Solipsism- An Urban Horror RP

This is a story about you, of how you saw your world begin to crumble about your ears, of how you saw the horrors your mind sought so desperately to protect you from. Our world is full of horror, murder, genocide, cruel neglect, pointless hatred, yet all pale in comparison to what our minds force us to be blind to. We have all seen a hint of the darkness that at all times threatens to smother Humanity in its vile embrace. Perhaps you saw a leering, equine skull staring hungrily from beneath your stairs with all too-human eyes. Maybe you can hear the voice of the dead girl who drowned in the lake by your house. Whatever the case, we are all dimly aware that something is not quite right with the world. Most of us forget such strange happenings, or dismiss them as our imaginations, in truth, they are all too real. For most of Humanity, in-built mental defenses shield us from the true terror that besets our race at all times, but some of us can see past the lies of our own design, shattering our perceptions forever. We think we can return to our former lives, but we cannot. Try as we might, we will never be blind again. We see the monsters for what they are, can see the cracks in the framework of reality. Colors are less vibrant, emotions are less sincere, and every damn thing feels like a lie. You can see the worms eating away at the belly of Man from within like grotesque parasites, and they can see you as well. The world is not as it seems. It never was. Only one question remains: What are you going to do about it?

Welcome to Solipsism, an urban horror RP focused around the characters obtaining the ability to See, and later, how they use their newfound talent. One man or woman has no hope against the darkness, neither would a legion of such individuals. The darkness cannot be defeated, but it can be stalled and held back for a time, which is the best those with the Sight can hope to achieve.

The players do not begin with the Sight, but begin as average, mundane mortals, prey to the creatures beyond time and space. Act I will be focused around the unique experience with the supernatural that allows you to See beyond the lies that are science and reason.

CALLINGS:
The Sight leaves its mark on the mortal who attains it, whether a literal, physical mark, or a scar upon the soul. Each mortal attains the Sight in a totally unique way, and having the Veil drawn aside so suddenly will change a man forever. The manner in which the Sight changes the mortal is called a Calling. Upon completing Act II and being granted (or cursed) with the Sight, a character chooses one of the Callings below, this choice may never be changed except by extraordinary circumstances (but only with express GM permission!)

THE CLEAVED: Perhaps the most terrible of the Callings, the Cleaved were mortals who lost their souls in the process of gaining the Sight, leaving them as apathetic husks. The Cleaved often have what is called a Ghostmark upon their bodies, a mystical symbol that calls to spirits like moths to a flame. At first, this seems to be a horrible curse, and in many ways it is, as many of the Cleaved are driven insane by the morbid whispers of dead things. However, there are those Cleaved who retain their sanity long enough to learn to utilize their Ghostmark, using it to command the spirits to do their bidding. Lesser spirits can easily be cowed by the Ghostmark, but more powerful beings require payment for their services. The most powerful spirits may ask truly bizarre and impossible prices, such as the first breath of an infant or the grief of a widow.
Roleplaying Note: Having lost their souls, the Cleaved have great difficulty feeling emotions, that is not to say they are sociopaths, but the Cleaved are distant and aloof, finding it hard to connect to anyone on an emotional level. The Cleaved are often morbid and dire, as being surrounded by the spirits of the dead does little to elevate one's sense of humor. Indeed, many Cleaved feel only one emotion if they can still feel them at all: Crushing despair.

THE SHATTERED: The Sight often takes more than it gives, and the Shattered know this fact more keenly than any others. The Shattered have lost everything in the process of gaining the Sight, and many desperately wish they had never gained the ability to See at all. Perhaps the mortal was ripped from his illusionary world of the Veil by the six-armed monster with no face that slaughtered his family and merged their flesh with its own. Perhaps the mortal lost a child to one of the Hungry, and refused to believe their son had died of natural causes, and so digs and digs until he discovers the unthinkable. The Shattered are surrounded in an aura of unluck, the same foul fortune that granted them the Sight in the first place. This is not a metaphorical aura, but a supernatural field of sorrow and grief that appears to those with the Sight as a greasy black cloud around the Shattered. The Shattered may manipulate this field to strike out at others, causing minor inconveniences to fatal accidents.
Roleplaying Note: The Shattered have lost everything, and may seek vengeance against a world that tore everything they loved from them or they may be consigned and dour, understanding their fate and seeking to prevent it from befalling any other.

THE MAIMED: The granting of the Sight is often violent, sometimes even killing the one who attained it. But those that die in such a manner do not depart this world, or even their bodies, and simply sit back up in the ruins of their bloodstained apartment, wondering what the spiders in the ceiling are talking about. The Maimed were killed when they gained the Sight, but their souls never left their bodies, anchoring them to the realm of the living. As a sign of their troubled passing, the Maimed all bear some horrible wound somewhere on their bodies, called their Stigmata. The Stigmata always appears fresh, and would always ordinarily be fatal, such as a slashed throat or crushed skull. The Stigmata cannot be seen by those without the Sight, but the Maimed are sure to be recognized by others who can See. The Stigmata never actually harms or kills the Maimed, but it constantly weeps blood, often enthusiastically. The Maimed may remember the pain of their Stigmata and direct that pain upon another, causing a similar, sympathetic wound to appear upon them. The wound caused in this manner begins slowly, starting with the skin and moving ever deeper until it matches the Stigmata of the Maimed.
Roleplaying Note: The Maimed are often brash and full of bluster, having truly taken (what they believe) the worst the world can throw at them.

THE TORTURED: The Tortured were literally torn apart when they attained the Sight, both on a physical and a spiritual level. Unlike the Maimed, the Tortured did not die from this, and were instead put back together by some cosmic force. However, this repair was crude at best, and the Tortured are often misshapen and freakish to those with the Sight. The Tortured, as their name implies, are in constant agony, and what they See does little to ease their pain. The Tortured may only alleviate their pain by directing it towards others, wracking the bodies of their foes with searing agony. The Tortured often resemble carnival side-shows, and are universally hideous in their own way, from hunchbacks to grossly deformed skulls. To mortals without the Sight however, the Tortured appear as they did before they could See.
Roleplaying Note: The Tortured feel little but pain, and have no fear of agony, as nothing could be worse than what they already feel. The Tortured often have difficulty in social situations, as their pain often makes then twitch and shudder.

THE SILENT: Sometimes, the Sight draws mortals behind the Veil they have only just begun to See, transforming them into shades without any place in the mortal world. The Silent begin to slowly be forgotten by all those around them, slowly being divorced from their own lives. When at last friends and loved ones forget them, they fade away beyond the Veil, unable to interact with mortals. Only those with the Sight may see the Silent, and the Silent are often overjoyed that someone besides the monsters can See them. Those with the Sight do not forget the Silent, and the Silent are often starved for attention and human companionship. The Silent may focus deeply, and for a time be able to walk among mortals again. However, the Silent will be forgotten by all he meets within a night and a day. If the Silent concentrates, he may make even those with the Sight forget him.
Roleplaying Note: The Silent have been utterly forgotten by the world that they once lived in, and are often starved for attention and human contact.

THE HUNGRY: Unlike the Cleaved, who lose their souls entirely, the Hungry begin to feel theirs bleeding away into nothing. To prevent the total loss of their souls, the Hungry have stumbled across a most terrible secret. The Hungry are aptly named, as they prevent their souls from departing by drinking the Essence (the stuff souls are made of) of others. The Hungry are gifted with the Soulsight, allowing them to literally gaze into the souls of whomever they looks at, and if they look long enough, they may see that individual's hopes and dreams, their follies and failings. The Hungry often use the Soulsight to determine hosts to gather Essence from, the younger the better. To those without the Sight, it appears that the Hungry simply looks at the target, then sighs and appears healthier and younger than before, whilst the host often turns ashen and pale, a cold sweat breaking out across their brows. To those with the Sight, the Hungry breath deeply, causing green ribbons of Essence to pour from the host's eyes and mouth, flowing into the maw of the Hungry, who then pulses with stolen energy. Many of the other mortals with the Sight detest and hate the Hungry with a passion, considering them worse than the monsters beyond the Veil.
Roleplaying Note: The Hungry have few friends among the other Callings, and are often loners, stealing just enough Essence to survive without killing their hosts. Then there are the Shunned, who do not sip, but guzzle the Essence from their victims, turning them into soulless husks who waste away.

Act II will be your first sojourn into a world built upon unstable foundations, and teeming with beasts eager to rend and tear at your sanity.

The character template is as follows:

Name:
Age:
Physical Description:
Habits/Quirks:
Phobias/Fears/Etc:
Calling (Only applies to Act II):
Hopes and Dreams:
Family:
Profession:
Thoughts on Superstition:
Biography:

Now, I want this to be mostly player-driven, and as such, I will only interfere to add some hooks if I see the game is flagging. Alright, let's see some RPs!

Name: Ian St. Claire
Age: 26
Physical Description: A full beard but is neatly trimmed with medium length hair. His genes has gifted him with a mixture of black and extremely dark brown hair with hazel eyes.
Habits/Quirks: usually when deep in thought he drops everything physically even gum. when he is listening to people give speeches, lectures, ect he pulls his hood around his face and makes him look like a ninja.
Phobias/Fears/Etc: Taphophobia – Fear of being Buried Alive
Calling (Only applies to Act II): The Hungry
Hopes and Dreams: To build a legacy for his family.
Family: Father is Britt St. Claire, Mother is Margret St. Claire, Sister is Brittney St. Claire.
Profession: Club entrepreneur
Thoughts on Superstition: Bets there is at least one thing is real from the myths and legends but not sure what it is.
Biography: Ian had a straight forward life with almost no worries. He majored in business mainly in microeconomics. His family thought he was going to become a stock trader or some similar breed. But to their surprise Ian bought out several clubs using loans from wealthy families he personally befriended and began a long campaign to restore them. His newest one has created a new movement in club life. Electron is place for nerds as it was made to display the best of new technology and to bring the night life to the indoor stiffs. No one knows exactly what Ian plans since there has been records of him talking to city officials to gang leaders to preists. No one is sure what he talks to them about but not one conversation lasts more than twenty minutes.

Name: Taylor Forensic
Age: 35
Physical Description: Taylor is a shorter man, about 5'7''. He has hair and tries to stay healthy.
Habits/Quirks: Taylor has a love for candy and is trying to use it to get off cigarettes. He will keep several on him at all times. He will mostly fall back on these in moments of stress.
Phobias/Fears/Etc: Tailor has of losing control or being overhauled so he tries to work how so he is never in position were he needs to deal with something unexpected and he doesn't like it when he feels someone who is under qualified is over him. He is also extremely protective of loved ones.
Hopes and Dreams: He likes to spend his money, usually when he shouldn't but that is what he likes to do. He dreams of the having the "typical" life but he is mostly looking for some way to feel like he has self worth. He also wants to brake a lot of his habits.
Family: Tries to follow his families shoes of trying to get a high paying job. His was an only child and liked he family for the most part. He is also married with his girlfriend that he met in college, named Linda.
Profession: Lawyer
Thoughts on Superstition: Besides being a Christian with an agnostic stance on most things, he doesn't think much of the supernatural.
Biography: Taylor lived in Florida and prospered in his youth, being a good student and working hard. He then went into college to study law and become a lawyer. He never had a strong sense of justice or anything for that matter but just found the field of work fascinating. He moved in with Linda and began working. Through a lot of ties he found himself being the plaintiff for many criminals and became very good with his work. After a few years be became responsible for 15 executions while he stopped many criminals about half would have just gotten life in jail or were innocent to begin with while. Winning casing become the number one thing for Taylor. He is no murderous monster and comes off as a very nice person but recently he has started to wonder about why he enjoys his work so much.

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Name: James Marson
Age: 19
Physical Description: A tall, and lanky young lad. He is a Caucasian, with short brown hair, clean shaven face, vibrant lively green eyes, and a smile that could light up a dark room. He wears glasses, light clothing, and shorts. He is missing his left hand.
Habits/Quirks: James is very optimistic, he always looks at the bright side of things. He is also a overly caring person willing to go out of his way to protect others. He has a bad habit of chewing his nails, and is constantly chewing gum.
Phobias/Fears/Etc: Doraphobia- Fear of animal skin/ fur.
Calling (Only applies to Act II): The Silent
Hopes and Dreams: He wants to be a philosophy writer.
Family: James has a younger half-Brother related by their father. His mother Joanne Marson was his primary care giver, and he didn't know his father very well.
Profession: College Student of writing and philosophy
Thoughts on Superstition: He is willing to listen to others about it, but does not believe it himself.
Biography: James was a bastard child to Joanne Marson, and Al Gregory. Growing up with only his mother, James was extremely well off his mother owned her own thriving business. James was very popular growing up and did very well in school. When he was seven he met his father and his younger brother Fred, he developed a close relationship with his brother. During senior year he was the victim of a violent mugging, he was beaten to near death and his left hand cut off in bike spokes, the men who attacked him where arrested and convicted. His senior year was rough for him, because of the mugging his grades had started to slip, and a lot of his friends moved away.