OOC: Don't Rest Your Head (Interest?)

[Ravenloft]

The following is the introduction to the Indie RPG, Don't Rest Your Head, by Fred Hicks


You can’t sleep. It started like that for all of us, back when we were garden variety insomniacs.
Maybe you had nightmares – gods know we all do now – or maybe you just had problems that wouldn’t let you get a good night’s rest. Hell – maybe you were just over-caffeinated. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it was, eventually you got to a point where sleep became a choice, rather than a mandate … and then it just dropped off the list.
And then, and only then, something clicked.
That’s when you started noticing the extras. An extra door here or there. An extra window looking out onto a city packed with surplus buildings, hodgepodge towers standing shoulder to shoulder, roofs angling into one another. Clocks chiming the thirteenth hour and unfamiliar stars twinkling in the too-clear sky. Streets and alleys that weren’t there before, leading to late-night markets that sold things like laughter and indecision.
When you took a long walk down the streets of the Mad City, you stopped being a Sleeper and started being Awake.
But that click you heard wasn’t from the secret world snapping into place. It was the sound of the Nightmares flicking off the safety and pointing a gun at your head. When you crossed over you became a target. They can smell you now, if they get close enough. The Paper Boys are closing in, and you’d better pray you don’t become a headline.
You’re chum in the water, my friend, and it’s time you got ready for it – before the clock chimes thirteen again. You’re going to get tired, more tired than you ever have before, but mark my words: sleep isn’t just off the list now, it’s an outright enemy that’ll strip away your vitality and leave you vulnerable. There’s no going back, and from here on out, there’s just one simple rule that must dominate your life.
Stay Awake.
Don’t rest your head.

Copyright © 2006, Fred Hicks and Evil Hat Productions, LLC

 

[ErykaLorelei]

sounds like an interesting concept but one that can cause lots of confusion and if done right insanity lol count me in hun I love challenging my mind

 

[Avellan13]

Very interesting, sounds something like Freddy Couger. Don`t sleep or else you die. I like this thread idea.

 

[Ravenloft]

Okay, now that I have some interest, here's the next step, answering a hand full of questions.


What’s Been Keeping You Awake?

This is the source of your character’s insomnia, and sets up what the character’s immediate history has been like.

Think about: What troubles him? What pressures turned him into an insomniac? Is he running from something? Does he stay awake due to nightmares or substance abuse? Has he lost someone dear to him and the grief is robbing him of sleep?


What Just Happened to You?

This is what happens to your character, a moment of high stress for the character. This may be different from what’s been keeping the character awake.

Think about: What would make an exciting, stressful scene? Is the source of the stress mundane or supernatural? Did you just lose your job? Did a monster jump out of your closet? Did you walk in on your wife and another guy in bed? Did you fall off a building – and land without a scratch?


What’s on the Surface?

This determines the first impressions your character gives off, and tells what is obvious about him.

Think about: What does the protagonist appear to be at first blush (as opposed to what he actually is)? How do others see him? What’s his physical appearance? What sort of personality does he have? Does he put his best foot forward – or his worst?


What Lies Beneath?

This speaks to the protagonist’s secrets, the part of himself that he doesn’t show to the world if he can help it.

Think about: What’s the protagonist’s real deal? What would be a surprising twist that plays counterpoint to what’s been said about him so far? What secrets would he give his life to protect? How does he see himself? What lies does he tell himself?


What’s Your Path?

This question addresses the character’s goals, and points to how – in a vacuum – a story about him could reach its conclusion.

Think about: Where is the protagonist headed? If a story were written about his life, what would its theme be? What are his goals? What does he want or need?


Exhaustion and Madness Talents

An exhaustion talent allows the character to be thoroughly exceptional – supernaturally so – at a particular thing he can already do. So, such a talent might allow him to climb seemingly impossible surfaces, run far and fast, perform calculations as fast as a calculator, or simply shoot things very, very well. This definition must be reasonably narrow, and on par, in terms of breadth, with the other protagonists’ talent picks. Using an exhaustion talent can push the character closer to the point of needing sleep: if he does fall asleep, it could mean the end of him.

A madness talent allows the character to do something he simply can’t normally do – something which is normally outside of the realm of human possibility. This might be something as simple as flying without the aid of any device, reading minds, compelling others to tell the truth, or moving objects with telekinesis. A madness talent may imply several levels of power at which it operates, or may simply lock in at a certain level. Using a madness talent pushes the character closer to the brink of insanity: if he does go insane, he could become a Nightmare.

 

[Avellan13]

Oh boy! A lot of questions. Ok here`s what I got.

NAME: Avellan Anastasio
AGE: 19
GENDER: Male
APPEARENCE: About 5'11" and weighing 145 lb, he appeares thin and gangly. Avellan doesn`t have much muscle on him. He has straight black hair, light blue eyes, and pale skin. He`s usually in simple clothing (blue jeans and red tee shirt)
PERSONALITY: Avellan is shy and aloof and therefore has few friends. He`s cheery and enthusiastic around those close to him. He has been having problems recently that cause him to act paranoid (even though he`s not really). Never acts without thinking things through.
HISTORY: Avellan grew up into an uncarring family, who left him to himself. During one night a murderer came n and killed Avellan`s parents while he hide in a closet. He has been haunted by the memory ever since. He passed high school with top grades and is preparing to go to college.
NOTES: He uses medical drugs from an insane asylum to keep himself awake. The medicine keeps him awake as long as he takes it every 4 hrs, however as time passes he becomes more fatigued because his body isn`t resting properly. He has never spoken about the night of his parents murder, its too shocking and sad for him to tell anyone.