The Festival of Scarlet and Amber

The World Beyond

There are things in this world that escape the comprehension of modern man. For decades - centuries - millenia - mankind has managed to thrive despite them, ignorant, feeling safe in their ignorance of the transcendent beings that once dwelled on Earth and will, one day, dwell upon it again. As some say, ignorance is bliss - is it not better to not be aware of the sword of Damocles hanging over your head when there is absolutely nothing that you can do to overcome the threats facing you?

Nevertheless, not all of mankind has been able to live in peace. Since the ancient times, there have been those who, by accident or by design, encountered the machinations of the ones that dwell and writhe in the great beyond, in which human species was nothing more than yet another pawn. It was knowledge that was also poison; it left no-one unchanged.

Some were driven insane, if they managed to survive the experience; their tales ignored as the incoherent ramblings of madmen. Humans would rather invent their own monsters that they could overcome with bravery and determination, rather than accept the existence of real ones, in front of whom all of that was naught.

Some betrayed their own kind for power, trying to futilely amuse their incomprehensible masters with ever-greater depravities, to gain the attention of the ancient ones that still remembered when the stars were young, and to learn from them. In the few rare cases, the great ones even listened, and granted those who worshipped them as gods a sliver of their immense power.

Some were content to merely study the transcendent ones, to learn the arts of alien mathematics and geometries. Frightened of what dwells behind the veil, they created the human arts of sorcery, fragments of knowledge that they could glean from timeless tombs and alien ruins. Yet, as time passed, many of them lost more and more of their original humanity, until they became nothing more than ancient husks, caring for nothing but expanding their understanding of the forbidden lore in a desperate bid to escape the inevitable.

Some, however, decided to fight. Even if their struggle was ultimately futile, if, thanks to them, the rest of mankind could live just one more day in peace and blissful ignorance, then they would gladly sacrifice their lives. Their lives were often short, brutal and unpleasant, but it was something that they, with time, came to accept. Such was the fate of those who struggle against the ineffable, the great, transcendent titans for whom Earth is little more than a toy.

Which will you become?

The Basics

The Setting

The events of the Festival of Scarlet and Amber take place over a single month before a festival in a quiet, unassuming coastal city, somewhere, somewhen. The city persists mostly on its well-developed fishing industry and tourism, though it is also a reasonably important port within the region. It has existed for many centuries, from its humble beginnings as a fishing village to its current status. It is relatively isolated by the mountains surrounding it, and the main method of contacting the other parts of the nation is by ship.

The Players

The player characters are all students at a local, highly respected high school, though there is no restriction on gender, or the class or year that they are in. For one reason or another, they have gained the attention of the school idol and the daughter of the school headmaster, who invited them to her house for a pleasant chat - one that ended up being slightly more eventful than initially suspected.

Character Creation

Stats

• Physical
  
• Smarts
  
• Charisma
  
• Perception
  
• Mental Health
  
• Eldritch Lore
  

At the beginning, all stats start at 1, with the exception of Eldritch Lore, which starts at 0. This can be considered the "baseline" ability of a high school student. However, all player characters can be assumed to excel in a certain field; you can add a single point in a stat of choice, with the exception of Eldritch Lore, representing ability that is easily above average in the given field.

In addition to that, a single Skill might also be chosen; this is essentially a character's speciality, not bound to any specific stat, but instead having wide application to actions related to it. For example, a Cooking skill would not only allow the character to prepare an unusually tasty meal, but also cover things such as recognising ingredients, memorising recipes or swift use of a kitchen knife - not all of which have to be used for entirely harmless purposes.

Mental and Physical Health

Each point of Mental Health gives the character 10 mental health points, just like each point of Physical grants 10 physical health points. (from now on referred to as MP and HP, respectively) MP recovery is handled by rolling the number of d10 dice equal to Mental Health stat at the end of each investigation, as well as during context-dependant events. Exact HP recovery rules will be established later, but can be assumed to be, in large part, context-dependant.

Special Characteristics

A character has a single Special Characteristic as well; it goes beyond only affecting stats and may have significant effects on the character's background, as well as future plot developments. It is also the only way to raise Eldritch Lore stat above 0 for a starting character.

Currently still Work in Progress. Please wait until tomorrow for further information; any questions are welcome on the talk page