[b]We're starting up the RP, but still very much looking for new players! Join here:[/b] http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/91824-after-the-end/ooc

[center][h1][b]After the End -- A Post-Apocaylptic Fantasy RP[/b][/h1]
[img]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/sote-rp/images/b/bc/Cityscapes_postapocalyptic_fantasy_art_1920x1080_wallpaper_www.wallpaperfo.com_51.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150624165858[/img]
[hr]
[h3]Background[/h3]
The year is unknown, and the world has fallen into chaos. Though none still alive recall the reason, nor whether it was a hundred or a thousand years ago, "modern" civilization befell a great catastrophe, and the shattered remnants of humanity were plunged suddenly into the dark ages. Once-gleaming metropolises are now left as either rubble, relics of an ancient culture half-revered and half-deified, or crudely fashioned into sprawling castles and keeps that fuse crumbling concrete with fresh-hewn stone bricks. Up and down the eastern coast of what was once known as North America, dozens or hundreds of squabbling city-states feud with one another over struggling farms and isolated villages and crumbling roads. Men fight and clash and die as the ancestors of their ancestors did, with sword and armor -- only the barest traces of musketry are beginning to reappear on the horizon. Most powerful, though, are the very few remaining artifacts of a time long past, rumored capable of spewing fire for hundreds of yards to fell armored knights mid-charge.

The year is unknown, yes, but one thing remains constant: the desire for glory. Half-crazed travelers have returned from a land far across the continent's inland wastes, claiming to have discovered riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams across the endless scrubby plains and toxic sands. And so your party has been assembled, from every corner of a hundred feuding realms, your mission to travel across what was once a proud and unfathomably advanced civilization, to find what truth there might be to these allegations of great treasures, and to return for the glory of your people. 

But is anything ever quite so simple?

[hr]
[h3]OOC[/h3]
So there's the concept -- essentially, a post-post-apocalyptic world in which some unknown catastrophe befell the 21st-century world a significant amount of time ago and society has reverted to a much simpler medieval-ish level of technology. I'm aiming to go for primarily a low-fantasy setting, i.e. there probably won't be any spooky demons from beyond the abyss involved. Your characters will be relatively unknown individuals who have volunteered to attempt to cross the wastelands of central North America, and bring back the incredible treasures that are rumored to be on the other side of the continent.

[hr]
[h3]Traits[/h3]
One way that I hope to set this RP apart mechanically from the others is the introduction of a basic trait system. The point of these are to outline your character's primary skills and weaknesses in a way that makes them easy to process and for other players to understand. They shouldn't be viewed as the end-all-be-all of your character (that is, don't let yourself be limited by them) but rather as a few distilled bullet-points summarizing the ten-page-essay that is their life.

In addition, you might find that players who roleplay their character's actions in accord with their traits are rewarded, while things may not go so well for those who try to exploit or ignore them.

Everyone gets [color=green]7[/color] points to work with. Positive traits cost points, while negative traits give you them. In other words, if you've already used up your seven but absolutely [i]must[/i] have another positive trait, you can take some negatives to balance things out.

[hider=Trait List]
[u]Positive:[/u]

[b]Hardy[/b] - You have high endurance. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Tall[/b] - You are of significantly imposing size. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Defender[/b] - You are excellent at using a shield. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Thick-Skinned[/b] - You can withstand inclement and unpleasant weather. [color=green]+1[/color]

[b]Basic Weapons[/b] - You are skilled with the usage of less specialized weapons, such as knives, clubs and staffs. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Intermediate Weapons[/b] - You are trained with more advanced weapons, such as one-handed swords, lances and axes. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Heavy Weapons[/b] - You can wield two-handed weapons, such as greatswords or battleaxes, with relative ease. [color=green]+3[/color]
[b]Ranged Weapons[/b] - You are skilled in the operation of bows, crossbows, or perhaps even javelins or slings. [color=green]+2[/color]

[b]Light Armors[/b] - You are comfortable in leather, chain and scale armors. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Heavy Armors[/b] - You are accustomed to bearing the encumberance of heavy armors such as plate mail. [color=green]+2[/color]

[b]Agile[/b] - You are quick and light on your feet. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Sprinter[/b] - You can run faster, and for longer distances, than the average person. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Ambidextrous[/b] - You can use both hands with equal skill. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Grappler[/b] - You are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and unorthodox fighting tactics. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Quiet[/b] - You make little noise, and are adept at sneaking around. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Burglar[/b] - You can pick locks and disarm traps. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Alchemist[/b] - You have an impressive knowledge of herbs, salves, and even poisons, and how how to identify and create them. [color=green]+3[/color]

[b]Soldier[/b] - You have direct, firsthand experience fighting on the front lines of a battle. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Woodsman[/b] - You can fish, identify edible plants, and create basic shelters. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Hunter[/b] - You are skilled at hunting, cleaning, and cooking wild animals of all kinds. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Rider[/b] - You are of above-average skill at horse riding, and are able to make use of a horse in combat. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Chef[/b] - You can prepare and preserve food better than most. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Medic[/b] - You can perform basic first-aid to a certain degree of skill. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Doctor[/b] - You have extensive experience in more advanced medical operations. [color=green]+3[/color]
[b]Scholar[/b] - You are an expert in some "scientific" field. [color=green]+3[/color]
[b]Craftsman[/b] - You can construct relatively complex tools and structures, given the time. [color=green]+3[/color]
[b]Affluent[/b] - You belong to the (very thin) upper crust of society, and have the wealth to prove it. [color=green]+3[/color]
[b]Artificer[/b] - You are more skilled than most (read: still not very good) at the operation of humanity's ancient and powerful relics. [color=green]+4[/color]
[b]Master[/b] - You have some particular talent in which you are an absolute expert. Please specify exactly what this is when you choose it, e.g. "Master Baiter". [color=green]+5[/color]

[b]Theatric[/b] - You are a performer, skilled with impressions and disguises. [color=green]+1[/color]
[b]Intelligent[/b] - You are naturally smart. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Learned[/b] - You are literate and have a relatively advanced education, in comparison to the common man. [color=green]+2[/color]
[b]Charismatic[/b] - You are eloquent, convincing, and at ease when speaking in public. [color=green]+2[/color] 
[b]Lucky[/b] - Things occasionally just go well for you. [color=green]+2[/color]

[u]Negative:[/u]

[b]Dumb[/b] - You're less intelligent than most. [color=red]-1[/color]
[b]Clumsy[/b] - You are a klutz. [color=red]-1[/color]
[b]Lame[/b] - You have a limp. [color=red]-1[/color]
[b]Weak[/b] - You are not physically strong. [color=red]-1[/color]
[b]Loud[/b] - Your movements are particularly noticeable. [color=red]-1[/color]
[b]Heavy Eater[/b] - You have a big belly. [color=red]-1[/color]

[b]Slow[/b] - You cannot move quickly. [color=red]-2[/color]
[b]Hot-Headed[/b] - It is sometimes difficult for you to think clearly. [color=red]-2[/color]
[b]Sickly[/b] - You have a persistent illness. [color=red]-2[/color]
[b]Frail[/b] - You have little stamina. [color=red]-2[/color]
[b]Unlucky[/b] - Things just don't tend to go well for you. [color=red]-2[/color]
[b]Proud[/b] - You are unused to harsh living conditions or menial labor, and unwilling to perform degrading tasks. [color=red]-2[/color]

[b]Reckless[/b] - You take unnecessary risks. [color=red]-3[/color]
[b]Old[/b] - You are elderly, with the decrease in stamina and memory that accompanies such a status. [color=red]-3[/color]
[b]Untrustworthy[/b] - You are a habitual liar or a thief, and everyone knows it. [color=red]-3[/color]

[b]Maimed[/b] - You are missing a limb. [color=red]-4[/color]
[b]Crippled[/b] - You have a physical problem that severely limits your mobility. [color=red]-5[/color][/hider]

[hr]
[h3]The Setting[/h3]
[hider=The Hundred Realms]The only known bastion of human civilization, the fractured and eternally rivaled city-states scattered along the eastern coast of what was once North America. They are almost entirely feudal, ruled by kings who lounge in castles that are half crumbling concrete and half rough stone. In general, any particular lord holds sway over a number of farms, several large towns, and a scattering of villages. The rulers of the Hundred Realms often feud with one another over superiority and resources.[/hider]
[hider=The Predecessors]The modern knowledge of humanity's ancestors is slim, with most records either inaccessible, destroyed in the unknown cataclysm, or degraded over time. Many physical remnants (primarily buildings) still remain, however, and as a result their advancements are revered -- or even sometimes worshiped -- by the comparatively-devolved society.[/hider]
[hider=The Ruins]What were once the world's major population centers are either leveled or toxic, and permanent inhabitation in former cities is largely impossible -- even scholars who attempt to study the advancements within often fall victim to strange invisible illnesses. As a result the cities are primarily shunned, believed to be homes to terrible plagues, though the lowlives of society will occasionally hide out (and, often, die) within.[/hider]
[hider=The Relics]A few vestiges of the predecessors' ancient and powerful technologies still litter the earth. From compact horseless carriages to staffs that can fire a ball of metal for hundreds of yards, the power that these items hold -- and the loyalty and fear that they inspire -- has caused the rise and ruin of vast realms. 

However, the vast majority of such relics are rusted or otherwise lost to the ages, and those that remain are . . . unreliable at best. Only a few are known to remain in the world, in the hands of the very elite. The same pricelessness of such artifacts is also their owners' downfall, however, as they are heavily guarded -- and as a result, rarely researched or even actually used. To ask to make a study of one might be the equivalent of asking to "research" your king's wife, or to rule his lands for the next few years in the name of science.[/hider]

[hr]
So there it is. Rather lengthy for an interest check, I will say, but the idea's been stewing in my head for a while. Leave your questions, comments, expression of interest, scathing criticism, and thrown poop below.
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