I came up with a rather wicked storyline idea for an rp and am looking for dedicated (by that, I mean, willing to make the effort to post a minimum of once a week) rpers to help me flesh it out. It'll be a great opportunity for people new to the site and old veterans alike to mingle and, I think, will encourage chars to interact that may or may not have crossed paths otherwise as well as the creation of new, fresh chars and possible plotlines within or outside of the setting. I will likely begin the thread under Misc. Roleplay unless someone has another suggestion (Which would be greatly welcome!)
The Game of Cards
It has been said all creation is but a game played between Life and Death...perhaps it is fitting then that we mortals mimic them with the Game of Cards.
Eons ago, the Hands were dealt: one card to each of the 52. The strongest, the cunning, the gifted, the powerful...those gifted by both chance and skill without any sort of rhyme or reason. The Cards seem the gift and curse of the Gods themselves, birthmarks in the shape of ordinary playing cards, on the neck of each participant, marking the chosen. Only death can remove the marks and the killer shall bear the mark of each card upon his or her body whose bearer they have slain. The task is simple and nigh impossible: Gather the 52 cards. And the reward is great: Dominion over Life and Death.
Some will fight to rule, others to regain what is lost, and others merely for love of bloodshed but whatever their reasons, the Game will go on...until only one remains.
The basic setting would remain Sordid Dystopia (an alternate reality in some regards) and the story would surround these 52 individuals and their attempts to kill one another and gain the Deck. However, some of the rules of the Game must be explained.
1.All the marks themselves are given at RANDOM. The Face Cards (Ace, Queen, King, and Jack) each grant their bearers, however, an inability to refuse the challenge of a fellow card holder. None of the cards affect in any way the powers of the individual bearer. Also, no one has ever successfully gathered all the Marks.
2. Permanent physical death for one bearer by another sentient being is the ONLY method of transfer known to exist for a Card Mark. ANYONE can kill a Card bearer. In the event of a bearer undergoing an accidental death or suicide, the mark will randomly imprint on another of its choosing.
3. Though only 52 Cards are rumored to exist, legends speak of two Lost Cards, the Joker Cards. They are the only Cards not given randomly. They activate only in the most pure of souls (High Joker) and the most corrupt of souls (Low Joker). They are not needed to gain the Reward but none can refuse their challenge and they cannot see a Card bearer without issuing a challenge. They are also called the Cursed Cards because their bearers are usually the animated corspes of Bearers who refused to fight when challenged.
4. Open combat is not the only way of transfer but only the being that most directly causes a Card Bearer's death will recieve the Mark.
Please feel free to make a suggestion or join in. It's a pretty rough idea so far. I will delay any postings with the idea until Monday so as to include as much feedback as possible. I'd really appreciate a few more rules as far as methods of transfer.