Redemption: Shadows of Esarion || Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Post-Apocalyptic Medieval ||

[Gowi]

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| PREMISE |

“I think being dead is better than being alive.”
— Syrenia of Iliandur

Redemption: The Shadows of Esarion is a collaborative story inspired by several mediums within the dark fantasy genre such as Demon Souls, Hexen, Akame ga Kill, Claymore, and Beserk. The idea came to me when I was bouncing creative ideas for a new project with my roommate; who, at the time, was playing through the Souls series in anticipation for the newest entry to the series. The idea is that prospective players will take the role of a rebirthed individual who are known due to this reincarnation as “redeemers”, a term that applies to the fact that they are supposed to redeem humanity and bring light back from the depths of the darkness. But such redemption is hardly a simple task considering the state of the world— a world that much like Dark Souls is one swallowed in misery and ruin.

The level of the setting is one that is centrally medieval with some variations to formula for creative options. When the characters awake they will find themselves face down in the dirt, gasping for air as their body is reawakened and regenerated by strange magic. They will be together in their confusion as there will be little people left in the world that they find themselves in that will be helpful, hopeful, or sympathetic— for this is a game that has been repeated several times. The rebirth of old heroes has happened for so long and with no “redemption” for the world following that they don’t see any reason to care. They choose to accept their reality. But if this is reality, why did the gods reawaken others? A valid question for many.

Player Characters are lost upon their rebirth: entering a world with no answers to where they are, when they are, and who they are. They may have a name, they may have some brief thoughts on what they did; but they do not have any comprehensive knowledge or wisdom beyond that fact. Outside of retaining their skills and talents, characters will also be reborn with a power that is reflective of them; but their access to it will be brief no matter the level of power existing from within. These abilities are called the “gift of rebirth” and are unique to those who have been brought back— but it also means their soul is far more valuable this time around considering it has been imbued with divine energy. Evil men, monsters, demons, and spirits will sense this and try to harvest it for their own gain.

So I'm going to need around 3-4 players excluding myself and @McMolly who sort of was my brainstorming drone utility.

So I leave you with two questions: who are you, and are you interested?

Anyway here's some more info:

Comments?, Questions?, Interest?

| THE REALM |

The world of Esarion has fallen into chaos following the apocalyptic event known as The Inalienable Dreamless— a harrowing event that consumed the world following humanity’s descent into sin. Even the goddess of creation, Lyriel, could not prevent the downfall of humanity and the calamity of the accursed energies that would bring a dawn of unfathomable evil to the world. This unfathomable evil would be the sin-spurred bringers of the fall of humanity as warped abominations like wraiths, monsters, cretins, demons, and other creatures crawled from the darkest shadows ready to devour what humanity had become. Cataclysmic disasters shook the realm and entire kingdoms faded into a distant memory. Humanity blackened as they were forced to witness their genocide.

The realm as it once stood was centered on seven kingdoms of humanity, all with opposing viewpoints despite a shared cultural ancestry. What happened following the Inalienable Dreamless is not particular obscure to the few factions of humanity that have survived— denying the genocide that dark magic had tried to commit upon them. However, for understandable reasons humanity has not rebuilt in the traditional sense. There are no more kingdoms, no more guilds, no more academies, and no more covens: the world has splintered humanity of any sense of unity they had and the majority of the surviving members of the race wander their fractured world like a group of senseless nomads as a dark shadow looms behind them as it stalks them at every chance opportunity.

But the ancestry is still there:

The Kingdom of Badarium

Badarium was a central kingdom of humanity that served as the weakest of the major kingdom states for most of its history. Banded in heralds of pink and ivory, Badarium was often called The Kingdom of Harem Princes due to their repeated history of lustful relationships and affairs that extended from servants, concubines, siblings, cousins, and on one occasion a visiting priest. Badarium has always been the most morally questionable but remained in a state of existence due to it being the second strongest (and most defensive) military force in the lands despite having not much for economic wealth or academic growth. Before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Badarium was involved in several wars that led to their collapse— a fact that was apparent when it was discovered that their ruler at the time had killed his father, enslaved his sister, and turned his rule into a sexual power fantasy. Their last known leader was known as King Irthur Badal.

The Dominion of Draethir

Draethir was a militarized kingdom of humanity that was bred for the battlefield with some of their most notable soldiers being women. Banded in heralds of crimson and ebony, Draethir saw itself as the warlords of the battlefield and little good in times of idyllic peace. With many mercenary bands originating in Draethir, they were often seen as the bulk of other kingdom’s petty wars and disputes— enforcers, champions, and executioners. As skilled with a pike as they were with a sword, it was clear that the vicious ancestry of barbarian hordes that the people held had never waned nor did their heretical views of disbelieving in the gods. Before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Draethir was involved in many wars but were most notorious for the Badarium Genocide. Their last known leader before their fall was known as Warlord Xalkar Drox.

The Theocratic Sovereignty of Iliandur

Iliandur was a central kingdom of humanity that whilst not the most powerful of all of mankind was perhaps the most prestigious. Banded in heralds of purple and silver, Iliandur saw itself as arbiters of its neighbors and protectors of the weak despite not always living up to such standards. The holy knights of Iliandur were said to be touched by the gods Helstar and Aegis personally— the monolithic statues of the two holy gods standing parallel with hammer and shield in hand at the gates to the royal palace. But before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Iliandur fell into straits of religious persecution, overzealous assertions, and baseless accusations that incited several inquisitions and crusades within Esarion. Their last known leader before their fall was known as Matriarch Pythia Heartspire, the Grand Cleric of Iliandur and sovereign ruler of the Primrose Valley.

The Kingdom of Irisia

Irisia was a central kingdom of humanity that saw themselves as the most powerful nation simply for their greater access to lowland fields, a fact they abused to become a massive breadbasket which they defended with bows at the ready. Banded in heralds of green and gold, the rangers and farmers of Irisia earnest protected their lands as their rulers kept massive granaries of food to themselves that they even refused their political allies access to. Before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Irisia had ignored a drought that led to a quarter of their smallfolk from starving to death when they had royal reserves to amend such a fate. Their last known leader before their fall was Queen Kieamiera Satyrian.

The Kingdom of Sikth

Sikth was a central kingdom of humanity that hungered for economic growth since their very beginning. Banded in heralds of ebony and gold, Sikth always had an idea how to gain an economic advantage despite not holding many unique resources to their name. Through intrigue and trade expertise the high nobility would always seem to find a way to get more wealth even when they did not deserve the prestige of it. Before the Inalienable Dreamless, Sikth discovered a treasure trove of gold that was underneath a massive ancient cemetery and burial ground; and being SIkth excavated it to get to the gold. Their last known leader before their fall was known as King Iaronis Borknagar.

The Kingdom of Xelfiria

Xelfiria was a central kingdom of humanity that saw themselves as meek in comparison to their neighbors and thus most often played politics to climb the ladder and avoid wars that didn’t benefit them. Banded in heralds of teal and gold, Xelfiria often committed games of diplomacy through political marriages and favorable edicts to gain power; often absorbing their rival’s land through various legitimate claims after plotting for hundreds of years. Before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Xelfiria had allied itself directly with Draethir, inciting the Badarium Genocide through clever words. Their last known leader before their fall was known as King Torvic Xelfir.

The Magocracy of Xir

Xir was a small state of humanity that descended from an academic guild of wizards, sorcerers, mages, shamans, and occultists that broke off from their original homelands, sick of the lack of value on the intellectual arts and more specifically the magical arts. Some of their opponents claimed they broke off due to the magical bans and ordinances issued on them— a partial truth. Banded in heralds of cerulean and ivory, the magical casters of Xir were often seen as uninvolved with the affairs of their neighbors often citing “neutrality” as an excuse to not get involved on a larger scale. Before the Inalienable Dreamless occurred Xir once again sat on its laurels as war consumed the lands, hoping it would settle itself out. Their last known leader before their fall was Archon Indaxas Fel.

| REBIRTH |

The creator of our world, Lyriel, has once again looked down upon the physical realm in search of those to be redeemed. The massive kingdom spanning graveyard that served as humanity’s final battlefield, The Hollows, is where the goddess returned her eyes to as the souls that have not left would now be ready to reawaken. However she only reawaken a few at a time and it is upon this unknown year that she has risen five.

When the Inalienable Dreamless dawned upon the world, many people died at the end of accursed creatures, deceiving blades, and unfortunate circumstances— falling down into the crimson-drenched mud of the battlefield as they prepared to meet their gods. It was a terrible fate, but a fate nonetheless… but for whatever reason there was no afterlife. Due to the effects of the Inalienable Dreamless there was no “end” and whilst people did die they would not stay dead for very long. Those who fell would once again rise, though this curse came with its own drawbacks and advantages.

These drawbacks would include the loss of identity, the loss of wisdom, the loss of knowledge, and for some… a loss of purpose. As the process of “Rebirth” could take centuries— when the individuals cursed with being reawakened did so they would not recognize anything and not remember who they were outside of a name and fractured thoughts of who they were. All they knew is they were “redeemers”. However, the advantage of being reawakened tempers this fact as redeemers with the abilities that comes with their soul being reinvigorated with divine energy: the gift of rebirth.

These gifts are immensely powerful, but have their own limitations; for example, you might be able to turn invisible but it will not be long… especially if you have just been reawakened yourself. There is also the fact that redeemers never truly know how to use their gift and it never utilizes when they really “want” it to, but rather when it “needs” to. A conflicting and fickle gift, for sure.

But for some it means something.

[Fabricant451]

I've only read the premise but I'm totally into this.

Gonna read the rest tho

[GodOfChaos]

I am with Fabricant on this one. I read the Premise but it looks like this will be outstanding. I will read the rest when I get the chance.

[Gowi]

Back from dinner and I got two interested parties. That's good, I'm quite happy with that.

[ClocktowerEchos]

Grr... something that hits me while I'm in a Dark Souls streak... and possibily not have the time >_>

Blegh, here be thy tentative interest doe ^^

[Zeroth]

Read the whole thing, very interested but have a few questions.

If the characters reawaken with no memories of their past lives save their names and "their skills and talents," does this mean that they are almost totally amnesiac? It seems that it would be hard to write for a character whose mind has been entirely wiped--there are so many learned skills that we take for granted that, if forgotten, would practically reduce a person to the level of helplessness of an infant. You wrote a bit about how their "comprehensive knowledge and wisdom" was taken, but what could you elaborate more on what types of knowledge would disappear? I assume people have to retain their language skills, otherwise communication would be possible. But retaining language also means vocabulary--if they've lost all their memories of the castle they once called home, for example, do they still know what castles basically are? And as far as skills and talents go, what about skills like--I'm assuming--magic, or alchemy, that require knowledge and wisdom? Muscle memory, like swordsmanship, is easy enough to explain, but a person can't be laser-precision amnesiac and still have advanced knowledge of magecraft, could they?

And speaking of magic, my next question is about its specifics as well. What exactly can we expect from the types or systems of magic in this RP?

Thanks in advance, and if it wasn't already obvious, I'm kind of thinking of making a character from the Mageocracy.

[Gowi]

@Zeroth

Very valid questions – the amnesia is to serve as more of a characterization hook, but won’t serve as a completely absence of knowledge. Characters will have skittering memories of their childhood, the world as they knew it, and their education; so our characters will have a consistence in memory even if they draw blanks on greater knowledge like their family name, certain events of their time, and so forth. Generally it will be up to the players to make their characters remember more and more as they went along but will be expected to making their memories restoration be well-paced and sensible. For example, no automatically knowing [X Character] is the Princess of Draethir or something like that. The idea of the setting is to keep a sense of mystery and tension, you know?

As for your second point, all elementary/fundamental knowledge is something they will have.

If a player wants to play a character from Xir, for example, I guess I would have to explain magic a bit— given the influences this should be pretty simple but a lot of what I draw from for the Magocracies knowledge includes arcane magic at a light-to-moderate level. So basically mages were not capable of teleportation or magical floating castles but had the basic arcane bolts and tertiary schools (divination, destruction, alteration, and enhancement; no conjuration though).

@ClocktowerEchos

I am not sure what are posting schedule will be, so that can be discussed when I launch the OOC.

[Gowi]

IC/OOC is up, feel free to move questions there.