Potential: Sign-ups Closed

[spiderwrangler]

I'd be up for a "normal day before the fade to black" type post...

[lingrem]

I'm down for that.

[Quarg]

Hmm...well a day in the life would work...

edit: And no one got my joke...
Quarg...our jokes are like our maritnis...so dry that the vermouth is thought of fondly by the bartender when he makes it...
(Or so dry they turn into puffs of smoke upon being touched)

[ChuckDaRighteous]

I think that might work more for those who are playing themselves, since its not so much getting in character. I think it might be weird getting into character as a paparazzi, stalking and taking photos, driving around, looking for opportunities and following leads, and then promptly forget half of my character. I'd give it a try if you did it but I'm not sure that would excite me. Also I'm assuming it would be all RP? No separate character stats rolling for did I keep up with them, figure out where they were, get a good camera angle, negotiate for a good sell price. I like creativity and RP, its just developing a character that is suddenly no more just seems weird somehow. but I'll give it a try if others want it.

[Quarg]

I think that might work more for those who are playing themselves, since its not so much getting in character. I think it might be weird getting into character as a paparazzi, stalking and taking photos, driving around, looking for opportunities and following leads, and then promptly forget half of my character. I'd give it a try if you did it but I'm not sure that would excite me. Also I'm assuming it would be all RP? No separate character stats rolling for did I keep up with them, figure out where they were, get a good camera angle, negotiate for a good sell price. I like creativity and RP, its just developing a character that is suddenly no more just seems weird somehow. but I'll give it a try if others want it.

Well, you don't have to be working when *Fade to Black* occurs. You could be haning out in a Bar complaining about a starlet who keeps on not getting caught with her girlfriend...etc.

I doubt I will do a complete day in the life for Amanda...

[nikohl]

Yes, it's only going to be one post, not days and days of RP - so no, you won't be getting EXP or "results" or anything, but also it won't be loads of character development 'lost'... Also, you aren't going to forget your personality, remember. You wake up fully aware of who you are, it's just details of your life that become fuzzy.

http://goblinsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=509 <--these are the opening posts of Raptor at Heart, another "you get dumped into someone else's body" game - except we woke up as dinosaurs, not people - but everyone there posted the before and after in one post, whereas I'd prefer in this game everyone do some/one "before" post, and I pop along and set the scene for After, at which point we begin. But if you have a look at the first few posts in that thread, that's the sort of thing I meant. Does it still not appeal?

[ChuckDaRighteous]

Like I said, I'll give it a try. I have no problem with the before post itself. The thing which I think will throw me off is that we're forgetting parts of ourself. So if I develop the more stalkery or researchy parts of my character it would be weird dropping that later as his personality changes. If it were just a "in another body" I think it would be better for me but this is an actual change in personality. *shrug* I'll try it though. I think it would be fun. I'm just worried about it making it harder to get into the second version of the character. I could be wrong. We'll see.

[spiderwrangler]

Then don't put that much thought into it! Personality doesn't change, just the most anachronistic knowledge (cars, cameras, science, etc). You don't NEED to do a day in the life, it;s just a snapshot into what you character may be like or what they might do before the shift and merge. There's no need to develop the stalkery bits... just mention something about perving on some starlet as she's getting into a limo...

If it's really bothering you that much, your character could always have diarrhea just prior to the start of the game, and isn't able to do anything but clench and try not to soil himself. Hopefully that is left behind with your old body...

[Synch]

Yup, happy to do a before post as my character. Easy. It'll actually be quite fun to RP him a bit before he changes.

[thinkslogically]

Happy to go with the majority and do a "day in the life" before we all get sucked into Neverwhere, though not if it'll mean holding up the start of the game

[nikohl]

It shouldn't delay the start. I have the groups sorted out, so I will make the two threads, advertise who's in what group, and put them up once we've got a majority vote (which, unless everyone chimes in with a bunch of NOs, looks to be yes) so you can all have a little bit of a roleplay while I put the finishing touches on the characters and the initial events. The threads should be up tomorrow, if the majority does end up being yes for pre-game RP.

[Dlover]

I see not reason not to do a bit of RP before the event of the game. Of course, I wouldn't have much other than "Sit in room, study, pet dog, study, feed dog, study." Unless it happens to be a horse day. It's probably going to be horse day.

[Quarg]

I see not reason not to do a bit of RP before the event of the game. Of course, I wouldn't have much other than "Sit in room, study, pet dog, study, feed dog, study." Unless it happens to be a horse day. It's probably going to be horse day.

Except my brain kept wanting to read this as "Sit in room, study, pet dog, study dog, feed dog study..."

[Theis2]

The threads are coming tomorrow? I guess I could just explain what happens the same day then. Spend a couple of hours with friends and sit in the bus for 5 hours dozing off

[nikohl]

Lin expressed a desire to have the group she's in be zapped straight out from the London meetup, but I'm not sure I could actually make that work. The only problem with submitting your "real selves" is that some of you could technically know each other pre- and therefore post-zap, which breaks the whole anachronism thing, because we all met via the internet, and the internet can't be a memory that makes it through, and argh!

That's the only problem I've come across so far. With so many of you being characters based on yourselves, I think we need to decide on whether it's actually 'a character based on you', rather than you as you are right now. I don't think you guys won't be able to know each other without it introducing a weird loop of "but how?" into the memory loss :/

[Theis2]

I was considering that as well, but I think it might work best if knowledge of each other is cut out to avoid that thought process as to how it came to be.

[spiderwrangler]

Yeah, I'd prefer a "character similar to us" with no knowledge of the others until we meet them in game.

[lingrem]

So would I to be honest, I just thought it was funny

[spiderwrangler]

Might help you gel as a party though!

[Arch Lich Burns]

The internet could be changed to pigeon messages/letters. Or the magic spell message.

[nikohl]

I think trying to retcon memories into things that are similar but fit the time period, like carrier pigeon internet and stuff, is going to be a lot of work for me and potentially confusing. That's kind of why I went with the partial mindwipe thing, just to avoid having to deal with the anachronistic nature of "Well, I'm stuck in the middle ages, but I used to be a world-class engineer...so let's do science to it!" and/or "I'm pretty sure I could build a laser. Or if not a laser, at least a passable shooty gun." - because that's kind of sidestepping the point of harnessing PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWAHHH in a world full of cool magic.

Anyway, it's nearly 2am and I'm done sending out character drafts so I'm going to bed. If you are one of the 14 people who signed up and you didn't get a PM from me with a big long-ass rambley character sheet at some point in the last few days, I messed up, so raise your hand and I'll re-send it in the morning.

When I get back tomorrow, I'll announce the groups and open up the pre-game threads for you to roleplay your "2015 People" pre-zapping, while I continue working on the stuff I need to work on.

I'm hoping to start maybe... Wednesday? Thursday? Depends on the weather; I want to work in my garden on Tuesday, but if it's raining then I obviously can't, and my schedule will change.

[Dlover]

I see not reason not to do a bit of RP before the event of the game. Of course, I wouldn't have much other than "Sit in room, study, pet dog, study, feed dog, study." Unless it happens to be a horse day. It's probably going to be horse day.

Except my brain kept wanting to read this as "Sit in room, study, pet dog, study dog, feed dog study..."

No, that waits until we're in D&D world, wherein I will make friends with a demon dog and have it eat the homes of anybody who displeases me.
Spoiler: I legitimately have an ability that can calm animals. Character won't know about it outright, but there is great potential for building armies of hellhounds and nightmares.
... What? I never said I was a good person, just a dedicated one.

[Theis2]

Sure hellhounds and nightmares counts as animals? I would at least assume they were put under magical creatures which might null the effect

[Dlover]

I dunno, but I'd still count them as animals. Magical animals, maybe, but still animals. I've got another option for 'canine creatures', which isn't as good, but it'd probably work out in a good situation.

[spiderwrangler]

Hellhounds and nightmares are both considered Extraplanar Outsiders within official D&D, not animals. They just happen to take a form very similar to animal forms on the central plane.

D&D doesn't consider most arthropods to be animals either, instead having the Vermin creature subtype.

► Show Spoiler

Ape
Baboon
Badger
Bat
Bear, Black
Bear, Brown
Bear, Polar
Bison
Boar
Camel
Cat
Cheetah
Crocodile
Crocodile, Giant
Dog
Dog, Riding
Donkey
Eagle
Elephant
Hawk
Horse
Horse, Heavy
Horse, Light
Warhorse, Heavy
Warhorse, Light
Hyena
Leopard
Lion
Lizard
Lizard, Monitor
Manta Ray
Monkey
Mule
Octopus
Octopus, Giant
Owl
Pony
Pony, War
Porpoise
Rat
Raven
Rhinoceros
Shark
Snake
Constrictor Snake
Viper Snake
Squid
Squid, Giant
Tiger
Toad
Weasel
Whale
Baleen Whale
Cachalot Whale
Orca
Wolf
Wolverine

Of course, interpretation is always up to the GM, just saying that most magical or extra planar creatures don't strictly count as animals.