The Golem Census

[Herostratus]

Out of Character thread.

SETTING

A previously useless mineral, already named gravestone, has recently gained some otherworldly properties (roughly forty years prior to the story). With the awakening of ancient statues, who happen to be made of the stuff, an entirely forgotten field of science is founded anew. It's quickly discovered that this strange rock can cause one of seemingly countless effects depending on the shape it happens to be in. Modelers are the engineers of this new age, working out exactly which shapes yield which effects and creating blueprints for complex machinery. Sculptors make use of these plans to physically construct these multi-pieced "golems" and maintain their upkeep. While the particular shape of a sculpture determines exactly what it does, it's the size that determines the strength of that effect. Because of this, larger pieces of gravestone are worth exponentially more than small ones.

Think medieval-era fantasy Earth, but without dragons and magic missiles. The "magic system" is centered around sculpting.

Onto what it can actually do, well that's up to you to come up with. No single shape will be as complex as "throw a fireball." If you happen to create a golem with pieces that attract oxygen, ignite a spark, and direct gas flow in one direction however... that's another story. Something with those same pieces might function as a lighter if it's small, or as a destructive weapon if large enough. The thing about gravestone effects is that they can't simply be switched on or off. They're running constantly, so if (for example) you planned on forming a fire-flinger like this, you'd also do well to build some type of valve system that stops it from amassing more oxygen. Otherwise you're just left with a constantly-running flamethrower.

The byproduct from sculpting, gravedust, isn't completely wasted. This leftover can be mixed with water into a paste, baked back together into a kind of clay, and have similar but weaker properties to objects made of true gravestone. Workers of gravedust (dustmites) are generally poorer and less skilled, as it's a cheaper alternative for people who can't afford the real thing.

What powers gravestone is a kind of invisible flowing energy. Rivers of this are known as leylines, and are apparently as natural on the planet as lines of magnetic flux. For ages the leylines had been fenced off by the ancients on a continental-scale for godknowswhy by way of huge, but hidden, special golems. Forty years ago one of those was accidentally mined-into and broken, allowing the leylines to flow again and gravestone to regain its abilities. Cities located along these leylines are often far more prosperous than ones outside them, as the greater energy makes gravestone's effects more pronounced. Leylines aren't stationary however, and slowly move in a semi-random manner somewhat like weather patterns, so people who are good predictors of which cities will next be going on/offline can make a quick bundle.

MAPS

Known world.
White = Mountainous or inhospitable due to cold.
Tan = Deserts or arid plains.
Brown = Generally hospitable land.
Green = Especially fertile land with fresh water, where most cities can be found.


Spheres of influence.
Each area could be called a different nation here, with points of conflict normally arising at borders where there's dispute over who owns what.

SHEETS

If enough people join that I open an OOC and actually get things moving, I'll include everyone's character sheets in the first post with hiders.
Just having bare bones is fine here, as there'll be room to develop after it's begun.

I'll mostly be playing as these jerks.

Terry Whittle, 12, Female
Skinny. Black hair. Small stature.
Younger of two orphan sisters. Initially helped her family by working the mines, but had such low productivity her caretaker sister found she would probably make more begging on the street with her infant nephew in tow. While not physically strong, she is a quick-thinker with a natural knack for visualizing in three dimensions. Terry's immediate trust and gullibility are perhaps her biggest weaknesses. She'll soon become a pupil of Carver's, joining his quest under promise that the skills she gains can make her family rich beyond imagination.

Wayne Carver, 50, Male
Heavy. Short for an adult. Blonde hair.
While a crude soul with no respect for manners or personal hygiene, he is nevertheless an extremely skilled modeler/sculptor. Past unknown, Wayne is a wanted man who who has evaded capture his entire life. He primarily sells designs with intentional flaws, then sells their exploits to competing nations. Forging citizenship passes to go undetected along the way, he's both revered and hated with connections all over. Due to a shaking illness in his limbs, his sculpting talent is degrading rapidly, so he's currently on the lookout for steady-handed apprentices. His more pressing plan is figuring out just what the newly allied nations are up to.

STORY

Recently the noble class has (for the most part) put aside its differences in a collective effort to control gravestone's use by rebuilding the broken giant and reprogramming its enormous influence to allow only certain shapes to function--specifically ones with an identifying inscription. Essentially they wish to make it so sculpting would require a licence and every new sculpture would have to pass a kind of inspection concerning its use (to instigate a golem census, if my title-dropping isn't too cheesy). The protagonists could be seen as bad guys in this scenario, as they're seeking to make sure the giant stays broken so everyone remains free to sculpt anything they want. At the start of the story, only those with some connection to nobility are privy to this info.

tl:dr the plot consists of racing to an ancient monument and breaking it to bits, all while butting heads with a new government that's trying to rebuild the thing.



I believe that's everything. I don't mind people having multiple characters, or even ones in positions of some power. If your characters can read or otherwise think critically, they're already ahead of the curve; literacy isn't too common and most people here are five hairs away from cavemen. Apart from nobility, skilled modelers and sculptors are some of the richest men on the planet, set for a comfortable life along with any miners who happen to strike a new wealth of gravestone. Welcome to the New Stone Age, where budding technology is constantly arising as clever minds work out ever-more-complex and creative golem concepts. Questions, comments, critiques, criticisms, concerns?

[Ashgan]

I don't think that I will be joining, sorry, but I wanted to comment anyway because I like your magic system, if it can be labelled as such. Very innovative, have not seen anything like it (what it's worth, anyhow - I'm not the end-all guru of fantasy, after all ;P). So there you go, kudos for a cool idea. ;D

[JerkChicken]

seems interesting

[Herostratus]

Thanks for the support, though it looks like playing as mere humans without innate supernatural powers may be too boring for most RPers.

[Mercinus3]

The magic system is very intriguing. Colour me interested.

M3

[OiHarkin]

The magic system does seem interesting - would it be possible for someone to create a kind of suit of "Iron Man" armour using it? It seems you could use certain gestures to create the shapes necessary for different effects, at the cost of having your motions restricted as a result because if you fly by putting your arms up, you now can't put your arms up WITHOUT FLYING.

[Herostratus]

The magic system does seem interesting - would it be possible for someone to create a kind of suit of "Iron Man" armour using it? It seems you could use certain gestures to create the shapes necessary for different effects, at the cost of having your motions restricted as a result because if you fly by putting your arms up, you now can't put your arms up WITHOUT FLYING.

Considering people chisel the stuff, it probably wouldn't make a very effective armor on its own. It's brittle (in the scientific sense, as in the opposite of malleable), so it doesn't bend and won't handle impacts well. One tough blow and it's broken to bits. An iron/hardwood/leather covering could protect against breaking, but in the end you'd be better just wearing that alone.

There are golems suited to combat others--I'm thinking primarily as a kind of rich-person hobby--though particularly skilled modelers have designs a few years ahead of the curve, making golem bodyguards a possibility.

[OiHarkin]

Hmm.. What about some sort of "magic" gauntlet? Stone plates and fragments held in a web of mesh, surrounded by thick leather. Certain hand gestures move the shards and plates into different positions, creating small localized effect.

[Herostratus]

That could be doable.

As more side-notes: I figure with sculpting there's room for happy accidents, like trying to make a particular form and stumbling onto a new one along the way that no one's discovered yet. Though at the same time there's just as much room for mistakes, like getting an angle wrong by a couple degrees and accidentally forming a shape that turns surrounding nitrogen into arsenic or something.

[Vhazhiphor]

Well, you know I'm interested, but let's just go ahead and make it official.

I'm interested.