The plot:

The Battlespire was for a long time the training ground for battlemages. It's located between the realm of Oblivion and The mortal realm. The academy was, however, invaded from Oblivion by Mehrunes Dagon. The events of those days are long gone, but the aftermath was that the Battlespire was abandoned and plundered... It was empty for hundreds upon hundreds of years... Or so it was believed. An unknown evil dwells within the spire, awakened by an unknown force for an unknown purpose. The long abandoned Spire floats between realities and the gates leading to it were closed many lifetimes ago. The knowledge of the spire was lost during the years to come and soon there were scattered amount of scholars who even knew it of its existence. None of those who know what the Spire is, know of the evil within the Spire and that this very evil is attempting to open the gates back to Nirn. The gates opened all over Nirn, some in caves and some even in cities. The rumor of these gates quickly spread across Tamriel. The scholar-mages managed to close the gates in all cities, but the other gates are now scattered and hidden around Tamriel, in the murky swamp-lands of Blackmarsh, the warm deserts of Elsweyr, the snowy mountains of Skyrim, the deep forests of Vvalendwood, the ancient Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil, the magical and mysterious lands of Summerset Isles and the destroyed wastelands of Morrowind... Adventurers from all across Tamriel heard of these gates and tempted by the treasures and knowledge within these gates, they seek them out. Some stumble upon them by accident or enter them without realizing it was a gate. The gates blend with the surrounding area... Any door-way might be a gate... Any hole in the ground may be a gate...
The evil that dwells within the mutilated and cursed ruins of the Battlespire gathers adventurers and arranges a more brutal and terrifying hunt than any adventurers could've imagined where only one will survive the traps and challenges... You will not survive... Welcome to the Battlespire!




Before anything else:

This idea was may sound similar to a recent RP here that was purely about combat. An arena type-dungeon crawler where your character wasn't expected to survive. However, this RP is different as it attempts to truly capture that survival and horror aspect, instead of the pure combat that the other RP focused on. If you don't know which RP I'm talking about, don't worry, because this isn't going to be like it so it doesn't matter if you know what I was talking about!
Edit: I'm unsure what is going on in the "Dawn of the dead"-RP, but this is definitely going to be different than that!




The general idea:

You may have heard of battlespire, the spin-off elder scrolls game. Now, all you need to know about it was that it was a sealed dungeon-tower, sort of an arena, where those who entered then tried to survive and find their way out. (This RP Battlespire is not going to be like the one in the spin-off game that was 100% combat, but more of survival / horror). The concept is very similar to that of the "SAW" series, if I've understood it correctly. Basically, get a bunch of guys into a sealed area filled with traps and choices they can make and see if they survive.



A bit more specific idea:

The specific idea of this RP is to create a horror-survival atmosphere, by putting a number (anything from 12 to 16) players and their characters into this Battlespire. Upon your journey through this Spire you will encounter traps, puzzles and challenges to overcome. One of you will die and leave the RP in most of these scenarios. If you're still reading when you've come this far, let me get this straight: You aren't expected to survive this RP! Only through pure luck will you be able to do so. "What then is the point of this?", you may be wondering. "Why should I be interested?" Perhaps the experience will be something different from the normal? Perhaps the writing on the side and the feel of true danger will make this RP a whole lot more serious than others? I don't know if you want that, but to me it sounds interesting. That is why I made this thread. An idea thread. Give feedback on this.



If you're still reading:

I'll paint a scenario here to make it slightly easier to understand what I'm trying to make this Battlespire into:
Threecharacters enter a room. There's three doors. One blue, one red, one green. In the last room there was a green orb, but otherwise the room was empty. The three characters (controlled by the unknowing players that would be three of you) must now choose their path. Without knowing if the green orb hint was a trap or a warning. Psycological test, which will you choose? The GM behind this knows the answer, you do not. Let's say that it was in fact the green door that will let you live, while the two others give the player an early grave. Those who entered the green door move on to the next area.

This may seem very silly and boringly basic, which it also is, because it was an example. In reality, there will be emotionally and anolytically filled RP discussions to read. The tension between the characters could build to be friendly "Let's survive this together, by all means!" or infected "If pushing down that guy will save my skin, I won't hesitate to do it!" The relationship between characters will be put to a test in this crazy RP.

The RP will be filled with puzzles. Can you answer the question correctly? Can you use the clues given to find out which lever you should pull, which pressure plat you should stand on and which path you should go? Is it safe to drink the wine in the left goblet, or the right? Perhaps I must drink both! Or.. Perhaps both of them are poison! Sometimes, two players may find themselves alone, swords dropping down from the ceiling into their unarmed hands. What does this mean? There's no exit... Must I kill the other guy to survive!?

Most of these are, of course, pure luck events. Some, like the puzzle, actually test some trivial problem solving skills. The battle-scenario is purely looking at the circumstance and the char-sheets to determine who wins. But at all times, all times no matter which of these situations is encountered, will you be RPing a character and writing posts about how they feel, what they think, what they see and what they do. It's not going to be boring and rapid slaughter one-by-one of them. It'll be an emotional survival experience if those who joined the RP can manage to do it. So, the success of this RP is in the hands of the players. The GM only keeps the unsure atmosphere in place, by knowing everything about every challenge, while the rest must try to figure out what to do.



What you shouldn't expect from this RP:

You shouldn't expect this to be a normal RP. Instead, it's all about survivng ridiculously unfair situation, be it by luck or the building of a sly character. (also luck, since you can't know in which order each trait will be needed. Further about traits in the next chapter). You should, however, be prepared for your characters death when you enter this. Since only one of the players who join this RP will survive out of the Battlespire alive, the chances that it's your character are nearly zero. The point is that your should enjoy the experience as a whole and help build up the atmosphere even when you know your character is about to die.



I mentioned traits (traits = skills), didn't I? What do you mean with that?

Basically what I'm talking about is a very different way of building your character. Instead of going with a traditional char-sheet, this one will have some extra features. Here's the general look of it:

Name: A name is obviously needed.
Age, Race, Gender, Height, Appearance: Normally, races have specific bonuses such as added resistance to frost or extra magicka, but those doesn't matter. All of there five are just customization. How does your character look like?
Clothing: Notice how I have no armor page here? That's right, you'll all be using pretty much the same outfit of worn clothing in this RP. Customize the color and look all you want, but it ain't going to protect you against anything. No enchantments, obviously.
Background: How did they end up in the spire? Perhaps they have a wife at home they want to see again? Flesh out the background to add atmosphere and emotions.

Traits / Skills: There's no weapons or spells list in this char-sheet, which you're most likely confused of. Well, due to the nature of this RP, you won't be given any. You may be given a weapon at some point, but it'll most likely disintegrate in your hands once the scene is over. Instead of armor, weapons, regular skills and spells, we are going to use the system I'm about to reveal below:

You will get 13 points to spend on these four traits, each having advatages in different situations.

Agility: If two confused players have one sword in between themselves, but neither have it in their hands, the agility will determine who will grab the sword. Obviously, if you don't want your character to grab the sword at all, then you don't do it. A scenario may be needed to explain:
A bosmer thief and a big nord are alone in a room, both two feet from a table with an enchanted dagger. One of the won't leave the room alive. But who is it? The natural thought is that, the dagger is indeed the way out of this trap, by killing the other one. However, the much faster bosmer might think something isn't quite right here. All choices of players go through PM's, so the bosmer player tells the GM "I'm not going to attempt to grab the sword." This means that if the nord player said through a PM that he wanted to grab the sword, he does so, since he doesn't need to pass an agility check against the bosmer. If both say they want to grab it, the bosmer gets it. However, the dagger might've bene enchanted with a on-touch kill effect, killing the one who grabbed it. But, if may as well give you the chance to kill the other player and move further... You never know.

Strength: Two players must push the other player down from a block to prevent their own death. Strength measures who walks out victorious. Again, it may be as twisted that the one who falls down is in fact the survivor, while the one who didn't fall down is pierced by a volley of arrows or electrical magic. Again, the choice is obviously the players. Maybe you don't want to push the other down? Perhaps this is just a silly test, that if neither of us is pushed down, we'll both move forward? You never know. Through PM's you control your characters actions. You may see a pattern here of what the traits are for. They test who succeeds if both players do the same action, and depending on the action different traits are tested.

Knowledge: Came to a particularily tough arcane puzzle with no way possible for regular humans to understand what to do? Knowledge lets you beat another player in a mind-game. The magical orb at the far end of the room needs to be filled with positive energy, your energy. While the other player tries to fill it with his positive energy, which to you is negative energy. The player with the msot knowledge will dominate the challenge. But perhaps it's a trap? Maybe my soul will be trapped if I fill it with my energy? Just say the word in a PM and your character never even tried to fill it!

Luck: But what happens if there's a tie! We both have 4 points of knowledge... Well, who of you is the most lucky bastard? Spending points directly onto this trait may save your life... but it may as well be waisted points... Sometimes a random falling spike may hit the unlucky...



A little edit:
One thing I wanted to add about the char-sheet and traits: When describing how your character looks, be realistic about the traits. Meaning, your characters appearence should be able to be described by his biggest trait. How big that trait is won't be revealed, but this will give an idea of what kind of characters the other might have; without being able to 100% surely know what they can do. Luck doesn't show in the way you look though, meaning if luck is your highest trait then the second highest is the one your character looks like. If two traits are in a tie, you can choose which one your character looks like.
For example, no super muscular huge orcs ex-warriors who have extremely high knowledge. Instead, their strength should be their highest trait.
No old, thin and skinny characters who have high strength. Instead, knowledge or perhaps even luck should be their highest trait.

In addition, it's possible to "level up" in this RP by finding some of that hidden knowledge inside the Battlespire. This may range from a +1 luck boost to a +2 knowledge and +1 strenght boost, to a′-1 to luck curse and a weakening -2 to your strength. It may be rewarding to open those random chests or read one of the ancient tomes inside there... But it may as well be the last thing you do.





Posting a sheet:

Unlike normal RPs, don't post you full char sheet into the OOC and Sign-Up thread. Instead, the GM will keep track of the full char-sheets. What you should post is the Basic information: Name, age, race, gender, height, appearence, background and clothing. The full char-sheet with your spent trait-points you will post to the GM. This way, those who arrive later in the RP can't look at the other players traits and calculate a sly sheet that wins all of them. Remember, only 13 points may be given to the four traits. 13 to give you some good luck on your way into the battlespire...




*** *** ***

As you see here, this is very different from other RPs. Instead of freedom, this is more like a pen and paper game. Different might be good thought? I don't know. That is why I created this thread, in order to find out what you guys think! It's 1 AM right now and I'm 100% sure I left something unclear... So please, ask questions, give feedback and tell me what you think! (This is the idea thread, don't post any actual char-sheets here. You may, however, post an example sheet if you like, especially if you are unsure if "this" is allowed. ("this" being a thing in the char-sheet I didn't say anything about). The fact that everything runs through the GM means that he/she could move things along to let some specfic character win... But that's not the point. You'll just have to trust that the GM doesn't troll with his power and put up challenges that will always mean someone specific wins them. This trust is much similar to the one in the forum game "Werewolf" in the community discussion.





Welcome to the Battlespire!

Good idea but the whole 'Randomness' is not fun for me. May be so for others because this would look fricking awesome otherwise.

I like this idea. I'm in.

Sounds interesting. A more competitive kind of RPing I guess. Small question: Can a player that just had his character killed, start over with a new one? Or are sign ups closed after it starts so you can have a conclusion with one winner?

Cool idea. Time to do some research on Battlespire.

Sounds fun, I'm interested. One question, can you further explain why our characters want or need to go into the Battlespire?

Glad to see at least someone is interested! Dont' research on the Battlespire, in reality I don't even know anything about it. It's just a similar idea to that of the spin-off game, from how I've understood it.

I can understand this, but then again that is what makes this RP different. There's some power in you, the player when a puzzle needs to be tackled. And there's some power in the way you build up your character as well. But mostly it's supposed to be random. In the end of the Battlespire, if you were the survivor, you'll truly feel like you barely survived it. Basically, I want to capture the hopeless feel of uncertainty in every single challenge the Battlespire extends.

I was thinking it'd be a closed sign-up. Once enough players are in, it begins, and the doors to the battlespire are shut close. This means no new characters will be accepted once it starts.

Your character obviously doesn't want to end up in the Battlespire. It's a hell. You won't survive it. How your character did end up there is up to you as a writer, but it was most likely an accident. However, adventurers would naturally arrive to the Battlespire in search for power and knowledge. A hunter may have taken shelter inside the huge maze-tower of Battlespire from a storm, only to find out they can't find their way out. Or perhaps the ancient magic found inside the tower made you believe it was a farmhouse from a distance, but when you opened the door and stepped inside, it turned out to be anything but...



One thing I wanted to add about the char-sheet and traits: When describing how your character looks, be realistic about the traits. Meaning, your characters appearence should be able to be described by his biggest trait. How big that trait is won't be revealed, but this will give an idea of what kind of characters the other might have; without being able to 100% surely know what they can do. Luck doesn't show in the way you look though, meaning if luck is your highest trait then the second highest is the one your character looks like. If two traits are in a tie, you can choose which one your character looks like.
For example, no super muscular huge orcs ex-warriors who have extremely high knowledge. Instead, their strength should be their highest trait.
No old, thin and skinny characters who have high strength. Instead, knowledge or perhaps even luck should be their highest trait.

In addition, it's possible to "level up" in this RP by finding some of that hidden knowledge inside the Battlespire. This may range from a +1 luck boost to a +2 knowledge and +1 strenght boost, to a′-1 to luck curse and a weakening -2 to your strength. It may be rewarding to open those random chests or read one of the ancient tomes inside there... But it may as well be the last thing you do.







Edit: Is there anything unclear about what the goal is, or unclear anything else?

I find myself tempted, but I'm already working on an Rp that I plan to start soon, so i'll probably have to pass

This section is positively glowing wtih activity! So many RP's, left and right.

Question, how many will enter this hell and will we all be grouped together or go through our hellls independently?

I'm separating you into groups. For example, if 16 join then there will be 4 groups of 4. Those go through a different chellenge combination than the other teams. Eventually the groups will begin to meet eachother when a number of them have been eliminated. I'm thinking of having all players begin in the same room though, so that you get to know eachother when you still don't know what is going to happen. Then, when you go separate ways the deaths will begin.


I added a short plot up there to give some meat on the bones of this RP idea.



I'm looking for ideas of what interesting challenges could be and such, so feel free to voice your thoughts and ideas. I may not implement it 100% like you say it, because it still needs to be random, but all ideas are welcome!

Note: Players aren't allowed to PM with eachother about this RP. Everything will happen in the RP-thread or go through the GM. For example, you may not tell eachother what kind of character traits you selected or what choice you'll do next. Everything is going to happen in the RP-Thread. It's adviceable to not reveal your true traits to anyone, especially since your appearence will already give hint at which your strongest trait is. (exactly how strong it is in comparison to your other traits will be unknwon to everyone). You can lie and manipulate in the RP thread as much as you want, or tell the truth, but that'll most likely be a disadvatage to you.

I'm in but I'm out of town this weekend. Ill make a cs on Sunday night or Monday.

We aren't there yet though. This isn't the sign-up thread This is the idea thread. I need ideas from all you guys for some interesting challenges and puzzles. I have four pages written (hand written, huge letters hehe), but they are all just generic boring stuff

And SonOfSithis, you read that part about the char-sheet not being 100% revealed in the sign-up thread? You'll PM it to me and I'll hide the traits when I post it in the accepted char-sheets list.

I got that. Ill throw some ideas out as well.

well in this case I can foresee the obligatory guessing game based on a riddle. EX: four objects, one of which will be the way forward, and the others will kill the player. perhaps taking the object to a sort of offering stone will signify a choice. SAW-esque tests of character, IEtrapped NPC or player has the way forward, and you can try to free them and hope they'll help you or let them die and take the "key" for yourself. These are the kinds of things you're going to be doing with this rp, correct?

Exactly. This helped a lot to set my brain in motion. (I've never seen a single SAW film though, that's why I need some ideas like this one!)

And then the key kills you because screw you, jerk

This looks like a pretty fun and definitely unique concept. I think I might take a stab at it when this goes up.

Hehe, indeed. There's millions of possibilities. Note: If we don't get enough players, then this will be a boringly short RP... Because the length is pretty mcuh determined by how many players there is. 16 would be an ideal number, but 12 is fine as well.

I've created a few TES-based riddles to be used in the RP. Some of the are ridiculously easy, so I'll use two or three of them at the same time in order to truly see a difference. On these Riddles, your characters "Knowledge" won't help. It's all in the answer you send in a PM.

Update: I've deliberately let the plot-part be unspecific. "An unknown evil.". I don't want to spoil the story of who / what he /she / it is.


Edit: As I said earlier, I'm looking for a bunch of ideas that'll flesh this RP out. I'll be putting up a sign-up thread once I think I have everything planned read for it to begin and then we'll just wait for enough players to join.

The battlespire in the game Battlespire was a training facility for battlemages. They can function like airships and literally travel anywhere, even to space. The Battlespire program was part of an Imperial program to initially begin moon colonization, hence Battlespire Armadas. The one from the game was the last one in commission. It seems with this RP though, that another one has been found, an Arena that was designed to pit condemned men against each other to find worthy fighters. What mysteries will be found as the explorers search this abandoned facility? Who will live? Who will die?

Actually... I think I will join this despite already being in my RP and Valton I actually like the first couple SAW movies, and this is giving off that vibe.

Looks interesting. Plan to join when CS comes. Never saw SAW* myself. Heard about it, but not enough to actually help.

Unless you have Pig Headed men. That's all the SAW I know.

Now....to come up with a character I can let die!**

*Puns!
**I'll get attached to the character no matter what. :<

It is the very same ruined battlespire as the one in the game "Battlespire". What the current actual state of the battlespire in TES lore is, I do not know. But in this fanfic, it was abandoned since the time of its destruction, only to open up gates to tamriel once again. I'm working on a story for this, but I also need enough different challenges and test-rooms in this to accompany the plot-line.

Back to the story-brewing for me. Note: Any random ideas you may have, post them! They'll give more than that one idea to me when I read them. Any ideas are welcome


I'm surprised that no-one has asked this.. But what happens if the players, when inside a test-chamber, don't do anything? They just sit there instead! Well, I hope ít doesn't happen, but it is indeed a valid choice you can make. Sometimes, not doing anything at all may be the way to survive. However, if that wasn't the case and the players stand idly there... They will eventually starve to death, enough to motivate them to go further. Plus, the room could begin to be filled with poisonous gas... Meaning you must clear out of the room quite fast or else everyone in it will die!

Another note: When there's a situation in front of you, you can talk about it in the RP-thread between your characters, or even in the OOC-thread. If a conclusion is made, then testing the traits won't even be needed. However, if a conclusion isn't made, then you PM what you want your character to do (for example, "I want to take the green gem. Then, if that fails, give me the red one. if that fails, give me the blue one.") These PM's result is determined by the traits, depending on the situation.


Edit: I have the plot figured out now. The only thing I need to do is write a few pages of text in a word-document, as well as get a few more ideas of the challenges... Then I'll open a sign-up and OOC-thread

I have a question for anyone interested in this: How much should the traits matter? Do you want 90% of the tests/challenges to be determined by traits? Or is it OK for the 50% I've been thinking?

Do you mean 50% traits and 50% our choices, then I say yes to that. I think from a rp'ing standpoint, that makes the most sense. If you meant 50/50in another way, then please disregard my ignorance.