The Banner Saga: The stitched Banner. (Seeking players of all types)

Started by Lustful Bride, July 06, 2018, 05:14:01 PM

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Lustful Bride

The Stitched Banner


The Gods are dead.

In their wake, Man and Giant survived through a tenuous alliance in the frozen North, driving back the stone destroyers known as the Dredge in two cataclysmic wars that claimed many lives, and painted the snows of their home red with the blood of Human and Varl. The two allies fought with all of their might against the endless tide of the Dredge. The enemy was driven deep into the Northern Wastes where no one can survive the cold, and since there has been no sign of the hated enemy.

Now is an Era of Growth and Trade. The longships have sailed out and found new lands, with new Gods, though they seem to be as dead as those of the Northern folk. Life goes on, people are born, live, and die. The only thing that has stopped, is the Sun. Even in the middle of the night the Sun continued to remain high. Some saw it as a blessing, others a sign of the endtimes.

Either way, life continued on, until the earth shattered one day, vast chasms opened up, and the Dredged spilled out of the chasms, out of mines, sometimes appearing without warning. They were an endless wave, kill one and ten more came to replace it, not even the mightiest warriors could stop the Dredge. Eventually, many had the idea that the best thing to do was to run. Many ran North, and many ran South in hopes of some respite from the enemy.

The southern trade city of Rooreksgil is in uproar. Something has changed the tides and currents, longboats attempting to leave are smashed upon the shore. Horseborn and Shisa merchants, racing north, claim the earth as opened and out crawl monsters. The governor, seeing the panic and fear in the eyes of the people, is closing the gates of the city. All visiting merchants, be they from the north or south, must leave. Any who were not born within the walls, come nightfall, will be slain.

Some grab what they can and leave alone, hoping to sneak past doom, while others gather, forming caravans, praying to death gods, there is safety in number.



Peoples of the Northern Continent.



Human: The humans were the original creation of the Loom-mother, a very clever and patient god who was responsible for weaving life into the tapestry of creation. Blessed with the ability to procreate, but cursed with only 80 years of life at most. They are the most favored creations of the gods and can be found across the world, for better and for worse. Born out necessity due to the threat of the dredge, humans hold a casual alliance with the Varl, tainted with the sort of mistrust that exists between any two different races of people. Their smaller settlements are frequently run by chieftains, while larger ones are held by governors. The leader of each settlement also is the one to hold a banner, a woven history of the town and its people.



Spell Weaver: Witches, Menders, magic men, mages. They go by many names and come from the race of Man and are held up with both fear and admiration. They can mend broken metal, knit together damaged flesh, and even engage in things that some would call unnatural. All magic comes with a price though. Even those who learn to master the winds of magic find themselves drained by it, every spell taking a day of life from them, or worse, entire decades from their life force. Some are mysterious and their ways may be strange. Many rumors pass around about the different schools of magic and those who practice it. The best way to learn what is truth is to ask one yourself, but ask a Spell Weaver a question and they may give you five answers, Gods help you if they only give you one.

Varl: The Varl are a race of powerful, horned and bearded giants, having twice the height and girth of Humans. They are warlike but also have a fondness for mead and brawling. Only male Varl exist, as the entire species was made by combining man and animal through fire by the impatient God Hadrborg, who is revered by the Varl. Each varl alive today was created by Hadrborg, and now the god is dead. The Varl here now are the last ones that will ever exist.

They can live to be at least a few hundred years old if their lives are not cut short by a fall in battle, although it is unknown just how long their natural life spans are. The Varl usually live in small communities, spaced from each other, or alone. For this reason, they are prone to develop a restlessness when living in proximity of other varl or humans. However, they are known to gather in large cities or in armies, especially during times of War. In these cases, they are ruled by a king, who is typically publicly accepted (or 'elected') after displaying surpassing valor.


Horse born:The horseborn are a race of creatures that live to the south and east of men and varl, residing primarily in the flat plains and valleys of Dalalond. It is known that they are centaurs who may have interbred in the past with horses and possibly the rare human to be taken in to their herd. Male horseborn are called Teulu while females are called Cantref. They speak a harsh and difficult tongue to learn. Some are willing to trade with Man and Varl, while others attack them on sight.


Dredge:A race of humanoid beings supposedly made of stone. They are usually clad in darkly colored suits of armor, with bandages on their bodies beneath, made either of stone or metal, and have bright yellow eyes. They inhabit the cold northern plains of Valkajokull and, in more recent times, subterranean networks further south.

It is said, that as Loom-mother wove life, the other gods attempted to mimic her, but lacked the skill or patience necessary to master the art. Some gods twisted beasts into new shapes and monsters. Others wove her creations together, making cross-breeds of human and animal, and so were created the varl and the horseborn. One spiteful god took the humans and twisted them wretchedly, hid them away in the depths of the earth, and they became the Dredge.

With unending threads of life, the dredge numbers grew along with their need for more space and more food. Their god prodded the dredge into waging war against the other creations. The dredge became hated and feared among the mortals. Some believed them to be the dead returned to the world to punish the living. The dredge, it turned out, could be killed, but only through bloody battle.


Peoples of the Southern Continent.

Shisa:



As with Varl and Horseborn, the Shisa were created by a God mixing man and animal. In this case, it was cloud lions, large cats with strangely flowing pelts, living high in the mountains to the far south of Dalalond. These lionmen are still found in those mountains, guarding the passes to the lands beyond, allowing no one to enter. Some of their number however, do leave, marching to the coast, where several trade towns exist, baring strange goods, all of which fetch high prices in the human and varl kingdoms in the north. However, most of their trade is with the Horseborn, who make up the majority of those heading for the coastal towns to trade. It does not seem like the Shisa need to go to the coast, so the purpose of those few that do, is unknown. Perhaps it is simple wonderlust?

Human:Little is known of the peoples living beyond the mountains the Shisa call home. However, the lionmen have let slip there are humans and they name their country the Araki Empire. Attempts to sail far enough south to find them, have either never returned or forced back by ship eating worms.

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Map of the setting:






Character sheets
[b]Player[/b]:
[b]Name[/b]:
[b]Race[/b]:
[b]Age[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Sexual Preference[/b]:
[b]Appearance[/b]: (pics are acceptable but there must be a written description)
[b]Weapons[/b]:
[b]Extra Gear[/b]:
[b]History[/b]:





I, along with Irishwolf will both be acting as the GMs to this game. We will share the load for the RP and try to manage things as well as we can. Feel free to ask us any questions. Our characters will be placed below to give you an idea of how they should look and what it will be like.



Vala the Coward.

Player:Lustful Bride

Name:Vala. (Also known as 'The Coward' among other witches.)

Race: Human, Witch.

Age: Unknown. (Don't ask)

Gender:Female.

Sexual Preference:Whatever she feels like at the moment.

Appearance: Vala appears as an older woman dressed in a flowing blue dress with silver jewelry on her body. Her hair is tied back into two buns because it is much longer than it actually appears and she doesn't want it to get in the way of her spells, but doesn't want to cut it.

Weapons: Magic is her primary weapon, but she does carry a rather long dagger with her, decorated with the image of a serpent eating its own tail. Some have even sworn that the serpent bracelet on her hand has some to life on occasion to jump at the eyes of foes, but who can trust rumors?

Extra Gear: Among the Caravan's many carts, there is one claimed by Vala, others may put food and goods in it, but none can remove her items from the cart. Within it (aside from clothes and some magic supplies, she also has a chest with the ouroboros symbol upon it. It is rather large and can only be opened by a key that only Vala has. What is inside of it is only known to her.

History: A Spell Weaver never reveals their secrets. But you are welcome to know some. Vala grew up as an uncultured girl from the North East, playing in mud and being as uncouth as the others of her village, until she took an interest in the work of the local weaving woman, who spun yarn and sometimes took teeth from the village children in exchange for coins. Vala didn't want to have coins, she wanted to learn how to make them, and offered several teeth she had saved up to the old woman.

This began her affinity with magic, as she became an apprentice to the woman, though as she grew older her desires and wants changed, from wanting to turn stones into gold, to making herself more beautiful, to learning how to stop death. The old woman in her village wasn't skilled enough for any of those, and she moved past that to learning from other Spell Weavers outside of her village, going from each one and improving her skills and powers, until the power to defeat death became her greatest obsession.

This earned her the name of 'The Coward' among others of her kind, as she was seen as playing with forces beyond her control. It was unnatural to avoid death, and always produced ugly results. As far as other spell weavers were convinced, death was better. But that was fine with Vala. They may hate her, but already her studies had produced results, helping counteract the price of using magic to begin with.

As the Dredge have made their return, Vala has had to move away from her workshop, as the toll of killing every single dredge with her spells would have taken far too many years from her lifespan. She found herself traveling with other caravans down to Rooreksgil, hoping to find a governor or trade baron willing to hire on a Witch. Sadly the local idiot in charge was too stupid to see beyond his initial problems. How could he turn down one who had control of the winds of magic? It will come back to bite him in the end. For now, Vala hears tell of some foolish Varl who somehow ended up with a caravan of many lost travelers joining him to...somewhere. Perhaps he would benefit from the aid of a Witch. Vala would rather travel with humans, or other spell weavers such as herself, but beggars cannot be choosers.

Once Vala struck her deal with the Varl, she helped to properly organize his caravan and help give the direction. Its more work than she likes, but much better than staying in Rooreksgil.





Player: IrishWolf

Name: Koll

Race: Varl

Age: 186

Gender: Male

Sexual Preference: No one as ever offered

Appearance: Like the rest of his kin, Koll towers over humans, horseborn and Shisa alike, standing at the impressive height of twelve feet tall. His hair and beard are a deep ruddy auburn, both allowed to grow long and left hanging free. His wide set of curling horns, which grow from the sides of his head, are a deep black. As strong and muscled as any giant, with the same fondness for heavy drinking, he lacks most of the heaviness in the stomach that most of his kind have, mostly because as a merchant’s guard, he spends most of his days on the march or training. His preferred manner of dress is a red undertunic, a blue overtunic with silver braid, leather belt and belt pouch, a pair of form fitting black trousers, leather shoes and grey leg wrappings.

Weapons: His main weapon is a massive two handed sword but like any good warrior, he carries a backup, in this case a Varl sized handaxe and dagger.

Extra Gear: Koll has managed to acquire a wagon and yox for himself, filled mostly with food, he also keeps a chest with a spare tunic or two, extra belt and pouch, welt stone and his dwindling amount of silver. He has also managed to find a keg or three of mead.

History: Koll is one of the younger Varl, one of the last made by Hadrborg, although young is a relative term, given he’s lived longer than two lives of men. Created near the end of the First Great War, between men and varl, he came into his own during the Second Great War, when men and varl allied to drive back the dredge.

After the last war, he at first join his fellow varl in the forts guarding the north. However he very quickly found himself growing increasingly restless and finally left the forts, walking aimlessly southward. However, he quickly found himself in need of money, so that he could feed himself. Twice the size of a man, twice the appetite and his skills were not in hunting. Luck was with him though and he found himself taking a job with a merchant caravan, who wanted him to help drive away bandits or at least make them less likely to attack, because they had a giant in their ranks.

The years have seen Koll walk across the known world many many times over, his profession that of a warrior for hire with the merchants. When the sun stopped, he was in Rooreksgil and in the ensuing panic from the reappearance of the dredge, he lost the man who had hired him, although he did find one of the wagons and a Yox left behind. Loading it with food he either bought or liberated from abandoned stalls, he planned to head north, to once again join with his brethren and take the fight to the dredge.

Before he could leave, he found that humans were starting to flock to him, at least those who hoped for safety in numbers. Given his size and the reputation of his kind, it was natural that the smaller races might gather around one such as he. The only reason he didn’t start swing his sword, was the fact that their wagons could carry food for him and one cart’s worth wouldn’t even get him across Dalalond.

WaitingCynicism


IrishWolf


Spectre

I'd like to place some serious interest, in a Horse-Born or a Dredge character, Am I clear that we are a caravan fleeing the Southern city, looking for anything safe?

Lustful Bride

Quote from: Spectre on July 06, 2018, 07:42:08 PM
I'd like to place some serious interest, in a Horse-Born or a Dredge character, Am I clear that we are a caravan fleeing the Southern city, looking for anything safe?

I am afraid that Dredge are not playable characters. Only our foes (at least for now).

Yes they are fleeing North in hopes of finding sanctuary on the more entrenched and defended cities.

Spectre

Oh! thanks for the clear up! Horse-Born it is!

Player: Spectre
Name: Rho'Dhi
Race: Horse-Born
Age: 19 years
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Selective
Appearance: A younger Adult Teulu with buckskin coloring and shaggy black feathering to match the long black mane he keeps braided over his shoulder. Solemn, dark brown eyes, symbolic blue warpaint around his right eye. Wears black and brown leathers, and a strangely printed handkerchief around his neck, a circular pendant on a chain beneath, and a graying faded clock, most often with the hood up. A sheath and a saddlebag lay on his right side.
Weapons: A mid-length sword and a bundle of throwing knives. Also, He's shoe'd, so he has no issue in melee combat, but would prefer to just outrun whatever is causing him grief.
Extra Gear: His saddle bag is stuffed with a water-skin, dried fruits and nuts, medicinal herbs and coins of varying amounts, not much but enough to buy essentials. He keeps a record, in a small journal, scratched in with a stick of charcoal, but its in the tongue of his people. There is some available space, but it will cost.
History: One can only Walk the Plains of Dalalond so many times in ones youth and not get curious about what lies beyond the familiar. Rho'Dhi had a taste for the strange and spent his formative years following various members of his herd, demanding to hear of everything they have seen, every story and myth and legend. As he grew into an adult, he came to realize that his herd was one that kept away from anything that wasn't their own, and therefore, only had answers that he found unsatisfactory. When he was gown enough to hold his own in battle and could find his way home by the stars, Rho'Dhi formally asked the leader of his herd to allow him to seek the outside world on the herds behalf. There could be all sorts of things out there, medicine, weaponry, All things he could bring back to make their lives better. Many scoffed at his idea, called him fool and worse, but the leader gave their blessing.
Before his journey began his mother gave him the scarf, a roughly dyed cloth map, old but usable, and the circle pendant, a hammered silver disc with the stars his herd follows carved into it. A last resort to finding home.

Rho'Dhi wanders. He keeps to himself as he travels, observing merchants caravans and human cities from afar. Travelers past him in silence or bantered lightly, but none could be called companion.  Keeping notes to tell his mother and herd, He stumbled across a pair of Humans,  Mother and young girl, travelling to Rooreksgil to seek medicines for the weak mother. Her herd lived in the city. It was "safe."  He didn't understand  that, but the little one giggled and shrieked at the sight of him. He was curious too.
   Rho'Dhi used his course but usable leanings of human speech to strike a deal with them,  passage to the City, ( on his back though he'd rather kill himself than admit that) for stories and anything the mother could teach him. In the weeks of travel, he learned much of humans, magic and Varl, all processed in mostly polite silence. Without others of his own kind, he speaks little. The Dredge, if they came up, grew to be monsters of legend in his mind. As nervous as it made him, he longed to see one for himself.
He got his wish. The myth became all too real just outside the city, one of the monsters seemed to crawl out of a crack in a mountainside near their evening camp and attacked. It came out of the dark and nearly crushed the little one under its massive maul. Forced by fear, He gathered the Mother and child and fled, running as fast as he can for the strange city. From dead of night to midday, he ran as fast as his four legs would carry him with the humans clinging to him. He made it to the city and collapsed in the market square, exhausted.  The Mother spoke to another gawking human and after a fistful of coins changed hands, he was given a safe place to sleep and did so for almost a day.
The next day, he was exploring the market, trying to avid eye contact, when the order was given that all Other must leave the city under plenty of death. The Mother and child must have found safety but he had to move on. The place he stayed had his bags backed when he returned, full of supplies for the road. A Final kindness before the boot. As beings of all sorts rush to leave, a grouping around a Massive Varl and a strange, white haired Human woman catches his eye. Keeping a low profile as it possible for a horse-born in a human city, he loiters near the forming caravan, observing.

Lustful Bride

I know the character's age is 'in horse' but I would prefer if you just made it 18 just to avoid explanations if it looks bad. They are part human as well so they can handle aging more like humans do.

Spectre

Consider it changed. Is there anything else that needs fixing? I"m new to the story and a little unversed.

Lustful Bride

It looks alright and fits well enouh with the setting and with the story we are aking. I say aproved but i will wait for Irishwolf to come back on tomorrow to hsee if he gives approval as well.

IrishWolf


Mac84


WaitingCynicism

Placeholder


Player: WC
Name: Erik
Race: Human
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: Homosexual
Appearance: Curly blonde hair and dark blue eyes, a broad build, and tall.
Weapons: a handaxe and shield
Extra Gear:
History:

Sye

If we looked into healing magic, would the magic still come from their own life force or from a higher power to aid them to reduce the blow?
  

Lustful Bride

Quote from: Saika on July 10, 2018, 01:41:48 AM
If we looked into healing magic, would the magic still come from their own life force or from a higher power to aid them to reduce the blow?

Of the Magic we have seen shown in the games, it takes away from the life force of the user, the more powerful the spell the more it takes away.

Sye

Quote from: Lustful Bride on July 11, 2018, 11:27:26 AM
Of the Magic we have seen shown in the games, it takes away from the life force of the user, the more powerful the spell the more it takes away.

Ok . Just had to ask haha
  

Spectre

 Out of curiosity, How big is this game  going to be roughly?

Lustful Bride

Quote from: Spectre on July 13, 2018, 12:03:19 PM
Out of curiosity, How big is this game  going to be roughly?

Depends on how many people we get and what me and Irish can work out :P

Dashenka

Is there some Guild Wars 2 influences in there?

I was wondering what kind of story it will be? Or if it will be freeform? And if the players are in the city or fleeing the city?
Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals and I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight to prove I'm right and I don't need to be forgiven.

Lustful Bride

Quote from: Dashenka on July 13, 2018, 01:44:33 PM
Is there some Guild Wars 2 influences in there?

Never played Guild Wars, so I don't know if there is. If so its accidental. This whole idea is based on the game Banner Saga.


QuoteI was wondering what kind of story it will be? Or if it will be freeform? And if the players are in the city or fleeing the city?

Freeform, we will be fleeing the city, trying to head North, where we may find safety in the larger and more fortified cities. Think of it like a Viking era Battle Star Galactica. On the run from the Dredge with as many people as will follow us, but sometimes forced to make hard decisions.

IrishWolf

Quote from: Dashenka on July 13, 2018, 01:44:33 PM
I was wondering what kind of story it will be? Or if it will be freeform? And if the players are in the city or fleeing the city?

Its going to be a mix of The March of the Ten Thousand and Oregon Trail, in a viking themed setting.

And the players will start at the named trade city, being kicked out by the governor.

Dashenka

Alright. I'll give it some thought. Bit careful with the freeform. :)
Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals and I get my back into my living.

I don't need to fight to prove I'm right and I don't need to be forgiven.

RobHumph

So did this ever end up going anywhere? If it has I'm interested.

RobHumph

Eh figured I'd throw my hat in the ring with a char anyway.

Player: Robhumph

Name: Ivar

Race: Human

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual

Appearance: A human of middling age, Ivar stands tall at a shave over six feet. His build is clearly that of an archer, muscular and with a slightly pronounced right shoulder from pulling the string of his longbow back and forth for hours on end each and every day. Unkempt blonde hair streaks from his head all the way to his shoulder, resting alongside the surprisingly well-kept beard that adorns his chin. Oddly for one of his fighting style, and indeed it seems much of the world outside of the city of Arberrang, Ivar wears armour, fashioned from metal and handed to him from his father, as it was from his grandfather before him.

Weapons: As his primary weapon, Ivar uses a longbow of yew. Alongside this, he keeps but a simple longknife, it is not an equal to a sword or to an axe, but it serves well enough.

Extra Gear: Ivar travels with little. Save for his weapons, his clothes and his armour, all he keeps with him can be found in the wolfskin pack he fashioned for himself. And even then, it is little but trinkets of value to him and the blanket he sleeps upon.

History: Ivar is a warrior by trade, but not much of a conventional one. Preferring the bow that is all to often disregarded as a weapon more fit for women than men, who in the eyes of many should be in the thick of the fight with axe and sword. From his earliest days in the pleasant village of Aros, Ivar practised with the bow. At first, it was merely to hunt, but quickly it became a means to make coin and food. Boersgard lay only a few days away, and within its walls were many clans who were always eager for warriors. Ivar became one for a time until the call of the road came to him one night. He wanted to see more of the world, and so he left and put his early life's education in living off the land to hunt a stag to use.

Those days are done now. Or at least he wished they were done. The roads of the world are not a pleasant place, especially the further south you go. The Kragsmen and Horseborn aways seeking the cause trouble and mayhem will put a man off of the wandering life quickly. That was how he found his way to Rooreksgil in a way. It was the town at the end of the road he was travelling. And now it seems he's been forced back onto it.

The Sun has stopped. The ground opens and the Dredge come forth. The road is the only option left to anyone.

Lustful Bride

I'm afraid it hasn't really taken off. Sorry. :( That tends to happen with group games here on E.

RobHumph

That's a shame really. Just gotten back into the Banner Saga.

Well if it ever does get off the ground or you try doing another one, give me a shout