Illustration kindly loaned by Brand. Check the man's gallery!
TL;DR Summary:
- Theme is similar to the work of Robert Howard.
- Fantasy; we start with low fantasy but are coming into an awakening of high fantasy elements and beings. The legends return.
- Dark Ages tech level seems perfect for this setting, incidentally.
- The Guardians of Dara, the ruling body of the city have been slain in horrific fashion and it is up to the successors of the Guardians not only to steady the city in these tough times, but find out how their predecessors were slain.
- The new Guardians are the characters; veteran adventurers that rode together at one point to bring down King Pykas of Selander and his minion, the sorceror Cyrabassis, while still young.
- They faced magical beasts that were the stuff of tales, but people took it for the boasting of drunks and the characters stopped discussing this brief brush with magic.
- The characters have since retired from adventuring. As heroes in Dara they were offered all sorts of opportunities -- in each person's own way they've managed to be successful, though in some very different fields.
- On the other hand, they have different viewpoints, interests and belief. The characters should disagree on some things, perhaps fundamentally. Some in the group are allies and others are enemies. This is meant to promote a degree of strife between characters, and hard decision making.
- I am allowing different races, but the differences are cultural; everyone's lost the magic -- it's the stuff of myth and superstition. These races have the same lifespan as humanity, but different cultural beliefs and practices, and obviously different physical characteristics, but they too do not have magic.
- Just a note, let's avoid modern naming conventions in favor of working with syllables and sounds to create something that sounds different. No Devons, Chrises or Bobs. :)
In Character Info:
Dara is an ancient city, one that has fallen on hard times and has survived much. The re-establishment of trade routes and an influx of foreigners has given the city a new vitality in these times, and it is seeing a turnaround in her fortunes.
Twenty years ago, a band of young, green adventurers were swept up in Dara's finest hour, a defense against the legions of King Pykas of Selander, who threatened to take the entire region by force in an ambitious effort to forge a huge kingdom out of a gaggle of dusty, ancient city states on the continent of Aluth.
He was assisted in this endeavor by an advisor by the name of Cyrabassis, an attainted and disavowed priest of Hazathalra whose dark reputation for ritual and sorcery was known far and wide. Many victories were attributed to his dark arts, though most would say that such things were coincidental -- fortuitous weather, people falling asleep. These were explainable, to a point. In the end, it was the characters that brought Cyrabassis low -- they raided into his lair, the catacombs beneath ancient ruins, and brought him out in chains, gagged and blinded, battered, bloodied and shaking from the things they saw despite their victory. King Pykas, also involved in the fell ritual the characters disrupted, was slain, as were things that were only in the realm of legend. To ensure the secrets of the place, known as Melazus, stayed buried, they flooded the place with water diverted from the River Dara and caused it to be buried in mud and muck forevermore.
Cyrabassis disappeared years ago from his captivity, and had not been heard from since. In that time, the characters somewhat forgot what they saw, rationalized it away or just simply stopped talking about it rather than face the ridicule and the skepticism as they went about their subsequent business, establishing themselves in positions of wealth, power and influence within Dara.
Dara has since flourished -- others have come to the place, like the characters, to make their fortunes in the dusty hinterlands, this forgotten and ancient land that still serves as a crossroad of spice and other trade goods. The region is tumultuous -- it wasn't at peace before Pykas tried to conquer it and it hasn't been since Pykas died, but Dara is confident once more, as it recaptures its old, dimly remembered glory and rebuilds itself into something better.
Despite these good times, there are rumors from the North of shadows and flame, of things the grandmothers told their children, or which drunkards boasted of in the wineshops; handsigns are made to ward them off, but they have never been seen -- everyone knows it is merely imagination, and these things can't possibly be true. The stories are fragmentary and varied.
Then the Guardians are slain in council by something, their bodies strewn apart in their chambers in a monstrous fashion, rent into fleshy shreds.
New Guardians are chosen -- in their fear, and reflecting the esteem they hold the outlanders that came to help bring in a new age in Dara, they choose the heroes that saved the city in its last hour of need. This diverse group, all living within the city, but who have gone their own ways and sometimes have found each other at odds now must come together and not only steady Dara in her time of need, but also, they must face the past.
Because they had seen the sort of monster that could do this before. In Melazus.
Twenty years ago, a band of young, green adventurers were swept up in Dara's finest hour, a defense against the legions of King Pykas of Selander, who threatened to take the entire region by force in an ambitious effort to forge a huge kingdom out of a gaggle of dusty, ancient city states on the continent of Aluth.
He was assisted in this endeavor by an advisor by the name of Cyrabassis, an attainted and disavowed priest of Hazathalra whose dark reputation for ritual and sorcery was known far and wide. Many victories were attributed to his dark arts, though most would say that such things were coincidental -- fortuitous weather, people falling asleep. These were explainable, to a point. In the end, it was the characters that brought Cyrabassis low -- they raided into his lair, the catacombs beneath ancient ruins, and brought him out in chains, gagged and blinded, battered, bloodied and shaking from the things they saw despite their victory. King Pykas, also involved in the fell ritual the characters disrupted, was slain, as were things that were only in the realm of legend. To ensure the secrets of the place, known as Melazus, stayed buried, they flooded the place with water diverted from the River Dara and caused it to be buried in mud and muck forevermore.
Cyrabassis disappeared years ago from his captivity, and had not been heard from since. In that time, the characters somewhat forgot what they saw, rationalized it away or just simply stopped talking about it rather than face the ridicule and the skepticism as they went about their subsequent business, establishing themselves in positions of wealth, power and influence within Dara.
Dara has since flourished -- others have come to the place, like the characters, to make their fortunes in the dusty hinterlands, this forgotten and ancient land that still serves as a crossroad of spice and other trade goods. The region is tumultuous -- it wasn't at peace before Pykas tried to conquer it and it hasn't been since Pykas died, but Dara is confident once more, as it recaptures its old, dimly remembered glory and rebuilds itself into something better.
Despite these good times, there are rumors from the North of shadows and flame, of things the grandmothers told their children, or which drunkards boasted of in the wineshops; handsigns are made to ward them off, but they have never been seen -- everyone knows it is merely imagination, and these things can't possibly be true. The stories are fragmentary and varied.
Then the Guardians are slain in council by something, their bodies strewn apart in their chambers in a monstrous fashion, rent into fleshy shreds.
New Guardians are chosen -- in their fear, and reflecting the esteem they hold the outlanders that came to help bring in a new age in Dara, they choose the heroes that saved the city in its last hour of need. This diverse group, all living within the city, but who have gone their own ways and sometimes have found each other at odds now must come together and not only steady Dara in her time of need, but also, they must face the past.
Because they had seen the sort of monster that could do this before. In Melazus.
Out of Character Info:
The characters are older, retired adventurers, long since gone their own ways in retirement or independent business. They are influential people in various ways, be it wealth or position or a combination of the two. They can hold posts in the city, such as high priest of a given temple or as a commander of a group of the guards (Not all of 'em. :)) or as the head of a guild (thieves?) or trading house. There are a lot of options.
There is no -obvious- magic -- as indicated, it is a shocking and legendary thing, and these characters were scarred by what they saw. Deities do -not- generally answer calls (though they can, since there is magic in this setting) in a public fashion, though a character may hear from one once in a decade if they are a devoted servant.
Or perhaps I should say that there is no magic yet. You should absolutely reserve potential for it in your characters if you want, and not rule out the supernatural, but they are coming to it as neophyes. A mystic character with a hint of the mystery of magic to them, perhaps enshrouded in ritual and passed down superstition from their culture/family is acceptable, like a palm reader or someone with a tarot deck -- it works, but it can be explained away. No fireballs.
I am allowing races; elves, dwarves and so forth, but their lifespans are human and their magic is a little remembered dream of the dawn times, not their day to day dealings. They venerate the things they venerate as a source of cultural pride, but they are not magically adept. There are orcs, of course, what would we do without 'em, and goblinoid races, but they are in the same state, though they are in the same boat-- the gods only whisper in the ears of their few chosen, but the power is a well run dry.
Of course, as I indicated, the RP is about what happens when that power once again flows, when the well can be drawn from again. But the theme I want to convey is the shock of the characters as they face the legendary spring into form.
I know this mirrors George R.R. Martin in a sense, but this stuff stems from the works of other authors that are colleagues, like Robert Jordan, or authors that predate him like Robert Howard or H.P. Lovecraft.
The region of the setting of Dara, the continent of Aluth, is a dryer/more arid sort of place. Think Israel and Lebanon, or perhaps Armenia and Iran -- these places have their lush spots of green, and Dara is also such a place, sitting on the banks of the River Dara, which it is named for. But there are other parts that are rocky and hilly badlands, desert wadis and dry places in general. It is a region of city states and trade wars and fights over commerce, an exciting and sometimes amoral place of danger and mystery.
The characters, of course, ought to be foreigners of various sorts -- and not only that, they should definitely -not- agree on how things are done. Some love each other, others loathe each other, but they are, for better or for worse, the Guardians of Dara.
There is no -obvious- magic -- as indicated, it is a shocking and legendary thing, and these characters were scarred by what they saw. Deities do -not- generally answer calls (though they can, since there is magic in this setting) in a public fashion, though a character may hear from one once in a decade if they are a devoted servant.
Or perhaps I should say that there is no magic yet. You should absolutely reserve potential for it in your characters if you want, and not rule out the supernatural, but they are coming to it as neophyes. A mystic character with a hint of the mystery of magic to them, perhaps enshrouded in ritual and passed down superstition from their culture/family is acceptable, like a palm reader or someone with a tarot deck -- it works, but it can be explained away. No fireballs.
I am allowing races; elves, dwarves and so forth, but their lifespans are human and their magic is a little remembered dream of the dawn times, not their day to day dealings. They venerate the things they venerate as a source of cultural pride, but they are not magically adept. There are orcs, of course, what would we do without 'em, and goblinoid races, but they are in the same state, though they are in the same boat-- the gods only whisper in the ears of their few chosen, but the power is a well run dry.
Of course, as I indicated, the RP is about what happens when that power once again flows, when the well can be drawn from again. But the theme I want to convey is the shock of the characters as they face the legendary spring into form.
I know this mirrors George R.R. Martin in a sense, but this stuff stems from the works of other authors that are colleagues, like Robert Jordan, or authors that predate him like Robert Howard or H.P. Lovecraft.
The region of the setting of Dara, the continent of Aluth, is a dryer/more arid sort of place. Think Israel and Lebanon, or perhaps Armenia and Iran -- these places have their lush spots of green, and Dara is also such a place, sitting on the banks of the River Dara, which it is named for. But there are other parts that are rocky and hilly badlands, desert wadis and dry places in general. It is a region of city states and trade wars and fights over commerce, an exciting and sometimes amoral place of danger and mystery.
The characters, of course, ought to be foreigners of various sorts -- and not only that, they should definitely -not- agree on how things are done. Some love each other, others loathe each other, but they are, for better or for worse, the Guardians of Dara.
