Shifting Tides [Naga's, Mermaids and Humans] Interest Check

[Dashenka]

Shifting Tides

For decades humans have gazed to the stars, exploring the universe, finding new planets, many light years away. People have been in outer space, set foot on the moon and missions to colonise Mars are becoming reality sooner rather than later. We like to think that we are unraveling the mysteries of the universe at a good speed and that soon we can literally reach for the stars.

Decades that were spent ignoring the deep sea. Deep in the south pacific ocean lies a kingdom undiscovered by men. It’s dwellers the kind of creatures from stories and tales. Two different races live together in harmony and peace, making sure to stay away from humans. Magical mermaids gracefully shoot through the water, playful and friendly, using their light magical abilities to hunt and gather and make their lives more pleasant. Next to the mermaids, the Naga look almost evil. They’re much bigger and heavier and often have serpent like features adorning their body and faces. Much less adept at magic, the Naga are formidable warriors and have taken down the largest of underwater creatures.

They have seen the boats, the airplanes and even the humans themselves on the small uninhabited islands above their kingdom but they have made it a habit to avoid all contact.

Until one day. The mermaid princess, always being curious to the world above, despite her father telling her not to, accidentally got caught in a fishing net. She was hauled on deck but managed to slither away and back to the freedom of the water. The beautiful creature had only been on the deck of the small ship a few seconds but what she didn’t know was that the ship was rigged with loads of cameras.

Footage of the event spread across the world like a wildfire and it was only a matter of time before the underwater kingdom would be found.

Will the humans come in peace? To research and study? Or to exterminate? Can the peace between the friendly and playful mermaids and the proud and strong naga last with the invasion of their kingdom?

Nothing will ever be the same again, not for the underwater dwellers or for the human race.

For now this is an interest check. I haven’t set a direction to the game. It could be war, it could be diplomacy, could be romance, could be anything. Please, if you’re interested, also tell me and the others what way you would like it to go. It also depends on how many people are interested in this.

Racial info:

Humans:

The human race is the same one as we know. Technology is about at the same level ours is in the present day. Some additions might be made, depending on the way to go but nothing too major.
Humans are completely out of their element in the water and in order to dive as deep as to even see the underwater kingdom, they would need very specialised diving equipment.
If you decide to play a human, please pick a real life picture. No anime, drawings or artwork.

Mermaids and Naga:

In this setting, mermaids and naga can be male and female. I don’t know if there is a general name for that so let’s leave it at this for now. Mermaids are roughly the same size as a human, their tail the size of a humans legs. The fin at the end can be a simple, functional one or a very elaborate beautiful fin. As a rule of thumb for the creation of your character, the top half is human, the bottom half is fish. Because of their small stature and fish-like attributes, they are extremely agile and fast under water and even though they can breath above the water as well, their movement on land is very limited.

Naga are basically top half human, bottom half reptile or snake. They are much larger and heavier than mermaids, because of their long tails and are less agile in the water. Like the mermaids, naga can breathe both underwater as above the water but where the mermaids are almost unable to move on land, naga can be surprisingly quick on land. They are limited to certain terrain and on the islands they often visit, large scaled tracks can be found through the jungle. If you want, you can add serpentine features to your naga.

Both have incredibly good eyesight, hearing and can sense pressure differences in the water. Their sense of smell is a lot less developed.

For references, I would like you to pick a human picture for both the mermaids and the naga. Then, if you want, add some images, drawings or artwork to further visualise your naga or mermaid.

I have a few limitations for these two races though. They live underwater, mostly in caves and coral. When you decide on a colour for your tail or something, keep this in mind. Vibrant colours are impossible underwater as there is hardly any light. So no neon pink or bright yellow or something.

Also, I would like them to be topless. Clothes underwater just makes no sense and would chafe a lot. So try to find a topless or nude picture. Do keep in mind that these are creatures that have lived underwater for thousands of years. Their bodies are made for this. What I mean is that they are streamlined. No D cups, super muscular bodies. Another things I want (and this has absolutely NOTHING to do with racism) is that the characters be white. It just wouldn’t make sense if in a place with low to no sunlight, the skin tones would be dark.



In case of interest, please state a race, role and direction you would like to see the game go to.

[pdragon]

Vibrant colours are impossible underwater as there is hardly any light. So no neon pink or bright yellow or something.

one google search later

[Dashenka]

Those things don't live in the deep sea :)

But thanks for the effort :)

[pdragon]

Actually half the creatures on the list explicitly do live in deep sea waters.

In fact it's actually shallow and fresh water fish that tend to have more muted colors, specifically because the higher visibility and light requires them to have better camoflauge with the rocks and riverbanks they hide amongst. Coloration has less to do with light and more with diet and geography, not to mention deep sea waters are were you begin to see creatures with bio-luminescence, giving them a literal bright neon glow.

[Dashenka]

Alright so bright colours are allowed as well :)

[Caelia]

You had my attention at mermaid. Question: what do you mean by role exactly? As in where our characters are in the hierarchy of their species?

[Dashenka]

You had my attention at mermaid. Question: what do you mean by role exactly? As in where our characters are in the hierarchy of their species?

Yes and what you would like them to be. Like a soldier, hunter, gatherer, civilian, the unlucky princess, etc.

[Caelia]

Ahhh, that makes sense. Hmmmm, I think I'm leaning more towards perhaps a gatherer? That or perhaps a healer? Though I'm not sure if that could work into the story.

[Dashenka]

Well there is no story yet, that's why I want to know what people would like to play. So I/we can build a story :)

[Caelia]

Well, I'm definitely interested! Hopefully it generates more interest, I would hate to see it die before it ever got off the ground.

[Dashenka]

Might be slow with the weekend and the holidays.

Patience :D