The venue: A cruise liner.
The location: The Atlantic Ocean.
Sea, sun, sky, three square meals a day, and best of all, no parents to get bossed around by! This was going to be the best summer vacation!
The Wandering Star wasn’t the fanciest ocean liner. It didn’t have five-star chefs, a casino, or an on-board spa. Nevertheless, the rooms were comfortable, the food was great, the atmosphere was perfect, and at seven days in, it was shaping up to be a great trip.
And the safety details were more than enough to make anyone feel secure. Even in the worst case scenario, there were more than enough lifeboats.
Plenty of things could go wrong on a cruise, most benign, a few serious, but what happened today wouldn’t have been on even the most jaded pessimist’s radar. Then again, there was no way to prepare for this.
It began with a faint shudder. It took a few moments for the passengers to realize how powerful it must have been for them to feel it on the boat. It was this creeping unease that preceded the terror to come. The sea churned, and something might have begun to rise out of the ocean, but at that point, something else had captured everyone’s attention:
It was a single point of darkness, almost like a singularity. It had manifested a few clicks off the bow, right about where something seemed to be pushing its way out of the Atlantic. But the singularity didn't remain so for long, immediately expanding — and at an exponential rate. The black sphere was devouring the writhing sea, and the ship was headed directly at it with no time to turn away. Even if it had, the expanding void was growing far too quickly.
And then, just as it should have hit, it seemed to vanish.
But things were different.
The ship shuddered violently as it ran aground with a deafening grinding sound. What it was crashing into was hard to say, as it seemed to repel peoples’ gaze.
Those paying attention would have noticed that the sun seemed to have vanished as well, but with the shaking of the hull, the passengers and crew all had other things on their minds.
The storm came very literally out of nowhere. One second the air was still, and the next the ship was caught in a torrential downpour while lightning rained from the sky. With a single bolt, the Wandering Star split down the middle. The aft of the ship slid back along the trench it had made, passengers scrambling to escape before it sank into the sea. And sink it did.
When the front half of the ship came to a halt, those of a mind to examine their surroundings were greeted by the sight of something beyond belief.
A sunken city, risen from the depths. It was beautiful and terrible at once and had clearly once been a hub of civilization. Who had lived there was a mystery in its own right, but how did it sink? And more poignantly, how did it rise back up? It was clearly more than a millennium old.
(very large images)
——————————
It was like nothing you had ever seen before. You had never seen a sunken city before, but this was incredible. But for the occasional unsettling structure, it was an utter marvel.
But why did the ship end up ramming straight into it?
“The answer to that is simple: It wasn’t here less than an hour ago.”
It suddenly came to your attention that you were alone but for five other people. The young man speaking was someone you knew. He seemed to have made a point of speaking to just about everyone from what you could tell. He had a curious air about him, but considering his eccentricities, that much wasn’t a surprise.
He had blond hair, fair features, and was accompanied by a tomboyish maid who looked to be about his age. His go-to topic for conversation tended to be the very person he was speaking with, and if he could, he would subtly coax them into talking about anything he could, as though he were enthralled by every minute detail of their life.
“It seems like you four are the only ones bold enough to leave the ship,” he said. “Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. Raul Feimic. I’m afraid I’m no less baffled by this turn of events than you are.”
He stood motionless, the gesture strangely oppressive, as though he were pacing.
“Yes… this was not preordained. Or rather, not by those that observe humanity. Your fates now sail along an uncharted route. You can still turn back, but know that once you enter that city, nothing will be certain.
“I must warn you; terrible things will await you in the depths of this place. You may still choose to hide. Return to the shipwreck and await the inevitable rescue. But I believe that you may be more suited to this task than a team of prepared investigators.
“The choice is yours.
“Will you retreat to safety?
“Or will you challenge fate?”
FAQ:
Q: What?
A: A Shin Megami Tensei game.
Q: Where?
A: Here if necessary, but I’d prefer Roll20.
Q: How?
A: I’ll get a Pro Membership if people want to play this.
Q: When?
A: An availability chart will be posted soon. If you’re interested, I’ll make a column for you.
Q: Dammit Drac we already have an SMT game!
A: This one has a Schwartzwelt. And it’s not the one you might be familiar with. Also, tabletop.
Q: Will there be S-Links?
A: If you feel like it.
Q: Will there be All-out Attacks?
A: Regrettably, no.
Q: Have you been waiting for this?
A: Yes………no. I came up with this on the spot about a two weeks ago, and then made a giant pile of notes.
Q: Wait, if this is Strange Journey, will there be…
Q: …dark rooms?
A: Yes, but nothing that can only be revealed by a Demonica app.
Q: …sleep tiles?
A: No.
Q: …Demonicas?
A: Yes, but not quite yet.
Q: Forma?
A:
_____
…Need I say more?
Q: …demon negotiations?
A: Yes. Some will be gentlemen. And some will just gargle aggressively at you. If you gargle back, you might get a soma. (or, you know, punched by a grievously offended slime.)
Q: …demon fusion?
A: No. I am considering evolution (or transformation/ascension/promotion) though, at least in the case of certain demons.
Q: How much control do I have over my demons?
A: You have conditional, but more-or-less complete control over them. The GM is in charge, but once they are contracted to you, you are allowed to work with the GM to create a background for them. The GM will handle their main dialogue, but if you feel they have something to contribute in a conversation in which they might otherwise remain silent, you can give voice to their opinions. Just keep in mind that your character won’t know anything about your demon beyond what it tells them. You are allowed to write S-Links between them and your character, though you must get the GM’s approval before posting them.
Q: Will there be familiar faces from the game?
A: Yes. Zelenin, Alger and Jimenez will all show up in this game. Other characters to be included will be revealed during the game.
Q: Can we change what happens to them?
A: Pretty much depends on your demon negotiating skillz. Do ya have what it takes to get a Divine with a rank higher than Power to pull the stick out of their ass? (Honestly, if you do, you'll be rewarded with way more than changing the story more than it already has been. Or with Asura, but that would require actual IRL divine intervention.)
Q: Can we play as a member of the Investigation Team instead of a shipwrecked passenger?
A: Yes, if you don’t mind waiting until the second sector.
Q: Will we be assigned a Major Arcana like in Erlkonig’s game?
A: Yes. You'll have a certain degree of choice over that here, too.
Q: How will we get our demons?
A: That’s a question that I’ll let a friendly helper demon answer once the game starts.
Character Creation:
Originally Posted by Hymn of Ragnarok
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