Oh, right, we were supposed to submit turns, too.
((This is all just for RP anyway. Just so that you aren't just suddenly yanked into the Staging Area and told what to do. And so that you have a chance to interact with the entities a bit.
And it's also a way to pass the time while waiting for Xantalos and scapheap.))
(Stealth could be another fun thing. List of objectives, but try to do them without alerting the people guarding them. Less combat, more roleplay-y/alternative mechanics.)
((This is more of a suggestion for the next part of our map selection process. I'll explain in detail next post, but basically you get to suggest some element you want to see in your mission, be it time, type of objective, location, etc. That was put in place so that people with abilities that require certain things to work would get a chance to ensure those things are in the map. For example a man with control over sea creatures would probably suggest the mission takes place on an island or underwater and not in space, a man who could upgrade electronic devices would suggest a mission taking place in modern, not ancient times, etc.))
((If "the voice" insists on me going through the portal then i'm fine with you having me do as asked automatically, to save time and let us get to the main briefing faster. Irine would prefer to get to know her rescuer first though.))
((Like I said, we're waiting on a couple of players. So no, you're not slowing things down, feel free to RP a bit if you want.
I'm just gently prodding people to the Staging Area so that they can also interact with each other a bit. And so that they aren't dragged out by their entities when we're ready to move on.))
Angel Carlson"Um, okay."
Follow the boy. Be prepared to activate powers.
Huh. Turns out there's no boy around. Probably a ghost.
"Great, come on!" The voice is now coming from what looks like the end of a spiral slide and the beginning of another.
You get down from the loft bed and make your way to it.
"Hop iiiin!" you hear the voice descend the slide.
You get in and, after a couple of spins, arrive at a similar endpoint at the Staging Area.
Lucky Ike Watkins"Sure thing, buddy. I'm interested in hearing it, to be honest. Never pegged myself as a 'will-work-for-food-and-warmth' sorta guy, but I have to admit, I do like this place. Let's roll, eh?"
Head out and discuss the arrangements.
"Great." The exit opens with the squeak of unoiled hinges, revealing the darkness beyond.
"Go on, don't be afraid mate. There's a floor, you just can't see it." You step outside, into the Staging Area, the door closing behind you.
Jordan SvensonJordan didn't trust people who took. He limited himself in social matters: when you were like him, you had to. What was the alternative if you're not of high status? However, when people stopped asking you and started taking, that's when you were dealing with someone of high status. He checked the door for any obvious traps, but regular and unusual, then held up his iPod to illuminate the darkness.
Illuminate the darkness, check for traps, then step inside to examine the payment.
You push a button and cause the screen of the device to light up. You come closer to the door and try to use the feeble light to illuminate the darkness. It doesn't work. You lower the device towards the floor. Nope, still just a dark and empty void. You experimentally put your hand out and you can feel a barrier, something like glass where the floor would be if it extended past the door.
You take a few careful steps forward and enter the Staging Area, the door closing behind you.
Zechariah DimikaeloIt seemed that Zechariah had no choice. He wanted to get to the desk but he feared what this woman would do otherwise. It seemed that he was drawn to the portal anyways, its features enticing him. This must be it, then. This was The Medium, which he decided he would now call Crystalia, for this world. He patted his pocket: the twenty-two major arcana cards were still in his pocket. He also had a small rectangular plastic flask of apple juice in his other pocket, the drink of the gods for him. He took a deep breath and started off.
Walk to and enter the portal, "The Medium."
You make your way across the bridges (they are surprisingly steady for something made out of wood and rope) and stand before the fiery yellow ring of light.
The portal pulses with blue light as you go through it, stepping into the Staging Area. The now blue ring of light behind you collapses into a single point and then vanishes with a "Fwoosh", revealing a rock slab similar to the one in Crystalia.
Irene"I... I'd like to hear more about who you are. I know what it's like to be a... powerful entity. And I understand how hard it can be to explain what you are, but you're still you. You have a personality, a history, your thoughts and will and desires and fears. What about your name? I want to know about you. not about your kind."
Walk over towards where I think the voice is coming from.
"Please? I'd like to be a friend."
You begin walking forward, making your way to the edge of the lake through the tall grass as the entity responds.
"Name?... I..." She sounds confused.
"Our kind doesn't use names. I.. I've had many in the past but they were always chosen for me. Titles of how the others saw me, Blazing Sun in the last great war, Queen of Light in Universe 1, Blinding Terror by world 3.45... I've had names from the times I was born, but even those seem old and alien to me. They don't really say who or what I am. I find the thought of someone describing me with a single word... disturbing." She sounds very annoyed at that.
"I guess... if you want to call me something, then you can call me... Stellar. If that makes things easier for you. Seems... fitting. In line with the other titles I've been given."You reach the edge of the lake. The water near the edge of the lake rises, forming a vaguely humanoid female figure, her head hanging low.
"As to being your friend... Perhaps you would like to reserve judgment until you hear what he has to say. Maybe you won't think so highly of me after you learn why this place exists and what you're going to have to do."
The Staging AreaFour people arrive at the Staging Area.
Angel Carlson, a child, a girl, standing in front of the end of one spiral slide and the beginning of another. She has straight auburn hair to her shoulders, pale skin, and blue eyes. She wears glasses and green clothes of various sorts.
Lucky Ike Watkins, a man with abnormally large ears, a rather long and bony nose with highly prominent nostrils and a Fu Manchu, standing in front of a hotel room door. He is dressed in woodland camouflage, complete with real rotten leaves! He also wears a camo sun hat, which seems to principally be held up by his ears rather than his head, as it is slightly oversized. He fidgets ceaselessly, and seems like he is waiting for a chance to snap at something.
Jordan Svenson, a man that has recently left his teens, standing in front of a wooden door with intricate carvings, holding an iPod. He has brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin.
Zechariah Dimikaelo, a man in his med-teens with crystal aqua dragonfly wings, standing in front of a rock slab decorated with carvings of geometric designs. He is holding a wooden long staff with a triangular crystalline flag on top, shining aqua. He is of above average height, with black hair, shining aqua eyes, light brown skin.
They are all arranged in a circle along with other objects. A large canvas tent. A triangular door made of silvery metal. A human sized mirror, showing a blurry reflection of a field of grass. They're all facing each other.
Everything else is just a dark void.
"Ah, our first participants. Welcome, welcome!" all of you in the Staging Area hear a man speaking.
"I see we got some very fine specimens here. Please, make yourselves comfortable while we wait for the rest to join us. Just focus your mind on changing the Staging Area and it will respond. Come on. Give it a try."
Still waiting a bit for scapheap to vote for gametype (if he wants to) and Xantalos to submit a character if he still wants to so that we have an even 8. Either way, we should be starting soon, probably by Monday-Tuesday.