Civilization and magic flourished for thousands of years in this universe, called The Eternal Plane. Multiple species lived in harmony, and even the goblins only led sporadic wars. Even literacy, something rare in previous years, was increasing year by year. The major cities numbered tens of thousands of people.
However, in the year 1000, everything changed.
A secret cabal of necromancers, led by the dwarf Likot Mokezrith has unleashed their army of zombies, collected and assembled over the past century upon the human city of Mirrorwave, capital of the civilization of The Watchful Spike. The city was lightly defended due to most of the army being occupied with fighting off a goblin invasion. The defenders, most of the population, the king, and the high priest were massacred and turned to zombies. The Watchful Spike was thrown into chaos and anarchy as goblins poured into the frontier. Likot Mokezrith's army now numbered in the thousands. He changed his place of residence to the castle at the center of Mirrorwave, and the city was turned into his personal egopolis, with whatever citizens who were not killed or have not escaped to neighboring nations being his servants.
Likot kept rampaging across the world with his massive undead legions, razing and pillaging any settlements across his path. In about 20 years, most civilization has been extinguished. Likot even zombified the dragon Eman Anstridnganiz and it acted as his mount and royal guard.
However, two years after conquering and pillaging the world, Likot faced an untimely demise. A human resistance fighter, Saja Otuaco, coated his own body with green and red dye and bits of rotten flesh to blend in with Likot's zombie armies, snuck behind his throne, and stabbed him in the back of the head, killing Likot instantly. Eman the dragon, suddenly without a master, started rampaging. Saja was stepped on and killed while trying to escape the castle, and Eman killed the remaining living population of Mirrorwave. The rest of Likot's cabal either went into hiding or died prior.
And thus, the world's population was reduced tenfold if not more. Some races' culture was lost and they were driven off into the isolated wilderness. But some governments live on in villages far away from the zombie-infested ruins, or in well-defended forts.
It is now the year 1040. Zombies and bandits still roam the lawless wilderness.I decided to try my hand at making an RPG. The setting is based on a DF world someone genned and posted about in one of the Discords I'm in, with some obvious embellishments. The main idea (zombie apocalypse) happened in a kind-of-similar manner, though.
Most actions that rely on some sort of skill to perform require a d10 roll + bonuses if applicable. The difficulty of the action is subtracted from the roll.
1 or less: Extreme failure. Whatever you did backfired horribly, and you might have got yourself injured or killed (if it's a dangerous action). Example: Trying to cut down a tree and having it fall on you.
2-3: Failure. You failed to do whatever you tried to do, possibly backfiring slightly or offering a slight compensation. Example: You try to climb something and fall, but you don't fall hard enough to injure yourself.
4-5: Partial success. You succeeded in your action, but there is some sort of significant drawback. Example: You try to mine for iron and you find it, but you breach a cave with dangerous creatures in the process.
6-9: Varying degrees of success. Self-explanatory, the lower the roll, the "weaker" the success is. Example: Shooting a crossbow at someone and hitting.
10: Extreme success. You succeed at your action and perform it much better than expected. Example: Looting a bandit's corpse and finding gold and diamonds in his backpack.
Strength: Physical strength, obviously. All actions that require raw strength are checked for this stat.
Agility: The ability to perform actions quickly, stealthily, and without fumbling. Actions that require fine manipulation, like firing bows, are checked for this stat.
Intelligence: The ability to think clearly and effectively. Actions that require thinking a lot, or casting magic spells, are checked for this stat.
Toughness: The ability to resist injuries. This makes you less likely to be severely injured in combat or accidents.
Awareness: The ability to notice things and make observations. This stat can give you more information about people you are talking to, reduce the chance of being sneaked up on, and notice traps before activating them.
Charisma: Manners, physical appearance, and the ability to talk smoothly. This affects relations with NPCs and is used in religious rituals.
All stats start at 5, you may spend 3 points on increasing stats. Decreasing a stat adds a point. You may not decrease a stat below 1. After that, apply racial bonuses.
Human: Plain, relatively boring humans. No innate stat bonuses, slightly taller than dwarves and goblins. Their equipment, as a whole, is better than the other races' (read: I will be more lenient with that I consider OP equipment for human characters).
Elf: Humanoids who look like humans with longer ears. They may not eat meat and most of their civilizations forbid killing plants. They always start with wooden weapons and armor. +1 bonus to agility, intelligence, and charisma.
Dwarf: Short, bearded humanoids with a love of booze. Most of them don't like elves. +2 bonus to strength and toughness. They must drink alcohol to stay focused.
Goblin: Green-skinned humanoids who love fighting. Most of them hate dwarves. +3 bonus to strength, -2 malus to charisma.
Kobold: Small humanoids who look like dogs. They are adept thieves and have a reputation as such. +3 bonus to dexterity and awareness, -1 malus to charisma. Can't wield/wear large weapons/armor.
Animal-person: Humanoid animals. They have varying innate personality and stats. Pick a species and I'll think up stats.
Each character has an "origin" (where they started or lived most of their life before). Some are available only for certain species.
Village: A small village with farms and a mead hall. Most of them were doomed by zombies, so there are many refugees. Available for: Humans, Elves.
Town: A large town with shops and a castle. All of them are currently deserted with the shops abandoned. Available for: Humans, Goblins.
Hillocks: A mountain village with the houses made out of hollowed-out hills with farms on and around them. Some of them are mostly-intact due to their isolation. Available for: Humans, Dwarves, Goblins.
Dwarf Fortress: A large underground settlement with expansive mines and workshops. Intactness varies. Available for: Dwarves.
Forest Retreat: A section of the forest with the tree branches shaped to act like floors and roofs. All were deserted. Available for: Elves, Animal-People.
Dark Fortress: A large spire of stone inhabited by goblins and demons. The world's only one was destroyed. Available for: Goblins, Humans, Elves, Animal-People, Dwarves (the latter four as former slaves).
Dark Pits: A few towers surrounded by trenches. Most are relatively intact and most of the world's goblin population lives in them. Available for: Goblins, Humans, Elves, Animal-People, Dwarves (the latter four as former slaves).
Above-ground fort: A freestanding castle made of wood or stone. Most are still standing and house potentially hundreds of people due to them being very easy to defend. Available for: All.
Tribe: A small community living in the wilderness. Very little equipment, but they are safe from zombies due to their remoteness. Available for: Humans, Elves, Animal-People, Kobolds.
Kobold Cave: A deep cave with rooms dug out, full of various stolen trinkets and valuable metals. Available for: Kobolds.
The players must also vote on a location where the entire party should start.
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Appearance:
Backstory:
Origin location:
Equipment (can be anything as long as it's not too OP):
Skills (can be anything as long as it's not too OP):
Stats:
Str: 5
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Tou: 5
Awa: 5
Cha: 5
Location vote:
Author
Topic: The Aftermath (Turn 2) (Read 2318 times)