Astarael42

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

I totally didn't catch it was phantom's character...I just assumed it was another of the folk in your orphanage. Yeah that's fine then by all means *face palm* so sorry I didn't catch that. Though a ghost could make an interesting party member... And you don't need to write about the kids suffering in the death hole...unless you want to...that sounds really depressing. You can just mention they are dead. But I always enjoy good melancholy writing!

Rites of Passage: A High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure. Seek ye Justice or Vengence?

@KnightsTemplar--yes we are. Please wander on over to the OOC and take a gander. :-) we can work you in, even if we are underway.

Rites of Passage: A High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure. Seek ye Justice or Vengence?

final bump if anyone is interested come on over to the OOC...this is the immortal RP. No one lets it die...its even come over from the old guild.

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

some brief notes...

It is evening time for both parties...group a on the river in a

skiff

and group B on the road. I took some license with group B as I started you out moving east and north (the direction the priests were headed when they came through your town) but you can decide how long you remained in the empty town and if you are traveling on foot or horseback.

also I have forgotten this several times now...these are regional skills based on your starting locations. NO idea if they will come up or not but they are there for the sake of knowledge

Aiden, Brisa, Argurios--as residents of Twiddledale, a town subjected to repeated troll attack, you are well versed in troll lore. YOu have never put it into practice but your parents/teachers teach you this from a young age. What trolls eat, when they come out, where they like to live, warning signs they are in the area, the sounds they make, and that you need fire to successfully kill them (they are unaware that acid also works).

Jatan--as a resident of Loudwater which survives off the river which banks up upon it you are well versed in river lore. This is taught to you as you need to understand the river to live in harmony with it. You know about how to read currents, what signs to watch for, the best spots to find fish, what to do if you fall in a deep section (not swimming so much as staying afloat), and how to spot a rising river due to flooding upstream.

Mia & Divne--as a resident of a large bustling city with most of your time spent in the underworld of the city you are well versed in Underworld lore. By this I mean the structure of the gangs, how to spot various unsavory characters, how the crime bosses tend to be set up, common fronts for illegal activates, how to find illegal items/information that can be bought (for a high price naturally), and a basic understanding of the rogue society in a large city which usually has its own hierarchy, politics, rules, enforcement officers, and organizational structure.

EDIT: also updated the monsters compendium

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

*******************Group A (Brisa, Argurios, Jatan, Aiden)*******************


The cool of evening was a vast relief to the four children crammed into the small boat. The adrenaline of their escape had worn off, and while the crash hit each of them differently they all felt it. Brisa felt like she had just been present at the casting of a vast magic, like when she helped Autry enchant her house for protection. Every bit of her was drained away and she slumped in the boat. She was bone weary, her eyes barely open, and her chin rested on the satchel she still clutched tightly in her arms.

The river was wide, the current slow and sluggish, but it was steadily taking them away from the danger of Loudwater. That was all that was important at the moment. After they had piled into the skiff, packed rather tightly together with the bags of gear that Argurios had procured, they had pushed off from the bank. The current had grabbed them and slowly pulled them further away. Brisa didn't look back, afraid of what she might see.

The river ran through the edge of town, and since the kids were still in danger of being caught, they pulled the oilskin tarp over themselves and huddled, best they could, in the bottom of the boat. It was hot, sticky with humidity, and terribly uncomfortable. Fortunately the river was doing the work and they could sit in misery without speaking or moving much. Anyone who saw them would just think it was a boat that was adrift, and while they might have once leaped in to tow it to shore, the townsfolk were simply too distracted at the moment.

So for three-quarters of an hour the children drifted downriver, in silence and steaming discomfort, hidden under the tarp. When the finally felt it safe the pulled back the tarp, breathing deeply in relief as the fresh air cooled their sweat soaked bodies. Tired and pain filled as they were however, and with the humid heat of the river soon pressing upon them, they remained lethargic. They had been injured, some quite badly, during the escape from the city and that and the stress had taken its toll. It was not until the sun began to set that they started to revive. Soon it would be dark, and drifting in the dark would be problematic...if there were rapids, or rocks, or worse in the water. They would have to do something to be safe through the night.

**************************Group B (Mia & Divine)**************************


The City of Scomber had fallen silent, unnaturally so. Once a bustling city, situated on prime trade routes, it was now silent and still. Not a being moved, even the animals had deserted it. All that lay within its walls now were the few dead, and the ghosts of memories. It was far too large a city for its demise to go unnoticed, however many of the cities and towns nearby were experiencing some of the same problems. The distances to the unaffected settlements were vast, and the news wouldn't travel as fast as one might think. So for now the lonely city stood on its own, the last two children left alive having deserted it themselves.

It was two days of steady travel on the Black Road, east and north, following the path the priests had been known to take. For that was the only thing out of the ordinary, the only thing different in all the time, that could possibly be connected to the unknown attack. If attack it could even be called for there were no signs of a struggle, no indications of resistance. Everyone had simply vanished. Save three, three were undeniably dead. But the rest...the rest might still be alive, somewhere, maybe. If they looked maybe they could find answer; and the best bet was to start with the strange visitors.

Though neither was used to traveling, the wide trade road was easy to follow and the trees were thin enough that clearings could be found with ease. Additionally as it paralleled the river fresh water was always in abundance. The weather had been comfortably mild, the days got a little warm and the nights a shade too cool but overall it was not bad. That left only food, and though they had supplied themselves before they left, the food had to be rationed for who knew when the next town would appear on the horizon.

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

Ok working on getting us on the road...

Task list in order...

Update first post in "Characters" with maps & other possibly important info (check)
PM Bun & Phantom (check)
Post first post of chapter 2 (check)

to be updated as I work tonight

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

Quick notes cause im on my phone...

1) bun--city's name is Secomber (very modified from realms cannon Secomber...is now a large city)

2) phantom--yes IC will pick up after everyone has vanished and you guys have already left the city, at some distance down the road is where/when the story will actually begin. If you have stuff you specifically want to have done you can always add it in your first post as a history wrap up or flashback or similar.

3) like history of "attack" for the most part bun but too many survivors. Kids in the tunnel room can die of starvation or dehydration (shudder) but the ones you really cared about Id like to "vanish" So they can come into play later. Also Mia with you...will need to figure out how to kill her off (too weak to stand the shock of the sight of the dead or just body gives out, falls asleep and never wakes up?). Anything suitably eerie, depressing, anger generating, or despair inducing will do fine--just something to spark your character along in her goals.

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

Sounds good. Only a couple things story wise (not your character wise)...

Everyone who isn't you two (and anyone else who might want to joing as a character) are the only people who were not "vanished". There is no sign of a fight, no sign of people leaving, no footprints even. The city is simply empty...which is eerie. No one left (including those you care about). They could be alive, could be dead, you don't know. You two just happened to hide better than anyone else. There are three dead in the city center...they are the city's leaders (military, financial, and political). They are dead, pinned to a wall like a beetle on a card, and have very strange writing over them. Their bodies are also bloodless and cast no shadow. Obviously the city is empty and its a large city, you can pretty much equip yourself with any common low to mid value equipment you want but very little actual coin. Just remember you can't carry hordes of stuff so keep it within reason. If it is allright with the both of you when I start chapter 2 IC later today I will start the two of you off about a day's walk down the road (towards the desert), your first night out of the city. Would that work for you two?

NOTE TO SELF: GET MAP UP

I will be PMing the both of you with skills and your own personal clues later (to update here when I have done so). You can also move your characters into the character tab if you wish. Please. So I can find it easy. This OOC section gets cluttered.

NOTE TO ANY NEWCOMERS: Yes we are still accepting and even if we get underway again we can still work you in so speak up and lets play!

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

Okiedokies...

@Bunnita & @PhantomSekai...I will let you two work out whether or not you want to know each other, however I would like to start you both from the same city. Both of you have a lifestyle/background that requires a large city to support. Most of the vice business are very minor in a Town like Loudwater or almost non-existant in a village like Twiddledale. You need something pretty large. I will write it into the map we are using but until then know its a large city and like any large city you can either know each other, have seen one another in passing, or never encountered one another. I'll leave it up to you. The one thing that does have to be the same is the fate of the city/those you love...it comes in two options...
1.) the city has "converted"...this is a time when the whole city is forcefully converted to the work of a dark shadow god. There are priest/priestesses a plenty backed by "enforcers" (soon to be added to the monsters compendium in the character tab) which are the soulless bodies of former townsfolk devoid of free will and entirely devoted to their god and the will of his representatives (the priests and priestesses). Order is maintained by near-daily punishments (hanging anyone who dares speak out, or who is a threat, or even just slightly suspicious) that all are required to witness, threats, and a city lockdown that prevents any inhabitant/resident from leaving though traders and travelers can pass through mostly unhindered. A converted city is filled with an aura of inevitable despair and loss of hope and silence. Most folk keep entirely to themselves for fear of drawing attention and becoming an example in one of the hangings.
2.) the city has "vanished"...in this situation life has been the same as it always has been up until a trio of strange looking priests with dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes visited the city. They meet with the city leaders in private, though most folk know of the meeting, the result of which the priests are kicked out of the city. Approximately three days later the city is put on alert, all children are told to hid until it is safe. That time never comes and the few who hid well enough to escape notice are now alone in the city. The majority of the inhabitants are vanished, just gone, no signs of a fight, struggle, packing, nothing. Even footsteps. Just completely vanished. The city elders are, however, pinned to a wall in the city center, like bugs in a display case, no blood, and they cast no shadows. They are quite dead. And words are written above them in a very strange language that you cannot read.

I'll let you two work out what you want the fate of your city to be. It's background/history information only so you don't need to actually play out any of it, just write a little bit of it into your bio for reference.

And then once that is decided I have 2 further skills to give each of you, based on your character histories/backgrounds/actions

Rites Of Passage (a High Fantasy/Forgotten Realms Adventure)

sure. that sounds like an excellent item.