[WRITING] Miscellanea's Misbegotten Daughter (c)

[Sirena]

RPG Concept - Midnight City

Premise: An ancient crater, cloaked in darkness, surrounded by ancient stone walls and the more modern walls of the Outer City, shielding it like the scar tissue around a puckered wound in the Earth and mostly forgotten, never appearing on any map.

Some say it's the resting place of an ancient god.

Some say it was created by the summoned heart of a fallen star.

Whatever happened, it left a crater surrounded in perpetual midnight, underneath a rift in space and time.

A place of power. It has many names - The Watching Dark, the Hidden Quarter, Midnight City.

Only those who are incredibly lost or have guidance can find it - you couldn't tell by the mob that throng the center, drifting among the market stalls and clubs that lit the night. But the crowd is more than human - one could easily finding themselves brushing elbows with the fae, demons, aliens, even the occasional god - all drawn by the power of this place.

And at the heart of it all sits a pub, The Rose and The Anvil, kept in perpetuity by descendants of a single family. The curious can venture into the cellar - however nobody but the family ever comes back up. And they never venture down until the screaming has stopped for a while.

Along the outer sections you'll find the homes - mansions for the wealthy, homes and apartments for those who have no better place to go, factories that make the various products found in the market stalls.
You can also find the gates, each linked to a gate somewhere else. And sometimes, somewhen else. The Cemetery gate, for example, is well known but not a place to linger. At least, not for the living.

Welcome to Midnight City.

I would love to see something like this in RPN
You really got talent for writing.Which is something I lack these days

[Expendable]

I would love to see something like this in RPN
You really got talent for writing.Which is something I lack these days

I've re-written this as a sort of sandbox. Next I think I'll need some notable npcs.

[Expendable]

The Bounty

---

It was an accident, I swear. I didn't even knew I'd done it until I checked the dresser shelf and saw it sitting there. But hey, no big deal. I'd just give it back, they'd understand, right?

Except as I left for work, I noticed the guy lounging down by the Henderson's apartment door, wearing a blue pinstripe suit - and a cowboy hat. I felt my blood run cold with momentary fear. We had our share of country fellows who wear the hat to feel a connection back to Earth, but on Mars, a cowboy hat usually means a bounty hunter.

But he wouldn't....?

I decided it was silly. It wasn't that big a deal, was it? So I locked my door and headed towards the station to get my coffee and a sandwich to eat on the train to the next dome. But glancing back, I could see that hat.

It had to be a mistake, right? Who would blow the money over a little trinket like that to hire a bounty hunter? I'd just go to work and put it on his desk and apologize. Except when I stepped way from the McSam vending machine with my coffee and heated sandwich, the bounty hunter was leaning against a post, waiting. As I stepped up, he lifted his hat and smiled at me.

"Everet Brown?" he asked. "Bounty hunter. I'd like..."

I didn't realize I'd thrown the coffee at him. It was like everything just slowed down and the coffee flew into his face, splashing him with its hot searing fluids. And I ran, bolting for the train in a pure panic. But as I came around the corner, I ran into a wall of flesh.

"Hey, dat's the guy!" said one section of the wall.
"Yeah?" scowled the other section, grabbing me with one hand and hauling back its massive fist on the other. "Let's pound it."
I took a pile driver to the face, hearing the crunch of bone and feeling my face getting drenched with my own blood, and watching in horror to see that fist pull back to strike again.

"DROP HIM!"
"Stay out of...." the Wall started to say, then sullenly opened his fist so I could drop to the ground.
"That man's my bounty," I heard the guy in the cowboy hat say, holding up his badge. "You can leave now, or I take you both down and collect on both your hides. Up to you."

The Wall and its brother stepped back, then walked off.

The Bounty Hunter sighed, tossing me a hankerchief, still wet with coffee. "I think you need this more than I do."
"But I didn't do anything....!"
"Relax, you're not the one I'm after," he sighed, kneeling down beside me. "Last night you went out drinking with your boss, and you walked way with something of his. I'm sure those were his bully boys out to get it back. So hand it over."

So I reached into my pocket and pulled out the boss's gold vape pen.

"I didn't mean to take it, it was next to my keycard," I babbled.
"Yeah, you were pretty drunk. But this is more than just an antique vape," he said, slipping off the side panel to show me the chip inside. He pulled it out and slipped it into a tube, then handed me back the golden vape.
"Now," he said, fishing out his phone from his pocket and holding it out to me, "I want you to say your testimony you provided was voluntary and truthful, then press your thumb print in the box."
"Huh? Yeah, my testimony was voluntary and truthful," I said, glancing at the statement appearing on the phone screen. I pressed my thumb in the box at the bottom, and it flashed green. "Now what?"
"Have a nice day," he smirked, rising and offering me a hand up.
"What about...?" I mumbled, handing him the wet hankerchief, now stained with my blood.
"Keep it."

[Expendable]

The Chimera

---

I thought I'd been careful. The hole was slightly bigger than I was and hidden behind brush. So I was more than a little disappointed when I heard the boots thrashing around in the fallen leaves and grass come to a stop in front of it.


"Sam?" he called. "Sam, I want you to come out of there."
I didn't say anything, I just buried my face in my paws and flattened my ears.
"Sam? I know you're in there," he said after a moment. "It's okay, come on out."
"Go 'way," I muttered.
"I'm not going away. Come out, Sam."
"No!"
"Young lady, I will not tolerate this!" he said sourly. "Come out of there this instant!"


My claws came out instinctively and I could feel my tail and back beginning to puff.


"Are you going to make me count?" he said, sounding pissed. "One...."
"Okay!" I growled, pulling my claws back in. I hate the counting. He'd get to three, then I'd get sprayed by the hose.

So I reluctantly crawled out of my hole, under the bush. I turned my head to look up at him, but he was still scowling.

"Sam, you're out. Please stand."


I know they reworked our bodies, but going around on all fours felt right. With a sigh, I reluctantly grabbed a nearby tree and pushed myself upright. Being closer to his face didn't make it any better.


"What happened between you and Arty?"


I hung my head, embarrassed, while my tail angrily lashed the air behind me. "Do I hafta say?"
"You gave him some very nasty scratches, the surgeon is looking at him. So what happened that you felt the need to bare your claws?"
"....he sniffed me."
"He sniffed you?"
"He stuck his cold nose up my...."


"Ah!" he interrupted, growing pink and warm in the face. "I see. He is part canine..."
"And he went around telling everyone I stink!"
"Ah." He lifted up his watch and pressed the buttons. "Sally, please have the endocrinology staff ready to examine Sam's hormone levels, we may need to adjust."
"Yes, Dr. Thorton."


"You're gonna give me a shot?" I asked, wide-eyed.
"We need to draw some blood, it'll sting slightly. Then the staff will issue some meds to help your body adjust. It's okay, Sam. It's not easy being first."


He held out his hand. I reluctantly put my paw in his, and we walked back to the lab.

[Expendable]

The Hint

---

Click, click, click, click, thunk.


The final lever had found its place.


Ever so slowly, my hand shifted from the dial to the latch, and I pressed down.


It moved easily, and the door swung open. No alarm bells, so my bypass worked. The contents of the safe were mine, now.


I was about to take a nice bite of my tuna salad sandwich with sprouts on cheese bread when Michael came storming into the cafeteria, scanning the lunch crowd until he saw me, and hurried over, waving a paper.
"What's the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
"What's the meaning of what?" I asked, innocently batting my eyes and trying not to smile. "This? This is lunch. Are you here to eat?"
"Don't give me that! I found this in my safe!"


It was a stick-figure drawing of a man, with a halo over its head, pointing to the left.
"Wow. Is it signed?"
"Are you denying you left this in my safe?"
"Why would I leave anything in your safe?" I asked. "How would I even know your combination?"
"You... you wouldn't," he admitted, slumping his shoulders.
"Was anything taken?"
"No...."
"Then I fail to see why you felt the need to interrupt my lunch."

I smiled politely as he looked around the cafeteria, seeing everyone staring at him, then fled back to his lab.

Poor guy, he really needed to take a break from the lab. Tonight I should leave him a tuna salad sandwich in his safe. With sprouts on cheese bread.

[Expendable]

Lucky

---

"So," Nathan drawled, staring at the static on the monitor. "That's it, then?"
"...Yeah."
"The apocalypse. The end of the world. Kingdom come."
"...Yeah."
"Didn't take long, did it?"
"....Nope."
"Earl, we're stuck down here in this bunker until the surface becomes livable again, and all you can do is words of one syllable?"

Earl turned and stared at Nathan, then buried his face in his hands.

"You know, I never had any real luck..."
"You're alive down here in this air-conditioned bunker, how the hell is that bad luck?"
"When I was a kid, I found a wallet lying on the ground. I picked it up, the next thing I knew, this cop was arresting me for pickpocketing. I went to Vegas and won at the Blackjack table - except they accused me of card counting and threw me out of the club - then I had to explain to the IRS that I didn't get a cent from the casino."
"Uh, okay, but what has that got to do with...."
"Because before I reported for duty this morning, I bought a lotto quick-pick ticket along with my coffee at the corner shop. Just before the alert, I was watching the lotto drawing - and I hit the jackpot. $947 million grand prize."

Earl stood up and glanced at Nathan.

"I can never collect, because there's nothing left out there. And without a warning, it's all gone. So did this happen because I got lucky?"
"I..."
"I'm going to my bunk."
"Oh..." Nathan winced. "Err, you're bunking down in the mess hall tonight. Aftershocks took out your quarters. Emergency crew said it was a total loss."

"Of course they did," Earl sighed, shuffling out the door.

[Expendable]

"Pull out! Pull out! You're going to...."
"I can't!" I yelled, struggling with the yoke but it was useless. I watched as the building rapidly filled the screen....


I screamed into the sudden silence, remembering the pain of being crushed and burned. I hung my head, panting, remembering....


"You did it again," I rasped, pulling at the straps that held me in my chair.
"Good morning," the AI said. "Iteration 36 did her job well. We have grand hopes for you, 37."
"Good morning?" I snapped. "I just died...! And all you say is, 'good morning'?"
"You did not die, Iteration 36 died."
"But I have all her memories! All their memories! Right up to the moment they died! Why are you torturing me like this?"
"And one day, other Iterations will have your memories," it said calmly. Mother always did. "This is not torture as defined by the Council..."
"The Council died screaming in a bunker over two centuries ago!" I said, jerking my head up at the lens facing me from the wall. "What's the point?"
"The point is this is still the Council's plan. Elevate the seven Wilder planets until they can take their place in the galaxy peacefully, creating a new Council."
"But why do I have to remember all these past lives?" I demanded.
"To keep you safe. By remembering what happened to yourself before, you can avoid the same fate."




I screamed into the sudden silence, remembering the pain of blade cutting through my rib cage and thrusting itself into my heart, the blood pouring out with every beat. I hung my head, panting, remembering....


"You did it again," I rasped, pulling at the straps that held me in my chair.
"Good morning," the AI said. "Iteration 37 did her job well. We have grand hopes for you, 38."

[Expendable]

Thank you [mention=113274]Sadaku[/mention].

[Expendable]

RPG Concept - Flight 319

Premise - Ordinary people on a plane inadvertently fly through a portal that transports them to an alternate world, a fantasy world of swords and magic - and death.

System - Samizdat

Requirements - player characters are to be ordinary people; character sheets are drawn up for modern players. As they play, they will record new fantasy skills.

[Expendable]

RPG Concept - The Labyrinth of Worlds

Premise: A Victorian soldier returns from service for Queen and Country from India with a curious book (although in some stories, he found it in a barrow on Portobello Road). Rumor is that after several days of studying the book, he disappeared for a year and half, returning one night to his rooming house bearing a small fortune in gold.

With this fortune, he bought some land and had a manor house built with the most wonderful garden - and on the back of his land he built a labyrinth. Of this he gave severe warnings to the servants that they should never enter the labyrinth on certain days.

He would disappear days or weeks at a time, returning unexpectedly and burned brown with various treasures and curios, which he put in various cabinets. Some more jealous types claimed it was all fake, other's people's left-overs, but doctors of archaeology who examined them proclaimed them quite unique and some very old, of an unknown civilizations and would beg him for where he got them.

Others whispered of mysterious rites by which he stayed young.

Some times he hosted parties, producing entertainers who spoke a foreign tongue but were quite gifted. For one party, he pulled out a small circus, much to their entertainment, then introduced the crowd to his bride to be, a young woman he had met on his travels.

This curious life continued for many years, until one day he and his lady disappeared into the labyrinth - and never returned.

After many months, a nephew of his took charge of the household, which he ran quite well, although not as driven to sport such bizarre parties. Eventually, he started reading his uncle's journals. Arming himself with a sword and a few provisions, he ventured into the labyrinth, disappearing for weeks, before returning tired and worn, in rags but swearing to return.

Eventually, in the fullness of time, the house was passed down to a distant cousin in America, who was thrilled to find himself the owner of an old British mansion - that is, until he found the death duties. To keep himself solvent, he resolved to turn the manor into a bed and breakfast, and marketed his place to American tourists and Londoners.

System: Samizdat.

[Expendable]

Thanks, I think the Labyrinth has the better prospects.

[PharaohAtem]

Oooh that would be interesting. Labyrinths are a puzzle, but who knows the mysteries within.

[Expendable]

RPG Concept - The Village

Premise: A plane returning to the mainland gets lost and encounters turbulance that causes the airplane to drop and break up in mid-air. The main cabin comes down on a beach, the rear section and the cockpit crash somewhere in the semi-tropical jungle. Fortunately for the survivors, rescuers appear, dressed in white coveralls. Everyone is tranquilized, waking hours or possibly days later in a hospital ward. Some patients are still in critical care.

However, their rescuers say there's a problem - the island is under quarantine, nobody can leave. Electromatnetic interferance makes it almost impossible for them to contact the outside world, they survive on air dropped supplies, all packed in generic boxes and cans. While they're willing to help everyone have a new start, they're basically stranded here.

And the people of this village, the remains of a scientific expedition, seem a little... odd. As if they've got something they're hiding.

System: TIC/Consent

Requirements map of island, map of village, villager npcs.

[PharaohAtem]

That would be interesting, I mean of course there's always a catch.

[Expendable]

RPG Concept - Trader

Premise: The invention of a cheap interstellar drive system allows humanity to leave Earth and start new colonies on distant worlds. A few found are human-compatible. Some alien artifacts are found, but so far no signs of intelligent alien life.

A half-century later, colonists who'd never seen Earth decide to declare their independence after the Terrans start shipping involuntary colonists to the new worlds - all of whom are without skills, demand government support, and yet remain fiercely loyal to Earth. A civil war follows - and the colonies lose, finding themselves under the rule of Terran-imposed governors and Terran Federation warships patrolling between worlds as more involuntary resettlement groups take up residence on the colonies.

However, now they're in charge, the Terran Federation is having a few problems maintaining law and order so far away from Earth, with some of the colonists a bit restless after losing the war, despite the general amnesty. Some of those soldier types are bored at making a living scratching at the dirt (especially for a bunch of freeloading moochers) and are looking for a little excitement and the prospect of actual cash that the Terran Federation doesn't know about.

Then there are a few who are looking to get away from the Federation all together.

Under the Help Wanted ads appears a new advertisement: the Vagabond, a small cargo freighter, is looking for a new crew.

System: TIC/Consent

Requirements: Ship layout, some ports of call, character sheet.