The Spiral Order, forged in the turmoil of the Morai Wars, has fled its home on Isora. Shot out into the dark expanse of space, they happen upon the strange alien planet of Cradle. Running low on fuel and power, they are forced to abandon ship as the Skylark crashes to the land below. Newly awakening in this strange and dangerous world, surviving knights everywhere make pilgrimage to the light of their comrades’ fire, and to safety in numbers.
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Essentials:

Basically, it’s Spiral Knights with a Dark Souls tinge. Everything is darker and more dangerous. Haven will serve as an equivalent to Firelink Shrine, where knights can rest, train, and heal after being out on the frontier. The Gremlin Blacksmiths, Punch and Vise, are capable of enchanting weapons with elemental magic or transforming them into completely different, more powerful forms by using “Boss Souls” (Dropped from boss monsters or significantly powerful enemies in the Clockworks). What the weapons turn when using boss souls into I’ll leave up to players, concerning names and effects, but remember, nothing OP! You can try looking to Boss Token weapons from the game or actual boss soul weapons in Dark Souls for inspiration:

http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Boss+Soul+Weapons
http://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Boss+Soul+Weapons

Other vendors in Haven stay the same, really, and can sell low to mid-level gear and armor (0 Stars to 3 Stars). Alchemy is non existent, thus leaving players to scavenge up increasingly more powerful weapons as they go along (as in finding them in the field, not crafting them. 4 Star and 5 Star equipment can be scrounged up in treasure chests or corpses in the deeper levels of the Clockworks. Emberlight also sells 4 star and 5 star gear.). The Forge can still upgrade weapons in the same way as in-game, using fire crystals. There are no battle sprites available.

Health packs are no more! Instead, your grievous injuries stay with you until you are patched up or die, and in event of the latter, you revive back at the bonfire you most recently interacted with, with all your belongings (Yes, this needs to be present). Bonfires are always found next to the terminals leading deeper into the Clockworks. They are somewhat of an unknown to knights, but they keep you from true death. However, be wary. Being pushed from death to the flame of a bonfire over and over will take a toll on you. The more one revives, the closer you are to going mad and turning on your comrades. You will feel headaches, hunger, hear voices, until finally, you become Hollowed. You lose your intelligence and compassion, but not your skill as a warrior, making Hollowed knights dangerous entities. If this happens to your character, you can chose to continue playing as a Hollow (could make for some unique writing and/or developments in the story), or put your character somewhere and say, “Up for execution!”, then create a different character to play as should you chose to.

When executing Hollowed comrades, just please, DON’T BLOW THROUGH IT LIKE YOU JUST KILLED ANOTHER MONSTER (Unless that’s the kind of person your character is, which is also totally viable. In that case, you may even enjoy it). These are your fallen comrades, be sad, panicky, angry, or scared when this happens, as long as it is within sensible story parameters. It should be like killing Old Yeller. Thankfully, one can “reset” this progression towards Hollowing with Sparks of Life. This is now the only use for them. Unfortunately, this cannot cure already Hollowed individuals. These are extremely valuable, so don’t go flaunting them around. The more unsavory of your comrades may just try to take some from you.

Monsters also stay the same, with the exception of modified boss monsters, boss monsters I will create, and possibly some new enemies and/or NPCs. Standard monsters are found in their appropriate locations.

Emberlight is located in a significantly deep part of the Clockworks, and acts as another rest area for knights. Many Gremlin inventors and traders offer powerful weapons and armor, from 4 to 5 star gear. Weapons are also enchantable and reinforceable there through the local Gremlin blacksmith, Godo.
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The Plot:

After crashing on Cradle, the knights of the Spiral Order are thrown into chaos. Large chunks of the Order become separated from each other, and form the various Covenants. The Order itself still exists, but on a smaller scale. Additionally, when landing, many knights find that they have been bound to bonfires by an unknown force, and can no longer truly die. Some hypothesize that it may be an effect coming from the planet itself, although there is no way to truly determine this yet. These bonfires, while first seen as a safeguard, have become signs of condemnation. Knights began to Hollow after dying too many times, immortal creatures doomed to madness and hunger unless put out of their misery. After discovering this, many knights became afraid. But, as it was, brave souls were needed to survive the plights of Cradle. Ozlo commissioned that all able-bodied warriors take up arms, and journey to the Core of Cradle. He himself, with the four skilled knights of Alpha Squad, journeyed into the Clockworks, but never returned. They endeavored to find what the massive energy reading down there was, and if possible, harvest it, in the hopes they’d be able to leave this planet. Many dangerous monsters lie beneath in the Clockworks, and the road will be long and perilous. You will die, over and over and over. Struggle against your shackles, and perhaps you can save yourself.

RP Progression Outline: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XkrJ3atMkc9VYvJk5Nt_B7S-irlJBv56hV6P...

List of Bosses: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ku4Y_Ktr_x9qReR5aA18iHTVRpkNx9pQFNBc...

List of Covenants: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nJWgmyh7__bInVzVRyoMOqmDt8OonWDq2EjX...

IMPORTANT STUFF BEFORE YOU WRITE OUT YOUR APP 'N THINGS:

- Remember, no godmodding, powerplaying, etc, none of that nasty stuff. If someone writes, "He smiled at him, but was secretly a Reaper", your character can't magically become suspicious since, in-game, the character only sees a smile.
- All OOC posts go here, and nowhere else. The actual RP thread is for the real action only.
- Death is going to be an integral part of gameplay here. Do not be afraid of letting your beautifully crafted animu hero (which shouldn't actually be some beautifully crafted animu hero) fall defeated and die. Bonfires and the process of Hollowing are important story factors. But, this doesn't mean you write "He dies", and it happens. Put it within reason. If one is seriously injured and is forced into combat, then they likely die. When writing, accept that if the circumstances are realistic, YOU MUST DIE. Do not be afraid to choose this option if someone writes, "He swung his sword savagely at his neck", and both your legs are broken.
- As stated above, do not make your character a Mary Sue. Give them some flaws, impairments, inadequacies and fears! Make them like REAL PEOPLE.
- GUNS! Here, to avoid, "And then I shot him in the head and he died" (aka quick, boring battles), guns act as means for stunning or inflicting status effects on opponents. Sustained fire will cause significant damage, but not kill. Try landing a last blow with your blade.
- Your character will not start off as part of a Covenant, as you choose how/when your character stumbles upon and/or joins the Covenant of your choosing, if you join one at all. AND DO NOT ALL FLOOD ONE COVENANT. (Was that a Halo joke?)
- You are free to create and control NPCs and monsters as you wish, as long as they are within reason. I will lightly control how the game goes, in addition to select NPCs, but remember, you all follow the progression stages above.
- Monsters cannot be reasoned with! Perhaps entities like Arkus and the Scarlet Fortress Knights can be (kinda) conversed with, but they will still try to kill you. It only ends when they die.
- It is up to you whether your character bands together with other players, or walks alone, only interacting with others when they happen upon them.
- There is no stat-based gameplay! Let your writing control the story (reasonably).

Example App and First Post: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BApq1r32osAudHx78jp-KLF7yPdQNryniZKT...
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Application Format [READ EVERYTHING ABOVE FIRST, YOU'LL NEED IT]:

Name:

Gender/Age:

Appearance: [Picture or written description. Note that characters are required to look like humans.]

Starting Equipment: [Any weapons and armor, as long as it is below three stars. More powerful gear can be bought from vendors, or you can have your character find it as loot in the Clockworks. Remember, nothing OP when writing in loot! Expect to find the most powerful gear from the deepest levels of the Clockworks!]

Personality:

Starting Gift (Choose one):
- Spark of Life: A single Spark of Life that you managed to keep on your person during evacuation of the Skylark. Reverses progression towards Hollowing.
- Munitions Packet: Allows for the use of one three star weapon/armor when starting off.
- Mecha Knight Kit: Summons a mecha knight to fight on your behalf for a limited amount time.
- Locket/Pendant/Ring: A simple token of remembrance you took from home when you joined the Spiral Order. Has no observable benefits, but even so, pleasant memories are crucial to survival on arduous journeys.

Backstory: [How they came into the Order; what they were skilled at as a soldier, if anything; history; etc]
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Your first post (as seen in the example link above) in the RP is standard stuff; fighting through monsters and having Rhendon (me!) explain things to you later as you enter the Rescue Camp. After that, players will trek towards Haven, and fight the Ironwood Sentinel on the way there. It is required that all characters be together for this boss. After Haven, you are free to go your own ways, to a degree. Have fun!

And prepare to die.

List of Characters:
- Merlot, played by Liminori
- Anima, played by Bombing-Run
- Raleigh, played by Blazecat-Percival