This is the start of a Storyline…
"Shadows" is a storyline about the enigmatic "Nightmare Man," and one of String Theory's attempts to reinvigorate what we feel was a dropped-ball of a storyline left from the first season of Heroes. When the Nightmare Man turned out in Season 2 to merely be Maury Parkman, some viewers were disappointed. To that end, we have woven together a series of events that has liberated Maury from the mantle of Nightmare Man, while still adhering to the show's established canon. In this storyline, you are the antagonist!
Shadows will play out somewhat unlike other storylines thus far. Everyone and anyone in New York City that sleeps is vulnerable to the looming presence of the Nightmare Man. His goals are seemingly inscrutable, but you are the ones who will come up with his twisted means to his end. In this storyline you are allowed to GM your own nightmare scenes (or GM nightmare scenes for others!) put forth by the Nightmare Man. In these scenarios, characters will be tested and tormented by figments of their past, by moments of weakness and by things left unresolved. The ideal behind the scenes, is "resolution."
Does your character have something traumatic in their past they have never come to terms with? Did they commit a crime they cannot forgive themselves for? Does the death of a loved one still weigh heavily on their shoulders? Guilt, responsibility, regret, remorse, all these things are what the Nightmare Man targets. The goal of these scenes is intended to force the characters to come to terms with their past, to learn to cope by traumatic exposure to these elements, shocking them into acceptance and moving on.
The Nightmare Man does this by means of creating a "shadow" inside of the person's mind. Shadow is a psychological term that represents repressed emotions, feelings or ideas. Things a person feels about themselves but refuses to admit to. The Nightmare Man makes these shadows manifest inside of a sleeping individual's mind to test, torment and eventually release a person of their emotional or psychological shackles. He will not always be successful, and sometimes the Nightmare Man sees something that needs to be fixed that might not need to be fixed.
You are allowed to GM these scenes for yourself, GM them for others at their request and play the role of the Nightmare Man (though he never refers to himself by that title, or by any name). The Nightmare Man's identity will be a key mystery in this volume, as other events outside of these "trials" play out in dreamscapes and in the real world.
Special Note for Refrain Users: Anyone who has taken Refrain (even just once) is extremely susceptible to the Nightmare Man. Due to the way Refrain targets the hippocampus region of the brain and declarative memory, REM sleep and dreaming is adversely affected. Refrain users are like shining psychic beacons to the Nightmare Man, and users of Refrain are prone to sleepwalking during his attacks, which could potentially lead to death or dismemberment depending on the content of their nightmare.
For this storyline, you will be allowed to create a "Shadow" icon of your character for your nightmare scapes. If you wish to have a shadow icon made and choose the image yourself, it should have a darker or more emotional expression than your normal icon. You may request shadow icons by way of a +request to staff, and either include a link to an image you wish to use in the +request or simply ask for us to choose one for you. Your shadow icons will be located under the naming convention of s_NAME_icon.gif
As this volume progresses, more openings to this storyline will appear leading to an eventual confrontation with the Nightmare Man himself. So keep your eyes peeled for +events that come up, which will be announced on +bbread 2. Please also note that despite the nature of this TP, it is limited to American shores and soil, geographically speaking!
