"What's going on?"
"I don't know, but it's weird and it's pissed off."
When a lone dog runs into a research outpost, tailed by a pair of crazy [strike]Swedes[/strike] Norwegians in a helicopter who have a fondness for firing rifles and throwing grenades at it, the team of scientists, mechanics and pilots realise they're in trouble.
This is a MiniPhalla. It's sort of like a
Phalla only on a smaller scale.
This Phalla takes place in US Outpost 31, in the frozen wastes of the antarctic. A familiarity with the movie is going to help, but it isn't essential. I'm aiming this Phalla to be more roleplayed than some, and there'll be something for everyone to do every day beyond just voting, so I'm hoping inactivity won't be an issue. There's a shapechanging alien on the loose in the complex, which can mimic any living creature perfectly after absorbing and changing their biomass, converting them into another Thing. The team has to find them, and eliminate them, otherwise Real Bad Things will happen when the shift change arrives in a few months.
Sign up in a colour. Any colour. No, really. Any colour.
All of the standard rules apply, with some extra mechanics.
No screen caps, no anonymous contact, no living talking to the dead, etc.
Every one will vote for someone in
Bold Cyan each day to take 'The Test' (to be described in the narration), to see if they're human or otherwise. If they're human, nothing happens. If they're a Thing, they get torched on the spot. I would ask that you retract in
Bold Lime, because that would be real helpful, y'know?.
Vote close is 10pm GMT.
Clarifications should be asked in
Bold Orange.
All proboard links should be sent to me. There probably won't be any need for them, though.
INACTIVITY: This is going to be a small, small game. 12 people, plus reserves. It's also going to be more about paranoia/roleplay/interaction than just voting for
TehSpectre, then checking the thread the next day to see if you're dead. Everyone will have something to do every night! You are ALL special(s), in effect.
So, if you're unable to be active a few hours before (and possibly after) voteclose, or at least when everyone else is, or you're not the sort of person to have a little roleplay with your Phalla, you might not enjoy this as much as someone that would do that sort of thing.
MECHANICS:Conversion - Yes, this is a conversion Phalla. The Thing can turn you into another Thing, and then that Thing can convert people into other Things... you get the idea. Exactly how this happens, I'm keeping quiet, but it will be affected by some of the other mechanics, such as...
Association - Every day, you will be able to 'associate' with as many other players as you want for the night. Of course, they all have to agree to it, and I'd encourage you to discuss who's looking out for who each night in the thread. The advantages of 'association' are that, in a group, you're harder to 'convert'. However, if you're in a group with The Thing(s), it's going to be easier, though there is a chance others in the group may notice. And that's paranoia. Alone? You're all but a sitting duck. Though if The Thing comes for you, the group it's meant to be associating with may notice.
Investigation - Every day (night?), you will have the power to check out that person you really don't trust. If they do something out of the ordinary, like say, sprout tentacles and thrust them into the warm, welcoming flesh of one of your fellow outpostians, you'll probably notice. Probably.
Vote close is 10pm GMT. Any votes after this will not count. Hopefully, I'll get this filled up and started on Thursday.
Day 1 Narration.Day 2 Narration.Day 3 Narration.Day 4 Narration.Day 5 Narration.
Player List:
1) Celebrim - Nauls
2) [strike]Crimson Coyote[/strike] Wildcat - Dr Blair
6) The_Reflection - Norris
7) B:L - MacReady
8) kuhlmeye - Palmer
9) [strike]Rainfall[/strike] Witch Doctor, DBM - Fuchs
10) Frostmist - Clark
Reserves:
1) [strike]Witchdoctor, DBM[/strike]
2) [Strike]The Lawinator[/strike]
3) [strike]Wildcat[/strike]
4) Zerinan
5) WilDPanthA05
Eliminated:
3) MacGuffin - Windows - Human
4) Element Brian - Doctor Copper - One of those Things
5) Bliss 101 - Garry - One of those Things
11) [strike]Maximus[/strike] TheLawinator - Childs - One of those Things
12) Tommy2Hands - Bennings - Human
Posts
Arch,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_goGR39m2k
Dibs on the Keith David Character!
There better be some damn good roleplaying going on.
I guess I'll !Reserve Up, and let someone else take the last spot.
AWESOME!
I'll check in again tomorrow, finish off the role PMs, and try to get the opening narration done for Wednesday, so that Day 1 closes on Thursday, 10pm GMT. I'm seeing Push tomorrow, so it may be a little late.
Yeah last spot wooo!
Oh hey T_R, how you been?
!Reserve up
Didn't see hte active around vote close thing so giving up my slot
I'm a real light sleeper, Tommy.
Hahahaha
Everyone okay with the 10pm GMT vote close? If not, let me know before tonight, 'cause I'd like to start it then.
I have no idea how I missed your signup, sorry coyote.
Seeing as you asked before Lawinator, if WD,DBM wants to stay as a reserve, you get the spot. I'll check in again after work, finalise role PMs, and start things up.
Arch,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_goGR39m2k
It started as just another day at US Outpost 31, in the snow, wind and ice. A gunshot broke through the howling winds, drawing the attention of the outpost's inhabitants, who slowly emerged to see just what the hell was happening.
"What the...?" asked one.
"Says 'Norge' on the side," replied another.
"So they're Norwegian," stated a third.
The helicopter's occupants were firing - without much success - at a fleeing husky. A working dog. And they weren't letting up. A shot, a yelp, and a splash of red coloured the snow. One single hit, just as the dog was struggling into Outpost 31's perimeter.
Clark dashed forwards, shielding the dog with his own body as the helicopter came in to land. He tried to calm the animal while it licked at his face and hands gratefully - he was trying to see what was about to happen next.
A Norwegian jumped from the helicopter, a grenade it hand, before it even touched down, and started screaming in his native Scandanavian tongue, but none of the Americans could understand. As he pulled his arm back to throw his weapon, it slipped from his hand, landing in the snow beside the helicopter. He ran for the Americans, while his pilot dove into the snow, scrabbling to find the grenade before it blew up. He failed, and the helicopter went with it.
Still, the rifle-wieldling Norwegian came, shooting at the dog while screaming in a foreign language. The men scattered, taking cover, but not before Bennings took a glancing shot to his thigh. One more gunshot rang out, but from the Outpost, not the Norwegian. The Scandanavian went down, a single bullet from Garry's pistol lodged in his eye-socket.
Two of the men flew to the Norwegian research outpost to investigate, returning with a series of video tapes, and Something Weird. Evidently, the Norwegians found something in the ice, dug it out, thawed it... and all hell broke loose. And where was that dog, again?
...It was a dog, right? An unholy mess was found in the dog kennels, a mass of tentacles, teeth, and worse. Through blind luck, the team managed to burn it up, and then worked at investigating the charred remains.
"This thing's a mimic," Blair asserted. "It copies you, perfectly, making you part of it. If this ever got to the mainland, the human race would be wiped out in a matter of weeks. And... I think it got to one of us, before it got to these dogs."
"We can't let that happen," Garry replied. "We need to find it, and kill it. Burn it, like the dog. But how are we going to find it?"
"I have an idea," MacReady mused, before taking another hit from his whiskey.
Okay, guys. Day 1. Vote for someone to undergo 'The Test' in Bold Cyan, with retractions in Bold Lime to make it easier for me to keep track of things. I'd suggest any In-Character discussion to be in italics, just to make it easier to pick out.
Don't forget to figure out your associations for the night (all in the group must agree to it and mention it in their PM to me), and discuss them publically if you like. Your 'investigation' targets are also to be PMed to me before voteclose.
Voteclose is 10pm GMT (5pm EST, 2pm PST) on Thursday, 5th March. Go go go!
We should start using a public buddy system, preferably groups of two. Small enough so that whatever we're hunting can't spread within easily, but possibly large enough to act as a deterrent for targetting. This will force the thing to focus on taking out their partner, which will make it obvious who's who once one of these things are found, or it would risk trying to take out someone that's buddied up, which in theory should be tougher. Given those choices it would likely go for another group, and I want that thing to be forced to make as many tough choices as possible with a high risk of failure.
In the meantime, we've got the test. Now, I'm not sure what the thing is capable of, so we should all agree on one primary target, and have a backup as well in case of emergency. I'm willing to volunteer to go first, but I think we can all agree that B:L is Never Evil. I suggest !The_Reflection for first and Kay as a backup.
Anyone want to buddy up with me? We'll keep an updated public list:
PAIRS:
B:L - ?
As such, i find B:L making the first vote suspicious, and as such I will now vote for him
B:L