A Bizarre New World: A JoJo's Bizarre Adventure RPG Sign Up & Discussion Thread

[Yun Lao]

I appreciate everyone's patience and I know I probably should have had this up a lot earlier, but motivation is a weird thing.

Anywho...

A BIZARRE NEW WORLD

Life, for better or worse, has become a bit bizarre, although those born after the impact might not see it this way having known nothing else.

Some who have known the before and after often say that when the meteors struck, nothing had been taken away, but rather they had added to it. This contradiction of words is perhaps the best and only means to describe the changes that have occurred for these regions do not appear to be areas recovering from devastation; they are as if they had been replaced by something more.

「Salem, Massachusetts」
At first glance, Salem appears to have been the least affected by the impact, save for some overgrowth of nature; that is until you notice that a sapling can sprout into a fully grown tree in the span of a mere day. Already reeling from the impact itself, most places affected were overran by nature shortly after and those with enough resources have been fighting a never-ending battle since then to keep the overabundance of flora at bay. Lately, there has been a growing push to stop wasting resources and coexist with nature, inspired by those who have learned to adapt to the ever-changing forests.

That is not why Salem has fascinated so many nowadays. That would be because the city has become a center of all things magical, as the town's history has seemingly come to life. Witches, wizards, and everyone in between thrive and study to their heart's contents (within reason), encouraged by the local government who seek to avoid repeating their morbid past and as result, new life-changing innovations in both mundane and supernatural have become daily occurrences. It is said that Salem is run by two, the mayor and Moonchild, the de facto leader of those familiar with the occult.

「Roswell, New Mexico」
No one has heard a peep from Roswell since the impact, save for rare statements from the O.S.S., so it is unknown just lies within in. When the meteor struck, it was as if the very land rose up to defy it as the entirety of Roswell and the surrounding region now sit atop a towering mesa. With its history of shady government experiments, extraterrestrial occurrences, and sudden silence, the plateau looms ominously over its neighbors.

「Gibsonton, Florida」
Out of the three, Gibsonton has been the most oddly affected. The landscape, warped and distorted, appears like something out of a dream and just as indescribable. What can be explained was the rather distasteful move by Lucky Land to annex the entire impact zone, turning it all into a massive theme park unlike anything ever seen on Earth.

[The Dog]

I appreciate everyone's patience and I know I probably should have had this up a lot earlier, but motivation is a weird thing.

Anywho...

That's no problem. I perfectly understand how fickle motivation can be. Unfortunately, while waiting for the game to begin, my brain is constantly wanting to make changes to Jamie (and occasionally her Stand).

Currently wanting to do a sort "amalgamation" of Jamie Speedwagon and Funny "Fun" Valentine, where Jamie, back when she was going by Scott, had a mother (and stepfather) who had plans for their son to become President of the United States... Then the Meteor event happened, and that plan was changed. Perhaps they become members of the O.S.S. in hope that the USA will return for their son to become President of the United States, perhaps they decide their son will become leader of UUAC, but either way their son will be a leader.

Unfortunately for them, Scott comes out as trans, and they still don't take it well, with Scott still being kicked out and disowned. She still changes her name to Jamie, though perhaps changing her last name to Valentine instead of Speedwagon as while growing up being groomed to be President/Leader/Whichever she admired Funny Valentine, and decided to take the name Valentine because of it. Either way, everything afterwards pretty much stay the same.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Well, that'll help me work on Vivian's bio a bit. Several question marks still hanging about however.

[Yun Lao]

Well, that'll help me work on Vivian's bio a bit. Several question marks still hanging about however.

Ask away and I'll expand a bit more on it.

[Tami]

I have a question or two related to my characters' background.

Is there still a Hollywood industry, as in are there still movie studios and production companies churning out the latest installment of Avengers IV or whatever? Also, is there still Broadway, as in stage productions, live theaters, and other entertainment? What about culture? Museums, Libraries, Art Galleries, etc?

One more thing, how has the rest of the world been affected? Europe? Africa? Asia? Any significant changes?

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Ask away and I'll expand a bit more on it.

State and structure of Salem, and the area around? 'Broken Creek' while not dead center impact, is within 20 miles.

Ease of travel within the sphere of influence, and beyond? Ease of travel from the fractured Americas, to outside?

How's the economy in Salem? How might one make a living?

[Yun Lao]

I have a question or two related to my characters' background.

Is there still a Hollywood industry, as in are there still movie studios and production companies churning out the latest installment of Avengers IV or whatever? Also, is there still Broadway, as in stage productions, live theaters, and other entertainment? What about culture? Museums, Libraries, Art Galleries, etc?

One more thing, how has the rest of the world been affected? Europe? Africa? Asia? Any significant changes?

Yes, Hollywood still exists, although they did get hit pretty hard by the 25th Hour due to the public's initial distrust of technology. Because of this, most non-digital forms of media have gone through a resurgence.

I'll be getting to the last question a bit more with the rest of the info dumps, but to give a short answer, while not as heavily affected as the Americas, whatever was in Ocasek 678 did sprinkle across the world when a majority of the meteor broke apart in the atmosphere. Aside from a major power shift now that the U.S.A, Canada, Mexico, and the rest of central and south America are now this gigantic blob of government and the occasional cryptid showing up or supernatural event occurring, the rest of the world has remained relatively the same.

[Yun Lao]

State and structure of Salem, and the area around? 'Broken Creek' while not dead center impact, is within 20 miles.

Ease of travel within the sphere of influence, and beyond? Ease of travel from the fractured Americas, to outside?

How's the economy in Salem? How might one make a living?

The affected region is a roughly 100-mile radius around Salem, so a massive chunk of New England was affected.

Travel is somewhat tricky as the area only has the manpower and resources to keep a few major highways cleared and even then they would prefer to focus those for the actual cities, so a majority of transport and shipping comes from the ports. Trekking through the forests isn't unheard of, but easier said than done. The area has established a sort of self-reliant attitude while not being completely cut off from the rest of the world.

The economy is pretty standard... priorities have shifted slightly to the logging industry as it has become the region's more lucrative export. Those who delve more into the occult range from having part-time jobs, being full-time scholars with the aid of patrons, or have just abandoned the notion of modern civilization and moved deep into the woods to do the traditional witchy thing.

[grampagen]

Those are some juicy setting notes. Hmm...

How much migration and overlap are there between these three areas? Are tensions high, people stratified, trying to reach their influence out and expand their spheres of influence?

Are they beefing with each other, or do they have a sort of...cold war-ish understanding, as of campaign start?

Of course, I'm content to just wait and find out if any of this is to be revealed.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Well if you go anywhere near Boston, expect to get assailed by Witch Archers, firing exploding magical cans of Boston's Baked Beans.

[grampagen]

In other words, very little has changed around Southie, got it.

[Yun Lao]

Those are some juicy setting notes. Hmm...

How much migration and overlap are there between these three areas? Are tensions high, people stratified, trying to reach their influence out and expand their spheres of influence?

Are they beefing with each other, or do they have a sort of...cold war-ish understanding, as of campaign start?

Of course, I'm content to just wait and find out if any of this is to be revealed.

Truthfully, there's not really any overlap between the three. Aside from Roswell being a complete mystery, Gibsonton and Salem have been relatively content to stay in their own lanes, so to say. That isn't to say that Lucky Land wouldn't hesitate to make a park in Salem if given the opportunity, but they would rather the latter figure out its tree problem first.

[grampagen]

Truthfully, there's not really any overlap between the three. Aside from Roswell being a complete mystery, Gibsonton and Salem have been relatively content to stay in their own lanes, so to say. That isn't to say that Lucky Land wouldn't hesitate to make a park in Salem if given the opportunity, but they would rather the latter figure out its tree problem first.

I see, more oddball, isolationist pockets, than anyone vying for control of the local territory, it seems?

Must provide a lot of fodder for the imagination for locals and normies, certainly. In a world that's regressed to a largely pre-digitized age as well, rumour and heresay is probably through the roof.

[Yun Lao]

I see, more oddball, isolationist pockets, than anyone vying for control of the local territory, it seems?

Must provide a lot of fodder for the imagination for locals and normies, certainly. In a world that's regressed to a largely pre-digitized age as well, rumour and heresay is probably through the roof.

That is correct.

That and with evidence of unnatural things being spread by those who do use the internet, it's become increasingly difficult to know what to believe.

[The Dog]

Well, made the changes to Jamie's backstory, new surname (Valentine in place of Speedwagon), and birthplace (Kickapoo, Missouri in place of Salem, Massachusetts. Mostly because she doesn't fit in with the witch-y nature of Salem, and I wanted her to come from a funny-named hometown, and Dio has a verse in the song of the same name from Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny, which fits in with Jamie's Dio-themed Stand).