Interest check on a MMF fantasy game

[Verasaille]

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=348879.new#new

Posting this here in case anyone wants to discuss a group game, with 3 or more players. Going to post my Crescent City opener to give it some flavor.



Crescent City



The city of Crescents, it was called, mainly because it composed of a half circle of terraces that led to the open plains and the river Thangris valley. A towering waterfall plunged over the cliffs from the Thangris. The upper terraces were dug out of the cliffs and hillsides overlooking the Sea of Storms. The nobles and upper class lived there. WIth walled complexes and guarded gates. Servants of the nobles were often housed there in the complex in separate buildings. The estates were well tended by gardeners, and guards patrolled the streets.

Cobblestone streets were the norm on this side of town. Winding in a switchback pattern around estates and past the opulent Palace of the Duke of Thornwall. Carriages would rattle along the streets at almost all hours. The tree lined streets had magical lamps that came on at sunset and went out with the rise of the sun in the morning.

The Duke, Harval Winchester, was an elderly gent with a few heirs who could hardly wait for him to pass on. His wife, the Lady Janine, seemed almost as eager, as she was far younger and had her eyes on younger replacements. He had two sons, Harval, Jr., and Jasok, who was the youngest. His two daughters, Melora and Sybil, were old enough to be wed soon and talk was that the Earl of Templeton had put forth his son Nathir for eldest, Melora, while Sybil had decided to go into the Sisters of Mercy Monastery and study as a Priestess. They did not expect any problem with the older son inheriting the title of Duke.

The city itself was a huge bustling merchant trade center. The docks on the ocean side of the city were busy night and day. Huge cranes sat on the docks to load and unload cargo in the many merchant ships coming and going from all along the southern coast. Huge warehouses were always being filled and emptied, making the merchants rich, and in turn, the Duke.
Nobles had various functions, most of them founding their respective trade houses on specific goods, like the grain and agricultural goods, owned by House Farstead, being shipped on ocean going vessels to the port and from there to other ports.

Mines in the distant but visible mountains to the north sent caravans of wagons, loaded with ore, mostly iron, tin and copper. They came through a series of tunnels and trails along the coast and through the mountains on the main Trade Route. House Brighton controlled the mining industry. Sometimes a caravan brought in rare metals in smaller containers mixed in with the common ore. It was a happy day for most when a caravan came into town with gold or silver. Mithril was so rare it made the gossip in Court nearly explode in excitement. That was of course if the merchant selling it cared to inform the Tax Collector.

A great many smaller Houses tried to combine many of the exotic trades, like gems, artifacts, and textiles from other parts of the continent. It was a risky venture to send either ships to the other countries past the borders and somewhere on the charts, or to send caravans to the interior, where sometimes bandits and other enemies of the Kingdom awaited a chance to strike. There were also communities of Dwarves who were for the most part friendly, though they tended to spend their time in the mines. A small but reclusive village of Elves were also to the Northwest of the City. They did not make any trouble for the City, and were mostly a community of scholars and artisans and researchers.

Next to the nobles on a lower tier of the terrace were the merchant houses. Most of them built of stone and mortar, with elegant wood trim and fenced yards not quite as fancy as the nobles. Here the streets were still cobblestone, but not as well kept as the upper streets. Smaller lot sizes and sometimes crowded together to make it hard to tell where one property left off and another began. Here there were smaller businesses like the Dew Drop Inn could set up to cater to the wealthy, merchants and nobles alike would use it as a meeting place.

There were barber shops, clothing shops with tailors, a small market square for local produce and trade goods, and quite a few homes scattered about. It was dubbed the Gershwin Square, and was a place where the more genteel of the merchants could congregate and shop.

The lower levels of the city were bordering the docks. Here the not so wealthy set up crowded housing that often shared walls and yards. Noisy and crowded most of the time, it was more squalid the closer it got to the docks.

There was a very large and bustling area named the Market Square right next to the docks. Here the goods arriving from ships and barges could be bought and sold. Caravans started and ended here in the stockyards. Many taverns, inns and craftsmens shops were set up, including the Blacksmiths and the leather tanners and crafters. Business was good here, if a bit hectic.

In all of this was an overtone of corruption. Nothing unusual, just that bribery, clandestine meetings and  even the occasional assassination between warring Houses was common. There was an established City Guard, headed by a Captain, who answered to the Duke. There was a Justicar who held court to judge the criminals and sentence them. There was no such thing as a jury or peers. Though it was sometimes easy for the Justicar to be bribed, he was also subject to public opinion and was mostly a fair and open minded man, appointed by the Duke.

In the Harbor District, Admiral Sutherland kept his fleet of Royal Navy ships ready to repel foreign invaders and pirates. His flagship, the Pomeroy, was a three masted warship with 110 cannon. He also had everything from 80 gun frigates to 40 gun sloops that would patrol the various sea lanes within twenty miles of the port. Piracy was still a problem for those unwise enough to be sailing without cannons and soldiers for protection.

[BlueOrange]

*casing the joint*

[Verasaille]

My character

My character is Hanei Silverhawk. Her father is Danal Silverhawk, a retired adventurer who made a small fortune in his youth and invested it in a business, the Dew Drop Inn. He wants her to stop her adventuring and give him some grandkids to spoil. She is not ready yet! But she works in the Inn as a waitress and bartender. She has sort of an underground reputation as a rogue/thief who can pick locks, disarm traps, and pick pockets with ease. Her mother is a half elf who died in childbirth trying to give Hanei a sister, ten years previously. Hanei is now 26. I like the profile pic I have now as a face claim.

Your character choices are:

Captain of the City Guard. (Name you choose)

He is tall, muscular and seriously handsome. (I picture Henry Cavil in this role as he makes my blood boil, he he) He is very professional in his job, appointed by the Duke to keep order in the Crescent City. He is not above a bit of bribery, as long as it does not harm anyone. (He enjoys keeping tabs on the smuggling operations by allowing them to bribe him to look the other way when they have a shipment coming in.) He abhors slavery, brutality to animals and any behavior that disturbs the peace of "his city". I see him as stern but not without compassion. Quiet mannered but able to shout down a mob or discipline his guardsmen. They trust him and obey him implicitly, even when they are unsure of what he is doing. He is intelligent, calm in the face of danger and very good using his sword or any weapon he might have to hand. Also good at hand to hand fighting without a weapon. In other words, you do not want to mess with him or get on his bad side. He is attracted to Hanei, but finds her way to forward towards him. Perhaps he is the kind of man who prefers to do the seducing? He often comes to her for information, so he tries to be polite and courteous to her, but not to the point of giving in to her obvious lust for him. This is open for discussion, personality wise. Please see my O/O's for a further clarification. I want this to be your character to build. If you want him to be bold as a commander, but a little girl shy.  Or loving the attention he gets for being a Captain and using his charm to seduce when he knows it will benefit him, or any manner of assertive, but controlled, its fine with me. OOC communication can help us fill this in to match both your wishes and mine.

The friend (You can name him)
She has a close friend, he is really into her and loves her in his own way. He is also a bit of a scoundrel, part time fence, incurable flirt, and her partner in crime in most of her off work shenanigans. She likes and trusts him, but has no interest in bedding him. Sexy, flirty, generous but reciprocal in that he will do favors but also ask favors in return. I am willing to do this part if a potential writer wishes to play the other man. Build wise, I would say slim, athletic and very agile. Picture Orlando Bloom in this role, or Johnny Depp. I see him as kind of a rascal and shameless flirt with anyone kind of guy. He can fight, and do well but he prefers non violent action. This is also a role open for a third player, or I can take him over, or you may wish to do both males! (Are you up for a challenge?)

The plot:

The Basilisk heart

The highest ranking Magister in Crescent City, El'Margaine, has a job for Hanei. He wants it kept strictly confidential, and will pay handsomely for the ruby named the 'Basilisk Heart'. It is a highly magical artifact known to bestow a highly controversial power on it's wielder. He neglects to tell Hanei it is cursed, but tells her it is dangerous in the wrong hands, and wants it to keep it safe.  He does tell her where it can be found. He expects her to fetch it for him and take along any companions she wishes, as long as they do not demand any more gold than he is currently offering. Ten thousand gold crowns would set Hanei up for life. Even if she splits it with her best friend who will probably want to go with her.

The ruby is currently in the headdress of an Evil Orc warlock, Gruk, who is using it to amass an army which could potentially attack the Crescent City. He uses the gem to exert mind control. The Orc stronghold is deep inside a mountain on the other side of the Dragontooth Pass, a two week journey by horseback to the west of the city. El'Margaine figures a rogue with skill can steal the ruby and not get caught. At least he hopes she will not get caught. Options exist here for characters, Gruk is a wicked warlock, how do you see him? If you are familiar with WOW, I see a version of Gul'dan. He is a bit crazy and everyone knows how warlike Orcs are. Or maybe they are just trying to survive after the Duke nearly exterminated all of them except for a scattered number of refugees who fled to the mountains.

In Crescent City, the Duke is a highly decorated war general who is content to rule over the city for the remainder of his days. He is canny and alert, for his 70 plus years, but smart enough to let younger folks tend to the security of the city and keep him posted on any potential threats. He can call on the High King in Midland for help if he needs it, but he has a standing army currently deployed on the borders with a home garrison for his own castle. The Duke knows El'Morgaine as a very competent Magister with more power than he needs, but always seeking more. They are not exactly friends, but not enemies either. He relies on the Captain of the Guard to keep him informed and often meets with the Captain in the castle for briefings.

Any of these are considered npcs, so your interactions with them can be anyway you wish to benefit your character or help you establish your side of the story. Or as a group game we can assign people to these roles and you can have fun building the story!

The trip through the mountains will be a shortcut Hanei knows that leads through a small Elven village of peaceful scholars. Nature loving and secretive, they use magic as easily as humans breathe the air. The magic is kind of built into them by their very nature. They know healing, as well as elemental and destructive, and illusion magic. Masters at herbology and alchemy, they are sometimes called upon to help humans with natural disasters or invasions of bad beings like the warlike Orcs. They will assist if asked, and observe if not asked. (More options for characters, make an elf and have him mysterious and enigmatic, or surly and uncooperative, you can intrigue me and cause all kinds of mayhem!)

I am open to suggestions!