Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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Introduction

In the far north of the world lies the Vale of Daka-Gorn. It is a frontier of deep woods and wild rivers, encircled by high mountains to the east, west and north, and by the sea in the south. The Vale lies far from the realms and great empires of the world, and has only recently been settled by mankind. Other creatures have lived here since ancient times, from the secretive elves of the treetop villages to the suspicious dwarves of the underground mines, as well as all manner of beasts and monsters; orcs, goblins, ogres, gnolls, and worse.

There are three human cities in the Vale; Kari-Mar by the sea, ruled by a league of Merchant Princes, Korros Tor in the eastern riverlands, ruled by the King Benetzaron and his knights, and Mor Kadar in the utmost north, ruled by the Witch-Queen Arkan and her spellblades. Between these lie villages and farmsteads, each contested by the rulers of the cities in endless border skirmishes and raids. All avoid war for fear of upsetting the balance, but the peace is frail.

In the middle of the Vale lies Crossroads Keep, a settlement that once began as a popular inn for weary travelers, that since has expanded into a fortified hub of commerce. Here rules the Lord Host Netzcaro, a shrewd inn keeper turned noble, who has his fingers in more pies than most can count.

People come to the Vale for many reasons. Some flee war, persecution, or the law. Others seek fame, riches, or a new beginning. Some, however, seek to unravel the mystery of the Daka-Gorn; an ancient civilization whose ruins now dot the wilderness of the Vale. Not much is known about them, and neither the dwarves or the elves have much to say. It is said that heir ruins are haunted, filled with horrid shadows, monsters, and worse. It is however also said that incredible treasures and forgotten knowledge can be won by those who dare brave the darkness of the tombs and dungeons.


The Game

Welcome! In this game, you will take on the roles of a few adventurers who brave the wilds of the Vale in search of treasure, glory, or the chance of a new beginning. There will be quests, dungeons, dangers, mystery and intrigue and, most importantly - hopefully - fun! This is a tale of high adventure, medieval sword and sorcery at its best, with everything that entails.

I'm looking for that special feeling that comes with exploring a strange faraway land, delving into unknown dungeons, uncovering magical mysteries, and fighting for your life against marauding orcs or murderous ogres. Comedy, horror, tragedy, love and other themes have their place here, too, but always within the concept of High Adventure. That concept (that is, the narrative) always comes first.

We were originally going to use the Fate system for this game, but have since reconsidered. We will however use the guiding principle of Fate while we play; banking "points" from failures or from letting your character complicate situations, to use in extraordinary circumstances of difficulty or danger where an extra level of success in necessary. There won't be an official counter or anything like that, but I'd like all players to keep this in mind while writing - to make the story more dynamic and enhance the experience for all involved.

As there were quite a few players in the Interest Check, I will give them precedence before admitting new players. If you're interested in participating anyway, let me know in the thread and I'll put you on a waiting list.


Characters

Every character will begin the game just having stepped of a ship in the bustling port of Kari-Mar. The hows and why's of this I'll leave to you, but it is important to note that this is your characters first visit to the Vale. And, yes, you will all have been on the same ship. As such, you may have developed relations to the other characters in the story even before we begin. I leave it to you to discuss that in the OOC.

Create your character by filling in the character sheet below. If you have any questions about races, magic or anything else in the game world, just ask in the OOC and we'll discuss it!

Once you've submitted a character sheet I'll either accept it right away, or discuss aspects of it that I want changed or clarified. Once accepted, I'll move your sheet to the character roster and you're all set to participate!




In closing

As always, if you have any questions or thoughts about the game, the setting, or anything else that you feel I can help you with, don't hesitate to write in the OOC. Let's have a fun and rewarding experience together!
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Dragonfly 9
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Are races like Tabaxis, Haregons, and Arakocra allowed?
Hidden 3 mos ago 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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Are races like Tabaxis, Haregons, and Arakocra allowed?


I've already said no to Gnolls and shapeshifters, so no. If they existed in the Vale, they'd be considered monsters. Go for humanoids.
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Hidden 3 mos ago 3 mos ago Post by CitrusArms
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I suppose the broader question, then, is.. what are the rules for "other"? Those all seem fairly humanoid. Animal-like, but ultimately humanoid.
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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I suppose the broader question, then, is.. what are the rules for "other"? Those all seem fairly humanoid. Animal-like, but ultimately humanoid.


Maybe something I hadn't thought about. We got a tiefling in the interest check, and a half-elf.
Hidden 3 mos ago 3 mos ago Post by Bacon
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CS here. I'm relatively unfamiliar with this site, so I don't know how to upscale text.


Hidden 3 mos ago Post by rabidbacon
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I'm thinking of making a bard-type character and am considering having buff-type or debuff-type spells - is there a sort of magic system we can abide by, with regards to the number of spells we know, as well as how many we can cast in a day? Same for talents and flaws, maybe it should be on a 1:1 ratio? @Red Wizard
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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@Bacon Looking good! I just have one little issue I'd like to discuss. As stated in the OP, your characters are supposed to start as fresh arrivals in the Vale, having just got off the boat. It's kind of important that your characters are strangers to the Vale, so if you could change that in your background and maybe add a bit about why your character came to the Vale I'd be grateful.

Also, if you ever want to copy the formatting of another post, you can click the "raw" link in the top right corner of that post to see how the poster wrote it. From there, you can copy, paste and edit to your hearts content. Also, if you want to have a place to fiddle and experiment with coding posts, I highly recommend starting a thread of your own in the Test Forum and go to town!
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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@rabidbacon I think that, in line with trying to keep the game less tabletopy, I'm not really going to put in a system game-wise. This isn't DnD, so you don't really have to bother with spells per day and stuff like that. Rather, you should ask yourself what would be cool, fun and interesting for the story and the other players. This is a PbP game, more about collaborating on a story and less about being an effective tool in clearing out dungeons like in DnD.
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by rabidbacon
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I see, thanks for explaining. Personally, if magic is involved, I prefer to have some sort of system in place (even just a soft one), so I think I'll forgo my slot for other interested parties. Regardless, it all looks pretty promising, and I wish the players and the GM a fun time!
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Dragonfly 9
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<Snipped quote by Dragonfly 9>

I've already said no to Gnolls and shapeshifters, so no. If they existed in the Vale, they'd be considered monsters. Go for humanoids.


Fair enough. I'm probably gonna bow out, then. Have fun, everyone! :D
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Bacon
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@Red WizardEdits have been made. Does this work?
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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@Bacon Yes, excellent! Thank you! Your character is accepted!
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by duskshine749
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Let me know how this is. Personality is kind of sparse because I normally get a feel for that as the game goes on. Everything else is kinda bullet pointed because it's a lot easier for me to think of the points that matter for a character rather than writing out the backstory as a more narrative account.
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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@duskshine749 Good stuff! Accepted!
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Dark Light
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@Red Wizard

Thoughts on an artificer?
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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Thoughts on an artificer?


That depends. I want to keep this game in line with the theme - medieval sword and sorcery - and I always get the feeling that artificers are more magepunk/steampunk oriented. What did you have in mind?
Hidden 3 mos ago 3 mos ago Post by Dark Light
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<Snipped quote by Dark Light>

That depends. I want to keep this game in line with the theme - medieval sword and sorcery - and I always get the feeling that artificers are more magepunk/steampunk oriented. What did you have in mind?


Completely understand, that's why I wanted to check first.
Seems the tanks and heavy hitter characters are covered so I was thinking a blend of stealth and magic.

His magic coming from gadgetry was just the first idea but maybe it could be heavy component based, almost like small rituals that he has learnt from a stolen book.

I envision him rummaging through his pack frantically looking for the right ingredient while reciting words in a lost language, drawing them out to buy time while simultaneously balancing a lit candle.

Like his life it's chaotic and risky.
Hidden 3 mos ago Post by Red Wizard
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@Dark Light That sounds cool! Go for it!
Hidden 3 mos ago 3 mos ago Post by MrSkimobile
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@Red Wizard Thinking of writing up a Dwarven Cleric, nice and classic. Every party needs a healer, after all. (cough, and some tasteful moral busybodying, cough)

Did you have any ideas for deities? Else I'll make up a generic-enough dwarf-appropriate one to flavor the cleric with.

Also, what would you say is an acceptable age-range for dwarves/elves?
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