I'll preface this by saying that the major reason that this is going here instead of in the Non-Adult area is because I would like this to have to possibility of going outside of the realms of PG-13 with dynamic, tortured characters and situations and detail levels that may not be appropriate for younger viewers so to speak. I don't intend for this to be all about sex, or driven by it, but if it comes up, better to let things play out and not leave them ambiguous. My main concern with rating would be in the situations that the characters may encounter, combat-wise, and mentally/emotionally along the way. There's a story being told, a point A to point B type story, I want deep, gritty character development (as possible), and to take what could be a very stereotypical fantasy situation and make it unique and engaging.
Now that that stuff is out of the way...
All know of this war, and the making of the grave land of Todesfalle, but it is said that deep within the depths of that fell forest lies something that should not be. The Gate to the Shadows, the realms from which all dreams and nightmare's are born. The Three have foretold the power that can be found there. The power to take what you dream, and make it a reality, but woe be it to he who is not a master of himself that enters through the Gate. Few attempt such foolishness, and perhaps the creatures that plague our southern most borders do us good for that. Few wish to enter that dread forest and face even the weakest of the creatures that they face. Even still, we lose more year after year to that damned land, one can only hope that they find peace in the Shadow.
This was the tale that had driven her to this fair, and Rain was not going to be turned away. She had lived too long in the shadow of The Duke, and was only just now coming to realize how very much worse Daemion was. She had been so very, very naive, but that was gone now. She knew that she could never save The Duke, would never make him a good person, so she was going get Morrin back, steal back that which He had destroyed if it was the last thing she ever did. Alone, she did not have the power, but if the tales were true, she would have her way. She simply could not do it alone.
The small bard stepped onto the stage, her flame red hair dancing in the breeze where it was not confined beneath the braided net she had made of its top most layer. With its overabundance, she scare needed the burgundy and black velvet clothing that adorned her body in its fitted splendor, marking her as Court Bard to those who knew anything of such things. There were familiar faces in the crowd, some welcome, and others not so, ever the performer, she smiled brightly, and dropped into a most elegant curtsy. She was after all, one of the main events, she would not disappoint those that had come to see her.
"Today," She called out, and waited for the sounds in the crowd to die down. "I bring you a tale, a tale I wish to prove." She paused for dramatic effect, only heightened by sudden, dead silence. "I will tell you my tale, and then, I shall I speak to whomever wish to help me prove it. Many of you know me, by reputation, if not by name, and I promise you, that if you help me, I will write you a tale the like of which the world has never known, and you will go down in history as a hero." She felt a flash of triumph as Daemion's face went red, but knew that he would do nothing while she was on this stage. The Duke, for all she hated him, protected her in that way. Daemion did not dare harm her in a fashion that could be reported upon. Later, when they were alone, she could well be in trouble, but she didn't intend to be alone with him ever again. A cool, regale smile curved her lips more sincerely than she had smiled in several weeks. "Now that I've caught your attention, I give to you, The Dreamer and the Shadows..."For clarification, this is a world of my creation, in case that wasn't obvious. There is a lore and a history that goes along with this, but I'm not going to bog you down with all of that at this point. I've also been working on some basic maps. The important part of this world for the sake of the roleplay would be Atlantis, pardon names, they were all from mythical places in the original world concept I came up with years ago, with strong influences from those particular quarters, and through the years I just haven't gotten around changing them. Mostly because I kind of suck at naming things.
Anyway, I continue. Atlantis is an island continent, one of the three true continents of the world, and the smallest. There are several kingdoms, but we can go into more of that later, if people are interested. The starting area would be in Alexandria, near the border of Eden (see, I told you you'd recognize the names) in a town called Dalos where every year there is a gigantic Midsummer Fair. Your character would be someone who was there for whatever reason, it's kind of like a World Fair, so there are a lot of barter/job opportunities, it draws lots of people, that's why she chose to make this pronouncement there. For whatever reason, they decide to go along with her.
I don't have any requirements for group size, but I would like at least two or three players. For storytelling/GMing style, I was hoping to do something that I've never tried before, and have it semi-narrated by Rain, my major NPC. This would primarily be used for mood, and to help things along if we hit a snag that we needed to just gloss over to get on with things. This would also, I would hope, facilitate easy character insertion/removal if someone wanted to join after it got started, or needed to leave suddenly and without being able to kill their character off, or write them out.
I think that's about it. Any comments, questions, or general indications of interest are welcome. Thank you all for your time.
Information for Character Creation:
This is a magical world, magic exists, and is decently common in its weaker forms. Truly powerful magics are extremely rare amongst humans and generally run in families.
The fae creatures, elves, nymphs, etc, are much more prone to magic. Some are even born with gifts such as telepathy, and empathy, but they are rarely consistent, and take a great deal of will power and discipline to become dependably useful. However, if thinking of making a fae character, do keep in mind that many of them keep to themselves, and most choose to remain in Eden, or less populated area's to the continent. Fae are at their strongest in Eden, as it is the worlds connection to Faerie, their place of origin.
It is safe to say, that if you can find it in folklore or D&D(most of which is based off of folklore) or anything like that, you can find a version of it somewhere on this world,
but, when the world was created, and the creatures fled their old home in the wake of the human betrayal, the large races felt too confined by the continent, it's really not that big, and left it for other lands. There were human allies that came with them, and those human allies, and the fae creatures are mostly what remained on the continent.
If you have an idea for a race that you've seen somewhere, or something entirely new, PM me and we can talk about it. As long as you don't end up with something horribly unbalanced, or that just doesn't really fit, I'm pretty easy to work with.
Another thing to note, while the continent is semi-tropical there are all types of climates that can be found. There's even a desert country complete with wandering nomads, the Ceresian Mountains(up in Eden) that are snow-capped year round, and everything in between, skin, hair and eye color are often a condition of the environment in which your people live. This applies to all races, these colors can be just about anything, especially if there's a reason for.
Deities
The Lady:The worlds creator, there are several different myths surrounding her, the most common, and widely held, that she was not always a deity, but at one time, just like one of them. She's also been said to be rather meddlesome, though encountering someone who's ever actually seen her (or claimed to have) is very rare. She is described as having hair made of red gold, eyes that are never the same color from one second to the next, and never without a white tiger. As such, they are considered sacred, and killing one is anathema to most peoples save in the case of the animal going mad.
The Cat: The Lady's consort, he's a creature of chaos, and never is there a story of The Lady without him making some appearance. His looks are never the same from tale to tale, and one is left with the impression that there are either several of him, or he's a shapechanger.
The Three:They are the Fates. The two sisters spin and weave the lives of mortals as the dictates of their mother's book tell them to do so. They create the law that it is said all others, including the gods must follow. While it is possible to bend the fates that are decreed, there will always be a consequence somewhere, and to unhinge them too far could cause the collapse of all that is.
We can go into particulars of where characters are from after I have the maps up, and a little bit about each of the countries up. Also keep in mind, that Dalos is a port city, so there's the possibility of a character being from another part of the world altogether. If you want that to be the case, PM and we'll talk about it. I only have vague ideas for the rest of the world, but I'll be willing to work with you. I'd prefer not to have more than one character from a different continent simply because it's not easy to come or go from this continent to others, and so travelers between them are rare.
Points to Ponder During Character Creation:
What are they, and aren't they good at?
What do they fear, and what can't they live without?
What limiters do they have?
What makes them tick?
Do they use weapons, magic, words?
How do they handle conflict?
What do they look like? Is there something that makes them physically distinctive?
How old are they, not only in years, but mentally.
What is it that they want? Why do they seek the power of the Shadow, or is it fame that they're after?
What's gotten them to this point in their life?
Now, by no means do I need a complete answer to every single one of those questions right away, but they're things to think on, and work out however suits you best. They will be important later, in a land of nightmares, your own mind is your worst enemy.
As for classes, this is free form, it's pretty much entirely up to you to decide what your character does, and where they came from and so on and so forth.
Character Sheet:
[center][b][u]Basic Information:[/u][/b][/center]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] How old they are physically?
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Profession:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[center][b][u]Appearance:[/u][/b][/center]
[b]Age:[/b] How old do they appear?
[b]Hair:[/b]
[b]Eyes:[/b]
[b]Height and Weight:[/b]
[b]Physical Description:[/b] Physique, tattoos, general clothing and hair wear choices if not covered elsewhere, skin tone, scars, anything else that comes to mind.
[center][b][u]Personality:[/u][/b][/center]
[b]Age:[/b] How old do they act?
[b]Likes:[/b]
[b]Dislikes:[/b]
[b]Phobias:[/b]
[b]When it comes to interacting with others I:[/b]
[b]I believe that:[/b]Moral values go here.
[center][b][u]Equipment:[/u][/b][/center]
[b]Weapons and Armor:[/b] If you're a mage with battle abilities, this is where you tell us about them as well.
[b]I never leave home without:[/b] Items of personal value belong here.
[b]When it comes to money I'm:[/b] Money shouldn't be all that important to the game, but are they wealthy, poor? These can effect the rest of the character as well.
[center][b][u]Other Important Stuff:[/u][/b][/center]
[b]When I'm scared I:[/b]
[b]The thing I want most but would never tell anyone about is:[/b]
[b]I'm lonely when:[/b]
[b]It hurts when:[/b]
[b]The things you need to know about my past are:[/b] Go ahead and keep this fairly vague, while I usually like super detailed histories, and try to write them myself. I think we should focus more on the present and future. By all means note down traumatic events and the like, I'd just like to look more at how they've shaped the person that you're playing now, as opposed to simply what happened. Hope that made sense.
[b]I wish to go to the Shadow because:[/b] Sorry, I forgot to put this in when I first made the sheet everyone. It was five something in the morning, and I'd gotten very little sleep, please forgive me.
That is by no means a fully exhaustive list of what you can include. If there's something else that you can think of that you want to add for your character by all means. Also, don't feel like you have to fill out every little thing, though it would be appreciated.
A note on character pictures, I by no means require photo realistic, it can be hard to find in photograph what you're looking for, but I require that if you're even going to have an image:
It be realistic in appearance. I would prefer nothing cartoony or anime.
It be aligned on the right or left side, so that the character sheet can move on around it.
It be in addition to a physical description, and not take the place of one.
I think that may about sum it up. If there are any other questions or comments please, let me know.
