Medieval Fantasy... with Dinosaurs

[Kaga]

True Self said
Went back to edit the word Tera and Teravaes. I misspelled them with two r's which could confuse those who know Terra is associated with earth. Tera not Terra, means demon in Echlai and it's understood in reverse, whereas Vaes in short of Vaeslae means sky. Draconites is a mythical stone, but I guess that could work. You could call em Draconides or something to change it up, but do as you wish. As far as having seperate kingdoms, I think there should be more than one kingdom or else the world would look pretty flat and limiting whereas multiple kingdoms and diverse cultures makes the world dynamic and more believable.

Well yes, I figured there would be multiple kingdoms in existence, but I originally didn't plan for the RP to focus on more than one - for sake of activity flow. If we all start out in different kingdoms, establishing interaction between players is nearly impossible.

So, to address my previous concern, your character would at least start the RP in/near the main kingdom? I don't mean to limit your creativity; I just need to give the RP a good setup regarding activity flow to be successful.

[True Self]

Yes, I sent a pm to you adding on to what I was going to say in my last post. My character is known to wander and explore outside of his home kingdom. The story would get bland quick if we focused on one main kingdom the whole time and just a single unified culture.

[DR_TRAPEZOID]

Maybe this was said, but will we be limited to any certain era of dinosaurs? Just thought I would set up some of my CS beforehand.

[True Self]

Around the late Jurassic and the Cretaceous period is when the big boy, predatory carnivores started to rule the land. The Cretaceous period is also the main era when herbivores started to develop their protective armor against predators. It's up to Kaga, but the Triassic period isn't the most compelling, because the smaller dinos during that time aren't as much of a threat. Though, it doesn't matter to me if all three main dino era's will be in the role play.

[Kaga]

True Self said
Around the late Jurassic and the Cretaceous period is when the big boy, predatory carnivores started to rule the land. The Cretaceous period is also the main era when herbivores started to develop their protective armor against predators. It's up to Kaga, but the Triassic period isn't the most compelling, because the smaller dinos during that time aren't as much of a threat. Though, it doesn't matter to me if all three main dino era's will be in the role play.

I figured we could use all three main eras on account of magic. Plus it keeps the required knowledge level low for those wanting to join, which is what I hoped to keep.

[Affili]

Well I've already got an idea for a character, i'll wait for the OOC to get sorted out and once I've read everything, i'll decide.

[True Self]

Kaga said I figured we could use all three main eras on account of magic. Plus it keeps the required knowledge level low for those wanting to join, which is what I hoped to keep.

That's cool with me. Ready to get this thing started.

[Avanhelsing]

I am so ready for this.

[Kaga]

I plan on working on this today, though I warn you that the OOC may have to be delayed even further than I thought before. Lots of schoolwork came up lately, and I have to place that first.

[True Self]

That's understandable; I know how college can be myself. Have you decided on a title for the thread?

[Kaga]

True Self said
That's understandable; I know how college can be myself. Have you decided on a title for the thread?

Yes. "Age of the Draconides".

[True Self]

Nice. So if only a few dinos are tamed and controlled by the rich and noble families, then I believe it'd be best if the story started out around the time of the taming process. I also think that the larger carnivores should be discovered and domesticated little by little. That way no one's character ends up acting invincible with a powerful elite dinosaur right off jump. Playing out the difficulties and complexities of taming and learning to bond with dinosaur companions would be a lot more interesting than just having them already tamed without explanation. Another big factor that should be discussed before anything else is who the main Antagonist will be? Maybe there is a feud between royal families? Or do all kingdoms share a common enemy besides the Draconides? Wild dinosaurs are obviously the main conflict, but there has to be something else to keep the role play unpredictable.

[Kaga]

True Self said
Nice. So if only a few dinos are tamed and controlled by the rich and noble families, then I believe it'd be best if the story started out around the time of the taming process. I also think that the larger carnivores should be discovered and domesticated little by little. That way no one's character ends up acting invincible with a powerful elite dinosaur right off jump. Playing out the difficulties and complexities of taming and learning to bond with dinosaur companions would be a lot more interesting than just having them already tamed without explanation. Another big factor that should be discussed before anything else is who the main Antagonist will be? Maybe there is a feud between royal families? Or do all kingdoms share a common enemy besides the Draconides? Wild dinosaurs are obviously the main conflict, but there has to be something else to keep the role play unpredictable.

Hmmm... well actually I was thinking that there would be a few Draconides already tamed and in captivity, but still mostly owned by the nobility. This better sets up what I did have in mind for one of the conflicts: class warfare. The higher classes oppress the lower ones, leaving them fare more vulnerable to wild Draconides and sometimes even threatening them with their own.

As a GM, I keep an eye on godmodding based on behavior, not on the setup of one's character. You can have a Draconide so long as it makes sense with your character and you don't actually use it in a godmod-ish fashion.

Additionally, there is the third objective in this RP which is, as you inspired me to put more focus on, discover how all this started and perhaps even reverse it. There's a lot that can come with that sub-plot, since it not only provides the potential to eliminate the first two conflicts but it may not be in everyone's best interests even if it was easy to do - for example, those with Draconide "partners" that they've already bonded with might not be so in-favor of it.

Consider it all a "three-pronged plot". I have provided you all with three starting places - from here, you the players can decide which receive the most attention and development, giving you more control of the story. I'm just here to give you things to do and make any path you choose as epic as possible.

[True Self]

That's fair, and class warfare will definitely be interesting to play out. I agree that the conflicting beliefs about keeping or destroying the Draconides, the clashing lifestyles between medieval status, and the mystery behind how the Draconide's were brought to existence during this time period will make up an alluring plot.

[Kaga]

Good to see you're interested. Hopefully I'll be able to get the OOC up sometime mid-week.

[True Self]

Ah. I was hoping it would have started this weekend, because of my busy week coming up. School and work will take up most of my time, but maybe I can still at least post one-three+ times a day during the week. My interest level is usually short lived if I have to wait too long tho, but I'll stick around for as long as I can. This thread is promising and I'm itching to get into character.

[Kaga]

True Self said
Ah. I was hoping it would have started this weekend, because of my busy week coming up. School and work will take up most of my time, but maybe I can still at least post one-three+ times a day during the week. My interest level is usually short lived if I have to wait too long tho, but I'll stick around for as long as I can. This thread is promising and I'm itching to get into character.

Yeah, sorry about that. I too had planned for it to be up this weekend, as I recall posting earlier, but things came up and it didn't happen.

I like to be as honest as possible with you guys, though. I don't want the expected dates to go past without a word from me. If I feel I have to postpone it further, I'll let you know. I don't want you counting down the minutes for an OOC when it's just not possible for me yet.

[True Self]

It's fine, I'm just a bit anxious ha. But yes, let us know.

[True Self]

I have a suggestion. If no one else wants to go through the trouble of making their own kingdom then why not use mine and Kaga's as the two main kingdoms? (Your character wouldn't have to be from that kingdom) We could all split into two groups in separate kingdoms. That way we all have people to interact with, and at the same time, our characters won't meet randomly all at once which is unrealistic in my opinion. Both groups can learn about each other's characters more easily without everyone being jumbled together at the same place. Then from there, we can all come together in Kaga's kingdom for some reason or another where all of the characters can meet each other. The group structure will make it even easier for everyone to develop their characters and give them significance rather than just existing and following along. Just something I thought of. Distance doesn't have to be an issue, because the kingdoms could be near each other. We could always just put an underlined or embolden title of which kingdom we're in so no one gets confused.

[Kaga]

True Self said
I have a suggestion. If no one else wants to go through the trouble of making their own kingdom then why not use mine and Kaga's as the two main kingdoms? (Your character wouldn't have to be from that kingdom) We could all split into two groups in the separate kingdoms that are near eachother. That way we all have people to interact with, and at the same time, our characters won't meet randomly all at once which is unrealistic in my opinion. Both groups can learn about each other's characters more easily without everyone being jumbled together at the same place. Then from there, we can all come together in Kaga's kingdom for some reason or another where all of the characters can meet each other. The group structure will make it even easier for everyone to develop their characters and give them significance rather than just existing and following along. Just something I thought of. Distance doesn't have to be an issue, because the characters could be near each other. We could always just put an underlined or embolden title of which kingdom we're in so no one gets confused.

True Self, please understand that I don't want you to not let your kingdom be significant. However, having a party of characters from TWO kingdoms all start out the RP near each other would be very difficult for me to organize. Just mapping it out in my mind, getting characters from various classes in this kingdom to start out close together is hard enough. Additionally, the framework for the RP includes a lot about the kingdom I'd designed - and making your kingdom just as important would mean I'd need to collaborate with you a substantial amount in order to complete the OOC, thus delaying it further.

Consider your character a representative of your kingdom. If the other players are intrigued, you may expand on the idea and I will help your kingdom gain more relevance. For now, though, you're putting more emphasis on it than I feel you need to, and you're making my job as GM harder by trying to accommodate for all your ideas. And please understand, I like to stay open to ideas, but now I feel you're taking control of a bit much.

Again, I say this with all due respect, but I feel you are over-complicating things. Please let me design my RP with the kingdom I've already done enough worldbuilding on to make an OOC out of, and you can play your character from another kingdom, and we can all have plenty of fun in the RP.