The Shadowlands
Introducing a new element to the City and the polychromatic universe as we know it!
&the shadowlands
A place between the smoke and mirrors. Every world has different planes of reality and this world is no exception. Welcome to a realm where there's fog night and day continuously covering a block-for-block replica of the City, but really, it is the City. Everywhere, everyone, and everything may be exactly as they seem...and more. Those who travel through here may do so as their true selves (whatever that is) and those who keep treasures may hide them in a shadowy corner. However beware of staying here for too long, passing the twenty-four hour mark will feel horrifically suffocating to the point of death. Maybe that's why the place seems so empty. Maybe it's not just fog after all.
We've had many new characters joining the game, some of them whose canon states they're capable of using an 'unseen' space either to do things like astral travel or hide objects in a 'pocket dimension'. Because of this we've decided to create an actual realm for these purposes in order to level the playing field so that all such characters can use the same basic set of rules where spaces like these are concerned. The place has no name ICly yet, we'd love to see the characters themselves create a name that catches on with the rest of the City, but for the purposes of this post we'll be calling it Shadow City. Shadow City is the City itself but experienced from a different 'layer' or 'dimension' if you will. This means that if a new building goes up in the City then it will appear in the Shadow City and if a building burns down in the City then it will also appear as burnt in the Shadow City. Things happen just a bit differently in the Shadow City so in the example of the burning building, there wouldn't be a true fire raging in the Shadow City but the building would show burn damage occuring. Most of the Shadow City is just that, a silent eerie reflection of the real world where one might see the effects but not necessarily the causes. There are exceptions to this of course and room for creative flexibility.
True Selves
This applies to inanimate objects and characters. If a house is magically warded from fire, the house itself might not show any signs of wards in the Real City, but in the Shadow City the house could have its spells illuminated around the building. This does not mean the wards are anymore breakable in the Shadow City than the Real City. This only means they are visible, with proper communication and consent players may use this as a plot point for characters to exploit the information. Similarly, a place that's seen violence, for example an alley where several gruesome murders have occurred, in the Shadow City that alley might strongly smell of blood even though blood is not visibly present.
Some characters hide their true natures from the rest of the City by using a glamour or taking human form. Some characters are simply incapable of willing their true natures to come to the forefront physically. In the Shadow City their true forms are revealed, for example an angel character who appears human in the City can walk through the Shadow City with their wings fully extended and gold light around their head for a halo. This is not a mandatory requirement for visiting the Shadow City however we want to stress that maintaining a human appearance (or whatever the character normally uses) is much harder to do in the Shadow City than in the Real City. Characters who have experience and training in this kind of area are free to exercise that skill in the Shadow City, just keep in mind that it should not be easy or effortless for them. Characters who have been afflicted with transformation may show either true form or tranformed form, for example a werewolf might be human in the Real City but walk the Shadow City in beast form and similarly on a full moon the werewolf might be in beast form in the Real City but walk the Shadow City as a human. Characters who are City!Dead may appear normal in the Shadow City or they may appear corpse-like and bearing the wounds that led to their death, this is completely up to the player.
Walk The Walk
Traveling through the Shadow City is available to any character who has a similar ability in their own canon, regardless of whether in their canon they call it the astral plane or the fifth dimension, etc. Ways to travel include concretely stepping into the Shadow City (ex. a mage who can disappear and reappear in the Shadow City or an alien who can phase from the Real City to the Shadow City), this means their real bodies are in the Shadow City and missing from the Real City. Another way is astral projection (ex. meditating into a trance so that only a spirit version walks through the Shadow City), this means their real bodies are still in the Real City but they may be unresponsive to stimuli in the Real City. Characters with the ability to do so can put another character with no ability at all into the Shadow City if the players wish to plot this way, just remember he who relies on another to get in usually has to rely on another to get out. Characters who use the Shadow City as a pocket dimension for their belongings do not have to enter fully in order to retrieve the object. If their canon ability is to call objects out from the dimension without entering the hidden space then they may do the same thing with the Shadow City.
So what happens to the bodies or the stuff you ask? Read on, soldier.
What Happens In The Shadow City...
Doesn't have to stay in the Shadow City, but it can if your character wants it to. Where the objects in a pocket dimension are concerned, characters can use a place in the Shadow City for all their recall objects (it could be under the bed of the Shadow City version of their room or a Shadow City dumpster, etc). What objects are allowed? Only items they would be permitted to have in the Real City based on gameplay rules, of course. The Shadow City simply adds the advantage of concealment. However keep in mind that the larger the item is then the more Shadow City space it takes up, some characters traveling the Shadow City would not miss a fighter jet parked on top of a building. Oh, and objects in the Shadow City can be stolen in some cases like they would in the Real City, as long as this includes proper player communication and consent. Stealing a magic ring may not be hard but bringing it out of the Shadow City might be harder if someone else used a different kind of magic to put it there. Items that exist only in the Shadow City cannot be restored if completely destroyed there, regardless of whether it's an accident or a fight.
But fights? In my Shadow City?! It's likelier than you think. Yes, fights between characters can happen in the Shadow City as they would in the Real City. The only difference is damage done to shadow property. In the Shadow City property damage can be extensive because the Shadow City will simply correct itself by rebuilding the area back to normal within seconds or right after the fight is over. Absolutely no damage occurs to the Real City version of the area. Characters in the Real City can sense a fight occurring in the same area but this would feel more like negative energy, and sensing anything at all is purely optional. This also does not mean characters can crash into other characters' houses in the Shadow City without permission. However it does mean NPC stores and public streets can be battle damaged in the process moreso than they would in the Real City. This includes public places like the Square, the Hospital or the Library, but not quite the twelve main apartment buildings (certain rooms might be warded though a rooftop would be fair game), and absolutely not the Deity Office Building. In the Shadow City, the Deity Office Building is inpenetrable, anyone thrown into it would feel like they've crashed into a solid wall and dropped to the ground with no damage to the wall period. But other than that please use your better judgment for locations of fights. The Shadow City is a good place to work out aggression, it's usually empty after all! Of course that doesn't always guarantee a lack of Shadow City witnesses.
So what happens to someone caught in the crossfire? If you've read this far then you can keep on reading!
Death, Curses, and the Network
Death: Yes you can die in the Shadow City just like you would in the Real City. Anyone who stays in the Shadow City for more than 24 hours is suffocated to death and becomes City!Dead. Their body would reappear after the following 24 hours in the Real City and they would wake up as City!Dead. Characters of an immortal or supernatural nature (angels, vampires, etc.) are not exempt from this rule. If they exceed the 24 hour limit you are free to decide how they die if suffocation is not a feasible option. For example, a vampire may feel like they've been staked and an angel may feel like they're being burned away. Characters killed by other characters in the Shadow City will also become City!Dead. The only exception to character-on-character violence are those who travel the Shadow City through astral projection; in this case a character could be painfully jolted back to consciousness in the Real City, complete with increased heart rate and shock. Players are free to have character-on-character astral death lead to City!Death too though, depending on how they want to parallel canon. Astral death due to being in the Shadow City for more than 24 hours will result in City!Death, in this case their body in the Real City would simply flatline right where it is and no form of resuscitation will succeed. For injuries, the same rule that applies to objects exclusively in the Shadow City applies here: characters who have entered concretely (their real bodies are in the Shadow City and thus missing from the Real City) will sustain real physical damage in a fight. If they lose their arm in the Shadow City, that arm is gone for good when they reappear in the Shadow City...unless a character is smart enough to take the severed arm back with them to attempt reattachment. See, creative flexibility.
Curses & Curse Death:Curses do not always affect the Shadow City. Environmental curses never affect the Shadow City. Characters who are confused about an environmental curse can see the regular city layout in the Shadow City, for example if there's a western curse, a saloon in the Real City would still appear as the regular Club Automatica in the Shadow City. Characters can enter the Shadow City to 'escape' a curse, for example a female who has been affected by the genderswap can regain her true female form in the Shadow City, but this is not 100% guaranteed. Players are more than invited to have their character still affected even after entering the Shadow City. Characters affected by personality curses are allowed to keep their character affected in the Shadow City and, with player consent, characters may force another character into the Shadow City to try and reverse the disastrous affects of a personality curse. Curses with City!Death exemptions do carry over to the Shadow City, so if a curse death has an exemption in the Real City then it will also have that same exemption if the curse death happens in the Shadow City. On occasion this exemption will also apply to the 24 hour rule, meaning characters who die from being in the Shadow City for 24 hours will reappear in the Real City alive, not as City!Dead. We will be clear on the calendar about which curses carry these exemptions.
The Network: As for the Network, yes it works between the Shadow City and the Real City. Vaguely. For entries coming from the Shadow City, audio and video posts would contain static with occasional feed cut off and text posts would have letters or words missing with occasional message cut off (this applies to phone calls and txt messages too). For entries coming from the Real City, all posts would be clear and without any interruptions. Privated or unhackable portions of entries can be read fully in the Shadow City if a player allows it.
Ultimately we would like to stress that the Shadow City is for fun and plot purposes. Any infomodding or godmodding that occurs will not be tolerated regardless of how the Shadow City may give someone's character an advantage. Players with characters who would be able to travel or sense the Shadow City may begin noticing its presence beginning 12:00am midnight, Monday, January 18. If you have any questions please ask them in this entry, and we hope you guys enjoy it!
&the shadowlands
A place between the smoke and mirrors. Every world has different planes of reality and this world is no exception. Welcome to a realm where there's fog night and day continuously covering a block-for-block replica of the City, but really, it is the City. Everywhere, everyone, and everything may be exactly as they seem...and more. Those who travel through here may do so as their true selves (whatever that is) and those who keep treasures may hide them in a shadowy corner. However beware of staying here for too long, passing the twenty-four hour mark will feel horrifically suffocating to the point of death. Maybe that's why the place seems so empty. Maybe it's not just fog after all.
We've had many new characters joining the game, some of them whose canon states they're capable of using an 'unseen' space either to do things like astral travel or hide objects in a 'pocket dimension'. Because of this we've decided to create an actual realm for these purposes in order to level the playing field so that all such characters can use the same basic set of rules where spaces like these are concerned. The place has no name ICly yet, we'd love to see the characters themselves create a name that catches on with the rest of the City, but for the purposes of this post we'll be calling it Shadow City. Shadow City is the City itself but experienced from a different 'layer' or 'dimension' if you will. This means that if a new building goes up in the City then it will appear in the Shadow City and if a building burns down in the City then it will also appear as burnt in the Shadow City. Things happen just a bit differently in the Shadow City so in the example of the burning building, there wouldn't be a true fire raging in the Shadow City but the building would show burn damage occuring. Most of the Shadow City is just that, a silent eerie reflection of the real world where one might see the effects but not necessarily the causes. There are exceptions to this of course and room for creative flexibility.
True Selves
This applies to inanimate objects and characters. If a house is magically warded from fire, the house itself might not show any signs of wards in the Real City, but in the Shadow City the house could have its spells illuminated around the building. This does not mean the wards are anymore breakable in the Shadow City than the Real City. This only means they are visible, with proper communication and consent players may use this as a plot point for characters to exploit the information. Similarly, a place that's seen violence, for example an alley where several gruesome murders have occurred, in the Shadow City that alley might strongly smell of blood even though blood is not visibly present.
Some characters hide their true natures from the rest of the City by using a glamour or taking human form. Some characters are simply incapable of willing their true natures to come to the forefront physically. In the Shadow City their true forms are revealed, for example an angel character who appears human in the City can walk through the Shadow City with their wings fully extended and gold light around their head for a halo. This is not a mandatory requirement for visiting the Shadow City however we want to stress that maintaining a human appearance (or whatever the character normally uses) is much harder to do in the Shadow City than in the Real City. Characters who have experience and training in this kind of area are free to exercise that skill in the Shadow City, just keep in mind that it should not be easy or effortless for them. Characters who have been afflicted with transformation may show either true form or tranformed form, for example a werewolf might be human in the Real City but walk the Shadow City in beast form and similarly on a full moon the werewolf might be in beast form in the Real City but walk the Shadow City as a human. Characters who are City!Dead may appear normal in the Shadow City or they may appear corpse-like and bearing the wounds that led to their death, this is completely up to the player.
Walk The Walk
Traveling through the Shadow City is available to any character who has a similar ability in their own canon, regardless of whether in their canon they call it the astral plane or the fifth dimension, etc. Ways to travel include concretely stepping into the Shadow City (ex. a mage who can disappear and reappear in the Shadow City or an alien who can phase from the Real City to the Shadow City), this means their real bodies are in the Shadow City and missing from the Real City. Another way is astral projection (ex. meditating into a trance so that only a spirit version walks through the Shadow City), this means their real bodies are still in the Real City but they may be unresponsive to stimuli in the Real City. Characters with the ability to do so can put another character with no ability at all into the Shadow City if the players wish to plot this way, just remember he who relies on another to get in usually has to rely on another to get out. Characters who use the Shadow City as a pocket dimension for their belongings do not have to enter fully in order to retrieve the object. If their canon ability is to call objects out from the dimension without entering the hidden space then they may do the same thing with the Shadow City.
So what happens to the bodies or the stuff you ask? Read on, soldier.
What Happens In The Shadow City...
Doesn't have to stay in the Shadow City, but it can if your character wants it to. Where the objects in a pocket dimension are concerned, characters can use a place in the Shadow City for all their recall objects (it could be under the bed of the Shadow City version of their room or a Shadow City dumpster, etc). What objects are allowed? Only items they would be permitted to have in the Real City based on gameplay rules, of course. The Shadow City simply adds the advantage of concealment. However keep in mind that the larger the item is then the more Shadow City space it takes up, some characters traveling the Shadow City would not miss a fighter jet parked on top of a building. Oh, and objects in the Shadow City can be stolen in some cases like they would in the Real City, as long as this includes proper player communication and consent. Stealing a magic ring may not be hard but bringing it out of the Shadow City might be harder if someone else used a different kind of magic to put it there. Items that exist only in the Shadow City cannot be restored if completely destroyed there, regardless of whether it's an accident or a fight.
But fights? In my Shadow City?! It's likelier than you think. Yes, fights between characters can happen in the Shadow City as they would in the Real City. The only difference is damage done to shadow property. In the Shadow City property damage can be extensive because the Shadow City will simply correct itself by rebuilding the area back to normal within seconds or right after the fight is over. Absolutely no damage occurs to the Real City version of the area. Characters in the Real City can sense a fight occurring in the same area but this would feel more like negative energy, and sensing anything at all is purely optional. This also does not mean characters can crash into other characters' houses in the Shadow City without permission. However it does mean NPC stores and public streets can be battle damaged in the process moreso than they would in the Real City. This includes public places like the Square, the Hospital or the Library, but not quite the twelve main apartment buildings (certain rooms might be warded though a rooftop would be fair game), and absolutely not the Deity Office Building. In the Shadow City, the Deity Office Building is inpenetrable, anyone thrown into it would feel like they've crashed into a solid wall and dropped to the ground with no damage to the wall period. But other than that please use your better judgment for locations of fights. The Shadow City is a good place to work out aggression, it's usually empty after all! Of course that doesn't always guarantee a lack of Shadow City witnesses.
So what happens to someone caught in the crossfire? If you've read this far then you can keep on reading!
Death, Curses, and the Network
Death: Yes you can die in the Shadow City just like you would in the Real City. Anyone who stays in the Shadow City for more than 24 hours is suffocated to death and becomes City!Dead. Their body would reappear after the following 24 hours in the Real City and they would wake up as City!Dead. Characters of an immortal or supernatural nature (angels, vampires, etc.) are not exempt from this rule. If they exceed the 24 hour limit you are free to decide how they die if suffocation is not a feasible option. For example, a vampire may feel like they've been staked and an angel may feel like they're being burned away. Characters killed by other characters in the Shadow City will also become City!Dead. The only exception to character-on-character violence are those who travel the Shadow City through astral projection; in this case a character could be painfully jolted back to consciousness in the Real City, complete with increased heart rate and shock. Players are free to have character-on-character astral death lead to City!Death too though, depending on how they want to parallel canon. Astral death due to being in the Shadow City for more than 24 hours will result in City!Death, in this case their body in the Real City would simply flatline right where it is and no form of resuscitation will succeed. For injuries, the same rule that applies to objects exclusively in the Shadow City applies here: characters who have entered concretely (their real bodies are in the Shadow City and thus missing from the Real City) will sustain real physical damage in a fight. If they lose their arm in the Shadow City, that arm is gone for good when they reappear in the Shadow City...unless a character is smart enough to take the severed arm back with them to attempt reattachment. See, creative flexibility.
Curses & Curse Death:Curses do not always affect the Shadow City. Environmental curses never affect the Shadow City. Characters who are confused about an environmental curse can see the regular city layout in the Shadow City, for example if there's a western curse, a saloon in the Real City would still appear as the regular Club Automatica in the Shadow City. Characters can enter the Shadow City to 'escape' a curse, for example a female who has been affected by the genderswap can regain her true female form in the Shadow City, but this is not 100% guaranteed. Players are more than invited to have their character still affected even after entering the Shadow City. Characters affected by personality curses are allowed to keep their character affected in the Shadow City and, with player consent, characters may force another character into the Shadow City to try and reverse the disastrous affects of a personality curse. Curses with City!Death exemptions do carry over to the Shadow City, so if a curse death has an exemption in the Real City then it will also have that same exemption if the curse death happens in the Shadow City. On occasion this exemption will also apply to the 24 hour rule, meaning characters who die from being in the Shadow City for 24 hours will reappear in the Real City alive, not as City!Dead. We will be clear on the calendar about which curses carry these exemptions.
The Network: As for the Network, yes it works between the Shadow City and the Real City. Vaguely. For entries coming from the Shadow City, audio and video posts would contain static with occasional feed cut off and text posts would have letters or words missing with occasional message cut off (this applies to phone calls and txt messages too). For entries coming from the Real City, all posts would be clear and without any interruptions. Privated or unhackable portions of entries can be read fully in the Shadow City if a player allows it.
Ultimately we would like to stress that the Shadow City is for fun and plot purposes. Any infomodding or godmodding that occurs will not be tolerated regardless of how the Shadow City may give someone's character an advantage. Players with characters who would be able to travel or sense the Shadow City may begin noticing its presence beginning 12:00am midnight, Monday, January 18. If you have any questions please ask them in this entry, and we hope you guys enjoy it!