Caellath is unable to submit a setting picture right now, but has requested something mixing tech and magic. Sounds fun, so I'll allow it. (I was already planning on magic, because of the undead.)
The Ragnaros War - Started in the year 1531 Post Discovery for reasons unknown, marking the end of the Golden Years. The War drained virtually all mana from the world, as people wielding mystical powers of unfathomable potential joined in battle against each other time and again. The major participants were ...
- Excerpt from History as It Happened, commissioned by King Mundo.
Right, listen up! A new Rift has opened half an hour's march from here. The monsters spewing forth razed half the town before the local garrison drove them off, at great costs. We're here to fortify and hold the town until reinforcements arrive.
That might be a while, seeing how thin the army's become. Regardless, the line must hold: We are the first, last, and only line of defense before the Banner Valley. We lose that and a third of the Empire starves .. Hawkview cannot be allowed to fall.
- Captain Harold, of the Eagle Company.
600 years have passed since the Ragnaros War reshaped the face of the planet and removed mana from the world. Recovery was painful. Eventually, an industrial revolution occurred. 30 years ago, the first Rift opened. Tons of land appeared instantly where and as it had been during The War, messily displacing everything from its destination. With it came a massive dose of mana, as well as swarms of ravenous monstrosities. Wildlife was corrupted and joined the hordes. At appalling costs was it eventually contained. It took twenty years for scholars to piece together scattered bits of ancient knowledge, and another eight to finish applying that knowledge, slowly filtering out and purifying the Rift's mana. Today only a barren wasteland remains. During that those thirty years, countless other Rifts started appearing across the world. Some nations fell, while the luckier ones survive by constantly fighting for their lives.
Rifts tend to vary. Some, such as the first, are like a force of nature and possess a minor intelligence of their own. Others are ruled by ancient mages, driven mostly insane by centuries of isolation with only brainless minions for company. Most Rifts conjure creatures from nothing. Rifts tend to contain ruins with well-preserved knowledge of the past, causing adventurers to risk everything for greater power. Armies, lacking the ability to hurt the Rifts, usually hang back at fortified positions to reduce attrition.
The tech level is early industrial. Railroads connect the major cities, where most of the population who aren't fighting or farming churn out supplies for the war in factories. Firearm technology is muzzle-loaded flintlock muskets. The ancient knowledge of magic was almost completely lost. Some has been rediscovered in the last thirty years, and the training to use weak cantrips is usually available for those brave enough to study in the fortifications near rifts. Higher training can only be done with very small groups, and is rarer.
Character creation time. You each get one to three pictures to show me your race, class, inventory, and any skills you have. If something's not obvious, I'll guess toward stereotypes (That haughty pointy-eared guy is an elf, intelligent but frail. That pointed hat guy is clearly a wizard), and give standard adventuring equipment.
Races: Standard fantasy or custom. They'll be assumed to be human sized unless specified otherwise or an obvious short race (like dwarves). No flying unless you're specially built for it. I'll be balancing positives and negatives out to zero.
Class/Skills: Everyone will get either one level 2 skill, or two level 1 skills.
Inventory: Five mundane-powered items. An example would be a musket, a long rope, ammo, thief's toolkit, and a sword. Basic rations will be free, and everybody gets clothing. An item giving +2 would take two slots.
If you feel you need to describe some parts with words and only post a simple picture of your character, that's fine, but I'll give gold bonuses if you only post pictures for this part or for minimizing word usage.
I'll be using a d10 for rolls, so having a fast race and getting a +2 to dodging is possible.
The Rift will be in the ruins of a dwarven fortress, and there will be undead.
The fifth player slot is still open.
Author
Topic: Paint to Roll - Turn 7: Run from the ifrit! (Read 13730 times)