The Long Road (NC human, Freeform)

[Chloris]

Dashenka, the tech level is rather low. No steampower (because trains would render caravans more or less obsolete) no modern vehicles, and only a couple of countries started to consider gunpowder usage.

TheHangedMan
Considering your character is not a shop owner, no guild signet. Besides, no matter how to turn it, this game really isn't about accumulating advantages from the get go, but about creating them during play. The limitations I put here and there are for the sake of the game in general, and character progression in particular. I mean, I could accept that your character is expected everywhere, knows all the languages, has huge amount of money stashed around and gets a free paid scavenger hunt, but that wouldn't be quite as interesting. And, of course, there's the fact I could nod at all the initial whims, and then smack you down ridiculously hard at some point. That'd be a bad DM's way to balance things out as far as I'm concerned, so I'd rather filter out a bit of frustration here and there, rather than smack it all in one bit and make you feel like you can't do anything.

Now that this has been said. I must say I don't know how I like the cast system fits in Vulc's concept. Would a country of wise men and philosophers really favor intrinsicly such a rigid, deterministic system? It seems more in line with a strong religious theme. Plus, it'd give your character even more prejudices, and really, he doesn't need that. If only to avoid piling up too many traits in the beggining. Vulc won't be crossed before quite a hefty bit of time, so it the details don't matter all that much anyway. A parlimentary monarchy supporting a highly culture society in a small, landlocked country is really enough to get going at that point.


Alright then, now it's been said, expect in the coming hours some more clearly defined elements. I'd like to finish at least a more precise map, races and a few caravan elements (NPCs, structure and rules) before starting out the first threads beyond that one.

[TheHangedOne]

No worries, it's all groovy with me, Chloris. I'm just throwing ideas out there; and with the signet idea, as I mentioned, it could be just as much bane as boon (I like double-edged things like that).

I'm also groovy with your ideas on Vulc. In the end, I'm giving you all this stuff to do what you will with it. 

[Chloris]

Glad we're on the same line then! I stand by my decision regarding the ring though. The entire caravan is a target for emboldened thieves. That makes such liabilities' effects rather minor.

[Elijia]

Off to sea it is.

Also, and I suppose I'm not technically part of this conversation but I can't help myself, TheHangedMan, did you fashion "Vulc" after Plato's Republic? It's a dead-ringer for "The Republic."

[Dashenka]

Name: Zasha Snowbourne
Age: Mid twenties
Species/Race: Human from the frozen southern lands.
Gender: Female
Sexual preferences: Very rough and frequent.... 
Appearance:


Personality: Friendly girl and despite what her name suggests, a very warm but careful and shy person.

Country of origin: Cassurya
Skills: Zasha does not have many skills other than being very nice and being very good company in more than one way.
Profession: Entertainer in a way, but will help out whenever is needed. Can also do menial tasks like, cooking, cleaning (how is she going to do that?), etc.
Character goal: To get as far away from her old life as she can and maybe find out if there is some legitimacy about the claim of her being descendant of the Lord of Ice.
Background: Zasha is said to be descendant of the Lord of Ice, Yvveron, a giant ice dragon. Yvveron was the only God for the people in the small villages in Cassurya and before anybody could investigage the claim, Zasha was sold off by her family to a wealthy lord as soon as she reached maturity. The lord used her as a slave. She learned to cook, make clothes, make beds and soon enough learned the other ways to please the lord.

What you are looking for: A pleasant, interesting journey around the world.

[TheHangedOne]

No, I didn't, Elijia. Though, I love studying philosophy, so some of that does end up rubbing off onto my RP ideas.

[MzHyde]

Hmm. I don't know about Briar having legal troubles or anything like that. Maybe her family line just isn't what it used to be and she's seeking to bring new glory to her name. Perhaps her parents and grandparents and so on have gotten complacent, less thrill-seeking and adventurous.

[Chloris]

Dashenka, I was unsure on the possibility of dragons being a thing, well I guess it's clearer now. Gotta love decisions taken amidst the comfort of others.
So yeah, if I saw that sheet out of the blue, I'd question your character's ability to get accepted into the caravan, but considering past exchanges in here, I trust you'll finely maneuver your way into the "hearts" of some other members.

MzHyde Slightly disgraced family works nicely for me! Besides it makes it less redundant with Jahaari, so that's actually quite well!


And, I got a little sidetracked, so I fear I'll have to leave these little updates to another day. So far I've established a few rough outlines of some NPCs, caravan rules, races/species, and a few bits of unusual fauna. But I'd still like to fix a map with at least a few initial countries drawn out, mountains, rivers and stuff, before calling it an update. Hope you don't mind the delay too much. Sorry if you do. Or even if you don't. Apologies ahoy.

[Dashenka]

The character is a work in progress :) There might or might not be a dragon. Just a bit of added depth and mystery to an otherwise simple slut Along the game she will find out more about the dragon and all. She won't have any special powers. At least not at the beginning.

Still unsure if she's already at the caravan at the start of the game or that she might be picked up at the start of the game. I'll leave that decision to you :)

[Chloris]

If the decision is mine, then picking her up at the start of the game is what I'll favor. People aren't expected to have been in the caravan for more than two weeks anyway.

Now, in t he opening post, I posted a little spoilered update which includes a few informations. So, read it if you're bored!

[Dashenka]

I prefer that too :)

[Elijia]

I love the colour you added to the intro post. It looks like this is going to be a fun little world to travel through!

[IrishWolf]

Hey Chloris,

Wolf here, been stalking this thread since you put it up but haven't had the time to put up a post, mostly because I was at Anime Boston and didn't have the time. Anyways, this is looking like its going to be a fun game. Had a character brewing in my mind, figured I'd throw the basics passed you and see what you think. If I missed any details that you posted, forgive me, I'm in a redbull fueled attempt to force my body back into my normalish sleep schedule.

I was thinking a Bounty Hunter joining the caravan, in an effort to travel back to Land X, with a wanted man's head, inside a keg of brandy. He managed to catch his mark, as the man was trying to hid out with family and now there are a large number of relatives, trying to kill him in revenge. He's not riding with them as a guard or as a bounty hunter but rather as a merchant of spirits, with a wagon filled with casks (kegs, barrels and bottles) of wine, brandy and other hard liquors.

He comes from one of the islands north of the eastern continent, a member of a sub set of humans (need a name, when I'm not so tired), who's old kingdom was destroyed many generations ago, when wizards caused a vast amount of their land to sink beneath the ocean. Instead of horses, they ride thousand pound dogs. He brought s number of them with him, to ride as remounts, so he could travel fast but is currently using his pack to haul the wagon. Most of his weapons and all of his armor would be hidden in his wagon.

[sinfultictac]

Name:Brent Bullwood
Age: 46 o
Species/Race: Human (Independent Island Nation of Maelstrom)
Gender:Male

Sexual preferences: Heterosexual, D/s, has knack for cruelty

Appearance:Brent is  middle aged with black cropped hair that is slowly every year becoming more grey. He is a solid man about mid height and a fair weight. He tend to dress in the clothes of his people, often of fair make, He  his eye was badly scarred when he was younger when he lost his ship to a horrible storm .He walks with sense of purpose and solidity. Though when sitting or standing for long times his age is truly shown and he can be shown to slow down a bit, he's never without his pipe and often reeks of smoking. When on water or in a boat is when Brent is seen to be truly his strongest.
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Personality:Brent is like many Maelstrom citizens: a pirate or more politely a privateer. Living in an economic trading hub his whole life, he has acquired a taste for adventure and eye for a good bargain. He remembers when he was a boy when he was called up by his father to to man the cannons to help win Maelstrom's independence and is fiercely loyal to the Island Nation, all others who threaten the Island are Fish food to him. He loves the smell of new food, new places and any kind of substance that can he stuff into his pipe to smoke. He loves women of many kinds and mixes as Maelstrom women( and men) are fascinating mix of different peoples. He's also can be cruel like pirate often pushing people farther than they ought to go, he has a firm hand when he is Captain. He's a salty sea dog with nasty mouth and tiny, tiny,heart of gold which harbors his love of women,gold,his Island and adventure.


Country of origin: Maelstrom Island, a large Island between West and East continents. Originally a colony of the  Holy Zhuyin Empire, it has past hands to many empires until it claimed its independence in a decisive naval battle. Now Maelstrom is independent hub of economic activity. The "Polite War has made all Maelstrom folk happy and sad, happy from the profit, sad that their island stands to lose the most if things go really bad.

Skills: Sword fighting(cutlass and daggers), shipwright,Naval,bookkeeping, navigation, cartography, trade,

Character goal: Brent is on the caravan to acquire lost maps and to map out large rivers and other passageways for Maelstrom Trading and Navigation Guild (often times called Navigated or The Guild by agents) .A body of the Maelstrom government . He also wishes to acquire enough money to buy a new ship. His was lost in a storm years ago.


Background: Brent was raised on Maelstrom under a fairly wealthy colonial family, who made their wealth in slave trade and other goods. Sometimes the family made extra dealing and were known for their less than honest trading and dealing, many other families spoke little of it
because they too were involved in cutting purses and necks. After helping win independence for the Maelstrom. Brent spent years learning more of the trade, book keeping and of course naval and privateering. Later in his life he acquired a ship of his own and did trade, and defended Maelstrom from small attacks. On a fateful day a large hurricane came on his ship and crew, the ship was lost and much his crew. He vowed to acquire wealth again and get another ship. He put his services to his Island, which he fiercely loves and became an agent of the Maelstrom trading and Navigation Guild. He now walks with the landlubbers finding new ports,beaches and large rivers which Maelstrom can reach out with his economic trade.

What you are looking for: some experience in RP on E. Also to play a salty,sassy, smoking pirate.

[Drake Valentine]

Hmm, I see you are limiting fighters, but on the other hand may you allow a limited type of fighting character? I always enjoy restrictions and characters who are restricted in some shape or format of their full abilities.

Name:
Gorgrim
Age:
Human years unknown, appears in late twenties.
Species/Race:
Nomadic Orc. He hails from a warrior tribe who places finesse in combat above all else. At a young age children are often taken from their mothers and thrown into the dangerous bowels of the wilderness to survive alone, before being scouted for. Those who are not devoured by the monstrous beasts are accepted into their new life. Those who may be found amongst the carcasses of such beasts earn greater rewards and receive the utmost training to prepare them for leadership in their journeys or to serve as elite warriors under the Chieftain. The tribe also does not discriminate against gender, both men and women are treated as equal combatants and go through the same phases as children. They also have a tendency to avoid all contact from other civilizations, unless in the rare instances of trade.  They value strength above all else and see those in power as rightful rulers.  All Nomadic Orcs always adorn a mask unless in private settings and despite their wild nature, are considered honorable individuals with their own moral codes in and out of combat.
Gender:
Male
Sexual preferences:
Heterosexual
Personality:
It is hard for any to take him for a warrior, for those who spent time traveling with the caravan may easily take him for an everyday slave. Gorgrim appears to lack backbone, he does nothing in his defense when confronted with animosity; whether it is from his master or other members of the caravan.  He also does not appear to carry any willpower of his own or maybe he has comfortably settled into the life of slavery? He serves his master without question, although there has been instances of refusal where he has been outright beaten as a result.
Country of origin:
Unknown, his tribe tends to travel, plus he lived a high life of slavery afterwards.
Skills:
Hand to hand combat. Although he does not show it often, he knows how to move his body enough and make use of his former training into a makeshift fighting style despite his bindings.
Keen eye observation. He takes note of everything outside and inside of combat alike. Details, details, details, that is his way of life and the only way he may achieve his freedom and maintain his survival.
Endurance. His body is able to take as much as a beating as it is in dishing out. Also he is no stranger to abuse as his life outside of arena warrants such ridicule and punishment from his master and others of higher social status than him.

The rest of his skills are limited given the shackles along his arms and legs, however for those that may know of him may be aware of his combat prowess.
Dual Wielding.  Weapon preference - Scimitars.
Throwing. 
Acrobatics.
Other skills.
Trap Making, hunting, scavenging, and tracking.
Noticeable duties
Manual labor around the caravan.

Profession:
Slave
Character goal:
He has no choice in the matter of the travels. His master merely seeks to sell him off for high profit or find another suitable arena to exhibit him in. Though Gorgrim’s goal is his freedom.
Background:
Gorgrim’s childhood was no different than the other orcs from his tribe. At a young age he had to fend for himself alone within dangerous and unfamiliar territory. There has been many instances where he narrowly escaped death, although the same could not be said about some of the other potential tribesmen and women who undergo this same ritual in their lives.

Blessed or cursed, he was gifted with a natural talent of survival, eluding would be predators and safety keeping enough distance to study them and their habits. He never once made an attempt to escape the forest, what remains he came across he only warranted as dangerous territory and avoided it above all else.

He too had to fight and struggle for his survival, it was the only way to stay alive. In the end he was finally found cooking one of the many giant snakes that inhabited the forest. For his survival feats and prey he was acknowledge as a potential leader candidate and given the utmost training.

All tribesmen and women receive the basics of combat training upon their recognition, despite being foreseen as a leader material or not. Hand to hand combat was the starting  steps and years of it was drilled into the growing, young lad. From there he received the honors of weapon handling and like all recognized warriors he was given a choice of weapons that his people acquired through trade. His pick was a twin set of scimitars.

For the next several years he honed his skills, preparing for the test of leadership at adulthood. Unfortunately, before the name day of the mock tournament that is held amongst his people, they were invaded by an advanced nation. Even as a warrior tribe they had no chance against the technology of the attackers. The fine use of gunpowder and explosives was more than enough to dominate the nomadic Orcs.

Those who were not killed in the skirmish were enslaved, Gorgrim was amongst them. He has little idea of what became of his people, many of them were auctioned off to different masters; some of them were sent to other countries as high commodity items. He himself was put to good use in the arena, having to fight for his survival every day, till inevitably he was deemed far too skilled for the arena that his master made him compete in and thus the two of them were soon driven from that city.

Currently he accompanies his master and now the two of them have taken part with the caravan. His owner seeks to sell him off as merchandise or at best take him to another arena so that Gorgrim can compete in once more. In compensation for these travels he has offer a suitable fee reduction from the profits of any selling of the slave and to sweeten the deal he has made Gorgrim to help around with the caravan as far any muscle work is needed.

What you are looking for: Merely fool around with limitations in combat experiences/character development. Just exploring and testing waters here. Would also like to see racial differences in the sense of him being looked down on given his heritage/slave status.  In hindsight, mostly character building/something to play around with on the side, without him ever going ‘beast mode’ freed. So yea, pretty much him staying shackled throughout the roleplay, unless certain scenes warrant otherwise; but I am strongly aiming for a 'handicapped' character.

[Chloris]

Hello.

Sorry for the little lack of updates and presence as of late, there's been a few complications, and I don't have quite a lot of time to spend online, I should be back to a more active presence in maybe a day or two, thank you for your patience in the meantime.

[Chloris]

Doublepost ahoy!

So, yeah, getting back to it, sorry for the delay. Now let's see, first, answers:

Dashenka: Good!

Elijia: Thank you!

IrishWolf: Hello, dearest stalker. I like your character concept. Using a pretense to tag along, which is entirely legitimate. I can see him with a nice mix of level-headedness sometimes bordering on laziness, and feistiness still. So, a colorful character!

sinfultictac: I like Brent! If I knew you'd make such a character, I probably wouldn't have put in the cartographer amongst the NPCs, but the way it is, it should make for some nice collaboration. Both with that specific character, with the two other character having a naval background, and so on. Beaches and shores ahoy.

On a side note, I find it both nice and funny that assuming mid twenties as 25, and late twenties as 28, the average character age so far is slightly under thirty. I'm pretty sure some MILF-themed games have lower results. I find that pretty cool personally! More on the dramatis personae later.

Drake Valentine: I am absolutely not opposed to the concept of your character. It's interesting, thoughtful, sensible, open to interractions, and can lead to interesting times. Fun ones too! However, there may be some alterations you'll have to make I fear. I hope your love of constraints won't give in for these few little things.
The first and most obvious one is that there are no orcs in this game. The closest I can allow is a typed ethnicity that are nicknamed that way. But it'll basically be a human still. If you worry about the lack of racial prejudice this might entail, just read a newspaper or two. Of course, if it's the contrary, that the proximity between real-life racial prejudice and in-game interhuman racial prejudice that worries you, just say so and I promise I'll consider more comfortable options. The second little issue is regarding your master. It's an important part of your character, so I'd appreciate a few guidelines since, unlike Zasha, you still depend on him or her. Or for that matter, how much freedom do I have with the creation involved.
I think thee was some other thing but I forgot, and a re-reading got me nothing, so let's go with that already 




So, let's review our characters so far.

Briar Bloodthorn, Valkyr guard, shemale, lesbian, sailor.
Erik Carther, human trader, male, straight, salesman.
La'Ora, half-elf scout, female, bissexual, trailblazer.
Talin West, Westernesse bard, male, heterosexual, rumormonger.
Jahaari Mund, human apothecary, male, bissexual, doctor.
Zasha snowbourne, human maid, female, unknown, "entertainer".
Brent Bullwood, human sailor, male, heterosexual, mapmaker.
Gogrim, TBD slave, male, heterosexual, pit fighter.
Unknown, TBD liquor dealer, male, unknown, bountry hunter. Unknown.

Six males, two females and a shemale. Which is quite surprising for a game where I said I wouldn't myself  handle erotic relationships involving the bearded gender. But, in a way, that means I can put all the more efforts exploring both the sense of wonder, adventure, trade, and interpersonal relationships that don't involve intercourse. Because they totally exist!

So, if there are still lurkers, or just people that noticed this thread, you're welcome to opt in and pitch your character, but for now, I'd like to try to at least set up things with the present cast. Of course, if half of the cast got bored of the idea in the meantime, or if you're offering a Co-GMing role, that's different.

So! I'll create an OOC chatter thread and a character thread, most likely tomorrow. And I probably will start a first thread about as soon too. Either relating to small bits of personal stories, or directly the first travel thread... I'll ponder that on my end. Of your end, keep being awesome! And feel free to chime in just because.

[TheHangedOne]

Actually, Chloris, I no longer feel able to dedicate myself to this game, so I'll have to bow out. I do hope you all have fun, though.

[Chloris]

Erik will be missed, but I perfectly understand the kind of situation, and salute your foresight.

Do have fun as well in whatever endeavor you devote yourself to!

[Malrunar]

I can't wait to get things started! 

[Florence]

I might be interested and have an idea for a character, though I have no clue how well the character would interact with the others. I realize there may be little interest in this type of character, but if there is, I'll put in more detail.

Name: Akansha Mishra

Age: Older than he looks.

Species/Race: Half-Elf

Gender: Male

Sexual preferences: Bisexual

Appearance: 'Pretty' would be the first word that comes to mind. He is lithely built with a delicate face, and lightly sunkissed skin and long blond hair, generally done up into a ponytail or bun. He also wears a pair of spectacles over a pair of vibrant green eyes that give him a scholarly appearance. He also has long pointed ears that mark him as a half-elf.

Personality: Gentle and kind, Akansha is also firm and direct when it is needed. He loves knowledge, both gaining it and spreading it and believes that education is the most important thing in the world. He's also got a playful streak, tough only when it doesn't interfere with his pursuit of knowledge.

Country of origin: not yet decided

Skills: Scholar, Scribe, Historian

Profession: Book and Artifact Trader, Seeker of Knowledge

Character goal: Akansha is always looking for more knowledge, whether is be in books or historical artifacts. I'd be happy to work out some sort of specific tome or artifact he is seeking.

Background: Akansha is a half-elf, though he knows as little about his father as anyone else knows about elves. He's gathered from his mother that it wasn't non-consensual, but she never said any more than that. He became fascinated in not only the elves, but the nature of the world due to this mystery, and has dedicated his life since to collecting all the knowledge he could muster. He's since set out to collect tomes of knowledge and artifacts of the ancient world, becoming a trader in such things, selling what he no longer desires to buy new ones.

What you are looking for: Simply a fun, frankly adorable, character, who isn't a pushover or overly generic or cliched. Though it may be hard to fit such a character into group rps, depending on the interests of the others.

[Dashenka]

Six males, two females and a shemale. Which is quite surprising for a game where I said I wouldn't myself  handle erotic relationships involving the bearded gender. But, in a way, that means I can put all the more efforts exploring both the sense of wonder, adventure, trade, and interpersonal relationships that don't involve intercourse. Because they totally exist!

More 'entertaining' for Zasha

[Drake Valentine]

Sorry, but actually I have to pass as well. Currently I am dedicated to another group game, wasn't sure when you may be popping back on.

I would love to partake in this one too, but with my work schedule and life routine I can only generally balance out one group game at a time activity, two is too much for me.

I wish you the best with your game, just wanted to give you the heads up.

[Dashenka]

Chloris if you need/want more female characters I'm still up for playing two characters. They'd have the same role in the caravan only they escaped together. If that would help you out, just gimme a shout and I'll make a second character.

[Sussurus]

I'd be interested in playing a female human trader. Would it make sense for her to have her own wagon? Are there beasts of burden besides horses? Is there some secondary trade route she could have traveled in the past, so as to have experience traveling, without knowing anything much about her current route? Is there a list of possible countries of origin somewhere?

Sorry for the barrage of questions.