Dark Mirror

A world not for the faint of heart. Gothic-Punk Horror Setting.

Latest Journals

2 years, 5 months ago: Nikki wrote a Downtime Journal for Fox Hunt

Fox Hunt II

*click*

(sounds of traffic)

so I'm in New York. or Manhattan I guess. I just call it all New York but apparently people around here get pissy if you refer to the whole fuckin city as New York. (mocking voice) "no, it's the Bronx, no it's Queens" I'm from LA and and most people in like, Santa Monica, are happy as pigs in shit if you call their town LA. not sure what these people's problem is.

(honk followed by yelling)

so I'm doing publicity shit for the new album. and why the fuck I gotta do it here, I dunno. Bert's pretty good about not making me move around too much these days. he's saavy to my situation and knows it can be pretty taxing to be, well, ME for extended periods. I did learn a cool new thing though. I'll have to try it out later when I have more time. it oughta be pretty useful considering these gigs can get pretty emotionally taxing at times. nothing like chilling out and having a jam session, play some familiar tunes and get your head on straight. next best thing to smack.

(unrecognizable yelling in the background)

(yelling away from the mic) Hey! glad you're back too! buy the new album!

but yeah. keeping it pretty DL these days. trying not to mix with a lot of the people I used to fuck with. the story about drying out in turkmenistan or wherever the fuck Bernie told the press I was is doing a good job at keeping the hounds at bay. besides, most of those people are either dead or out of the game now. fifteen years is longer than most junkies have once they start poppin veins. but still, keeping my distance with everyone. only a matter of time before people who knew my face better than I do realize I haven't aged a fuckin day since then. might need to keep a makeup artist or something on retainer. draw in some worry lines or something. that's a good fuckin idea. good job, me. note to bernie's assistant, whothefuckever, find me a makeup artist who can keep their mouth shut.

(cell phone ringing)

speaking of Bert, guess I need to take this. until next time.

*click*

2 years, 7 months ago: Viper wrote a Downtime Journal for Passing the Hours

Containment

I am contained. The foundation said I broke a lot of rules, and the crocodile that the body hopper let free wasn't normal. It destroyed everything in its path. I hurt a lot of people with one small decision. Killed them even... I am... sad does not describe it. Angry? Confused? Alone... All of these and more. I did a horible thing, and now I must repent. A man calling himself Dr. Mauntak jr. claimed to be my "keeper". He called it "cross testing", and he was going to put me in a room with other weird things anomolies, and see how I reacted to to them. The first room had a table with a cage on it and a rabbit, and it seemed scared of me, so I sat and let it get close to me and sniff my hand, but it turned out to be evil, and it bit my finger off. I killed it, and a few seconds later, two more appeared in the middle of the room. I killed them, then thinking quickly, I closed the cage and put it in the place they kept coming from, so that now when they poofed real, they were trapped in the cage. The speaker came on and said I had passed, and guys with guns came to take the rabbit away, and then left me in the room with three beadles. They seemed harmless enough, but they turned into me, and I was removed from the room. I have a feeling this won't be my last doing this.

2 years, 8 months ago: Arthur Annuler wrote a Downtime Journal for Sanctuary

Free Time

Arthur was barely out a few days when the foundation picked him up. It didn't really matter, those few days gave him time to get a few letters out, tell his family that he was ok, and he left out enough details that he hoped the foundation wouldn't get rid of them. he missed his parents, but he was an anomaly, and that meant the foundation would never let him go. His only chance was if he did enough jobs, got strong enough to teleport without line of sight, or to summon a tentacle to break down his cells walls, or anything that let him out of the foundations walls. He felt so alone, he barely saw anyone these days, opening his cell apparently constituted a 'security risk', so all his conversations for the past month before that job had been through a speaker hidden in the walls. He wondered how D was doing, the lizard man the closest thing he had to a friend in the Foundation, but he didn't really want anyone he actually liked to be stuck inside the foundation with them. Thinking of that, hopefully Viper wouldn't get caught by them. Arthur was pretty sure Mildred was another 'asset', and she was oddly keen on the foundation for some reeason. Maybe naivete, maybe she was just garden variety crazy, or maybe the foundation was nicer to girls, he couldn't say yet, but he doubted Viper would find his new career as positive as Mildred seemed convinced it was.

2 years, 8 months ago: Jules wrote a Downtime Journal for Passing the Hours

Now things are rolling

Now that the crew has been assembled it is time to make some real money. We started with pidgen forge and we needed to case a few houses. These were easy enough some of these folks are loaded. After some time we were able to amass a fortune. This really changed the groups perspective on out little adventure. Now that we are able to move the art work out and about I can live a better life.

Right now I live on a farm. Now I can live where ever I want I a skyrise a utopia. Money is not longer an issue. Now I dont have to live in van unless I want to. This is a better day for me. I spend some time trying to get an idea of my new world and what I want. The first thing Ithink about is getting a mansion that is amazing where I can house my things and continue my activites as they were. My next thing is making sure that we have a realy grave for Alexandra and a place to morn her loss. This was a sad thing and I truly did not need this now.

 

My next important thing is to get a place for Gwell she needs open spaces and a place to be herself my bag is stuffy and hard to breather for her. I wanted a large open space that she could play and not feel tied down to jsut one place. This would be better for all of us.

2 years, 8 months ago: Grace Cyanide wrote a Downtime Journal for Passing the Hours

Comatose, and the Guy from the Bus

Dear Diary,

 

Comatoes, or commatose, or comatose? That’s what Mister Doc said I was. I think I may have woken up and fallen back asleep. I don’t remember much… Horatio said he watched over us when he could; there were some points where I saw empty rooms, sometimes there were people there. I remember a man seeing me wake up once, walking towards me, but I fell asleep again before he got there. There were needles in my arms, the little bags and the wires like the ivys on Grandma last year. I was… in a hospital dress, and I didn’t see that it was blue until I woke up completely.

 

When I did, I got my clothes and my stuff from a locker. I was blurry for the most part, for awhile, but I WAS walking. I met up with Mister Doc, and we needed to get to London, which I think is near England. Buuut Mister Doc and I can’t really get anywhere on planes, can’t walk or drive there- but I had this card from that guy on the bus with the fair game, remember? The bussiness card. The one that says The Talent. We found a phone and we called him. He sounded all surprised we did, but we explained and he was really helpful- he brought us to London for free, said he wouldn’t bring us back, but I mean, that’s fine? Probably a lot better for me since nobody knows me there, and I think London is maybe bigger.

Latest Completed Contracts

18 Contracts have been run in this Playgroup
2 years, 9 months ago: Strazhari ran Fox Hunt
2 years, 10 months ago: Strazhari ran U-666
2 years, 10 months ago: Strazhari ran The Demon Cabinet of Mr Long
2 years, 10 months ago: Strazhari ran Passing the Hours
2 years, 11 months ago: Strazhari ran The Demon Cabinet of Mr Long
2 years, 11 months ago: Strazhari ran Head Count
2 years, 11 months ago: Strazhari ran Wire Mothers
2 years, 11 months ago: Strazhari ran The High Cost of Living
3 years ago: Strazhari ran Head Count
3 years ago: Strazhari ran Sanctuary

Curious about joining Dark Mirror?

My Horror Cell, almost the antithesis of "The Illumination."

Players are encouraged to read the description before making a Character.

Dark Mirror was created by Strazhari 3 years, 1 month ago

Dark Mirror has no members and is closed.

Dark Mirror has no members and is closed.

The Dark Mirror resembles our own world on the surface, except for one key difference: Radio Waves of any kind fail to penetrate the stratosphere. This small yet crucial difference means a world without radio, without radar, without cellular phones. It is a world where people fear to take flights, as many disappear never to be seen again. Xenophobia rules as nations lack clear means of communication.

It is a Horror setting, where the Supernatural is certainly known by some, but the lack of communication implicit in the setting makes putting a finger on what that means difficult at best. It certainly has it's own Artifacts, that function separately from powers if you are brave enough to wield them.

House Rules

Contractors from Dark Mirror Are portable, and may play in Contracts in other Playgroups.
Dark Mirror grants 6 Experience points to GMs who achieve the Golden Ratio.

Approval: All Restricted Assets MUST be approved by me before a Character is permitted to play. A Contractor that is deemed unsuitable to the setting will not be allowed to participate. As always, I reserve the right to disallow or even ban Characters or Players without warning or reason given

Characters: Contractors will flatly be denied residence in this (or Netherworld) settings if they cannot explain how & why they have Powers. "Gifts lol" is NOT good enough. A character should have some narrative about what made them interesting to the Harbingers in the first place.

Dread: Dread is my own House Rule that applies in my games alone. Essentially, if I deem a Player speaking out of turn or otherwise being disruptive, they will get ONE (1) warning. After that they will take Cumulative levels of Mind Damage for each occurrence, as the inescapable grasp of death closes around their throats, leaving them blithering idiots.

No Spectators: You will not be permitted to play in Netherworld games if you have played in 7+ games but not yet run one (any World, Side Games count if verified). This number "resets" to 0 every time you run a game. An exception will be made in the event a given PC has filled out ALL of their Game Journals & Downtime reports.

Haunts: A Haunt is similar to a Trauma or Battle Scar, in that is is a self-contained Supernatural effect that you can be "contaminated" with when visiting Haunted places. The severity of a Haunt varies, from merely annoying to potentially lethal. Haunts apply fully in all Netherworld Compatible settings

 

 

Full Setting Description

This is a Horror setting. Players entering this setting should be prepared for harsh realities with no concern given to how there Contractors feel about it. If you have a concern regarding potential disturbing content, contact me before game & ask.

This setting is Netherworld Compatible

 

The Dark Mirror resembles our own world on the surface, except for one key difference: Radio Waves of any kind fail to penetrate the stratosphere. This small yet crucial difference means a world without radio, without radar, without cellular phones. It is a world where people fear to take flights, as many disappear never to be seen again. Xenophobia rules as nations lack clear means of communication.

It is a place where light struggles against encroaching darkness, pollution & acid rain choke what light does make itself known. The rich & powerful rule from mighty gothic edifices towering over trash strewn, graffiti covered alleys. The wilderness is a savage place, with generations cut off from contact, grown strange in isolation. The crumbling highways are hedged in by looming impenetrable forests. These are places of savage desperation & ancient secrets.

Culturally the world resembles a modern era that never was. Media comes from massive corporate & state conglomerates, brought by cable terminals. Underground journalists & conspiracy theorists fight to reveal secrets to an uncaring populace. Power is frequently lost, plunging whole regions in darkness for days on end. Revolution is frequent, & crushed with extreme brutality. Technology is both a bit archaic & extremely advanced. Isolated enclaves hold the secrets of advanced technology closely & guard such jealously. The average person dresses warmly. Hats are common, as well as sturdy umbrellas for Acid Rain. The working class has a tired, 1940's look about them, with grey or dull brown coats to match their drudging lives. The rebellious underground is much more colorful, akin to the Punk scene of the early 80"s...wild hair, piercings, tattoos...a culture built from & idealizing the trash in which it dwells. Life is short for both working class & punk dregs, with only the wealthy & powerful enjoying long lives.

Magic, as it is known, is both everywhere & nowhere. People fear the Evil Eye, the Mortal Curse or the Haunted House. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who has seen these things. You will not find bands of Werewolves, or clans of Vampires. You will find multiple evil souls who could be *called* Vampires or Werewolves, due to obscene powers they have invoked & terrible sacrifices they have paid...but each would be unique, with little to nothing in common. Some rare places even teach the "Dark Arts." Creatures of pure spirit swim through the stratosphere, invisible to us, feeding off our joys & sorrows, & then our souls upon death. In doing so, they come to know us, & mimic our worst fears & hearts desires...they have many names, but most in the know call them The Nephilim.

Beware, not all is as it seems. Those who would disrupt the tenuous status quo would be wise to vanish quickly: the Police of the world are hardened brutes, more Tactical Squad than Peacekeeper. The Contracts exist here, largely out of sight. The last Harbinger from this place fell in a pitched battle with the cabal of Veteran Chosen he created: That was over a 100 years ago...only now, in the new millenium, has the Path to Ascenscion opened once again.