We're still open even if you didn't see the interest check, and will be so for the forseeable future!
After the End -- A Post-Apocaylptic Fantasy RP
Background
The year is unknown, and the world has fallen into chaos. Though none still alive recall the reason, nor whether it was a hundred or a thousand years ago, "modern" civilization befell a great catastrophe, and the shattered remnants of humanity were plunged suddenly into the dark ages. Once-gleaming metropolises are now left as either rubble, relics of an ancient culture half-revered and half-deified, or crudely fashioned into sprawling castles and keeps that fuse crumbling concrete with fresh-hewn stone bricks. Up and down the eastern coast of what was once known as North America, dozens or hundreds of squabbling city-states feud with one another over struggling farms and isolated villages and crumbling roads. Men fight and clash and die as the ancestors of their ancestors did, with sword and armor -- only the barest traces of musketry are beginning to reappear on the horizon. Most powerful, though, are the very few remaining artifacts of a time long past, rumored capable of spewing fire for hundreds of yards to fell armored knights mid-charge.
The year is unknown, yes, but one thing remains constant: the desire for glory. Half-crazed travelers have returned from a land far across the continent's inland wastes, claiming to have discovered riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams across the endless scrubby plains and toxic sands. And so your party has been assembled, from every corner of a hundred feuding realms, your mission to travel across what was once a proud and unfathomably advanced civilization, to find what truth there might be to these allegations of great treasures, and to return for the glory of your people.
But is anything ever quite so simple?
OOC
1) Don't be an ass. 2) Don't metagame, powergame, godmod, etc etc etc. 3) No overpowered, angsty edgelords permitted beyond this line. 4) Post somewhat regularly. Pls.
Name / Sex / Age Pretty self-explanatory. Please keep ages reasonable, unless you have a damn good explanation.
Appearance A few sentences describing what your character looks like. It doesn't have to be a novel, as long as it gets the look across. Pictures are helpful, but you still need a written description (and no overly stylized / anime-type things, please).
Personality What makes you tick? A paragraph or two describing your character's attitude, opinions, etc.
Background The meat and bones. Summarize your character's life in a few paragraphs at least. You have creative freedom here, I've left things relatively vague as far as places and people go for this reason (and totally not because i'm lazy). That said, please run any particularly out-there ideas by me. Note: Your character does have to be a local to the general eastern-seaboard area, since that's the entirety of the known civilized world.
Motivation What has pushed your character to volunteer for this mission? Are they motivated by gold? Glory? Are they seeking pardon for some crime, or to escape the past? Do they simply have nothing to lose?
Equipment The very basics that your character has on their person -- clothing, weapons, etc. Everyone will start with the same amount of gold, gifted by those sponsoring the party, unless you have a trait that makes it otherwise.
Traits Pick from the list. You get seven points.
Traits
One way that I hope to set this RP apart mechanically from the others is the introduction of a basic trait system. The point of these are to outline your character's primary skills and weaknesses in a way that makes them easy to process and for other players to understand. They shouldn't be viewed as the end-all-be-all of your character (that is, don't let yourself be limited by them) but rather as a few distilled bullet-points summarizing the ten-page-essay that is their life.
In addition, you might find that players who roleplay their character's actions in accord with their traits are rewarded, while things may not go so well for those who try to exploit or ignore them.
Everyone gets 7 points to work with. Positive traits cost points, while negative traits give you them. In other words, if you've already used up your seven but absolutely must have another positive trait, you can take some negatives to balance things out. Traits will also be able to be gained or lost through your actions in the RP.
Positive:
Hardy - You have high endurance. +1 Tall - You are of significantly imposing size. +1 Defender - You are excellent at using a shield. +1 Thick-Skinned - You can withstand inclement and unpleasant weather. +1 Imposing - You are good at intimidating others, due to size or some other factor. +1 Observant - You are better at noticing traps, as well as your enemies' weaknesses. +1
Basic Weapons - You are skilled with the usage of less specialized weapons, such as knives, clubs and staffs. +1 Intermediate Weapons - You are trained with more advanced weapons, such as one-handed swords, lances and axes. +2 Heavy Weapons - You can wield two-handed weapons, such as greatswords or battleaxes, with relative ease. +3 Ranged Weapons - You are skilled in the operation of bows, crossbows, or perhaps even javelins or slings. +2
Light Armors - You are comfortable in leather, chain and scale armors. +1 Heavy Armors - You are accustomed to bearing the encumberance of heavy armors such as plate mail. +2
Agile - You are quick and light on your feet. +1 Sprinter - You can run faster, and for longer distances, than the average person. +1 Ambidextrous - You can use both hands with equal skill. +1 Grappler - You are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and unorthodox fighting tactics. +1 Light Sleeper - You wake easily at the first sign of danger. +1 Quiet - You make little noise, and are adept at sneaking around. +2 Burglar - You can pick locks and disarm traps. +2 Duelist - You are skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of heavier, stronger foes. +3 Alchemist - You have an impressive knowledge of herbs, salves, and even poisons, and how how to identify and create them. +3
Soldier - You have direct, firsthand experience fighting on the front lines of a battle. +1 Woodsman - You can fish, identify edible plants, and create basic shelters. +1 Hunter - You are skilled at hunting, cleaning, and cooking wild animals of all kinds. +1 Rider - You are of above-average skill at horse riding, and are able to make use of a horse in combat. +1 Chef - You can prepare and preserve food better than most. +1 Medic - You can perform basic first-aid to a certain degree of skill. +2 Trapper - You can build complex traps, for capturing or killing animals or people. +2 Doctor - You have extensive experience in more advanced medical operations. +3 Scholar - You are an expert in some "scientific" field. +3 Craftsman - You can construct relatively complex tools and structures, given the time. +3 Affluent - You belong to the (very thin) upper crust of society, and have the wealth to prove it. +3 Artificer - You are more skilled than most (read: still not very good) at the operation of humanity's ancient and powerful relics. +4 Master - You have some particular talent in which you are an absolute expert. Please specify exactly what this is when you choose it, e.g. "Master Baiter". +5
Theatric - You are a performer, skilled with impressions and disguises. +1 Intelligent - You are naturally smart. +2 Learned - You are literate and have a relatively advanced education, in comparison to the common man. +2 Reputable - You have a spotless and respected reputation. +2 Charismatic - You are eloquent, convincing, and at ease when speaking in public. +2 Animal Whisperer - You form natural bonds with wild animals. At least, the tamer ones. -2 Lucky - Things occasionally just go well for you. +2
Negative:
Clumsy - You are a klutz. -1 Lame - You have a limp. -1 Weak - You are not physically strong. -1 Ugly - You are not fair to look upon. -1 Loud - Your movements are particularly noticeable. -1 Heavy Eater - You have a big belly. -1 Myopic - You have bad eyesight. -1 Abrasive - You are rude, and generally disliked for it. -1 Greedy - All of the riches are yours, and nobody else's! -1
Dumb - You're less intelligent than most. -2 Slow - You cannot move quickly. -2 Skittish - You frighten easily, and have trouble keeping your cool in stressful situations. -2 Hot-Headed - It is sometimes difficult for you to think clearly.-2 Sickly - You have a persistent illness. -2 Frail - You have little stamina. -2 Unlucky - Things just don't tend to go well for you. -2 Proud - You are unused to harsh living conditions or menial labor, and unwilling to perform degrading tasks. -2 Drunkard - You have an alcohol dependency, and a tendency to get drunk obnoxiously and often. -2
Reckless - You take unnecessary risks. -3 Old - You are elderly, with the decrease in stamina and memory that accompanies such a status. -3 Untrustworthy - You are a habitual liar or a thief, and everyone knows it. -3 Kleptomaniac - You are compelled to steal with some frequency, especially when such items as you take are entirely useless to you. -3
Maimed - You are missing a limb. -4 Crippled - You have a physical problem that severely limits your mobility. -5 Blind - Whether by age or illness or violence, you cannot see. And you don't even get superpowers in exchange. -5
The Setting
The only known bastion of human civilization, the fractured and eternally rivaled city-states scattered along the eastern coast of what was once North America. They are almost entirely feudal, ruled by kings who lounge in castles that are half crumbling concrete and half rough stone. In general, any particular lord holds sway over a number of farms, several large towns, and a scattering of villages. The rulers of the Hundred Realms often feud with one another over superiority and resources.
The modern knowledge of humanity's ancestors is slim, with most records either inaccessible, destroyed in the unknown cataclysm, or degraded over time. Many physical remnants (primarily buildings) still remain, however, and as a result their advancements are revered -- or even sometimes worshiped -- by the comparatively-devolved society.
What were once the world's major population centers are either leveled or toxic, and permanent inhabitation in former cities is largely impossible -- even scholars who attempt to study the advancements within often fall victim to strange invisible illnesses. As a result the cities are primarily shunned, believed to be homes to terrible plagues, though the lowlives of society will occasionally hide out (and, often, die) within.
A few vestiges of the predecessors' ancient and powerful technologies still litter the earth. From compact horseless carriages to staffs that can fire a ball of metal for hundreds of yards, the power that these items hold -- and the loyalty and fear that they inspire -- has caused the rise and ruin of vast realms.
However, the vast majority of such relics are rusted or otherwise lost to the ages, and those that remain are . . . unreliable at best. Only a few are known to remain in the world, in the hands of the very elite. The same pricelessness of such artifacts is also their owners' downfall, however, as they are heavily guarded -- and as a result, rarely researched or even actually used. To ask to make a study of one might be the equivalent of asking to "research" your king's wife, or to rule his lands for the next few years in the name of science.
@WilsonTurner I've been puzzling over this for a bit, and I think my conclusion has to be along the same line as Shorticus': First, "hunter" is just a single-point trait. It covers being able to hunt, skin, clean, etc. animals. You could probably interpret this to being able to cook them, too, but notice that the chef trait mentions being able to cook at an above average quality -- anyone can char some meat over a campfire. Your character's ranged weapons trait, then, covers their skill with a bow or crossbow or what-have-you. A person might be an excellent shot with a crossbow on the battlefield, but terrible at hitting deer in dense and unfamiliar foliage.
My problem with upping the trait to include a bunch of facets of being a hunter is that it kind of opens the way for a bunch of very traditional-class-oriented traits, i.e. "why not make a 'Warrior' trait for ten points that includes weapons, armor, toughness, etc?" The reason is that all of these things already exist, you just have to pick the traits out yourself. By having it be more modular than that, the system allows for variability, and for people to stray a bit outside of traditional RPG "classes".
Anyways, I will be adding more traits to cover a wider spectrum soon, so maybe that will solve the problem. OOC most likely goes up in, oh, ten hours or so? Gotta go to school.
I'd add in even more traits. Perhaps even sub-traits?
More traits coming soon! Probably with the OOC (which itself will most likely go up tomorrow, given the good reception). If you have ideas, PM them to me and I'll add 'em if they're any good.
I like the concept, @WilsonTurner. I do think that I might end up re-revising the amount of points down to five, though, so be aware of that. Especially if the idea is introduced of gaining new traits through actions once we get going, which is a very distinct possibility.
And no, not having a trait doesn't completely bar you from performing an action -- a trait just means that your character has some significant skill or ability in that particular topic. Not having the "intermediate weapons" skill doesn't mean that you won't know which end of a sword to point at an enemy, but you wouldn't be so knowledgeable about parrying with it, proper stances, etc.
How would the trait system be enforced? By the players, or the GM? How would they come into play? I could imagine perhaps a sort of "Dungeon Master" route to this, where you'll present us a scenario/obstacle that only a few traits could be used to overcome.
Example: The party needs to find a way into some ruin, and there is debris of some kind blocking the obvious entrance. A character with a trait that grants strength could move it, but if none of us have strength, we would have to find a different entrance.
Yes?
Yep, that pretty much hits the nail on the head! Other uses include the ability to provide a quick synopsis of your character's skills and weaknesses, and a way of avoiding overpowered characters without the need for complex character sheets and dice rolls. Free-RP should hopefully still be at the heart of it, though -- your characters shouldn't just be a bundle of traits that get used as tools to bypass obstacles.
Nice trait system you got dere. Interested!
I suppose now is as good a time as ever to admit that I blatantly stole a lot of traits from your zombie RP that got started, and then quickly died out, a month or so ago.
This sounds very interesting. I've experienced too many issues in playing this genre of game in the Casual forms so I'd be more than interested in taking on an Advanced RP of this nature.
Just a quick question:
<Snipped quote>
Just to be clear, there are 7 points, not 5, right? I'm already looking at possible trait options.
Oh, nice catch! I originally had it set at 5, upgraded to 7, and didn't notice that I'd mentioned 5 again a sentence later. I'm still playing around with what is an appropriate number of points for people to have.
The year is unknown, and the world has fallen into chaos. Though none still alive recall the reason, nor whether it was a hundred or a thousand years ago, "modern" civilization befell a great catastrophe, and the shattered remnants of humanity were plunged suddenly into the dark ages. Once-gleaming metropolises are now left as either rubble, relics of an ancient culture half-revered and half-deified, or crudely fashioned into sprawling castles and keeps that fuse crumbling concrete with fresh-hewn stone bricks. Up and down the eastern coast of what was once known as North America, dozens or hundreds of squabbling city-states feud with one another over struggling farms and isolated villages and crumbling roads. Men fight and clash and die as the ancestors of their ancestors did, with sword and armor -- only the barest traces of musketry are beginning to reappear on the horizon. Most powerful, though, are the very few remaining artifacts of a time long past, rumored capable of spewing fire for hundreds of yards to fell armored knights mid-charge.
The year is unknown, yes, but one thing remains constant: the desire for glory. Half-crazed travelers have returned from a land far across the continent's inland wastes, claiming to have discovered riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams across the endless scrubby plains and toxic sands. And so your party has been assembled, from every corner of a hundred feuding realms, your mission to travel across what was once a proud and unfathomably advanced civilization, to find what truth there might be to these allegations of great treasures, and to return for the glory of your people.
But is anything ever quite so simple?
OOC
So there's the concept -- essentially, a post-post-apocalyptic world in which some unknown catastrophe befell the 21st-century world a significant amount of time ago and society has reverted to a much simpler medieval-ish level of technology. I'm aiming to go for primarily a low-fantasy setting, i.e. there probably won't be any spooky demons from beyond the abyss involved. Your characters will be relatively unknown individuals who have volunteered to attempt to cross the wastelands of central North America, and bring back the incredible treasures that are rumored to be on the other side of the continent.
Traits
One way that I hope to set this RP apart mechanically from the others is the introduction of a basic trait system. The point of these are to outline your character's primary skills and weaknesses in a way that makes them easy to process and for other players to understand. They shouldn't be viewed as the end-all-be-all of your character (that is, don't let yourself be limited by them) but rather as a few distilled bullet-points summarizing the ten-page-essay that is their life.
In addition, you might find that players who roleplay their character's actions in accord with their traits are rewarded, while things may not go so well for those who try to exploit or ignore them.
Everyone gets 7 points to work with. Positive traits cost points, while negative traits give you them. In other words, if you've already used up your seven but absolutely must have another positive trait, you can take some negatives to balance things out.
Positive:
Hardy - You have high endurance. +1 Tall - You are of significantly imposing size. +1 Defender - You are excellent at using a shield. +1 Thick-Skinned - You can withstand inclement and unpleasant weather. +1
Basic Weapons - You are skilled with the usage of less specialized weapons, such as knives, clubs and staffs. +1 Intermediate Weapons - You are trained with more advanced weapons, such as one-handed swords, lances and axes. +2 Heavy Weapons - You can wield two-handed weapons, such as greatswords or battleaxes, with relative ease. +3 Ranged Weapons - You are skilled in the operation of bows, crossbows, or perhaps even javelins or slings. +2
Light Armors - You are comfortable in leather, chain and scale armors. +1 Heavy Armors - You are accustomed to bearing the encumberance of heavy armors such as plate mail. +2
Agile - You are quick and light on your feet. +1 Sprinter - You can run faster, and for longer distances, than the average person. +1 Ambidextrous - You can use both hands with equal skill. +1 Grappler - You are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and unorthodox fighting tactics. +1 Quiet - You make little noise, and are adept at sneaking around. +2 Burglar - You can pick locks and disarm traps. +2 Alchemist - You have an impressive knowledge of herbs, salves, and even poisons, and how how to identify and create them. +3
Soldier - You have direct, firsthand experience fighting on the front lines of a battle. +1 Woodsman - You can fish, identify edible plants, and create basic shelters. +1 Hunter - You are skilled at hunting, cleaning, and cooking wild animals of all kinds. +1 Rider - You are of above-average skill at horse riding, and are able to make use of a horse in combat. +1 Chef - You can prepare and preserve food better than most. +1 Medic - You can perform basic first-aid to a certain degree of skill. +2 Doctor - You have extensive experience in more advanced medical operations. +3 Scholar - You are an expert in some "scientific" field. +3 Craftsman - You can construct relatively complex tools and structures, given the time. +3 Affluent - You belong to the (very thin) upper crust of society, and have the wealth to prove it. +3 Artificer - You are more skilled than most (read: still not very good) at the operation of humanity's ancient and powerful relics. +4 Master - You have some particular talent in which you are an absolute expert. Please specify exactly what this is when you choose it, e.g. "Master Baiter". +5
Theatric - You are a performer, skilled with impressions and disguises. +1 Intelligent - You are naturally smart. +2 Learned - You are literate and have a relatively advanced education, in comparison to the common man. +2 Charismatic - You are eloquent, convincing, and at ease when speaking in public. +2 Lucky - Things occasionally just go well for you. +2
Negative:
Dumb - You're less intelligent than most. -1 Clumsy - You are a klutz. -1 Lame - You have a limp. -1 Weak - You are not physically strong. -1 Loud - Your movements are particularly noticeable. -1 Heavy Eater - You have a big belly. -1
Slow - You cannot move quickly. -2 Hot-Headed - It is sometimes difficult for you to think clearly. -2 Sickly - You have a persistent illness. -2 Frail - You have little stamina. -2 Unlucky - Things just don't tend to go well for you. -2 Proud - You are unused to harsh living conditions or menial labor, and unwilling to perform degrading tasks. -2
Reckless - You take unnecessary risks. -3 Old - You are elderly, with the decrease in stamina and memory that accompanies such a status. -3 Untrustworthy - You are a habitual liar or a thief, and everyone knows it. -3
Maimed - You are missing a limb. -4 Crippled - You have a physical problem that severely limits your mobility. -5
The Setting
The only known bastion of human civilization, the fractured and eternally rivaled city-states scattered along the eastern coast of what was once North America. They are almost entirely feudal, ruled by kings who lounge in castles that are half crumbling concrete and half rough stone. In general, any particular lord holds sway over a number of farms, several large towns, and a scattering of villages. The rulers of the Hundred Realms often feud with one another over superiority and resources.
The modern knowledge of humanity's ancestors is slim, with most records either inaccessible, destroyed in the unknown cataclysm, or degraded over time. Many physical remnants (primarily buildings) still remain, however, and as a result their advancements are revered -- or even sometimes worshiped -- by the comparatively-devolved society.
What were once the world's major population centers are either leveled or toxic, and permanent inhabitation in former cities is largely impossible -- even scholars who attempt to study the advancements within often fall victim to strange invisible illnesses. As a result the cities are primarily shunned, believed to be homes to terrible plagues, though the lowlives of society will occasionally hide out (and, often, die) within.
A few vestiges of the predecessors' ancient and powerful technologies still litter the earth. From compact horseless carriages to staffs that can fire a ball of metal for hundreds of yards, the power that these items hold -- and the loyalty and fear that they inspire -- has caused the rise and ruin of vast realms.
However, the vast majority of such relics are rusted or otherwise lost to the ages, and those that remain are . . . unreliable at best. Only a few are known to remain in the world, in the hands of the very elite. The same pricelessness of such artifacts is also their owners' downfall, however, as they are heavily guarded -- and as a result, rarely researched or even actually used. To ask to make a study of one might be the equivalent of asking to "research" your king's wife, or to rule his lands for the next few years in the name of science.
So there it is. Rather lengthy for an interest check, I will say, but the idea's been stewing in my head for a while. Leave your questions, comments, expression of interest, scathing criticism, and thrown poop below.
Well, I'll put this question to you guys. Do you want to fight some more monsters in Aquilonia, or do you want to move on? I can do either. I feel like the story has progressed as far as it will in Aquilonia, but if you guys want I can spice in some more drama, action, bloodshed, etc.
I personally think there's been enough Aquilonia focus.
