OCC: Stephen King's "The Stand"

[Xenobia]

If you've read this book then your familar with the basic plot:

A super-flu bug escapes from a bio-war lab in Texas and in a very short time kills 99.8% of the world's population.

Out of the ashes people rise and come together, drawn by two forces.

On one side is the Walking Dude, a demon in human form he's promising a new world but he's playing by the old rules...

On the other hand is Mother Freemantle, an old woman who is the mouth of God...

The story starts out before the end of the world as we knew it with people just starting to get sick and with strange dreams that pull you toward one pole or the other....

This thread asks the question: Well, what happens after the end of the world as we know it?


(for some reason I have that song now stuck in my head "And I feel fine.")

Edited to Add: Start Date Monday

Open enrollment always (new people can easily pop up in this thread)

Post in the third person please so we all match one another

 

[Vixandra]

Need someone to play a leader/spokesperson for the Demon's side of things?

Not sure what your general plot line will be but the concept sounds interesting.

 

[Xenobia]

It helps if you've read the book or seen the movie, but isn't needed.

Randall Flagg is the name of the Walking Dude and he has some powers like being able to shapeshift into crows and see through their eyes.

He's the main leader, like Hitler, everything runs well in his realm or you pay the price.

So, as the story starts out your PC would be whomever they were in their day to day life, but after the event starts dreaming about the Walking Dude and goes to join him in Vegas to help prepare to crush the Others (as they call them).

It's a classic good vs evil skit.

 

[Vixandra]

Haven't seen the movie or the book (though I can hunt the movie down at the video rental place this weekend).
Still, think a young news caster type, drawn by dreams of a aiding in the control of the idiot masses to Vegas.

If I may, might be a wise idea to NPC the head honcho's of each side of the fence, the Walking Dude and the Mother Freemantle, since they're very powerful.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

I got both here

( yea yea, like it helps you Vixy)

 

[Xenobia]

I was planning to, or have the PC's arrive just after the big confontation and so there is no longer any real leadership.

Hello fudal system of the 21st century!

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

you mean after the nuke goes off in vegas?

 

[Xenobia]

Yep, after the nuke goes off.

After all, there'll be plenty of role playing room as splinter groups break off, claim lands, and conflict, don't you think?

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

in small (very small) bands, yes
& remember Flagg is on some island somewhere

 

[Xenobia]

I think I'll still base my teenager in Boulder (which wasn't nuked) and role play mostly there...there'll still be a lot of action going on in that town!

 

[Vixandra]

Where's this going to be set? Near Vegas itself or by a group incontact with them? Geographically speaking, I'm well suited to both So Cal, near Vegas, and TX from around San Antonio and around Houston. IE know about the local terrain and can roleplay accordingly.
'Course Vegas is easy- lots and lots of sand, occasional hill.

 

[Xenobia]

Totally up to you.

In the book the characters were from all over the continental states and were drawn or driven by dreams to come either to Flagg or Freemantle. Some people made a choice between good and evil and some people just naturally fell more one way than the other.

Some traveled faster than others, and some were too afraid to go anywhere.

In a town of 1000 maybe 2 survived the virus; accidents, food posioning, murder, suicide would have cut the numbers down even more not to mention the people who were killed in the panic.

After Freemantle and Flagg died (per say) there's still a big empty world full of left over WOMD's and other toys out there as well as simple human drama.

If you were one of Flagg's head honcho's you'd more than likely gather up some loyal folks and head for the hills to plot revenage and other nasty deeds.

 

[Vixandra]

That I can work with.

Veronica "Ice" Intaris
Age: 27
Height/Body type: 5'8" & lean with curves where it counts
Former District Manager under Flagg in Las Vegas
Current LOC: So Cal Inland Valley, base of the Ortegas

After the death of Flagg, Ice took a handpicked team to her home to start plotting something big.
Her home, formally an area south of Orange County, is one of the few safe places remaining in So Cal. Protected by the Ortegas to the West and more mountains to the East and distanced from both major coast cities, its safe from all but a direct weapons blast.
Reserve supplies from March, Penalton, and San Diego have been transported here as a centralized location.
Situated in a series of half-buried geodasic domes, Ice directs the ruling of the local area in Flagg's name, though she has a staking horse to divert would-be assassins.
She has a small team with her, less then fourty people on her base total including medical, engenering and defense specialists.
Ice personally lives up to her nickname- training as a news broadcaster taught her to keep a straight face, no matter what the topic at hand. Putting that training to good use, she set herself up as a charismatic leader and one of the few choosen as a spokesperson for the Cause (or whatever the evil side calls themselves). Since the fall of Vegas, Ice has obviously retreated (advanced in another direction) to her Ortega Base. Keeping a low profile for now, but planning retaliation and vengeance for the death of the "man" she saw as an envoy from diety.


How's that? Can tweak as needed or move locations too.

 

[Xenobia]

That sounds good, Vix, when we get a few more players we'll set the timeline in stone, but for now it's up in the air when exactly our story-thread will be incerted into King's plot.

 

[Xenobia]

Thinking it over....You might want to make your band smaller, like just your troop or whatever it was and some late comers you scooped up along the way.

At the near end of the book Flagg has a nuclear bomb he's bragging about dropping on Boulder to get rid of the Others once and for all to a huge crowd of his followers when the hand of God comes down and blows Vegas and all it's residents to shit.

Since you weren't there it'd be reasonable to assume you where on assignment, maybe back tracking the Trashcan Man "Trashy" to where he got the nuke in the first place? Then you can fall back to your site.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

yea, she definately was not in Vegas


let me stew on something & I may join in too

 

[Xenobia]

Important stuff

Start Date Monday

Open enrollment always (new people can easily pop up in this thread)

Post in the third person please so we all match one another

General time line of events:

March-Lab breech

April-Flu in Texas and spreading, a few deaths

May-Flu warning to general public, schools closed in all southwestern states. Cases popping up on the East Coast

June-All international flights closed and martial law imposed.

July-Martial law fails and mass chaos reins in the States as other countries are in the martial law phase. In the States people begin having dreams of corn fields, rats, a dark man and an old woman.

August-Billions dead and survivors estimated in the low millions world wide. People are feeling they are being drawn toward something greater than themselves, either the dark man or the old woman. There are no longer any governments.

Sept.-Survivors began to band together; some in rogue parties, some headed towards Vegas and some towards Iowa. Most, however arrive in Iowa to late and must push on to Boulder to meet the main group. Flagg has the city power up and running by the end of the month in Vegas.

Oct-More people began to arrive in Boulder and start the clean up, meanwhile Flagg is teaching his followers how to fly.

Nov-Power on in Boulder and Freemantle dies, giving her last prophesy. The secret sub committee leave to confront Flag.

Dec-Flagg gets a tactical nuke he intends to blow up Boulder with and captures the sub committee and plans to sacrifice them in a public display of power to bolster his followers flagging enthusiasm and the hand of God blows him and Vegas to bits.

(AB, I can’t find my copy of the book, so if the time line is way off track, please PM me so I can fix it.)

Everyone, before we begin, please vote on where in the time line the story should begin.

Thanks.

 

[Xenobia]

Jane Ruby

Age: 18
Height: 5 foot 7 inches Weight 120 lbs
Eyes: Hazel Hair: Choppy short brown with bleached streaks
Identifying marks: Appendix scar and a Celtic knotwork wings tattoo across her lower back.
Lacey, Washington


Ruby, as she prefers to be called, is a very smart girl who struggles to appear not so smart to fit in with her family and friends in the 'burbs. Tested with an IQ of 175 Ruby purposely made mistakes to keep a B average in high school.

Ruby wants to be a singer, but her voice is more Macy Grey than Jessica Simpson. Instead she hangs out with her friends who are trying to get their band out of the garage. Ruby had a plan to be their manager and had actually lined up a couple of free gigs for them at local charity events when people started getting sick.

Even if the vote goes toward later in the game, I'd want to write some of Ruby's journey on her own for a few posts, esp since she's on the wrong side of the mountains and Flagg's people would be crossing her path.

 

[poohlive]

I don't know. It would seem good to write about it just before the virus breaks out. Sort of have everyone watch as the shit hits the fan... but then again, we'd have to follow King's plot all the way from there.
And, we wouldn't be any of the main characters, we'd just watch as all the real main characters did stuff.

I think the real story, if you want it, should happen afterwards. After the nuke. Just seems like, if we're going to be playing new characters, we should have a bit of a new plot.

I'll take a nerdy teen from the pacific northwest.

 

[Xenobia]

Ok, you just creeped me out, coz Ruby is in the Northwest and more than likely they'll bump into each other....Shades of Fran and whatizzface...Hawk.

 

[Xenobia]

STARTS TOMORROW...ARE YOU READY?

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

okok, i'll jump in

lemmie stew on a character for a few

 

[poohlive]

Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. Didn't notice your character was in Washington though.

 

[Xenobia]

Lacey is a very pretty, small, older community mostly rural with cows and stuff. I visited some family there before and spent a few weeks in Southern Washington.

 

[Xenobia]

The muse struck and I couldn't wait, so sue me.