Paradox: Sign-Up

[Toastburner B]

Detective Paul Nearstaph stood in the ruins of what used to be the Hampington City Animal Shelter.

The keyword in the previous sentence was “used”. While the being was still standing, it would be awhile before it housed any animals again…and probably longer before anyone would to come back to the place for any reason at all.

Blood covered the walls in ways that had become all too common to Nearstaph as of late. A series of brutal murders, or maulings, or whatever you wanted to call them, has been the headline news in Hampington for a little over a month. Bodies of people and animals had been found in various states of dismemberment in various places around the city. But usually in isolated areas…usually just one person or animal.

Nothing like this.

The handful of dogs that hadn’t been killed barked and howled in their kennels, blissfully unaware of how lucky their were to be alive. The bodies of their unlucky compatriots were scattered around the room, the doors of their chain link cages were strewn about equally without care once they were torn from the hinges. But that wasn’t why Nearstaph was here. Two kennel workers had been in the building when the attack happened: one was being loaded into an ambulance; his skin covered in thin lacerations, but it was the young man’s state of shock that called for his hospitalization. Nearstaph held the door open for the EMTs as they wheeled the man, Isaac Knowlton, out. Knowlton had been sedated, but even with that he was troubled, muttering about hunger, devouring, and hunting.

The other kennel worker, Steven Holt…or rather, what was left of him…was covered by a sheet at the end of the kennel space. The Medical Examiner’s initial report was that Holt had been mauled and killed by what appeared to be a large canine. The examiner didn’t look very confident in his story, and only shrugged when Nearstaph asked how said large canine managed to escape from a building that was locked up tight when the first patrol car showed in response to an automated alarm.

The detective shook his head as he took in the scene once more. A month ago, he would have…and in fact did…lose his lunch over a scene like this. Now he was used to it. Something bad was happening in his city, and he was powerless to stop it.

And deep down, he knew things were going to get worst.


Welcome to the Paradox RP.

This RP first ran a little over 3 years ago. (Here is the original sign-up thread for the curious). While the concept of the Paradoxes and the location are the same, other things will be different. For any of you who were apart of the previous Paradox RP (or for those of you who read the old sign-up before reading this one), please keep in mind that such factors like the Curse of Tiamat and summoners will not be in play this RP. I know they played a big part in the old one, with the new plot for this one, they don’t really fit in.


But enough on what isn’t in this new version, let’s cut to what is in this:

The Paradox: Humans who are Monsters

Up until the day of your Awakening, you lived a normal life, as a normal person. There was no warning that of what would happen to you.

And what happened to you?

For all intents and purposes, you became a monster.

The recollections of that first transformation are hazy at best. All you know is that you felt ill (even though ill doesn’t really begin to describe your misery), and that a deep, overwhelming hunger welled up from inside of you…and that one way or another, you satisfied that hunger.

You wake up covered in blood and wounds, with nothing but a hazy, nightmarish recollection of what happened when the monster took over. You hunted, killed, and fed. The lucky ones slaughtered an animal of some kind. The unlucky ones killed and ate another human being.

Just as the lives of those who become a Paradox are forever changed, they are thrust into a world that exists in the shadows…just beyond what the normal humans knows and believes.


Powers, Abilities, and Consequences

As you would figure, becoming a monster does offer some perks.

The vast majority of a Paradox’s new powers can only be used when they manifest their monstrous form. However, all Paradoxes share an important ability that can be used while fully human:

Sense Supernatural: This ability is the key to the shadowy world of monsters for the newly Awakened Paradoxes. Its like taking off sunglasses in a darkened room…you can see things more clearly. More to the point, as a being of the Supernatural, you can now sense the presence of things that are beyond the norm, such as monsters, and magic that is currently active. Please note that this is a talent shared by most beings gifted with supernatural powers. In your human form, you aren’t considered a supernatural being, however, once your transform, other creatures will be able to sense your presence. The effective range of this is a few hundred feet, depending on how careful the user of the supernatural is being. If it is within 30 feet, you will be able to pinpoint the location of the source of supernatural activity.

The vast majority of powers, however, can only be used when transformed. Almost all monstrous forms will grant the Paradox strength, speed, agility, and toughness beyond that of a human. All in all, monsters are pretty resilient. Weapons that leave a comparatively small wound will hurt monsters, but isn't all that effective at killing them. If you choose to have one of your picked abilities devoted to defense, most small rounds won’t even affect your monster. However, even without that, in your monster form you pretty much only have to worry about large caliber rounds or a lot of other guns.

Powers beyond that, I leave up to you to come up with. Nothing to over the top, mind...I would prefer things to remain somewhat elementally based (earth, water, lightning, etc), but I’m not going to go through the trouble of setting up a weakness-strength chart. If you have an idea, just go ahead and put it in your character sheet, and I’ll approve or veto as needed.

The price of being a Paradox is high, especially at first. When you first start to develop your powers, the transformation is a painful process, and the instincts of the monster are all but overwhelming. With time and use, these will become second nature, but are major barriers to overcome in the beginning. In fact, until you can find a way to make peace with it, your biggest enemy may be the creature that shares your body. For the first while, when you transform, you’ll barely be able to control yourself. You’ll be able to stop yourself from harming innocents or loved ones (if you so chose), but all other bets are off. I have no real way of enforcing this, so I’m expecting your guys to keep this in mind if you choose to transform.


Transforming and you: What carries over, and what doesn't

Keep some things in mind as you switch from monster to human.

Transformation hurts!: Especially in the early going. In fact, for many the first transformation is traumatizing enough to require brief hospitalization. The more you transform the less it hurts, but in early going transformation sucks.

Fatigue carries over from transformation-to-transformation: If you did hard fighting as the monster, you'll still be tried when you revert to a human.

Some injuries carry over!: Sorry, but transformation does not equal "fully healed". Minor things, like light cuts or scrapes, will be healed by the transformation. Other things such as deep cuts, heavy bruising, sprains and the like are partial healed, but not completely. Broken bones damaged internal organs? Sorry, sucker, its still messed up after you transform (not to mention, I would imagine it makes transforming just that much more fun!).


Other Information of Note

Magic: With the advent of technology, most of the secrets of magic have been lost. When a simple bullet can kill at a range greater than any magic sword, or at the same range as a spell, and be easier to learn to use, most people wonder why even bother.

There are a handful of magic artifacts that have survived until the modern day, but the vast majority of such artifacts are in the collection of private collectors who, perhaps thankfully, have no idea what they have.

Other than a few die-hard mages, magic is an all but dead art. But I know people are going to ask about it, so there it is.

No, your character can't be a mage.

Monsters and Human Society: Like in most modern horror settings, monsters exist on the fringe of human society. The fact that they remain a secret is mainly because of two things: 1) Monsters, despite their powers, are outnumbered by mankind, and they know that if their existence becomes general knowledge, they will be hunted down. 2) People have spent the last hundred years or so breaking themselves of the belief that there are things that exist in the darkness. If anyone does see something, they generally keep to themselves because no one would believe them, or they tell their story and people don’t believe them outside of a small, equally ostracized group of people who claim similar experiences (10% of people have actually seen something…the other 90% are just loons).


Any other questions you have feel free to ask them here. If you have a question, then it is likely someone has the same or a similar question, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Now the character sheet:

Name: Character’s name.
Age: Obvious
Gender: Again, obvious
Physical Description: How your character looks as a human.
Bio/Background/Etc: The personality and history of your character, along with whatever background notes you want.

Monster Name: The name of the creature you transform into.
Appearance: The appearance of your monstrous self.
Abilities/Powers: Can you fly? Breath fire? Other such things? Please limit yourself to one or two powers. I’ll allow for some progress later as the character achieves more control over the monster.


Name: Isaac Knowlton
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Physical Description: Isaac is a guy who is just shy of being good looking instead of average. He is tallish at 6’2”, and is of average weight for his size. He favors jeans and t-shirts, and tries to keep his brown hair short so he doesn’t have to worry about combing it too much.
Bio/Background/Etc: Isaac isn’t the most outgoing person in the world, but he isn’t a recluse, either. He’s lived in Hampington for most of his life, and knows the area like the back of his hand. He’s a veterinary technician in the employ of the city (mostly works for the Hampington City Animal Shelter, but moonlights with animal control from time to time).

Monster Name: Sorm

Appearance: Sorm is a hulking monster, seemingly as wide as he is tall. His hulking forearms are much larger than his smaller legs. Sorm is a bit like a bear in that he can stand on his hind legs for a time, but is not particularly mobile when walking biped. The large, stone-like “wings” don’t serve much purpose beyond giving him additional protection (though that is definitely subject to change).



This is basically what Sorm looks like, minus the armor.

Abilities: Improved Toughness: Sorm’s skin is very tough. It resists cutting and piercing. Despite being a traditional weakness, the scales on the stomach and flanks are particularly tough.

Improved Strength: Sorm is a hulking brute, and is amazingly strong.


Questions/Comments/Concerns let me know here. Don't want to ask me here, PM me.

[Teal Mage]

Hey Toast, I've actually stumbled across an idea for a concept (I assume a Plant Paradox is fine?), but I'm having some trouble figuring out what to do with the initial Abilities and Powers. When that happens, I usually just default to what's thematically appropriate. So, got any advice as to what our first two tricks should be geared toward? Like, should they focus more on combat, hunting, surviving, or be based on skills our characters have as humans?

I know there's no strict requirement to create powers to fulfill a specific purpose, but I would like a little direction. What's your preference?

Incidentally, the Plant Paradox would be named Snap Dragon - which is pretty much exactly what the name implies, a Plant Dragon. Haven't decided on much else - character will probably be male, leaning toward making him pretty slow on putting the pieces together on the whole 'transforming into a monster at night and murdering people' thing for as long as possible, but the personality of the concept's not very set yet. It'll come together when I formally design the bio, I'm sure.

Oh, and this is also a Placeholder. I expect to be able to make a bio sometime this week - Saturday at the absolute latest, but tomorrow evening's possible too. Sorta hoping that what I've thought up is intriguing is enough to let the possibility of a slightly late sign-up slide.

If it isn't, well, I tried!

[Girasol of Chaos]

I'm extremely interested, but am concerned if I will have the time. I'll put this post in as a placeholder if that's alright, hit the monster-making machine tomorrow.

Even if I don't participate it'll be a fun task.

Edit: definitely participating, I'm going over which of my ideas would be best.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Man I loved this RP back in the day. Would I be ok to bring back Ifrit for this? Obviously it would be a different version of the guy, seeing as it's a different universe than before, but the insane firey berserker was fun to play.

[Steel Shadow]

What the hell, I'll take a stab at it! Limits are there for pushing past, right? Place holder up while I think of a character.

[Riin Whitewind]

I, too, would like to express interest.

I've an idea rattling around for a monster, I'll sleep on it and see if anything comes of it!

[lazy man]

It's a Toasty RP! Now I have to join in!

...er, once I have some free time to make a character. Still kinda figuring out my schedule now that I'm back in classes.

[Overcast]

Should have a character up by today's end. Planning something with tentacles.

[Wizardcat]

Placeholder. Got the idea, am not in a typing mood.

[Aerozord]

I asked this in the last thread but to double check, can our feeding be horrible but more esoteric, like can I be an edritch horror that feeds on sanity or something?