7 Deadly Sins Type Plot?

[Ethereal-Star]

So if anyone has any ideas on how the 7 sins could be dealt out, I'm all ears. Some ideas are trying to form in my head of a mysterious type beginning but nothing's coming together yet to make much sense and so I said to myself to forget it until a better idea came to mind. I hope to have the thread up by Monday, or sooner if my brain starts cooperating again. So any suggestions or things you'd like to see, put 'em 'ere! Thanks!

[DaGlobster]

Maybe the effects of the sin-infection could build up the closer the characters get to curing them? Like, for instance, Elaros (Lust) could start up holding physical contact for a few more seconds than normally acceptable, but be actively trying to grope everybody whenever he gets the chance near the end. I feel having everybody start out full-blown would get old quickly.

[Ethereal-Star]

I agree, it should be a slow build-up. Scarlet for example, could start having urges to go party more and order one more drink at the local tavern than would be usual for her, as well as start off by eying merchant wares she finds interesting (a pair of shoes she thinks are downright great for a party for instance, or a beautiful necklace she can't help but purchase) and as the story progresses, she would party-hearty more and more, drink herself into a stupor and even go so far as to even strip at parties or something because she can't get enough excitement and is stinkin' drunk anyway.

Plus her spending sprees would increase to the point she would go completely bankrupt and end up with all this crap afterwards where she's like 'omg, what was I thinking?' and then maybe only get some of her money back being able to return some of the junk she bought as I don't think her money reserves should go unscathed. And of course, her honesty would also play a part too, where she says pretty much anything on her mind, whether it's appropriate or not, even more so than usual.

I'm unsure how much involvement her parents and best friend would have in the story as I don't really care to put them in the story too much. Her parents might show up at the end after Scarlet's made a fool of herself with partying and spending, having spent all her money on stuff she doesn't need, and her parents have something to say about that. But not before. Her friend on the other hand may make appearances here and there as well as try to help Scarlet find a cure as obviously this will only escalate the longer the sins are allowed to fester. So a build-up would make perfect sense, and hopefully make things that much more interesting.

Still not certain on exactly how the sins would have come about. I was thinking on things like maybe Scarlet and the others come across a secret room somewhere underground where the sins are currently in a sort of stasis point until one of them touches something and they get released, one into each character that they would apply to most.

Then there is also the idea of a mysterious creepy old "woman" who offers them each a drink 'to make all their wishes come true' and that is how they get infected. Of course, the old lady would have the antidotes and to get them from her, they would have to kill her first. But the problem with that, is are all the characters going to be like 'oh a magic potion to make all my dreams come true, bring it on!' and such. I am doubting that approach would work unless the lady was reaaaallllly persuasive or threatening or something and tells them to drink it or else they will die a horrid death beyond their worst nightmares.

But yeah, thoughts/opinions/etc. on this are welcome as I can't really think of anything else for now. Unless someone has a better idea, feel free to share it.

[DaGlobster]

Well, Elaros is a bit of a tricky fish with this, because he doesn't do any "adventuring", and he sure as hell wouldn't take a drink from a random old lady.

Maybe, the sins can just...happen?

Maybe an old, obscure and minor prophecy comes to pass, and the PCs just happen to meet the criteria? Subconsciously, they could be brought together by their curses, and have to work on reversing the prophecy or something?

It'd keep all of the introductions neutral to each character, since it wouldn't really go against anything those characters might or might not have done.

Also, Elaros and Scarlet are probably going to be feeding eachother's sins for the entire thread. They're probably going to be heavily involved with one another by the end.

[Ethereal-Star]

The prophecy thing sounds like it could work too and wouldn't be godmodding the characters' actions as much as the other ideas would, which by the way I am NOT trying to do. Just shooting some ideas out here and so everyone's free to shoot them back down if they don't work for their characters.

Yeah, Scarlet and Elaros are really going to be at it with each other, I think. It should be interesting to know their individual reactions after the curses are lifted.

If anyone else has anything to add, I'll work on getting the obscure prophecy idea fully formed so we can start this thread up. And remember folks, three sins are still open for the taking.

[Ethereal-Star]

Okay, so sorry I did not get the thread for this posted yesterday. The basic premise for this is still kinda iffy for me so again if anyone has any ideas for how this all can pan out, please post them here for discussion. I think what I might just do is just start typing the beginnings of a post on my computer and let the blanks fill themselves in as I type them.

So yeah, it's been a little slow with awesome ideas on this plot, not just how the sins are dealt out but also the cure too. I was thinking that since these are sins, the characters may need to undergo a kind of trial where they have to prove their selflessness. In other words, since being sinful is all about thinking of oneself and no one else, it may make a good plot point to go this route. However, seeing as it's only going to get harder for the characters to overcome their urges as everything progresses, selfless acts seem a bit iffy here, whether or not they make sense in a way.

Of course, if we want the thread to be a long one and eventually there might come a time where they can 'look past' their sins if only temporarily, then maybe that act of selflessness could be their cure? Although, I think that would only be one way to go about it. Somehow I can't see all characters doing this, so an external cure would be needed. Perhaps a tonic from some ancient spring located somewhere far off? But then again, that's iffy too as not all characters are going to want to adventure to find a cure. They would probably be too far wrapped up in their urges to get on board with this, that's how I see it anyway. Or maybe we should just let the answer for what the cure actually is develop as we play? I just want to make sure I got the important stuff figured out so nothing falls apart here.  :( ???

Ideas? Suggestions? Thoughts? Criticisms? Any other comments?

[Ein]

Idea:

How about the "sins" being an actual disease? Like some kind of virus or parasite that lets you give in to your desires?
Maybe every character came across a box of bananas which was contaminated - others weren't influenced because as we all now getting infected does not mean getting ill.
(Our characters being (only?) the first victims of this pandemic. )
This disease would/might also come with other symptoms - maybe like "loosing control of your body (not only you desires)" which could start with some kind of shaking that would get worse over time.
This would give the characters a reason to search for a cure.

The cure itself would then need to be some kind of tonic/antidote.

(Just to give some options)

[Ethereal-Star]

Okay I got the thread posted finally, right here. I took a different approach to it so I hope that's okay.

And thank you for your input Ein, perhaps I might use the idea of the 'other symptoms' to entice them to all find a solution. Shaking, etc. And the cure would be some kind of tonic they would need to acquire somehow.

Anyway, thread is uppee, respond wheneveree.

[DaGlobster]

So, how do I lead up from your post, Ethereal? Is Elaros going to be in the same tavern or something?

[Ethereal-Star]

He could enter at that point, yes, that's what I was thinking. He would then spot Scarlet and then her attention could be drawn to him instead. Sound good?

[Wicked Basket]

Could you list which sins are and are not taken? Trying to read through this whole thread to match them up hurts mah brains.

[Ethereal-Star]

Sure thing!

Sins already taken:

Scarlet gets Gluttony
Elaros gets Lust
Beowulf gets Envy
Slithix gets Pride

Sins open for the taking:

Sloth
Greed
Wrath

Hope that helps. And feel free to join in a character!

[Ethereal-Star]

@Ein Just a note about chronology here. I figure this thread could take place after 'Better Headless Than Heartless' where Beowulf first meets Scarlet in their sort of awkward encounter. So when you introduce him to this thread, he may (or may not, your choice) remember her from that previous time in their timeline. Just to explain that little detail.

And the three openings are still available for taking.

[Ethereal-Star]

Bumping this up with a few more thingiemabobs.

It should go without saying how each character with a certain sin should act, but in a nutshell, the character with Gluttony should be obsessed with getting everything they'd ever wanted and then some, whether that be material possessions, wealth, fun, excitement, adventure, sex, love, power, knowledge, the list goes on...

The character with Lust is obviously driven by sexual desires.

The character with Envy is jealous of what others have that they don't themselves possess and is likely bitter as a result because of their low self-image.

The sin of Wrath, that character would lose their temper quite a lot and likely get extremely violent, perhaps burn down buildings in their anger?

Pride of course, is over-confidence and arrogance in one's own abilities.

Greed strives to acquire wealth and riches of any kind.

Sloth is a lazy bum.

I was thinking after Scarlet and Elaros have their 'fun', they could leave the tavern and come across a market selling oh I don't know, jewelry perhaps. Scarlet starts off buying stuff she doesn't need, but only a few things at first. As the thread progresses, she'll want just about everything humanly possible: drinking, binging, parties, sex, fun, adventure, coin, the whole nine yards. Basically it's Greed enhanced of a sort. Whereas Greed only desires wealth, Gluttony just wants everything they can get. At least those are the differences I think would make sense, therefore defining those differences more so they don't seem to be the same thing.

But the general idea is that when the sins first hit, its more subtle and slow building up, then they progressively get worse as the thread continues. Just to reiterate that detail.

Oh, and while the thread is rated M, I think all M-rated parts from now on will be either fade to black scenario or simply glossed over (not too much description) as this is a group thread and not only do I not want this to become a sex thread only as others may be uncomfortable with those themes, it also detracts from the main plot: dealing with all the sins dealt out, solving their problems with a cure of some sort and tying up loose ends where needed. After all, each character deserves a chance to shine.

[Ethereal-Star]

The next post is open for Slithix's character so respond whenever you get the chance to. Thanks.

[Slithix]

Yeah I'll respond now. I just didn't know whether or not ye three wanted to continue your fun :P

[Ethereal-Star]

Thanks Slithix! Once me and DaGlobster are done with our mini-thread, we will continue the main story. Haven't heard from @Ein lately, hope everything's okay.

THREAD STILL OPEN FOR MORE PLAYERS, SO COME ON IN THE WATER'S FINE!!

[Ethereal-Star]

Bumping this up. Thread is still open for other players.

[RogueDM]

I think Erin could be Wrath. It could feed off his affinity nature, sending him into a frenzy anywhere in which the natural world is being assaulted. He would have to do his best to stay in areas where the land is pure in order to avoid the sin from taking control.

Edit: In fact, he could grow a disdain for civilization, marring the landscape with buildings and roads. It could start as a prickle in the back of his mind and grow into a loathing leading him to at some point cause outright destruction.

[Arthuriel]

So I know you guys are still planning this but I had an idea for an ending, or at least getting to an ending. The seven heavenly virtues. Thoughts?