Imagine,
a world where a different aspect of the fairy tales you were told as a
child was a lie. Not the stories themselves, but the time afterwards,
when your mother ensured you that the monsters and horrors were made up.
A world where, unbeknown to everyday man, the fables and stories were
all real. The bogeyman is lurching under your bed. The spirits are out
there, waiting to possess and trick any poor civilian that happens to
cross by. Magic, demonic rituals, god, time travel, monsters. All of it
exists and is out to get you. A world where the only ones who have a
clue are those poor homeless bums on the road, screaming about the end
of days. A world where the government is doing all in their power to
make sure the mass remains happily oblivious.
Welcome to our world.
We're
the Global Preservation of Normality, or GPN for short. An organization
that spans across the entirety of America, most of Europe, a good chunk
of Africa and quite a bit of Asia. One of the few things this many world
leaders have ever managed to agree and cooperate on. We got three main
objectives, all regarding those things that go bump in the night, sorted
in order of priority.
One. Fight the supernatural and make sure it won't come in contact with, and most importantly won't harm the public.
Two.
Hide the supernatural from civilian eyes. If the public got to know
that monsters, magic and everything else existed, it would result in
mass panic. We cannot let that happen.
Three.
Study the supernatural and find ways to more efficiently combat it. We
won't send out our soldiers to destroy or kill the paranormal, unless it
is absolutely necessary. They are supposed to be taken in for research
by the Green and Blue Division labbies.
Our
job's not pretty and it sure as hell isn't easy, but it's necessary. We
fight back what hides in the darkness so that the remaining 90% of
humanity can sleep safely at night. Want to take a part of this?
Well, the gates are there. Step right in.
Rules
The rules to this Roleplay are few and simple.
Show respect, in and out of character. This means that you should not godmod, remove the freedom of letting other players' characters do what they wish, bash players out of character, for reasons related to this game or not, keep up activities that have reportedly made a player feel uncomfortable, in or out of character and you should overall try not to cause drama. Violation of this rule will result in a kick from the game.
Avoid expletive sexual content or otherwise NSFW behavior. While this is a fairly mature Roleplay and violence, darker tones and other "realistic" elements can and will happen, anything directly adult is not welcome here, as this is a General Roleplay. Innuendos, "Fade-To-Blacks" and other such things are allowed, but should also be handled with care. Violation of this rule will result in a kick from the game, without question.
Do not overpower your character. Even in a setting that focuses on the clash between the normal and the paranormal, there are clear limits on what your character can and cannot do. Especially as a GPN Agent, who is, 99 times out of 100 a normal human being. Please keep these in mind. Violation of this rule will result in a verbal warning, then kick from the game if changes in behavior are not made.
Try to remain active. While we do understand that everyone has a real life that they have to tend to, please make an effort to post at least once a week. Violation of this rule will result in a reminder by PM once a week and a kick from the game if no post has been made within a month.
Background
What if the conspiracy theories were right?
The Global Preservation of Normality takes place in a world in many ways like us, but at the same time different in millions upon millions of ways. The paranormal exists. Every single story you have heard. Every single fairy tale told. Every myth, every legend, every religion. All of them had a shred of truth in them in their own way. Anything you can imagine and more exists, hidden from everyday civil life, and most of it is directly destructive towards humanity.
So how does humanity survive at all? After all, with no form of organized defense against it, the supernatural would have stomped us humans to the ground with little to no issue, wouldn't it? This is where GPN comes in.
GPN, the Global Preservation of Normality, is an organization formed across the continents, having bases in about 80% of all Earth's countries. To avoid panic and public knowledge about the paranormal, GPN is a secret to everyone excluding a chosen few in various high governmental positions. GPN essentially serves as the military protectors against the supernatural for the sake of humanity as the whole. They will find paranormal creatures, people or items and lock them in for research, to find ways to more fluently and efficiently combat other supernatural threats in the future.
That said, GPN's methods are not what one would call "humane". Due to the huge threat the paranormal makes to humanity, they have taken a strict zero-tolerance policy towards all of it. Supporters and practitioners of magic are not to exist, they must be removed. Nothing that could cause awareness of the paranormal among the public can exist, it must be stopped before it causes damage. The result is that an opposing group has arisen, to protect and help the "Unnatural" to stay away from GPN and, if possible, crushing the organizations grip and letting the supernatural become the leading faction of future civilization. It is only a matter of time before the two forces clash, perhaps with dire consequences for human civilization as a whole...
Characters
The Two Factions When making a character for this roleplay, the only real difference from the norm you have to keep in mind is which of the two factions you are making a character for. This segment will go into further detail regarding the two factions.
The Global Preservation of Normality [GPN] The "main" faction of the game and preferably the faction most of the player characters will consist of. GPN is the global organization that has been formed to combat the threat of paranormal entities and items in the world. While rather cold and uncaring for what they put supernatural beings through for the sake of "The greater good", it is certain that their methods have stopped at least one apocalypse from occurring in the past.
Divisions GPN has all of its agents separated in different divisions, depending on the tasks they handle. The divisions will be detailed below, from highest to lowest in the "Hierarchy". A lower division has it as their direct orders to listen to those of higher rank.
White - The White Division is by far the most influential and powerful division in GPN, but also, again, by incredibly far, the one with the least members. There are only four White Division Agents for each continent, the American White Division Agents, the African White Division Agents, the European White Division Agents and the Asian White Division Agents. These sixteen individuals have it within their duty to handle all the political and economical duties of the GPN of their continent. Additionally, they are in charge of the rules of the GPN of their continent and are the ones who decide how exactly their piece of the organization runs. As a result, while it is still one organization, the methods of, for example, the Asian GPN and the European GPN can vary wildly. White Division Agents only have to answer to one person in the entire organization. The mysterious Founder, the leader of the organization as a whole. [If you want to make a White Division Agent, you have to have roleplayed for long enough and have proven to me that you can handle the responsibility. If you wish to do so, you may message me and apply for permission to make a White Division Agent of any continent, provided all four Agents of that continent are not already taken.]
Violet - The Violet Division is the second most responsibility-clad Division, in that it is entirely made out of Agents hand-picked by their continent's White Division Agents. Violet Division Agents are tasked with, quite simply, allowing things. If a lower Division wishes to do anything that could be risky or that might be a bit unsteady on the security rules, Violet Division Agents are the ones you go to for permission to do so. Additionally, Violet Division Agents are the task givers of their base, sending Red and Yellow Division Agents out on field duty. [Same rule as for playing White Division goes for Violet Division]
Blue - The Blue Division is one of the two main "researcher" Divisions. They are tasked with researching and finding as much data as they can on the paranormal objects that the Field Divisions (Red and Yellow) bring in. To be precise, Blue Division Agents specialize in creatures. Humans with paranormal abilities, mythical beasts, supernatural animals... Anything that displays conscience and free will is their field. The Blue Division is thus mainly made out of biologists and chemists.
Green - The Green Division is the second of the two "researcher" Divisions. As Blue Division specializes in creatures, Green Division Agents focus on supernatural items and trinkets. Mystical artifacts, magic books, or anything else that is manmade or otherwise not sentient and immobile, but still shows some kind of connection to the supernatural world. As a result, the Green Division is mainly made out of archeologists, historians and doctorates.
Yellow - The Yellow Division is the second lowest Division in the hierarchy, but still very much so important. Yellow Division Agents are one of the two Field Divisions. To be exact, the commanders / group leaders. To avoid suspicion, each field squad is mainly made out of three to six Red Division Agents and one Yellow Division Agents tasked to lead the rest of the group. Field squads are usually sent out to, as hinted by their name, pick up reported supernatural items or creatures from the field and bring them in to the closest GPN Research Center. To be able to match up to supernatural creatures, if they present a threat, Yellow and Red Division Agents are both injected with physically enhancing serums. More on this later.
Red - The Red Division is the lowest Division in the hierarchy and also the highest one in numbers. Quite simply, Red Division Agents are the general soldiers of GPN. They make out the bulk of the field squads and are tasked to bring supernatural items and entities back to the the research stations, lead by a Yellow Division Agent. As mentioned earlier, Red Division Agents are also enhanced through injections to become...Above human.
Additionally, one should mention that there is technically a final division, commonly known as the Gray Division. No true Division in its own right, this Division is made out of homeless taken from the streets, inmates from various prisons and other similar areas where a few missing people will not be noticed or missed. These "Agents" are tasked for things like experiments on various supernatural objects, cage cleaning, communication with objects capable of speech and other things that is quite possibly life-endangering, that GPN simply cannot put less disposable Agents through. This Division is not meant to be played.
Superhuman Alterations
As mentioned before, the two field Divisions, Red and Yellow, have been enhanced through chemical means to have bigger of a fighting chance against hostile supernatural entities that they come across. The serums they are injected with are divided in three types.
SP Serum - Enhances the strength and durability of muscle tissue, giving the Agent more physical strength and stamina, letting them lift about 25% more then they could before the alteration and keep up heavy physical labor for 20% longer without getting exhausted then before the alteration.
SR Serum - Enhances the hand-to-eye coordination and reflexes of the Agent, giving them about 25% faster reaction speed and reflexes then before the alteration.
SD Serum - Enhances the Agent's heart rate and oxygen intake, along with their brain, letting them stay alert and "awake" for about two hours longer before getting tired then before the alteration and needs on average three hours less of sleep a night then before the alteration.
With all these abilities considered, the Field Division Agents are essentially super soldiers, something that will save their lives numerous times while in a direct conflict with the paranormal.
The Council of Truth
The Council of Truth, simply known as The Council for short, is the opposing faction to GPN and one of the main sources of frustration for the Preservation.Formed by the former Blue Division Agent Diego Thicke, The Council stands strongly on the side of the supernatural world, wishing to preserve it, if not allowing it to rule the "natural" one. After all, it is clearly superior to what we humans know as "Normal". Natural selection dictates that it should take over. Due to this questionable, but not completely unjustified mindset, The Council has very little regard for human life. When the paranormal rules, normal humanity will die out anyway, why bother trying to preserve their life now? Thus, they are prone to terrorist-like deeds for the sake of freeing supernatural entities taken in by GPN and simply has very little care for the damage they cause. Mainly, The Council focuses on freeing and/or hiding supernatural entities from GPN, but is also planning an uprising the crush the organization and let the supernatural rule.
The Layers of the Council
The Council of Truth is divided in three main "Layers", to so speak, depending on the degrees of trust The Council's leader, Diego Thicke, has for you. Practically anyone that can find them is welcome into The Council however, but getting deeper into it is difficult...
The Inner Circle - Diego Thicke himself and his most trusted companions. Where exactly The Inner Circle hides out is unknown, but they are most likely using supernatural aid to hide themselves. Not much is known about them, but they are the "heart" of The Council and the ones preparing the big operations. [The same rules apply for playing a member of the Inner Circle as for playing White or Violet Division Agents of GPN]
The Outer Circle - A bigger, interlaced network of contacts that makes up the majority of The Council. Practically everyone not out in the Rabbit Holes is found here. Members of the Outer Circle can be found anywhere. In underground meeting places, in apartment houses, in neighborhoods...It is all about knowing where to look. The Outer Circle is also where magic is commonly taught and practiced among members of The Council.
The Rabbit Holes - Small, often unassuming groups of Council members that hide out in various bunkers. Abandonded houses, the sewers, actual holes out in the forest, small, faraway huts. Rabbit Holes keep up a stable communication between each other and are where supernaturals hide from the watching eyes of GPN, moving on to join the Outer Circle whenever the coast is clear. Supernatural Abilities
Due to The Council's much more accepting take on the supernatural, it is very likely for them to use it for their own sake. Be they magic users, people gifted with supernatural abilities or simply users of magical items, they will use whatever it takes for their own sake.
Magic - What is universally known as magic in this world is, quite simply, the ability to bend and reshape the world to one's will. Magic can be taught to anyone, though one cannot simply pick it up and begin using it. Magic has to be transferred from one magic user to another for it to be usable in the first place. At present time, magic's origin is unknown and GPN are doing their hardest to make sure it disappears. Due to the reality-bending nature of magic, it can practically do anything. It all depends on the skill and practice of the user.
Supernatural Entities - The world is filled with them. As a part of the Council, you may play any sort of supernatural entity, provided they are sentient and capable of understanding humans. Their abilities can vary to incredible degrees, only your imagination setting the limits here.
Magical Items - Artifacts, items enhanced by magic, mysterious talismans, books with forbidden knowledge. Just like with supernatural entities, practically anything is possible with these. The only prerequisite is that it is ultimately a non-sentient item that another, sentient user uses to their advantage.