Setting

[kismet_loop_mods]

SETTING

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1. AWAKENING
2. GAMEPLAY
3. THE GUARDIANS

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AWAKENING

Consciousness is sudden and jarring. Your last memories are a bit hazy, but you remember sudden pain, a twisting feeling that will leave you aching. You’ll come awake as though you were a drowning man bursting from the surface of the water and finally drawing that first, desperate breath.

You wake in a swirl of black and purple vapors that will leave you feeling coated in grime and in desperate need of a bath. The vapors are quickly disappearing though, flowing away and slowly dissipating into nothing. And you’ll know then that you are not where you came from.

You find yourself sprawled in the middle of the street. The buildings around are you a mix of massive, as though meant for towering giants, and tiny, as though meant for people of a much smaller stature. There’s an odd combination of metal and dirt, plants and crystals. Perhaps you’ll even spot a cat or two wandering the streets.

You’re not alone, though. A small metallic creature hovers in the air nearby. When you notice it, it’ll let out a beep and a ‘woo’ and come a little closer – cautious, non-threatening. The small, disc-shaped drone speaks up. It’s a simple greeting, somehow the thing knows the language you speak and speaks it fluently to you. “Welcome. I have been sent to be of aid to you. I will follow your orders to the best of my ability and answer any questions as best I can.”

With a little bit of questioning, you will quickly learn that the drone is completely yours to do with as you wish, and that it is your means of communicating with other refugees in this place, including a pop-up screen in the top hemisphere for displaying video comms. The information it has to give isn’t much, but hopefully it will be a start.

You will be told of the Miasma, those black and purple vapors, and how that is what brought you here, though none know why. You will be told of the Guardians, the ones that keep the Miasma out of the city as best they can. And you will be told of the various places you can seek out accommodations for yourself, for sustenance and shelter.

You’re stuck here now. Make the best of it. Or not. At least that choice is yours to make.

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GAMEPLAY
Kismet Loop takes place on Cybertron, the home world of giant, shape-changing robots that you might know as 'Transformers.'

However, the Cybertron in this game is very different than most. "The world is in an interesting state," someone once said ('who' is no longer remembered), "somewhere between confusingly ancient and remarkably new." The famous words have been much explored and debated, with no more really known than when they were first uttered. All that is sure is this - the planet itself is very old, while the developing life on it is only just starting to flourish. It’s a place of change, ever growing, ever developing into the great civilization it will one day be.

Another difference is that this Cybertron has been partially terraformed. A wide section of the outskirts of the city will almost seem like the scene from a planet like Earth, with grass, trees, and animals the likes of which are usually only found on organic-based planets. The flora and fauna are not taking over by any means, but in this relatively small piece of the planet, the mix has become rather even.

The work of the Guardians is to find...something. What? You’ll have to ask them. Some will be more willing to talk about it than others, though it is possible that this thing they seek will be key to getting everyone home. Each Guardian also seems to have a different motive for finding this secret power, with perhaps some motives being more noble than others.

This will be where you will come in. Whom do you wish to help find this item of power? Do you trust any of them to find it? What will you do if you find it first? Do you even care? You can strive towards whatever goal you wish.

You will also be in a constant battle with the Miasma and the random chaos it spills into the city. “Random Events” will be posted on a monthly basis, everything from item drops, to the mundane, to the dangerous, to the life-changing. These events are meant to be used as optional prompts to build CR and experience for your characters. If you have an idea of something you’d like to see pop up in the city, but it’s not necessarily large enough to be considered a player-run plot, feel free to make a suggestion to the Random Events page.

Kismet Loop is designed as a game where characters are able to grow and develop even more than usual; should their actions run parallel with the goals of a Guardian, they may find themselves being granted boons or favors, or even powers courtesy of the Guardian they please or draw the attention of. The Guardians may also send occasional missions or requests to those who catch their attention, allowing for small mini-event scenarios in-between larger plots. As gameplay is highly player-influenced, the actions of characters will help the mods direct the flow and tone of the game as it pans out.

To sum up, this is a slow-to-medium-paced game that has a serious metaplot but doesn't lack in opportunities for shenanigans.

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THE GUARDIANS

Demi-Gods. Some might even be considered a force of nature. They have come from various realities, dimensions, and worlds to settle on this one. They each have their own reasons for coming here, and some may be more open about those reasons than others. One reason is the Miasma. This chaos bubbling up from the center of the young planet concerns them all to various degrees and for various reasons. They keep the Miasma out of the city as much as possible, but even they cannot entirely stop its taint.

More information for the Guardians and NPCs will be added soon. For now here's a list of the known characters.

Known Guardians
Contrail
Death
Galos
Gyroscope
Irja
Jinora
Paian
Rathan
Sirrah
Wheeljack

Other NPCs
Van
Pur-n'kln
Eric Thillens