The RPG of No Return -- Rated M for violence, probable swearing, and mild sexual innuendoes (please...no sex scenes)
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You're just a happy board surfer. Today's no different from any other day, it seems. You check up on a couple polls in PCG, you read the latest flamewar in Misc, and most importantly you check out the new RPGs. Most of the new RPGs have been boring lately, and all of the ones you're in are moving rather slowly. You look in a couple, but nothing's new or interesting since you last checked.
But when you go back to the main forum page, you see what you've been looking for: a brand new RPG! The title reads "An Adventure for All Times ~ Do you dare join?" You don't recognize the poster (Chronomantique), but all the more reason for you to check it out, right? Eagerly you click the link. The topic comes up and you start to read:
You read through the rest of the plot (see below). It's basically a typical RPG. It seems kinda simple, kinda boring at first, but by the time you finish, something in your head tells you it's one of the best RPGs out there. It's followed by a sign-up form.Come away with me, to a whole new time
Through thoughts and words, through rhythm and rhyme.
Away to a place, thought up in your mind.
Pick a role, play your part, use all that you find.
Work together, work alone, do whatever you will,
But remember your quest lingers over you still.
Don't hesitate now, there's no need to be scared.
Adventure awaits, but are you really prepared?
Happy that (you think) you've finally found an interesting RPG, you click the Reply button, copy over the sign-up form, and fill it out. With a great feeling of excitement and anticipation of a good RPG, you push the Submit button, silently praying you got "first post."
But the topic never loads. It remains stuck on the page that says "Thank you for submitting your post." Except it doesn't say that. When you look closer, you see that it's a different page altogether. It reads:
Are you sure you want to take part in this adventure?
Yes - No
Curious, you click yes, wondering what that was all about. The page changes again. This time it's solid black, with one sentence floating in the middle.
Thank you for becoming a part of this adventure.
No sooner have you read this than you hear a dark, evil laugh. It's not coming from your speakers, it seems to be all around around you. Suddenly the darkness spreads from the black page, until all you can see is the single, red sentence. Then it blinks out of view, and you with it.
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You wake up, lying on a smooth floor. You slowly open your eyes and see that you're in a small, round, marble chamber, the only light coming from bright torches that line the circular wall.
You start to move to get up, and get quite a shock: You're not wearing the same clothes anymore. But that's nothing compared to the bigger shock: you're no longer yourself! Your body has changed, and it takes a while before you realize why it seems so familiar. Then it hits you: you've become the character you created for the RPG!
Other people around are noticing too. Their reactions are mixed, but they all look shocked in one way or another. Then the sound of someone clearing their throat makes you all turn. A small man, his face covered by a brown bowler hat too large for his head, wearing a matching brown suit and coat and holding a cane, is standing in front of the only apparent exit.
"Welcome," he says, his voice surprisingly deep and strong. "I am Chronomantique, and I thank you all for accepting this adventure..."
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The rest of the sub-RPG plot:
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A hidden land. A deadly war. A small group of heroes. The largest adventure.
It is a time of ancient people, a time of magic. The kingdom of Talmina is currently under siege from the nearby kingdom of Patteron. For years before this war, Talmina and Patteron were on the friendliest of terms...that is until King Peiron of Patteron died while in Talmina. The story held by Talmina is that he slipped on a loose stone and fell out of a window while touring the castle. But the king's messengers, when they rode back to Patteron, claimed they had seen King Terria (of Talmina) push King Patteron out of the window.
Well this brought uproar into the Kingdom of Patteron. Without stopping to think, they charged into battle. It seemed as if they were looking for a reason to fight, for they were already prepared for combat. Many lives have been needlessly lost in the resulting war, the war that has been going on for almost twenty long years. While Talmina tries to reason with Patteron, they will not listen, leading most in Talmina to believe the truth: that Patteron has been infected with evil.
This is where you come in. A prophet, standing on Talmina's castle wall at the brink of the war yelled out, "You will fight, Patteron, without knowing why, and only after a score will the end-bringers come!" Unfortunately, before the prophet could proclaim any more, or explain what he meant, an arrow claimed his life as the first casualty of the war. But the prophecy is to come true. You have been called, summoned from the distant land of Mandedor. You must travel through the lands, getting stronger than not only men, but armies of men. You will learn magic, you will gain inhuman strength, and you will defeat the evil behind the battlers of Patteron.
Or the world shall surely end.
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Classes:
Warrior — These men and women focus on their physical strength, and pay little attention to their magical capabilities. Their attacks are short-range, yet they are also agile and able to avoid attacks more easily than most.
Warriors are muscular, often with bulging muscles even when they don't flex. They are usually of average height. They are the strongest of the three classes.
Warriors are usually wearing lots of armor, as well as some way to hold their weapon when they are not using it.
Mage — The opposite of the warrior, these men and women focus mainly on their magical abilities. The stronger magic users are able to summon great beasts or large natural phenomenon. They are also able to be healers; it is rumored that the strongest healing mages have the power to revive the dead, but this has never been witnessed.
Mages are usually frail, physically. They're the smallest of the classes, and they (usually) aren't ashamed of it.
Mages wear robes, usually of a thick cloth material. Most experienced mages wear magic-increasing jewelry. They carry around their weapon as a walking stick.
Archer — Precision and power from a distance are what these men and women are about. Using arrows, they attack from afar, staying in safety. They are also nimble, able to dodge practically any projectile. They may choose to learn magic, but it is magic that is usually focused on enchanting either their arrows or themselves.
Archers are not especially strong, but they are very good at stringing a bow quickly and firing it more quickly. They are nimble, being the most agile of the three classes.
Archers wear light, yet strong, clothing so they are not hindered in movement. Their bows are worn around their torsos and their quiver on their back. Most Archers learn the spell to regenerate arrows early on.
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My form:
Real Name: Mike
Gender: Male
Personality: Mike is a typical 'nice guy.' He makes friends easily, keeps them easily, and wouldn't turn his back on them unless they hurt him. He's smart, witty, sarcastic at times, but never straight-out mean. He doesn't start fights, tries to avoid ones others start, and tries talking his way out of the ones he gets into.
-- -- RPG FORM START -- --
Name: Merenwen Demithon
Gender: Female
Class: Mage
Bodily Appearance: Taller than average for a mage, around 5'11". Skinny body shape, with what seems like not enough muscle to go around, and a pale skin tone that makes her look even creepier. Her eyes are ice blue, and her hair, which falls a few inches past her shoulders when loose, is a whitish blond, adding to her pale appearance. She has a scar halfway across the middle of her right cheek, the remnant of an old duel. She also tends to keep her hair up in two ponytails at the top of her head, each tie covered with a pale red sphere about three inches in diameter.
Clothing Appearance: Merenwen does not wear full-body robes, as is typical of most mages. For a bottom: she wears a loose, soft cloth skirt that barely reaches her knees; it is blood-red in color, with large (3-inch tall), skinny white runes sewn at the bottom hem that say her name in Runic. For a top: she wears a similarly loose, long-sleeve, hooded tunic of the same cloth (she rarely wears the hood up); it is the same color as the skirt, and has the same runes around the bottom hem, which barely reaches her waist; underneath she has a white, skin-tight, sleeveless top which fits her snugly and reaches about two inches below her breasts. For footwear: she wears soft leather boots, a reddish-brown in color, that cover her feet and have straps that wrap around her legs, up to a couple inches below her knees. She wears magically-bound, thin, gold bracelets on her arms (they can only come off when she wants to take them off), as well as a small gold ring set with a flat ruby on her left ring finger.
Weapon: Merenwen has a rod, five feet in length. It is a hard ebony shaft, black, about one and a half inches thick, with a silvery-metal base (the bottom six inches) and a three-inch diameter red sphere (that matches the ones on her ponytails) at the top.
-- -- RPG FORM FINISH -- --
Changed Personality: Mike is a lot quieter now, mostly owing to his body change. In Merenwen's body, he's subdued, often seen brooding. He's no longer good at making friends, not that he doesn't try. He snaps back when he thinks he's been insulted, and sometimes lets his anger rise without meaning to.
Other: *smacks other around a bit with a large trout*
One Archer LSU will be accepted; fill out your form here first.
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Warriors
~ Rekli
~ Florence Hayra
~ Farath
Mages
~ Merenwen Demithon
~ Aeris Levis
~ Ankha-Re Krudas
Archers
~ Saria
~ Adalia
~ [open]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-="Yeeeaaaauuuuggghh..." I let out a huge yawn as I walked from my bed to my computer. The backs of my calfs were still sore, and I silently told myself that I would be limiting my DDR playage from now on. I didn't need to wake up with sore calfs every morning.
Still wiping the sleep from my eyes, I woke up my computer and brought my browser to the front. I scanned my bookmarks bar and realized, with a shock, that I hadn't been to that forum in ages. Clicking on the link, I was greeted with a page full of bold titles. "Ergh, gotta remember to visit more than once a month," I told myself.
I looked at the first topic, surprised to see that it was new and not viewed yet. "Hm, never seen that guy around," I said, looking at the poster, Chronomantique. Probably joined while I was forgetting about the place. I clicked and started reading. It started out seeming boring, but somewhere, about halfway through, something clicked in my mind...something told me this was good.
I looked over the plot again, then decided, for no other reason than total boredom at that point, to make a female character. It had been a while since I had RP'd, and since I was a guy all the time anyway, I figured it'd be a nice break from that to play a girl.
I got the sign-up typed up in my text editor, then copied it over and posted it. I stretched again, especially my legs. They were still killing me. When I looked back at the screen it was still on that page that thanks you for posting. Except...as I looked closer, it didn't say that. It said:
Are you sure you want to take part in this adventure?
Yes - No
Curious, I clicked yes. A different page came up. It was black except for one sentence:
Thank you for becoming a part of this adventure.
Immediately I heard a loud laugh...an evil-sounding laugh. Quickly I hit the mute button on my keyboard, but although the bezel said the volume was off, the laugh continued. Suddenly the black page filled the screen, even though I hadn't maximized it. But it didn't stop there. The black surrounded me, and it wasn't long before it was all dark except for that one, burning red sentence. The laugh still ringing, I suddenly couldn't feel the chair I was sitting on...it felt like I was floating.
Then the sentence blanked out...and I couldn't feel anything else.
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Merenwen
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I regained consciousness quite suddenly. I was on the ground, except it wasn't the soft and rugged carpet of my room. It was smooth, like tile or wood. I still couldn't feel my body except for where I was lying on the floor, but I could open my eyes.
I was looking at a rounded, mixed-color stone (I think it was marble) wall, which met with a similar floor and ceiling, which seemed to only be about 7 feet above me. As I gained more feeling in my limbs, I could tell something was wrong with my clothes. I was wearing long sleeves, not the short sleeves of the shirt I had slept in. And it felt like my legs were touching each other all the way up to my...
My train of thought was broken because at that moment I had gained the feeling in my torso...and felt something that definitely should not have been there. Slowly, I tilted my head down. I saw a red cloth covering my torso...and a definite bulge in the fabric. I couldn't hold it in.
I screamed.
I screamed like the girl I had become. And dang, was it shrill. After about 5 seconds I couldn't stand even the sound of my own scream, so I stopped an instead tried getting up.
It wasn't until this time that I realized there were other people. I looked around at them all, and they all stared at me back, some already standing, some still lying down. Apparently I woke up later than most of them. Well, one wasn't staring at me: a girl with a black tunic and white undershirt, her dark hair up in a ponytail. She was sitting on the ground and hugging her knees, apparently not very comfortable with something. There was something odd about her, but I couldn't quite figure it out. Eventually the others all stopped looking at me, which I was grateful for.
I looked down at myself. I was wearing a red cloak-like top, and a matching skirt. That explained why my legs were touching each other. I could feel that I had underwear on, and it didn't feel like a thong (not that I'd know, but I was guessing based on what the things looked like). Still, I didn't have the "parts" I was used to having underneath it. That and having no pants made me feel kinda naked.
Then something clicked. Yes, these clothes were familiar...I had thought them up myself. They were in that RPG post. Which meant—I reached a hand up to my hair—yes, blond, long, and in two ponytails with a ball to cover the ties. Which also meant...
I looked around where I had been on the ground and saw the rod there, exactly as I had imagined it when I typed up the description. I bent down to pick it up, but that was a mistake. Completely unbalanced because of my new body shape, I teetered and fell.
"Ouch, sh!t!" I muttered. Just as suddenly, I clapped a hand to my mouth, not because I was shocked at my voice, but because of what I had said. Everyone who knew me knew I had the cleanest mouth around, and yet I let this slip as if it were nothing. Yeah, I know, silly of me to get worked up over something like this, except I was really freaked out by how easily I had said it.
Fortunately, nobody else payed me any mind. I could hear them talking too, but I wasn't about to go join in their conversation. Instead I stood up, using my rod to help, and looked around for an exit, which nobody else had seemed to bother doing.
I found it easily enough, but in front of it stood a little man...at least, I guessed that's what it was. It was a humanoid figure, about 4 feet tall, with a long brown suit and coat, and a matching bowler hat that was too large for him, as it covered his whole face.
He gave a short "ahem" and everyone turned to look at him. "Welcome," he said, and his voice wasn't tiny, but deep and strong as if he were really 6'6" with bulging muscles. "I am Chronomantique, and I thank you all for accepting your role in this adventure."
At the name Chronomantique, most of us did a double take. A dark-haired mage, wearing black clothes and a white furry cape, said, "Wait, you're the guy that posted that topic!" The look of recognition on everyone's face told me that, yes, everyone had to have been from the real world and on that forum.
"A topic? Is that what you call them?" He turned his head towards the oddly-dressed mage. "But yes, Ankha-Re, I did send the message to you all. When this portal spell was invented, I knew it had to be used to fulfill that prophecy." It took me a second to remember that detail from the topic.
"B-but why us?" a green-and-brown-clad archer asked. I could tell she was an archer because of the bow she had around her waist.
The man seemed to hesitate. "There was no choice in who was picked, Saria. All the details of the spell are still in that mage's head. Oh, and apologies for the evil laugh. The mage who created the spell has gone...insane, as you would say. A genius, but insane."
"But why did it have to change us?" I started, angrily. The man gave off a puzzled air. "Yeah, what the hell is wrong with my body?" a tallish, brown-robed mage practically shouted. "Whose body is this?!"
The man seemed perplexed. He looked at the mage, "But...are you saying you did not describe yourself, Aeris? Don't you normally do that?" Most of us shook our heads or gave other disagreeing motions. "Well...well, I really wasn't expecting this. But you are unharmed?"
I spoke up, and I could feel my anger rising. "Unharmed, maybe, but we definitely were not prepared for a full fu-" I stopped myself for a split-second, "-freakin' body makeover." Most of the others muttered agreements.
"Well, I am sure that the reverse portal spell will return you to normal, Merenwen," the man said, and I vaguely remembered putting that down as my character's name, "but I have already sealed the spell away until the evil has been vanquished, so there's no good in trying to force it out of me. Besides, as cliché as it is, you all do have a destiny to fulfill. Now come, we must go to the King. I told him I'd bring you to him."
As he led us out of the small circular room, I was desperately trying to calm myself down. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I was trapped in a strange world, trapped even more in a strange body, and it didn't look like that was changing anytime soon. In fact, the only thing that felt good at that point was the fact that my legs weren't hurting from overdoing it at DDR anymore.
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There, managed to get through it again. Basically, just do the same things I did, find the topic and reply, get transported, find your new body, then go through the talk with Chronomantique.
And PoL, if I misused your character, you can yell at Roy 'cause he suggested it.![]()