Expendable

Shattered Steel - A Real Robot Anime Inspired Mecha RPG in a multidimensional world

So this is the 40' tall standing target kind of mecha. Hmm.

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

"You did good," Ilyana said, giving the donkey a good rub down, when her stomach suddenly wobbles, burning and cramping. She leans forward, resting herself against the animal's side as she sucks in air, her forehead all sweaty, while her right hand fumbles with freeing the flask on her belt. It took a few moments, but it felt like ages before she could free it, unthreading the cap and let it dangle on its little chain as she surreptitiously took in a quick mouthful, then another.

She could feel the medicine trickling down her throat, then after a moment, the burning easing and her stomach relaxing. Ilyana used the edge of her hand to wipe her mouth before straightening, then glances about to see if anyone had noticed. Not that it mattered, the rumor was she was drinking. After all, she was a sailor and had small casks of rum on her cart. Not that it was anyone's business, but she could feel the self-righteous disapproval.

Screwing on the cap, she slipped the flask back in its usual place, then glaring around her, she walks to the back of the cart and squats down, checking the cart's axle and the nut holding the wheel in place. It seemed tight. Getting back up, she grabs the donkey's feedbag and fills it with a day's measure of grain, then slips it in place over the donkey's head so she could feed.

Ordinarily, she'd let it graze, but she didn't trust the grass here, the whole forest felt wrong. Ilyana goes to check the other wheel, then slips out the wooden blocks from under the canvas, slipping them into the corners so the cart wouldn't tip in the night. Assuming someone didn't yank them out again like they did a month ago, laughing as she yelled bloody murder at the top of her lungs as she got tipped out.

Clearly, she should have gone for a proper wagon, which seemed like a waste of space - until she joined the caravan. Without intending to, she glances over at Valdo's wagon - just as the white-haired half-elf climbed out. Feeling her face burning, the half-human girl turned abruptly away, pretending to check one of her tie-downs.

So what if he was one of the few half-humans in this carvan, why couldn't Ilyana stare? Like herself, he was scarred. Did he get his in battle, like most of her scars? She'd like to stay to listen to his stories, but she was... uncomfortable in crowds, ever since her crew marooned her. Besides, he might see her brand. The one marking her as a thief.

Best to keep her distance. Besides, almost everyone here thought she was a boy. Why would he be interested in another boy?

Her stomach wobbled.

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

Also wanted to ask how strict we are on posting order, if any at all other than try to avoid posting twice in a row

@twannyman

Personally, I allow at least two posts before I respond again. If someone wants to go back and forth with another person or two, in my experience it's best doing it in private messages then someone posts it all as a single collaboration post, rather than a bunch of little posts between the two or three of you.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

J'eon the Blacksmith

The cart had been loaded for hours. He was ready to "hit the road" as the hu-mans say, but large groups took forever to get ready. He sighs, munching on a fresh tuber. When he returned, he wanted to be more than prepared for the work at hand.

---

Jack Mallory, X.O.

"Mystique, huh?" Jack paused, then returned to his cabin, only to step out moments later with his garment bag. Perhaps this would help bring that mystique the captain wanted. Or at least he'd have something to be buried in.

"Okay people," he said, his voice raspy in the mask. "You should have ten days worth of rations, two quarts of water, decon tablets for your canteens, your supplement tablets, your translators, and your essential gear. We'll be trying to acclimatize as we go to the local conditions, eating the local food, and learning as much as possible while keeping from telling our escorts too much."

He smiled thinly.

"Some of you disagree with this, but keep in mind if they try something before they're ready, it could be a disaster for them. And we don't want to thrust that on them, do we?"

"So, if you feel light-headed or a pain in your chest, don't try to tough it out."

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

I've already run into myself once, not looking forward to making a habit out of it. And no, there were no time machines involved.

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

@Tortoise - Is it okay if Ilyana is now a worshiper of Fãrryn, her nation's goddess of the sea? She appears as a young elvish woman with wavy blue hair who reminds you of a playful dolphin. She has deep-set eyes the color of milk. She has an amazonian build. Her skin is white. She has thick eyebrows and small hands. Their icon is a conch shell.

She possesses two powerful items - a Conch Shell that allows her to control sea creatures, and Kŷiriŏn - a magic boat that can go anywhere at command (it is actually her son from a drunken trysk with a sailor, her father Ievis of the Forest thought her son was a degenerate and transformed him).

Blackguards!

One of the riders had been thrown from his horse. Cian ran over as he struggled to his feet, then darted back when he swung his sword.

"If you want to live, surrender," the Vampire told him.
He screamed at her, swinging again. There was madness in his eyes, his face florid.

"Is that your answer?" she asked, watching as the blade swung by her and stepping into him. "This is a mistake."

The rider's hand grabbed her necklace and yanked, breaking the clasp. She leaps backward as he dropped the necklace, revulsion crawling over his face from touching the Dead God's seal.

Cian laughed, full and throaty. The man's face twisted and he charged at her, thrusting his sword through her armor.

"Now, that wasn't nice," she scolded, shoving him to the ground, then pulled the sword out as he stared at her wide-eyed. "I'm going to have to kill you now...!"

"Wha... what are you?" he demanded as she tore his helmet off, then her teeth were sinking into his neck as she began to feed.

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

You know, I feel this is something I should address. It often happens that, when I create a fantasy RP, DnD fans assume that I'm creating some kind of stat-less variant of DnD, and this is not the intention. To be frank, I've never played Dungeons and Dragons. I don't care for tabletop games, and this is not one.

So, while I won't stop you from using deities from that world, I'd frankly prefer if we could think of our own.

This goes for @Expendable as well, since Deep Sashelas seems to be borrowed from Forgotten Realms, and many of the things you write seem to imply to me that you think this RP is going to work much more like a tabletop game than it is. So, to be clear: I won't be rolling dice to see if your characters succeed in an action. If you pull out a new ability or tool fifteen posts in, I won't stop you and go "Wait a minute, you didn't mention that on your sheet!" so long as it feels believable in-line with your character. This is a narrative RP. We're telling a story together, we're writing something collaboratively; I am not the Dungeon Master.

All that said-

<Snipped quote by Abstract Proxy>

I'll probably approve this character, when the history is completed. But, for the above reasons, I have to ask that you reconsider some of the language you use. Things like "a conduit for divine power, casts cleric spells, her domain is twilight, skilled in the magic expected of a good aligned cleric" brings forward the problems I mentioned above, where it ties us to DnD and other such games that this is not intended to be a clone of.

Remember, folks: this is an open-ended, narrative, story-telling RP, with a somewhat laid back vibe. If you'd like, I can compare it to a fantasy book that we're all writing together.

@Tortoise

Yet you ask about the character's D&D alignment in your sheet? Yes, Ilyana is a retread from a failed discord group, I wanted to play her more and I was very familiar with her when your game first showed up. But I've mostly been playing these style of play by post games, and I'm very comfortable with the consent-style system.

I will craft a new pantheon for her. Hopefully this one goes over better than the Old Wolf.

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

WIP - Sister Zua

Sister Zua

Sister Zua

Wanderer

---

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Human, 31, 3 years

Appearance:
This lady puts you in mind of an impenetrable fortress. She has slanted amethyst eyes. Her silky, straight, charcoal-colored hair is long and done up in braids. She is tall and has a wiry build. Her skin is deeply-tanned. She has high cheekbones and stubby-fingered hands.

History:
Born Sarah Hayhurst, youngest daughter of Mary and Bernard Hayhurst, former advisors to the Court of the Mavuiven Empire, and one-time fiancée to Prince Brellord, Lord of Realms, Paragon of Iron, and General of the Legion of the Rose. When his father unexpectedly died, Emperor Brellord took the throne.

Mid-way through his coronation ball, however, he summoned Sarah and ordered her arrested, explaining his mother had discovered Sarah had poisoned his late father, and also intended to murder him on their wedding night so as to take over the empire. Despite her protests of innocence, she was escorted out, heading towards the White Tower, the traditional prison for nobles - and execution site.

Her eldest brother William and several of the house's men-at-arms surprised the Emperor's guards at the pier. Quickly subduing them, William took her to the Shadow Moon, a courier ship, where her old tutor, the laim Wanderer cleric Jessop was waiting for her. As soon as she was aboard, the Shadow Moon and her sister ships cast off and were all three out of the harbor before going off in different directions.

When the Shadow Moon arrived at the docks for Roazieu, the Floating City, Jessop and his newly shorn novice Nao Eim (Sarah) took their leave of the ship and vanished into the crowds. By the time ships from Mavuiven arrived with wanted posters for her, the two of them had already well outside the city.

In her travels, she has:

- Rescued a library full of out-of-control animated books
- Uncovered a magical item smuggling ring being run in a prison.
- Explored a hidden valley full of dinosaurs
- Stopped a gang of kidnapping circus performers

Since joining the caravan, she's known as Sister Zua Sin.

Personality:
Try to think of how it ties into their history, and into the next section:

Motivation:
Jessop pressed on her the need to keep moving, and that's one thing the caravan does well.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Tell me what your character is good at and what they need to do it, as well as any flaws or deficiencies they might have. If they can do magic, it'll go here. If you have a really unique type of magic (or anything similar), you might want to create a hider that explains how said magic works.

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:

Three Likes:

Three Dislikes:

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:

Worst Fear:

Favorite Color:

Most Like The Animal:

That is, which animal they are most like- not which one they like the most.

Favorite Time of Day:

How They Dress:

Favorite Season:

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):

Caravan: An Episodic Fantasy with Worldbuilding! [Always Accepting]

I too have a scifi race I play a lot - the Valkyrii, a female clone race with small wings on their backs. They're also telepathic among themselves. Only a few are decanted with the ability to telepathically connect to alien races, and typically only by touch. Other telepaths get headaches. They work primarily as mercenaries and zero-g construction workers.

Really, the only way I could bring one in for this game would be as an escort or two for a extraterrestrial diplomat who used an inflatable lifepod. Sounds distracting.