Long ago, in a far-off place, rose the Adversary, shrouded in mystery, and ushering in an ever-elongating tide of darkness, carnage, and despair. No one knows from where the Adversary rose, or how long it has been since the Adversary's forces began to enshroud the known worlds with the bloody imperium of the Adversary's reign. But soon, they shall be at their ultimate goal.
For soon, his forces shall enter the realm of the Emerald City.
The Emerald City, home of the greatest beacon of civilization, ruled by the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and capitol of the same land of Oz. Here, in the lands of the True Freedom, the land of dreams, resides the only true block to the forces of the Adversary- the last and only strength of the light to drive away the darkness. Unfortunately for Oz, there is no one who knows or understands the menace of the Adversary to the degree where military mobilization is understood to be a possibility.
Here is where the Society steps in.
The Society was established by a woman of near-prophetic wisdom who understood that a time of darkness and potentially of fall would happen in Oz. She did not know what that enemy would be or how it would attack, but she did know that there must be always a guard at vigil- and that is precisely what the Society is.
The people of the Society come from all walks of life, trained in all manners, all to best combat whatever the enemy will be when it appears. And now that the enemy has appeared and no one seems to be reacting, it is the Society's job to accomplish its goal- whether to save single-handedly the Emerald City, warn the sage of the true force of the Adversary, or merely to save as much of the wisdom of Oz as possible for when the time of darkness ends.
And here is the problem- You, of the Society, have a choice- What is the right path? Will you give up what you know is right in exchange for what you know you can do? Will you lose your dreams in exchange for doing the right thing, or will you find your dreams but lose your way? If the authority is wrong and victory is possible, will you fight the authority to make it so the Emerald City will never fall? Will you try to do what is best from the inside? Can you compromise in an all-or-nothing gamble? If you become the enemy of the state and yet you are fighting for that state's survival- even if you succeed, will it matter?
Will anyone mourn the wicked... even if the wicked are the heroes?
Make a character- they have a combat orientation- such as a class like Knight or Sniper- and a profession, which is essentially what they do for a living, which will give you your variety of skills that have nothing to do with combat. You can only have one combat orientation- so don't ask for more- but you can have as many as three professions- though there are three levels of expertise in these professions. Feel free to be versatile though your specific skill will suffer- Someone who is only a gunsmith or a hunter will be a much better gunsmith/hunter than someone who is both a gunsmith and a hunter.
They also have a dream- list it. It is VERY important that they have a dream, the bigger the better. Bigger dreams mean bigger plot hooks. You're basically making my job easier, but I'll appreciate it.
Finally, some wierd stats that are really more for record-keeping than anything else- a basic quantifying block. Feel free to use whatever ones you like. I'd like ratings from one to ten, ten being highest, or the following things:
Morals: How strongly they feel about certain things involving right and wrong. High morals mean that a character both has a stronger sense of justice and that they are less likely to compromise said sense of justice. Also note that high Morals doesn't mean a character is nice or good- just that they adhere to their own moral system strictly.
Ambition: How much they want to have their dreams, even at the cost of other things. High Ambition usually means one low other stat since they're willing to compromise it for the greater good or the like- Ambition is not necessarily a bad thing.
Duty: How well they will follow an order even in the face of adversity... or complete stupidity. Low Duty indicates a tendency to improvise and high Dity usually means strong faith in the authorities and their wisdom. Low Duty doesn't mean disloyalty- it means a free-spiritedness that doesn't adhere strictly to orders but however might be just as loyal as someone who follows instructions exactly. Neither is "better."
Will: How a character handles pressure. High will indicates a tendency to fight pressure, and low will a tendency to go with the flow- High will people tend to be better leaders but chafe in severe adversity and find themselves unable to back down. Low will people might have problems standing up for themselves but change their mind more easily, will admit they're wrong, and are better at compromise.
All of your characters are graduating from the university at Shiz- and have also been trained by the Society in combat arts. You're all young- between the ages of 18 and 22- and you're all human. Aside from that, you can come from any social class, done whatever you want before having gone to Shiz (it doesn't really have to make sense), and have graduated anywhere you like in your class at Shiz. Gimme a past, a motivation, and since this RP deals mainly with both growing up, believing in something, doing your duty, and remaining true to yourself, have a big dream.
A word on the Society: It is seen, for the most part, like the CIA is in the United States- people know that it's there and it definitely does things, but no one outside of its chain of command really know what it's in the process of doing- and even many of those IN the Society don't know the overall plan of their actions. The average person knows that it is for the most part on the side of Oz (or at least the Emerald City) but they are leery of the Society's overall plan concerning Oz; just because they aren't necessarily bad doesn't mean the Society ought to be able to do what it wants. And goodness knows no one wants the Society to hold actual political power... even though it does, somewhat. Just not terribly much.
Edit: Changed names back to the original Wicked names- they fit better to me (and probably to people who have read the book) and it should remove any doubts as to the origin of the setting. <p>[---------------------------]
"There is great disorder under Heaven, and the situation is excellent."
-Mao Tse-Tung
"I eat the talking bees because I am George Washington Christ"
-From "Bob the Ball"</p>Edited by: The Great Nevareh at: 2/6/06 23:48