The new VRMMO Grim Moon, developed by the Flare Tech Solutions company under leadership of Kurio Tobitaba, has gone online. It is a dark fantasy setting game in which one can do nearly anything one can think of and take on any role, even building an entirely new life if wished. Roughly fifty-thousand people logged in for the first day release.
Only to find out there was no way to log back out. They have been stranded in the virtual world and been informed that death in the game means death for real, the Sensory Array Rig(SAR for short) being set to destroy their entire nervous system upon detecting the demise of their avatar or its forecful removal from their unconscious bodies.
While the government and private hackers have already made efforts to breach the hostage situation and arrest Kurio, the developer has safeguarded himself by threatening to kill all the players at once should any overt action be taken against himself or the system. And while he has not deigned to go into the game himself, he has put in place an avatar that acts as both the endgame and the single safe way out for everyone. The Crowned Corpse, an evil overlord that sits in the center of Grim Moon among an undead infested area called the Grey Lands. His level is already maxed out(LV 1000) and he possesses heightened stats that trump even the strongest current players. But should anyone or any group manage to defeat him that person or persons would be granted absolute admin privileges, able to do whatever they wish with the game including log out accounts.
Ten months have passed since the beginning of Grim Moon and players have gone in all sorts of directions with their efforts. Some have become guild leaders hellbent on leveling until they can become strong enough to attempt an assault on the Crowned Corpse. Some have chosen to hunker down in a town and barely set foot outside it, waiting for the day someone frees them from the nightmare. Others have accepted this place as their new life and settled in, acquiring jobs, businesses, and even families.
You take on the role of one of these fifty-thousand players. You can make your life what you want. A loner mercenary, a withdrawn librarian, an important craftsman, a newly happy family person, whatever you can think of.
Hey everyone! As you can tell, this definitely has plenty of roots in the SAO, but with variations and twists. I'll explain some different aspects of the Grim Moon world and try to note any differences from SAO as they come up.
The World
Grim Moon has a dark fantasy setting. This means plenty of disturbing enemies, quests, and events can be found with all of being enhanced just the smallest bit by the fact that there is an eternal night cycle. Grim Moon never sees the sun. It is one massive map rather than a number of floors, varying areas, towns/cities, environments, and creatures widely spread out among the huge world.
Everything is interactable and operates much life real life, including NPC's and game structures. That house that got destroyed in a battle isn't respawning unless someone rebuilds it. That NPC you think is cute? You can chat with them about non-quest related stuff, build a rapport, and eventually a friendship, relationship, and family should you choose.
The downside to such a system is that nothing is safe. A strong enough player or guild could burn a town to the ground, slaughter every NPC in it, and none of them will be coming back, death meaning the same for an NPC as it does a player.
Guilds
Grimlight Descent: Grimlight Descent is regarded as the most powerful front-line guild in the game, with a level minimum(LV 850) required for recruitment and members constantly out leveling against mobs and powerful bosses. They are also the fewest in members and with the vast majority having a transformed state earned through quests. The guild is also the most reviled at times given that in the past they have lost control of their states after a victory and rather than celebration descended upon the nearest town like a storm to eradicate it from the map. Karrion is their leader, a young man thought to be the strongest player in the game. He sits closest to the level cap at LV 989 and is the only known player to have three transformed states(dragon, vampire, werewolf). This guild is solely focused on fighting through the game and eventually to the Crowned Corpse to get everyone out.
Twisted Fangs: A shady guild that operates in much secrecy in the information market, selling and buying everything from monster intel to private player info, as well as being the top wetwork/assassination group in the game. They typically don't target players for death unless an unseemly amount of coin can be promised, preferring to take out troublesome enemy characters/bosses or serial PKers. This group of rogues is headed by Lucy Kilroy, the most unknown of the big guild leaders. She is confirmed to be LV 977 and enjoys the use of poison but all else is speculation. Rumors claim her as everything from a harlot that has bedded every other guild leader for leverage or info to an assassin on an ambitious power trip.
Underworld Fortress: The largest security force in Grim Moon, this guild plays bodyguard for individual players, other guilds, towns/cities, whatever someone wants that can afford them. Their organization and rigidity is almost military but pay is stable, good, and most members attest to it being a satisfactory job. The one in charge is Gren, an androgynous player that no one knows the true gender of(at least publicly), but has proven themself plenty capable against dismal odds several times, at one point fighting off an entire invading guild directly after a boss fight that had left them the only survivor. They are LV 973.
Crystal Origins: The largest guild in the game but the least focused on conflict. They are a group started at the beginning of the game to help bring players together and take care of one another, no matter level or choices. They provide financial help, mental care, and social assistance(finding a job, needing friends, etc.) to their members. Founded by Rie Rie, a motherly LV 970 player that resolves to be strong enough to protect even low-level members and will stand up for the weaker of the group.
Fifth Column: A despised and feared guild made up of degenerates and psychos. Rather than outright murder, the group works on a warped honor system. They specialize in dueling other players and betting on the outcome. From kidnapping someone from the loser to handing over one of their own on a loss, suicide pacts, or the fate of an entire town or race hanging in the balance, when this group acts someone meets a gruesome fate. A leader or any member at all is unknown and their strength varies wildly.
Transformed States
These are special transformations gained from specific quests that involve killing a(or a high number of in the zombie case) member of the named transformation species. They grant powerful stat boosts, typically at some sort of cost that can make them dangerous to wield for longer periods of time.
Dragon: Grants boost to all stats as well as passive regeneration. Inflicts a growing rage one must control or become lost in a path of destruction that may require the player being put down to stop.
Lycan: Grants boost to strength, speed, and agility while allowing four-legged mobility. Passive regeneration is gained as well though so is a vulnerability to specialized silver weaponry. The player can become feral and run off to join the wilds of Grim Moon, shedding humanity to become an eternal predator.
Vampire: Grants boost to speed, strength, and agility as well as limited umbrakinesis and regeneration via blood consumption. Player can become blood-drunk, spiraling into a desperate state similar to drug addiction.
Zombie: Grants strength boost but lowers speed and agility, though your health can no longer be dropped to zero by any means except decapitation. A craving for brains is acquired that can gnaw at a player's sanity until it is all that is left and they truly become a a zombie.
Character App
Name:
Age:
Gender: (Note this can be different IRL and in game. Grim Moon has not forcibly revealed everyone's true self. Someone that wanted to play as an opposite gender can continue as that gender until they decide to reveal themselves)
Appearance:
Bio: (Can be long or short as you want, just need a little about your character before Grim Moon and what they've been doing since it started)
LV:(Anywhere from 1-900 is fine. After 900 the grind becomes ridiculous to gain and only a small handful of players pass that. All players started at LV 500. Higher LV=more aggro from enemies and you can actually choose to let your LV decay by not fighting for a long period thus lowering your aggro)
Weapons/Equipment:(Be creative as you want, from a recognizable katana to an obscure kpinga)
Guild:(If any. Can make your own or join one of the major ones)
Rules
The usual. Godmodding/metagaming, bringing disputes to/listening to OP, being polite to each other, etc. typical codes of conduct should be followed. Guessing I won't need to kick anyone but I'll say three strike system as a just in case so there can't be confusion later.
Any questions are welcomed and I'll do my best to answer them. I probably wouldn't mind a Co-op if anyone had ideas and wanted to TG me.
