters The Rift. Even then, it can only sense objects in the brief second that they enter and exit The Rift. Other than The Rift and its host body, Squalor is blind, deaf, numb, ageusic and anosmic. However, its voice can reach anywhere within a few miles of its host body, even if said body is physically dead. Its corporeal abilities have no recorded limits, but they do take a toll on the host body if used overzealously, damaging the genetic make-up of the frame until it is a gnarled mass of matter.

Okay, so this is really important for me to mention. I've put in the idea of different universes and dimensions 'n whatnot, but for the sake of keeping this easy for everyone, I'm thinking of keeping this limited to earth, so no aliens, or extraterrestrials, or whatever. However, I'm 100% open to suggestions. That's kind of the point of this little interest check.

Lastly, I'd love for this world to be open to magic, and be overall set in a more medieval-ish time. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. Hopefully I'll see some interest in this so I can start nailing down details. Until I have enough takers to justify an OOC, don't worry about making a character sheet or anything like that. This is more a post to polish, prepare, and present the plot and setting as a whole. :P

 

[Zeroisdead]

I am definitely interested in this RP concept, I am not usually in the position of people-management, so I can't help you there. I would like to know if you had any ideas for a basic plot. I have seen quite a few RPs die off because it was too open-ended and was just curious as to what the characters would be doing in the RP/

 

[MIIDD]

Honestly, I want to see the plot evolve. I don't want an open ended path, but rather a path that never ends. We can start simple, with a corrupt monarch and his loyal servants. People arrive thanks to The Rift, and Squalor either does or doesn't give them info on the situation depending on their attitude, when/where they are from, etc. Lots of variables to factor in on that end. Anyways, bang boom pow, the first "crisis" is sorta a showcase to see where we can take this whole Rift concept. From there, we grow.

My rule has always been that there is always something stronger, and that's what I want to build upon as a plot for this. The Rift's enemies grow stronger and stronger over time, and it pushes the fight closer and closer to a sort of breaking point. Then you have the infighting that potentially comes along with it. Maybe one of these "crises" we've been sent to stop is just trying to destroy The Rift, aka the thing that tears apart time and space for its own whims basically.

Because The Rift and Squalor act as bosses to the characters it brings to the field, it places a stopgap on how far the plot can deviate. There is only: 1. End the crisis, or 2. Fight against The Rift. For the start, regardless how any character feels about the situation, option 1 will be the only choice. However, as crises become stronger and more direct, option 2 will become relevant.

I expect, if this ever becomes big enough, that it'll come to a point where everyone in the RP will chose a side, and people will start dying as a result. A giant PvP RP in the making, if you look at the big picture, but that's well into the future.

For the time being, the plot is simple. A threat large enough to threaten the world is presented, and "heroes" are forced into it by what seems to be an omniscient entity. A few of these heroes might be contacted by Squalor, just to control the flow of information between characters, then we meet, we fight, we win, wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[Zeroisdead]

Alright, just curious. I'll join.

I'm down for some fantasy, inter-dimensional role plays.

 

[MIIDD]

Alright, just curious. I'll join.

I'm down for some fantasy, inter-dimensional role plays.

Excellent! One down... Um...more to go? I really would love to see this pick up a solid group. XD

 

[chaosheart13]

I'll throw in my interest. Question, will it be all original characters or are you going to accept characters from a movie/game/book/whatever else is there?

 

[MIIDD]

I'll throw in my interest. Question, will it be all original characters or are you going to accept characters from a movie/game/book/whatever else is there?

I'd prefer everyone have an OC in mind for this. However, for coming up with crises and possibly NPCs for our characters to resolve and interact with, cases could potentially be made for a non-OC. That said, I'd rather stick to stuff that's historically anchored, like...eh, Arthurian legends for example, if anything.

So, yeah, main characters will be OCs. :3

 

[chaosheart13]

I'd prefer everyone have an OC in mind for this. However, for coming up with crises and possibly NPCs for our characters to resolve and interact with, cases could potentially be made for a non-OC. That said, I'd rather stick to stuff that's historically anchored, like...eh, Arthurian legends for example, if anything.

So, yeah, main characters will be OCs. :3

Ah, gotcha. Thank you for answering my question!

 

[MIIDD]

I think today I'll throw in a few more details about what I expect from characters. Right now, since nothing is set in stone, there's a bit of free reign in terms of what is and isn't allowed. The major thing I want to prevent is any individual being overpowered compared to his/her fellow RPers, but that's just something that'll have to be determined by character sheets and IC behavior. Aside from that, I don't see any reason to put a limit on what a character can do.

As for the Character Sheet itself, I'm thinking something like this:

Name: (Nothing too ironic, like... idk, Dark Shadow McShady-Guy the 3rd or whatever. My guideline is if you can say your character's name to your parent, a close friend, and a teacher/professor without cringing/them cringing, then you've got a pretty dang solid name on your hands. It's just a guideline, but you get the idea)

Race: (Still in the process of thinking through this. I might establish some limits if it gets out of hand)

Racial Background: (Only if necessary/not human. A basic description for anyone who might need it)

Gender: (Keep it biologically accurate for this, just to make it easy on everyone. Male/Female here, then you can include any particulars as an aside)

Projected Age/Actual Age: (Some 10 year olds just aren't 10 year olds. I'm lookin' at you, Ash Ketchum. -_- For real though, if you wanna be some ghost/demon/whatever that looks like a little anime girl but is actually a fully fledged hag *cough cough* Nix from FE Fates *cough cough*, then feel free. This is a pretty open world, if I do say so myself, so don't feel too limited)

Time of Origin: (Past/Present/Future/More specific if necessary)

Place of Origin: (Basically the same thing as Race at this point)

Physical Description: (I appreciate some detail here. Start with permanent aspects, like skin, hair, eyes, etc., so everyone has a face to pin to the character. Then move on to favored dress style. I usually put down my character's most commonly worn outfit, then extrapolate from there. After all that is set in stone, feel free to add any extraneous details you see fit, including state of health, physical disabilities, and other things that might go unnoticed by other characters)

Personality: (Just a solid rundown of your character's mental state, as well as social intractability and any other details that cross your mind. Quirks, ticks, etc. Try not to adhere to one emotion while writing this. Mamby-pamby edge-lords have a bad habit of killing off RPs early)

Occupation: (A character needs to do something. I get the sort of loner thing that a lot of people enjoy, but sitting on a mountaintop and acting like the strongest in the world doesn't make it true. The Rift choses those who show their strength through drive, so in this section, show what pushes your character to work so hard. Family? Vengeance? Duty? Honor? Love? Hate? Extrapolate on it. A character's drive is the diamond to their light. Every facet of said drive reflects an aspect of their whole. So, tl;dr, what do they do, and why do they do it?)

Weapon of Choice: (What they use to fight, and how they prefer to use it. Try not to blow this section too far out of the water. I understand some people like to give their characters all the things, but you'll end up wearing yourself and your fellow RPers thin by doing that, y'know?)

Weakness: (If your character didn't have a strength, they wouldn't be here. Tell us what their fatal flaws are. Emotional, Psychological, Physical, Mental...whatever you think is most relevant. Fears and hates are also a good thing to note here. Just keep in mind that these are meant to be abused by the world your character will be entering in order to create strenuous situations where you MUST rely on your fellows. We are not solitary in this world, so we shouldn't behave like it)

Free Spaces: (Feel more than free to add anything else down here! Theme song? Favorite food? Hobby? Picture? You name it, you got it. Just make sure you have everything above hammered down before you start on this)



So that's about all I got for now. I'd like everyone to keep in mind that this is, for most all intents and purposes, a family-friendly RP, so no sexy-fun-times or overly smutty characters. Please and thank you. :3

 

[Tarieles]

I am interested in this, will start thinking of characters and reading more in depth so I can give suggestions.

 

[MIIDD]

I am interested in this, will start thinking of characters and reading more in depth so I can give suggestions.

Yes! A new taker! Ah, guys this means a lot to me. XD I think once a total of 4 or 5 express some interest, I'll go on and make some official threads to plan stuff out. :3