WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

[Great Beyond]

So I was hella bored at work and started brainstorming crazy ideas and came up with this perfect for my first WWYCD:

Once every hundred years the stars and moons are aligned just right so that the shaman of a small Aztec (or Inuit, Chinese or whatever mystic religion would fit best with your campaign) village can perform a ritual that allows the spirits of the dead to return for one night and visit the living. In the past, the effect had always been localized to the immediate vicinity, but for some reason - perhaps the ritual went wrong, or the Shaman got ambitious - but this time the effect is global. So for several hours in the middle of the night, every single person on the planet gets a visit from beyond the grave.

The spell is a begin one; no armies of the dead feasting on the living or anything horrific like that. And the effect is temporary - 12 or so hours later, everything goes back to the way it was. The living don't get to choose who visits them, but it will be someone significant to them.

Who would visit your character, and what would the two do? Would it be a night of wild passionate sex with a lover who prematurely died? Would it be a drug using brother who died of an overdose? A Golden Age hero who served as your insperation when you were a kid? A killer gets a heart to heart with his victim? Do they spend the evening ignoring each other hoping the 12 hours runs out quickly?

[Amused]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Gwen (daughter of Tinkerbelle) would receive a visit from her grandma Wendy. Have a pleasant evening, then after it was done go visit this tribe and try to figure how to re-create the effects. So that when she finally got back to Never Land she could resurrect the Lost Boys.

I imagine it would become and unhealthy obsession until someone finally knocked some sense into her that it either wouldn't work or that she shouldn't do it. Following would be a rather dramatic emotional break down (probably disorienting for the rest of the party, because she is normally very upbeat and quirky).

 

[Sundog]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

To understand Terminus' visitor, you'd need some background. On his world, the Earth Directorate created a variety of enhanced humans to help in their job of running the world (the ED was a World Government, replacing the UN in our world, but much more powerful).

 

The various types of enhanced human were known by the colours of their uniforms. Silvers were Security, Greens were rangers and ecologicians, Reds were Medical, Blues were Scientists, Yellows were empathic TruthTellers.

 

At the beginning of the war with the Disruption, an organization dedicated to the destruction of the ED, two more colours were added: Blacks, also known as Terminus Soldiers, the first true warriors produced (silvers wre more investigators) and Whites, Precognitives, intended as advisors for the ED Directorates. This last group was brought into existence amidst great fanfare, and was said to presage a new Golden Age for humanity.

 

Needless to say, the Disruption saw the Whites as their greatest threat. They began a campaign of assassination against those already decanted, and destroyed the only facility capable of making such major alterations to the genome.

 

Terminus, on his fiirst mission, was part of a team that was supposed to escort the last White, a twelve year old girl not yet come into her powers, from the ruins of Paris to a safe facility in Switzerland. They came under attack at the remains of the Eiffel Tower. Terminus was the only survivor, and was forced to watch when the Red Cyborg, one of the Disruption's top operatives, eviscerated her.

 

It would be that little girl who would come to Terminus. Her death has haunted him for all of his life, and he would take the opportunity to ask her forgiveness as the greatest of gifts.

[Spectrum]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Shadowfist: It would most likely be his grandfather. They'd spend the time talking, probably about what's happened in the time since he died and that would be pretty much it. He might wonder how or why it happened but he wouldn't question it and just be happy for a chance to see him one more time.

 

Spectrum: There's no one of great significance here.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Glad you are watching Babylon 5.

 

Blackcat isn't on Earth, but if she were it would likely be Tan - her fiance that died as a bystander in superfight back before she had gone super (and helped her train her powers up to superhero level). She visited his ghost, or the image on him in her mind, asking for his blessing on her second relationship. They would likely just chat about what she is doing with her life now.

 

Ballistic would have a whole bunch of them - his DNPC and his superagency all got killed during an invasion of Earth. He feels tremendously guilty for that. His girlfriend would tell him to shape up and stop leaving his life behind.

 

Terminal Velocity would likely be visited by the ghost of his father. He would either do the Hamlet thing and tell him to take out the person that killed him, or talk to him about his life, and how he wishes he could shart it with him.

 

Penumbra would likely be visted by his grandfather, the one who had a heart attack when Penumbra showed him his secret ID as his grandson. Penumbra had almost singlehandedly wiped the family business of the Mafia clan he was born into. That would be unhappy. Maybe his fiance, the one that was killed, and decided him to leave the family.

Smokeater has no one yet. The campaign is just getting off the ground.

 

 

For refence I generally don't answer these questions from the point of view of inactive chaaracters, and Meeb's game has gone on hiatus for the GM to recharge, so he won't show up on these much for a while.

[Trebuchet]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Zl'f would be visited by her mother, Karina, who died in 1994 of ovarian cancer when her daughter was eleven years old. Elena (Zl'f) would treasure every second of the visit; most of it probably spent just talking. Elena seldom saw her mother, a lead ballerina in the famed Kirov Ballet company in St. Petersburg, Russia, even before Elena went off to gymnastics school at the age of nine for the next seven years. She'd have a lot to tell her mom, even though she knows she'll eventually be reunited with her mother in Heaven when she herself dies. (Although, as an immortal, Zl'f knows that may be a while; she is in a dangerous line of work.)

 

Great WWYCD!

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Style would be visited by his father, David Cohen, the original Emerald Knight. His father recovered the Emerald Crown of Krinn and used it to become a leading mystery man in WWII on the side of the allies, and later in the service of America in the Korean and Viet Nam wars. By the Viet Nam era the crown had driven David mad. He was killed by agents in the pay of the Trismegestus Council in 1971, when Style was still an infant.

 

Style and David would discuss his father's life, and Style's own fear that his use of magic is slowly corruptive.

 

Flesh Gordan would be visited by Lilly Lamour, Vivian Wu, Six Gun Kathy Kinkaid, and Suzy Strong, the women he loved and lost in the 1930s before being drawn into V'Han's empire of ten thousand dimensions. At first the girls would be surprised to see one-another, but would attempt to be civil while re-living the good and bad times with Flesh and adjusting to the changes in his personality caused by decades filled with many, many head injuries. Unfortunately, bickering would soon win out. Just as the girls are about to come to blows, they realize that their lives were all ruined by Flesh Gordon.

 

He would spend the last three hours before dawn fleeing their wrath.

[Trebuchet]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Style would be visited by his father, David Cohen, the original Emerald Knight. His father recovered the Emerald Crown of Krinn and used it to become a leading mystery man in WWII on the side of the allies, and later in the service of America in the Korean and Viet Nam wars. By the Viet Nam era the crown had driven David mad. He was killed by agents in the pay of the Trismegestus Council in 1971, when David was still an infant.

 

Style and David would discuss his father's life, and Style's own fear that his use of magic is slowly corruptive.

 

Flesh Gordan would be visited by Lilly Lamour, Vivian Wu, Six Gun Kathy Kinkaid, and Suzy Strong, the women he loved and lost in the 1930s before being drawn into V'Han's empire of ten thousand dimensions. At first the girls would be surprised to see one-another, but would attempt to be civil while re-living the good and bad times with Flesh and adjusting to the changes in his personality caused by decades filled with many, many head injuries. Unfortunately, bickering would soon win out. Just as the girls are about to come to blows, they realize that their lives were all ruined by Flesh Gordon.

 

He would spend the last three hours before dawn fleeing their wrath.

I have somewhat reluctantly come to the conclusion your characters lead much more interesting* lives than mine do.

 

* "Interesting" as in the old Chinese curse.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Let's see ... Quantum Kitsune has a dead mother, recently killed in a super-battle (although not actually by a super, per se, just one of his gun-toting thugs).

 

I doubt they'd ever get to spending any time talking, as seeing a ghost would very easily send the somewhat skittish QKit into a panicked frenzy of 'teleporting anywhere but HERE'.

 

She's 14, what did you expect?

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

I have somewhat reluctantly come to the conclusion your characters lead much more interesting* lives than mine do.

 

* "Interesting" as in the old Chinese curse.

 

Your characters live rich, detailed lives, filled with adventure, promise, love both romantic and familial, and personal growth.

 

Style lives a life that is fairly normal for a Super, though the guilt and doom are turned up a bit.

 

Flesh, unfortunately, lives in interesting times.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Void: Would be visited by one of two spirits - his father, or his fiancee. Either one would lead to a breakdown of some sort. His father, he'd probably fly into a rage at the man for killing himself and leaving Dominic unable to take the time to cope with his rapidly-spiralling-out-of-control life. His fiancee, he'd probably curl up into a ball and spend the next twelve-hours in a whimpering mix of self-pity and self-loathing as he blames himself for her death.

 

Afterwards, he'd get a grip on himself and probably go out and break his weak code against killing very cheerfully if he could get his hands on the P.U.R.E. agents who planted the car-bomb.

 

Darkchild: Would spend the next twelve hours enjoying her time with her mother and commisserating about her father/boy problems. And getting her blessing regarding the whole "I'm dating a mutant flame-wielder who might be a living avatar of the Dragon" thing.

 

Scarface: Would probably be spending the next twelve hours hiding from the ghost of his dead lover, and trying to protect said ghost from the other ghosts coming to visit him - the criminals he murdered avenging her death.

 

Sparky: Would get 12 hours of time to play with a ghost-dog, and enjoy the time with his Dad, wishing he was intelligent enough to express whether or not he approved of Sparky's superhero career.

 

Field Test: Would probably be seeing himself, and wondering what the heck that meant.

[Narratio]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Kapitan Reich - the dimensionally lost superhero from a world where Nazi Europe continues today, would probably be visited by the ghost of his father (the first KR), a true Arayan Superman. They'd spend all night discussing the why's and what's of why his son, although a party member, disowns the Eugenics Commission. And why, in fact, he supports various antisocial elements like the European Freedom League and those verdamdt American Crusaders!

 

The conversation would be long, loud and probably require a hazmat team in the morning.

[sinanju]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Hell's Angel would be visited by her brother. She saw him gunned down in front of her by minions of the Salamander, who would become her arch enemy when she became a superheroine. The same minions later captured and tortured her, trying to find out what she'd done with the notebook (filled with incriminating evidence) that her brother had stolen and which he'd been killed over.

 

She'd spend a while ranting at him, I suspect. Not because his attempt at burglary got her tortured and nearly killed (even if it led to her turning up an "Ace" in the end), but because he got himself killed so goddamn stupidly. She'd spent so many years taking care of him and her little sister, trying to keep them from growing up like the irresponsible, criminal sorts their mother consorted with all that time. And in the end, she failed--he stubbornly trod the path she'd warned him about so many times.

 

Then she'd just be happy to have a final chance to talk to him again.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Kam'e'ron N'Kadie: he is a master genetist that was Director of a project of a Galactic Government's expirement into enhancement of the human form.

 

He developed a retro-virus that was designed to give he's people slowed aging, some enhanced atributes, and immunity to most diseases. Well it worked, he knows because he took it, but the government had a different idea. They took the basic virus and had it weaponized, it was redesigned to force developement of 'hyper' abilities. They found a planet in a very distant area of the galaxy and traveled to it and they introduced it. It didn't work, in the area chosen no one developed any hyper abilities, but many did die.

 

The leaders of the Government Project made it look as if Dr N'Kadie was the one that had the idea to use he's virus as a weapon, he was farmed and tatooed with one that could not be removed. It was Genoside, he was then placed into cryostatis and sent off world.

 

He's sister was a member of a mystic order, she found out that her brother hadn't been behind the seeming murder of a race of beings. The order and others started a war to remove those that did the deed. In the end the Government fell, and it dissapeared from history. 2000 yrs later he is found and awakened. It took time but the ones that woke him came to trust he wasn't a mass murderer.

 

So the one that would come to him would be he's sister. They would talk of the life she had after the war, and that she had a daughter. He would tell her of he's life and that her grand-daughter was one of the ones that found him and that she is happy.

 

The world in question was Earth, in our game world the retro-virus became part of the human genome, eventually it did activate and the creation of 'mutants' happened. That information that one man's research is directly responsible for 'mutants' is hidden from the world. In reality it wasn't just that retro-virus that helped create 'mutants', other races had used Earth as a lab as well.

[Zed-F]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

If Soulbarb's father's spirit is able to visit her, Soulbarb would be pleasantly surprised, as it would mean that somehow this ritual has disrupted whatever containment mechanism the Choir (a supervillain group) has used to keep his soul prisoner. That's good because she doesn't want the Choir to have posession of his soul, and she'd immediately start looking for a way to ensure he doesn't get back within their grasp when the ritual period ends. On the other hand, she'd also be having a furious emotional battle with him the whole time as well. He is, after all, the one who tried to ritually sacrifice her for personal infernal power in the first place, and that's something you don't forgive easily. She'd be very tempted to just let Camuranima take him back to Hell where he belongs.

 

Sylph Nothing significant.

[DEFCON Clown]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

I like that episode of Babylon 5 alot too, Great Beyond.

[Marketeer]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

I like that episode of Babylon 5 alot too' date=' Great Beyond.[/quote']

 

I believe it was one of only three episodes not written by JMS.

 

Instead, this particular one was by Neil Gaiman.

 

 

[Badger]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Badger-Probably either his mother or sister (who were killed when he was young). More than likely his sister I think. After the 12 hours? She is gone (again). He always blamed himself for letting her get killed (he felt it was his duty to protect her, he accepted he couldnt save his mother as she basically sacrificed herself to save them, but his sister he just couldnt accept dying, it led him onto the path he is now). As a result of getting her back for 12 hours and losing her again. Well, his mind goes completely unhinged. He is a reformed villain, so he might go back to villainy. More than likely, though the new mental imbalance turns that Psych Lim of hunting down that villain who killed his family to Total. Instead, of waiting for his arch-nemesis next plan to proceed and come to him. Badger would go on the hunt, like he did in his "evil" days. Totally, breaking off ties with allies. Obtaining information by any means necessary. In short, his team would probably have to put him down. Not pretty.

 

Edit: I could see her trying to bring "peace" to his mind about everything that happened. And it could work to some degree. He probably would not change much though. Just a little of day to day relief. He would probably never break from trying to get their murderer. But, if the effort fails and he isnt convinced and cant deal with it? Like I first mentioned the poop hits the fan. The more I think about it this WWYCD it could work to bring him an inner peace. If anybody could reach him it would have been his sister or mother. Would be interesting and fun to RP.

 

 

 

 

frosty Bob- Well this immortal gun nut has killed a whole lot during wars (WWII, Korea, 'Nam, Desert Storm, mercenary between wars). Gonna be a long night.

What would he do? Probably try to kill them again.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

For Dr. Anomaly, it would probably settle a question that's plagued him for years. Both is parents are "missing, presumed dead" in the Bermuda Triangle. He's never been able to find any trace of them or their boat, despite years of trying. He honestly has no idea if they're alive or dead; if one of them visits him, that question would at least be settled. If that's the case, they'd likely spend the night talking, with Solomon (Dr. Anomaly) trying to both say all those things he somehow never got around to saying while they were still around, and telling and showing them what he's done and what he's become, and hoping for their approval.

 

If not his parents (either because they AREN'T dead, or whatever cosmic factors behind this don't see fit to send their spirits his way) I can't think off-hand of an immediate second choice, unless it's one of the great "gadgeteer" types from the past, like Nikola Tesla.

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

If not his parents (either because they AREN'T dead, or whatever cosmic factors behind this don't see fit to send their spirits his way) I can't think off-hand of an immediate second choice, unless it's one of the great "gadgeteer" types from the past, like Nikola Tesla.

 

"Soloman? Hi, I'm your libido. We've got to talk."

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

"Soloman? Hi' date=' I'm your libido. We've got to talk."[/quote']

 

Hey! I'll have you know that Solomon was recently married, is VERY much attracted to his wife physically as well as mentally, and in fact they are still on their honeymoon! (And have been for many months, real-world time, because the campaign is currently on hold due to pressing real-life issues.)

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Hey! I'll have you know that Solomon was recently married' date=' is VERY much attracted to his wife physically as well as mentally, and in fact they are still on their honeymoon! (And have been for many months, real-world time, because the campaign is currently on hold due to pressing real-life issues.)[/quote']

 

 

[prodigyduck]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Goblyn would be visited by his parents, who were slain by VENOM agents (they were undercover PAX agents who were discovered). They would spend the night talking about what kind of man Lex was growing up to be. Lex's parents would be proud that he has grown strong and smart, but a little disappointed that he has relied on Revenant so long. This would result in the turning point that leads to Goblyn developing his Requiem identity.

 

In the end, Lex would want to know if his parents knew the specific identity of their killer(s) so that he might bring them in.

 

 

 

There is no one significantly dead to American Eagle that would come back to him this night. He might want Marilyn Moreau or Betty Rage to visit, but niether of them are really dead. Nathan would more than likely be plagued by spirits of those saying "You didn't save me" and not listening to the fact that American Eagle is just one guy... he can't be everywhere at once.

[Dino]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

[nitpick] The Aztecs didn't have shamans, they had priests. The modern equivalent to a shaman in central america is a brujo. [/nitpick]

[DataPacRat]

Re: WWYCD - The Night of the Dead

 

Bunny doesn't really have any late close acquaintances that wouldn't be visiting somebody else... the most likely candidate would be a friendly black lab; if animals don't count, then, hm, perhaps somebody from much further back - Nikola Tesla, John Dee, or, more likely, an egyptian priest who once wrote a papyrus Bunny read who simply hasn't got anyone else to visit.

 

(I'm avoiding the time-travelling version of Bunny deliberately; once you start mixing temporal phenomena with the afterlife, the possibility quickly arises that /everybody/ is a reincarnation of everybody else...)