Hey Ember-Break, have we learned what happens when you use Obsidian weapons on Storm? Or is that still untested?
Please don't give unknown spoilers. That wouldn't be fun.

Just wondering.

If it's anything like those Swarm seeds in shadow lair, then they resist shadow and take neutral damage from everything else.

@Sawhero: Nice, I love lore!

So, anyone is welcome anytime? I suppose I can join, then?

XD so, can someone give me a brief overview of what's happened so far?

*Clears throat, prepares their best announcer voice, and takes a deep breath*

Starting from the beginning, Twins, Coryn and Nyroc, sent out a signal to any and all knights stranded out somewhere that they were banding together for... Whatever reason. In the post mentioning the message it's presumably to avenge the Spiral Order.

The reason why the Knights are all dispersed throughout Cradle is because Haven was taken over by the Swarm/Apocrean baddies. Cradle is, in other words, in a post-apocalyptic state of being.

Mentioned exclusively near the start of the RP, is a group of Knights who own certain areas of the Clockworks, the Caina. It is comprised of 9 knights who, as said in the post where it is originally mentioned "now rule the clockworks." (Post #7). Progress with the Caina story line has been put to a halt until further notice due to Zhaver's absence. In the mean-time... Knights made their way to the camp-site. The ones that actually ended up making it to the camp are as follows:

• Nyroc (Originally at the camp)
• Coryn (Originally at the camp)
• Isphea (Originally at the camp -- but was too ninja to be noticed before post #60)
• Syber (Arrived on post #24)
• Beck (Never really went to the camp, but maintained a watchful eye on his partner -- Syber -- from afar)
• Grell (Arrived on post #35)
• Lyn (Also technically arrived on post #35)
• Keep (Arrived after a short exposition on post #42)
• Caite (See Keep)

After a series of short events and introductions, most notable of which probably being the dress-change event (Posts #58 and #59), the camp splits into two teams. One team for scavenging the clockworks in order to gather intel/supplies/anything-of-use, and the other for staying at the camp and keeping it safe.

The Scavaging team departed from camp and went down to a floor where Syber and Beck, along with (presumably) pitchfork characters Drace and Meteko fought Cult!Drace (intro at #110, combat starts at #122). While Coryn and Lyn were also present on the floor, Coryn let Syber and Beck finish their business and continued onto the next floor. (#126) Lyn, who separated from the group early on (#108) followed Coryn down the elevator shortly after his departure (#128).

The second stay-at-camp team soon found themselves in conflict with my own Character, Strom. A Swarm-inflicted Phantom who fallowed a path of blood (Lyn's, to be precise) down to the floor where the campsite was in order to obtain "materials" (#41). Primarily, Strom was seen and attacked by Beck (#82), but with a short conflict Beck escaped(#95) to locate his partner, who had joined the scavenging party (#106). This leavt Keep (who had heard the conflict and come to investigate) fighting Strom alone (#97). More fighting happens, and hints are given on how Strom's moves work in this Discussion Thread (#6 & #36). Nyroc, the remaining of the original twins who set up the camp, hears the conflict and investigates -- partially due to shots being fired at the camp to attract his attention by Beck (#101). Wanting Grell and Isphea in camp with Caite (who was pre-occupied with tinkering over the dysfunctional alchemy machine) to remain out of harm's way (#104), he originally leaves alone. But neither Grell nor Isphea actually obey his orders, however, and both join the fight soon after Nyroc leaves. Nyroc throws his sheild in an attempt to trap Grell and Isphea (#126), but Grell Evades (#131) (what Isphea does is a mystery -- even to this day.) the trap.
Somewhere between Nyroc's attempt at keeping his comrades safe and Grell's dodge, Keep innitiates "Plan Annihilatus" -- which was a command for his Battle-Sprite, Escha, to fire a sort of "Berserk-mode" drug at Keep. He went into a mode where his movement speed and power are greatly increased, at the expense of his own safety -- as any damage taken while the effects of the drug were active would cause a great deal more damage. (#121)
Keep then slashes at a crystal that was lodged into Strom's chest (#129)-- which was presumably a weakness. The crystal shatters, and a cutscene-like event occurs (#133) while Strom gains new moves to use against the knights, partially explained here in the Discussion Thread (#51).
Keep literally keeps the heat on Strom (#134), coming in for another assult right after Strom's revealing of his Épée and the Book of the Swarm -- along with the creation of the four combatant's Doppelgängers. Strom has another trick up his sleeve, and stomps out the flames [Hah, fire puns], insisting that the battle should be group-oriented (#135).
More actions prevail, and Nyroc, in an attempt to end the battle quickly, rushes in with a modified bomb attached to his back and promptly explodes... Presumably. (#156) This is the present action of the second group.

The first group's remainder in the original "down-one-depth" area, after the Cult!Drace conflict, which presumably ended (#145) has just recovered from the conflict, and is at its present turn of events in post #189.

The split of the first group -- the remaining scavengers, with Coryn and Lyn as its sole members -- arrived in a Tortodrone-infested area (#169) and are now running for their lives alongside another group (#179 & 184)... Which will be mentioned below.

During the conflict with Strom, Caite decided to go on her own journey in order to find materials to create a Super-Weapon of some sort (#136). She departs alone, arriving in a Gremlin Compound (#151), where she meets Auto/Daxen-son/Tech Star (#162). After a short conversation (#163 - 168) the two band together to hunt Tortodrones (#175). The plan of action originally is to have Auto take a nice bath in Tortodrone... How can I say that while still sounding like an announcer-type person? C'mon guys. SEROUSLY. *leaves studio to get a coffee*

*returns several minutes later*
*Ahem* Where was I? Ah, yes, Tortodrone piss (#178). Despite their planning, Coryn and Lyn render all planning useless as they dash towards the duo with a stampede of tortodrones hot on their heels, but are shortly stopped by Caite's Freeze Atomizer (#182), allowing them to gain distance... But not enough to escape. They are still currently running from the group of enraged, ranged Turtle-Beasties, with Caite priming a second bomb as the current final post (#191)

OH. But I almost forgot ONE FINAL GROUP. One that is completely uninvolved at this point. It is composed of The Hunter (whose name is not known, currently), who was put under the task of finding recruits for the now presumably rebel leader of the Caina -- Recruits for what, you may ask? Who knows. Something hidden in post #19, probably; Luke (who entered the group on post #155), and Pippin, who popped open a monster box, found a Love Puppy, and chopped its head off (#158).
This group is still in introductions with one another.

That about sums it up. I'm proud of myself. Now I need to sleep before I fall asleep on my keyboalhbjwttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

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EDIT TO PREVENT DOUBLE POST

Just so people who're in combat with Strom are aware... I'm waiting on Grell and Keep to move. Combat moves with all Doppelgängers will also occur at that time. Also...

@Liminori
Who is Isphea speaking to in post #194? ._.

Anyone in the area, really.

I'm interested in joining. Trouble is, I don't exactly have the patience to read the RP all the way through (though I've read page 1). Is there any essential information I'll need to know before joining, like locations, restricting game mechanics or rules? I want to meet up with where most of the player characters are.

@Thinslayer
Post #113 is updated up to post #191 one in the current state of the RP.

The current locations that have players within them are only in one of three areas. Starting from the highest depth:

• A large Wolver-den type depth. It contains supposedly three elevators (perhaps more) connecting two (not three) different depths. One of the elevators is located only a short distance from the Camp, which Nyroc and Coryn discovered early on, and is also supposedly a headquarters that was set up by Meteko and Drace (if what they referred to as "the surface" (#198) was actually just to a safe haven -- much like the camp). "Supposedly" because that's just a guess.
  That elevator is set between a Graveyard located in a higher depth and the camp depth. Seeing as this is the clockworks... It's possible that that has changed, however. This elevator is also out of order as of post #48, where there are"20 meters remaining on the elevator. The elevator, having lost its source of power, [has] cringe[d] to a stop. Unless someone knows how to climb up metal supports, no one will be using that to get to or from the graveyard for a while. Well... Even if they could get there, they'd need to pump some energy into it for it to function, and even then it was practically falling apart."
  The second and third elevators both lead to the same depth, but are around "half a mile" (#198) apart, using the camp as a center point.
• The second highest depth (with players in it) is the one that both of the above mentioned elevators lead to. It is supposedly a decimated Gremlin Compound (judging by the Gremlin corpse mentioned in #98). There were also agents of Apocrea around (supposedly -- also from #98's description and Coryn's reaction on #104)... But whether they're there or not anymore is unknown. There are 3 known elevators on this floor. Two leading up (which have already been described) and one leading below. It is possible that there is another elevator on this depth as well, which would make sense considering that Caite and Auto ended up on the same lower depth as the other descending elevator -- but in a different location on the depth.
  It should be noted that this depth will be devoid of any characters shortly, as Drace and Meteko started going up to the camp-depth in post #198)
• The two descending elevators mentioned above lead to the third and final depth with active characters roaming about. It appears to be a Tortodrone-wandering zone so far devoid of any other enemy types. The tortodrones are currently on a stampede due to Coryn and Lyn (#169). Nothing else is known about this depth.

As for Game mechanics, so far the only things that are restricting is... No OP characters -- it seems gear can be relatively OP (#59 in the Discussion thread), but should be gauged in modesty for the sake of the RP. There's also realism involved with the weapon limit (#192). Also: "no crazy magic or anything" (#1 -- yes. The first post of the real thread)

Character locations are as follows:

• Grell, Isphea, Keep, and Strom are all on the Camp Depth -- and relatively close to one another. Meteko and Drace are on the way to this depth half a mile from camp, currently. The Hunter, Pippin, and Luke are also supposedly on this depth as well -- so long as the Hunter didn't change his depth after interacting with the Caina guy (#23 -- after they landed on the same depth as Coryn and Nyroc did) -- but at an unknown distance from the rest.
• Coryn, Lyn, Caite, and Auto are all on the Tortodrone Depth and are in close proximity to one another.
• Cult!Drace is in an unknown location.

There are other characters, too... But they're mostly un-used or are alone. You can look through the posts for sights of those, if you wish -- but I don't have the time currently.

Join in on the RP! The more characters there are, the more things to do! Just don't be an OP One-upsmanship type person, and we'll all get along just fine.

I wanna join ;-; should I make a character app first or can I hop right in?

So far we've been going with "Hop right in". Just describe your knight a bit within the first post -- or within the first couple ones. Just so long as you don't interact with people without anyone knowing what your character looks like... 'Cause then it's kind of hard to make a reaction to seeing the knight.

An example of how it would be hard to react (Not because it's needed, but 'cause I thought of a funny example):
If a character jumps out of a tree wearing absolutely nothing, you'd get a different reaction than if they wore 10 Ton plate mail. The first would have "CANNOT UNSEE" reactions, while the second would be more like "... How did you even get up that tree?"

Start where you like. Posts #113 and #119 here in the Discussion thread will serve for where you can jump in to meet characters quickly -- and what others're doing.
Well... There is some more stuff that's happened since Post #113's summary was put into place. But you can read those yourself on the actual thread.

@Sawhero
I seeeeeeee~ [If you're reading this past the third update... I FOUND HIS NAME. AWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEEEAH]

(jumps) What about me! Nobody is noticing me! I do exist right?

I'm at... Emberlight! I am currently 'fighting' this rich knight (Which is my extra character. He has no application, so facing him later could be a shot in the dark).

Well it is really up to you, but since my main 'did such horrible things', all Knights probably want Vex on the floor, dead.

During one RP, I once explored the nature of the Swarm. Think of it as a conglomerate being, a democratic group of minds acting as one. The personality of each and every Void Form will be the same, and treated like the Swarm's limbs rather than individual units. Its personality changes to accommodate newcomers; if it absorbs a kind person, the Swarm will become kinder; if it absorbs a cruel person, the Swarm will become crueler. Currently, the Swarm is mostly animalistic, industrial, and tech-savvy, thanks to wolvers, bots, and gremlins, respectively. Zombies are mindless, and thus don't contribute to the Swarm's personality.

She's been in just about every RP I've hosted. She is the Avatar for the Core, a cloned body (or "shellform" as she calls it) remotely mind-controlled by the Core's spirit. The most well-written RP involving her is "Return to Cradle: Origins", but she made her first (serious) debut in the original "Return to Cradle". Her protoform (original body) is still alive inside the Core, but dormant and technically "dead," since her consciousness has been transferred to an avatar for the time being.

Speaking of RTC, would it be okay if I were to say Yuuki was Trivoc and Ikaros' child/grandchild? It might be interesting to have her in the same RP as Gwen

Hm. MUY INTERESTANTE

@thin: I know, I was just wondering if it'd be okay to cross some stuff from another RP into here. We can't have anyone like Theo, Diablo, or Ikaros in here, though (they're so insanely OP it's not even funny) so that's why I wanted to say Yuuki was the offspring/descendant of one of those kinds of characters. Then she wouldn't be so powerful

*Puppyface*

I miss RTC.

Yes, Unit 1 from "Winter Kingdom" is confirmed to be Gwenivere.

We all had a blast playing it. The original RtC had a lot of power-playing and one-upmanship, but it was still a lot of fun. RtC:O was much better-structured and just as much fun.

Return to Cradle 2 is currently incomplete. I could probably be convinced to continue it if I could find a good direction to take the story.

There's a second RTC? Whaaaat? ;-; can I join?

Just a little side note for anyone who didn't participate/read the original RTC: Yuuki is the quarter Valkyrie offspring of mine and Azure-Orbit's OC's. Since I don't really want to make any particularly strong characters (and since OP ones are banned anyway) she is neither as insanely strong as her mother nor as good of a fighter as her father. She's a fricking black sheep, to be honest.

But I didn't really participate in the forums 'till recently. And even in-game I'm more of a Solo player. S'yeah.

While I'm here, should I have really waited so long for Sonosuke to write up Grell's response? Is there some sort of waiting point where it automatically becomes OK for me to just go on without his movement? Am I just thinking too much on this? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

And on that note, IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? OR IS THIS JUST FANTA SEA?

Ahem.