OOC The Shard Coast [Info, sign-ups and OOC discussion]

Enderfive

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It is said that the Elder Ones are storytellers. They tell stories of ordinary lives in extraordinary times and stories of great men changing the course of history. They tell stories of love and betrayal, stories of honour and stories of cowardice. Every life is a story and every story is worth telling. And so the Elder Ones tell those stories.

The Shard Coast finds itself at a time of change. There is war brewing between Osten and Belland, to no one’s surprise. Whispers of treason wander on the streets of Mysborg. The mages in Trisalce are growing increasingly nervous and to top it all off, reports of monsters are coming in from the Outerlands. One has to wonder if the Elder Ones have a grander story in the works…

***​

Hello, and welcome to the Shard Coast!

In recent times, we haven’t had an active roleplay in here. The forum board looks lonely and sad and I decided I wanted to change that. So, this came to be. Below you will find rules, explanation of game mechanics, character creation templates and various information on the game world and such, but before that I want to explain what I had in mind when creating this game.

I went into creating the game with two goals: first, to let the players play their own character without having to worry about NPCs, worldbuilding or the like. Second, to give the players clear and specific goals to achieve in game.

With that in mind, I’ve decided I will not (at least for the time being) be a player in this game. I will be the GM, and I will act as you would expect a DM in, for example, a game of Dungeons and Dragons to act. I will be passing judgement on whether or not any action undertaken by your character was done according to the game’s rules, I will be creating the game world, controlling the NPCs and creating the main storylines. This does not mean that you can’t come up with your own parts of the game world, or with your own NPCs or with your own storylines. What this means is I will be doing those things regardless of whether you do them or not and if I think something you’ve come up with needs tweaking, I’ll hop in.

How the flow of the game should go: I describe the scene, you describe your actions, I describe what happens, repeat steps two and three. Obviously, I will not always be available to quickly post a follow-up, so it’s perfectly fine to describe what happens yourself, so long as you do it within reason. If you’re unsure, it might be better to wait for my narration. Actions between player characters also don’t need to be narrated by me, for obvious reasons.

Based on your character and the info you provide to me about them, you will each be individually given some extra information about the game world - stuff your character should know. Each of you will also have a specific goal you wish to accomplish in the game. If you don’t come up with one yourself, I will give it to you based on your character and with your consent. This goal is what drives your character. They don’t need to be obsessed with it, but it is something they strive for.

Ultimately, this is your game and I am merely the person that makes sure the game is running smoothly for your pleasure, so if you have anything you want to do yourself, then go for it. If you’re unsure of whether or not the thing you want to do is okay to do, just ask me and we’ll work something out.


Rules
* I (the GM) have the final say in everything. I might choose to bend or ignore some certain rules for the sake of the game, but only I have that authority.
* You can discuss the game outside the thread, but I’d like to be included when the actual gameplay happens.
* You have one character. I may or may not increase this number as the game progresses.
* Metagaming is not allowed. Play as your character, not as yourself.
* Powerplaying and godmodding are not allowed, except in special circumstances when explicitly allowed by myself. Don’t count on it happening, though.
* Player character death can only happen with that player’s consent. Otherwise, the character is simply knocked out or some other story-appropriate negative effect will be applied to them with my permission.
* I won’t be punishing for one-liner posts, but I don’t exactly like them either. If you can, try and write some more.
* Write however you want, but keep it easily readable and understandable.
* Please stay active, or if you’re going to go inactive, please let us know.
* Most importantly, have fun!

Combat
In previous games in this community, combat has largely been “I say something, you say something”. While that makes it easier for you to describe the fight exactly how you want to describe it, then it can also lead to a case where one player does something that annoys the other player involved.

Here’s an example:
“Endal cast a fireball at Light, who then fell unconscious after getting burned.”

It’s possible that could’ve happened, but Endal’s player doesn’t even leave a chance for Light’s player to defend his character.

Here’s another way it could go:
“Endal cast a fireball at Light.”
“Light dodged the fireball.”

This scenario is also entirely possible, but in this case Endal’s player can be annoyed that his spell did no damage whatsoever just because his opponent said so.

To prevent a situation like this, combat needs to have rules.

* Every character has a certain amount of HP, which I will determine based on your character sheet and any situational conditions that might apply.
* Every time an attack is made, dice are rolled. If the roll is above a certain number, the attack hits and deals damage. The higher the roll above that number, the more damage the attack deals. The number is modified by certain factors, such as your strength in case of a melee attack, the opponent’s ability to dodge or resist the attack, and your skill with the weapon you’re using.
* Combat is round based, which means you only get a certain number of actions at a time.
* Once your HP falls to zero, you’re knocked out. In certain cases, it can result in character death, as well.

This system is very simple and might undergo some changes in the future, depending on how well it works in game. You’re free to roleplay the results of such combat in whichever way you like, as long as it reflects the way the fight went.

Magic
What’s a fantasy world without magic? In the world of Ardunnu, the greater world in which the Shard Coast, Narwen and many other lands are situated in, magic exists and is found in many things, but to be able to control it and use it is a rare talent granted only by the gods or obtained through being born with it. Village healers may use the magical properties of certain plants to aid them in their task, but the potions that come of such dealings are weak and have only the slightest effects. Most people have never seen a true sorcerer or alchemist at work, as it takes a certain gift to be able to truly make use of the magic in the world.

There are three laws of magic, as postulated by Archmage Fredam of the Trisalce Academy:
* The more powerful a spell is, the more energy it requires to cast.
* The more difficult a spell is, the greater the chance of it failing or producing an unexpected side effect.
* The more skilled the mage is, the less of an effect the first two laws have.

There are three talents of magic and any mage can only use one of them.

The Talent of the Body, or alchemy, is the talent that allows the alchemist to amplify and enchance the magical properties already present in the world. It might come in the form of brewing powerful potions that outclass anything a common healer could prepare, or in the form of forging spellcast swords that are sharper and more durable than those that an ordinary smith could make. This is the type of magic that requires the least energy to perform, but on the other hand can take a lot of time and is dependent on raw material.

The Talent of the Mind, or psychics, is the talent of tricking or manipulating the mind. It can take the form of telepathy, or it can be used to create illusions. Tricking the senses is impossible, but manipulating with the image the senses provide to the mind to interpret is not, and this is precisely what the people possessing this talent do. Manipulation of the mind, however, is no easy task and will require great skill and much energy. A mage of this talent is commonly known as a mindweaver.

The Talent of the Soul, or sorcery, is the talent of manipulating the world around you. For example, a sorcerer could cast a fireball at his enemies, or he could push them with his mind. A sorcerer can make water dance around him and earth rise below him. Some tales speak of sorcerers powerful enough to even fly. Such power comes at a cost, however. Sorcery is the most energy-consuming of the three talents and if no magical focusing aids are used, it can quickly drain the sorcerer of their lifeforce. Even if the sorcerer uses all possible precautions, it is rare for them to live to old age.

All magic works by using the mage’s lifeforce to manipulate the magical energies in the world, so mages are often, but not necessarily, physically weaker and more suspectible to poison and illness than other people.

If you want to play a mage, pick a talent and come up with a few abilities that would suit that talent. I’m not really putting a hard limit on what abilities you can have, but be aware that I will not permit any abilities that I deem to be overpowered. Also, keep in mind that all magic needs to be learned in this world, nothing comes instinctively, so any mages that you play as have either spent years learning under a master, even more years experimenting and learning on their own, or haven’t learned a thing and can’t really do much.

Character creation
Fill out the template and post it either here or send me in a PM, I don’t particularly care. Note that once that is done, I’ll be sending you a PM anyway to discuss your goal and any extra information about the game world that you might have.

Try to put some effort into the bio; it doesn’t need to be an essay, but I’d really like more than just one sentence.

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
--Eyes:
--Hair:
Abilities/Skills:
Starting equipment:
Bio:
Other notes:
 
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Enderfive

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This is where information about the game world and its characters will be. I will most likely update it every now and then, so if you want, you can check back to see if I’ve added anything new.


The world itself is called Ardunnu, the continent on which most of the game will likely be played is Narwen and the region of Narwen we’re focusing on is called the Shard Coast. The Shard Coast can refer to the actual coast or the region in general.

Map



Short history
History begins with the Making. This is when the Elder Ones came together and created the world, first forming the rock upon which Ardunnu would be built, then pouring in the oceans, rivers and lakes. Once that was done, the Elder Ones turned some of the surface rock to soil and made grass, bushes, trees and flowers grow on it. Finally, the Elder Ones made all the animals of the world, starting with the lowliest mosquito and ending with their finest and most complex creation: man.

The Elder Ones also created the three Great Gods: Neptana, Thorven and Simsel. Neptana was granted the Domain of Water, the oceans and seas of Ardunnu became his to rule. Throven was given the Domain of Sky, and he would rule from the skies with truth and justice as his tools. And upon Simsel was bestowed the Domain of Death, and in the Underlands he began to watch over those whose journey on Ardunnu had ended.

With the creation of man, the Time Before Time ended and the First Age of Ardunnu began. It was characterised by men learning about the world around them and using what they had learned to create ever-growing cities and fledgling civilisations. Heroes emerged in the First Age, great men who led those first steps of mankind and some who even became gods in their own right after a lifetime of extraordinary accomplishments. Not much is known about the First Age, as no written records survive and only folk tales and songs tell the stories of it.

The Second Age came to be when the gods that had emerged in the First Age began to war with one another for superiority. Some tried to stay out of the fight, some welcomed it, but one way or another, almost every god and their followers were dragged into the unending war. The Second Age was a time of great uncertainty and though there was peace at times, it never lasted very long. The Second Age culminated in a series of events that led to the Shattering. The entire eastern part of Narwen was destroyed and flooded, creating the Sorrowseas and the Shard Coast.

The Third Age saw the gods withdrawing from Ardunnu after the destruction they had caused, and men began to rebuild the world that had been decimated in the wars of the Second Age. The Third Age was a quiet time, as men had no taste for war after the Shattering and there was plenty of land and resources to go around due to most of the world population perishing before. Family and tradition became important values and while there were some who longed for a more adventurous life, most people were content with enjoying the simpler pleasures life had to offer.

Foundations for later kingdoms were laid in the Third Age and by the end of it, Osten and Belland had both established themselves as powerful nations on the Shard Coast. Trisalce and Edina were also founded in the Third Age and they claim to be the oldest surviving cities in the entire region.

The First Osteni-Bellandian War is generally thought to mark the beginning of the Fourth Age, which is best described as a time when the nations of Ardunnu have settled into a certain state of equilibrium, where every once in a while something happens to disturb the balance, but is soon counteracted in such a way that restores the balance of powers. With no nation gaining a definitive advantage over the others, wars have increased in frequency in comparison to the Third Age, but generally tend to not be as all-encompassing as those of the Second Age. The common folk still live their lives, send a prayer to the gods every now and then and remain mostly unaffected by the politics of the nobles and royals.

Gods
The gods of Ardunnu are immortal beings with extremely great powers and worshippers, but they’re not omnipotent, omnipresent or omniscient, with the possible exception of the Elder Ones. They are just as flawed as men, with their own strengths and weaknesses, and typically, they were once mortals and ascended to godhood at some point in their life, or are the offspring of other gods. With every next generation, the divine energy in such offspring diminishes and the descendants of gods may very well be ordinary men going about their lives.

Once, the gods took a more active role in the world, but after the events of the Shattering, they’ve largely withdrawn and have settled for being mere spectators. Even so, they still influence Ardunnu in considerable ways. A prayer to Thorven can make a judge in a court of law see the truth more clearly and an offering to Neptana may grant a fisherman good weather and plentiful catch. Sometimes, the rare gift of magic is granted by one of the gods to a follower, to further the cause of that god down on Ardunnu.

Everyone knows the gods exist, but for most people, worship only goes as far as an occasional prayer before a greater undertaking or the celebration of a few of the bigger holidays dedicated to one of the gods. There are some, however, who worship only one god, and there are some who dedicate their life to the worship of a god. Such people are often chosen by the god they worship to receive gifts or perform tasks, to help the gods in their dealings on Ardunnu. Whatever the case, it always pays off to be mindful and aware of the gods’ influence on the world.


A partial list of well-known gods and their Domains.

Thorven - Sky, Truth and Justice
Neptana - Water, Oceans and Seas
Simsel - Death and the Underlands
Yuniwin - Nature
Aurya - Love
Astenis - War and Destruction
Ghint - Knowledge and Learning
Mesech - Crafts and Creativity
Ortoea - Trickery and Strife
Tannis - Hearth and Home
Ulfgar - War and Valour
Caskhat - Vengeance

Short descriptions of the nations of the Shard Coast
Molcant is distant compared to the other Shard Coast countries and has more contact with the faraway lands of Narwen than with Ostria, Thestris or Belland. Still, an occasional merchant, adventurer or traveller from Molcant ends up on the streets of Styngard or Trisalce every now and then. Molcanti society is fairly strict and traditions are held in high regard. The Tars, as the king of Molcant is called, rules from Nuultei with little opposition from others and deviation from norm is frowned upon.

Osten is a kingdom where the numerous lords and ladies weave plots and political intrigue as seamlessly as other men might breathe. The welfare of its common folk depends mostly on the goodwill of the noble ruling over any particular place, but in the cities that have obtained a town right, more freedom can usually be found. Ascension to a higher position, although difficult, is not impossible and extraordinary acts of valour can rise even the most common peasant to lordship.

Bellandians are rash, passionate and romantic by nature and though the king may have greater rights than in Osten, the common folk will not tolerate any injustices against them. Tales of long dead thieves and outlaws become folk legend there and love and honour are held in high regard. Belland has a rivalry with Osten that is as old as it is bitter. For now, there is peace between the two nations, but the Osteni are distrustful of Bellandians and the opposite is true as well. Any spark could light the flames of war again and even though the kings of both Osten and Belland want to keep the peace above anything else, their subjects have no intention of making that an easy task.

Thestris is less a unified nation and more an alliance of independent city-states, each with its own laws and government. The High Senate, composed of ambassadors from all Thestrian cities, deals primarily with solving disputes between the cities and can, in times of war, direct the Senatorial Armed Forces, a military independent of any particular city. Thestrian cities are mostly trading ports and centres of learning, and the largest magic academy in the Shard Coast is located in Trisalce.
 

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The Talent of the Mind, or psychics, is the talent of tricking or manipulating the mind. It can take the form of telepathy, or it can be used to create illusions.
Considering that they're the same type of magic, can one person gain/learn both of these or do we have to choose one

edit: also can a master of one type of magic teach another type of magic or do they have to stick to their own
 
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Enderfive

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Considering that they're the same type of magic, can one person gain/learn both of these or do we have to choose one

edit: also can a master of one type of magic teach another type of magic or do they have to stick to their own
The only theoretical limit to a mage's powers is his talent, they can't go outside the boundaries of it. Within the boundaries of the particular talent, however, in theory, everything is possible for a mage. So yes, a mindweaver can be capable of both telepathy and creating illusions.

A master of one talent can learn the theory of another, just like a person that can't sing to save their life can learn music theory, for example. But generally, each master sticks to their own talent, since theory of the other talents is of little use to them personally. If a sorcerer, for example, does learn alchemical theory, he will never be as good an alchemy teacher as an actual alchemist, because while he can teach an aspiring alchemist the proper form and theory, he can't describe nor teach the student to feel the magic in the proper ways for his talent.

Basically, theoretical aspects yes, practical aspects no.
 

Enderfive

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At this point there are two people that have sent me their character sheets, Faliara and Infected_alien8_. If no one else sends their character sheets by Sunday evening, the RP will begin with two players, for now.
 

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Name: Ayane (彩音)
Age: Somewhere between 10-11
Gender: Female
Appearance: a little slender, not very tall. Typically clad in blue.
--Eyes: blue
--Hair: black
Abilities/Skills:
*enjoys the cold, inherently talented at movement on ice.
*bold, very unlikely to be rendered afraid of something.
*charming, a little cute and kind of wise, but not necessarily bright.
*thrown snowballs seem very slightly colder than regular snow, but nothing important has really come about this so far.
*enjoys being in places with lots of water, particularly fresh water, since it doesn't usually have that... smell...
*undiscovered proficiency with the following tools:
-maul
-short sword
-short bow
-bastard sword
-basic shields
*agile and able to climb on a number of different structures
Starting equipment:
Wardrobe:
*Ice-blue kimono (robe) with a hair clip designed to look as if a small tiara made of ice crystals.
*Dark blue winter coat with matching pants and boots, the latter of which can be swapped with a custom set of ice-skates.
*Green forest tunic, perhaps a size or two too big.
*Blue tunic, reminiscent of a river.
Tools:
*slingshot and some very small items to pelt at things
*play sword made of a softer but sturdier wood
Accessories:
*small wallet
*small belt-bag of holding (an item she was found with)
*small pouch for holding slingshot ammo
Bio:
A young girl who lives in a forest village, not much can really be put as outstanding about her, with the possible exception being her slightly odd affinity with snow and water.
If only she knew what adventures awaited her...
Other notes:
First and most important note is that Ayane will be following a childhood-adulthood progression, which ties into the second note; Ayane is planned to go on some kind of journey, of which she is initially unaware of, and then still doesn't understand it for a while after it has been set into motion.
The third note worthy thing is that Ayane will eventually end up using weaker forms of alchemy magic and sorcery magic, maybe going into the more moderate sorcery later on. However, magic is not Ayane's main focus, and she likely won't be relying on it too much.

A side note, I think it may be a good idea to create a third thread specifically for storing information on characters, so that we may easily check up on the current condition of the characters and being able to update said characters without having to sift through a bunch of OoC posts to try and find everything.
It may also be wise to store the starting builds of the characters, especially if we ever desire to look back and see how far we've come.
 
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Toiletprincess

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Jesus fucking snip
I don't have anything against your character, I just thought to bring up two quick notes.

First of all, correct me if I'm wrong, it seems as though being able to physically perform two kinds of magic (even if only mildly) isn't an option. As far as I've read, it seems one can master or physically take part in one kind of magic, whilst they can learn the theoretical aspect to all. So. I'm just pointing out, her "eventually using weaker forms of alchemy and sorcery magic" may not be viable. I'm not entirely sure about this, so it can be corrected or confirmed (cough cough Enderfive).

And secondly, an "undiscovered proficiency with these tools".
I'm not entirely sure how you mean that, if you plan on having her learn and become proficient in the duration of the roleplay. that's fine. However, if you mean an undiscovered proficieny such as naturally being good at using them, then no. No one is just straight up proficient with something. Even top archers, whilst they may have always had good aim, take years to become "proficient" with a weapon. This goes for essentially all weapons - Swords, guns, bows. A proficiency is not something you're born with (unless it's in like, say, some fantasy magical setting and you're a mary sue with magic leaking out of every pore since you were a baby).

Again, this isn't an attack. The first point can be corrected, as i'm not entirely certain about the extent of how magic works in this world, but I think you should take my second point into consideration to make your character more realistic and dynamic (and not risk dwelling into "special snowflake" territory." :)

All this aside, I am trying to make a character but there are many things I can't make up my mind about. Many.

Edit: I actually think the "keeping all of the character profiles" in the same place is a good idea, however I don't think a third thread is the way to go about it. I don't believe we should have three threads for one roleplay that may or may not last. Maybe a PM. Either way, maybe people don't want their character profiles to be seen by everyone, as it may have information they want to reveal as time goes on.

As another side note (I'M SORRY THIS KEEPS GETTING LONGER AND LONGER I'M NOT ATTACKING YOU I PROMISE ;-; )
"snowballs seem a bit colder than usual". If you're going to introduce some other magic or that shes a phoenix or something, I'd suggest asking Ender first as he might not want that to be relevant in this roleplay. It's his world, afterall. Bow before our god.
 
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Fiestaguy

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*undiscovered proficiency with the following tools:
-maul
-short sword
-short bow
-bastard sword
-basic shields
And to add to her point, even if she does have a bit of natural talent on a weapon, that's. That's just too many. They all have very different styles, and like she said, it takes practice to get good at them. You can't just be naturally good at five different types of weapons (if the shield is being used as one instead of being just a shield) or at four both with/without shield.
 
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Enderfive

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I'm working on mine, just having a bit of difficulty with starting equipment
That's okay, you can always ask me for help if you're having a difficult time with coming up with something. I can't guarantee that I'll have an answer to your problem, of course, but I'll do my best to help.

Name: Ayane (彩音)
Age: Somewhere between 10-11
Gender: Female
Appearance: a little slender, not very tall. Typically clad in blue.
--Eyes: blue
--Hair: black
Abilities/Skills:
*enjoys the cold, inherently talented at movement on ice.
*bold, very unlikely to be rendered afraid of something.
*charming, a little cute and kind of wise, but not necessarily bright.
*thrown snowballs seem very slightly colder than regular snow, but nothing important has really come about this so far.
*enjoys being in places with lots of water, particularly fresh water, since it doesn't usually have that... smell...
*undiscovered proficiency with the following tools:
-maul
-short sword
-short bow
-bastard sword
-basic shields
*agile and able to climb on a number of different structures
Starting equipment:
Wardrobe:
*Ice-blue kimono (robe) with a hair clip designed to look as if a small tiara made of ice crystals.
*Dark blue winter coat with matching pants and boots, the latter of which can be swapped with a custom set of ice-skates.
*Green forest tunic, perhaps a size or two too big.
*Blue tunic, reminiscent of a river.
Tools:
*slingshot and some very small items to pelt at things
*play sword made of a softer but sturdier wood
Accessories:
*small wallet
*small belt-bag of holding (an item she was found with)
*small pouch for holding slingshot ammo
Bio:
A young girl who lives in a forest village, not much can really be put as outstanding about her, with the possible exception being her slightly odd affinity with snow and water.
If only she knew what adventures awaited her...
Other notes:
First and most important note is that Ayane will be following a childhood-adulthood progression, which ties into the second note; Ayane is planned to go on some kind of journey, of which she is initially unaware of, and then still doesn't understand it for a while after it has been set into motion.
The third note worthy thing is that Ayane will eventually end up using weaker forms of alchemy magic and sorcery magic, maybe going into the more moderate sorcery later on. However, magic is not Ayane's main focus, and she likely won't be relying on it too much.
Right, uh, some things will probably need to change, as others have already pointed out.

Toiletprincess is right when she says that you can only use one talent. There are no exceptions to this. A person can learn about all kinds of magic, as said before, but (s)he can only use one of the three talents. If you're unsure whether you'd like to play a character with an alchemy or sorcery talent, then consider which would fit better with the rest of your character, since you can't choose both.

Second, if you want to play a child character, be aware of the various disadvantages you might have as a child as compared to adults or characters in their late teens, for example. Given your age, your gender and your physique, it's safe to assume you are not capable of handling the various weapons you've listed for two reasons: you don't have the necessary skills and you don't have the necessary strength. The first point is a simple question of how long your character has had time to practise those weapons, which, in your case, is not a lot. This particular point goes for any magical abilities you might have as well. The second point is amplified by the fact that your character possesses magical capabilities, even if not fully developed yet, which hinder her physical ones, and strength in particular.

Third, the way your character is set up reminds me of oriental cultures, such as Japan or China. While I have no particular objections to you playing a character from a different culture, this does beg the questions of how and why she is now in the Shard Coast. The Shard Coast is inspired mostly by western cultures of the antiquity and the Middle Ages, so if you wish to play a character from a different cultural background, you need to come up with reasonable explanations as to why she's here now.

Fourth, some of your character's wardrobe and equipment suggests to me that your character is from a wealthy family, perhaps from a noble house of some sort, as commoners would have a difficult time aquiring items such as a hair clip designed to look like a small tiara made of ice crystals or clothes with colors like ice blue or dark blue. However, your note of her living in a forest village suggests otherwise. Please come up with a plausible reason for owning the various luxury items that you do.

Other, random points:
* You could probably write more in the bio, if only to flesh out the character's backstory more and give answers to the various questions that I pointed out.
* What is a "belt-bag of holding"?
* Personally, I would drop the magical abilities and the more difficult melee weapons and focus on Ayane being an agile ranged character, since most of her character seems to suggest that this is what she would be best at the way she is now. However, it's your character and I can only make suggestions in that particular regard. Just be aware that no one can be good at everything and if you attempt something like that, you'll most likely just end up being nerfed to a point where it's simply not fun to play her.
* Think of some character flaws as well. This goes for everyone, actually.

A side note, I think it may be a good idea to create a third thread specifically for storing information on characters, so that we may easily check up on the current condition of the characters and being able to update said characters without having to sift through a bunch of OoC posts to try and find everything.
It may also be wise to store the starting builds of the characters, especially if we ever desire to look back and see how far we've come.
I will be keeping track of your characters, but I will not make the character sheets public. If you yourself decide to make them public, that's your business, but I will always track your characters in the PMs I make with you to discuss things necessary for your character specifically.
 

Samlen

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* What is a "belt-bag of holding"?
I think Cat means a bag of holding small enough to be on a belt. (Which is an incredibly powerful magical object in Dungeons and Dragons that is larger on the inside and can hold like 60lbs of stuff in an extra dimensional space). In this case, it'd be a result of extremely potent alchemy.
 

Enderfive

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I think Cat means a bag of holding small enough to be on a belt. (Which is an incredibly powerful magical object in Dungeons and Dragons that is larger on the inside and can hold like 60lbs of stuff in an extra dimensional space). In this case, it'd be a result of extremely potent alchemy.
Yes, that's the impression I got as well, and I would probably ask Catco to remove that item from her equipment for the time being, if this is what she meant with it. The reason I asked is because there's the possibility that she simply meant an ordinary bag and worded it in a way that made my roleplaying mind think of a powerful magical item.
 

Samlen

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Name: Sverrir
Age: 27 (could make him older if you think his training would've taken longer than 8 years)
Gender: Male
Appearance: 5'10" Started out pale, but a little weatherworn and tan from travelling
--Eyes: Pine green
--Hair: Glorious red locks (chest length) and a bit of a beard (3~4")
Abilities/Skills:
-General
----Small scale boat building/seafaring (hasn't spent much time on ships larger than a fishing boat)
----Woodcarving (mostly instruments)
----Fishing
-Combative
----Can create illusions through music
----Can instill 'emotions' through music (courage for allies, dread in enemies, etc.)
----Can wield a staff decently
----Can sort of use knives given woodcarving experience
Starting equipment: Amulet of Neptana
Amulet of Mesech
Backpack
Hand-crafted lute
Hand-carved staff
Fishing Pole
Mindweaving Book
3 Waterskins
Woodcarving equipment
-3 knives of varying sizes
-Whetstone (to keep knives sharp)
-Can't think of anything else needed for woodcarving right now
Bio: Sverrir has been fascinated by music from an early age, living in the small coastal town of Raufarn in Thestris. His house in particular was close to the sea, where the waves would lull him to sleep night after night. His father was a fisherman, as many were in the village, so it was natural that he would take to similar trade,
namely, boat building. Like many in his village, Sverrir true passion was for the sea, but not for it's mighty waves and tumultuous storms. It was for the song of the sea. Night by night he would listen and crave to understand it. And so, in his freetime, Sverrir began his journey of becoming a musician, learning all he could from travelling bards in the tavern and honing his woodcarving skills so that he could create his own intstruments.
This went on for many years and Sverrir soon became a boy no longer, but a man proudly sailing his own fishing boat among the waves at day and singing songs at the tavern by dusk. A few months after his 19th birthday, a travelling mindweaver happened upon Raufarn. Naturally, he came to the only tavern in town to rest and heard (name's) singing. Years of practice and a natural talent helped the listener's mind paint vivid pictures, something that piqued the mindweaver's interest. He began to channel a little of his own magic to the music, bringing to story to life. The tavern, and Sverrir, stood in awe as lifelike illusions began to dance around to room, exploding into a myriad of colors at the end of the song.
Thunderous applause was not far behind, and neither was Sverrir's request to be taught how to do so himself. And so began Sverrir's training in the ways of mindweaving. Master and apprentice travelled together for many years, until the day came where Sverrir had learned most of what his master could teach.
And so, Sverrir continues his travelling, merely hoping to one day be able to compare his music to the song of the seas.
Other notes: He is more of a pacifist but can/will defend himself if needed.
Essentially going for a bard that seeks a bit of adventure but mostly to learn and create the best music.
His home village (Raufarn) is in the NorthWest tip of the island that Trisalce is on. His travels with his master has brought him to the mainland before, but I'm fine with him starting wherever you think he should.

Putting this here since I'd like any feedback you guys have :D (I'll probably just edit this post if anything needs to change so that thread doesn't get cluttered too much.)

Edit 1: Moved pacifist part to other notes to reduce confusion
 
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Toiletprincess

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Name: Sverrir
Age: 27 (could make him older if you think his training would've taken longer than 8 years)
Gender: Male
Appearance: 5'10" Started out pale, but a little weatherworn and tan from travelling
--Eyes: Pine green
--Hair: Glorious red locks (chest length) and a bit of a beard (3~4")
Abilities/Skills:
-General
-Small scale boat building/seafaring (hasn't spent much time on ships larger than a fishing boat)
-Woodcarving (mostly instruments)
-Fishing
-Combative (More of a pacifist, but can/will defend himself if needed)
-Can create illusions through music
-Can instill 'emotions' through music (courage for allies, dread in enemies, etc.)
-Can wield a staff decently
-Can sort of use knives given woodcarving experience
Starting equipment: Amulet of Neptana
Amulet of Mesech
Backpack
Hand-crafted lute
Hand-carved staff
Fishing Pole
Mindweaving Book
3 Waterskins
Woodcarving equipment
-3 knives of varying sizes
-Whetstone (to keep knives sharp)
-Can't think of anything else needed for woodcarving right now
Bio: Sverrir has been fascinated by music from an early age, living in the small coastal town of Raufarn in Thestris. His house in particular was close to the sea, where the waves would lull him to sleep night after night. His father was a fisherman, as many were in the village, so it was natural that he would take to similar trade,
namely, boat building. Like many in his village, Sverrir true passion was for the sea, but not for it's mighty waves and tumultuous storms. It was for the song of the sea. Night by night he would listen and crave to understand it. And so, in his freetime, Sverrir began his journey of becoming a musician, learning all he could from travelling bards in the tavern and honing his woodcarving skills so that he could create his own intstruments.
This went on for many years and Sverrir soon became a boy no longer, but a man proudly sailing his own fishing boat among the waves at day and singing songs at the tavern by dusk. A few months after his 19th birthday, a travelling mindweaver happened upon Raufarn. Naturally, he came to the only tavern in town to rest and heard (name's) singing. Years of practice and a natural talent helped the listener's mind paint vivid pictures, something that piqued the mindweaver's interest. He began to channel a little of his own magic to the music, bringing to story to life. The tavern, and Sverrir, stood in awe as lifelike illusions began to dance around to room, exploding into a myriad of colors at the end of the song.
Thunderous applause was not far behind, and neither was Sverrir's request to be taught how to do so himself. And so began Sverrir's training in the ways of mindweaving. Master and apprentice travelled together for many years, until the day came where Sverrir had learned most of what his master could teach.
And so, Sverrir continues his travelling, merely hoping to one day be able to compare his music to the song of the seas.
Other notes:
Essentially going for a bard that seeks a bit of adventure but mostly to learn and create the best music.
His home village (Raufarn) is in the NorthWest tip of the island that Trisalce is on. His travels with his master has brought him to the mainland before, but I'm fine with him starting wherever you think he should.

Putting this here since I'd like any feedback you guys have :D (I'll probably just edit this post if anything needs to change so that thread doesn't get cluttered too much.)
Your character is basically a Viking bard and I love it.
 
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Enderfive

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To clarify what I meant with "character flaws", I meant something that can become a hindrance to your characters in the RP. It doesn't have to be anything universally negative, almost any personality trait, even the seemingly good ones, can become a character flaw if the character is thrown into a situation where that trait is more an obstacle than any help.

For example, you might have a character that's very deliberate and tends to want to think things through before acting, which leads to him being hesitant to act when there's no time to think. Or you might have a character that is confident in himself and tries to do something that is very difficult to do for him, with the end result being a predictable failure and him being humiliated.

Basically, just play your character and make sure not to do something out-of-character simply because you know it would be a better option or because you yourself would do it differently. The personality of your character, as well as all the flaws they have, will become clearer and more complex as we play, so it's not something I would worry overly much about right now. But it is a good idea to think of at least something to give you a starting point.

-Combative (More of a pacifist, but can/will defend himself if needed)
What exactly does that entail? Otherwise you're good, very nice in my personal opinion, I've always been partial to both viking-esque characters and bards.
 

Samlen

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To clarify what I meant with "character flaws", I meant something that can become a hindrance to your characters in the RP. It doesn't have to be anything universally negative, almost any personality trait, even the seemingly good ones, can become a character flaw if the character is thrown into a situation where that trait is more an obstacle than any help.

For example, you might have a character that's very deliberate and tends to want to think things through before acting, which leads to him being hesitant to act when there's no time to think. Or you might have a character that is confident in himself and tries to do something that is very difficult to do for him, with the end result being a predictable failure and him being humiliated.

Basically, just play your character and make sure not to do something out-of-character simply because you know it would be a better option or because you yourself would do it differently. The personality of your character, as well as all the flaws they have, will become clearer and more complex as we play, so it's not something I would worry overly much about right now. But it is a good idea to think of at least something to give you a starting point.


What exactly does that entail? Otherwise you're good, very nice in my personal opinion, I've always been partial to both viking-esque characters and bards.
Derp that's my formatting messing up. I meant to set up two sections of skills (general/combative) but I was putting a sidenote that he does not actively seek conflict.
 
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Catcocomics

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First Revision:

Name: Ayane (彩音)
Age: Somewhere between 10-11
Gender: Female
Appearance: a little slender, not very tall. Typically clad in blue.
--Eyes: blue
--Hair: black
Abilities/Skills:
*enjoys the cold, inherently talented at movement on ice.
*bold, very unlikely to be rendered afraid of something.
*charming, a little cute and kind of wise, but not necessarily bright.
*thrown snowballs seem very slightly colder than regular snow, but nothing important has really come about this so far. (accidental magical chilling of weakest effect)
*enjoys being in places with lots of water, particularly fresh water, since it doesn't usually have that... smell...
*naturally talented but unproficient with the following tools: (I had originally put proficient because in DDO, lack of proficiency gives serious to-hit penalty, and to put more on that, I've very recently taken a ranger from lvl 4 to lvl 15 who wields a bastard sword and shield)
-maul (when late teen/adult)
-short sword
-short bow (when later teen/adult)
-bastard sword (when late teen/adult)
-basic shields (defensive; the idea to use the shield as a weapon hasn't come to Ayane, and isn't likely to at the present)
*agile and able to climb on a number of different structures
Starting equipment:
Wardrobe:
*Ice-blue kimono (robe) with a hair clip designed to look as if a small tiara made of ice crystals.
*Dark blue winter coat with matching pants and boots, the latter of which can be swapped with a custom set of ice-skates.
*Green forest tunic, perhaps a size or two too big. (She only really has this because the other villagers didn't want to alienate her)
*Blue tunic, reminiscent of a river.
*A set of adventuring boots. nothing fancy and well worn, but still in very good condition.
Tools:
*slingshot and some very small items to pelt at things (shooting soft berries at people has proven to be mildly entertaining... sometimes...)
*play sword made of a softer but sturdier wood (being of an adventurous spirit, she kind of plays around with this a lot)
Accessories:
*small wallet
*small (and least) belt-bag of holding (an item [BCOLOR=#333333]she was found[/BCOLOR] with) (this bag is only strong enough to hold a couple of small bags, or else, can manifest as some other magical storage device (such as a portable hole) far later in the adventure)
*small pouch for holding slingshot ammo
Bio:
A young girl who lives in a forest village, not much can really be put as outstanding about her, with the possible exception being her slightly odd affinity with snow and water.
If only she knew what adventures awaited her...

Ayane, unbeknownst to her, did not originally come from the forest, but rather, a sub arctic region leagues away.

Other notes:
First and most important note is that Ayane will be following a childhood-adulthood progression*, which ties into the second note; Ayane is planned to go on some kind of journey, of which she is initially unaware of, and then still doesn't understand it for a while after it has been set into motion.
The third note worthy thing is that Ayane may eventually end up using weaker forms of alchemy magic and sorcery magic, maybe going into the more moderate sorcery later on. However, magic is not Ayane's main focus, and she likely won't be relying on it too much.


New addition/information
Modified Information
Removed
[BCOLOR=#333333]Something overlooked[/BCOLOR]
 

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First Revision:

Name: Ayane (彩音)
Age: Somewhere between 10-11
Gender: Female
Appearance: a little slender, not very tall. Typically clad in blue.
--Eyes: blue
--Hair: black
Abilities/Skills:
*enjoys the cold, inherently talented at movement on ice.
*bold, very unlikely to be rendered afraid of something.
*charming, a little cute and kind of wise, but not necessarily bright.
*thrown snowballs seem very slightly colder than regular snow, but nothing important has really come about this so far. (accidental magical chilling of weakest effect)
*enjoys being in places with lots of water, particularly fresh water, since it doesn't usually have that... smell...
*naturally talented but unproficient with the following tools: (I had originally put proficient because in DDO, lack of proficiency gives serious to-hit penalty, and to put more on that, I've very recently taken a ranger from lvl 4 to lvl 15 who wields a bastard sword and shield)
-maul (when late teen/adult)
-short sword
-short bow (when later teen/adult)
-bastard sword (when late teen/adult)
-basic shields (defensive; the idea to use the shield as a weapon hasn't come to Ayane, and isn't likely to at the present)
*agile and able to climb on a number of different structures
Starting equipment:
Wardrobe:
*Ice-blue kimono (robe) with a hair clip designed to look as if a small tiara made of ice crystals.
*Dark blue winter coat with matching pants and boots, the latter of which can be swapped with a custom set of ice-skates.
*Green forest tunic, perhaps a size or two too big. (She only really has this because the other villagers didn't want to alienate her)
*Blue tunic, reminiscent of a river.
*A set of adventuring boots. nothing fancy and well worn, but still in very good condition.
Tools:
*slingshot and some very small items to pelt at things (shooting soft berries at people has proven to be mildly entertaining... sometimes...)
*play sword made of a softer but sturdier wood (being of an adventurous spirit, she kind of plays around with this a lot)
Accessories:
*small wallet
*small (and least) belt-bag of holding (an item [BCOLOR=#333333]she was found[/BCOLOR] with) (this bag is only strong enough to hold a couple of small bags, or else, can manifest as some other magical storage device (such as a portable hole) far later in the adventure)
*small pouch for holding slingshot ammo
Bio:
A young girl who lives in a forest village, not much can really be put as outstanding about her, with the possible exception being her slightly odd affinity with snow and water.
If only she knew what adventures awaited her...

Ayane, unbeknownst to her, did not originally come from the forest, but rather, a sub arctic region leagues away.
Other notes:
First and most important note is that Ayane will be following a childhood-adulthood progression*, which ties into the second note; Ayane is planned to go on some kind of journey, of which she is initially unaware of, and then still doesn't understand it for a while after it has been set into motion.
The third note worthy thing is that Ayane may eventually end up using weaker forms of alchemy magic and sorcery magic, maybe going into the more moderate sorcery later on. However, magic is not Ayane's main focus, and she likely won't be relying on it too much.


New addition/information
Modified Information
Removed
[BCOLOR=#333333]Something overlooked[/BCOLOR]
Right, well, that's certainly better, but I still think there is some tweaking that needs to be done.

When you say naturally talented, what do you mean? Do you mean that she simply has sharp reflexes or do you mean that she instinctively knows how to use the weapons? I'm sort of okay with allowing the first option, but for the second, the weapons you've listed are still way too different for her to be "naturally talented" at all of them, or even most of them. Furthermore, her being a mage, regardless of powerlevels, still inhibits her abilities with conventional weapons, and especially melee weapons, which all require a certain physical capability. And even with natural talent, training is still necessary, it's simply the speed with which you improve that is boosted somewhat by instinctive ability. If your character hasn't done any training, then she can't use the weapons, or shields, for that matter, regardless of her potential.

You can be talented at a few things, but with the way your character is set up, it looks like she's meant to be talented at most things, if not almost everything. I'm not only talking about combat abilities either, Ayane's personality traits (charming and almost without any fear at the age of ten to eleven) coupled with her various skills and her mysterious background make me especially wary of her as a character, as she is leaning a bit too close to Mary Sue territory for my liking. I will not stop you from trying to play all those different things out, but keep in mind that you're not going to be able to succeed at everything that you do, especially since during combat I'm going to be making decisions about how well Ayane can hold her own, and in the interest of fair and interesting play, I am probably going to nerf her combat abilities on the fly, if this is how you intend to keep her.

Moving on to background, there are still some important questions that haven't been answered. It's good that we now know where she came from, but this still does not answer the questions of how and why she ended up where she is now, or what journey she is supposed to go on and why. It's entirely okay if you don't want to share it with the other players just yet or which to keep things a mystery for everyone involved, but I as the GM have to know, otherwise I might make decisions that you don't like and you might make decisions that I don't like. In the interest of avoiding that, please give me some more information, or I will be forced to make something up myself, and I have a feeling you wouldn't be too keen on that.

And finally, regarding the magic bag, I still don't want an item as powerful as this to be in your starting equipment, especially considering the fact that she has no backstory to explain it.


In other news, I'm working on setting up the details of the possible storylines you can choose to follow and hopefully we can start playing in the next couple of days.