About three years ago, the ruling House of the country Alcea was overthrown by the powerful sorcerer Janolf, a man driven by an insatiable hunger for power. The King and most of his loyal knight were slaughtered, as was the whole of the Royal House. Except his young wife, pregnant with his child. She managed to escape with the help of an ambassador from Alcea’s neighbour, Ilvance, and took refuge with the Emperor there. Since Janolf’s takeover, a movement of resistance has grown, consisting of nobles from the Houses disfavoured by Janolf as well as more common folk dissatisfied with their new ruler, who the rumours say is in league with demons and monsters. Elya is living in comfort in Ilvance with her now three year old son when a messenger from the Resistance reaches her, telling her that the true heir of the crown of Alcea is needed in the fight against Janolf and she decides to leave Ilvance and find the headquarters of the Resistance. Meanwhile, the Resistance sends out a group to meet Elya and her son and show her to their headquarters. The idea is for people to play one of the people Elya recruits to escort her through Alcea (an exile from Alcea, a native of Ilvance, something else entirely...) or someone in the party sent out to meet her. The messenger would be fine to play, as well. [u]Notes on the world[/u] It is, as you might have noticed, not plotted in any great detail so I encourage you to do your own worldbuilding! But here are a few basic things: 1. There are only humans (i.e. no elves, dwarves etc.) 2. Magic is innate to some people and is quite rare. It’s not something that is very well understood and attitudes toward it vary. Some think it’s ungodly and some see it as a gift. In Alcea, there is no system for training those born with magic; instead, they’re usually carted off to someone’s friend’s cousin’s acquaintance’s old uncle who can call on the winds. There are tales, though, of great organisations of powerful mages in far off countries... There is also the deeper even less understood power of the lands and of the earth. Power that can be harnessed through rituals and amulets and so on. This is the kind of power that binds the royal family to the throne. 3. Gods and goddesses. Alcea’s official religion is the worship of the Sun-god and the Moon-goddess, just called the god and the goddess, but there are minor deities and cults all over the country. Which are real? Time will tell. 4. Technology. Late Medieval times. Swords, bows and crossbows. Stuff like that. So, basically, this is a pretty standard fantasy RPG with a lot of freedom for the players. There is a basic plot, but not much more than that. I will be playing Elya, perhaps someone in the party sent out to meet her if that turns out to be relevant and various NPCs as needed. And bad guys. Although I suppose the players could be bad guys as well. [u]Rules and guidelines (there aren't many)[/u] 1. Be nice. 2. One to two posts a week. 3.In conversations with NPCs you're free to play them on your own when they're just generic, unimportant characters. When they're important (like someone with info relevant to the plot) I'll control them, but if you don't mind I might just send a PM with general instructions as to what he/she'll say so as to avoid cluttering. It'll work out. 4. I don't mind some planning of the action in the OOC thread. Obviously, the plot should mostly be driven forward in the IC but sometimes it's useful to do some OOC discussion of it. 5. Any and all suggestions are welcome. :) Either in the thread or in a PM to me. 6. Romance, friendship, enemy-ship, manipulation, betrayal etc. etc. is all fine. Go wild! [u]Character sheet[/u] Name: Age: Appearance (pic or description): Background/history: Skills: Something else?: If your character is from another culture/country, some notes on that: I would like you to PM me the CS before you post it here and I'll (most likely) approve it. I'd also like you to include in the PM (but not in the post when you post it) a short note on personality and your plans for where you'll start in the roleplay (as in, in Alcea, in Ilvance etc), your characters motivation (just short, like 'make money') and if you have any specific plans for where you want to go in the roleplay (it isn't necessary that you have any plans at all. Improvisation is nice as well. ^^) Go wild, kids! :rock Characters [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=1#post-127085]Elya Emerast[/url] played by ThistleOfLiberty [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=1#post-102309]Lacchi[/url] - played by Nemaisare [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=1#post-105815]Prince Francis Machiavelli Enrico 'Fran' Dandolo[/url] played by Ontos [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=1#post-133336]Helga “Yanhua” Tristis[/url] played by Sicarius [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=1#post-142440]Cirindel Valehold[/url] played by Instantes [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6106/posts/ooc?page=2#post-143708]Rayf Calderwood[/url] played by Silly Cybin [u][b]NPCs[/u][/b] King Barynd Emerast - the former king of Alcea, slain by Janolf in his takeover of the throne. Darlond Emerast - Elya's son, the legitimate king of Alcea Lord Janolf Grymholdt - the current ruler of Alcea. A powerful sorcerer who is rumoured to be in league with demons and other dark forces.