ArenaSnow

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

Saffron Kelly, the curious kitty lost in a world of distaste

Saffron Kelly

Also frequently nicknamed as 'Saffy'

Physical Appearance

In the appearance of a young girl due to a mistake in practising magic, Saffron stands at a height of 4'10 with light brown hair that drops down to her shoulders. Her nose is slightly pointy and she has large brown eyes to match her hair, a small mouth joining these features on her face, as well as a pair of slightly small human ears hidden beneath the sweeps of her hair. Moving down, Saffron is quite thin and has the smallest of bust due to the age she is trapped at. Along with her human features, she does have a pair of features that only a cat would have; it's ears, as well as it's tail. A pair of cat ears just a tad lower in tone than her hair sit above her head, along with a tail behind her that sits at the same colour as her hair.

Abilities

Saffron has an affiliation with nature and it's various magics. She has a few simple magic abilities; she can communicate with every known animal in their native tongue, as well as has being able to understand new animals' languages after some exploration. She is very knowledgeable in knowing that makes the animals tick, and so can influence them into doing things such as defending or attacking for her, or having a bird fly overhead to scout the path.

Another ability Saffron has is altering the growth of cells, both of fauna and flora. In doing this, she very rapidly assists in the healing process, though this does have some drawbacks. The patient of this will suffer a large amount of pain for the duration of the healing, which means unless the person has a minor wound they'll end up begging for it to stop. This flux of pain also occurs to Saffron if she is healing herself, and so she is unable to heal herself due to the inability to force healing upon herself like she can others. The healing is also able to remove corruption from a person before it has fully set in, and from there on can only slow the growth of it, the cost being pain and Saffron's own strength. Saffron also have the ability to transform into some animals as well, most smaller ones, whilst the only large animal she can turn into is a leopard.

She does have some offensive capability as well, though this is limited by location. Saffron is at her best in areas with flora, as she can manipulate plants and their roots to entangle and attack foes, as well as create defensive and concealment barriers. Whilst underground in these areas, she can still utilise the roots, making them dig underground to assist her. Unintended side effects could include cave-ins. The less flora, the less she has to attack with. She can do this is deserty and sandy areas, however the roots that she uses would be poor and weak, and as such not as effective.

As for (questioningly) non-magical abilities, due to a mistake that she committed whilst exploring the bounds of her magical abilities, she generated herself a pair of cat ears, as well as a cat tail. Whilst the cat tail doesn't form anything extra apart from the ability to hold things (to some extent) using it, the cat ears provide her extra aural perception. Due to her smaller size, she can't rely much on strength, instead relying on single-handed weapons, primarily daggers but she is capable of using shortswords. She doesn't rely on these weapons unless she has to, however. In terms of knowledge, she has the knowledge of a standard adult, as well as an mental encyclopedia of berries, leaves, and all sorts of natural things.

Starting Gear

Saffron has the clothing that she is wearing, as well as a pouch that contains berries that she can eat from and a flask of water. Her belt also contains a trio of snares for catching small prey. On her left side is a small dagger, though she doesn't use it much. In addition to her clothing in the image, she also has a brown hood inside one of her pouches, which she can put over her head to hide her cat ears.

Personality/Goals

Saffron has three main goals, two of which link in with eachother as well as one that is generally her overall goal. Her first two goals are simple, yet hard to pull off; she wishes to undo the stall in her age that she had accidentally cast on herself, and the second is to undo the feline appendages that she had cast on herself. With the second, she admits that there is a small chance that she might come to terms with her new and non-human appendages, however for now, she wants them gone. The third goal is not as simple as the former two, and is more a hope than a goal: She wants demons to be eradicated, made extinct. She despises demons, as they spread their corruption and destroy innocents.

As a whole, Saffron is giggly, as though her mind is mentally adult, her childish form still prods at her mind. She tends to quickly dislike those who attack or damage nature without reason; she doesn't mind people picking blades of grass or anything tiny, unless they are doing it purposefully to annoy her, but if it's consistent without reason, she'll feel unhappy. Aware of her child form, she doesn't fear in using that to her advantage, whether it be for free food at towns or sympathy for the upset child.

Her cat features do grant her some supplementary additions to her emotions. Fish is a sufficient lure of Saffron's attention, as is catnip, though once she has figured out that she had been lured, she won't be happy (unless, of course, she is allowed to consume the fish or mess around with the catnip); she generally doesn't like being baited by her 'cat-side' as she calls it, and doesn't like people taking advantage of it. On the other hand, Saffron wouldn't complain as to her ears being petted or rubbed behind them. It's a matter of how you take advantage of the cat-side; to take advantage of or to comfort Saffron.

Backstory

Moving was a large part of Saffron's life early: She didn't live in one place, often only remaining in some towns for at maximum a month before she was on the move again. This was due to the fact that her parents were mages, and were nervous about staying in one spot for long. The travel between towns was how Saffron developed her own nature magic, developing her abilities whilst on the road. Casting random spells was a child's way of exploring her bounds of magic, and one such spell trapped her age, though she nor her parents knew this had happened until Saffron herself realised that it had been too long before she had grown.

Saffron started to live on her own from a point where she had lost her parents in a deadly encounter with mage hunters. The only reason that she got survived the encounter was a spell by her father that removed her from the visible spectrum, though she didn't escape completely due to one mage hunter following his dog's nose. Knowing that her parents were going to die was one thing, however knowing exactly when her father had died was another; she knew he had died the second that she lost her invisibility, something which brought the mage hunter and his dog straight to her until she impaled them both using the roots of a tree, extended out from under the ground. She didn't know whether or not the rest of the mage hunters had found their companion because as fast as she could, she was out of the area. Once Saffron escaped, she began mourning.

After that, Saffron lived a life that varied. She would mainly live out in the wilds, practising her magic and attempting to hone it out of sight of passing folk. It was during one of these tests that she messed up a transformation spell, pulled from it at an early point of shifting by a passing animal that surprised her greatly. She barely managed to control herself and break the spell, and though successful was left with a pair of cat ears and a cat tail that she tried to remove desperately; those appendages alone would show that she used magics of some kind. Saffron soon came to realise that they were there to stay until she could figure out a way to remove them properly, which would not be achieved by way of panic. So, she learned to live with them.

Though Saffron did spend most of her time out in the wilds, she would sometimes venture into towns for various reasons, ranging from hiding out during winters and bad weather to acting as a child to get things such as food and other items. Hiding her cat appendages was sometimes tough, but was doable, and Saffron had plenty of practise throughout her time.

@datadogie

Oh, fine, why not. We'll take a catgirl. Feel free to fling over to the Char tab. @ClocktowerEchos you too if you like.

AWE'

Welcome :)

Peaky Blinders-esque RP (18+)

Doubt I'll join, just throwing in a free bump because peaky blinders? Bloody yes.

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

Well, this is certainly interesting, however, may I ask if I am allowed to play as an orc character? If not, then it's ok, what I have planned in mind for the character can be adapted to a human as well.

@Claw2k11

Sure, why not. Orcs are a thing, feel free to pick a general region on the map where they're native to, stuff like that if you really feel like integrating.

The Circus Master

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Magrino the Magnificent

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Abilities:
Magrino prefers the title of "magician" over "mage". Many of his abilities are performance or circus based befitting his appearance and former profession. Most adept at illusions, Magrino also can use magic to allow him to preform gravity-defying jumps and stunts as well as shoot out playing razor sharp cards and ropes. The only "true" battle magic he knows is a variation of fire magic he calls "Star Sparkle" where it looks like he can shoot out roman candles that burn and blind.

Starting Gear:
Outside of his ringmaster costume, Magrino only has three items of note:

• Gilded Cane - Just a normal, if not an especially decorated walking cane
• Boots of Balance - Assiting him in his seemingly impossible jumps and landings, the boots boost his jump distance and strength as well as allow him to fall great distances without falling and balance himself on the slimmest of strings
• Smiling Masquerade - Magrino's signature mask, it hides a burnt face and allows its wearer to magically see in the night, through smoke and even invisible creatures to a degree

Personality/Goals:

• Become famous and have the crowds chant his name
• To find the people who destroyed his circus and family
• Rather strange and esoteric with a slight ego streak
• Extremely flamboyant and a fame-hog

Backstory:
Magrino's first memories were that of being brought in by a circus having been left out in the wilderness to die as a baby. Although having a kindling of magic, he was accepted within the travelling circus that was full of societal outcasts. Although some would say he never had a family, Magrino would say he had the best family in the world. His father was Ringmaster Charcal the Great, his mother the beautiful beast tamer Evelynn, his uncles where Boris the Strongman and Honkers the Jester, his aunts were the twin Dancers Anna and Amma, he had more siblings then he cared to count (but never cared to love) and had several pet snakes, lions and birds.

He would grow up in this enviroment that some would call unbefitting but Magrino called perfect. In time he became one of the best preformers in the entire circus and was in line to beocme heir to the title of Ringmaster. Trained by his fellow acrobats and preformers at day and tutored in magic by the local hag and fellow magicians, Magrino aspired to become the greatest showman.

However, one night, Magrino would awake to see his entire life burnt into ashe. The sole survivor of the unnatural fire, he would done the mantel of Ringmaster, not to lead the circus, but to avenge them. With the souls of his past echoing in his head, he now travels the realm putting down rouge magics while searching for the arsonists.

@ClocktowerEchos

Ah, a Magnificent viable entry appears from the sidelines. I'll buy this. Though I would suggest a spellchecker, as there are about a half dozen squiggly lines here that could use correction.

RE: Nation Roleplays: How many mechanics is too much?

Sounds like Napoleon: Total War with roleplay posts.

I doubt that's very helpful, but it's my only real thought on the matter.

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

@superservo27 @datadogie @Archmage MC @MonkeyBusiness @Ghost Queen @Kheliop @Kidd @0 Azzy 0 @FiroIV
You know what? Have an OOC.

I should note that the higher the population, the more it is possible that things will get chaotic. I am willing to work with population levels, but if each person who expressed interest joins, I will likely work to split the IC into two groups (possibly two threads). If I can't get 4 folks per 'team', or there turns out to only be 4 or so that actually carry to the OOC, then it is more certain that there will be one encompassing thread. I'm not expecting everyone who expressed interest to join, necessarily, so if you can't carry over then that is not an issue. Just make sure you plan to stay for a while before dedicating to the IC :p

Also note that the larger the group becomes, the more likely I will poke for IC posts. Smaller the group, the more lax I am, the more folks there are, the more I'll be inclined to say "just skip ___" and write someone out of the particular moment if they hold up IC for, say, three to four days and there's 5+ more people who want to continue. Likewise, with a smaller (or split) group, there is much more leeway.

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

The day was cold. A surprising event, as it was the end of the winter months and the last week had been quite warm, but a fact nonetheless. At least it wasn't raining, though there were many large clouds in the sky, looming over the many towns and mountains and other spots of land below, with the imminent threat of bursting into heavy rain. This was not a surprise. At the end of the winter months, there was always an assortment of huge clouds and terrible weather waiting to strike the people below. It was only mid-day; there was plenty of time for that to happen still.

The weather had an effect on magic as well. A subtle, unconscious effect that dampened the inherent auras of magic users. Minor, but useful. This is what Akaros Kune was expecting. Every edge helped, especially when there was a good dozen powerful magic users in one place.

The place was a particularly old and beaten fort, set in a vast mountain range that served as the border between a warm, tropical climate and the vast sands of the south. The walls sagged, no longer wishing to carry their own mass. The place could have been made a thousand years ago by some ancient civilization. Perhaps it was. But that wasn't the issue.

Along with its age, it had a dampening effect of its own. A trivial reduction of power for everyone within, with the benefit of also heavily dampening the auras of the mages within. Yet another measure to remain undetected. While inviting a dozen quirky strangers was insecure, he was otherwise rather paranoid. Perhaps understandably - after all, the world was after him.

As for him; Akaros Kune, a mage that looked like he would rapidly decompose any minute. Powerful, yes. The air around him practically oozed with the arcane tweaks that he cast on himself over... a century? Two? It would be hard to tell, ancient mages looked the same, though typically because of an illusion to look far younger than they actually were. He plainly didn't put much work into his illusion; he looked like he was easily 80 or 90 years old. His skin practically rested on his bones, all covered by a black cloak that looked as old as he was. He sat on an old chair, or perhaps throne. It looked more like a throne, though it did not have ornate carvings, and it was a construct of stone.

The only thing that stood out was his eyes, deep blue orbs that looked human, yet had a piercing stare that any capable magic user would know was beyond the stare of any normal human. His eyes scanned people, quite literally, and his orbs checked every person to enter the room. It was a fairly large room, practically a throne room in fact, but with a long rectangular table running down the middle with chairs on each side. Everything was made of solid stone, so there was hardly any comfort to actually sitting in the chairs unless someone liked cold stone for their rears. Or magically enhanced the seats.

It was a wonder he was able to get messages out at all, as he didn't move at all from his seat, but that did not matter. He introduced himself by name and title as "just a mage", and he began business from there. The first hour was spent on waiting for people to arrive, starting with the first person to come in. The next hour, he didn't speak much at all. He merely repeated that he summoned them all to form a team, and the team would be hunting demons, rogue mages, and many more things. After his brief introduction, a life came to his voice.

"Now that we're all here-" yeah, right, there was almost certainly going to be someone walking in late- "Ask me questions, meet each other, and decide where we shall go first. North, South, East and West, there are many things to be done..." He was certain there would be questions. After all, he didn't actually tell them much. It was an ad-hoc summons using any means that would get the mages to come along, and he didn't even explain how he magically knew where each of them was and that they were magic users. The man himself remained a complete mystery to his audience...

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

вyтanιa

^{σf mαgєѕ αnd mσnѕtєrѕ}

IC

Current Quest -

Story So Far

Why are you clicking this? ;-;

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

вyтanιa

^{σf mαgєѕ αnd mσnѕtєrѕ}

Characters

Accepted characters will be posted in this thread and linked in the OP whenever the GM gets off his lazy ass to do so. Proposed characters should be posted first in the OOC for input.

NPCs

I'm sure one will show up.

Relevant Lore Updates

Seek and ye shall maybe discover!

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

вyтanιa

^{σf mαgєѕ αnd mσnѕtєrѕ}

OOC

the Interest Check

We are FULL on new applicants.
Welcome to a world that you're trying to save that, for the most part, hates you. Well, not you. Mages. Yes, you are a mage of some type or another, or even just a magic user. Either way, you're joining a group that intends to take out threats and save people, villages, the world from threats that you may or may not be thanked for.

I am the omnipotent narrator. But don't worry, I won't appear very often. Maybe.

The OOC is small. No, really. It's starting small and going to grow if it needs to grow. My rules are "common sense and stop when I say stop". That's basically it. I assume the participants have at least some idea of how to handle themselves on the internet, and if not, they can bugger off. So, lets begin with the infohiders and such.

World Map

There are, as of yet, no real kingdoms of note. Each province has its capital, and all the capitals are named, though that isn't to say that the region shares its capital name (BS one into your backstory, eh?). Grey regions are independent city-states/kingdoms with a single province, and regions with unique colors are the world's kingdoms of note.

Geography

Basically, the northwest is a grassy plain region, the big bumps are some of the world's most notable mountain ranges (especially the mountains in the northeast, huge valleys and such), and the southeast has a big desert. It's a real game map, so screenshots can be made if requested. Might even make them anyways for the introduction.

Potential Opponents

Demons - The nastiest buggers you'll come across. Old creatures spawned of hellfire and possessing a vast suite of abilities, not least of which is their ability to corrupt virtually anything that they touch. They do not exist in bulk - typically, there is only one demon that will be involved somewhere at a time. Their lack of numbers is easily made up by corrupted pawns and murderous fanatics that follow them and feed them the foul energies that they sustain upon. Removing a demon is dangerous, and the work of a capable mage. Or multiple.

But, it is in large part because of demons that mages have the stigma against them that they do. A corrupted mage is downright terrifying, and it was corrupted mages that caused part of the current social problems in the first place. Magic is perceived as either evil or easily corrupted. The latter is not completely wrong. Every demon differs, but they should all be approached with great caution. Some are, of course, more powerful than others. You may get lucky and find a relatively weak demon, or a damaged one, or one that was banished to the mortal realm for failing to prove itself worthy to its brethren. Or you might find a very powerful demon that seeks to corrupt the entire world, and has tools that it can use to do so. Who knows...

Corrupted Individuals - Corruption is a messy business. Kill a demon, and its minions may still roam. They can be powerful, but they often lack the raw cunning and corrupting influence of a true demon, allowing them to be more safely disposed of. But, again, they should not be underestimated. They are often deranged, though there are some who blend right in. Either way, removing them can only make the world safer.

Rogue Mages - The bane of magic users everywhere. The rogue mage typically does not care about suppressing power, and attempts to use it to his or her upmost advantage. Sometimes they specialize in raw destruction, and sometimes they specialize in deception, working to undermine the politics of a particular state or city. Either way, a rogue mage is dangerous. They can sometimes be diplomatically handled, but other times they may be impossible to manage with diplomacy, making it necessary to get rid of them.

Supernatural Hostiles - Bloodthirsty vampires, feral werewolves, specimen gone wrong, any number of pest that terrorizes towns and kingdoms alone or in packs. While eliminating one of these is typically not going to save the world, it may make for an appreciative and more friendly populace.

Covens, Cults and Brigands - Terror inducing covens, deranged cults and particularly brutal bandits are the bane of civilization. Again, destroying or otherwise handling them does not necessarily save the world (though sometimes it might), but it may make for some appreciative NPCs in a world that otherwise doesn't like you.

Unwitting Destroyer - A child who blows up his home. A villager tempted by a cursed relic. A well-meaning individual who is prone to causing misfortune.There are some in the world with no malicious intent that cause damage without any desire to do so. Perhaps they can be saved, or perhaps it is too late to save them. Either way, they too must be handled.

Still? How about an RMAQ, randomly made answered questions?

You're still writing in first and second person.
I know. Sue me. pls no

Player death?
Inactive characters will be written out, or eliminated, based on my mood.

How active do I need to be? What are the post requirements?
I seek a post from somebody IC once a day (won't kill me if it's two), with me being more likely to prod for a post the more players that there are. I'd like daily OOC activity. There is no strict schedule, and I would like this to be fairly casual. Basically, give this a peek every 1-2 days. I do not write huge word walls of IC posts, so I don't expect as much, nor should you expect huge walls from me. IC, I simply don't write that much. Write as long walls as you like, with the minimum being a paragraph/string of sentences that moves the story forwards. Basically, post something that advances the story as best as you can, and be legible about it.

Can I be <insert god-dragon, demon, angel, elves here>?
Stronger/more unusual it is, more likely I'll comment/nitpick. Angels/demons/dragons especially as they are practically top of the line characters and some of your potential targets. Human is easiest, something like vampire is probably fine, a being made of magic (such as a demon) probably not.

How powerful can my abilities be? How should I list them? Are there limits?
What I primarily want to know is what your character's niche is and what they can do. Are they water-based mages? If so, what can they do with water? Once you have that set up, stick to the rules that you define for yourself, and don't try to min-max your abilities in-character. Water bending does not mean you get to incinerate someone by draining all the water from them just because you influence it. I will not throw my magic book at people unless I deem a particular ability to be OP, and I may mention certain restrictions for what powers can do when sheets are presented. Conversely, I want character creation to be relatively free. I'm open to discussing character abilities.

Time manipulation and mind manipulation are hard "nopes" with a small degree of wiggle room. Little pockets of slowing down time may be allowed, but nothing that truly goes back in time. You can have an ability that influences/reads emotions and such, but you cannot pluck information from someone's head.

Will there be player vs player combat?
Not planned, but possible. If this happens, I do expect you to use a degree of honor and to know metagameing = bad.

How much of the world is previously built, and how much can I add?
I mentioned my canon above. For the most part, only small amounts of my canon will be used that actually affect players, and even then, mostly just to define the limits of OP when I'm looking at a sheet. I'll use larger chunks of my fantasy canon when creating enemies and such, but those factors are on my end. The world map is static, though you can say you are from x region and then come up with details about it as long as they fit the region's theme. You could also say you are from beyond the borders of the map, which allows you more pure leeway. Administrations for any 'major' factions will be controlled and determined by me, so if you want to associate with them, talk to me. I'll throw info into the OOC relative to what is discovered.

As for what you can do, beyond that, up to you. Make up towns, people, even nobles, cultural aspects, bits of story to use as the foundation of your backstory. It is not a static world - the limits are defined by the map I am using to create a clear structure so I know where the heck things are going on. Make what you like, and chances are, you will not have an issue.

Why post in casual?
I write at casual length. I have for quite some time, and I will not pull the "this is a high casual" blah blah, because as far as I'm concerned high casual can go straight into advanced a good portion of the time by the site's definitions. Casual in scope - this is not going to consist of seriously deep plots and themes on the player end; casual in length - my primary concern is players working to advance a story, not fill word quotas; casual in requirements - I'm open to just about everyone as long as they give this a good shot.

What if the site goes down?
A discord link magically appears below.

Can I have OP be a co-GM?
I'm a picky bastard when it comes to top positions, but send a poke if you are curious, and I will give you a look. More likely to want one the more likely it is that over 5 players will pop in.

What if there's a large group?
Good question, because this is designed for a smaller group. 4 people is optimal. Less means I might recruit a bit more. 5 is OK, 6 is mostly OK, 7.... iieeeeeh..., 8+ probably going to split the parties up, either by thread or simply IC interaction with the @mention system. More than 4 people and I think @mentions will be very important.

What is this world?

Bytania is a random campaign map made by some guy on Total War Center that I renamed underdeveloped world with small kingdoms and many independent provinces. Sure, there are expansionists, but for the most part, nations are small, though the distaste for magic users is universal at the moment. I could talk all about the nations now... or I could just reply when someone's curious/discovers them.

That Character Sheet I mentioned

Not too long, not too bad in my estimation. I do seek enough writing to know that you actually put some thought into the answers. Minimalist apathetic sentences will probably not get far. Expand the CS/make it more fancy as you like, just know I believe in the glorious hider tags.

[img]Image, yea or nay?[/img]
[b]Name[/b]: Nicknames and such could also go here.
[b]Physical[/b]: A description or notes in addition to the image.
[b]Abilities[/b]: As much as you want to write about what your character can do. Which basically means, write more to explain what you can do depending on what it is you can do. If that wasn't a huge mouthful.
[b]Starting Gear[/b]: Different from physical description; what does your character wear/bring along, at least at first?
[b]Personality/Goals[/b]: A description of the baseline your character follows. What kind of individual is he? The sort to make people hate magic users, a guy legitimately trying to improve the world? A full fledged personality section? Up to you.
[b]Backstory[/b]: Smaller towns, general regions and cultural details are free reign for players. Ask if you have questions, want to integrate in more things, etc. Feel free to make connections and relations to players.
[b]Other Stuff[/b]: Rename this and put whatever you want here, or delete it, or use this as an excuse to make an entirely new sheet that provides the above information. Up to you.

I mentioned a discord, didn't I?

Ask questions. Post CS's in OOC. Obey guild rules, be good, give me your soul, etc etc...