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Welcome to Where the Dead Walk! It's my first CYOA on these forums, using the format favored here. I intend to update no less than once every two days, though depending on a number of variables, that number may increase or decrease as IRL demands. There is no overarching plot - that is, things will happen, but whether or not you are there to see and participate in any given event is entirely up to the choices you make. There is no set path for your character, and if you choose an obviously suicidal option, you will not be protected from it. That is to say, You have no plot armor and complete freedom, though I will try to warn you if, given what your character knows, a given option is suicide. This game draws on ideas from both Diogines' excellent CYOAs, and from White Wolf's (and now Onyx Path's) game Exalted, though it uses the exact setting and mechanics of neither. In an ancient time, in an ancient world that has long since passed away... Your people live in the Great Swamp.  It is the only place you or anyone you have ever met has ever seen. Your village is built on an area of solid ground, around a small hill. Atop the hill, is the manor.  Your people worship the person said to live there, who you know only as Muran. She seldom emerges - you have never seen her yourself. Occasionally, on their Naming Day, a child hears the call, and goes up to the manor to join her as a servant. They never come out. The adults in your village pray to Muran when they go out each morning, as the pale, cold sun rises above the trees of the eastern swamps. Then they depart in their small carved canoes, leaving you children and the elderly to mend the nets and baskets they use to catch and store food, which is usually swamp creatures and various edible plants. When the chores are done, you are all permitted to go and play until the adults return. When they return, they pray to the Duchess again to give thanks for their safe return, and then go light the fires and cook the day's catches in a great communal feast. Everyone eats, then everyone goes to bed, only to repeat this routine anew. The sole exception to this that you have experienced is when the village shaman, Naman, gives warning that the mists will rise today. Then the adults do not go out in their boats, but clutch their sharpened wooden spears and sharpened rock knives, and make you and the other children hide in the huts - for it is when the mists rise that the Dead come. Pale and cold, they look like the People - the name your village gives yourselves - in shape, but they do not speak save for a vast and cold moan that they emit, and they hunger endlessly for the warmth of the living. Any they catch are eaten while they still live, and will rise themselves the next time the Dead walk unless their bodies are burnt. There is no food on those days, and everyone goes hungry. This has been your life for the entire eight years of it. 1. You are: A. A boy. B. A girl. Your society has no differing expectations of the labor you will perform based on your gender, save that women are expected to get pregnant and give birth - and that is less an 'expectation' and more of a 'biological fact'. Heavily pregnant women are often exempted from going out on the boats unless the catches lately have been sparse, and are usually hidden in the huts when the Dead come with the children. 2. Your parents are: C. No different from the other men and women of the village - they go out in the boats, and they have always come back. D. One of your parents did not come back one day. Tell me which one, and what you were told happened to them. E. Both of your parents were taken by the swamp. You are cared for, insofar as that involves little actual effort, by one of the other families. Tell me what you were told happened to them. F. Your father is Barsam, who is considered one of the most skilled in defeating the Dead when they come. G. Your mother is Katra, who is considered one of the most skilled in handling a boat. H. Your parents are the shaman Naman, and his husband, Orra. This occasioned some comment when they announced your birth to the village, but now it is simply accepted as the Duchess' will. Your village has no real social stratification. Everyone is equal to everyone else. Naman leads the prayers and performs the Naming Day ceremonies, but outside of that he is simply regarded as a wise man who is always right about the Mists. He and his husband take the boats out with the rest of the villagers. The village also has very little in the way of personal property notions - if someone breaks a knife or a basket, they will be expected to make another one evening when they come in, and will be loaned one when one is available. Marriage as an institution is not a thing for your people - a woman chooses who will father her children, which may or may not be whose hut she shares - though it often is. Violence against other villagers is punished by banishment, or by a stern talking-to from Naman, depending on what precisely happened. 3. During the days, you favored I. Mending the nets J. Mending the baskets K. Repairing and remaking tools that had broken, to save the adults some labor when they returned L. Doing as little as possible until it was time to play. This will have been noticed and called out by the elderly and the other children Expect an update in a few hours, since we're mostly dealing with backstory here. FrozenGoldfishGod fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Nov 22, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2016 22:08
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BHK
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Dec 6, 2016 22:56
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You are an 8-year-old girl, born to and raised by the village shaman, Naman, and his husband, Orra. None of the other children seem to have two fathers, but it doesn't really cause much comment from anyone. When the adults all leave, you often work on making more tools - though you do take your turn at mending the nets and baskets, you find that you more often enjoy making the replacements, from finding the rocks that you need to sharpen to make knives and the occasional spearpoint, to rubbing and sharpening them to get them to a usable state. You also learn how to make the spears from various tree limbs, how to cut the trees, and while you cannot yet cut a large tree down to make a proper boat, there's no doubt that as you get older and stronger, you'll be taught that too. When your fathers come home, you often spend some time listening to stories told by Naman. These stories often take place in far-off places and involve people who do not seem much like the People, and Naman insists that they are just made up. There are places beyond the Swamp, he says, but they are terrible and full of the Dead. That once, long ago, the People lived elsewhere, but they had no village, and had to roam endlessly through the Swamps - prey for the Dead, and for horrible, vast swamp beasts that you have never seen. Then, Muran appeared before the People, and told them that if they prayed to Her, She would guide them to a safe place - the village. You have four years to go until your Naming Day. Years are measured by Naman using the growth of a particular kind of moss that he observes on the bark of nearby trees - and he freely explains to you how it works and what it means. When the moss turns green, it means that it will not turn blue again for one year. When it turns blue, likewise. The sun rises and sets from the same direction, relative to your village, as it always does. The shaman is a somewhat kindly father, as is Orra, and they both praise you when you make an especially fine tool - and scold you, somewhat gently, on those rare occasions that you do goof off. One day, not long before your ninth birthday, you hear Naman shout, "The mists will rise today! Prepare for the coming of the Dead!" The adults run about, gathering up the spears you made and the knives you prepared. Orra grabs you, and firmly pushes you towards the hut he shares with Naman. "Go inside, sweet. Go inside, and hide until the mists go down." 1. You... A. Go inside and hide, like you were told B. Go inside, but grab a knife first C. Go inside, but peek out the doorway of the hut D. Insist that you be allowed to stay out and help fight the Dead E. Sneak off and try to find somewhere to stay outside for this F. Write in another option Probably won't get in the next update until tomorrow morning, but you never know. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask - I'll try to respond as I have time. FrozenGoldfishGod fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Nov 22, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2016 01:25
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B
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Dec 7, 2016 01:50
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Voting E.
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Dec 7, 2016 04:52
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B How quick are the dead (har)? How far can one see when it's misty, generally?
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Dec 7, 2016 05:00
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Ceramic Shot posted:B You've never actually seen them yourself - you've always been hiding when the mists come - but you've heard the adults talk about them, and Naman once told you that they are far slower and clumsier than a living person. They are mostly a problem because they don't stop until forced to, and because they come in great numbers. The few times you've been outside when the mists rose, it's been extremely difficult to see more than a few feet in front of you. Thus far, you've always been able to make it back to the huts. Update in a few hours, until then, voting's open.
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Dec 7, 2016 11:45
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You obediently run back towards the hut, but along the way stop to grab one of the knives you've made. Even if the Dead make it past the adults somehow, you'll be able to defend yourself! ...right? You try to stay out of sight, but you can hear the dreadful moaning of the Dead as they come in from the mists. You hear a few of the adults cry to Muran to protect them, and the wet, sickening sounds of them attacking the Dead who make it to shore. Then you hear a new sound - a long, low burst of sound that makes you feel like someone is pressing down on your head just listening to it. This sound is not one the Dead make, nor is it one that you've ever heard before. Once the sound dies away, you can hear Naman shouting into the mists in a language you don't understand - you've never heard him speak that language before. Another voice, a strange voice, calls back. This voice makes you feel all cold and quivery all over, and your stomach knots up with fear just listening to it. You cannot understand any of the words it is using, either, but they sound like the same language that Naman was speaking a moment ago. Once the first strange sound sounded, you stopped hearing the moaning of the Dead - and once the adults finished off the few that made it to the edge of the village, the sounds of fighting stopped. 1. While Naman and whoever he is speaking to talk, you A. Stay hidden B. Peek out of the hut C. Run out of the hut, brandishing your stone knife D. C, but running towards Naman for comfort instead E. Fill-in FrozenGoldfishGod fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Nov 22, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2016 13:10
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quote:1. While Naman and whoever he is speaking to talk, you B
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Dec 7, 2016 17:19
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A
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Dec 8, 2016 01:52
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D
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Dec 8, 2016 01:58
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B
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Dec 8, 2016 02:10
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B
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Dec 8, 2016 10:52
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You peek around the doorframe, staring out towards your father's voice. You can see Naman in his crocodile-skin cloak and swamp-rat leather breeches, standing in front of someone who - at first - looks like one of the Dead. He's pale, far paler than anyone you've ever seen before - his skin is a pasty white, with sunken eyes that are marked below by dark circles. He's dressed in black clothing, made of some material that you've never seen before. It's rigid and looks like it'd be fairly hard. He glances towards you as you move, and when your eyes meet, you feel very, very strange. The sensation can best be compared to looking into a reflection, and then seeing someone else's face where you should see your own. Your head swims, and your eyes water, but you can't seem to pull your eyes away - and then he shudders and breaks eye contact, turning his eyes back down to your father. His voice is harsher, and the sensations it causes in you are far stronger now - the stranger sounds angry as he speaks to Naman, whose body language and voice are conciliatory and calm. Then, faster than your eye can follow, the tall, pale stranger has a long, bulky-looking weapon in one hand. It's made of the same dark material as his clothing, but you can see the edge on it from here. He's waving it at Naman, and there's no question of it - he's angry now, even if you can't understand what he's saying. It looks like he's about to hit your father with that sharp object in his hand - and if he does, Naman will almost certainly become one of the Dead. He won't tell you stories any more, he won't wrap you up in your blankets at night, he won't sing songs while he's boating in or out of the village, he'll just make that dreadful moaning sound and try to eat you. Seeing your father about to be attacked, you A. Yell for Orra to help him B. A, but run out there with my stone knife. C. Yell that he's one of the Dead, and for the adults to help Naman. D. C, but I run out there with my stone knife. E. Try to hide - he got mad when I peeked at him, maybe he'll calm down if I hide?
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Dec 8, 2016 11:24
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B
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Dec 8, 2016 12:53
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B dude obviously knows we're the most dangerous thing in the swamp.
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Dec 8, 2016 14:55
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B
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Dec 8, 2016 21:15
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As the stranger brings his strange weapon down towards Naman, you run out of the hut as fast as your little legs will carry you, yelling for Orra to help. In front of you is the stone knife that you've been carrying. You hear Orra shout, but you're not listening! As you get closer to the stranger, that disorienting feeling comes back, but far stronger - and it looks like he's feeling it too. He says something, stumbling backwards - and then you see Naman lift one hand. A small ring of water swirls around his wrist, where you hadn't seen it. He gestures, and a tendril of water rises up, smashing into the stranger, who goes down HARD. As the stranger collapses, Orra catches up to you, grabbing you up and holding you against himself. The Stranger rises again, his strange eyes staring at you. There's another exchange of words between him and Naman, and as Naman raises the hand with water swirling around it, the stranger turns and, somehow, starts to run across the water? It's strange, but it's not the strangest thing you've seen today - and then he's gone, running off across the swamp. After a few minutes, Naman lowers his hand, and the water swirling around it drops to the ground. He turns and comes over to you and Orra. "Foolish girl! You might have been killed, or worse!" His voice is sharp, but you can hear that it's more fear than anger. "Next time, stay in the huts until you are old enough to fight!" Faced with the shaman's ire, you... A. Tearfully tell him that you were just trying to help him, and apologize. B. A, but do not apologize. C. Defiantly tell him that you were just trying to help! D. C, but break away from Orra and run off into the swamp afterwards. E. Fill in. Also, Question Time! You can ask Naman or Orra any question you'd like. These questions will take place after whatever you do next is resolved, but you can get your questions on the list now. If you ask anything that might be particularly damaging, I'll likely put that up to a vote as well, though not as a full update.
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Dec 9, 2016 17:38
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A Alright, question time! We're a literal child with lots of questions, so we won't be surprised if Naman and Orra don't answer all of our babbling. What was that man? Why did he make me feel sick? How did he run across the water? Why did he come? What made the Dead go away? How did you do that with the water? More general questions for when things have settled down: How did you [Naman] become a shaman? How do you know when the mists are going to rise? Have you ever seen the Duchess? Have you been up to the Manor? How long ago did our people arrive at the Village? Who gave birth to me?
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Dec 9, 2016 21:22
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You apologize, sniffling and teary-eyed, to Naman, even as you tell him that you just wanted to help him. He is silent, and Orra holds you close, speaking as you sniffle. "Well, she is her father's daughter, no doubt." He chuckles, a bit weakly. "You are a brave child, but in the future, listen to your father Naman, all right, sweet? He is right - there is much that could have gone otherwise about that confrontation." Naman chuckles, wryly, at Orra's first comment. "Perhaps, but I would rather our daughter be safe than be blessed. Still, I see that the Dragons have not forsaken our daughter." This is the first time you've heard Naman refer to 'the Dragons' - or really, any great power beyond Muran specifically. Sucrose posted:Alright, question time! We're a literal child with lots of questions, so we won't be surprised if Naman and Orra don't answer all of our babbling. Sucrose posted:Why did he make me feel sick? You feel fine, now that the Stranger is gone. Sucrose posted:How did he run across the water? Sucrose posted:Why did he come? Sucrose posted:What made the Dead go away? Sucrose posted:How did you do that with the water? Orra answers after, sounding a bit annoyed at this non-answer, "Your father Naman is favored by many powers beyond Muran." Naman replies to this with a black scowl. Once the two of them are assured you are not hurt, they bring you back to their hut, and you continue asking questions. Sucrose posted:How did you [Naman] become a shaman? Sucrose posted:How do you know when the mists are going to rise? Sucrose posted:Have you ever seen Muran? Sucrose posted:Have you been up to the Manor? Sucrose posted:How long ago did our people arrive at the Village? Sucrose posted:Who gave birth to me? TIMESKIP TIME! During the next few years, I - A. Devoted my time to learning what mystical and shamanic lore I could from Naman. B. Devoted my time to learning what I could from Orra and the other adults. C. Devoted my time to slacking off and learning how much I could get away with. D. Devoted my time to trying to figure out the manor and Muran. E. Fill in. FrozenGoldfishGod fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Nov 22, 2017 |
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Dec 10, 2016 13:11
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A Who aré the Dragons? Where do they live? Can I meet them? Can I become favored by them? What language where you speaking with the man? Where did you learn it? What were you arguing about? Why didn't you try to kill him instead of talking? What bargain was struck with the Duchess? What happens to the children that go into the Manor? Is there a chance I may be called to serve inside it? How old are you (both Naman and Orra)? What's beyond the swamp? How far away from the manor have you been?
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Dec 10, 2016 17:23
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A
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Dec 10, 2016 17:36
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Not an update, just dropping in to answer some questions.Mr. Nemo posted:A Mr. Nemo posted:What language where you speaking with the man? Where did you learn it? Mr. Nemo posted:What were you arguing about? Why didn't you try to kill him instead of talking? Mr. Nemo posted:What bargain was struck with the Duchess? Mr. Nemo posted:What happens to the children that go into the Manor? Is there a chance I may be called to serve inside it? Mr. Nemo posted:How old are you (both Naman and Orra)? Mr. Nemo posted:What's beyond the swamp? How far away from the manor have you been? This is an opportunity for him to tell you another story, this time one of the ones about something called an 'ocean', which from what you understand is kind of like the swamp, but with fewer trees and more water? Also the water is bad to drink, for some reason. You don't really understand his explanations of why, but the story is a good one, about how some bad people tried to capture a princess, who, seeing that all of her guards were defeated, promptly drove off the pirates herself. Voting's still open, I'll likely update either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Also Question Time remains open, too.
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Dec 10, 2016 22:11
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Following all genre conventions in the world the people that go into the Manor are either eaten or act as undead servants or something, it stands to reason that it's not a happy place. Will I be able to see the ocean when i grow up? What's the Duchess like? Is she more powerful than the Dragons? Do you like it here or did you prefer your older place? What would you like me to do as an adult? Can I become a shaman too? Where do all the Dead come from? Would it be possible to attack that place?
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Dec 10, 2016 22:23
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A
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Dec 11, 2016 00:48
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Mr. Nemo posted:Following all genre conventions in the world the people that go into the Manor are either eaten or act as undead servants or something, it stands to reason that it's not a happy place. But on the other hand, a place like that looks like it probably does need servants to run it.
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Dec 11, 2016 07:04
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D, feel like we've gotta figure out what's going on with the main power as soon as possible.
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Dec 11, 2016 12:18
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Mr. Nemo posted:Following all genre conventions in the world the people that go into the Manor are either eaten or act as undead servants or something, it stands to reason that it's not a happy place. Mr. Nemo posted:What's the Duchess like? Mr. Nemo posted:Is she more powerful than the Dragons? Mr. Nemo posted:Do you like it here or did you prefer your older place? Mr. Nemo posted:What would you like me to do as an adult? Mr. Nemo posted:Can I become a shaman too? Mr. Nemo posted:Where do all the Dead come from? Mr. Nemo posted:Would it be possible to attack that place? [...] The years pass, as they tend to do. You grow stronger from your chores, and your body slowly grows taller, though you are still clearly a child. You spend your time learning the lore of the swamps with Naman, observing how he performs the blessing ceremonies for new children born, how he leads the prayers to the Duchess each day, and how he guides his boat among the floating tussocks of the swamp. He's started taking you out with him and Orra each day. He and Orra grow older, though they are both still fairly vigorous and strong. You also tried to spend some time learning of the Duchess, though Naman was usually quick to find some chore for you to do if you try to question him beyond what he has already told you - mending a net, checking to see if one was already full enough for capture, watching for the more dangerous swamp creatures in silence. The time has come for the Naming Day for each child born during the year you were born. You and two other children are woken at sunrise by Naman, who takes the three of you before the whole village. There are no children older than you in the village, so this is the first Naming Day ceremony you've ever seen. Naman is wearing his full panoply - the crocodile-bone charms, carrying the gnarled staff he seldom bothers with, and wearing a fine blue cloak with a strange symbol on it that you have never seen before. He takes the three of you over to where three new boats are lying - you'd helped him make them, but you didn't know why he was making new boats - each individual of the Tribe has their own, and tends to it themselves. There's a long boating pole in each one. Your father speaks. "Long ago, the People were lost." He covers his eyes ritually, as do all the other adults watching. "They wandered, lost and alone, with no god to guide them." The adults sway from side to side where they stand. "The Dead, and the demons of the world, preyed upon them freely." The adults cry out in a variety of shrieks. Naman's voice rises, shouting above the shrieking. "Then came the first shaman of the People!" The shrieks fall silent. "He told them of the Duchess, of her offer for protection, in exchange for their devotion to Her!" The adults drop to their knees, hands held out and cupped in front of them. "And so the People accepted her offer - and her laws. 'Drive back the Dead!'" The adults stand, and grasp their spears in various ready stances. "'Name no child until they have earned it!'" The adults turn their backs to the three of you. "'All those I call to me, are to be given to me!'" One of the children standing beside you shudders, and shakes. Her eyes go blank, and she starts to walk up the hill. The boy standing next to you watches her, and Naman throws a hand out between you and her. "She is called! She goes to serve the Duchess!" The adults cheer, though you do notice that the girl's mother and father look more than a bit insincere in their cheering. "The two of you have not yet earned your names." The beardless shaman looks down at both of you, seeming to loom taller and darker in the pale light of the rising sun. "But on this day, you will earn your names, and your place among the People. The boats are waiting. You will leave in them, and you will not return until you have found your names." He gestures to the parents of the boy beside you, and to Orra. "Come forward, and give them what we can, that their return will be swift." The boy's parents move forwards, and Orra and Naman both step up to you. "You'll do fine, sweet." Orra's voice is excited, but steady. He holds out a stone knife - far finer than any you could make - and a small protective charm. "Remember what I have taught you, my daughter, and you will be protected by the Duchess, even outside the village." Naman reaches up, and unfastens the cloak, before fastening it around your shoulders. "You will make us both proud." 1. What do you do with the gifts? A. I take all three, and intend to keep them with me. B. I take all three, but I don't intend to keep them - I just don't want to offend my fathers by refusing their gifts. Which ones are you getting rid of? C. I only take one or two of them. Which ones do you take? D. I refuse all the gifts. I have my boat and my knowledge, that's all I need to do this. E. Fill in. With whatever you have decided to take, Naman guides you both to the boats. "You have been taught our ways. Go now, and return only when you have your name." He hands you both the boat-pole, and steps back. 2. Which direction do you head? A. East, towards the rising sun. B. North, the fastest route away from the village. C. West, away from the rising sun. D. Southwest, around the island on the side that does not face the Manor. E. Southeast, around the island and past the Manor.
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Dec 11, 2016 13:17
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AC
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Dec 11, 2016 17:41
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AC
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Dec 11, 2016 20:36
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AE
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Dec 11, 2016 22:06
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AA
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Dec 11, 2016 22:13
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AA
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Dec 11, 2016 22:17
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AA
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Dec 11, 2016 22:30
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AD
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Dec 11, 2016 22:32
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AA
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Dec 11, 2016 22:34
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1.A 2.E
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Dec 11, 2016 22:49
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1. A 2. A
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Dec 11, 2016 22:55
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This looks cool. AE
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Dec 12, 2016 00:25
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AE.
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Dec 12, 2016 01:53
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