Caravan to Jekib : Looking for characters

Started by mia h, March 28, 2013, 10:23:19 AM

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mia h

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If found acting like an idiot, apply Gibbs-slap to reboot system.

Belisuavious

I'd be interested in one of the guards, either bodyguard or Captain of the guard.

Name ideas could be Argenta, Carinak and Delgadga

Sao

I'd be interested in playing a haughty young noblewoman, who always has other people respect her and now she has to act the opposite...

rikka

So participants are limited to roles in the caravan? What about playing out as the barbarians/bandits instead?
Whatever the outcome, it's on you.

Ons/Offs

yesiroleplay

This sounds very interesting, and I'd be happy to play a pretty handmaiden.

Also - I know I read the original interest thread you reference, though it was some time ago.

Kaiten

I love startup simple Pseudo medieval things like this. You can count me in. Probably going towards the border guard.

Sao


mia h

Exerts from A History of Engrt

Over the years the scholars of Alenal have attempted to catalogue and record all aspects of their western neighbour Engrt, every scholar has returned with stories and observations that contradict the findings of previous expeditions. The University of Oreld finally reached the conclusion that Engrt society defies all reasonable definitions of civilised behaviour as it's social rules and conventions shift from village to village and even hour to hour, the only thing predictable about Engrt society is it's lack of predictability.

Engrt doesn't exist as a country in the normal sense, there is an area defined by various mountains and rivers that the Engary control but there is no single ruler of the territory. Instead the area is governed by roaming warbands that claim control over the various towns and villages, but villages have been known to change hands two or three times in one day. Stories have been told of Engary leaders that have tried to unify all the clans, they all failed when subordinates decided to split the warband and claimed territory for themselves. Some scholars maintain that these tales are merely warnings to the leaders of warbands about greed.

All of the scholars agreed that the Engary divide themselves into four general castes, but as with all things to do with this the caste system appears to be only part of the story. The castes that we know of are Warriors, Shamans, Workers & Traders  within each caste there appears to various sub-castes the merits of which vary from village to village. From what the scholars were able to determine traders were the lowest caste as they didn't add anything of significant value to the warriors although instances of particularly successful traders being seen as having higher status than more lowly warriors is not unheard of.

Women have almost no place in the caste system, generally being viewed as property and have lower status than traders. But as with all property the finest specimens confer status and renown upon their owners. The most valuable items a warrior can own are his sword and his horse, for a women to be as valued as much as a war horse is a rare honour. The best most women can hope for is be valued as much as an oxen, but Engrt is a land of contradictions and occasionally women that have fought against and killed their owners have found themselves inducted into the warrior caste.
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mia h

As requested by Sao, if you can send them to me instead of posting them here that'd be great  ;D


[b]Name[/b]:

[b]Age[/b]:

[b]Occupation[/b]:

[b]Personality[/b]:

[b]Backstory[/b]:

[b]Appearance[/b]:


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Sao

I'll send you something in the next 12h  :P

How about they disguise as  trading women, who are on their way to their new master? The Captain of the Guard could play the role of a merchant or deliverer, that way the local men know they shouldn't touch the women as they're sold already...Are the women here somewhat like slaves?

mia h

Quote from: Sao on April 03, 2013, 06:57:03 AM
I'll send you something in the next 12h  :P

How about they disguise as  trading women, who are on their way to their new master? The Captain of the Guard could play the role of a merchant or deliverer, that way the local men know they shouldn't touch the women as they're sold already...Are the women here somewhat like slaves?

I think it's going to be more interesting if the details of how the caravan is composed is left up to the players. How the caravan looks then will change what happens.

Are the women slaves? Yes and no, from the perspective of Alenal then it would look like that. But the Engary just see them as property, would you call your car or washing machine a slave?
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RipTide

I think I'd be very interested in this. I see you have no princess(s) yet, so I'd like to claim one, or even a handmaiden if you find the need.

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What Does a Siren Crave? === What Does a Siren Prefer?

mia h

Definately no princess yet, so you're more than welcome to put a character together.
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RipTide

Alright, I'll get started on a character. Question though; as far as appearances go, are there any characteristics that the people of one country may have that another country would not share? Hair color, eye color, skin tone, etc.? Or are we just assuming kind of a general European look?

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mia h

Good question.
Alenal and Burshy would be more European in nature.
Engrt would be a little closer to Greater Mongolian under Genghis Khan
Jekib (the caravan's destination) is more Persian\Arabian in nature

The physical differences are pretty large between those cultures, so use a general European base but other countries will have a slight shift towards mogolian\arabian features. Outside Alenal and Burshy both blonde or red hair and blue eyes would be considered fairly unusual.
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RipTide

So I think I'm a bit confused. So country A (from your opening post) is Alenal, and country C is Jekib? And Alenal is forming an alliance with Jekib in order to increase their forces/intimidate Burshy in order to prevent a war? Originally, I though the caravan was going to Burshy, so I just want to clarify, I suppose.

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What Does a Siren Crave? === What Does a Siren Prefer?

mia h

Quote from: RipTide on April 03, 2013, 09:27:38 AM
So I think I'm a bit confused. So country A (from your opening post) is Alenal, and country C is Jekib? And Alenal is forming an alliance with Jekib in order to increase their forces/intimidate Burshy in order to prevent a war? Originally, I though the caravan was going to Burshy, so I just want to clarify, I suppose.

That's pretty well on the money  :-)
Time to go edit the orginal post and change from letters to names
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RipTide

Okay, haha! Good to know! I'll get working on a character!

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What Does a Siren Crave? === What Does a Siren Prefer?

Kaiten

I'm posting this here like you requested in your PM, with the changes we discussed, though considering things, I am still willing to change it.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide
Name: Bilal Ibn Wilhelm Al-Alenal, though usually goes by the more Alenal: Birn Wilhelmson
Age: 32
Occupation: Border Guard
Personality:
Bilal is in all intensive purposes a very sincere and calm person. He often speaks easy with others and seems to have a friendly air and such around him, willing to learn about others and even willing to help once in a while. However, despite that, he also remains a rather closed book. He tends to leave his past unsharable and tends not to mention his true name unless the situation calls for it. Though often he feels bad for not opening up as much as he could, he tries his hardest to keep things civil between those he's responsible for. He possesses a great sense of duty, though it may revolve more along the lines of carving out his own personal identity.

Backstory:
Bilal's origins are humble, but sadly violent. His father was a mercenary named Wilhelm, whose was minor lord in the Kingdom of Alenal. Wilhelm found little fortune in his home land and instead forsake it, moving across Engrt before finally settling on his "Sweet spot", an area on the border of Jekib. Here he set up camp, and headed up a sort of freelance blade for hire company. However when work finally went dry once again, he decided to supplement his income and perhaps for entertainment as well, by raiding and pillaging border towns. On one such raid, he attacked a small village in Jekib. Not thinking that he needed much of an army to raid it, he took a small force with minimal armaments. The first house they raided was a small goatherd's shack. She was asleep and feel especially raptuous, caught her unaware and had his way with her. However... she was far from weak. She was shocked at first, not understanding what was happening and thinking it was a demon of sorts, but when she got a better look, the shock went away and she dispatched him, beating him down with her fists before ending it with a killer blow from her crook. What the merry band of would be raiders didn't realize was that this village was hardened by the years of border living and sporadic Engary raids and had taken it upon themselves to train in a raw but effective way to combat threats, training everyone to fight and sheer willpower to survive. Needless to say, none of the mercenary band survived, their corpses looted and what was left, given a quick sendoff off a nearby cliff.

Still, the Mercenary had taken just enough time, and the shepherd was with child. She raised him, but far from coddled him. He was taught to work and fight as hard as everyone else in the town, and the surname she gave him: Ibn-Wilhelm Al-Alenal just added to the stigma he got in the town. He grew up strong, but felt like he didn't belong and left at quite a young age. Stealing the signet ring that his mother had looted from his father's corpse as well as various writs of lineage that Wilhelm had forsaken but still kept, he headed on the long journey to Alenal. Adopting a less foreign name to them, Birn Wilhelmson, he was able to haphazardly gain his father's property.

It turned out less than reputable. Though a beautiful area, most of the land had been confiscated or just downright annexed, including the main house. Taking what he had left, a small bit of land in the shadow of a mountain, he built a small house. Though he managed to learn enough of the land to grow and raise enough food to sustain himself, he felt that he didn't exactly feel right in this land either. So, he decided to actively be part of the Kingdom. He still technically retained his father's small country title, and so requested to joined the forces of the kingdom. Low prestige meant a low position, and so he became a border guard. Still, he swore that he would do his best in it and went to it like a man possessed.

The position was certainly a difficult one. Though not actively at war with the fearsome chiefs of the Engrt, various Engary tribes would sporadically decide to attack Alenal troops and caravans. These attacks were trying on a young soldier, as sometimes an attack would be as far 6 months apart and often the tribes would call a sort of ceasefire and actively look for trades and other such parlay with the border guards. It required a guard to be constantly vigilant and sensitive to the various changes. Through this rugged lifestyle would break many, Bilal was able to adapt to the pressure, often riding out and scouting a tribe, listening to rumors as best he could to see if the next time they would be visited by an Engary warrior or Trader, soon learning to take advantage of the waxing and waning ceasefires to gain supplies and information. He had finally found a niche in being a border guard, and though gaining little prestige in the King's Court, gained respect of many of the Alenal and Engary border people. Finally he was content with his life, and decided to continually strive to keep the borders safe.

Appearance: No picture for now, but I'll try and find one later.
Looks mostly Alenal, but clearly has a few characteristics of a Jekib man as well. Maintains a hardened appearance due to growing up in a harsh village of Jekib as well as long years of living and fighting on the borders of Alenal and Engrt. Still is able to pull off an aura of sincerity and such. Wears little to no armor unlike many other soldiers and guards, due to him seeing it as a hindrance when fighting in the mountainous regions he calls home. Wields a straight sword of Alenal design, but also seems to have been slightly tempered to have a slight curve at the top with a slight look of Engary or Jekib design, useful for straight fighting or from horseback.

mia h

If found acting like an idiot, apply Gibbs-slap to reboot system.

RipTide

Working on my character. Looking for the right picture, but I'll have it up soon!

Posting Rate = 1-2 posts/story/week

What Does a Siren Crave? === What Does a Siren Prefer?

mia h

All these fine women just ready to ripped out of their bodices, but no one to do the ripping
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RipTide

Please do! You seem like you would be a wonderful contribution to this story!. :)

Posting Rate = 1-2 posts/story/week

What Does a Siren Crave? === What Does a Siren Prefer?

AutumnRain

I'd be interesting in joining in. I'm happy to play a male character if the balance is off. I have an interesting idea for an herbalist/healer type that I'm toying with in my head and trying to solidify, but I'm flexible.

One other question: Is the plan for the caravan to consist only of written characters? or of other non-primary characters as well (either secondary or background/minor characters)?