Hello everybody,
I'm thatkid. I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal. You may have heard of me. I'm very important, I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. If you've entered this thread, though, you're no doubt more interested in this game than me and so I'll cut to the point.
For the past month or so I have been working on-and-off on a campaign setting, and a set of rules to go with it. I find that it is now time to test these rules, though they are a tad incomplete, and to flesh out the world a bit more through actual play. To that end is this game. You need not worry about learning the rules because, as I have said, it is sort of incomplete and so I will be handling all mechanics in the background. You should be more interested in the RP, then, but feel free to ask mechanical questions all the same!
I encourage OOC conversation and speculating regarding the game, but I must ask that you keep OOC knowledge out of IC- by this I mean that it's fine to ask other players for ideas, but if your character wouldn't take an idea then you should probably not do that...or something.
In any case, this game will take place on one of the two-to-three continents present in the game world. Specifically, the Continent of Elise. More specifically, it will take place on the northern border of the last remaining Human Kingdom in Elise: Arkros. You will be playing a group of soldiers who may be of any race that is found on the continent of Elise, of any variety of origin be it criminal, noble, or a simple farmer-turned-conscript.
This is a Fantasy World in decline, a place where magic once ran rampant but, due to no small effort on the part of the Church of Light, the superstitions of the common rabble, and the progress of technology, has all but faded away. Brave knights cross lance and blade, while regiments of soldiers line up to fill each other with projectiles born by blackpowder and clockwork. Mages carefully work their art in what few bastions remain to them, or travel the world in the guise of simple scholars. Shamans and Witch Doctors commune with spirits, guiding their primitive tribes. Engineers construct massive war machines, and build metal men which might gain sentience due to some errant battlefield magic. It is Gaslamp Fantasy, perhaps more Steampunk, and if you've ever seen the show Wild Wild West that's a pretty good basis for what your average adventurer might experience during their...adventures.
The History So Far (As of the creation of this thread):
It was in the dead of night, they say, during their annual ten year moot that the The Circle was felled by the very perversions which they so often sought to combat. Led by a Masked Man, an army of Corpse and Clockwork overran their glade. The world tree was fouled, the forest so many called home burnt and charred. And the nations of Elise thought nothing of it.
In the coming days, disturbing reports came out of the Mountainhomes, the great ancestral homelands of the Dwarven people. Something was in the tunnels, many of the Homes had lost contact with one another. Their Queen, Therryndil Stonefist, and her clan simply went missing during a routine inspection of the mine shafts. And the nations of Elise thought nothing of it. That was, not until survivors began to trickle down from the mountains. It was the Masked Man, they said, an army of Undead who had turned their own great inventions against them. Those who did not fall in the initial attacks, and who had not fled, had forsaken their family and become The Unwanted, clanless, now working in endless, but living, toil for their new undead masters.
And then the Kingdom of Greth, which had been resting in its sudden and unexpected respite from Orc Raiders out of the nearby Badlands, fell in a single, horrific assault on the part of The Undead. The nations of Elise took notice. The Kingdom of Arkros and the Elven Clans of the Felian Forest joined as one to hold back the onslaught, but it soon became apparent that they alone could not stem the tide. Setting prejudice aside, they accepted the offered hand of the Goblin Tribes of the Eriodos Desert and called for aid from the Freewater Holds of the south.
The triumvirate formed, for aid from the Freewater Holds was marginal at best and the Church Orders were too busy with their own unending bureaucracy to render assistance, the Humans of Arkros, the Elves of the Felian Forest, and Goblins of the Eriodos formed a line. And they prayed that it would hold.
Nation/Faction SynopsisAn old Kingdom, by all accounts, but small. Its populace is composed of farmers and, aside from the Undead, they are now the most technologically advanced nation upon Elise. They've stronger ties to the Church of Light, thanks to a series of political marriages with the nation of Persope in Terros (which is the seat of the Church's power), than the Felian elves who also partake in the Church rhetoric, but this does not mean much.
To say that serfdom is not alive and well in Arkros would be a false statement and with the advent of The Undead menace, they have put their ancient conscript laws back into practice, arming farmhand and noble alike with rifle and spear as they send them to the ill-repaired fortresses along their norther-eastern border.
The Felian is a name which encompasses a wide range of groups. Primarily, however, it refers to the The Felian Clan, one of the few remaining true Elf Clans in existence. Despite this, the Felian count among their number all manner of forestal creature from dryad to intelligent fauna. Even with their close connection to nature, however, the fervent work of Church of Light missionaries has lessened the number of Druids in their ranks, a group made all the smaller by the fall of The Circle.
They make their home in the Felian Forest, which is north-west of Arkros.
The Goblins are a proud lot, often considered to be primitive by the standards of Arkrosians and Freehold dwellers. They are afforded slightly more respect from the Felian, though the same false rumors of horrific cannibalistic practices precede them there as well. Known for their tent cities, at which many of the more "civilized" people will set aside their prejudices to trade, and their formidable hunters, the Goblin Tribes have a rich and storied history which is kept alive through both an oral tradition and totem markings, spear-headed by the shamans of each tribe.
They lend their berserkers and scouts, as well as their learned shamans, to the aid of the Triumvirates cause.
Home to a variety of races and cultures, the Freewater Holds are a series of city-states along the southern portion of the continent of Elise. Most common there, even before humans, are Gnomes and Halflings. Of note is the City-State of Sepiros, founded by halflings, which graciously provided merfolk refuge in its harbor in exchange for cheap maritime labor. As well, there is the City-State of Ivanos, a gnome holding, which boasts the Ivanos Tower, one of the last bastions of magical study.
The Ancestral home of the Halflings, Hearth Island is a place, it is said, where all are welcome at any hearth. Despite the welcoming disposition, it is a place of fierce mercantile politics and often treats Sepiros as little more than a satellite colony for its own economic and political ends.
Led by the mysterious Masked Man, who has apparently wed technology to unholy and perverse magic, the Undead are a scourge upon the land led by a variety of ghoulish and vampiric lieutenants and generals. Blight and disease often precede them, no doubt a mixture of their rotting flesh and their own sick experiments in biological warfare. Not much is known about their motives, but many speculate it is simply destruction and absolute hegemony.
A great institution which worships the Pantheon of Dawn which is led by the three major Deities: Appellius, Versing, and Dheurvas. The Church often sends missionaries into a land, and if the people cannot be swayed it will use its political weight convince another nation to invade them. Each deity within the Church of Light has a dedicated order, and each order an attachment of paladins and knight-crusaders besides. But the Church is woefully inadequate, for infighting both within the church and the orders themselves and other bureaucratic issues have prevented it from doing little more than spreading its anti-heathen spiel as of late.
Associated with the sun and fire, Appelius is considered the creator of both Humans and Orcs. His season is summer, and it is with his courage that paladins of the Church go to battle. He is a fierce warrior, and in art often takes the form of a chivalrous knight who's sword gleams with the light of a thousand suns. He holds great hatred for any who skulk in the shadows committing dishonorable deeds.
He, along with Versing and Dheurvas, is the parent of Mistrus, Ethiro and Bahak.
Associated with oceans and water, Versing is considered the creator of Elves, Kappa, and Merfolk. Her season is that of Spring, and it is with her kindness and healing touch that priestesses of the Church heal the masses. She is protective and motherly, a symbol of wisdom and fertility who in art often takes the form of a pregnant elf robed in leaves. She holds great hatred for the undead, for they are a perversion of life.
She, along with Appelius and Dheurvas, is the parent of Mistrus, Ethiro and Bahak.
Associated with farming and the earth, Dheurvas is considered the creator of Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings. His season is Autumn, and it is with his dexterity and skill that artificers and craftsmen ply their trade. Dheurvas is a skilled inventor and smith, and in art often takes the form of a sturdy dwarf working at the bellows of a forge so that even Appelius can not bear its heat. He holds great hatred for the arcane, for magic is to a fool as skill is to a master.
He, along with Appelius and Versing, is the parent of Mistrus, Ethiro and Bahak.
There are quite a few, if you're looking for a particular sort of deity please just ask.
Associated death and air, some “heathen” scholars consider Morten to be an unstated member of the Church of Light Pantheon as he so often appears in their tales and legends. His season is Winter, and it is with his cold touch that his followers sow destruction and decay. He is a scheming necromancer, and in art often takes the form of a skeletal figure clad in robes darker than the darkest night. He holds great hatred for the living, and any else who go forward in the light of the sun.
Some tales tell that he is Appelius' brother.
The Shamans of the Eriodos Goblin tribes are fierce warriors who act as spiritual guides for their tribes. They primarily communicate with the creatures of The Spirit World, a warped mirror-image of the material plane, and utilize totems and fetishes to harness the power of the four elements. These shamans are practitioners of an animistic religion, and some even double as druids. They honor their ancestors, and record the tribe's history in a poetic oral tradition. It is also their job to mark an oasis' totem when their tribe arrives, so that others, both in the spirit world and the material plane, know where they have been.
The Shamans of the Frog-Folk who live off the coast of the Eriodos Desert largely mimic the Goblins which they interact with. The key difference here, however, is that they keep no oral tradition alive and care not about communication with The Spirit World. Instead, they honor their ancestors and harness the powers of the four elements to their own gain.
The Circle was once a druidic sect dedicated to the protection of the natural world. Allied with dryads, fae, treents, and various other forest creatures The Circle's druids communicated through a system of wild animals and magic. It was in the Industrial Revolution that they faced their greatest challenge, but the Druids of the Circle fought valiantly to protect as much of the natural world as they could. Back when they existed, they would regularly hold moots, with a single massive gathering that all members would travel to every ten years. It was said that members of the Circle were never on opposite sides of a war, for The Circle transcended all other political ties. Sadly, the Masked Man put his plan into motion during the month of their gathering, and all but wiped out the Circle. Those who remain are in hiding, for fear of what will happen if his agents find them.
The Wyrdwalkers are a special group of which any shaman from any tribe might find themselves a part of, and which some druids choose to join. In short, the Wyrdwalkers are those shamans who are capable of entering a trance state and access the paths of fate, allowing them to alter or view the future. It is NOT time travel. It is through the Wyrd that a Wyrdwalker might also access an alternate realm, such as The Spirit World or The Green Plane. Though they best be careful while doing so, as even though their body remains in the material plane they still may be killed in the alternate world. As well, staying out of their body for too long may lead to death from starvation/dehydration/exposure.
Magic, even the divine, is reviled by many. It is dangerous, with a tendency to backfire on the user with even the slightest mistake. Further, even the simplest of cantrips may take longer to cast than one might like when in combat. For that reason, many spells of any kind have been developed for use outside of battle. Providing aid to others, or hindering them, perhaps, but rarely directly effecting the course of events in any given contest.
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Topic: The Defense of Elise - Prologue: Bootcamp (Read 15215 times)