Skulduggery Pleasant RPG

The Skulduggery Pleasant RPG is an ongoing text-based role-play game on the Fan Club, based in the world of the Skulduggery Peasant novel series. With a combined total of 117 messages and 588 views (as of July 9th 2013), it is the most popular thread on any of LA!LA!'s websites by miles.

The RPG first opened in October 2011 and ceased in November, before reopening in February 2012. It was put on hiatus in March of the same year and continued in July until September. It was due to reopen in December, but this was delayed. LA!LA! announced the RPG would start again in February, but only for a short time before being put on hiatus. The RPG again reopened in July and is due to continue until October, before being placed on hiatus for another time.

BOOK ONE
Book One opens with Takeru Negro, Nediso Pluvus and Vandermeer Craven (Nediso's mentor) being attacked by assassin Ahora Stemms, narrowly escaping. When detectives Hendrix Lyle and Zoey Sentry are put on the case, they are attacked by men sent by a mysterious woman called Tucker Ferris. Soon after, Hendrix is wounded and Zoey is kidnapped by a masked man, whom Zoey discovers is Craven. He takes her to the Necromancer Temple where he gives her magic scars, hoping to implement Necromancy into her upcoming surge (Craven's attempts at increased Necromancy power is later explored when he uses the same scars on Melancholia St. Clair in the canonical book Death Bringer). Soon after, she is rescued by Hendrix but has no proof it was Craven who captured her.

At the Sanctuary (after attacking Craven) Zoey is given a gauntlet to contain the symbols. Soon after, they visit Lady Bellum, the daughter of the universe, where they are attacked by Ahora, but they manage to escape.

Back in Dublin, Zoey breaks up with her boyfriend Harvey Draskin and begins dating Hanson Boulevard, a young vampire. Hendrix, Zoey and Bellum visit China Sorrows, who says there is no known cure for the symbols. When the building is attacked by rogue Cleavers Serpine sent for China, they barely manage to escape. Soon after, Bellum leaves and Hendrix is captured by Ahora.

With the Sanctuary in crisis over Serpine killing the Elders, Zoey, Takeru and Nediso go to Bellum's cottage, where they find a hatch nearby, leading to an abandoned warehouse. After a brief fight with Ahora, Zoey frees Hendrix, who mortally wounds Ahora with a fireball. Before she dies, she stabs him in the chest, and Zoey, Bellum, Hanson, Takeru and Nediso have to call on Doctor Nye to save him. Nye only says he will save him if he can take Hanson for experiments, which everyone reluctantly agrees to.

BOOK TWO
A year later, Hanson and Hendrix escape from Nye's factory. After being returned to health, Hendrix, Hanson, Zoey and her new partner Shelby Sherawat visit Bellum, who asks for them to accompany her to visit her brother, Nox. Soon after arriving, Bellum and Nox are captured.

Zoey's friend Percy tells of a girl, Leigh Haundra, who was the only child to escape from Necromancer experiments on children, headed by Tucker Ferris. Leigh gives them info on Tucker's wherabouts, and Zoey and Hendrix take a team to arrest her. After a brief fight between Zoey and Tucker, she escapes, after killing team member Kylie and almost killing Shelby.

On their way back to the Sanctuary, the team encounter a re-animated Ahora Stemms, mind-controlled by Doctor Nye. She mortally wounds Shelby and captures the others.

Zoey awakes at Clearwater Hospital. After knocking Nye unconscious, she frees the others and goes to fight Tucker, who sets a mind-controlled Shelby on Hendrix and Zoey. After defeating her and death to another few teammates, Shelby falls into a coma and Tucker escapes.

At the end of the Book, it is revealed Hanson and Zoey have become engaged and Hendrix was poisoned by Ahora in Book One, which he hasn't told anyone.

BOOK THREE
In Book Three, Hendrix has demoted himself and Zoey has been re-assigned to a team bent on bringing down the Diablerie. After the mysterious Batu escapes after killing another teleporter, Zoey and Hendrix are tasked with stealing the Isthumus Anchor, rumoured to be in Dr. Nye's possession.

After he captures Zoey, she, with the help of Bellum, finds the Anchor, hidden in a lightbulb. She also steals the Puppet Ahora Stemms.

At Hanson and Zoey's wedding, Hendrix gives her the Anchor for safe keeping, telling them Nye is after them. Soon after, the car they are riding in is attacked and destroyed. Nye appears and injects Hendrix with an invention of his, designed to speed up his poison. Hendrix dies soon after.

Later, Zoey visits Nye and brutally beats him within an inch of death.

BOOK FOUR
Takeru and Nediso are attacked by assassin Riku Matsuro, but saved by the mysterious Garland. She takes them to Sensitive Jean Marlowe, who finds Zoey's location, Zoey having quit the Sanctuary. Takeru also falls for a girl, Cassie.

At Zoey's new house, she rudely kicks them out. Soon after, on Takeru's date with Cassie, he is attacked by Riku and Remus Crux, being knocked unconscious soon after.

Takeru, Cassie, Nediso and Garland are captured by Zoey and Crux, who says they are undercover for the Sanctuary. Zoey doesn't know he was driven insane by a Faceless One, thinking he had chosen her for an undercover mission. She reveals she was inhabiting Garland's body via magic. Crux has a breakdown and discovers a secret about China Sorrows and flees. After Takeru learns Cassie is magic and kisses her, he, Cassie, Nediso and Zoey return the incapitated Garland to the Sanctuary. Crux is later found shot dead.

Zoey reconciles with Hanson and reveals she is pregnant.

BOOK FIVE
In Book Five, Zoey is once again a detective at the Sanctuary with her new partner, Genocide Kree, and is due to give birth any day. Several mortals who had just been discovering their magic abilities are being murdered by a sadistic Mevolent follower, calling himself Melvolont, and several detectives, including Zoey and Genocide, are enlisted to retrieve the surviving ones. After saving one, a girl called Judd Forrester, they enlist Takeru, Nediso and Cassie to help them, believing Melvolont may be doing it in honour of the Mevolent Follower Bloodbath, a massacre where hundreds of followers were killed.

Days later, after saving the mortals, Genocide discovers Zoey is cutting herself and suffering from depression. Soon after, Zoey goes into labour and has a son, Aaron.

That night in the hospital, Zoey is murdered by an intruder who steals her body for Melvolont. The following morning, Nediso commits suicide when he finds out.

The Sanctuary discovers Melovont's hideout, and Genocide and several other agents, including Takeru, Cassie and Judd, infiltrate it. They arrive to find Melvolont performing a Necromancer ritual on Zoey, and awakens the spirit of a powerful Necromancer sorcerer, Ziarius, within her, calling itself the Death Bringer. They escape soon after.

BOOK SIX
Takeru, saddened at losing his best friends the previous year, comes across a psychic parlour, run by Madame Nuvara. Nediso contacts Takeru through Nuvara and tells him his death was by murder. Takeru informs Cassie, and they both tell Genocide.

Takeru and Judd return to Nuvara's parlour and find her daughter, a powerful Sensitive named Kendra, who says her mother was kidnapped. She agrees to help them in their search for Nediso's murder via her visions. In her latest one, she saw the London Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Cassie and Genocide visit Jean Marlowe for hopes she has sensed anything to do with Nediso. After Jean senses Ziarius, the three barely manage to escape before Ziarius destroys Jean's house. She traps them in a fire and vows to kill them later. Cassie morphs and flies the others to safety.

Takeru boards a plane to London, but it is hijacked by a man who claims to be taking him to heaven, possibly to find Nediso. However, he takes the plane into a rip in dimensions, leaving them in a hellish area, which he says they will be trapped in for several days.

Judd and Kendra make it to London and meet Brisinger Scarrow, the head of illegal magic items department. He knows nothing about Nediso, but instead discover Melvolont is intercepting a delivery of a modified Soul Catcher, holding the souls of the followers of Mevolent from the Bloodbath. The three of them race to the scene and find Ziarius stealing the Soul Catcher. She defeats them all and escapes.

At the same time, Genocide, Cassie and Hanson visit Summer, a schizophrenic sensitive in a teenage borstal. She tells them of a party they have to attend: Ziarius mentioned a party at Jean's house.

When Judd, Kendra and Scarrow return to Dublin, Genocide fights with Hanson, who claims he has feelings for Zoey. Later, Genocide sees Ziarius on a News Report of riots in O'Conell Street.

Genocide goes and confronts Ziarius, but it turns out to be Cassie in disguise. Hundreds of sorcerers fight the risen followers of Mevolent on the street. Cassie manages to buy time for the real Genocide, Hanson, Judd and Kendra to confront Ziarius by flawlessly killing many followers. The remaining followers attempt to flee, but are destroyed by Summer.

Genocide attempts to fight Ziarius, but is swiftly defeated. When she moves in to kill him, Kendra launches a mind attack, wounding Ziarius. Genocide has the option to kill Ziarius, but can't bring himself to do it. Kendra finally loses her hold, and is viciously beaten, leaving her dying. Hanson hopelessly tries to defeat Ziarius, and she mortally wounds him. Seeing Hanson dying, Zoey forces her subconscious to the surface, expelling Ziarius and returning herself to her body. She comforts him as he dies.

In an epilogue, it is revealed Melvolont is working with Tucker Ferris.

BOOK SIX AND A HALF (6.5)
Ella Stewart, head of the Sanctuary technical department, finds some strange energy readings from another dimension, which matches Takeru and a being of huge power. She reports it to Genocide, who sets up a portal to the dimension.

In Takeru's hell dimension, the man is trying a spell to resurrect Nediso when the portal is opened. The plane comes crashing through to the next dimension, killing Sanctuary agents. Takeru finds an unconsious Nediso while the man wounds Ella and escapes, leaving his broken pendant. Back at the Sanctuary, Ella summarises that the portal interrupted the spell, leading to Nediso not being fully revived. As a result, he will rarely get sick and doesn't need to eat or defecate.

Zoey attends Hanson's will reading, where she receives everything he owned. In a note, she is told an item of Hendrix' was left with his stuff, but she does not get it. She visits Lady Bellum (now living in a apartment with Jean Marlowe and Summer), but she is unable to help. Summer tells Zoey she is special and that she should go to the Necromancer Temple to find answers. Zoey does this, taking Cassie and Judd with her. In Craven's office, they find Hendrix' sunglasses, which turn out to contain an Echo stone in its lens. However, it is not Hendrix' stone: it is Craven's. Craven's projection reveals it was Hendrix' stone, but he wiped it and imprinted over it. Zoey tells him that his attempt at making the Death Bringer got him killed before leaving the Temple, and Craven, behind.

Later, Cassie returns to the Echo device and says she saw Riku Matsuro's details in his office, knowing Craven sent him to kill Takeru and Nediso in Book Four. Cassie admits she knows Matsuro from her secretive past. Craven shows delight at this. Fearing he might tell someone, she smashes the glasses, making Craven disappear. She returns home to find Takeru has returned from the other dimension. After initially being angry, she then begins kissing him.

Meanwhile, Genocide meets Miranda Lourdes, a mortal journalist who found the Sanctuary after her cousin Lorna Prince began developing strange powers (taking on a blue, rocky form, having super strength and randomly speaking in different languages). After this meeting, Genocide is asked to turn off Kendra's life support machine as her Sensitive powers are messing with the other patients in comas. When he does so, all those in comas (including Shelby Sherawat from Book Two) die, revealing the power was keeping them alive. Genocide discovers many other mortals are developing powers and much magical activity has been traced to a "hot spot" where a school is being built for gifted children. Genocide tells Lorna that she's going to become gifted, ending on a semi-cliffhanger.

BOOK SEVEN
Book Seven is due to be released in mid-August 2013.

Reception
The RPG has received mostly positive reviews. Book One was praised by most, while Book Two received mostly the same, people praising the story but criticising it for introducing too many characters. Book Three got mostly negative views, criticised for its short length and lack of story. Book Four was greeted with mixed to average reviews, with the overall relaunch praised but its story criticised for confining its perspective to two characters, Takeru and Nediso. Book Five got mixed to negative reviews, the length and the story's lack of closure among its negatives. Book Six' reception was positive for another relaunch, good story and the perspective shared between many characters. So far, Book 6.5 has received mostly positive reviews.

An edited compilation of Books 1-3 was presented for the Write-A-Book Competition in 2012, where it was honourably mentioned. At a book signing in March 2013, Derek Landy, author of the Skulduggery Pleasant book series, was given an edited compliation of Books 1-6, which he reacted to with enthusiasm and fanboyishness.

Future
After Book Six, it was uncertain if the series would continue as the series had been placed on two previous hiatuses. In September, Ciarán Graham confirmed the series would continue after the release of 'Kingdom of the Wicked' to start in November. However, by January, nothing had been written. He then stated Book Six.Five would start in February. He also confirmed he would be tying up Takeru's Book Six story. However, he later said that Book Seven had been delayed so he and Leon Fox O'Brien could focus on other projects. Book Seven was later said to be starting in July or August, and Book Eight around September or October.

In 2015, Leon Fox O' Brien and Ciarán Graham have mentioned that they would be interesting in rewriting the story in an edited format as an original novel(s), however this has not been confirmed to be in production.

Collected Editions
In August 2012, Ciarán Graham confirmed a collected edition of the Books was in development, to be printed in three volumes featuring a book trilogy, character bios and facts with spelling mistakes and plot holes fixed. Volume One was due in May 2013, though he later said it probably would be later. He confirmed Book Six.Five would be included in Volume Two. He later said Volume One coming out in the first half of 2014 is 'most likely'.