"Secondary town" interest check

[Amaterasu]

Hey everyone! It's time for another of my strange ideas, that I would like to write an interest check for.

For now, let's refer to said idea as the "Secondary town Project." I'll come up with a proper name if things get established.

The nature of the project

The project consists in a number of interested writers coming together to form a town of secondaries (what a surprise). Playing Primes in this setting is heavily discouraged! In fact, my baseline idea for this setting would be that only one or two Primes exist in that town and are given out by dicerolls or a similar chance game. The town may still have interactions with visiting Primes, players or otherwise, but the focus will remain on the town as an isolated community, doing things among each other.

The goals of the project

Well, goals may be a big word for a small thing. The project is meant to provide writers with an environment in which they can play a semi-realistic world within the Omniverse, where epic fights between what are basically superheroes with godly powers at their fingertips are not the norm and death is meaningful. Where people don't just sit down and concentrate for an hour to build themselves a magnificient house but have to work hard for long times to gather materials and build the most basic hut. The people who live there are almost exclusively Secondaries with human capabilities.

The idea is to construct a community where people rely on each other because no single person can do all the tasks. We may even distribute roles and jobs. As a result fighting and killing should ideally go down because sure, while you can play a genocidial psychopath who aims to kill the entire town that means you'll be left alone if you succeed and starve, freeze, get eaten in your sleep or such because nobody is left to take the tasks you cannot do alone. And death means something - your character does not respawn in seven days. The local Primes may create a new you but your memories will be based on what they know about you and thus be extremely foggy.

On the other hand the town isn't intended to be a realistic simulation - it's aimed towards you having fun at writing. Pretending that your farmer can take care of their crops from 8 to 11AM and have the rest of the day free to hang out in the pub is just as fine as if you decide to post a wall of text describing the complex process of getting the tools out of the shed and taking all day to do your job.

Basically, find the correct balance between playing a credible humanly powerful Secondary in the Omniverse and playing a godly-powerful Prime.

Possible roles to be played

Keep in mind that this is neither a complete nor an essentials list. If you know a role that would be perfect to include but isn't listed, it can be added before or during the game. Also, not all roles have to be filled - we can always have secondaries that anyone can play.

The mayor: As the highest authority in the village, the mayor that is appointed by the villagers through voting has a great responsibility. Namely they organize special occasions (such as balls), they keep books on births and deaths, they speak unbiased justice on the villagers (though they are supported by villagers voting on a verdict) and many other tasks. As a result a mayor knows pretty much everyone in the village and has a big sphere of influence, which leads to being both loved and hated.

The farmer: Livestock and crops are the farmer's everyday life. They supply the villagers with food in exchange for their services, or for coins. They are quite important as they take care of one of the village's most basic needs and may very well lead it to starvation if they don't grow enough crops to make it through the winter. Their large farm also means lots of work though, and often lots of necessity to interact with the other villagers if they require their skills to keep the farm in order.

The General Store Storekeeper: The General Store is the best, and sometimes only, way for the isolated village to interact with the outside world as they buy and sell goods from passing merchants and act as a post office, handing mail to those merchants and in return recieving letters from the outsiders. As a result of the relative monopole that the Storekeeper has on the exotic goods coming in from outside they can make themselves quite unpopular by putting down huge prices and becoming filthy rich - or quite the opposite, they can offer things at reasonable or even great prices and become a loved, although not very wealthy, part of the community.
A Storekeeper must keep an eye out for Primes who can easily create any good out of Omnilium, of course. If they are a Prime themselves things may get very interesting too.

The Innkeeper: The inn is, hands down, the most frequented establishment of the entire village. After a hard day of work the townsfolk gather here to exchange gossip, complain or rejoice about what went on during that day, relax and of course chug obscene amounts of beer, mead and other cheap alcohols. Even during the day the inn is frequented by villagers who are on a break or have no job to take care of, or by travelers who pass by for a meal or to stay for a few days. Finally, a noticeboard with bounties, requests and offers is put out for everyone to read. The innkeeper stands at the center of those crossroads and as a result knows everyone very well. They hold a great deal of power but rely on good brewing and cooking skills to stay in that position.

The Druid(ess)/The Wizard/Witch: Every town needs someone versed in the art of medicine. Sicknesses, be it on crops, on livestock or on people, pains and discomforts, a baby being born and the occasional supernatural help are the realm of the druid, druidess, wizard or witch. Though really the latter two names would be given to someone with the same skills as a druid, the only difference is how people view them. In most medieval places a wizard or witch would be said to be in cahoots with the devil and burnt at the stake, but the townspeople are past that and have understood that it is of more beneficial to them to leave them alive than to kill them off.

The Priest(ess): Usually a medieval town would only allow a male to wield the shepherd's staff and the white suit and preach from behind the altar, but some modern concepts have found their way even into this isolated town. A Priest or Priestess is the religious figure of authority in the town and may wield even more power over the people than the mayor, if the townspeople are god-fearing (whatever pantheon they may worship - The God-Emperor, Omni, Cthulhu, the Flying Spaghetti Monster or someone else) and listen to the Emissary on earth. They must be careful of what they say though as one wrong word may result in a pitchfork-wielding mob that is near unstoppable, and if they are particularly unlucky may be directed against the Priest/-ess themselves. They also provide a safe haven for those who have worries and heavy-weighing secrets and perform exorcisms, blessings and such.

The Hunter/Huntress: While the farmer provides a reliable income of farm goods such as vegetables and fruit, eggs and the occasional tender steak the Hunter or Huntress ensures the supply of meat - a very unsteady supply of course, depending on the season, the weather, their luck and of course their skill. They also protect the town of wild animals, monsters, bandits etc. and know the surrounding lands like no other. Hunters may live somewhat isolated from the community due to their work but regularly come around. Not even the hardiest woodrunner can resist the calling of some good mead.

The Fisherman: If the town is located near a lake, a river or the sea the Fisherman provides a third source of income alongside the Hunter and Farmer, diversifying the diets of the villagers. Fishermen may stay out of town for days at a time and even take trips away to exchange goods on faraway islands, but sooner or later they return. In the case of rivers, unless the settlers build a bridge, or of lakes and oceans the fisherman is also the ferryman.

The Woodcutter: Woodcutters... well, they cut wood. Rarely alone, either, they usually bring an apprentice and/or their children to aid them with the two-man saws or transporting the heavy logs that they get when a tree is felled. They are a great asset in aiding the settlers with expanding their village as wood is a resource that will never be not needed, be it to construct a house or to make a hearthfire, and if the village is located close to a forest the extra space from cutting and uprooting trees will also be direly needed. Due to their loud work scaring the animals and destroying nature woodcutters aren't always on best terms with the druids and hunters, but not everyone can be happy.

Other roles with relatively minor jobs: Tanner/Papermaker/Mason/Miner/etc.

Possible locations to set the town at

-The Tangled Green would be a great place as it's thick, forest-y and does not have a single verse-spanning authority that the village would belong to. It's very easy to have an autonomous group.

-The Vasty Deep would be my personal favorite place: there are simply too many islands for the Empire to really bother about all of them, some may be out there too much for them to even know they exist. Other factions have no major influence and can therefore be disregarded.

-Camelot would also be a great place as it has a medieval setting and plenty of space to fit in a town that pays its taxes, listens to the herald declare stuff and is otherwise fairly independant. It could even be a town including outcasts such as elves or halflings, although these non-human races should just be for fluff and not have any abilities that make them especially potent Secondaries (like say, being able to speak to animals).

-The Pale Moors would be an option if we want the town to be more of a half-rotten sad community that is struggling to survive amidst the rotting verse and the otherworldly atrocities. Not my personal favorite but definitely an option.

[Okor]

I'll let you know if I have the time spare to participate in this, it sounds fun. I'm starting college soon, so I may have less time to participate in Omniverse things, but in the event that's not the case, I'm in.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

I'll let you know if I want to participate in this as well.

Steve or Terraria Guy sounds like a great Hunter/Miner.

[Carmelita]

I'm in.

Vasty Deep is my vote for location.

Putting my name down for town tradesperson: the person who goes out to sea, risks storms, pirates etc to trade what is in excess for what is in need. Guess that's the General Store owner/partner?

[Kyle Crane]

Sounds like a GREAT excuse for me to get off my lazy butt and socialize with other Omniversians! LET'S GO WITH IT!

I can be Hunter if it's not taken.

[The Humble Sage]

I'd be down for that! I think it would provide some nice scope, as the far-flung power struggles between primes would seem a little more powerful when most of the people are just worrying about standard survival stuff.

I would personally vote for either Vasty Deeps or Camelot. Those locals would skew us away from random monster rampages and more towards interactions with a powerful faction being the main fear, which I think would provide us with more intrigue and other such goodies to write about.

I don't have any strong preference for positions, although if we do go Vasty deeps, I have a few secondaries in Coasta del Sol that would love to be more independent of Imperial influence. (In which case they would be the Inn-keeper and Co.)

[Jacket]

This is an awesome idea you have! It will give me a chance to be a little more active since both my main and alt are stuck waiting for the next post.  :frog: 

I would say having an island would be better in the vasty deep. Is there going to be a sheriff role too?

[ElFailzalot]

Oh, sundoge. You and your crazy ideas. They're always interesting.

Allow me to just express being interested in this one too. No specific ideas on in what fashion I might be involved, but I would like to toss in an opinion as to the Vasty Deep being an interesting location for this thing.

[Spur]

This is a great idea. I'm a big fan of the Vasty Deep for this, and I would love to show up as a Hunter or Fisherman.

[Amaterasu]

I haven't kept track of this thread for a bit, so here's some mass answering questions...

First of, everyone is of course welcome to join! There doesn't seem to be much competition over roles (and really, the ones I suggested were just ideas based on what a typical medieval town must have) so I think we may even leave out randomized role-distribution.


@Glory Keep in mind that Minecraft and Terraria have their own respective verses, so you won't be able to play the protagonists unless you make them as Primes. Both would be pretty cool ideas though!

@Carmelita That would work out. It might lead to "activity spikes" though where you are completely gone, but if you want to do it, I'd approve it!

@Mick We'll probably have to decide on the roles in the near future. Glory seemed interested in being a Hunter too.

@Sage The island's affiliation may yet need to be discussed in detail. I'm not sure if having it completely independant is a good idea since, as we noticed on Cinnibar, independant islands tend to draw the attention of the Empire and the Kingdom is probably not going to be happy about an independant town that doesn't pay taxes either. We could put it under the sphere of influence of one faction but they are barely even acknowledged as existing.

@Kung Fury A sheriff role, or some general justice-keeper, maybe a military personality, could definitely be a thing! Even a small town needs some support. In the Deeps that could be a retired Stormtrooper or such, I imagine, but you are free to decide on that.


So far everyone (5 people) plus yours truly is "voting" for the Deeps. I'll draft up a basic description of an island at my earliest convenience and see if you guys are okay with it. If anyone wants to give it a go (or even just describe a part of the island and let me put it together like a puzzle) that'd be great as well

[Illidan Stormrage]

I think this is a great idea. I don't have the time to give for it, but I think it'll work out well.

[Carmelita]

Suggested part of the island:
[spoiler]The Bay of Raisins

The Bay of Raisins is a large bay on which [insert town name] has a small dock, sheltered from storms by the headlands at either end of the bay.
A large, almost circular bay, the Bay of Raisins has a large population of rainbow trout and trolleybus crabs, both of which make good eating. A beach of white sand extends around the bay, tapering off near the two headlands where it gives way to cliffs.
Beneath the cliffs, the entrance to the Bay of Raisins is filled with strange and confusing currents that the locals avoid only by dint of learning them carefully. That, and the tiny, perfectly round black pearls that can be found in the deepest parts of the bay, lend themselves to the name of the bay.
The two headlands are bare of trees and windswept. A small part of the rockface has been dug out to provide a sheltered haven for lights to help guide boats in during storms or at night.

The Cyan Cliffs

Extending round clockwise from the Bay of Raisins, the Cyan Cliffs are filled with nesting seabirds and small, tiny beaches in coves protected by terrible shoals.
The Cyan Cliffs are, unsurprisingly, Cyan, coloured by some unknown force. The blue stone can be found across the island, but here at the cliffs it is most obvious. The sands here are just as pale as the beach in the Bay of Raisins, and most are untouched thanks to the difficulty getting there. Shipwrecks and the potential for bird eggs does make abseiling down the cliffs an attractive prospect for some of [insert town name]’s youth.
The Cyan Cliffs shelter the island as a whole from the worst of storms coming from that direction, but when they do glowing lights can be seen rising from that part of the island. No one has yet found an explanation.[/spoiler]

[Guilmon]

I like this idea. Put me down for the Innkeeper or the Druid/Wizard. Sounds like fun.

[Amaterasu]

Okay, apparently I had half finished a document and then forgot all about it for a while... I dug it up and remembered to finish it, so here you all are.
Thank you to Carmelita for suggesting stuff! I've taken some pieces into the below

Windfall Island
This island is about 30 miles (48 km) from Costa del Sol and thus, while not completely cut off, is relatively secluded. The empire originally took interest in this location due to a vein of silver ore that was discovered, but after mining most of it out the mine was abandoned. The idea was to leave Windfall island as a whole, however many people who had moved to the island to work as miners or support them (farmers, merchants etc) decided to stay.

Windfall Island offers a good location for traveling merchants who navigate the Vasty Deep’s ocean but cannot dock at Costa del Sol (for instance due to troubles with the empire) to resupply, buy and sell their wares and repair their ships in the relative absence of the imperial customs and Navy forces. While not as big a hotspot as the larger islands and Costa del Sol itself, the free trade affords the citizens of Costa del Sol a happy, though not luxurious, lifestyle.
 
Though the silver ore is almost completely mined out, Windfall Island offers other resources, most notably rich earth that allows for crop-growing and the aquatic fauna which lets fishermen to catch a wide variety of fish from the docks and offshore. As a result it offers enough resources to maintain a small population self-sufficiently while leftover resources are traded in for outside goods.
 
Windfall Island is notable for the special rules voted on by the citizens: in order to avoid destruction of the island’s beautiful but fragile ecosystem there are hard limitations imposed on things such as hunting and fishing, treecutting and building as well as polluting the air, ground and water. As a result the technology on the island has developed to be a weird mixture of modern tech powered by renewable energies and steam- or muscle-powered machinery. Fossile fuels, among others, are completely forbidden. While this means that the efficiency of Windfall Island’s industries is far behind those of Coruscant the quality of the products is many times higher. Maybe it’s Omniverse physics?
 
Despite the healthy lifestyle thanks to the physical exercise coupled with the modern medicine available through the merchants, not many Secondaries (let alone Primes) choose to live on Windfall Island due to the severity of the rules and the lack of comfort and luxury offered by the more modern and prosperous Costa del Sol, Coruscant, Dalaran or Minas Tirith. The population of the island is fairly small, to the point where most people know each other by their first names. The regularly held community festivals further tighten these bonds.
 
Silverrock Town
Named due to the vein of silver ore that had been found beneath the island and, Silverrock Town started out as the lodging area for the miners. After the mining operation was finished and the area was abandoned those who remained behind rebuilt it into what is today known as Silverrock Town. While it is not the sole area where people live (there’s a few lodges, farmhouses and encampments) the vast majority have their home somewhere in the town area.
 
Silverrock town is built near the docks where the ships come and go, providing paved alleyways for them to drive wagons with their products up to the stalls and shops around the city center. It acts as the central point for visitors who intend to go further on the island or coming back from there.
 
The Town organizes a variety of festivals, contests and other events throughout the year that bring the community closer together and are great fun for its population – perfect to get to know newcomers. Both these events and the residents’s birthdays are publicly displayed at the bulletin board.
 
Services and Shops in Silverrock Town are filled by players.
(examples below)
-General store
-Clinic/doctor’s office
-Museum
-Inn
-Blacksmith
-Merchant stalls (rented by merchant ships)
-Residential area
-Church
 

Paradise Bay
Paradise Bay is a large, almost circular bay located on the south side of Windfall Island and at a relatively short walk from Silverrock Town. It used to be the docking area for the large cargo ships that transported goods and silver for the mining operation, but overall its ecosystem remains well preserved.
 
Paradise Bay has a large population of small to medium fish and crabs, making it a good location for net and rod fishing from a small boat or from the headlands. A beach of white sand extends around the bay, tapering off near the two headlands where it gives way to cliffs.
 
Beneath the cliffs the entrance to the Bay of Raisins is filled with strange currents that keep the water mostly circulating within the bay, where it is warmed throughout the day by the shining sun and thus creates a great area to swim. The currents also frequently wash up corals, shells and all sorts of junk. While the currents can displace careless swimmers they are not as treacherous as in many other spots and do not constitute a danger so long as one stays away from the jagged cliffs.
 
The two headlands are bare of trees and windswept. A small part of the rockface has been dug out to provide a sheltered haven for lights to help guide boats in during storms or at night. This is mostly a backup however as a modern lighthouse was built after these shelters. The lighthouse’s greater potency means that it is used as the primary guide to ships.
 
 
The Cyan Cliffs
Extending round clockwise from Paradise Bay, the Cyan Cliffs are filled with nesting seabirds and small, tiny beaches in coves protected by terrible shoals.
 
The Cyan Cliffs are, unsurprisingly, cyan, coloured by some unknown force. While that blue stone can be found across the island, at the cliffs it is most obvious. The sand here is just as pale as the beach in Paradise Bay and is mostly untouched thanks to the difficulty getting there. Shipwrecks and the potential for bird eggs does make abseiling down the cliffs an attractive prospect for some of Silverrock Town‘s youth.
 
The cliffs shelter the island as a whole from the worst of storms coming from that direction, but when they do glowing lights can be seen rising from that part of the island. No one has yet found any proven explanation, though all sorts of theories from scientific („The salinity in the air buffeting against the cliffs causes a chemical reaction“) to supernatural („The blue stone is magically infused and protects the island“) have been established.
 
 
The Forest
West of Silverrock is what’s simply called the „forest“, or sometimes „Windfall forest“. This thick mysterious forest grows abundantly thanks to the rich earth and the trees, when cut, provide high-quality wood. In addition the forest offers many opportunities for foraging and hunting. The deeper one ventures into the forest, the more untouched it is and as a result the greater the potential gains are. However the animals dislike being disturbed and do not take kindly to intruders.


The Mines
The mines, whose main entrance is located on the side of the mountains to the north of Silverrock Town, were abandoned after the mining operation was declared finished. Ore deposits, especially of silver ore, do remain though – just not in quantities and accessibility that would justify the continuation of the mining operation. The underground passages created to mine out the precious ore is connected to naturally formed mines and have allowed all sorts of underground critters to spill into the manmade mineshafts, though they are warded away by light sources, allowing for relatively undisturbed mining if one brings along a sufficiently potent lamp. Alternatively, brave adventurers can head down there for some monster hunting.
 
 
Mt. Silver
Directly north of Silverrock Town is Mt. Silver, owing its name to the silver ore that once was within. It’s a relatively large mountain considering the small size of Windfall Island, and is rumored to be a dormant volcano, which would explain the rich minerals found in the earth of the island.
 
In a cavern in the side of Mt. Silver is a hot spring formed into a natural spa with incredibly rich mineral water that rejuvenates the body and spirit. It forms the primary tourist attraction, especially from Coruscant, though even so the actual number of tourists is very minor.
 
 
Rocky Plateau
The top of Mt. Silver is a large flat expanse known as Rocky Plateau. It constitutes the highest point of Windfall Island and offers a panoramic view in every direction, as well as forming the most recognizable landmark of the island – it can even be seen from Costa del Sol on clear days. Rocky Plateau also has several small rivers which merge into the pair of large, nameless rivers that split the island up and provide fresh water along with the wells.

This isn't a conclusive list, we can add plenty of landmarks and locations such as huts and buildings. For reference, I took a map of Stardew Valley as a vague reference, though it seems that the cliché "forest west, mountain north, plains/beach east, beach/plains south, cavern entrance somewhere in there, town in the center is pretty common among games like Harvest Moon and Rune Factory. You can look those up if you want!

I'll try to get this thread going soonish now that I remembered about it. My apologies that I dragged it out for over 2 months!

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I'd be interested myself. Not sure who I'll play, but if this gets off the ground, probably someone.

[Amber Veritz]

I would totally be the Shopkeep or innkeep. Which ever is open. I have all the time to spare in the world for this and would love to be apart of it. Might I also suggest a Blacksmith position for the hunters, which I would also be grateful to fill. Windfall Island in the Vasty Deep's sounds cool as fuck. My only question, (Just because I love the clarification) is will this be IC? Probably a dumb question, but I love being 100% clear.

[Gildarts]

I love this idea. If it ever got stagnant plot could easily be thrown in! I'd like to play a wandering traveler or trader who frequently visits, since I'm a bit caught up with other plots / threads.

[Spur]

I am still very much in! I'll make up a character profile soon, though I won't be the most active participant immediately.

Just fielding my opinion, I personally feel it would be much better if there weren't any primes on this island at all, to totally remove that factor and prevent any "quick fixes" to things. But, I'll roll with the majority.

Glad to see this moving.

[Amaterasu]

http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=6966

The above thread is where things are gonna take place I'm really happy to see how much things are kicking off! If you are interested, send your application to me and I'll reply asap.