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[drgbf]

 Great, going to do some writing now. This is going to take quite long because I'm going to not only write for the first turn itself, but also some world-building. I'm thinking of having a lore section in the first post that will get updated as new creatures/locations/etc are discovered. Because I feel bad about not writing enough for the first post.

[Delekates]

great :3 waiting!

[drgbf]

Turn 1: Rite of Initiation

Spoiler: Action. (click to show/hide)

 The wheels stop. The coachman climbs down from the carriage and opens the doors.
 "Well, my job here is done," the man says, "now you better act like good kids and go meet your teacher."
 The children dare not argue. They climb out of the wagon one by one and scan their surroundings. It is pitch black. The crescent moon hides behind an all-concealing layer of slate clouds. Torches illuminate the glistening wet stonework of the fortress, their flames jumping around the raindrops like agitated wisps.
 A group of guards approaches, covered in cloaks so dark that they appear to merge with the black earth underneath. One of them gestures for the children to follow and the group proceeds towards the entrance.
 The gates open, their ancient bronze surface carrying several hundreds of years of history engraved upon them. A view of the courtyard opens, although it too is concealed in the darkness.
 "Rare to see the courtyard empty like this," a guard remarks, "but I guess I can't blame anyone. Awful weather we're having, no?"
 "Good thing we won't have to suffer it any longer," another one replies.
 The doors of the keep open. The captain turns towards the children and gestures for them to enter.
 "Don't be shy now. You'll get a chance to rest soon enough."
 As they enter, the captain mutters an invocation and suddenly all the youths collapse unconscious.
___
 In the basement of the castle, a sorcerer sits on the cold stone floor meditating. Surrounding him is a magic circle drawn with the blood of various magical creatures and illuminated by the dim light of a few candles. The door behind the sorcerer opens and a large man in chainmail enters the room.
 "How's the preparation, Ruon? You 'ave everything you need?" The man asks, his manner of speech clearly indicating that he is of northern descent.
  "Ah, yes indeed!" the sorcerer answers enthusiastically, with a young voice uncharacteristic for a man of his trade, "In fact, I think that I can do it even better than anyone has done before! Tell the captain to bring the kids, also call Lyris, she has to see this."
___
 The sorcerer stands at the edge of the magic circle reading an old leather-bound tome. The captain of the guard puts the last one of the unconscious children on the cold floor in the middle of the ring, then takes a few steps backwards, crosses his arms in front of him and turns towards the young mage, looking at him questioningly.
 "Ah, good job!" the sorcerer exclaims eagerly, "Now I can start, yes?"
 "Yes, yes," a red-haired woman in platemail replies, leaning on the cold basement wall and resting her hand on her scabbard, "Though I have no idea why you would insist that I absolutely must see it."
 "Oh, you'll see..."
 The mage closes his eyes for a few seconds to concentrate, then extends his hands forward and mutters an invocation. Suddenly the entire room is lit up with a bright flash of magical energy. Slowly, the light fades and the sorcerer opens his eyes to look at the results of his spell. Each of the children laying senseless on the floor has a glowing mark on their right wrists. The glow soon dulls, leaving only tiny black imprints.
 "See!?" the mage exclaims, "I marked all of them at the same time! No one has ever done that in the history of the Silver Guard!"
 The woman leaning on the wall chuckles and turns her head towards the mage.
 "Well, how much time has that saved you?"
 The mage throws his arms up in the air and replies enthusiastically, "A whole minute!"
___
 The next morning, the children woke up in their separate rooms. The three tutors, Radirr, Lyris and Ruon brought them to the courtyard and explained what happened the other day.
 The week was spent teaching the children the very basics of being a Silver Guardsman. Each morning they had combat practice with Lyris, then magic lessons with Ruon during the day and spent the evenings learning the theory of monster hunting with Radirr. Before sleep, they would absorb the essence of various small animals that the guard would bring to satisfy the hunger that they felt because of the mark. The young Guardsmen got used to life in the fortress. Some of them looked forward to becoming Guardsmen, some of them simply accepted their fate.

Spoiler: For the next turn... (click to show/hide)

 As this is still the prologue stage, you are not yet free to do absolutely whatever you want, but this is important for your character's backstory. Next turn will be a timeskip, leading to a part that plays more like a standard RTD. So, for the timeskip, answer the following questions:

1)How did you feel about becoming a member of the Silver Guard? Optimistic, afraid, accepting, etc.
2)What did you spend most effort on studying? Did you prioritize combat, magic or knowledge?
3)Did you discover a talent for something specific? For example, a talent with a specific weapon, specific type of magic (no necromancy, though), did you become interested in hunting a specific type of creature (consult bestiary), maybe you were exceptionally strong/fast/clever?

Spoiler: Codex update - Curse of the Silver Guard (click to show/hide)

 The members of the Silver Guard gain their power through the Rites of Initiation, a magical ritual which can only be performed once in every ten years. The spell leaves a small, barely noticeable black mark shaped like a crude symbol of the sun on the right wrist of the one chosen to become a guardsman. This mark grants the bearer great power at a cost.
 By bearing the mark of the Silver Guard, one becomes far stronger and faster than a normal human, and has their reflexes, sight and hearing noticeably empowered. In addition, all guardsmen gain the ability to use magic, a gift that is rare amongst humans. With time, Guardsmen also start to need less and less sleep, experienced ones having no need for it at all.
 However, the bearer of the mark also starts to feel a hunger for the essence of living creatures. By casting a spell, the knowledge of which each guardsman gains instinctively, the bearer can drain the very essence of dead creatures and vanquished spirits. By doing so, a guardsman can absorb some of the power of his prey, but failing to satisfy his hunger will cause the bearer to slowly lose his powers and eventually die. While a novice guardian can satisfy his hunger by hunting rats and pigeons, the more creatures have already been devoured, the harder it becomes for the bearer to satisfy his hunger. Eventually, he will have to satisfy his hunger with the essence of giants, dragons and so on, meaning that it is impossible for a bearer of the mark to return to an ordinary life.

Spoiler: Bestiary Update - Categories (click to show/hide)

 Although the wild lands are full of varied monstrosities that require very different approaches in combat, they can all be attributed to one of the 6 monster categories.

1)Beasts:
-The most common and the most varied category. Encompasses various creatures of flesh and bone, ranging from the common wolves and bears that you can find in every forest to far more threatening creatures such as gryphons and dragons. Fighting these is straightforward, though not always easy - they can be outsmarted, are vulnerable to poison, feel pain and know fear, yet only a fool would assume that a dragon can be hunted without special preparation.

2)Trollkin:
-Humanoids that reproduce through spores. A far more varied category than legends would suggest! It includes not only the widely feared wood trolls, but also all sorts of creatures ranging from the small and mischievous gremlins to the destructive hill giants. While not all of these creatures have the green hide and regenerative properties that are most synonymous with trolls, they all share a weakness to poison and especially fire.

3)Infected:
-Humans twisted into monstrous forms. Members of this category, as the name suggests, all reproduce by infecting their victims and transforming them into their species. One of the most varied species, encompassing deep ones, merfolk, harpies and the far more threatening werewolves and vampires. While their methods of hunting prey are very different, monsters of this category all have two things in common: firstly, they are some of the most clever creatures you can encounters and second, they can all infect you in combat. While the immune system of a Silver Guard makes them immune to actually succumbing to a shape-changing infection, it can still leave one heavily weakened if not treated fast, so always prepare in advance.

4)Ghouls:
-Contrary to popular belief, these creatures are not actually undead. What sets the ghouls apart from other categories of monsters is that all ghouls are in a constant state of decay and rot and have a never ending hunger for flesh. Once slain, ghouls tend to decompose fully in only a couple of minutes, so no one has actually managed to study their biology and determine how ghouls reproduce. Much like trollkin, this category is far more varied than most think - simple village folk fear the common and relatively harmless graveyard ghoul, yet far more threatening types exist, such as the deviously cunning wights and the intelligent forest hags, thought by common folk to be simply old wives' tales. While these creatures do not fear silver or holy water, fire is very effective against them.

5)Spirits:
-A category that encompasses all sorts of immaterial creatures, including not only the spirits of the dead, such as wraiths or poltergeists, but also various forest guardian spirits and elemental manifestations. This category of monsters can be especially tricky to deal with, as they need to be forced to enter their physical form by trapping them in a magic circle and then can only be destroyed by using a method that varies depending on the individual spirit. While destroying a spirit requires a lot of preparation beforehand, they can actually be the safest type of creature to vanquish, as long as everything is done by the book.

6)Fey:
-Various nature spirits that, unlike "true" spirits, are forever locked in a physical form. This category includes not only faeries, but also elves and other more obscure manifestations of nature's will. These creatures usually are not aggressive unless provoked, but if combat is inevitable, it is important to carry a weapon made out of wrought iron, as it is the only material that can damage fey. Magic, however, is also effective.

Spoiler: Codex update - Map of Colmyr and eastern Gith (click to show/hide)

Map will be updated as more locations are discovered, these are definitely not all the villages in the region. However, the major cities all start discovered.

Spoiler: Codex update - The Realms (click to show/hide)

 The action takes place in a region that encompasses the very eastern edge of the Holy Empire of Gith and most of the Kingdom of Colmyr, the two largest realms of the north. Situated on a nearby island in the Northern Ocean is the Grand Duchy of Rykrad. There also are various minor regions which could not be colonized due to the exceptionally difficult conditions, such as the Wildman's Wastes or the Wastes of Gith.
___
 Kingdom of Colmyr
-Colmyr is a traditional monarchy like most of the major realms in the world. The last war it participated in being the Continental Rykrad war 50 years ago, in which the kingdom aided their former allies, the Grand Duchy of Rykrad, but suffered defeat against the superior forces of the Holy Empire of Gith. Since then, the Kingdom of Colmyr became a heavily militarized and somewhat xenophobic country, not starting any wars, but always keeping a large reserve force in case another war was to begin. The current ruler is king Rilem XII, a lord that is infamous for his greed and unfortunate lack of competence in the field of politics.
 
 Holy Empire of Gith
-The Empire is one of the largest realms in the world, mostly due to the many successful wars in it's past. The country itself is an elective monarchy, the emperor being chosen from amongst the dukes of the realm and ruling until death. The last emperor was killed in battle during the Continental Rykrad war, in which the forces of Gith were victorious and took the regions of Kogarurn and Rilisril from the Grand Duchy of Rykrad. After the treaty was signed in 1276 between Gith and Rykrad, Emperor Davian IV was elected as the new ruler. The emperor was only 22 years old at that time and is currently 72, his age causing many local nobles to worry as the emperors death will unavoidably change the fate of the empire.

 Grand Duchy of Rykrad
-Before losing the war of Continental Rykrad, the Grand Duchy of Rykrad used to be the most influential realm in the north. Nowadays, it remains a small island nation, that is completely dependent on trade with the Kingdom of Colmyr and the Holy Empire of Gith. To ensure the safety of the realm, the nobles of Rykrad made a declaration of neutrality in 1280. The current ruler of Rykrad is grand duchess Aessa I, however the rights of the monarch are heavily limited by the council of nobles, which holds far more political power.

Spoiler: Biography update - The Three Tutors (click to show/hide)

 Radirr
-Male.
-Age:51.
-The oldest of the tutors looking after the new generation of guardsmen. A gigantic Rykradian man with wise dark blue eyes, long gray hair and a beard that reaches the middle of his stomach. Proudly wears a cloak made from the fur of a werewolf he had slain over a suit of steel chainmail and effortlessly wields a massive straight sword with one hand. Generally calm and passive, occasionally complains about "getting too old for this shit". Doesn't have the motivation to train the future guardsmen in the art of combat, so instead gives them lectures on the various creatures of the surrounding wilderness and how to fight them.

 Lyris
-Female.
-Age:28.
-A young woman from eastern Gith, the territory that used to belong to the Grand Duchy of Rykrad. Has gray eyes and long wavy red hair. Wears a suit of light plate armour over a leather tunic and wields a steel longsword with a wavy blade in combat. She is generally very straightforward and honest when dealing with others, which may appear rude to some, yet she is also very kind and idealistic. Being the second strongest of the tutors, she teaches the guardsmen how to fight.

 Ruon
-Male.
-Age:21.
-The youngest of the tutors. A talented magic prodigy from central Gith. Has light brown eyes and short straight dark hair. Wears a concealing hooded black cloak over light leather armour, wields a simple steel longsword that he rarely has to rely on due to his skill in magic. Somewhat absentminded and forgetful, yet likable due to his relaxed and optimistic nature. Trains his students in the art of spellcasting and magic theory.

 Skippable parts: Bestiary - Categories, The Map, the Realms, Biography - The Three Tutors. This is if you're lazy though.

Edit: Also, this is how your character sheets look like at the moment, but you all have nothing yet so this is for character advancement reference later:

Spoiler: Boop. (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Simple peasant clothes.

Stats:
-Strength 2
-Dexterity 2
-Intelligence 2

Traits:
-None.

Skills:
-Combat I
-Spellcasting I
-General lore I

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-100/100

[Generally me]

Herex was very optimistic as he regularly heard of the good that the silver guard did and how people viewed them as heroes. He found that he much preferred combat because he saw it as the most honourable and strong focus. He quickly realized he was exceptionally quick managing to outmanoeuvre his opponents with his feet and sword.

[drgbf]

 Oh, forgot, for future reference, please write all character actions in bold, that way I can find them easier if the thread gets cluttered due to OOC talk and/or roleplay.

[Jack A T]

Kostadin was nervous, but accepting and somewhat excited to be part of the Silver Guard.  There may have been a severe lack of cute fuzzy things to pet, but there were plenty of weapons.  His focus was combat, specializing in the use of polearms, particularly his favourite, the voulge-guisarme.  He was strong enough to handle such weapons well.  Kostadin's limited (he put more effort into the other areas) magical studies were focused on water and nature manipulation.

Every once in a while, he would sneak out of his room overnight and wander around the fortress.  He only got caught a few times.
1. Nervous, but accepting and somewhat excited.
2. Combat primary, knowledge secondary, magic tertiary.
3. Polearm user, specializing in using the voulge-guisarme.  Magic focused on water, nature manipulation.  Not bad at sneaking around.  Strong.

[Delekates]

(( looks awsome! close to witcher with basics and starts like fable (one of earlyer games).
guess my poor english will get richer here :3 ))
So... E.E. took everything accepting more than negative. She understood that there wasnt any wayback from becoming SilverGuard so she decided to begin a whole new life.
Combat was always fun, spellcasting was never boring, althroug she preferred to stay closer to wise Radirr. Studying, she most liked parts about infected. So Emma took extra time in learning how to combat infected.

i see many does these, so, Just to clarify: First of all Knowledge+Combat, then magic.

[drgbf]

(( looks awsome! close to witcher with basics and starts like fable (one of earlyer games).

((Funny that you mention it, I got the idea playing The Witcher 3 (loving every second of that game) and I've played Fable.))

[Delekates]

(( how not to mention that? Every1 plays witcher now, even i who never played previous parts thinking of buying it ))

[Generally me]

(( how not to mention that? Every1 plays witcher now, even i who never played previous parts thinking of buying it ))

I've never played witcher therefore [joking] you are a liar and a thief [joke end].

[Pancaek]

Al was cautiously optimistic about everything that had happened. It sure beats the prospect of working the potato field for the rest of your life. He didn't mind the combat lessons from Lyris, but quickly found out that he simply wasn't any good at it. The magic lessons from Ruon on the hand were fantastic. He very much liked Ruon and Magic in general, and spend most of his time studying magic because of that. In Radirr's lessons, he also found a new hobby, getting quite interested in the Fey and spirits.

[Caellath]

Gaining great power and having a chance of becoming something like a hero of legend was certainly the kind of development most boys would dream of, specially orphaned ones of humble origins who had no expectations for the future but trying to survive. Still, Landau had been told far less hero stories than horror ones by his parents before he lost them to illness. He knew a curse by any other name was still a curse and having to absorb the life of small animals made him feel like there was a bit of what they expected them to hunt inside of him. The boy was prepared to readily refuse any domestic creature, favoring anything that could be considered a pest - such as rats - in order to make even his hunger useful.

At the very least he was glad life seemed better than the one he could have ever expected were he not taken in by the Guard. There was no way to escape after he had been cursed, so he'd take that path.

Spoiler: Timeskip Answers (click to show/hide)

1) Fatalistically accepting.
2) Magic.
3) Mirror Magic, to return magic and attacks to their originator.

[Yoink]

Kolo is somewhat frightened by the suddenness of the whole situation, but she is determined not to show it.
Besides, at the same time she is quite excited by the prospect of adventure. Her old life was boring and miserable anyway, and now perhaps she'll live a life like one of the tales Uncle Gald told when he wasn't passed out drunk in the falling-down barn. She doesn't care so much for the 'saving humanity' side of things - humanity never did all that much for her, after all - but the idea of traveling the lands, encountering all kinds of danger and becoming someone important appeals greatly to her.

She spends a lot of her training sitting at Radirr's feet, wide-eyed with concentration as she soaks up knowledge from his lessons, and becoming petulant when he denies to answer her ceaseless questions. Kolo showed little aptitude for magic at the start of her training, but, with Ruon's encouragement she aims to improve. She also rather enjoys her combat lessons with Lyris, but remembers her irritating siblings and their preoccupation with fighting which somewhat tempers her interest in battle-skills.

1: Kolo was frightened at first, but then excited once she understood her situation more fully.
2: First and foremost is Knowledge, but she did alright in her other classes, too. ((I can't decide between combat and magic for Kolo's second priority. Probably combat?))
3: She is quick on her feet and quick-thinking, although her temper is equally quick.

[drgbf]

Turn 2: The Trial

Spoiler: Action (click to show/hide)

 Most of the young Guardsmen were optimistic about their new lives. Although they started gradually becoming aware that the life of a Silver Guardsman is far from being as glamorous as the legends tell, they hoped to become better than the older generation. Still, a shadow of doubt remained.
 "By now you're probably old enough to have realized this yourselves," their tutor Radirr said during one of his lessons, "but you can't save everyone. I've had this friend once. Took a contract to hunt a forest dragon. The beast was attacking nearby villages, killing cattle, sometimes men even. So this friend of mine went to find the dragon and killed it. Cut it's tongue off so he'd have evidence to show, went towards the village to collect his payment. Found everyone dead. He later found out that the dragon belonged to an elven princess. Elves got mad, killed all the villagers. And what could you do in a situation like this? Innocents would have died to the dragon if they wouldn't have died to the elves. What I'm saying is that you should realize as soon as possible - we are not simple monster hunters. We decide the fates of men. In the end, some people will have died because of you, but you will end up saving even more. It is our job to keep moving forward, try to save who we can. And if we couldn't save someone, we try to save someone else - there is no room for feelings of guilt or regret in the life of a Silver Guard."
___
 As time went by, the children became more and more accustomed to life in the fortress. In five years' time, all of the Silver Guard not only knew the youths by name, but also knew what their strengths and interests were.
___
 Alexander Vimes was the wisest of his generation. He spent most of his time learning magic from Ruon and was not only exceptionally talented at the basic theory of magic, but could also cast an impressive variety of spells for his age. He also had a very impressive knowledge of Spirits and Fey, but his focus on obtaining knowledge kept him from developing his combat skills. The Silver Guard knew that magic can not fully compensate for a lack of skill in combat and raw power, so the older generations found Alexander's overspecialization worrying. He did, however, have the potential to become a true expert at vanquishing spirits.
 In contrast, Emma Eitr trained to become a master in multiple fields. The girl spent a lot of time listening to Radirr's lectures on werewolves and vampires. Horror stories about the infected were especially popular amongst the children of northern Colmyr, so it is no wonder that Emma had a fascination with these creatures. However her interest extended beyond a mere desire for knowledge - she would put a lot of effort into developing her combat abilities and refining her swordplay, hoping to one day become a legendary werewolf hunter, just like Radirr used to be. While she didn't focus as heavily on studying magic, the girl managed to learn a simple incantation that allowed her to assault her foes with bolts of fire.
 However, her skill with the sword was not that impressive when compared to Herex Rundstone. The boy was not only capable of demonstrating exceptional swordplay, but was also stronger and far quicker than most of the other Guardsmen of his generation. Spending most of his time working on his combat ability, the child didn't pay much attention to Radirr's lessons and his knowledge was somewhat lacking. While the youth originally dismissed magic as an unhonourable method of combat, he did learn a couple of spells from the transmutation school of magic to augment his already impressive martial skills.
 Although she paid more attention to improving her knowledge of the various creatures of the wild, Kolo Urveldt was also one of the stronger fighters of her generation. The girl tried to find a balance between theory and practice, having read about many different monsters without focusing on one category and still finding time to work on her swordplay. While she had neither the exceptional skill nor strength that Herex possessed, she was equally quick and far more inventive, hoping that her sharp mind would give her an edge over the many enemies that she would unavoidably encounter in her future.
 Out of the Guardsmen that focused on combat, Kostadin Petrovski stood out mostly due to his weapon of choice. While most monster slayers preferred to fight using a sword due to it being a weapon that is both strong enough to pierce the hide of a dragon and light enough to keep up with the rapid blows of a werewolf, Kostadin mostly practiced with a massive voulge. Although the weapon was unpopular due to it's weight, it had many traits useful for a Silver Guardsman - the sheer weight of the weapon could easily throw a troll off-balance, while it's length made it a very reliable weapon when fighting smaller creatures. Kostadin also valued knowledge and learned a lot about the different monsters he would encounter, though when it comes to magic, he only learned a few elementary spells to augment his combat ability.
 On the other hand, Landau Selenov stood out mostly because of his magical focus. The boy was slowly becoming a true expert of defensive magic, a school of magic that was unpopular amongst Guardsmen due to several reasons. To be truly effective, defensive magic requires both exceptional skill and a high amount of mana, so defensive spellcasters were limited in their choices when it comes to offense, having neither the mana to cast offensive spells nor the time to truly master their swordplay. However, the boy insisted that he would focus on this school of magic and worked hard to not only master it, but also become competent in the use of a sword, and while he succeeded in both, he had little time to learn about the creatures of the untamed lands.
___
 While the five years in the fortress were peaceful, the political situation in the nearby realms was unstable. In the year 1328, Davian IV, emperor of Gith, died. Few were shocked by his death, as the emperor had lived a long time and had obviously noticeable problems with his health. Honach III, duke of Kogarurn and Rilisril was elected as the new emperor. His grandfather, Honach I, general of the army of Gith, was awarded his ducal title after he conquered the territory now known as Eastern Gith. Since then, the Honach dynasty were known as zealous supporters of Gith's expansionist policy.
 King Rilem XII of Colmyr knew that war was inevitable, the elections in Gith being a clear sign that the nobles of Gith wanted to start another war in the east. The king ordered the general to station all the main forces of the army on the eastern cost of the Northern Canal and issued an embargo on all trade with the empire.
 In the year 1329, emperor Honach III declared war on Colmyr, citing the embargo as the official cause of war. The forces of Colmyr expected to intercept the enemy at the Northern Canal, but were outmaneuvered. The forces of the empire were split into two battalions. The first battalion gathered at Rilisril and traveled to Colmyr by sea, disembarking at the undefended village of Jaerurn then heading towards the canal. The second battalion gathered at Kogarurn and crossed the canal at the same time as the first batallion got there. The forces of Colmyr were surrounded and crushed and the kingdom of Colmyr was forced to start gathering conscripts for a counterattack.
 Despite the Empire of Gith being the aggressors, they had slightly more supporters than the Kingdom of Colmyr. Even during the darkest chapters of their history, Gith never had to rely on conscripts to fight their wars and was also a tolerant and multicultural empire, as opposed to Colmyr, a realm known for xenophobia. Some of the Silver Guard morally supported Colmyr, others supported Gith, some were completely indifferent, but as a neutral organization, the Guard did not provide military assistance to any of the warring realms.
___
 It is the beginning of autumn in the year 1331. The six young Guardsmen stand in the courtyard by the back gates of the fortress. Their tutor Radirr approaches with a grim expression on his face.
 "Good morning!" he greets his students, trying to hide his concern behind faked enthusiasm, "Well, as you all known, this is the time for your trial. I've been telling you about it every day for the past month now, but let me repeat one more time what this is all about. This is going to be your first true hunt. You are to split into three pairs. Each pair will travel into a different village. You get to choose between Vinnril, Vorakend and Notandar. The horses are waiting outside the gates. Once in the village, you are to look for a contract on the notice board - they always have at least a few jobs that need doing. Once you complete the contract, you are to return to the fortress and meet me. That is it for the trial. Now, I know that you young ones are eager to go on your first hunt, but remember that you are still inexperienced, so whichever contract you take, you are to do your job in pairs. And don't take on something that you won't be able to handle, I don't want to find any of you dead. Now choose your partner and off you go!"
 The youths were slightly confused by their tutor's request. They were told earlier that they would go on their first hunt, but they weren't told that they would go in pairs. Due to how much they had to train, the young Guardsmen didn't have much time to socialize, so all they knew about each other was their names, therefore choosing a partner was difficult for most of them. Even more importantly, they had stayed in the fortress for the largest part of their lives, only sometimes leaving to hunt wargs with their tutors' supervision. The territory around the Slayer's Fortress was the safest in the entire continent as the Guardsmen have hunted most of the prey there for sustenance. For the first time in their lives, the youths would travel to the wilderness of Gith and Colmyr.

Spoiler: Map in the year 1331. (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Basic mechanics. (click to show/hide)

 Rolls are d60, made possible by the miracle of cutting edge virtual dice technology.
 Each roll has many modifiers applied to it, which may be stats, skills or traits. Have an example scenario.

 John looks around the area for evidence of spirit activity. Although he was slightly lacking in knowledge, his generally high intelligence helped him greatly.
 (Rolled 48, -5 lack of knowledge, +15 intelligence = 58)
 He was extremely fortunate and found some ectoplasm. The Guardsman showed it to his partner Jim, an expert on spirits.
 (Rolled 31, +5 intelligence, +15 spirit lore = 51)
 After examining the ectoplasm, Jim decided that it must belong to a Banshee.

 These rolls depend heavily on both your ability and the difficulty of the task that you plan to accomplish. In combat, these modifiers are known before the turn starts. As an example,

 Jim draws his silver sword and prepares to face the Banshee.
 Jim's intelligence grants him a huge advantage versus the predictable banshee. (+15)
 Jim has knowledge of how banshees behave and is prepared for the battle. (+10)
 The banshee is significantly quicker than Jim, making it hard for him to keep up. (-10)
 Roll modifier: +15

Spoiler: Magic and Known Spells. (click to show/hide)

 Magic in combat:
 A Silver Guardsman is capable of casting spells far more easily than a human mage, so in the game spells are a semi-free action - you may cast a spell and attack with your sword during the same turn, but you can't cast multiple spells. Due to this, focusing on purely on magic and neglecting your physical combat skills can leave you weaker than a jack of all trades. A Guardsman is firstly a slayer of beasts and while magic may be very useful to support one's skill with a sword, everyone must still rely on physical combat to a certain degree.

 The spellcasting skill:
 The spellcasting skill firstly influences your mana pool, it being 100 + (Spellcasting x 50). It also strengthens your ability to use spells which do not belong to a particular school of magic. These tend to be elementary utility spells which require minimal investment and are known by most experienced Guardsmen, even those that do not put any focus into improving their magical skills.
   

 Known spells so far:
 
 Basic Spells:
-Spirit Trap
 Spirit Trap instantly creates a magic circle around caster which forces spirits to enter their physical form. All Guardsmen can draw a spirit trap manually, but it has to be done in advance, whereas a skilled spellcaster can use this spell to combat spirits even if he didn't expect to encounter one.

 Blade spells:
-Silver Blade
 These spells enhance the users blade with special properties for the duration of a fight. Silver blade does not actually strengthen a weapon, but instead grants it the properties of silver, making it especially effective versus many types of infected and spirits.

 Bolts:
-Fire
-Lightning
-Ice
-Iron Shot
 These are the basic ranged nukes. They are not very strong but can be very useful in certain situations. Fire causes many creatures to panic and can stop some trollkin from regenerating. Lightning is especially effective versus spirits and fey and on an exceptionally good hit can cause the fur of a creature to catch fire. Ice can cause creatures to bleed and very few enemies resist it. Iron shot does damage purely through the force of impact and is useful at crushing goblins and knocking gryphons out of the sky, but quite useless against large creatures that simply receive minor bruises from it.

 Enchantment:
-Reveal Motive
-Pacify Creature
 Reveal Motive is useless in combat itself, but has a wide variety of applications when it comes to identifying unfamiliar creatures. It can be used to tell malevolent spirits from forest guardian spirits, it can be used to tell if a ghoul is a cowardly graveyard ghoul (the motive of which is to feast on carrion and avoid danger) or a dangerous feral ghoul (which seeks to kill you and feast upon your bones) and so on.
 Pacify creature is used to avoid conflict in case you get into a fight with something far stronger than you. Popular amongst spirit hunters who are usually far less prepared for facing ogres and dragons than a beast slayer would be. The spell works on all living unintelligent and semi-intelligent creatures, so it will work on wargs, dragons and even things like ogres and kobolds, but creatures like forest hags and mermaids are too intelligent for the spell to work, whereas spirits and fey are immune since their way of thinking is too alien.

 Nature:
-Regeneration
 Regeneration speeds up the natural healing of the one that the spell was cast on. It's not as effective as actual medicine, but it can be used during combat and is far more simple than taking a few hours to brew a potion.

 Shields:
-Crystal Shield
-Magic Shield
 Defensive spells used to block attacks. Crystal Shield conjures a thin but rather strong barrier in front of the caster made out of translucent glasslike matter - after blocking an attack, the shield breaks, launching shards at the direction of the attacker - these do not deal much damage, but can be ery painful, often stagerring beasts, infected and trollkin with relatively thin hides. Magic shield creates a barrier in front of the caster which reflects most offensive spells, although a truly powerful magician can penetrate it easily.

 Character sheets:

Spoiler: Alexander Vimes (Pancaek) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Longsword (Ordinary, Cast Iron).

Stats:
-Strength 3
-Dexterity 3
-Intelligence 8

Traits:
-Spirit Slayer
-Fey Slayer

Skills:
-Combat I
-Spellcasting III
-Air Magic I
-Enchantment I
-General lore II
-Spirit lore I
-Fey lore I

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Spellcasting: Spirit Trap (40MP)
-Air Magic: Lesser Lightning Bolt (20MP)
-Enchantment: Reveal Motive (40MP)
-Enchantment: Pacify Beast (50MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-200/200

Spoiler: Eitr Emma (Delekates) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Longsword (Ordinary, Cast Iron).

Stats:
-Strength 5
-Dexterity 4
-Intelligence 5

Traits:
-Infected Slayer

Skills:
-Combat III
-Swords I
-Spellcasting I
-Fire Magic I
-General lore III
-Infected lore I

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Fire: Lesser Fire Bolt (20MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-100/100

Spoiler: Herex Rundstone (Generally me) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Longsword (Ordinary, Cast Iron).

Stats:
-Strength 5
-Dexterity 6
-Intelligence 3

Traits:
-None.

Skills:
-Combat III
-Swords II
-Spellcasting I
-Transmutation I
-General lore II

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Transmutation: Silver Blade (50MP)
-Transmutation: Iron Shot (20MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-100/100

Spoiler: Kolo Urveldt (Yoink) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Longsword (Ordinary, Cast Iron).

Stats:
-Strength 4
-Dexterity 6
-Intelligence 6

Traits:
-None.

Skills:
-Combat III
-Swords I
-Spellcasting II
-Fire Magic I
-General lore III

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Fire: Lesser Fire Bolt (20MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-150/150

Spoiler: Kostadin Petrovski (Jack A T) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Voulge (Ordinary, Oak shaft, Cast Iron blade).

Stats:
-Strength 6
-Dexterity 4
-Intelligence 4

Traits:
-None.

Skills:
-Combat III
-Polearms I
-Spellcasting I
-Nature Magic I
-Water Magic I
-General lore III

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Nature: Lesser Regeneration (50MP)
-Water: Lesser Ice Bolt (20MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-100/100

Spoiler: Landau Selenov (Caellath) (click to show/hide)

Inventory:
-Leather vest over linen clothing.
-Longsword (Ordinary, Cast Iron).

Stats:
-Strength 5
-Dexterity 5
-Intelligence 6

Traits:
-None.

Skills:
-Combat III
-Swords I
-Spellcasting II
-Defensive Magic II
-General lore I

Spells/Abilities:
-Essence drain (0 MP)
-Defensive: Lesser Crystal Shield (50MP)
-Defensive: Lesser Magic Shield (50MP)

Health:
-Healthy.
Mana:
-150/150

Spoiler: Reminder: Character ages in the year 1331. (click to show/hide)

Kostadin Petrovski: 16
Eitr Emma: 16
Alexander Vimes: 15
Kolo Urveldt: 14
Landau Selenov: 14
Herex Rundstone: 13

 Anyway, for this turn just decide the pairs amongst yourselves and where your pair is going. You can and you should do a bit of roleplaying, because I want this to be a plot based game. To separate roleplay from OOC talk and actions, you should write it in italicized text, or if you prefer so, in pretty colours. Next turn is going to start as you arrive in the villages, so you can roleplay everything that happens until then, if you wish to.  Seriously, please do, even asked you in the OP.

[Generally me]

Herex nudges Alexander in the ribs Go with you.

((Also why do some people have 14 attributes and others 16. Did you roll for it?))