Pariah Online [Semi-Fun RP]

[Blaiiine]

Earth, 2021, December 5th

Pariah Online, the most hyped and talked about game in decades has hit the shelves with ten thousand first week copies from Xedes. The game is a VR-MMORPG, set in a vast world filled with anthropomorphic races and factions in a land based upon Norse mythology. The main objective of the game is reach the final floor, that being the hundredth. But with endless quests, intelligent AI and bustling cities there is no rush for that final floor.


The company released the game for their new ground-breaking VR device, the Enzo. It Implements a device that captures nerve firings and reroutes them to the game, giving you the ultimate deep dive into virtual reality.


Some critics argued that the device could cause trauma to the human brain, killing it's user instantly. An almost "death in game, death in life" scenario that was swept under the rug by Xedes' army of lawyers. The game and system were released with no question or public notification.


You happen to be one the many lucky people who somehow received or purchased the Enzo and Pariah Online. The official launch on the first floor starts in an hour. Prepare for Pariah, because it may just be your last chance.


Rules:
- No god-modding
- Rules-acceptable romance
- Don't overpower your magic
- Be reasonable with amount of characters (if you can handle it, go for it)
- Yes, you will start as human. Once you start the game, you can pick your anthro race)

Spoiler for Hidden:

Name: Blaine Everson
Age: 22
Location: Texas, USA
Height/Weight: 5' 11", 165 lbs
Appearance: Average build, pale white, blue eyes, brown hair.
Personality: Sarcastic, overly humorous, reckless, kind.
Bio: Blaine is a line cook, finishing classes at college. Has been playing video games since he was a toddler, and  R was his dream. Beta-tested Pariah for a few weeks, has a few skills moved over but nothing major. Purchased game and the Enzo with savings.

North Texas, December 5th 2021. 2:32 P.M. CST

Blaine climbed out of his car, an old SUV with a cracked front window. He had just clocked off work and was ready to get inside his house with his new game. Opening the door, he tossed his uniform onto the couch and changed into an old sweater. Snow was falling outside, not entirely unusual for the time of the year. Blaine grabbed a drink and walked to his room, turning the light on. The walls were covered in horror movie posters and magazines laid everywhere.


The Enzo sat on the end table by Blaine's bed, it's body a cool black matte color. It fit perfectly on the user's head, completely covering it like a motorcycle helmet. Blaine laid back in his bed, sending a few messages to his friends before slipping the headgear on. The screen flashed on, showing a full battery and the time. "Alright, let's do this. Enzo start!" He yelled, the game kicking on and causing his body to go limp.


His sight slowly returned, showing a sign up screen.


Name: Blaine
Race: Ursine
Class: Ranger

His beta character floated next to the information. A button flashed, reading Correct. Blaine reached out and clicked it, before being sucked back into the system loading. Finally, a fanfare blared and a welcome screen appeared.


** Hrimskar Town Square, Skyridge **

Blaine awoken to himself standing, the sounds of people talking around him. But he wasn't himself, he wasn't human. His skin had turned to fur, his palms to pads, his nails to claws. Looking around, he was surrounded by people of different species. Lupine, ursine, canine, too many to list.


Calming down, he looked himself over. He was wearing black leather armor, covered by a dark green hooded robe. No weapons but he had his quiver. "Well, that answers if you get your weapons from the beta," Blaine whispered to himself before checking his time. Thirty minutes until the grand celebration, enough time to find a weapon in the market. He took off, blending into the crowd of new players and NPC's.

[Fable]

Name: Alistar Jordan (goes by Ali)
Age: 21
gender: male
Location: Ohio, USA
Height/Weight: 6' 2", 140 lbs
Appearance: Alistar has always been on the tall side while remaining rather skinny. He doesn't have much in the way of muscle. Very pale.
Personality: Excitable, nervous, quirky, talkative. Alistars always been a bit feminine.
Bio: Alistar is a full time online college student. He's found he gets along with people much more through the computer so has ended up spending a huge amount of time just in online games. He has an apartment where he lives on his own and pays for through his savings and the small amount of online work he does.
*also- the species I’d like to use for Alistar isn't a real species if that is ok. I call them Spring Tails. Think a long eared rabbit with a long fluffy tail.
reference image-http://shadowkatz11.deviantart.com/art/Alistar-676720313
*also also- what kinds of areas/ towns will we run into through the course of the game?
 
December 5th 2021. 3:10 P.M.
 
Alistar rolls over in bed only half awake to grab his phone and check the time. He squints his eyes against the bright screen reading the time. He groans irritated that he managed to sleep through the majority of his day again. Pulling his computer from the nearby night stand Alistar checks his assignments. He has a few due very soon- for a few moments Alistar internally debated wither he cares enough to work on these assignments right now. Procrastination wins and he closes his laptop to ignore those assignments till another day.
Finally, Alistar rolls out of bed and walks to his window to look outside. All that's there to greet him is a sea of blinding white snow. The joys of winter in Ohio. He closes his blinds once more and looks to his wall of game systems. He hasn’t gotten much of a chance to play his new Enzo so without further thought Alistar grabs it off the shelf and makes himself comfy in his overly stuffed office chair. Once properly relaxed in his chair Alistar calls out "Enzo start" and with a final yawn his body goes limp and the game starts up.
 
Everything is dark for a moment before a screen of information lights up in front of Alistars face.
Name: Alistar
Race: Spring Tail
Class: Rouge
He quickly read through the information "looks right" he says as he clicks the confirm button that pushes him finally into the game.


** Hrimskar Town Square, Skyridge **
It takes Alistar a few moments to get accustomed to all the noises and new sights of the starting town. He stood still and simply watched the other characters walk around for a while as he adjusted to the game. Finally he looked down at himself laughing happily "this game is so realistic" he praises as he looks at his furry white hands. He takes a few steps to test the movement and cant help but smile, not only does it feel extremely real but he feels like he's walking on springs. He bounces in place high into the air. 'I'm going to LOVE this character' he thinks. 'I wonder how much money we start with.' he thinks as he checks his clothing for coins of some type. Hes wearing a long tunic and brown leather pants. Over his shoulders hangs a long midnight blue cloak. In a pocket along the inside of the cloak he finds a small bag with a few coins but nothing else he had with him in the beta. with a shrug Alistar heads off to the market place to stock up on whatever he can afford.

[Blaiiine]

(( Since Pariah Online is based culturally around Norse mythology, imagine a giant scale version of Skyrim. Snowy mountains, grassy fields, tall forests and tundra biomes. I'm still working in specific towns but the first floor is home to the capitol of Skyridge, Hrimskar, where I'll eventually start the grand celebration. And yeah, custom species are okay. Just not like wolfbats and cathorses. ))


** Market District, Hrimskar, Skyridge **

Blaine haggled with an older cervine merchant over a long bow. It was a long, slender bow made with a darkened mahogany. Eventually, the merchant gave it up for a few dozen gold coins. Blaine shouldered the weapon and pulled his hood up. He had changed his appearance after trading, now wearing darkened brown leather light-armor and a black cloak held together with a green clasp in the shape of a leaf. It reminded him of something he'd seen in fantasy movies his older brother watched.


Moving through the crowd, he ignored players yelling for party members and guild requests. Even in such a realistic game, people still acted like it was just another online MMO. Blaine caught a sign for a tavern ahead of him and bee-lined it for the building. Fifteen minutes is plenty of time for a drink, he thought to himself as he walked inside of the two-story structure.


A warm, crackling fire burned near the door, the warmth rising up Blaine's body. The feeling was so real, it felt like Blaine was actually in the tavern. Quickly abandoning his feelings of excitement, he took a seat at an empty corner table. Adjusting his hood, a ursine barmaid asked him for his order. "Mead," Blaine replied, tossing a few coins on the table.

[Fable]

[size=0px]** Market District, Hrimskar, Skyridge **[/size]Alistar walks into the market still amazed at how realistic everything looks, while also ignoring all the players around who are shouting out for their party members.
He walks up to one of the open stalls and crouches down to get a closer look at the building. Its amazing how much detail they have packed into the textures of the game.
"Somthin' wrong with your head boy?" A NPC wolf merchant asks in a gruff growl. He looks confused at Alistar just crouched down staring at bricks.
Alistar clears his throat a tad embarrassed and walks away quickly. he walks through the rest of the market.
He finds himself a nice new side pack and two cheap- yet useful- daggers. He thinks he has everything he'll need so takes his chance to simply walk around town and see if anything catches his eyes.

[Blaiiine]

** The Twin Shields, Hrimskar, Skyridge **


Blaine sat quietly at the table, counting down the time to the celebration. Sipping his mead, he gazed at the bow he had purchased. The touch of the mahogany body felt all too real, almost eerily. Anyone who could create the level of realism and sense could ultimately create an entire world. At least, that's what Blaine thought. Outside Pariah, he was just a gamer. He could hardly build a PC if his cousin didn't help him. Snapping back to the game, Blaine noticed the time. Five minutes from the celebration. Quickly finishing his drink, he put his hood up and hurried out of the bar. An NPC tried stopping him for a quest but Blaine quickly ducked him, eliciting the villager to what he assumed was cursing him out.


Moving through the now thinned crowd, Blaine made his way to the Town Square area to find a seat and hear the creator's introduction to the game. Passing a male rabbit, he bumped into him. "Sorry," He said, gruffly. Blaine hadn't time to stop and chat, after the celebration he was planning on boosting his hunting skill.

[Fable]

** Market District, Hrimskar, Skyridge **

As Alistar walked around getting a feeling for the game he felt someone knock into him. He looked over and was the bear who knocked into him seemed to be hurrying somewhere. If fact many people seemed to be heading somewhere. "Oh crap!" Alistar remembered there was supposed to be a big celebration for the introduction of the game!
'let's see how fast I can get there' Alistar thinks as he starts to dart through the crowd on his new springy rabbit legs. His character is made for speed and agility, and while he may not have perfect control yet over his in-game body, He made his way through the crowd with ease and towards town square.
Once into the town square Alistar saw that many of the best seats were taken with only a few still open, rather than try and fight his way into one of those seats Alistar takes a leaping jump and climbs onto the roof of a local shop. from here he had a perfect vantage point of everything going on.
while letting one leg swing freely from the roof top Alistar made himself comfortable and waited for the celebration to begin.

[Blaiiine]

Blaine quietly sat and watched the ever growing crowd, examining each newcomer. Finally, once the time had come, a loud fanfare could be heard before a large screen appeared before the crowd. A deep voice spoke, "Hello, adventurers! Welcome to Skyridge," Blaine quietly watched the screen, showing a blurred avatar.

[Fable]

Alistar squinted against the harsh sun as he watched the large Avtar welcome all the new players. The crowd cheers happily, everyone is very excited to be a part of Pariah! even Alistar gives a small cheer from his high-up perch.


(I'm very sorry for the late reply- didn't have internet!)

[Blaiiine]

"Now, to business...this game is not any usual game. It is our creation, our world. A living, breathing organism that we crafted. And as such, we felt that a...new feature was to be added after the launch. If you'll check your menu..." The avatar finished, gestured for the players to follow his command.


A few players loudly gasped, others yelled for explanation. Blaine quickly swiped the air, which produced a small menu. There was nothing out of the ordinary until he reached the options. The log out button was missing, vanished. Blaine held back his worry and pulled his hood down, revealing his avatar's long braided viking hair. He stared down the avatar, who softly chuckled at the chaos unfolding


"Yes, you will be unable to log out. Forever, or at least for the meanwhile. The key to your freedom? Reach the final floor of Skyridge and face the final obstacles. But be warned, adventurers, this is no mere game. Death is permanent, in here and in real life. You die in here, the headset you're sleeping in fries your brain and ends your life." The avatar continued, ignoring the ever-growing panic in the crowd. Some screamed, some cursed and some even went catatonic at the realization of their impending doom. Even Blaine's heart began racing, causing him to clench his fists.

[Fable]

Alistar stared at the menu for a very long time just frozen. His heart was racing with fear. His excitement for this adventure was dwindling. As he pulls himself away from the menu screen he is quite glad for his position high above the now screaming and raging crowd. he sees some people are panicking and pushing their way through the crowd in their anger and fear.
Alistar pulls his long legs up against his chest as he watches the avatar on screen smiling down on all the horrified players.

[Blaiiine]

"Welcome to our world, fight to get back to yours." The avatar said before the screen disappeared, leaving the players to their own devices. Blaine quickly stood up and pushed his way through the panicking crowd, making his way for the now accessible exits.


Taking an alleyway, he stopped and leaned against a wooden wall. "Oh hell, this is really bad," Blaine muttered to himself as he pulled up the menu, equipping his bow and checking his inventory. Stocking up earlier would prove wise as players would drain markets for supplies now that the stakes were so high.

[Fable]

Alistar stares in disbelief as the avatar on screen fades away leaving nothing but the sounds of the panicked masses. He stays stone still for quite a while letting this new information sink in. by the time he looks back down on the crowd he sees people have started pushing and shoving to make their way back to the market. Alistar walks along the roof but doesn't wish to risk the jump to the next roof so falls to the cobblestone path below him landing with ease. Hes in a small alley away from the crowds and trying to think of what to do next when he hears that he's not alone in the alley.

[Blaiiine]

Blaine paused as he heard someone enter the alley and pulled his hood up, continuing to lean against the wall. He was never one to talk or initiate conversations with anyone, he generally traveled alone during his time on the beta.

[Fable]

Alistar glances between the hooded figure and the crowd streaming by. He doesn't want to deal with the crowd and would rather it die down a little before he temps his luck and goes out there yet at the same time feels uneasy being around a hooded stranger. Alistar puts as much distance as he can between himself and the figure and then sits down on the cobblestone to wait. He doesn't assume that this figure is a danger but either way Alistar keeps a tight grip on the dagger under his cloak.

[Blaiiine]

Blaine glanced over at the other player, noticing his hand in his cloak. He stood for a moment and then sat down before looking over at Alistair, still wearing his hood. "If you're clutching your weapon, there's no need. Just gonna wait this crowd out and I'll be gone." Blaine said, before looking back at the wall parallel to him. He took out a pipe and lit it, quietly holding it and occasionally taking a drag off it. Age took effect in the game considering things like smoking and taverns.