@Blue2@Yogananda@MissCapnCrunch@tex

So our missing question is timezones! What timezone are you in and what is your (average) availability? We don't need SUPER specifics yet but a general idea.
As for me, I'm on the East Coast so EST. M-W are my busiest days THIS semester and for this semester I am most available in afternoons! As long as my stuff gets done, I can respond at "any" time. But that will change during summer semester! (If this does get to be longterm, which I hope that it will be, we can assess how available everyone is every couple months or as needed.)

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The sense I'm getting from everyone is an original setting with more subtle magic.

I love the idea of a rotating GM but with primary emphasis being given to character-driven plot development. I could see this working out really well and it would offer a lot of creative opportunity/competing forces for anyone who wants to influence the plot, etc.

In the spirit of collaboration, feel free to comment on ideas you really like or dislike but we need a place to start so here's what I'm thinking:

First, I want us to develop a PLACE. I think that it would be really fun to make our starting city/town be very rich in depth. As such, I want to develop it at the same time as our characters. Therefore, I think it would be interesting if each of us develop a building (or two) that are very significant to our respective characters (a guild hall, a bar, a public building, a home, something?). The general sense that I'm getting is we want this to take place in an original, fictional world. This is, frankly, too much work to do in a short amount of time but I bet just starting with one building each will give us a living town!

Our characters, I think, should be limited to humans. Personally, I think that this makes it less complicated and sort of lessens the "special one" complex/cliche that tends to happen when other races are introduced (lol). Feel free to argue with me on this! I love me some half-elves.

Most importantly we should develop rich back stories for our characters (if you have a character already that "fits" that's fine too). I kind of want to see what happens if we all have to be from the one city but I understand if we want to stretch past that, you'll only need to make sure it makes sense with the world rules we have. Once characters are made I think we can start roleplaying how our characters meet and interact. I don't think we would adventure with eachother over night - whatever the plot is.

We also need some basic rules to govern how this world/location works. Perhaps the city is split down the middle between two rival factions? (Sounds kinda cliche but it can be developed.)
EDIT: Potentially we could have it be two different religions/deities? The don't necessarily hate each other but they both have a section of the town and benefit from that arrangement somehow?

Lastly, magic. How much magic are we including? Is everyone okay with medieval style weapons, etc.?

Original setting, more subtle magic. Do you still mean a modern day setting or more historic?

Before any world building, what era will this be? Rich history? A Developing nation? Something more chaotic? Comparable to late 2000’s, 12th-17th century, medieval, or ancient?

I'd personally prefer a more historic setting -- somewhere along the lines of medieval-theme & in a city that has a lot of history. I don't necessarily want it to be super realistic. I want some opinions though, so it isn't just me making the BIG decisions.

Oh right, my timezone is EST. I'm usually active most days, but only on Discord. Speaking of which, Discord is probably the best platform for discussion, rather than using RPG directly.

I can dig pre-modern. I'm ok with any level of power, but I'd rather drift away from escalation if possible. Although I love the concept of ability growth, I'd rather not be involved in two RPs that have tons of characters scaling well into city-busting tier.

I think a foundation for magic is one of the foremost concepts that should be established for the universe. How does it work? What are its rules? Limitations? Origins? Etc.

I'm 6 hours ahead of EST.I guess we'd have to see how that works out. I can be on pretty much daily but it would be between your 2pm and 5pm. After that, it's bedtime. If it doesn't work I can kill off my character ;)

Speaking of death: I don't like resurrection and would propose that is beyond the boundaries of magic.

My ideas on how magic could work:

1: We could let people have one or perhaps two powers and we could have special items enhance or add to that. Spells could be possible but maybe you'd need an affinity for the type of spell?

2: We could have a world where all magic and spells are available to anyone, but your level decides how effective you are.

3: Magic could also be elemental. No spells needed then and it limits itself.

I'm on the west coast for the next 3 weeks but then on mountain time normally .. so 3 hours or 2 hours behind you.
Good for a response in the early am and the late pm.

Love the idea of developing a building/home and I'm cool with humans.

A fair amount of magic but nothing like .. ridiculous. As someone would like to incorporate music with the magic, I'm a sound healer in the real world (studied @ globe institute of sound & consciousness) and would love to really bring this to life throughout the story. Primarily my magic would be focused on the healing faculties, buffs, also incorporating different herbs etc. I agree though with the above, what are the limitations.

I'm open to whatever the rest of the group is as far as the city goes.

I am crazy interested but dead tired and if its cool id be down for answering all the question and throw my helm into the ring

I have my character and backstory fairly fleshed out, basically based off myself haha. This will be fun ^_^

dialing in a more set time to participate, will be around 5-7am and 9-10 or 11pm that I will be in position, so am good for one or two good posts a day. I intend on this creating for momentum havent been excited to write anything besides music in a while. Pray everyone else has the same intent even if just a post a day.

edit :: apologies for typos on phone

@tex Yes, we should start discussing this on a platform outside of here - it might be easier, particularly if we all have some overlapping time to nail out some ideas faster. I use Curse (now Twitch voice) a lot but Discord is fine, I'd just have to remember to get on it lol

Magic should be high on the list for nailing down right away!

Magic can go a lot of ways and I think that limitations are so, so important. I agree with @Blue2 that resurrection magic would be beyond the scope. Aside form that, Blue also mentioned some cool ideas. I think it would be most simple if people had access to maybe one piece of magic - perhaps it is a lot of effort to learn or is inherent/latent in some way in every individual? Although everythign feel slike a cliche now-in-dayss. ):

@YoganandaAside: sound healing that sounds so cool!

@Howilng Zinogre Feel free to throw your hat into the ring! We are just figuring things out so there's still room for others! :)

Came up with a brief set of general governing rule-sets for a simplified, low-mid tier magical archetype.









I'm fond of more 'scientific' and well understood/possible to explain magical practices that have a set of governing laws.

@Cereline

- What are some interesting ideas or themes you've played with in the past?
Slice of life, gifted superpowered academies, BDSM, Bounty Hunters, Buddy Cops

Are there any RP cliches that you've really enjoyed?
Bdsm because it went beyond sex its having to play out the exchange of power and helping these characters grow to a point when they can open up to one another to TRUST the other with submission and dominance.

slice of life Honestly i really loved this one because of its versatility, it can have any setting in any time period but no matter what it always offers so much room for growth and depending on the setting offers the ability to branch of into much more action oriented plots.

- What about RP cliches that you've hated?
Gifted- one phrase to me sums this up MY COCK IS MUCH BIGGER THAN YOURS but seriously it was all about i can do xy and z and it doesnt have a weakness it was like playing with a bunch of preschool kids.

- Do "we" want to have one person control storyline twists and turns or have a group of adventurers who decide what to do together/based on the environment we construct for one another?
if it hasnt been suggested i think it would be cool if we took turns gming and if you arent okay with gming or not comfortable with it then that person can just instead play a villain of there creation that fits the plot

- Should the world be entirely original? Based on something? Or based on the real world (like a fantasy taking place in a specific part of the world at a specific time)?
id be down if we did sort of a growing nexus kind of thing where we can have a few sprinkled fandoms but ultimately its primarily a world of our own creation thats always expanding.

- Any elements you love to have in your roleplays? (Magic, specific fantasy species, etc.)
Technology (Its a recent obsession.) i have no qualms with anything else and am very flexible.

- Is there anything else I should ask?
i am all for discord, i will state this now i do battle with depression and sometimes it gets pretty bad but if ever i cant post i will inform the group and will give permission to the current gm to pilot my character.

Came up with a brief set of general governing rule-sets for a simplified, low-mid tier magical archetype.

Arcane/spiritual [+]

Lenient and not very exploratory magical archetype. Magic is not well understood, and nearly impossible to research like a science. It's simple, despite that, requiring little to no explanation for use, and for all intents and purposes, pretty lame. Each individual type of magic has its own explanation, each player is capable of exploring their capabilities separate from one another, or any governing rules beyond "Mana" and "stamina" which allows plenty of creativity at the expense of order and depth. Magic at this point is considered a type of 'energy' that player can manipulate any way they want. Simple stuff, more applicable to 'heart and soul' anime-type tropes, where characters can shout I'm really feeling it.

Biological/science [+]

The idea that magic is something inherently connected to life, and limited by an individual's race/physical abilities. Magic at this point cannot exceed a physical limiter. An example would be, citing an earlier RP of mine, magical nodes found in the body

See here >

Nodes [+]

The latent energy flowing through every inch of Thoris' atmosphere, and its people. Mana is what allows sentient races, and the beasts of nature, to manipulate the aspects of magic and reality by harnesses it through the use of what magical scientists refer to as nodes. Nodes exist in the bodies of sentient races in abundance, and allow different abilities to manifest with differing severity, supply, and effect. Some are born with unusual node correspondence, allowing them the mimic, or outright copy the magic that their racial restrictions would normally not allow, like granting humans manipulation over the mind, or Felis the ability to tap into healing abilities. Likewise, some are born without Nodes at all, albeit a rare occurrence. Furthermore, some races lack the natural affinity with magic to maintain their nodes without practising magic on a regular basis. In cases like this, non-casters can permanently lose their ability to harness Mana as their nodes shrivel up, and die.

Magic falls into many classifications, but is bound by a single set of universal rules, which are as follows:

<Law of Creation> All Mana exists indefinitely, and cannot be destroyed by normal means. It may only be redistributed, changed, and applied. As such a rule exists, complications arise when using magic who's sole purpose is destruction, as it defies the natural order of nature.

<Law of Independence> Magic is one with matter. Down to the very core of atoms, Mana is present, making up the very building blocks of reality, from the soil to the trees. It flows naturally, without guidance, through the blood of earth's creatures, and composes the planet we stand upon. As such a rule exists, magic that already serves a purpose, to compose a tree, or keep the human heart pumping blood, is extensively difficult to manipulate.

<Law of Sentience> Sentient creatures have a significant link with their own Mana, giving it a direct link with their soul. As such a rule exists, taking control of another person's manifested Mana is near impossible, and may produce chaotic results.

<Law of Blood> Mana is limited within sentient creatures, and most are unable to draw it from the atmosphere, or other natural sources, due to its chaotic and specific nature when expelled from the body. As such a rule exists, Mana consumption can exhaust, or outright kill, any who are not careful when using it.

<Law of Divinity> Certain branches of magic transcend the rules mentioned above. These are limited by divine teachings, wherein sentient races call upon magical powers that have predetermined rules. As such a rule exists, certain classifications of magic may break the rules of Mana, and create new rules of their very own.

Magic is understood, and follows a strict set of laws.

Divine [+]

Magic is a gift that comes from a higher power. Its rules and laws are governed by... Like... Gods or whatever, but it is still not very well understood, and finicky as hell. At this point though, magical growth is static, and based entirely on deities or higher beings, rather than the individual. Little room for creativity. Generally lame imo.

Artefact [+]

Magic comes from non-sentient objects, or nature, and isn't present within humans. It's harnessed through gadgets,
artefacts, stuff like that. Lots of room for creativity, but individuals have very little influence on their magical abilities. Artefacts are law. Not well understood.

I'm fond of more 'scientific' and well understood/possible to explain magical practices that have a set of governing laws.

Id like a combination of spiritual and scientific.

also i have a discord, NTELLECT the name ..

@tex Thank you for that post, really good categories. I personally am interested in artifact or scientific types of magic for this roleplay.

@Howilng Zinogre If you are interested, we are currently exploring the possibilities of an original world that is some sort of an adventure and has some low-key elements of magic. :) Feel free to hop in the conversation, too.

Everyone: I'll figure out discord and stuff Thursday or Friday. Tomorrow is a really busy day for me so I may not have a chance to get on! But Thursday I will be much more available. :)

As long as I'm allowed to play a buncha' Bad guys, all is well.

I'll try to come up with a concrete set of ideas for a magic system.

artefact is also perfect for sound healing, im down

I'm not familiar with Discord. Is that something for the PC or a mobile chat app?

Discord is primarily a gaming application, but a lot of people use it to chat.

In fact, here's a link to a placeholder room.

discord.gg/yWkYEx

We could use this.