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- Jan 25, 2021
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C O R E B O R N Hey there! This is my first time creating a Group RP, so I apologize if I gave too much/too little information.
An Arcane inspired Group RP 
I was debating on either creating it based in the world of Arcane, or create my own world... so, here we are with an entirely different world! Please read through the tabs to get a feel for the story, and let me know if you're interested! [ RP ] [ OOC / PLOTTING ] [ CHARACTERS ]
[ RELATIONSHIPS / CONNECTIONS ] [ NPCS ] |
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Main Storyline
Long before the rise of Elaris and Virelow, something had always been lurking beneath the land unbeknownst to all. Deep within the soil, something began to stir. It is not divine, and it's not even intelligent. it's just raw, living energy. It mutates, pulsates, and is impossible to control. They call it the Catalyst Core, and it's leaking.
Both cities are beginning to feel the effects.
Its radiation warps both matter and mind. The fractured land around it - known only as the Fracture Zone - is spreading, and now both Elaris and Virelow are racing to control it to their liking.
It is valuable once it is studied, because exposure to the Core can give you powers, enhance your weapons once extracted, create drugs⦠or take everything from you.
The Origin of Elaris and Virelow's Divide
Elaris and Virelow once were together and part of a unified city-state - Elvaire. Elaris was the heart of innovation, with their pristine clean towers, powerful corporations and advanced education. Virelow, on the other hand, was the industrial engine beneath it, where miners, builders, and tech laborers called it home - making Elaris's innovations possible. As Elaris continued to climb higher, Virelow was left behind, buried within smog and silence.
Virelow demanded better. They requested cleaner air, access to research, and fair treatment - and despite their efforts, their pleas were ignored. With that, they pushed harder, and Elaris shut them down. Literally. Energy was cut. Data was firewalled, and security drones swarmed the streets.
The final straw was when a Virelow citizen leaked proof that Elaris had been hiding the damage that were caused from their tech, both environmental and medical. Protests ensued, lasting weeks until they turned violent. People died, and trust was gone.
Elaris officially branded Virelow as dangerous, and Virelow stopped asking for any help and began to build their own way - unstable, rebellious, rough, but most importantly free.
Once the core was discord years later, both cities saw it as an opportunity to get more violent with each other. The Catalyst Core didn't cause the split, but it made old wounds impossible to ignore.
Potential Plot Phases [SUBJECT TO CHANGE]
Phase One
"It cracked open, and now everyone wants it."
- Someone accidentally comes across the newfound deep crack within the Fracture Zone, prompting words to go around about its findings.
- Elaris holds an emergency council session behind closed doors
- The Ascension Institute quietly begins to recruit their top students that trains them to monitor or control the effects of exposure from the Core.
- Tension begins between scientists and military officials. Scientists want to study, but the military wants to weaponize it now.
- Black-market clinics begin to rise in Virelow, offering Core treatments to those willing to gamble with the risk of mutations.
- Gangs begin to battle over Core fracture zones, claiming them as territory and selling the shards.
- Elaris suspects the Core was intentionally triggered by Virelow - due to revenge for decades of abandonment.
- Churches, cults, and ideologies form - some fearful, some worshipful.
Phase Two
"It's not about science anymore. It's war."
- New chasms open, no longer confined to the original zone.
- Mutated people form a group called The Altered, and some want to help, while others want revenge.
- The Council gives the greenlight to experiment with Core weapon testing. This creates the first wave of Core-Fused Operatives - soldiers that are enhanced with limited field control.
- New fear laws pass in Elaris: possession of unlicensed Core residue becomes a capital offense.
- The Ascension holds public demonstrations of the Core, but something goes wrong mid-presentation.
- Each city begins to sabotage Core extraction missions.
- Virelow begins hosting willing mutations out in the open, treating them like revolutionaries or saints.
- Core gangs begin forming ideologies: some want freedom through power, others want revenge through destruction.
- Someone has released Lucent variants - a new drug strain that awakens latent Core energy in users.
- Elaris releases propaganda framing Virelow as reckless Core addicts whose instability is a global threat.
Phase Three
"It's spreading. A future can't be built on poison."
- Core storms can now pass through cities, causing sensory overload, hallucinations, and possible mutations.
- The Council becomes divided. Half want to seal the Core with containment tech; half want to harvest it completely.
- Machines start to glitch, powers begin to backfire. The world feels like it is coming apart.
- Public panic erupts as city walls crack under subtle Core surges. Drones short out. Purifiers fail.
- The Altered Syndicate fully declares: "We are the future. Let the Core choose us."
- Others in Virelow, afraid of losing their humanity, break away and beg Elaris for protection.
- Core-tech sabotage escalates - critical infrastructure on both sides begins to collapse.
DM NOTE (Potential plot hooks: Players can choose between Elaris, Virelow, or The Altered. A core experiment goes wrong, unleashing a massive amount of mutated energy. An important machine or person begins mutating uncontrollably and they need to find a stabilizer.)
Phase Four
"This is not the first time it has awakened."
- A hidden area is found. Buried deep into the Fracture is where The Cradle lies. A hidden ruin that holds the original Core shard.
- Records found in the Cradle Reveals that it is a remnant of an ancient pre-human civilization that attempted to use it and failed.
- The Cradle energy is stable but it comes at a cost - It can stop the spread or it can be used to restart everything.
- Fights break out on what to do. Destroy the Core or Control it? Perhaps Merge with it?
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What is the Catalyst Core
It's a volatile mass of raw energy that is embedded within the world. It pulses with elemental force, while releasing unstable radiation. Its energy is not divine, instead it's radioactive. It's deeply unpredictable and mutagenic. The core is ancient and unnatural, and was unearthed by accident. The Core is the origin of all magic and technology - yet, humanity never knew it. The minerals and crystals that are extracted and used today were merely residual waste - the sheddings of the Core's passive existence.
Effects of the Core
- Physical mutations, such as crystalline skin, extra limbs, glowing veins, semi-organic tech protruding from the body. The drawback being their body is disfigured, and they risk permanent instability.
- They could even gain strengths and powers, such as discharging energy, manipulate gravity, regenerate their tissue, etc. The drawback being that overuse causes cellular breakdown and hallucinations of pain, etc.
- Gain reflexive telepathy, predictive vision, or hysensitivty to sound and light. The drawback being sensory overload, blackouts, nosebleeds, or even memory loss.
- Contagion-Type mutation, meaning they can infect others with emotion-based energy or Core reactions. The drawback being they slowly lose their individuality.
Exposure Levels
Short-term exposure
- Dizziness, temperature shifts, nausea
- Voices/whispers just out of range, but not mystical - just mental strain
- Skin irritation, eyes flickering with faint glow
- Gear functions at reduced efficiency or produces unexpected outputs
- Mild mutations begin (glowing veins, muscle shifts, pain-resistant skin)
- Mental strain: intrusive thoughts, memory blending, identity confusion
- Sensory distortion (smell color, hear touch, etc.)
- Emotional bleed: players may uncontrollably feel each other's emotions
- Severe mutation - limbs, nerves, or organs alter
- Begin to develop Core-induced abilities
- Mental instability: paranoia, hive-mind behavior, violent outbursts
- Risk of permanent change, or becoming a "Fractured Entity"
What can the Core provide to you?
Drugs - LucentForms
Nicknames - Glow, Pulse, Starblood
- It's usually taken as an injectable serum, but pills and vamporized formats exist and can be purchased.
- It glows faintly in the dark, and post-use users have shimmering veins.
- It induces a euphoric "clarity state", where users have increased perception, amplified emotions and inhumane reflexes.
- Users describe that they are able to see found, feel time beginning to slow, and sense other people's intent.
- Grants momentary bursts of violent strength and hyper-awareness.
- it is highly addictive, and at first it's euphoric but later can cause seizures, paranoia or hallucinations.
- Long-term use can cause Core burn: nerve rot, memory erosion, and glowing scars.
- Overdose can trigger spontaneous mutation or death by internal detonation.
Core-Forged Weapons
Corerend Blade
- These blades are infused with refined Core-crystals, and emit a humming pulse when they're swung.
- Cuts through most armor due to vibrating frequency, and even kinetic shields.
- Some models can even absorb energy when they make contact, and store it for a devastating second strike.
Pulsecasters - Core-Fused Guns
- Fire off a solid-core round and detonate like a bomb on impact with volatile plasma bursts.
- They are high risk and high reward due to each shot destabilizing the gun's structure.
- Elite soldiers can wield shoulder-mounted Fracture Canons that can tear through terrain.
Core Toxin Grenade
- Once it explodes, it leaves a mist of Core spores that evoke nausea, disorientation and hallucinations.
- Can leave behind minor environmental instability, such as floating debris and magnetic storms.
Living Core Whips
- Core shards that were grown into tendrils.
- Can shift their shape based off the user's emotion or rage.
- Can latch onto victims and override their nervous system temporarily.
Bio-Enhancements / Mods
Core-Surge Spinal Implants
- Installed to channel low-level Core energy into physical boosts
- Gives user temporary strength and speed surgery.
- Too many surfers can fry the user's brain.
- Lets the user see weak points, heat and even Core lines through walls.
- Slowly the irises loses its natural color and may drift out of alignment during surgery.
- Bone is infused with Core-forged crystalline mesh, and can block bullets and blades.
- The risk of rejection is high, and can cause bleeding or spontaneous bone fractures.
- The ink is laced with microscopic Core dust and they respond to mood or danger
- Some may glow during combat, and it can even serve as locks - unlocking hidden gear or weapons, maybe even rooms?
The Fracture Zone's - Where it all began
- Toxic fog blankets this area, pulsating with color that can either make or break an individual.
- If one stays for too long, creatures and individuals alike could be mutated beyond recognition.
- The energy fields within the area can cancel tech or fry magic. It can make machines potentially glitch, melt, or provoke them to become semi-sentient.
The Cradle (Core Nexus/Optional Endgame Area)
- It is the beating heart of the Core.
- One may leave with great power or not leave at all.
- A perfect shard rests here. It is pure, stable, but transformative
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Elaris - The Gilded Spire
Tagline - "Progress is peace. Peace through control."
Core belief - Knowledge is power, but only when controlled.
Overview
Elaris is a gleaming metropolis built on the morals of order, innovation, and hierarchy. Elongated towers that stretch into the clouds are polished with rare crystal and copper, linked by gliding trains and mechanical bridges. It is a utopia of invention and elegance on the surface, where every device is run by ethereal energy and every citizen is tracked and cataloged. Yet, beneath the shine lies great fear - fear of chaos, of the potential unknown, and now? The radiation coming from beneath their beloved world.
Aesthetic
- Art deco meets arcane tech
- Floating street lamps, drones with gilded wings, surveillance eyes in statue heads
- Alchemical gardens suspended in glass
- Calm, quiet streets lined with automaton guards
Power Structure
Governed by The Lumen Council, made up of scientists, technocrats, and arc-mages. The lower classes work in infrastructure and data-mining, barely seen by the elite. Their police force is The Accord Division.
What They Want from the Core - Strategic control.
- They want to mine and stabilize the core fragments, maybe even weaponize them.
- They aim to fuel their systems that run on refined Core energy, and build armor, weapons, etc.
- Found a way to build Core-tech suppression suits to withstand the long exposure.
Places in Elaris
The Elaris Ascension Institute
Elaris' most prestigious and strictly regulated university. Getting accepted in a high honor, and students are ranked publicly. Many fields can be studied here.
The Tranquil Promenade
A shopping district in pristine condition, where high-end tech boutiques, pharmaceutical vendors, and Core stabilizer clinics operate. They are under tight surveillance. This location is built atop of old protest tunnels.
The Apex Spire Forum
A towering public square, where political speeches, tech explos, and citizen announcements are held. Often, members of The Lumen Circle gather here under the watchful eyes of guards and drones.
Sector G-12 Labs
A government funded research facility with tight access with bustling staff, clean rooms and tight access. Here, they conduct research with the mutations.
Virelow - The Broken Crown
Tagline - "We build from what you throw away."
Core Belief - Survival is sacred and freedom is worth blood.
Overview
Virelow festers beneath the bustling city of Elaris, the area a vast sprawl of rusted scaffolds, tunnels and scrapyard cities.It thrives off of rebellion, grit, and ungoverned freedom. Here, inventors tinker with cast-off tech, gangs are aplenty and carve out territory, and mystics whisper about dreams bleeding through the cracks.
Aesthetic
- Neon-glow graffiti and rusted steel.
- Mismatched tech cobbled from discarded magic-infused gear.
- Steam pouring from vents, alley vendors selling glowing "fracture charms".
- A thousand voices echoing in tight corridors.
Power Structure
No government whatsoever. Only shifting power blocs. The ones that rule these lands are gangs, rebel scientists, underground faiths, and cyber-shamans. Alliances are temporary, but grudges are eternal.
What they want from the Core - Ascendancy
- They believe the Core could grant them the edge to finally break free.
- They may use the Core to build unstable gadgets, black market weapons, and will go so far to willingly mutate themselves.
- Core cults are beginning to rise, and rogue engineers are pushing their limits.
Places in Virelow
The Wire Docks
Located in Virelow. A harbor system within the underground city, used for salvage delivery, people smuggling, and a meeting ground for mercenary contracts. It reeks of sea and oil, and the air is thick with tension - as if a brawl is about to happen at any moment.
The Scraphound Market
Located in Virelow. Ran by rogue modders and others, it's a massive open-air junkyard-turned-bazaar. You can find any and everything here: Drugs, body parts, you name it they got it.
The Lowtone Arena
Located in Virelow. A combat pit where those fight for either coin, respect, or catharsis. Mutated and Altered people are popular contestants nowadays.
The Flickerhive
Located in Virelow. A heavily frequented social club, where music pulsates and the walls are layered with reactive neon. This space is popular among rebels, hackers, artists, and more. No violence is allowed inside.
The Havenwall
Located in Virelow. A public square that was purposely built around a bombed-out piece of the original Elarian wall. It is a place where people mourn, celebrate or recruit. It is covered in memorials, rebel graffiti, and missing person posters. Speeches can also be made here.
The Fracture Zone - The Hollow Below
Tagline - "It cracked the ground⦠then it cracked reality."
Overview
The Fracture zone is a unstable territory that inhabits the Catalyst Core - where toxic energy has permanently altered the land, its physics, and the life forms within. It is not magical, instead, it's a place of dangerous mutation and radiation, with unpredictable environmental shifts. Both Elaris and Virelow send expeditions there, yet few return the same. In its center lies the Cradle, the deepest point of the Core influence. It is rumored to hold the purest origialshard of the Crystal Core itself, being stable.
Aesthetic
- Cracked earth that glows faintly beneath with pulsating light from the Core
- Skies are streaked with inverted auroras and static lightning
- Hovering rock fragments are suspended by a magnetic force
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DM NOTE - Not all roles need to be filled, and descriptions can change. They're here to inspire you.
If you want to play something else that is not on this list, or want to play more than one character, please go ahead!
PLAYABLE ELARIS ROLES
Engineer
You build weapons and many other inventions, but now you're experimenting with Core fragments.
Academy Dropout
Once a part of the Ascension Institute, you were expelled for proposing "irrational" theories.
Elite Spy to infiltrate Virelow
You're trained the Virelow ways to blend in to report findings to Virelow.
Scientist
You research many things, but the mutants are your latest fascination. Perhaps you have gone too far in your studies in the name of science.
Professor
You teach at the Ascension Institute. Maybe you know something others don't.
Chief of Police
You lead The Accord Division, Elaris's police force. You're either loyal, or questioning it.
Student
You study at the Ascension Institute. Perhaps you get asked to study the mutants.
Council
You are a part of the council called The Lumen Circle. You either support the cause wholeheartedly, or you're starting to second guess yourself.
Doctor
You diagnose and treat illnesses, you may use AI-assistance.
PLAYABLE VIRELOW ROLES
Scrap-Tech Modder
You build weapons and tools from discarded Elarian tech. Core shards are coming into play now, how do you use it?
Ex-Elarian Defector
Once a part of Elarian society (scientist/doctor/soldier/etc) you are now loyal to Virelow. How do you contribute?
Black Market Surgeon
You are brilliant but morally grey. You help update/remove/replace different hardware. You may have saved lives, but you also created monsters. The Core is here now, what do you do with it on your patients?
Undercover spy to infiltrate Elaris
You're trained in the Elaris ways, and manage to get in as an apprentice inventory/assistant researcher. What do you do with all of this access?
Gang Leader
You run the majority of Virelow, either for good or bad. Do you use your people to inspire fear or loyalty?
Drug Dealer
You specialize in dealing drugs, and you're well-connected and respected. You now have Lucent, do you take it too, or do you know better?
Smuggler
You move goods, any possibly people, between Elaris and Virelow. Do you get caught, serve jail time? What nightmares have you seen?
Flickerhive Owner
You proudly own The Flickerhive. What kind of deals do you make with the locals?
Street Muscle Enforcer
You work for someone bigger, and are used for collection, intimidation or cleanup. Are you a puppet for your boss and you want to get away, or are you loyal until the bitter end?
Potential Player Hooks to motivate you!- You and your sibling were separated at the start of the divide. One chose Elaris. One chose Virelow.
- You have a family member who mutated, and you're hiding them.
- You were involved in an early Core experiment.
- You caused an accident that sparked a skirmish.
- You're slowly mutating but you're lying about it.
- Someone you love went missing in the Fracture.
- You're spying for your party, but for the other city.
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H U M A N S
They're the dominant race. They are widespread and versatile.
Found in every stratum of both cities.
Virelow-born humans are more often than not physically tougher due to their living conditions; Elaris-born are more refined or tech-reliant.
They're more susceptible to having families across both cities, making loyalty complicated.
F E L A R I
They're agile, high-reflex humanoids with cat-like physiology that possess tails/ears.
They're excellent scouts, messengers, or even parkour-styled saboteurs.
They avoid core energy due to it overstimulating their nervous system
A V I A R I
They're light and wind-sensitive. They have feathered crests and gliding membranes such as leathery or feather wings.
Prefer higher places and open skies.
Unless instructed, they avoid the Core due to air pressure sensitivity.
N O C T A R I
They are long-lived beings with pale skin and pointed ears, and wield a photographic memory with analytical minds.
Mostly work as archivists, professors, mechanics, or doctors.
Valuable with the potential to know about pre-Core historical knowledge.
They can react negatively to the Core due to their brain chemistry reacting violently to the surges.
T H O R N E B L O O D
They're flora-hybrid humanoids with bark-like skin. They wield vine tattoos and hold a deep connection to soil-based magic.
Live in garden-sectors within the city or underground farms.
They often are ones to support neutral causes, resistant groups, or environmental restoration teams.
H E R E I N
They are not misted, but wild, feral humanoids that can have traits of panthers, wolves, bears, anything beast-like.
Aggressive when provoked, and loyal to their clan or pack.
They enjoy hunting mutants for sport.
They're fast, lean, and work mostly as street-level mercenaries or resistance fighters, even serving as police if trusted enough.
S K A A R I
They're cold-blooded humanoids, their skin is covered in scales, and they hold regenerative trails.
They don't absorb Core radiation due to their skin not absorbing it.
They are proud, traditional, and are deeply rooted in clan honor.
D R A K K A R I
They're humanoids that descended from old draconic bloodlines. They posses scaled skin and vestigial horns.
Regarded as elite fighters or even guardians.
Core energy seems to reject them violently and causes sickness.
DM NOTE - If you want to play something else that is not on this list, or want to play more than one character, please go ahead!
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