UPDATE: Some things to note that have been brought up.

UPDATE 2: IC and OOC

1: This rp is FREE. I've never heard of or considered charging people to roleplay...just no, it's free as it should be.

2: This is an rp based off a game my team is working on, it is just roughly based on the world and you will likely head a completely different direction with the story than the actual game will go. For the most part feel free to do what you want like any other rp. Just don't do anything too weird...

3: The Project Shadow thing I mention a few times is a way my team and I are making where people can have their own characters, locations, and so forth created in game. This doesn't have much to do with the rp just an option if you want to take your rp character over to the game. (and if you do so it works like a Kickstarter, it's basically a reward for supporting us with your hard earned money. Except unlike a Kickstarter we start making your content and showing it to you within a couple days so you don't have to worry if we keep our promise)

(This post will be updated a lot as more content is created, be sure to check for post stating *update* to see if the first post has been updated)

Introduction

Let me just start with how I am grateful for this community, it got me into roleplaying and later game development over two years ago. I loved how we could create an infinite number of worlds with lovable (sometimes hated) characters and just have a blast doing it. It inspired me to dedicate the last seventeen months of my life to forming a team and creating a project for everyone to enjoy. It's been a long time in the making and it's just now starting to get some funding in order to come to life. Today I am happy to present to you, Project Shadow.

Project Shadow



(Concepts of character design- Created by Tony)

Project Shadow is my team's effort to create an open world RPG that everyone can be a part of in the making without having any game design skills. What this means is that characters you come up with, locations to visit, and quest to go on, are in part, created by the community. We'll be working alongside our supporters to bring their content to life and make sure that the world has a little piece of everyone in it.

In this case we'll be roleplaying ideas that will later go into Project Shadow if you so choose.

The World

(Concept for Urbi Lupi, aka the City of Wolves-Created by Erel)

The Earth we know today has long been lost. All that is left is rubble of a past age, one forgotten in the passage of time. That which was not claimed by nature has been used to rebuild this new world. Humans have begun to recover and have begun to build towns and cities again but much like when the Romans were overtaken by barbarians the world has plunged into yet another dark age. One where humans are not alone.

For a time dragons plagued the land, among other undesirables like bandits and the cruelty of nature. But it was due to dragons that humanity took a turn towards the light. Individuals throughout the world discovered that they could form bonds with dragons, not only did these unique individuals have the ability to tame these incredibly powerful beast but they themselves began to share abilities to that of their dragon. These people became known as Dragon Lords, which for a time protected their home and helped it grow. These villages became towns and these towns fused to form cities. One day these dragon lords came together and formed a council in which they formed an allegiance that created a nation. A nation that would be ruled by delegates and not the Dragon Lords themselves. Instead the Dragon Lords would act as guardians keeping bandits at bay and helping people survive the brutality of nature. This council created a time of peace and prosperity, but it didn't last.

One of these Dragon Lords formed a group in secrecy which sought to overthrow the council and replace it with one that had direct control over Novus Anima and it's people. In one sudden attack these traitors started a war that resulted in the death of nearly every Dragon Lord, be them traitor or council member. Those that survived went into hiding and in five years not a single one has been seen since. The cities that had prospered under the council once again faced the dangers of bandits and nature without anyone to guide or protect them.

How it Works

Basically the creation process works like a character sheet. You fill in the needed information as well as any extra details you want to add and then our artist get started on bringing it to life. When the website for Project Shadow launches you would select a region in the world you wish to create your content, you then select what type of content you would like to make, and the details of the content. So for example, you could make a basic character that lives in the region of Shio, a coastal city that is based around trade and fishing. Here's a list of character types as I imagine they will be the most popular choice for roleplayers since that's what we make most often.


For locations it's more straight forward, what type of location is it? What size is it? Are there any specific details about the location?

(Lineart- Created by Erel)

(Hunter's Guild Concept- Created by Tony)

How do You Participate

We want this world to be one a community of hundreds, maybe even thousands, share in the making of. That's not all going to happen here at the guild but it's a good place to start. The long term goal is to have this game fund itself, I work for free but the five artist, composer, and other programmer are freelancers that I have been working with over the last year or so. For now we're not asking for money, not yet. That's not why I'm here. I'm here so you guys can come up with ideas, play around, and in a sense, find the flaws in our plan so we can fix them and improve before we start asking for money. Then if you do end up liking what you've come up with and you want it/them to be in the game, then when we launch the Project Shadow website you can go over there and send it in for our team to work on. Which at that point we just ask that you cover the cost of the art/animation, all the writing and programming will be done by me for free to make your creation not just look tangible but also be believable.

What is the Roleplay about?

The goal of the roleplay is to give you some freedom to make what you want but keep it close enough to the rules of Project Shadow so that if you want your creations to be in the game they still make sense there. Which in short, the only rule is that the creations need to make sense in the world of Novus Anima. No lizard men if we don't have lizard men in the world.

To make things easier we're going to stick to one region for now and expand as time goes on and people get exposed to all that thee is to know about the world. (Then you guys can sort of help each other grow and figure out things)

That region is...

Urbi Lupi

Also known as The City of Wolves, this city is built into the base of a mountain a part of the eastern mountain range. The locals have been a tough group of survivalist. They make homes from the wood of the forest, stone from the mountains, and the rubble left from the old world. They make clothes from the local game, make a profit from the local mines, and bear through the harsh winters. Given it's name for the unique race of people that live there known as lycans. For the last 200 years the lycan and human population there has gotten along well, though when the mines ran dry soon after the council collapsed, the economy plummeted and blame has been shifting amongst the locals. First the rich were to blame, then later lycans.

(Civilian Outfit Design- Created by Tony)



(House Concepts- Created by Erel)



Recently a number of riots broke out leading to homes being burned down, people being hurt, and a few even losing their lives. King Julian of the Capitol City, has sent in a small army of The White Cross. An elite army that has been growing in numbers under the command of the king himself.

(White Cross Knight Concept- Created by Tony)


(White Cross Bowman)


(White Cross Juggernaut)


They're not the only strangers inside the city. In an effort to gather much needed equipment members of Illuminous, a deadly group of assassins from the south, have come to trade but in doing so have left themselves trapped inside the cities walls as the strongest blizzard in a decade covers the roads in a blanket of white death.

(Heron Concept)


(Toad Concept)


(Scorpion Concept)


What happens when an army of armored giants, a group of desperate assassins, and a population of starving civilians struggle through the winter? Only time will tell...

Where do you find info about the world/game/project?

For now the best place to go is our wikia page, which is in an earlier stage but still has a couple hours of info if you really want to read it all. I'll be moving some info to this post and update it over time but if you want to know everything theres is to know, and have an edge over others, read the wiki.

Project Shadow Wiki: http://project-shadow.wikia.com/wiki/Project_Shadow_Wiki

Characters
Blank Character Sheet
Axle Niebo
Duggan Ortega
Jek Heiys and Hirum Lindt
Kassandra
Snow
Kreiss Stahl and Mysterious Old Man

Outro

I'll be updating this page as time goes on but for now I just want to see who's interested in this and I'll start to invest more time into getting this set up for you all. I really look forward to working with you all and bringing this world to life.

Keep Dreaming

I hope to be a graphic designer and make games as well. I have some great ideas to share although my family is going through some hard times in terms of finance but I'm really interested and want to help make a game

Jangel13 said
I hope to be a graphic designer and make games as well. I have some great ideas to share although my family is going through some hard times in terms of finance but I'm really interested and want to help make a game

Let's be clear, Project Shadow isn't us asking for team members it's more like a Kickstarter that instead of giving you t-shirts and coffee mugs you get characters and other in game content that are your brainchild. There is no true work required from you besides making a character sheet, or location sheet. If you want to draw something that is fine but not needed.

Thank you for your interest and I look forward to being in this roleplay with you

works for me :) ill be here when your ready to start

Erel is finishing up a concept for the main road in Urbi Lupi that pretty much splits the city in two. I'll upload a high res finished picture either tonight or tomorrow!

Jangel13 said
works for me :) ill be here when your ready to start

^

This seems like a very cool idea, I'd be happy to help out.

Lycans? Like Wolf people?

Also if you need Voice Actor, I can help with that. :)

This is such a brilliant idea in terms of building a community! Much better than just putting it on Kickstarter and begging for money! I wouldn't mind writing out some lore or just making characters! I'll keep a very interested eye on this though! Also, might I add that you're putting a lot of weight on your shoulders if you're the only guy coding this!

NarcissisticPotato said
This is such a brilliant idea in terms of building a community! Much better than just putting it on Kickstarter and begging for money! I wouldn't mind writing out some lore or just making characters! I'll keep a very interested eye on this though! Also, might I add that you're putting a lot of weight on your shoulders if you're the only guy coding this!

Thanks I thought so too, it's going to be a challenge for sure but I have a great team. We just need the community to grow so I can quit the day job and work on this full time because you're right, there is a LOT of work to do!

Charlie said
Lycans? Like Wolf people?Also if you need Voice Actor, I can help with that. :)

Yes I mean wolf people, though they're a bit different here not all about murdering peeps :D. As for voice acting that is something we may or may not do, for trailers yes but for the game its self you can't just do a couple voices, you have to voice everyone. That's hundreds of voices by the time this is done. So we may stick to text for now unless we just get overfunded to do things like that.

GreenGrenade said
This seems like a very cool idea, I'd be happy to help out.

I'm glad to have you. I'll be touching up the character sheets today and putting them up here.

Also we just finished up that concept I was talking about...

(Deleted double post)

Below is a blank character sheet and a sample one filled out to show a basic idea of what a sheet could look like. Since this is a roleplay the character types aren't going to fit exactly but I'd like you to put them anyways For example a Basic character is one that would be in the background where as an advanced would either provide or be a part of quest and talk with the player. (These require more art/animation, and programming in game). So let's just assume everyone that isn't a friend, keeper, or faction member/captain is an advanced character. I'm going to briefly sum up each character a bit further so they make sense in the RP.

Basic/Advanced: Regular towns person essentially, you have more freedom in what they do for a living and such.

Keeper: These are for the most part shop owners. They could own anything from an wepaons/armor shop, to a bar, to an inn, just as long as it's something beneficial to the player. (This is as far as the game goes, if you want to make a keeper that is a tailor for the RP that's fine but it will very likely not be in game)

Faction Members: Now as far as the game goes the player has a choice in who they work with, each city tends to have two factions to choose from. As you help a faction with quest and such your relationship with them increases with them and decreases with the other faction. So faction members could either be enemies or allies based on your choices. Allied members give you quest and such but do not join you in combat (that's what friends do). Enemy members are just that, enemies you fight.

Faction Captain: Captain's are elite versions of a member type. For example there could be dozens of White Cross Knights in a city but only one or two captains, and these captains are powerful (basically mini bosses). As an ally these are the guys that give you the quest for that faction.

Note You can make whatever you want in the RP but note that captains are far, far more expensive to make in the game if you want to put your character in it. Why this is, is because once we make a member like the Knight we just clone that one character model over and over again because they have their face and body covered in armor (or robes) we don't have to make any changes art wise. This means making a member in game means you're basically just giving them a name and a personality. the captains however are much more custom and detailed. They have a unique look and a set of special abilities that have to be animated along with the basic ones. (Cost wise we're talking $20 for the member since you just give them a name and personality, and about $700 for the captain as they are unique to you and far more labor intensive, but also awesome)

Friend: Friends are by far the coolest characters in the game that you can co-design. These characters like the factions have a relation system. As you work with them or otherwise make them happy your relationship improves and you can go on special quest with them and they, unlike everyone else, can join you in combat. They are as detailed as faction captains as far as combat goes but have more depth in that they have a storyline of their own you can explore. Some players may have one set of friends where others have a completely different set. These friends will also continue being more and more important as we make more games in the series. (As far as the RP goes just make sure they are capable of combat so that if you wish to put them in game they can be added without issue)

Major: This is the only character type that CAN'T be made by the community. These are characters like Dean (the player) and BlackLight (his companion) that we as the team need control over so we can make sure there is a set storyline and the game mechanics work like we want them to. These characters will only make up 10% or so of the characters in game (if that) so you're not missing out on much.

---

Blank Character Sheet

Character Type: (Basic, Advanced, Keeper, Friend, Faction Member, or Faction Captain)

Location: Urbi Lupi (other locations will be available at a later date)

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Race: (Human or lycan)

Appearance:

Height:

Weight:

Hair:

Eye Color:

Skin Color: (Include fur color if lycan)

Typical Clothing: (Perhaps casual and combat if needed)

Characteristics:
-Sample 1
-Sample 2
-Sample 3
-Sample 4

Skills: (Only applies to friends or faction captains)

Skill 1:

Skill 2:

Skill 3:

Traits: (Non combat related skills/talents)

Short Back Story:

Example

Character Type: Friend

Location: NA

Name: Val

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Appearance:

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 130 lbs

Hair: Brown with a red tint

Eye Color: Brown

Skin Color: White (Fairly tan)

Typical Clothing:

Casual- A red dress over a white blouse

Combat- Black Attire with a green leather jacket, with leather armor and boots. A hunter's outfit with floral designs. (Shows both her artistic side and her capability to defend herself)

Characteristics:
-Generous
-Social
-Passionate about art
-Survivor, can handle herself
-Wealthy background, hermit by choice

Short Back Story:
Valencia is a very capable young woman who isn't afraid to pursue her aspirations, even if they mean putting her life in danger. At the age of fifteen she ran away from home to travel the world and pursue what she always wanted which was to paint the beauties of Novus Anima, both it's landscapes and it's people. Traveling from village to village, town to town, Val had to learn to take care of herself without anyone's help. She learned what plants were edible and which were poisonous. She learned how to treat many injuries and ailments. She taught herself how to build a shelter and hold out for winter and how to use a bow both for hunting food and protecting herself from predators both beast and human.

Everything she has been through over the last six years have made her who she is today. She is both an artist and a hunter. A socialite and a survivor. She is Val, and that's all she ever wanted to be.

Art: (Done by the team not you)

Character Type: Friend

Location: Urbi Lupi

Name: Axle Niebo

Gender: Male

Age: 35

Race: Lycan

Appearance:

Height: 6"2'

Weight: 210lbs.

Hair: White (long, down his back)

Eye Color: Emerald

Skin Color: White as well as his fur color.

Characteristics:
Quiet
Trusting
Honest
Loyal

Skill:

Skill 1: Duel wielding old world swords

Skill 2: Use/knowledge of old world tech

Skill 3: Acrobatics

Short Back Story: Axle loved old world tech since he was a pup, he explore any and all old world runes near Urbi Lupi. At the age of twenty, he found two old world swords, he sold other tech but the sword he wouldn't sell for the world after he had a black smith work on them to get them in battle ready condition.

Axle's home is small (19ft by 19ft with a door to the bath room), full of clutter from old world runes, and is attached to a larger building. He typically wears clothes he found or made from rags from the old world. He doesn't like being in his human form, but since its looked down on he remains in human form.

Character Type: Friend

Location: Urbi Lupi

Name: Duggan Ortega

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Race: Human

Appearance:

Height: 6ft

Weight: 230 lbs

Hair: obsidian

Eye Color: brown

Skin Color: dark brown

Characteristics:
-energetic
-fun loving
-two faced
-likes to look good wherever he goes

Skills: (Only applies to friends or faction captains)

skill: poisons dart throw

skill 2: rope dart choke

skill 3: needle barrage

trait 1: pickpocket

trait 2: lock picking

trait 3: silver tonged

Short Back Story: he was raised alone and as a result he had to learn to take what he wants so he learned the thievery arts of lock picking and pick pocketing, he works for whoever buys his services but he doesn't kill anyone he makes sure to always grab whatever his mark is like jewelry or documents. He prefers to use his wits to avoid a confrontation then to fight, an asset whenever trickery is an option

Charlie said
Character Type: FriendLocation: Urbi LupiName: Axle NieboGender: MaleAge: 35Race: LycanAppearance: Height: 6"2'Weight: 210lbs.Hair: WhiteEye Color: EmeraldSkin Color: (assuming you mean fur) WhiteCharacteristics:QuietTrustingHonestLoyalSkill:Skill 1: Duel wielding old world swordsSkill 2: Use/knowledge of old world techSkill 3: Acrobatics Short Back Story: Axle loved old world tech since he was a pup, he explore any and all old world runes near Urbi Lupi. At the age of twenty, he found two old world swords, he sold other tech but the sword he wouldn't sell for the world after he had a black smith work on them to get them in battle ready condition.Axle's home is small (19ft by 19ft with a door to the bath room), full of clutter from old world runes, and is attached to a larger building. He typically wears clothes he found or made from rags from the old world.

Good job on the character sheet, I'm glad to see there were few issues in my sample and you were able to do quite well. Couple things to note...

Skin Color: I didn't think about fur, good pointing that out. Actually what I meant was skin in human form but a fur color should be included as well for those lycan types.

I'm going to throw in some quick info about Lycans below since they have a few more things to talk about regular humans don't...

Example:

Gray, keeper of the Lunar Downpour tavern.


As you can see he is in human form, lycans can go back and forth at will though strong emotions such as sadness or anger can trigger the transformation as well. (Being in lycan form is okay but looked down on as a lack of control, much like a drunk man starting fights with everyone he sees)

Lycans while in human form look just like humans, the only way you can really tell the difference is they have more variety in the color of their eyes. Where as humans can only have blue, green, and brown; lycans can have more wolf like colors including gray, red, and orange/gold.

Their are benefits in being a lycan, most notably are the slightly longer life spans and their incredible strength. There is a downside though and that is they suffer from diseases pure humans would not be able to contract. The most notable one being extreme cases of mange, causing the skin to peel off and often leads to death.

The lycan race is most commonly found in Urbi Lupi and is very rarely found elsewhere. Two hundred years prior to the events of the game(s), lycans were seen as a disease. One that would turn a man into a killer and thus must be killed in turn. Legend has it that a woman and a lycan worked together to bring peace between the humans and lycans so that they could live peacefully. (Avoiding spoilers here so no details) Though recently with the economic collapse people are looking for someone to blame.

---

That about sums that up I'll be sure to go back and include fur color into the CS for lycan characters. I look forward to seeing how Axle turns out to be. (On a side note the old world is nearly 2,500 years old. Metal of any sort, even swords, would very likely be so worn down that if they weren't a pile of rust they'd be unfixable. I'll let you use them since it's not too bad just don't want people to say they found an ak-47 lying around in perfect condition...what type of swords are they? Katanas, schimitars, broadsword, claymore, etc.)

(computer lag caused multiple postings sorry)

(another lag post)

(double post deleted)

im going to say now that just about everything is out of pocket for me....all I can do is make the character and you decide if want to keep them or not.

Jangel13 said
im going to say now that just about everything is out of pocket for me....all I can do is make the character and you decide if want to keep them or not.

Totally fine, perhaps we'll create something that will allow us broke people to get content too :D

edit: May I add that I'm not making a decision in keeping your characters or not, it's not a matter of do I want them or not. I want everyone that wants to participate to be able to, it's a matter of being able to pay for them.