[h3][center][u][color=gold]Scholars of This Algid Earth![/color][/u][/center][/h3]
[sub][center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbtmskCRUY]Music[/url][/center][/sub]
[i][color=lightseagreen]The fires of great Ignaes are dying. The gestalt magic of that light, the light of sorcery you see; it is leaving this world. The chaos that will follow will forever mar this wonderous land with disaster. Flood & tidal waves. Eldritch firestorms. Earthquakes that will unleash the gods-knows-what from the depths of our world.... We know not why we should be forsaken as such. Regardless, Ignaes' temples are falling one by one, whether by chaos-loving anarchists or divine will, this world is coming to an end. In its stead has come a barren, desolate & cold land...an algid earth.  

You are the wisest, most learned men & women I could find within my power. Some of you may know one another. Some of you may despise one another. Others may have never graced this land until now. Whatever the case, leave behind your prejudice & quarrels for now-the task at hand is far greater. 

I wish all of you to record a great compendium of all that has come before. There is a vast ocean of knowledge that must not be lost in the storm that is to come-a history and encyclopedia must be preserved, recorded and copied. It is unfortunate that the temperament of scholars is legendary, else I would not have locked you

In this tower you will find all of the necessary implements of your respective scholarly pursuits, parchment, ink, quills, etc. My dear steward Bremen has offered to assist all of you in your day to day necessities. He has at his command all of my kingdoms resources. Whatever you may require to finish the job will be requisitioned. But I warn you my word is not to be questioned. Even in these dark times I will not hesitate to dispense with Justice. Good luck to all of you. Ignaes be blessed.[/color][/i]

[center][color=gold]-By the word of the god-king Alem, the first and last of his name,
the last of mankind, the last of the emperors of the Relnish Heartland.
The Lord of the Terrible Winter and Emberhold commands you thus![/color][/center]

[h3][center]Introduction, Theme & RP Tone[/center][/h3][hr]
  [indent][i]Welcome to my RP, which I hope will entice some of the fine RPers on this site to join. It is a bit unorthodox in method, but I think it will be interesting. If you haven't figured it out already, players will take the role of the most learned men & women in the kingdom of Reln. Whatever that entails is entirely up to you-a scholar, historian, explorer, alchemist, wizard,  You are tasked by King Alem to record all that you know and remember about the world before the great cataclysm destroys us all. In this RP, you can take the role of a scholar of your creation, but also create various scholarly works that reference events, places, people, artifacts, gods, weapons, wars, books, races, kings, sorcerers, creatures, monsters, monuments, lairs, dungeons etc. (Don't worry I'm not holding anyone to actual academic standards, just casual-advanced standards) [u]In this way, players have a way to influence and shape the development of the world.[/u] In each piece that you write you can make references to things within the post that you don't fully explain. Here's an example.[/i][/indent]

[center][hider=Example]

[h3]Maggot Men[/h3][hr]
 [i]....consider the Maggot-men of [color=steelblue]Bloodmoon Barrows[/color]. Through the word of their horrid god [color=steelblue]Illumiiax[/color], they consider and demand that all humans be sacrificed, and their flesh feasted upon. Obviously, this has made trade with the creatures near impossible for men. It is unfortunate as the spores of the native Bloodmoon Barrow [color=steelblue]Fardream Toadstool[/color] are in high demand for the euphoric and healing proper...[/i][/hider][/center]

[indent]In this example I've highlighted potential subjects for other players to pick up, flesh out and submit to the compendium. Whether or not someone decides to write about the Fardream Toadstool, Illumiiax or the Bloodmoon Barrows or not is up to the players. Here's where it gets fun. In subsequent articles, contradictions can be made. Accusations of fraud, idiocy and other scholarly pursuits can be woven into the RP. Did so-and-so say that the Fardream Toadstool has healing properties? What an idiot! It's sure to kill you!. Hopefully, this will give the RP an interesting dynamic. 

As you can tell from the intro flavor text, there is a serious tone to the events happening in the world. Chaos, cataclysm and general apocalypse. If you happened to listen to the RP's soundtrack while reading, then doubly-so. But like the real world, light can be made of most situations-cynicism, sarcasm, absurdity, are the thematic tones I'm hoping for. 

The majority of the RP will take place through Compendium posts which will be submitted in the Character Tab of the formal RP thread, while the IC tab will be used to describe any actions your character takes in the game world. Make sense? Ok, here's some other information: [/indent]

[h3][center]Guidelines & Character Approval[/center][/h3][hr]
[indent]Characters will be approved by myself or a hypothetical future Co-GM. Characters will be accepted on the quality of writing and potential for Roleplaying. Characters with flaws are my favorite. Character descriptions need not and should not be extensive. A basic character sheet will contain: [i]Name, Appearance, Abstract or Vignette (a line to describe their personality or a short account of an instance that defines the characters personality) Background. If anyone wishes to make a non-human character, I have to approve the race first.[/i][/indent]

[center][list]
[*]The First Rule is to Create Quality Content
[*]The Second Rule is to Play Nice
[*]There is No Third Rule
[*]The Fourth Rule Requires Blood Sacrifice
[*]The Fifth Rule is A Moot Point So Let's Move On
[*]Standard Forum Rules Apply[/list][/center]