Fero Province is beautiful. It is dotted with some of the most idyllic and picturesque towns on the continent, and certainly the most fertile land this side of the Cinder River. If all were perfect, perhaps its capital, the Pigeon Citadel, might be the richest in the kingdom.

But all is not perfect. Fero Province is surrounded to the south, west, and east by impassably steep and inhospitable mountains. The storm water that runs down from these may well be what keeps the land so lush, but the mountains that trap the clouds also trap Fero's citizens.

The only open space that might connect Fero Province to the rest of the kingdom lies to the north, where moorlands, forests, and swamps make up the journey to the hinterlands.

Once, the wild yet alluring landscape was not a problem. The North Road used to have settlements scattered along it - inns, guard towers, farmland.

Now, there is a beast.

Accounts of what this thing looks like are scarce and highly contradictory. Perhaps you've heard it has teeth. Perhaps you've been told it took someone's father, or mother, or sister, or son. Maybe you think you saw it one evening, a shadow on the distant horizon, and maybe it looked at you with too many eyes at once. The children sing songs about it. The adults tell hushed stories and hang trinkets on their doors. The livestock go missing. Strange calls float across the wilderness at night. They say it brings fog, brings rot, changes the weather, turns you in circles until you're lost - and once you're lost, the beast will find you soon enough.

What is certainly true is that anyone who sets out to make the perilous journey along the overgrown, ruined trail of the North Road has never returned... At least not in one piece, and never with the same grievous injury as the last.

For Fero Province, ten years have passed in resigned, hushed solitude. The land provides for its people, and so long as they stay, they are safe. But the crown has not given up. The Pigeon Citadel finally put out the call: the royal treasury will generously reward anyone capable of clearing the North Road and putting Fero Province back on the trade maps.

You have decided to hunt the beast, or make a run for the hills.





I haven't run a game like this in a long time, but I'm ready to shake off the rust.

This would be a dark-ish low-fantasy, medieval-inspired setting (bows and arrows, swords, and maybe just a little magic). I'd be playing the role of gamemaster - setting the scene, giving information on the environment, sprinkling in events, and playing NPCS. I may or may not dip in with my own character here and there, or have an NPC join the group temporarily(?), but the focus will be on what your characters do.

You'd be playing one character each, in a relatively small group, with the option to split the party now and then. This will be played paragraph-style (though I'm not too fussy about length beyond that as long as there's enough to go on). Let's say a maximum of 6 players for now and see how we go.

Characters are allowed to die, but I'll be leaving that largely up to the players' discretion. It is extremely likely there will be blood and injury.

I ask that people try to engage with each other's characters, share the spotlight with each other, etc. I'd like to see some character development and interpersonal relationships form (good or bad).

Also, there may be other strange things on the Northern Road than just the beast.



Slay the beast, or escape to the North.

Your character's exact motivation is yours to decide, but they must have lived within the closed-off Fero Province for the past ten years and have some reason to take the risk of travelling the North Road or hunting the beast. Maybe they have family up north? Maybe they're trying to win that sweet, sweet reward money? Maybe they want fame (or infamy), maybe they're just sick and tired of living in a place where nothing new comes in or goes out.

Let's see what you can do.



If you're already inspired for a character idea, don't discuss it publicly just yet. ;^) You can DM me with anything you like, including character ideas, questions, suggestions, plot ideas, etc.

SO UHHHH any interest? Any thoughts? Feedback? Something you don't like? Something you do?

I'm a little nervous about posting this so any and all response is welcome. I still need to figure out character sheet stuff, some setting-related worldbuilding, and build up some courage, so... we have time to discuss stuff! I'll figure out a real title later

It's a simple but effective idea that I definitely wouldn't mind playing along with. I'd be interested to see what else you have in mind for worldbuilding, both Fero and beyond since some outsiders probably got trapped here before the beast problem. Since fledgling RPs need hooks to catch people's attention and it's effective to steer player progress with a character of your own, I'd definitely recommend using your own NPC alongside the rest of the hunting squad. Were you thinking of starting with a gathering for the crown's announcement, setting out, or already on the road?

And welcome to the guild, by the way!

@lugubrious
For the rest of the worldbuilding I was going to try and keep it simple for the time being - I have ideas for the expanded world and for some stuff that may be going on back in the towns and capital, but to answer two questions in one, I was hoping to start the group off having already reached a point at the start of the North Road, and they'd have already left the towns behind.

This is partly due to wanting to jump right into what the premise is actually about, and not spending too much time noodling about in an area where the bulk of the story won't even take place... and partly because I don't want to have to roleplay fifteen random throwaway NPCs plus innkeeper(s) right from the get-go.

Characters would begin with whatever gear they brought with them (within reason, and I've yet to work out some reasonable limitations) The story would begin at late noon, with the beast rumoured to be more active at night.

(Edit, because I forgot: I guess I'll play it by ear - I'll try and decide whether or not I'll play a character before it begins, but I guess I can always duck 'em out later once things are rolling...)

And thank you! It's nice to meet you :^)

This looks very cool, I am interested

Final bump before I make the OOC! Anyone else on board? I have three counts of interest so far (one from DMs) and I'll go up to a maximum of six, but I'll settle for less!

Writing the OOC as we speak and it should be up either tonight or tomorrow morning. :^)

I've just made a new character who I think would work perfectly in a low- dark fantasy setting so count me in

OK, there it is! I hope it's not too overwhelming, I tried to cover everything essential. DM me with any questions! Late apps welcome until we hit 6, but I won't be bumping this thread any more.