At first, Life was simple. Humans went about their humble lives, possessing not a care in the world besides survival.
For, in those days, there was no tyranny. Things were truly tranquil. Motionless. Stagnant.
And then, came the Happening. The Spark of Magic was born into the world. At first, the people rejoiced at their new strength.
But, over time, this power bent their minds.
Morals were lost. Humanity was thrown away for the pursuit of power. New Beings, born from the primordial sea of Magic, used their power for horrible deeds. And then, all things were not. Life as it was before had ended completely.
Such is the end result of all Magic.
...
How much time has passed since this occurred? Nobody quite knows, all that remains of these ancient tales are small, almost impossible to decipher texts. All that is known is a single, concrete fact.
"Where there is Magic, none shall remain in the end."
It is the ultimate, apocalyptic force, driving whoever seeks it into destroying themselves. And yet, life remains. Why is this so? It is theorized that, sometime in the last few centuries, some sort of countermeasure was devised. A technique for preventing the growth of magic, for sealing it away for none to use.
Since then, there have been no more tales woven of Magic, and all traces of this terrible force have all but disappeared from the world. However, whatever the solution was that was woven by your ancestors, it was not permanent. Magic will, eventually, be born back into this world. Theorists have called this inevitability the "Second Happening", and its arrival is said to have been foreshadowed for many, many years before now.
While some, particularly the grand populace, remain oblivious, Kings and Scholars alike panic at what they believe will be coming before the end of their lifetimes. So, they have begun researching and planning in secret, preparing countermeasures for the coming cataclysm.
The apocalypse is nigh. In some, secluded villages, far from civilization, stories told to children, yelled aloud at inns and written painstakingly into diaries are beginning to become... queer. Mentions of fairies. Accounts of elves, spotted in the forests. The sound of great, powerful wings in the distance. Mysterious footprints.
All of these stories point to one, horrible fact.
Magic is coming. With the above shamelessly taken from the Interest Check, I'd like to welcome our lovely readers to the wonderful little production that I've been calling "Magic Sucks". For those of you just tuning in, and who would like a little recap of what's going on, here's the gist.
Magic sucks. Stop it.
Over time, and as the players begin to unravel the secrets of this world I've made for you, I will likely begin to reveal more information about the world's true nature. It might be tough. You might miss things. Hell, you might even die. But, that's all a part of the larger, over-arching philosophy from which this roleplay was original formed.
"Your actions will have consequences."
And, with all of that out of the way, I'd like to humbly present to you the information you need to get started. Loyal followers since the Interest check might want to touch up on the information below, and if they don't want to do that, at least glance over the information I've taken the liberty of adding. It'll help.
Good luck~!
1. "Where am I?"
Welcome to the great human Kingdom, Mortis, also called the Star of the West or the Kingdom of Gold. It is the oldest Kingdom in the land, and scholars have estimated that it may have even been around during the Age of Magic, pointing towards the land's various ancient ruins and massive, unnatural scars as evidence.
Indeed, the terrain in Mortis is among the strangest of the Nine Kingdoms, with massive, perilous Ravines that almost seem to tear the mountains themselves asunder. These great chasms are thought to be the source of Mortis's extraordinary wealth, as huge masses of precious metals were revealed through scaling the great ravine walls. Hence why it is sometimes called, the "Kingdom of Gold".
Despite its wealth, and the great territory it holds, Mortis is strangely not the greatest in terms of trading influence. Its Royal Family is known for hording great amounts of wealth, under the guise of "Saving it for times of need". The Gold of Mortis is a common subject of legend, and some outlying scholars even claim that something similar may have been mentioned in the ancient texts.
The more rural areas of Mortis are often headed by old, well-established noble families, with each town usually being named after something relating to that family. Closer to the capital, larger cities may possess several noble families existing at the same time. In places such as this, a Mayor is elected in order to represent the people and make political decisions.
The Capital itself is a great, bustling city, containing the Royal Palace and a great number of fantastic architectural creations, which one could only believe if they saw it for themselves. They stand, larger than life, as testaments to the unbounded wealth of the Kingdom.
The College of Arcanatras, also sometimes just called "The College", is a great university located a few miles from the Capital of Mortis. It is known as being a great center of knowledge, and is revered throughout the world. It's a very influential organization, and its agenda has frequently been scrutinized by the Kingdom's agents.
The Church of Red is the key religion in Mortis, and much of the population follows its teachings, even if they do not honour its god. Its main Cathedral is not located in the Capital, and instead sits in a surprisingly small city off near the coast, called Maidenfall. It isn't uncommon for religious folk to go on pilgrimage here.
Despite its popularity, little is known about the Church of Red's secretive inner workings. Their God is illusive, and not particularly well known to those outside of its dogma. All that is known, to those who seek but do not commit, is that it is closely associated with the colour Red.
About the other Nine Kingdoms, well, they are the Nine human kingdoms of the world, spanning the entirety of the known world. Out of these, three are located on the same continent as Mortis, called the Sleeping Isles, or the Continent of Somnus. The neighbouring Kingdoms are Mirithvale and Ashfall, which possess forest and volcanic geographies respectively.
Mirithvale, while populous, is quite poor, and is a great cultural center in this part of the world. Its focus on fulfilling the people's wishes has left the Royal Family in quite good standing with its people, but as a result, they have little influence on the other countries. Their military is said to be the weakest on Somnus.
Ashfall, to the southeast, is commonly spoken of a derisive manner by the denizens of Mortis, described as being "Barbaric" and "Uncultured". They are, however, some of the greatest warriors in the land, and their people are commonly hailed as being very effective mercenaries. Known for their grey hued skin.
As a whole, out of the three on Somnus, Mortis is undoubtedly the most powerful of the nations, and holds a great deal of influence in this sector of the world. While it cares little for extensive trade, it is in good relations with one foreign nation, a land across the Golden Sea, called "Barron". But of course, their customs and nature are quite unknown to the denizens of Mortis, as their kind are rarely seen in these parts.
2. "Who am I?"
For your characters, you will have been contacted by a mysterious individual, or given a mysterious notice and a bag of silvers, hired by that person to go resolve a problem in a rural village in your home Kingdom of Mortis.
You probably have a particular skillset, something that might catch the notice of somebody looking for those who are not widely known, but capable enough for the job. You might be a soldier, a doctor from some rural town, a studious scholar from the College, a charismatic village figure with people skills. All sorts will be found and brought together, all under mysterious purposes, and to solve a mysterious problem.
I will not accept foreign characters, by the way. I have my reasons for this.
By the way, any knowledge of Magic needs to be included in the skills section. Magic hasn't been around since ancient days, so what knowledge you have would be tales from recent years now that magic has begun to reappear. Don't expect to have a lot of this, only an occult specialist would know half of what there is to know, and even that is but a measly hundredth of what one could know.
Magic is kind of a lost art, bro.
CHARACTER SHEET -Image here- Name: (What are you called? There should be something here. If I don't like a name, I will ask you to change it.) Title(s): (Leave blank if no official titles are possessed.) Gender: (Male, Female, Apache Helicopter, .ect) Age: (Must be above 15. No upper age limit, but try to be realistic, we're not immortal.)
Descriptive Appearance: (Optional. If you have no image, I expect this to be filled out in a far more detailed manner than others.) Personality: (You can be brief, but try to be inclusive. Tell us how your character will react to given situations, and include any trauma or flaws your character may have developed over time. Not optional, but can be as long or short Basic Bio: (A more brief version of History, giving the relevant points and generally presented in a more TL;DR manner.
History: (Optional. A full-length biography, probably stretching over several paragraphs in length. Only do this if you feel you really need to, as it does waste a lot of GM time if it doesn't really contain anything important.)
Skills: (Try to be all-inclusive. Can your character read, write, fight with a sword, live off the land, build a house, and what? You can even include useless things, if you want.) Equipment: (What do you have? Include EVERYTHING. If it's not in your bio, you don't have it.)
You'll notice I didn't include any formatting beyond the hider (which you can move or adjust, or even remove, as you please). Well, I expect you to at least make your sheet readable, but feel free to not go overboard with the formatting. Feel free to go overboard, too, if you want. I like nice things.
3. "Whose pants are these?"
Wow, that ended up being a little larger than I expected! If you have any more questions for me, please ask me (privately or publicly), and I'll be happy to explain to or go over things with you.
Here are some important things you'll probably need to know. You might call them, "Rules".
1. I will not accept utterly unrealistic characters. If you want to make a teenage sword expert who can easily best a grown man with a blade, despite only being a farmer's child, this will not happen the way you expect. There is a certain logic to my world that has to be obeyed, and while this logic can be flexible from time to time, this does not mean it can be broken nonchalantly. 2. Despite this, Do not think that you have to make only gritty, professional characters. You can be silly, or useless, or even have your character be a parody of some popular fantasy character trope. This does not mean you can contradict the above rule, but please don't try to be too serious about things. 3. No... Foreigners, Magic-users, Religious or Political leaders, non-Humans, or Real-Life Characters. 4. Yes... Nobles, Alchemists, Scholars, Soldiers, Agents, Priests, Farmers, pretty much anything else. 5. Is this enough rules? Oh, and fun is mandatory. There shall be no butt-waggling or dingy-shoving in this thread. If I think you're being a jerk, I might be tempted to punt you into the nether realm, just to see what happens. 6. No Lewd Allowed.
4. "What is a post, even?"
Wow Tatsua, you might ask. This sure does look like a neato roleplay, and now that I've made a character and read the rules, what should I do now?
Well, good question my imaginary friend~! So, to start things off, I'll give you a little pointer:
POST.
More to be added over time. All characters that I have temporarily accepted up until this point are now fully accepted, and may be moved to the appropriate tab. Characters who have not been accepted may not do so, and instead should re-post themselves in the OOC for me to give a detailed review.
Just to note, I will be more harsh now that the RP has begun, so if you do not reach my required level of standards, you may be cruelly and heartlessly rejected.
I take it this is the place to post the CS now. I also managed to delete everything I wrote (not the first time) so I want to get this down rather quickly as I'm dead tired and should have gone to sleep already. Hope I didn't miss anything rewriting it.
Name: Cayl
Gender: male
Age: ~30
Personality: Dim-witted and naive, Cayl is honest to the bone and expects the same in return. Or rather, he doesn't know anything else to expect. He is not easily angered. Even in the face of injustice or wrongdoings, he responds with a clueless "why" in order to make sense of the twisted human mind. He is prone to dozing off in the middle of conversations, mostly to enjoy a particularly enjoyable breeze or the smell of wild flowers. He is lively and respectful. Quite often his views on life don't mesh well with those of humans, but as a follower of "balance above all things", he tries to be mindful of everything and consider everyone around him.
Short bio: "Legends say a great beast - both human and canine - prowls the lands around Millford ever since the days of old, some say even before The Happening. This town, now no more than a row of shacks, was once a bustling city of trade and knowledge. It's ruins still litter the surrounding plains, filled with unimaginable wealth and power, available to those who dare to face the terrible monster that is said to guard the ancient corridors beneath the crumbled walls. Is there an adventurer brave enough to enter the Millford Valley during a full moon night?"
What kind of a fairy tale the local folk used to lure tourists into Millford before he came into this world, Cayl didn't know. Living in a one room hut with an old lady, half a day's walk from town, had left him quite distant from the civilized world. Instead he spent his days ranging the wilderness and dancing with the wolves. The occasional trip to town to purchase supplies was the only time he met another human. Once a round was done and the woman had what she needed, Cayl was free to disappear into the forest for days, sometimes even weeks.
After one such voyage, Cayl returned to an empty house. Death had taken what was hers. Only a lifeless body sat in the corner, still holding a halfway woven basket in its hands. When the proper rituals had been made - as she would have wanted - Cayl knew there was nothing holding him to this place anymore. He had never been very close to her, but out of respect and gratitude had stuck with her until she had needed it. Weeks turned into months before Cayl returned to the run-down shack only to leave again. After a while, all what was left was a little clearing in the woods where the hut once stood.
Skills: Knowledge Roll: 5 - He can speak, read and do basic math. He only has rudimentary education in the latter two, mostly taught to him by the old lady for the occasional visits to town so as not to get scammed by the local farmers. Reading a book of fiction? No. Understanding a simple note or letter? Yes.
Denizen of Nature - Anything to do with the non-living side of nature, it's order, laws, cycles, dangers... This includes navigating via stars, predicting weather, finding water, etc.
Horse Whisperer - living among all manner of beasts has taught him to understand the behaviour of animals to the slightest of detail
Shoot to Kill - Cayl is an expert hunter, skilled in the use of bow, spear and knife, as well as setting up traps
Run, Forrest, run - Cayl is fast and silent. He can jump, climb, swim and run like an athlete.
Fields of Green - plants can be useful for a wide variety of uses - from making poultices and poisons to seasoning the freshly skinned rabbit
I Smell a Rat - although all his senses are highly developed, Cayl's sense of smell in particular has reached near inhuman levels
Knowledge of magic? All he knows is things aren't how they used to be. The odd signs here and there hint towards creatures Cayl has never seen before. And the smell, definitely the smell - a very slight otherworldly scent could be felt in parts all over Mortis.
Equipment: small backpack
hunting/skinning knife
larger general utility/bowie knife
bow and arrows (9 in total. Proper arrows can be hard to come by and fashioning them out of branches without proper equipment isn't easy. Thus he makes sure to retrieve them whenever possible.)
simple leather clothing
cloak
slightly better linen clothing for trips to towns (kept in bag)
flint
waterskin - filled and then refilled whenever possible. He mostly doesn't use it, preferring to drink from any bodies of water he comes by.
small pouch for herbs - while most plants can be used fresh, he does keep some emergency backups in this pouch. These include: a strong anti-toxin powder, a cleansing wound salve and a cooling poultice for burns.
small pouch for emergency food - dried meat and veggies. With careful rationing lasts for about 3 days.
Shabamz! I’m pretty sure there are already 4 characters with a name that starts with V, and so I regrettably throw my hat into that pile having come up with this character long before I even knew this RP existed.
Name: Violetta Garnier
Title(s): N/A
Gender: Female
Age: 20? 23? Violetta can’t quite remember how old she is. It’s somewhere in the early 20’s.
Descriptive Appearance: Violetta is 170 pounds with a slightly higher than average muscle mass, gained from her long hours of manual labor. She stands at a modest 5 feet 9 inches. Her skin has been dyed a light brown shade from the sun, and a heavy flurry of freckles cover her face, that are similar dark colored brown as her eyes. Violetta’s hair has been messily done up in a “french braid” style, the thick black locks reaching down to her lower back. She has wide hips “Made for birthing grandchildren” as her father would tell her.
Personality: Violetta tends to be more sheltered that the average citizen of Mortis due to her spending so much of her time separated from the world on the ranch. She isn’t very bright either, having received no formal education up to this point. This doesn’t make her a violent brute though; she’s very apathetic to others and has a good sense of morality. The girl works hard and always sees a job to its end.
History: Violetta Garnier was raised on the family farm and ranch on the outskirts of a town named Lakevale. Bruno Garnier, the girl’s father, had spent many years building up a modest reputation for having some of the best livestock in the region. In fact, Bruno was so concerned with keeping this standing, that he had little time for his daughter and son, Emile. With their mother swept away on the coattails of adventure, the two young ones were left to be raised by one of the farmhands. In time Bruno would work himself to a decrepit state, leaving the labor to his offspring and hired help. This would be Violetta’s life, wake up early, work the day away, sleep, repeat. While the young woman put in satisfactory work, her elder brother by a year was somewhat of a slacker and was more focused on what went on inside his mind than his work. Eventually Emile ran off to join the military, having fallen for the romanticized stories that he’d heard as a youth.
With Emile gone, Violetta was to be the heir of the estate, and so her father felt it was time for her to find a strapping young man to continue the family legacy. While she didn’t really want to elope, Violetta didn’t have much choice in the matter, and it was arranged that she’d wed with a young farmhand named Joseph Kell. From here on the girl found her life to be different; instead of the long hours in the fields, Violetta would be shut up inside the family home just like her father. Life grew fairly dull like this, and so she was delighted when a letter came in from Emile, asking Violetta to visit the fort that he had been stationed at.
With family approval, Violetta would set out to Titan’s Grave, with the one man entourage of Wesley, the farmhand who brought up both her and Emile. Upon arrival, the young soldier was surprised to see both of them, but wondered why they would visit so suddenly. Violetta was quick to bring up his letter, only to be even more confused than he, because Emile never learned how to write. The three would rush home to find The Garnier Farm and Ranch burned to the ground. Upon further inspection there were no bodies to bury, not even a single animal carcass. It was almost as if the place had been evacuated before the tragedy, but nobody in Lakevale had seen anyone from the ranch.
Feeling for his kin, Emile offered Violetta the option of enlistment, and with nowhere else to turn she accepted. They would both return to Titan’s Grave, and even though Violetta would be a hard working recruit, she gained little altitude in her stature. Eventually she received strange orders to head out to a rural village…
Equipment: Lightly reinforced leather armor, a simple set of clothing, war axe, a leather pack, dried rations, water, bedroll, flint and steel, map of Mortis, fishing rod.
Personality: She could be considered brave, honourable and loyal. She is extremely confident in her abilities, almost to the point of going over her limits. On more than one occasion she has attempted to fight against impossible odds, however more often than not she is able to defeat them. She has a soft spot for people who are weaker than her and look lost or scared, and tends to try to befriend and help them out, sometimes to the point of scaring people away. She is what you would call ‘larger than life’, despite her petite build.
Basic Bio: She grew up in a small town which was very friendly, to the point of everyone knowing each other. She was an overachiever from a young age, and at age 13 she attempted to get a job at multiple places at once. She is an only child, and her father was a skilled blacksmith, who even taught her a few things. She decided to apprentice at her fathers smith, and she has great skill in forging weapons and other tools as a result. Her father gifted her with her first sword and weapons when she was 15, and she became obsessed with becoming an adventurer and travelling across the lands, protecting people from bandits and other suspicious characters. Once she reached her coming of age, she began travelling across the lands, fighting and training and gaining a name for herself.
Skills: Academia (Basics): She can read, write, and she has basic knowledge of everything you get taught. Smithing (Higher Levels): She is a skilled blacksmith, and can make amazing swords and other weaponry. Survival Skills (Fundamentals): She is good at surviving with little equipment on hand, after years of travelling. Magic (None): She hasn’t even heard of magic existing, let alone knowing how to use it. Fighting (Higher Levels): She is an amazingly skilled fighter, and can even fight larger creatures and skilled swordsmen (with a bit of luck). Agility (Fundamentals): She is quite agile, helped by her small frame, but she doesn’t rely on it. Stealth (Basics): She can be stealthy if she wants to, but prefers to just charge right in and attack. Deception (Higher Levels): She is good at tricking people into believing things, and actually quite enjoys it. Riding (Fundamentals): She has her own horse, and is skilled at riding, whether simply rising down a path, or fleeing from bandits.
Equipment: Two hand crafted swords; one by her father (Her first sword) and one by her (her favourite sword), light armour (which she wears), a survival kit (rope, two water flasks, 2 weeks long lasting rations, flint, survival book, blankets, spare clothes, horse feed), 2 cloaks (one spare), smithing tools, 1 week ordinary rations, 1 large water flask, 300 silver coins, warhorse (Armadia)
I take it this is the place to post the CS now. I also managed to delete everything I wrote (not the first time) so I want to get this down rather quickly as I'm dead tired and should have gone to sleep already. Hope I didn't miss anything rewriting it.
Name: Cayl
Gender: male
Age: ~30
Personality: Dim-witted and naive, Cayl is honest to the bone and expects the same in return. Or rather, he doesn't know anything else to expect. He is not easily angered. Even in the face of injustice or wrongdoings, he responds with a clueless "why" in order to make sense of the twisted human mind. He is prone to dozing off in the middle of conversations, mostly to enjoy a particularly enjoyable breeze or the smell of wild flowers. He is lively and respectful. Quite often his views on life don't mesh well with those of humans, but as a follower of "balance above all things", he tries to be mindful of everything and consider everyone around him.
Short bio: "Legends say a great beast - both human and canine - prowls the lands around Millford ever since the days of old, some say even before The Happening. This town, now no more than a row of shacks, was once a bustling city of trade and knowledge. It's ruins still litter the surrounding plains, filled with unimaginable wealth and power, available to those who dare to face the terrible monster that is said to guard the ancient corridors beneath the crumbled walls. Is there an adventurer brave enough to enter the Millford Valley during a full moon night?"
What kind of a fairy tale the local folk used to lure tourists into Millford before he came into this world, Cayl didn't know. Living in a one room hut with an old lady, half a day's walk from town, had left him quite distant from the civilized world. Instead he spent his days ranging the wilderness and dancing with the wolves. The occasional trip to town to purchase supplies was the only time he met another human. Once a round was done and the woman had what she needed, Cayl was free to disappear into the forest for days, sometimes even weeks.
After one such voyage, Cayl returned to an empty house. Death had taken what was hers. Only a lifeless body sat in the corner, still holding a halfway woven basket in its hands. When the proper rituals had been made - as she would have wanted - Cayl knew there was nothing holding him to this place anymore. He had never been very close to her, but out of respect and gratitude had stuck with her until she had needed it. Weeks turned into months before Cayl returned to the run-down shack only to leave again. After a while, all what was left was a little clearing in the woods where the hut once stood.
Skills: Knowledge Roll: 5 - He can speak, read and do basic math.
Denizen of Nature - Anything to do with the non-living side of nature, it's order, laws, cycles, dangers...
Horse Whisperer - living among all matter of beasts has taught him to understand the behaviour of animals to the slightest of detail
Shoot to Kill - Cayl is an expert hunter, skilled in the use of bow, spear and knife, as well as setting up traps
Run, Forrest, run - Cayl is fast and silent. He can jump, climb, swim and run like an athlete.
Fields of Green - plants can be useful for a wide variety of uses - from making poultices and poisons to seasoning the freshly skinned rabbit
I Smell a Rat - although all his senses are highly developed, Cayl's sense of smell in particular has reached near inhuman levels
Equipment: small backpack hunting/skinning knife larger general utility/bowie knife bow and arrows simple leather clothing cloak slightly better linen clothing for trips to towns (kept in bag) flint waterskin small pouch for herbs small pouch for emergency food rations leather blanket (rolled up)
@Asuna Yuuki Lil' Korea is denied. The character doesn't meet the standards I've set for this roleplay, and I found several contradictions and parts that just didn't flow well with me or the world.
@Marik Violin Gorilla is denied. The character just seems like a blatant copy-paste, and I don't really understand where she fits in this world or team.
If either of you still want to join, you can contact me privately and we can go over your character concepts together. If not, see you around~!
@Hedonismbot Cayl is acceptable, with a few little tweaks. First off, it would be helpful to have a solid explanation as to what his skills actually do. Most notably, -Fields of Green
Additionally, I would like a short explanation as to where he learned Math, Reading and Writing, as all are skills he doesn't seem suited to have. For nitpicks, you should specify, -How many arrows does he have? -What exactly is a bowie? -Are his waterskins, herb pouches and food pouches full? If so, with what?
Once these questions have been answered, I'll be prepared to accept you into our roster. I shouldn't have to continue stressing this, but if it's not on your sheet when I accept it, it can't be used. Seriously.
As for the skill. Do you mean I should go more into detail? It's pretty much a general herbalism skill so he can recognize and use various plants for different purposes such as creating poisons, remedies or simply seasoning.
If I mentioned you here, you posted in the Int Check that you were interested or that you were making a character. If you're still down, you should probably make your existence known~
