OOC, SIGN-UPS
(IC HERE)
"The Phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise." - Miguel de Cervantes
PROLOGUE
No one expected the bombs to fall in 2021. Not even the wealthy politicians and the world elite of the United States of America could have foreseen their world engulfed in the blinding glow of nuclear fire. Hundreds of millions of lives were ended in the blasts and fallout, and all of mankind faces the terrible nuclear aftermath of this obliteration every day. It’s been 66 years since the self-destruction, and the Earth lies in a quiet dying slumber as it rots away under the soft glow of man’s ignorance. But as for the desert state of Arizona... that’s a different story.
Arizona holds Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, the largest power plant of any state in the US, and when the bombs went off, so did Arizona. This cloud of radioactive fallout eroded the sky, and left the whole region under the mercy of the sun’s oppressive gaze, choking it in the heat and twisting the land into a barren hell. This absence of an ozone also transforms the Badlands of Arizona into a frozen wasteland at night. Those who did not die from the fallout and learned to spare themselves the scorching rays live under the brutal law of land, where ‘survival at any cost’ is the unspoken code. The harshness of Arizona’s grand mesas and valleys has been intensified, many of those who have lived under the scorching savagery of the new world have been gnarled, their humanity cast aside for survival, turning them into mindless barbarians willing to do anything to ease their pain and unquenchable rage. While some communities have formed out of the ancient wreckages that scatter the land, trying to establish lives of civility, trade, and order, these have yet to stand the decay of the earth reborn, many not lasting more than 5 years before they fall victim to ruin in the newly dubbed Badlands of Arizona.
The world of Arizona changed is a vicious and cruel place, the scorching desert plains being known as the “Badlands” by all that inhabit it. The new dead sky is unmerciful in it’s retribution, and has changed the arid sierra into a red hot hell on earth, temperatures rising to an almost constant 120 degrees fahrenheit in the burning Badlands, searing the skin and eyes of those unprepared. Sandstorms are savage in the prairies, being known to rip the flesh off the back of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in one. With these dangers, however, comes opportunity. Scroungers and ruthless mercenaries from outside the state come pick the bones of the many untouched caches that lay in the god-forsaken pit of the Badlands. As well as these scavengers, sects and factions have risen up to try and seize the unscathed wealth that lies with the dead in Arizona, along with the inhabitants left in the Badlands.
Though all seems lost for the last gasping breath of humanity in Arizona, there are whispers and tales of treasure and a new beginning tucked away in the depths of the long damned city of Phoenix. However, the stories of promise were also trailed with the warning of unspeakable abominations and dark cruelties that sleep in the dead city. The living settlers and nomads of the Arizona saying the abyss that is Phoenix has been distorted and corrupted by the glow beyond compare of any other crater in the Badlands, and anyone foolish enough to venture there would meet an assured and agonizing death. But the promise of wealth and salvation is too much for anyone to refuse, and those looking for the prize of Phoenix are not deterred by the legend of evil that rests there. From this new hope seeping out of the ruins, mercenaries and factions alike fight to claim the bounty from the ashes of Phoenix.
That’s where you come in.
You are a treasure-hunter.
No matter what path may have lead you to this point, you are now set on a journey through the scorched earth of Arizona to retrieve the fabled riches and power that lie in the dark heart of Phoenix… But you can’t do it alone. You'll need to find others like you, and form a party. You'll need a faction to back you. Only then, could you hope to trek through the inferno that resides there.
Can you wake the Phoenix from the ashes?
INTRODUCTION
Phoenix Rising is a character driven nuclear post-apocalyptic RP set in 2093 radioactive Arizona wasteland, created, written, and OP’d by Orvius and Violante. By combining all the things we love about the nuclear apocalypse genre, and leaving out all the things we find absurd/silly, we hope to create a more gritty and down-to-scorched-earth apocalypse roleplay experience.
Phoenix Rising came about through several conversations that we (Violante and Orvius) had about the aspects we liked and didn’t like about the genre. Both being adamant fans of series like Fallout, Wasteland, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., etc., we would have discussions about what we so enjoyed about this category of apocalypto as a whole. From that, we sought out to create our perfect image of a nuclear wasteland, and Arizona: Phoenix Rising came to be.
Water is a commodity to kill for, life is scarce and death is norm, the new scorching sun is one of the most lethal of dangers, sandstorms strip the flesh off your back, and defined morality is gone with the old world. Welcome to the Arizona Badlands.
WARNING: This roleplay will probably be a hard PG-13. Expect profanity, some gore, and extreme violence. If you’re easily offended, then you need not attend.
We hope you enjoy your stay.
RULES
We will be very scrutinous in these rules. Too many roleplays have been dropped dead by just one constant offender, and we will not tolerate this. If either of the two OP’s consider any offender too much trouble, and remove them from the roleplay, this is the final word. You have been warned.
1. READ THIS WHOLE DAMN THING: This point must be stressed. If you do not read this entire opening sign-up sheet, then you will not be adequately familiar with the RP rules/character application rules/story/OPs/etc. If you don’t read ALL of it, then we’ll know. Trust us, we will know, and we operate on a zero tolerance policy.
1½. READ THE APP RULES BEFORE POSTING: This may fall under rule number one, but it is very important that you not apply a character without understanding the rules about posting, we seriously can’t stress this enough. An offender of this rule will either be corrected once, or be immediately rejected, depending on the severity of the offense. Zero. Tolerance.
2. YOU’RE NOT A BADASS: Players may create determined characters if they wish, but determination does not equal badassery, and you will not be the “Elite Sniper Super Cool Brooding Commando Dude Who is an Expert in Every Martial Art Ever, and Can Take Bullets Like a Tank”. Your character is a normal human being. A survivor, just as everyone else in the wasteland. If your character is shot, stabbed, maimed by an unspeakably disfigured beast, etc., then your character will react the same way any normal human would. Wounds are not to be taken lightly in this RP, and your characters fighting skill is expected to be reasonable. You are not taking on 6 raiders single-handedly without taking a scratch. Anyone violating this rule to boost their inflated ego will be immediately removed from the roleplay. Your character CAN die. We are dead serious.
3. RADIATION WILL KILL YOU: Make no mistake. Radiation is nothing you can just brush off. If the OPs have indicated that area is flooded with dangerous levels of radiation, and you don’t happen to have a full MOPP suit on (you won’t), then you better not go in there unless you want your character to drop dead instantaneously.
4. NO FIGHTING ON THE OOC: If you have a problem with another player, then please, take it to the telegrams.
5. YOU MUST POST A PARAGRAPH: No one liners will be acceptable in this roleplay. You must post at the very least, a paragraph long post each time.
6. YOU CAN NOT BE AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE SET FACTIONS: You are not allowed to have any past experiences with any faction, you can not have any favors with them, nor can you "have any friends on the inside", you are lower than a nobody.
GENERAL RULES:
No Godmodding.
No Metagaming.
OP’s say is final.
You should know the rest.
FACTIONS
In the Arizona Badlands, there are only two types of people: The ones with the firepower, and the ones without it. While there are many people banded together under one flag trying to make their claim for glory, there are only a few power players that can really call themselves the factions of Arizona. In order to truly succeed in your quest for the heart of Phoenix, you will have to gain some favors from these powerful factions. Be aware however, that these factions are ruthless, extremely dangerous, and always looking for the upper-hand in any encounter. They may be able to help, but only if you are willing to do their dirty work first. As any waster in the Badlands knows, you never trust these people with your back. Not for a second.
Favors can be won from factions through jobs; naturally the higher priority, the better the pay. Do note that these powers are bitter rivals to the end in their struggle for dominance over Arizona, and working too much in favor for one will sour your reputation with another. The factions do not like being crossed, and they take these things very personally. Any waster with a gun and a deathwish can be a mercenary, but if you gain notoriety for doing high-attention jobs for a faction, and word catches wind, you will end up on their enemies’ hit-list.
There are many more factions that scour the Badlands of Arizona, but you will just have to meet them for yourself...
OOC NOTE!: Your character may not have any strong ties to any of the factions. We want you to start with nothing, so I repeat, NO PREVIOUS OR CURRENT AFFILIATION WITH ANY FACTION.
NPC SYSTEM
As deadly as the treachery of the Badlands’ angry deserts is, your greatest threat is without a doubt the people living there. On your quest for the treasure in the heart of Phoenix, you’ll have to meet some of Arizona’s most unsavory characters in order to gain favors for your journey. Meeting said characters face to face can be a bit intimidating, but it’s a necessary venture in order to cross the swathes of lands that they hold claim to. You’ll also need to speak to merchants for ammo and water, and doctors to stitch up your most recent wound and keep you from bleeding out on their floor.
OOC: In order to better visualize and direct attention to important characters in the story, we have concocted the NPC system. This allows for better and more organized interaction with key characters around the Badlands that are crucial to advancing the plot. We hope that this will keep players from becoming stuck in the plotline and eventually losing interest.
An NPC will include a portrait of the character, a name, a written description, and usually dialouge. Let’s take a second to look at an example down below.
EXAMPLE NPC
NPC
BADLAND WANDERER
This waster is covered head-to-toe in what seems to be a large protective leather poncho, complete with a hood. This poncho bestows a bit on an eerie silhouette to the man, and it doesn’t help that you can’t see his eyes past his goggles, and he has his lips covered some sort of dust-mask. His hunched stature is also a tad menacing, like how a cat or a coyote arches it’s shoulders when threatened, though the heavy rusack on his back might have something to do with it. Rusack or not, the entire air about this man reads “itchy trigger finger” and it’s enough to make even the hardened mercenary think twice about getting too close.
The hooded figure finally speaks after a few awkward silent moments, which can be assumed he spent sizing the rest of the party up. “If you folks wanna buy something outta my pack, then I’ll be happy to oblige y’all. If not, stay the hell back or I’ll blast you into so many pieces your friends will get tired of looking for ya.” He shouted over the dunes, the clear tone of uneasiness quivering in his voice.
At the time that a portrait like the one above is shown on the IC the OPs will write for that NPC, and interact with the other players. This is to avoid things like players skewing the lore one way or another, and to make it easier for the OPs to set-up jobs and mercantile interactions.
APPLICATION
Here we’ll explain the rules for character application by example.
Name: (Give your character a name. Note, that if you name them an equivalent of “Markus ‘Cool-Guy’ DeathSlayer”, your app will be frowned upon. Show some humility, please.)
Gender: (Pretty much self explanatory.)
Age: (16-70 is the acceptable range.)
Ethnicity/Race: (Arabic, European, Native American, African, Indian, Asian, Slav, Russian, etc.)
Appearance: (A written description of your character's physical attributes, mostly the face. You may submit a picture in a spoiler, if you so desire. A picture is appreciated, but a written description is still required.)
Personality: (Very important, should be complex and very detailed section. This should include how your character interacts with other human beings.)
Skills: (What your character is particularly skilled at. REMEMBER! Rule Number 2! Don’t go overboard on this section. Keep your skills modest. Useful, but modest. We will not tolerate self-proclaimed “bad-asses”. Our RP is not here to fuel your ego at the expense of others.)
Weaknesses: (Weaknesses. Could be anything. A bum-knee, asthma, low mental capacity, horrifyingly large spinal tumors… Could be anything, but you do need them. Ideally, this should tie into or be somehow involved with your skills.)
Outfit: (What your character is currently wearing. Satchels, eye-protection to spare your eyes from the sun’s rays, some sort of sand-storm protecting jacket/coat, general clothing. Please, don’t put a kevlar vest.)
Equipment: (Supplies must be rationally limited. Functional guns with ammunition is not acceptable. If you push to have some kind of working firearm, then you better have a damn good reason, and ammunition must be minimal. You’re starting with nothing, as we want you to progress and find better equipment throughout this RP. Choose a melee weapon.)
Bio: (Should include character’s history, and be at least a paragraph, should be the longest entry. Impress us.)
- Code: Select all
[b][u]Character Application[/b][/u]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Ethnicity/Race:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Skills:[/b]
[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
[b]Outfit:[/b]
[b]Equipment:[/b]
[b]Bio:
Roster of Accepted Applications:
Aaron "Ayastigi" Washington (Dernland)
Gabriel (Orvius)
Corvus Haze (Violante)
Dane (SaintB)
Miles Petraukas (Elerian)
Alice (Beiarusia)
Caleb Bloomfield (Mesrane)
Zachariah Aubin (Cenning)
Johnny "Pinky" Lakesworth (Clavkova)
Orvius’ character application will be the first app and will serve as the example of an acceptable character application.
Thanks for the compliment.
I'll formulate some ideas about my character tonight. Expect an application by Sunday.
(See the Map).
