Current
Stop being passive aggressive. Just be aggressive.
7
likes
1 yr ago
It is certainly not 'optimal', but it *is* doable, depending on what you want to do with it. You could go swords or valor bard and play them more like a warrior with some magical ability
2
likes
2 yrs ago
One might say your villain arc has begun. Embrace it.
@Jaredthefox92 Probably not, this RP is going to focus around a small group of people, if playing as an antagonist, you'd be playing by yourself for pretty much the entire game
Fun fact: If you click the picture, music will play.
F A S T F A C T S ▲ Futuristic Fantasy setting ▲ Action, adventure, drama, romance, and mystery. ▲ Magic, airships, magitek, eldritch abominations and one hell of a road trip. ▲ Story shaped by the players. World-building encouraged. ▲ The RP itself will most likely progress at a slower pace, as people have other commitments that of course must come first.
P I T C H
And cometh the swallowing darkness. A blighted destiny by sinners south, leaving only tragedy by powers wrought. By hands of Lyssa and the touch of her lips, those brought pure will face the tide. Despair not for those lost in the darkness but look towards the peace of the new dawn. Canticle of Fajjar 17:1
The story of Spiritum is about a world known as Yerin, a world where magic and technology have mixed and flowed together for centuries. Long before man had conquered the world, creating massive metropolises, machines that could soar among the very heavens, and highways that stretched seemingly endless across the horizon, before it all a pact was made with the Gods. In exchange for our eternal reverence they taught us the secrets of magic, the ability to draw from the Astral Mist to bend and shape reality in ways thought to be unimaginable. The Gods gave them the gifts of powerful and magical minerals descending from the heavens in floating islands, and embedding themselves over and around the lands of Yerin. Large concentrations of these minerals fueled the industrialization of the world, and would form the centers upon which great civilizations would form around. Referred to as Levistone, when refined into Etherium fuel, these magical minerals served as power sources, mechanisms to enable flight, and the backbone of which modern technology would be built on.
It would be these valuable minerals which would nearly plunge the world into ruin due to greed and malice in equal parts. One of the kingdoms that had formed around massive deposit of Levistone would one day become the sprawling Vangar Empire. Over time the Vangar evolved into a strong military and industrial powerhouse. They used the Levistone to fuel their army and industry and over time the large deposits across their lands began to run empty. To ensure their continued prosperity, Vangar began to invade the many lesser kingdoms around them to secure their Levistone supplies for their own use.
This cycle has lead to the current state affairs with the Vangar-Rassvet conflict. The small Kingdom of Rassvet was a small but influential land with a storied history dating back to when the Pact was made. Rassvet followed a policy of strict isolation and neutrality for most of its existence, preferring to keep out of major conflicts whenever they could. Careful guarding and use of their own Levistone deposits have preserved them to state of potential power unmatched in all of Yerin. Seeing an opportunity to secure a massive boon to their Empire, the Vangar marched into Rassvet with the intent to annex the kingdom and secure their prosperity for the near future.
Leading the charge against the Vangar invasion is a special branch of the Rassvet military known as WARDEN. Selected from a very young age based upon their aptitude to draw upon the Mist, these warriors possessing both martial and magical skill far above the standard soldier. With the help of these warriors, the Rassvet army has managed to hold the much larger Vangar Excursionary Force at bay for a little over six months now. Though day by day the Vangar continue to gain ground and casualties mount in the thousands on both sides.
All the while the coming darkness as foretold by the Oracles themselves approaches. Many believe it is a product of the war and the dead. The corpses and the smell of blood driving the monsters from their hiding places mad with a ravenous lust for blood. Many also theorize that the rapid mining and usage of Levistone disrupting dens of monsters, and bringing them out into the forefront.
Among all of this, the story of Spiritum focus upon a group of freshly graduated WARDENs intent on going on one last road trip as a sort of collective 'family' before they are shipped out to the front lines. Par for the course things don't go as planned. One series of unforeseen events later eventually leads to this group coming to escort a young child with a mysterious necklace connected to the coming darkness and hunted by both Rassvet and Vangar on a world spanning journey to save it all.
O O C I N F O
Welcome one and all to Spiritum - Reborn, a reboot of @Hexaflexagon's Spiritum RP. two parts Final Fantasy, and one part Lord of the Rings, Spiritum is a story about nations and nationalism, moral quandaries, plucky adventures and the lengths at which individuals will go to preserve their power.
The world of Yerin is a living and breathing one. A world with its own convoluted and sometimes purely idiotic history spanning backwards thousands of years. It's a world with its own backstabbing aristocrats, religions, cultures, heroes, and prophecies. Yet at the same time much of this background has been intentionally left as vague snippets. Allowing players to add to the lore as little or as much as they please.
The story itself will go at a slower pace focusing more upon character interaction and development in the interest of creating good scenes and interactions between players rather than rushing forward from action set piece to action set piece. The focus always being on telling a good story. It's a strange tale about friendship, war, the inevitability of oblivion, the burden of fate, and the choices we make. But hey if it sounds like your thing well then why don't you come and say hi?
T H E C O M P E N D I U M
General world-building stuff for your reading pleasure. More will be added as we go on.
Magic is the art of being able to pull from the Astral Mist. The Mist is the surrounding energy that encompass the space around Yerin in its plane of reality. Stars and galaxies are not as we know them but actually points of highly clustered magical energy within the Mist itself. The art of mastering this power comes in two parts. First and arguably the more important of the two is a person's natural aptitude as some are just wired to be more finely tuned to Mist than others. The second is actually learning how to use said magic, the memorization and knowledge of vast sums of knowledge whose complexities and intricacies mean the difference between a successful spell and leveling an entire city block.
The power bound in spell formulae may be used for healing, teleportation, destruction, creating illusions, and altering form. Though the mist also affected by the caster themselves and each magical burst is different from person to person. Magic is considered a danger, a blessing, the future, an art and a science all wrapped into one tight bundle. Despite its dangerous properties and potential for massive abuse, magic is seen as something of a sacred thing. As a gift from the Gods it carries with it a certain amount of weight and wonder that comes from centuries of religious thought. Due to its divine origins, the Church has a strong investment in the magical arts and its oracles are some of the best magic users in all of Yerin.
Technology in the world of Yerin has developed alongside and with advancements of magic. This fusion of the unknown and the rational being a fundamental building block in the world. From a technological level the world is futuristic compared to our own but close enough to our own reality as to not be totally distant. People drive cars, take trains and use airships to get around. They have wireless phones and their own form of the internet. It's a place where soldiers with assault rifles can be seen fighting against flying monsters and men that can call down electricity from the sky. They also have other more stranger things like giant walking war machines, matter replicators, floating cities and gunsblades.
In many places technology and the industries around it is seen as the way forward as especially in the Vangar Empire and its provinces where they have had to focuses heavily on technology, using magic and Etherium to augment and enhance rather than as the sole source of advancement. It's the general rule in all places, that technology general comes first as a military invention before slowly over time being filtered down into the general public's use.
WARDEN can trace it starts back to the early years of the Rassvet. Following in the lineage of a monastic order of magic wielding knights who protected the kingdom from evils that normal men could not. WARDEN serves in the same general purpose of defense of the Kingdom but now do it as decisive shock troops using combined technological and magic power to shatter enemy lines and go on general suicide missions for most normal people.
Every year the Rassvet Government conducts a grand survey of all children within their lands ten years of age. They run the children through what amounts to a series of aptitude tests of all kinds. Those who were considered possessing desirable traits were then taken to the Capital to be trained in the Citadel. The sprawling complex that is essentially a city sized military base within a bigger city complete with its own security force, power supply and laws would become the children's home for the next ten years. Within they were put through hell through one of the most rigorous training regimes in all of Yerin.
Upon graduating WARDENs are placed into one of three tiers:
First Class are the best that WARDEN has to offer. Operating on a level beyond any member of the Rassvet military including their fellow WARDENs and consisting of barely one hundred individuals at any given time these individuals are regarded as some of the most fearsome warriors on the planet. 1st class WARDENs are given special privileges and are sent in to deal with the most important of matters and are usually working behind the insure the protection of Rassvet. They generally act as singular walking armies going in alone and without backup.
Second Class WARDENs are generally squadron leaders put in charge of Third Class WARDENs, and are above the average cut and skilled combatants and tacticians. Those that are not in command position are sent in squads to deal with direct concerns that while troubling do not require 1st Class intervention. Only the best of the Second Class have even a chance of being promoted up to 1st Class.
Third Class WARDENs are the general face of WARDEN as they are the most numerous and the most commonly seen by the public. They work alongside the regular forces of the Rassvet military as independent detachments working in tandem to complete operations. Their most common use is as shock troops designed to create large holes within enemy positions to be exploited.
The catchall term for powerful, arcane minerals, Levistone is filled with magic energies and can be harnessed as powerful power supplies. Most modern day applications of Levistone consist of refining it into Etherium fuel, for use in various technologies, though they have also are in use in their raw form. With their faint blue glow, large Levistones seem to have other effects such as keeping monsters away, and large Levistones are often placed in the center of small towns, or around larger cities to keep monsters at bay. However, the process of refining Levistone into Etherium fuel seems to have the reverse affect, as many monsters appear in greater numbers when Etherium fuel is used or burned.
Emil blinked with confusion as the man with the black cowl and sword removed his headwear, revealing himself to be none other than Tristan Baske. He exchanged a glance with Tork, who had caught up by that point and responded with a roll of the eyes and a grunt. Emil had no idea who the other one was, with the pitchfork- he certainly didn't work for the Aviary, though his seeming friendship with Greytail might have suggested otherwise. Both of them seemed to be trying to get on his side- the pitchfork wielding lad calling him a lord, and the actual lordling trying to spin him a lie.
"I'd think that stryx handlers and thieves would be tucked away in bed by now. A shame really... I really didn't want to run into anyone just yet."
"A shame, yes." Emil responded somewhat sarcastically as he idly stroked the wing feathers of the vicious bird at his side.
"But seriously. Don't go running for help. I'm not a cold-blooded thief like that guy over there. I only wanted to borrow this stryx for a little bit. I promise I was going to tell you."
At this, Emil laughed a mirthless laugh, "Oh, yes right, of course you were. I assume you were just going to leave a little note signed and sealed on our doorstep yes?"
At this point, Tork, the Aviary guard turned to Rylan, "Oi, you there. Ye might be fast, but do you think yer farster than my crossbow? Stay where you are." With a huff, Tork regarded Emil, this time with his eyes firmly locked on Rylan. "Emil, whats the plan eh? Cut their hands off or leave em to the Stryxes? Don't much like thieves or thieving bastards."
"What I'm more interested in," Emil replied, responding to Tork and addressing Tristan at the same time, "Is what an untrained layabout wants with a Stryx denmother, other than to feed himself to her when she gets hungry."
While the Durand Stryxes were domesticated enough to the point where they wouldn't actively eat humans, chances were these two didn't know about it. At least, Emil assumed they wouldn't know. Tristan was trying to take one of their female Stryxes- which, while larger and more powerful than the males, were considerably more stationary- similar to male lions, and made poorer mounts than their smaller male counterparts. Tristan must've thought the bigger Stryxes were the better stryx, which was why he was trying to steal one of their females- arguably the most valuable Stryxes in the entire Aviary.
"So, Lord Baske, of what need do you have of a Stryx?"
I see no problem keeping them as NPCs- as we're heading off on our journey to the new continent, its not wise for the entire warband to venture off on their own each time- they'll need base camps, supply lines, and the people to protect them- as well as the ship that they arrive on, as that is their only way back. And who better to protect these key positions than a small detachment of Inquisitors from the warbands? Galahad as the warleader would probably find some value in keeping at least a few Inquisitors in reserve while the rest venture forth, especially in these hostile lands.
Hassan is very versatile in social situations, but while he is an Inquisitor, with all the training an Inquisitor has, he's not nearly as frontline a fighter as Viveca, Ziotea or Stina. Makes sense for him to stay behind and work with the non-Inquisitors and coordinate their efforts.
While Astraea is certainly a fighter, she also works very well as a healer, so having her in their base camp would make sense, to aid them with any injuries they may return with. She also doesn't work very well with others- particularly non-Lanostrans, or even other Lanostrans like Tatiana, and through their bickering while in Lanostre, I can see why Galahad might put her in the back, though it is a bit of a stretch.
Rodion is a scout. Scouts work best on their own or in small groups, where they leave the smallest footprint and aren't easily noticeable. Having him perform scouting duties would be a good way of keeping his character relevant, but 'out of scene' when the rest of our characters are doing stuff.
Standing in at 6'2, Zaheed has a large, athletic build, well suited to the rigors of combat. Underneath his armor, Zaheed's body and face are riddled with scars and healed wounds from the various missions and campaigns of his military career. His body also sports numerous tattoos, the most recent of which are traditional Mandalorian tattoos. Underneath his helmet, Zaheed's face is worn and rough, with short hair and a trimmed beard.
Skills:
Resident pyromaniac and explosives expert, Zaheed serves as Resol Squad's demolitions man and saboteur. Well versed with the usage (and occasional disarming) of explosive devices, Kast is the go-to guy for setting up explosive traps, breaching buildings and destroying vehicles. For such a jittery person, Zaheed also has surprisingly fine and precise movements- particularly with his hands. With his A280C, Zaheed can also deliver fairly accurate fire from most ranges, though his weapon's more compact nature, as well as the rest of his equipment gives a preference for medium ranges.
Explosives handling
Ranged Combat/Marksmanship
Rigging/Slicing
Exotic Weapons User
Equipment:
Combat Armor - Kast wears a customized suit of Mandalorian armor made of durasteel. With colors consisting mostly of olive and burnished orange, and his armor's undersuit is made from armorweave, all of which can seal and allow for limited survivability in vacuum. The helmet sports a very small life support unit- for emergencies more than deployment, and a JT-12 Jetpack allows Zaheed to combine heavy armor with high mobility. The helmet also features a rangefinder, and every bit of the armor is heavily treated with fireproofing.
Wrist Rockets - A single shot rocket launcher fixed onto the top of Kast's left wrist gauntlet, launches anti-vehicle rockets.
x2 Czerka ZX Miniature Flame Projector - A miniature flamethrower attached to each of Kast's wrist gauntlets.
Dur-24 Wrist Laser - A small blaster mounted just below the flamethrower.
Datapad/Commlink - mounted on the right wrist.
Grappling Cable - mounted on the right wrist.
A280C Blaster Rifle - A cut down variant of the standard rebellion blaster rifle. Its reduced size and weight allows Kast to more easily engage in short to medium ranged combat, without sacrificing too much punching power.
A180 Blaster Pistol - A lightweight, versatile, and moderately powerful blaster pistol, good for close ranged engagements.
Combat Knife - Ideal for close quarters when the 'continuum of force' has been reduced to hand to hand combat. For optimum performance, the leading edge, 'pointy end', should be applied to the enemy and thrust into vital regions. This should be repeated as necessary.
Explosives - Stored on various hard-cases about his body:
x2 Blocks of Detonite plastic explosive.
x2 Spare Wrist Rockets
x3 Thermal Detonator
x2 C-25 Fragmentation Grenade
Other Equipment - A veritable walking armory, Kast carries a variety of gear with him, either in easy to reach pouches on a pack at the small of his back- out of the way of his jetpack, or hidden on his person. He carries a field security overloader, a small blade, field rations, and a plasma cuttting/welding torch.
Personal History:
A rough and tough Mandalorian trained misfit currently under the command of Old man Resol, Zaheed Kast was born and raised in some backwater Outer Rim slum. A troublemaker since the day he was born, Zaheed regularly got into trouble, whether it be fighting with, stealing from, or stealing with other slums kids, causing trouble for other locals, vandalism, or even the occasional rioting. Zaheed was a bad egg with a worse attitude, a lack of respect for authority, and a penchant for causing fires- both figuratively and literally.
As a youth, Zaheed hated the empire. Their troopers walked up and down the streets as if they owned the place- because technically they did. They abused business owners and locals alike, and taking away people who dissented or questioned imperial rule. In his early teen years, Zaheed would regularly antagonize the Imperials, stealing, vandalizing, and disrupting them and their operations, and by the time he was 16, he had spent almost as many nights in a local jail cell as he did his own bed. Poor, down on his luck, and with no small amount of anger towards the Empire, when Alliance recruiters came around looking for soldiers to join their cause, it was no small surprise Zaheed joined up.
Unfortunately for the alliance, Zaheed was far from the ideal soldier. He did well in their crash course through basic training- he shot well, he fought well, he was acutely aware of his surroundings and thought on the ball. Unfortunately he was hot headed, had a little too much fun during explosives training, and the problem with authority was still there. Argumentative and insubordinate, Zaheed was usually the primary reason why his training unit had to several extra miles worth of running a day, and even by the time he finished basic he was still running miles. Finished with his training, it was apparent that no one wanted him in their units. He was shuffled around from unit to unit until he eventually found himself under the command of Colonel Ghill, who promptly shuffled him, and the rest of his fellow misfits under the command of Resol.
Resol, promptly beat the insubordination out of Zaheed, and molded him into a more disciplined, if still cocky and argumentative soldier with mando training. One of the newest members of Resol Squad, Zaheed still manages to make himself known- with his explosive tendencies.
Name: Zaheed Kast Species: Human Age: 24 Role: Demolitions Specialist/Saboteur
Physical Appearance
Standing in at 6'2, Zaheed has a large, athletic build, well suited to the rigors of combat. Underneath his armor, Zaheed's body and face are riddled with scars and healed wounds from the various missions and campaigns of his military career. His body also sports numerous tattoos, the most recent of which are traditional Mandalorian tattoos. Underneath his helmet, Zaheed's face is worn and rough, with short hair and a trimmed beard.
Equipment:
Combat Armor - Kast wears a customized suit of Mandalorian armor made of durasteel. With colors consisting mostly of olive and burnished orange, and his armor's undersuit is made from armorweave, all of which can seal and allow for limited survivability in vacuum. The helmet sports a very small life support unit- for emergencies more than deployment, and a JT-12 Jetpack allows Zaheed to combine heavy armor with high mobility. The helmet also features a rangefinder.
Wrist Rockets - A single shot rocket launcher fixed onto the top of Kast's left wrist gauntlet, launches anti-vehicle rockets.
Czerka ZX Miniature Flame Projector - A miniature flamethrower attached to Kast's left wrist.
Dur-24 Wrist Laser - A small blaster mounted just below the flamethrower.
Datapad/Commlink - mounted on the right wrist.
A280C Blaster Rifle - A cut down variant of the standard rebellion blaster rifle. Its reduced size and weight allows Kast to more easily engage in short to medium ranged combat, without sacrificing too much punching power.
A180 Blaster Pistol - A lightweight, versatile, and moderately powerful blaster pistol, good for close ranged engagements.
Explosives - Stored on various hard-cases about his body:
x2 Blocks of Detonite plastic explosive.
x2 Spare Wrist Rockets
x3 Thermal Detonator
x2 C-25 Fragmentation Grenade
Other Equipment - A veritable walking armory, Kast carries a variety of gear with him, either in easy to reach pouches on a pack at the small of his back- out of the way of his jetpack, or hidden on his person. He carries a field security overloader, a small blade, field rations, and a plasma cuttting/welding torch.
Skills:
Resident pyromaniac and explosives expert, Zaheed serves as Resol Squad's demolitions man and saboteur. Well versed with the usage (and occasional disarming) of explosive devices, Kast is the go-to guy for setting up explosive traps, breaching buildings and destroying vehicles. For such a jittery person, Zaheed also has surprisingly fine and precise movements- particularly with his hands. With his A280C, Zaheed can also deliver fairly accurate fire from most ranges, though his weapon's more compact nature, as well as the rest of his equipment gives a preference for medium ranges.
Weaknesses:
While not a slouch in a melee- at least when unarmored, Zaheed's heavier equipment and gear leaves him slower than some of his squad mates, particularly when it comes to close ranged combat, where reflex and movement is key. As a result, Zaheed is less effective in close quarters combat and melee, where he has to rely on his less powerful blaster pistol- which is compounded by the fact that a lot of his equipment is geared towards closer ranges.
Personal History:
A rough and tough Mandalorian trained misfit currently under the command of Old man Resol, Zaheed Kast was born and raised in some backwater Outer Rim slum. A troublemaker since the day he was born, Zaheed regularly got into trouble, whether it be fighting with, stealing from, or stealing with other slums kids, causing trouble for other locals, vandalism, or even the occasional rioting. Zaheed was a bad egg with a worse attitude, a lack of respect for authority, and a penchant for causing fires- both figuratively and literally.
As a youth, Zaheed hated the empire. Their troopers walked up and down the streets as if they owned the place- because technically they did. They abused business owners and locals alike, and taking away people who dissented or questioned imperial rule. In his early teen years, Zaheed would regularly antagonize the Imperials, stealing, vandalizing, and disrupting them and their operations, and by the time he was 16, he had spent almost as many nights in a local jail cell as he did his own bed. Poor, down on his luck, and with no small amount of anger towards the Empire, when Alliance recruiters came around looking for soldiers to join their cause, it was no small surprise Zaheed joined up.
Unfortunately for the alliance, Zaheed was far from the ideal soldier. He did well in their crash course through basic training- he shot well, he fought well, he was acutely aware of his surroundings and thought on the ball. Unfortunately he was hot headed, had a little too much fun during explosives training, and the problem with authority was still there. Argumentative and insubordinate, Zaheed was usually the primary reason why his training unit had to several extra miles worth of running a day, and even by the time he finished basic he was still running miles. Finished with his training, it was apparent that no one wanted him in their units. He was shuffled around from unit to unit until he eventually found himself under the command of Colonel Ghill, who promptly shuffled him, and the rest of his fellow misfits under the command of Resol.
Resol, promptly beat the insubordination out of Zaheed, and molded him into a more disciplined, if still cocky and argumentative soldier with mando training. One of the newest members of Resol Squad, Zaheed still manages to make himself known- with his explosive tendencies.