Online Literature Roleplay - Part I

[Loki]

Okay, this is something we used to do on a forum I used to frequent...ehm...quite frequently...().

It's vaguely like Our Play or Dramatic Rendering in Action only kind of...different.

I don't have much time (or I didn't) so if I don't explain properly I'll edit this later (or you can PM me if you don't get it).

Well. Firstly, we have a setting. As no one but myself is involved so far, I'll choose it, but IF it's popular enough then we can start another part with a poll as to which place we should hold it in. But I think before we do anything like that we should first established that there's going to be enough players to make it worthwhile. So it's an experiment, if you like.

We choose our own characters...you can be whoever you like, and it doesn't necessarily have to be like you. You can be a knight or a king or a whatever...but just make sure there's only one king to each kingdom. Well, follow the rules:

LOGOS: Logic/Reason
PATHOS: Emotion
ETHOS: Ethically correct

I forget who came up with it, it was one of the ancients anyway (Greek, forget if it was Socrates or Plato or... )...don't worry too much about the "ethos" part; it SHOULD be more or less a skit so it doesn't matter if it's satire/parody/etc.

So let's add another rule:

HOMOROS: Amusing

So, logos, pathos, homoros. Check.

Ahem.

SETTING: A Gothic castle. ()
TIME PERIOD: c. 17th century
MAGIC ALLOWED: Yes
DESCRIPTIONS: As long as you like
PERSON: First person (exceptions may occur, e.g. in the case of Taliesin)
TIME TRAVEL: Allowed, as long as we stay in the same PLACE if not the same TIME

I think that should be all...

As to myself:

CHARACTER NAME: Laurence Winterbury
OCCUPATION: Musketeer/Knight, depending on the occasion
MORTAL: Yes
APPEARANCE: Clothing, musketeer - dark blue/cream costume, navy floppy hat w/ cream feather, reasonable-sized rapier with "Justitia" written on it Clothing, knight - heavy, chinking silver armour with shield with heraldic stuff all over it; Eyes - hazel, hair - brown-ish, nose - roman, ummm...that should be all. Add anything else in the story.

Please enclose one of these at the end of your addition (so as not to ruin the suspense).

Oh, I forgot to mention...let's make it suspenseful.

SUSPENSIO

Without any further ado (*clears throat uncomfortably*), let's start!

(Passing note: it wasn't meant to be a narrative poem, it just turned out that way. You don't have to continue in the same style...please use whatever style you want. But please continue in the first person, I need a different point of view.)

***

ROLEPLAY
Part the First

It all started one cold and dreary night. The wind was in the ashes, murmuring like a hungry child, but the lake below the castle was black and still, like the sky reflected in it.
I was at the castle table, alone, alone, alone,
Lonelier than any passing shadow,
A ghost of my usual self.
I did not feel like eating,
The cook had escaped by stealth;
And so I sat myself at the castle table,
Alone, alone, alone.
There was not a living creature
With me in the room;
Or in the hall I could well say,
There was space enough
For a tennis court.
There was not a mouse to share my solitude,
Not a weevil or a roach...
The wind alone rattled at the window-pane
Alone, alone, alone.
But then all of a sudden,
What took me by surprise,
Was something loud and clear and shrill -
'Twas a knock upon the door.
'Who goes there,' I spluttered,
Waking from my reverie;
'Tis I,' replied a wispy voice...
Like a cobweb on a tree.
'Who's I,' I said, annoyed at this,
'Do you know a man called Nose?"
'Tis I," repeated the voice again,
A voice velvety and morose.
'Open the door,' it continued, quite soberly,
'Tis locked, I can't get in.'
'That I should think,' I shook my head,
'Tis 'most eleven o'clock, to begin!'
At that there was a scraping,
A squeaking, and a screeching,
Like nails on the door -
'Twas late, 'twas late, I do confess
Perhaps the prolonged melancholy of the night
Had produced hallucinations in my head.
'Who goes there,' I repeated, brusque and bold,
'Who comes at such a late hour?'
When no reply I received to this,
Impatient, I unlocked the door -
Pushed it open, eagerly,
And in horror saw -

[Taliesin]

Roleplay?
Roleplay!
Yay! We like it.
Is there any Game Master or shall we try to make due without one?
We are not very good with writing on verse so we'll write it in prose. We are also afraid that we can fail in Logos, Ethos and Humoros, but we shall try.

So: Our Character:

CHARACTER NAME: Do not remember any more, they're called Young Man With Crow
OCCUPATION: Wanderer
MORTAL: Doubtful
APPEARANCE: Young man: Clothing: Let's say that they are good, warm, pastel-coloured clothes, only a bit old and worn out. Nose: hooked. Complexion: Usual, a bit pale. Eyes - sad green. Quite short. He looks as if he is about 20.
Crow - black, usual size, three eyes. Is sitting on young man's shoulder.

He opened the door. We saw that he was quite tall.
We saw that he was quite human and that was strange. We did not remember humans.
Funny that he was a human, not a crow
But, we haven't seen any human for a long.... time.
Time, yes, that's the word. Funny how you forget some words.
Funny how you remember them. We mean, we actually spoke to that man. At least, that is an art that we haven't forgotten.
We wonder, if we spoke to him, who actually said the words. We mean, we have two mouths.
We tested.
"Er... who are you?"
Ah, that's clear now. It was Young Man who said it, not the Crow.
Why are We speaking of our two bodies as they had two minds? Could we be scisophrenical?
Perhaps, perhaps.
Could this man here also be a thing that came out of our madness.
No.
We felt something again in our bones. He was real.
We had again turned to the wrong door. Like back then.
I had gone to the cellars to take up a new cask of wine, but then, there was that another door and i had gone down and down and down and down to the roots of the castle, to the actual living roots, where the building took force from Earth itself and there...
Dizzyness.
Confusion.
Hadn't I flown there from The Lands Of Autumn, but had lost our nest and then there was that strange smell to the autumn air and i was taken away and bound...
NO!
Sillyness and scisophreny! False memories that had arosen from... what?
Hunger? Could it be hunger? But hunger for what?
It couldn't be meat or mead, since we did not need them.
Strange how our memory again became active near this man, this being of life. It almost seemed, lik our magick was back, magick that we had gained there, in the roots and that we had had and used for such a long time, but as we used it, life around us grew weaker and our magick also did so, as the life around us was weak?
Life?
Could life be it?
Could we again use our magick, our dearest and only passion?
It is hard to describe what it feels to have lost your magick. You become less real, an impotent in some sense, but these methaphors don't do the loss justice.
Imagine that you loved to play the fiddle. Imagine that you sometimes did it for hours and hours continuing, forgetting yourself in the music, and then, for some strange accident, you lost your fingers. And yet it doesn't describe the feeling of loss.
We had lost it. We had drifted through the empty, empty castle, half-real, without essence, sad.
And now, near this life-being, it was coming back.
So, life is it that feeds our hunger like raisins? We would not need to attack him or anything, just perhaps being near a being of life could awaken some of our magick for it is life-magick. We love life.
Let us take it. Let us at least look at it, be near it, though life that is near us seems to grow weaker like a fire that has got no wood left. But we want to be near it, to feel again the flow of blood in our veins. Shall we?
We shall.
"Good morrow, good sir" We said and entered the room.
"Care of a game of cards?"

[Nightshade]

YAYAYYAYA!!
Im sooooooo happy!

Humm OOOKy Ill try this if its no goood please in form me and we (the smilies and I ) will dissapear as if it were by magic

Character:

Name: True names hold power so you can call me The Lady or if I like you just Lady

Occupation: Champion of the smilies to the United Faerie Coutrts and general interfeire in human exsistance

Mortal: I have never cared to test this theoery Being the daughhter of an immortal and mortal

Discription: Appears to be a young woman./ teenager (18ich) less than 5 ft tall (short in othe words) river mud coloured eyes and waist long multi colored hair ( can change at will) ohh and thin. Is always accompanied by the rarest and most shy of all the common fey the Smilies. who adopted her as thier chosen chamoppion. Whimsical and has a tendncy to be curius about Mortal and especially human lives Usually dressed in some shade of green.
----------------------------------------------

It was a Good night to be out. The moon was despite not being full honey coloured sailing through a few scattered clouds. We stood on the moor and I watched TThe green ones dance joy for life. The human realm is such a beautiful place. Suddenly the wind changes and I smell a smell I have not smelt in at least 50 a castle. I can not risist taking a look.
I see it. So quiet. It almost appears to be abanoneded . But what is this a light.
OOO goody people.
Oh there is only one human in the room and humm The wanderer Well no matter I shall not hide from him most likly he has not kept up with news of the Courts.
The man is a knight. I recognise those restrictive clothes. I wonder if...
Well its worth a try.
I am now by the door. My hair is a dull human brown my dress is in desprate condition and I am wet to the skin.

I love these lion head Knockers.
I bang on the door once, twice three times

"Who goes there?"
"Please let me in I am cld and weary and have lost my way (not likly!) and my escort"

He swings open the door
Oops I forgot to hide my wings.....

[Aramis]

Ooo. It's been a while since I've roleplayed on forums. This could be fun.

CHARACTER NAME: Vala
OCCUPATION: Sorceress (Whether good or evil... no one really knows.)
MORTAL: Not on my life.
APPEARANCE: Fair skin with black hair and emerald-green eyes. Almost 6 feet tall, of average build. Wears a black dress and black leather boots with a cloak to match the eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've always loved dark, rainy nights. They are so pleasant to me for some reason. However, I usually enjoy them from inside my castle where they do not ruin my outfit. Rain and leather do not mix.

It was with disgust that I realized that I would have to take a break on my journey. After all, no sorceress ever turned up disgruntled to her appointments. The only building in sight was a castle that looked very homey (in my opinion).

Quickly I ran up to the door and banged on it with the heavy knocker. Once I was allowed in, I saw a curious party. There was a woman dressed in green who possessed wings, a knight, and a man with a crow on his shoulder.

"I am Vala," I announced importantly, wondering if any of these people would have actually heard of me. "I would like to request your hospitality for tonight, since I can't travel in the rain."

At that moment, I felt myself shiver, despite the fact that my cloak was supposed to magically heat me. My hair was also out of place, contradicting the spell I had used to arrange it. I gasped. Could something here be interfering with my powers?

[Nightshade]

Ahhh Valda the soceress I sensed her before I saw her shining black like an opal.
She might know my secret this cannot do . Not good at all. Ooops she may have noticed the effect of Fay presence on mere Human magic. But enough is enough These wings make mee to conspicuos They must be disposed of. ahh this is better.
***moving along so now some time later****

We are all sat around the large fire place the smilies love to watch the dancing arms of the flames. Vala has finally dried off although she appears to be a human of short temper. The Wanderer has yet to say much. I wondere if the rumors I heard as a little one are true? I know we both sense somthing wrong with the Knight Laurance. he seems weak and floppy. Like a wet straw doll the smilies think he might be ill.
" So What exactly are you Lady" asks Valda
"You could say that I am a Quester socrceress"
The knight finally woken from his daydream "Sorceress??" he appears shocked " Yes what are you Lady?"
"That is my buisness Knight and not yours These however are The Smilies, prehaps the least known to Humans of all the fay. I might tell you there tale sometime but not tonight."
I stand up I wish to sleep and I advise all of you to do the same. The Wanderer looks suddennly alarmed.
I feel a sudden creepiness what the Mortals call a shadow on the grave.
A sudden peel of thunder " Let us all hope we pass this night in safty...

[Loki]

As the sky outside flamed with blue light,
I asked myself - what had possessed me that night?
I had clothed myself in silver,
The colour suits me well -
Not my full armour, of course,
That I reserve for special occasions only.
I merely had a silken shirt of finest moonlight spun,
Particularly tight around the neck - oh what had the tailor done!
Sleet-grey breeches, black spanish hat,
And yet so obviously a knight...
On such a night.
It was as though I had been expecting visitors,
Though I expected none;
For who would come on such a night,
For who would travel in the dusky moonlight
Without the smile of the sun?
Who would cross the midnight moors,
In rain and sleet and mud;
Who, indeed, would dare the danger
Of the ebony claws of darkness?
Who, I thought, as I glanced in front of me,
At the tall figure of Valda, professed sorceress,
At the Lady and her smiling friends,
And at the man with the crow.
I half expected the bird to quote "nevermore"
As its master spread a deck of cards
Thoughtfully in his hand.
My eyes unfocussed as the fuzzy image of a king passed onto the table;
I wondered what my cousin was doing,
And whether she would, perhaps, appear at the castle gate too,
Unlikely as it did seem.
But no, I told myself,
That could and would not be.
She had specific work to do -
She was busy as a bee.
As I firmly established this in my head,
A sound shot through my ears -
Familiar, distant, insistant.
It was a tapping at the door.

[Bongitybongbong]

alright this'll be fun since Ive lost some life to role playing.

Name: known as "The Harlequin Man"
Occupation: at one time a Knight, wizard, politician, outlaw, and oracle but
now works under all of the former occupations
Mortal: nothing truly lives forever but I will die before great battles were fought
Description: 6 foot, pale skin, black hair, hazel eyes, dark green robes with subtle purple streaks, a third eye because the right eye has been rendered useless, under the large robes are an assortment of weapons including swordchucks, daggers, staffs, and throwing stars, under the robes a black armor imprinted with the withering eye protect the body
__________________________________________________ _______________

I waited at the door of the ancient castle pondering how humans such as these will posess such power in time. I looked across the terrain as I awaited entrance into the granite walls of the castle. As the oak door creaked open, I noticed there were some people socializing a few rooms down. A knight in armor that dates back longer than the earliest armor types known to humans in my time. The knight looked as though he had lost his soul, and I made note of his depression.
"Who are you?" the knight questioned.
"I am known as The Harlequin Man," I retorted. "Will you let me stay for the night because I have traveled for a fortnight without any rest."
"It's not like one more person will hurt."
I was then escorted to the room where the others were socializing. I turned and saw that there were only three more people here each one seemed to be taken in by this knight.
I bowed and uttered, "I am The Harlequin Man, and I it is nice to meet everyone here."
The woman to the right looked as though she could cast spells that could cause a change in the balence of power. She introduced herself as Valda. The man in the canter was nothing more than a wanderer though he might as be a bard.
"I am Young man with Crow. After the years one can even forget his name."
"Very true...anything can be forgotten and after ages beyond count that piece of knowledge can be used with such power. One should never dispell any knowledge because the future may need it."
"Interesting...." the woman on the left said. It appeared she was pondering my statement as if there was anything she had ever lost only to need it in the upcoming days. "I'm sorry....how rude of me to forget to introduce myself. I'm called The Lady and these are my smilie friends."
"I should like to know our gracious host's name so I can truly thank his hospitality." No one answer with his name. "In fact where did our host leave to?"

[Miss Darcy]

Loki, you copycat! Oh well, never mind, here goes another RP game.

Name: this is where I get stuck. I've had so many names in the history of my internet life, and yet I can't think of one single one to...
Got it! Astrid Claremont

Description: Tall, thinnish, long hair the colour of dark chocolate (I despise dark chocolate, but anyway)....brown eyes, a nose, a mouth, etc. Clothing: black, velvet top; knee-length black skirt; black stockings; black shoes; black umbrella.

--------

I decided to drop in at Laurie's for a short while - I had been for a walk that evening (or should I say night), and was caught unexpectedly by the rain. The castle was only a short distance away from the wood, so I decided to make a run for it. (The black umbrella I always carried around with me in case there was a storm - for it stormed very often in those parts - was unfortunately so moth-eaten that it was holes all through and not much protection from the rain.) [Note: Well, there goes Logos. Sorry Loki.]
I got excessively muddy nevertheless. My soft, black, leather shoes were ruined by the time I shook the myriad of droplets that had settled on my clothes and my hair of me at the castle door.
Breathing heavily, I pulled the lion knocker and thumped it strongly on the hard wood of the oak. And waited.
After about three minutes of standing in the rain I was wet through and still had not been admitted into the castle. I tapped my foot impatiently, then decided that tapping at the door again might have more effect.
Knock - knock - KNOCK!!!
"Who's there," said a muffled voice, scarcely audible in the gale.
"It's Astrid," I said, slightly annoyed, "I was picking mushrooms and was surprised by the rain. I'm all wet and freezing, to boot."
"You're not the only one," said the voice coolly.
"Will you let me in, or will you not?" I demanded. Cousin Laurence could be very pig-headed sometimes.
"Yes, yes," said the voice, a trifle wearily, "come in."
The door swung open, and I stalked in, admittedly quite ready to give my cousin a piece of my mind. Or maybe even two pieces.
My first impression as I walked in was that there were cobwebs on that ceiling carved of ancient sandstone. Shaking my head, I was just about to remonstrate Laurence for letting the place that had a long history in our family go to the dogs like this, when I realised - he wasn't there.
Instead, standing in front of me was -

[Nightshade]

I looked at the young woman in the door way. Her clothes had obviously once been fine, but now she resembled little more than a half drowned cat who having escaped drowning their fur is matted with mud and hanging all out of shape. This what happens when velvet is exposed to rain. She also looked as anoyed as a cat would be if one tried to rid it of one of its lives. "who are you? and where is My cousin?"
It was then I precived a certain amount of likness between her and the now absent Knight.
"As I said You are not the only one to be caught out in the rain tonight. and as for the where abuts of The Knight we were just discussing that.He appears to have disappeared."

The others introduced themselves behind my back as I stared up at the Gargoyles suspended around the arch dooorway. I acknoledged a wave with a slight inclination of the head. One never knows quite how a Human even a magical one will react to the sight of moving stone, it appears to scare them witless.

As I watched the rain my aprehnshion grew somthing else was abroad tonight.

[dejosc]

CHARACTER NAME: Dejosc
OCCUPATION: Adventurer
MORTAL: Yes
APPEARANCE: adamant plate on body, helmet and kite shield are also adamant legs are however rune, run scimitar leather boots and leather gloves. long hair when helmet is taken off and black trousers also torn orange and red shirt without armour.

i wander into the inn after training against the ogres near the castle many wars have been fought there, but currently the followers of saradomin are showing strength and have won all the battles i have recently been in. I decide to make some money makng bowstrings and selling at the bank in the seers village i need to finish buying some new rune armour, although first i should do the dragon slayer quest the champions guild master gave to me...

(if your wandering it my character on runescape lol)

[Bongitybongbong]

are we allowed to skip parts that have no meaning to the story........

__________________________________________________ _______________

"Does anyone know where our host went to?" I questioned.
"I thought I saw someone hurry off down the hallway," Lady replied. "But I'm not postitive which door he took."
"Mosy likely he went to the cellar to think for bit." The lady appeared to know
Laurence Winterbury and was either family or a lover to the knight judging by the way she seemed to know our host's thought process. "I think I'll check on Laurence to see if he's alright." Astrid Claremont swiftly went on her own way to find Laurnce, and I sat on the velvet chair provided for me.

[Loki]

Actually, Taliesin's GameMaster thing (see the "If you like to know" thread) is a good idea. I was wondering if we could perhaps keep the action to the castle for Part I? Just inside the castle and castle door, otherwise please don't use the territory surrounding for the action.

BRB, dinner, more explanation soon...

[Miss Darcy]

"Soon"? How soon is that? In ten years? Twenty?

Never mind...

---

Something...or someone? I shivered as I walked through the dark, narrow, cobwebby corridor. It wasn't like I had never been there before - indeed, I had followed Laurence down to the cellar many times to try to coax him out of a bad mood. I smiled slightly as I thought of our childhood together in the large, family castle. It had been different then - full of light and the flute-like sound of birdsong. But ever since Laurence's father - my uncle - died, things had gone downhill. I went to work in a small town not far away from the castle estate to help us both earn a living - and Laurence - well, it is better not to speak of Laurence.
I suddenly came back to earth as I found myself in the wrong spot. Surely I had not taken the wrong turn? I had been walking, walking, walking, and lost my way. Annoyed with myself, I hustled my way back through the maze of corridors, looking for any sign of a door, or of a landing of steps that would bring me down to the cellar. I found neither.
All of a sudden, the sound of a muffled wailing came from below, seizing my heart and stopping its beating.
I froze. I felt my eyes close as through the lids slid pearly tears. A strangled cry slipped through the flaps of my lips, and I felt myself slip down, down, down...through a vortex of space...

[Loki]

"Soon"? How soon is that? In ten years? Twenty?

In 0 years. And if you think that means never you are quite mistaken.

***

GM: The story is going well, but so far, is quite plotless. So Laurence Winterbury is down in the cellar. Good. Astrid Claremont is falling through some sort of invisible trapdoor. Good. Something is going to happen. Good. But what?

The characters have become a little isolated - Claremont and Winterbury are alone somewhere and the rest are waiting, it seems, in the foyer of the castle. Waiting for something to happen, a dragon to knock on the door, perhaps, or a hurricane to come by.

I would suggest(/command/order?) a bit of action, and some secondary characters so the story isn't a whole lot of main characters.

Therefore, how about we follow a plot-line, something like this? (Can be improvised on)

It's a rainy day and Winterbury, the knight/host/GM, is stuck in the castle feeling lonely. He is suddenly surrounded by guests - I haven't even counted them yet - and some kind of magic is on the loose. Bad magic. Bad magic on the loose in Claremont Castle.

(Oh yeah, Winterbury's mother was a Claremont. The Castle comes from her side. )

The bad magic is a wizard, Wizard Trippitydoo. Very dangerous. He doesn't use a wand (his magic is done by mind power/spells/hands/ only) and can transform into a ram/bat/wombat/lizard/mouse/black cat. He can also take the form of any mortal he chooses.

Hmmm...how about Astrid Claremont?

Why the Wizard wants to take revenge on Winterbury, you ask. It's simple. Winterbury was hunting in the Wizard's forest. The Forest of Glandys. And he cut down the Wizard's favourite tree. Okay, so the tree had immense magic power and was a door to the underworld, too...

So the Wizard is now just about to abduct Astrid by magical power to the cellar (Winterbury is NOT there) and lock her there, then take her shape (so there's two Astrids but one is locked up) and appear to the crowd.

The Wizard also has a quarrel with each and every one of the main characters so far, so he wants to revenge himself on *them*, too.

The Lady: She has complete control of the Land of the Smilies, and he is mortally jealous. He wants to stop smilies being happy and force them all into hard labour once he's the Lord of the Smilies.

The Wanderer: His crow gives him wisdom and insight. This can be used to tell what others are thinking. He is also way too "good". Wizard Trippitydoo wants the crow. The crow means more power.

The Harlequin Man: The Harlequin Man has fought against him too many times in two many battles. Must be revenged on.

Dejosc the Adventurer: The same.

Vala: Powerful sorceress. He needs to steal her magic.

So now, if possible, the action is in the drawing-room; Laurence has returned and Tal-I mean Young Man with a Crow suggests a game of chess (on a chocolate chessboard ). Laurence accepts (you can write me, I have to go now). Vala and the Lady, meanwhile, share a game of pool. Astrid (Wizard) enters the room and puts on a sweet smile. The Wizard's revenge is about to begin...

Hope that's enough info. If more is required, please ask.

Loki

[Bongitybongbong]

"Crow," I whisper, "move D-4 to C-6."
"Why that's the worst.....oh that is a spectacular move. Thank you."
"Come on your getting help from someone who most have played before," Laurence jokingly complains. By moving his knight the Lad with the Crow trapped Laurence's king.
"Checkmate," Crow announced.
"Good game," Laurence replied.
"Where were you Laurence?" Astrid asked.