Mokley

Mote

@TMS Prime oh noo feel better soon! <3 Being sick is not fun. :(

LANTERN (redux)

@Cairo Thomas is wonderful, hopeful and heartbreaking all at once -- approved of course! Please go ahead and paste him to the characters tab! :D

A thought has occurred to me, that Legend's Forgery might have very well stopped at several ports to pick up passengers -- so nobody feel obligated to board at Gleifast. (though you certainly could!) :D

Mote

Just a reminder, mod post at the 7 day mark! :3

LANTERN (redux)

A couple questions before I get to work on my CS (thinking of a young soldier who ended up being the official military authority on board the ship, just because everyone senior to him has died of the plague):

What are the symptoms of the plague? Are our characters immune to it, or are we just lucky enough not to have caught it? Does the city we departed from have a specific name, or am I free to give it one?

Thanks! I'm looking forward to this.

@Cairo

Hey hi hullo awesome! :D The plague symptoms are as follows:

• Lethargy and decreased energy
• Rapid weight loss combined with a ravenous appetite
• Night terrors and hallucinations

Essentially people would keep eating, sleeping, losing weight and going mad until they finally die. It's not pretty.

Your characters could just be lucky enough to have avoided it, or there could be another reason -- doctors can't figure out how it's transmitted, as people have become sick who were nowhere near the afflicted, and nurses treating the ill would be fine. It's all very odd and very scary.

If you've got a suggestion for the name of the city of departure, please do post it! Otherwise I can come up with one at random, haha.

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I've decided I will not be rebooting the Princess of Riverforde Anise Sinclair, and I shall be making an entirely new character. I'm stuck between a young historian who's best skill is actually more along the lines of a PI and a genius and seasoned surgeon obsessed with avoiding death at all costs.

Leaning towards the investigative historian.

@drewccapp

I could see both of these being super interesting! The historian might possibly dig up some information that might otherwise remain hidden -- but the surgeon seems like they would rip a few snags in some NPC's plans, haha. Fun either way! ;)

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@Mokley

The setting seems interesting (a bit like that of the "Thief: The Dark Project" game, actually - love it!), but I'm both returning to RP and am relatively new to Advanced RPs; provided I do make it in, do you have a minimum of some sort for the lengths of each post - and will it vary if interaction is dragging? Other than that, are there any key specifics about this world (or more specifically, the realms within) that I should know for my character's origins, or do I just jump right into it?

@Virgil

Hellohello hi welcome and thank you! :D My personal philosophy is quality over quantity when it comes to posts -- length has nothing to do with being able to convey scenes and ideas. That being said, if you feel that you can't post more than a paragraph you're always free to brainstorm in the OOC -- or maybe I was just lazy with the GM post, in which case always call me out! With every mod post I'll try to give you a lot to respond to, but also remember to act. The character is free to push forward, make choices, do things that I might not be expecting -- I will go with it and build on it! Whatever your character wants to focus on, that will therefore become important. I'll follow your lead if you choose to take a path less traveled!

The character's place of origin, the society and city names, etc, are kept vague here so you can create them as you like. The only place that I've really set in stone is the island where the RP is taking place -- anything else is whatever you want it to be, within the technology and magic limitations listed above. :)

The Helium Frightful

@vide Hey don't sweat it, take care of yourself first! <3 We'll keep Stone along with us in the meantime. :)

LANTERN (redux)

@Girlie1Bomba Heya thanks! Great questions!

-We are to be humans with regular human abilities i.e. no magic/superpowers?

Yep, humans with no abilities! HOWEVER, maybe I'll add a line to the character app -- you will get lots of opportunities to GAIN superhuman abilities, and certainly you could pick what sort of abilities you'd like to obtain!

-What is the upper most equivalent technology 'era' available?

Let's say Renaissance era -- clocks and pocket watches, and gadgets and contraptions, but not steam or factories. If you have an idea, of course, let me know!

-Are we shipwrecked survivors on the island with only the clothes on our backs to begin with?

The clothes on your backs and whatever you happen to have on your person. If you'd like something else to wash up ashore, we can negotiate. ;)

-And most importantly: Can we be of peak human strength, agility, endurance, reaction time, genius level intellect, trained in almost all forms of martial arts (including ninja 9000+ steath), full acrobatics level gymnast, so rich that we can manufacture almost any gadget that will be advantageous and provide utter victory given enough time to prepare for the situation, and called upon by a symbol in the sky? ;PP But seriously, how close to BatSue can we make our Charas?

Anything that's physically feasible is ok -- but it won't help you, so the effort would be a waste. The PCs will already be more important, more powerful and more advantageous than any native of the island, even if the PC is a shy child with no skills whatsoever. They're already special. Being rich also won't help you here, since people barter and don't bother with gold or gems -- but you're free to make a PC who has been as rich and powerful as you want. ;)

Lantern

She stopped to rest right before him Sword of Light in her hand. "I'm sorry, Peck, I thought she was still alive somehow and imprisoned. I was wrong." She presented the sword for him to see. "With this, we can carry on her legacy. We can still save this land. We can cleanse whatever has been done to the Dragon."

Peck hurriedly dug a blanket out of the griffin's saddlebag and rushed to the lakeside as soon as he saw Anise emerging. He draped it around her shoulders, and only then stepped back to take a wide-eyed look at the sword she held between her hands. It was ... warm. There were legends about this sword. He dared not touch it, but he looked to her face again, determined to assist however he could, breathless with the gravity of everything that had happened. "I'm with you."

"Lady of Stone," Anise called out. "Why is it that you are working with the Lord of Shadow? You can see how unbalanced everything has become under his rule. Trees thirst for blood thanks to the lack of sun. The wildlife is far more hazardous than it should be in any reasonable state. The corruption of the Dragon can only spell disaster. Is this really better? The Lord of Shadow acts as a selfish tyrant looking to expand his own power to no one's gain except his own. A true ruler is responsible for the protection of those more vulnerable. A king is nothing without the support of the people. What do you think?"

For a moment there was no sound but the cracking of the melting ice and the gentle lap of water. Peck stepped forward to stand beside her, staring carefully out onto the lake.

And then, Anise was suddenly falling. The ground opened up beneath her, swallowed her, and closed up again before Peck had time to blink. He cried out -- but it was as if she had never been there at all. He rushed for a weapon, and used his own sword to strike at the ground, to dig her out.

Anise landed on soft ground at the bottom of a small cave -- in complete, blind darkness save for the glow of the sword.

"I have no interest in trees and blood and kings."

The Lady of Stone moved like a shadow on the walls, a ripple of a figure that paced around Anise. "Look around you. Shadow and I understand one another. The cold and the dark and the barren suit me. I'll drink up the blood that's spilled. I'll swallow the buried dead. I'll swallow you." There was a grin in her voice.

Artemis looked back to the Lord of Shadow. Then she stepped forward and took his hand.

The moment her hand touched his was the last she would remember.

When she awoke, she was warm in a thick bedroll, on the canvas floor of a tent. The red Lantern glowed in a corner. Along the side was a backpack stuffed with supplies, and littering the floor were a small notebook, a burned-out lamp and a half-eaten fruit, as if the tent's last occupant had left in a hurry. Near the flap was a wooden plate with a roasted rabbit and a fragrant stew of vegetables, and a pitcher of clear water.

She might find that although she didn't feel cold, her skin was chill to the touch. Although the Lantern offered her its light, she no longer needed it to see clearly.

Outside the tent was a burned-out campfire, a broken clay cup, and signs of a struggle. Blood stained the grass, a knife glinted in the dirt. Ropes lay loose around a tree, as if something or someone had been tied against it before they were cut. Perhaps it was this that had sealed the fate of the campers.

Reus was gone.

The dead stood among the trees.

A dozen of them, gray and black with eyes a haunting white, swayed and shifted among the gnawing trees. One of them -- little more than a shadow -- stepped forward, holding out a cloth-wrapped package that glowed bright green from within. The last Lantern unaccounted-for.

They watched her ... and they waited.

The Helium Frightful

Whisper's shout for a battery drew the response of a running muffin and a potato.

The great monolith, with Stone attached, narrowly avoided being sideswiped by the monstrosity on its way to Witnessed Day's side.

Each of their skulls was promptly filled with the bright chirps and warbles of the 'birds', helpfully jamming their thoughts.

Lucky's shout of warning rang out over the crashing snarls as the behemoth darted for the Bobbling.

The potato rolled and Krita tumbled.

BOOM

The monster lunged for the shining potato -- but at the last moment Krita lost his balance and plummeted. The beast pulverized a marble wall instead, collapsing the platform upon which Lucky stood. Broken chunks of marble rained down on The Witnessed Day, narrowly missing him, while the beast's turning shadow fell upon Whisper. the monster was heading straight for Stone, attracted by the bright shine of Cradle and her etched jacket.

Golby took a leaping dive, arms outstretched. He caught Krita in a gloved hand, scooped up the potato and rolled away just before a wall of marble shattered on the ground where the Bobbling had only a moment ago been. He leaped up on top of the same marble and raised his head, confused for a teetering split-second by the chirps and birdsong echoing in his head. "Heads up!" he shouted, and he produced a strange harmony of high-pitched whistles to grab Whisper's attention before he tossed the potato underhanded to the masked holder of the radio.

He dropped Krita into a deep pocket -- with a few loose coins, a jagged curved tooth, a microfiber cloth and a shoelace -- and went back in search of his bag of doughnuts (which he soon found unharmed beneath a leaning pillar).

Meanwhile, should Whisper be successful in jamming said potato into the battery casing, the radio would immediately emit a deafening static noise to rival the birdsong in their heads.

The monster flung itself at Cradle and Stone, but barely missed them once again. It spun in midair for another pass, angrier this time, determined to smash them both to pieces.

With a little fiddling (or just a good smack) the song began to play again, blasting high and loud.

The behemoth made a deft turn in the air, avoiding Stone entirely. Its spines shuddered and drooped. The rumbling and growling and roaring had stopped. Like a child placated with a pacifier, the beast let out a long sigh and swirled in slow, gentle figure-eights over the ruins, turning to the beat of the music.

While the monster's shadow shifted lazily overhead, Golby found another place to stand that was high enough that everyone would see him and didn't seem as if it would crumble under his weight. "That was a fine display of teamwork!" he called out over the song, the bag slung over a shoulder once more. "Welcome, new crewmates! I'm Golby, your captain. And this," he gestured magnificently to the leviathan that blocked the light, "is the Helium Frightful! I'm sure we'll all get along famously! Who wants doughnuts?"

LANTERN (redux)

Wow, thanks guys! Definitely some great points! We'll confidently proceed as outsiders then. :D

I've finished up the OOC and I think we're ready to get this moving.

OOC IS UP!

@c3p-0h@drewccapp@Girlie1Bomba@Nyxella@Ink Blood@Skwint@YungTweak

LANTERN (redux)

THE CREEPING PLAGUE: A sickness that has stricken the developed countries, deadly and without a cure.

LEGEND'S FORGERY: A cargo-turned-passenger ship full of survivors, headed for a safe haven across the sea.

RULEEN: An island that doesn't appear in any map or history book, locked in eternal night.

ARTIFICERS: The technologically advanced, civilized inhabitants of Ruleen.

KITH: The masked, ageless children who inhabit the dark forests and command the Beasts.

THE WITCH: The only neutral party between the Artificers and the Kith.

THE DRAGON: A controversy at the heart of a centuries-long war, and the only way to leave the island.

LANTERNS: Far more than sources of light.

THE PLOT

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While a horrible plague wipes out much of civilized society, ships like the Legend's Forgery leave port with the last of the healthy people, evacuating to a promised safe refuge. On the way, a terrible storm sinks the ship -- and the only survivors find themselves washed up on the shore of an island blanketed in eternal night. In order to survive, they must choose sides in an ancient war. In order to leave, they must change the island forever.

THE WORLD

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The world that the characters grew up in was rife with rich folklore, strange natural phenomena, and inventive clockwork machinery. Magic is known only as folk superstition: weavings placed over the door, bowls of milk on the threshold, a turned cup for good luck. Cities flourished with DaVinci-esque contraptions, painted royalty, sweeping farmland, traveling circuses and a problem with pirates -- but there is no one now whose life has not been touched by the plague.

Ruleen, the setting of our story, is in perpetual darkness. "Days" are counted by moonrise and moonset. The Artificers carry lamps and candles, or brighten their settlements with the eternal illumination of the Lanterns. The Kith, by contrast, have bonfires and fireflies and wield the glowing fruits of strange trees. In darkness the forests have become pale and brittle, thick with ghosts and the chilling calls of night-creatures. Without a source of light, navigation is near impossible except by the full moon.

The Island of Ruleen

The Artificers' Settlements

Shipgull Anchor

Echo

Woondaly

Pyre

The Kith Villages

Otterleap

Wolftooth

Sparrowclaw

Tigersmoke

Neutral Ground

The Mountain

Witch Lake

INSPIRATION

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MUSIC

• Eluveitie (The Arcane Dominion, Carnutian Forest, Rebirth, Helvetios)
• Woodkid (The Deer, Land of All, Iron, Run Boy Run)
• Loreena McKennitt (Prologue, All Souls Night, Dante's Prayer)
• Poets of the Fall (The Poet and the Muse)
• Jonathan Young (Phantom of the Opera)
• Thomas Bergersen (Children of the Sun)

ART

Andrew Mironov, Leesha Hannigan, Chaehwa Min, Asen Liy, Max Bedulenko, Igor Sid, Dawid Planeta, Qissus, Naznemati

THE CHARACTERS

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Kings and queens, pirates and thieves, clockmakers and mercenaries all boarded the refugee ships together. Everyone is equal when death is at your heels. Our heroes may be of any background, as long as they had all been aboard the Legend's Forgery before it sank.

A Character Application

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

HOW HAS THE PLAGUE AFFECTED THEM? WHY ARE THEY ABOARD THE LEGEND'S FORGERY?

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.

A NOTE: I strongly encourage all players to please either choose a dialogue color, affix an image or heading to each post, or both. This greatly helps in recognizing immediately who's who, especially in the beginning as we learn names and personalities. I can make you a fancy text header if you like. :)

GAMEPLAY

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Characters are free to make their own decisions, to decide their own course. They could join the Artificers, join the Kith, or attempt to end their eternal war and leave the island. The fact that our heroes grew up in sunlight has given them certain advantages that neither the Artificers nor the Kith possess -- but that is to be discovered as the story unfolds.

Players shall control nothing but their own characters -- environments and NPCs are controlled by the GM. Exploration and mystery are the main focus; characters will be presented with environments and curiosities, and should be prepared to investigate on their own.

Characters may get separated, and this is ok.

The seven-day-rule will apply here: once the latest post counter reaches "7 days ago" the GM will post, whether or not anyone has declared they're working on a post.

SOME NOTES

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"Lantern" is an RP that is currently (very slowly) ongoing over in the Casual forum, and is over three years old. I love it to bits, but looking back there is a lot I would've done differently. This redux is almost an entirely different story, which hopefully will incorporate everything I've learned about GMing and storytelling in the past three years. If you know anything about the previous iteration of this story, none of your assumptions apply this time around.

THANKS AND CREDIT!

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The setting, plot and origin stories are a collaboration of the players of the original Lantern. A ton of the concepts and ideas you'll see here had their origin with these awesome, creative and inspiring people. I hope we can continue to build up a rich world together!