The Domain of Rhadamanthys [OOC]

[Rapidfire]

Welcome, one and all, to The Domain of Rhadamanthys! Thank you for joining along on this ride and I hope you enjoy it. The IC thread is here: http://roleplayerguild.com/showthrea...f-Rhadamanthys

The Domain of Rhadamanthys takes place, at least for the most part, in the medieval setting of the Kingdom of Caledon, the capital of which is Tara. Caledon is a somewhat chilly, blustery land, carpeted in woods and hills. The terrain has made it unwelcoming to most foreigners, and as a result, Caledon barely takes notice of its continental neighbors: the massive tundra nation of Taborisch, the desert dunes of Zuleika, the swampy jungles of Valentera, and the coastal shore country of Hikaki. Caledon has cultivated its introspection to a fine art; not only do people not enter Caledon, but most Caledonians have never even seen an outsider.

Nowhere is the isolationist streak more prevalent than in Tara. The elderly King of Caledon has ruled for a long time without an heir apparent and fears have grown that the royal family will die with him. Wrangling among the nobility has begun quietly, with everyone looking to see what opportunities will come their way. Ambitious military men who have earned their positions by valor rather than birth are equally eager to take what they can, looking to move up the social ladder rather aggressively if need be. Tara is an island city, sitting on a lake and connected to the mainland by three great bridges. That is the extent of how insular Caledon is, and nothing good can come of it.

Now that the Caledonian movers and shakers are focused on clandestine plotting, order on the fringes of the kingdom has begun coming undone. Minor nobles have taken to walling themselves into their own manors while the poor have been at the mercy of honest watchmen stretched thin and the outlaws that have come to rule the edges of the kingdom. Some towns are already lost to the control of bandits. People in those places have been talking about how a legendary hero from times long past will return to restore Caledon to new age of supremacy, if only he could be summoned with the words of his book, now lost to the ages...

Onto the practical stuff! DnD-esque though the setting is, I'm not going to subject the combat system to anything as narrow as throws of the dice. I'm giving latitude to how effective your characters can be in a fight, but don't powerplay. Don't be that guy. As for weapons, this is a pre-gunpowder age; that's a pretty self-explanatory limitation. Magic is only restrained insofar, again, as not being of the deus ex machina variety. That means no "I-Summon-The-Apocalypse" spells or "Revive-From-The-Dead-With-Full-HP" spells.

As for your characters, play any kind of class you want. There will be multiple entry points into the story from the inception, so don't feel too constrained. You can be anything from an upright soldier of the Royal Guard to a treacherous thief in the night. The range in between is huge, so have fun designing your character! Right now, I ask that you limit yourself to creating no more than two characters; as things open up, more space may become available. Use this OOC space to describe your character(s) so that I and everyone else know who's in the mix. A sample form would be something like
Name:
Age:
Class:
Weapon(s):
Brief Biography:

Let your imagination run wild. If you have any questions about anything, just ask.

---

Name: Emris Ohmborn
Age: 58 (looks 30)
Race: Elven
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175 lbs
Class: Elemental Mage

Weapon: Mages Staff containing the essence of "Mother". The natural energy created from the earth itself. Emris can do magic without it but not as powerful. He does not wave the staff around like people think. It simply draws energy, his hands give off the magic needed.

Spells: each spell needs time to cast. The bigger the spell, the longer the time and energy it consumes. (Exe: creating a small gust of wind is almost instant, but pulling the ground up from under him takes more time) also, all his magic require a source. He can't pull fire out of thin air, and he can't create stone from water, etc.

-Earth manipulation- Needs a source

-Water manipulation- Needs a source

-Fire manipulation- Needs a source

-Air Weaving- Source is abundant but none of his spells are lethal unless physically pushed off a cliff or something.

-Spirit Weaving- Mending the body and spirit, using his own body to absorb wounds on others or accelerating his own wounds to heal in hours instead of days. This requires concentration and minimal movement.

Personality: Very kind and good natured individual. He sees everything like it has a place in this world for a reason. Emris does not believe in coincidence and believes fate guides man, but does not control man. He has a heart of gold but he will not hesitate to defend himself if need be. Although he would rather not kill, he will if he has no choice.

Bio: To be revealed in-game. (He is in search of something or someone but I don't want to spoil it)

[KnightsTemplar]

Name: Duke Arameus Gyllenstierne
Age: 25
Class: Noble Knight
Weapon(s): Longsword,Shield,Lance
Brief Biography:
The Gyllenstierne family has loyally served the King of Caledon since he first rose to take the throne and have been at his side in times of war and peace. In war, the men raised to serve the Kings armies by the Gyllenstiernes have always taken the position of honor- the right flank of the Kings Army, in peace, the Duke has been concidered among the Kings trusted advisors. With the recent death of his Father, Arameus has assumed the Dukedom bestowed to his Father by the King. But now with the King aged and near death with no Heir apparent, rumors of wars beween the Nobles of Caledon, and those not so Noble, flow like an undercurrent across the land, and the new Duke and protector of the Kings western border finds himself in an awkward position, does he continue as his family always has in service to the aged King?, support the raise of a new King?, or even be so bold as to claim the throne for himself?.

[All]

Name: Zenithian Rowel
Age: 34 years
Class: Inquisitor
Weapon(s): Longsword, Rondel Dagger, Some instruments of torture when available

Brief Biography:
Where gold flows, laws are made to direct its stream within boundaries of decency, morality and justice. However, laws alone are powerless unless there exist men trained to apply them. In Caledon, Inquisitors were the highest officers of law: judges and jury, and, in times of necessity, executioners too. Trained in the art of law to judge criminals, in the manners of the sword to fight evil, in medicine to better extract information by the use of torture, and in simple magic tricks that would cause a man to feel friendlier to the judge as to more openly reveal his thoughts, inquisitors stood at the boundary between magic and logic, theirs to be the last stand of morality against the corruption of wealth.
Inquisitor Zenithian Romel was born in Tara, the capital of Caledon. Zenithian's family being merchants of fine crystals and gems, had more than enough money to have young Zenithian instructed by the finest teachers in the capital. They paid to have their children in the academia, and cheered the day when the three brothers were nominated inquisitors. The commerce of crystals passed to Zenithian's sisters, who still run it in the capital.
Unlike his brothers, Zenithian has showed an unhealthy interest in pursuing his knowledge of the magic arts beyond the limits imposed by the laws of Caledon. He has been doing so in secret, starting from improving simple legal spells to slightly increase his strength, stretch his life span, moderately improve his charisma, and so forth. His greatest interest has been about how to bind souls, as to subdue the will of another man to his own.
With the crumbling of Caledon and new forces claiming their ways to the throne, there is going to be a lot of work for Inquisitor Zenithian.

[Knighthawk]

Aside from the picture seen, he carries a multitude of scars from twelve years in the arenas most upon his back and legs where he hasn't been tattooed yet. Each year he was given another tattoo, each cheek(2) each shoulder (4) each arm (6) each wrist (8) two on the chest(10) and two on the stomach(12).

Name:
Names have power, you may not know my true name, but you may call me 'Blue'
Age:
25/50
Class:
Gladiator
[Notable equipment:
Axe: His favored possession, the head is made from a piece of starmetal (meteorite) as his award from finishing the grand gladiator games and one part of a ten piece set. HE will never trade blows with anyone else who has a piece of the ten.
Longsword: Just a pretty bauble from a treasure hoard, it is iron blade and copper crossguard with pretty glass.
Collar and wrist shackles: He chains himself every night so that if he has nightmares, his thrashing about does minimal damage.
Traveling supplies: Backpack, bedroll, block and tackle, crowbar, rope rations, water, lantern, and a book to write things down.
Shield: He carries a simple steel large round to use as a hat in the rain, a grill to cook from and a pan to sift for gold in riverbeds.
Tattoos: his blue markings were made from the blood and scales of a blue dragon, imbuing him with electrical resistance and natural armor in those places.
Brief Biography
Born a woodsman, he lived his life plainly for many years until raiders came to the village. He was captured and sold into a gladiator kennel where he fought for his life constantly for over a decade. Finally after twelve years of combat in the 'little circles', he was patronized by a hero who offered to pay his entry fee to the freedom games; a brutal contest of 1000 others fighting for their freedom. Day by day he fought in 100 rounds one hour at a time with barely time to rest much less sleep between bouts until he and nine others were the finalists and granted their freedom with a keepsake item to prove their worth. Out of gratitude he travels with the one who freed him as he searched for a cure to his nightmares. (Open for someone to have been his patron, preferably a mage or noble)

[Rinn]

Name: Rin Nakimura / Raziel Azharat

Age: 29 / unknown

Class: Samurai/ Smoke Demon

Weapon(s):

- This Katana has been passed down the Nakimura bloodline for generations. The blade itself was forged and cooled down in the water bath containing the blood of his Ancestors in the mix. Giving the blade a slight reddish-orange tinge.

Raziel imbued the sword with the power to absorb life upon a killing blow with this blade. Sharing the victims lifeforce between Rin and Raziel. Granting a kind of accelerated healing to Rin for a short time, and Raw power to Raziel. It only happens during the final killing blow, and only if the blade deemed his opponent a worthy warrior in battle. Warriors consider it an honorable death if the blade chooses to take their soul since it would mean they were an honorable warrior.

Brief Biography: Rin was trained since birth to be a noble warrior, a samurai. He had no other choice due to the curse that was imbued upon their bloodline hundreds of years ago. He studied swordsmanship, strategy, literature, math, art etc. As all samurai did. At the age of 17, Rin was forced to carry on the Ritual of carrying the ancient smoke demon, Raziel Azharat, into his own body. Sharing a human shell between two souls. One human, one Demon.

It was a curse relayed upon them from their great great grandfather who could not bare children. So he made a pact with a Smoke demon that if he was given the ability to give birth to a healthy, male boy, he would give his own life to the demon. Raziel did not want an old, frail mans body. Instead he desired the child itself be a vessel for him to symbiotically bond with in which to live forever and experience life as a human. Something he always desired. The man agreed and offered Raziel his sword as an oath and a promise. Raziel took the sword and placed himself inside. "Take this Blade and offer it to your son when he comes of age. In that which he will do the same when he bares child." Raziels voice echoed.

As was done years ago, is done yet again when Rin was handed the katana during the ritual, Raziel's smoke-filled soul writhed itself around Rin and slowly made his way into his chakra. Replacing his blood with the demons smoke and his eyes turning jet black. Rin's skin paled, and toughened and he no longer had the need to sleep. Giving the knowledge and experience learned from his ancestors, but almost instantly aging him 5 years. The drawback from the demons posession is the body cannot normally hold two souls. Therefore stressing the body to age twice as fast. When he turns 20, he will look almost 30, at thirty, he will look almost 50, and so on.

[Icos211]

Name: Jukka Torrisson, of Åttomack
Age: 28
Class: Heavy Warrior
Weapon(s): Long sword, tower shield, and the bulk of his body and armor.
Brief Biography: There was a place in Taborisch for warriors of Jukka's class, bulking up the armies of the various ice-pack tribes who so constantly warred with one another. All of his life, as he grew taller and thicker, he had trained for the role of battle field titan; to become a living siege tower of barely mobile brute destruction. His body swelled as he, fully clad in armor weighing more than some entire villages' populace, was forced to heave monstrous shards of sea ice by his father. Torri Äkkässon of Åttomack, his master of Heavy Warriordom that had spawned the bull of Jukka was by far the most famed battle field juggernaut in the icy realm, and brought his only son up to aspire to an equal level of greatness.

Finally a day came when Jukka had earned the right to fight along side his father and a few other warriors of the revered class in a grand battle. Victorious were they, and esteem and glory were in Jukka's hands. He fought more battles valiantly and powerfully, the ice cracking beneath his boots. However, one single fight changed all that he had. A rouge from Valentera had been employed by the opposing clan, and his swiftness alone exposed every flaw of the Heavy Warrior's style of warfare. The rogue climbed straight up the gargantuan plates of armor and forced his infernal dagger into the throats of Jukka's colossal comrades, and the ponderous and cumbersome knights were helpless to save themselves or eachother. With the weakness of juggernauts now painfully apparent the clans of Taborisch turned more and more to their swampy neighbor for thieves to counter Jukka and his brethren.

Without any further opportunity of employment, shunned by his native people for his newly exploited faults, and for fear of his very life on or off the battle field, Jukka took his armor and fled to the south, to a forest near the border in the isolationist Caledon. There he found little acceptance in the aboriginal Caledonian peoples, being as obviously foreign as he was. Thus he took to a hut in the woods to carry on his days, heaving boulders and hauling centuries old trees to keep his shape and relying on a small village of elves and other little acknowledged fae for food in exchange for heavy lifting and protection.


I know it was supposed to be a brief biography, but I'm not good at brief.... This is as short as I could make it.

[Rapidfire]

This is all looking excellent so far. I'm duly impressed by the variety.

Although I haven't said it yet, some of you have taken the initiative of establishing geography within the parameters of what I've already mentioned. Feel free to continue to do so. I've set the floor, but the ceiling is as high as you want to make it. Also, just a question for everyone: how regularly can you post? I'd like to know now to get a sense of how the story ought to be paced. If your availability changes over time, please say something in this thread to give everyone the courtesy of a heads-up.

[Icos211]

Probably not once per day, but I can hope for once or twice per week. However, I will be looking for a new job here soon, so no telling what may happen after that.

[Kagamine]

I'm assuming it's not required that our characters are human? All my ideas for characters so far are a bit... out there.

On that note, I might join.

[Rapidfire]

"Out there," you say? Color me intrigued as to what you're thinking. If you can elaborate on what you've conceived, then maybe we'll come to some kind of accord.