@Tangletail The limit is the set amount in the character sheet with the expectation that if your character is a novice they'd either know less spells or not have mastered any of them yet. I didn't want to limit spells because if someone is RPing an older character or more experienced mage it wouldn't have made sense.
Though there will be the opportunity to learn more as players advance through the story! As well, there will be opportunities to switch some spells and weaponry out.
@Tangletail It is very similar to DnD, but in this world there are both Minstrels and Bards. Bards weave epic yarns, poems, and songs through a ritual similar to that of enchanting runes (eg. through the use of magic) whereas minstrels are regular traveling musicians. Bards use incantations to lace certain words or phrases with magic (typically through an enchanted quill). This process takes a good amount of concentration and is typically done on down time (though bards of legend have been known to weave new songs in the field of combat). They can also enchant their instruments, and can try to subtly manipulate those around them.
I really enjoyed reading through Barris' history because he really feels like he is from Viguard. Your writing style really lends itself to the character. I'm definitely interested in working on some of the NPCs for both Barris and Light. His kit seems to be up to snuff. As you can probably tell I had a bit of trouble criticizing much. It was a simple yet enjoyable character sheet. So as of right now I don't have any problems! You're welcome to add Barris to the Characters section. Thanks for submitting! Just make sure to read the rules ;)
@LordofthePies Hey, you're also welcome to add Light over to the characters section!
@Skrubsetsu No worries, procrastination is the story of my life. If you need help or some inspiration feel free to shoot me a PM!
Wow thanks for the info! I figured that the weapon would still be fairly accurate in this world, but I'd imagine the schematics for such weapons haven't been perfected.
I hadn't heard of the dragoon flintlock! I'll check that out. Thank you for the info! I'm definitely not a gun expert lol
@Templar Knight Also, I added a bit of lore regarding Viguard in the Atlas under "Locations". I'm going to work on getting a post up about religion soon! I can also PM you some stuff that your character might know or might be interested in (art, the forge, drinks, history, inventors, politics, war heroes, etc.) So feel free to let me know if you'd be interested in that stuff!
Your character sheet along with Tangeltail's is coming along very nicely! I'll reserve my review until it's finished though unless you'd prefer otherwise.
@Tangletail Glad you asked! I was working on getting this into the Atlas, but it'd be something every character knows. This is going to be a bit of an info dump guys! Sorry about that but I'll split it up into sections so it's easier to digest. The current year is 138 in the Age of Owls. The Age of Owls began after "The War of Splitting Branches" a world war that completely uprooted how Ithea was divided up politically and magically. So it's been around 138 years since the war. In this world there aren't any super long life spans. Wood-Elves have the longest typically living to around 100.
The high-elf nation of Ellvenaan ruled portion of Carthus. For decades warring human tribes and broken kingdoms were under the rule of the high-elves. Viguard (which was made up of both Ostguard and Viguard at this time) was fearful of encroaching annexation. High elves had learned to use their magic to tame dragons, and not even Bjorn could withstand dragon fire.
The elves also had their thumb on most of Valenndale, but humans here adapted to the mercantile arrangement through developing innovations in trade and commerce that made them more useful to the elves as partners rather than slaves. They were nonetheless considered colonies.
In Penault, Le Feu Mot, one of the most advanced human civilizations for its time had rebelled against their encroaching elven colonizers. The Otmonguard instead remained neutral and isolationist though for reasons unbeknownst to most the high elves didn't attack or ally with the Otmon. Penault was handily defeated, but their rebellion ignited a passion throughout Ithea. See, Penault had done something that no one thought possible. In the 'Battle of Brittle Sands' they killed one of the elven dread dragons, Sepirat the Aged.
Meanwhile the Brith had carved out large chunks of High Mist (though regarded Tiefling territory as a waste, and Gnomish territory as more reliable as an independent but controlled entity). The Brith had access to slaves from the Fleeting Isles and soldiers from the Orc tribes spread throughout. While they didn't have the feared dragons of legend like the Elves they were incredible naval warriors.
Hearing of Le Feu Mot's success in slaying a dragon the Viguard Empire began to take the steps necessary to building a resistance- specifically Lord Magnate (Dwarven King) Siegfried and his military adviser and sister Bridgette. They began a propaganda campaign that invigorated the Dwarven fears of magic and the elves. While the campaign stoked a fierce nationalism it wasn't until Titus Chamberhill arrived in secret to Bjorn with an envoy to properly form an alliance. Chamberhill could trace his ancestry back to kings of old before Elven conquerors has taken Carthus. He too had worked to unify the human tribes, villages, and entities that were scattered throughout the continent. He tried to seek aid from the human colonies in Valenndale but his requests were left unanswered.
Unified under a common goal, to drive out the elves, Siegfried, Bridgette and Titus worked to subtly undermine elven legitimacy and power in the region (spying, subterfuge, allying with wood elves, training human mages with elven tactics, etc.) It wasn't incredibly long before Ellvenaan took notice and arranged a treaty. The leaders of the resistance were invited, along with the leaders of Britheria, to the Great Summit to form an armistice until a treaty could come about.
Not much is recorded or at least readily available regarding what actually happened at the Summit, but negotiations didn't go well. It was here that Siegfried, Bridgette and Titus found themselves facing off against Armatta the Sage another of the elven dragons. It isn't known how they survived, but this was the beginning of war.
This has been an overwhelming amount of info so far. I'm sorry about that! I'll sum up some of the major events in the war though so this doesn't go on forever.
> The Elves ally themselves with the Brith recognizing their vastly superior naval potential. The elves had lost two dragons at this point, and were facing two of the most heavily populated races in Ithea. They concluded that Orcish hordes would destroy the resistance's ground forces, and thus sought out help from the Brith in return for continued dominance in High Mist and most of Penault when the war was won. Orcs were promised freedom by the Brith in exchange for their assistance.
> The humans and dwarves formally named their resistance the 'Iron Alliance'
>For the first year there were major defeats to the Iron Alliance in what is Astoria today. Every town and village was blockaded by Brith fleets, and Orcish foot soldiers easily defeated the soldiers.
>The Elven dragon Deis the Conqueror (the largest dragon of all) destroyed an entire city (now known simply as Ashenfield, a minor noble's estate) to show demonstrate its might. Dragons throughout Vicelles and Astoria burned cattle and crops (with elven saboteurs salting the fields) to force surrender.
>The first ballista was created by Dwarven inventor Draka ba Clindor and built into the architecture in Bjorn and other dwarven cities.
>Mages were soon forced by law to join the burgeoning Military Academy to train them in magic combat. Those who didn't were branded as traitors and apostates by the Iron Alliance.
>Human armies used feral vampires and werewolves in the 'Battle at Orlok' against Orcish hordes. This battle was the first step in the Orcs abandoning the Brith and Elven alliance.
> Ardent Fair of The Bog held the line in what is Ardent's Fall today. She and her mages held off and killed three dragons in three nights of Elven attack on the city. Ardent died killing the final dragon, Deis the Conqueror (the largest of any elven dragon).
> Upon learning of the incoming Brith fleets to capture Lubck (the most prosperous city in the Dwarven Empire) Siegfried somehow came to learn of a dark magic capable of poisoning the Iron Ocean. He used this to destroy the incoming Fleets which tremendously weakened the Brith forces, but the magic ate away at parts of his cities as ocean water completely engulfed two districts. Siegfried would take his own life that same night.
> For unknown reasons the Ellvenaani forces began losing control of their Dragons. Many dragons either died out or went insane, but were lost to the elves all the same.
> Seeing the war was lost the Orcs massacred Brith nobles and occupying forces overnight, and this forced many of the Brith to retreat back to their homelands in Crysteria.
>The repair efforts were incredibly costly for Carthus as this is where most of the war took place. This is how many of the noble houses came into power in Vicelles. The wealthier powers sought to create a nation separate from the Chamberhill dynasty. Viguard soon split into two after the power vacuum that was created by Siegfried's death. It was messy, and there are still growing pains, but the nations have become very prosperous in the last 100 years.
Sorry for the late reply! I hadn't realized you added to your message. We're looking at early firearms. So they are still a bit cumbersome and inaccurate, but obviously more deadly than the weaponry contemporary for that time. Flintlocks would be a rare commodity with only a few select cities even having matchlocks for their guards.
Because magic exists firearms haven't really replaced sword-combat in the way they have in our would. Most technology has been geared towards dealing with magic, and while firearms are quite powerful a Mage is more easily defeated at close range than at a stand-off. Still there will be opportunities to upgrade down the line.
In this world blackpowder was developed by the Gnomes. If your character is somewhat of an aficionado with guns I can PM some additional lore that he'd know specifically.
Hey all! Feel free to add to the discussion over at the OOC if you have suggestions, questions, etc.! I've been ironing out the kinks in the Atlas and setting things up in a google doc for my own GMing stuff so the RP is roughly in its preliminary stages if y'all are still interested in drafting up a character.
@Templar Knight Also, Templar I realize the Atlas isn't filled to the brim with Dwarven lore. I'm still building on the lore for the Atlas, but also trying to be sensitive to that fact that some of it could be spoilery. This RP is really about helping to establish and build upon the world including what you discover throughout the RP.
If you have any particular questions or suggestions related to your character, potential NPCs, villains, etc. please feel free to shoot me a PM!
That goes for anyone interested in potentially making a character btw
