So this is something i was doing before the old site went down, and never relaunched it. Most of the people that i remember doing it with are either gone, or are running under new names so I don't know of them. All that aside, I want to see if I can reboot this and make it as epic as it once was.
So, onto the setting!!!
A race know as 'Shifters' dominate the world. They can, at will, change to a beast related to their element for the purposes of battle, or sport. Multi-tailed foxes, golems, lizards dripping with magma, flying angelic bringers of death, and even formless floating demonic presences are all within the capabilities of the Shifters. They are masters of magic; able to learn their chosen element to a degree vastly superior to humanities own capabilities. As a result, humans live tribal lives away from the dominion of the Shifters, leading primitive, warlike lives.
Eventually, Shifters sought to teach the lesser beings, quickly discovering that, while they weren't as powerful, humans were able to learn multiple elements, and learn them far faster than shifters, even though their skill ceiling was much lower.
The first magic taught was the noble, brazen art of pyromancy. The power to control fire spread through the tribe as fast as the flames they had gained control over, and seemingly overnight, the Red Way tribe was born. With this power, they dominated their neighbors, and formed the first human nation with force and bloodshed. One of the most notable applications, was breaching the limit that human kind had, casting a 'Firewall' that killed the user, but was on par with the Shifters power, allowing them to decimate an entire opposing army for the cost of a single life of their own. Dying this way became a mark of honor. Their families were held in the social limelight, with their every need met.
The Shifters, seeing the suffering their teachings had brought the humans, lead them to engage in a short, but harrowingly brutal war that left hundreds of Shifters and thousands of humans dead in its wake. The small fledgling nation of RedWay was crushed, and the Shifters unanimously agreed to never teach humankind magic again. Despite this, an exception was allowed to stand.
before the Shifters descended upon Redway, a human known now simply as 'Gai' cast a firewall upon an opposing human resistance, killing them, but only seriously injuring himself. His survival was unprecedented, and was seen by the elders as a curse. In a way, they were right.
Due to his survival, Gai was cast out of his village before he was allowed to even recover, ending up on the steps of a Shifters estate. She took him in, and despite warnings, began to teach him about her own form of magic.
So The intent is to let people have as much creative freedom as possible, but there are a few limitations that need to be set for the purposes of not breaking up the general plot i have outlined.
Shifters can only control a single form of magic, Humans are discouraged, but if you want to play one, you have to accept that you will be underpowered, and again, wield only one form of magic (at least at the start). Gai technically has two, but the use of fire magic at this point would be extremely taxing on him, and only will probably be used twice. All player characters are servants of another Shifter, at least at the start.
Weapons!
Everyone needs a good blade to keep them company. There are three kinds in this world, your standard steel crafted arms, 'unnamed' weapons, and 'named weapons'
Standard weapons are your usual swords, knives, spears, or any exotic arm you want to use. Unnamed weapon are weapons that have begun to 'awaken', meaning the way you use them will begin effecting how they influence you. for example, a scythe, being a weapon that's more likely to maim than kill on the first stroke, will begin to become evil if the user handles it improperly, and start exerting an evil influence on its user. Named weapons are weapons that have reached the peak of their power. They have been infused with magic by its user by proxy (casting a spell through it, picking up residual magic from a cast, etc). These weapons have minds all their own, and strongly influence their wielder, should he be weak of mind. When they reach this point, they will ask their user for a name. Upon being given one, they will become powerful enchanted armaments that heavily augment their users casting power.
All weapon types are allowed, just keep in mind that magic effectively replaces technology for Shifters, and humans are too tribal to advance to a great degree, so all weapons will generally be medieval sorts of stuff. aka no guns.
Elements are your typical earth water fire and air, with the addition of life and death.
/post
So, onto the setting!!!
A race know as 'Shifters' dominate the world. They can, at will, change to a beast related to their element for the purposes of battle, or sport. Multi-tailed foxes, golems, lizards dripping with magma, flying angelic bringers of death, and even formless floating demonic presences are all within the capabilities of the Shifters. They are masters of magic; able to learn their chosen element to a degree vastly superior to humanities own capabilities. As a result, humans live tribal lives away from the dominion of the Shifters, leading primitive, warlike lives.
Eventually, Shifters sought to teach the lesser beings, quickly discovering that, while they weren't as powerful, humans were able to learn multiple elements, and learn them far faster than shifters, even though their skill ceiling was much lower.
The first magic taught was the noble, brazen art of pyromancy. The power to control fire spread through the tribe as fast as the flames they had gained control over, and seemingly overnight, the Red Way tribe was born. With this power, they dominated their neighbors, and formed the first human nation with force and bloodshed. One of the most notable applications, was breaching the limit that human kind had, casting a 'Firewall' that killed the user, but was on par with the Shifters power, allowing them to decimate an entire opposing army for the cost of a single life of their own. Dying this way became a mark of honor. Their families were held in the social limelight, with their every need met.
The Shifters, seeing the suffering their teachings had brought the humans, lead them to engage in a short, but harrowingly brutal war that left hundreds of Shifters and thousands of humans dead in its wake. The small fledgling nation of RedWay was crushed, and the Shifters unanimously agreed to never teach humankind magic again. Despite this, an exception was allowed to stand.
before the Shifters descended upon Redway, a human known now simply as 'Gai' cast a firewall upon an opposing human resistance, killing them, but only seriously injuring himself. His survival was unprecedented, and was seen by the elders as a curse. In a way, they were right.
Due to his survival, Gai was cast out of his village before he was allowed to even recover, ending up on the steps of a Shifters estate. She took him in, and despite warnings, began to teach him about her own form of magic.
So The intent is to let people have as much creative freedom as possible, but there are a few limitations that need to be set for the purposes of not breaking up the general plot i have outlined.
Shifters can only control a single form of magic, Humans are discouraged, but if you want to play one, you have to accept that you will be underpowered, and again, wield only one form of magic (at least at the start). Gai technically has two, but the use of fire magic at this point would be extremely taxing on him, and only will probably be used twice. All player characters are servants of another Shifter, at least at the start.
Weapons!
Everyone needs a good blade to keep them company. There are three kinds in this world, your standard steel crafted arms, 'unnamed' weapons, and 'named weapons'
Standard weapons are your usual swords, knives, spears, or any exotic arm you want to use. Unnamed weapon are weapons that have begun to 'awaken', meaning the way you use them will begin effecting how they influence you. for example, a scythe, being a weapon that's more likely to maim than kill on the first stroke, will begin to become evil if the user handles it improperly, and start exerting an evil influence on its user. Named weapons are weapons that have reached the peak of their power. They have been infused with magic by its user by proxy (casting a spell through it, picking up residual magic from a cast, etc). These weapons have minds all their own, and strongly influence their wielder, should he be weak of mind. When they reach this point, they will ask their user for a name. Upon being given one, they will become powerful enchanted armaments that heavily augment their users casting power.
All weapon types are allowed, just keep in mind that magic effectively replaces technology for Shifters, and humans are too tribal to advance to a great degree, so all weapons will generally be medieval sorts of stuff. aka no guns.
Elements are your typical earth water fire and air, with the addition of life and death.
/post
