MESSAGE BOARD ADVENTURE CHARACTER

[Gallahan]

I just had a *new idea* for something that might be fun. Now, to me, this is a *new idea* so I apologize if it's been done before. As far as I know, it hasn't been done on Palladium's message boards. ---I don't know Lazlo and am unfamiliar with it. It's great, I'm sure; for me, time is limited and I haven't had time to explore it.

That being said, I think I have a new idea about how we can **COLLECTIVELY** roleplay a BTS adventure on this message board.

CONCEPT: I will post a situation and provide VOTING OPTIONS. I will leave that post OPEN FOR VOTING for about a week. Then, after the POLLS HAVE CLOSED, I will write the outcome, --the next situation-- based upon the majority vote.

It's like a classic CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE story, only based on participation and votes. Now, you get to yell to the character, "NOOOOO!!! Don't go down into the basement! Get the shotgun first and then fleeeeeeee!"

What do you think? I think it might be a lot of fun. So, lets try it out, ???

Here's the first "situation." First, we must choose a character. Here's a selection of 6 possible characters. Only ONE will make it (become the MAIN CHARACTER), and the majority will choose. After reading, please vote.

1. NANCY MADRINA: She's a 22 year-old psychology student who runs marathons. Her parents were killed in a "freak" auto-accident on the way to investigating paranormal activity concerning a haunted house in a nearby city. They left her a fortune (22 million dollars). She is heartbroken about their deaths, has no other family and is determined to make something of her life. She is a marksman and a "blue belt" in Tae Kwon Do. She is drawn to the paranormal and is an avid fan of the Coast to Coast AM radio show. As beautiful as she is, her "strange" interests keep her socially awkward and without a love interest.

2. CARL KOLCHAN: He's a 35 year-old newspaper reporter who's had a hard life. Divorced, he's immersed himself into his work, finding connections beyond the facade of most stories. He has an intense love/hate relationship with his editor, but is well-paid for his work because he cuts to the nuggets like no one else. Lately, Carl has been concerned about "strange" things happening in and around the region. It is his duty, no matter how fanciful or ridiculous, to uncover the TRUTH and share it with the unkowing populace. A former marine, he's a marksman but carries no firearm, relying on his gut instincts and wits.

3. RACHEL TENNEY: She's a 38 year-old psychic medium who looks 25 years-old. She has had a thriving palm-reading business since whe was 22, a person of deep insight despite her young age. She certainly has the ability to read people, their futures and how they might better themselves (thus her success). A strange man with a dark aura entered her business a few weeks ago, and ever since, her ability has been "clouded." She doesn't know what to make of this, but knows that it has something to do with the string of murders that has plagued the area. She has a 12 year-old daughter who lives with her father.

4. JEFF MITHCELL: He's a 29 year-old RETIRED special operations veteran. He lost his left leg below the knee during operations in Afghanistan (where they *almost* caught/killed Bin Laden). He has a prosthetic leg that works "JUST FINE" which also serves as a great place to use his leg-holster; made of strong, durable plastics, it doesn't set off metal detectors). He was medically retired with full pension and disability payments. Still young and yearning for a fight, he became an FBI agent with a degree in criminal forensics. With his wartime experince in mind, he was assigned to a counter-terrorism branch working with the DoD (Dept. of Defense). Lately, he has been investigating a string of highly unusual terrorist attacks kept from the eyes of the public. He's unmarried and has a dog named "Vincent" that accompanies him on his investigations (Vincent is well trained and is also a bomb-sniffing canine).

5. CAROLINE WATSON: She's a 25 year-old medical student from a wealthy, political family. Not satisfied with the life of a wealthy elite, she also studies archaeology and fringe topics. Her "eyes have opened" after learning of the strange inconsistencies of "modern science." She's a qualified forensics examiner while highly knowledgeable in "fringe" topics. She is highly atheletic, an archer, swimmer and martial artist. Her family frowns upon her interest in "bizarre" topics, but she doesn't care. The truth is out there, she believes, and she's going to find it. Unfortunately for her, dark elements of her political family seek to stop her before she uncovers something profound. Also, she's constantly hounded by PRESTON FREDERIC (a senator's son) seeking her hand in marriage.

6. CHAI SEAVERS: He's a 25-year old graphic artist whose artwork suddenly turned toward the "dark." He loved to paint beautiful landscapes and happy portraits. Lately, however, all of his artwork has been EXTREMELY DARK in nature, depicting death, ghosts and blood. His paintings have had a way of coming true, also. What he has painted has appeared on the evening news days later. He is a martial artist and self-taught in the ways of kendo (sword fighting). His blonde girlfriend is worried about his latest obsession (the dark paintings). He feels COMPELLED toward discovering the source of his unease and defeating it. However, his family (namely his twin brother) is pressuring him to enter the Thai version of the Japanese Yakuza.

OKAY!
You have seven (7) days from this moment to make your vote!! Whichever character gets the most votes will be the MAIN CHARACTER in this game. Perhaps, possibly... Whichever character comes in 2nd may be a supporting character. VOTE!!!

[Gallahan]

Also, the FIRST PERSON to post a reply to this thread will gain the bonus of being the TIE BREAKER, should there be one, for character selection. They will have ONE DAY to reply to the request for TIE BREAKER. If there is no reply, then I will break the tie.

[Cybermancer]

Nancy. I was sold on her as soon as I read she ran marathons.

[Xar]

Rachel. Her ability suddenly being cloudy grabbed my attention.

[Beatmeclever]

Sorry, guess I didn't break the tie.

I like Jeff because he seems more "normal" (as in, no supernatural abilities hinted at).

[Gallahan]

Well, it seems voting is off to a somewhat decent start. So far, Carl Kolchan is going strong with a healthy lead! Pretty close is Jeff Mitchell.

I wonder how much participation we're going to get over the next week. Maybe there will be more as the game progresses! Looking forward to sharing a good BEYOND THE SUPERNATURAL interactive adventure with you guys.

[Lord Z]

Gal, I tried a similar game about a year ago. I created a list of different factions from different game lines, selected two factions at a time by random dice rolls, and staged them to fight each other. I wrote short stories to describe each faction and the scenario behind each fight. Poll voting was to determine the outcime of each match. Participation was abysmal. Even after leaving polls open for two months at a time on two websites, I was still getting far too few voters. Often, the total votes were in the single digits, and the discussions I hoped to inspire never did materialize. Because participation was so low, I kept getting squirrelly results and crazy upsets. I finally gave up. I hope your game goes better. Just don't expect a lot of voters.

I am leaning towards Caroline. The fact that her family is in politics means that conflict is already built into the situation. Whether the family is a cabal of bad guys or just skeptics who don't want to be embarrassed by a proverbial black sheep, she is bound to get on their bad side sooner or later.

Chai would be fun if we had an artist involved to actually create the strange sketches.

[gaby]

I go to Carl Kolchan.

To bad the revamp did not wokr.

[Gallahan]

Gal, I tried a similar game about a year ago... Participation was abysmal. Even after leaving polls open for two months at a time on two websites, I was still getting far too few voters. Often, the total votes were in the single digits, and the discussions I hoped to inspire never did materialize. Because participation was so low... I finally gave up. I hope your game goes better. Just don't expect a lot of voters.

Yeah, participation on this BTS section in general seems off and on at times. Well, at the very least, for those people interested and inclined to join in the adventure, LESS PEOPLE means EACH PERSON has MORE INFLUENCE! And, if the game catches on, we might get more people. Still, it should be a bit of *fun* for those people interested enough to participate. I feel your pain, though. It's a great idea, and is always better with MORE people. So, for those reading this, if you have net-friends into BTS and/or horror in general, maybe mention it to them for what it's worth. Every extra person makes it that more enjoyable.

Chai would be fun if we had an artist involved to actually create the strange sketches.

I happen to be a professional graphic artist... I just don't know how to post the drawings/illustrations to this Palladium thread, --if it is even possible. If you know of a good way to make sketches available, please let me know. If not, I suppose I could use some descriptive verse to point out pertinent details.

[Xar]

You can't post messages to this board. You could host them and put in a link to them, though.

[Gallahan]

You can't post messages to this board. You could host them and put in a link to them, though.

Not quite clear on what you mean. We can "Reply" to this board. And, as far as my understanding goes, that should be enough. It's good that you bring it up, though. Here's how it's going to work:

1. A week's worth of voting generates a main character, and possibly a secondary character (2nd most votes).
2. I'll write up an introduction in which the main character makes his/her entrance. There will be, at the end of the intro, a choice for the main character to make.
3. There will be a new poll based on the available choices. There will be a week's worth of voting. The most-voted-for option will decide the direction to be taken. A new situation/chapter will ensue. Repeat until finished.

If the message board software won't allow me to generate a new vote in this thread, then I'll generate new threads to reflect each week's chapter (e.g. DARK MOON RISING, CHAPTER ONE; DARK MOON RISING, CHAPTER TWO, etc.). Of course, this won't be called "Dark Moon Rising."

[Xar]

Wow. My bad. I meant to say that you can't post images to this board.

[Gallahan]

Wow. My bad. I meant to say that you can't post images to this board.

No worries! I just hope that you and the others are ready to embark upon a JOURNEY INTO THE SUPERNATURAL via this thread. I don't know where it will lead. It's as much a surprise for me. As a GM, I mostly ran improvisational adventures of my own design, which made things really interesting. Yeah, I lost a complete DESERT once (I wrote up pages of encounters, monsters, legends, etc., and a creative player allowed the party to bypass my situation/trap --which would have caused them to enter the desert on foot).

But, there's nothing like improvisation.

[Gallahan]

Well, unless there is an upset, it looks like Kolchan is the main character. Only a little time left to participate and vote. Opening storyline to follow this weekend.

[Gallahan]

Tick-tock, tick-tock...
The time is coming for
The Horror and the Shock.

[Gallahan]

CARL KOLCHAN is without a doubt the main character. Be on the lookout for a POST entitled "_____ CHAPTER 1"...

[Lord Z]

Looking forward to it, G!

[Gallahan]

Look for the post entitled:

"DUSKHUNTER" --Chapter 1--