CartelSaide
03-18-2015, 10:27 AM
Rated M for violence, language, substance abuse, and maybe some controversial/ideologically sensitive material.
This RP is no longer recruiting, sorry.
IC THREAD (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72496&p=2481564#post2481564)
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive_zpst4zispiv.png
Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Psychological Drama
You are a prisoner, stuck in your dark, dank cell and trapped like a dangerous, ruthless beast. The only source of light is a torch at the end of the hall, which brings a faint glow to the room, and provides a small but welcome source of background noise to focus on when your solitude drives you mad. Alas, there are no windows to the outside world, no heat source close enough to warm you or bring more light to the wretched abyss. All you have at your disposal is a pathetic excuse for a bed in one corner, a piss bucket in the other, and four walls, one of them being made entirely of bars and a locked cell door.
This is a small dungeon complete with a mere six cells total, but you couldn't see any of them if you tried; the torchlight is far too dim. The only reason you know they exist is because of the daily interaction with your prison guard - the only time the door opens and thus the only time the room has any light - and the voices and vague figures of your fellow captives. You have all been informed that there are only three fates for you - death, freedom, or a lifetime of servitude - but that you must decide among yourselves which of you deserve to die, and which of you deserve to live. You will all be held captive until you can come to a unanimous decision.
Some are innocent, some are guilty...but who?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpeu_6PJ_nM
Gameplay
This entire RP will take place within your separate cells. The end of the RP will be you leaving the prison, for whatever reason that may be. Escape or death are the only ways to bypass this.
As a GM, I will play the part of the prison guard, event triggers, and the setting in general. I will not have a prisoner of my own, therefore plot movement will be quite heavily at the players' control. Lots of these factors will be completely randomized.
There will be no more than 8 players, and this RP will not begin until there's a min. of 6 characters, a max of 15 (but however many we have, the number must evenly divide by 3). Remember that ya'll are allowed up to 2 characters.
There are only 4 things you can be in regards to your crime (and you don't get to decide which one you are): Guilty, Accomplice, Witness, or Innocent. I've officially decided that I'm going to pre-determine who is guilty/innocent despite the results of the poll due to feedback I received. I will figure out who is what upon creation of the IC thread. If you have a preference, please PM it to me.
The guard will come in three times a day; once in the morning to replace the torch, once at high noon to feed and water everyone, potentially (though not often) bathe everyone, and empty their buckets, and once at night to check in and see if everyone has come to a decision yet. There may be other surprise times where he comes in briefly, but this is his normal routine.
The RP will begin at day 1 of your conviction and imprisonment and end when everyone comes to a decision, escapes, or dies.
There will be more things at your disposal than meets the eye, and you may even gain items to use and assist you or other characters.
There are only 4 ways out: Death, Freedom, become a slave/servant for life, or escape. Escape is nearly impossible, but still an option, you just might die trying (see rules for clarity). All of your characters must decide among each other who is subject to what fate. There must be a balance between all three, so for example with 6 prisoners 2 would be set free, 2 enslaved, and 2 put to death. It also must be a unanimous decision, so if even one character disagrees with the line-up, all of your characters will continue to rot in prison. If someone dies before a unanimous decision is made, the guard will inform everyone which slot (freedom, death sentence, or enslavement) this prisoner's death takes up. In other words, a character dying attempting to escape could take a freedom slot from those who survive, for example.
Setting
A very small dungeon/prison under a castle. Everyone's cell looks the same: A room about 8x8x8 feet wide with three walls made entirely of stone brick (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Stone_wall.jpg/600px-Stone_wall.jpg), the last wall being thick iron bars and a locked cell door (http://mirye.net/media/com_hikashop/upload/MEN2V106-07.jpg). In the back left corner is a large pile of hay for you to sleep on, and in the back right corner is an iron piss bucket. The rest is just empty floor space, and a generous amount of it in comparison to most cells. Each cell has another cell opposite of it, thus putting three cells on one wall of the dungeon and three cells on the other. It's pretty damn dark, the only light source being a torch next to the main dungeon door at the end of the hallway between all the cells, and this prison door isn't flush with the edges of the cells, it's sunken back a little bit to leave room for the guardsman's supplies and storage. So the front-most parts of all 6 cells are lit up enough that if everyone stood right up by their cell bars, the prisoners within their lines of sight would be dimly lit but visible in a way that you could make out what they look like, but the further back they go the more difficult it is to see them, everyone's beds and buckets being consumed by darkness so black you can't see your hand in front of your face. The cells are roughly 4-5 feet apart, and the walls between cells are about a foot or two thick, so if you and other prisoners stick your hands out, it's possible to touch hands, exchange items, etc.
I'm not really looking for historical accuracy, but essentially this RP's location/time is a mixture of common perceptions (and mis-perceptions) of ancient Greece and medieval times. Prisons, items, foods, and technologies are more reminiscent of medieval times while customs, religions, social norms, and traditions are more Greek in nature. Think Xena: Warrior Princess meets Elder Scrolls kinda, but without the magic* 'n' sheet and at least realistic enough to make a Hollywood film of.
Dialogue/speech can be modern to save players the confusion and struggle of understanding deeply Shakesperian posts or ancient Greek slang, but if you wanna embellish your posts a bit more, go for it.
*I won't bother to define what is and isn't magic because I'm pretty sure me saying "no magic" is clear enough, but feel free to ask what is and isn't considered magic if it's ever ambiguous c:
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive1_zpsrcsl4mcc.jpg
Character Information
This isn't really a fantasy RP, but I'm not opposed to some very, very minimal fantasy elements considering the setting, like characters. I'm just looking for characters with the ability to speak and reason like a human. Idgaf if you wanna be an elf or a vampire or an anthropomorphic wolf or whatever; as long as you don't have magical abilities (beyond, well, human reason and speech and whatever natural abilities you'd possess as a non-human like super scent or blood sucking tendencies), aren't outside of the setting (so like...no robots or aliens or Japanese school girls whatever else), and are of human size, intellect, etc. If you're not a human, though, please add a "race" section to your CS.
Again, you do not choose if you're innocent or guilty.
All of the characters know each other at minimum on account of their presence during the crime and/or knowledge of the crime, and your convictions correlate somehow. Part of what you'll be RPing is how they correlate, and figuring out exactly what happened.
Character Sheet
NAME: (please make it fit the setting)
AGE: (14-35)
GENDER:
OCCUPATION: (here's a list of medieval careers for inspiration! (http://abutterflydreaming.com/2009/02/06/100-medieval-careers/))
CONVICTION: (what crime were you convicted of?)
APPEARANCE: (no anime, sorry; only photos or realism artwork of at least mondeis (http://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/mondeis/) quality)
VOICE: (link to a video/song/recording of someone singing/speaking that sounds like your character)
EXAMPLE OF YOUR WRITING: (write something up on the spot or link me to something between 1-3 paragraphs)
Other than that, I don't need/want anything else from you, but feel free to add a personality if you'd like, or to reveal that throughout the course of the RP. You can also embellish the CS however you want to really, like with sexuality or zodiac sign or the particular pantheon they follow or whatever else~ The only thing I ask is that you do not add a bio because that will be part of the fun in the IC c:
Accepted Characters
1 slot left~
Helena Kokinos (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2425388&viewfull=1#post2425388) {Megiwen}
Eulicid Perris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2425401&viewfull=1#post2425401) {Griffin}
Lothram "Lot" Wallach (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2434811&viewfull=1#post2434811) {Juicesir}
Annie Archanester (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2445189&viewfull=1#post2445189) {WolvesofWriting}
Aran Emetto (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&page=4&p=2463029&viewfull=1#post2463029) {Aran Emetto}
Melina Argyris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&page=5&p=2465659&viewfull=1#post2465659) {CrimsonLady180}
Damon Argyris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2467147&viewfull=1#post2467147) {CrimsonLady180}
Christina Vertigo (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2467297&viewfull=1#post2467297) {Toon Yoshi}
OPEN
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive2_zps7hdtj25r.jpg
Rules
As per usual, all of RPA's rules apply
I (CartelSaide) am the GM and CrimsonLady180 is my co-GM; pls respect our authoritah~
I only want literate/advanced/intermediate players. I'm not nit-picky about a typo or two nor would I consider myself a grammar nazi, but I do want to be able to play with people of the same quality of writing I'm at or better. If you don't have a basic grasp of spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. then please don't join. I will reject you if your example and CS don't clearly demonstrate that you are highly capable of meeting this requirement.
No requirement for how much you post (since being unable to see and relying heavily on dialogue can cut posts rather short), but please post as much as you can, enough for someone to actually reply to appropriately.
Do not control NPC's such as the prison guard or even insects/animals without permission; you can't haz my only thunder!
Please put κανόνες or kanónes (the google translated Greek word for rules) at the end of your CS so that I know you read the rules c:
You cannot leave your cell or the prison without my permission. This includes escape from either.
No more than 2 characters per person.
You can die whenever you want, but the only characters at risk for death via me killing them are people who try to escape - it might be worth the risk though, you never know, you just gotta tread carefully.
Important OOC updates that I need all players to read/be aware of will be posted in Turquoise. Please let me know if this color is too bright, and offer an alternative if so.
Other than my OOC update posts, absolutely no colored text.
FAQ
Where is this castle situated?
A made-up world that I suppose you can consider an alternate Earth, if the Greeks never fell and had a medieval period similar to our own. Beyond that, I have no detail. And neither do you considering you're trapped in this dungeon with no window to the outside. But if it helps you to know, uh, *makes shit up on the spot* it's the Kilkenny Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_Castle), yeah...so it's in modern day Kilkenny Ireland because why not? lolz Further details are completely and totally up to you and other players, unless you need/want me to come up with 'em c:
Who arrested the characters?
The king's guard, by order of the king.
Who runs the kingdom?
A king. We'll call him King Ceasar III.
Also would fantasy races like elves and vamps be quite commonplace alongside normal people, or would you label them as rare and reclusive?
I'll let that mostly be up to you, but I was thinking that just like there are several different races of people IRL, there are just several different species/races of humanoids here. This is what I'll assume if you just mark what race/species you are but give no further details. If you have a specific idea about a race's populace and social standing etc. etc. then feel free to add that detail into your CS, and I'll put it in the first post for future reference if anyone else wants to be of similar race c:
So all character convictions are related in some way to the same crime, and all the characters were there when it happened?
Yessum c: Except to that last part; but if you weren't there, you at least were aware of it, an accomplice to it, or had knowledge in relation to it. The furthest removed you could possibly be are either (a) a passerby who just so happened to bare witness to the crime, (b) an innocent of whom was framed to be an accomplice/involved party, or (c) an "innocent"/accomplice who had knowledge of the crime but did nothing to stop it. So the former two especially potentially weren't even at the scene of the crime when it occurred, but still had some sort of involvement in it.
Are you going to analyze all of our crimes and then combine them to create the full picture?
No, and if I do it won't be until the very last post of this RP. The main, most major part of this RP is going to be all of you discussing the crime and figuring out what happened. I don't want to take away such a solid creative outlet for ya'll as players, so I will not be predetermining what crime occurred, only whether or not you are guilty, innocent, etc.
Does guilt or innocence even matter If we are just going to choose who is being sent free, who is staying, and who is executed?
That depends; does your character care if they die, are set free, are enslaved, or escape? Do they care if an innocent man is executed or a guilty man allowed his life in exchange for his freedom? That's the fun of this RP.
How much does the guard and others actually know about the crimes?
The guard knows enough (and alternatively doesn't know enough) to agree to keep watch over 9 people who may or may not be innocent without setting them free or killing them while they discuss and decide who deserves what for their convictions.
Why place two prisoners for each fate even before any of them have been convicted?
You all have been convicted. That's why everyone filled out a "conviction" section in their CS. *gets in character* If the King wanted to, he could have you all executed for the atrocious crimes you're convicted of committing. The good King Caesar III has shown you all mercy, however, and agreed to pardon those that you prisoners agree are innocent/the least guilty enough to set free, and will take in those who are not executed into a life of slavery - which despite the labor is a life lived. Those who even convicted felons think deserve to die...well who is the King to disagree with his people? He's a good King indeed, a genius some might say.
I'm wondering because what if further details we communicate in the cells about our crimes would go against those you already predetermined to be guilty or innocent......I just want to know if you did or didn't fill in details for each of our crimes and therefore knew who was or wasn't guilty, or if it doesn't even matter if we decide the fate of each of us and explain the details of out crimes as we go.
Predetermining guilt or innocence will just give your characters a solid ground to stand on whilst pleading their case to the other players; whether they lie or are honest or don't tell the full truth in order to get what they want - be that their own freedom, life, and/or death or someone else's - is up to you all as players. Agreeing on whose character dies and whose character lives isn't exactly going to be an easy process lolz It will also make things more interesting than you guys simply fitting it so that the guilty die and are enslaved while the innocent get their freedom and everything ends happily ever after. What if 5 of your characters are innocent? What if everyone but 1 is guilty? What if everyone is innocent? Once it's been determined, what you do with this information is up to you and your fellow players; I'm basically just here to supervise lolz
I am merely playing the part of the world around your characters. The only thing I will have predetermined once I start the IC is what's stated in the first post, who is innocent or guilty, etc., the guard's normal daily schedule, and which cells your characters are situated in. Everything else is up to you and your fellow players. This RP will rely almost purely on player engagement, interest, and creativity in order to progress, hence my warning in the first post.
All in all I'm really just telling you to be creative and figure out what happened together, that I won't stand in your way as you do this, but rather mold to what your characters communicate and help you guys along the way as needed as well as throw in curve balls now and again to keep things interesting and fun. Communication is all you guys have lolz I don't wanna take that away by deciding the ins and outs of what you're discussing~
btw it is literally impossible finding dynamic pictures of people chained up that don't look like they straight up belong in 50 shades of gray so yeah, I'm thinkin' the same thing you're thinkin' about these banner images and I don't care...I love it *distant music*
This RP is no longer recruiting, sorry.
IC THREAD (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72496&p=2481564#post2481564)
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive_zpst4zispiv.png
Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Psychological Drama
You are a prisoner, stuck in your dark, dank cell and trapped like a dangerous, ruthless beast. The only source of light is a torch at the end of the hall, which brings a faint glow to the room, and provides a small but welcome source of background noise to focus on when your solitude drives you mad. Alas, there are no windows to the outside world, no heat source close enough to warm you or bring more light to the wretched abyss. All you have at your disposal is a pathetic excuse for a bed in one corner, a piss bucket in the other, and four walls, one of them being made entirely of bars and a locked cell door.
This is a small dungeon complete with a mere six cells total, but you couldn't see any of them if you tried; the torchlight is far too dim. The only reason you know they exist is because of the daily interaction with your prison guard - the only time the door opens and thus the only time the room has any light - and the voices and vague figures of your fellow captives. You have all been informed that there are only three fates for you - death, freedom, or a lifetime of servitude - but that you must decide among yourselves which of you deserve to die, and which of you deserve to live. You will all be held captive until you can come to a unanimous decision.
Some are innocent, some are guilty...but who?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpeu_6PJ_nM
Gameplay
This entire RP will take place within your separate cells. The end of the RP will be you leaving the prison, for whatever reason that may be. Escape or death are the only ways to bypass this.
As a GM, I will play the part of the prison guard, event triggers, and the setting in general. I will not have a prisoner of my own, therefore plot movement will be quite heavily at the players' control. Lots of these factors will be completely randomized.
There will be no more than 8 players, and this RP will not begin until there's a min. of 6 characters, a max of 15 (but however many we have, the number must evenly divide by 3). Remember that ya'll are allowed up to 2 characters.
There are only 4 things you can be in regards to your crime (and you don't get to decide which one you are): Guilty, Accomplice, Witness, or Innocent. I've officially decided that I'm going to pre-determine who is guilty/innocent despite the results of the poll due to feedback I received. I will figure out who is what upon creation of the IC thread. If you have a preference, please PM it to me.
The guard will come in three times a day; once in the morning to replace the torch, once at high noon to feed and water everyone, potentially (though not often) bathe everyone, and empty their buckets, and once at night to check in and see if everyone has come to a decision yet. There may be other surprise times where he comes in briefly, but this is his normal routine.
The RP will begin at day 1 of your conviction and imprisonment and end when everyone comes to a decision, escapes, or dies.
There will be more things at your disposal than meets the eye, and you may even gain items to use and assist you or other characters.
There are only 4 ways out: Death, Freedom, become a slave/servant for life, or escape. Escape is nearly impossible, but still an option, you just might die trying (see rules for clarity). All of your characters must decide among each other who is subject to what fate. There must be a balance between all three, so for example with 6 prisoners 2 would be set free, 2 enslaved, and 2 put to death. It also must be a unanimous decision, so if even one character disagrees with the line-up, all of your characters will continue to rot in prison. If someone dies before a unanimous decision is made, the guard will inform everyone which slot (freedom, death sentence, or enslavement) this prisoner's death takes up. In other words, a character dying attempting to escape could take a freedom slot from those who survive, for example.
Setting
A very small dungeon/prison under a castle. Everyone's cell looks the same: A room about 8x8x8 feet wide with three walls made entirely of stone brick (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Stone_wall.jpg/600px-Stone_wall.jpg), the last wall being thick iron bars and a locked cell door (http://mirye.net/media/com_hikashop/upload/MEN2V106-07.jpg). In the back left corner is a large pile of hay for you to sleep on, and in the back right corner is an iron piss bucket. The rest is just empty floor space, and a generous amount of it in comparison to most cells. Each cell has another cell opposite of it, thus putting three cells on one wall of the dungeon and three cells on the other. It's pretty damn dark, the only light source being a torch next to the main dungeon door at the end of the hallway between all the cells, and this prison door isn't flush with the edges of the cells, it's sunken back a little bit to leave room for the guardsman's supplies and storage. So the front-most parts of all 6 cells are lit up enough that if everyone stood right up by their cell bars, the prisoners within their lines of sight would be dimly lit but visible in a way that you could make out what they look like, but the further back they go the more difficult it is to see them, everyone's beds and buckets being consumed by darkness so black you can't see your hand in front of your face. The cells are roughly 4-5 feet apart, and the walls between cells are about a foot or two thick, so if you and other prisoners stick your hands out, it's possible to touch hands, exchange items, etc.
I'm not really looking for historical accuracy, but essentially this RP's location/time is a mixture of common perceptions (and mis-perceptions) of ancient Greece and medieval times. Prisons, items, foods, and technologies are more reminiscent of medieval times while customs, religions, social norms, and traditions are more Greek in nature. Think Xena: Warrior Princess meets Elder Scrolls kinda, but without the magic* 'n' sheet and at least realistic enough to make a Hollywood film of.
Dialogue/speech can be modern to save players the confusion and struggle of understanding deeply Shakesperian posts or ancient Greek slang, but if you wanna embellish your posts a bit more, go for it.
*I won't bother to define what is and isn't magic because I'm pretty sure me saying "no magic" is clear enough, but feel free to ask what is and isn't considered magic if it's ever ambiguous c:
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive1_zpsrcsl4mcc.jpg
Character Information
This isn't really a fantasy RP, but I'm not opposed to some very, very minimal fantasy elements considering the setting, like characters. I'm just looking for characters with the ability to speak and reason like a human. Idgaf if you wanna be an elf or a vampire or an anthropomorphic wolf or whatever; as long as you don't have magical abilities (beyond, well, human reason and speech and whatever natural abilities you'd possess as a non-human like super scent or blood sucking tendencies), aren't outside of the setting (so like...no robots or aliens or Japanese school girls whatever else), and are of human size, intellect, etc. If you're not a human, though, please add a "race" section to your CS.
Again, you do not choose if you're innocent or guilty.
All of the characters know each other at minimum on account of their presence during the crime and/or knowledge of the crime, and your convictions correlate somehow. Part of what you'll be RPing is how they correlate, and figuring out exactly what happened.
Character Sheet
NAME: (please make it fit the setting)
AGE: (14-35)
GENDER:
OCCUPATION: (here's a list of medieval careers for inspiration! (http://abutterflydreaming.com/2009/02/06/100-medieval-careers/))
CONVICTION: (what crime were you convicted of?)
APPEARANCE: (no anime, sorry; only photos or realism artwork of at least mondeis (http://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/mondeis/) quality)
VOICE: (link to a video/song/recording of someone singing/speaking that sounds like your character)
EXAMPLE OF YOUR WRITING: (write something up on the spot or link me to something between 1-3 paragraphs)
Other than that, I don't need/want anything else from you, but feel free to add a personality if you'd like, or to reveal that throughout the course of the RP. You can also embellish the CS however you want to really, like with sexuality or zodiac sign or the particular pantheon they follow or whatever else~ The only thing I ask is that you do not add a bio because that will be part of the fun in the IC c:
Accepted Characters
1 slot left~
Helena Kokinos (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2425388&viewfull=1#post2425388) {Megiwen}
Eulicid Perris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2425401&viewfull=1#post2425401) {Griffin}
Lothram "Lot" Wallach (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2434811&viewfull=1#post2434811) {Juicesir}
Annie Archanester (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2445189&viewfull=1#post2445189) {WolvesofWriting}
Aran Emetto (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&page=4&p=2463029&viewfull=1#post2463029) {Aran Emetto}
Melina Argyris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&page=5&p=2465659&viewfull=1#post2465659) {CrimsonLady180}
Damon Argyris (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2467147&viewfull=1#post2467147) {CrimsonLady180}
Christina Vertigo (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71339&p=2467297&viewfull=1#post2467297) {Toon Yoshi}
OPEN
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/korkarea/RPA/captive2_zps7hdtj25r.jpg
Rules
As per usual, all of RPA's rules apply
I (CartelSaide) am the GM and CrimsonLady180 is my co-GM; pls respect our authoritah~
I only want literate/advanced/intermediate players. I'm not nit-picky about a typo or two nor would I consider myself a grammar nazi, but I do want to be able to play with people of the same quality of writing I'm at or better. If you don't have a basic grasp of spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. then please don't join. I will reject you if your example and CS don't clearly demonstrate that you are highly capable of meeting this requirement.
No requirement for how much you post (since being unable to see and relying heavily on dialogue can cut posts rather short), but please post as much as you can, enough for someone to actually reply to appropriately.
Do not control NPC's such as the prison guard or even insects/animals without permission; you can't haz my only thunder!
Please put κανόνες or kanónes (the google translated Greek word for rules) at the end of your CS so that I know you read the rules c:
You cannot leave your cell or the prison without my permission. This includes escape from either.
No more than 2 characters per person.
You can die whenever you want, but the only characters at risk for death via me killing them are people who try to escape - it might be worth the risk though, you never know, you just gotta tread carefully.
Important OOC updates that I need all players to read/be aware of will be posted in Turquoise. Please let me know if this color is too bright, and offer an alternative if so.
Other than my OOC update posts, absolutely no colored text.
FAQ
Where is this castle situated?
A made-up world that I suppose you can consider an alternate Earth, if the Greeks never fell and had a medieval period similar to our own. Beyond that, I have no detail. And neither do you considering you're trapped in this dungeon with no window to the outside. But if it helps you to know, uh, *makes shit up on the spot* it's the Kilkenny Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_Castle), yeah...so it's in modern day Kilkenny Ireland because why not? lolz Further details are completely and totally up to you and other players, unless you need/want me to come up with 'em c:
Who arrested the characters?
The king's guard, by order of the king.
Who runs the kingdom?
A king. We'll call him King Ceasar III.
Also would fantasy races like elves and vamps be quite commonplace alongside normal people, or would you label them as rare and reclusive?
I'll let that mostly be up to you, but I was thinking that just like there are several different races of people IRL, there are just several different species/races of humanoids here. This is what I'll assume if you just mark what race/species you are but give no further details. If you have a specific idea about a race's populace and social standing etc. etc. then feel free to add that detail into your CS, and I'll put it in the first post for future reference if anyone else wants to be of similar race c:
So all character convictions are related in some way to the same crime, and all the characters were there when it happened?
Yessum c: Except to that last part; but if you weren't there, you at least were aware of it, an accomplice to it, or had knowledge in relation to it. The furthest removed you could possibly be are either (a) a passerby who just so happened to bare witness to the crime, (b) an innocent of whom was framed to be an accomplice/involved party, or (c) an "innocent"/accomplice who had knowledge of the crime but did nothing to stop it. So the former two especially potentially weren't even at the scene of the crime when it occurred, but still had some sort of involvement in it.
Are you going to analyze all of our crimes and then combine them to create the full picture?
No, and if I do it won't be until the very last post of this RP. The main, most major part of this RP is going to be all of you discussing the crime and figuring out what happened. I don't want to take away such a solid creative outlet for ya'll as players, so I will not be predetermining what crime occurred, only whether or not you are guilty, innocent, etc.
Does guilt or innocence even matter If we are just going to choose who is being sent free, who is staying, and who is executed?
That depends; does your character care if they die, are set free, are enslaved, or escape? Do they care if an innocent man is executed or a guilty man allowed his life in exchange for his freedom? That's the fun of this RP.
How much does the guard and others actually know about the crimes?
The guard knows enough (and alternatively doesn't know enough) to agree to keep watch over 9 people who may or may not be innocent without setting them free or killing them while they discuss and decide who deserves what for their convictions.
Why place two prisoners for each fate even before any of them have been convicted?
You all have been convicted. That's why everyone filled out a "conviction" section in their CS. *gets in character* If the King wanted to, he could have you all executed for the atrocious crimes you're convicted of committing. The good King Caesar III has shown you all mercy, however, and agreed to pardon those that you prisoners agree are innocent/the least guilty enough to set free, and will take in those who are not executed into a life of slavery - which despite the labor is a life lived. Those who even convicted felons think deserve to die...well who is the King to disagree with his people? He's a good King indeed, a genius some might say.
I'm wondering because what if further details we communicate in the cells about our crimes would go against those you already predetermined to be guilty or innocent......I just want to know if you did or didn't fill in details for each of our crimes and therefore knew who was or wasn't guilty, or if it doesn't even matter if we decide the fate of each of us and explain the details of out crimes as we go.
Predetermining guilt or innocence will just give your characters a solid ground to stand on whilst pleading their case to the other players; whether they lie or are honest or don't tell the full truth in order to get what they want - be that their own freedom, life, and/or death or someone else's - is up to you all as players. Agreeing on whose character dies and whose character lives isn't exactly going to be an easy process lolz It will also make things more interesting than you guys simply fitting it so that the guilty die and are enslaved while the innocent get their freedom and everything ends happily ever after. What if 5 of your characters are innocent? What if everyone but 1 is guilty? What if everyone is innocent? Once it's been determined, what you do with this information is up to you and your fellow players; I'm basically just here to supervise lolz
I am merely playing the part of the world around your characters. The only thing I will have predetermined once I start the IC is what's stated in the first post, who is innocent or guilty, etc., the guard's normal daily schedule, and which cells your characters are situated in. Everything else is up to you and your fellow players. This RP will rely almost purely on player engagement, interest, and creativity in order to progress, hence my warning in the first post.
All in all I'm really just telling you to be creative and figure out what happened together, that I won't stand in your way as you do this, but rather mold to what your characters communicate and help you guys along the way as needed as well as throw in curve balls now and again to keep things interesting and fun. Communication is all you guys have lolz I don't wanna take that away by deciding the ins and outs of what you're discussing~
btw it is literally impossible finding dynamic pictures of people chained up that don't look like they straight up belong in 50 shades of gray so yeah, I'm thinkin' the same thing you're thinkin' about these banner images and I don't care...I love it *distant music*