Arryn is a small town of about 1900 people in eastern Washington. Settled in 1853 with township paperwork filed in September of 1889 the town has several draws, from the Lakeside Village, the largest residential community in the town, the lake that Lakeside village was named after, the Soda Shop and Ice Cream Parlor that has been selling sodas and ice cream since 1903, the saloon that’s been in business since the settlement, and the fact that the town is a safe haven for what was referred to at the time of its settlement as witches, monsters dark spirits, and abominations. Almost half the members of the populace can trace their heritage back through to at least the turn of the last century and most all of the family's here have been here for generations, and for generations the people of this small town have lived in relative peace, but as agreed upon by all members of the town, and the different councils that govern them something dark is on the horizon.
So a few quick things before we begin:
Rules:
1) Please don't control or kill other characters without express permission from the character's owner, or a GM
2) Be sure to send your character sheet in a PM to me for approval before posting
3) Please be prepared to be active in the RP
4) RP posts will not be turn based, you snooze you lose
4) Please add at the end of your character sheet that I had two rule number four's to insure you read the rules
5) If you are inactive in the rp for more then three days without checking into the OOC it may be decided by a GM that your character needs to be controlled or killed (this decision may be made earlier if your absence is holding up pivotal plot development for everyone else)
6) Upon your third infraction of rule 5 your character will be killed off, probably in some ludicrous and ridiculous way, in order to entertain your fellow roleplayers
7) Please misspell four as fooor at the end of your bio to prove you honestly read all the rules
8) Please be polite and kind to other players, don't be rude, crude, or vulgar in the OOC, in IC characters may be rude, crude, and vulgar all that is necessary so long as it is not purposefully an attempt to offend the person behind the character
9) As much as I hate to say it keep the sexin' to a minimum, this isn't an RP for smut. Relationships are okay, these are people after all, and relationships are a driving force in all peoples lives, even those that aren't human, but anything past PG-13 please take it else where.
10) I and any other GMs have the power to add any additional rules as we see fit
11) HAVE FUN
So there are two types of magic in this rp, runic magic and spell casting. They are both governed by the strength of your characters aura. The strength behind the spells are solely dependent on your characters auric strength, think of it like your mana, casting spells depletes it, runes are more complicated as magic can be stored in the runes themselves, and the precise mechanics of it might be trial and error for a little while.
Spell casting takes more immediate aura strength, but it is instant and requires speaking the words of the spell to give the magic shape. Spell casting can be used on the fly, and the higher the more complex and intricate spells you can use, but the more complex the spell the more immediate energy required.
Runic magic takes less auric energy, but requires preparation before hand or extra time to carve of sketch the runes out. Runes also store their own magic, and as such are better for magic users with low aura levels as they can put small amounts of energy into the runes over longer periods of time to build up reserves of magic.
Witches: The most common species, witches are for the most part, average human beings with magical abilities. The township of Arryn being a safe haven for their kind, kindled a spark so strong as to encourage them to approach the Fey and the Sceadugenga about creating this town far to the west, where distance and secrecy could be their protection.
Witches are for the most part humans, however with their magic they can attempt to increase their physical strength, heal their own wounds, or attempt to invade minds. Each witch covens bloodline is defined by the unique abilities that they pass down, as well as all witches having the ability to sense the presence of other creatures, differentiating between distinct species.
Half witches simply are slightly more attuned auricly than they would be if they were full-blooded anything else, and only occasionally do they retain the abilities that their bloodline is known for.
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Vampires: Fanged creatures of the night, vampires feed on blood to survive, and for millennia they fed freely upon the human race, the apex predator of the night, until one-day prey suddenly learned to fight back. In December of 1863, ten years after the towns creation, the first vampire nest found sanctuary among the witches. In late January of 1864 the vampires were signed into the town charter. As part of their side of the agreement Vampire nests were allowed in the township, however feeding upon any witch, fey or Sceadugenga born locals without consent, was forbidden, as was feeding upon a person until death with few exceptions. Vampires were allowed to feed upon designated cattle and resource animals in the town, so long as they did not weaken the animals unto the point of death, and compensated the owner, and in 1918 a local blood drive was established, with the blood deposited into a bank as an additional source of sustenance.
As of 1898, do to the case of Katharine Egesa and Michael Vida, a vampire is allowed, with consent and about a year long course of detailed paperwork and discussion, to turn willing members of the community into a vampire.
All pure blooded vampires are burned by the light of the sun, the severity of the burn depends on age and relative physical strength of the vampire a younger physically weaker vampire will develop blisters within minuets, while an ancient and incredibly strong vampire could go hours while only being slightly burnt. All vampires are burned by gold, regardless of strengths, with a severity equivalent to if a human had touch something red hot. Decapitation, or a stake of any kind to the heart will kill a vampire, and dead man’s blood acts as a toxin incapacitating them, as with sunlight the severity of the toxin's effects directly relate to age and physical strength of the individual. Vampires are not immortal, however their lifespan is much vaster than humans, being able to live to well into their 450’s without showing many signs of their age. The oldest recorded vampire to ever have lived died of a stake to the heart at the age of 934, however his health was already failing severely and it was believed he would have only lived another few years.
Vampires typically have stronger physical and mental abilities than average humans as well as detailed knowledge of ancient runes and spells, however they lack the ability to control their auras and as such can only act as teachers of runes and spells to others.
Half-vampires are a rather new species, the first being born in 1897, to the aforementioned Michael and Katharine and are still trying to be completely understood. They are not burnt by the sun, are burnt by gold, can apparently be killed by normal means, and are poisoned by dead man’s blood. They also have control of their auras and as such can use magic, however their physical strength while still more than a normal human's is less than that of a full-blooded vampire, and while they also live longer than average humans their lifespan is also shorter, the oldest having died recently at the age of 112.
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Lycanthropes: Also known as werewolves, lycanthropes are anthropomorphic human beings with the ability to shape shift into wolves, and during full moons and lunar eclipses of the sun loose their human minds and are forcibly shifted into half man half wolf monstrosities that devour everything in their paths. In August of 1860 the first Lycanthrope took shelter in the town and in October of that same year the individuals pack was signed into the town charter. As per their agreements Lycanthropes were allowed inside the township, however their homes must have basements, and during full moons and lunar eclipses they must be shackled to the walls, by chains of iron and gold.
Lycanthropes are burnt by silver, to the same degree as vampires are by gold, and while difficult can be killed by similar means as a human, however the fact that they heal at five times the rate can make that a difficult process. Lycanthropes live for the same length of time as humans.
Typically, lycanthropes have the same mental strength as your average human, with increased auric affinity and physical strength.
Lycanthrope children with other races have a fifty/fifty chance of carrying the gene for lycanthropy. If they do, then the result is a half breed, with a balance of the two species abilities, however if not the genes passed are completely human, carrying a gene with chance to pass lycanthropy on to their children.
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Fey: Half demon, half angel, pure magical might, these creatures tend to be shrewd, and cold, however they also have the potential to be as gracious and kind as angels. They, with the witches and the sceadugenga, founded the safe haven that is Arryn.
Fey are burnt by iron, and younger ones have the complete inability to tell lies, and as such are forced to learn to speak in half truths and riddles by the time they are considered adults most have learned to phrase or think of the truth in such a way any other species would consider it a lie. They also must ask permission to view inside someone’s mind, and enter a person’s house or home. Any attempt to use their mental abilities on someone without prior permission will fail with absolutely no result, and they are physically repelled from a home where they are made unwelcome.
Any weapon made of iron removing their head or stabbing through their heart can kill them. All kinds of flesh and fats make them deathly ill if they ingest it. As such all fey are, by pure necessity, vegan. A pureblooded fey has a lifespan that is limitless, forever frozen, usually between the ages of 16-30 however some have been known to stop physically aging as early as 5, and as late as 70. Pure blood Fey can only be killed by either another being, or by their own hands. A fate worse then death often takes Fey however as in old age fey lose their minds to their own power, turning further and further into themselves. A modest description is a line mind, lost in an endless field, that stretches forever on to either horizon, with no light, sound, smell, taste, or touch.
Fey have amazing mental and auric skills, however they are on par with humans in physical strength.
Half fey experience all the issues of fey, but to a lesser extent. Iron burns them, but not as badly, it is difficult for young half fey to lie, enter a person’s house or read someone’s mind without permission. They can be killed the same as any human, and while their system processes meat poorly they can eat it without a trip to the hospital. Half blooded fey however, have a tragically short life span, usually only living for fifty good years before taken by a silent madness as good as death.
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Sceadugenga: Little is known about the pureblooded sceadugenga. They were rumored to have been immortal and unkillable, beings made of living shadows, capable of taking any form, becoming incorporeal at will and moving between this world and others with ease. Their descendants along with the fey and the witches helped to create Arryn.
There are no living pureblooded sceadugenga, and only one bloodline left of the half bloods who helped to found the town.
Based on the last members of the bloodline half bloods can take two forms, their physical human form, and a shadowy form that allows them to take any akin to an inky eerie corporeal silhouette. While in their shadow form they appear to be invulnerable, and while in their human form they can be killed just the same as a regular human. They appear to only be able to take their shadow forms for certain periods of time, with strength for it building with use. They age the same as all regular humans.
Half blooded sceadugenga tend to be equally capable mentally, physically and auricly being on a slightly lower level in each as any other species.
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Humans: Human’s are a relatively interesting group in Arryn. Most of the human’s that live here are related either distantly or closely through marriage, to one of the nonhuman species. Of the few human’s who do live in Arryn most are proud to be residents and would stand with their fellow species and proudly defend them, and as the citizens of this fine town have found, the best defense from the rest of the world is simply secrecy.
A note that the bloodlines do not imply direct relation unless specified in a bio. Triste witches belong to the same coven, they aren't necessarily brother/sister/cousin's, D'finn vampires aren't necessarily blood siblings in any way, they are simply from the same nest.
Witch Covens:
-Triste: The Triste is the oldest witch coven in existence, tracing it's lineage back to 3500 B.C.E., they are a long proud line of telekinetics, each with the capability to move objects with their minds.
-Vida: The Vida are the second oldest and by far the largest coven, the Vida are pyrokinetic and possess the ability to create control and manipulate fire with their minds, without the aide of spells. They are also very influenced by the militant nature of Rome and over the centuries have taken the believes of groups like the Spartans to new levels, believing to lack martial skills is equivalent to lacking a soul.
-Eris: If the Vida are the largest the Eris is the smallest with only three true families left still carrying blood of the coven. The Eris bloodline however is an important witch bloodline, as it puts them physically on a level equal to or surpassing the physicality of vampires and werewolves, increasing the strength in their bodies ten fold for short periods of time, and causing even fatal wounds to heal within an instant. The price of this comes in the form of immense pain immediately after the strength wears off, meaning if the don't defeat their opponent or put enough distance between them and their pursuer before they run out, they are easy prey.
-Vran: The Vran were not among the original witch covens that came together to established Arryn, and are actually a relatively small, and very recent addition to the community. It is known that the members of the Vran bloodline are not the only members of their coven, however, they seem to hold the location of the rest of their coven as a secret to carry with them to the grave. Their unique ability gives them the ability to control and manipulate plant life. The coven has a few quirks, they refuse to wear cotton and are fruitarians, mainly believed to come from their affinity for plant life. Much of their aura is sacrificed to control and manipulate the plants as they do, spending auric energy to forcibly grow and expand the plants rapidly beyond their normal growth patterns, as such even powerful members of the Vran have little extra auric energy to spend on spells and runes.
(10 open)
Vampire Nests:
-D'finn: The D'finn nest is the first vampiric line to have arrived in Arryn and their leader, Michael, was the Vampire to broken the arrangements to which the Vampires where signed into the town charter. The D’finn are known for their shrewd intellect and the sheer strength and martial nature of the nest.
-Egesa: The second vampire nest to join the town in 1890, the Egesa are known for their stunning beauty and charm, as well as the unusual amount of kindness and caring they share with everyone. They each might not be the absolute brightest of the vampire nests, and they aren’t the dimmest either, but you can be absolutely sure they are the kindest.(4 open)
Lycanthrope Packs:
(6 open)
Fey Courts:
-Eiichi: Prosperous and lucky, the Eiichi line is the most recent bloodline to join the town charter, having migrated there in 1965 from Japan.
(6 open)
Sceadugenga
-Gethin: The Gethin family is the founding Sceaugenga bloodline of the township, having been composed only of a single half blooded scadugenga his human wife and their only child. The Gethin family has remained small, only ever having one or two children, with each child, whether male or female choosing to keep the name, and pass it on to their children.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Species:
Bloodline(s):
Job/Occupation:
Skills:
Other:
Appearance:
For the following portion you get thirty points to spread across the abilities, average humans rank from 3-5 in physical and mental strength and technological skills. Keep in mind, a zero in something means you have no ability to use it, i.e. if you have a 0 in physical strength, you have no muscles, and a 0 in technology means you can’t use modern technology.
For Physical strength 3 is an average human who is out of shape, 5 is a physically fit human, 7 is body builder strength, 10 is super human, 20 is Super Man strength.
Mental strength has nothing to do with actual intelligence, a brilliant but normal human can have at most a 5. Instead it is the supernatural mental abilities. Passive Telepathy, speaking from one mind to another, is at 6. For mental strength contests the simplified version is that mental suggestion, helping convince people to do things you want, requires 3 points more than they have, forcibly reading their minds requires 5 points more, and creating illusions capable of completely fooling the senses requires 7 more.
For Technological Skill is complex and rather unique to Arryn while this rp takes place in modern times some of the people in the RP are rather, lets be kind and say ‘technologically handicapped’. While technology is important, some people may have sacrificed it for magic, and others have simply decided they don’t care. That being said others have kept up with the times and are tech wizards themselves. 2 points in the tech area are required to use a cell phone to make calls, send texts, and casually browse the Internet. 4 points you can easily switch between computers such. (Beyond that as you can tell in real life I only have a 3 in tech so if anyone more knowledgable than myself would like to make the tiers for that feel free to PM me)
For auric strength in order to use Runic magic you must have at least 2 points in auric strength, to use spells you must have at least 5 points, the more points you allocate to auric strength the stronger the magic can be instantly, the more points you allocate to spells/rune the more complex and intricate your spells and runes can be.
Physical Strength:
Mental Strength:
Technological Skills:
Auric Strength:
Spell Casting:
Rune Making:
How do vampires usually feed? Are there any humans who give consent to have their blood drank directly?
Vampires have multiple feeding options, they can feed from livestock, the blood bank or from a consenting adult, each for fees. Feeding from livestock is cheap and easy though it only provides the basest of sustenance. Feeding from a consenting adult is an option and their fees are bartered between individuals. Some people may charge more than others and any and all people have the right to refuse feeding. Minors cannot give consent for being fed upon and as such feeding upon them is considered an unwilling feeding, even if money was exchanged, and is punishable by law. Finally people can give blood into the blood bank for a set price, and blood can be bought from the bank, also for a set price.
Is a vampire drinking form local cattle roughly equivalent to a human's grocery expenses? Or is the cost of living higher for vampires?
The price of living for vampires is relatively equivalent to that of humans, between the multiple options some vampires can of course feed better than others.
So a Witch + Human = Half Witch, right? What about HalfWitch + Witch? How many generations until you could consider them a fully powered Witch?
This is where things are slightly confusing and I was being lazy and putting off getting into too much detail. Normally any species breeding inside itself has a 100% chance of breeding another of their species. Breeding with humans is different, in typical cases 75% of the time the child will be of full born blood of the non human species, 20% of the time they will be half bloods, and 5% of the time they can be full born humans. When two nonhuman species mate it is a 25/50/25 chance with 25% going to full bloods of either parent species, and 50% that they will be a half blood of both parent species.
The process is even more complicated for half bloods. If a half blood human/witch has a child with a full blood witchs 90% of the time they will give birth to a full blood, 9% of the time a half blood, and there is a 1% chance they will give birth to a full blooded human.
Notable exceptions to this are the Sceadugenga who always produce half Sceadugenga half of the other parent species, regardless of the parentage. If a half blood Sceadugenga mates with a half blood of another species there is a 50/50 chance to produce a child of either bloodline.
Can we do multiple characters?
Multiple characters are accepted and even encouraged!
Can we make up our own bloodlines/species?
Any new bloodline or species can be PMed to me(Fell) and I will look over it and discuss it with the other GMs and work with the individual who crease the species or bloodline, to add it to the existing list, this is on a first come first serve basis however, as there are technically a limited amount of bloodlines in Arryn.
Any and all questions you have can and will be answered as quickly as possible by a GM, and a FAQ section will be started as questions and clarifications arise.
If you would like to create a new species include the species description in your PM to me with your character bio for discussion. I love expanding the world of the rps I work on and am always open to new ideas thoughts and opinions.
