WritesNaughtyStories

I think I'm going to come at this in three steps. First, @Chiyako's biologist, then @IsabellaRose's religions and then a combination of @MagnificentBastard, @StarlitSiren and @WickedCadrach's balls, promiscuity and promiscuous balls. So, @Chiyako, it seems the REALLY important thing is being in hiding, on the run and doing these shady experiments. That's more Doctor Frankenstein than vampire. The look is easy to achieve. Anemic and pale, or straight albino, and the experiments and history (removed from the big, fancy hospital back in Saint Linus for unapproved surgeries that revealed your experiments? Maybe to cure your hereditary anemia or perfect that animal soldier idea the army pulled the plug on?) mean you have to hide who you are and what you do. Just trying to find how to get the most important parts to fit the setting. I still have concerns that this could become 'you vs. us' which gets out of the rivalry business and into conflict. @IsabellaRose, I was wondering how we got to the simple padre, in his dusty white cassock, helping the wounded gunfighter to the angry castigations Prudence delivered, and endured. I think your Puritan squared schism from the older church handles that well. But what are the Daughters of the Unbound's feelings about the Old Church? It feels like they don't like them, but aren't as vehement in their desire to tear it down. Not until the bigger problems are taken care of first. There's probably a new church, here in town, dragging people in front of their Judgements, shaming them, demanding their saloons be closed, I guess? The Old Church mission is probably out of town a ways, where the humble priest and tasty (there we go with the part you don't say aloud) nun try to shepherd settlers and save the heathen savages. Sound about right, or did the town run the new church out and they have a little white, clapboard square meeting house where they rail and rant at the evils of man? Work, calls, me hardies (it's talk like a pirate day - go nuts) time to trim the mains and hoist the gallants!

This is an important thought. What kind of story are we thinking about telling? Are we a band of outlaws running from hideout to hideout? Are we the folk who inhabit some frontier town or or the area of little villages, small farms that have cropped up around a fort or mission? Isabella had suggested a couple of traveling groups, a circus, refugees of a caravan of settlers pushing forward into the unknown? I personally kind of favor the idea of a slightly larger town, perhaps built up around the church, with a sheriff and their deputy, a few shop owners, two saloons and a brothel that draws in enough visitors to the town from the nearby fort, mining claims and mountain trappers that everyone knows they need it. @StarlitSiren, would Millie have her own little workshop, over by the train station where locals come to get things fixed or is it secreted away in some mine that didn't pan out or remote little box canyon? Part of the upside of this kind of town is that it gives enough infrastructure for the growing class and technological divides to show and gives us as players a place to get in trouble. And for there to be enough wealth that there could be balls to attend (or disrupt in a drunken ploy to win Annabelle's hand away from Beauregard's thieving hand). The down side is it's stable, and there's a lot going on, so what kind of trouble might face this town that we'd all have stakes in fixing together? Maybe not as part of the 7 Samurai kind of defense (maybe that too) but something we might all interact with and cause is to interact with each other? A thought I'd like to suggest is displacement creating trouble. Native tribal groups, uprooted and forced into other tribal lands, new settlers, perhaps workers forced out of jobs in big cities by automatons and relocated to the frontiers by tiny buyouts and inadequate government grants. Is there some kind of tent city? Some of that might come out in Pathways, but it's worth at least beginning to think about now. An alternative is boom town that's grown up around lumber and gold, with a mission a few hours off and little else? @Chiyako, a vampire scares me a little. They are, by definition, predatory which makes them very likely to be a problem for the rest of the players to "solve". Could I convince you to go with the mysterious eastern European noble, with wealth, strange manners, and albinoism who many locals think is a vampire? Horses are a must. While automobiles exist historically in this time frame, they were incredibly rare and unreliable. I think we should have one. Maybe Millie built it, inspired by a story in the newspaper brought from New Amsterdam via the long trip of train, postal riders and the Army Captain at the fort?

Absolutely, I concur. Zeppelins. This precisely gets to the kind of technological tension and kind of struggle to forge a better future in the frontier that I most associate with westerns. Leaning so heavily on Izzy's Prudence Lawton as my character concept does, I'm voting this is whoever Prudence broke from. Are the Unbound analogous to the early Protestants and Unitarians? How violent is the schism?

Here's a different, brilliant take. I like it, Izzy.

I love this idea. Maybe not a war wound - maybe a gunfight they barely won? Either way, this is gold, in my estimation. I figured out a way to create the mostly human kind of fur-folk Warning was hoping for. I think the idea of the Army performing horrific and unethical experiments to better combat the First Nations should be included, But that particular thought does not seem to resonate for some reason.

Yeah, that's why I really want her as part of our history. I really want to play a monk of the Daughters of the Unbound. I love the idea of someone like Kwai Chang Caine being the champion of her message of love, acceptance and caring (and being kind of a slut about it, because they love everybody).

Prudence is the woman from Isabella's Anamnesis playthrough: It is very western, very steampunk and feels very rooted in this setting. She was a judge/executioner who condemned her lover, and herself, because they were both women. At the end of the tale, she transforms herself into Ashborn, Isabella's epilogue:

The idea is that by whatever means - crossbreeding (which creates some interesting questions to be sure), gene splicing, blood transfusions or potions made from the distilled essence of the specific animals, there's someone working on behalf of the army to create exactly the kind of kemonomimi you want. Maybe the serum doesn't work quite well enough and the not-Moreau surgically adds ears to create the kind of directional hearing bobcats have or tails to help improve balance for long runs like wolves. Maybe it's making a brain enhancement injection from the brains of dead humans that's applied directly to the animals' brains and the surgery in to make them more human so they're not as offensive to the other soldiers. Point being, that there is someone, with a clear reason and purpose, tied directly to the proposed fiction, that makes exactly what you wanted in the first place. The process is probably horrific and painful, acceptance not complete - kind of the supersoldier problem - and their place in society largely undecided, but certainly not good, and, without some kind of serious civil rights discussion, guaranteed to never get better.

I've said it before: I want Prudence to have existed in our past and to have left her legacy of defending love in all its forms. With that comes the oppressive social and religious pressure that drove Prudence to condemn her lover. Beyond that, gunfighters in dusty streets, airships, and government agents in luxury train cars with odd, clockwork and steam-powered gadgets are welcome. I think it's worth talking about the First Nations, the US Army and what frontier forts look like and how they act on the world around them.

Barring the notion that there was an industrial accident that created a horde of very unwelcome anthropomorphic animals, why not the Farmer idea that we suggested would specifically create the kemonomimi you initially mentioned. While I referenced Moreau, I said Avoids the hassle of the absolute horror at such a massive disaster. Creates a level of begrudging acceptance, especially in the frontier areas, and at least a bit of government protection. Isabella quoted it as well. But, I suspect, because it doesn't create a race of integrated, equal and accepted fur-folk, it isn't a solution.

Prudence Lawton's tale can be found here: https://ecchidreams.com/community/topic/9861-anamnesis-justice/

I agree with @IsabellaRose, this has drifted far from the idea that intrigued me. I came for a gritty vision of the expanding colony, the weight of technology and change as it runs against the untamed land. Where it feels we've ended up, there is no room for a nameless gunfighter to to walk into the street, spurs jingling, to face Dr. Loveless and his lightning gun to free the town from Loveless' cruel experiments. I tried to provide a framework to create the specific character morph @Warning was describing that would fit the style of story Isabella had set out, but it has been pointedly ignored. Twice. For the moment, I'll sit back and see what shakes out, but as this is currently described, it is a completely different game.

I don't think that we have to go with the whole package of Dr. Moreau elevating animals. I think there's room for hybridization and "corrective" surgery to create the specific look @Warning is after. The Farmer (not actually a fan of the name, but bear with me a minute) is trying (on behalf of the Army?) to create scouts with better senses like bobcats, the ability to run longer distances like wolves and other improvements to make them better at ferreting out "the savages". That perjorative used, I realize it's reductive and insulting. I don't think our game should be that, but I think that that truth can exist in it as an evil.

The one thing I want is Prudence Lawton's legacy. As for your kemonomimi, (back in my day, we called 'em cat girls) - I think the Dr. Moreau angle is completely legit. I have no issues with yuri, but it raises the question, can an Ashborn Aesthete be a man?

I have a rough character concept to share. One of the things that drew me into this idea was @IsabellaRose's Anamnesis playthrough that created Prudence Lawton, Ashburn,Mother of the Unbound. So, inspired by the Daughters of The Inbound, I see a monk-like character, similar to Kwai Chang Caine from the 70's TV show, Kung Fu. An Ashborn Aesthete (as opposed to the Ashborn) is dedicated to the truth that all love is sacred. They are equal parts Bodhisattva, Zatoichi the Masseur Sufi Dervish and wuxia monk. They carry The Ashborn's love, both platonic and sensual, for all. They are defender, lover, healer and their distinction is Heart as Big as The Sky The details here are still being sorted but it'll be at least mediocre, probably better. The individual character was taken by Comanche as a child and has come to the Daughters of the Unbound later. They "wash" themselves in the ashes of last night's fire to remind them of their rebirth from denial, repression and judgement. That's what I've got so far.

Here are a couple of thoughts for distinctions that have occured to me but I don't have the mechanical understanding to fully dress out: Professional Distinction: Snake Oil This occupies some space between Dr. Jeckyl and Drunken Master, maybe? My thought here is that they have an assortment of elixirs and concoctions that should work, but they never quite know what the result will be. They make a roll, to check how close they get to their intent, and can spend plot points to step up the die. A couple of clarifications before I try to explain myself further, this is definitely requires some time and maybe there's an extra time requirement for each plot point spent to step up the die. It gets weirdly close to an alchemy or laboratory skill and might be better framed that way. It requires some kind of target number for the value of the effect (I think it should be referred to as "rareness of the inventory"). Maybe the inventory die starts at a d4? On a hitch on the inventory roll, is there a stress cost or does it contribute to trouble. Another thought that kind of wiggles around with the intent of the rules, but I think, if Drunken Master is our inspiration, can another player in the scene buy what the effect is (which must be tied to the intended inventory). This also here's close to @DreamsnThings' Pheromone Alchemy, so we may want to pitch or rethink Snake Oil all together. As a fan of Hellraiser and Octave Mirbeau and having seen Crowley mentioned - a Steampunk/Weird West setting anachronistically leads me to DeSade. This Too Is Pleasure This basically allows the character to either endure suffering by seeing the experience as sensual and the ability to provide a new, albeit transgressive, experience. I think this may create a take stress for PP thing. Not sure, but the English woman from The Torture Garden is beginning to tickle my brain. This might also (or be better approached as) create a dangerous kind of sensual curiosity.

It's mostly the same thing as a one-on-one RP. Just there are more people to get inspired by. If you look through any of the games in this club, you'll find this corner of the community is extremely supportive and excited by what everyone else contributes.

If I were asked, I think I'd say: 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7 I think a central location in a larger settlement modeled after someplace like St. Louis, San Francisco or San Antonio might be a natural place to start the Pathways and see what evolves.

And I'd say that "extra bit of meaty fun" is not girl, boobs and hips or no.

I'm able to bow out and spectate if need be or, if @IsabellaRose wants, I can be GM's assistant to keep it to the 8-10 player count.

This is an idea I've been trying to find a home for for a year or more. Perhaps this is the community to adopt it. It's simple, I follow combat sports, including women's Muay Thai - kickboxing with elbows and knees allowed, should anyone not know and/or care to know - and have long thought the story of a fighter trying to reconcile her violent career and romantic life would make a good story. I don't have any particulars beyond that. Boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, I guess - though the scripted nature there removes some of the pressures of truly competitive sport (although the amount of work and multiple bouts a week is an entirely different set of pressures). Reply here if you have questions or ideas. If that's too public for you, PM me.

We use a trust model. Since Miro doesn't offer a die roller that I can see, I suspect @IsabellaRose will have us roll it how we want. Use random.org, a die roller from another site or your phone - hell, get your dice bag out and rattle the bones on the kitchen table. Cortex is fiction forward, it's about creating drama, so the "price of failure" is someone else decides what cool shit happens. But cool shit always happens. Sometimes it's just as much fun to be Tom as Jerry...

Mira is apparently displeased that I use Tor, I think we've some to an understanding, but if they'd try to snoop less, Tor wouldn't be a problem for them.

From a technical standpoint, while I love the idea of pathways, relationship maps and interactive history tools, how are we bringing that to bear in a play by post environment? There's been at least one Microscope game started here, but the nightmare of compiling each turn and formatting it kind of killed it. And relationship maps fit text formatting far worse. This could be handled easily with a VTT, but that forces a synchronous game

Please do. If you don't want to post it here, um - I think I might regret this in the yuri thread - PM me your dick pics?