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[dragnar]

For the most part, this world is normal enough. At a glance, it is reminiscent of Earth's Medieval ages. Not just Medieval Europe I mean, it's not some kind of weird homogeneous world. You've got your kings and kingdoms, but there are also feudal shoguns, shapeshifting tribal shamans... and... magitech empires... Ok, so maybe it isn't that similar. Not past the surface anyway. It's history is riddled with wars unlike any we have ever seen, clashes of ideology on a scale technology cannot hope to match. For while the common folk are little different from our own, this is a world of larger than life heroes, wielding  and being wielded by forces not even they truly understand.

The powers of a hero are not worldshaking though, not in all but the rarest of situations. They are powerful, they are driven(usually), and they bend history around themselves. But all this is not a matter of simple strength. A hero's true might is the way in which their every action shifts the tides of a war they cannot even see, all of humanity caught in the ebb and flow of the Paradigms. For heroes here do not have ideals. They ARE ideals. And when two heroes clash, the loser's ideal is weakened. When a hero kills a villain(Which is, in the end, just another sort of hero), deep beneath the ground before his plans have even begun to move, the world becomes just a little bit brighter... even if no one ever finds out. It is these ideals, these Paradigms that give rise to the different cultures of the world. The paradigms of The King, The Teacher, The Engineer, The Mage. The dominant Paradigm of the area is powerful beyond belief, technologies and magics simply ceasing to work in lands where they hold little sway.

So, hero. Where are you from? What Paradigm do YOU follow? Who are you, and what do you seek for the world?

[micelus]

I am from the lands of Isthos, a city-state among city-states. I am the utter ideal of the Reformer. I was the simple son of a knight, nothing more...Until injustices struck our fair house. My father was brought to the courts and torn apart for a crime he did not commit...and worse, it was the judge himself who had done so, and had killed my father to cover his tracks! They didn't stop there...they sold my family in slavery, stole our property, and took away our citizenship...And now I've learned that such injustices are not uncommon, that the rich and powerful do this everywhere. I seek to end that.

A bit of a Greek theme, I know, but it still works.

[dragnar]

* dragnar will wait for a few more suggestions before starting.

[EveryZig]

I am the Metaphysicist. While I was one scholar among many in my homeland of Zelter, I was not quite like the rest. While the others studies within the local paradigms of magic-based technology and were averse to the nonuniversality of natural law, I was drawn to these seeming inconsistencies and have made it my life's work to study them. Rather than depend on paradigms that might grow or weaken overnight, I seek to better understand the mechanics of changing paradigms and these 'heroes' that drive them. As my home country is in a relatively stable region, my ability to learn these phenomena has been extremely limited. To remedy this, I have set out to study paradigm shifts more directly by locating and observing a group of 'heroes' and the changes they bring about.

(Because I have a bit of a thing for being meta, and I actually am curious about finding out more about how the paradigm system works.)

[Armok]

I am the Postmodernist, this is a pipe.

[Grek]

The Victim

Early orphan of the Villian's ill intending,
Weened soon off the milk of human kindness,
And taught sooner never to seek redress
Is born a soul of misfortune's sending.

Behold a sight most pitiful to see:
In the gutter or the hospital ward
In pain with many prayers yet unanswered
To be delivered from such misery.

Behold yet the Victim the Hero saves!
He who suffers dire that you might not
And yet is saved when all else is fraught.
Behold the kin of poor men and slaves.

Paradigm of the most strangest sort:
Made strong in death and weak by wort.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A Paradigm that does not know its nature, who is made strong when others inflict suffering upon them, but seeks instead to be rescued and to fade away.

[dragnar]

Ah, Zelter, one of the most powerful nations in the land. Well, one of the largest anyway. "power" means little when it can't be enforced at a distance, a nation defined more by how far it's dominant Paradigm reaches. And here that paradigm is that of The Arcanist, he who reduces magic to a science. Not that you have much use for that trickery. A science? Pah, their 'science' is as useful as scrap outside Zelter.

No, you are not one of their number. Every nation has it's dissidents after all, especially among those with the drive to become Heroes. Your quest for knowledge has... not met much success so far. Not surprising really: The laws of nature are usually rather consistent within a nation, except during times of war. So you've set off for one of the neighboring nations, hoping to measure the changes brought on by the fluctuation of Paradigms in the area. You've got a few choices for your next destination: The closest and most similar nation is the city state of Tannis, ruled by The Mage. Next is the haunted land of Garlis, where The Necromancer causes as many ghosts to walk the earth as men. And last, the largest of Zelter's neighbors, the Kingdom of Terric, whose sole Hero fought in the name of The King.

...of course, even now there is a nagging doubt in the back of your mind. You are a Hero, whatever that means in this world, your chosen Paradigm an ideal that you can always sense just beyond reach. It gives you insight, instinctive revelations when you are most desperate. It is your greatest strength... and your greatest weakness. For while it has never once been wrong, can you really trust it's answers? After all, you seek the laws that lie behind the Paradigms, not the laws of your own. Ah well, there will be plenty of time for self-doubt later. For now, you pack your bags with a few essentials and tools before setting off.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

*snip*

(Because I have a bit of a thing for being meta, and I actually am curious about finding out more about how the paradigm system works.)

Going with this one, because I like this reasoning. More fun if you get to see more of how things work.

And so, to commemorate your choice, the Hero's first Paradigm-granted Power is revealed:
Metaphysical Insight: For the cost of a single point(of what? You don't know!) you may receive a burst of insight on any single problem you face. Powers are not to be used lightly though, for abuse has been known to do... strange things to a man. Too much, and you are liable to become more Ideal than Hero, individuality drained away...

[EveryZig]

We should probably head towards Garlis (assuming the local undead are not hostile towards us), as we want to visit a country with significant changes without getting stuck in the middle of a large country.

In terms of equipment, we should pack mostly simple gear, as that is likely to be effective further out, but we should bring one or two more complicated devices to test this. We should make sure to pack non-magical gear such as a physical sword if we can get one, and search the markets a bit for any inexpensive equipment native to our destination.