Silent Heaven: Small-town Horror RPG

Jumpscare · 1 Aug 2023, 20:03

OVERVIEW

Silent Heaven is a small-town roleplaying game focused on personal demons amidst a backdrop of supernatural horror. The only people who find their way to the town of Silent Heaven are those who aren’t okay, even if they act like they are. Your character is among this twisted cast of characters. Everyone hopes to find that road to salvation, but temptations lurk around every corner.

Be bad. Be vulnerable. Embrace your sorrow. Will you face your darkest times and recover? Or will you succumb to the town and be lost forever?

The worst thing that can happen is getting comfortable with living here.

FEATURES

Silent Heaven is a unique world set in an unspecified location. It draws inspiration from many sources, including Silent Hill, LOST, American Horror Story, Omori, and much more.

Silent Heaven is made using the Evennia codebase with a custom gameplay system.

Gameplay Overview:

RPI-lite: MUSH-style RP + coded support for supplementary skills.
No Alts: You may have only one character at any given time.
No Grinding: XP is earned through logging in each day + bonus XP for roleplaying for about 30 - 60 minutes.
Simple Crafting: Craft a unique description and custom name for any item, giving it a bonus to its effect.
Simple Combat: A customized conflict system focuses on coming to solutions that don’t involve costly violence. Simplified locational combat allows you to spend more time RPing during and after conflicts.
Traditional Grid: Movement directions are only North, South, East, West, Up, and Down. Room sizes and shapes vary.
Character-driven storylines: The best rewards are for doing what would tell a good story rather than gaming the system or playing to win.
Characters cannot die: For some mysterious reason, if a character would die, even if they’re fatally bludgeoned, the town seems to keep them alive. Why? That’s a spoiler.
End of the road: When your character reaches max XP, a special Storyteller-run plot will help to determine the ultimate fate of your character.

Unique-ish Features:

Consent Checklist: A customizable checklist allows you to choose the themes you want to see in RP. Your character may be terrified, but we want to make sure everyone is having fun that they enthusiastically consent to OOC. Consent may be revoked at any time. Revocation will be respected, and you don’t need to supply a reason why you’re revoking it.
Whispers: The quietest voices spread around town via mysterious wind currents, making it difficult to keep secrets.
Shelter: Retreat to your safe space when you need downtime. Public locations become less safe as more characters gather in one spot. Don’t stay outside too long, either. There are monsters out there. Some of them even look like monsters.
Panic: Suffer emotional damage that can’t be healed through conventional means.
In-depth NPCs: Each NPC is a complete character with a history, goals, and fears. Though you may befriend some of them, NPCs almost always have an ulterior motive. They wouldn’t have found their way to Silent Heaven otherwise.
Intersectional-LGBTQIA+: Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. are unwelcome. Pronouns aren’t tied to your character’s sex, gender or outward appearance. You can even randomize your character’s pronouns.
Drugs & Toxins: Provide beneficial drugs to those who need help, or poison your enemies. Lace your creations into food, or even create chemical weapons.
Blood Tests & Forensics: Diagnose patients with mysterious ailments. Collect blood samples and other metadata from locations to find out who’s been up to what.
Rituals and fat͓̖̟̥̠̺̩̙̽̉̒͆̈͊͛̓̏͘ȓ̶̢̧͙̼͓͛̄̆̒͗͊̅͡͡l̮̮͉̻͎̰̘͛̋̓̚̕j̸̧̰̥̜͍̜̗̔̏̄̈̽̿͜͝o̮̻̗̱̻̖̎̌̇̉͒̐͝i̷̮͖͚̦̖̊̽͗̈́͗̈̕͘͜͡l̶̞͎̯͚̱̓͊̽͊͂̐͟͝f͖̬̻̩̜̾͛̒͐̌͝k̴͕̦͎͚̬̘̫͚͍͌̏̌̑̈́͗̐̚̚͠j̧̛͍͇͚̫̱̹͍̘́͊͊͑̀͘͠͝:̴̡̩̪̟̓͑͆̿͜͠ a̮̖̜̯̭͍͎̅̔̓̈̅͒̕̚͟͡ć̸̡̬̞̬̫̺̾̍̏̚t̖͓̻͉͌͋̅̆̽͛̌͘ͅǐ̧̛̤̱͍̱͈͍̾͆͂̽̀̿͘͞ǫ̶͇̦̮̻͕̣̦̠̽̿̈́̂̑͟n̷̢̧̛̹̗͈̯̞̈́̾͐͘̚͝s͎̪̤̠̗̫̓͑̏̈̔̅͂̂͘͝ h̷̨̺̠̱̮̤̯̰̯́̄͐̄͞a̶̺̤͍̘̤͑͌̾͆̔͌͘̚̚͡v̸̥̤͍͍̲͋̀̐͗̍̀̄͗͡ȅ̢̱͔͖̪̳͚̿̀̍̿͌̌̎̉͠ f̵͇͔̣̗̗̮͖͖̼̊͆́͆͡a̡͙̘̘͚̥̼͗̂̿̓͌͘r̶̛̯̟̗̙̳͑̓̅̉̈̏͆͞-̨̪̘̼͎̺̬̟͂͊̀́͒͂̚r̸͔̻̠̬̼͕̊̀̂͆̅͞è̸̢̛̗͔͔̬͈͋͂͡a̵̧̲̫͙̘̅̈̊̏͗ͅc̷̡̨̪̙̰̺͛́̃͐̑͐͛̽͢͠ḩ̸̨̹̫̞͖̲̳͍̱̓̄̆̉͂̆̎́͞i̸̢͙̪̦̱̥̰̯͙͎͑̑̑́̏̓̽ñ̵͈͈̠̬̜̙͔͈͊̀̀̕͘͞͡g̷̺̦̰͓͖͒̒̿̎̈ c̶̨̢͓̺̪̭̬͔̳͑̐̅͋̒̀͘͟ò͓͔͔̜̙̫̠͉̫̔̇̐̚̚͠n̵̨͇͖̱͋̐̉̌̏̋̾͟ś̡̟̺̻̥̩̼̟̏̔̉͢͞ė͖̞̻̠̟̑͆͗̄ͅq̷̨̜̺͌̋̉̃̍̈́̃̔͜͟͝u̵̞̯̱̹͙̫͌́͊̂̑̅̅̈́͟ͅę̸̖͖̦̼͒̔̄̉͒̏̕n͖͓̙̞̼͓͈̯̋͛̈́̇̚͡ͅç͎̟̦̰̜̑̈́̋́́̓̔͡ę̸̢̖̖̲̳̭̊̇̆͌͋̇̉̀̕͝s̶̛̖͈͙̺͔͑͂̕̕͡.̷̠͈̦̦͍̩̜͍́̃̓͛͛̽͌͢͟

CONFLICT BETWEEN CHARACTERS

Throughout your character’s story, your character will likely engage in conflict with other characters, whether they’re NPCs or PCs. Conflict helps move stories forward. However, there’s a firm line between what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

You’ve likely heard of Player vs. Player (PvP) gameplay, where you compete against other players in a game, whether it be via combat, social prestige, or deception. We don’t do that in Silent Heaven. As a community, we’re expected to be friendly, respectful, and supportive of our fellow players.

It’s important to be able to separate conflict between characters (CvC) and conflict between players (PvP). We’re all having a good time as players putting out characters into dangerous situations. We encourage OOC check-ins to make sure everyone is still enthusiastic about what’s happening, and coming to an amicable resolution if things are starting to get uncomfortable.

Overall, Silent Heaven is a dangerous place, and your character will naturally fall into CvC. Bad things will happen to your character just as often as good things. Treat each player with care and respect. Keep conflict in-game. Know your limits.

If this style of roleplay suits your preferences, then Silent Heaven is for you.

LORE AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Lore? There’s plenty. But you don’t need to know anything ahead of time. As a fresh resident to a mysterious town, discovering it all in-character is part of the excitement. Want to learn more about that church? You could ask someone about it, or find and read some literature about it, or even go there yourself to soak in some history.

It’s perfectly acceptable for your character to ask someone, “What the f—k is going on in this town?” In fact, it’s encouraged. It’s an excellent way to spur roleplay and delve into how your character reacts to the unknown.

If you like solving mysteries, this town has plenty of them.

LIMITATIONS TO WHAT YOU CAN ROLEPLAY

The following should be OOCly assumed to be true:

Your character enters Silent Heaven as a modern-day human with no supernatural powers.

Nobody who successfully leaves Silent Heaven can ever find their way back in. There are no ‘return visits.’

There is no way to ‘fix’ the town of Silent Heaven. While your character may have influence on the future of NPCs and landscapes, the backdrop of a hidden town full of cursed characters will not change.

Silent Heaven isn’t in any set location. Outside contact within Silent Heaven will never happen. For what it’s worth, consider the town to be on an entirely different plane of existence.

The timeline of Silent Heaven diverged from the real world in 2010, and anything after that never happened. Humans still exist. Scientific and technological advancements continue as normal. This alternate world history is intentionally an amorphous blob, because your character’s storylines will center around being in a town isolated from the rest of the world.

LAUNCH DATE?

My goal to launch Silent Heaven is December 2022. That’s 7 months from this post. Early 2023.

Coding is 85% complete. There are only 8 major systems left to code.

Building is 25% complete. All remaining NPCs, items, and rooms are fully planned out. It’s just a matter of writing them all and putting them into the game.

To those who’ve already read this post in the previous forum, thanks for putting up with the repost. I’ve updated it to better reflect what Silent Heaven has become over the past year. Everyone’s guidance and suggestions have been invaluable.

I’ll also be posting updates with all the new major features I’ve added in the past 3 months:

Item customization
Cooking
Drug synthesis
Substance mixing
Manually powered vehicles
Vending machines
Writing

But for now, I need a breather.

In the meantime, please feel free to join the Discord server, where I post regular updates and a ton of screenshots.

Stay spooky!

BloodAngel · 23 May 2022, 21:58

@Jumpscare NEED THIS IN MY LIFE!

Meg · 23 May 2022, 22:05

Well. I am excited about this game. I was going to create a cooking system in Arx, but never got the energy.

Seriously, this is impressive! Count one more for players you’ll have.

If there’s something you need in the meantime, I love writing descs and stuff.

Testament · 23 May 2022, 22:33

Good stuff from the read.

Tez · 23 May 2022, 22:34

I may not be the target audience. I got invested when I saw @Meg say cooking minigame.

crawfish · 24 May 2022, 01:35

@Tez @Meg and I can run around screaming and you can cook for us.

BloodAngel · 24 May 2022, 01:43

@crawfish This sounds like an amazing time.

MisterBoring · 24 May 2022, 01:56

I very much look forward to giving this a try when it gets to the point that you are accepting players.

hellfrog · 24 May 2022, 02:02

We have seven months to plan our entire char arcs and then talk ourselves out of them and then lament how great this game could have been, if only not for the things.

All before it opens.

crawfish · 24 May 2022, 02:04

@hellfrog why are you like this

lucidmaus · 24 May 2022, 02:05

Testament · 24 May 2022, 02:06

I’d play this. But I’m also sure I’ll completely forget about it until December. So it’ll be a surprise a second time.

Jumpscare · 19 Sept 2022, 20:02

Wanna know all the features I’ve been working on for Silent Heaven?

There’s a lot. There’s so much that I’m almost done with coding! There are only 2 major systems left, plus a handful of odds and ends.

@Meg was excited about Cooking, so let’s start with that first!

Find a kitchen and type COOK. You’ll get to choose to cook from a recipe you’ve saved, or write a new recipe.

Let’s start by adding a new recipe.

First, you get to choose which ingredients you’re including in your recipe. There are lots of ingredients, so they’ve been sorted into 9 categories, for your convenience.

Your character’s cooking skill determines what ingredients they’re able to work with. More cooking skill = more ingredients to choose from.

Do kitchens run out of individual ingredients? Nope, we’re handwaving that.

Did I forget an ingredient you want? I’ll add it!

Once you’ve assembled all your ingredients, it’s time to choose your cooking method! Again, a higher Cooking skill means you unlock more advanced cooking techniques.

Now add some flavor, literally! Adding a flavor is just for flavor.

Almost done! Write a pretty description of your food!

Now that you’ve described it, how are you serving it? On a plate? In a glass? Maybe you’ve cut out a slice for someone…

Finally, give it a name!

Now you get to review and edit it and change anything if you spotted an error.

You good now? You like that recipe? Let’s get COOKING!

AMAZING.

Let’s EAT this masterpiece.

Your character will munch away in the background while you RP.

If you want to speed things along, you can STOP all that patient eating and finish it like a seagull.

There’s no penalty for doing this; it’s just flavor. If the cook’s skill is high enough, eating food will give your character a minor bonus for the rest of the day. It’s nothing crazy, just a little reward for chilling and RPing with your character’s friends who cooked this delicious food. Remember to say thank you!

You’re welcome to eat as much as you want, and you’ll get a little notification when your character is pleasantly stuffed. You can keep eating after that, but…

To keep your sensibilities quelled, I’ll only show the storyteller-side notification.

There’s a number of storyteller-side notifications like that so that any NPC witness can be animated and join in on the fun, if the scene calls for it.

That’s all there is for cooking!

As always, please feel free to join the Discord server, where I post regular updates and a ton of screenshots.

I would be ever so thankful for help with writing NPC, item, and room descs. It’s not at all necessary, but If you’re interested, there’s a channel on the Discord for writing requests. Give me a nudge and I’ll find a few things you can contribute to.

Stay spooky!

Meg · 20 Sept 2022, 23:08

@Jumpscare omg, this was lovely! Thank you for sharing this. It’s very interesting the way you did it. Does the ‘it tastes just fine’ text change with the skill roll, depending on the cook’s skill too?

Jumpscare · 21 Sept 2022, 12:05

@Meg You’re welcome! Yes, the “it tastes just fine” changes with the skill roll. And it also depends on whether or not it’s been sitting out for months.

Sadly, cheesecake doesn’t last forever.

crawfish · 22 Sept 2022, 13:34

@Jumpscare said in Silent Heaven: Small-town Horror RPG:

@Meg You’re welcome! Yes, the “it tastes just fine” changes with the skill roll. And it also depends on whether or not it’s been sitting out for months.

Sadly, cheesecake doesn’t last forever.

It does in my heart.

Pavel · 22 Sept 2022, 14:44

@crawfish said in Silent Heaven: Small-town Horror RPG:

@Jumpscare said in Silent Heaven: Small-town Horror RPG:

@Meg You’re welcome! Yes, the “it tastes just fine” changes with the skill roll. And it also depends on whether or not it’s been sitting out for months.

Sadly, cheesecake doesn’t last forever.

It does in my heart.

That’s just the cholesterol.

Testament · 23 Sept 2022, 18:59

@Testament said in Silent Heaven: Small-town Horror RPG:

I’d play this. But I’m also sure I’ll completely forget about it until December. So it’ll be a surprise a second time.

Okay, so it wasn’t December, but close enough. That cooking stuff sounds pretty in depth and fascinating. Sounds like one of those ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ kind of things. I think this is pretty fantastic.

Also, because I’m incredibly immature and juvenile.

Beavis and Butthead laugh

Jumpscare · 24 Sept 2022, 08:32

@Testament
Thanks! I didn’t even see that typo!

Jumpscare · 14 Mar 2023, 22:54

This post is deleted!