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The Accursed (post apocolyptic PbP game)


Incubus

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The Story

Roughly a hundred years ago, the fall occurred; a great disaster struck the world and brought humanity to its knees. Little remains still recorded about exactly what happens, all that is remembered is the outcome from this great disaster.

The fall brought humanity two new things, a gift and a curse. The gift was control over spiritual power, sorcery, magic. The ability to through the training and will of one attuned to it weave miracles and work the energies of the world to their own goals. While when it first arrived, it may have been mistrusted or even seen as the cause for all the problems, by now most people are used to its existence and accept it as a tool.

The curse, however, was not worth this price. A great pestilence spread across the lands, destroying the minds of those infected and turning them into its slaves, doomed to wander almost mindlessly, seeking to spread it further. No longer capable of speech, there are still debates over whether or not they retain any intelligence or even animalistic cunning. One thing is certain though, the taint is something universally feared.

The Factions

Following the collapse of the world, mankind abandoned its previous governments and borders, forming a series of small isolated communities who banded together for protection. Some survived, many did not. In time, in order to increase the odds of survival and share supplies and skills, these communities began to reach out to one another once more. In the area this game is set, there are several separate factions with their own beliefs and skills. They may not get along with one another, often due to a conflict of beliefs, but most shy away from outright aggression against one another; everyone is all too aware that simply surviving is difficult enough.

The Green Berets

It's not clear whether or not The Green Berets were born out of the remains of a formal military organisation, or merely some kind of militia but these days it makes little difference. When it comes to firearms, both in equipment and training, they are second to no one. They generally work in highly organised teams, following strict rules of engagement to minimise their own losses.

Their territory is ringed by crudely constructed forts and fences in attempts to prevent anyone from entering without their knowledge and approval. The result of this is that they do not like outsiders. If they took in every person who wanted a better weapon, or better skills in using it, they wouldn't be able to sustain themselves.

Very few members of the Green Berets are magically gifted and those who are do not receive the training needed to really bring out their talents. While the Green Beret can see the usefulness of the skills, they are far more focused on their existing doctrine and with it working just fine, there's no reason to change. Those born with magical gifts will often leave to further pursue their talent rather than letting it squander.

The Prismatic Veil

A mysterious group of mystics, the Veil is regarded as the most magically advanced faction in the area. Their organisation is highly ritualised and based upon secrets which can make their lands difficult to live in for those not magically talented. That said, they do still defend the settlements within their borders, protecting the magical and mundane alike.

Outside of the Veil, it's not distinctly clear where their lands begin and end. One thing that is widely known, however, is that the Veil themselves know exactly where their borders lie, undoubtedly through some use of magic, as one does not get far into their lands without being confronted by them. Certain areas of their lands are clearly marked; by warning of death of those not authorised proceed beyond a marked point. It is considered most intelligent to enter through the emerald road, somewhat of a highway into their lands which they actively guard the entrance of. There, one can apply for permission to enter if they have good enough reason.

The Prismatic veil will accept almost anyone with magical talents who is eager to learn and are not opposed to trade either. The even allow the occasional groups of refugees, although the ones allowed into their lands far outweigh the ones turned away; this has resulted in a camp town not far from the entrance of the emerald road, grown enough that it's able to protect itself from most minor threats.

The Junkers

Don't let the name fool you, as the Junkers are widely regarded as the go-to place for trade. If it exists, the Junkers can provide it, for a price. Growing out of an area rich in junkyards, the ingenuity of these people are now famous. Their craftsmen fix almost anything, and can create effective tools and weapons from even the crudest of parts. Their lands are small, not extending more than a few settlements away from the scrap sites they first made their home but their influence extends much further.

Most of the Junkers wander the wilderness, searching for new places to gather parts from, new inspiration for creation and selling their services or products to those who need them. While not as cautious as most, it is said only a fool would try to attack a Junker caravan. Almost everyone is welcome to enter their lands, but most are not permitted to stay beyond a small visitation period. The length of the period depends on the reason of staying; one here to trade is allowed a week or two, but someone here to learn is granted longer.

Gifted students will often be given the option to join the Junkers proper, but for every Junker there are at least two mechanics or repairmen who are Junker trained elsewhere in the area. Their skills do not go to waste, as even being Junker trained is held in high regard and they can often find work elsewhere.

The Corsairs

Fierce brigands and bandits, the Corsairs are not a name often spoken with respect but instead fear. While it is rumoured they do indeed have a base of operations, probably somewhere in the badlands given it has remained hidden, the most anyone sees of them are their raiding parties. Riding around in fast vehicles, the Corsairs strike hard and fast and take what they want. They care little for the rights of those not amongst them, although they will rarely encroach on the territory of a major power.

It's not exactly clear where the Corsairs recruit their new members from, although there is a wide variety of rumours. Captured prisoners or slaves that show the right qualities, small-time groups of bandits who come to their attention, even the occasional idiot with more balls than brains who wanders into the badlands alone trying to find them and succeeds. All possibilities but all rumours.

One thing that is widely agreed upon is that if you see the Corsairs coming for you, best to surrender and give them what they want. Fighting back is a good way to die, but if one surrenders to them, they will take what they want and leave; sometimes this may include a few people as slaves but they don't kill needlessly. Likewise, they pick their fights so that if it did come to violence odds are good they make it through without much damage on their side; piracy isn't profitable if you're picking fights that destroy your vehicles and kill your men.

The Holy Crusade

The Crusade believe that this land is unclean and the accursed pestilence is God's wrath. And they will cleanse the filth from these lands to lift the curse that plagues mankind. A group of zealots, the Crusade are dangerous because as far as they're concerned, you're with them or you're against them.

A rapidly growing power, they'll accept communities of refugees as long as they're willing to live by the Crusade's gospel. A strict lifestyle of obedience and piety is a small price to pay for most, in exchange for protection and hope for a better future. But do not stray near their lands if you're not interested in converting, because the penalty is death. Those who do not see the light are filth that must be cleaned.

The other factions are eyeing this rapidly growing power with caution; given their attitude it seems war is only a matter of time. The question is only when and how. The Junkers especially have taken a disliking to them, having lost a caravan to them; not to mention the insult of free trade being disrupted somewhere. While not large enough to take on the Crusade alone, they will certainly be happy to assist anyone else in fighting them; there are even rumours of them supplying the Corsairs in exchange for raids on the Crusade.

The Accursed

Those who've spent time fighting against those infected by the Curse are aware of one terrible truth; not all of them are mindless zombies. A select few are affected differently from the disease, and retain their minds; these are what are known as the Accursed. Carriers for the disease, but not victims of it in the same way, they seem to share a special link with the infected and are able to telepathically control them. It is from these individuals that the debate of the intelligence of the infected springs as they can cause the otherwise mindless drones to move in coordinated fashions.

However, whilst they retain their minds, they are not free from the other effect of the curse. Like their lesser kin, they are inflicted with a massively heightened sexual desire. Instead of them being at risk of taint, instead they must keep their hunger from overtaking them, for if they go too long they will lose control, calling every infected within their range to them for a great carnal orgy. These gatherings are one of the things the Holy Crusade watch for, prime targets for cleansing, although they can only strikes things near enough to them. Other factions too will often strike at these, for the infected rarely pay attention to defending themselves and its an easy way to locate one of the Accursed.

Whilst they retain their intelligence, most of the Accursed are quite mad, although its unknown if this is an effect of the disease, or a by-product of the psychological strain being one has on them. Either way, most seek to spread the disease further, often delighting in capturing and tainting those afflicted. Stories say some are simply lonely, and hope to create another like them, a companion and equal. Either way, they are without debate the most dangerous members of the infected.
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: The Accursed (post apocolyptic PbP game)

The Curse

The plague that rages across the land is typically known by a great many names, be it the Curse, the Taint, the Great Pestilence, the Plague etc. There is no official name for it, so people refer to it however they are most comfortable doing so.

It is transmitted both orally, by eating/drinking infected food/water sources and sexually and there is no known cure for it. That is not to say there aren't treatments; there is one that can stop the progress of the disease in the body; it won't undo the effects of the taint but it will stop it from further eroding the body; at least until one is reinfected. There's been no success in creating a vaccine that immunises the body against it.

The vast majority of those infected wander the wilderness, drawn towards humanity to pass on the disease via sexual intercourse. In small numbers, their lack of intelligence makes them little of a threat, but they can swarm over the unprepared if encountered in large groups. The numbers of infected found will increase the closer one gets to the so called "Badlands", land so thoroughly infected that few dare travel.

The Badlands

As mentioned above, the Badlands is the area thoroughly claimed by the disease, where infected roam in larger packs. Travelling into the badlands is very dangerous, and considered outright suicide for most, rightly so.

Still, regular expeditions are made into it by the major powers, as for all its danger, it also holds many unclaimed resources. Not the least of which, any hope for developing a cure for the taint requires specimens of the disease to study. Capturing a member of the infected and using the strains in them is far too dangerous, not to mention the virus is typically mutated by that point, so it is best to take a sample from a contaminated body of water. There is constantly demand for new samples from new bodies of water by researchers, so regular expeditions into the badlands to gain them from new sources occur despite the heavy risk.

There are also plenty of unclaimed supplies, weapons, lost knowledge, a whole sleuth of things await the bold, providing they can survive. Those desperate enough or crazy enough will launch expeditions into there for all sorts of reasons and some experienced treasure hunters spend their lifetime doing runs into there. Another reason to venture in is rescue operations, a major expedition gone wrong and some of the team escaped and radioed for help.

Still, deep expeditions are something only done by the highly skilled or downright crazy.

The System

In The Accursed, there are three primary stats that derive the character's abilities, Body, Mind and Spirit.

Body is a measure of the character's combined physical abilities. It determines their ability to perform any physical task, as well as their health, action points, stamina and initiative. Their ability to use any form of physical weapons are also derived from the Body stat, so it is very important for characters who specialise in weaponry.

Mind is a measure of the character's combined mental capabilities. It determines their ability to perform any mental task, as well as their action points, resistance to taint, ability to evade and their learning ability. It is also the primary stat used in creation of items, so it is very important for characters who specialise in crafting.

Spirit is a measure of a character's sense of self and persistence. It determines their ability to perform in social situations, as well as their health, taint resistance, magical power and magical resistance. It is the primary stat for anything magic related and so it very important for character who specialise in magic.

The following are stats derived from the three primary stats. Any change to a primary stat will also affect them.

Hit Points - (Body * Spirit / 2) Your lifeforce. If you run out of HP, you are dead.
Action Points - (Body + Mind / 2) Action points are a measure of how quickly you can react during combat, and thus how much you can perform on your turn. Each action in combat has an AP cost and you may declare up to your AP worth of actions per turn.
Taint Resistance - (Mind + Spirit) Your taint resistance score represents how long it takes the Great Pestilence to consume you. Different stages of the Plague occur as certain percentages of the bar are met, so the more resistant you are to it, the more taint you can be afflicted with before you start to suffer the effects.
Initiative - (Body score) Your initiative determines where your turn is during combat.
Stamina - (Body score) Your stamina determines how long you can keep pushing yourself. You can perform strenuous actions (such as combat, running etc.) for a number or rounds equal to your stamina score. After that, you must spend a full round doing nothing but resting to recover your stamina.
Dodge - (10 + Mind score) An abstract stat determining both your ability to make good use of cover, knowing when to move and when to duck etc your dodge score determines your ability to avoid enemy attacks.
Experience Rate - (Mind / 10) Your ability to learn from experience. Your mind score functions as a multiplier for experience gains.
Magic Power - (Spirit) Casting spells and otherwise using magic drains your magical power.
Magical Resistance - (10 + Spirit score) Your ability to resist, cast off or withstand magical effects.


Based on your background, your starting primary stats will be determined for you. They all begin at 6, and will receive increases based on your decisions. However, this is not the only way to change your stats.

Experience Points and Traits

Experience Points are earned throughout the game, modified by your Experience rate. These can be spent on permanent power-ups called traits, which do a wide variety of things. Anything from changing or improving your primary or secondary stats, to giving you bonuses in situations or new abilities are covered under traits. However, you cannot just learn any trait you like; to learn a trait, not only do you need to the experience point cost, but also someone to teach you. Most traits can be taught by anyone who has it, but some special traits can only be taught through special training more intensive than can be delivered by a single person. Certain other traits allow teaching of lesser, but similar traits, as the owner of the trait cannot pass along the skill equal to his own. All in all, there are an ever-changing amount of traits the characters can pick up in the game world, should they find the appropriate teacher.

Sample traits
These are just a couple of the traits that are available.

Hardy - Your body is tough and conditioned, +1 to Body score.
Weapon Proficiency: Pistol - You have learned to handle pistol weapons, +1 to attack rolls with pistols
Expert Re-loader - The AP cost of all reload actions is reduced by 1.
Junker Training - You have been trained by the Junkers in the arts of crafting, +2 to crafting rolls, can make junker gear.
Magical Training - You have learned to control your spirit and channel your magical energy more fluently, gain double Spirit score to MP instead of single.
Battle Mediation - You have learned to focus your spirit in battle and quickly regain your power, gain ability Battle Mediation, spend a full round meditating to regain spirit score worth of MP.

Background
The following four questions will generate your starting stats, traits and gear. Some of them do naturally flow from one to another, but you are under no obligation to choose a path that flows or makes sense. You are free to treat each question as standalone.

1) One of your parents was:

A leader of a small settlement
A Mercenary
A pleasure slave
A Scientist
A powerful Mystic
A travelling merchant

In your early life, you:

Bullied and preyed upon your fellow children to ensure that you survived and were comfortable.
Found a weapon at a fairly young age, and taught yourself to use it, to thelp protect your community
Made a living scrounging the wilderness for anything useful, and selling your findings at a local community for food and shelter
Entertained yourself by taking apart and putting back together mechanical devices
Were taken as a slave and began being groomed for the life, even as you worked
Were apprenticed to a sorcerer, and began your magical training early in life

During your teenage years, you:

Tried your hand at being a small-time bandit, as part of a gang
Joined a local militia to help protect your settlement from the hazards of the wilderness
Spent a lot of time wandering the wilderness, living off the land and being self sufficient
Were apprenticed to a mechanic, and eventually travelled to receive Junker training
Worked as a pleasure slave, willingly or otherwise, for someone much more privileged than most.
Were apprenticed to a sorcerer, and underwent rigorous magical training

Finally, you decided it wasn't enough. You struck out to make a name for yourself, leaving your previous contacts, because...

Ambition, you decided you could do better elsewhere, and would climb to the top
Loss, someone close to you was killed and you couldn't bear to stay
Wanderlust, you grew tired of the status quo and decided to see what else was around
Knowledge, a desire to learn more about things of interest to you.
Freedom, you felt too restricted in your current circumstances
Forced out, you no longer felt welcome in your current circumstances and felt a need to leave. immediately.
 
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