The Grey Company [OOC] (medieval, fantasy, warfare)

[ElRey]

Hey there!

I'm really interested in joining this rp, but it seems there is already quite a bit of competition! I'm not opposed to competing for a job I also noticed a lack of a ranged archer/scout type character for the party.
I realize you seem to have a distinct plan for how each character fits into the prophecy but I was wondering if I could weasel my way in to the story with someone along those lines without simply becoming a glorified sidekick?

If not I totally understand, but any feedback on how I could help make it work would be greatly appreciated.

[Word Smith]

Dndd - Shara is the capital of the nation of Belindor. And when the RP begins in IC, all the main characters will have already reached the Grey Company, currently camped in the Fields of Mennor, several leagues north of Shara (the northern edge of Belindor, actually).

happyhobo2000 - Now I am really glad you brought religion into the mix. I have been meaning to get that aspect in this world and I am really happy that you brought it in. Firstly, I am going to accept your character but will let you and Kegger decide the dynamics between your character and the Ax Legion, seeing as how you are going to be a part of them. But before I accept your character, I want to see some changes to your post. Those changes will mainly be about the church/priest/sermon/coffin references in your post. We will have a religion in this world, for sure, but it won't be christianity, of course. The terminology will be different, the places of worship may be called differently. The way a priest of this world lives will be different. I suggest you hang around till I nail those aspects, and then you can do an edit to your post. I believe I can give you a lot more to work with in a day.

Elrey - This 'party' is actually several thousand men strong, so no dearth of archers in the company, per se. And we have Aema, the General's daughter, who is a crack shot with a bow. I don't really have a distinct plan. I see how people come up with their characters, and I plan to weave the prophecy around them, and the story. None of the characters know anything about the prophecy, so they could refer to anyone. I am open to new characters but they have to be very good. And by good, I mean consistent with the world. Everyone is their own hero, so you can never be a glorified sidekick. But I do hate it when every other character wants to be a one-man fighting force. War is teamwork and battles are won by watching each others' backs. This is not a five-member adventure quest, you know. This is a full-scale war. Sure, there will be independent quests along the way: times when you won't have your entire regiment to protect you, but this is about leading your men to the Last Battle, or being one of the men who is led into the Last Battle. So, in short, you have a chance at being part of the RP at any time. As you can see, with every sample post, the world becomes more defined. So see if you can find a place for yourself. And don't go by whether we need an archer or a clubman or a mage. We need believable people. If they are all archers, well, they are all archers.

[ElRey]

I understood that there is roughly 50,000 men, as well as the bit about the daughter, I just wanted to make sure it was a common thing, that the majority of fighting wouldn't be primarily melee & magics or something. I assure you, I'm not trying to make some invincible superman guy hahahah, I know that any good rp and character requires balance. I simply thought you were aiming to have our mains as like squad leaders and more important characters for some reason, but yeah, I think I just got mixed up because I was trying to read everything on my phone.... or at least that is the excuse I'll use >.> hahaha

Anyway, I've been giving the type of character a lot of thought, and after giving everything another once over to get my head in order I think I'm ready to post my sample.
HERE WE GO!




"One foot in front of the other... One foot in front of the other... One foot in front of the other..."

Every breath seemed to tear away at his lungs, the frozen gasp of the air stabbed at his core with relentless fervor, harsh wind sending icy daggers to sheer the flesh from his exposed skin. The skeletal man swayed uneasily on his feet, weakly reaching out to low hanging branches of the dense evergreen forest to haul himself up the steep incline, his hands left stiff and tacky from the sap which had neatly coated his palms. It was painfully slow progress, the soft powder giving way beneath his weight with every step till he hit the solid layer of permafrost found in this time of year so far north. With every inch forward he seemed to slide several feet back, plunging his nearly naked body into snow. His entire body burned, his muscles a joined chorus of screams. Cries for rest. Another brutish burst of hollow wicked wind swept across the hillside, shaking him to his core like an autumn leaf clinging desperately in the face of winter. In truth he scarcely felt the cold now, his body and mind had begun to grow more and more distant, delirium slowly eroding his consciousness.

He wore the signs all over his emaciated form, from the heavy darkened bags which gripped under his hollow eyes, to the minor scraps of torn clothing, the blackened, swollen patches of his face, toes and fingers long since lost to frostbite, even the way he carried his battered body in a hunched mess. Beneath the pitiful strands of fabric that had once been a woolen tunic it was clear much of the skin had been rend from his shoulders and back, leaving a ragged crimson crisscross of lash marks across his pale skin. All spoke of horrors not yet escaped, not truly left behind despite his seemingly vacant surroundings. With his cognizant thought waning, a small voice in the back of his mind wondered if it ever would be...

How long had he been running already? Hours? Days? Weeks? It seemed like an eternity, and endless expanse of hills and trees from where he had tracked that elk. An eternity since his brother had been slain in front of him, an arrow protruding from his throat. An eternity since he had seen a human face that hadn't been tainted and corrupted by those...those things. Monsters. With every shudder of a branch or crunch of the ice he winched. Terrified the shadows now hid enemies he himself remained unsure actually existed. While his thoughts drifted uneasily in a cycle of despair he thought only of returning home, gathering the town, his wife with unborn child, and fleeing the plague which bore down upon their tiny hamlet.

"One foot in front of the other... One foot in front of the other..." he mouthed silently as he crawled meekly to the crest of the hill. His heart sank at the sight which lay before him. The smoldering ruins of the small village lay spread in the valley below, the carcasses of the dozens whom he had called his family and friends lay strewn upon the cold earth, entrails spilled across the canvas of soot and dirt. The hot metallic taste of blood hung thick and heavy in the air along with the acrid winding smoke of the buildings which had stood to see generations pass within their walls. All gone, left as glorified fire pits for the corpses unlucky enough to be caught in their midst, pitiful charred remains, little more than blackened wooden bones now stood as testament to the destructive will of the Dreadlords.

As his mournful eyes drank in the horrific scene, he collapsed, a primal sob erupting from the deepest part of his being. He had been too late, though he knew deep down that he would have accomplished nothing more than to have joined his village in the journey to the afterlife. As the powerful sorrow racked his body, he allowed himself to curl into a fetal ball, hugging his rail-thin arms around knobby jutting knees. Exhausted and empty he simply lay there, letting the snow lazily bury him, and waited for death to come. It would be the only solace from his fate, his only chance to truly escape the darkness....

Yet it would simply not arrive. With each lulling loss of consciousness he found himself jolted awake, a sudden quiver down his curled spine rousting him from the relative peace and calm of his accepted death. With each return, he felt as if had been plunged into a vat of ice water, the signals of his brain firing wildly; the basic urge for survival driving his corpselike form to action.

If death would not take him here, so close to where he came into the world, perhaps it would just a little farther road? His sleep deprived mind reasoned soundly.

So he stood.

"One foot in front of the other..." he whispered.

-------------

I left it short just to give a basic snapshot.

Hopefully it's obvious I'm going for someone who managed to escape the Dark Armies, he's not a soldier or anything special, really isn't going to know how to fight at all initially. He's just a woodsman from a small northern village. I envisioned him as drafted into the Grey Company mainly because he is a rare survivor who was captured, tortured, possibly planned to be given to the Dreadlords but at the very least wasn't made a meal of and got out. He'll have some intel on their camps, how and when they move, or something along those lines. Perhaps he wasn't conscripted at all and he simply stumbled out of the forest to them or he was found somewhere by one of the characters and their crew?

Idk.

Always happy to edit as needed, just lemme know if I'm off base, critique is always welcome

[happyhobo2000]

There is nothing in there that suggests Christianity besides the names of the worshipers and the church organization. In fact, I used the words "gods" in the last sentence, as I knew you would make that comment. By Christian doctrine there is only one god, so therefore there is no way I could possibly discussing Christianity. So why did you imply that? I could be pagan.

EDIT: However, I would suggest looking into Zorostrianism for the roots to my religious idea for the RP- they believed in a duality, where there were 2 "independent" gods, who each had gods beneath them by creation.

Enough of that. I'm waiting XD

[Word Smith]

ElRey - Love it. You write very well, and you are able to bring alive a person. If I sounded a little presumptuous in my earlier reply to you, I apologize. Evidently, you understand the pitfalls of creating unbelievable characters. Mea culpa. So, anyway, I am convinced about your character. I am not sure how much information he can provide and how valuable they will be, but he is a survivor - a very interesting character. And he is a woodsman. That fits in nicely with my plans for the RP. You will notice, if you read through the OOC and my own sample post carefully, that the General has an old scholar friend called Balin. I am planning to play that character too. You will also notice that this Balin is on a mysterious quest to find the last answer. When the RP progresses far enough to warrant his return, I think you will find that your character suddenly becomes important, provided you have nurtured him well. Until then, he can remain in the Company. You choose which legion he drifts to. He can easily learn to be a good weaponsmith. There is always a place for a woodsman in an army. Welcome.

happyhobo2000 - I seem to be apologizing right, left and center today. I am sorry if you thought I was implying you implied Christianity (that's a complicated sentence!) My point was, the terms like 'church', 'sermon' and 'coffin', while often used as generic words these days, have their origin in Christianity. For instance, the word 'temple' is always preferable to 'church' in my opinion, as it is devoid of most cultural references. (It still has some India/Hindu references, true). And you are right, I did not notice gods in the plural. However, depending on what I decide to be the dominant religion in the land, that may or may not be accurate. For now, do not alter your post. Sit tight, and I will come out with something

- - - Updated - - -

Alright. I've added more info on the nature of religion in the land in the Appendix section of the OOC. While there are other religions apart from the one I described, this is by far the largest religion. It is a work-in-progress, so more details will be added. And if you noticed the Dalai Lama references and found it lame, well, I am sorry

[Dndd8686]

If its any comfort to you ElRey, if I'm still the dark servant by the end of this I'll be sure to try making you mince meat don't want any folks knowing more about the dark army within the company than His Dark Majesty, or our benevolent dreadlords intended, no indeed...

(Yours was my favorite post if that means anything...)

[happyhobo2000]

lol. Just picking on you. I actually am a Christian, but that was a trap I set up for you. XD

Okay, I need to do a bit of modification to my post now >.<

[ElRey]

@Word Smith - No worries homie. I wasn't entirely clear on everything when I made my first inquiry, you were just doing your job as a GM. This is your baby, I just work here hahahahha. I'm adaptable, so whatever plans you do or don't have for my character, feel free to simply spring them on me as you see fit. I will say, however, that I am hesitant to grow him into some kind of smith simply because I don't know jack about smithing, and while I could research it I don't know how believable I'd be able to pull it off.

@DnDD8686 - Thank you! I appreciate it, but we're all on the same team here...... okay well I guess your guy isn't :P
But yeah, as I said to WordSmith, I can handle what you throw at me, so bring it on hahaha

[Word Smith]

Army sizes and makeup

One regiment has 3000 soldiers.
Three regiments make a legion.
Three legions make a division.

Faernia
Commander: Queen of Faernia
Army size: A little more than one division
Army makeup: Largely cavalry, with mounted archers, and halberdiers.

Malene
Commander: Prince of Malene
Army size: Two divisions
Army makeup: Regular distribution of infantry, ranged and cavalry. Focus on cavalry.

Barka's army
Commander: General Barka
Army size: Two divisions
Army makeup: Regular distribution. Focus on ranged. The archers are armed with longbows.

Ax Legion
Commander: Toric
Army size: Two legions
Army makeup: Largely melee axmen who are sometimes armed with warhammers. (mounted or unmounted)

Grey Company (total): Five divisions and some. (~140,000 soldiers)

Dark Army
Commander: The Dark Lord
Army size: Nine divisions (~240,000 soldiers)
Army makeup: Mostly infantry and ranged.

[happyhobo2000]

OHLALAH

Numbers!

EDIT: Well, we are seriously outnumbered.