Welcome to my first attempt at an RTD. This is a world that's been growing in my head for a while, so sit back and enjoy the ride...
I'm going to limit it to six people, just so I can keep it manageable (The rules are slightly more complex than your average RTD); there may or may not be a waiting list. Be warned, though; there is a very real possibility you may die, especially once you discover the Dark Realm...
Do note that I plan on keeping this at least
somewhat serious.
You know who you are.Ages ago, in a time before time, a great Pantheon of Gods battled the forces of Chaos and Destruction that sought to bring ruin to their Creations across the primeval void.
But they were sorely outnumbered. Though they fought valiantly against the Destroyer and his minions, worlds fell, one after another, and entire civilizations were eradicated by eldritch horrors. Over time, the Gods' power began to wane...
In desperation, the gods convened in one final council. Though they knew they could no longer defeat their foe, they resolved not to let the Universe fall into darkness once more; one last world would be created in defiance of the Destroyer. Thus did the Pantheon pour their power into the final paradise; Legacy.
But this would not be enough, they knew. The Destroyer had taken notice, and it's army swiftly approached. Thus Legacy was quietly sealed away by the gods in a Sanctuary rendered invisible to the baleful gaze of their nemesis, and armored against it's advances. Around the world in the box was Bastion constructed; a monolithic fortress where the Pantheon mustered the last vestiges of it's strength against the Destroyer; the last stand of the Universe against Chaos.
And there was the Destroyer, fell and terrible- it's true form not comprehensible by the minds of mere mortals, and with it, it's fleets and legions of horrors. Somewhere, a feral cry was uttered, and the battle was joined.
Eventually, the battlefield fell silent, save only for the wingbeats of a hundred thousand ephemeral crows that descended upon it. Bastion lay in ruins, host now only to a field of broken corpses- mortal, monstrous, and divine alike. Quarter was neither given nor desired; the Pantheon and their servants now all lay dead upon the fields of glory.
The Destroyer had won.
Almost...
Secreted away within the halls of the once glorious fortress, the Sanctuary rests atop it's forgotten pedestal, the Legacy of the old Gods rotating in peace within, orbited by it's sun and moons. Eventually, from the minds of the mortals upon it, a new generation of Gods would come to be, whom would rebuild the Bastion and stand watchful over the Legacy of their predecessors.
Of course, peace never lasts...
On to rules:
Your character has all of the following attributes; You have 10 points to spend on attributes, which start at (1, 1, 3, 3) respectively.
-Strength determines your character's physical prowess, and is otherwise pretty self-explainitory.
-Agility governs more delicate physical skills, your ability with ranged weapons, and determines Initiative.
-Endurance is your body's capacity for withstanding punishment and, with Will, your natural ability to resist the influence of the Haze.
-Will is your character's mental prowess and integrity, governs your aptitude for spellcasting, and, with Endurance, your ability to resist the Haze.
While there is a huge diversity of sentient races on (and within the caverns of) Legacy, there are four primary civilizations which player characters will originate from:
Humans: These need no introduction- they're goddamn everywhere. The human kingdoms reside mostly on the grassy plains of the world, where they're locked in perpetual combat with the Orcs. Humans have no bonuses or penalties to their attributes, and have an additional point to spend on skills. As well, all skills (with the exception of Sorcery) are considered racial skills for humans- making them the only race proficient with heavy armor and weapons.
Ishtari: This race of cat-like people are almost exclusively citizens of the Queendom of Ishtar; a matriarchal civilization that lives in cities around the rivers of Legacy's vast deserts. They're perhaps the most civilized of the major world players; with their love of art and beauty, and aptitude for magic, they're the modern equivalent of the Elves. Ishtari have a +1 racial bonus to Agility and Will, and a -1 penalty to Endurance. Additionally, they gain an automatic +1 to hit and +1 to damage in Hand to Hand combat.
Wolves: The Wolf-people of Legacy's forests and mountains are the most martial of the three non-human civilizations, but also perhaps the most primitive; hunter-gatherer barbarian tribes, primarily, that mostly keep to themselves. They lack not only cities, but also a universal racial identifier, opting instead to refer to themselves by clan name- some tribal emissaries have found themselves bewildered at the discovery that every person in an entire city was a 'Human'. They have a +1 racial bonus to Strength and Agility, and a -1 penalty to Will, as well at an automatic +2 to damage in Hand to Hand combat.
Elves: The Elven Empire was once the largest, most powerful, and most influential civilization on Legacy... Until the Cataclysm roughly a century ago. For the hubris of a few power-hungry noblemen, an entire race was all but wiped out overnight; Forests turned to dust and cities were levelled in it's wake. The remnants of the Empire now live in nomadic bands roving the deep deserts, scraping a living off of the sands and the blasted ruins of their once great nation. Elves are physically weaker than the other races, but their harsh environment has forged them into hardy warriors; they get +1 to Endurance and Will, and -1 to Strength. Additionally, the survivors of the Cataclysm receive a natural +1 bonus to resist the effects of Sorcery and the Haze.
You have 5 points to spend on combat skills (Humans have 6), and you may take up to two non-combat skills as long as they're appropriate to your character's backstory. You may take any skills- even ones not on your race's preferred skill list- however, levels in racial skills cost 1 point per level, where non-racial skills cost 2.
Finally, you may take levels in only one discipline of magic (Divine, Elemental, or Sorcery), but you may have levels in two different schools of elemental magic (Fire is mutually exclusive with Water, Air is mutually exclusive with Earth) (Clerics and Sorcerers also gain +1 resistance to the Haze every 2 levels)
Humans: Any (Except Sorcery)
Ishtari: H2H, Whips, Swords (Scimitar only), Staves, Shields (Light), Javelins, Air and Water Elemental Magic, Divine Magic
Wolves: H2H, Axes (Light), Blunt Weapons, Spears, Javelins, Armor (Light or Medium), Earth Elemental Magic, Divine Magic
Elves: Swords (Light), Shields (Light), Bows, Crossbows (not Hvy Crossbows), Spears, Armor (Light), Fire and Air Elemental Magic
At the height of the Elven Empire, the greatest nobles and magi had grown both highly powerful and highly conceited; they reckoned that with their might and prosperity, they no longer needed the gods, and so spurned them- going on to conduct dangerous magical experiments and blasphemous rituals to discover the limits of their power, or to even become gods themselves, if such a thing could be achieved.
They got more than they bargained for.
The Cataclysm resulted when the Elven experimenters inadvertently tore a hole in the dimensional fabric of the world, connecting it to a sinister place that would come to be known as the Dark Realm- While the Sanctuary protected Legacy from external threats, it did nothing to shield against the folly of mortals within. When the rift opened, bizarre and nightmarish creatures poured out, guided by some powerful and malevolent force. The Elven Magi attempted to resist, but were quickly overrun, and the tear in reality consumed the entire Hall of Mages.
From there, the freakish army soon devoured the entire Elven Empire- but the Gods had seen this affront to the order of the Universe, and would not sit idly by. They quickly amassed an army of their servants, mortal and angelic, to stall the tide of horrors as Legacy's sun was enchanted with a great power- it's light burned away the creatures of the Dark Realm, and banished the rift.
But the damage was already done: The Elven Empire was no more, and the entity that had controlled the invasion had gained a foothold on this reality. As powerful as the Gods were, they found themselves unable to completely sever the connection between Legacy and the Dark Realm. Fortunately, however, nothing as catastrophic as that has happened since then- whatever drove the denizens of the Dark Realm into Legacy en masse lies dormant for the time being.
The Dark Realm appears to be a twisted mirror-image of Legacy, about which little is known, and less is understood. However, the entire realm is permeated by a mysterious Haze, which, over prolonged periods, has been seen to warp the minds and bodies of those not native.
At night and in the dark places of the world, portals leading there sometimes appear, and from them come all manner of strange creatures. On the other hand, sometimes travelers find themselves stumbling into them, along with adventurers who venture into the Dark Realm on promises of glory and profit.
It has now been one hundred years since the Cataclysm occurred.
A Sorcerer is one who draws power from the Dark Realm, using force of will to shape barely-understood energies and create all manner of effects. Accordingly, Sorcerers have virtually no limitations on what they can potentially accomplish, but failure can have disastrous consequences.
Sorcery is impossible to perform in direct sunlight, and extremely difficult in indirect or diffused sunlight- exposure to it will also banish it's effects and suppress enchanted items from the Dark Realm. Sorcery performed while actually in the Dark Realm, on the other hand, is performed at a bonus, though failure there can have even more dire consequences.
Given their nature, Sorcerers are almost universally reviled on Legacy.
Post up with your;
-Name:
-Race:
-Gender:
-Attributes:
-Skills:
-Items (I'm going to be fairly lenient on what you can bring, as long as you keep it within reason):
-History (Entirely optional, but preferable for roleplaying purposes):
Signups should preferably have plenty of time on their hands (and be from reasonably compatible timezones)- I can log on at pretty much any time to update, but other players don't like waiting huge long times for the last person on a turn to post. Signups are closed!
The Adventurers:
-Name: Dragnar
-Race: Human
-Gender: Male
-Attributes:2,5,3,8
-Skills: knives(2), Sorcery(2), stealth, observation
-Items: Knives of various sizes, leather armor, cloak
-History: Something of a mercenary, Dragnar lives in the shadows of the human cities, doing whatever work he can find for anyone willing to pay him. Due to his line of work he picked up sorcery to help stay alive, and he can handle himself in a fight, though he tries to end conflict before it begins.
-Name:Max Silentthread
-Race:Elf
-Gender:Female
-Attributes:STR 4, AGI 5, END 4, WIL 6
-Skills:Fire Magic (2) Swords (1) Armor (Medium) (1)
-Items 2 sabers, 1 set of chainmail
-History Unknown (Amnesiac)
Name: Kaitena
Race: Ishtari
Gender: Female
Attributes: Str 4, Agility 4, End 5, Will 6
Skills: 2hand sword, Elemental fire magic, H2H,Track
Items: Desert garb, Claymore
History: Kaitena is generally considered insane by the people of her village. She learned fire magic from an elf, and fell in love with her claymore the instant she saw it for sale. She likes hunting bandits, because she gets to kill people, and then other people pay her for it.
-Name: Ochita
-Race: Elf
-Gender: Male
-Attributes: 3 STR ,4 AGI ,5 END ,7 WIL
-Skills: Water & Air Elemental magic, Crossbows, Armor (Light)
-Items: Grappling hook, Scroll case, waterskin, 5 days rations, Light crossbow with 100 bolts (Quivered), Dagger, leather armor. Mother's momento.
-History : Growing up he had good life, his father was a well-off merchant and his mother was a elementalist. Learning from his mother as the life of a merchant didn't really exite him. He was taught how to hold himself in a fight with ranged weapons and how to deflect blows with minimal armor. When the 'event' happened he used his skills to escape. His parents dieing to save his life. Now he is a mage-for-hire. He mgh seem cheerful but in battle he is brutal.
-Name: Sargoth
-Race: Wolves (Clan Kuchuck)
-Gender: Male
-Attributes: Strength: 4, Agility: 4, Endurance: 4, Willpower: 6
-Skills: Axes: 2, Divine Magic: 3
-Items: 2 Light Axes, Leather Clothing (Buffalo), Raven's Head Totem, Memory Beads (Old Shamanic form of record-keeping. The spacing and the type of bead on a string indicate words, each string forms a story), A few human and elven books on the Cataclysm
-History: Never a very large member of his tribe, his spirit and natural affinity for magic led him to become the apprentice of the tribe's Shaman. Long ago a human and an elf came to live with his tribe after the cataclysm, and were permitted to stay after proving their worth. After they died the tribe's Shaman took their books and kept them, teaching his apprentices to read the books. Sargoth took a great interest in the writings and has been fascinated and obsessed with the event since then. His master has therefore sent him on a 'spirit quest' to satisfy his curiosity.
-Name: Aline
-Race: Wolves
-Gender: Female
-Attributes: 5 STR, 6 AGL, 4 END, 4 WIL
-Skills: H2H, Javelins, Light Armor, Divine Magic, Spears, Leatherworking, Speak Languages
-Items: Leather armor, cape, 5 javelins
-History: A young but talkative wolf that went on many scouting trips to speak with the other races. She learned much about them and always wanted to live like them, and it shows by her appearance, usually wearing types of human clothing. She is a fierce fighter, but usually preferes diplomacy to fighting. She wants to explore the world.
It's entirely possible I forgot something or didn't clarify it well enough, so if you have any questions, just ask.
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Topic: Shadows of Legacy: Turn 3: Goblin Marksmanship Academy (Read 9594 times)