Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Sin is starting a new RP!
Welcome to Espada of Alexandria. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Frontier Tales; A blend of fantasy, western and supernatural.
Topic Started: November 15, 2017, 5:55 pm (803 Views)
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
Posted Image
A world of cowboys, hoodlums, magic and supernatural, Frontier Tales will tell the story of a small band of folks from all walks of life coming together to fight a common enemy.

A corporation run by a wealthy and ruthless intellect has recently rolled through the Frontier, setting up mines, factories and railways and knocking down anything in the way in order to push the business forward. Towns and villages are brought to ruin and the people that once occupied them are forced into hard labour in order to keep the mines running and the railways moving forward. Our heroes will be a collection of folk fighting for their own individual causes whether it's wealth, fame, for their families or anything else under the sun. The one thing our heroes will have in common however is their mutual desire to stop this rampaging corporation in it's tracks and chase them out of the Frontier.


As stated above, this RP will be somewhat unique in it's setting, at least among us here. As far as I can recall, we haven't done anything western-y before so I figured I'd give it a spin being a fan of the era.

There will be a wide variety of races and a unique magic system to keep things interesting and fresh I hope. For the most part, each race I include in the RP will have it's own pros and cons.

Every character at birth (for the most part) will be branded with one of six elemental symbols: fire, water, wind, earth, darkness and light. The symbol that they are branded with is used to determine their path in life. Everyone in the world has their own knack for magic with some possessing greater control and some possessing very little. Magic will have a practical application in everyday life. For example, a child branded with a fire symbol may grow up to become a blacksmith. They can use their control over fire to heat treat their blades and firearms. Someone with an earth symbol might be a farmer, capable of readying their land without the use of typical farming tools. If you can think of a practical application for it, it's probably doable. People without brands are considered blemishes on society since, by the world's standards, they couldn't possibly be good at anything and therefore will never be able to make a living. There are also some branded with two symbols. Two symbols puts a great deal of strain on one's body as the elements always conflict with one another. Certain elements will have applications in battle as well. Fire, for example, will be much more tuned toward dealing damage while water is used for control-based spells. I'll post more in here relating to each element provided folks are interested in the idea.

I've made five characters so far, three protagonists and two antagonists. I've got another one I'm working on to round out the antagonists and then I'll be on the road to getting this thing started. I'll put up more details in the next little bit.

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted ImagePosted Image
Edited by Sin, November 28, 2017, 3:26 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Matttheman89
Member Avatar
Assassin
It sounds interesting. I'll play.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
oniskieth
Member Avatar
The Silver Light
I'll join. It sounds fun. Will you take suggestions for races or will we choose from a list?

Matttheman89
November 15, 2017, 6:46 pm
It sounds interesting. I'll play.
Posted Image

Edited by oniskieth, November 16, 2017, 8:43 am.
Katherine's Approval
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
If you want to suggest a race now, I can certainly try and add it.

What did you have in mind? I'd like physical appearances, general statistical traits (like is your race fast, strong, etc.), maybe a brief history or something about the type of area they might in. The more details the better.

Anyone can suggest races if they'd like.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
I'll give it a shot if I can, considering my work schedule can't really be predicted. But speaking of work schedules, Sin, are you sure you'd even be able to handle this? I wouldn't want you to burn yourself out trying to keep up with RPing and all, both because I don't want your health to suffer or to take focus away from your own job, but also because I have to admit I don't really wanna put a lot of effort into another big RP just to have it crash and burn anywhere from a few weeks to several months down the line. The small-scale DND-Adventure type things we've been doing aren't so bad when they die off because the episodic nature of the adventures doesn't require such a dramatic level of character input--even if the story ends, it's not like getting halfway through the Lord of the Rings and then running into blank pages. It's more like reading a manga or something up to the point where it's been translated, and then having to stop and wait for the people who do the scans to finish another batch of chapters.

But whenever these big RPs start and then immediately die, or worse yet when they build up momentum and then die, it's always a huge blow to us. Matt and Yggdra pretty much stopped entirely after VoC. I want to say Onis and Peras kinda bowed out after like...Maybe one of NTNP's SMT-themed or Zelda RPs? Maybe VoM? I don't remember enough to say for sure. Burnt left after the debacle that happened with his Zelda RP.

And to be perfectly honest, there are some things I'd like to address about VoC and how it was run before you launch into admin'ing another RP--I don't wanna start any arguments here or anything so maybe it'd be better to take it to PM or skype or something, but as the RP went on I started noticing some things that were clarified with hindsight and I think they really negatively impacted the experience. I wouldn't want a repeat of those factors to appear here.

But there's nothing I really dislike about the idea or anything. Like I said I'll give a shot insomuch as I'm able.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
I'd rather RP slowly than not at all. I'm not going to be rushing to post or work on the RP with every free moment I have this time.

This thread is for discussions about this RP. If you've got concerns or anything, you can post them here or send them on Skype. Either is fine with me.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
TheConstellation
Member Avatar
How did I get here?
I suppose I’m up for this, the concept is certainly interesting enough and it’s been a while since I’ve had a good RP to partake in.
1430. If the party goes out like 300, that's cool. Thelma and Louise not so much.
— Unknowm, "2050 Things Mr. Welsh can no longer do in RPGs"

"Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of."
— Kurt Vonnegut, "Eight Rules for Writing Fiction"
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
The whole gang's getting back together!

You guys can post whatever questions you might have in here and I'll do my best to answer them. :3
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Sin
November 16, 2017, 6:37 pm
I'd rather RP slowly than not at all. I'm not going to be rushing to post or work on the RP with every free moment I have this time.

This thread is for discussions about this RP. If you've got concerns or anything, you can post them here or send them on Skype. Either is fine with me.
If you plan for it to be slower paced, have you already worked out how you want things to go? I can speak from experience and say having a "hard railroad" kind of story almost never works for me, cause every RP I've tried with it either runs into pacing issues or players being bored because they're just moving from one event to the next without an organic flow, but for people like you and NTNP who are either more about the character development or just building a world that kinda runs itself afterwards, attempting a railroad style might balance out. Your Veil RPs focused more heavily on relationships/interactions between characters, so those motivations have more driving factors, and NTNP's things like Calatia's Throne, SMT, or the system/dice-games he's run either have enough background details or actual formulas that once the themes are established everyone can do what they want and consequences will naturally follow.

The only thing is, VoC also had kind of a railroad feel to it after a point, and that's one of the things I wanted to discuss along with what I'm about to go into. Keep in mind I don't wanna start a fight or anything like I usually do, this is just some stuff I feel needs to be pointed out.

I don't know if anyone will agree with me (in fact I kinda doubt it), but from the time I've spent RPing in the games you've created, Sin, I've noticed a few common threads that can cause some issues. In RPs that you aren't running, I think we've discussed an issue before that you often make multiple characters who get involved in multiple sides of a conflict, or who join multiple groups when the players are all scattered around, and so forth. If those characters happen to become boring for you, or if you end up having to take some time off for IRL stuff, it causes a traffic jam because you're involved in so much and almost everyone is waiting on you for one reason or another. In RPs that you are admining, however, it's expected that we wait for you because you're the one telling us what we need to react to, so that problem becomes slightly diminished--however, the other side of it seems to grow in relation. I didn't stay in VoM long enough to know if it happened there, but in VoC, and in an earlier RP you ran the name of which I can't recall (it was about a fantasy-version of the Norse Pantheon, and they were reliving a Ragnarok event over and over), the other half of what I've talked about--you creating multiple characters--grows exponentially.

It's one thing to have lots of NPCs to serve as guides or as villains--I tend to do that to a great degree myself, like in Silvarnen or in that one Meiji RP I did with you, Kaze, and Matt on my secret board one time. But when I create those characters, they're intended to be in positions where their scenes, while badass, will be far and few between unless they're intentionally meant to compete with the players. With Silvarnen, multiple NPCs would defect to the evil side, or be killed by the antagonists that the players were meant to overcome as a way of spurring them forward. With the Meiji RP, the Generals and such were intended to serve administrative roles and show different facets of the changes in society that RP was supposed to be about--the death of tradition, the struggle between Humanity and the supernatural, etc--and while they'd get a cool scene of slaying a monster or something, they were mostly feeding the characters information they could use to take their own initiative. And while it's just a good cliche to have a super-powerful enemy NPC appear sometimes to remind the players that everything won't go their way, forcing them to retreat or change their plans, you generally don't want it to happen more than once so that it ultimately serves as a catalyst, and not a moment of humiliation or frustration.

But in some of your RPs, VoC being not only the most recent but also the one where I noticed it the most, you created so many NPCs and DM-style Player Characters--many of whom were more powerful than the players and would likely stay that way for a long time--that it didn't really seem like any of OUR characters even needed to be there. Again, this is just me personally, but I didn't feel like I was accomplishing much no matter how many Peons I got to kill per post, or how many squares on the map my group was able to capture, because those NPCs were always poised to swoop in for the big victory finish, or else their actions even off the battlefield simply had far more weight than anything the players were doing. I remember moments when Atlantis would take on a mid- or Boss level enemy and tell the players to go fight something else, and that works just once as a show that "Oh, the players still have a ways to go, we can get stronger and do cooler stuff," but I can think of at least three distinct times it happened and there might be more depending on peoples' different interpretations of events. I remember Kaze being mad enough to actually quit the RP, because you were willing to give him the chance to make his own barbarian fortress with this big clan of gruff old mercenaries, but then they ultimately didn't serve any real purpose. Now, I totally agree that Kaze's characters shouldn't be allowed to be the steam rolling unga bunga squad he'd like to make them--when he had one of his NPCs one-shot a Jury enemy and you told him "No," I thought that was perfectly fine. But ultimately his NPCs weren't allowed to do much of ANYTHING, or else what they did didn't seem to effect anything. Being the "realistic war" nerd he is, he had some fairly solid strategies with his NPCs--he had them make shield lines, use their magic to intercept enemy projectiles instead of attempting to just lob fireballs into the melee where their allies were, use catapults and ballistae, tactics that made use of the mountainous terrain that they had lived in for years and should have been very familiar with, etc. And the enemy still just ran through them like paper and you had us start losing that battle and be forced to retreat almost out of nowhere, because by all rights we should have done much better than we did even though having a snowstorm kick up or introducing a new enemy type still would have increased tension.

Then there's Ferrah, and while I still stand by what I said earlier about a Big Bad making an appearance to catalyze the players' actions from a temporary defeat, I didn't feel like the way it was done with Ferrah was very productive. It wasn't that we just couldn't beat her yet--we couldn't even try anything. Her very presence actually weakened the players, to the point where some of us couldn't even move without a buff of some kind or other assistance because our DEX dropped to the negatives. If you can't beat an enemy, you need to be able to run from them, or to use some cunning to trick them or spring a trap or whatever, even if all you accomplish is buying the time to run away. Those defeats are meant to emphasize that characters still have room to grow, their potential, rather than showing them how absolutely powerless they are. What's more, we knew that no matter what we did we were not going to catch up to Ferrah for an excruciatingly long time, but there was also very little reason for her to not show up at almost every battle after her first appearance. Sure, the demoralization aspect gave some character interactions a nice push, and raised the tension, but still. What's more, it also forced your hand as the writer--I'm pretty sure you planned for it in the first place, but from the outside perspective having Noel, another godly-powerful character, just suddenly appear out of nowhere for no real discernible reason (why did she come through the Veil on that particular battlefield? Did someone do a ritual to summon her? Why? How? Was she just looking for Darion? Why not appear earlier? Or later?) comes off to me as some major DEM that is required to be shoe-horned into the narrative because, narratively, you need the Players to survive this battle, but with Ferraah there there's no logical way they can, and thus you have to introduce another being as powerful as she is to, for whatever reason, fight her and thus leave the rest of the Players alone. And of course in all of this we come back to the root of this whole complaint--that the Players are not useful in any capacity to the story, because the NPCs are running it and thus they might as well not even be there.

Then there's the fact that a lot of the NPCs weren't even all that involved with the Player characters--not only were they running the story, their stories were completely separate from the rest of us, and we weren't allowed to interfere. Several times people would try to interact with Marcus, the big guy that Ferraah killed but then he came back, and he would just ignore them. Sure, okay, he's a big silent stoic guy, we get that. But then he's having these secret meetings with Forsetti, and there's obviously some big mystery subplot with what the two of them are...and no one else is allowed in on it. Then there's Mercury and her whole "child of prophecy" thing, but not only do we not get to really learn about that in detail, we also don't really have a place in it. She's not "the child born to lead an army of heroes, to command their deeds of valor as they grow in strength, and at the end to unite them all in the cause of justice," she's just, "the daughter of a virgin queen destined to save the world." It's all on her and we're just along for the ride. Some characters got to interact with the Cloud Knights and be part of them, but again the NPCs pretty much outshone them and they were this special members only club that 90% of the rest of us had nothing to do with. And then there's the absurdly powerful loner, Anima, who obviously has some big plot part to play but then we never get to actually learn anything when she appears. She's literally a random encounter, but like Ferraah she's absurdly strong so the players can't beat her and nothing we do matters to her. Again, the root concern of this whole thing.

So in conclusion, it can basically be summed up as: There are so many NPCs, and they are usually so strong, that they are the main cast of the story, and not the Players. The NPCs control the plot from all sides--Atlantis can handle everything without our help, nothing we do can touch Ferraah, and the other NPCs either just don't notice us much or spend their time interacting with each other instead of us. They're the important people, we're just along for the ride. The narrative doesn't focus on the player's potential, but rather how outmatched they are among all these demigods. Nothing the players do feels empowering or like an accomplishment by comparison. Character growth isn't fast enough to make up for the insurmountable gap between them and NPCs. In terms of just show-offy-ness, Sin's characters all get to be awesome and cool looking and do things that matter, and the rest of us...just don't. Or if we try--like Kaze's barbarians, or like Lee's training/temporary emo arc--we either get shut down because "that's not how the story needs to go," or other Players will just ignore it as well because they'd rather watch Sin's admittedly much more attractive characters do cool things instead and will just ignore the lamer characters (everyone who isn't created by Sin).

These are the problems that concern me, and something that I hope you can address in this RP. You've already shown us some characters you've made, and because you've talked about different races and factions I get that you probably wanted someone to represent each group--Celestials, Humans, Little People, Werewolves, Vampires. But I really, really hope that those "representatives" are where it stops and we don't end up with a huge cast solely of NPCs. And I'm hoping the rate of character growth, the balance of magic systems, the pacing of the plot, and so forth will be much more focused on the actual Players so that we can feel like we're growing, making victories, experiencing setbacks and then overcoming them, and so on rather than just watching the cool kids in the class get to do stuff from our old chewed up desks in the back of the classroom.

Sorry if it pisses anyone off, but I'm not gonna take it back to be non-offensive or anything. That's probably the best you can expect from me.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
I realized that I had these issues before, during the RP as a matter of fact and it was part of the reason I planned to drop some of them. I had also sped up the story, although I suppose no one one know that, to get Atlantis out of the way faster. I'm in the process of writing up a conclusion to that RP as well, it's just a matter of finishing it. That way, at least everyone can see how things would've gone for some closure.

As far as the powerful NPC characters thing, I remedied that this time. None of the characters I've put up nor the one still in progress is super-powerful compared to the player characters. The strongest of them all is Somael and even he's no all that far ahead. I had also planned to have most of them weave in and out of everything as well to give others a chance to move along on their own, so I'm hoping that would help to solve the issue of my characters doing everything.

The multiple races this time around is just so people have options. I'm not planning on everyone being something different as some will have pretty significant shortcomings that will make using them as a main character very difficult, such as Vampires being harmed by sunlight.

I'm hoping some of my own recognized issues and some that you pointed out are fixed this time around.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
That's good, I'm glad to hear you were already picking up on it.

I already kinda asked about this before and you mentioned you didn't really put a lot of thought into it, but I just wanted to keep pursuing the line of thought since the character I'm thinking of making probably needs some of it in his backstory:

As an undertaker, he would be performing the funeral services for people before his adventure starts, and because I wanna go a different route than the "grim and creepy guy wearing a beat-up coat and carrying around a shovel with fresh dirt on it" kind of undertaker, he takes a very respectful approach to his work. So if you're okay with me just making stuff up for myself, I still would like your input on what this world's view of the afterlife, maybe gods or spirits, and other things like that are. Is there a god, or a pantheon of some sort, that the people pray to or base their rituals on? Is there a version of Heaven that they want to get to, or a Hell they want to avoid?

If you don't wanna bother with it, it would probably be less time-consuming on your end to just give me a few things you DON'T want to happen, to prevent whatever I come up with from interfering with your story elements. For instance, if you DON'T want me to tie the magic system into their religion, or if you DON'T want whatever religion I make up to be as powerful as the real-world Catholic Church or something like that. Then I can make stuff up within those limits.

A few more questions as well: When you say characters are "Branded" at birth, are these brands literally put on them by someone else, or are these brands already present when the person literally comes out of the womb? If being non-branded is a social stigma, it seems like it would have to be the latter, because otherwise why would someone in charge of putting brands on people not do so?

Since each element has distinct properties, are the elements "literal," in that they only allow manipulation of actual physical/energy based things (with the exception of darkness I guess since it "makes" shadows solid), or do these elements just determine the "theme" of the abilities? Like, can an Earth user's magic literally only use substances like dirt, rock, sand, etc., or could it use "conceptually Earth-based" powers like hardening someone's skin for defense or petrifying an enemy? Same thing with fire and "fiery" concepts like a strength boosting aura or "burning away" impurities to cure status effects.

Are these six elements in any way tied to the cosmology or other structures/cultures/etc of the world? Like is it just these six because they believe these six elements combine to form all the substances in the universe (like Greek alchemy), or is it just these six because no one's discovered anything else? Could anything else BE discovered? Does any form of magic outside these elements exist, and if so what is its place in the world or among the different cultures?

Is magic solely based on willpower, training, etc, or is it inheritable to an extent? Do elements tend to run in families? If two parents with different elements have a child, is that child more likely to have dual brands? Is the magic solely used by willpower, or is there a physical manifestation to it--is there an organ inside someone's body, or "energy pathways" that produce, control, or regulate mana, Chi, or whatever other "fuel" is used to create magic? If so, can mutations occur in these structures, and what forms might such things take? Since magic seems to be used a lot in society, has it been thoroughly studied and understood? Is it formally taught in schools?

Is there any form of magic that's considered "forbidden?" Are there punishments for "witches" who misuse magic or otherwise practice something considered heretical by the rest of the world? Are there any schools of philosophy on magic, or any ties between it and any sort of religious practices?

The reason I ask those last two is because I'm toying around with the idea of theming this character's abilities after "death," and using something from outside the elemental system as I mentioned earlier in the cbox. And I was thinking that maybe I could tie it into his backstory--the idea I have right now goes like this:

His mother is caught practicing some kind of witchcraft, and the village gathers up a torch-and-pitchfork mob to hang her from the gallows. Out of fear she somehow hides the fact that she is pregnant (baggy clothes, magic, whatever), but when they hang her she goes into labor. Like Guts, my character is born from the womb of a dead woman, and because of this he is "born of death," and this would somehow relate into how he got his unique abilities. Nobody wants a cursed baby, though, so the only person who ends up taking pity on him and raising him as their own is his predecessor, another undertaker who is also a social outcast solely because of his career and the fact that death is an uncomfortable thing for most people.

Hopefully this isn't too much to answer at once, but take your time and let me know if you'd rather discuss more specific stuff over PM or something to avoid spoilers.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Primera Espada Yggdra
Member Avatar
The Kitty Cat, Mew!~
Wat iz dis? Iz dis a new arpee I see!?
Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image
Because...


My Imagination When talking with you. - Person A

PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
1. I intended for there to be only a singular God but that religion isn't very widely recognized. Like, some people think that there's a God, but most don't pay much attention to it. The only real attention I intended to pay to the RP world's God would be in relation to the Celestial race, who live high atop a mountain in the snowy area of the continent. Somael is a Celstial in this RP. People think Celestial's come from sky and it's why they try to live as close to the sky as they can. The Celestial's in general are a religious sort and for the most part, keep to themselves. It's quite uncommon that Celestials come down from the mountains and get involved in conflicts. If they do come down, it's typically for a pilgrimage or something of the sort.

2. The brands appear at birth when the umbilical cord is removed. 99% of the time, the infant will receive one brand. Very rarely will they not have a brand at all and even less likely will they have two brands. Most people with two brands obtained their's via shady practices and it's difficult to find people or organizations that will even be involved in giving people a second brand. Un-branded people receiving a brand via the same method are just as unlikely. When receiving a second brand, most people die shortly afterwards. No one born with a Light or Darkness brand trying to receive the other as a second brand have never survived.

3. Regarding the elements, I suppose you could liken them to how they work in Avatar. Characters manipulate the elements to do what they want with them, to an extent. I decided to make each primary element (Fire, Water, Wind and Earth) have a focused attribute and an unfocused one. What I mean by that is Fire, for example, will focus on dealing damage and will be unfocused on defense. So, it's REALLY good at dealing damage and it's able to be utilized to defend but that's it. It can NOT be used for control techniques and can NOT be used for supportive techniques. I wanted to do this so that characters can't be a jack-of-all-trades. If you choose fire, you can deal lots of damage and kind of defend yourself but you can't influence enemy movement or utilize healing or buffing spells.

Fire
Focused: Damage
Unfocused: Defense

Water
Focused: Control
Unfocused: Support

Wind
Focused: Support
Unfocused: Damage

Earth
Focused: Defense
Unfocused: Control

In contrast, Light and Darkness will be "Unfocused" on three out of four attributes. What that means is that they are capable of utilizing a wider variety of attributes than the primary elements but that they don't excel at any of them.

Light
Unfocused: Support
Unfocused: Control
Unfocused: Defense

Darkness
Unfocused: Damage
Unfocused: Control
Unfocused: Defense

What this all means is that each element has something that it does better than anything else. Nothing can match the destructive potential of Fire, no one can defend themselves better than an Earth-user. Water can exhibit control over opponents better than any other element. No one can support their allies better than someone utilizing the Wind. People being born with Light or Darkness brands are much less common than the other primary elements as well since Light and Darkness have considerably less practical application in every day life.

4. These Elements exist because they're the only brands that anyone has ever been born with. However, there's always the possibility that someone could be born with a brand that no one had ever seen before...

5. Brands tend to be passed down from parents 99% of the time. If a Fire-branded father and an Earth-branded mother conceive a child, chances are that the child will have one of those two brandings. It's not unheard of that a child is born with a brand that doesn't match either of it's parents, so people don't throw a fit if this does happen. It might make people wonder about whether or not their partner was faithful though. Schools are separated based on the brand of the students. Earth-branded students will study with other Earth-branded students and the like. It's done this way because Elemental applications are typically pretty set in stone. A Fire-branded person likely won't be a farmer and an Earth-branded person probably won't be the best sea-faring merchant, for example.

6. People that mis-use magic are generally criminals. A Fire-branded person blowing up the wall of a bank to make off with the money inside the vault would most certainly be mis-using his power. It's much in the same vein as people in our world mis-using their skills. Someone who's good at picking locks becomes a locksmith. If they used their skills for criminal actions, then they would be regarded as such. Magic in the RP is a skill people are born with. How they choose to utilize their skills are up to them but there's consequences for using them to harm others or commit crimes.

Hopefully this answers your questions. If not, feel free to post again. I'll do my best to help clarify whatever needs it. :)
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Quote:
 
1. I intended for there to be only a singular God but that religion isn't very widely recognized. Like, some people think that there's a God, but most don't pay much attention to it. The only real attention I intended to pay to the RP world's God would be in relation to the Celestial race, who live high atop a mountain in the snowy area of the continent. Somael is a Celstial in this RP. People think Celestial's come from sky and it's why they try to live as close to the sky as they can. The Celestial's in general are a religious sort and for the most part, keep to themselves. It's quite uncommon that Celestials come down from the mountains and get involved in conflicts. If they do come down, it's typically for a pilgrimage or something of the sort.


This is simultaneously fitting but also a little bit off-model for the Wild West aesthetic--if you're a fan of the genre you may know more than I do, but I kinda grew up with it being from the American South and it's pretty much the only genre my dad will pay ANY kind of attention to, so while I'm not a big fan of it (and can't even differentiate between John Wayne and Clint Eastwood from facial features alone) I feel like I know enough about it to mention this.

When you say "Some people think there's a God, but most don't pay attention to it," it's half-fitting and half-off model, for these reasons: Life in the Old West was hard as fuck. It was basically pioneer times except the guns were better, the railroads were faster than horses so more stuff could happen in more places in less time, and people were living in vast swathes of wilderness that either had to be competed over (this town ain't big enough for the two of us) or defended from hostile inhabitants (them damn injuns!). Medicine had not really improved enough to make much of a difference in the quality of life, at least not compared to the previous pioneer era, and due to the "recently discovered" nature of the West, society was not well established--people who moved out here were from civilized places where laws and morality ruled, but once they got out there those things only really continued to exist in their hearts for quite a long time. That's why a single sheriff and a handful of deputies could operate the way they did and why their behavior could range from a good ol' fella like Andy Griffith (though his genre is slightly different due to the time period) to some folks who kept an iron grip on the town either through violence or a political machine. And when criminals from the civilized places flee out to the West because it's a No-Man's Land, or when people struggling to survive in the harsh conditions choose crime over honest work, there's no security cameras or fingerprints or forensic science. All in all, it's an environment that brings out the extremes in people--families that stick together and love one another because that's all they have, with none of this feminism or other liberal crap making the wives act batshit crazy or the men act like emasculated wimps; and vicious monsters who will fuck over anyone and everyone in their way, as long as they get what they want.

It's honestly a lot like Fallout, just reversed in the sci-fi department.

And because America at this time was much closer to its original religious values, "Some people think there's a God" would probably be more like "Everyone thinks there's a God," because at this point a higher power was just kind of an accepted fact of life. Scientists and philosophers might debate it a little bit, but all they had to go on was simply a lack of evidence or a question of said higher being's nature--they didn't have all the stuff they claim to have now, like logic that they think disproves God's existence (logical thinking existed of course, people just hadn't wheels-upon-wheels'd themselves into insanity) or scientific formulas that they think proves for real how things came about (like computer simulations based on an algorithm completely thought up by man, yet somehow claimed to represent the cyclical nature of the universe just because it's based on the real world and thus imitates some things the real world does). Plus, the idea of a God and an afterlife gives humanity a little bit of hope in a world where, as previously mentioned, life is hard as fuck and the value of a living breathing person is only slightly above that of a pile of dirt. So this is the part I think would be off-model--in this harsh environment, I think the actual teachings or ideas of the religion would probably be more wide-spread, and society as a whole wouldn't lean towards apathy regarding the matter.

But when you say "most don't pay much attention to it," this is probably much closer to the mark. Because like I just got finished outlining, shit was hard bruh. These people had to get up at sunrise every morning and clean the ashes out of the fireplace, start a new fire, go feed the chickens, go pick the beans, go till the garden, go chop more firewood for the next day, go slaughter one of the pigs for supper, go to the well to get water, make sure the horses had food and their 'shoes fit, sew the holes in their clothes shut, keep their guns cleaned and their tools sharp, replace or fix whatever things around the house are starting to fall apart, and on and on and on. Every damn day. Add to that the thieving natives (or in this instance, supernatural creatures) prowling around, the danger of wild animals like bears and wolves, and then criminals and lawfolk trading gunfire in the middle of town while average joe is just trying to cross the damn street so he can go into the saloon and drink away the stress of having to do all that shit at the crack of dawn, and life in the West honestly starts to sound like it sucked balls for the average non-badass non-cigar smokin' non-gunfighter. A lot of folk would simply be too busy to be highly religious--they might say a prayer before they go to bed, they might go to church on a Sunday, and they basically believe there's a God, but honestly none of the rest of it can fit into their struggling lives. It's not something that comes up commonly in conversation, or something they'll shout from the rooftops at every given opportunity, or something that dictates every one of their decisions. They won't put it before their needs to survive and to provide for their families.

So, with the above in mind, I have a few more questions:
1. Since I'll likely be the only one making much mention of it, do you mind if I just make this generic monotheistic God (whom probably needs a proper name instead of just god, since by both the rules of grammar and Christianity the capital-G god is only supposed to mean the specific God the Father/Son/Holy Spirit of Christianity) a generalized benevolent but strict, Kingly figure and have my Undertaker's remarks about it to grieving families and such as that reflect an ultimately good willed, but highly conservative and authoritative belief system? It wouldn't be authoritative to the point of Islam, where following the Sharia basically means using violence and absolute dominance to enforce law and order, with the end goal being that all of humanity be "subjugated" under the deity to make up for the fact that they're inherently corrupt and thus can't govern themselves, but it also wouldn't have the same connotations that some Christians believe where faith alone and no works or deeds are the key to "salvation." I'm thinking something more along the lines of "Deity has intentionally made the world imperfect, that we would realize this on our own and thus seek to improve it, but in order for this to be true improvement and not just an enforcement of what WE think as individuals would be an improvement, he has dictated a system of belief that spurs us to constantly pursue the Truth, from the Truth derive Justice, within a Just society embrace Self-Determination, and by Self-Determination choose Love to guide our pursuit of the Truth."

2. Do you mind if this religion is heavily anti-Vampire, because of their status as undead and the belief that death is a necessary function of an imperfect world, meant to act as one of the impetus upon mankind to spur their development?

3. Are the beliefs of any of the other races, such as the Celestials, vastly different from those of the humans? If so, could you list off their beliefs as well so I'd know how to address this religion's views of them?

Quote:
 
2. The brands appear at birth when the umbilical cord is removed. 99% of the time, the infant will receive one brand. Very rarely will they not have a brand at all and even less likely will they have two brands. Most people with two brands obtained their's via shady practices and it's difficult to find people or organizations that will even be involved in giving people a second brand. Un-branded people receiving a brand via the same method are just as unlikely. When receiving a second brand, most people die shortly afterwards. No one born with a Light or Darkness brand trying to receive the other as a second brand have never survived.


4. What are the "shady practices," and are they known and outlawed among the populace? What are the punishments for them? These are the kinds of things I was asking about with my questions about Witchcraft.

5. Since the Brand seems to be related to actual birth via the umbilical cord, are there any kinds of implications here either for the society or the religion? Like the importance of the mother figure, since it's through her body that the brands seem to appear, or the status of the Brand itself--is it viewed as an actual brand, marking property (of God, or of parenthood, or marking them as one of the herd of humanity), or does the name "Brand" have some other connotation?

6. As mentioned in my suggested backstory, which you didn't really address, I imagined the Undertaker's association with Death beginning from his very birth, as his pregnant mother goes into labor when hung at the gallows. Would her being dead at the time of his birth have some kind of metaphysical effect on the fact that the umbilical cord and the Brand are related? Would that be thought of as a reason for being Unbranded, if I went that route, or would it have an ACTUAL effect, like changing his Brand in some way to cause the unique ability I'm still trying to work out for him? If Birth and the Brand are tied together, then it seems to me like such an unusual birth would have to have an effect of some kind.

Quote:
 
4. These Elements exist because they're the only brands that anyone has ever been born with. However, there's always the possibility that someone could be born with a brand that no one had ever seen before...


7. So keep an eye out for these on important NPCs, got it. But because of the already mentioned difficulty of using two Brands, how could players take advantage of this during the game since we've got to choose our Brands at the beginning? Do you just mean this to incentivize us to come up with something new on our own?

Quote:
 
Schools are separated based on the brand of the students. Earth-branded students will study with other Earth-branded students and the like. It's done this way because Elemental applications are typically pretty set in stone. A Fire-branded person likely won't be a farmer and an Earth-branded person probably won't be the best sea-faring merchant, for example.


8. Do the standards of education reflect the "usefulness" of the Brand? Would an Unbranded child be shunned or given a worse education, and would the Brands that can produce goods (Earth for farmers, Fire for metalworkers, etc) be valued more because they can support society? Or would the Brands that enable more lucrative lifestyles (Water for a ship-sailing merchant who can make himself rich) be considered more valuable because richer people control society or something like that?

Quote:
 
6. People that mis-use magic are generally criminals. A Fire-branded person blowing up the wall of a bank to make off with the money inside the vault would most certainly be mis-using his power. It's much in the same vein as people in our world mis-using their skills. Someone who's good at picking locks becomes a locksmith. If they used their skills for criminal actions, then they would be regarded as such. Magic in the RP is a skill people are born with. How they choose to utilize their skills are up to them but there's consequences for using them to harm others or commit crimes.


9. When I asked this question, I wasn't speaking so much about the laws regarding the use of magic as I was about the "natures" of certain behaviors. Even with the Elemental Brands in place and Magic being "allowed," and not considered to be a deal with the devil or whatever, are there certain "occult practices" that people would decry as witchcraft or something of that nature? I'm certain things like Blood Sacrifice or Cannibalistic Rituals would be considered evil simply because of the harm they would cause to other people, but do things like blood magic, evil curses, voodoo etc even exist for real, since other types of magic are real? Or would this solely be considered a violent crime of insanity, because no matter how much blood the witch woman uses to write her runes she won't actually be accomplishing anything?

10. Again, I feel like you kinda didn't comment on my backstory ideas, so I'd like some feedback on that if possible.

Thanks for all your answers, it really helps clarify the world to me and makes me look forward to creating my character. :D
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
1. 2. 3. As far as the religious beliefs argument goes, this is an RP so the rules don't necessarily need to apply. In the world I created, religion is an after-thought to all but the Celestials. You can do what you want with your character's religious stuff. The one god that the Celestials believe in is named Pangaea (pan-gay-uh) so if you want your fellow to follow her, then go for it. You can make one of your own as well if you wanted to go for an evil-ish character or something to be the opposite. Pangaea loves all but despises evil. If you're a Vampire doing evil stuff, Pangaea hates you. If you're a Vampire and you're being good, Pangaea loves you. She doesn't discriminate against races or whether something is a creature or not, only the intention of the being.

4. Shady practices to obtain a second Brand can be pretty extensive. People have tried killing someone, cutting away the area of flesh the Brand is on and stitching it onto their own bodies. They've tried doing it themselves with a tool or device they made to do so. Some have carved it into their own bodies or had someone else do it. There's lots of different ways people have tried but it rarely works and a lot of them end up dying because of their obsession.

5. Again, religion isn't a big deal to most people. The Brands look like a scar. Females are born with it on the small of their back and males are born with it between their shoulder blades. It's just something that happens and no one knows why.

6. Your unusual birth wouldn't have any effect on his Brand. You most certainly do NOT want to be Unbranded.

7. Having only one Brand challenges you guys to do creative stuff with it. No one Brand is blatantly better than another, only better at certain things. Pick a play style, pick a Brand that sounds like it would work well with that play style and go.

8. Every Brand has a use in society. Unbranded people typically end up as labourers or slaves because that's the only way that they can contribute to society most of the time. Even still, there are people with Brands who end up with or choose those lifestyles as well. But there are certain jobs and lifestyles you won't typically see certain Brands partaking in. A Fire Brand on a ship wouldn't be all that useful. It's not unheard of but it's very uncommon.

9. What you described has nothing to do with a person's Brand. If someone wants to kill someone to make a sacrifice, that's just murder committed by an insane criminal. His or her Brand is irrelevant at that point.

10. Your back story is yours. Do with it what you want. He can be born as his mother dies if you want, that's up to you.

The last starting character has been added to the first post. I'll start putting stuff up about systems and whatnot shortly.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
Name:
Persephone York

Race:
Human
Humans possess no significant downfalls or advantages. Humans can possess an Aura. Health +1; Physical Strength +1; Magical Strength +1; Aura +1

Age:
20

Gender:
Female

Theme:
Bang Bang
Come and Get Your Love
I Want You Back

Appearance:
Height: 5'6" ♥ Weight: 112 lbs. ♥ Eyes: Violet/Green


Background:
Persephone grew up in a rather average household. She was the fifth child and only daughter of a seamstress mother and a bounty-hunting father. Growing up in a household of primarily males turned her into an obvious tomboy. The girl was more interested in mud and guns than she was flowers and sewing and as such, took much more to her father than her mother. She was taught to fire a gun at an early age, a concept her father sold to her mother as a lesson in protecting herself. Still, it didn't take long for her to begin badgering her father to let her see what he did for work and it was even less time before he reluctantly agreed to let her tag along.

Even in her youth, Persephone was mesmerized by the world her father lived in. "Get the job done in as few bullets as possible" was what he always said and it stuck with her. If there were five targets, he shot five times and that was always enough to get the job done.

When she was only sixteen years old, Persephone left home, the last of her siblings to do so. When she was alone in the world by herself, she found it to be a much more unforgiving place and within a few months, joined the Hunter's Guild in Pangaea, the largest city on the frontier. Working alongside so many skilled bounty hunters and adventurers left their mark on her and the young woman quickly sharpened her shot and honed her skills, learning to do as much as possible with very little. A trusty revolver on her hip and the enthusiasm of a child, young Miss York set out into the world to leave her mark and make a name for herself.



Main Weapon:
Iron Six-shooter
Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon/Puncture

Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium


Sub Weapon:
None

Attire:
Frontier Corset & Gown
Material: Typical Fabric
Physical Protection: Low
Magical Protection: Medium

Accessory:
Blue-tinted Goggles
Special Effect: Resist Blind


Brand:
Fire
Focused: Damage
Unfocused: Defense

Attributes:
Level: 1
Health: 3 (+1)
Physical Strength: 6 (+1)
Physical Defense: 3
Magical Strength: 5 (+1)
Magical Defense: 5
Agility: 7
Aura: 3 (+1)


Abilities:
Flirt (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
Persephone takes a few moments to carefully aim at a target before firing a single flame-imbued shot that has a high chance of penetrating the target's Aura.

Doggy Style (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
Breaking out in dance, Persephone fires several flame-imbued rounds into the ground at her feet. Moments later, the area around a target erupts with small explosions, dealing fire-based damage to the target and any others in it's immediate vicinity.

Messy Finish (Damage; Passive; Rank 1)
Any enemies killed by Persephone's gunfire will trigger a fire-based explosion that will deal damage to enemies and structures in the deceased target's vicinity.

Ultimates:
Climax (Damage; Active: Low Health; Rank 1)
While stuck in a dire situation, Persephone is able to summon a slew of fire grenades before throwing them into the air in a circle around her. The grenades will blanket an area with explosions and flames, decimating anything in her vicinity. Deals increased damage to fleshy or fur-covered targets. Can harm multiple enemies at the same time as well as allies; use with caution.
Edited by Sin, December 26, 2017, 6:47 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
The above character sheet for Persephone is a work in progress but it should give you guys an idea of what the finished product will look like. Just quote my above post and copy the code in order to get the layout. It's probably easier to just swap out my text for your own for the sake of continuity. I'll explain each part here:

Name: Should be obvious.

Race: I'm not going to be too picky about races. No full-on animal types and nothing that's obviously too godly or ridiculous for an RP setting. Races with Auras get 4 bonus points for you to use if you want to make your own and Races without Auras will get 8. I have the following already planned out so if you make one of them, I might need to adjust your bonus point distribution: Humans (Persephone, Alistar), Celestials (Somael, Deaestra), Lullim (Naeobe) and Lycanthrope (Kabelli), although Lycanthropes can vary depending on which one you want to be.

Age: Yup.

Gender: One or the other, please.

Theme: You know me and my theme songs. You don't have to put one, but it would be greatly preferred.

Appearance: Picture, text or both. It doesn't matter to me.

Background: I don't want a novel. A few paragraphs will suffice. Flesh it out during the RP.

Main Weapon: You mean method of inflicting pain.

Sub Weapon: What happens if someone takes your big stick?

Attire: All-encompassing protective attire goes here.

Accessory: Yours can have a buff at the start, but no more than +1 if it's statistical.

Brand: There's a colorful list a bit up the page.

Attributes: Everyone starts at level 1 and gets 32 points to spread around. As usual for my RPs, it's mostly just a reference to make sure a delicate mage type doesn't have a building fall on them then walk it off. Aura is your character's ability to not die immediately from gunfire. Melee weapons ignore Auras for the most part so if you plan on soaking up bullets, you might want a high Aura stat.

Abilities: Level 1 characters start with three. I'm not settled on how I'll give out new Abilities or ranks. Most Abilities will have 3 ranks in total. Remember not to stray from your chosen Brand. A Fire Brand won't let you use any healing Abilities, so keep that in mind when you choose. Make sure you note whether it's "Damage", "Control", "Support" or "Defense" (again, these tie in to your chosen Brand so all of you will only have access to two choices at the start regardless). Also, all abilities will either be "Active" or "Passive"

If you've got any other questions, post them here or find me on Skype. :)
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
The Religion I Talked to Sin About:

Ur, The god of Mankind


My Character, the Undertaker:

Name:
John "Dullahan" Gallows

Race:
Human
Humans possess no significant downfalls or advantages. Humans can possess an Aura. Health +1; Physical Strength +1; Magical Strength +1; Aura +1

Age:
25

Gender:
Male

Theme:
Big Iron (Johnny Cash)
God Will Cut You Down (Robin Loxley, Jay Hawke cover)
Wasteland Justice (Fallout New Vegas OST)

Appearance:
Height: 6'2" ♰ Weight: 190 lbs. ♰ Eyes: Dark Blue


Background:
The woman wasn't that old, nor was she particularly ugly. Perhaps some of those she had "bewitched" had merely fallen to their own temptations. But the night they came for her, she certainly looked her part: ragged robes over a dirty and tattered dress, a scarf and hood and shawl all three, her long, dark hair matted and greasy and falling over her face like wet seaweed. She had no need of a cane, and yet she hunched over as if her back were crooked. She had no trouble moving, either, as the lawmen found out when they tried to bring her in the easy way, and her long, dirty nails left many a cut that would later fester, and would even take the eye of one man who didn't get it treated before the gangrene set in the wound. But the Witch was taken from her little ramshackle abode on the edge of town, and by the time they got her up to the gallows she had fought them to exhaustion, only adding to the long list of crimes they read to the crowd. As the noose was set around her neck, the last of the fire finally seemed to go out of her--now she seemed like any other scared, squalling girl, begging for her life. But it was too late for all that now; they had hardened their hearts against any excuse she might give. The slattern even claimed she was with child, even though they all knew she'd been with enough men that if that were to be the case, it would have happened a long time before now. If she ever had begotten a life, she had probably killed it with some of her foul teas and brews.

They threw the lever, and the whole town watched as her hunched back jerked straight--then they gasped, as the bundles of clothes and rags could no longer hide the bulge at her waist. She held on longer than anyone had a right to, dancing the hangman's jig, trying to scream without being able to draw air. Her eyes bulged out of her head, her face turned blue and then purple, and a lot of folk had to turn away or be sick all over the ground. It was too fitting for this scene that the rain started almost as soon as she went still--maybe that was why no one realized her water had broken. But with the gruesome spectacle over, everyone began to hurry and scurry each to his own abode. Only one man stayed behind, the rain running down the brim of his tall black hat. Watching her swing with eyes that had seen a great deal of death, but never something like this, Old Morty--who knew what his real name was anymore, the man was a mortician, so Morty worked fine--approached and prepared to cut the body down. One hand reached out with the knife--then she almost seemed to glare at him, right before his other hand had to dart out beneath her.

Surely the child was dead too. If the mother hadn't been able to breathe, if her heart had stopped, then surely so had his? But Old Morty felt like he had to try. That day, John Gallows died before he was born from the womb of a dead woman, and he was born with his eyes wide open. But what he saw, no living man on this earth shall ever see, until it comes their time.

Old Morty raised him, but of course no one else wanted anything to do with him. It wasn't just that most people were uncomfortable around morticians, or just that his mother had been a witch and he was a bastard child. They called him cursed, muttered and made signs to ward away evil when he came near, thought he was a demon's spawn or some kind of Undead monster. His childhood was sad and lonely, but he learned to let them have their prejudices in peace--after all, they were right to some degree, weren't they? If they feared him because he was different, then their fear was at least based on a fact. After all, none of them could see and feel and smell what he could. Oddly enough, if anything bothered him, it was the time when he first started hitting his growth spurts. He was tall and lanky, and his hands were big and clumsy. Even Old Morty made fun of him then, because he kept dropping the embalming tools or fumbling with things. It was Morty that said it the first time--"Boy, Ah do believe you've just got a dullard's hands." And the other kids picked up on it. "Dullard Hands, Dullard Hands!" By the time they were teenagers, it was set in stone--"Thar goes Dullahan, who ya reckon went an' died?"

But death was the easy part. Death was beautiful, in its own way--when people die, you get to see just how big an impact they had on everyone around them. How many siblings and children they have, how big their family has grown, how many friends they've made and lives they've touched. But the funerals were the sad part. Because the funerals weren't for the dead people, not really. They were for those that were left behind. And John did his best for them, even if sometimes they cursed him and blamed him...

Because they just couldn't see things the way he could.



Main Weapon:
Iron Six-shooter
Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon/Puncture

Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium


Sub Weapon:
Silver Threaded Cane
Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon/Slashing

Aura Damage: None
Body Damage: Medium
Bonus: Increased Damage against Undead and Werewolves.

This cane's thick, diamond styled body appears to be a simple silver casing from the rounded tip up to just a hand-and-a-half's width from the grip, which is also silvered. It certainly packs a wallop. However, its hefty weight and hidden inner mechanisms reveal that the valuable metal, or at least an alloy of it, most certainly features in the majority of its construction. With a little bit of practice, one can merely flick their wrist and release a spring loaded whip; the silver body unravels into bladed shards along its length, and anything caught in this gleaming lash is quickly torn to shreds. When John custom-ordered it, he chose the expensive silver solely because this weapon is only meant to be used against supernatural opponents. Bullets are simple enough for evil men, but against an enemy that may hide in plain sight it behooves one to use a weapon fashioned in similar nature.

Attire:
Undertaker's Garments
Material: Typical Fabric
Physical Protection: Low
Magical Protection: Medium
A long black duster coat, tailored to fit but hanging from a frame that never gains much weight. Clothes that are handsome, stylish and professional by most's standards, though when the wearer walks into a room the onlookers' silence comes from fear rather than admiration. Ties, vests or shirts, black jeans kept nicer than any cowpoke could hope for, and boots so polished you can see your reflection in them...especially when you can't meet the man's eyes, or stand looking at him in this grievous moment. And the faint scent, the spice herbs used for perfume forming a thin layer over the stuff most folks don't really know how to pronounce, wafting from the fabric. And perhaps most telling, if he's been busy: the fresh graveyard soil under his heels.

Accessory:
Wooden Cross of Ur
Special Effect: Physical Defense +1
Of all forms of execution, crucifixion is one of the most painful, most terrible, and most tightly bound to death. If it's done right, no one will ever survive it. Sometimes a noose doesn't pull tightly enough. Sometimes the headsman misses. Sometimes the firing squad doesn't have the nerve. But crucifixion is reserved for when the executioners genuinely want the victim to suffer. To withstand crucifixion would be a true miracle, a feat only the divine could perform. There's another connotation, too. The Four Tenets of Ur: Truth, Justice, Self Determination, and Love. What shape must these branches, intertwined, make to the eye? What shape the man, spread to the sky, utterly exposed before his creator and brought forth to face ultimate judgement? The specific style of cross used in crucifixion--the longer bottom end, sometimes accompanied by two more cross pieces for the feet and the head--is a symbol of Ur's wrath. Thus John wears it as a sign of his profession--death--and as a warning against the Undead abominations that defy his god.


Brand:
Darkness
Unfocused: Damage
Unfocused: Control
Unfocused: Defense

Attributes:
Level: 1
Health: 4 (+1)
Physical Strength: 7 (+1)
Physical Defense: 4 (+1)
Magical Strength: 5 (+1)
Magical Defense: 5
Agility: 4
Aura: 3 (+1)


Abilities:
See the End (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
Eyes of Death

Eyes that have seen Death can never forget it; the Observer imposes his Perception upon the World. With uninterrupted line-of-sight to a target that has taken a Physical Wound, John causes its Fatality to progress by one stage. Fatality Stages can be imagined as such, with > being used in the direction of progression: Minor Wounds (1 point of Damage) > Light Wounds (1d8, or "standard" Damage) > Moderate Wounds (2x Previous) > Serious Wounds (3x Light) > Critical Wounds (4x Light) > Mortal Wounds (the state of having 1 HP left) > Death. This ability cannot inflict damage on its own, nor on wounds that have been fully healed. It cannot be used twice on the same Wound. The Wound itself must be at least partially in sight--bandages, clothing, or other things that completely obscure the Wound from view will prevent this ability from working. Line-of-sight must be direct; this ability can not be reflected through mirrors, projected through a telescope, etc.

Foul Stench (Control; Passive; Rank 1)
Death is a natural Consequence; those who Defy it are Abominations in every respect, even down to their Scent. John can smell nearby Undead well enough to distinguish them from normal creatures even in a crowd. He can't pinpoint their location immediately, but can follow a trail like a bloodhound. The strength of the Undead determines how long its scent lasts, how far away John can smell it from, and how many details he can derive from the scent (is it a Vampire or something else, etc).

Grave Touch (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
Those Immersed in Death carry it with them always; the Reaper slays with a single Touch. Gripping his weapon tightly, John adds the Light Stage of Fatality to one attack (Refer to See the End for a description of the Stages of Fatality). Whatever damage this attack does has extra damage from Light Wounds added to it. A "single attack" is a hard definition--only a single bullet fired from the gun, a single swing of the sword, etc. The presence of this ability on a weapon is indicated by black, ashy smoke surrounding the effected weapon/ammo/etc--even after the attack is completed, whether it failed or not, an ashy residue is left that causes psychological discomfort in those who aren't at ease with issues surrounding mortality.

Ultimates:
All Roads Lead To Death (Damage; Passive: Low Health; Rank 1)
He was born in Death, and one day he shall return to it. But though we all cross that road alone...it is a road we shall all walk one day. When John comes close to returning to the place of his birth, the World After Death that only he has seen, every path to it becomes clear to him. Upon a single target, John's eyes can perceive the Paths of Death--all of the ways in which a being could die. The ways in which they are most likely to die. The things that will most certainly kill them. Any attack he makes along these Paths will instantly kill the enemy if they are vulnerable; but of course, John still has to have the ability to inflict such an attack. Therefore, certain enemies may not be instantly slain, but rather may simply take damage and be left "vulnerable" to Death--that is, further attacks, even if they're not from John, will inflict more damage than usual upon them, for they have been set upon a Road with only one final destination. Certain classes of being may even be beyond John's understanding or perception, and until he understands them he may not be able to see their Paths. If it is someone that could be understood by common sense or logical deduction, however, then the Paths will most certainly appear even if John hasn't come across such a being before.
Edited by Onime No Ryu, December 20, 2017, 8:48 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kazemitsu
Member Avatar
Assassin
Name:
Kotsueki

Race:
Demon
Strength +2, Magical Strength +2
Age:
Unknown

Gender:
Male

Theme:


Appearance:
The most distinguishing feature Kotsueki has is waist-length pure white hair. Mostly seen tied back in a ponytail. Loose the four small curved horns on his forehead keep the hair out of his eyes. Speaking of eyes the sclera is black as night while the iris is gold. Those being his only stand-out features the rest of his face is fairly average. Masculine jaw, average lips, ears pointed like the typical demon, average sized and shaped nose, oh and sharp pointed teeth. Can't forget those pearly chompers.

He's fairly well built for his "profession" of choice. He's muscled but not heavily like a warrior would be but more than the typical assassin/rogue type. The muscle he does have is very visible, right down to the point where you can actually see the muscle fiber through his skin. Said skin is a dull gray with white marble-like lines running through it. They're most likely old scars whitened with age. Nothing else really stands out aside from the eight foot long tail attached to his ass and that his fingernails are pretty much small claws.

Kotsueki likes wearing lighter things, such as leather, as his clothing and armor. His old leather armor offers little protection but allows him to use his full flexibility. Even with the metal plates sewn underneath to protect his vital organs. The only parts not covered by the old blackened leather are his head, fingertips, and tail.

Background:
Kotsueki is a truly ancient being, not that he remembers even a fraction of his life. His origins are long gone, lost in history and time. Mostly because it was his own choice. Long ago he had gotten very bored, having the ability to outlive all but the undead while sounding exciting. Wasn't. So he had powerful magics put him into a form of hibernation and then encased in a well-crafted stone throne within his castle.

Centuries later, he didn't remember when, a group of adventurers found his dwelling. A dilapidated husk of its former magnificence. One of the young adventurers thought it would be funny to sit in the worn throne and 'order' his friends about. Unfortunately for him enough time had passed that a good bit of the stonework had worn away and just a bit of the demon resting within was revealed. Skin to skin contact, then the screams started.

Kotsueki broke his self inflicted prison and held the youth with withered hands, draining the adventurer of life. Making himself young and strong again without even really realizing it. Everything had just happened by instinct due to starvation. The other adventurers fled, screaming about undead monsters or some form of lich.

When Kotsueki regained his mind he didn't remember much of anything. Just his name and some abilities. Like a few magic spells and a good chunk of melee oriented combat. But things were different when he woke up, the technology was different. The mummified corpse at his feet had strange weapons and a little experimentation made him dislike them a good deal. For now he'd scout, check everything out and see what was what. It's been a few centuries after all, maybe the world changed just a bit.

Main Weapon:
Assassin Knife
Primary Damage Type: Slashing/Puncture
Aura Damage: None
Body Damage: Low

Sub Weapon:
Crossbow
Primary Damage Type: Puncture
Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium

Attire:
Ancient Leathers and Plate
Material: Animal Hide, Steel Plates
Physical Protection: Medium
Magical Protection: Low

Accessory:
Dragon Fang Necklace
Special Effect: Strength +1

Brand:
Darkness
Focused: Control
Unfocused: Damage
Unfocused: Defense

Attributes:
  • 32
  • Level: 1
  • Health: 4
  • Physical Strength: 3 (+3)
  • Physical Defense: 3
  • Magical Strength: 4 (+2)
  • Magical Defense: 4
  • Agility: 10
  • Aura: 4

Abilities:

  • Shadow Walk: Control, Active, Rank 1: He can melt into shadows to a degree. Melting into them and looking at the world as if through a mirror and making it harder to keep a bead on him. He's limited to shadows within touch distance to melt into them. Although it's not like moving through water, he's not slowed and he can step out like stairs if he chose. (Just an example not actual stairs)

  • Dark Control: Defense, Active, Rank 1: He can control darkness itself to a degree. Currently he uses it to protect or hide himself, putting a solid layer of shadow under his clothing to act as armor. Or he bends it around himself, making it more difficult to see him in the dark.

  • Devourer: Damage, Active, Rank 1: By far his most useful ability, or so he says. Through physical contact, skin to skin, he can slowly drain another beings lifeforce and add it to his own. This damages an enemy and heals him for however long he keeps contact.


Ultimate


  • I'm Back: Active, Low Health: Rank 1: As the name suggest Kotsueki reverts temporarily to his old tip top form. At least in some aspects. His Devourer ability doubles its damage and healing aspects.
    Edited by Kazemitsu, December 26, 2017, 10:15 pm.
Posted Image
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dreaming Sun
Member Avatar
MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO MOO
HERE COMES THE LEGEND HIMSELF, LEONARDO KYNG

Name:
Leonardo Kyng

Race:
Human
Humans possess no significant downfalls or advantages. Humans can possess an Aura. Health +1; Physical Strength +1; Magical Strength +1; Aura +1

Age:
22

Gender:
Male

Theme:



Appearance:
With a heavy-set build, Leonardo Kyng is hard to ignore. Both muscle and fat ripple visibly in the torn holes of his dirty white shirt. Both his hair and scraggly beard are dark and spotted with dirt, while the rest of his clothes is a patchwork of many different fabrics. On both his hands are thick gloves of a black, hardened leather. Perfect enough for making a strong impact, and covering whatever lies beneath them.

Background:
And here I am! The god, the legend himself. Leonardo fucking Kyng!

I was born with an earth brand. I mean, it is the best brand, after all. Ended up using my talents to become a miner, y'know. Exploring the ground, digging up iron and gold and coal. What we ended up doing was selling a lot of the ore to this fire branded kid, who refined it. Purified it, whatever. Made things he could sell to other people - gold rings, steel bars, bricks and the like. He was a pretty cool guy, whatshisname. Will or something.

Anyway, I found him one day. Met him for… coffee. And I kid you not, he decided to give me his brand! I've a contract signed by him and everything! See, here. Signed by William Thomson, it says.

So I go to work the next day, back to the mines. I'm kind of a bit off my game that day, building those tunnels became a huge effort. Kind of became obvious to the higher ups, since I've always been their best miner. They really weren't so pleased and told me it was my last warning for slacking off. And if I don't shut up and focus I'm off of the company.

And see, that pisses me off. That really pisses me off. I'm the best worker. The best. So what if I stop working and take a sip from the bottle every now and then. At least I do my shit! And now they dared to challenge me?

So I showed him what I was made of. Gave him the old one-two, powered up with that new brand of mine. Don't think they liked it very much. Well, maybe they shouldn't've questioned me, y'know.

Wasn't really my sort of place from then on in, so I left and didn't come back. Heard a little later that old Will Thomson had died under suspicious circumstances. They're still searching for the suspect, but I dunno. The way he died - whole head eaten from the chest up - makes it sound to me like he was eaten by a bear or something. Poor kid.

And here I am now. A bit in the middle of things. A lucky two branded sort of guy, fire and earth at my disposal. Got any jobs open?


Main Weapon:
My Fucking Fists
Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon

Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium


Sub Weapon:
Iron Six-Shooter
Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon/Puncture
Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium


Attire:
Torn Miner’s Clothes
Material: Typical Fabric
Physical Protection: Low
Magical Protection: Medium

Accessory:
Black Sunglasses
Special Effect: Increases anachronism level by five
Makes him look like a boss
Provides a disguise bonus
Protects his eyes from UV light


Brand:
Earth
Focused: Defense
Unfocused: Control


Fire
Focused: Damage
Unfocused: Defense

Attributes:
Level: 1
Health: 8 (+1)
Physical Strength: 5 (+1)
Physical Defense: 7
Magical Strength: 5 (+1)
Magical Defense: 3
Agility: 2
Aura: 2 (+1)


Abilities:
Liquefy (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
By touching an object, Leonardo can rapidly increase its temperature. Theoretically, the temperature can be increased high enough to melt even stone. Unfortunately, this ability does not grant any form of heat resistance, and human skin burns much faster than stone melts.

Propel (Damage; Active; Rank 1)
Leonardo can create small, localised explosions to increase the energy with which he pushes or throws an object. Unfortunately, these explosions deal damage to Leonardo, heavily blistering his hands after a single use.

Explosive Charge (Damage; Passive; Rank 1)
Leonardo can adjust the energy in an object to form an unstable equilibrium, where any sudden disturbance can trigger an explosion. Unfortunately, even Leonardo attempting to pick up a previously primed explosive will trigger an explosion.
Edited by Dreaming Sun, December 10, 2017, 5:10 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Primera Espada Yggdra
Member Avatar
The Kitty Cat, Mew!~
Name:
Charlotte Yang

Race:
Human
Humans possess no significant downfalls or advantages. Humans can possess an Aura. Health +1; Physical Strength +1; Magical Strength +1; Aura +1

Age:
23

Gender:
Female

Theme:
Arifureta Kanashimi no Hate

Appearance:
Spoiler: click to toggle


Background:
Charlotte was born in an aristocratic upbringing in a distant colony, part of a great empire. While one could say that one who lived in such an upbringing were more blessed than those who were less privileged, one could say that such a claim would not always be true. Charlotte moved to the main lands of the empire at a very young age and despite that her family was awarded with privileges for supporting the colonial ambitions of the foreign power, she faced discrimination from her peers in the new land on the basis of racial, colour and cultural backgrounds although the first two were far more problematic than the third. While not everyone was out to judge her based on such backgrounds, she was still largely excluded or treated as irrelevant by people around her with the exception of her own parents. Such experiences were a hindrance to her already poor social skills. The few friends she managed to make eventually turned on her for selfish reasons.

The repeating cycle of exclusion and betrayals among various groups of people made her become cynical, lonely and depressed. She knew that the only real social support she had was her parents, but she also knew that they were not going to live forever. Believing that it was a destiny of some sort for her to end up in such a predicament, Charlotte became alert around people, especially those who ever decided to make any form of social interactions with her. Despite this, it seemed as if deep in her heart there was still a speck of hope in her.


Main Weapon:
Iron Six-shooter


Primary Damage Type: Bludgeon/Puncture

Aura Damage: Low
Body Damage: Medium


Sub Weapon:
None

Attire:
Great Empire Aristocratic Dress


Material: High Quality Fabrics made of materials such as silk
Physical Protection: Low
Magical Protection: Medium

Accessory:
Enchanted Ruby Pendant
Special Effect: Allows the wearer to sense the honesty of people interacting with wearer.


Brand:
Water
Focused: Control
Unfocused: Support

Attributes:
Level: 1
Health: 3
Physical Strength: 2 (+1)
Physical Defense: 3
Magical Strength: 7 (+1)
Magical Defense: 6
Agility: 6
Aura: 5 (+1)


Abilities:

Solidify (Control; Active; Rank 1)
Charlotte conjures and launches approximately a litre of water, freezing into ice upon making contact with an object.

Aqua Mirrors (Support; Active; Rank 1)
By concentrating on puddles of water and ice she conjured, Charlotte can utilize them as "extra eyes" to look around. However, the longer she utilizes the ability in a session and the higher the number of puddles of water and ice she tries to look through at once, the more sore her eyes will get.

Geyser (Control; Active; Rank 1)
Charlotte places a round puddle of water approximately a meter wide on the ground. After a very brief delay, the water erupts into the air and launches objects depending on size and weight.
Edited by Primera Espada Yggdra, December 22, 2017, 2:59 am.
Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image
Because...


My Imagination When talking with you. - Person A

PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
So far so good with the characters! Good job, team! :D
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
I've edited all the info into John's profile, along with a write up on the basics of that religion I wanted to make. Let me know if anything needs tweaking, although I'll warn ya I'm pretty set on some of it. >_>
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sin
Member Avatar
Slow and steady...
I'm thinking of letting everyone come up with their own "Limit Break" style ability that can trigger when their character is low on health or something of the sort. These abilities will be considerably stronger than your other abilities and will be used to trigger race-based stuff such as Lycanthropes shifting to their animal form and stuff like that.

So, if you have any ideas, feel free to post them here to hash over. I added one to Persephone if someone wants to see a basic example.
Edited by Sin, December 20, 2017, 6:43 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Onime No Ryu
Member Avatar
I'll be your Undertaker this evening
edited again, now how dis?

Ultimates:
All Roads Lead To Death (Damage; Passive: Low Health; Rank 1)
He was born in Death, and one day he shall return to it. But though we all cross that road alone...it is a road we shall all walk one day. When John comes close to returning to the place of his birth, the World After Death that only he has seen, every path to it becomes clear to him. Upon a single target, John's eyes can perceive the Paths of Death--all of the ways in which a being could die. The ways in which they are most likely to die. The things that will most certainly kill them. Any attack he makes along these Paths will instantly kill the enemy if they are vulnerable; but of course, John still has to have the ability to inflict such an attack. Therefore, certain enemies may not be instantly slain, but rather may simply take damage and be left "vulnerable" to Death--that is, further attacks, even if they're not from John, will inflict more damage than usual upon them, for they have been set upon a Path with only one destination. Certain classes of being may even be beyond John's understanding or perception, and until he understands them he may not be able to see their Paths. If it is someone that could be understood by common sense or logical deduction, however, then the Paths will most certainly appear even if John hasn't come across such a being before.
Edited by Onime No Ryu, December 20, 2017, 8:43 pm.
PM Offline Member Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · RP ideas · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Systematic made by Phaede of the SZ..