illa machina sine elementis operatur

Explanation

So this is the beginning of a plot chain focused around the ETIA. Admittedly, planning hasn't made it all the way to the end yet, but that's because everything is on a mental tree diagram with far too many possibilities to reasonably develop on the same level. There are a number of set endings that I have in mind but getting to them depend on which characters the ETIA happens to interact with.

With the way that I have this plot in mind, nobody should feel obligated to go all the way through the chain if they don't want to. People who are present in the beginning can drop out in the middle if they want. You can drop out just after one thread, too, and that will be fine. If anybody wants to pop in at the very end of it, too, for the first time, that will also be okay. It's up to you. If a thread goes stale, it will simply be resolved by the ETIA becoming bored and walking away.

In any case, the presence or absence of a character will affect the ETIA's actions differently in some way. The ETIA is a fairly pure minded being; it does things for the sake of doing so, with little moral purpose or reasoning. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. The ETIA is distant from labels such as those.

The purpose of this plot is to change that. Or maintain it. Whichever one.

<s>This was influenced by the Choose Your Own Adventure books, okay.</s>


Updates

Updates, wanted lists, threads and so on will go on the post directly after this one.


<a href='http://159.65.241.122/index.php?showtopic=6757' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>entitas tenebrarius inter animos</a>

The ETIA is a hive mind consisting of five physical bodies and over a hundred consciousnesses. Though it has placed mental marks on numerous other humans, all of which have no special powers of their own, these people are not affected by it until it comes the time that the ETIA needs to replace one of its five physical bodies. It owns a chain of clothing shops called Acus ex Machina, seemingly content with a mundane sort of existence. Although, the ETIA does have a tendency to find trouble without meaning to, due to misunderstanding or not caring about human nature.

As it is with most beings, however, the ETIA is not perfect. There are flaws within its network, perpetuated and half caused by an internal parasite called Nemesis.


Factions








Characters

N/A


Note

1. This plot is tied to the ones involving the SPECTER. However, participating in this plot does not automatically place you into the SPECTER one. The opposite is true as well. If you are listed on the faction list for SPECTER, that does not mean you have to join this plot. If you want to be in the SPECTER one, you'll have to contact <a href='http://159.65.241.122/index.php?showuser=675' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Ryu the Reptoid</a>. Here is the <a href='http://159.65.241.122/index.php?showtopic=6959' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>link</a> for the SPECTER plot. These two plots are parallel lines. They're not meant to cross too deeply into or overtake each other. Unless somebody with a SPECTER agent decides to do that. And no, I won't let Ryu be that person. Alice Mordrake will not have a major role in this plot.

2. Characters with italicized names on the faction lists are not involved with this plot. This will change if the people who play those characters want to insert them. For my characters, that will only change if the plot happens to turn that way or if people decide that they want to talk to them for some reason.

3. If you want a character to have a major role in this plot, you can do that. <s>Unless it's Alice Mordrake.</s> I won't necessarily tell you how that will affect later threads -that kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?- but you can do it.

4. For every non-conversational action that the ETIA takes, I will roll a one hundred sided dice. This will not be relevant unless I get either a 1 or a 100. You can probably guess what either of these results mean.

5. Ryu was ditched Nemesis because his muse for that was messily murdered one night in a back alley. I was only responsible for prying the idea out of his muse's cold fingers. <s>And then I promptly forged adoption papers and called it my own.</s>

6. All of the things that say (dependent on actions) really are dependent on your characters' actions. You can join factions, you can take make factions. You can take over factions if there's a leader slot open. You can make some and annihilate them. Really, anything goes. NPCs will be added to faction lists, too. Their links will go straight to their creator's profile instead of a character sheet and they will have an asterisk at the beginning of their names.

7. Since I feel kind of like I'm spending too much time on factions, I'm also going to say that you can completely ignore them, too. There will be more NPC factions popping up, though. Just because the ETIA tends to attract some attention. Their fates are mostly dependent on what your characters do, too.

Status

Second thread is pending.


Wanted

None at this time


Threads

1. <a href='http://159.65.241.122/index.php?showtopic=6961' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>[ETIA] I won't be your Kitty Genovese</a>

=) That's a good question. It's possible but depends on the situation. Meaning that it's affected mainly by how people play it out if we ever get to that situation.

<s>Like if everybody sends in jerk characters and just let ETIA's people die, you'll be in this situation a lot.</s>