[Perfect Strangers] Rules, Characters and Background
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Light =&gt; Light: Human Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: MadPanda on 07-12-2006, 20:27:06</h2>
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				Title: <strong>[Perfect Strangers] Rules, Characters and Background</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>07-12-2006, 20:27:06</strong>
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				This game will be using the Wushu Open: Reloaded rules, which may be found here.<br><br>http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/OpenReloaded (http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/OpenReloaded)<br><br>However, because this is survival horror, there are a few changes needed.<br><br>This following is compiled from a thread originally submitted to the RPGNet Forums by CasperLions from 4-8 October 2006, and there’s a link to it archived on the Wushu Wiki.&nbsp; We’ve taken a chainsaw to things, done some editing to keep everything coherent, corrected some of the spelling, but the original idea and initial content was all his doing.&nbsp; (The title we used was suggested to CL by cglasgow)<br><br>ZOMBIE-FU!&nbsp; A Wushu Guide to Survival Horror<br><br><strong>What is Survival Horror?</strong><br>Coined by the creator of the Resident Evil videogame franchise, ‘survival horror’ is more than just a video game genre. It is a rich genre spanning many mediums, and with many subgenres. There is the creepy psychodrama typified in the Silent Hill videogames, the more action-oriented tension and gore of Resident Evil, and of course the desperation and helplessness of the common slasher film. Despite this wide-range of material, it all has something in common that set the genre apart from general horror. Horror movies are about scaring you. Survival horror is about scaring the protagonist. Even the most visceral horror movie might take a more cerebral approach at fear, whereas even the most mentally complex survival horror material, such as Silent Hill, still focuses on the base fear of desperation to stay alive…hence the name.<br><br><span class="bbc_u"><strong>A Note on the Narrative of Survival Horror</strong></span><br>The general operating principle behind this Wushu Guide to Survival Horror is that showing weakness gives you strength. Instead of describing how cool you are and having cool things, you emphasize your weakness and play up drama of having the things precious to you threatened.&nbsp; The more hell you put yourself through, the better chance you have of surviving. That's because in a horror movie non-important characters get killed off quickly.&nbsp; The ones that end up really being tortured are usually the ones who survive (at least until the big finish).<br><br><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Wording Changes from Wushu to Zombie-Fu</strong></span><br>PCs = Victims<br>Chi = Guts (CL called this Crimson…cool but not quite creepy enough for us, so we borrowed this from Baileywolf’s Monster-punk write-up instead.)<br>Yin = Slash (CL called this AB-, which seems a bit clumsy.)<br>Yang = Hack (CL called this AB+, which also seems a bit clumsy.)<br><br><strong>Gory Details</strong>: The more hell a character is put through the better their chances for survival. <strong>Dice pools are built from narrating the gory details of the threat from the eyes of the character and description of the character's fear</strong> (rather than the sheer badass-edness of their actions as in normal Wushu). <br><br><strong><span class="bbc_u">Character Traits</span></strong><br>Three traits with a 5/4/3 split as is customary with Wushu Open: Reloaded.&nbsp; Traits should be built around the threefold theme of Physical, Mental, and Moral survival.&nbsp; Victims also have a Greatest Fear, a Frailty, and a Needful Thing.&nbsp; Available equipment should be kept to a minimum.&nbsp; This IS a genre involving cars that won’t, don’t, or can’t start, guns with little or no ammo, mostly empty first-aid kits, and the like.<br><br><strong>Physical Survival</strong> is pretty obvious—hitting stuff, shooting stuff, running away from stuff, jumping over wide gaps, lifting stuff.<br><br><strong>Mental Survival</strong> is how well you cope with the weirdness and horror as it creeps after you with clammy, decaying fingers and sharp, nasty, pointy teeth.&nbsp; Think of it as a cross between your sanity and your coolness under pressure.<br><br><strong>Moral Survival</strong> is how well your personal morals and ethics hold up under pressure like this.&nbsp; Do you gradually turn into a monster yourself, willing to do anything to survive personally?&nbsp; Or do you stay true to yourself and accept the consequences of stopping to help a friend in need?<br><br>Each character has a <strong>Greatest Fear</strong>, which works like a normal Wushu-style weakness (causing all traits to work like they were rated at 1 during conflicts where the weakness comes into play). However unlike a standard weaknesses, if the character whose Fear is being preyed upon is the one who finishes off the Conflict at hand, that Fear is worked through and the mechanical drawbacks of the weakness go away.&nbsp; This offers a sort of beleaguered heroism to our poor tormented Victims and can give them that one final boost to get them all the way to the final horrors they must face for our amusement.&nbsp; Just ask James Sunderland.<br><br>A <strong>Frailty</strong> is a normal Wushu-style weakness that is tied to a single trait (usually the one with a rating of 3) and affects only that trait when it comes up in a scene.<br><br><strong>Needful Things</strong> are modified Special Things from Wushu Open Reloaded. A Needful Thing is an object or a person that gives the ‘owning’ Victim an extra die (even if it goes over the pool limit) during the scene in which it is invoked.&nbsp; Since this is horror, Needful Things will more often be at risk than a help, but just as descriptions of fear and the gruesomeness of the threat increase a Victim's will to survive (die pool), so to with their Needful Thing being in jeopardy.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Rules We Live By</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>07-12-2006, 20:28:44</strong>
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				And here, to thread it all together, is CasperLion's sample character: Clock Tower's...<br><br><strong>George Trevor</strong><br>Character Concept: Architect trapped in a mansion filled with deathtraps.<br><br>(Mental Survival) <strong>Keymaster</strong> 5 (George designed the mansion that has now become his prison. Even with all the deathtraps activated, his mind is too captivated by the possibility of escape, by the fact that he knows the ins and outs of this place, for him to just become hopeless and broken)<br><br>(Moral Survival) <strong>Family Man</strong> 4 (George was imprisoned after they took his wife and daughter for experimentation. He couldn't do anything to save them, but maybe if he escapes he can get to them in time, or at least give their deaths some meaning by living on and exposing the evils of the ones that made him design this place)<br><br>(Physical Survival) <strong>Desperate Adrenalin</strong> 3 (George isn't a violent man and dehydration and starvation have taken their toll on him during his time as a prisoner here, but the prospect of escape might just give him the boost he needs to evade the deathtraps and make it out alive)<br><br><strong>Greatest Fear</strong>: George's greatest fear is that his family is already dead. Evidence of this may cause him to give up the fight to get out of this place, but if he can work through the grief he might just find the strength to live in order to punish the ones who took his family from him.<br><br><strong>Frailty</strong>: (tied to Physical Survival) Adrenalin is keeping George quick and perceptive, but his raw physical strength has been made pathetic by the lack of food or water these past few days since he escaped his cell and has been wandering the mansion.<br><br><strong>Needful Thing</strong>: George has a lucky lighter that his wife gave to him for his birthday a few years ago. It mainly serves only to truly illuminate how terrifying the mansion of his design is, but despite the fright of the scenery the flickering flame gives him some sense of comfort.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Rules We Live By</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>07-12-2006, 20:54:24</strong>
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				Setting Name: <strong>Perfect Strangers</strong><br><br>Setting Description: A group of people wake up in a very strange place: is it a bomb shelter or a prison cell?&nbsp; Or both?&nbsp; Once they manage to escape, they find that the nightmare is just beginning...<br><br>Inspiration: The Cube, Rubik's Bunker (from unknown-armies.com), Silent Hill, Clock Tower, and Ico.&nbsp; And, to be fair, there's a good chunk of Unknown Armies and Kult lying around in here, too.<br><br>Ticket to Hell:&nbsp; The Victims, unbeknownst to them, have something in common: a dark secret that unites them and has brought them here, by hook and by crook, to face a nightmare.<br><br>Guts Is: a mixture of sanity, resolve, and physical endurance.&nbsp; Whichever runs out first, you're in trouble unless someone's watching your back.<br><br>Sample Character Concepts:&nbsp; College Student, Private Investigator, Former Convict, Housewife in the Wrong Place<br><br>Typical Tasks: Solving puzzle doors, running away, (rarely) fighting instead of fleeing.<br><br>Suitable Traits: (to be updated when I can think of some good ones...)<br><br>Suitable Frailties: Poor Eyesight, Out of Shape, Weak Heart, Annoying Jerk, Selfish, Fragile Grasp of Reality<br><br>Suitable Fears: Any (but the nightmare you choose can and will be used against you).<br><br>Suitable Needful Things: anything small and portable that would have greater sentimental value than practical value.&nbsp; Watches, cameo brooches, photos...<br><br>Mooks: Shadowy creatures of various sorts, puzzle doors<br><br>Nemeses: Traps, The Unstoppable Lurker in the Dark<br><br>Example Description:&nbsp; (to be updated)<br>
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				Title: <strong>[Perfect Strangers] Rules, Characters and Background</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>07-12-2006, 21:08:10</strong>
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				And, since everybody needs a character sheet...<br><br>Character Name:<br>Physical Description:<br>Concept:<br>Trait 1 (5):<br>Trait 2 (4):<br>Trait 3 (3):<br>Greatest Fear:<br>Frailty:<br>Needful Thing:<br><br>Feel free to add as much space as you need.&nbsp; Remember that one trait should relate to Physical Survival, one to Mental Survival, and one to Moral survival.&nbsp; Of course, you can be pretty flexible in what you describe...
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				Title: <strong>Re: Victims and Villains (The Cast List)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Elandra</strong> on <strong>08-12-2006, 05:21:09</strong>
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				<strong>Character Name:</strong> Shane "Mars" Marshall<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> At the age of 20, Shane is 5'10", has dark blue eyes and a crew cut of red hair, his well-toned, muscular body supports calloused hands, dark brown, weathered tan skin after spending a year in the deserts of Iraq, he had just been transferred to the mountains of Afghanistan. He wears boots, and brown army fatigues.<br><br><strong>Background: </strong>Graduating from high school, after growing up in small town USA, as the captain and quarterback of the football team, homecoming king and one of the most sought out boys, Shane's sense of duty to his country was overpowering. He joined the army and after a year of training, he became a member of the Special Forces. He was sent to Iraq immediately after training, where he excelled at soldiering.<br><br>Traits:<br><strong>Special Forces (5):</strong> Trained in both hand-to-hand and many types of weapons, from machine guns to the garrote.<br><strong>Man of his Word (4):</strong> Loyal and honest, once he has given his word on anything he will never go back on it.<br><strong>Memory for details (3):</strong> Shane has a knack to remember the minutest of detail, he will know where the closest river is because he glanced at a map back at headquarters or every order he was given for a mission.<br><br><strong>Greatest Fear:</strong> Shane’s greatest fear is that he will have to kill another child. During one of the many raids in Iraq, a young boy armed a suicide bomb charged his patrol; he shot and killed the boy. <br><strong>Frailty (tied to Mental Survival):</strong> A woman’s scream, regardless if they are friend or foe, will bring him back to the torture he had to perform in Iraq.<br><strong>Needful thing:</strong> Dog tags <br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Victims and Villains (The Cast List)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ixy</strong> on <strong>08-12-2006, 21:42:54</strong>
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				Character Name:&nbsp; Jasna Morana<br>Physical Description:&nbsp; Diminutive in height and build, Jasna has short-cut, dirty-blonde hair, hazel eyes and very fair skin.&nbsp; Her features are delicate, but her eyes are challenging, piercing, and she has the air of one of considerable years despite looking no more than a teenager.&nbsp; She has a myriad of oil paint stains on her hands, around the edges of her close-cut nails, and—if she’s been particularly wrapped-up in her work—on her face as well.<br>Concept:: Career artist<br>Trait 1 (5):&nbsp; Survivor… she was raised in a world where abuse and atrocity were common, so she’s learned to accept that which she cannot change, and to fight back to end suffering wherever she can.<br>Trait 2 (4):&nbsp; Cat-like agility… after surviving a childhood in a war-torn Soviet Republic, she can run, climb, and squeeze into tight spaces with preternatural ability.<br>Trait 3 (3):&nbsp; Creativity… Jasna can detect patterns, think abstractly, and visualize that which others fail to see.&nbsp; <br>Greatest Fear:&nbsp; Enetophobia: Fear of needles<br>Frailty:&nbsp; Physical weakness/lack of upper-body strength.<br>Needful Thing:&nbsp; A worn, leather-covered, unlined pocket folio...&nbsp; For notes, sketches, etc.<br>
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				Title: <strong>Storytime!  (Background and Other Tidbits)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>10-12-2006, 21:28:48</strong>
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				Once upon a time, best beloved, there was a little man, a quiet and meek little man, who lived in a small village in a kingdom far, far away.&nbsp; He made clocks and repaired watches and sometimes, as Christmas approached, he would make toys for the children in his village.&nbsp; He was not well-loved because he was so meek and mild.&nbsp; Toymakers are supposed to be big and loud and jolly, and he was small and quiet.&nbsp; Nonetheless, he had a wife and a son.&nbsp; He loved them very much, and so he did not mind that the people of the village did not think the world of him.<br><br>Know this, best beloved: to be loved is wonderful, and to be happy is good, but neither lasts forever.&nbsp; Nor is it a guard against the bad things that come to us as we trudge through this vale of tears.&nbsp; So it was for the meek little toymaker.&nbsp; While he was away on business in another village, a tiger from a circus escaped its cage and ate up his wife and his son...and because he was not well-loved, none of the villagers had a kind word for him when he returned to find all that he valued dead and gone.&nbsp; What does that do to a person, do you think?<br><br>The toymaker was very sad for a very long time.&nbsp; But then he learned that the tiger had not 'gotten' loose at all--some of the villagers had released it, thinking it good sport to scare the others.&nbsp; The toymaker vowed that he would avenge his loving wife and son if it was the last thing he ever did.&nbsp; He crafted a wonderful toy, and into it he built a trap with sharp ribbons of steel and poisoned spikes.&nbsp; A horrible thing, to be sure, but so is letting a tiger loose.&nbsp; As he worked, he found that he was less sad when he concentrated on the deadly toy.&nbsp; He began to work longer and longer hours on his revenge.&nbsp; He worked so hard, best beloved, that he forgot why he was so sad.&nbsp; He forgot his wife.&nbsp; He forgot his son.&nbsp; And at the last, they say he even forgot himself.<br><br>Now if this were a happy story, best beloved, he would have finished his toy and used it to avenge himself on the fools who had turned the tiger on his family.&nbsp; If the world worked the way we wish it to, the little toymaker would then have gone on and found another woman to love and had more children and become a better man for all of his suffering.&nbsp; But this is not a happy story.&nbsp; It is a warning.<br><br>The six fools vanished in a night of screams and shadows, while a storm rattled the roofs of the village and toppled trees.&nbsp; No trace of them was ever found.&nbsp; But the little toymaker was not gone.&nbsp; They found him the next morning, sitting beside the ashes of his workshop in the cold, cold rain, clutching a photograph of his wife and child.&nbsp; His mind and spirit had broken...and he died from a sickness not long after that.&nbsp; Of the magical toy, he spoke not a word.&nbsp; It had vanished, like a handful of dust thrown into a strong wind.&nbsp; It may yet be out there, its secrets waiting for foolish hands and curious hearts to trigger it.<br><br>Beware of unexpected presents, best beloved.<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Victims and Villains (The Cast List)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Cosmo_ac</strong> on <strong>04-01-2007, 01:31:30</strong>
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				Character Name:&nbsp; John Cole<br>Physical Description:&nbsp; John is an athletic man, but he’s no bodybuilder.&nbsp; While fit, and well muscled he is no overly well define and has probably a good 15 pounds he could stand to lose.&nbsp; John has short brown hair and brown eyes, with a clean shaven face, and stands at about 5’9.&nbsp; He wears blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket.&nbsp; He is thirty years old.<br>Concept: Independent investigative reporter.<br>Trait 1 (5):&nbsp; Combat experience:&nbsp; John has spent more then a few years covering the war in Iraq as an independent journalist, so he is accustomed to chaos and gunfire going on around him.<br>Trait 2 (4):&nbsp; &nbsp;Atrocity familiarity:&nbsp; With his experience in Iraq, John has stumbled upon more then a few tortured and torn apart bodies.&nbsp; Some of which were still alive when he found them.<br>Trait 3 (3):&nbsp; Journalistic integrity:&nbsp; As a journalist working on stories that would make both government officials, and other groups very nervous, John has learned the importance of keeping his word when he promises anonymity and safety for his undercover contacts.&nbsp; Because of that he realizes the importance of trust and keeping ones word.<br>Greatest Fear:&nbsp; Drowning.&nbsp; John almost drowned when he was a boy, and has a fear of dying by drowning.&nbsp; While he can swim, his abilites are very limited.<br>Frailty:&nbsp; Alcoholic.<br>Needful Thing:&nbsp; John almost always carries around with him a large silver flask filled with extremely strong whisky.&nbsp; It was a present from a female informant he got to close to, with the result being her death.<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Victims and Villains (The Cast List)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MadPanda</strong> on <strong>02-02-2007, 03:51:07</strong>
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				<strong>Shadow Hounds</strong>&nbsp; (Mooks)<br><br>These stomach-churning beasties resemble flayed Great Danes and act like annoyed wolves, swiftly closing in on any intruders in 'their' territory.&nbsp; Small mercy that it is, they are not much more powerful than Great Danes...and but for their horrifying appearance seem mortal enough.
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