Okay, so I have most recently been drawn into the world created by Andrzej Sapkowski, via the Witcher Saga, a collection of short stories, novels, A TV series, a movie, and a collection of PC and console games. It is my personal impression that it was very lightly based off of the Lord of the Rings universe, but that is an uninformed guess made on some similarities that I have seen here and there. Nothing much, obviously. I am... well, very heavily drawn to this Universe due to its very new take (In my experience, anyways) on the fantasy Genre, which includes a very grey view of right and wrong, with racism (Like, literally, different races, but I'll get to that in a mo), war, tactics, rape, mass murder, slaughter, wizards, witches, monsters, dragons, and, of course, Witchers. Anyways, I am putting this up as both an interest check, to see if anybody else already knows about this universe and would like to try it or if your interest is pricked, as well as being a manner to build the world up a mite, as my knowledge so far has been restricted to the two main PC games, and the few of the shorts and novels that have been translated to English, along with of course the trusty help of our every day friend the internet.
Before I get going on a basic description of the world, I highly recommend the Games, for those that like them and the books, for those that have lots of time for reading. I swear. I could hardly put the books down.
Anyways, here is a basic description of the world, including a light geographical explanation, a run through of the races, character types, monsters, and something of the what has happened so far, as far as I can tell. Hope you enjoy the read
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World
The Story happens on the immense and unnamed continent, named, creatively, the Continent. Dwarves and Gnomes were here first, followed by the elves. The Elf-Dwarf Wars ensued when the elves landed about a few thousand years ago, and ended with the elves settling in the plains and valleys, taking to tilling the earth and the woods, quickly growing to love their new home, while the dwarves and gnomes took up residence in the mountains, and quickly became well known for their skill in mining, and the crafting of metals.
But what comes around goes around, as they say, and roughly 500 years ago, the humans landed, and quickly populated. Not liking to share their land with those that they came to call in disgust non-humans, they quickly routed the elves, gnomes and dwarves from their homes, settling and pushing the other, named Elder Races out. They are frequently regarded as freaks and forced to live in Ghettos in the cities in which they reside, if they are allowed to live there at all. They are forced to move to more and move unforgiving places of residence to avoid the persecution of their kind.
The humans quickly got used their home and became the dominant race on the Continent, and kingdoms were quickly established. In the last hundred or so years, as the Northern kingdoms grew more and more divided, the South was united by the Nilfgaardian Empire, with those kingdoms that fought falling and their kings beheaded, replaced by Nilfgaardian magistrates and officials. Those that bent the knee were allowed to maintain their kingdoms under the Nilfgaardian Emperor, of course.
Nilfgaard
The city of Nilfgaard, known as the City of the Golden Tower, is the capital of the Nilfgaardian Empire which eventually grew to conquer all foreign lands south of the Yaruga (A large river that is the geographical border separating the North and Southern kingdoms). The city itself is located on the Alba. Citizens of the city tend to consider the Nilfgaardian Empire as defined only by the inhabitants of the capital and surrounding lands, and certainly not by the inhabitants of the "lesser" areas.
Nilfgaard is the most powerful empire in the history of the known world. It is located in the southern part of the continent and boasts both a thriving economy and a strong, well-trained army with talented commanders. It is ruled by Emhyr var Emreis. Unlike the Northern kingdoms, Elves were allowed to fight alongside the Nilfgaardian forces in their invasions of the North, and in thanks were allowed their own State, Named Dol Blathanna, with Enid an Gleanna as its queen.
The Northern Kingdoms
The Northern Kingdoms are a group of human states north of the Amell mountains. Their inhabitants are called Nordlings by the Nilfgaardians (both the ones from the core of the Empire, and from the conquered provinces). Aside from humans, a number of dwarves, elves, gnomes and halflings live in the Northern Kingdoms as second-class citizens.
The Northern Kingdoms were invaded and partly conquered by the Nilfgaardian Empire.
List of the Major Northern Kingdoms include:
Aedirn, capital of which is Vengerberg. King Demavend III was its king until recently murdered by Witchers of the Viper school, and his son, Stennis I took his place as king.
Kaedwen, capital of which is Ard Carraigh, Ruled by King Henselt, a known hater of non-humans, having sworn that his kingdom would be rid of them once his rightful borders are restored. Kaedwen is the largest of the northern kingdoms.
Kovir and Poviss, capital of which is Aed Gynvael, ruled by Esterad Thyssen, of the Thyssen family. Known for maintaining Neutrality in the Nilfgaardian wars, preferring instead to sell its vast mineral wealth to both sides of the war, and thus becoming one of the richest and most powerful kingdoms in the north.
Lyria and Rivia, known for having two capitals, Lyria and Rivia, and ruled by Queen Meve. It should be noted that the famed witcher, Geralt of Rivia only took the title on because it amused him, although later on he was knighted by Queen Meve and was thus given the official title.
Redania, capital of which is Tretogor, although the university of Oxenfurt and the free city of Novigrad are within its borders. It's primary rival in the north is Temeria, and it is known for having the most advanced intelligence network in the world, it was formerly ruled by a Regency Council, as it's king, Vizimir II was assassinated during the second Nilfgaardian War. Once Vizimir's eldest son, Radovid came of age, he was crowned king.
Temeria, capital city of which is Vizima. It was formerly ruled by King Foltest, but with his assassination by the Witchers of the Viper School, it was quickly and easily divided between Henselt of Kaedwen and Radovid of Redania. It is the home of the famed School of Thanedd Island, where female magic adepts train and teach.
There are other smaller kingdoms, including the new Free State of Vergen, ruled by Queen Saskia after a vicious and bloody battle between her and Foltest. With the aid of Geralt of Rivia, she defeated an army five times that of her own, mostly consisting of elves, dwarves and common folk, and forced Foltest not only to give up his birthright to Upper Aedirn, but to recognize the new free state.
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Races
Humans
humans are the major race in both the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire. When they first arrived on the already populated continent, they rather quickly set about conquering the lands already inhabited by elder races. This lead to their dominance and so the elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings are now generally referred to as nonhumans. Interestingly enough, because both humans and elves can easily interbreed, most humans nowadays are believed to have elven ancestors.
Humans and elves are not terribly dissimilar in appearance. Their size is roughly the same but elves have pointed ears, smaller teeth and tend to be more delicately featured. Humans also do not live as long (by far) as elves.
The humans are at war with elves in particular and have a rather poor relationship with the dwarves, halflings and gnomes. The races do live together in the cities, however the non-humans are forced to pay a levy just for being non-humans. Several pogroms(Officially encouraged massacres) have taken place in the cities. Many of the larger human cities were built on the ruins of elven cities which the humans had burned down; cities like Vizima and Novigrad, to name only two.
Elves
Elves are one of the Elder Races (along with gnomes and dwarves). Elves, also known as Aen Seidhe, came to the Continent on their white ships much earlier than humans, but later than gnomes and dwarves. Elves live much longer than humans and are usually very attractive. Their characteristic features include pointed ears and small, identical teeth without cuspids (canine teeth). Elves are capable of interbreeding with humans (thus producing half-elves and quadroons) and dryads.
Like other nonhumans, elves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, many elves were members of the Scoia'tael guerilla allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms. In return, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis gave the elves a state of their own in Dol Blathanna and made Enid an Gleanna its queen.
Elves believe that they were created, unlike humans, who evolved. For this reason, some elves consider humans to be little more than hairless apes.
Aside from Aen Seidhe, there exists another group of elves called Aen Elle that inhabits another world.
Dwarves
An adult dwarf grows as tall as a human male's chest. They are more sturdy than humans, which makes them tougher and stronger. They usually grow long beards. Dwarves are often excellent soldiers, artisans and businessmen. While they tend to be uncouth, they are also jolly and cheerful.
The motherland of dwarves is Mahakam. Like other nonhumans, dwarves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, some dwarves were members of the Scoia'tael guerilla allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms.
Gnomes
Gnomes were the oldest sentient race on the Continent and together with dwarves and elves are called the Old races. Gnomes are shorter and weaker than dwarves, but just as tough and more agile. They can be easily distinguished from dwarves and halflings by their long noses.
Many gnomes live in Mahakam along with the dwarves, although others inhabit the Tir Tochair mountain range. They are excellent smiths and metallurgists and their gwyhyr swords are considered the best in the world.
Halflings
Halflings are one of the non-human races. They are between two and four feet tall and their feet are covered with curly hair (they do not usually wear any shoes). They are exceptionally agile and good at fighting with thrown weapons. Their clothing is usually neat and tidy, in bright colours. Some of them, particularly in the Northern Kingdoms, live among humans despite the persecutions, but some others joined the Scoia'tael guerilla bands.
Trolls
Trolls are giant, humanoid creatures. Trolls possess a certain level of intelligence, and are able to use simple sentences to communicate with humans and amongst themselves. They usually reside in the wild, but often are found living under bridges (which they often build themselves) and demand toll from travelers. While witchers used to kill trolls in the past (as some trolls eat or ate human flesh), nowadays often people are used to having a troll around, especially that paying the toll is cheaper than maintenance of the bridge. Most of the time, Trolls are seen as monsters, but as they tend to live reasonably peacefully side-by-side with humans, I decided to include them in this listing.
Of the races, only Elves and Humans are able to interbreed, although the offspring of humans and elves are usually looked upon with disdain and mistrust by both races.
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Monsters
Deciding what is and is not a monster is usually left to the call of the slayer on a case by case basis, although there are some beasts that are generally considered to be monsters with little or no exceptions. A general criteria is their resilience to Silver, intelligence and humanoid appearance (or lack thereof). They are generally thought to have been brought to this world by the event commonly known as the Conjunction of the Spheres, where, according to legend, two parallel worlds touched, thus allowing the monsters of one realm to enter another. After that, it is possible for powerful mages to summon monsters from that world, and although creatures entering unsummoned is nearly unheard of, it has been known to happen. Witchers Regularly claim this happening to be the bane of their existence, although it is argued that, without the monsters, there would, likely, be no witchers. It is also argued that this is how both humans and magic entered the world.
For a full bestiary, look here.
Dragons
Why do they have a class all of their own? Well, because they are dragons. Case closed.
Dragons are flying monsters, or draconids, which are said to represent the forces of Chaos. Apart from cats, dragons the only creatures known to absorb magical energy.
Many people consider them to be the single greatest enemy of the human race and many legends revolve around the beasts. However, the primary motivation for hunting dragons tends not to be the preservation of the human race, but plundering their legendary hoards of treasure. People's fear of these creatures is largely misplaced as the simpler folk cannot distinguish dragons from other flying reptiles.
Dragons are divided into different types, loosely by colour: green, red and black. Dragons are also the source of many alchemical materials, especially their tears and teeth, which are used in the manufacture of medicine and elixirs, and blood, which is used in cosmetics. The tail is considered a great delicacy in some parts.
There are also legends of golden dragons, but most people believe these to be fanciful tales and not fact.
Golden dragons are considered to be the stuff of legends and not real at all. However, there is at least one individual, Villentretenmerth, who can take any shape, including that of Borch Three Jackdaws. It is not known whether there are more golden dragons, or whether they are simply the result of a unique mutation.
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Magic
Magic is the art of bending the power of Chaos to one's will. Practitioners of the art must master a vast and complicated corpus of knowledge and, it seems, women have a special predisposition for it. Sorcerers seek out talented children and teach them.
The Power bound in spell formulae may be used for healing, teleportation, destruction, creating illusions, and altering form. The most famous spells are named after their creators, e.g. Alzur's Thunder or Merigold's Hailstorm. Thanks to magic, it is also possible to create magical glyphs and amulets, such as the witchers' medallions.
The witchers' Signs are very simple spells, mostly kinetic or mind-influencing. To use them, one needs concentrated will and a hand gesture. Casting Signs is not time-consuming, so witchers use them when fighting monsters.
Magically gifted children are born all over the world. They are called Sources. The Brotherhood of Sorcerers was charged with finding and training such children. Descendants of Lara Dorren are a special case — their magical gifts are very strong. They can travel through time and space, and release the pure energy of Chaos. These powers are wild and difficult to control, though, and are activated in moments of stress, often surprising their possessor.
The power used to cast spells is drawn from the elements. Fire is the best but simultaneously most dangerous elemental source. Mages who specialize in the magic of fire often achieve great power, but they pay a price for it: as fire addicts, they often suffer burns or even die engulfed in flames. The essence of fire becomes their essence, which makes them vulnerable to water.
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Playable Classes
Witchers
Often seen by other people as mutants and monsters themselves, it is often stated by the witchers themselves that their title is one of profession, not race. Taken into the various schools as small children, where their initial traits and skills are still unknown, they are subjected to hard training at a young age, and, as they progress in age, to alchemical changes and mutations. These are unforgiving, and it is speculated that only 40% of those taken in for training by the witcher schools survive to be monster slayers. But these changes give them increased speed and regeneration, and impressive strength, making them more than a match for just about any warrior or collection of warriors that are not witchers. Their traits are usually their eyes, which usually turn rather feline, with a slitted pupil and yellow eyes, longevity, as some witchers are known to survive for as long as it takes to violently end their lives. They are also known to be immune to just about any poison and sickness known to man, due their early subjection to them. For the same reason, they are also sterile. They also carry magical medallions that resembles the school from which they come from, which can warn the wearer of danger and magic in his vicinity. A witcher will not willingly be parted from his medallion. Often speculated as not having any emotions, even by themselves, it is generally thought that their upbringing left them with different concepts of manners and morals. For people that declare that they want little to do with politics, witchers often find themselves drawn into them.
Witchers hav a token knowledge of magic, mainly their use of the Signs, but are always well trained in the arts of Alchemy. They carry two weapons at least, as a rule, one 'Steel' blade, for dealing with mundane people, and silver blades, to deal with monsters and magical creatures. There has never been a non-human witcher in known record.
Witchers are generally outcasts, and contact with them is usually solely business. They are usually targeted along with nun-humans and magic wielders when hunts and massacres of those are called for. The schools were generally torn down and destroyed, with those witchers surviving doomed to extinction as they no longer train. Emhyr var Emreis did promise that, with the help of those surviving, that he would rebuild a School of the Viper within his own borders.
Mages
Mages are people skilled and educated in the use of magic. Female mages are often called sorceresses, while male mages are called sorcerers. Only rare individuals have the potential to become mages and many of those with this potential are doomed to madness. Unless the individual in question — also known as a Source — learns to control their power quickly, he or she may end up a half-insane, slobbering oracle. That is why schools of sorcery were created, where talented children study for many years, acquiring knowledge and mastering magical skills. Because of their powers, mages age more slowly than ordinary people. They can extract magical energy from the four elements, transport themselves long distances and heal, as well as kill, in the blink of an eye. They have extensive scientific and political knowledge; in the latter respect, many mages are the equals of rulers.
The words "mage", "sorcerer" and "sorceress" are used mostly to refer to people trained in magical academies like Aretuza or Ban Ard and is rarely used to refer to magic-wielding druids or priests (especially the latter, since they claim to be given their powers by the gods).
Mages usually tend to gravitate to politics, and are very well organized, with the original Brotherhood of Sorcerers, which later evolved into the Lodge of Sorceresses. Generally distrusted, and with good reason, Mages tend to have their own agendas and only abide by the rule of a monarch so long as it suits his or her needs.
Warrior
In a world in near constant turmoil, the profession is in high demand, be they knights, conscripts, mercenaries, or just about anybody that can wield a weapon. In the North, dwarves and elves are not usually allowed into the main armies of countries, although exceptions have been made for times of great duress. While Gnomes tend to avoid fighting, them and the dwarves are nearly unbeatable in close quarters combat, with elves, as described by Geralt of Rivia to the bard Dandelion, after the siege of Vergen," The best damned archers in world. Nothing else in the world is certain but that." In her holding of Vergen, Saskia was known to, for the first time, employ dwarves, elves, even the guerrilla forest rebels known as the Scoi'atel, an, it is famed, a pair of trolls that had an ax to grind with Henselt.
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I have left quite a bit out, gathering information from books, wikis and the games. Some of the items drawn from the games are only available if certain paths are taken in the games. So, this is just up as a general explanation of the universe, and if I got something wrong, please tell me. I love this universe built, and would like to increase my knowledge of it by any means necessary.
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This Rp would be started out at the end of 'The Witcher: Assassins of Kings, where the great council of Loc Muinne was destroyed by the dragon, with hundreds dead and many more running for cover in the harsh bordering lands. News of the Nilfgaardian armies crossing the Yaruga spreads like wildfire as the Kings that remain scramble to assemble their armies to counter the invading forces. This means that monsters run rampant in the lands, fear, panic and sickness spread, and with it, the hatred between races begins to come to an edge. The leader of the Scoia'tael, Iorveth has vowed that his archers would fight alongside the men, women and other races of Vergen, regardless of their stance on the war, and with Witchers being a rare commodity, monster attacks become more and more commonplace.
A sandbox RP with a loose plot for everyone to follow.
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CS:
Name:
Race:
Class:
Appearance: (Pic and Description of at least two paragraphs. No Anime.)
Personality: (At least two paragraphs as well)
Weapons:(Nothing too overpowered here, please)
Bio: (Three paragraph minimum. Include why and how they were called upon to fight the Wild Hunt.)
Others:(Magical powers, small quirks, anything that you would like to include.)
Power, Sex, Power, Sex... Both come down to the same thing: Fucking others -
Geralt of Rivia
Before I get going on a basic description of the world, I highly recommend the Games, for those that like them and the books, for those that have lots of time for reading. I swear. I could hardly put the books down.
Anyways, here is a basic description of the world, including a light geographical explanation, a run through of the races, character types, monsters, and something of the what has happened so far, as far as I can tell. Hope you enjoy the read
[hr/]
World
The Story happens on the immense and unnamed continent, named, creatively, the Continent. Dwarves and Gnomes were here first, followed by the elves. The Elf-Dwarf Wars ensued when the elves landed about a few thousand years ago, and ended with the elves settling in the plains and valleys, taking to tilling the earth and the woods, quickly growing to love their new home, while the dwarves and gnomes took up residence in the mountains, and quickly became well known for their skill in mining, and the crafting of metals.
But what comes around goes around, as they say, and roughly 500 years ago, the humans landed, and quickly populated. Not liking to share their land with those that they came to call in disgust non-humans, they quickly routed the elves, gnomes and dwarves from their homes, settling and pushing the other, named Elder Races out. They are frequently regarded as freaks and forced to live in Ghettos in the cities in which they reside, if they are allowed to live there at all. They are forced to move to more and move unforgiving places of residence to avoid the persecution of their kind.
The humans quickly got used their home and became the dominant race on the Continent, and kingdoms were quickly established. In the last hundred or so years, as the Northern kingdoms grew more and more divided, the South was united by the Nilfgaardian Empire, with those kingdoms that fought falling and their kings beheaded, replaced by Nilfgaardian magistrates and officials. Those that bent the knee were allowed to maintain their kingdoms under the Nilfgaardian Emperor, of course.
Nilfgaard
The city of Nilfgaard, known as the City of the Golden Tower, is the capital of the Nilfgaardian Empire which eventually grew to conquer all foreign lands south of the Yaruga (A large river that is the geographical border separating the North and Southern kingdoms). The city itself is located on the Alba. Citizens of the city tend to consider the Nilfgaardian Empire as defined only by the inhabitants of the capital and surrounding lands, and certainly not by the inhabitants of the "lesser" areas.
Nilfgaard is the most powerful empire in the history of the known world. It is located in the southern part of the continent and boasts both a thriving economy and a strong, well-trained army with talented commanders. It is ruled by Emhyr var Emreis. Unlike the Northern kingdoms, Elves were allowed to fight alongside the Nilfgaardian forces in their invasions of the North, and in thanks were allowed their own State, Named Dol Blathanna, with Enid an Gleanna as its queen.
The Northern Kingdoms
The Northern Kingdoms are a group of human states north of the Amell mountains. Their inhabitants are called Nordlings by the Nilfgaardians (both the ones from the core of the Empire, and from the conquered provinces). Aside from humans, a number of dwarves, elves, gnomes and halflings live in the Northern Kingdoms as second-class citizens.
The Northern Kingdoms were invaded and partly conquered by the Nilfgaardian Empire.
List of the Major Northern Kingdoms include:
Aedirn, capital of which is Vengerberg. King Demavend III was its king until recently murdered by Witchers of the Viper school, and his son, Stennis I took his place as king.
Kaedwen, capital of which is Ard Carraigh, Ruled by King Henselt, a known hater of non-humans, having sworn that his kingdom would be rid of them once his rightful borders are restored. Kaedwen is the largest of the northern kingdoms.
Kovir and Poviss, capital of which is Aed Gynvael, ruled by Esterad Thyssen, of the Thyssen family. Known for maintaining Neutrality in the Nilfgaardian wars, preferring instead to sell its vast mineral wealth to both sides of the war, and thus becoming one of the richest and most powerful kingdoms in the north.
Lyria and Rivia, known for having two capitals, Lyria and Rivia, and ruled by Queen Meve. It should be noted that the famed witcher, Geralt of Rivia only took the title on because it amused him, although later on he was knighted by Queen Meve and was thus given the official title.
Redania, capital of which is Tretogor, although the university of Oxenfurt and the free city of Novigrad are within its borders. It's primary rival in the north is Temeria, and it is known for having the most advanced intelligence network in the world, it was formerly ruled by a Regency Council, as it's king, Vizimir II was assassinated during the second Nilfgaardian War. Once Vizimir's eldest son, Radovid came of age, he was crowned king.
Temeria, capital city of which is Vizima. It was formerly ruled by King Foltest, but with his assassination by the Witchers of the Viper School, it was quickly and easily divided between Henselt of Kaedwen and Radovid of Redania. It is the home of the famed School of Thanedd Island, where female magic adepts train and teach.
There are other smaller kingdoms, including the new Free State of Vergen, ruled by Queen Saskia after a vicious and bloody battle between her and Foltest. With the aid of Geralt of Rivia, she defeated an army five times that of her own, mostly consisting of elves, dwarves and common folk, and forced Foltest not only to give up his birthright to Upper Aedirn, but to recognize the new free state.
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Races
Humans
humans are the major race in both the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire. When they first arrived on the already populated continent, they rather quickly set about conquering the lands already inhabited by elder races. This lead to their dominance and so the elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings are now generally referred to as nonhumans. Interestingly enough, because both humans and elves can easily interbreed, most humans nowadays are believed to have elven ancestors.
Humans and elves are not terribly dissimilar in appearance. Their size is roughly the same but elves have pointed ears, smaller teeth and tend to be more delicately featured. Humans also do not live as long (by far) as elves.
The humans are at war with elves in particular and have a rather poor relationship with the dwarves, halflings and gnomes. The races do live together in the cities, however the non-humans are forced to pay a levy just for being non-humans. Several pogroms(Officially encouraged massacres) have taken place in the cities. Many of the larger human cities were built on the ruins of elven cities which the humans had burned down; cities like Vizima and Novigrad, to name only two.
Elves
Elves are one of the Elder Races (along with gnomes and dwarves). Elves, also known as Aen Seidhe, came to the Continent on their white ships much earlier than humans, but later than gnomes and dwarves. Elves live much longer than humans and are usually very attractive. Their characteristic features include pointed ears and small, identical teeth without cuspids (canine teeth). Elves are capable of interbreeding with humans (thus producing half-elves and quadroons) and dryads.
Like other nonhumans, elves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, many elves were members of the Scoia'tael guerilla allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms. In return, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis gave the elves a state of their own in Dol Blathanna and made Enid an Gleanna its queen.
Elves believe that they were created, unlike humans, who evolved. For this reason, some elves consider humans to be little more than hairless apes.
Aside from Aen Seidhe, there exists another group of elves called Aen Elle that inhabits another world.
Dwarves
An adult dwarf grows as tall as a human male's chest. They are more sturdy than humans, which makes them tougher and stronger. They usually grow long beards. Dwarves are often excellent soldiers, artisans and businessmen. While they tend to be uncouth, they are also jolly and cheerful.
The motherland of dwarves is Mahakam. Like other nonhumans, dwarves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, some dwarves were members of the Scoia'tael guerilla allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms.
Gnomes
Gnomes were the oldest sentient race on the Continent and together with dwarves and elves are called the Old races. Gnomes are shorter and weaker than dwarves, but just as tough and more agile. They can be easily distinguished from dwarves and halflings by their long noses.
Many gnomes live in Mahakam along with the dwarves, although others inhabit the Tir Tochair mountain range. They are excellent smiths and metallurgists and their gwyhyr swords are considered the best in the world.
Halflings
Halflings are one of the non-human races. They are between two and four feet tall and their feet are covered with curly hair (they do not usually wear any shoes). They are exceptionally agile and good at fighting with thrown weapons. Their clothing is usually neat and tidy, in bright colours. Some of them, particularly in the Northern Kingdoms, live among humans despite the persecutions, but some others joined the Scoia'tael guerilla bands.
Trolls
Trolls are giant, humanoid creatures. Trolls possess a certain level of intelligence, and are able to use simple sentences to communicate with humans and amongst themselves. They usually reside in the wild, but often are found living under bridges (which they often build themselves) and demand toll from travelers. While witchers used to kill trolls in the past (as some trolls eat or ate human flesh), nowadays often people are used to having a troll around, especially that paying the toll is cheaper than maintenance of the bridge. Most of the time, Trolls are seen as monsters, but as they tend to live reasonably peacefully side-by-side with humans, I decided to include them in this listing.
Of the races, only Elves and Humans are able to interbreed, although the offspring of humans and elves are usually looked upon with disdain and mistrust by both races.
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Monsters
Deciding what is and is not a monster is usually left to the call of the slayer on a case by case basis, although there are some beasts that are generally considered to be monsters with little or no exceptions. A general criteria is their resilience to Silver, intelligence and humanoid appearance (or lack thereof). They are generally thought to have been brought to this world by the event commonly known as the Conjunction of the Spheres, where, according to legend, two parallel worlds touched, thus allowing the monsters of one realm to enter another. After that, it is possible for powerful mages to summon monsters from that world, and although creatures entering unsummoned is nearly unheard of, it has been known to happen. Witchers Regularly claim this happening to be the bane of their existence, although it is argued that, without the monsters, there would, likely, be no witchers. It is also argued that this is how both humans and magic entered the world.
For a full bestiary, look here.
Dragons
Why do they have a class all of their own? Well, because they are dragons. Case closed.
Dragons are flying monsters, or draconids, which are said to represent the forces of Chaos. Apart from cats, dragons the only creatures known to absorb magical energy.
Many people consider them to be the single greatest enemy of the human race and many legends revolve around the beasts. However, the primary motivation for hunting dragons tends not to be the preservation of the human race, but plundering their legendary hoards of treasure. People's fear of these creatures is largely misplaced as the simpler folk cannot distinguish dragons from other flying reptiles.
Dragons are divided into different types, loosely by colour: green, red and black. Dragons are also the source of many alchemical materials, especially their tears and teeth, which are used in the manufacture of medicine and elixirs, and blood, which is used in cosmetics. The tail is considered a great delicacy in some parts.
There are also legends of golden dragons, but most people believe these to be fanciful tales and not fact.
Golden dragons are considered to be the stuff of legends and not real at all. However, there is at least one individual, Villentretenmerth, who can take any shape, including that of Borch Three Jackdaws. It is not known whether there are more golden dragons, or whether they are simply the result of a unique mutation.
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Magic
Magic is the art of bending the power of Chaos to one's will. Practitioners of the art must master a vast and complicated corpus of knowledge and, it seems, women have a special predisposition for it. Sorcerers seek out talented children and teach them.
The Power bound in spell formulae may be used for healing, teleportation, destruction, creating illusions, and altering form. The most famous spells are named after their creators, e.g. Alzur's Thunder or Merigold's Hailstorm. Thanks to magic, it is also possible to create magical glyphs and amulets, such as the witchers' medallions.
The witchers' Signs are very simple spells, mostly kinetic or mind-influencing. To use them, one needs concentrated will and a hand gesture. Casting Signs is not time-consuming, so witchers use them when fighting monsters.
Magically gifted children are born all over the world. They are called Sources. The Brotherhood of Sorcerers was charged with finding and training such children. Descendants of Lara Dorren are a special case — their magical gifts are very strong. They can travel through time and space, and release the pure energy of Chaos. These powers are wild and difficult to control, though, and are activated in moments of stress, often surprising their possessor.
The power used to cast spells is drawn from the elements. Fire is the best but simultaneously most dangerous elemental source. Mages who specialize in the magic of fire often achieve great power, but they pay a price for it: as fire addicts, they often suffer burns or even die engulfed in flames. The essence of fire becomes their essence, which makes them vulnerable to water.
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Playable Classes
Witchers
Often seen by other people as mutants and monsters themselves, it is often stated by the witchers themselves that their title is one of profession, not race. Taken into the various schools as small children, where their initial traits and skills are still unknown, they are subjected to hard training at a young age, and, as they progress in age, to alchemical changes and mutations. These are unforgiving, and it is speculated that only 40% of those taken in for training by the witcher schools survive to be monster slayers. But these changes give them increased speed and regeneration, and impressive strength, making them more than a match for just about any warrior or collection of warriors that are not witchers. Their traits are usually their eyes, which usually turn rather feline, with a slitted pupil and yellow eyes, longevity, as some witchers are known to survive for as long as it takes to violently end their lives. They are also known to be immune to just about any poison and sickness known to man, due their early subjection to them. For the same reason, they are also sterile. They also carry magical medallions that resembles the school from which they come from, which can warn the wearer of danger and magic in his vicinity. A witcher will not willingly be parted from his medallion. Often speculated as not having any emotions, even by themselves, it is generally thought that their upbringing left them with different concepts of manners and morals. For people that declare that they want little to do with politics, witchers often find themselves drawn into them.
Witchers hav a token knowledge of magic, mainly their use of the Signs, but are always well trained in the arts of Alchemy. They carry two weapons at least, as a rule, one 'Steel' blade, for dealing with mundane people, and silver blades, to deal with monsters and magical creatures. There has never been a non-human witcher in known record.
Witchers are generally outcasts, and contact with them is usually solely business. They are usually targeted along with nun-humans and magic wielders when hunts and massacres of those are called for. The schools were generally torn down and destroyed, with those witchers surviving doomed to extinction as they no longer train. Emhyr var Emreis did promise that, with the help of those surviving, that he would rebuild a School of the Viper within his own borders.
Mages
Mages are people skilled and educated in the use of magic. Female mages are often called sorceresses, while male mages are called sorcerers. Only rare individuals have the potential to become mages and many of those with this potential are doomed to madness. Unless the individual in question — also known as a Source — learns to control their power quickly, he or she may end up a half-insane, slobbering oracle. That is why schools of sorcery were created, where talented children study for many years, acquiring knowledge and mastering magical skills. Because of their powers, mages age more slowly than ordinary people. They can extract magical energy from the four elements, transport themselves long distances and heal, as well as kill, in the blink of an eye. They have extensive scientific and political knowledge; in the latter respect, many mages are the equals of rulers.
The words "mage", "sorcerer" and "sorceress" are used mostly to refer to people trained in magical academies like Aretuza or Ban Ard and is rarely used to refer to magic-wielding druids or priests (especially the latter, since they claim to be given their powers by the gods).
Mages usually tend to gravitate to politics, and are very well organized, with the original Brotherhood of Sorcerers, which later evolved into the Lodge of Sorceresses. Generally distrusted, and with good reason, Mages tend to have their own agendas and only abide by the rule of a monarch so long as it suits his or her needs.
Warrior
In a world in near constant turmoil, the profession is in high demand, be they knights, conscripts, mercenaries, or just about anybody that can wield a weapon. In the North, dwarves and elves are not usually allowed into the main armies of countries, although exceptions have been made for times of great duress. While Gnomes tend to avoid fighting, them and the dwarves are nearly unbeatable in close quarters combat, with elves, as described by Geralt of Rivia to the bard Dandelion, after the siege of Vergen," The best damned archers in world. Nothing else in the world is certain but that." In her holding of Vergen, Saskia was known to, for the first time, employ dwarves, elves, even the guerrilla forest rebels known as the Scoi'atel, an, it is famed, a pair of trolls that had an ax to grind with Henselt.
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I have left quite a bit out, gathering information from books, wikis and the games. Some of the items drawn from the games are only available if certain paths are taken in the games. So, this is just up as a general explanation of the universe, and if I got something wrong, please tell me. I love this universe built, and would like to increase my knowledge of it by any means necessary.
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This Rp would be started out at the end of 'The Witcher: Assassins of Kings, where the great council of Loc Muinne was destroyed by the dragon, with hundreds dead and many more running for cover in the harsh bordering lands. News of the Nilfgaardian armies crossing the Yaruga spreads like wildfire as the Kings that remain scramble to assemble their armies to counter the invading forces. This means that monsters run rampant in the lands, fear, panic and sickness spread, and with it, the hatred between races begins to come to an edge. The leader of the Scoia'tael, Iorveth has vowed that his archers would fight alongside the men, women and other races of Vergen, regardless of their stance on the war, and with Witchers being a rare commodity, monster attacks become more and more commonplace.
A sandbox RP with a loose plot for everyone to follow.
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CS:
Name:
Race:
Class:
Appearance: (Pic and Description of at least two paragraphs. No Anime.)
Personality: (At least two paragraphs as well)
Weapons:(Nothing too overpowered here, please)
Bio: (Three paragraph minimum. Include why and how they were called upon to fight the Wild Hunt.)
Others:(Magical powers, small quirks, anything that you would like to include.)
Power, Sex, Power, Sex... Both come down to the same thing: Fucking others -
Geralt of Rivia
