Illuminated Earth

A world where videos of the supernatural go viral every day.

Latest World Events

Posted by Jayjax, 4 days, 21 hours ago. Permalink

Isaiah Had quite the night

Posted by WyckADoodle73, 1 week ago. Permalink

Snowy Pine Inn saved from bankruptcy

Latest Journals

3 days, 8 hours ago: Orion Stells wrote a Downtime Journal for Old Bones

Doing better

(Translated for the viewer's convenience:)

Dear Ellie

I'm so glad to be in a house again. And Reya's really nice too. Michigan's a much nicer place.

I let her use her new power on me, which gave me a pouch, which wasn't metal this time, and some cool nails.

Though... ever since that, I've been having nightmares, and it's just really hard to go into dark places. I just feel really scared of them. At least with my recent gift I'm no longer wheezing badly, and I heal better too.

Now that I've had a good time and place, I tried to learn how to read and write better. I got a decent amount better, but it still looks messier than most people's.

I'm slowly doing better I guess. It makes me realize how bad I had it back then. Alone and dumb.

Maybe I'll find you again soon.

Sincerely, Orion :)

4 days, 21 hours ago: Orion Stells wrote a Downtime Journal for Search the depths

Stuck

(Translated for the viewer's convenience:)

Dear Ellie

I really hate New York. It might look pretty nice, but it actually sucks to live there.

The last month was a blur, to say the least. So much happened that I just don't remember. I went and got some pretty cool augments from Isaiah, but now I'm stranded in New York because I can't go through metal detectors.

At least I got an ID and Social Security Number, and a phone in my brain too. So it's easier to learn things and do some things the legal way. It's not like I'll be lost exactly, just stuck somewhere with no way home.

Now I'm cold, hungry, and other homeless people keep attacking me. And I can't even make anymore lucky wishbones without my kitchen.

I'm so tired. I wish I never left home.

I miss you so much. I miss mom.

Sincerely, Orion.

6 days, 17 hours ago: Reya Hanis wrote a Downtime Journal for Mountain Resort Extermination

ESCAPE!!

I got a new power after the last contract, and I think it was the most important one yet. I can now become a bat for a few hours. And thank the gods. I managed to get caught as a bat, and they released me from that forsaken place. I'm finally free! Now I am holed up near some town. I don't even know the name of it yet. But that currently doesn't matter. I am free, I am alive. I must come up with some new plans. Find a way to get money and maybe even a new identity. Once I can do that Ill be in a much better spot. I also need to figure out how to meet up with Orion. I'm not too sure he will dislike the new arrangements. I mean, he seems to like killing almost as much as I do. And I will be needing to do a lot of that in the near future.

1 week ago: Reya Hanis wrote a Downtime Journal for Old Bones

Ugh-

So, so much went wrong this month. Its almost unbelievable. I tried breaking into this house and accidentally dropped the window onto the floor. Not the worse thing ever. But some kid ended up noticing. Police got called and after a fight i got caught. Screw them, and everything about that. But somehow the place i was put in is even worse than jail. They have locked me in a mental institution. Everyone here is fucking stupid or equally uncharming. Ive managed to keep a flow of blood from this one guy. He was so easy. But he is very stupid. He got me pregnant. Normally that alone would be bad in a situation like this. But im pretty sure with all the crap they are feeding me that the kid would be ok. And with who the father is.. yea im not taking that chance. Screw that. I need to get out of here.

2 weeks, 1 day ago: Orion Stells wrote a Downtime Journal for To Slay a Pretty Witch

Pushing forward.

(Translated for the viewer's convenience:)

Dear Ellie

After that adventure with the witch, I felt weak. It was a feeling I almost forgot. I really didn't like it. So I've decided I need to get better, stronger. I started running more often and lifting heavy things. Though I had to take a break sometimes because my throat still hurt, which made it harder to breathe. But I kept going. The more I worked, the easier it got. The next thing I knew, I was pushing past limits like it was nothing. I felt... free? Lighter for sure. Life started to just feel more fun. I'm so glad I accepted the Talent's deal back then.

Also next time I go on an adventure, I'm bringing a coat and my backpack. I gotta be more prepared for this stuff.

I kinda look forward to seeing Reya and the others again.

Sincerely, Orion

2 weeks, 2 days ago: Orion Stells wrote a Downtime Journal for Maikendo

Sick no more

(Translated for the viewer's convenience:)

Dear Ellie

For the longest time I've had to deal with feeling sick every now and then after eating stuff. I've normally just had to power through the vomiting and nausea. It took a lot from the time I had on my hands. But, ever since I played that game that came in the mail, I haven't vomited a single time. It took a while to notice but, I was fine for more than a week. It was a relief that whatever was plaguing me was gone. Ever since then I've started to feel... unfulfilled? I just have more time than I know what to do with. I've been so focused on surviving. Now I'm more excited to go on another adventure. I hope to see those other guys again, so we could be friends.

Please write back when you get the chance, I miss you.

Sincerely Orion :)

3 weeks, 5 days ago: Liam King wrote a Downtime Journal for To Slay a Pretty Witch

Father Again

I’ve been spending time with Mimi recently. She obviously knows of her unnatural conception, more as in the fact that I brought her from that fictional world to the real one. She seems fine with it though, I think she’s okay with it anyways. She’s a fairly poor liar, so I’m certain I’d be able to notice. She’s a smart girl, much smarter than myself. I’ve given her a few tours of the area. I’ve shown her all around the city, I even brought her on a trip through Las Vegas, didn’t stop anywhere though. She’s still only 16 and can’t exactly stop anywhere on that sinful pilgrimage just yet. I’ve shown her some basic card games though, she likes them, but mainly blackjack. On account that she doesn’t need to bluff or lie to make it through and instead just needs to play the numbers game. Personally I think the bluffing is part of the fun, but who am I to correct her. At the end of the day, I’m glad to be a father again, it reminds me of how much I cared about my previous children before that witch took them away from me.

1 year, 1 month ago: Scott Florence wrote a Downtime Journal for Ten

Is This What A Gift Is?

I discovered something very interesting yesterday. My ankle had healed more by then and I went out on a jog, just to get back some of my speed and get ready for the next time one of these contracts happen. I began to get tired, but I felt like there was some small part of me waiting to be let out. I focused on it, and I blacked out for a few moments, but when I came to, I found myself in some larger furred wolf-like form. My hands got larger and were tipped with sharp claws, I felt taller, and I had way more energy than normal. Even better yet, I was still fully in control of my actions, after the fact however, my body hurt a good bit. I immediately broke out into a full-bore sprint; I think I ran about 800 or so feet. Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting another contract, it'll give me another chance to try and use the phone. I'm also interested to see the others' reactions on my next contract.

Latest Completed Contracts

16 Contracts have been run in this Playgroup

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Illuminated Earth is a twisted reflection of the modern world where the advent of smartphones and the internet confirmed the existence of the supernatural instead of disproving it. Here, witch hunts have merit. Billionaires and Senators employ paranormal advisors and bodyguards, and everyone knows. Charlatans become pop culture icons, and each revelation inspires a new cult. The world is changing. The secret societies that pull humanity's strings scramble to adapt.

Now's a good time to move up.

House Rules

Contractors from Illuminated Earth Are NOT portable, and may NOT visit other Playgroups to participate in Contracts.
Illuminated Earth grants 6 Experience points to GMs who achieve the Golden Ratio.
  • Supernatural Powers: All non-mastery, non-concealed Powers must be obviously supernatural when activated or grant a mutation that marks the wielder as supernatural or bizarre if discovered.

Full Setting Description

They named that time The Illumination, and it was by the flash of a camera phone.

 

The year was 2004. Until that point the Earth was as we had always known her. We filled her cruel vastness with legends, superstitions, and rumors. Warlocks, monsters, and gods lurked on the edge of the collective consciousness, always a possibility but never more. We lacked evidence. That evidence came as humanity filled its pockets with technology equipped to capture and transmit.

 

An iPhone found on High School senior Nate Klienman’s mangled corpse held a video of his girlfriend’s bone-snapping transformation into a monstrous wolf creature. A Brazilian widow documented a series of conversations with the misty figure of her late husband. A Chinese fishing boat caught a mermaid in a net and put it on display in the Beijing aquarium.

 

Each week brought a new revelation that we were not alone. Superstitions reversed their slow death overnight. Salem held their first witch trial in a century. The jury rendered a verdict of “guilty on all charges” and sentenced Maxibelle Horux to death. A week after her lethal injection, half the jury died from a tainted batch of flu vaccine. A fearful, populist movement arose to rid humanity of the creatures lurking in its ranks. Suspects are forcibly subjected to bizarre tests of their humanity, and the results are often open to interpretation. A mob’s justice is swift.

 

Yet the paranormal is not merely relegated to a persecuted class. Where some see monsters, some see sentience, and others see opportunity. If a vampire can sustain themselves on cloned blood and work the graveyard shift, why not legalize and tax? Politicians and Aristocrats employ odd-looking individuals as "advisors" or "protection." Entertainment magazines publish revelations every week about which celebrities shed their human skins at home. Charlatans of all stripes, from palmistry mediums to televangelists, have flourished despite the risks. The treatment of the paranormal varies from place to place, person to person.

 

Long have cabals, cults, and secret societies thrived in the shadows. Their roots run deeply through humanity’s oldest systems of power. Machinations are challenged, and sleeping dangers awaken. The world is changing, forcing long-dormant powers into desperate action. And it is in the midst of this great period of change that The Powers That Be have once again turned their attention to the blue marble. For the first time in two hundred years, Harbingers approach worthy individuals with an offer they won't refuse.

The Games have returned, and a new generation of Contractors are being forged.

World Events

Posted by Jayjax, 4 days, 21 hours ago. Permalink

Isaiah Had quite the night

Posted by WyckADoodle73, 1 week ago. Permalink

Snowy Pine Inn saved from bankruptcy

Posted by IROtheATLAS26, 1 week, 4 days ago. Permalink

New Exhibit Stolen!

The brand new dinosaur exhibit in the Joseph Argyle museum has been vandalized! In a mysterious series of events, the guards and janitor on duty that night were found unconscious. The velociraptor bones from the main exhibit were missing in morning and the camera footage of it was entirely wiped. Additionally, the neanderthal exhibit was entirely vandalized, with the statues having been brutally shot apart in the middle of the museum. 

Orion Stells made a Move (Jayjax GMed) 1 week, 5 days ago. View Move

Orion stranded in New York!

Orion has met with Isaiah and gotten a few nice upgrades, but now is stuck with no easy way home. 

Posted by Sadgrimm, 4 weeks ago. Permalink

Party returns after slaying the pretty witch

View all World Events