Mature themes, but nothing 'adult'. Didn't want to ruin the title with this disclaimer.
Lord Owen, first of his name lay awake in his bed. He was thinking about his daughter, The Tulip, who had strung herself up not ten minutes ago. She was wearing a lovely smile, and a gown of enchanted petals. One petal would fall for every hour since she'd been dead. Only those in her position had a fire warm enough to keep out the Autumn.
The Sad Prince was riding his horse along a dreamy, dreary, dirty trail. Even the hoofbeats were beaten down with the mood. His eyes glanced around, taking in the dead autumn leaves. It seemed that The Tulip had taken the spring with her. He was to marry her when the Autumn came, and the warmth of their love would keep the cold out.
The Tulip. She was swaying slightly. Left, right, left, right, left, right... The floor was pristine. She knew since she was young that this was never going to last forever. And it wasn't her fault.
The 'Brief'
The Tulip has killed herself. Her union with The Sad Prince would have kept the Autumn out, and the winter from causing harm. No-one else can provide enough warmth to do that, and now the Autumn's coming in. If winter arrives without the populace being sheltered, bodies will freeze where they sit. Fingers will blacken as people hold them close to their Fires. The Earth will hold its warm breath, leaving nothing but cold. Cold and horror.
Finding The Sad Prince might be the only way to help. Although... if one could strengthen their own fires...
The Rules
- Pretty standard stuff, but GM has final say.
- Posting once a week would be preferable.
- Let me know if you're not posting one week. A couple sentences is all it takes :)
- Take unrelated arguments to PMs
- I'll resolve related arguments.
- Try not to be over controlling. I appreciate people helping each other out with ideas, but if it's not your character try not to be too pushy.
- I'm trying to cultivate a dream-like atmosphere within the world. If you want a box of chocolates that are really eggs for huge monsters, go for it. Keep it weird. Cause-and-effect aren't here.
- Keep your dream powers weird, but balanced.
- No metagaming. I know it's a dreamscape, but it just ruins the mood.
Relevant Lore/Magic things
One of the most magical things about this world is that cause and effect don't exist everywhere. Disregard physics when it's convenient. Use your imaginations!
No-one is quite sure what magic is. That's the nature of it. However, what they do know is that it is present everywhere. There is a magical residue in everything, and casting spells relies on what you can pull out of your environment at the time. Each wizard has a 'Personal Spell' that is always within their body, and they can use at any time.
There are no races apart from humans. That anyone knows of. The exceptions are the seasons, of course.
The Winter is a vicious force, out to wipe the earth new every time it rolls on through. Humans are no exception of course. The Winter births hideous amalgamations from what it takes, which roam in the fog, consuming anything and everything. Only one thing has ever stopped the Winter: The Flames of the Royal lines.
Flames are fires that burn within every living human. These aren't flames in the sense of matter, rather they're similar to the concept of a soul. They reside within humans, and provide effects that differ for everybody, no two have ever been alike. Except those of The Tulip and her predecessors. Those Flames were able to bond with other Flames through love to create enough warmth to shelter entire civilisations.
It's in a semi-medieval setting. If you know what a sword is, you'll probably be okay.
PC info
The player characters will need to be created before I make a start, but the players goal will probably be to fend off the Winter. This will grow increasingly difficult as the weather gets colder, so there's an element of racing time in there, too.
Character death is permanent. Once they die you WILL have to roll a new one. Resurrection magic does not exist.
Character sheets will be made when I gather enough interest, but I will have a semi-rigid stat thing going. Your stats will be consulted when determining how effective you are at resisting/influencing the world. Of course there will be all the regular things (personality, appearance, etc.).
This is my first play-by-post, so I'll probably cap player count at 4 or 5
EDIT: Formatting. Hopefully it won't be a shitty eyesore anymore.
Member
Mae