~ High school/slice of life ~
Grip-Grop-Drae is a Shakespearean fantasy sci-fi horror adventure hybrid; but how about the bare-numbered pubescent hormonal world within?
This is the moment in which we get to know it, and learn of how to wriggle ourselves out when the earth begins to screech, "That's not right, that's not right, THIS IS NOT RIGHT, DIEE, HAHAHA, DIIE, HAHAHAHA, DIE DIE DIE DIE -- "
Welcome, and Happy Halloween!
Do you want a trick or treat?
I hear you get hooked on crystals these days.
I hear it's doing you real good...
Ah...
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(Due to the nature of the RP, any of the following details may be subjected to modification over time.)
Who are the main characters/cast?
"Main cast" is a loose term that for the inaugural moments will be referring to the original characters introduced at the start of the RP, and who participated in the crystal promise: this includes
Violet Leontine, a detached girl who, after the death of her brother, kept the world at arm's length;
Matthew Bedinger, a budding photographer withdrawn from the spotlight;
Alex Branwen, a fiery music-head who seizes the day;
Tala Black, a passionate free spirit dedicated to the cause;
Stella "Princess" Lumine, surrounded by affluence and only looking for a family;
Kade Rivera, an opportunistic savant hiding the resigned boy underneath;
Rexen Vickers, a disparaged but brilliant misfit fighting against the slight of youth; and
Silas Greylite, a keen boy Sherlock with a love for piano and formally made vests.
Ever since that fated day, the burden that awaited stirred....
What is Prima High?
Prima High is the renowned institution of primary education for 9th graders and up, located in middle-east Prima, a blooming and bustling high middle-class city which benefited from the aftereffects of the recent housing bubble collapse through a self-sufficient developmental ideology and the surplus of natural resources. Likewise, the residents and commuters of Prima retain a fairly efficient life in and outside of town, supplemented with a strong legislative presence and city-scape which boasts a growing number of shopping plazas, restaurants, parks, and other public forums made successful through an active community and hardy retention rate. In spite of this, some inner-city regions remain an unlucky blind spot, ridden with old projects and failed subsidies, and sprinkled with occasional gang activity left in the shadow of the progressive renovations around them -- ghosts of a forgotten past.
The school itself, which occupies the outer 'Pearl' (the financially solvent bosom of the city), appears clean and polished on the surface, with competent test scores, a silver-medal volleyball team, and an active student body. But like its namesake, some cracks from its history still linger on, and to no little chagrin of those who seek to plug it up.
The official mascot for the school is the Jester.
How will high school in the RP work?
High school in all its factional pubescent glory -- through the lens of
Grip-Grop-Drae, this will be given a slight cross-section as the first act pits the main characters against the friction of the natural and the supernatural.
In the RP, there will be a split focus between life as a student and life outside of it.
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TYPES OF SCHOOL DAYS:
1.
NORMAL SCHOOL DAY
In a normal school day, the characters will be attending school like they usually do. They will have encounters, experiences both educational and mischievous, and explore the school.
{THE SCHEDULE}
- Periods 1 - 3 (flexible roleplay)
- Lunch (shared event)
- Periods 4 - 6 (flexible roleplay, but more likely to being skipped entirely)
- After School (sandbox/directed/variable)
The schedule above provides a tri-sectioned roleplay environment. In periods 1 - 3 you may freely roleplay with one another or develop the character in-class with other NPCs until Lunchtime, which typically will be cued with a GM-introduced event. Afterwards, periods 4 - 6 may be another run-of-the-mill school routine or diluted to make room for a pressing story event.
2.
SPECIAL SCHOOL DAY
During a special school day, there will be a roleplay-wide event that will take up the focus of the day and will do away with the normal routine. Meaning, instead of accommodating the typical schedule, will instead be taken over by one big/all-day event.
3.
SKIPPED SCHOOL DAY
When a school day is skipped.
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There will also be special tracked developments that, while not necessities, may bring about unique story events and will come into play later on, and affect your character's relationship with others:
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School Spirit
This is a measurement of activity and prominence in extracurricular activities and group functions. (Aka, accumulative time [and/or the quality of which] spent.)
This will be a mostly automatic ranking as involvement with school events will be a significant part of the narrative. If you somehow manage to neglect most of the school-portion of this, though, such as through being inactive or your character being away from school and the others, then you will not rank up.
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Popularity
This is a measurement of the other students' general awareness of your existence. Depending on how low or high it is, there will be certain special privileges or secrets available.
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Valedictorian
This is a measurement of how successful you are in your academics. This will mainly be achieved through extra credit opportunities and getting into a good rapport with faculty (e.g. bribing/running errands for the vice principal).
And potentially more; what is to be added and decided on is still in-progress.
How will city life in the RP work?
General freedom of exploration will vary based on the current direction of the story, and the activities the characters are preoccupied with -- for example, while on schooldays it may be more limited, on weekends in which the characters are free, it may prove more open and non-restricting.
Typically, exploration of the city will be prompted by a)
school functions, b)
outings, or c)
plot-driven events of either the mundane, surreal, conspiratorial, or street-thug variety. (It should be remembered that, because 'anything' may happen, this formula may be shaken up in sudden manners.)
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PLACES TO GO:
TYPES OF OUTINGS:
Friendship in GGD is one of the RP's thematic foundations: accordingly, in-game recreation and leisure-time together will be possible when the opportunity arises. However, things may get serious and call for a tenser kind of night out. There are two main types of outings.
1.
RECREATIONAL/FUN
Go out to unwind at the park, eat hotdogs off a street vendor, or shop for ska records at the music store -- the choice is yours, along with who keeps you company! There's always the off-chance things end dramatically, but at least you tried!
2.
CONFLICT
If there is a conflict that needs to be addressed then you will have to go out to do so, if the location is out in the town. This will naturally be less flexible and more plot/subplot-oriented, leading to important plot developments.
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Worth noting is that there is a difference between an 'outing' and other instances of going about the city of Prima in this sense; an outing can be arranged separately from the main plot's machinations (ie the Halloween Festival preparations, the looming conspiracy, etc.), whereas most other cases will be a result of roleplay-wide factors, including 'outings' that involve the whole group when possible.
(That said, this may not be given much attention during the Halloween Arc, or at least the beginning of it, until things open up and we get a grasp on the formula. Likewise, throughout the year, this will probably be most prevalent during holidays and free schedules, rather than the busier mid-school semester.)
Though the plethora of options may at first seem superficial, different options and choices will affect what is seen and not seen at certain points of the story/RP by design. Though it won't look like much, you never know if going into a restaurant with the new exchange student for a bite will introduce something distinctively worth remembering, as opposed to the alternative of going to the party with Alex.
The way this works is to create a multi-layered thread between the mystery narrative and the seemingly normal world below -- or, perhaps, above -- it. As the plot progresses, and the dark approaches, the pieces of the story will create a picture cobbled from the experiences and things our characters have come across up to that point -- whether they understand it, or not... ;o
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MEETING THE LOCALS:
MOBIUS - There will be several people scattered throughout the city (newcomers, struggling up-and-comers, public workers) of all shape and size who may need help, company, or a hand of some kind. Getting to know them will end up becoming quite useful for certain aspects of the plot (particularly that of extracurricular school errands), and will extend influence across the town -- incrementally, but nevertheless. For the moment, Mobius is the only one that can be approached; he will then introduce the group to other layabouts who may be of interest and in need of service. He can be found in the sweets shop at Tencent Plaza
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after school; alternatively, he can be found at Prima High, but he is typically hard to find.
Spin, spin, spin.
Spin, spin, spin, spin.
... oh, don't mind me.
That's a wrap for now, buns and buns. What, you expected something more?
Well, it's not exactly done yet. Expect an evolving template, and, well, more details, like in that little 'Under Construction' space up there, maybe, if someone isn't lazy...
But ah, never mind that. I hope to see you when you get back to where you started.
Halloween comes!
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