Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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Stars over the Asphalt

A modern-fantasy roleplay set in Seattle in the year 2015.

Synopsis

Magic users used to feature prominently in ancient human history until the greatest magicians summoned hordes of armies to do battle with their enemies. The bloody conflicts that arose nearly eliminated mankind, and as punishment, the gods erased magic from history, reduced the number of magic users, and limited the power of the magicians. The magicians continued their trade in secret throughout the ages, held together by insecure peace and a pact of secrecy. The day came in the 1900s when the gentle balance was threatened by instability in the world during the First and Second World Wars. The devastating events of the 1900s and beyond and the subsequent problems that arose led to wars breaking among the magicians who practiced in secret. Your characters are among the new people who are soon to be pulled into the fray.
History

Before glass obelisks pierced the skies, there were many gods who dwelled in the mortal world among mankind. That Cradle was blessed, where the four rivers diverged at Eden and where creation leapt from every crack in the desert to populate the barren Earth. Families became clans, clans became tribes, and tribes became nations until every peak of that corner was settled.
In those days, the gods bestowed upon mankind the gifts of their holy countenances: great fertility, long life, enduring peace, and enchanting miracles. The gods in such times saw fit to award humanity new dominion over the earth as reward for the devotion and righteousness of the men who smote the wicked under the blessing of the gods. And by the word, it was done. Men glowed with the new dominion over creation that they then had, and they used such powers to bring happiness and goodness to their lands. However, without discipline new powers beget corruption. Men coveted power for themselves and lorded armies to fight their enemies and conquer the Earth. Their unbridled depravity earned punishment from the gods, and the gods took magic away from most of mankind. Mankind would thenceforth have no memory of magic and see such activities as evil rituals, and the last of the conquerors empowered by magic had their abilities reduced, and they were cast into exile.
As time passed, the remnants of the lowest wars in human history disappeared until they were long forgotten. The old gods returned to the heavenly realms, but generation after generation fate found new disciples for the great conquerors. Squabbles were fought in secret, and no one kept record save the spirits and the gods themselves. So it goes. Times came when the disciples were seen as miracle workers, others came when the disciples were pilloried as heretics and apostates. They became heralded leaders and secluded wisemen. Each generation saw something new, and each generation continued the old work. Youth would be drafted into the task of learning the art and teaching it to the next generation. And the gods saw it was good in their eyes that the secret societies blessed by the Essence of Magic remained secret and that regardless of morality, they acknowledged the responsibilities of the powers.
But nothing is forever, such is the flow of time. The same applied to the fragile peace that the magic users had. The great sufferings felt in the time before and during the dawn of the millennium caused disillusionment, and new rivalries and factions came from the fire. Revolutions and bombs, gas chambers and revelations, revivals and rebirths all shaping a new era in history. Magic users once again embroiled themselves in a great conflict that raged in secret, but this time, the veil of secrecy may fall, threatening the delicate balance of all men know.
Rules

  • Follow not only my rules, but also RPG's rules.
  • Adhere to the Casual Roleplay board standards. That means at least a paragraph each post with decent grammar and spelling, bare minimum. (Tip: Don't rush your posts, use spellcheck, and proofread. That usually takes care of most mistakes.)
  • No godmoding, powerplay, etc. Main thing is that you don't act overpowered or overstep your bounds and ruin the roleplay for others.
  • Keep it cool, and keep it classy.
  • No fighting in the OOC, respect your fellow players.
  • My word is final.
  • Please, keep it real in the roleplay. Nothing outrageous or impossible from your character.
  • If you're going to be out for more than two days, let us know. You don't have to say why, but I'd like an early notice.

None of these rules should really be a problem following as long as you use your best judgment and think before you act.
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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Character Sheet

Feel free to format the character sheet however you wish. Once your character has been approved, you may post your character in the character tab.

Name. Name your characters appropriately, please.
Sex/Gender. Male or female. If necessary, include gender identity.
Age. Your character should be between 16 and 50.

Appearance. If you're describing your character, include important details. Describe their hair, eyes, build, and other basic things about their body. Tell us about what they wear. You can use pictures as references, but please only link to them or put them in hiders. Same rule applies if you're using a picture instead of describing your character.

Personality. What kind of person is your character? Some things that may help you are temperament, MBTI types, likes and dislikes, virtues and vices. Give us strengths and weaknesses.

Skills. What is your character really good at? Magic is not for this section. Are they a painter or a pianist? Tell us here.

Biography. What is your character's background? Where do they hail from? You could tell us about their childhood, their struggles, or their triumphs. Any major occurrences in their life belong here, like an enlightening experience or a new situation.

Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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Lore

History
A brief record of the history of the Earth.

The Six Core Essences of Life
The Six Core Essences govern living things. One may strengthen them to gain power or improve abilities.

Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Tancuras
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Looks great. I'll write up my character as soon as the CS is up. For the record, I'm gonna call dibs on Necromancy right now if that's okay ;D High Unity, I suppose.
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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@Tancuras: Can't call dibs! Anything could happen.

I'll take care of assigning essences in the background. The idea is that characters have no clue about the world that the magically enabled live in. At some point, however, that's going to change. Fate sucks.

Edit: And let's be real here, letting characters learn things on their own is probably best for the development of the roleplay. I'd like to see what the characters want to learn and how the characters handle their new responsibilities. As they do so and the plot moves forward, I'm going to update the lore with new information. Open world? Open world.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tancuras
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Ah, gotcha. Good stuff. I personally prefer starting at "level 1", but most stories I've been in make that an impossibility because everyone else starts off really advanced.

Looking forward to it!
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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Thanks! I feel the same way. In a roleplay where magic plays an important role, I think it's fairer for everyone (at least, all players) to start at the same level and work their way to the top. Everyone can become equally powerful and be equally weak. A toast to a fair playing field.

Edit: Aside from that, does anybody have any particular suggestions for a setting? I was thinking of at least a setting in the United States, but where is a puzzle to me. If we end up with enough players, I could also add another setting to the mix. The year is 2015, where will our characters find themselves?
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tancuras
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How about New York? Bustling cityscape, all types of people, somewhere everyone is familiar with, we get all four seasons, and a varied geography including the ocean. Can't go wrong.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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True, true. I have NYC and Seattle on my list. Both are good options for the kind of roleplay I plan on running, and I have a fondness for both cities.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by yeti100
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yeti100 Amateur Wizard

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Still interested. Working on a character sheet now.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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I think Seattle's a pretty good option since it rains much there, and right now it's the fastest growing city in the US. On top of that, Seattle was inhabited by Native Americans for well over 4,000 years. I thought that'd add to the mood with our characters and their living there. With Mount Rainier in the distance, an ocean just west of the city, and seismic activity, Seattle's the slightly more liberal, more naturally-disastrous version of New York, a New York of the West if you will. Comes with decent public transit and location options, including suburbs and urban developments.

But it's hard to sway from the attractiveness of New York as a city. Diverse, as we've said, a place most people are familiar with, and equally diverse geography. The Emerald City or the City That Never Sleeps? I mostly like to think to separate us from the eastern United States and bring us to the West for a change.

It's really a trivial decision since familiarity is irrelevant, and both cities can be easily introduced or roleplayed in.

Seattle, Washington it is.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by deadpixel101
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Name: Maria Morrio

Sex/Gender: Female, identifies as so.

Age: 19

Appearance: Maria stands at around 5'3 with sun brushed skin and black hair that is kept short to her earlobes at the back, with bangs in the front. Her fave is round and her hazel shaped/colored eyes rather large looking. She has long lashes and well kept brow. She has been told her forehead is quite large seeming which is why she never has it showing from behind her bangs. She has her ears pierced and usually one simple black ring in her right one. She has a toned build, not large though one could call it "dense". She is modest in the chest and she doesn't care to be reminded of that. A large scar splashes across her left shoulder and down to the small of her back. Her descent gives her fringes of hair on her arms and stomach (again don't tell her that). Se often wears sun dresses and boots or flats, striving to always find something with pockets instead of carrying a bag. She accessorizes with hair bands and bracelets/anklets. She is the type to wear more simple looking, presentable clothing, and it would be hard to tell if she was heading to a wine tasting or stopping in at a coffee shop. She is always ready for both.

Personality: Maria has a "strong" personality and would rather do something for herself then have it done. In a slightly reverse manner she will only let those she has grown close to do such things for her. She is a slightly cold person, who tends to do her laughing "on the inside". More business then pleasure she likes to do what wants to get done as fast as possible so it's not a bother later. While she may come of as uncaring or heartless she is the typical "ice queen" where she has a great deal of love and care to go around, she just doesn't know how to properly let it out.

Skills: Maria has been learning violin since a very young age and after many screeching strings has gotten quite good at the craft. She is a listener and will often try to see more then one side of a situation (though her side is usually right). Being the prodigal daughter she is she has also taken part in a few martial arts classes in her youth, though they lacked grace and she eventually settled for fencing (though with little passion). She is an avid reader and aspiring writer, though her lack of willingness to let others see it has stunted her growth somewhat.

Biography: Maria comes from a mother and father who both work very very hard. During her youth they were often in and out of the house quite a bit, though she knew they loved her, and of course they did. A close relationship considering how much time the three spent together, Maria tries her hardest to make them proud, and always has them in the back of her mind. Eventually the wedge of time came between her parents and they parted. Young Maria went with her father, and began her classes as a distraction from her growing loneliness. For a week Maria had gone missing at age 12. In this time she had received her large scar she still bares and changed. Once a very open and earnest girl she became the colder person she is now. While she can't recall what happened in this time, she doesn't seem to bother to try and find out. She began writing her mother after this and they have become closer in recent years. While she has become independent from her father, she still keeps constant contact with him as well. She has worked various positions in a retail makeup store for the last few years, and has been a manager for the last one.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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@deadpixel101: Accepted! :)
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by deadpixel101
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Lovely! Do I move my character in the character tab?

Also just curious about how our magic works. Do we choose ourselves or is it assigned?
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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Lovely! Do I move my character in the character tab?

Also just curious about how our magic works. Do we choose ourselves or is it assigned?

Yes, you do.

Yes and no for both questions.

It's more like a leveling system where everyone starts off without abilities and gains abilities over time through training. Your character literally must learn how to do magic, either by the difficult labor of self-discovery or the academic study under a master. The Six Essences are like a combination of RPG stats and chakras. They can be blocked or unblocked, they can exist or not exist, they can be weakened or be strengthened. Meditation, discipline, understanding.

The way magic is learned in this world is very similar to the way bending is learned in Avatar: the Last Airbender/the Legend of Korra, but in its usage is a thing of its own, spells woven into songs sung by instruments and voices, power given through meditation, miraculous in their effects. (And, in the context of religion and the like in this world, godlike figures in history, Jesus for example, really did possess magical abilities and powers.)

The system itself is really good on the GM-side of things, lets me have more control over how much power any given character can have at a time and provides an in-roleplay explanation for the way magic works. It may or may not get more complicated as the plot progresses (depending on the actions of characters as they pursue their own ends).
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tancuras
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@deadpixel101 You took both violin and fencing right out of my mouth, damn you. I'll have to readjust xD

@ravenDivinity I have a question for you as well. Are you taking part in this as a character?


Name: Vincent Stentz
Sex: Male
Age: 20

Appearance: Vincent is a slender youth, and tall, just over six feet and long of limb and neck. Waves of blonde hair lay combed atop his head, tapering short near his neck and ears. His face is somewhat feminine, with large brown eyes and a narrow jaw, and he has a strong, straight nose. He seems to wear a perpetual scowl, his gaze appraising everything it meets. He can often be seen wearing a suit vest and tie, casual dress pants and polished shoes, and a double-breasted coat in the cold season.

Personality: Vincent is a generally cold and calculating individual. He is fairly self-interested, but not uncaring. He simply understands his limits, and chooses to focus his efforts on things more palpable. Vincent's intelligence is exceptional, and his conversations are often extremely brief unless adequately challenging. He is utterly confident in his motivations and abilities, and does not hesitate to show his superiority over others. He favors those with ability, and those who look to him for instruction and tutelage, though dislikes men and women with similar capability to his own, as he is very competitive. While he is strong of mind, Vincent has a hard time forming bonds with others, and is often disliked. He buys loyalty rather than earns it, and such loyalties are often weak. He is headstrong, incapable of resisting a challenge, too demanding of others, and does not often take other perspectives into consideration.

Skills: Vincent is most primarily an expert of strategy, having spent his youth engrossed in the game of chess. He is knowledgeable on warfare, both modern and ancient, and possesses a wealth of knowledge on military history. He is quick of mind and analytical, and a great problem-solver. Aside from mental pursuits, Vincent has explored several physical activities, most dominantly horseback riding and tennis. He is quite comfortable competing in either.

Biography: Vincent's is a story not unknown to most of Seattle's upper class. His family name is known to many, the Stentzs being the proprietors of dozens of facilities throughout the city. Aside from being a major importer, they own many medical centres, factories, hardware stores and contracting companies. As such, Vincent was given a life of privilege and possession, and he was never left wanting for anything, except the possibility of a loving family.

Vincent never knew his mother. She was one of his father's many wives, and after his birth, left the family and did not return. None of Mr. Stentz's other wives had children, and Vincent's father was often away, leaving his son in the care of a cycle of caregivers. In fact, the only time Vincent ever spent with his father was during his lessons in business and entrepreneurship.

Vincent found his only companionship in the classroom of a highly-esteemed private school. His classmates had ripped him from a sheltered life, introducing him to delinquency. His teenage years were spent on the street among drugs, sex and alcohol, and some minor crime, though his connections always saved him from consequence. This time helped him develop independence and perspective, and he carried those perspectives through to adulthood.

Presently, Vincent seeks to establish further lucrative connections, both legal and otherwise, while simultaneously undermining his father to usurp his position as head of the Stentz family. But one fact weighs heavily than all others: Vincent's life has become dreadfully boring.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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@Tancuras: Accepted! Darn you, Vincent would've been a great name for my character. Oh well.

And yeah, I am participating both as a normal player and as a GM. No worries though, I'm not just going to give my character everything from the beginning. The only advantage I have is that I don't have to ask for permission to do anything special to drive the plot - it comes with my duty as a GM. Really I just want to feel included.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tancuras
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@ravenDivinity Sorry! We can always be the twin Vs if you want. :P I wasn't worried about powerplaying or anything, and in fact believe the GM is entitled to at least a little bit of a bonus since it is their own plot in essence. I was just hoping we'd have an extra player in you. Good to hear it.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ravenDivinity
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ravenDivinity many signs and wonders

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@Tancuras: Ah, I understand. I'm just very worried about overstepping my bounds. But I think my involvement is good for the number of players. More potential for stuff to happen that way, more options for character arcs, and more complicated plot as a consequence thereof.
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by GummyCat
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GummyCat The Cutest of the Chewiest

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Finished for the most part
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