closed

[Envious]

...duh!

The Blurb
You are a bad guy working for bad people. They send you to illegally acquire (mostly) magical artifacts. You hunt, forage, scavenge, and steal.


The Logistics

• This is a mission-based, freeform fantasy game.
  
• The posting rate is 1x a week.
  
• The writing style is third person, past tense.
  
• This game will have adult situations, but will not have a smut focus.
  
• This is just an interest check.

[Envious]

Some World Information

History
In all of the world, no land could compare to the magical splendor of Eluva. The enchanted island had more mystical flora, more mythical beasts, and more magical people than all other lands combined. To be Eluvan was to be the envy of others. They set the standard for what it meant to be powerful, sophisticated, and opulent. In comparison, the rest of the world was uncivilized and savage. Magic was the cornerstone of their culture and it was intertwined with all aspects of life.

One day, that changed. A cataclysmic event tore southern Eluva asunder and its land and peoples were lost beneath the waters of a magical maelstrom. Their deaths were mercifully swift in comparison to what the rest of the island faced. The magic that had once flowed freely from the fingertips of Eluvan mages was suddenly reduced to a mere trickle. The magic that powered cities, grew crops, cured diseases - all of the basic necessities - diminished so severely that the population could not be supported. A dark time fell on Eluva.

A proud people, the Eluvans isolated from the outside world rather than make public the shame of their new existence. They closed the one accessible port, Crystal Harbor, halting travelers from leaving and outsiders from entering. Protected by turbulent ocean waters, towering coral reefs, steep seaside cliffs, and jagged coastal mountains, the fate of the nearly impenetrable island remained a mystery to the neighboring world for the next 12 years.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, central Eluva became the new southern Eluva. Over time, the magical maelstrom that raged over the southern seas eventually dissipated and curious neighboring Kingdoms sent ships to investigate. It was discovered that there were several places along the (new) southern coastline where ships could safely find harbor, and contact from the outside world was discreetly renewed. Eluva was under strict isolation protocol; contact with the outside world was expressly forbidden by the Council, and many Eluvan's agreed. The Outsiders only wanted to take advantaged of the Eluvans weakened state and force them to squander away their magical heritage for inferior products by inferior people. If Eluvans could just fix the magic, everything would be fine. An intellectual and enlightened people, the Eluvans knew they could solve their magical maladies given time.

Illegal trade became the dirty secret that powered Eluva's revitalization. The outside world had long ago developed the technology, tools, and teachings needed to tame mother nature without magic and the Eluvans needed it to progress without magic.

That's where you come in. You are a smuggler working for powerful Eluvans who would rather move forward than hold on to the ghosts of a glorious past. The popular mentality still favors isolationism, so these people work in secret. You are expendable and if you are caught exchanging Eluvan goods for Outsider resources and contributing to the dilution of a great society, you will be put to death after a robust round of torture in an effort to make you give up secrets you don't have.

Eluvan Notes
1481 - The Cataclysm occurred
1481 - 1493 - The Dark Time, 12 years
1493 - The Maelstrom dissolves
1494 - Eluva's Revitalization begins, Our Story begins.

Pre-Cataclysm, the Eluvans were an advanced magical society near a utopian state. They lived in harmony with nature. Their culture had long progressed past the need for physical effort and their labors were mostly intellectual and artistic. Status was determined by magical ability foremost, and then by being the best at something. When their magic was diminished, they simply had no idea how to function. Chaos descended and for the first time in remembered history, crimes of violence were committed for the sake of survival.

The Council, Eluva's ruling elite in Crystal Harbor, have re-established some sort of control. The first thing they created was the Enforcement Division to civilize the wild population. They put an end to the rampant violence and thievery and are typically well-respected and welcome company. The second thing they created was the Advancement Division to restore the lost magic. They are the hope of Eluvans, and fuel the isolationist rhetoric and belief that magic will soon be restored.

[Envious]

Character Creation
*This is just an interest check; a template will be posted at a later time.

Magic & Spells
Magic requires the ability to tap into the Source, a verbal chant OR sign, and sometimes a magical reagent.

The Source powers the spell, the chant/sign channels the energy, and magical reagents can serve to alter or amplify spells in unique ways.

Signs can be done with hands or something like a wand.

People can fumble through magic without a proper education, but it's dangerous. Specific to Eluva, everyone was granted a basic education (both magical and non). Continuing education at the Magic Academies required tuition payments, but mages who were particularly talented or interested in magical theory could advance their learning there. Pre-Cataclysm, it was open to non-Eluvans, though the curriculum was restricted. Magic can be learned through spell books and experimentation.

Mages across the world are connected by a shared phenomena. The Source is not a physical location per se, but more of a shared concept. All mages describe the same experience when tapping into the Source to cast a spell. It is as if they are at a well, drawing water. Everything is always described similarly except for the "bucket" used to draw from the Source. Each mage has their own unique vessel to draw the water with and typically, the size of the vessel determines the power of a mage. Since the Cataclysm, it is as if everyone's "bucket" was replaced with a thimble and instead of the water being within reach, they now have to lower their thimble miles down into the well to tap into the Source.

Casting is difficult and restricted. It used to be that mages were adept at casting some types of spells over others, but could dabble in any area. That is not the case anymore. Some Eluvans have even lost their ability to cast magic. The spells mages have access to are now limited and nowhere near as powerful as they used to be. If a mage was able to cast a raging fireball and hit a target 10 yards away, that same mage might now only be able to light a flame to the tip of their finger. It varies depending on the person.

You will make up the spell, chants/signs, and reagents for your spells.

Spells can be offensive to attack.
Spells can be defensive to protect.
Spells can be restorative to heal.
Spells can be passive as a utility.

There can be more, but those are some basic ideas.

Skills
These are non-magical abilities. In the context of this game, they're probably something that help you be successful as a smuggler, but this will be open to you.

[Envious]

The objects on the map aren't exactly to scale, but serve as a good visual reference of the playable area.

[Envious]

That is all. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Elizabeth Ecsed]

Where do I sign up?

[Chreestafer]

Interested also :)

[Envious]

Hurray! Welcome to the fun. I'm hoping to draw in about 4-5 reprobates participants.

I had a two questions that I'll speak in generic terms about.

Character Themes
This is primarily an action roleplay centered around acquiring magical artifacts. Your character should be a grunt-level "bad guy" as that is what the story will focus on. If you're the boat captain or the Council member or some other high-profile person, you're not going to have a chance for much writing. You're the bad guy because it is illegal to trade with outsiders. You might actually make a good character who is just in a tough situation and is doing this to feed mouths or because they believe in having the new tech for progression or want the safety of the group. Or they just might be an asshole who is okay with doing anything to survive. It's really up to you! Your character will be put in a lot of dangerous situations where they need to choose to fight, sweet talk, or run away. It's not really a slice of life or politically charged roleplay - that stuff is there for flavor text and to get a feel for the world. You can use it to affect character creation as much or as little as you want.

Group Dynamics
Your character will be part of a gang that my character is a back-seat leader to - she delegates out the work because she has the connections on where things are located. Once character creation is open, you can discuss between writers if you wish to have any connections. The profile won't be anything exceptional, so I'll drop what I'm thinking below. I'll drop the official profile once I have an example (the gang leader) finished. Your character can be new to the gang, or they can be an established member. My character is open to creating connections =]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Alias:
Age:
Personality:
History:

Weapon:

Spell One:
Spell Two:
Spell Three:

Skill One:
Skill Two:

[Chreestafer]

Definitely working with the idea of maybe a "specialized" smuggler? One who deals with dangerous and exotic magical weapons.  He has a vendetta to prove, and is a master at arms.

I'll get a CS working.  With that said though, the spells section, since Magix has somewhat faltered... what's the potential potency of the spell? How week or strong would they be?

And are there other races in this world, or strictly human?

[Envious]

I am open to other humanoid fantasy races being played. Pre-Cataclysm, they were "Eluvan" above all else. Post-Cataclysm, that might not be true. I'll let you play with it at your discretion.

Spells would be weak in comparison to what mages were previously capable of. I might ask you to tweak something, but since the characters will primarily be fighting NPC style antagonists, there is wiggle room. I'm trying to think of a succinct comparison. If you cast a magic laser blast that usually did 100 damage, now it might do 40. But to flatly say a 60% decrease seems like it might be disingenuous depending the type of magic people want to use. 

[Envious]

I'll give this through the weekend to find a cast, just FYI so people aren't in rp limbo