[OOC] The Faraway Land: Knights vs Dragons (CLOSED)

[Rhiven Knight]

good to know, thanks for the update

[Rhiven Knight]

Hopefully we get to start soon and everything comes together to get this off the ground.

[Darkwatck01]

Indeed, I am sitting here twitching a little in anticipation.

[Thinslayer]

Me too. Weekend's here finally, so I can finally sit down and finish things up. I think I finally figured out how I'm going to write the OP, too. If all goes well and I don't get roped into too many time-consuming family events at home, I'll try to get the OP out tonight.

[Celsius]

Yay, thanks for the update thinslayer

[Thinslayer]

Establishing major NPC characters. Some are getting renamed.

Abraxas

His Gloriousness

This is no deranged, half-crazed beast. This is a fully sapient, highly intelligent, absurdly powerful dragon. Born of the dust to defend humanity a thousand years ago, he once stood as our most ardent protector. Now, he has become mankind's most deadly opponent. He harbors a particular hatred for knights, and hunts them with relentless abandon. Thus far, no one has been able to work out his motive - or if they have, they aren't telling, and Abraxas seems to revel in the fact.

Caradhras

Like the other Guardians, Caradhras was born of the dust to defend humanity during the Apocalypse War. Vast, powerful, and well-versed in the ways of men, he serves as a ward against all but the most dire threats to humanity. Kings from all around the world make pilgrimages to his lair in Magmoor Volcano, where they test their mettle against his mind and magic. He, in turn, selects the leaders of the world through rigorous testing of their resolve, and only the best can pass his discerning eye.

Alexander Dragan

King of Drakengard and ruler of all the Untainted, he was personally chosen by Caradhras to lead humankind with a firm yet gentle hand. He's also one of the finest swordsmen this side of Aion. His national policy is "Stay the Course," in which he promotes economic stability by minimizing changes to the country's laws. As a result, citizens are generally free to do what they like. The king used to be a wandering knight who took all kinds of quests, ranging from the mundane to the glorious. One day, he took a quest from a beautiful silver-haired lady who asked him to challenge the dragon Caradhras. He did, and returned with the Sovereign Sword in hand before marrying the lady who gave him the quest. The man made a point of being a father to his children, sometimes even forgoing important official duties to spend time with them. He knew many a soul whose father was absent, and he didn't want his own children to go through that.

Vali Melethainiel Dragan

If ever there was a more mysterious woman, you won't find one on Aion. With her unique silver-white hair, discerning eyes, and carefree demeanor, people often have difficulty deciding whether Alexander's beautiful queen is exactly as young as she looks, or far older than she appears. Her ears, though pointed, are not long, which means she is no elf despite her inhuman features. Alexander relies on her more than most people realize, and though he is the public face of the country, Vali handles most of the busywork that makes the country tick. She also takes her role as Queen Mother very seriously, and refuses to let hired hands raise her children in her place despite the growing burdens placed on her shoulders. Every prince and princess of Drakengard owes their upbringing to her.

[Rhiven Knight]

Sweet an interesting cast of npcs. I am so ready to start this.

[Thinslayer]

Forgot to write the freaking princess.

Princess Primrose Dragan

The golden-haired daughter of Alexander and Vera Dragan. Trained in the fine arts and raised to high standards, the girl would have been the very model of nobility were it not for her penchant for getting into trouble. Her sarcastic wit has won her many friends and enemies alike, and her passionate affections made more lovers than she ever dared let meet her parents. It is thus no surprise to anyone that Abraxas set his sights on her. What nobody knew was why, because for all the lip and banter she poured out on a daily basis, she kept her true thoughts close to her heart and held many, many secrets...

[Thinslayer]

The OP is up! Let me know how you like it. I'll write everyone's intro letters Saturday.

EDIT: The scene is not intended to be where the player characters start off; rather, it's a context scene showing the details of the story's inciting event. The post we reply to will be coming shortly.

[Rhiven Knight]

Good Scene, and good to know that much of this would be chaos and pandemonium for any knight actively serving in the city at the time this post occurred, will help me write my first post once introduction letters go out, and we can start posting.

[Rhiven Knight]

Oh, the only thing I would comment on is this: since you are leading with the abduction scene, you will have to start with a time skip of sorts, a Two weeks later... Since not all the characters will have been chumming around the capitol. Several people are from frontier areas, and wouldnt have a reason to be in the capitol, others might have been previously deployed prior to this event. In short, enough time will have to have passed for a rider to cover the ground from the furthest edges of the kingdom to report for the meeting.

I guess otherwise it looks good and as I said I liked the scene between the princess and the dragon.

[Thinslayer]

Yeah, the kidnapping scene isn't meant to be where we start off. It's a context shot showing the story's inciting event. We'll be starting off one sunny morning in the capital, in response to our summons.

[Thinslayer]

@Rhiven Knight@Celsius@unicorgi@AtomicNut@Darkwatck01@Lumiere@Pie Flavor
Everyone should have their letters PM'd to them now. Once I get the post about Southaven up and running, everyone may make their replies.

[Thinslayer]

If I may, I'd like to add a tabletop element: Perception Check. Anytime you'd like additional info about your surroundings, underline your words requesting it, and my next post will provide info about what your character can perceive at that moment. So for example:
_


Player:
John Doe walked into the room and ran his hand through his hair. He'd been trying to find his whiskey all morning, and expected to find it in his study.

GM:
Unfortunately, there was no whiskey in the room. It seemed different somehow- cleaner, like someone had gone over it with a duster. Perhaps that person took his whiskey.
_

You could also ask straight-up. Additionally, I can mark important choices with underlines. For another example:


Player:
Sir Knight looks around the lobby at nearby people as he heads further inside the castle.

Where does the lobby door lead?

GM:
Most of the folks in the lobby are servants, though one of them is a striking redhead in a healer's coat. She is doling out potions. The lobby door leads to the Great Hall, where the dances, banquets, and public ceremonies are held. There are actually several doors in the lobby, and the guard looks like he would rather you didn't wander off.
_

Don't worry about post lengh. I would much rather see players make short & interesting choices than long-winded & boring ones (if you can only do one or the other). I can still get a kick out of a great one-liner, and sometimes just a few words are all that's appropriate. Remember, this is a Casual RP; don't feel obliged to write a novel every time you post. :P

[Rhiven Knight]

@Thinslayer - I should have read the ooc first, my post would be much different. If you would like I can adjust it to more closely resemble the format you requested for the table top element. After all I have to find Sir Ponteous, and then the doctor, and each of those serves as points for such a break in my post.

[Thinslayer]

@Rhiven Knight
Write however you feel comfortable. My goal was to give players another exploration tool for when they want to go off-script. Like, right now, I'm railroading everyone's characters to the Council Chamber by limiting everyone's choices. I chose not to describe the three sets of doors in the lobby, the checkered floor pattern, or the candlesticks on the tables because they're not relevant (or I don't want them to be relevant). However, you can force them to be relevant by making me describe them. The underline helps give you the power to do that.

[Rhiven Knight]

Noted

[Thinslayer]

Oof, one-word replies make me feel like I screwed up (though I know that's not the intent). :3

I'm curious now, though: would you guys like me to use tabletop-style descriptions, or more conventional storytelling? We can experiment with both to see what works for everyone.

[Thinslayer]

What I'm aiming for is to give players the freedom to make interesting choices and thereby create interesting stories. Players don't want or need too many choices, or they can get overwhelmed by them and develop writer's block. Give them too few choices, though, and I might as well be writing the story myself. I'll be experimenting with GM styles a bit over the next few posts, so please bear with me.

[Rhiven Knight]

So what you see is my standard roleplaying writing style, I tend toward what is probably called novel style. That reply was a little wordy to be strictly necessary, but it was also something of an intro post meant to communicate some of the characters flavor and depth. Which I hope made for an enjoyable read.