J
Jinxer
Guest
Original poster
The Rift Opens
(scroll down to skip premise)
Two worlds collide, ours utterly unprepared to cope with the rifts that open between the two and unleash untold chaos upon our world.
Amidst the chaos, a group of combatants made up of soldiers, agents and spies, fight their way to the first rift. They close it but find themselves forever changed, with powers of Allomancy they don't understand but will make them instrumental in securing our future.
(scroll down to skip premise)
Two worlds collide, ours utterly unprepared to cope with the rifts that open between the two and unleash untold chaos upon our world.
Amidst the chaos, a group of combatants made up of soldiers, agents and spies, fight their way to the first rift. They close it but find themselves forever changed, with powers of Allomancy they don't understand but will make them instrumental in securing our future.
New York, 13:00 15th December 2016
Unknown to us is a world, with powers that defy all we understand, adjacent to our own. In fact, there may be many of these. Theorists have long suggested the existence of such universes and they have featured heavily in popular culture but, in reality, no one ever thought that we would ever interact with one. Or come into conflict with one.
At precisely one o'clock on December 15th 2016, that assumed reality was shattered. A pillar of light consumed Times Square and all who stood there, a Rift between two worlds hitherto unconnected. From this Rift spilled hundreds of creatures, monsters of nightmarish presence that hunted down and devoured humankind who were thoroughly unprepared for an attack of such ferocity in their midst.
You are somewhere in the middle of this chaos. A soldier, or an agent; you are a warrior who has fought on many battlefields but none like this one. Standard police forces are holding back the tide but will soon be overwhelmed by the horde of nightmarish monsters spilling out of the Rift into the city. The Rift must be closed and only with your unique skill set is in a position to help accomplish this.
You don't know how it can be done. You don't even know if it can be done.
But you know that it must be done.
The creatures (Riftkind)
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Whether you read the premise above or tl;dr, welcome to the more thorough explanation of this RP.
Quick summary
-Military based RP involving a small unit (circa twenty people)
-Pre-made persistent NPCs for all players to control and use to flesh the world out more
-Slightly apocalyptic setting, things will go from bad to worse to going to hell in a handcart
-Obtaining of powers of Allomancy (see below) which stand the unit out and make them a pivotal force in the coming conflict
-Mystery surrounding the enemy, the rifts and the powers they obtain (and how they're all tied together)
In depth summary
The first thing I would light to highlight is that this RP will be a little different to ones I've GMed, or played, in the past for the simple reason that I'm creating between 12 and 20 persistent NPC characters (with brief character sheets) which will be fully controllable by all players to flesh the world out a little. As we progress you may flesh these characters, and their relationships, out. Some of them may also die (that one is my call).
This RP is set in modern times with our current technology and, largely, the current political situation (although we won't be delving too much into that!) Certainly, it is a world that, until the rifts opened, you will know of. Before now there was no magic, or powers, or even a hint of them at any point. They belonged in fantasy books and films, and some may argue that they still do.
All characters will begin with military or combat training but no powers. They may be off-duty soldiers, they may be agents or spies. They may well come from other nations because they were on holiday, or were there on orders. Whatever the case, the situation facing them trumps all other commands and they band together to fight their way to the rift (whether your character does this of their own volition or is ordered to do so, that is your choice).
The power in question is Allomancy (using metal for magical energy, see below for details) and I'm using the works of Brandon Sanderson as the basis for this power. You do not need to know of the books in any way, shape or form as a full explanation is below and the lore associated with it from the books is irrelevant for us in the RP (however, I do strongly recommend the first three books in the Mistborn series if you're a fan of fantasy books and are looking for something to read).
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This power works by the user 'burning' metals which they have ingested. Different metals grant different power, although only specific metals can be burned. Should the wrong metal be burned then the Allomancer will become sick for days. If the metal is an alloy and has been prepared in the wrong proportions then the effectiveness will be heavily reduced and, again, the Allomancer may become sick.
Not all Allomancers can burn all metals. Most can only burn one, these are called Mistings (the NPC characters will all be Mistings). If an Allomancer can burn more than one, they can burn them all and they are called Mistborn. How much power an individual can pull from a metal varies little, generally speaking what distinguishes the same type of Misting, or Mistborn, from one another is their skill and experience in their ability; the actual effect is largely the same.
There are eight basic Allomantic metals and they are split into two groups of four: Physical and Mental. Each metal is also paired with another, its alloy, with the opposite effect (termed Pushing and Pulling metals). See below for how they are split and associated for their specific abilities.
These are not godlike abilities but can make those with them far more effective and, as you may have guessed, will be significant later on although they may not appear immediately relevant. -
Mistings will usually be more skilled than Mistborn in their particular metal as they only have one to focus all their efforts on. This is less acute for Steel, Iron and Pewter because Mistborn will use these nearly constantly. They will also use the others but not in the same manner (for example, they will use Tin most of the time but a Tineye will specialise in spying and sentry duties and will be able to distinguish sounds from much further away. A Tineye can ignore the unnecessary sensory information that they will also receive from burning Tin from practice, a Mistborn will lack the time to learn such finesse).
Metals can be flared for heightened effect, for example Pewter can be flared for a burst of strength or speed but the metal will run out much faster. Constant burning of metals, especially if one is flaring them, will have long term negative effects for the Allomancer and a reliance upon them. Long term flaring of pewter, for several hours at a time, will allow a wounded warrior to fight for a full day or someone to sprint at an enhanced speed for most of one. The consequence is that they will need to consume vast amounts of water to keep their body hydrated and will suffer for weeks from the physical toll it will take, they will also need to wean themselves off the metal or else their body will just give out entirely.
An Allomancer must also use metals they've consumed before long. They can be poisoned by swallowed metals if they haven't burned them, a clear rule is never to go to sleep with unburned metals still in their system.
The Metals and their effects (Nicknames of the associated Misting)
| Physical | Pushing | Pulling | Pulling | Pushing | Mental |
| External |
Steel (Coinshot) Pushes on Nearby Metals |
Iron (Lurcher) Pulls on Nearby Metals |
Zinc (Rioter) Enflames Emotions |
Brass (Soother) Dampens Emotions |
External |
| Internal |
Pewter (Thug) Increases Physical Abilities |
Tin (Tineye) Increases Physical Senses |
Copper (Smoker) Hides Allomantic Pulses |
Bronze (Seeker) Detects Allomantic Pulses |
Internal |
Individual explanations
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Pushes on Nearby Metals
(Can either push away metal or, if the metal is heavier than them or anchored to something heavy, can be used to push themselves away. Only works in a direct line). -
Pulls on Nearby Metals
(The opposite of Steel's effect, can pull metal towards them or can pull themselves towards metal if it is sufficiently heavy or anchored. Only works in a direct line). -
Enflames Emotions
(Can make certain emotions more prevalent in a person. Skilled users will pick their desired emotion and make that one alone stronger, however if they're too obvious then the person will notice, especially if that person is aware of Allomancy). -
Dampens Emotions
(The opposite of Zinc. Can weaken certain emotions so that other ones become more prevalent in a person. If they're too obvious then the person will notice, especially if that person is aware of Allomancy). -
Increases Physical Abilities
(Strength, speed, balance, reaction speed, toughness. All of these become much stronger and keener, turning the Allomancer into a one man army. By no means are they invincible but they can take a great deal more punishment before fainting, survive much more serious wounds and heal faster, lift much greater weights and hit with much more force, their balance will be as good if not better than even the most talent of gymnasts and they can run as fast as a galloping horse for as long as they have pewter supplies. Pewter burns very quickly). -
Increases Physical Senses
(The user can see much further in much greater detail, hear sounds from further away with greater clarity, feel the temperature more acutely, even feel the grains in a block of wood at a touch.) -
Hides Allomantic Pulses
(Hides the user, and those around them, in a 'coppercloud' from Seekers so that they can use Allomantic abilities without revealing themselves). -
Detects Allomantic Pulses
(Allows the user to detect other Allomancers. Skilled users can even detect which metal another Allomancer is burning).
This is an interest check to see a) if there's sufficient interest in this kind of RP and b) if anyone has any questions or input that would make it more compelling/clear.
In terms of general rules it's the usual affair. I'm looking for dedicated RPers and I'd prefer a post every three days but I appreciate that this isn't possible and so I'm aiming for a post a week. The idea behind having so many pre-made persistent NPCs is to avoid post blocking where possible should someone run into a busy period in real life.
In terms of the quality of posts etc I'm not going to be super picky. I want it to be a compelling story and that only happens when everyone is properly invested in both their characters and their fellow players, and that only happens when the posting is of sufficient quality. I'm not interested in length parameters, two as a minimum but they may swing between that and a good ten-fifteen minute read; that's absolutely fine and is the way I feel it should be.
Again, rambling a bit so to clarify: post length is not a problem, good quality and compelling posts are my desire with committed and interested RPers behind them. Activity isn't pressing but one post a week at all times where possible, if not then making sure your character isn't post blocking anyone or the group is alerted to your absence (temporary or long term) would be the best way forward.
Drop your questions and your interest below!
