Topic: Skies of Arcadia RP (Sky pirates ahoy!) - Interest Check

[Treehouseroleplayer]

I brought this up in IRC one night with the idea that if I got accepted, I might try to run this, or at least drum up interest for it. Probably one of my first roleplaying experiences ever was with a skies play by post RPG that I was never able to finish, and since it seems there were other people in IRC at least who enjoyed the game, I figured I'd see if there were any interest before I came up with an entire plot. It will probably not start for awhile, but I wanted to see if there were any interest before I went gung-ho on everything. This game will likely be stronger on story than on sex, but I'd like to leave the door open for it.

Setting Details (for those who haven't played the game
Skies of Arcadia takes place in a fantasy world filled with air, where the oceans are not seas of water, but of air. Civilization exists on several islands throughout the world, they vary in size from small uninhabited rocks, to vast continents such as the imperial capital of Valua. The world has a mixed technology level, although Valua has electricity, it is generally used mainly by the rich. Pistols are available, but fairly inaccurate and primitive and most people use melee weapons. On Arcadia, there are six continents, of which six moons shine down on at varying strengths.

The Red Moon - Nasr: The red moon governs the aspect of fire and power, consequently, it's lands are mostly dry desert. The capital city is Nasrad. Attribute and fire enhancing magic come from this moon.

The Green Moon - I'Xa Taka: The green moon governs growth and healing, not surprisingly the lands of I'Xa taka are filled with dense jungle. The natives living there are primitive distrusting people. Healing and poison magic come from this moon.

The Yellow Moon - Valua: Has the domain of electricity. Valua was a technologically advanced and very powerful empire with severe class stratification and dreams of conquest. It was destroyed near the end of the game. Lightning and attribute decreasing magic come from this moon.

The Blue Moon - Yafutoma: Controls the elements of wind and water. Yafutoma is a beautiful asian-inspired culture with strong traditions and notions of honor. Controls wind, water, and speed enhancing magic.

The Purple Moon - Glacia: Ice, ice, and more ice. The continent of Glacia is uninhabited and is located at the southern end of the world. One of the ancient civilizations used to reside there however. Magic includes Ice, confusion, and silence.

The Silver Moon - Soltis and Great Silver Shrine: Holds the power of life and death. Soltis is a sunken continent that has long been since lost. It holds the key to unleashing the rains of destruction which destroyed Valua and are capable of destroying the world. Fortunately, it was stopped. The people of the silver moon are known as Silvites, an enigmatic people and the last remaining advanced ancient civilization (they destroyed the others). By the end of the game, there is only one remaining living Silvite. Magic is very powerful and includes magic that can outright KO a target or revive them. Also includes status cleansing magic.

The black Moon? - ??: A legend and a myth, the black moon and it's powers are unknown. If there is a domain for it, it would likely be the Dark Rift, a powerful and enormous black barrier that separated Yafutoma from the rest of the world. Crossing the barrier is treacherous, most ships are torn apart instantly, and even if a ship can enter it, there are few safe paths in this surreal and dangerous part of the world.

Piracy: The world is traversed in flying ships. Most ships are wooden traditional affairs, but for those rich enough to afford it (such as the former Valuan empire military), ships can also be large, advanced and metal. Although these ships have a tremendous advantage, wooden ships are not totally outclassed in combat. Most cannons available to the market are at least marginally effective against both. Because of the degree of shipping and number of people in the skies, there are also people trying to make money off of them. Pirates.

There are two major denominations of pirates with no particular leader for each. The first are black pirates. They tend to be big, mean, and prey on whoever they get their hands on. They are vicious, cruel, and typically have no mercy.

The second group of pirates are the Blue Rogues. They specifically only target the rich, the corrupt, and the powerful. They will almost always let their victims live, and will not rob them so blind of provisions that they will starve to death.

Wikipedia has a pretty good plot summary of the game.

Roleplaying Game setting details
Keep in mind, it's been several years since I've last played the game and I don't have way to replay the game at this time. So things will be different, I will forget details, I will misremember details, and I will deliberately change several details of the setting in an attempt to make a more fun game and interesting story. I haven't settled on a time yet, but it will likely be 100 years after the events of the game. I will ask that no characters be descendants of any major character from the game. The world will also end up being larger, unlike in game, you will be unable to traverse the entire world in 5 minutes. There will be new islands of varying size, possibly new cities, and certainly new villians. There will likely be a maximum of five characters The characters will meet up with each other at the begining and end up with a common goal. If we somehow end up with a plethora of players we can use them as well. After all, it takes an entire crew to run a ship! They will likely edge towards the Blue Rogue spectrum if they engage in piracy.

Game Mechanics
Initially, I was thinking that this would be completely freeform, but I may decide to switch to GURPs. GURPs is an elegant tri-stat system that is adaptable to a wide variety of situations. However, despite my great love for the system, I've never had the opportunity to actually play a GURPs system, so I might be a bit rocky on the rules. If I do decide to do GURPs and you are a player, I would welcome any polite PMs pointing out any rules mistakes.

So, I'm curious to see if there's any interest out there for this setting. If you have any ideas, please feel free to post or PM me, or even if you have a great story idea, I'd love to play in this setting as a player as well. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the setting or anything else for that matter.

No character bios yet though please! (although a brief "here's kind of the idea of what I might be interested in playing" is fine) :)

[Crowly]

Sky pirates? I'm in. It's been a while since I played the game but that's frankly irrelevant. There are sky pirates. And I am so there. >.> If there's an "In" to be had, assuming enough interest crops up.

[CmdrRenegade]

I love SoA.  I'm in.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

Hmm, if we can find one more person, that'd be great and I think that would be good enough to start. One of the awesome things about the setting is that it would be easy to add characters as we go.

I don't care what gender you guys play, but ideally I'd like to avoid having a single gender game.

I think I know how the game will start, but after some of the initial plot points, I could just open it up as a more free roaming adventure for a bit. If we get a third person to express interest, I'll write up sort of the introductory post, flesh out some of the setting, and let you guys setup characters.

[Tomalak]

Have you settled on system/no system?  If GURPS, 3red ed, or fourth?

Also, is it a problem if a player isn't familiar with the original game?

[Jefepato]

This sounds interesting.  I enjoyed SoA quite a lot.

Converting the magic system to GURPS might turn out a little odd, though.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

Not a problem at all Tomalak, that's the reason I posted some general setting details, and I'm sure all of us would be willing to explain things that need clarification. I'm leaning towards freeform at this point, magic will likely be a bit abstracted since I think it would be more interesting if people just cast magic associated with each element rather then "Here are the spells you can cast the end." However, I'm completely open to ideas.

Magic strengths will likely be limited to two specialties, one from your character's native land, the other secondary choice based on whatever you think is appropriate.

Looks like we've got enough interest though which is good. I'll start fleshing out Arcadia 100 years in the future first, then work on an introductory post. Again, I want to reiterate that I like to keep an open mind in this process. I don't have some grand master plan that must be adhered to. I want this to be everybody's game, not just mine so if you have any ideas on mechanics, setting details, things you'd like to see, etc. just let me know.

edit: If anybody really wants to play a silvite, let me know, unless anybody has any objections, it's my opinion that they're a bit too cool to assume they've been completely eradicated. It'll be hard to implement a player-character one, but it could also be a good way to reintroduce them.

[Crowly]

Awesome! I don't remember much of Skies of Arcadia, it's been like, YEARS since I've even touched the game, but I remember loving it. I don't really know much of the systems myself, honestly, I've only ever used Storyteller(D10) and the D20 system for D&D. I don' really know GURPS or the other ones, so I'd need some pointers on where to read up.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

I think I've decided, that unless somebody can come up with a reason not to, this will be freeform. Also, if anybody knows how to disable embedding so I can just link the themes through hyperlinks instead of the embedded clip, let me know. Please feel free to ask questions, suggest new ideas, or critique.

Map of the world as presented by the game. (Ignore the numbers, it's the cleanest image I could find)
The yellow continent is Valua, red is Nasra, green is I'xa taka, Purple is Glacia, blue is Yafutoma White lines are sky rifts, large black ones are major rifts, the large one in the lower right hand corner is the main part of the dark rift. It extendsall the way up north seperating Yafutoma from the rest of the world until Vyse and Co. discovered the ability to pass through rock rifts and discovered the world was round.

As you can see, even as far as RPG worlds go, it's a bit...well...small.

Although it has been a hundred years since the defeat of Ramirez, time has flown slowly for the world of Arcadia. The destruction wrought by Ramirez including the leveling of Valua, left the world in a state of recovery and an economic downturn. This has drasticlly slowed down the rate of technological advances over the years, leaving the world in much the same of state as it was. There have of course been some changes. New lands have been uncovered and surfaced, new towns and cities founded, some rifts have faded while new ones have appeared. Global travel is still restricted. Most ships don't have the power to power through the more powerful sky rifts with travel between Yafutoma and the rest of the world still especially difficult. Other than expensive private ships and powerful military warships, the major method of transportation is taking large ships west from Valua into Ixa'Taka, and west into Yafutoma. It's a long journey. Nobody tries to cut travel time by traveling east through the dark rift instead except for rich thrill seekers who never return.

Overall, until recently, military power has been weak, which has been a haven for pirates of both sides, but in particular, the black pirates gaining a fierce strength of power, numbers, and organization. Black Pirates are now a major power in the world and there are three major factions, the Scars, the Skulls, and a new group rapidly gaining power in the east, the canes.

In Nasr, Nasrad has grown large, and many new towns have been founded under the domain of the Red Moon.

Valua Although it suffered massive destruction has rebuilt from the ashes. The rule of Enrique was just and he passed many progressive reforms but about fifty years ago, he was exiled during revolution. Replacing him was a powerful dictator who established a new line of succession. Valua quickly regained a good measure of it's former glory, but at a human cost. Although the class stratification is not as bad as before the Rains, the difference between the have and have-nots is stark and the laws are strict with harsh punishments. Although Valua has not made any overt military motions. They have been quietly been building up a force, ostensibly for dealing with the growing threat of piracy. Once again, the Valuans are the favored targets of the blue rogues.

I'xa Taka has seen great growth in the past 100 years. The natives have clinged to their traditions and their ways, but at the same time realize that they are not as isolated anymore. They have been developing ship building and a more modern military for their own self-defense. Although this native army is still somewhat ragtag and outdated, their new ships can still pack a punch and take a beating, and the ferocity of their warriors is legendary. There are even some I'xa Taka pirates around, and they tend to be some of the most feared for their ferocious fighting and brutality.

Yafutoma continues to awe and inspire each new western visitor. Unlike feudal Japan, they seem to be welcoming of visitors, especially since trade with Yafutoma has grown extremely profitable. The average wealth and quality of life of a citizen in Yafutoma is therefore probably the highest in the world. They are proud of their culture and have been slow to adopt western ways, young people are encouraged to stick with their traditions and not to intermarry. There is no outright racism, but implicitly, every Yafutoman believes they are members of a superior and more developed culture.

Pirate Island has seen tremendous growth. It has grown from a single ship operation to a hub of activity for blue rogues. Now a small city, it is quite cosmopolatin in nature.

Ramirez and his deeds have not been forgotten. But for some, he has taken on a mythical stature, parents frighten their children into good behavior on occasion by saying that "Ramirez will get them" if they don't behave. (Okay, I mostly just linked that for his awesome theme)

Introductory post will follow fairly soon.

[Tomalak]

Embedding disabled, limit reached.
Are those clips above all different?  I haven't watched any of them...

I'm a little unclear on the 'geography'.  The world is a globe, with no globe in the middle, right?  So the 'land' all floats around in circles, the same distance from the seemingly arbitrary center?  Is it possible for boats to sail 'up' or 'down?'  What happens if something falls?

Did you mention moons, before?  I thought you did, but I may have confused the moons with the continents...

If the magics 'come from' certain places, how are they obtained by characters?  Are they drawn like mana in M:tG, or M:tA(nWoD)?  Or is it that those lands are where certain 'Schools of Magic' originated, and are taught?

[Crowly]

I'm a little unclear on the 'geography'.  The world is a globe, with no globe in the middle, right?  So the 'land' all floats around in circles, the same distance from the seemingly arbitrary center?  Is it possible for boats to sail 'up' or 'down?'  What happens if something falls?

A wizard did it. >.> In all seriousness that's a really good question. I hadn't even actually given that a thought before and just kind of accepted it. The ships would have to be able to rise and fall to SOME extent (And thinking about it, why wouldn't they? More power= more lift, less power = less) due to docking/leaving port. Maybe there's stuff down below the floating continents but what's down there is uninhabitable or something? I don't honestly remember that being addressed before in the game.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

Good questions, the clips are the different land's theme songs, go ahead and check them out if you haven't already, they give a good feel for each respective land. Note that about half of the following answer is lore, and the other half of it is just me speculating and will be what I assume.

Ships can sail up and down, in a relatively large band known as the Middle Sky. There are some very advanced ships that can fly significantly higher and lower, but even they reach a limit where either the air gets too thin or the pressure gets too great. This tends to be a big advantage because you could easily fly without being detected and much safer from the likes of pirates and wandering monsters.
If something falls, if it isn't caught by something it is never seen again. It's assumed that anybody who falls will keep falling until they are killed by the pressure.

Also, as a cosmetic note, the Low Sky is composed of darker clouds and the lower you go, the darker it gets. Nobody knows what's below the low sky. Most speculate that it's simply more sky, but a few people believe that there is some kind of large landmass down there. It's been known to hide things, such as the lost continent of Soltis which sunk back into the sky after Ramirez's defeat.

Most islands are static in relation to each other, yes. but there are some islands that have been known to move. As to how and why they float? Erm... Not exactly sure, but I'm pretty sure the people of the world don't know either.

[Sasha]

 this looks interesting .....tags .

[Tomalak]

Only two more questions (at the moment
1 - Moons?

2 - Are there any parts of the world where someone could grow up knowing only the most basic parts of geography & history?  (I.E. a rural backwater somewhere?)

[Treehouseroleplayer]

Oops, I missed your question about magic, so let me address that real quick.

There are no formal 'schools' of magic on Arcadia, it is something that comes through skill and use. The typical person can't do much with magic however as it's not something that's practical in everyday life. However soldiers are typically trained in basic use. When a spell is cast, the person casting glows briefly and a small glyph appears below their feet, when the spell is cast, a larger glyph appears briefly under the target's feet and they are subject to the spells effect. Fairly common throughout the world are crystals which contain a single use of a magic spell, usually some kind of healing green magic.  As I said, in the game, there is a discrete selection of spells to choose from, but I'd kinda like to move away from that into a little more freeform feel.

Now, the following is my attempt at reconciling the special attacks with the general magic system with some tweaks to keep people from just saying "I spam my special attacks lawl". In addition to the pure magic power of people, there is an innate soul power hidden within each person governed by all the moons. When under durress, this power can manifest itself in spectacular ways. The average person will never see this manifest with themselves, but for extraordinary people, they can begin to master this power and perform spectacular feats. However, for most people, drawing this much power from themselves is extraordinarily taxing, difficult to do except under extreme circumstances, and difficult to master.

Sasha: Glad this looks interesting to you!

Tomalak: Yes, moons like the moon in our sky. And yes, there should be some backwaters around, or we can always create one!

[Sasha]

 I like the green moon anyways .....the concept of a character built off that would be fun.

[Jefepato]

A character from Nasr might be amusing.  (I can't remember, what's the adjective form?  Nasran?)

[Crowly]

I don't remember much of the culture in the world or if they really addressed it, but I'd really like to play a musician of some sort. Not sure what styles of music or instruments would be in the world, but a traveling musician would be a fun character concept to play around with. Possibly paying various captains of ships to get around on their boats and providing entertainment while traveling. I'm thinking either from the yellow moon, assuming a city or something has been built there after a hundred years, or the blue moon. either one would mesh pretty well with a musician I think.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

For Sasha, a nice tour of Horteka, one of (and the only in the game) major I'xa Taka villages.

I'Xa Taka

for Jefepato, a tour of the capital of Nasr - Nasrad. Some swearing by the narrator

And for a smaller town in Nasr, here's Maramba

and for completeness Upper Valuan City (Lower Valua is pretty easy to find if you want the contrast)

and Yafutoma

Don't feel obligated to watch these videos in their entirety, they're just useful for getting a feel of the different places.

Octavian, several cities have been rebuilt in Valua and they're once more a significant world power. Either Valua or Yafutoma would be good choices for that character I think.

[Treehouseroleplayer]

"Ever wanted to see the world? Travel to exotic Yafutoma and I'Xa Taka? Osman Trade and Travel Co. is now hiring! We are accepting skilled applicants for a variety of positions onboard our Nasran-Yafutoman Fleet, including:

General Sailors
Cooks
Lookouts
Engineers
Gunners
Guards
Entertainers
Service


Applicants should apply at the Osman Trade and Travel Co. office near the market of Nasrad. Applicants should be ready and willing to move and live onboard within two days notice. Please keep personal effects to a minimum. Barely got your ship-legs? Not a problem! We welcome even people with little experience on large ships such as ours."

My intent is to have everybody sign up and end up on a particular boat heading to Yafutoma as either a crew member or passenger. These boats traveling to Yafutoma are large, with perhaps several hundred passengers living in relative comfort for the three week journey from Nasran to Yafutoma. Of course, your comfort will vary greatly based on how much you're willing to pay. From the stacked bunks of third class, to the handful of first class rooms where a traveler can live in comfort.

If you are a Yafutoman native, you can be on your way back from Nasran either as a crew member or passenger. If you'd like to do something special or you have a cool character idea where this won't work for you, post or PM me and we can work something out.

With that in mind, here are some rough charcter sheets. The italics can be removed from your copy and are just for your benefit. I will not start out with any single main PC type character. I will control mostly NPCs and the world around the players. Assume any character I play is not 'safe'. That is that they can die, betray you, or disappear at any time.

Name:
Nickname:
Gender:

Nationality: Mixed heritage is fine too! However, list the continent that your character has spent the most time in if this is the case. This will determine one of your character's magic strengths.

Appearance: Pictures are great here, but please give me at least a line or two of written description as well.

Background: Feel free to withhold information, just please PM me any other details.

Personality:

Favored Weapon:

Secondary weapon: If any.

Favored Magic: One of these will be based on your nationality, the other is your choice.

Relative Strengths and weaknesses: Please keep characters low powered. I'd like to see characters start out just a bit more powerful then the average soldier at most and then grow from there.

Noteable abilities/talents:

Inventory:


The following fields are optional, but are fun to think about and to read.

Character's theme song: Make sure to link to it so we can listen to it!

A quote from your character:

[Tomalak]

My curiosity about the moons comes from that, in my reading of your description above, they seem to be the continents, which I presume not to be true.  Are the moons numbered six, named, colored, and the source of magics?  Or is that the continents?

[Treehouseroleplayer]

Oh! Sorry. No, the continents are just particularly large floating islands. The moons are literally moons that hang in the sky and are typically visible both during the day and at night. The moons are not numbered, the names of the moons are just "The Red Moon", "The Blue Moon", etc. There are six moons which shine over the world, there also happens to be a continent under each moon's area of influence. The moons are the source of magic.

Another thing to note about moons is that it's quite common for rocks to fall and hit the islands. As such, there are significant deposits of moonstones throughout the world. These moonstones hold magical power and are typically used for the fuel on ships and some high powered weapons.

[Tomalak]

So the moons have a fixed orbit over a geographic location?

Also, are there lakes or large bodies of fresh water on this oceanless world?

[Treehouseroleplayer]

yes and yes, although the biggest are in I'Xa Taka and Yafutoma. Nothing significantly large though. There are also oasis in Nasr.

[Sasha]

 This is sweet ......I love this pic  .... it is quite entertaining .


 Was wondering if this character pic would be acceptable as well ?  I thinking of a seductively evil healer type character that usually has an ulterior motive in mind . I just can't always play nice characters .