Hello, everyone. I decided to throw together a role play I've been wanting to try out for a while. It's going to be a character driven RP first and foremost where everyone can essentially do anything, pursue any path they want. However, I am aware that purely character driven role plays can easily die out as there is no overarching story, so I added a quest which encompasses the world if one decides to follow it.
There are no limits to players and anyone can join at anytime. I hope I have managed to make things somewhat clear in the descriptions below, but if anything is unclear I am more than willing to listen, edit and make adjustments if needed.
The World: Astrovia, a world both beautiful and savage. Villages, towns and cities dot many a location within the world though between each reside an abundance of monstrous beings roaming the wilderness. From the icy wastes of Rak to the green and forest covered land of Nethora, Astrovia offers an enchanting world filled with magic and dangers. Seven different species fill the more civilized roles and live within the cities they call home. Of course, Astrovia is a world filled to the brink with dangers outside the borders of every city, however this has not stopped the many different species from raging war on each other throughout history. Such mistakes have granted knowledge of course, though many races still shun one another due to past conflicts.
Today, one can quite easily spot every species in every city upon the map due to the wonders of trading. One could say that Astrovia has managed a long deserved peace between the many people of the world.
A marvelous reality where everyone is born with magical powers, Astrovia is colorful to say the least. Magical properties are stretched out among all the civilized races and is considered just another part of one's body. Of course, despite the cultural view on magic, those born into the darker paths are often shunned for something they cannot control, a choice they never made. Hexes and Necromancy usually leads those blessed, or cursed, with their powers down rather shady paths due to society's view on them. Some inhabitants choose to not even pursue their magical affinity and rather focus on more material aspects of life.
Towns, cities and villages in Astrovia are usually built close to one another due to protection. Since the majority of Astrovia is filled with monsters, people tend to stick together. Each city is governed by its own ruler who also governs the towns and villages surrounding it.
People lead relatively simple lives, but the local taverns have started to be filled with a tall tale about disaster and chaos. Vague descriptions of a Necromancer are offered along with fears of an undead army. Due to many sightings, a certain worry has washed over people in Astrovia but most simply disregard the tale as a madman's cry for attention. Everyone does after all have their own matters to settle and responsibilities to attend. It is not often a person has time for imaginary tales such as this.
There are however those who do not want to take the chance and put a lot of effort and coin into solving this mystery. By hiring adventurers from across the world, many nobles are now concerned that the tale might indeed contain fractions of truth. Due to the coin involved, it is common for those unused to an adventurous life to also pick them up on the offer and investigate this assumption.
Technology: Medieval with various cultured weaponry spread out through Astrovia.
Playable Races: Each species include every race within that gene pool. Every race has the possibility of being anything, however an Orius will be physically stronger than a Neth and a Lah'na will be more graceful than a Rakonai. One simply has to be reasonable.
Non-Playable Races:
Many insist that these beings are from another world, but scholars would gladly confront such an idea with a more logical explanation. Demons are monsters with an intense amount of intelligence. They claim to be ageless and that they existed on Astrovia long before any person. Only a fool would consider these powerful beings nourishment. Typical among the demonic species is that they harbor ill intent towards anyone not of their blood. The power behind these threats is quite great indeed, so luck would embrace this generation as demons are rare sights to say the least.
In an age old legend, it was said that there was a great war between the demonic horde of Astrovia and all of its different species. Of course, whether one believes in such a tale is highly individual but the outcome put forth that the demons lost that war. It would make sense, given their current standing, but history has left parts out before.
Driven by nothing but hunger and primal urges, the countless beasts residing between cities in the vast wilderness of Astrovia fill an enormous part of the world. Not only are they dangerous beasts put to the sword by the fact, but they also act as food for the more civilized races of Astrovia. Every monster is dangerous in some way, shape or form and care is always urged when confronting these creatures. Raging from small to humongous, the more powerful the beast, the more of a delicacy it is considered within the confines of a city.
The hideous and malformed creatures brought back from death as empty shells serving a master who has bound them using dark magic. The undead have no will of their own and are incredibly hard to kill as they do not fall beneath neither pain nor fatigue. Exceptionally powerful undead may indeed have a will of their own, and many Necromancers try to achieve immortality by claiming undeath as a means of such.
Undead can be found in many parts of the world, mainly in the less populated areas as Necromancers often make their lairs where others cannot find them.
Geographical Locations: Lahria - Land of the Felines
Nethora - Land of the Rodents
Sha'varen - Land of the Aves
Orensus - Land of the Rhinos
Rak - Land of the Ursine
Nin'Thassias - Land of the Canines and Vulpines
Toth - Land of the Bovines
Magic: The magic of Astrovia is widely used within the daily lives of its inhabitants. Even darker magic on a lighter level is considered naught but means of resolving an issue. However, deeper knowledge of Hexes, Necromancy and even Illusionism can be considered taboo and are shunned by the people of Astrovia. Waking the dead from their slumber with Necromancy, causing illness and sickness with Hexes and deceiving others with Illusionism is highly illegal actions. More straight forward magic like Elementalism has its obvious restrictions and is never truly shunned as long as it is used responsibly.
The following descriptions are rather loose and players who decide to use magic are free to be creative with each individual school of magic as long as it is done within the limits of reason. If a player wants to be able to weave spells in a way I have not described within any specific school, discuss it with me and I am sure we can come to an understanding.
Elementalism "And so she weaved her mighty spells like a seamstress masterfully adding one thread over the other. Flames erupted from the ground, the very air around us scorched by her very presence. It was as if this sorceress of infernal might had stepped out of the maw of hell..."
The ability to conjure and control the elements of fire, ice, lightning, wind and water. If you're going to wield elemental magic, you're allowed to pick one or even all of them. Remember however, for each element you pick, your mastery over each decreases.
Hexes "Such an ominous presence! I remember that the old man laid his hand on Sir John and ever since, he's been withering away beneath the illness that has claimed him. I promise you, it was that cursed old man who did it...he put a hex on poor Sir John!"
Dark magic. The ability to conjure poisonous mists, place curses on people and summon dark energy to directly damage one's opponent. Hexes offers a broad use of magical powers, and the more Hexes you can manage, the less powerful you are in each aspect.
Necromancy "Defiler! Desecration is what it is! She should burn at the stakes for what she's done! The dead walk around her, they dance at her command and they attack anyone she is displeased with like rabid filth! Truly, this is a nightmare brought to life."
Considered the darkest of magic, Necromancy allows you to raise the dead to serve you and allows you to commune with the other side. While Necromancy is heavily shunned, some hedge mages and fortune tellers delve into the simpler levels of Necromancy which allows them to see the spirit world. Necromancy is broader than one might expect as it allows a user to not only raise the dead but also command the fabrics of dead flesh in hideous experiments and the pursuit of dark knowledge. It allows the user to reach their hand into the spirit world and bring forth information otherwise inaccessible for others. Necromancy also unlocks the ability to use the spirit world in an offensive manner such as focusing spirit energy into dangerous blasts and harmful barriers.
Miracles "Never had I seen anything like it. With a gentle touch, she laid her hands on his wounded leg and within seconds the cut was gone. Truly, an astounding sight."
Also called white magic, Miracles allows the user to heal wounds, remove ailments and even undo curses. Miracles is known for its ability to heal but also allows the user to create barriers, channel divine energy and nullify darkness. Miracles is all that is considered light and warmth, the complete opposite of Hexes and Necromancy. Exceptionally powerful Miracle users can even destroy the undead with their powers of positive energy.
Nature "Like a king commanding his subjects, the Druid weaved the very forest to his will! Branches moved in tune with his desires and the very earth shook at his call."
Earth, nature and the very ability to commune with mother nature herself lies within the walls of this magical power. From granting life to plants to controlling them and even infusing them with enough magic to allow their growth supernatural proportions, Druids are capable of commanding both earth and nature with their will.
Illusionism "None of it was real, but I felt it and even smelled it...It's the Devil's work, I tell you. Not an image but rather a scene was weaved before my eyes, every sense completely taken over by this blasphemous magic."
Mighty illusions are yours to command. While physically harmless, the same cannot be said about the mental effects of these magical abilities. Weaving images, scenes and even making oneself invisible, Illusionism allows for a wide range of abilities toying with peoples senses and minds. Artists, entertainers and powerful mages often choose to weave the power of illusions for varying reasons be it ill intent or entertainment.
Transformation "Delving into the deepest part of one's vicious nature can be dangerous, but these shifters embrace it like a warming flame. Be careful around them as even the smallest of shifters can grow claws the size of a rhino's frame..."
Transformation is a magical ability with many different specialties. Spies often use this power to transform into harmless, underdeveloped animals to skulk and stalk their prey. Meanwhile, many berserkers are known to focus on the aspect of raw power which allows them to delve into the savage beast residing within. Whether it is to grow in size and ferocity or extending one's claws to the size of small swords, this ability allows for bodily modifications which can indeed change the tide of battle. Users of Transformation rarely use weaponry, if ever, and rather focus on unarmed martial arts or pure brute force. Transformation also allows for biological additions such as the production of poison and venom for the more creative ilk.
Enchanting "With a single touch, the swordsman's blade glowed with arcane energy, its edge able to deflect attacks made by a tremendous brute! Glowing with marvelous magic, an enchanter's blade is dangerous indeed."
Enchanting much like all other magical capabilities can be used in various ways. However, every kind of enchanting requires physical contact with an object or individual. Some enchanters decide to combine their powers with swordsmanship to create a whirl of magical slices and cuts while other enchanters prefer to focus purely on the magical art itself. Pure enchanters are capable of placing permanent magical effects on items depending on their level of power and most often work as magical craftsmen and earn quite a bit of coin selling these enchanted objects.
Rules:
1: Of course, the standard guild rules apply. 2: If you join this roleplay, be frequent. Post preferably once per day, I understand that it can be an unrealistic expectation, however going four days without posting will allow other players to move on without you. 3: One character per player until I notice that you can keep up with both the roleplay and the amount of characters you want to make. 4: Don't post WIP characters. Post finished characters. 5: This should go without saying but no Mary Sues. 6: Speaking of Mary Sues, you can't be best at everything. Everyone in Astrovia is born with magical powers, however how and where you decide to lean your character decides how good they are at each of their aspects. A martial artist able to infuse her strikes with elemental powers (think Avatar) cannot conjure a meteor from the sky and a wizard capable of summoning a fireball cannot roundhouse kick someone into a wall. 7: I want quality over quantity, which means good grammar, structure and layout. 8: This is a mature roleplay with mature content. If you're going to post something you think others might find off putting, you can add a heads up. As I expect us all to be adults, I don't think that would be terribly necessary but we're all different. 9: Blood and gore should be related to how realistic the scene is. Don't go overboard just because you like the color red. A well written scene is a well written scene whether it's filled with blood or not. 10: Romance is allowed, affection is allowed and more "daring" scenes are also allowed. What I mean by that is that kissing, touching, what have you is allowed but when the scene turns sexual, make it fade to black. 11: I'm stubborn but not impossible. If you feel like I've made a mistake or a bad judgment, you're more than welcome to send me a PM and we can discuss it from there.
Character: Here is the sheet. You'll notice that I've left out the Biography section and that has been done on purpose. The reason behind this is because I find it more enjoyable to learn about characters as the story progresses rather than getting all the information about their lives handed to me before I get to know them in game.
(Picture of Character) (Optional character quote)
Basics Name: Your name.
Nickname/Alias: What do people call you?
Race: Pick a species mentioned above and choose a race within that species. If you have something else in mind, tell me.
Gender: Male, female, anything else in between or around.
Sexuality: Whatever your character's into.
Age: How old is your character? Be realistic here. I don't want a thirteen year old master wizard.
Additional Info Personality: Feel free to go into detail here. Many of us like to play cold, collected and stone faced characters but there is always something to them which breaks the mold.
Appearance: Either write down something to compliment the picture you chose, or write a full on description. Whatever you like. If you didn't choose a picture, a more detailed description will be required.
Height: Just to make it easier to see.
Weight: Same here.
Fight related Magic: Which of the schools of magic was your character born with?
Class: Just make up a pretty little title of what you consider your character to be.
Weapons/Items: Be simple and think about what a person can carry. No one can carry two greatswords, a staff, five longswords, a sweet roll, ten helmets and a dead body. Be realistic.
Strengths: What are you good at?
Weaknesses: I like the balance of adding one weakness per strength you have. So, for every point in Strengths, add one weakness.
Techniques: How does your character fight? Does he/she/it focus on speed and grace or brute strength? If they are mages, do they focus on purely blasting people while wearing robes or do they put on an armor and swing a sword they've enchanted? If you like to be corny like me, you can name their fighting style.
Indeed.... seems interesting, although one thing that bothers me in the rules:
2: If you join this roleplay, be frequent. Post preferably once per day, I understand that it can be an unrealistic expectation, however going four days without posting will allow other players to move on without you.
Usually people wait for others turn in the rp's I am usually in, I guess this will be different, but once a day might be a lot for some people. Once every 2-3 days usually seems better. Just my point in this.
I will prepare an app this week-end, when I am less tired
The main reason I put that rule up is because in my experience, people tend to get far too comfortable with posting times and end up posting once per week. I prefer that people post once per day, but that doesn't under any circumstances mean that if you miss a day, you're out. Even after four days have passed, you're still in the roleplay but a scene which includes you will be able to move on without you.
EDIT: Was going to say I'm interested, but I'm really unsure of how much time I have for this on top of other stuff I've got going. We'll see eventually, I guess. Sorry!
I've decided I'll put together a character sheet and we'll see how things go, yeah? Quick question, though, do you want them posted in the OOC tab or the character tab?
Got it ready, I think. I'll post it in OOC for now. I'll relocate it to Char if you wanted it there all along.
"I'll show them power! I can do it!"
Basics Name: Zack Itzhak.
Nickname/Alias: "Cackling Zack."
Race: Nin'tah.
Gender: Male.
Age: 38.
Additional Info Personality: Zack has the boundless jolliness and positivity of a man who knows accomplishment. While he has always been something of a prodigy when it comes to the arcane arts, this innate talent of his has only been sharpened throughout his life. He has outlasted many of his contemporaries. Far from imagining himself above and beyond everything, Zack loves nothing more than to face new obstacles and opponents that actually manage to challenge him. Death threats thrill and amuse him.
While he undoubtedly has a high self-esteem, it has some how yet to cross the line to arrogance, as it is tempered with a realistic appreciation of the fact that there's still so much more he can achieve. However, he is something of a fanatic when it comes to building upon his skills and power.
He eschews pomp and wealth, and generally keeps himself to rather spartan living conditions, especially when compared to the fancy, gaudy robes and accouterments of other wizards of his stature. It is quite easy to mistake him for a commoner, for he does little to advertise himself. He lets his deeds and achievements speak for him, rather than self-promotion.
He comes across as quite callous and indifferent when it comes to any cause but his lust for ever greater knowledge and power. That being said, the power he endlessly seeks is more of a personal journey; he is no would-be conqueror or tyrant, and has yet to go out of his way to impose his will upon others.
He also has something of a sadistic streak when the mood strikes him. However, despite his immense power, he shows remarkable restraint towards the poor targets of these whims of his, and instead prefers to toy with them through other means. Such torments are never wounding or lethal, although frustrating and humiliating, certainly.
Appearance: A rather tall, somewhat slender canine male. He tends to wear a robe-length, greenish-grey wool coat; tan pants; black leather gloves; long cavalry boots; and of course the red scarf. It is almost as if his default expression is a thin smile of constant amusement. Slung over a shoulder and crossing his chest is a strap bound to a sack which carries his tomes. A bindle is wrapped around the head of his staff, which carries other items, such as provisions.
Height: 6'2.
Weight: 142 lbs.
Fight related Magic: Hexes. With particular emphasis on curses and conjuring dark energy. The taboo nature of his favored school of magic only serves to makes it more appealing to him, knowing he enjoys and embraces power that most deny themselves and cower away from.
Class: Warlock.
Weapons/Items: A relatively plain iron staff.
Strengths:
- A master, or quite close, in his particular school of magic.
- He is quite quick on his feet, as he'd have to be, given he wears no armor and isn't the toughest person around.
Weaknesses:
- Due to his overwhelming focus on his arcane abilities, his capabilities as a martial fighter are just about useless.
- It's not quite overconfidence, but his mentality where he sees threats as entertaining challenges to be overcome, rather than life or death situations, can at times cloud his judgment.
Techniques: It really depends. In most cases he tries to resolve situations efficiently and mindfully despite his overwhelming power, which in practice is a bit like guiding a sledgehammer to the precise structural weakpoints in a building to level it in as few swings as possible. If he is in a more toying, sadistic mood, he will prolong the fight for as long as he can.
As for your question Soul, yes there are normal animals. They are called underdeveloped and are seen through an evolutionary standpoint the same way monkeys are seen by humans.
For everyone, post your character in the ooc first and after they're accepted, they go in the ic bin.
When it comes to size, does it have to be proportionate to the animal it's based on? For example a raven is a pretty small size (although medium size for a bird) but in myths they are usually human sized.
No, it's not limited to the size of the actual animal. However, a mouse cannot be bigger than a rhino xD, but every species is somewhere around "human" sized.
I'm having some difficulty finding a picture for my character... I can still go without it, but I would kinda like to have a decent picture that kinda looks something like what I had planned.
@Lugia Me as well. There's so few that isn't just a human with ears and a tail, an easily recognisable Disney character, or extremely sexualized. Might just get over it and just write it up.
Hexes
