forum “Are you the person who hired me?” (dark/low fantasy O/O, closed.)

Started December 28, 2020 by @Mojack group

tune

Deep in the rural areas of Eastern Europe, unseen horrors wait. Ones that must be destroyed.

You’re a hunter of those horrors, and you’ve received a contract. The details are presumably given upon your arrival to the contact, who lives a bit farther up north, in the mountains. There weren’t many details to begin with in the letter. Just that something had been picking off at the travellers on the way to the mountain, and that the meeting point would be in a cabin about halfway up the mountain. Not a trip you’re looking forwards to, because snowstorms can be rough. But the weather seems clear - for now, at least.
So you set ahead, gear on hand. Just another contract.

Just another hunt.

---

Here’s a RP where you get to play as a ‘hunter of the horrors’, expecting a normal contract. But the more you learn about the contract…something doesn’t seem right. Are you sure this is the person who hired you?

NOTES

• technology in this world isn’t too advanced. not any vehicles or anything like that, we’re still talking a limited view on the world, a drastically different world map, etc. a bit in the past if you will. there are guns, but nothing compared to our modern weaponry. pistols are easier to carry and may fire quickly, but may not be as effective as a rifle; which reloads slowly and fires fewer bullets.
• there is also limited magic. most people with magic go into the hunting business - you have the choice whether or not you want to be a hunter with magic or not.
• if it weren’t clear, you shall be playing the hunter.
• as for magic, magic is somewhat limited. it can be used to start fires, but not hurtle fireballs at your enemies. you can use it to boost your senses, your healing capabilities (for yourself or for others). you can also use it to make traps (essentially setting up borders or runes on the ground, so that when the target steps in them, they’re trapped.). it also allows for bonding with a familiar.
• it can also be used to suppress needs or senses (needs would be sleep, hunger, etc; on yourself or others.) it can be used to enchant weaponry to make it stronger, to poison it, or for the weapon to only respond to you. ask any questions on magic as needed since it is a broad subject.
• magic overuse can result in passing out, or at the very least feeling dizzy.
• most hunters wear a ward on their body to remain undetected by monsters. this ward fails if the monster is strong enough to bypass the ward; or the hunter comes into the sight of the monster.
• monsters vary. most are known to be non-humanoid; very few are humanoid, and next to none are able to take on multiple forms. a hunter is advised extreme caution when dealing with a shapeshifting monster.
• monsters are referred to under a variety of names; I give you relative freedom in what your character might refer to them as. examples might be; horrors, monsters, etc.

RULES

1. In the event of a fight, play fair - no autohitting, no dodging everything.
2. Ask questions as needed.
3. This will be a slightly more mature RP - there will be blood. On that note, mature RPers, please.
4. Cursing is allowed.
5. Good grammar is appreciated.
6. No one liners.
7. Have a writing sample at ready; if I do not recognize your style I’ll ask for it.
8. On a related note, if I deny you, it’s nothing personal! It might just be I don’t think the style would be a good fit for this RP.
9. List may or may not change.

Ask questions as needed.

TEMPLATE (remove brackets when filling out.)

Name:
Gender:
Age: (above twenty, under thirty)
Sexuality:

Appearance:
Clothing: (do keep in mind we’re in a more northern climate during the winter here; as well as the time period (a couple centuries or so in the past.))
Personality:
Background: (can be short or long as needed)

Magic: (yes or no question. are they a magic user?)
Gear: (you do not have to list everything your character has on their person; just notable things if you would prefer. any preferred weapons, any trinkets, etc.)
Skills: (whatever they’re good at)
Fears: (self explanatory, whatever they fear.)
Other: (anything else goes here.)

May I?

Sure; may I just have a writing sample?

Of course! I'll pull one up from an old RP!

(This is in first person, but I generally RP in third because that's what people like better. I'll pull up another sample if it helps, but my writing style generally doesn't have much variation.)

I was sitting in my office when it happened. The letter that opened up my slow descent into madness and closed any chances I had of ever reconciling with my brother. Mom had died, and wasn't that a hell of an event? Sasha and I had never been close, but Mom dying reminded us that we were brothers and that we were all each other had. She was a shitty brother, but again, all each other had.

Sasha was… a control freak, to put it simply. She refused to think outside the box too, very strict in her worldviews. But I…. I dunno, I felt bad for her. After Vicky had passed, she'd been alone. And I'd been no help, hadn't even shown up to the damn funeral. I should have, and that was something I'd live to regret.

But let's get to the meat of the story, while I'm still sane. Sasha sent a letter asking me to brunch, to talk about Mom among other things. She always was straightforward. Me? Not so much, unless it's in my own head, and even then I've been known to be a pretty unreliable narrator of events.

So I met up with Sasha at the Hyperdrive, this sci-fi themed café that she was obsessed with. I hated the place, it was noisy and annoying and had too many Star Trek obsessed freaks. Really, who likes Star Trek?

"Eric! How's my least favorite brother?" see? straightforward.

"I'm your only brother, Sash." I retorted.

"My point exactly. Now, Mother passed the majority of her inheritance to-"

"You, I know. I get it, I'm the prodigal son and-"

"Ahem. Mother actually passed most of her inheritance to you. We… grew apart, in the last few years of her life. She didn't understand my passion, and turned on me."

"Hoo boy, Mom must've been real mad at you to pass her shit down to me. So, which old vase do you want? I know you were obsessed with the things."

"Actually, I'm here for the money, Eric. My pursuits… they're-"

"Dubiously legal? Sure, how much do you need?"

"I would put it in lighter terms, but yes. I'm so glad you're understanding of my situation, I-"

"No. I'm not giving you anything unless I get in. I haven't had a client in weeks and if I'm right, this will make us some serious bank. Now, in."

"I'm afraid we won't be making a penny."

"WHAT?!" I choked on my spit.

(And I think that's enough for now.)

So, Familiars. How do they work? Also, I have a good idea on the magic system, but how does it physically work. Runes? Chanting? Magic wands? What?

Familiars are usually an animal or creature that the person forms a close attachment to. When that animal becomes their familiar, the person essentially shares their magic with their familiar (forming a connection both emotional and magical). The person is able to summon their familiar, and the familiar can understand and under rare circumstances speak human languages. The familiar is able to use magic to a limited degree. Most familiars aren’t much larger than humans.

As for magic and how it works; it varies. Most magic such as enchantments only need the physical touch of one’s hand to whatever thing they hope to enchant, and the thought. The thought would be the magic user thinking of what sort of enchantment they hope to put on the object.
For starting things like fires, as long as you had the needed materials for a fire to sustain itself (oxygen, fuel) you’d only need the thought, the will and focus to start the fire. Otherwise, it simply wouldn’t happen, or it would just fizzle out.
Certain gestures might be used for bigger spells such as a trap; you’d need to put the borders of the trap down, then say a keyword or make a gesture for the trap to actually be active.

Okay, thanks for explaining. Can my character have a speaking familiar or would that be too overpowered?

That would be fine!

Okay, cool!

Name: Ako Melderis this one goes by a variety of names…
Gender: Male?
Age: 23
Sexuality: Asexual

Appearance: He doesn’t like to show others his true self, both physically and mentally.
What one can retain from what he does show is that he’s a tall, lean figure. Standing maybe just a couple inches over six feet. He often does not stand up fully, instead opting to remain in a slouch - this may just be habit. Fair skin - not extremely pale, but it’s clear he suffers from a lack of sunlight.
Facial features are somewhat unknown. For your information, he can conjure up a face, for what type of Horror would he be if he couldn’t do a task as simple as that?
His face - he usually keeps its appearance relatively the same - has pale, grey eyes. A faint of a stubble, and black hair, long enough to put in a very small - emphasis on small - ponytail.

But what most do not know of is what he truly looks like. Underneath that human charade is a very different type of being…
Clothing: It isn’t unusual for those who may live in rougher climates to cover their faces. It only becomes unusual when one adorns that mask nearly everywhere, even indoors. But it isn’t exactly polite to ask your client personal questions unless prompted to, isn’t it?
The rest of what he wears is nothing notable. It’s clothing suitable for someone who most likely spends plenty of time outdoors - as do many, in this world. His boots, seemingly made from a thick hide are brown, and his pants are that sort of colour as well. Most of his colour on his clothing are more natural, ‘earthy’ colours. He comes clad in a thick coat as well. The hood - coated in fur, can be pulled up as needed. Gloves in addition.
Now for what I was talking about before - the mask. Masks, rather. The first mask is one that covers his entire face, obscuring most features. Maybe it’s a gift from someone, or maybe it’s some religious thing. Who knows. It’s white, with no notable details, and he seems to be able to see out of it just fine despite that.
The secondary mask is seemingly worn underneath which lets one see his eyes. It’s black, only going up to the bridge of his nose. More like a fabric as opposed to the hard material the other mask is made of.

Personality: Observant, Ako tends to be a quieter individual, rarely ever being direct with his actions. He’s seemingly uncaring of what others think of him for the most part, although by far he isn’t arrogant; and prefers to think before he acts. Ako is curious and looks to be like a person who enjoys learning, specifically on the topic of sciences and history.
He’s not very trusting of others however, nor is he a very trustworthy person himself.
Background: Ako, oh, Ako. Who were you before you took on this identity? If it weren’t clear before, ‘Ako’ is just a cover. We’ll look towards the origins of ‘Not-Ako’, aka the being that takes the name.
Ako came from a land far from our current setting, which is quite surprising. For him to have come - walked, all this way, only to stop in the mountains. What made these mountains so special, anyways?
Family remains to be a topic Ako doesn’t speak or write about. Perhaps they were taken away from him, by the Horrors. A common, yet unfortunate sight in this world. Maybe they didn’t exist at all to begin with. Ako would describe himself as a person with little to no contacts, if you were to ask him. A loner. He’s not well known by any means - if you asked any of the nearby settlers if they knew his name, they wouldn’t know a thing.

Magic: Yes..maybe not in the traditional sort, though.
Gear: Pieces of charcoal and some paper. That’s just about the only thing he has on him at all times; otherwise, it’s all in the cabin.
Skills: Surprising agility, for a ‘human.’ Good at conserving stamina. Knows his way around the mountains, clearly someone who’s lived there for some time. Decent at close quarters combat..but would rather avoid it. Good at mapping, and having a sense of direction. Skills in mimicking noises; Ako himself would word this as “useful in hunting,” which isn’t that bad of a statement considering how many need to go out themselves and hunt for their food.
Fears: Fading away, dying. Though death could be considered a common fear, it isn’t how he’ll die that he fears, but rather, just the whole idea of fading away into nothingness. Seemingly, he has a goal that he hopes to accomplish before then. The question is what?
Other: nothing for now

((Feel free to submit your character whenever.))