“Without the Helm of Domination to control them, the Scourge roams leaderless. Ambitious necromancers and mighty death knights vie for scraps of power, carving out small kingdoms like vicious warlords in the wake of their king’s death. And amidst it all, the scattered remnants of the Cult of the Damned have begun to move in the shadows once more.”
The Shadow Vault, a neutral Knights of the Ebon Blade RP community, invites you to participate in a campaign as either a Cult of the Damned character hiding in Stormwind City, or an Ebon Blade knight hunting them. This will be a long-running storyline playing out over the course of several weeks, with a particular focus on mystery, intrigue, and good ol’ fashioned paranoia.
Background
Inspired by a charismatic prophet, a small cell of Cult of the Damned adherents have banded together with a singular mission: Sever the Ebon Blade’s ties to the Alliance and the Horde, setting them against each other in a conflict that will weaken all the Scourge’s greatest enemies in one fell swoop.
Doing this will be no mean feat. It will require planning, patience, and secrecy. In order to move freely within the city, this cell has established cover identities among the citizenry. They have even begun slowly recruiting new blood to their cause, especially among the downtrodden and disaffected.
Anyone you see on the streets could be among their number. How well do you really know your neighbors? Are those hushed conversations that fall silent as you approach just innocent gossip? Who among them might be donning black cloaks at night, and joining dark rituals in shadowed cellars?
OOC Goals:
- The number one goal is to build a community of cultist RP characters that can develop together. Our focus as a community is character development and that holds true for this plot as well. These are not disposable mooks that exist just to be defeated by the good guys. They are real characters whose lives, for one reason or another, have led them to joining a cult.
- This is not an event where the heroes will swoop in, wipe out the bad guys, and be home in time for supper. Ideally this will be a long-running plotline, where both sides will have successes and failures along the way.
- There will also likely not be any large-scale combat events. If these cultists are involved in open fighting, it means they have failed at their primary goal. At its core, this is a way for people to establish and roleplay Cult of the Damned characters in a setting where they can ‘safely’ interact with each other and other players in the major cities. As such we will not be setting up any combat system. Any fights will be discussed and decided OOC before playing out IC, and will almost certainly favor the Death Knights in open combat.
- Secrecy is the name of the game. These cultists know that if they are found out, they will be exterminated in short order. Therefore, they will do everything they can to stay in the shadows. OOCly, we’ll be closely managing what information is revealed and when. That way we can ensure that the mystery and tension have some longevity.
- OOC secrecy is part of the fun of this event, so it is recommended you prolong that as much as you can. This is not a requirement, but part of the fun is having the investigating players not know who is who in Stormwind. When we did this event ten years ago, false accusations of innocent players were common! Eventually players will figure things out, but the longer we can keep it going the better!
How do you fit in?
If you’ve read this far, I hope it’s because you’re interested in taking part! There are two main ways to do so: Making a character to be a secret Cult of the Damned cultist, or a Knight of the Ebon Blade aligned character who will help investigate.
In order to join either group, read the respective section below and then either message ‘evelyne’ on Discord, or send mail to ‘Mornal’ ingame. Specify which side you want to take part in, and you’ll receive an invite to a discord server and an ingame community. While joining the discord is optional, I will highly encourage it will be used throughout the event to coordinate events and have OOC discussions.
I would also encourage you to pick one side and stick with it throughout the event. Much of the fun of this type of roleplay is not knowing exactly what the other side is doing, especially for those investigating. This also helps reduce any accidental metagaming.
Cultist 101
- The main thing to keep in mind for cultists is that this is a ragtag group, made up primarily of regular folk with little to no actual power. They are not Scourgelords and powerful necromancers. Secrecy is their shield and surprise their strongest weapon.
- Being a cultist isn’t a full time job! Much of their time will be spent as just an ordinary citizen, going about their life. As such, they’ll likely have a mundane ‘day job’ to blend in and maybe even secretly scout for new recruits.
- Cultists will have a regular secret meetings to attend. Attendance is optional, but highly encouraged for those who really want to dig into this plot. There will be baked goods provided.
- Anyone can be a cultist, but you’ll want a good reason for how and why they came to be one. Are they a true believer, or just in it for a sense of belonging? Do they want to end the world that hasn’t been fair to them, or do they believe that they’re working for a greater cause of some sort? Maybe they just want free dental and healthcare?
Death Knight 101
- The Cultists will have a headstart to establish themselves within the city before the Death Knights begin to hunt for them in earnest. In the meantime, there is plenty of Death Knight RP occurring in other locations such as Acherus and The Shadow Vault that you are welcome to take part in!
- Death Knights may be kidnapped throughout the course of the event, as part of the cult’s secretive goals. This will only ever be done with explicit player permission OOC. This will provide opportunities for each side to roleplay with the other more directly.
- Keep in mind that, while not as reviled as the Cult of the Damned, Death Knights are not likely to be welcomed in Stormwind with open arms. Many are still upset about their assault on Light’s Hope Chapel during the Legion’s invasion, and view them with strong distrust. As such they have been strictly ordered not to engage in any violence outside of self-defense, lest they spark the exact war the cultists are trying to provoke.
I hope you’re as excited to take part in this as I am! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them here. And, of course, have a Happy Halloween!
