Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by 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. I will be taking at the maximum a party of seven (so five players); if we don't get that many it ain't even a thing. Would like the cast to be limited to be one per country of origin, but can be discussed otherwise. Better to have fun than limit things like ancestry.

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

Comments?, Questions?

| 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:








| 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 more than one.

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.

| RULES |

Honestly, I feel like it is a bit superfluous going over an established rules section; but I guess this might be a bit necessary to go over for the RP’s sake. Let me be clear, I believe I am a fair GM albeit a bit of one with a serious disposition— but if you respect me and your fellow players, I respect you. Don’t… and well, I turn into a shark. Let’s not turn this into a shark movie, we have enough of those don’cha think? With that said, here are some brief guidelines to note so we can have a fun time and not a shitty time.

  • Every single person should be aware that we will respect and obey RPG’s rules. Mahz and his staff are really reasonable and have designed a site where we can have fun without too much hassle. So let’s not contradict those guidelines and rules.

  • The GM staff should be respected at all times, but not just them. Your fellow players should not be belittled, condescended, or felt unwelcome. Even if you are frustrated you should make sure you are not antagonizing your peers. This is not to say you have to “handhold” them or “sugarcoat” yourself— but you need to follow rules of civility. There is no question about that.

  • Don’t powergame! Since this is an action RP for a lot of its content you should know what is and isn’t okay. We’ve all been (assumingly) RPing for a long time but we know what meta-gaming, power-playing, god-modding, and the other variations of the “don’ts” of RPing are. Don’t do them.

  • This is a collaborative RP! But we shouldn’t focus on collabing every other day on unfair schedules. Not everyone is from the eastern side of the United States— I want potential players to feel like they are involved as well as try to keep a good rhythm going for the story. This means I will try not to time-skip or scene shift unless it is the right time.

  • Players who drop should not be surprised to see their characters become brief NPC’s for a time. I will find a way to write them out, but if you quit in the middle of a battle there will be consequences to that. This is not be taking over your characters but keeping consistency of the RP cohesive and not allowing a “dead stop”.

  • It is the PLAYER's RESPONSIBILITY to keep up with the IC. It is not the GM's or others to mention, ping, or otherwise inform you that you should be posting.

  • Character applications will be posted in the OOC, Accepted applications will be posted in the Characters tab.

  • Have fun!

| CHARACTER SHEET |

[h2]| TITLE |[/h2]
[hider=Image][/hider]
[b][NAME][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][ORIGIN][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][AGE][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][APPEARANCE][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][PERSONALITY][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][SKILLS & TALENTS][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][INVENTORY][/b]
[indent][/indent]
[b][GIFT OF REBIRTH][/b]
[indent][/indent]
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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// C O M P E N D I U M //



| GODS |

Lyriel — The goddess of creation who fashioned the planet and humanity with conviction and hope.

Arcanus — Arcanus is Lyirel's husband and is depicted with an orbed staff. He is the god of magic and creator of the arcane stream. Arcanus is also known as the Lord of Spells and the God of Wizards and is a deity who concerns himself with the advancement and preservation of the magical arts.

— — —

Aegis — Known as "The Guardian", Aegis is a son of Lyriel and is said to wield only a shield. Where Helstar is the judgement of sin, Aegis is the arbiter of forgiveness. With his brother he makes the brothers of divinity— holy magic is said to descend from their existence.

Aerya – A goddess of air & wind who exists as the guardian of storms and the patron god of the happenings of the fall season.

Aqusar – A god of tides & frost who exists as the guardian of change and the patron god of the winter season.

Darzamat — A goddess of darkness who exists to twist man to challenge her brother, Helstar, proving to him in a everlasting gamble that humanity is inherently evil and weak.

Helstar — Known as "The Oathkeeper", Helstar is a son of Lyriel and is said to wield a warhammer. Helstar is the defender of virtue and enemy of sin. Supposedly is the judicator that decides if humanity goes for salvation or damnation in their afterlife. With his brother he makes the brothers of divinity— holy magic is said to descend from their existence.

Ignis – A god of fire who exists as the guardian of harvests and the patron god of the happenings of the summer season. He keeps humanity warm, and keeps their spirits lit.

Terimah – A goddess of earth who exists as the guardian of earth and the patron god of the happenings of the spring season.
| LOCATIONS |

To Be Added
| MONSTERS |

To Be Added
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Zeroth
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Here's my character submission. Let me know if anything needs to be tweaked or fixed; also, I kind of didn't really have any ideas I thought would make a good Gift of Rebirth, so I sort of just copied your character's with a focus towards the arcane magics rather than holy ones. If that's not cool just let me know and I'll try to think of something else (open to suggestions btw).


Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Mcmolly
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Reposting CS here as well! o/

Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Wishful Stray
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I'm going to throw my interest in as well, I'll have a CS up for consideration after I return from work tonight.
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Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by ClocktowerEchos
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Here's my CS, I feel like I really botched something and would like whatever feedback/comments you can provide ^^


Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Zamokra41
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Definetively interested. Hope my CS is acceptable.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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@Zeroth

This is a fantastic start, I’d wager. Whilst everything is sufficiently explained through your inventory and your skills & talents, are you sure you want to go with the Gift of Rebirth that you went with? Whilst it is workable and perfectly fine, I imagine having a little diversity might be viable. As the CS stands I could easily accept it, though.

@ClocktowerEchos

Edoric looks fantastic and I’d be interested in how he will play out, though I am particularly concerned that you went with a rather under-powered (comparatively) Gift of Rebirth. While the idea of having a compass that works in such a way is fascinating, wouldn’t you want to build up the gift that was granted by the gods given the nature of such rebirth? If you are fine with the gift as is, I won’t contest it as this is just inquiry at this point— your CS is plenty acceptable otherwise.

@Zamokra41

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to give off any of the vibes I was looking for and seems to be contradictory to the pre-apocalyptic tone where our characters descend from. For example, while this is a fine CS on its own it doesn’t really fit for a character who has been reawakened. I wrote nothing of “The Void” and I imagine necromancy wasn’t really a point of study in the old world nor was the concept of raising skeletons, horrors, or the like— understand that the abominations that we often see in Dark Fantasy settings came with the dawn of the Inalienable Dreamless which was an event that happened sometime after your unfortunate demise. There’s also the problem with demonic whispers and such. Lastly, there’s the whole “new gods” statement which makes no sense. There are no mention of new or old and… well, it’s incorrect. I’m not sure if I like the prospect of an “eldritch horror” transformation either.

For those reasons I’d have to decline the concept you’ve presented, sorry.

Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Zamokra41
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Mhm, I see your points. In this case, I may return with a diferent character but it may take a while. Here's to hoping there will still be space available by that time.
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Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Zeroth
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This is a fantastic start, I’d wager. Whilst everything is sufficiently explained through your inventory and your skills & talents, are you sure you want to go with the Gift of Rebirth that you went with? Whilst it is workable and perfectly fine, I imagine having a little diversity might be viable. As the CS stands I could easily accept it, though.


Do you have any suggestions? To be honest, because the Gift of Rebirth seems to be very plot oriented--since it otherwise appears to be out of our characters' actual control at the moment--I wasn't sure what to make it. Is it meant to just be our "special power" that so many settings have to make the character or their role in the party stand out more, even though magic is already present in that capacity, or should it be something that's tied more to the setting and to the story that's going to unfold?
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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There is most certainly a plot to be played with the gifts of rebirth, yeah – but that’s not to say they’ll be particularly rigidly tied to the plot either. A lot of the utilization of gifts of rebirth will be in certain moments of despair and will focus more on characterization and plot purposes then just “time to use my special power!” syndrome that is often seen in scenarios like this. But I will state that the idea behind it is to give powerful albeit dynamics abilities that are untapped to the party at a given time.

That probably sounds like a mess, though.

As for suggestions, the only tertiary powers I came up with during the "alpha" stage of the RP was:
  • The ability to become imbued with the full power of divine holy energies; so Holy Conduit.
  • The ability to become invulnerable for a limited window, impervious to all damage; sort of like stoneskin.
  • The ability to become lightning fast for a limited window, easily traversing around an enemy.
  • The ability to become invisible for a limited window, etc.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Zeroth
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There is most certainly a plot to be played with the gifts of rebirth, yeah – but that’s not to say they’ll be particularly rigidly tied to the plot either. A lot of the utilization of gifts of rebirth will be in certain moments of despair and will focus more on characterization and plot purposes then just “time to use my special power!” syndrome that is often seen in scenarios like this. But I will state that the idea behind it is to give powerful albeit dynamics abilities that are untapped to the party at a given time.

That probably sounds like a mess, though.


While trying to think of something, I happened to think about the character of Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series and his hourglass eyes; this also brought to mind the Mystic Eyes of the Fate/ and Tsukihime series.

Would something like "eyes that see and read the emanations of magic" or "eyes that see through illusion/see the "truth" of whatever is captured in their sight" be permissible? Assuming that, like all the other powers, they only activate at certain times and aren't able to be turned off and on like a Sharingan?
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ClocktowerEchos
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@ClocktowerEchos

Edoric looks fantastic and I’d be interested in how he will play out, though I am particularly concerned that you went with a rather under-powered (comparatively) Gift of Rebirth. While the idea of having a compass that works in such a way is fascinating, wouldn’t you want to build up the gift that was granted by the gods given the nature of such rebirth? If you are fine with the gift as is, I won’t contest it as this is just inquiry at this point— your CS is plenty acceptable otherwise.


I wasn't really to sure how exactly to make my GoR so I went with what I thought would be balanced

Do you think I'd be able to add something like Edoric is less affected by the laws of gravity or friction but doesn't fly? (It'd be like him running on walls, scaling walls quickly without proper climbing tools, moving faster and making incredible leaps through the air).

It would activate by a little button on the compass similar to that of a pocket watch's and would have a certain duration/cool down (obvious) but could also be activated in short bursts allowing Edoric to "quick step" to escape and out maneuver people?
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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@Zeroth

Truesight could definitely be an interesting dynamic, though I’d wonder how I’d utilize it as a GM myself. Possibly could have it glance into the past as a sort of perception into what once was as to give hints or lore dumps at crucial times.

@ClocktowerEchos

Do you think I'd be able to add something like Edoric is less affected by the laws of gravity or friction but doesn't fly? (It'd be like him running on walls, scaling walls quickly without proper climbing tools, moving faster and making incredible leaps through the air).

It would activate by a little button on the compass similar to that of a pocket watch's and would have a certain duration/cool down (obvious) but could also be activated in short bursts allowing Edoric to "quick step" to escape and out maneuver people?

That could be something we went “ham” with, for sure and it fits the power scaling of the gifts of rebirth— though him activating it willingly would probably not be a thing. Could workshop it a bit. Like I implied, gifts are… fickle and inconsistent on when they want to reveal themselves to the user. Like, just because we’re fighting a giant skeleton or something on that unholy magnitude doesn’t mean that Syrenia’s Gift is going to “turn on” y’know?
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Zeroth
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Truesight could definitely be an interesting dynamic, though I’d wonder how I’d utilize it as a GM myself. Possibly could have it glance into the past as a sort of perception into what once was as to give hints or lore dumps at crucial times.


That sounds useful as a way to segue things into the story that characters need to know but might not know how to get, and I feel like it fits Xega's nature as a researcher, so if it's alright with you I'll go ahead and change the Gift to that and put him in the Char tab.

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Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ClocktowerEchos
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@GowiOkay, so how about Edoric's "normal" GoR is the normal Mythic Compass, but it has an uber form (that I'll call soemthing stupid like Mythic Exploration) which you can dictate when it goes uber?
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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<Snipped quote by Gowi>

That sounds useful as a way to segue things into the story that characters need to know but might not know how to get, and I feel like it fits Xega's nature as a researcher, so if it's alright with you I'll go ahead and change the Gift to that and put him in the IC tab.


You mean CHAR tab, I hope. But yes, accepted if so.

@GowiOkay, so how about Edoric's "normal" GoR is the normal Mythic Compass, but it has an uber form (that I'll call soemthing stupid like Mythic Exploration) which you can dictate when it goes uber?


Gifts tend to be more abstract and not concrete; so I'm having problems justifying it existing in a compass. Then again we could write that away is that the compass is a piece of junk and it is only Edoric's perception and gift that makes it useful or something. I'm not sure, ha.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by ClocktowerEchos
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@GowiIf it helps, Edoric's Mythic Compass is based on Jack Sparrow's compass from PotC
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Gowi
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Yeah, I got that impression. Honestly, after some thinking, I might be more partial to the idea that the compass is an artifact we can come across later rather than being directly a Gift of Power. This allows it to stay within the framework of the game but still keep in my thinking that the redeemer’s gifts are abstract abilities tied to their soul rather than anything concrete. It’s a good idea, so I’ll make note of it but for now I’d revise your Gift of Power.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Dead Cruiser
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Is the list of gods posted exhaustive? I was curious if there was some sort of neutral-aligned death god that my character could be an adherent of.
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