ABOUT US

Blighted Horizon is a modified set-end d&d style campaign, using elements such as; stats, dice-rolling and level, and with the Soul Class/Partner mechanic as seen in the RP campaigns The Paradise Trials and Paradise Rising. While this campaign is considered a “Paradise-Verse” campaign: they share no timeline or history with the other Paradise Campaigns. They are of their own independent world building, history, locations and npcs. The only thing that connects the campaigns is the use of the Soul Class/Partner Mechanic.This campaign has a set-end, meaning that it has a conclusion that does not carry on roleplay after the campaign is over. The end of the story is open, meaning that the actions players take will have an impact on the ending of the campaign. Once the plot and story is complete, the campaign is over. Players will be able, however, to finish up developments, interactions, and roleplays even after the campaign is over.

General Rules

  1. Follow the Golden Rule: Treat Everyone as You wish to be treated. Be Kind, Courteous and Respectful to everyone. There will be no toleration for discrimination or harassment at any time, and you will be removed for violating this rule.

  2. You must be 18+ Years Old to Join this campaign. This is due to the level of heavy themes, such as: Violence, Blood/Gore, and Character Trauma. We will also be handling heavy themes such as Loss, Grief, and other such emotions!

  3. Harassment of any kind to any member in this campaign WILL NOT be tolerated. You WILL be removed from the campaign if you violate this rule. Additionally, if anyone is making you uncomfortable within the server, please do not hesitate to open a ticket or reach out to the GM or Moderator.

  4. Please make sure to tag your messages, images, and roleplays with the proper trigger warnings! If you are asked by someone, whether a moderator or not, to put a tag or tw on something: you must abide by that and do so.

  5. All art submitted must be your own, no line-art or tracing. Commissioned work must be given proper credits.

  6. No God-Modding, Meta-Gaming, Spotlighting, Auto-Hitting— You get the idea. You should control only your own character, and what they know, and never assume the actions of others.

  7. The story heavily adjusts to the choices you make in game, choose wisely as you will not get to redo them

  8. Be mindful of character ages and age gaps when pursuing in-character romances and crushes. I will only allow 1-2 year age gaps on cats 3 years and older.

  9. If the GM tells you to keep a secret of the campaign, well, secret, please do so! as well as spolering hints and theories you may have related to these.

  10. Treat all roleplays and plotlines with sensitivity and respect. Themes should always be tagged for trigger warnings. If you aren't sure if a theme is allowed, please contact the GM!

  11. Personal Issues and Conflict should be kept private and outside of the general chats. This is to protect all person(s) involved, and to not drag disputes from outside or inside of the group into the public. Bringing up old fights/conflicts is especially a no, and can make others uncomfortable. If asked to stop, you must stop. Handle issues discreetly and civilly, the moderation team will step in when necessary.

  12. Remember the difference between reality and fiction. Please remember that the RPer is not their character, they are different people. Feelings for a character should not reflect against that RPer, whether for better or for worse.

The World Around You

It All Happened So Fast.Three years have passed since The Decay returned once more. A surface curse that sucks the life and color out of all living plant life. Grass, Flowers, Trees, Water-- All of it succumbed to The Decay. It came with a smog of thundering storm clouds, stretching across the land and spouting black lightning in the sky. It was followed by the first signs-- Grass Dying, Flowers Wilting in Patches. Then the color started to be seeped out of every plant and every tree. Then the crimson vines spread, driving through the ground and carrying with it the curse. It spread fast, taking everything that was living with it, but this time it did not come alone.With The Decay came Rose Fever. A disease that specifically targeted living creatures, turning them from sentient beings with empathy and feelings-- into mindless drones that attack anything that is living. No longer were animals mostly safe from The Decay, now they were being targeted by a new disease seemingly brought to drive all living creatures to extinction. No where was safe, large gatherings of animals quickly targeted and hunted down. Paranoia seeped into the communities, and violence raged and split apart families, friends and allies.3 years. Three long and arduous years. Those who survive live alone or in small groups. The lands are gray and barren, water dark as the inky night and poisoned for drinking. Shelter is few and sparse, and those struck with Rose Fever stalk the lands, looking for victims to kill and infect.
Then something changed, in the past 5 Months The Decay…Slowed, and Strange Glowing Figures began to pop up. Wandering the wastelands, their presence seemingly slowing down The Decay from Spreading as fast as it was. These figures of cats, walking through desolate fields and crumbling stone walkways… Following wherever there are cats.At first, they seemed to be aggressive like those who contracted Rose Fever-- but they never attacked. They followed, chasing after life and sticking close by. Always silent, always…Watching. They helped, however. Appearing to ward back the curse as it spread, seemingly protecting those who still yet survived. They came to be called The Silent Watchers, for they never interacted first hand with the survivors, only watching. With them came hope, rumors of the spirits and aid signifying the turning point.Never making a single sound…Until Today.They trembled in fear of what the signs meant. The dark storm clouds surging through to a spot in the sky, black lightning flashing over the land. The ground rumbled beneath their paws, and then they watched as light surged from the ground and to the sky.
Six distinct colors, burning into the storm and driving the clouds apart. A wave of power, inciting a feeling of nostalgia, and a tug from their chests towards that beaming bright light. The Watchers stood alert, stopping their wandering and standing still, looking toward that bright light.Then they turned, those who felt the pull, the calling-- and they spoke, thousands of voices melding together in a cacophony of tones and sounds. A whisper, that felt so loud.“The Time Has Come.” They spoke. “You Must Hurry, Hurry! Run, Follow!”“FOLLOW!” They Bellowed.And they took off, sprinting through dead lands towards the light beaming in the sky. Hundreds of Watchers leading cats, coming together.And **You, ** Your chest tugging you in the direction they run, Follow.

The Ruins Of The First Decay

Over 25 years have passed since humans have disappeared and The First Decay ravaged the lands. Leaving behind their structures and their mistakes to blacken the earth.In the wake of the first decay, humans suffered under harsh conditions and were wiped out. What was left was now the ruins of human civilization, crumbling stone and wooden houses, human trash scattering across the land, cloth and metal items, these things can be found where humans once were.
The First Decay as well left behind scars on the land. Healing took time, and the scars of death still lingered in areas of the land.Stone ruins long left behind can be found in corners of the world, bearing etchings and paintings lost and eroded to time. They hum ominously, and if one listened closely they could hear the faint whispers of something lurking, something waiting.

Rose Fever

Rose Fever. A deadly disease that takes control of the mind and leaves a shambling husk in its wake. It affects all living creatures.Mimicking flu symptoms, Rose Fever starts as a headache, followed by a sore throat and fever. An ever present ache in the muscles that causes fatigue comes next, making animals unable to fend for themselves. As it advances, it evolves into a heavy cough, in which red petals begin to sprout inside their chest and be hacked out. Once the disease evolves to this stage, the infected begin to get increasingly paranoid, delirious, and aggressive.Then they begin to lose color. Grayscale sucks the color out of their body, the eyes always the last to go. Once they have lost all color, the mind goes next. They no longer speak, as they begin to attack any living creature near them. Still sprouting flowers from their chest and throat, vines begin to circle their fur, red flowers growing out of their body.Aggressive and Unreasonable, at the Final Stage of Rose Fever-- Those Infected will hunt down any living creature near them with an intensity. They will not stop until that creature is either dead or infected like them. Even in the first stages of Rose Fever, those fully infected will ignore those creatures. It becomes one of the early signs of infection, when those further along ignore your presence entirely.There is no known cure, and early symptoms can only be treated for a time before they come back again and again.An example of a mild final stage of Rose Fever;

The Silent Watchers

The Silent Watchers. Strange, chromatic spirits that wander the land. They appeared five months ago, and where they go, The Decay slows its fervent crawl across the land.Much like those infected with Rose Fever-- The Watchers follow those still alive in this harsh, unforgiving land. Warding off the spread of the decay somehow, while watching those who still live. Following them as they travel, never speaking and never interacting in an intelligent way.They come in many shapes and sizes, always appearing feline in vague shape and form, but never have any identifying features. The only thing they all share in common is their chromatic outline, and the defining white x covering their face.They follow the living, silently watching, never speaking, until today.

Stats

One of the many fun parts of the campaign is how we handle battle and character actions. In the application, you should notice that there are seven statistics to consider when making your character: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck. Each stat goes towards a different part of battle, actions, and a different strength that your character will have.Every Character has 30 starting stat points to distribute amongst the seven stat brackets. They will earn more as they level up throughout the campaign, or as a reward for completing puzzles and riddles (chosen at the discretion of the GM)The Stats are as Follows:STRENGTH
The measure of Physical Strength. How strong are you? How much weight can you carry? How Easily? Etc.DEXTERITY
The Measure of Agility and Finesse. How flexible are you? How fast can you run? Can you fit in that conspicious hole? Etc.CONSTITUTION
The measure of how much you can endure. How much pain can you take before you break? How long can you run for? How long can you hold your breath? Etc,INTELLIGENCE
The measure of your character’s intelligence. How smart are you? How can you strategize? Deduce mechanics? Etc.WISDOM
The measure of how wise you are. Can you spot the body language of a cat lying to you? Can you understand the world? Etc.CHARISMA
The Measure of How Well You can Speak. Hoow easily can you talk yourself out of a tough spot? Intimdate someone into giving you information? Etc.LUCK
Luck is a stat that is unique to Blighted Horizon. Luck is used to add or subtract to dice rolls to either increase or decrease a roll. Luck can be rolled by itself to change the outcome of an event, but this can only be used once per two checkpoints.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Every character will have 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses for this campaign. Strengths will give a bonus to rolls, while weaknesses will give a penalty to rolls. These can be personality traits, physical capabilities, and whatever your mind can think of. These six modifiers will not change!

Character Death

Character Death is very real in Blighted Horizon. There are several instances that can lead you to Character Death:- You missed 4 of the required rp posts and have given no inclination to the moderator that you are still alive! This will also result in character death.- You choose to leave the campaign.- You choose to kill your character.- You break a rule that results in your immediate removal from the campaign.Character Death can be avoided in many ways...How, you'll just have to find out!

Campaign Structure

The campaign is structured more like a tv show or storybook! With chapters/episodes broken into two seasons. There will be a slightly longer break between Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.There will be a max of 70 players at the beginning of the campaign. The format is as follows:Season 1: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5
Season 2: Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - EpilogueThe Prologue will last for three weeks, and each Chapter will last one to two months each, with a two month interim/break between each chapter! This is to give time to wind down rom each chapter as well as give the GM time to set up the next chapter.You have to meet a requirement of 4 Posts in each chapter, in order to keep your character from dying due to inactivity! The GM may post an activity check if things appear to be especially slow.

Scheduling

"look at you. thrown headfirst into a war you don't belong in."

Character Guidelines

Character Creation is all up to your imagination! As long as you have a reason/explanation for why they look like that, or have that accessory, then they can have it! There are a few rules to keep everything conscice though:

  • Every member will have One Character! So be sure to make a character you enjoy playing.

  • Characters can be a range of 5 Months to 16 Years in age.

  • Ages can be written solely in months, in a combination of months and years, or in moons (the warrior cat common word for month). So a character can be labeled as 3 years, 5 months old or 41 months, or 41 moons.

  • Your character must be feline, and under no circumstance will be big cats or full blooded wild breeds. Domestic breeds or hybrids are required of your characters in order to play!

  • All Sexuality and Genders are allowed!

  • Your cat can have any name as long as it is acceptable and tasteful. We cant have cats running around being called 'King Explodo-Murder', now can we? It can be as long as you want as well.

  • Realistic colors are required! However, they may have unique patterns and markings within reason. No 'sparkle' cats or rainbow cats. And please, be reasonable if a mod gently nudges you away from a design choice!

  • Any eye color is allowed! red, purple, lavender, gray, etc. No cap on heterochromia, either! Just no Rainbow Eyes.

  • Adult characters should be no bigger than 16" (40 cm) at the shoulder, and no smaller than 5" (13 cm) at the shoulder. Kittens can be smaller, but must grow as we go along!

  • Accessories can be anything you can think of -- as long as you can explain how your character came across and/or created the accessory. However, there are a few accessories that are wholly banned:

  • Feather Accessories anywhere on the character.

  • Dreamcatchers

  • Bone Piercings through the Nose and Ears

  • Paint Accessories on the Face

  • Backstories that deal with sensitive subjects (as outlined in the Rules) need spoiler tags/trigger warnings (tw), both in written histories as well as when these backstories are being discussed in public chats. Please be safe rather than sorry.

  • All forms of groups are allowed, but due to the Rose Fever and Paranoia spreading through large groups of cats, most groups max at around 10 or less.

  • As Humans no longer exist, Cats Cannot be Human Pets -- They however can be descendants of house cats.

  • Your character can be from any sort of location or biome. However! The world has slowly been declining; Lakes and Rivers filled with black muck, greenery shriveling and turnng gray, prey going more and more scarce with each day; cats are becoming hostile to eachother in order to survive. Colonies that were once peaceful and friendly are now ruled by vicious dictators and tyrants that only care about saving their own skin. The land is mostly barren, gray fields and dead trees. Any remaining greenery is few and far between, and aggressively targeted by Those with Rose Fever.

  • Your character may have a physical disability when entering the group, and you must be aware that this could become a problem for them later on in the game. Essentially, you can start with a foreseeable handicap if you so choose.

Soul Classes

What are Souls?Souls are the Essence and Culmination of one’s entire being. All living creatures have souls, and all souls have color. The color of your soul determines the powers and abilities that you will have. At its core, each soul has a trait that all who share that soul color share, and a general personality type that follows. How strong this stereotype is, is up to interpretation.There are Six Seven Soul Colors in total. Before Soul Shades are revealed, players will have three chances to select their least preferred Soul Class, as well as identifying any Soul Classes that you have played before in any Soul Class Campaigns before (The Paradise Trials, Paradise Rising, Chasing Paradise, The Paradise Effect, etc.) before your Soul Class get locked in. These will be held through Google Forms.The forms will be sent out Once at the end of the Prologue, Once at the beginning of Chapter 1, and a Final Check at the end of Chapter 1. After the final check of Chapter 1, Classes will be locked in and guesses will begin during Chapter 2.

"did you think you could leave me behind?"

Soul Overload

An aesthetic and dice mechanic used to express your character in Blighted Horizon.What is Soul Overload?Soul Overload happens when a character expresses extreme bouts of their core trait. These flare-ups can show themselves in many different ways, mostly aesthetic, as an internal or external expression. These expressions are unique to the soul, but similar expressions can be seen through those who carry the same color.For Example, a Red Soul could express their soul by breathing fire, or a Pink Soul dripping poison from their fangs or claws, or a Purple Soul with Ice or Static in their fur. These are just a few examples of the possibilities that your character can express their Souls-- The Possibilities are Endless, and not confined to your color.As well, the repression or subduing of a flare builds up the energy of an Overload within your soul. When you reach a certain level of repression, there is a chance that an ability you use can Overload. Causing what could be a minor power to jump levels and become stronger, harsher and more volatile. These outbursts cause fatigue, nausea and headaches when released, as it is draining your powers to get rid of the excess energy within your soul.

Soul Corruption

A new mechanic unique to Blighted Horizon is Soul Corruption.What Is Soul Corruption?Soul Corruption happens when a character goes against the core trait of their souls. It starts small, with faint pangs in their chest that grow into sharp pangs and pains. As Soul Corruption grows, your soul color fades. If you reach full corruption, your color goes away completely. As your level of corruption goes up, higher levels of powers become volatile and uncontrollable. You cannot command the abilites of your own soul, and once you reach full corruption…
Well, All of your abilities become Uncontrollable, Wild. You can no longer effectively use your abilities, and become disconnected with your own soul and abilites.This mechanic measures the amount a player goes against their soul's core trait:
When a Red Soul is COWARDLY, a Pink Soul is APATHETIC, a White Soul is FRAGILE, a Blue Soul is IMPATIENT, a Green Soul is HOPELESS, or a Purple Soul is IGNORANT. The actual mechanic of how much a soul increases in corruption is known only to the GM.So be careful little souls--Because there is no known cure or counteract to Soul Corruption.