accumbens | Game Setting

The world as it was is gone, thanks to the misuse of the Rossum Corporation's neural technologies; people's brains have been switched, erased, modified, and only a fraction of the population is untouched. The Rossum employees left have spearheaded an effort to protect the survivors and maybe, just maybe, fix what went wrong.

That's where you come in: some of the employees built the Bridge to bring people from other worlds to this one. Once here, you're pulled into the fight, whether you like it or not; even fighting won't guarantee your survival, but it helps your chances.

      Striatum is a post-apocalyptic, pan-fandom game with survival, horror and memory loss elements. AU characters, original characters and characters imported from other games are all accepted. It takes place in the world of Joss Whedon's short-lived TV series, Dollhouse, modified for play. A knowledge of the world helps, but is not required to play here. All information that players need will be revealed through the metaplot.

ENVIRONMENT

          Most of the action will happen in what's left of New York City after the Rossum Corporation launched its worldwide campaign to destroy and essentially take over the world. It's a post-apocalyptic paradise and the city is falling into even more disarray every day. Characters are allowed to leave the city. If they can even get out of the city without being attacked and killed, that is. The rest of the country is in a similar state. While the destruction isn't quite as bad in rural areas, everything is still pretty desolate. It's probably best to just stick with the rest of the group in New York. For now.

DITCH THE TECH

         In late 2012, the Rossum Corporation broadcast a blanket signal using advanced neural technology. It could hack into any frequency and utilize any piece of modern technology. Simply answering your phone would cause the frequency to effect you. Having the radio on in your car. Watching TV, browsing the internet, reading a book with your shiny new Kindle. With a society so connected to technology, millions of people were effected in an instant.

          So what happened if you got hit by the blanket signal? There were three possibilities. Butcher, Dumbshow or Switch.

          People who become Dumbshows lose everything in their minds that made them who they were. They become a shadow of their former self. Basic skills remain, like knowing how to walk or talk but everything else in their mind is gone. They're essentially empty shells. Blank slates waiting to be written on.

          Butchers, on the other hand, became something else entirely. They also lost their memories completely but they received something else in their place. Butchers were imprinted with the persona of a blood-thirsty warrior. No thoughts in their heads other than to kill. Kill anything. Kill everything in the most violent way possible. Nothing more than feral animals.

         Switched people simply have their personalities swapped with that of another. A ten year old child could now be residing in the body of a body builder and vice versa.

         Players will have opportunities for all of these things happen to their characters, including other modifications that utilize the technology.

         Understandably, the world (what's left of it, anyway) has more or less ditched the very tech they used to rely upon in attempt to save themselves from getting imprinted or having their personality taken away. Of course, not all survivors have stayed away from tech completely. Scientists that had previously worked for Rossum have been busy trying to find a way to combat the blanket signals and bring back the true world. Nothing thus far has proved to be truly effective yet but they have managed to invent something else. Something that would've been groundbreaking had it been invented a few years prior. Now, it must be kept a secret, lest Rossum find out and discover a way to weaponize that technology too.

THE BRIDGE

Nestled far beneath the city, the Bridge was developed by former Rossum employees by piecing together scraps of a set of schematics rumored to have come all the way from Los Angeles. Using Rossum's neural technology, the Bridge locks on to the brainwave signatures of people from other worlds and pulls them into this one. Most of the time, people come through just fine but sometimes, they don't remember who they are for a while. The memories come back in time, though. Those with the added gift of superpowers don't always get all of them back, though.

By bringing new people into the world, the Bridge supplies the survivors with more people to help fight the war, whether they're willing or not. There really isn't much choice if you'd like to survive. The Bridge requires a lot of power, however, and in a world where electricity is limited, it's impossible to bring many people through at once.

DEATH

Sometimes, death works a little weird around here. Most of the time, people die and stay dead, how it's supposed to be. Occasionally, people come back. Their personality can end up imprinted in another body. Or multiple bodies. The Bridge has a habit of bringing people back too. When it does, those people either don't remember the time they've spent in this world or they don't recall anything at all for a while, much like a Dumbshow. Eventually, all their memories come back, though. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few months.

As this is a survival game, many characters will likely die at some point while they're here. With some events, there will even be a "jossing mechanism" that the players can sign up for. A few different fates for the characters will be established beforehand, such as becoming a Butcher, a Dumbshow, dying in battle or surviving. You just won't know what you're going to end up with until the mods roll for it. This, of course, is completely optional. If you don't want to leave your character's fate in our hands, that's perfectly fine!

ARRIVAL

   One moment, you'll be going about your business. Fighting off evil vampires, finally putting together that scrapbook for your dearest mother, dying a horrible death at the hands of your enemies, plotting utter destruction of those meddling kids and their dog too, whatever it is you do. The next, everything around you goes black and you feel a searing pain throughout your head that soon spreads to the rest of your body. A pulling sensation overwhelms you for quite some time. At least that's what it feels like. When it finally stops, you feel a bit queasy. Vision a bit blurry, room spinning, the worst headache you've ever had. You'd like a big fat aspirin right about now, or just a nice, dark room to lay down in for a while.

        Of course, that's not going to happen. When your vision clears a bit, you'll notice you're in a dark room with a few other people. They're looking you over, making sure you're physically alright and not about to keel over. Once they're satisfied, one steps forward.

        "Hello, what's your name?" She asks in a pleasant voice. What you answer determines what happens next. If you remember your name and answer a few questions without hesitation, you're taken to the left.

        "Welcome. We're very sorry we had to do this. It was...a necessary evil, I suppose you could call it. But we need your help. About two years ago, something happened to our world. I won't go into the specifics now, but if you want them, talk to Seamus, he'll gladly explain more. Our world has fallen into chaos, society's been torn up and we're the survivors. So here we are, in the middle of the apocalypse. Right now, we're underground what's left of New York City. Don't try to go up to the surface just yet. It's advised you stay down here with the group for a few days while you recuperate. So here, go with this guy here and he'll help you find a nice, semi-cozy spot to take a nap in and I'll stop talking your ear off," she explains, barely leaving any room for you to reply. Then she's turning around and heading back down the hallway. The man in front of you sighs.

          "Trust me, it'll get better. Until then, you should lay down. Coming through the Bridge isn't easy," he says, handing you a ratty old blanket. Once he's found you a good place to sleep, he leaves.

         If you don't remember your name, or anything else about yourself, you're taken off to the right. The room you're taken to has a few other people inside and they're all very friendly. The moment you enter, they all turn and wave.

         "Hello, new friend," they chorus, smiling.

         "Here, you may stay here while you try to remember," she says, "Everyone will be happy to keep you company."

         One of the others points out a spot on the floor for you to sit. They are, indeed, very happy to keep you company. Not that they're excellent conversationalists or anything. They mostly just talk about how they try to be their best and how they like food.

        If you're lucky enough to start remembering who you are, then you'll get an explanation as to why you're here and where this is. If you're not, you're kind of stuck with the talking cucumbers. Except, this is the apocalypse. You and your cucumber friends can't exactly be babysat every moment of every day. You'll have plenty of opportunities to sneak out and go explore your new home.