A quick note, seeing something in Flagg's post (now, again, you don't have to edit anything but just be aware): basically no one worships the Old Gods. They're called the Old Gods because basically nothing else is remembered about them.

The "Dark Gods of the Northmen" are thoroughly different, as we'll be learning as the game goes on. They went rarely worshipped, or paid mild lip service to, for much of the Age of Steel, but now their cults are coming back with a vengeance.

It's pretty hard to establish this kinda stuff without giving too much away!

Dark gods it is! will change that!

Yeah, I hope my artistic subtlety isn't making it hard for you guys to pick up on the clues to the larger story. If you're reading everyone's posts/replies, you should be drawing some connections by now.

Yeah, I hope my artistic subtlety isn't making it hard for you guys to pick up on the clues to the larger story. If you're reading everyone's posts/replies, you should be drawing some connections by now.

Well, as far as I've gotten is 'there is some shit going down basically everywhere, the Old Gods are coming back and they aren't the nice kind of old like your grandmother, they're the angry "get off my lawn or your life will become demons" old.' Am I that far off?

Post up. Emily and Ryan are en-route to Crimson Company land. I'll let VoiD decide if they arrive before the next GM post or not. I should also note that Emily is convinced that those are run-of-the-mill mutants she heard - I guess we'll see how wrong she is?

EDIT: Woops, did not realize I was doubleposting. My bad.

Your post actually gave me a cute idea.

"There are no wolves in Farsil" could be a sort of saying in northern Borea. To some, it means that Farsil is a pleasant land free of danger. Damion would probably be such a person to have that understanding of it. To others (such as Emily), they know that the saying is much more literal, and means something far worse.

@Dead Cruiser I like it! My post will be up this evening.@TheWizardLizard

Been busy, should have a post up tomorrow or Saturday. @Dead Cruiser, just out of curiosity, how did you envision the spooky dark forces of Aquilonia? Or do I have free reign with them as my imagination dictates?

Been busy, should have a post up tomorrow or Saturday. @Dead Cruiser, just out of curiosity, how did you envision the spooky dark forces of Aquilonia? Or do I have free reign with them as my imagination dictates?

Mostly mundane, actually. A lot of slave fodder, but a decent contingent of black knights. Nothing inherently supernatural... yet.

I spent most of my morning workout generally hashing out character arcs for our cast in our head. Now, I don't want to railroad you guys, but there are some goals I want to meet for each character. If you're not really sure what you're doing or where you're going in the story, let me know and we can establish a more solid base together.

Also, pretty much everyone that isn't DeltaV, if you could get me rough idea of where on the map you are, I'd appreciate it. I understand that there are basically no geological features on my shitty map, so feel free to draw them in as needed. Don't worry about being far from other players (within reason); time is obviously a pretty fluid thing in this RP, so distance is a small obstacle.

@Dead Cruiser Dratha's in the mountains near where the blue, orange and green all touch.

Forgive me for the absence, I fucked up my ankle doing sicknasty ollies on a staircase with two steps. I should be able to get something up Sunday at the latest.

Howdy. I just finished reading everything in the first post of this thread, most of the character biographies, and took a few glances at the IC section. I'm very interested in participating if you're still accepting new applicants, but I've got a few comments and questions.



Now, with those general questions asked, I did look over the other characters and started considering what to make. I noticed you have one villainous and one potentially villainous ruler; you have a few generally well-intentioned characters that don't command whole nations; and you have character concepts ranging from an old sage to young heroes (basically) to a real nasty tyrant. Given that, I've been debating one of a few concepts.

The first one focuses on the the idea of the monster-that's-not. More specifically, I had two ideas for this category of character: a beastman struggling to remember who they once were and a knight turned walking corpse. Both would have their, err, "condition" actually treated like the curse it is. The former's mind would be pretty broken; the latter's will to live (hah) broken instead. And I'd love to see them treated as monsters if I play one of these two.

Next, the majority of player characters aren't villainous. I'd be more than happy to step into a villainous role if you prefer. I don't have any specific ideas for this yet, but since we've got a tyrant and a power-hungry nobleman, perhaps the more monstrous route would be the best option? Or that of a powerful alchemist using his power for ill? Or that of a shady organization whose interest isn't conquest?

And the only other concept that comes to mind as "missing" from this roleplay is a true and proper scoundrel. A trickster, an illusionist, a thief extraordinaire - something of that nature I'd be more than happy to play. It's less ambitious than the other two roles I've discussed, but again, I'd be happy to choose this.

Do any of these general ideas work? I'd like your opinion, OP, before I start properly fleshing out any concepts.

@Shorticus

Sure, I'm willing to take on one or two more players, as one of our accepted characters has been MIA from the get-go, and a friend of mine that I wanted to bring on board hasn't been getting back to me. As such, there's definitely room in my grand schemes for you, and we're not too far along to work you in.

Let me get to answering your questions:

1. I'd say that the bare minimum posting frequency is about once a week. Twice a week will keep you up to speed with my updates, and I'll reply to you every round.

2. For starting characters, the description of what is want is basically like so: a mortal hero or legend-in-the-making, whose greater destiny is not yet achieved, but still within reach. For specific reasons, the characters will have to be human or almost completely human. I'll get back to this point later.

3. Your character's ideals and journey are very important. They need an ambition to follow, and they need to either greatly value or embody some set of ideals that sets them apart from the common man, as well as the rest of the cast.

I would greatly prefer villainous characters to be the minority, as the plot at large will require the player characters to band together against a mutual threat. The more selfish or evil characters we have, the more difficult this is to achieve.

Now, regarding your character concepts: I'm going to have to shoot down your monstrous ideas. They simply will not work, for reasons that will come to light later on. The alchemist would be interesting, as we're without our initial alchemist it would seem. A shadowy manipulator with goals other than conquest would be a decent alternative to much of the cast. A true rogue wouldn't be amiss either, as our initial smooth-talker concept had to be rejected.

We also have a notable disparity in male characters to female characters. As I said, HisforHugs is MIA, as is their female character, as is the female concept that a friend of mine was willing to contribute. I'm not demanding that you create a female character, and if you don't feel inclined to make one, that's fine. I'm just noting the current imbalance as something I would like to rectify.

I can play either male or female characters, so that's not a problem. I was hoping one of the monstrous concepts would pass inspection, but that's also no deal breaker for me. I'm glad to have an opportunity to write up something.

I think I'll try coupling an alchemist with a roguish figure. We'll see how that turns out.

Speaking of Alchemy: that's the sole form of magic in this world I assume? Or is sorcery (mentioned briefly in the sage's character sheet, under the history section) a separate thing from Alchemy? And is it just the willing of stuff into existence, or the use of materials to create some sort of magical effect?

Sorry if this is too much info I'm asking for. Be as vague and non-spoilery as you need to be. I'll start drafting a character concept and will post it in a spoiler in this OOC for review.

Alchemy and magic (sorcery) are distinct concepts. Alchemy has been practiced throughout the Age of Steel, whereas magic has only returned to the world in the Age of Dawn.

Alchemy is essentially a system of chemistry that works based on ritual and symbolism rather than as we understand it. It's used to make fantastic metals and alloys (such as Orichalcum), potions and poisons, or miscellaneous materials imbued with energetic qualities (such as gunpowder). In the Age of Steel, it was an esoteric skill almost exclusive to members of Alchemists' Guilds. In the Age of Dawn, the practice is in danger of dying out as the numbers of its masters dwindle and knowledge is lost.

Magic can take many forms, but it is at its core a sort of supernatural influence over reality. For a person to practice magic, there are a few recognized ways to learn its secrets: studying ancient relics and practices from the Age of Myths (wizardry), commanding natural sources of magical power (sorcery), or wielding power gleaned from magical entities (witchcraft).

Hopefully this is enlightening for you.

Yes! That's all I needed to know. I'll start drafting up my character now. Thank you.

I actually have a concept that I thought up just now, and I welcome you to use it if it catches your fancy. As always, do as you like, and feel free to ignore it.

Cool. The more the merrier!

Sadly, my MS paint skills leave much to be desired, but Emily is currently in Farsil, in the Borean lowlands - so, probably around the middle-ish of Borea? VoiD may have a better picture of it than I do.

Well... I already thought of a concept. It's admittedly got some similarities, but is very different. I'll summarize it below.



If this is acceptable, I'll write it up in full. I was thinking of making something similar to what you said, but not quite, as you can see.

That looks good to me. I just had strong visions of a morally-grey character that emphasized a dichotomy between disease and cure, which could be easily tied to the opposing force of Death in the Atlantean region.

But yeah, no, you're good, do your thing. I eagerly await whatever you come up with.