It’s 2030.
You’re aboard an amphibious military grade research vessel.

You’re on an ambitious mission to enter a notorious “dead zone” in the ocean to test a new global positioning technology. Rumours abound about the nature of the anomaly that causes the dead zone. The hope is that the new technology can work there - meaning it can work in a range of adverse conditions and provide a strong strategic advantage. But of course, there are those who would love to investigate the anomaly, and this is a golden opportunity.

This game moves through four key phases which may not be what you expect. Your character will have to cope with each situation….

This is a fast game. Players that move more slowly will be welcome and able to take part, but be aware that some of us will move frequently and the game will press on.

The year is 1999. You and four friends are partying like…

Actually, you’re not.

Instead, you’re fighting to understand what happened that night. The night when you and four of your friends went senseless - literally.

One without the ability to taste or smell.
One with sudden hypoesthesia.
One blind.
One mute.
One locked in silence.

And all of it started on the same night. How? Why? Even more pressingly, how do you adapt and is it a loss that you can get back?

A stretch of moor and old woodland has grown dangerous after dark. Travelers who enter it are steadily drawn toward a single point of light: Castle Ashenveil, an elegant but aging stronghold whose windows still burn against the fog. Its master, Lord Malric Ashenveil, receives unexpected guests with formal courtesy. He offers rooms, a meal, and shelter from whatever now moves outside his walls.

Those who accept his hospitality find the castle quiet, the food excellent, and the night held at bay. Those who decline, or who try to leave, discover that the protection he provides is not absolute. The longer they refuse his welcome, the more the grounds, the surrounding land, and eventually the castle itself turn against them. Paths vanish into cold fog. Things that were kept at a distance begin to close in. The night grows longer and less forgiving.

You have arrived at the gates. Lord Malric is waiting. The choice of whether to accept what he offers, and how long you are willing to remain his guest, will decide what kind of night you face.

Premise:
A seemingly accidental death has occurred on the second floor guest dining hall of ฿illionaire Ruse Vayne’s mansion during the IF Gala. A figure lies on the table below a chandelier in an oddly familiar branded suit.

A “trial” begins the following day, when the courthouse is overrun and taken over by many colorful criminal minds who have seemingly teamed up, escalating into a hostage situation with each criminal party claiming to have a hand in the murder for a piece of the Joker’s bounty, for the victim was none other than ฿atman himself.

So, how did you solve the case, or perhaps, did you have a part in doing the deed?

Pledge – Intended Writing Experience: “Convolution”

Personal Objective:
Batman has been called by many titles, one of which is “The World’s Greatest Detective” and in this AU, every character has been designed to solve or add to the mysteries of Gotham. There have been many attempts to portray deductive reasoning so in this Storium I’d like to see fellow writing takes, of what makes a good detective or villain who would challenge deductive reasoning in the great plot-twist off. With the cards stacked against and by you, will this brand of Justice prevail against all odds?

The Storium:
“Calling fellow detective and mystery writers and fans of the Batman universe. Who would like to solve, the modern murder mystery, from both sides of the law?”

“Medical terms sound like magic but to your team, its as natural as breathing fire or underwater.”

Play and write prescriptions and diagnose as members of the House of Diagnostic Wizardry solving magical illnesses that all stem from an underlying condition known as Logic through dramatic scenarios.

Complications include clashing Magic systems which your characters will present to solve the case in a race against time before your patient is dead, comes alive, or any problematic state in between.

Its just magic, what can possibly go wrong?

Pledge – Intended Writing Experience:
We will be exploring writing (or diagnosing) different types of magic system tropes in writing. Soft magic, hard magic and every medium in between. Bring magic systems from other canons. Depending on the length of the case, this may be hosted multiple times.

Personal Objective:

An homage to the TV series, [H]ouse M.D.

The Storium:
“There is a saying amongst writers: Write what you know or are otherwise familiar with – One wonders then, how does one write about something one knows absolutely nothing about? Well, you write something similar to what you do know, otherwise, you know, read.”

In a world were cars and other vehicles are living beings and the dominant lifeform on the planet; civilization has developed quite differently than the human world we know.

Setting:

Welcome to New Transit City, the most populated city of the United Streets of Americorp! This city is a bustling metropolis with multiple levels of transit that connect its towering skyscrapers at multiple levels, including a subterranean Level -1 which is like a vast city unto itself.

Roads - The first difference you’d notice, aside from the cars which populate this world, is the more advanced, complex system of roads and elevated highways that allow vehicles of all kinds access towering skyscrapers at multiple levels.

Vehicles Biology:

Cabin Area- The cabin area of most vehicles is empty and does not have seats, instead serving as a storage space. For larger vehicles like buses, trains, boats, or planes their insides can sometimes be used as transportation for smaller cars, with airbags deploying throughout the vehicle in the event of a crash.

Engine - The engines are similar to those of our world but more complex. They are mechanical and made of metal, requiring gasoline to continue running and liquid coolant to prevent from overheating. When not in drive, vehicles can power down their engines and continue to roll slowly or “walk” on their tires, relying solely on stored energy. Vehicles do this within buildings for safety reasons and also to avoid excessive carbon monoxide build.

Wheels- Tires can be changed and swapped, as they are the equivalent of shoes and must be replaced regularly, but they do have some ability to feel the environment. Most importantly, vehicles are able to stick objects to their tires using electrostatic adhesion to grip them.

Forklifts- While tires allow vehicles to grip objects, most cars are unable to manipulate them or use specialized tools in the same way forklifts can. Though they are smaller and slower than most vehicles, their specialized appendages grant them more control over their environment. For this reason, forklifts have been historically oppressed within the cars universe and used for forced labor, though much has changed in modern times, as it has been over one century since the Great Forklift Revolution.

Growth - Vehicles grow throughout their lifetime up into young adulthood, starting off as tiny vehicles which spawn from the trunk or other similar compartment of a vehicle. Most vehicles start of as 4-wheel, 2 door cars, only later developing additional features that begin to resemble other types of vehicles as they age.

Vehicles grow by shedding individual sections of the outermost layer at a time, allowing that part to grow and change before generating a new outer shell. Vehicles can also choose to have a mechanic install modifications which can be used to guide further developments in the cars growth as they age. Using such modification techniques, a small car could grow into a monster truck or construction vehicle.

Modification - Once a vehicle has reached adulthood, it becomes more difficult to alter their body to become a different type of car, as their internal structure adapts to fit their exterior shell. However, modification technology continues to develop, and some vehicles across the planet have begun to worry about the potential misuse of these emerging technologies, were they to fall into the wrong hands.

Already, some wealthy vehicles have begun to install modifications that grant them powers inaccessible to the everyday car, and this is an ongoing struggle in this world run by vehicles.