Through the Portal - Fantasy Exploration

[Yuuta]

OOC

Through the Portal

They've finally done it...

The mages of Chaosera have finally made a stable portal to another plane of existence. This vast new world is full of unknown lands, creatures, and resources, and all the kingdoms of the world have their eyes set on it. At first this lead to political tension, but then Chaosera agreed to share their portal with any kingdom willing to contribute to its power source. It seemed like a good deal, however, the energy it takes to sustain that portal is enormous; after a year of gathering resources, the combined kingdoms of the world obtained enough energy to keep the portal open for three minutes.

The first time the mages opened the portal, they used one minute of that energy. They conducted preliminary investigations, and ultimately determined that people could survive there. They described an open field and sunset skies, but the information was just enough to tease public interest. Then they made the announcement...

WANTED:

A team of brave adventurers to step through the portal. We welcome people from all contributing nations to sign up for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Spend one year in this new world and be handsomely rewarded upon your return. We require naturalists, cartographers, alchemists, and any who believe they have something to offer the party. Spaces are limited, and only those deemed the most useful will be sent through. Once there, we require as much information about the realm as possible. Experiment, gather resources, and NAME WHATEVER YOU DISCOVER! So, if you're looking to carve yourself a place in history, apply today!

* * *

And that's the gist of it. You will be playing one of the brave explorers who steps through the portal. Your mission is simply to make yourselves useful to your kingdom, but beyond that, it's up to you! This will be part survival, part adventure, and part slice of life, since a large part of it will be characters interacting with one another. Yes, there will be danger. Lots of it. However, I don't want to divulge any details just yet.

As for character restrictions, make them human-ish. Elves, sure. Wolf people, maybe. Angels, undead beings, and sentient slimes... not for this RP. Magic is allowed, but should be very limited. We can talk about the details if you're interested. Also, keep in mind that your character should bring useful skills to the group, so some random vagabond off the street probably isn't gonna get a ticket.

If you join this RP, please be active. Post once every couple of days, and if you can't, please let me know so we're not stuck waiting for you.

[OmentheMarked]

I may be interested in participating if this gets enough attention. Id like to play a "Milo Thatch"-esque character. Perhaps a young yet well respected researcher of biological life. As low tier magic is acceptable, maybe he could use simple magics to communicate and understand life forms in order to record them. At most be able to "Comprehend Languages" or maybe "Calm Emotions" on certain animals?

[Yuuta]

I may be interested in participating if this gets enough attention. Id like to play a "Milo Thatch"-esque character. Perhaps a young yet well respected researcher of biological life. As low tier magic is acceptable, maybe he could use simple magics to communicate and understand life forms in order to record them. At most be able to "Comprehend Languages" or maybe "Calm Emotions" on certain animals?

@OmentheMarked

Sounds good. I think that would be a nice ability for the group to have.

[ThriceDefied]

Interested depending on your definition of limited magic.

Is it about scope? (can't flatten buildings) The nature of the spells? (can't create matter out of nothing etc) Their primary use? (no specifically combat-focused spells)

I guess a better way to ask would be... when you say limited magic, are you asking us not to go overboard with anything too overpowered, or are you asking us to actively use as little as possible?

[Yuuta]

Interested depending on your definition of limited magic.

Is it about scope? (can't flatten buildings) The nature of the spells? (can't create matter out of nothing etc) Their primary use? (no specifically combat-focused spells)

I guess a better way to ask would be... when you say limited magic, are you asking us not to go overboard with anything too overpowered, or are you asking us to actively use as little as possible?

@ThriceDefied

Basically, I just don't want magic to trivialize the challenges I throw at you. There will definitely be limitations on scope, so no flattening buildings. As for the nature, I'd have to look at it at a case by case basis. For your creating matter out of nothing example, I would say I don't want you to create objects at will. Way too convenient. However, if you specify a single item you want stored in some pocket dimension that you can pull out at will, I'm cool with that. Also, generating small amounts of a general substance, like sand, would be okay, but then there's scope limitations. If you want combat spells, that's fine. I also want the total number of things any one person can do with magic to be limited. For example, Omenthemarked wants a communication spell. Sure. That's it for his magical abilities. If you have something in mind, let me know and I'll work with you.

[ThriceDefied]

My general take on magic is, for lack of a better word, Brent Weeks-ian. It's not as much about having access to a thesaurus of versatile multipurpose spells as it is being able to do one or two very specific, and clearly defined, things (that are not necessarily weak).

So if it's not necessarily raw power, but flexibility, that needs to be limited, that's perfect for me. As for what I specifically have in mind, that depends on how many people we get and what general direction they'd go in. Buuut I'm 90% leaning on something with mostly combat utility.

[Yuuta]

My general take on magic is, for lack of a better word, Brent Weeks-ian. It's not as much about having access to a thesaurus of versatile multipurpose spells as it is being able to do one or two very specific, and clearly defined, things (that are not necessarily weak).

So if it's not necessarily raw power, but flexibility, that needs to be limited, that's perfect for me. As for what I specifically have in mind, that depends on how many people we get and what general direction they'd go in. Buuut I'm 90% leaning on something with mostly combat utility.

@ThriceDefied

If you want a powerful combat spell, I'd probably want limits on how often it can be used, or some other drawback. We can talk when you have your idea.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Might be interested if this gets more attention.

Might have two characters for this - one would be Blacksmith and a trained swordsman, the other an explorer that is good with maps/and does a number of scholarly pursuits. If two are acceptable, of course.

[Yuuta]

@Rune_Alchemist If we get a lot of people, I'll probably only allow one character, but if there's 5 or less, I'll allow two so the group can be filled out more.

[Regitnui]

Intrigued. What's the possibility of a changeling character with a book that takes dictated notes? Sort of an overall recorder of the expedition.

[Drunk Uncle Bob]

Interested. Just need clarification on the level of technology? We talking lord of the rings fantasy level stuff? And what exactly do alchemists make? I've got a couple ideas for characters I just need a tad bit more

[LunarValkyria]

Sounds interesting to me. I've already got some ideas spinning in my head for a character.

[Rune_Alchemist]

@Yuuta

Alright

I think I'll go for the blacksmith in this case since we seem to have a number of people here.

[checkeredsoul]

I would love to do this it sounds like a fun thing to do.

[Yuuta]

@Regitnui Changeling is fine, but changing its appearance would be the limit of its magical abilities. I'm also okay with a notebook that allows you to dictate notes... but I'd want there to be a separate apparatus for you to speak into. Something that could potentially be lost or stolen.

@Drunk Uncle Bob As far as technology goes... maybe a little bit beyond LoTR, but not much. Like, Medieval plus. I'm gonna say no to guns because they are too easily gamebreaking, but crude explosives are okay. Also, I'm imagining alchemists in the historic sense; chemists with a dash of mysticism thrown in.

Everyone else: Seems like we've got enough interest. I want to give it a little more time, though, since the nature of the RP means people can't exactly jump in later.

[Silverlight138]

Going to plonk my interest down in this RP. @Yuuta I've read all your replies to the multiple queries, and I know (more or less) the kind of angle you are taking to magic and its limitations. So I have no additional queries rgding that.

I'll probably be playing... a falconer, or perhaps more generally a sort of animal handler/expert/zoologist/naturalist. Potential usefulness and relevance of falconry in the party: hunting, recon, long-distance comms, etc.

Orrrr, if a better idea strikes me before I start on the CS... We'll see, I suppose :>

[Regitnui]

@Yuuta A quill that does the actual writing? I'm also happy with cosmetic changes. No gender-flipping?

[Gobby]

@Yuuta Interested. The character I'm going for will be some kind of scholar focused on medication and health.

Just curious, what kind of feel are you planning to go for? Pure fantasy? Realistic?

[Yuuta]

@Silverlight138 Falconers are badass. Just sayin.'

@Regitnui A quill doing the writing is fine. Also, you can gender-swap if you want. Being male or female has no effect on what I'm throwing at you.

@Gobby I definitely want a fantasy feel. You guys will see some crazy shit. However, I want your characters to be grounded so that the crazy shit actually seems like crazy shit. Haha.

[Silverlight138]

@Yuuta Crazy shit sounds good. Do you have a CS for us?