Creation (Forum Adventure)

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With this new fad of Forum Adventures, I've decided to tag along... again. Have fun.

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Welcome to Creation. The world where no one believes in a Creator. The world of life and beauty, polluted by hate and denial. The world where men live in fear and death.

Creation is a world overrun. Hateful shades stalk men in the night. Demons torment entire cities. Armies of the dead wage unholy war upon mankind.

You are a vampire. You have risen.

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Let me explain the basics of this world.

Geography

Creation is essentially a gigantic archipegalo. There are islands to yet be discovered, but there are no large continents. The established world consists of a cluster of islands, which total up, approximately, to the size of Europe. It is not neccessary to learn every bit of geography; you will understand it as you go along. PM me if you have questions.

Technology

The technology has been fairly advanced, but because of the undead and other beings, it is declining. For all purposes, it is around the time of Elizabeth England. However, not much outside Creation has been discovered. Architecture and science is around that time

Gunpowder is an inert substance. The crossbow replaces the gun. Armor is obsolete. Swords, axes, and other hand-to-hand weapons are in use, as are spears. With the existence of vampires, stakes are common weapons against them.

Society

There is little in the way of religion. Anyone who believes in a God is regarded as a blind and stupid fool. There is no established religion, and there never has been. At most, a few abandoned chapels and churches exist in former dedication to the Creator.

Men are slightly more powerful socially than women. Society is sort of like early 20th century Western lands; there is freedom of speech and whatnot. Only Caucasian people are known to exist.

There used to be nations in Creation, but they all have been broken into separate city-states. Each is governed differently, but they all rely on the military to fend off the undead and the demons.

Magic

Magic exists, but not in D&D form. It is composed of rituals, chants, and other things that can be understood by laymen. Fireballs are not hurled; monsters are not conjured. A group of ordinary people are capable of using magic with the right books and materials. Sages and the like exist as authorities on magic; wizards and sorcerers are nonexistent.

Magic has no wonder. It is regarded as a tool for doing things. It has no real wonder or mystery of its own. Scientists believe it can be explained in perfectly reasonable terms; all they need it time.

There are no magic items. Not in abundance, anyways. A few may exist. Various charms repel undead and demons. Some actually do, but most are nothing but trinkets.

Monsters

Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and other creatures do not exist. They belong in the realm of fairy tales. The only structured race is the humans.

There are demons, who may be evil, but are not always so. They exist in various places, depending on species.

Undead exist in huge numbers. Skeletons and ghouls terrorize people. Vampires come from the dead and drink the blood of the living. Liches exist, but there aren’t much. Liches only practice a bit of sorcery; their main power is in being able to command undead to a huge extent.

Few monsters exist besides the ones mentioned. There have been (unsubstantiated) sightings of trolls, giants, dragons, unicorns, and other fantastic things.

Folklore

The following is real.

Sunlight destroys vampires and liches. They can tolerate it for a few seconds. During a very cloudy day, or under a blanket that covers their entire body, they may walk in daylight. A stake (or wooden crossbow bolt) will kill Vampires if they are struck in the heart. Vampires and liches will not tolerate garlic.

The following is false.

Vampires must sleep in coffins during the day. The coffin must be lined with dirt from their home city-state. Vampires cannot cross running water. They can only enter homes with the owner’s permission.

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I will post the story later. But please tell me what you think. Thanks.

[ March 09, 2003, 02:01: Message edited by: C'Jakob ]

 

I'm not big into vampires so I'll probably pass on this one. Setting sounds interesting, though.

 

Well except for the garlic thing everything sounds pretty good. I dunno... the garlic thing is kinda pushing it into the realm of kiddie stories. i reckon so anyways but you have your own opinions

 

You have a good point with the garlic, Shorty. I guess I wanted some way for the average commoner to be able to repel a vampire, which makes the Forum Adventure a bit more interesting. Holy symbols don't work because of reasons previously explained. I think mirrors were supposed to repel vampires in D&D, but I'm not sure. Holy water should damage them though.

I will probably address those stuff when I get to start the FA. Please tell me how the idea sounds.

 

Well, it's a good idea. You've got a great base to start on. Though a lot will depend on the story. I'm curious.

 

Without further ado, the Forum Adventure will start. I will explain the basics of this Adventure; I assume you know how a Forum Adventure is run. If not, see previous ones.

You are a vampire, a man named Danieth. As such you have various strengths and weakness.

First off, you carry no physiological functions. You do not need to breathe, drink, eat, sleep, excrete, and so forth. You can choose to eat and drink, but it is not necessary. You must consume blood every now and then; animal blood will suffice, but human blood is preferrable.

Secondly, you have supernatural strength. It is appropriate to say that you are capable of knocking out a normal person with a single, unarmed blow. You can see in the dark as if it were poorly lit. You also have a natural intution for sneaking and hiding. This will be vital in populated areas, where people will kill you on sight.

You can bite people. This is necessary for drinking blood. A person you kill by biting becomes a vampire in a few days. It is in no way under your control, although he or she may feel obliged to owe you a favor for "siring" him or her.

You do not possess any other abilities at the moment. In the future, you may gain them. Some of these abilities include shapechanging, summoning wolves, exerting your will over others, and climbing sheer surfaces.

A stake through the heart kills you. A bolt in the heart kills you as well. Sunlight kills you, but you can stay indoors during daytime. Garlic nauseates and repels you. You have no reflection. Holy symbols and holy water is nonexistent in this setting.

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The setting is in a city-state named Arcturus, upon the island of Polaris. It is a relatively large city, and underneath it lies a web of intruigue, horror, and shadows.

In his previous life, Danieth (the protagonist) was a Hunter. Hunters are an organization devoted to the eradication of vampires, demons, and other unnatural beings. On the evening of August 21st, 631 C.E. (Common Era), he slew a vampire.

But not before it bit him.

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A surging of power flows through him as he awakes. As a mortal, he never felt such... strength and endurance. It was power. Power that the Hunters opposed. Power that they didn't comprehend. Something that made him anew.

He stands up, and finds himself in a blood-soaked meadow. It is eveningtime. He remembers being bitten. He remembers falling, then dying. And that is all he can remember.

But the things of the past are trivial. He has been reborn in death.

Danieth spies two figures walking in a nearby grove.

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It's your turn. What does Danieth do?

Inventory
-Clothes.

[ March 10, 2003, 02:11: Message edited by: C'Jakob ]

 

He sneaks to the point where he saw the two figures, reminding himself he should not be seen.

 

Concealing himself behind a pair of shrubs, Danieth notices that the figures are not men at all. Rather, they are skeletons, mindless undead that stalk Polaris and the rest of Creation.

One holds a long knife in its bony fingers; the other an axe.

[ March 10, 2003, 23:13: Message edited by: C'Jakob ]

 

Danieth looks about his surroundings, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon.

 

Danieth doesn't find anything that can be used as a weapon in a pinch; a few twigs here, a few small rocks there. Although he could snap a branch off a tree to serve as a club, or he could just use his fists to attack (Vampires are exceptionally strong, and even those serve well).

 

Danieth decided to test his new strenght and kill the skeletons, but with caution.

 

Jumping from the bush, Danieth slams against one of the skeletons. Which a loud crunch, its rib cage breaks and it crumples to the ground, dropping its axe.

The other skeleton turns around and raises its knife against him.

 

Danieth will attempt to dive at the ground, grab the axe in the process and roll into a crouching position. Moving with speed, the skeleton shouldn't be able to follow his movements and be easy prey to the axe.

 

Danieth leaps at the ground, tumbles, and snatches the axe. He is now in a kneeling position, axe in hand. Meanwhile, the skeleton advances, knife in hand, ready to stab.

 

Danieth rolls to the side, leaping up and forward, landing on his feet off to the side of the skeleton, he attempts to behead it in one swing of the axe.

 

Danieth makes a swing at the neck of the skeleton, but it manages to pull its neck back, and Danieth's swing finds only air.

This time, the skeleton makes a slash down Danieth's chest. Its tip streaks down his chest, leaving a wide, but thin, trail of torn, already dead flesh.

 

Danieth growls low in his throat, a frustrated, primal sound. Surprised the skeleton could muster such speed, he decided to test out his own. Stepping closer, under the blade, he slashed quickly at the Skeleton's chest, following with another quick swing, not allowing himself to stop until it fell.

 

Danieth hacks away at the skeleton's ribs with startling fury. But the killing blow is not landed by him. A longsword slices through its neck, and the skull, its eyes no longer blazing with a red glow, falls to the ground.

A hardened woman of medium height and tough build looks at the vampire.

"Danieth. Is that you?"

 

Danieth asks, "Who are you?"

 

The woman frowns.

"You don't remember me? I'm Beth, and I should have burned your corpse when you died. We used to be Hunters. We used to kill vampires, vampires like you. Dammit, we saved each others' lives, and this is how it ends?"

She steps forward, raises her sword, and pulls out a stake.

"This is in memory of the Danieth I once knew."