Spookiest greetings, with Autumn just around the corner, I have an idea for a vintage-horror-flavored roleplay that I've been kicking around and tweaking for a while now, and I'm finally ready to post it! If your favorite thing is monsters, you've come to the right place. Read on if you dare . . .
In this world, as far back as the 1930s, there have been reports of human-animal hybrids, vampires, and monsters from around the globe. These were fairly few and far-between, always denied by the authorities, and mostly phased out by the mid- to late-1940s. By the 1950s, extranormal threats have returned in the form of alien invasions, robots gone awry, and ghosts in the world's nuclear systems. It is in this time that the threats are acknowledged by the governments of the world and the people try their best to keep their lives normal. Some insist these monsters are all demons heralding the end of days. Most just try to make their lives feel normal again. By the turn of the decade, paranormal threats large and small are all over the world, and turning largely back to the vampires and wolf-men of the 1930s with a strong uptick of cases surrounding the occult also occurring. This continues largely unchanged until the late-1970s, when cases grow more gruesome and extreme, often involving seemingly normal humans killing scores of people.
Our story mostly takes place between the fifties and the eighties. Basically, the events that are occurring in this world correspond to the horror movies that were being made at the time in the real world. It's a love letter to the history of horror cinema.
1) 1955-1957: "The Early Days". In these episodes, the characters stave off local threats, largely science- and technology-based. Some examples: school science experiments gone awry, oversized pests terrorizing local farms, a few occult/supernatural stories, and assisting in one or two larger, regional event, like a small alien incursion. At this point in time, the profession of "paranormal investigator" emerges as a legitimate career path, and the main characters are seen as prodigies in the field. There may be some romantic undertones here, but the characters would have a bit of a rivalry and as such be in denial of any feelings they have for each other. The notoriety gained from aiding professionals in the larger events ushers in the second era.
The first setting of this story will be the fictional small town of Peldez, New Mexico. Nestled in the crook of State Road 53, between the Ramah Navajo and Acomita Indian Reservations, Peldez is a quiet town of about 993 people, too far from Albuquerque to have a sizable middle class of commuters and too close to Grants to have its own industry. Most of its residents work in mines in Grants to the north, and those who don't mostly work in Cibola National Forest to the west or El Malpais National Monument to the south. The latter contains a volcano and ice caves, ripe for exploring. I think the proximity to Area 51 and Roswell opens up the possibility for lots of fun sci-fi stories, the indigenous communities and history play into some mystical ideas that I've had, which would prepare the characters for the impending occult era, and the small town setting foreshadows a big city culture shock later.
2) 1958-1978: "The Heyday". In this era, the characters find their niche in the industry, becoming experts in the fight against monsters and occult threats. This is where the bulk of the story takes place. There will be recurring villains and multi-episode story arcs, ideally. They are actually making a living out of being paranormal investigators here. Between working on cases all over the country and living on the road, they get the chance to work in several government-commissioned teams facing world-level threats, first gaining some level of celebrity before becoming some of the most famous people in the world. Maybe they start a team of others who have complementary skillsets, or at least find themselves working with others to quell demons and witchcults and the like.
For the setting, There are intermittent periods of romance here, where the pair are no longer able to dam the stream of emotions that has been flowing within them for decades now. For setting here, I think relocating to a major American City, such as San Francisco or New York City would be interesting for a few years before transitioning to somewhere like London or Berlin. Maybe the characters become expatriates because of the Vietnam War (or whatever takes its place in this world), or maybe there's just more work somewhere else.
3) 1979-2008: "The Lean Years". With the decline in paranormal threats throughout the 1980s, new response teams geared towards the gorier threats of age emerge. The aging duo falls into the background, getting fewer government contracts and being largely relegated to exorcising an odd demon or staking a rare vampire. Maybe one of them enters academia in the rapidly growing field of paranormal studies, or relocates to a less developed part of the world where people still need help with vampires and lycanthropes and such. The other could go into consulting, writing books about the glory days, or hosting a talk show. Anything where they don't work with one another, ushering in a time of separation. This is the most emotional chapter in the story, and the darkest for the pair. This is where the romance finally blossoms. They have no one else to turn to, and with work sort of out of the way there's nothing holding them back from each other now. I'm envisioning a big wedding where the heroes and villains of the bygone occult era lay their collective swords down. Sort of the culmination of the romantic arc.
The settings of this era will largely depend on how we take the story, but nostalgic settings could really pull on the heartstrings. The wedding could take place in the hometown again, marking the pair's first return to Peldez since the 1950s.
4) 2009-: "The Resurgence". This one is sort of optional. In the 2010s and 20s and beyond, the world is imperiled by monsters once more. Shamelessly, when the world needs their old heroes, they come crawling back. There may be just one episode here, like a comeback special, but I'm not opposed to doing a bunch of them if it feels right.
One shoots first, asks questions later. The other tries to mitigate situations without violence.
One is more of a finesse fighter, the other is a bruiser.
One is more knowledgable about myth and mysticism, the other technology and science.
One is extroverted, one is introverted. Following suit, one is flashy and the other is more understated in their behavior and dress. I think it could be interesting if this one switched when they became famous, like fame changes them and they become more indulgent with clothes and jewelry and stuff.
One is more ready to add new members to the team, the other is more selective about who they work with.
None of these traits are directly connected to the others, so either character can have any combo of them. We can talk about which ones we each feel fit our envisioned character before we write out full descriptions.
Some ideas I have for side characters:
A rival PI from the same hometown, maybe a sibling of one of the main characters. They could rise through the ranks with them and bump into each other from time to time. A classmate who has visions.
My main idea for the big recurring villains is a vampire couple who are sort of an evil version of the main characters. They could have kids later who work with them and make vanquishing them even harder.
A young werewolf (or other sentient supernatural being) who has no family and gets taken in by the investigators. Eventually becomes a bit of a sidekick for a while before going out on his own to fight evil.
Good wizard and witch friends. Maybe one who has the power to incarcerate strong evil presences.
A government liaison or army general who is the middleman between the authorities and the duo. He is always skeptical of their abilities but they always prove him wrong.
A scholar who is the foremost authority on occult traditions and practices. Perhaps the only one who knows more than our characters.
A friendly, eccentric ghost who lives in one of their offices or apartments.
A rich collector of curiosities the world over who will lend important artifacts to the PIs for their work in exchange for favors and more interesting items.
A bartender who is plugged in to the supernatural underworld.
I would like a partner who is eager to contribute to the worldbuilding and story arcs. There's a lot that goes into this role and I think it will only thrive if two people share the burden of creating places, characters, and plots. If you're a vintage horror movie nerd like me, that's definitely a plus.
Nothing about the role is really set in stone for me besides it being about paranormal investigators who work together in a world that has a lot of problems with monsters and other supernatural threats. If you have any ideas for tweaks, I'm happy to hear them.
The Setting
There have always been stories, legends, and myths about things that people couldn't explain. What if they were all real?In this world, as far back as the 1930s, there have been reports of human-animal hybrids, vampires, and monsters from around the globe. These were fairly few and far-between, always denied by the authorities, and mostly phased out by the mid- to late-1940s. By the 1950s, extranormal threats have returned in the form of alien invasions, robots gone awry, and ghosts in the world's nuclear systems. It is in this time that the threats are acknowledged by the governments of the world and the people try their best to keep their lives normal. Some insist these monsters are all demons heralding the end of days. Most just try to make their lives feel normal again. By the turn of the decade, paranormal threats large and small are all over the world, and turning largely back to the vampires and wolf-men of the 1930s with a strong uptick of cases surrounding the occult also occurring. This continues largely unchanged until the late-1970s, when cases grow more gruesome and extreme, often involving seemingly normal humans killing scores of people.
Our story mostly takes place between the fifties and the eighties. Basically, the events that are occurring in this world correspond to the horror movies that were being made at the time in the real world. It's a love letter to the history of horror cinema.
The story
The main plot focuses on a pair of partners in the profession of monster hunting, split into "episodes" that tell the story of each case they work on. I'm thinking that these episodes will be mostly in chronological order, with the occasional flashback/forward when a particular chapter provides context or seems to fit well at that point. there are basically 3-4 "eras" that each episode can take place in.1) 1955-1957: "The Early Days". In these episodes, the characters stave off local threats, largely science- and technology-based. Some examples: school science experiments gone awry, oversized pests terrorizing local farms, a few occult/supernatural stories, and assisting in one or two larger, regional event, like a small alien incursion. At this point in time, the profession of "paranormal investigator" emerges as a legitimate career path, and the main characters are seen as prodigies in the field. There may be some romantic undertones here, but the characters would have a bit of a rivalry and as such be in denial of any feelings they have for each other. The notoriety gained from aiding professionals in the larger events ushers in the second era.
The first setting of this story will be the fictional small town of Peldez, New Mexico. Nestled in the crook of State Road 53, between the Ramah Navajo and Acomita Indian Reservations, Peldez is a quiet town of about 993 people, too far from Albuquerque to have a sizable middle class of commuters and too close to Grants to have its own industry. Most of its residents work in mines in Grants to the north, and those who don't mostly work in Cibola National Forest to the west or El Malpais National Monument to the south. The latter contains a volcano and ice caves, ripe for exploring. I think the proximity to Area 51 and Roswell opens up the possibility for lots of fun sci-fi stories, the indigenous communities and history play into some mystical ideas that I've had, which would prepare the characters for the impending occult era, and the small town setting foreshadows a big city culture shock later.
2) 1958-1978: "The Heyday". In this era, the characters find their niche in the industry, becoming experts in the fight against monsters and occult threats. This is where the bulk of the story takes place. There will be recurring villains and multi-episode story arcs, ideally. They are actually making a living out of being paranormal investigators here. Between working on cases all over the country and living on the road, they get the chance to work in several government-commissioned teams facing world-level threats, first gaining some level of celebrity before becoming some of the most famous people in the world. Maybe they start a team of others who have complementary skillsets, or at least find themselves working with others to quell demons and witchcults and the like.
For the setting, There are intermittent periods of romance here, where the pair are no longer able to dam the stream of emotions that has been flowing within them for decades now. For setting here, I think relocating to a major American City, such as San Francisco or New York City would be interesting for a few years before transitioning to somewhere like London or Berlin. Maybe the characters become expatriates because of the Vietnam War (or whatever takes its place in this world), or maybe there's just more work somewhere else.
3) 1979-2008: "The Lean Years". With the decline in paranormal threats throughout the 1980s, new response teams geared towards the gorier threats of age emerge. The aging duo falls into the background, getting fewer government contracts and being largely relegated to exorcising an odd demon or staking a rare vampire. Maybe one of them enters academia in the rapidly growing field of paranormal studies, or relocates to a less developed part of the world where people still need help with vampires and lycanthropes and such. The other could go into consulting, writing books about the glory days, or hosting a talk show. Anything where they don't work with one another, ushering in a time of separation. This is the most emotional chapter in the story, and the darkest for the pair. This is where the romance finally blossoms. They have no one else to turn to, and with work sort of out of the way there's nothing holding them back from each other now. I'm envisioning a big wedding where the heroes and villains of the bygone occult era lay their collective swords down. Sort of the culmination of the romantic arc.
The settings of this era will largely depend on how we take the story, but nostalgic settings could really pull on the heartstrings. The wedding could take place in the hometown again, marking the pair's first return to Peldez since the 1950s.
4) 2009-: "The Resurgence". This one is sort of optional. In the 2010s and 20s and beyond, the world is imperiled by monsters once more. Shamelessly, when the world needs their old heroes, they come crawling back. There may be just one episode here, like a comeback special, but I'm not opposed to doing a bunch of them if it feels right.
The characters
For the inter-character relationship, I'm envisioning them to have a Yin-Yang of opposite but complementary aspects. Some examples I've thought of:One shoots first, asks questions later. The other tries to mitigate situations without violence.
One is more of a finesse fighter, the other is a bruiser.
One is more knowledgable about myth and mysticism, the other technology and science.
One is extroverted, one is introverted. Following suit, one is flashy and the other is more understated in their behavior and dress. I think it could be interesting if this one switched when they became famous, like fame changes them and they become more indulgent with clothes and jewelry and stuff.
One is more ready to add new members to the team, the other is more selective about who they work with.
None of these traits are directly connected to the others, so either character can have any combo of them. We can talk about which ones we each feel fit our envisioned character before we write out full descriptions.
Some ideas I have for side characters:
A rival PI from the same hometown, maybe a sibling of one of the main characters. They could rise through the ranks with them and bump into each other from time to time. A classmate who has visions.
My main idea for the big recurring villains is a vampire couple who are sort of an evil version of the main characters. They could have kids later who work with them and make vanquishing them even harder.
A young werewolf (or other sentient supernatural being) who has no family and gets taken in by the investigators. Eventually becomes a bit of a sidekick for a while before going out on his own to fight evil.
Good wizard and witch friends. Maybe one who has the power to incarcerate strong evil presences.
A government liaison or army general who is the middleman between the authorities and the duo. He is always skeptical of their abilities but they always prove him wrong.
A scholar who is the foremost authority on occult traditions and practices. Perhaps the only one who knows more than our characters.
A friendly, eccentric ghost who lives in one of their offices or apartments.
A rich collector of curiosities the world over who will lend important artifacts to the PIs for their work in exchange for favors and more interesting items.
A bartender who is plugged in to the supernatural underworld.
About me
I'm 25 years old, located in the Pacific timezone (PDT, UTC-7:00). I've been doing text-based roleplay for about nine years now. I usually write about 1,000 words per post. If I'm setting up a scene, usually more, if it's focusing on dialogue, usually less. Word count isn't a hard and fast rule for me, I can do more or less based on what my partner wants. I try to make a response within one day of receiving one, but life gets in the way sometimes.I would like a partner who is eager to contribute to the worldbuilding and story arcs. There's a lot that goes into this role and I think it will only thrive if two people share the burden of creating places, characters, and plots. If you're a vintage horror movie nerd like me, that's definitely a plus.
Nothing about the role is really set in stone for me besides it being about paranormal investigators who work together in a world that has a lot of problems with monsters and other supernatural threats. If you have any ideas for tweaks, I'm happy to hear them.