~ Magic in These Hands ~
Group Size: 3 RPers, maybe 4
Group Posting Average: 1 post a week, ranging from 4-5 paragraphs
Inspired by: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Link to the Interest Check: Here
The Two Kingdoms:
Ma'heah is a large continent where two kingdoms have fought over its borders. The landmass is split down the middle, horizontally, giving each army plenty of points of conflict. For 700 years, the two kingdoms have fought one another and then made peace, only to restart the cycle eventually. The rules on each side must be examples for their people to follow and having two sensible rules at the same time is often a rare delight for Ma'heah. Both Balka and Relle are currently at peace with one and have been for the past 10 years but with new struggles appearing in the form of rips in the heavens, both sides are becoming increasingly rattled and panicked.
Balka, located in the north, follows logic and its eternal quest for knowledge and history. Its people do not fret over material petty things. They know the true meaning of hard work, as Balka is rich in resources such as iron (and other crafting materials), rare herbs, farm life, etc. Balka does not follow a deity, and instead considers themselves above those in Relle who fuss over a fabricated guardian.
Some notable regions of Balka include:
The Icy Tombs - A collection of snowy mountains at the very north which have a series of complex connecting caves.
Victory Lake - A large lake on the border where their army fended off Relle.
Rysh Desert - A dry desolate place in the west where rare minerals can be found.
Listle - A vast forest where many villages are scattered throughout.
Yen
Relle in the south, on the other hand, follows the teachings of Urkwia, their goddess. They believe their polished lifestyle and parties are rewards from Urkwia, whereas Balka's struggles are their punishment for refusing Urkwia's existance. Relle has very little poverty compared to Balka though their life expectancy is lower, due to their attitude towards Balka's research into potions and other remedies.
Some notable regions of Relle include:
Endless Pools - A large marsh where many people have gone missing in the most southerly region.
Urkwia's Tearful - A large waterfall feeding into a rushing river that splits Relle down the middle.
River of Tears - The large rushing river fed from Urkwia's Tearful.
Vacant Vengeance - A rain forest in the south east where wild beasts dwell.
The Situation:
Rips in the sky started appearing two moon cycles ago (roughly 50-60 days). These tears in the sky have become more frequent and dangerous. Demons and ribbons of darkness spew from the ribbon of glitter. These demons have attacked those from Relle and from Balka. Relle believes Urkwia is urging them to go to war and finally win all of Ma'heah as Balka is obviously undeserving. And then Balka believes these incidents can be logical explained if properly researched and believes for now, they're a trickery on Relle's behalf, possibly to try and convince them that Urkwia is real.
In Cal Malyne, the neutral city that straddles the border of both kingdoms, negotiations have been declared. Ambassadors from both sides have traveled to the city to try and work out a solution since both kingdoms are in peril, regarding of the reasoning behind their existence. Ordinary citizens have also been summoned to see if anyone at all, has some insight or ideas to bring to the table. Though mages have some luck with fighting off the demons, the rifts themselves still remain open and active. Many are suggestion more magic is needed but Relle isn't so sure. Both kingdoms struggle to see eye to eye on the matter.
Enter our three heroes!
One is formidable in earth. They are able to harness healing, move boulders, summon vines and create excessive overgrowth upon their enemies.
Another is formidable in water. They are able to move bodies of water and bend them to their will. They can also create shards of ice and send tidal waves upon those who oppose them.
And the final one is formidable in wind. They can summon large cyclones, move objects, levitate and cut through air.
All three of these strangers have been in a similar accident, on separate occasions...
When they were near a rift and fending off enemies, they were briefly sucked into it and taken to the other side, a place they assumed to be death or whatever aftermath lies beyond life itself. Suddenly their right hand began to glow a bright white light and suddenly they were back in their world, closing the rift.
All three of these people have gone to the gathering at Cal Malyne hoping that their mark on their hand, can shed some light on the problem facing all of Ma'heah. Upon arriving however, a large rift forms, the biggest sighted one to date. As people are being attacked and killed, while some lucky are able to flee, the three heroes band together to close the rift, as all three of their elements melt together to soothe the broken sky. When the smoke clears the three are showered in both applause and slander. Why are these three able to repair the sky? There is as much fear and anger as there is joy and celebration. News of the trio's combined ability have reached every corner of Ma'heah and while neither kingdom has decided to make a formal statement about the matter, it becomes clear that the trio must travel together to mend the land while finding answers and aiding those they meet on their path.
They will begin to form a group, develop a following and a reputation. Two advisers will take it upon themselves to guide the three as the group continues to grow and explore. There may be room for one or two non-main characters who can have perks of their own. If you are interest in such a role, please talk to me. Advisory roles may be enlisted as co-GMs and be given special connections in the story that help develop the plot. I am a bit unsure if I want to increase the player count though and would prefer if people were inclined to double or triple and play multiple characters (not all at once) than add more writers which means more waiting on posts and such.
Details of Character Creation:
Magic:
Magic is not spoken nor comes from a book or wand. Magic instead comes from a person's aura. Everyone has a distinct level of aura. Ones with a lower aura struggle to create magic with their hands while others with a powerful aura, find magic to be easy. However, each mage can only control one branch of natural magic (earth, water or wind) as their aura can only have one affinity. When using magic, mages alter the direction and intensity of their aura to create magic. The more complex or taxing their magic becomes, the weaker the mage becomes. Most mages can only use so much of their aura before they faint. Should a mage continue to push themselves without resting to restore their aura, they will die.
There are magical academies all over Ma'heah though there are six notable prestigious academies where most mages hope to gain admittance to. While the following six are by no means the only places to teach and be taught, they are the six most well known. In order to get in, a mage must present themselves at an Accepting Ceremony which each different school has at different times of the year. Most schools accept someone no matter their kingdom of origin but there are some who do discriminate though the general thought is that magic is universal and unifying.
Stoic Academy in northern Balka focuses on ice creation and utilization with water mages.
Foliss Academy in eastern Balka focuses on the creation and utilization of vines and greenery with earth mages.
Cloudless Academy in southern Balka focuses on levitation and the moving of object with wind mages.
The Wind Academy of Fearlessness in western Relle focuses on using wind to cut things and create vortexes with wind mages.
The Water Academy of Grace in central Relle focuses on the creation and utilization of water with water mages.
The Earth Academy of Solidarity in south western Relle focuses on controlling rocks for defense and healing with earth mages.
Combat Classes:
Mages are fully capable of using swords, throwing knives, shields, etc so don't feel limited to leave them without weapons. However physically exerting weapons does still take a bit of their aura/energy.
Non-mages of course, come in all shapes and sizes. They have their own aura of course but it is either too small to control magic or the person would prefer to reject their magical talents and fight another way. Non-mages do tire but they tend to have a much higher endurance and defense than those deciding to be mages. The following are the general routes someone can take without using magic.
Knights - Those who serve directly for either The Kingdom of Relle or the Kingdom of Balka. They use a sword and shield.
Assassins - They work in the shadows, using daggers and throwing knives, often paid to be any side of a conflict.
Purists - These scoff at swords and magic and prefer to use a simple wooden staff and close combat to fight.
Warriors - They use two handed weapons, though they're slow in movement, they are powerful.
Tempests - They use crafted brews to stun, poison, confuse (etc) their enemies. They also use chains and grappling hooks coated with their concoctions.
Archer - These use, obviously, bows and arrows sometimes able to be considered assassins or tempests if trained that way.
Brief Rules and Guidelines:
You should be able to post once a week. Ideally we will have three of us (myself and two others) so there's a posting order we'll have to stick to. In about a month, school will start back up and I'll be taking 16 units which is a lot for me. Clearly school/work comes before roleplaying but if there is a delay, we should try to let each other know. I don't like saying I'll post by "whenever" because fate usually has other plans but a general acknowledgement is better than nothing.
Also, your posts should be healthy in size. Feed the roleplay, it loves to eat details. This is based on a game and I'd love to embody the idea of quests and items. Your character should look around and notice things on the ground to loot or observe. Before we go to an area or city, I will list points of interest that will spur side quests we can take (or not). Despite being a GM, I am not here to push us in one way or another. This is a small group, we should be intimate (in a sense) and also equally responsible and progressive with the story and its plots. So I encourage suggestions and for our characters to talk about where to go and who to help.
Please refrain from giving us too many cliche things. Parents don't need to be dead for your character to know struggle. Your character doesn't need to have been a prodigy and swept away to the most super awesome academy for magic and now they're super famous and strong. Your character doesn't need to be blind and bullied. I'm all for flaws and adversity but this is an advanced story so I expect writers to have better tricks up their sleeves. Not every character should be sliding through on luck (or bad luck). So just be smart about your character choices and remember they should be able to get along with others. They're going to be adults so they should have actual social skills and such.
And with elves and dwarves, there isn't real inherit disdain for the other two races. Though they will each have their own domain where most live. The dwarves live in northern Balka where elves are from southern Relle. But of course they can leave and make roots elsewhere but those are their known points of origin and major hub. If you need more information, just ask but for the most part, I am assuming we'll be humans, hence the lack of insight on race diversity.
Character Sheet:
Name: A full name is not necessary but likely desired. Nicknames are not.
Age: They should be somewhere between 26-32.
Race: Human, Elf or Dwarf?
Weapon: What do they fight with?
Appearance: Describe your character in 250 words or less. Their face, hair, manner of walking, usual attire, etc. No images allowed.
Regret: This isn't a soap opera but what is one thing (doesn't need to be the worst or greatest) they regret doing or not doing and why.
Weaknesses: Do they have a food they cannot resist? Or is their pet cat the one thing they'd truly die for? List two weakness they have, can be jovial or serious.
Strengths: List two things they find strength in, that they excel in. Note, this can't be some disadvantage you spin as an advantage. You can actually boast here.
Personality: List 3 positive traits and 1 negative one. I urge your to Google traits and types to get a deeper sense who your character can be.
History: In 500 words exactly (because it's a fun challenge) describe how your character came to be whoever they are. Consider how old they were when peace was established and what happened when they tripped through the rift and the aftermath. Also why they went to the negotiations in Cal Malyne. If you give them a concrete place of origin, tell us where it is and if they had/have family still there.
Conclusion:
Submit your sheet via PM or here and once I approve it, you can put it in the CS tab.
I did mention there may be room for other members who want to play supporting (but still main) roles. I also encourage main characters with the gift of the hand mark, to play other roles in the group as we go along. To craft a large group of diverse player is a great vision I have and I think if we take the time to play different roles in different situations (scouting, fighting, etc) then there will be a depth to the story than just having the same faces do everything all the time.
I will use the CS to keep track of plot, quests, missions and such so please do see to it from time to time.
If you need to drop, you should write your character out. They don't need to die but they need to be elsewhere on their own accord. Then, I will quickly try to find a replacement but it would be nice if you could find one for yourself. It's probably the responsible thing to do.
Life will be busy but I am hoping this can be active enough to keep us all invested and interested.
If anyone has questions, feel free to ask them here or via PM. This isn't first come first serve and I am fine with taking whichever type of mage is left. Mostly because I have a role in mind, not say, an element. And before I mentioned your main character needn't have magic affinity but now I am stating you must play a mage. I of course encourage you to make other roles which you can swap in as needed. I have some other surprising in store for starting things off so the sooner we begin, the better.
