Hell is Empty
A Superhero Roleplay
A hero is a man who does what he can.
-Romain Rolland-
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
-Albert Einstein-
A Superhero Roleplay
A hero is a man who does what he can.
-Romain Rolland-
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
-Albert Einstein-
The year is 1931. The Great Depression has crippled the United States and the world. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and the War to End All Wars still lingers in the minds of many. Crime festers in American streets due to unemployment and economic troubles, and law enforcement is too preoccupied to deal with all of it. Urban decay is at an all-time high, and nowhere is it higher than the city of Dustbowl, Ohio, a sprawling urban metropolis of 7 million people in the American Midwest. The police are blind to the crime in the streets, and the politicians are too busy worrying about their own money to care about the common man.
But there are those who would fight. Those who would fight for the justice and freedom of the common man, or those who would fight for the sadism of intentional harm. Those who would take the law into their own hands and clean up the streets, or those who would see the walls of society crumble at their whims. Those who would raise a city or knock it down. Those who would save and those who would condemn. Those who defend and those who destroy. Heroes, and villains.
YOU are a superhero, for lack of a better term. A hero, villain, or rogue who is seeking to don a different outfit and fight crime for whatever reason, be it justice, personal gain, or pure chaos. Each of you will be operating independently to begin with, but you may form alliances and gain nemeses as the story progresses. Your actions and personalities dictate the world around you, and your every move shapes Dustbowl as it struggles through the Great Depression.
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Ok, onto the rules:
1) Minimum of ten DECENT QUALITY sentences per post. I cannot stress this enough!
2) Please, PLEASE try to use good grammar. If you’re not the best at this, at least make yourself understandable.
3) NO driving the story in a completely different direction than the story is going just because not much is going on. If there is little action, try interacting with the characters in a way like ordinary conversation. Don’t resort to pushing the story along yourself; that’s my job
4) Have fun with it! Imagine your character as if this was an intense crime movie; give him (or her) personality, a unique appearance. Make them memorable!
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I will be portraying, along with various NPCs, a masked vigilante, The Wraith. His character sheet will be an example of how to model yours:
Real Name (self explanatory): Anders Fjelstaad
Nationality (Immigrants are common at this time in the US, so specify if you are American or come from another country): Swedish
Alias: The Wraith
Age (self-explanatory): 31
Physical Appearance (self-explanatory): Anders is an extremely unremarkable man in terms of his physical appearance. He is of average height and weight, with brown eyes and straw-blonde hair. His skin is extremely pale and devoid of scars, freckles, birthmarks, or moles. He has a closely cropped mustache and goatee, and grooms himself very carefully. His voice is very soft, and he mumbles and avoids eye contact when he speaks.
Alias Appearance (for lack of a better term, costume): The Wraith dresses in an entirely grey double-breasted business suit. He wears a thin mask over his face that makes his face unable to be seen, but he can see out of it. He wears a grey, frumpy fedora with a small paperclip clipped to the ribbon. On his hands are black felt gloves, and he wears clean, thin black shoes.
Equipment: FN 1903 pistol, flashlight, knife, mirror, magnifying glass, clothes
Powers (if none, simply write none. Also explain here where/how your character got their powers): Anders has the ability to become completely silent. He activate this ability with his mind, and anything his body or his clothes do becomes completely soundless. However, it is not extended to actions created by objects he impacts; for example, he would be totally silent walking down a hall, but not shooting a gun or knocking over a vase. Anders was born with this power, and learned to harness it at an early age; however, he kept it a secret, as he was afraid of how people would react if he told them.
A word on superpowers: Your powers should play a minor role in this roleplay. Your character should be dictating the action, not your abilities. As such, all powers must be approved by me, and cannot be too powerful. For example, anything as powerful as abilities such as time travel, Flash-like speed, invulnerability, etc will not be allowed. But minor abilities, like the Wraith’s silence (see below), are the type of power that is acceptable. Note that you don’t even need a power if you don’t want one – look at Batman!
Personality (self-explanatory): Anders is an extremely quiet and timid person when not in costume. He is always acting as the negotiator between people when there is an argument, and is extremely shy around new people. His patience has seemingly no end, and he is known by all his friends and acquaintances as the “yes man” of their social circle. However, when in his costume as the Wraith, Anders lets his inner frustrations come forth. As the Wraith, he is cruel, angry, vindictive, and petty. He is easily frustrated, but willing to put his nose to the grindstone and accomplish his goals, whatever the cost.
Alignment (Hero, Villain, or Rogue [neutral/neither]. Note that a hero is not necessarily morally just, or a villain necessarily morally wrong. Please also explain why): Rogue. Anders uses his powers to achieve his own goals, and these goals change from time to time. Sometimes he may help a man getting mugged in the street if he pities the victim. Other times he is the mugger, whether he is low on money or simply angry. His actions are seemingly random, and only he knows how he will really behave.
Background (self-explanatory. Focus especially on how the great depression has affected you, why you came to America if you are an immigrant, and why you chose to fight crime): Anders was born en route to the U.S. in 1900 by two Swedish immigrants who came to the U.S. to fulfill their idea of the American dream. Both of his parents live in New York, but Anders moved to Dustbowl and severed all contact with them after dropping out of high school to get a job as a factory worker in the Dustbowl branch of Atlas Automotive, the biggest car brand behind Ford. Anders chose to fight crime after seeing his first and current girlfriend Stacy beaten nearly to death by two muggers who took three dollars from her as she lay bleeding on the pavement. Anders was too scared to fight the muggers and hid in a nearby alley and watched, but through either bravery or self-loathing realized he was sick of being a coward and vowed to dispense his own brand of “justice” to the Dustbowl streets.
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I will be accepting a maximum of twelve people in this RP. No more, and once the RP has started, there are no more entrants, unless an original member drops out.
Good luck and have fun making your hero or villain!
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Accepted members:
Midge913 - Fiona O'Callaghan/Oblivion
Jackinator - Anya Ivanovna Antipova/Janis
yoyoyo12365 - Jack Walters/Masquerade
Santaire - Connor Finn/Viper
Firedamaged - William 'Bill' Jugson/Sinopa
Thebluemage2 - Albert Woodson/Hail
Akatsuki13 - William McCutcheon/The Fool
Jerek Carstien - Jason Scott/John Smith