[OOC] Tverios: The Conquest

[Lexicon]

My next post is done! Going to tinker with it and have it up by Monday. =D

[shylarah]

@Lexicon Thanks for answering! There is not much information about the elves in his OOC stuff that I've seen. They are stigmatized, but what is their culture like? Also, if I am going to be a trusted underling, I need a solid reason for my char(s) to support Oromis. Money, idealism, religion...I'm trying to get a feeling for what might influence the current possibilities to want to throw in with him, how they might have met, and so forth. How about smaller critters, fae and spirits and the less powerful supernatural stuff? Or are there no magical critters nowadays at all, since there's barely any magic left? *wiggle* I can work with that. How about the stones, can one maybe...I dunno, control spirits or something? That'd fit most closely with the idea I'm toying with right now.

[Lexicon]

@Shylarah Elven culture, such as it is, has been left pretty vague with the exception of the southern kingdom of Xochimilco. Honestly, Vahir has been very good about allowing us to sort of flesh out the world he's created within reason. I figure the elves originally had a Greco-Roman-esque kingdom before they ended up forming the Empire of Tolos, which still exists today. As a people, however, the elves have been scattered to the winds. The only places where they have any influence are the Empire, where they form a ruling class of sorts, and in Xochimilco, which is comprised mostly of dangerous jungles. Even in the Empire, however, they are subservient to the Emperor. My character, Myranda Tavellan, is an elven mercenary who grew up in a small village in the southern reaches of the Empire. She was a farmer's daughter until a group of sellswords destroyed her home and took her in. Of course, this was over 150 years ago. Personally, I feel like elves outside of the Empire are survivalists and extremely pragmatic. They do what they have to in a world that despises them. Even if that means serving humans. Think more 'Dragon Age' elves than 'Lord of the Rings' elves. I'm not sure if that helps. Oh, and we have established that elves from Xochimilco, or "southblood" elves, believe their "northblood" cousins are weak and worthless. Apparently, living a harsh existence in a rainforest can make an already arrogant race even moreso.

Honestly, I'm thinking the less "supernatural" and "magical" stuff the better. Controlling spirits might be a bit much, but that is Vahir's call. Maybe a sila stone that allows the wielder to speak with the dead and nothing more? I still think the less magical and fantastical the better. Again, I'm not the GM but that's the vibe I'm getting. The only really powerful magical being is the God-King himself. And sila stones are also very rare. I think we've encountered three since the RP began. As for why your character joined him, I'm not sure what to tell you. Myra joined because it was either that or the hangman's noose. Claes joined because she supposedly wants to help Oromis bring peace to Tverios, though I'm not sure that's the case. Others want glory, power, or wealth. Serving the potential Emperor of All and befriending him can only be a good thing, right?

[shylarah]

@Lexicon I was trying to think for a justification for my character's heritage. She'd have trashed the stone anyhow, if possible. But I can chuck that and use a different version of her, or her daughter, or someone else entirely. As for justification...a lot of my chars see cultural diversity and small government as a good thing. They'd actually fight the emperor. ^.^;; I need to figure out who wouldn't, adn why not.

[Lexicon]

@Shylarah I don't get the impression that Oromis wants to destroy cultural diversity. He just wants to straighten out a land drenched in warfare and violence. Will certain cultural practices get wiped out due to his reformations? Definitely, but I don't think that's his goal. He purportedly wants to bring peace to a chaotic, deadly world. What's the old saying? You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. Maybe your character could join because, having seen the horrors people can inflict on each other, siding with Oromis seems like the only sane option? At least he plans to do something with his newfound authority instead of just using it as a springboard to launch even more conquests. Supposedly.

[shylarah]

@Lexicon the "supposed" is what I'm looking at. He's done a lot of dying and not-totally-winning and we haven't seen evidence of what he'd do whne in charge. I'm certainly going to wait for the GM before settling on any ideas, but I'm leaning towards a Quaylu right now.

[Lexicon]

@Shylarah Lol, well said. I suppose some people will back anyone willing to change the status quo for the better. Or someone who claims to be a god. A Quaylu might be cool =)

[Vahir]

I'm here, and we have a joiner! I'm not really going to be available this weekend (writting this on a tablet, it's painful) but i'll try to answer your queries ASAP. Lexicon, I owe you a cookie for being a bro and doing my job for me here.

I'll give a comprehensive word-of-god answer to all your questions tomorrow night. Sorry about the wait, but I guess it gives you time to read through the IC.

[shylarah]

@Lexicon Thought there was a Quaylu on the char sheets. O.o

[Lexicon]

@Shylarah We had one on the roster for awhile, sure. Then he bailed, I think. I was just saying it might be cool to have another one onboard.

[shylarah]

@Lexicon I just made a feudal Japanese version of a character of mine, and I'm wanting to break her in. The biggest problem is that she's not the sort to back a leader without solid proof of the leader being a decent fellow. *sigh* But a Quaylu would be fun, I agree.

[Lexicon]

@Shylarah Well, maybe that's a sign to make a completely new character? Personally, if I encountered someone who promised to create a better life for folks living in a place like Tverios I'd be willing to back them. At least for the time being. Unlike many other rulers, Oromis is trying to bring about change as opposed to worrying only about his own wellbeing and status.

@Vahir No problem, Vahir. I figured you were otherwise occupied and tried to answer as best I could. Hopefully, I didn't give our potential recruit any misinformation.

[Vahir]

A late Q&A. Lexicon already answered most of these (and in accord with what I was thinking), but I thought it'd be best to have definitive answers on them.

Word of God Q&A

Q: Also I'd like to know if you have a word count minimum, a posting frequency requirement, that sort of thing.

A: Honestly, I don't care about post length, as long as they're well written, and advance the plot. A 500 word post can do that just as well as a 5000 one, depending on how you write it. The latests posts in the IC have gotten pretty long, since Lexicon writes them that way and I'm very competitive and spiteful, so we've been raising the bar pretty high. Just write what you're comfortable with.

And as for frequency, I expect people to post more than once a month, but I get that you can sometimes go a week or two without a post, because finding inspiration can be hard. I'm in no rush to hurry along this RP; as long as you're present and active, I'm fine with it.

Q: Also, are characters generally together?

A: Well, it varies. I'd prefer if PCs could stick together, because it's easier to get things done that way, but sometimes the party just gets split. That's the case right now, at least since Maavoimat joined.

Q: I need to know more about what Oromis professes as his intention for the lands under his rule, as well as what history says about his first rule. Are Naytheists (people who know there are gods but don't worship any of them despite solid evidence) allowed?

A: Well, for one thing, there isn't really any solid evidence that gods DO exist. I mean, Oromis is considered a god by some because he can do crazy magic stuff at will, but others would argue that he's just a powerful mortal.

Atheists do exist in this setting, notably the Qaylu, who follow a code of morals instead of a religion. Most places won't persecute you for rejecting religion, either, at least as long as you keep it to yourself. Some places, like Etruscia, do get pretty preachy about religion and ostracize non-believers though.

Q: Is Oromis even recognizable as his old self, or is there proof of other gods?

A: The thing is, the last times Oromis popped up, he never stopped to have paintings or sculptures taken of him, he was pretty busy waging his wars. So all the renditions of him were made AFTER his deaths, by a bunch of different artists, each doing their own view of him. Despite how varied this makes the images of him, he does match what they generally agree with, but the Etruscans would just say he's a look-alike with a streak of megalomania.

As for proof of other gods, the other pantheons don't have much else going for them besides real-life faith, with the exception of the dwarven worship of Geishra: Their ritual human sacrifice has been known to do... crazy things. But never consistently or tested enough to be considered proof.

Q: What sort of supernatural creatures, if any, are there, aside from player races?

A: There's a distinction to be drawn here, I think, between supernatural and fantastic creatures. The former really depend on magic and spiritualism to be real, such as ghosts, while the later can be real, depending on how far you're willing to stretch your belief, such as griffons. Supernatural creatures don't exist in the world (at least anymore), while fantastic creatures generally do. I generally leave it up to the players to flesh out what kinds of monstrosities inhabit their region of the world.

Q: Elves. They are stigmatized, but what is their culture like?

A: Honestly, Lexicon answered this so well that I don't think I can say much else, so I'll just quote him, in case future players read through this Q&A for quick answers.

Elven culture, such as it is, has been left pretty vague with the exception of the southern kingdom of Xochimilco. Honestly, Vahir has been very good about allowing us to sort of flesh out the world he's created within reason. I figure the elves originally had a Greco-Roman-esque kingdom before they ended up forming the Empire of Tolos, which still exists today. As a people, however, the elves have been scattered to the winds. The only places where they have any influence are the Empire, where they form a ruling class of sorts, and in Xochimilco, which is comprised mostly of dangerous jungles. Even in the Empire, however, they are subservient to the Emperor.

My character, Myranda Tavellan, is an elven mercenary who grew up in a small village in the southern reaches of the Empire. She was a farmer's daughter until a group of sellswords destroyed her home and took her in. Of course, this was over 150 years ago. Personally, I feel like elves outside of the Empire are survivalists and extremely pragmatic. They do what they have to in a world that despises them. Even if that means serving humans. Think more 'Dragon Age' elves than 'Lord of the Rings' elves. I'm not sure if that helps. Oh, and we have established that elves from Xochimilco, or "southblood" elves, believe their "northblood" cousins are weak and worthless. Apparently, living a harsh existence in a rainforest can make an already arrogant race even moreso.

@Lexicon

Q: How about the stones, can one maybe...I dunno, control spirits or something? That'd fit most closely with the idea I'm toying with right now.

A: My problem is that "controls spirits" is very vague, whereas Sila stones do very specific things. I'd be fine with your stone letting you speak to the dead, give people nightmares, or something like that.

[Lexicon]

Work has begun on my massive, six page post lol. I'm going to do my damnedest to have it up today. Maaaybe tomorrow, but I'm aiming for today. Siege time!

[Lexicon]

Alright, I just need to edit the gatehouse fight and I'll post. Definitely better than my last post but, since I'm an idiot, I'll probably keep messing with stuff lol.

[Lexicon]

Posted. It's...actually not terrible. I'm going to do one last once-over and then leave it alone for tonight. Thank you everyone for being patient.

[Vahir]

A shame; A few hundred more words and you could have beaten me.

I posted the collab we've done too. I've come out of this with a distinct dislike of collabs; If you can't finish them in a day, everybody looses interest and all your work gets lost.

[Lexicon]

Personally, I don't like collabs either. I know it wastes time but at least with back and forth posts in the IC it holds people accountable. Because it's obvious when someone isn't responding like they should. I don't know. Still, nice post.

[Vahir]

On a side note: The nomenclature for the river is pretty confusing, even for me. So I propose that it's been called the Etrusceia since the old Empire, but in recent centuries it's taken the name "Widow's Tears" in informal usage. We've been using both liberally, we might as well make both right.

[Lexicon]

Folks, I hate to do this but I'm afraid I have to drop out. Real life is too hectic right now. I apologize and wish you all the best.