EPIDEMIC: Nanovirus strikes Superpower Population! ((Upcoming RP event))

PLEASE SAVE ALL POSTS FOR CRITICISM, VOLUNTEERING, AND SUGGESTIONS. Please don't ask when the event will start as it will not until criteria is met.

((OOC information about the event, to prevent many tl;dr's. This will be a server-wide event, dealing with a string of events that will start in the Rogue Isles, and then spread outward to the Paragon City, RWZ, and then on to Praetoria. Participation is voluntary, and the event date is not set. It will be an upcoming weekend though.

Event details: Nanite Quarantine Breach: Contagion Level Category Extreme Threat. All super-powered beings extremely vulnerable to infection.

What this will mean for your characters: I will use one of my characters, that I am extremely inactive on on Redside, to spread a contagious nanotech 'virus' into the super-hero population. Details about the virus below.

Now, what do you do? Either participate as one of the 'infected', or work towards a cure to the nanovirus. Once again, the date is not set, as I am currently writing down a backstory behind the virus, including its origins, ect. And then of course, I will have to make AE arcs, work on changing a characters bio to fit this upcoming event, ect.

So if you're not running this event anytime soon, why make a forum post about it?
For the same reason many people place notices before an event is scheduled: To spread the word. This will be my first attempt at striving for full server cooperation on a purely RP event that I am trying to make both fun, entertaining, great for character development, and (to put in lighter words) create a benchmark in full-server RP on Virtue.

So, what I need in preparation for the event, aka what I need from the entire server, are the following:

A science/laboratory based Villain Group whose main facility is located within the Rogue Isles. This group will be the ones who will have the base storyline of manufacturing the nanites. If they are created with a generally sinister purpose, the easier the transition will be.

A Rogue (Both Morale and character-wise) who is willing to break into said above base legitimately (AKA breaking through the above VG's base defenses like a respectable roleplayer, stealing the contents, ect.), and stealing the nanites. At this point, they can choose to become the first Infected or they can administer it to one of my characters.

Various 'Infectees' (No more than twenty to forty). Any archetype, any background, any character style accepted. Think Marvel Zombies. The Infectee will still retain the characters personality, but will become insane to the point of feral.

A Paragon based Science supergroup, who will attempt to create and administer a cure for the nanites. After learning more about the said SG, I will determine the future of the RP event, and whether they will succeed or end up curing the epidemic.

And depending on how well we get server cooperation, Splinter Groups and Mercenary Groups. They will be in charge of hunting and rounding up rogue Infectees, or in a worst case scenario, rounding up the general super-population for quarantine. Once again, depending on server involvement.

'Figurehead' Infectees and 'Figurehead' heroes. These people will be chosen due to their activity, their server popularity, and a general consensus vote through a SEPERATE forum post. Think of them as the 'stars' in any Zombie movie, whether they are a general, a scientist with the cure, the 'Head' Infectee, or whatever. Figureheads would have to be trustworthy, and unafraid about contacting me when I'm offline to ask questions or concerns about the event.

General Rules about the event, and upcoming details about the virus will be mentioned in a later post. Probably the one that will be reserved for IC reasons.))

((Reserved for IC reasons. Detailings about the virus, the storyline, those involved, and those selected for the various roles. This will be filled in as soon as people help me flesh out the storyline and/or volunteer for roles.))
((Roles:

Science Villaingroup:
*The Kaison Corporation

Rogue Thief:
*Neutrino Pulse? (Unsure until we get an outside source so NP can sell it to them)

Infectees:

Paragon Science Supergroup:
*Incognitus(SG, Magic based.)

Splinter/Mercenary Group(s):
*Scope Squadron(VG)

'Figureheads':
*Dechs Kaison, Original creator of the 'Living Metal'. Potential immunity (his discretion) due to already technically being infected with 'Living Metal'.

*Artificial Intel, Creator of the Poly-Alloy Metal-based Nanites. Due to him having full control of the original nanites that are technically his cellular structure in a sense, he is theoretically immune to the infection.

(Please suggest some at your own leisure. I will tally votes up. If you have a previous post in the forum, for my convenience, vote for a willing participate in an edit.)

RP Coordinators: (Must be willing to accept emails from a strange person who typically role-plays as a perverted android. Also known as Artificial Intel) ))
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________
Virus Details: The nanoviruses intentions are perfectly harmless: They want to simply improve the bodies healing and strength capabilities, but they do it in a harmful way. They cause the host to become solely intent on spreading the combined agent to every potential being.

Now, I plan to have the infection process go like this, due to the difficulty of infection:

INFECTION QUALITIES: Due to the nature of the infection process, the first three phases will be confined to skin contact and exchange of bodily fluids. This includes saliva, blood, sweat, tears, sexual fluids, ect. This means a bite will spread it, but a cut will not, unless the thing that cut you is made of the Nanovirus ('Living Metal' quality). Fourth Phase will become airborne, as the nanites will start to cluster around the infectee in a chance to latch onto a new host. Fifth Phase will be Planar, which means it will be able to infect Incorporeal/Phased beings, regardless of any phase-hopping immunity. At Fifth Phase, it will also slip past most if not all air circulation systems.

INFECTION SYMPTOMS: Incubation period range is eighteen to seventy-two hours, real-time.
First Symptoms: All injuries seem to heal at an explosive rate, even for those with Regeneration.

Second Symptoms: Patches of what appears to be a metal sheen appear on the skin. Psoriasis as well as other regeneration based diseases may occur at players discretion.

Third Symptom: Subject begins to hallucinate and shows signs of dementia or schizophrenia, making them hear voices or have a desire to touch, rake, or bite people.

Fourth Symptom: Cravings increase to nearly berserk status. Characters cravings only target those as strong or weaker than themselves. (This removes any level 1 infectees trying to attack 50's)

Final Symptom: Regeneration rates skyrocket, all combat attributes accommodate themselves for pure infection, patient is driven to the point of insanity with a desire to spread the disease (level of insanity is not bound or characterized. It is up to the player). Hero Strength is NOT increased, but all pain is nullified by the explosive regeneration. Any more than five in one area simulates a Hive-Mind like way of thinking*.

*This allows for tells to be arranged between Infectees within close proximity to eachother. Not telepathy, can be jammed by any standard radio jammer. Must be legitimate. COMMUNICATION MUST BE DISCOVERED BY SCIENCE BASED S/VG, OR CHARACTERS OF SCIENCE. Infectees gain this upon final symptom.

COUNTERING INFECTION (Optional, but increases RP chances of non-infection): Any custom made biohazard suits that are OBVIOUSLY meant for that purpose. That means no invisible force field covering the skin. It means you might need to mess with a costume slot :P.

SPREADING INFECTION: Infectees, if you want to increase your chances of spreading the infection, make your limbs look metallic, or change the design of your weapons to a chrome-like look. This will mean the nanovirus has adapted your natural fighting capabilities, whether artificial or natural, to spread itself to new hosts.

First Phase of infection will allow any if not all organic beings to become highly susceptible to infection, due to the Living Metals mutagen-like qualities. Needless to say, this will affect a majority of the population. First week of the event will detail this.

Second Phase of infection will be to all robot/android/cybernetic beings, as the P-AM Nanites will systematically target the circuitry, and re-convert the systems down to the molecular level to become Nanovirus reproducers. Second Week of the event will detail this.

Third Phase will start to attack magical/daemonic beings, as the P-AM and Living Metal would try to analyze the 'hosts' regenerative abilities, figuring out how to adapt and improve upon their systems. Third week.

Fourth Phase will start attacking Incorporeal/Interdimensional beings, following the same process above. Fourth week.

Fifth Phase will start to target Divine beings. Same cause as above. Fifth week.

IF YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT MEET -ANY- OF THE TYPES LISTED ABOVE, YOU ARE IMMUNE. I tried to cover as many bases as I could, but if there are loopholes, by Odin exploit them.

Now, when I referenced 'Marvel Zombies' when it came to the Infectee's personality, it means the character would keep all of their powers, all of their Incarnate abilities and ratings, and so on and so forth. The only thing that would change is the characters morality, as it would go for Chaotic Neutral. Chaotic Neutral due to the fact that the virus is neither good nor evil, but simply wanting to improve the Infectees capabilities at a loss of sanity/willpower. 'Marvel Zombies' let the characters be as insane as they chose, but they desired to consume flesh. Kinda like how this nanovirus wishes to spread itself.

So apparently this is a bad idea? Anyone care to voice an opinion? I promise to not be offended.

Actually, I think this sounds like it might be fun. Seems like it would be a little difficult to keep organized, but fun none the less. I would participate.

Great! Now if anyone else would like to volunteer for the above roles, please say so. Contacting me in-game is going to be close to impossible for a few weeks, so there is plenty of time to plan this.

So please go ahead and voice your opinions. Supergroups and Villaingroups, please speak up!

This idea is just not getting any love. -_- Damn Virtue for lacking an active forum.

While I would be interested, I'm not sure I'm in a position to supply any of the requisite roles for this scenario other than generic character gone crazy.

Sounds fun, Sadly I don't know of a VG, but you could make the setup in AE.

Curious what the Nanites do and how it effects, Non Human Heroes:

Aliens, Robots, Magical humanoids (elves, Vampires, Were*), Elemental beings, Demons, Angels.

Since many RP players actually do play these types of beings it would be good to find out a bit more detail.

(( This could be ridiculously awesome beyond levels I've ever seen before.

That being said, I could offer one of your roles, though I'm somewhat doubtful it would fit your plan. My main villain, Dechs Kaison, is the owner/operator of a technological and medical research facility, based in the isles, known as the Kaison Corporation. The facade of his business is a treatment center, finding uncommon cures for obscure diseases.

There are two problems. The first is that it's just a personal SG. I'm quite proud of what I've done with the place, but the actual base may not be grand enough to fit your design.

The second problem deals more with your plot. Dechs has plenty of reason to deal with nanites, as they may be the key to a cure for his own condition, but his design intent would not be sinister in nature. That's not to say he's a genuinely "good guy," though, and if he stumbled upon something that could be used as a disease, he'd pursue it. Most likely just to have as a card to play against anyone who crosses him.

That'd make me feel most comfortable. Dechs develops the virus with no real intent to spread it, but then it becomes stolen by someone who does have the sinister drive to infect other.

Let me know what you think. ))

I'm interested in taking part. Here's what I can offer..

I have a team on Red Side called the Scope Squadron. They are actually a military unit sent their by the US Government to keep tabs on the bad guys (fight them there to keep them from coming over here). If they heard about the virus, they would pursue it to keep it out of enemy hands.

I have a magical branch of heroes, Incognitus, thats part of the Paragon Universe SG. Not sure how they'd fit in except maybe to investigate the zombies until they realize they are technological and not magical.

I'm also willing to help out writing arcs and assisting with organization if need be (or plot ideas).

Finally it is nice to see some player interest in this event! I am actually really impressed that the server is willing to volunteer themselves and their SG for the cause of this event. Please hold as I respond via edit to the various folks.

Also, now that there is finally some interest and a candidate for the Rogue Isles VG, as well as the Splinter/Mercenary group, I can start writing a backstory. But we need a crucial key in making sure it runs right, and that is a Rogue. Thank you all for showing an interest in this event, and the only thing I can kindly ask for you to do is spread the word about it, and find people willing to post for a volunteer status.

My RL situation is going to make execution and management of this RP event be a little rough, but I will see what I can do.

EDIT FOR RESPONSES:

@Ashlaylay: It's great to see that you think this is a great idea. I'm more than willing to accept volunteers, either as RPers or as RP coordinators, since a majority of the time I will be offline, and I am looking for responsible people who would be willing to contact me offline to run this. This means giving you an email. This reply is also for anyone else who is interested.

@Emgro: Infectees have to start somewhere!

@Mariel Martog: Saving your reply until after Dechs.

@Dechs Kaison: It's perfect! Now if we can merge it with nanites (I suggest Artificial Intel's PAM Nanites), it could literally infect everything instead of just organics.

Back to @Mariel Martog: Summing what Dechs can provide in the 'Living Metal' area, along with say a supply shipment of Artificial Intel's own batch of Poly-Alloy Metal Nanites, the combination of the two could in turn be very catastrophic. In effect, there could be a high, very high chance of it being able to 'infect' everything, due to the 'Living Metal's reaction and the Poly-Alloy Metal Nanites capabilities of re-arranging matter at a molecular level. Tl;dr, it should be able to infect anyone and everything, unless there is some probable cause of zero infection.

@Recla: That group seems like it would fit in with the storyline as soon as we can get it established.

@Dechs: If you think the above idea is okay, please give a quick reply or send a private message. We can work something out, hopefully.

TO EVERYONE ELSE: No, there is no set date of this event. Yes, we still need volunteers. Yes, I need suggestions for Figureheads. Yes, I still need a Rogue.

Sounds pretty good, actually. Send a tell in game so we can discuss.

My global is @Dechs Kaison

Or PMs would work too.

I'm not sure who I could bring to this, but I think it would be fun.

I have a few questions:

Is this virus infectious on more than one level? Example: It can be absorbed through the skin AND inhaled.

Do gas masks/magical masks count for any sort of prevention?

My main, Nalrok, isn't actually an organic demonic presence, but more of a physical manifestation of nether; if he were to exist in a "pure" form he would be billions of gray-white tendrils and contained souls. Would this virus affect him?

How would this virus affect characters in contained suits? I have a character named Human Air Horn who's in a self-contained power suit to keep himself from going all Positron on his surroundings.

Would robots have their AI overtaken, rather than becoming 'feral?'

Could this virus take over someone's mind and force them to infect others? My hero main Neuronomicon has a "neurokinetic control" system in place of his central nervous system. Could the virus take him over, adopt his personality and use him as a plague spreader?

I think this idea is intriguing.

I have a character who is a freelance reporter; if possible, I'd like to report IC on this storyline as it progresses. Occasionally, my character "broadcasts" in-game on the Radio Free Etoile IC global channel, or I could do forums based reporting. Any fit here?

I'm still a little unclear on if this would affect Nalrok; he's essentially a concentration of the power of Dark Melee (nether) and contains his own consciousness and countless souls. He does count as a demon/planar entity, so would the nanites be able to infect what is essentially a viscous self-aware haze?

Fair enough, Mr. AI.

I think I'll join this with my Praetorian Rockstar Steven Synaptus. He's only 26 but he's got an eye for the spotlight, and let's face it, if the virus is 'smart' it'll use his fame to spread. Imagine it; rockstar endorses the new 'miracle' compound. He still keeps hopes up when things go a little awry, then rockstar gets infected.

I'll ask my VG if they'd be interested in filling any of the roles you've come up with. Should be able to roust up a few more.