The Fall of the Sorcerer-Kings

[Smig]

The Fall of the Sorcerer-Kings

There is a great land mass known as Mith. Beyond it, nothing is known other than the immense expanses of water that surround it.

Within it, men struggle for power since the beginning of known history. Many hundreds of thousands, plunged into war as they follow the whims of only a few. These few are known as the Sorcerer-Kings.

Gifted with immense magical power at their grasp, sorcerers are born into a fearful world that bends to their every wish. That power made them rulers of men, though greed, fear and madness, all led to one result: A volatile political landscape plagued by constant death and destruction. At least before Etmor’s rise to power.

Sorcerer-King Etmor, the Wise, was the oldest sorcerer alive and ruler of the mighty realm of Myriad. Once an isolated city state, Myriad turned outwards as Etmor took upon himself the duty to stop all destruction around him. He believed that sorcerers were given all this power for a reason. As if chosen for a divine duty, it had to come at the cost of one’s own mortal desires. Unsurprisingly, he was wildly unsuccessful at convincing other sorcerers to stop their war campaigns, but due to Myriad’s central location, along with its unmatched might, he was able to impose an unprecedented time of peace by having it act as a buffer zone.

With the world’s peace hinging on only one man, no one expected it to last, though no one expected it to end the way it did...

The setting is a medieval high-fantasy world. I haven't gone to much detail about what exactly exists in it because I didn't want to limit what you might come up with. I'll let you know if I think something doesn't fit with the setting.

Magic is very powerful in Mith, to the point where a Sorcerer-King could feasibly take on a whole army of common men. To the people of Mith, Sorcerer-King and King are synonymous, since any piece of land claimed by a non-magical person would be immediately annexed by a Sorcerer-King’s realm.

Sorcerers are the only known beings capable of using magic by themselves. Their magic is innate and no one can learn how to use it. They can hone their existing skills through experience though. As a rule of thumb, the older the sorcerer, the more powerful he is, though there can be exceptions.

Magic can also be used by other people through the use of magical items, though the magic in those items eventually depletes.

Sorcerers aren’t immortal but they can slow their aging process with tremendous results. The oldest human sorcerer that ever lived is said to have been over a thousand years old when he died. Sorcerers don’t usually die by natural causes though, so their average lifespan is much shorter. In fact, if an infant shows any magical aptitude whatsoever in certain settings, he’s killed immediately due to the fear of magic that permeates the general population. Generally, only one born in another sorcerer’s lineage or one that succeeds in hiding his power, may survive long enough to become a powerful sorcerer one day.

No one knows why only some have this ability. Scholars argue over many different theories, though one thing that has been observed is that there are only a few dozen people capable of magic at any certain point in time, which led them to believe that the potential for magic is limited in Mith, and only when one dies, a new one can be born.

My expectation is that you’ll play a Sorcerer-King, and by extension, his realm as a whole, but I suppose you could pick any other role if you’d want to, including a sorcerer that isn’t a king or a non-magical character.

If you’re playing a Sorcerer-King, you’ll need to think of a character, as well as the realm he’s ruling over. To keep things simple, I suggest that each realm is either a big city state, or a capital plus a few small settlements. I’d like to avoid having dozens of city names to think about, if you know what I mean.

Character

Name:
Race: Could be anything people are familiar with, or something new. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to describe the race as well.
Gender:
Age:
Appearence:
Personality:
Class & Occupation: Sorcerer-King?

Skills: Things he’s good at. Is he persuasive? Is he athletic? Is he a champion domino player?

Magic: Only if he’s a sorcerer, of course. You don’t need to be very specific here (it might actually be better if you’re not) but I’d like it if you stated some unique flavour to your sorcerer by picking a kind of magic that he’s most apt with (necromancy / elements / psychic / telekinesis / etcetera).

Background: Short background story for your character.

Realm

Name:

Races: Is it a cosmopolitan realm, with many races? Is it just one?

Cities and Settlements: A list of cities/settlements and a short description about them.

Description: Anything else left to say about the realm goes here.

Standard rules of common sense apply

I reserve the right to object to something you introduce if I believe:

1. It detracts from other’s enjoyment of the RP;
2. It results in an inconsistent world, or changes the tone I envisioned for this RP;
3. It clashes with the overall story arc I might have prepared.

I don’t plan to have too much control over the RP, except on some moments where I’ll make key events happen to keep things going.

I didn’t flesh out the world too much because I felt that would make it very limiting to create your realm. I might put more detail in later depending on what you come up with.

You’re free to play this at a political level, interacting with other realms, forging alliances, waging wars or anything in between. You can also choose to play this at a more mundane level at the backdrop of all that.

I don’t plan ever killing a player-character without your permission, though I could potentially have something happen to your realm for the sake of storytelling... so don’t get too attached

I've been kicking around this idea in my head. Looking to see if this sounds interesting. If enough people show interest, I can kick things off asap. Otherwise, I’ll take this back to the drawing board.

[Miss Nikki]

I have interest. I would love to be a sorcerer queen.

[Thoughtless]

You have my interest.

[Teach]

Very interested in the concept of managing with magic.

[Smig]

Two more and I'll start the OOC!

[Satheon]

Oh. My. Bob.

I didn't want to join another RP, but this is SO UP MY ALLEY! Count me in! Already have something original planned.

[Sadko]

I have interest, Im probably going to be a Non-magical character. Also, are we allowed to make our own races, fully explain them?

[Smig]

Also, are we allowed to make our own races, fully explain them?

Yup, make them up if you wish!

[Sadko]

Waiting for the OOC to be started

[Rtron]

Interested!