Dinotopia: Terrible Place of Peace OOC

[Vonghese]

Dinotopia: Terrible Place of Peace

IC

Dinotopia is an island somewhere in the Pacific ocean, a place of harmony and peace, a world apart where humans and dinosaurs live in perfect harmony. Humans lend dinosaurs their ingenuity and dexterity, dinosaurs lend humans their wisdom and strength. It's a Utopia, a place where there is no money or barter, no war or discord, little sense of property and less sense of violence. To the outsider, it seems surreal, impossible, and a beacon of hope. After all, humans are by nature greedy, hateful, lustful, covetous creatures. Yet Dinotopia seems to have forgotten that. Everything is gentle peace and cooperation.

And the vast majority of the locals would agree with you. Most... but not all. Some more suspicious and ambitious have observed how the dinosaurs work their subtle influence on the people. After all, who can argue with someone who weighs three tons and can walk through a brick wall like you could walk through grass? Most humans feel inadequate next to the dinosaurs and strive to be worthy of their ancient regard, whether or not they realize it. Too, there is a popular drink, a tea that promotes long life that has an interesting side effect of dampening aggression. There are few who would pass up the chance to live another couple of centuries, and virtually all drink the tea daily.

Yet there are a few who do not.

There is a secret council that has ruled Dinotopia since the first human was washed ashore. The wisest of the dinosaurs correctly discerned men's hearts and inclinations. It was they who first introduced the tea of long life, and they who also knew that not every human who drank of it would be affected correctly. Some would be unaffected, though they would hardly know it, instead wondering at themselves and striving to be more like those around them. But of the few who wouldn't, and of those on whom the tea worked against its design, a small spark constantly danced, threatening to burn down the entire island.

To contain this spark, the dinosaurs created the Wardens.

The Wardens were the secret police of the secret council. Human-Dinosaur pairs who were fully aware of the truth behind the island's peaceful facade constantly stood watch against that spark, ready to stamp it out whenever it danced into existance. Their task is difficult and grim, they have no doubts about that, but also necessary to keep the peace. They carry no weapons, usually trying to reason with the human spark, encouraging him or her to join one of several tiny colonies on offshore islands, where other such humans are free to govern themselves. However, sometimes the Wardens are too late and the human spark has already lit a fire about it, usually in the form of bodies. When that happens, the Wardens spirit the spark away in the night and make him disappear. Usually, their efforts serve the people. They punish murderers and thieves, encourage contempt of the occasional sidewalk preacher, and ensure that peace is kept. For a thousand years and more they have done this.

Every hundred years, a certain colony/flock of Dimorphadons migrate to a different area. Each time, they bring with them a fungus that clashes with the tea plants. For five years after their relocation, the tea plants all work against their intended purpose. Any communities who harvest in that area no longer enjoy the calming effects of the tea. Sometimes, the communities are able to carry on with virtually no change in pace. Sometimes the local dinosaurs are able to keep the suddenly irrational humans under control. But sometimes... chaos reigns. And all the Wardens can do is contain the chaos until the plants thrive again.

This century, it will not be so easy. The time has come. The intended area is just outside of Cornucopia, a city of incredibly fertile land, a place where many things are grown that cannot be had anywhere else. The secret council is rightly concerned. For this task, nearly the entire force of Wardens are dispatched, travelling in their various chosen personas as the mood takes.They have arrived just in time, and are standing by to stamp out the fires of human aggression as they arise...

The Rules:

All the usual, no Godmodding or speedposting. I value quality over quantity, I'd rather get two well written paragraphs that make me appreciate the author than eight pages of drivel. If you want to have a lengthy conversation with another player's character, please collab. A good collaberated post is a joy to read.

Please be accurate in your use of dinosaur names and characteristics. NO FEATHERS!!! The only creatures with feathers are true birds. No dinosaurs have feathers in this roleplay. They look stupid.

You may play as a Warden or a citizen. I recommend creating two character sheets, one for a human character, one for a dinosaur character. Bear in mind that only a very select few know that the tea dampens aggression, and none of the local dinosaurs do. The local dinosaurs will be confused and concerned by the human's increased aggression.

Don't join if you haven't read at least one of the books. They're not hard to find, get them at any library, and are well worth the read. The artwork is stunning, and you'll get a much better grasp of culture and history.

Posting order goes like so: I'll post, then everyone is free to post as they find time. The only reason you should post more than once before I post again is if two or more characters are interacting.

Character Sheet Templates:

Appearance: (If picture)
Name: (Your handle, what they call your character. Include nicknames)
Species: (If Dinosaur)
Age: (Wardens don't drink the tea)
Main Occupation: (Everyone does something, even if it's just Skulking and Laughing Sinisterly)
Personality: (I'd like to see a good exposition of this in the first post)
Background: (Could be as simple as 'Grew up on the farm all his life and never did anything interesting', but that's still important to know.)
Notes: (Anything else that could be relevant, philosophy number of nose hairs, special skills)

[Vonghese]

Appearance:

Name: Djak Skirata

Age: 27

Main Occupation: Warden

Personality: Hot-headed, bitter, suspicious, arrogant.

Background: Djak was born to silversmiths, but grew up listening to tales of the World Beyond from a dolphinback. He heard many things about industry and commerce that impressed him greatly. As a teenager, he began his forays into venture capitalism innocently enough, but when another boy tried to imitate him, Djak aggressively drove him out of business and took over that market. His speculations soon grew to be too much for one fifteen year old to manage, but when he tried to expand he was met with resistance from most. By the time he was eighteen, he was quite frustrated with the people around him and their inability to allow mutually beneficial agreements to increase their material wealth together. His dreams grew grander, even as opposition to the young cutthroat businessman reared its head. By the time he was twenty, he reckoned he’d soared as high as he could without a monetary system, but when he proposed such an arrangement he was met with blank stares and sanctimonious bleats. He decided then to go into politics, in order to effect such changes as might aid others like him. His efforts to gain the city council soon drew the attention of the Wardens, who paid him a visit one night. When it was explained that he had no choice but to cease and desist, he asked instead for a job with the Wardens. It was granted on a probationary status that he earned after two years of work. He takes the hard jobs, the bad-cop roles, and the ugly work.

Notes: Eats meat alongside his friend Slate



Appearance:

Name: Slate

Species: Utahraptor

Age: 31

Main Occupation: Warden

Personality: Cheerful, sarcastic, prone to jokes and lively conversation

Background: A predator by nature, he was reported several times for stalking people in the streets as a young raptor. When he grew up, he worked with expeditions into the Rainy Basin, acting as a scout for several years. Then when he overheard a pack of velociraptors planning to ambush the convoy, he set his own ambush and killed all six of them. He received an offer to join the Wardens a week later.

Notes: Always trying to set Djak up with a date.

[Shingaku]

DAMNIT! I was gonna make a raptor. >.<

Also, I havent read any of the books, But i did watch the full series. May I still join? Please? I love the fact you wont accept Feathered Dinosaurs, too. ^.^

[Vonghese]

Watching the series is ok. Go ahead.

And there are plenty of other badass dinosaurs, Baryonix is a good one. Or Megaraptor.

[Shingaku]

Whats Megaraptor? And, it is alright, that I be a fairly bad tempered security guard, right?

[Vonghese]

Megaraptor's a lot like Baryonix, but walks a bit more upright. They have big claws like velociraptors, but on their forelimbs. And by security guard, do you mean an escort for convoys in the Rainy Basin? Because theft is virtually nonexistant.

[Shingaku]

Yeah, some kind of convoy escort, or something. And do megaraptors do pack stuff?

[Vonghese]

Depends. They're not pack hunters like classic raptors, the name's a little misleading. The current theory is that they were fishers, using their big claw like a gig. Same goes for Baryonix. But they were quick, and fully capable of hunting other dinosaurs as well. Basically, it's up to you. If they're fishers, they're solitary predators, but if they hunt on land, they would have a pack.

[Shingaku]

I'll go with the pack mentality, hence why he's like a mercenary group, for extra protection, through very hazardous terrains. sound good?

[Vonghese]

Works for me.