[b][i][color=gold]Due to my being too busy with things IRL, Red Sun is officially dead. I apologize for the inconvenience. -Maxx[/color] [/i][/b] [center][img]http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag462/Maxwell_Schumacher/cooltext1896872895_zps2fjqpw4a.png[/img][/center] The northern border of the human kingdom of Talbor is established and protected entirely by a vast ridge of jagged grey mountains which from the foothills look like razors slashing at the sky. Over the centuries, many an army has tried to push through these mountains, but they have proven themselves to be so well-fortified that no army in existence could ever dream of pushing through the endless wall of rock. That is, until said army approached the North Valley. The North Valley is the only gap in the Tartarus mountains, a long and winding path that cuts through the wall of rock and leads to the green heartlands of Talbor. It is protected at its end facing the Wilderness by Fort Imperius, a fort built around an enormous gate forty feet high. It is manned constantly by a standing guard of two-thousand men. From the top of the tower where the longbowmen watched, they saw the wave of red moving towards them across the green plains, and the trail of smoke which followed it. As the regiment of three-thousand men marched towards Fort Imperius, they burned everything behind them, leaving an expanse of blazing trees and charred grass in their wake. To the men atop the fort, it appeared as if Satan’s Armies were approaching themselves. At their request, Sir Frederick, the fort’s commander, climbed the steps to the top of the wall and approached the Head Bowman, a tall halfling man, with a cynical glare in his eyes. He was an arrogant-looking man, with perfectly-polished steel armor, long red hair which trailed down his back, and a long blue cape with the symbol Talbor, a ram’s head, imprinted on it in gold. “What is it?” Sir Frederick said to the Bowman. “Look out there, sir.” he replied “It appears as if we are about to go under siege.” Frederick looked out across the plains and saw the approaching armada. “Hm. Look at that.” he said “It appears as we are about to have a fight on our hands. I will alert the men to go into lockdown and have another regiment of bowmen join you. I’m sure it won’t be much of a problem. No army in Tithe can break through these walls.” The bowman saluted, and Sir Frederick went off down the steps, where he alerted the rest of the soldiers to go into siege mode. Dozens of longbowmen moved to their arrow slits along the inside of the fifty-foot wall and a heavy metal portcullis lowered on each side of the wooden doors of the gate. A second regiment of archers were sent to the top. The soldiers still inside were commanded to armor up, but were not told to report to their internal battlestations on account that no “band of pyromaniac highwaymen” would ever bust through an impenetrable stone wall. [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpIhbDN58mA] (appropriate opening music) [/url][/b] As the Head Bowman greeted his new regiment of thirty archers and directed them to their places on the wall, however, he began to notice that there were not one regiment of soldiers moving towards the fort, but three, the other two about two miles farther away and significantly larger than the first. He looked towards his men as the alarm bells sounded inside; this was certainly more than a band of highwaymen. As he stared out at the closest army, he saw a flourishing of metal, and a sound that resembled a blast of lightning in the distance. Puffs of smoke rose from the army as a row of large black dots moved to the front of the army. Louder blasts of thunder roared through the air as the Bowman watched large balls of metal fly head-on into the wall. The entire structure shook, and the Bowman felt a blunt pain in his stomach as he violently rocked forwards. The next thing he knew, he was laying at the base of the wall with a snapped neck, his cold, dead eyes staring up at the blue sky filling with smoke and fire. As the black smog filled the sky, it appeared as if the sun had lost its color and turned a deep blood red. --- Under the Red Sun is a high-fantasy roleplay centered around a war between the magical races of Tithe and the cold, mechanical army of the Red Legion, a group dedicated to destroying all magic in the world. You can play as any of fifteen different races, each with different cultures, weaponry, and abilities to bring to the table in the resistance against the Red Legion Invasion. This is an open-world role-play, with an enormous map. Your decisions will shape the invasion and determine the ultimate fate of Tithe. [h1]Important Information for Players[/h1] Race and world information (the important stuff) is contained in the second post of this OP (because in one piece the file was so damn big that it broke the guild). The sheet is also contained in the second post. [b][u]Basic info: [/u][/b] [b]Roleplay Genre:[/b] High-fantasy [b]Roleplay Level:[/b] Advanced. >4 sentences per-post expected. [b]Number of Members:[/b] 12 [b]Acceptance Status: [/b][color=red] Closed: Not Currently Accepting Character Sheets [/color] --- [hider=Rules][h1]Rules[/h1] [list][*] No Godmodding, metagaming, flaming, spamming, farting, snorting, or doing anything else immature and stupid. [*] There is no limit to the amount of characters which one can have in this rp, but only have as many characters as you can control. [*] Every post must be more than five sentences long, but I’m not as much of a stickler about post length as others. Don’t feel obligated to make a super long post just because others do. [*] Cursing such is fine, and romantic themes are okay as well, but I want two things to be very clear: (a) this is not an erotic roleplay. If you wanna boink, do it offscreen, and (b) this is not WOW or any other MMORPG (ie don't go out of your way to make female characters look as sexual as possible). [*] Character sheets are to be posted in the OOC before being moved to the character sheet file. If you are not a mod and post your sheet in sheet storage before putting it on the OOC, your sheet will not be considered. Please put all character sheets in hiders. [*] Though the plot revolves around the Red Legion Invasion, you don’t technically “need” to fight the Legion (though you probably should) and there can be PVP combat (incase you make a human who REALLY hates Fairfolk or something). It should go without saying that killing without permission is against the rules unless the other person is either (unresponsive in a battle scene for more than one week without prior warning, or (b) is in a situation where they cannot survive (like, they’re a Dryad covered in kerosene hanging off of the edge of a cliff with alligators at the bottom and you hit them with a fire spell). The latter situation will be determined by a mod. [*] Put the word Polaris in your other section if you read these rules. [*] No auto-hitting. It’s not fair and gives opponents no time to respond to attacks. Also, do not start sentences with “If this attack hits, it will...” This is my pet peeve. We’re not in kindergarten; we can figure out that if a character gets hit in the shoulder with a battleaxe, it’s going to leave a mark. [*] Also, no auto-dodging. No matter how agile your character is, they can’t dodge every hit. Blocking an attack is different from straight-up dodging it, as shields can only take so many hits. [*] There is a set of races and locations on the OP for a reason. Unless you convince me to add a location/race to the OP (which won’t be easy) please adhere to the races that my GMs and I have made. [*] No hybrid races besides Halflings, Halforcs, and Ogres. [*] There is a limit of four weapons per-character. [*] The Mookicide Rule: basically, the rule goes like this; there is a set number of mooks, or NPC combatants, in any fight, and no one character should be able to kill more mooks than any other. So, in each post, any one character cannot kill more than four mooks. This prevents spotlighting and allows everyone to get a slice of the action without somebody FIRIN MAH LAZER and killing an entire regiment of Red Legion. [*] No pets or mounts bigger than thirty feet long are allowed (and thirty is pushing it) [*] You must ask permission before you use an exotic pet (any magical creature like a griffin, cerberus, unicorn, etc.) [*] Only one mount/pet per character [*] No dragons allowed without permission. Also, no dragonhide armor is allowed without permission (because dragonhide is like really lightweight concrete). [*] No playing as a cyclops. Cyclopes don’t live on land. [*]You can be a military officer if you’d like (though I don’t recommend it because you probably won’t live very long) but if you are, you must pass the size of your character’s unit by me before making the sheet. [*] Some members of the Dorak race ride gigantic beetles of stone on which they put small colonies (because the beetles are mountain-sized). You are not one of those Dorak. [*] Have fun. Or don’t, really either way I don’t care so long as you’re not annoying. [*] Any rule past rule eight (and before this rule) can be broken with permission. If you want something that violates one of the rules and you can convince me that it’s not overpowered, then I will allow you to break that rule. For example, if you want your character to be a dragon rider, but you can make a dragon rider which is not overpowered, then you can do so. Do not abuse this privilege. If you do, I will never allow you to do such a thing again. [*] Don’t try to win the rp. That is impossible. You will not do it. Not even the most powerful mage alive could ever even dream of soloing the Red Legion. [*] No being a Red Legion member. I don’t like putting everyone on one side, but the Red Legion’s technology is better than that of every other race and a player who gets their hands on it could abuse it easily. [*] ABSOLUTELY NO GUNPOWDER WEAPONS. The Red Legion is the only race in Tithe which uses gunpowder. I know what you’re thinking; “but that puts me at a disadvantage if I’m dumb enough to directly engage them without a substantial force!” That’s the point. [/list][/hider] [hider=Weapon Regulations][h1]Weapon Regulations[/h1] There is a limit of four weapons per-character in this rp (without special permission to do otherwise). Weapons in the sheet are divided into four categories, large weapons, medium weapons, and small weapons. Remember when planning your character that weapon size is relative; a two-foot sword might be a medium weapon to a human, but to a minotaur that’s practically a toothpick. Below is a description of each kind of weapon and a list of what kind of weapons would fall into the different categories: [b]Large weapons[/b], as the name suggests, are the biggest type of weapon. A good rule of thumb for large weapons is anything that either requires two hands to use or is as tall/taller than the character. Shields are also in this section. There is a limit of one large weapon per-character. The following weapons qualify as large weapons: [list][*] Two-handed swords [*] Mauls [*] Halberds [*] Bows (both long and short) You must indicate how many arrows a character has on them at one time. [*] Magic staffs [*] Shields of any size (round, kite, tower, etc) [*] Spears [*] Two-handed crossbows. You must indicate how many bolts a character has on them at one time. [/list] [b]Medium weapons[/b] are weapons which require one hand to wield and are too big to easily conceal. Medium weapons are the most-common weapons used in combat, and often function as the main weapon for the character. There is a limit of one medium weapon per-character. The following weapons qualify as medium weapons: [list][*] And kind of sword that does not require two hands to use (sabres, rapiers, arming swords, broadswords, you name it) [*] Battle axes [*] Maces (which aren’t too heavy to use with one hand) [*] Flails [*] One-handed crossbows (like what Ezio uses in Assassin’s Creed). You must indicate how many bolts your character keeps on hand at one time.[/list] [b]Small weapons[/b] are weapons small enough to be concealed. These are usually used as secondary, or backup weapons. Generally-speaking, if your character can hide it without looking awkward, it is a small. There is a limit of two small weapons per-character. The following weapons qualify as small weapons: [list][*] Daggers [*] Magic wands [*] Knives [*] Small throwing weapons (bolos, throwing knives, darts) You must indicate how many of these your character has on them at one time. [*] Medicine/potions [*] Any kind of ranged magical explosive. You must indicate how many of these your character has on them at one time. [/list] These are just suggestions, of course, as there is no limit on what kind of weapon your character uses so long as it fits the time period (nothing with gunpowder, basically) and isn’t overpowered (no daggers covered in incurable insta-kill poison). [b]Weapon Trading:[/b] Now I know what you’re thinking; “What if my character’s a super badass who uses two swords and no dagger!” Well, my super-badass friend, I have the solution for you! Weapon sizes can be traded up! What I mean by this is that if you want two medium weapons, you can trade your two small weapon slots in for a second medium weapon slot, and turn two medium weapon slots in for a second large weapon slot. So if you feel like using two swords or a tower shield and a Scottish Claymore (I don’t recommend that even a little bit) you can by trading in smaller weapons slots. These slots do not work in the opposite direction, however (as it would be ridiculous for someone to trade their large weapon in for two medium weapons and have more swords than they do hands). Also remember that if you ask permission and are approved by me or another mod, you can use more than four weapons. Weapons can be changed later on in the rp with permission, but no one can use firearms until I say so. [b]A Very Important Note on Magic:[/b] If your character uses combat magic, it takes the place of one of their weapon slots, meaning that you can only use three other weapons. It does not, however, matter what slot this is, so it can take the place of a small, medium, or large slot.[/hider] [hider=Magic][h1]Magic[/h1] So you wanna be a wizard, eh? Well magic in Tithe is pretty complicated, more complicated than cleaving your enemy in two with a sword or poking your enemy full of holes with arrows, but the rewards are worth it. So firstly, let’s set some ground rules. Magic is an art which requires serious time and effort to perfect, even for Fairfolk. It is difficult to train at, and a true mastery of magic takes decades. Remember this when making sheets. In addition to this, the following rules apply to magic: [list][*] No spells that cannot be blocked. Magic spells cannot go through defenses to damage an enemy, though they can damage defenses. [*] No spells that automatically kill. No matter how potent, any individual combat spell cannot kill a combat-ready foe. This doesn’t mean that your character cannot kill another character/mook with magic, but you can’t own a spell that if casted has a zero percent survival rate against an armed combatant. That being said, if a dumbass is standing naked in a field and is cursing your momma, feel free to wipe his ass off the planet. [*] Necromancy is extremely complicated and hard to perform. It is illegal in every kingdom of Tithe, and is punishable by death everywhere. Only the strongest of wizards can reanimate the dead, and it is never without side effects. Necromancers cannot control creatures like ghouls and ghosts, which are dead but were not made by them. [*] Telepathy is impossible. The mind is too confusing and complex to to be read by another. [*] No spells of absolute defense. Shield spells are allowed, but shields cannot be unbreakable. [*] Magic is not limitless. Each form of magic has different limitations, and exceeding either of those limitations will cause serious and most likely life-threatening damage to your character. [*] Transfiguration is not possible. You cannot turn yourself into something else. That means no turning into a gigantic demon or dragon or fifty-foot ghost version of yourself (looking at you, Korra). However, cosmetic potions can allow you to change your appearance slightly. [*] While each form of magic is based upon whatever it is you believe in, keep in mind there are a few forms of magic. offensive magic (like casting fireballs), defensive magic (healing yourself and others or making shields), and effect magic(illusions, invisibility, etc)[/list] There are two primarily forms of magic: what is referred to as Light Magic and what is referred to as Darkness Magic. Any one character can only learn one form of magic, and no living being has ever learned both simultaneously (and no being will ever do it so don’t try). [b]Light Magic[/b] was created by the Fairfolk, and is based off of nature. It is the more common form of magic between the two. Like in Avatar, Light Magic focuses on the four elements (fire, water, earth, and air) and uses the relationships between them to cast a wide variety of spells. At a very basic level, Light magic looks like elemental bending. A novice Light mage can do things like shoot fireballs, create gusts of wind, and form shields of rock from the ground below them. But, while doing those things are cool, the true nature of light magic involves understanding the balance between the four elements and being able to alter that balance to create more various attacks. Those who understand how to alter the proportions of the four elements can do much more powerful things, like create magical shields by combining proportions of water and air or covering one’s skin in an iron coating by combining proportions of earth and fire. Because of this, Light Magic can get somewhat complicated and most mages do not go beyond simply controlling the four elements and their hybrids (mist, dust, smoke, mud, steam, metal, ice). It generally takes about twenty years of training and meditation to be able to use the four elements and their hybrids, and much longer to master the control of elemental proportions. Unlike darkness magic, light magic can heal as well, and some light mages can patch up wounds. With the exception of things like healing, light magic always takes a concrete form of an actual object (like lightning, a fireball, a big rock, etc). [b]Limitations:[/b] Light Magic stems from some sort of nature god/goddess, though there are different forms of this. Fairfolk believe in Matrem, the mother goddess who conceived the world in her womb, whereas elves believe in a Pantheistic view of nature and orcs believe in individual nature gods (humans are a mix of all three, though the majority worship Matrem). No matter which nature deity a species believes in, however, this natural deity grants magic power in exchange for service to the earth. Now what does this mean? It means that if a mage does not plant a seed of some sort after using a lot of magic, they develop a sickness known as Matrem’s Wrath. Matrem’s wrath causes extremely high fevers and convulsions that often lead to death or permanent paralyzation. Mages who contract the disease almost always lose the ability to ever use magic again if they survive. There is no set limit for how many spells a mage can use before having to plant a seed, but they generally know that they need to when they begin to feel fatigued and light-headed (or when Maxx tells you to plant a seed or die). [b]Dark Magic[/b] is a form of magic that was created by the cyclopes, and is based off of emotion. It is generally a less-common form of magic, and is harder to learn since it does not involve actual concrete things. Despite its name, dark magic is not actually evil. Dark magic deals with emotions in a similar way that light magic deals with elements. Except, unlike Light Magic, there are more than four elements of dark magic, since there are more than four emotions. Each emotion in Dark Magic has a different effect, and emotions can be combined in a spell to combine effects (this is known as catharsis). The three primary emotions in dark magic (the ones that are used most) are anger, sadness, and happiness. Anger is generally involved in destructive spells that burn or smash. Happiness is generally involved in defensive spells like shields, and sadness is involved in effect spells like illusions and invisibility. Different emotions can be combined in different ways to do different effects (for example, combining happiness and anger gives you a spell which weakens your opponent’s attack and hits them with the same force they hit you with). If you want to know what happens if you combine different types of emotional energies, pm me and I’ll tell you. The more intense an emotion is in a dark mage, the more powerful the spell will be. Some wizard towers actually set up activities in secret where they trick mage trainees into feeling extreme emotions (euphoria, blinding anger, love) so that they can remember how they felt later and use it. The two most powerful emotions in Dark Magic are love and vengeance. Love spells are extremely powerful defensively and vengeance spells are extremely powerful offensively. To be skilled in dark magic, mages need to be very emotionally strong; if a mage loses control of their emotions, they lose control of their magic. Unlike Light Magic, which takes a concrete form, Dark Magic is more like Harry Potter magic where everything is just colored energy. While Light Magic is more useful for constructive things, in a combat situation Dark Magic is generally superior, as it does not rely on the elements to deal damage. [b]Limitations:[/b] While Dark Magic is not rooted in any religion, it has limits similar to the limits of Light Magic. If a mage uses Dark Magic too often, they become very emotionally exhausted and fatigued. Overuse of Dark magic causes terrible migraines and mood swings which can cause mages to lose their magical abilities temporarily. If a mage does not rest after these symptoms kick in, they can very easily cause themselves to go into a mental breakdown which occasionally kills (and always takes magic away permanently). Dark mages make up for this by meditating after using excessive amounts of magic. Calming the mind and the body through meditation allows dark mages to regain control of their emotions and rest their fatigued minds. It usually takes an accomplished dark mage a little over a half hour of meditation to keep themselves healthy. [b]Places To Learn Magic[/b] Tithe includes several different prestigious academies which specialize in teaching the arcane to perspective students. The following is a brief list of the best of these academies. The Grand Tower/ Location: Orarius, Nepharie / The Grand Tower is a cluster of five stone towers in Orarius, each slightly shorter than the one to the left of it. Four of the towers have red-shingled roofs, one has an observatory atop it, and the tallest one has at the top of it a gigantic teardrop-shaped dome of red glass. The Tower is incredibly famous around the region, and has become a symbol of Nepharie. It teaches both light and dark magic, as well as astrology, potion-making, and archeology. The Temple of Matrem / Location: Concordius / The Temple of Matrem, the Goddess of creation and nature. The temple is made of pink marble, and is roughly in the shape of the Jefferson Monument (though larger). The gaps between the marble columns outside are shrouded by white veils so that the inside cannot be seen from the shore. The temple is in the middle of a small island in the center of Lake Castus, and is only accessible via gondolas which ferry people between the shore and the Temple. The main floor of the temple contains a large well of a glowing water-like substance, which are believed by the Fairfolk to be tears of Matrem. The place primarily functions as a temple of worship, but the second floor (in the roof) and the basement both contain the best light magic schools in Tithe. This is where Fairfolk priests are trained in the arcane, and occasionally outsiders will be allowed to learn in a few of the departments. The Academy / Location: Lychellon,Ostracus / The Academy, as it is called, is a large university in Lychellon, the capital of Ostracus. The Academy in appearance looks somewhat like Oxford, a massive castle of white stone with domes and minarets. It has courses for many things, from agriculture to architecture, but also houses a prestigious magic school where astronomy, history, light magic, enchantment, and potion-making are taught. The Academy is only open to the first four tiers of Gnome society, and the price is stratified in such a way that the fourth tier pays more than the third, second, or first tier. Stormfront Castle / Location: Concordius / On the border of Concordius and Nepharie stands Stormfront Castle, the home of the Stormfront family, an ancient family of seers. Stormfront Castle is massive and magnificent, looking very similar to Chambord in the Loire Valley of France. It is surrounded by a wrought-iron gate which has so many protection curses on it that it actually glows purple and steams. Stormfront Castle isn't an actual magic school, but the patriarch of the Stormfront family, Mentus Stormfront, often takes in apprentices and teaches them the magical arts. He teaches light magic, potions, and divination techniques to particularly bright students, though those born without the Sight can use this very little (and only the Stormfront family has the Sight) [/hider] If there is any other information which you desire, please pm me and I'll do what I can to help.