This game is heavily inspired by Blade and Soul, and while it may share a few elements from the MMORPG, this game will be following its own storyline. This game will incorporate a lot of Asian folklore and myth, so expect a lot of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese references. It has been a very long time since I’ve seen any feudal-style games, and so I felt it was about time someone brought it back. This will not be a large group game for there will be 4 main characters and any characters after that are extra and can follow along in the story. You do not have to have played Blade and Soul to enjoy this game, but there is one thing you will need in order to proceed with this RP. You will need an imagination, patience, dedication, and you will need to bring your utmost creativity for this game will incorporate T1/TB. If you are not confident in your combat-writing skills, or have never done it before, then there are rules specifically written for this game that are easy to follow and refer back to when devising your posts. The fighting guide allows for a free-form fighting system that the GM shouldn’t have to monitor you over, but I’m sure some fights will need a GM to end them or an agreed-upon judge. I digress though, let’s get right into the story.
The world is called Tu, which is basically Earth in Chinese. Tu is comprised of four regions controlled by four deities whose servants are known as the Four Grand Masters:
The Black Tortoise of the North, Zhi Ming
The Phoenix or The Red Bird of the South, Ling Guang
The Dragon of the East, Meng Zhang
The White Tiger or sometimes, The Kirin of the West, Jian Bing
The Grand Masters are not the rulers of the regions, but they are highly-respected individuals that the world acknowledges are the voice and wisdom of the four gods. From these Grand Masters are born the four schools whose goals are to spread the god’s wisdom so as to teach the races how to coexist in harmony. Unfortunately, there are dark powers that be whose purpose are to keep the world divided by power and greed.
The North represents winter, ice, and water. From the North comes products of fresh water and all bounties of the sea from seafood, salt, lantern oil and cooking oils, fur, and ice for keeping food preserved.
The South represents summer and fire. From the South comes gunpowder and steam-powered machines. Technology is expanding in the south.
The East represents spring and wood. The lands in the east are the greenest and bountiful with crops. Medicine, food, drink and livestock can be found aplenty here.
The West represents autumn, wind and metal. The best armor and weapons (non-gunpower) are forged in this region. There are many weapon and armorsmiths who have staked a valuable name in this region.
The regions are at peace with each other but they share a common enemy who is sweeping across the nations, creating discord wherever it goes.
Now to be specific and to clarify some things, the highest level of technology in this game is steam engine. Yes, bombs and explosives exist but understand we’re in the Age of Gunpowder. If you don’t know what that means look it up. Writers can get creative with the technology as long as they remain within the genre, the technology level, and as long as it is somewhat pseudo-logical. This is a fantasy game after all.
Now these races are based on Blade and Soul, but they will be different so as to cater to the imagination of the writers and to fit the geography of this game. All of these races are mostly human in appearance except for one race, which you can see below. They do not have any racial advantages.
The Gon are believed to be descendants of dragons. They are a dark-skinned people with skin complexions from tan to pitch-black. They are a giant people with their women being as tall as 6’0” which is average and the men being 6 to 8 feet. The Gon are the easiest to pick out in a crowd.
The Lyn are believed to be descendants of the tiger or the kirin. They are the beastmen of the continent appearing as humanoids with animal-like ears and tails or appearing completely anthropomorphic. They range in various shapes and sizes from as small as 3’5” to as large as 7’ depending on the beast.
The Yun are a special and unique group in Tu. Unlike the other races, the Yun are all women and they are born from Fire Eggs or Ruby Eggs. They are believed to be descendants of the Phoenix or The Great Red Bird. They are of average stature.
The Jin are believed to be descendants of the black tortoise. They are the typical humans on this continent.GM Note: I did not confine these races to a specific region. They are spread out so that writers can have some creative freedom. There are no racial advantages because I want to allow the writers to tailor their characters however they feel.
While “Chi” and “Ki” are often regarded as the same thing. In this game, they are not. They are similar energies but the techniques are entirely different. In this game, "Chi" is an energy that remains internal. It strengthens the mind and body but will never leave the body as an external force. Ki is the energy that is propelled and is often believed to be magic by those folk who don't study the techniques of the four schools. Although this game is heavily based on Blade and Soul, I will not be incorporating every single class from the game into this RP. Races will also not be restricted to a specific class like in the MMO. There will be 4 main characters, the rest will be extras. So you will see more than one class listed here, but 4 out of those classes will be main, story-plot characters. The GM will dictate who will be a main in this game.
The Kung Fu Masters are the strongest beings on Tu (as in literally strength). Their discipline is within the mind and the body. The Kung Fu Masters learn to strengthen their bodies with chi and push themselves beyond their limits—physically and spiritually. They specialize in hand-to-hand combat, utilizing fists and feet strengthened to counter the sturdiest of blades and shatter the toughest concrete. [Character Limit: 1 – Taken by GM – Black Tortoise]
The blade masters harness the power of the finest swords on Tu. They have mastered the weapon to the point that they can slice through nearly any obstacle. The blade masters use a combination of chi and ki to empower their bodies and their weapons to make swift and precise strikes to end a fight, and a war. They can maneuver around most enemies, striking where their blades would be the most effective. [Character Limit: 1 – Open – Pick a Deity]
The deadly deceivers on the battlefield utilizing speed and stealth. The Assassins can lure enemies into deadly traps before they know what hit them. They whittle away at the enemy with speed, explosives, and poison. They are highly resourceful on the battlefield and no how to use practically anything as a weapon. They are the whispers in the shadows and the lone wolves of war. [Character Limit: 1 – Open – Pick a Deity]
They are the masters of Ki. They have mastered the ability to manifest spiritual energy into a destructive force. They specialize in elemental energy, created from the manipulation of ki. They are the magicians of the battlefield, capable of calling down fire from the heavens to clean up a battlefield or conjure water to quench the thirst of the poor. Force Masters are primarily proficient in long-range combat, preferring to finish the fight before the fight even reaches them. [Character Limit: 1 – Open – Pick a Deity]
The summoners have learned to tame beasts not from the mortal plane. They summon the beasts to fight for them and aid in battle, while supporting an army with their healing and curative ki. Although they are mostly known as being the healers on the battlefield, their beasts are a nightmare that will make any army uneasy. The most powerful summoners have been known in history to dramatically turn the tide of war. [Character Limit: 1- Open – Pick a Deity]
The gunslingers are masters of gunpowder. Their technology can clear a battlefield or accurately target enemies from over a vast distance even beyond the Force Masters’ reach. They are not only the cowboys, but the tinkerers and engineers of the group. What they lack in chi or ki they make up for with their brains and ingenuity. [Character Limit: 1- Open – Pick a Diety]
As previously mentioned, there are four gods and four grand masters in this world. There is also a good chi/ki and a bad chi/ki. The enemies in this game are demons, necromancers, and any who try to harness the evil chi/ki to bring about genocide and destruction for it is the dark chi/ki that compels one to destroy and obliterate. Corrupt beings like that are the enemy. Now after explaining this, this is your opportunity to come up with a story for your character specifically. Games go so much smoother when players are able to bring their characters’ stories to life.
There will be four main characters representing the disciples of the four grand masters. Any other characters if we have any are extras. This doesn’t mean that they don’t matter. It just means that they simply aren’t the main characters. The four disciples are the strongest students of their respective schools and the most renowned. Even NPCs will know who they are. They will wear the brand of their deity/school somewhere on their bodies.
You will create the backstory for them. What life are they living now? What story do you want to make for them because they will meet up with each other and go on adventures together to obliterate evil. There will always be more than one evil enemy. Just show me what you got in the character’s current story. No half-assed stories please. If you can’t come up with something, then don’t even force it.
All characters will have Asian names. The artwork that you will use when creating your character can be Hyung Tae Kim’s artwork to honor the artist, but using a picture is optional. You do not have to use one. Please no famous anime characters. I do not want Tokyo Ghoul, Bleach, Naruto, none of that crap in this game. If you don’t know who it is and I don’t know who it is, then you’re golden.
You can get graphic fonts for your CS here: 1001fonts.com You just merely look up the type of font you want, write what you want it to say in the little box, and then right click the font you want and click “copy the image address.” Treat the copied link like an image
1. No Drama. This is my number one rule. If you don’t like something, then keep the negativity to yourself. If you feel that it will distract you from writing, then don’t even join. If you don’t like having your CS critiqued, then definitely grow up and fast. Criticism will be in your life forever. Everywhere you go and everywhere you work in life. Grain of salt.
2. Communication. You do not have to tell me your business, but if you are going to be gone for a long time, then be courteous and let me know for how long. If you go AWOL for 7 days, then we will skip your character. If you’re absent for 14 days, then your character will be dropped.
3. Approval System. This is the first time that I had to put this rule here. This is because of the short-attention span/fail in reading comprehension I mentioned. People for some reason think they can just toss a CS into a CS thread without being approved in an application necessary game. Why? I have no idea. If your CS is not approved by the GM, then you are not cleared for this game yet. Plain and simple.
4. Single Character with NPCs only. Some people like to write with themselves. There is nothing wrong with having NPCs. It only becomes a problem when you do not interact with anyone else and thus write with yourself only. Why join a group game if you’re going to role play with yourself? Why are we even having this discussion? Because people do this! It’s crazy. So you will have 1 primary character. The rest will be NPCs.
5. 1 on 1 battles. The GM has the final say on all PVP fights. So the GM decides the winner. But this is only if this becomes applicable. These fights will take place in the Arena thread and they won't be ranked unless you want them to be. You will link the fight thread to the IC. This is only in the case your character wants to literally fight another player's character. If it's a short bout, then it doesn't need to go to the arena thread. It can stay in the IC.
6. Have fun. I can’t make you enjoy this game. Only you can make you enjoy this game. I will say that having a well-developed character will decide everything. The CS may seem large but it’s to help you create a character that you can love and enjoy. Having said this, these rules may update.
Q&A
Q: If my character didn't study under any of the Four Grandmasters, would that make him/her underpowered in this game?
A: No. Each class has an advantage that other classes do not have. Since only one person is allowed to occupy that class in this game and you are making a character who is that class but didn't learn that class at any of the four major schools, then you just made that class a school that isn't one of the four major schools. So anyone from that class in this game will not have learned that class from the four major schools. Let's say for example, you choose Blade Master for your character but you said he/she didn't learn how to be a Blade Master from the four schools. Now all Blade Masters in the game (to include NPCs) will not have learned their art from one of the four major schools.
Q: Can I play a hybrid?
A: Hell no! Next question...But seriously, no. I do not want hybrids in this game. There are no hybrids in this story. The races will always be either a dominant or recessive gene. If a Gon and a Lyn got together and had a child, the child will either be Gon or Lyn. This does not work for Yun. Yun come from mysterious special eggs. Yun are also infertile.
Questions updated on November 30, 2016.
Interested Players
POOHEAD189
Approved Characters
Kitsune Huohu - Gunslinger/Phoenix/Non-Disciple/Lyn - CelticSoldier
Fang Yin - Kung Fu Master/Black Tortoise/Disciple/Gon - Holy Soldier
Amaya - Summoner/Phoenix/Disciple/Yun - Lexicon
Mei-Xing Su - Assassin/Dragon/Non-Disciple/Yun - FantasyChic
Dao Wong - Blade Master/Kirin/Disciple/Lyn - Milkman
