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[_DivideByZero_]

Divisus Orbis

The golden age of humanity has long since come to an end. The ruins of empires long past have been weathered to dust over the ages by the cruel winds of the past. There is nothing left...

As our people try to rebuild and outlive their fate, the beings of the sky watch down in remote silence. Malevolent or indifferent, mankind is alone in this world, aided only by the Order itself. There are dark times ahead--tread carefully.

Spoiler: What's This? (click to show/hide)

Semi-serious open-world roleplay RtD focusing on exploration and adventuring in a blend of space opera and renaissance-era fantasy.

Players will choose where to start. Their actions may lead them down the same path, or lead them astray to a different fate. Either way, players decide their destinies.

I'm not sure how long this will take since players can disrupt the plot to varying degrees. If you wish, you can retire your character if you don't want to continue playing or cannot. Retired characters can return to the game later.

Spoiler: Rules and Mechanics (click to show/hide)

Basic d6 mechanics with exploding 1's and 6's a la Harry Baldman's games, with the usual outcomes for the first roll:
[1]: Epic failure
[2]: Failure
[3]: Partial Failure
[4]: Partial Success
[5]: Epic success
[6]: Overshoot

If your final result after modifiers is a 1 or 6 (or more!), it gets exploded into an additional d6 roll to determine the epicness of your overshoot/fail. Modifiers that spill over the original value (such as rolling a 2-3 wasting -2 or 5+4 wasting +3) will set the minimum value for the exploded roll. The minimum value is used if the exploded roll value is lower.

Spoiler: Combat (click to show/hide)

Simply put, combat is far more involved than simply poking at your enemy with a stick. A fight is a dynamic event involving two parties changing their positioning and stance to better combat the opponent's style. Of course, this is assuming a duel. More complicated situations such as an all-out brawl

In combat, both sides roll a dice in an initiative roll. The side with the higher dice strikes first, and the difference between the two rolls is used as a bonus for every dice rolled further. The loser strikes second, if he even rolls above a 2. The initiative roll is a regular action--as such, it is subject to contextual modifiers like overshooting and failure, as well as exploding 1's and 6's.
Before getting to offense, there are two primary defensive rolls, portrayed as dice:
-The evasion dice excludes a certain number of damage numbers equal to the amount rolled.
-The defense dice excludes all damage numbers equal to or below the amount rolled.

Now, for how damage is dealt: any attack in the game, be it fisticuffs or a flurry of blade attacks, consists of a damage pattern with dice rolls and flat numbers, giving damage numbers, which are then added up to a total damage roll. A arquebus, for example, is a simple weapon to use and always has a similar damage pattern regardless of how you use it. Consider the following scenario:

A normal shot from an arquebus deals d4+4 damage, which is basically 4-8 damage. A round of canister shot changes the damage roll to 4d2, which means you flip four coins and add 1 damage for tails, 2 for head. Still 4-8 damage.
Now what is the difference? Let us compare two targets, one rolls 2 defense and one rolls 2 evasion. Let us say that the normal arquebus shot rolls 4+2, while the canister shot rolls 2+1+1+2

• The evasive target will exclude the first two dice. For the normal shot, this dodges it completely despite the action being successful on the part of the gunman. The canister shot still gets its last two dice in, dealing 3 damage.
• The defensive target will exclude the second dice of the normal shot and all the dice of the second shot. This leads to 4 and 0 damage respectively.

Health, despite the previous talk about damage and modifiers, is still based on chunky salsa mechanics. Damage rolls of 6 or 1 will be exploded and modifiers will overflow into the second roll, as usual.

All evasive rolls and exclusions happen before defense rolls. You can't defend against an attack that you dodged. This means that different weapons with different damage patterns may be advantageous in certain situations. Additionally, varying your assault by saving strong rolls for last will help ensure your success. However, different kinds of armor and different traits can add further modifiers, so do not assume your attacks will always work on all targets.


Evasion and defense dice sides both start out at two. Items and traits have a (description) which states when and where they give modifiers, such as +2 evasion dice size, or +2 flat defense against certain attacks.

Spoiler: NPC Interaction (click to show/hide)

Not all games have to be about stabbing things! You are free to make a purely diplomatic character, or a character that takes out targets indirectly (such as causing a rockslide with explosives on top of them) and skips initiative rolls altogether. This is perfectly okay!

First off, all conversations can be continued in the thread. Please head your character's speech with '@[character]' to denote who they are talking to. You can talk to multiple people or even to nobody.

NPC's will start off with a null opinion of your character. First impressions matter, though, and the first few actions they see you doing will most likely set their opinion of you to a stable initial value, which can be increased by doing things for them or being heroic and prestigious and all that.
An NPC's opinion gives a bonus or a penalty to diplomacy rolls. This, combined with diplomacy bonuses gained from traits, charisma items, and temporary statuses/buffs, is added to your action when you wish to persuade an NPC to do something. Some requests, like telling a wife to murder her husband, will require a minimum roll ranging from 2 to 6.

Another opportunity for NPC interaction comes from leading NPC's that are bound by authority to you. No strict minimum roll is needed here although you can still fail and mess up. When leading an army, for example, you cannot micromanage every soldier and must give verbal commands, which may be affected by the environment. Unruly soldiers making noise, for example, will give you a -1 to your diplomacy roll should you attempt to order a forced march, for example.
When commanding an army, there are several factors at play, chiefly terrain, morale, and discipline.
-Terrain gives modifiers based on factors based on unit positioning and can only be negated by moving. For example, cannons behind a hill cannot see the target and gain a penalty to their initiative roll. Targets outside of the effective range of the weapon, too, will incur a penalty if a regiment is ordered to attack them. Terrain gives a variety of modifiers that affect both sides of an engagement.
-Morale is based on your soldier's overall support for your cause. Regiments and flanks have morale modifiers based on your orders and their situation. Morale adds to a regiment's initiative roll and improves both attack and defense modifiers--or reduces them.
-Discipline is basically a measure of combat effectiveness. Discipline is based on the skill of the troops and can be built up outside of combat via training. Troops may lose discipline temporarily during hasty charges, but overall it is more invariable than morale. Discipline is not a direct modifier, but rather the side with less discipline gets a penalty to their damage roll equal to the difference.
Regiments will perform actions like Volley Fire, Charges, and Bombardment based on the commands they receive.

As the leader of some group (a guild, mercenary group, etc) you can give orders to subordinates individually without a diplomacy roll. Other character's rolls will be denoted in (parenthesis) rather than [brackets].

Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)

There will be five players. This is not FCFS. Players will be picked based on how interesting their character is. If it's a difficult choice I'll try to wedge in opportunities for new players to join in!
You are probably going to have to read the lore in order to design a character* **, so I apologize in advance if my rambling is too much.

*If you wish, you can create a character that is not from the Bergs, although all characters will start in the general region of the Kingdom of Bergs.
**Note that since this takes place on a completely alien world with a different environment and atmosphere one can expect humans to have different biology. So if you want your character to have mutations such as translucent skin, unnatural regeneration, ninja-style arrow grabbing, etc, then you can go for it as long as you don't make your character into a demigod.

Character Sheet:

Name: <no specific rules on what cultures are part of what Bergs>
Bio: <Preferably with some characterization so I can understand your character's motivations>
Occupation: <if applicable>
Important Characteristics: <important physical characteristics>
Skills and Specialties: <what your character is good at doing>

There will be a waitlist in case players get themselves killed and need replacing.


IMAGE CREDITS:
Under the light of sisters
Brown dwarf
Grand Eclipse
Awake
Images shamelessly stolen from JustV23 from DeviantArt! Check his work out... it's stunning.
Sunrise On Gliese 570AB
Root Towers
Mage Lands
Creating Worlds
Also check out dustycrosley!

[_DivideByZero_]

Codex

Spoiler: On the state of the world (click to show/hide)

Our world is called Terra. The phrase is a leftover from a language otherwise long forgotten.

Terra is widely regarded as 'out to kill us.' The planet features endless natural disasters, caused by forces incomprehensible to our feeble minds. Its round surface is covered in lifeless crags and valleys, deserts and wastelands, but rarely do you find land suitable for life as we know it. Humanity has been forced out of the vibrant grasslands and meadows, evicted from the forests. Windstorms, earthquakes, thunder, volcanoes, and raging oceans threaten our cities and establishments. No-one is safe from the vengeance of Gaia.

In the past, our ancestors lived by constructing vast castles in the skies, in the caverns, and out at sea. But following catastrophe after catastrophe each of these fell. Our ancestors desperately tried to save their legacy, but we are all that remains. We have tried to reclaim their buildings for ourselves, but the ancient guardians within keep forcing us out. Do they not know we were once their overlords? Some of our own have considered the possibility that we are not the true heirs of our forerunners' legacy, and perhaps it is true. Their former mastery of the elements shames us in comparison.

Here we are, our civilization wedged between a river that can't decide which way to go. We have been trapped here for centuries, entombed within an endless forest that denies all attempts at colonization.

Spoiler: On the creatures of nature (click to show/hide)

Our world is populated by various creatures adapted to the harsh landscape. Many seem to be feral strains of our own domesticated animals--sheep, cattle, dogs, horses... but others are truly alien, and Gaia never ceases to amaze and terrify us.

Our knowledge and maps are limited to the grounds we call the 'corelands.' This is where the Kingdom of Bergs is seated. Its five Bergs are urban provinces centered around a hilltop fort. The grasslands and woodlands within these lands are tame--relatively. The Bergs are situated in a relatively large clearing in the Black Forest, a sea of trees that surrounds our petty civilization entirely. Small villages dot the borders between uncharted territory and civilized lands. However, once a person ventures too far into the forest, he faces the forces of Gaia all conspiring to kill him.
Few survivors have lived to tell stories about the creatures seen outside of civilization. What we have pieced together is the following:

The ecosystem of the Black Forest is largely seasonal, and you can usually expect a particular biosphere based on the season.

In the Spring, migratory Puffers settle in our region. These are the common jellyfish-like animals which float on an inflated sac of membrane and show up even in our villages and cities. The little children like to stab them with wooden sticks and swords.
In the Black Forest, however, there is a great variety of Puffers, far greater than what we normally see in the corelands. Larger specimens tend to emerge out of hiding and eat the smaller ones--how they arrive before the migratory wave is unclear. These carnivorous puffers eventually lose their sacs and become unable to even glide short distances. They become grounded and are prey for the larger animals of the forest. Pack hunters with echolocation and keen smell--but no eyes--will often come out during the night. Many surveyors perish at the claws of these beats.

In the Summer, there is an unusual overgrowth of plants, so much that the sky is blotted out and three layers of canopies are formed. At ground level there is a wasteland, populated by scavengers preying on wounded critters that fall from the upper levels. No plants grow here, although funguses tend to thrive and consume the dead trees which fail to secure a spot in the canopy.
The central layer consists of an almost-walkable layer of plant growth and biomass. Here the needles of the trees serve to feed herbivores which move around via strong claws and thin membranes used for gliding. There are a number of diverse predators which we lack proper documentation for, however there are reports of predators capable of mimicking their prey to confuse them before striking.
The upper level consists of the treetops, which harbor parasitic organisms similar to ivy. These parasites create a sparse layer of leafy growth, level over the entire forest. It is inside this layer that exists a dense ecosystem of insects valued for their medicinal and poisonous properties. Climbers will often bring back entire bags of these insects, harvested from the branches. However, many climbers fall prey to the Archeoptrix, a fearsome aerial predator with a long beak and four sets of wings. These fliers spend their whole lives in the air, laying eggs attached to sacs of digestive gases which float in the sky. Archeoptrix will have cleared the skies of Puffers by the time mid summer arrives, and so at this time they will either hunt each other or patrol vast distances, looking for insect-eating animals that can be seen from the skies.

In the Autumn, most of the tree cover decays and reveals a a net of thorny branches. Most animals begin to hibernate at this point, but the large amount of water stored by the biomass will usually condense at the bottom, reinforcing fungal growth and providing ample habitat for lizards and amphibians to grow. The forest resembles a swamp at this point, and is nearly impossible to traverse due to aquatic predators such as crocodiles and other carnivorous animals that hide in the murky pools.

In the Winter, the entire planet freezes over. The planet becomes so cold that many animals do not live through hibernation. The only animals roaming the mostly dead forests are scavengers hat take advantage of weakened animals and dead plantlife, eating mostly mushrooms and dead meat. They will sometimes stalk and atack humans, however.
The snow cover increases during this time. Puffer spores tend to rise up at this time, collecting what little sunlight they can during the day and rising at night due to dropping temperatures. Their biolights serve to heat the interiors of their sacs and cause them to glow during the night as they rise up. Some birds and gliders like to prey on them.

Spoiler: On the affairs of men (click to show/hide)

Our society, the Kingdom of Bergs, is a federal monarchy consisting of five Bergs, or hill forts, which each have their own ruler. Every five years, one Berg is elected as the leader and provides a member of their nobility as a King to rule the Bergs. The citizens of the previous leader cannot vote, nor can their Berg be re-elected. Citizens may only vote for other Bergs, and as such the heads of state of the various Bergs open try to create a lasting legacy so that other Berg's citizens vote for them. Voting is plagued with corruption and bribery, but there is little room for improvement as the Bergs do not have any wishes to change the system.
The King of Bergs serves as a diplomatic figurehead to interact with other independent states and to resolve conflicts between the Bergs. The home Berg of the monarch cannot be at war with another Berg, but can lead war against outside states. Outside states rarely have lasting contact with the Bergs, and as such the King of Bergs tends to have little power in the overall scheme of things.

There are five Bergs, each located at the bank of the River Astartes, which splits before reaching the Bergs and encircles them entirely, joining back together at the other side. The Black Forest is just past the riverbanks on either side. ((The whole region is about the size of Italy, and similar in shape--it's a boot)).

The Kingdom of Pallas is a hereditary monarchy situated on the West bank of the Astartes. Its ruling dynasty, the Heralds, has governed the city for over a century. Its people are the most talented gunsmiths and armorers in all the land, controlling the only iron mine in the five Bergs. Their manpower pool is not the largest, however--the eight Lords of the realm each retain garrisons and levies to defend their borders, and often reserve troops for warring with one another. They do not fight for the whims of the king uness they have a common goal to work for. Pallas as a Berg has a lot of control over wars between other Bergs, as they can sell iron at discounted prices to the side they favor.

The Earldom of Yor is a confederation of thirteen counties ruled by elected noble families. Each year in every county, the ruling family is either kept or deposed, and a family from the lower classes is voted as the new nobility of the land. The family is the governing body--it relinquishes its lands not directly owned and is given access to the Royal House, where they must conduct ceremonies and hold meetings as part of their duties. The thirteen noble families function as voting units in the confederate government, which assumes responsibility of decisions that impact multiple counties. The Earldom is a land of adventurers and explorers, constantly chartering explorations of lands beyond the Astartes.

The Governorate of Nem is a parliamentary state nominally led by the oldest official in the parliament. The Governor commences votes and manages state funds, although he loses his vote in the parliament when he ascends to office. The parliamentary voters are plutocrats representing one of forty governed territories. They have no power in their province and the selection process is simply determined by who is the richest. Nem is an industrial powerhouse that made major innovations in machinery and astronomy.

The Republik of Kevan is a merchant republic situated on the place where the Astartes reunites. Its five patrician families vie for control over the position of Chief Magistrate, attempting to gain popular support for a member of their dynasty. The Republik itself is the only maritime power of the five Bergs, but they do not control trade with foreigners upstream, as they do not control the dockyard on the Astartes delta, and it is too far out of their reach to help. However, they control the outward trade lanes and collect a toll from ships passing through the Bergs. Their magistrate is mostly a despot that tries to keep his family in power, occasionally making decisions that impact the Republik and fighting wars against the Republik's dominance of the river channels.

The Grand Principality of Ocibar is an aristocratic state ruled by a Grand Prince in a hereditary position over the five minor principalities under its state. Operating strictly through diplomatic means, the Grand Principality is little more than a coalition of smaller states united under a ruler to keep up with technology and expansion. They focus on defensive warfare, building many fortifications which dot the hillside. This helps them keep the peace and project their power across the realm. Ocibar is known as a land of great thinkers, and their nobles are seen throughout the Bergs as advisors and local governors.

Spoiler: On knowledge (click to show/hide)

The current understanding of the world is limited in comparison to what once was. The planet is known to be round, although the properties of a planet are not exactly known and astronomy is in its infancy. The world is thus divided up into a number of phenomena, none of which have been truly explained or understood by the masses.

-Luna is the great watcher. Resembling a blood red marble engulfed in howling winds and raging torrents clearly visible with the naked eye, it sits still in the sky day and night. During the night it paints the land an eerie red. Some sects in the past have come to revere Luna as some sort of celestial entity that keeps the peace, judging humanity for its crimes without mercy. Since the reunification of the Church, this belief has faded away, but the symbolism of Luna as a peacekeeper remains a motif in Bergish society.
-The Three Sisters are luminous bodies engaged in an eternal dance across the skies, named Andromeda, Maia, and Vega. They are known to symbolize frivolity and playfulness, and were both revered and despised by the pagans. Revered because they bring the morning light and cause crops to grow, but despised due to their tendency to occasionally hide behind Luna, denying Terra the warmth of their light and plunging the world into darkness.
-The Outcasts are celestial bodies that periodically come and go, occasionally returning but disappearing for long periods of times. There have been about fourty different ones in total, five of which take the forms of round objects. The rest are irregularly shaped. Some of the Outcasts look like crops, bones, or other objects, leading to their establishent as dieties in ancient pantheons. That age has passed, and ever since the Outcasts have been associated with banditry, malice, and warfare as they always bring terrible storms and raging seas whenever they come.
-Gaia is the overall force of nature. Not the planet, mind you. Gaia is rather the term used to refer to all of nature, good and bad, and entirely separate from rational humanity in being instinctual. Nature is usually seen as vicious yet powerful, rather than noble and worthy of protection as in environmentalism. Likewise, it is not there to be exploited, but to be fought against as nature is usually on the offensive.

Mystics have lost hope in coercing the celestial bodies to do their bidding. However, the associations of the celestial bodies are deeply rooted in society, and are common themes in poetry, art, and music. Armies will often choose one of the Sisters or Luna to represent themselves, and sometimes bandit and mercenary groups will align themselves with an Outcast to symbolize their detatchment from government.

((Scientific explanations: Terra is a moon orbiting a brown dwarf which orbits a trinary system. It is tidally locked to the brown dwarf, so its day is about a week. During the day it is pale orange and sometimes eclipses some or all of the suns.
Tides are unpredictable and caused by the other moons, which come and go and occasionally perturb the system.))

Spoiler: On the art of war (click to show/hide)

Warfare only happens occasionally, but it is a major factor in how the bergs are shaped. Pallas controls the iron supply, so steel weapons and guns are highly expensive and worth their weight in gold. Due to the lack of alternatives, bolts and arrows are often tipped with glass or even gems. Crossbows and longbows are both in common use, although the harshly varying weather reqiures weapons to be replaced constantly. Forces that lack funds are often relegated to fighting with rusty sticks and patina-coated blades. Mercenary groups are common, as the funds they are paid allows them to maintain their gear. Armor is usually made of leather and shields are made of wood, although steel armor is both valuable and effective as guns cannot punch through armor well.

However, warfare is not conducted only with locally made weapons. Artifacts recovered by explorers and outsiders are often amazingly powerful and effective in war. These consist of exploding stones, rods that shoot blinding light, and ancient weapons far beyond the capabilities of today's smiths. The ancients used materials far stronger than anything in use today, and reverse-engineering them has proven to be extremely difficult due to their sheer strength.

Battles usually occur between standing, drafted, or hired armies between opposing forces. Armies usually approach cities and evict the garrison, leaving behind troops to occupy the land. When armies do meet, they tend to be bloody, and whomever manages to get the upper hand will come out on top and continue to march on the capital while the other army reorganizes. Sometimes an army will shatter entirely--this usually spells the end of the conflict as the capital is occupied soon after.
Soldiers will fight when the conditions are right. Sometimes windstorms and lightning will cause an army to hesitate. Sometimes a period of time is so afflicted by bad weather that armies are forced to move and strike at moments less than ideal, such as marching in the night when it is clear, the countryside illuminated only by the cherry-red Luna, the great burning face in the sky that never moves and always watches, day and night, victory and defeat. One proper ambush and an army can be sent running in multiple directions. This is why good generals win wars more than raw manpower.

Artifacts are various devices from the past that can do things current technology cannot dream of. Their nature is poorly understood, although the few people who spend their lives tinkering with and modifying artifacts tend to know a lot more about them than more well-rounded scholars. The capabilities of artifacts are numerous and varied; some artifacts seem to channel the power of lightning. Others cause men to collapse and vomit as they die a painful death.
Not all artifacts are clear in what they do. Some are ruined, and others are mere fragments of some greater invention. However, what is clear is that not all artifacts were made to be used. Artifacts are usually acquired through trade with explorers that tend to recall fanciful stories of fighting huge beasts of metal and fearsome magical knights with special powers. Your people have yet to see if these claims are true.

[_DivideByZero_]

Players:
-Samarkand
-Mr. Zero
-Kaferian
-Errol
-Caellath

Sheets Posted:
-Harry Baldman
-Salsacookies
-NAV

No Sheet Posted:

[Samarkand]

Can I play this on top of all your other games? *Puppy eyes...

Sheet coming tomorrow.

Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)

Name: Anders Jannson
Bio: The world had fallen apart. It was clear that Terra hated its inhabitants; but it was also clear that it had not always been that way. While studying history Anders, then John, had realized that there was a long period of time when humanity was at peace with the world. He grew attached to the idea that peace with the world meant a return to the old ways. Digging in his family history, John realized that nobody was even close to thoroughbred of any of the ancient cultures, meaning people could choose their own. Looking at his appearance in the mirror one day he realized that he did resemble the descriptions of Scandinavian peoples of old, and so he changed his name and sought about bringing back Nordic culture as it had once existed. His devotion to this cause seemed to draw others to him, as though this bit of history could restore sanity to the world. He also had a talent for music, and so he became a self described skald. With a small number of people rallying to his call for a return to cultures long past, he set out to find a place where he could reestablish a Nordic society.
Occupation: Skald
Important Characteristics: Long light brown hair and a small braided beard, and deep green eyes. His chin is sharp beneath his beard, and his face long. He is slightly taller than average, and fairly well muscled.
Skills and Specialties: Composer, musician, and Leader

[_DivideByZero_]

Can I play this on top of all your other games? *Puppy eyes...

Sheet coming tomorrow.

Technically The Cloud has been defunct for a while now due to player vacations and general confusion regarding where to go. It's a mistake I hope not to repeat, because I've learned a lot from my past failures as a GM.
Exiles is doing alright for now, I plan to introduce the first colonizable planet fairly soon along with some moral quandaries, but since everyone is on the same ship I have to wait for a consensus... something I'm not doing with this game. ^^

But yeah, no problem.

[Errol]

Spoiler: Sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: Maximilian Marcus Cantor

Bio:
- Man in his mid-fourties. Sort of the eccentric scholar type. Hair is mostly greying out.
- Fourth child of a somewhat well-off merchant family dealing in wine from the Governorate of Nem. Has six siblings, of which four are still alive. Both parents are dead.
- Served as an officer in war when he was young, and financed a lot of travels and studying with his spoils. He used to be pretty fearsome with bow and rapier, though the years of peace have dulled his skills a bit.
- After running out of money, he started working in the parental business in a decently high position and married a girl from another merchant family for family-political reasons. He had two daughters with her and spent his leisure time corresponding with some learned friends and furthering his own learning. Ancient History always had interested him, but not to the point it does now.
- His father died about a year ago. Part of the (rather meager) inheritance he received was an artifact of the ancestors, which his father apparently thought worthless or didn't understand, but Maximilian was fascinated to the point of obsession.
- His obsession with that artifact grew to the point where his wife left him and he's become the black sheep of the family, but he doesn't care about that anymore. He just has to find out more about those mythical ancestors, no matter what the cost. To this end, he has travelled to the Earldom of Yor to learn more about the outside world, and maybe even to become a part of one of those explorations, or to find more knowledge.

Occupation: Ex-Merchant turned eccentric vagabonding scholar

Important Characteristics:
He's slightly far sighted and prefers to use a lens to read. He's in good shape for a man in his mid-fourties, though he's put on a few pounds over the years. His reflexes are unnaturally sharp for a man of his age, and he has no body hair at all. Notable possessions are:
- A twenty year old steel rapier, back from his army days. Cherished and carefully maintained, and hidden in a cane to avoid covetous gazes.
- A plain bronze buckler.
- A relatively new army-issue light crossbow, with a good amount of bolts.
- Weathered traveller's clothes. A mix of old cloth armor, like a doublet, and other old belongings.
- A well filled coin purse - not really enough to charter an expedition, but enough to comfortably survive for a few months or to pay for other expenses. He has a bit more money with the Rottenheim Bank, one of the big bankier families of the kingdom, but not much, and maybe his family has already seized that.
- A pocket lens he uses for reading.
- An expensively made notebook that contains the results of his studies concerning the precursors.
- The artifact of note: A strange device that is able to - as far as he knows - play music, an endless variety of music and sounds, so entirely unlike all music he has heard before in his life. The device consists of a main part, which has a shining, luminous glass cover, that seems like a book page that rewrites itself almost constantly, and two small parts, where the music comes out from as clearly as if there was a music making devil imprisoned within, that can detach and reattach themselves from almost any distance. It seems to obey some commands, as long as they are given in the tongue of the ancients.

Skills and Specialities:
- Ex-Officer: Quite skilled, though somewhat rusty at fencing, archery and leading men.
- Scholar (Ancient Lore): Can decipher the script the ancients used, and commands the knowledge of the lost world you'd expect an enthusiastic, dedicated amateur to have, as well as a comprehensive general education.
- Ex-Wine Merchant: He never was very good or interested in the family business, but over the years you can't help but pick up some of the instincts, wit, connections and bargaining ability you'd expect a good merchant to have - though mostly he's become an enthusiastic wine connoisseur.

[Harry Baldman]

Spoiler: Sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: God

Bio: an unspecified, but sufficient time ago a fair family in the even fairer land of Ocibar experienced a miraculous thing, the birth of God. A lovely tyke was God, complained little and ate healthfully, first spoke earlier than usual, and first walked even before that. Beautiful was God, and well-liked among His siblings. Sang well at His house and His home, until he grew to pubescence and could sing no more. He lived and loved, and then, when the time was right, He left, leaving His family rather bereaved, knowing that God was to leave their lives possibly forever, and no longer will they be able to go to His house as happily as they used to. But it was necessary, for God, as always, had a plan. His will was to be done, and His kingdom was to come, and He could not ensure this from His humble home. And so He walked Terra for a bit, watching the people scurry about on their business, thinking deeply about how best to enact His plan, and what His plan even happened to be. It involves a great deal of factors, and a massive degree of change, but God knows that He can accomplish it with the resources given - His mind, the clothes on His back, the crossbow He wields, the power of His art.

Occupation: Painter

Important Characteristics: a short man with a black, wide-brimmed hat and a bushy beard. His face is severe and angular. His fingers are very elegant and precise, and his clothes are relatively simple. On his back is a wind-up arbalest tied to a backpack filled with painting supplies.

Skills and Specialties: painting and sharpshooting.

[NAV]

This looks interesting.

[Caellath]

Done.

Spoiler: Character Sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: Tanthal Monserrat
Bio: Even when Lady Luck isn't too generous to a soul as it is born, there are many cases where she compensates in a way or another, and that can be said to be Tanthal's case. Born to a peasant family in the Earldom of Yor, he was the fifth and younger son of a humble family which made its living selling utilities to the adventurers and explorers that crowded the region. Born weak, Tanthal spent a good bit of his life dealing with a capricious immune system that occasionally prevented him from helping his parents in their trade. His mother, Karoline, was far more forgiving and understanding than his father Vassar, who believed the boy's weakness would only get worse throughout the years if he didn't continue to push himself until he finally became a made man and ceased to be a weakling.

Despite the problems he suffered, Tanthal was usually satisfied to help his parents and older siblings around their tiny house or ferry goods around the neighborhood like a good boy when told to. Whenever he had some free time or was unable to help his family due to health problems, he'd play with sticks and wires and rope and rocks, entertaining himself with all kind of simple objects his slim fingers were able to produce. Day after day he continued to amuse himself with his silly games until he managed to produce a small reproduction of a simple seesaw-like trap with a plate that, when stepped on, sunk and caused the other side of the seesaw to rise and roll a conveniently-placed stone right at the foot that had triggered it. Though not very efficient, the trap was "tested" by a few drunk men during the night hours, much to Tanthal's interest.

Though he'd refrain from using human test subjects, he continued to perfect his newfound hobby, quickly devising a cage trap which he began to use to capture small feral critters. Though he at first released them from a distance, his curiosity was more powerful and it didn't take long until he was trying to establish a link with these creatures. He fed and talked to them, managing to make friends of a few feral cats and dogs in due time. He was lonely no more, and it wasn't difficult to spot him hidden somewhere, trying to build a complex three-stage trap while a few animals hung around and made noise. Like many individuals without physical strength, he offered his own personal brand of ingenuity and natural smarts to the world.

As he grew older, and remarkably healthier than his former self, what was initially child's play turned into a source of income. Becoming a skilled trapper and a handler of animals, it was to his house the neighborhood people went whenever they wanted to hunt something they doubted a weapon would dispatch with ease, as well as whenever someone was having trouble with their cattle or household animals. Part of whatever rewards he received were divided between him and his family in order to save enough funds to fulfill his dream.

Upon reaching adulthood, Tanthal left his parents' house, drawn by the prospect of adventure and the possibility of exploring new regions, cataloging and taming new species of beasts. He worked all on his own for several months after until he was able to buy all the gear he needed to get set and ready.
Occupation: Animal Handler and Trapper.
Important Characteristics: Tanthal is always dressed and equipped as an explorer, with a well-supplied backpack containing nearly anything he may need to build traps, though of course in limited numbers. Cloth and leather layered armor is his only protection and he has a dagger, crossbow and a few throwing spears for the case he can't avoid fighting something or someone. He also has several masks and tools in his possession designed to help him deal with certain species of animals. He has a notebook and writing material for cataloging purposes.

Though young, he has a balanced and modest demeanor in public. His patience and modesty quickly turn into undisguised glee every time he manages to create an ingenious trap or approach a magnificent beast, and on the flip side, failing badly while building a complex trap or not managing to befriend a creature sour his mood or some time.

He's of average looks and average stature, nearly utterly unremarkable except for a number of scars caused by animals and backfiring traps; a few are located on his face, though most are scattered over his arms and hands. His hair is of a very dark brown color, cut short, and his eyes are also dark brown. His ears are slightly larger than average and his nose is straight.
Skills and Specialties: Trapping, Taming and Intuition.

[_DivideByZero_]

So a brief note on the 'skills and specialties' category in the charsheet.

By 'skills and specialties,' I don't mean for you to write what modifiers you get. For this section, simply write down what your character focuses on over other aspects of life. If you say your character is 'adept' in a lot of independent fields, I'll just interpret them all as having similar weights and give modest bonuses for each, rather than making them extremely skilled in all of them. If your character focuses solely on one thing, such as astronomy, then you may start as one of the best astronomers in the world and have the ability to find the direction of home within fifteen minutes when out at night.

Basically, your character can be superb in multiple fields, but the more diversified your skillset is the weaker bonuses you will get overall. Is that fair?

Additionally, I'd like to point out that you can indeed make your character a noble or important person in a guild or organization. However, your responsibilities will match your position. I'd prefer not to have any characters be rulers of any of the bergs, but if you think you can handle it then you could try. Remember the above though.

[Salsacookies]

This is my sheet area

Spoiler: Angk or WAT (click to show/hide)

 Name: Angk or WAT
Bio: He is a relic of a forgotten time, his memory is corrupted, so there is very little known about him, and he is just waking up
Occupation: Construct
Important Characteristics: Looks human, though he can change himself to become a weapon or tool, has nanites which self repair and adapt to best fit a situation, must regularly eats any organic material to keep himself charged, and is unaffected by human conditions, like sickness, pain, or exhaustion, though computer ailments or confusion may have dire consequences. May drink from any source of liquid as a coolant
Skills and Specialties: An almost unkillable supercomputer with a lot of nasty things inside

[Harry Baldman]

Sheet done! Let me know if there's problems.

[Kaferian]

Name: Bellorophon
Bio: Perhaps, Man had somehow angered Gaia by perverting the laws of nature as they had done. Perhaps, Gaia was merely prissy about things that were far too intelligent and altruistic for their own good. Maybe, it was the creation of Bellorophon that triggered this curse from the Outcasts. Maybe, just maybe, it was a bad idea to alter a human fetus's genetic makeup to make it into a smarter, stronger, faster, and smarter human that would be able to speak to snakes, or breed an amalgation of a lion, a snake, and a winged horse. Perhaps, it was a bad idea to unleash the great slayer of beasts and the chimaera out into the Bergs to do God-knows-what.
Occupation: Beast Slayer/Monster Hunter
Important Characteristics: Master/Partner/Subordinate of The Chimaera
Skills and Specialties: Beast Handling and Gambling

[Samarkand]

Can I play this on top of all your other games? *Puppy eyes...

Sheet coming tomorrow.

Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)

Name: Anders Jannson
Bio: The world had fallen apart. It was clear that Terra hated its inhabitants; but it was also clear that it had not always been that way. While studying history Anders, then John, had realized that there was a long period of time when humanity was at peace with the world. He grew attached to the idea that peace with the world meant a return to the old ways. Digging in his family history, John realized that nobody was even close to thoroughbred of any of the ancient cultures, meaning people could choose their own. Looking at his appearance in the mirror one day he realized that he did resemble the descriptions of Scandinavian peoples of old, and so he changed his name and sought about bringing back Nordic culture as it had once existed. His devotion to this cause seemed to draw others to him, as though this bit of history could restore sanity to the world. He also had a talent for music, and so he became a self described skald. With a small number of people rallying to his call for a return to cultures long past, he set out to find a place where he could reestablish a Nordic society.
Occupation: Skald
Important Characteristics: Long light brown hair and a small braided beard, and deep green eyes. His chin is sharp beneath his beard, and his face long. He is slightly taller than average, and fairly well muscled.
Skills and Specialties: Composer, musician, and Leader

Sheet posted. Does it look reasonable?

[_DivideByZero_]

@Samarkand

Name: Anders Jannson
Bio: The world had fallen apart. It was clear that Terra hated its inhabitants; but it was also clear that it had not always been that way. While studying history Anders, then John, had realized that there was a long period of time when humanity was at peace with the world. He grew attached to the idea that peace with the world meant a return to the old ways. Digging in his family history, John realized that nobody was even close to thoroughbred of any of the ancient cultures, meaning people could choose their own. Looking at his appearance in the mirror one day he realized that he did resemble the descriptions of Scandinavian peoples of old, and so he changed his name and sought about bringing back Nordic culture as it had once existed. His devotion to this cause seemed to draw others to him, as though this bit of history could restore sanity to the world. He also had a talent for music, and so he became a self described skald. With a small number of people rallying to his call for a return to cultures long past, he set out to find a place where he could reestablish a Nordic society.
Occupation: Skald
Important Characteristics: Long light brown hair and a small braided beard, and deep green eyes. His chin is sharp beneath his beard, and his face long. He is slightly taller than average, and fairly well muscled.
Skills and Specialties: Composer, musician, and Leader

I like it, and there's room for plot twists in the future too. *hint hint*

Name: God

Bio: an unspecified, but sufficient time ago a fair family in the even fairer land of Ocibar experienced a miraculous thing, the birth of God. A lovely tyke was God, complained little and ate healthfully, first spoke earlier than usual, and first walked even before that. Beautiful was God, and well-liked among His siblings. Sang well at His house and His home, until he grew to pubescence and could sing no more. He lived and loved, and then, when the time was right, He left, leaving His family rather bereaved, knowing that God was to leave their lives possibly forever, and no longer will they be able to go to His house as happily as they used to. But it was necessary, for God, as always, had a plan. His will was to be done, and His kingdom was to come, and He could not ensure this from His humble home. And so He walked Terra for a bit, watching the people scurry about on their business, thinking deeply about how best to enact His plan, and what His plan even happened to be. It involves a great deal of factors, and a massive degree of change, but God knows that He can accomplish it with the resources given - His mind, the clothes on His back, the crossbow He wields, the power of His art.

Occupation: Painter

Important Characteristics: a short man with a black, wide-brimmed hat and a bushy beard. His face is severe and angular. His fingers are very elegant and precise, and his clothes are relatively simple. On his back is a wind-up arbalest tied to a backpack filled with painting supplies.

Skills and Specialties: painting and sharpshooting.

He doesn't seem like he knows where he is going, but I suppose that's part of the plan.

Name: Angk or WAT
Bio: He is a relic of a forgotten time, his memory is corrupted, so there is very little known about him, and he is just waking up
Occupation: Construct
Important Characteristics: Looks human, though he can change himself to become a weapon or tool, has nanites which self repair and adapt to best fit a situation, must regularly eats any organic material to keep himself charged, and is unaffected by human conditions, like sickness, pain, or exhaustion, though computer ailments or confusion may have dire consequences. May drink from any source of liquid as a coolant
Skills and Specialties: An almost unkillable supercomputer with a lot of nasty things inside

'Almost Unkillable' is going to have to be interpreted loosely, but this has potential. I'll try to keep the actual internal systems as realistic as possible to avoid too much powergaming.


Waiting on everyone else.