The End Is Near.....

so to celebrate we might as well get this thing moving along. Shall we start with some basic story ideas before character sheets?
If so, the first thing I can think of is determining the importance of the youkai in the everyday lives of people in this RP. Do people know about them and believe in them; or are they considered as myths and rumors? Do they have the same importance as the gods that the Egyptians would normally worship?

If they are known about; then there could be scenarios where others begin to suspect that the prince is being aided by a youkai - possibly leading to some very bad or very good outcomes, depending.

If not, then what would others believe would be the cause of such a transformation- one of their gods perhaps? If the gods are showing favor to this youngest prince, would there be any political consequences to the older siblings because of this? Possibly most important; what would the actual current pharaoh have to say about this change in the typical social structure?

Yeah, just some starting questions to start getting prepared for this.

I always like working on Plot and Setting before characters, so I'm glad we're on the same page on that :P So many people rush right into characters, and by the time set-up is done, they've had to revise or redo it many times. :P

I think Youkai would be messengers of the gods, and there have been a history of them helping humans. However, I think is should have been a while since there was a confirmed case of a Youkai helping a human, so it's rather unexpected. I think it'd be fun having the confusion at first, the suspicions, then the hiring of mystics, and maybe even a part where one of the brothers trying to steal my character :P

Your thoughts?

I like it (though the image of a tug-of-war scene between the brothers with the Youkai in the middle is stuck in my head now). Since they are associated with the gods, would some of the major/more popular Youkai have temples or shrines? Could that even be a reason why the jackal Youkai wants to help out a son of the pharaoh - by associated himself with the royalty he increases his own status within the Youkai world. Or is the jackal actually acting as a messenger like you said - following the orders of one of the gods who favors the youngest son.

I was thinking that only the gods have temples, but the more prominent Youkai have volumes where they are mentioned, but never by name. That is something that is only revealed to the human's they come to aid, and after they leave, they take the knowledge of their name with them. *Slow smile* You actually game me an idea of just "why" the Youkai goes to the youngest son rather than one of the sons already likely to ascend to the throne :P How do you feel about the idea of him not exactly doing what he was told to do, or taking on the boy as some sort of challenge to the judgment of the god he serves? It could lead to some fun scenes between the Youkai and others of his kind :P

oh, if he defied something that one of the gods told him, then later on that same god might send another Youkai to a different son of the pharaoh- leading to direct competition with our main characters.

And if it's scenes with other Youkai that we're talking about now then some loyal followers to the gods might be against him, but others who are a bit more on the roguish side of the spectrum might secretly support your Youkai and help him out every now and again.
As a side note I should probably mention that I had this idea (that a friend helped me out with technically) that the Youkai complained about spending all his time with people so he pushed for having a room connected to the son's bedroom chamber where he keeps a few actual jackals- or 'some of his own kind'. The Youkai sleeps just fine at night but sometimes the son can still hear one of the creatures up and about no matter what the hour is.

Maybe not a direct competition. . . . Perhaps just one working in opposition to my youkai's actions, but not actually serving one of the other brothers. I like the idea of, maybe one of the youkai's old friends, showing up and helping out under the radar :P I like the jackal idea, but I don't like the idea of him getting his own room. It would raise too many questions. I can see the prince having the little guys in his own room, and a few scenes of his waking up tot hem moving and him getting spooked and needing comfort :P He knows they are no threat, but the shiny eyes in the night can make anyone edgy :P

Oh, what if one of the friends of the Youkai ends up betraying them later? If they had been working together under the radar and they eventually get exposed then he might be forced to work against the jackal Youkai for his own sake.
And with all this 'help' , I'm sure the question will eventually come up of whether the Youkai are actually helping the youngest son or just manipulating him for their own gain. What is he really worth to them, other then his title? If the son feels later on that the jackal is using him too much, he might try to break their deal - if he's separated from the jackal this would leave him vulnerable to the other Youkai that are working under the god and against him. Thoughts?

I may be in a very fairy tale mood, but I don't like the idea of his friend betraying him. Maybe, they have the understanding that if things get too hot the other youkai will have to preserver his/herself, but no out right betrayals. . . .Sorry, bad video game made me so sad with something like that just recently.

As for the other stuff, I think we should let the RP take it's course that far into the game. If something like that seems likely when the time comes, then we can do something like that, but I'm hoping that by that point the young man has more faith in his guardian :P There's a strong chance that by that point we may be on a completely different track, so we can keep it in mind, but I don't wanna lock us into it this early on. :P