Noblesse Amissus: In which familiar landmarks are hard to find.

[The Bearded One]

IC

Welcome to Noblesse Amissus, a roleplay co-run by Keregol and I, The Bearded One.

Just as a note so nobody becomes confused, you ARE allowed to make either a male or female character. Just as there was such a thing as female nobility in our mainly male dominated society, there ARE male nobles in Ithwan (also, the roleplay will be taking place on a seperate continent altogether; Ithwan is mostly there for your characters to have a place they came from, at least, at the beginning). Thank you.

As a noble of the female dominated Ithwan, the Ever Moving Nation, you never dreamed that life would change. After all, there where no other factions anymore- no nations to war with, no city-states to contest land rights, no empires seeking conquest since the continent was united under Ithwanian rule nearly a hundred and fifty years ago. That is, until the shipwreck.

It was a standard pleasure-cruise, at least to your eyes. The largest, most masterfully crafted ship that you and your fellow nobles could charter, fully prepared for three months of sailing. Yet not with all the knowledge and skill that went into its making, not with all the strength the crew could muster could the ship be stopped from capsizing in the ensuing storm, and not all the favours of most holy Goddess Renji could prevent the currents from taking the survivors deep into the Agamar Triangle and blacking out.

When the nobles awake, they are on an unfamiliar beach, apparently unharmed. With close inspection they might see impossibly thin scars on their persons, drawn with surgical precision, their placements suggest that each was opened up like a bear at the taxidermists and expertly sown up again. In addition to this is an odd feeling of openness- as if some long dormant sense had been reawakened and as they reach for this feeling, intrigued by its existence, odd events transpire around them. Flames burst into being, water flows up and twists through the air like smoke, sand whips itself into a dust devil seemingly on a whim- it doesn't take you long before you realize that you've been infused with magic of the strongest kind, seemingly overnight.


For those who said TL;DR, (well, the first thing I'd like to say is why are you here in the first place?) but here's a summary: You are a noble (noble emphasized in the hopes that people will stop trying to be the exception to the rule) who has been shipwrecked in a strange land, suddenly awakening with strange powers. This roleplay is going to involve sexism, politics, religious disputes, philosophical disparity, racism (both fantastic and ordinary), war, supernatural events, singing and possibly goats. Below are the major things your character will know about at the beginning of the Roleplay, but first, the Rules.

1.Thou shalt not quit.

We want dedicated roleplayers. This is, potentially, a long roleplay, and for that reason we're putting loyalty slightly above quality. If you're going to quit, at least TRY to give yourself an ending so we aren't left just ignoring you and leaving plot holes. We thank you in advance.

2. The length of a post is flexible, grammar however... not quite as much.

I'm going to be honest here: I like practicality, which means that unless that vase is going to be really #$%ing important I'm not going to spend an entire paragraph describing it. Like most GM's, I don't like one liners much, but neither do I want huge monologues or pages of meaningless descriptions of your characters navel, and I recognize that sometimes all you have to say is “What the hell are you doing?”. All I ask is to try and use your judgement to determine what length your post should be.

On another note; Grammar. Use it. I know that sometimes you might need to break the rules because of a character's accent or verbal tick, or because you want to make a point, heck I know that some of you might not have english as your first language, but please, for the love of all that is holy, we should be able to understand what you are saying without getting a headache. Also, yes, I know I use run-on sentences. I know I shouldn't. I try not to. I'm human. I have flaws. Deal with it.

3. No godmodding

I'm pretty laid back when it comes to the power a character can obtain, but there are limits. A word of friendly advice: once you're destroying planets you've gone so far past too far that with close observation you should be able to see the curvature of the universe.

4. Keep it PG.

Swearing is allowed, but not every sentence needs an expletive. Romance is allowed, and even encouraged, but what your characters decide to do while alone with one another in their free time is YOUR business and should be kept to PM. Gore? Gore it up. Plaster the WALLS with gore. Fill doggy bags with it and bring them home with you if that's your thing. Just, y'know, only gore it up if there's a REASON to gore it up. Rabbits shouldn't explode all over the forest.

This section is pretty much done, but there may be some changes in order to clarify things and better explain magic.

First is the world itself; it is thought to be dome-shaped, sitting on the palm of Renji, surrounded by a bubble of air. Outside this bubble is thought to be the element of Void (see Magic for more about Void), where only the Voidlings and Abyssal Walkers exist. The sun and two moons are simply circles of light that Renji's daughter Adthotep juggles endlessly.

Ithwan has a great many myths surrounding the past- legends of where weather comes from, what caused mountain ranges to be where they are, and also about a number of supernatural creatures; legends of short men with enormous beards who lived underground and steal human children so they could turn them into more of their own kind, grey skinned creatures that disguised themselves as old women in order to murder travellers and rob them blind. The Will-O-the-Wisp is largely similar to the legends of earth, except that instead of leading people towards danger, they are said to have helped lost travelers find their way out of swamps and dark forests without falling into danger. All these things are merely legend, however, and have never been proven to have ever existed.

Oh, some young men point to primitive tools in the black forest, or collapsed caves that bear evidence of intricate carvings on what had once been the walls and ceilings in the south east, but such are simply the ramblings of the unimportant, and not to be taken seriously.

A quick summary of Mythological creatures (please note that none of the following are considered to actually be real, and even if they where, these stories have been filtered through hundreds of years of folklore, and as such would be highly inaccurate- of course, your character wouldn't know that) Any creatures not mentioned here are probably a fairly common occurrence, or have at least been accepted as fact-

Dwarfs- Short, hairy individuals who dress in furs and soiled rags, they have foul breath and grin at all times to show off their rotted teeth. They generally live in caves. Legend has it that they are incapable of reproducing, and steal human children who stay out at night and turn them into dwarfs through black magic. Since such transformations have been proven to be impossible with current magical theory, these creatures are mostly used to frighten children.

Goblins-Stooped, wrinkled beasts with grey skin- they disguise themselves as the elderly, poor or ill and prey upon those who show weakness. This legend is one of the many reasons the gap between the rich and the poor in Ithwan is so large, and why giving alms is considered a generally stupid thing to do.

Will-O-the-Whisps- Strange floating lights normally seen in swamps and deep woodland, they are said to guide lost people to safety, skirting around quicksand, deep bogs and the territories of ferocious beasts. Even today, some people will come stumbling into a village claiming to have gotten lost and been guided out by these mysterious beings, but most often these stories come about after too much drink and are listened to with amusement, then promptly ignored.

Orcs- Green skinned humanoids. They often play the part of the 'green-man' in folktales, and are a favored form of Usis, the nature/trickster god, and third daughter of Renji.

Treants- Large, sentient trees who sometimes sleep for decades. Not often featured in legend, but is considered the favored form of Poporon, the first consort of Renji.

Ithwan is a female dominated society. The government is based on a Republic structure, with a council of ninety three nobles, two from each province, plus the Blessed Matron Aswa the Ninety Third. Under them are forty six councils of lesser nobility, each of which helping to govern different province. Ithwan has held the entirety of the continent since around a hundred and fifty years ago (the exact number is 147 years), during the rule of High Matron Aswa the Fortieth. The state religion worships Renji, the Goddess of Movement, Ferocity and Domination. There are only priestesses, no male priests, and all priestesses must be virgins. Any man who takes a priestess' virginity is castrated, and then publicly executed.

While there ARE male nobility, it is rare for them to be seen as anything more than eye candy, and have a difficult time making any dent in a discussion amongst women. Those that do manage it are invariably those with extreme willpower and intelligence, are considered blessed by Renji and are mostly considered highly attractive.

Magic in this world is still not completely understood; it appears to follow certain laws, yet there are some clear exceptions to these rules. However, while the rules are most probably flawed, they are useful for explaining the ins and outs of magic to laymen and apprentices.

Elements- The planet and everything on it are made from mixtures of the seven elements; fire, water, earth, air ,darkness , light and time. First is the planet itself, which is a dome mainly comprised of earth and fire. On the surface can be found oceans and all manner of life, mainly composed of water and earth, and a mixture of water, earth, fire and time respectively. Over the earth is a dome of air, outside of which is only Void, the antithesis of all existence and drinker of magic where only the Abyssal Walkers and Voidlings can survive.

Sub-Elements- Sub-Elements are combinations of two or more basic elements. While sub elements are somewhat less versatile than the basic ones, they often come with powerful abilities that no base element can offer. Some examples include: Sand, a mixture of Earth and Fire- allows physical control of only sand, but allows a mage to suck water from most objects on contact. Heat, a mixture of Fire and Light- Heat grants no physical control over objects, but allows creation of radiant heat and the focusing of higher temperatures than even fire allows.

Mana- Mana is the energy with which a mage casts spells. One's mana pool acts much like a muscle in some respects- the more frequent and strenuous its use, the larger and more resilient it becomes. Mana values will mostly be hidden from you, but you will receive hints when you are reaching zero, or when you're being conservative without reason. All characters will begin with a mana count around 45. When a spell is cast an appropriate amount of mana will be subtracted from the value, and the mana total will grow. The more powerful the spell, the more it will cost, and the more the maximum size of the pool will increase.

Magical power-If a mage where a car then Mana would be your 'fuel source' and Magical Power would work like your maximum speed. Magical power determines how much mana a mage can use on any one spell, and varies from person to person. Generally speaking, Magical Power does not change much over time, but there are ways that it can be expanded. More than anything, this determines the caliber of the mage. All characters begin at what would be considered 'master' level. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will have a master's control.

This section lists what we earthlings would call supernatural creatures that are either common occurrences, or have been accepted as being real. Just because it isn't listed doesn't mean it doesn't exist- it probably just means that either the differences between the usual version and the version used here aren't large enough to warrant mention, we haven't thought of that creature yet, or that creature hasn't come up in the story and is supposed to be a surprise.

Wendigos Not much is known about these creatures, as they have only recently been accepted as being real. All that is truly known is that they live almost exclusively in mountainous snowy regions and are tall, thin, vaguely humanoid beings with longs, bony arms, a head not unlike that of a wolf, and snow white fur.

Name:

Nickname/Preferred Name/Alternative Titles:

Age:

Physical Appearance: (Description or Pic is fine)

Element: (Any Element except Void is fine; sub-elements are available as well)

Personality:

Brief History:

Skills/Hobbies:

Relationships with other Characters: (all relationships must be negotiated with the owner of that character. This section may be edited as characters are added.)

NPC's:
Keregol: Magorroth, Vengeance Seeking Swordsman
The Bearded One: Zimgorroth Valjeabean the thirty second, destroyer of the Black, Leader of the Legions of Unterror, Quester for the Unknown... but most people call him Tim

Confirmed Players:
Hawlin: Vivienne Flyleif LeCrux, Dark Mage and Gentle-Lady
Zombehs: Bormont Maste, Rift Mage and General Hooligan
RubyCrown: Iris, Time mage and aspiring Priestess of Renji
BaneThanatos: Obitus, Decay Mage and political conspirator
Map will be uploaded as soon as I can find a way to get it up here.

[Hawlin]

Name: Vivienne Flyleif LeCrux

Nickname/Preferred Name/Alternative Titles: "Lady LeCrux" "Vivi (friends/close individuals)"

Age: 24

Vivi stands roughly 5ft tall.

Element: Darkness

Personality: Behind the typical demeanor of Ithwian noblewomen which is drilled into them from the moment they can speak is the curious and adventurous spirit of a bird longing to leave their cage. Her ideology of equality having long been suppresses by her culture has led to a cold exterior laced with angst. Because of her insecurity with her mindset's common acceptance, she still chimes along with jokes at the expense of men, though goes no further than the occasional teasings or asserting herself before men out of obligation. At heart, Vivi is a kind, thoughtful soul...though she might not have much practice with this side.
Vivi struggles with the concept of her growing expectations to become a prominent duchess of her home providence 'Vyrewatch'; its responsibilities as well as the general lifestyle which threatened to dissolve her previous fascination and studies into mythology and paranormal occurrences.

Brief History: Having been the daughter of a prestigious Vyrewatch noble (and her wealthy mill-owning husband (inheritance)), Vivi was naturally bred to be more petite than the average woman. In the Vyrewatch region, lumbering is and has been a lucrative operation for the past century, drawing in hardier working class from abroad; the larger the better. It is because of the nature of the most common work that the social classes are so prominently defined; the small are such because they have little need for physical mass with money in one hand and power in the other, the large are such...well...because they are mules.
Resisting her fate of becoming an exports manager and eventually Duchess of 'LeCrux Industries', she went on an extended leave to investigate claims of Wendigos, although was intercepted by her House Guard 'Ballard' with an order of return signed by the Duchess of Vyrewatch. After a slight..disagreement...Vivi was detained and escorted to the first ship bound for the Providences...all expenses paid.

Skills/Hobbies: Reading, documenting occurrences in a booklet she keeps with herself at almost all times. To learn the trade of her family, Vivi has extensive knowledge of botany as well as theoretical 'herbology'. In an effort to refine Vivi's drifting ways, she had been drilled in fencing and is quite decent with a rapier.

Relationships with other Characters:
*Ballard ~ A begrudging relationship which began early in life; Ballard was hired at his youth to keep Vivienne safe from the mills or running off into the woods. After an accident at the mill left him homeless, he was taken in by Vivi's parents and treated like a big brother which they figured she desperately needed.

[The Bearded One]

Alright, accepted; just a minor point of geography, and a small history lesson; Vyrewatch is located in the south-east of the continent, and is the source of most ship building lumber. Famed for the large, incredibly straight trees that grow there, Vyrewatch is mostly covered in what was once (and now only colloquially) called the Twilit Forest. The reason for the name was that the density of the trees made it incredibly dark even in the midst of the day, leaving at best an effect not unlike twilight. Extensive logging and human replanting has mostly tamed the land, and now the trees grow in straight rows for up to a hundred miles away from any community. The wild patches are still there, but they are getting harder and harder to find.

Vyrewatch would have been the twelfth kingdom brought into Ithwan, and one of only three brought in by diplomatic agreement (as opposed to outright warfare). As such, the lands of Vyrewatch stayed almost completely under the control of it's nobility (with a bare minimum taken by the High Matron for tithe), and the nobles of Vyrewatch hold a certain amount of prestige above those whose lands resisted Ithwans 'righteous goal' of unifying the world.

[Keregol]

Bump

- - - Updated - - -

GMPC

Name: Magorrath

Nickname/Preferred Name/Alternative Titles: The Sealed one, The Vassal , "Mag"

Age: 29

Physical Appearance: 6'1 feet tall heavly muscled from the use of his claymore wears a white full face mask (encompassing the the head) mostly covered by a hood, wears scale mail covered by a brown tooled leather great coat wears very worn tattered leather pants of the same color and leather high boots that reach up where the pants are tattered (Upper calf)

Element: (Any Element except Void is fine; sub-elements are available as well)

Personality: Quiet and devoted only to his vendetta , has trouble sleeping and when sleeping he mutters about his dead wife. Magorrath gave up on the gods years ago for they would not save his wife he believes only in his steel

Brief History: Born on the 17th of Janpour on the eastern border of Palosh; he barely remembers his father, as he died when he was very young. His mother made a living, just barely, as a barmaid at the local inn. He had married his wife on the advent of his 21st birthday they moved to a small cabin by the woods which his father had owned. She died soon after it has been eight years since her death and his quest for retribution had progressed no further than when it started. Eight long years he had tracked his quarry and for eight long years he still evaded him Magorrath cursed his wifes killer every single day and he vowed to kill the bastard. The only thing keeping him going he had found was the promised feeling of Plunging his greatsword into Fero's chest. Still haunted by the screams of his wife "Mag" renewed his vows everyday. He was planning on waiting for you, but your wife pushed his buttons when trying to scare him off, and he decided this was all to big for him, so he killed her in the hopes that nobody else could give you a description of him, and ran

Skills/Hobbies: Cooking , Foraging , Whittling , Tracking

Relationships with other Characters: Guide , Sword for hire

[The Bearded One]

Edited Magic section. Added info on Mana and Magic Power, as well as expanded a bit on lore and sub-elements.

[Zombehs]

I'm still interested in this btw. Just finishing up my Character Sheet atm, which is a male noble who's a Time/Space Mage.

[The Bearded One]

Time/space? Looking forward to seeing it!

[Zombehs]

One of the few times, Bormont is actually seen in noble attire. Generally he wears much plainer clothings, similar to the style of commoners, though his are of noticeably better quality. His eyes are of an uncommon color, silver and seem to gleam in the light much like the metal. His hair is black, but despite it's appearance, is fluffy rather than smooth. He stands at just above 6 feet and weighs about 170lb. his frame light and thin.

Name: Bormont Maste

Nickname/Preferred Name/Alternative Titles: The Pleasant Asshole, A Fake Noble

Age: 10? 20? 30? None of the above. 31 really.

Element: Rift. The manipulations of distances, based of a combination of Time and the elements.

Personality: A dangerous man. It’s the most common portrayal of Bormont when he’s brought into a discussion, and partially true at that. Back when he was younger, the man was rash and headstrong. To say that he’s no longer would be a lie, but his time as a public servant seems to have tempered him a bit. A fair bit more reserved now, Bormont is still unafraid to speak his tongue and opinion, but at the very least he’s learned to hold his tongue and save his breath.

He’s not one to participate in the extravagant parties of nobility, nor is he particularly wanted at most gatherings. Rather he prefers more simple pleasures in life, such as practicing and honing one’s mind and skill, brawling amongst the streets, eating good food and drinking good beer. Things like that, not being stuck in some stuffy room with a bunch of haughty nobles. He's had enough experience in dealing with people, that he's capable of putting up a pleasant front for people who don't deserve to deal with his real personality. Still, smiling the fake smile and laughing the fake laugh aren't things he enjoys doing.

Brief History: Born into a noble family, Bormont was lucky enough to live a privileged life. His family wasn’t famous, but still well off enough to be considered nobles. Educated in all manners of things from a young age, Bormont learned of the world and society through books and tutors. Evidently though, such manners of learning were unsuitable for the child and he quickly developed into what could be called a “trouble” child. All manners of things, from sneaking out of the house in the midst of night or even rigging the entire mansion fill of pranks. He'd often be found prowling the alleys, or even on occasion taking a dip in the waters of the port. That, according to his parents, had to change.

Certainly the years spent under the Brotherhood were enough to rein in Bromont, slapping some discipline into the child. One of the dispatchements from the Royal Army, they weren't as well manned as they'd liked to be and as a result, regularly took in any recruits they could get. They weren’t enough to completely reform the boy, who’d now gotten a taste for the streets and found it quite to his liking. Regularly slipping away from events to brawl in illegal street fights and even chase after the occasional bounty, his family would have outright disowned him years ago, if it weren’t for a simple problem. He was damn good at what he did. Brawls? He came out on top. Bounty hunting? None eluded him for too long. Certainly it wasn’t exactly the things his family wanted associated with one of their own, but it was better than nothing. And besides in the end, Bromont was a man, and who really cared about his reputation?

Ending up on this cruise was the result of his family’s interference on his private life. 31 and not even a single affair in his life yet? Why that almost sounded like heresy to them and so here he was, on a ship he didn’t want to be on, surrounded by people he wish he wasn’t surrounded by. The joy of his life.

Skills/Hobbies: A skilled magician at manipulating the sub-element known as Rift. Rift magic isn't terribly powerful on its own, providing more of a utility purpose in the grand scheme of magic. Still, Bormont manages to make it work. From forcibly relocating opponents to erasing the distance between blows, he’s known to be a trickster when it comes to duels, redirecting his opponent’s attention constantly, keeping them from the truth of his actions.

Even without his magic, Bormont is somewhat of a skilled fighter, having spent a bit of his youth working as a public servant. A task unfit for someone of noble birth, but Bormont put his heart into the job. Chasing down criminals and even brawling with them at times, it was a rough and tumble world in the streets despite the peace that reigned over the country. He learned hand to hand combat, swordsmanship, teamwork amongst many other skills during his time in the Brotherhood. Certainly not the best fighter in the world, but well off compared to some fat and pampered fools.

Like much of the male nobility of Ithwan, Bormont isn’t taken very seriously by many of his female counterparts, but doesn’t really care. Skilled in the arts of the tongue and lip, despite his words not having much impact, he’s skilful at weaving them.

Relationships with other Characters: (all relationships must be negotiated with the owner of that character)

Well the basics gist of it are up at the least. There might be heavy reworks coming in later, as I don't feel exactly satisfied with this, but at the moment I can't think of them. Sorry if he seems like he's bordering on the line between Noble and Commoner, that can be changed.

[The Bearded One]

Ah, well, just so you know, the magic was supposed to have been given to them during the event that ended with them on Magnus, but that isn't necessarily a problem, since the event could just enhance the power to mastery level.

However, having two elements is kind of against the rules of magic- while it's not exactly stated, you're supposed to have just one; either a main element or a sub-element... what if your character had the sub-element of... Rift? A mixture of Time, Fire, Earth, Water and Air; Rift allows the user to temporarily erase distances, which gives the user mid range line of sight teleportation, and can be used to trip up people in all kinds of ways. That'd let you keep most of the powers you mentioned, but would keep within those pesky rules.

Other than that, you did a great job- it seems natural that at least a few male nobles would rather associate with the lower classes, as they'd be far less likely to be judgmental than the upper echelons. Just wondering whether you mind being assigned a home province, or would like to make one up and have some extra stuff added on after- they where left blank to allow some extra freedom, 'cause we felt kind of bad about restricting people to being nobles.

... maybe I should put a 'hometown' or 'home province' section of the CS... hmmmm....

EDIT: just as a side note, this "Brotherhood"- are they supposed to be monks, a boarding school, or something else? Just curious.

[Zombehs]

Ah, well, just so you know, the magic was supposed to have been given to them during the event that ended with them on Magnus, but that isn't necessarily a problem, since the event could just enhance the power to mastery level.

However, having two elements is kind of against the rules of magic- while it's not exactly stated, you're supposed to have just one; either a main element or a sub-element... what if your character had the sub-element of... Rift? A mixture of Time, Fire, Earth, Water and Air; Rift allows the user to temporarily erase distances, which gives the user mid range line of sight teleportation, and can be used to trip up people in all kinds of ways. That'd let you keep most of the powers you mentioned, but would keep within those pesky rules.

Other than that, you did a great job- it seems natural that at least a few male nobles would rather associate with the lower classes, as they'd be far less likely to be judgmental than the upper echelons. Just wondering whether you mind being assigned a home province, or would like to make one up and have some extra stuff added on after- they where left blank to allow some extra freedom, 'cause we felt kind of bad about restricting people to being nobles.

... maybe I should put a 'hometown' or 'home province' section of the CS... hmmmm....

EDIT: just as a side note, this "Brotherhood"- are they supposed to be monks, a boarding school, or something else? Just curious.

Rift sounds fine. As for home province, I don't particularly mind, as long as Bormont isn't stuck into a place known for producing peaceful scholars, as that doesn't exactly fit in with his character.

As for the Brotherhood, they're basically just an order that keeps.... order in the city Bormont grew up in.