[center][url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/63854/posts/ooc?page=1#post-1980225]OOC THREAD[/url][/center]

The kingdom of Altranor has fallen, her cities burn and her people are being put to the sword - well, apart from the vast majority, who honestly could not care less who they pay taxes to. There was some grumbling about soldiers trampling their crops, but such is war. Most of the cities are actually fairly intact as well, since the few that had the means to put up any kind of defence were mostly taken out by poisoned water supplies and rotting corpses being flung over the walls via catapult. Not even the corpses of slain attackers, oh no - opposing necromancers simply marched the corpses in from nearby graveyards, infected them with a variety of ingenious plagues and chucked them right into town. Certainly, the Altranorian priests and healers - the few that had not been called off to war - were able to stave off the first couple of waves, but there are far more corpses than priests in the world. So, as the world turns, the life of the common man goes on, one lord replaces another, and the two things that remain constant are death and taxes.

Now, don't think that makes the whole thing any less tragic - for anyone. Even if you don't care about the raping and the pillaging, the destruction of ancient castles, the burning libraries and the pitched battles that killed thousands, you had a personal stake in all of this. King Erasmus the Indomitable, ruler of the greatest realm in all of the Fanged Isles, is dead - your liege lord and personal friend, thrown off the highest tower of his own castle to a humiliating death, his neck broken as he crashed through a pigsty. The banner of the Yellow Raven, king Bernard of Ghant, flies high above castle Altranor, and his soldiers are celebrating their victory in Erasmus' wine cellar. Your king and his family is dead, your realm is no more, and all the status and prestige you worked a lifetime to attain is gone forever. You, the last remnants of the royal court, may still be alive, but it's only a matter of time before they find you. For all your power, you generals, court wizards and spymasters, cannot hope to defeat them all - at least not here, at least not now. There is nothing left but to flee and seek retribution. Your enemy has won the war, and he believes himself secure, but there will be a terrible reckoning.

Bernard of Ghant was not even present at the killing, or even at the battle, it seems. You know this, because you are standing right there in the aftermath, watching from wherever you've concealed yourself as the pigs sniff at the cooling corpse of your monarch. Sounds of distant fighting tell you that you still are not alone in the castle, and though you know you can't save every yeoman, perhaps you can find some allies in your quest for vengeance.

[B]Out of Character:[/B]
Whaddup, prospective role players. I'm an old fart who's been role playing since the early 2000s and joined the role player guild back in late 2007 (or early 2008, I can't remember), sort of just stopped playing forum games for a couple of years, and then came back to the great RPGuild crash of last year (or was it early this year?). Now I've decided to try again, and hopefully make a couple of friends along the way. This game, I hope, is going to be the fantasy version of a road trip slaughterhouse movie, a darkly humourous romp through fairy tale land, all about the thirst for vengeance and the gratification of crushing a man's skull with your bare hands. The game is NOT first come, first served, and I expect each one of you whipper-snappers to think about party chemistry when you make your characters. This story isn't about any one of you, it's about all of you, you know the drill.

[B]Setting & Background:[/B]
The Fanged Islands is a massive archipelago, far from the mainland. An ecosystem unto itself, it was colonized many generations ago, and is home to no less than eight kingdoms. It is a land embroiled in permanent conflict, as the monstrous natives of the islands battle for territory against the burgeoning kingdoms, whose lords war against one another even as they struggle to impose order on their own domains. Warlords and monsters rule the unclaimed fringes, and safe ports are few and far between among the vast reefs and jagged cliffs that give the Fanged Islands their name. A variety of races and monsters inhabit the islands, some more intelligent than others, and the environments found there range from snow-covered mountains, to plains and forests, and even a handful of tropical swamps.

Altranor, the realm of king Erasmus, was the largest, most stable kingdom in all the realm. Having successfully stayed out of the bickering between the smaller nations for most of his career, the aging Erasmus had seen his realm flourish and grow as it edged out warlords and monsters and put counts and barons in their place. Unfortunately, success like that could not possibly stand. The invaders came in force, following the banners of the Yellow Raven Bernard of Ghant, his cousin August the Green Crow of Thandonia, and with them Queen Evangeline of Soven - all bitter enemies that had come together to split Erasmus' realm between them. Altranor could not withstand the onslaught, for her armies were spread thin protecting her borders. The Yellow Raven's army marched straight on through to the capital, his allies engaging any reinforcements intended for the king, and finally Erasmus was conquered and met his ignoble end. 

[B]Magic:[/B] (No need to read this unless you wanna throw spells around. I warn you, it's longer than it needs to be! If you get bored from too much reading, you're probably not wizard material anyway, you jock)
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[B]Arcane magic[/B] is based on a language of sounds, symbols and motions that describe the effects they desire. A wizard could, in theory, do absolutely anything at all, provided he knew enough of the magic tongue and could speak and move indefinitely without stutter, hesitation or stopping to draw breath. Realistically, a wizard is limited to what he can communicate within the span of a couple of dozen seconds, and exactly what magical terms are known to various wizards around the world varies wildly (there is a vast difference in power between a wizard who has to describe the force of his spell as "one plus one plus one" and a wizard who knows the arcane term for "three"). Chemical reactions and physical forces are more easily described than each individual cell of a living creature, meaning that arcane magic is hilariously ill-suited to creating illusions, summoning creatures or otherwise creating complex visual effects. 

Explosions, blasts of energy, obstacles made of pure force and such are staples of wizard-dom, but controlling just where they detonate and how powerfully is a precise and difficult science - not only that, but uneven ground or the press of bodies can easily make certain gestures impossible, making arcane magic extremely impractical for personal combat. To counteract this, aspiring battlemages tend to craft wands and amulets and such, containing half-finished spells in symbol form, which can be completed with relatively simple words or gestures, often ones related to targeting the spell (these are not enchanted items, which are considerably rarer and more difficult to make). Wizards also remain unrivaled in the fields of magical study and research, and frequently turn out to know more about other forms of magic than the practitioners themselves!

What defines a wizard's power is his intellect, his physical fitness (good lungs for incantations, agility for acrobatic gestures), and of course his knowledge of the magical language. Wizardry only becomes more powerful with practise, so wizards tend to use magic as often as they can in their everyday lives. Magic is incredibly complicated, however, so wizards choose arbitrary specializations to represent which aspects of arcanery they are most familiar with: biological transmutation, physical forces, light manipulation, and a million other classifications. 

[B]Divine magic[/B] is granted by the gods, or so the clerics claim. Wizarding communities generally seem to support this claim, and to the average citizen, denying the existence of gods is roughly considered as rational and socially acceptable as we modern folk would be denying the holocaust. Unlike a wizard, a priest needs only his voice and his devotion to call upon the power of his god. Also unlike a wizard, a priest is shit out of luck if his patron (or some related saint) does not deign to intervene on his behalf. The gods are myriad, and the one you choose may respond to a wide range of prayers depending on the situation - usually related to the god's own unknowable purposes. What priests do not have, however, is precision. Whereas a wizard with enough knowledge of the human body could perform plastic surgery with his healing spells, a priest might be able to restore a shattered ribcage with a single phrase - although the result might not be pretty. On rare occasions, priests are the subject of involuntary divine intervention in the form of portents, supernatural gifts, and even spontaneous resurrection in a few cases.

Priests are typically expected to manage themselves, and are loath to call upon divine favours unless the need is dire. In game terms, priest players will be allowed to decide for themselves whether their prayers are heard, and will be trusted not to overshadow the rest of the party. Portents, visions and such will be doled out at my discretion. What determines the power of a priest is his devotion to his god, his accomplishments in the name of that god (proselytizing, slaying hated creatures, burning the temples of enemy gods, etc), his charisma and his strength of will. Channeling the raw forces of the universe can blast a mind, and asylums are filled with the broken shells of acolytes who incurred the wrath of their divine patrons.

It should be noted that religious rules and secular law are very much separate, and the power a given church has over a given area is dependent more on the local priests' political pull and reputation than anything else. Being a priest in itself gives you no legal authority, though it may earn you the sympathy of fellow believers.

[B]Sympathetic magic[/B] is something of an enigma, and is typically considered the domain of witches and druids. Everchanging and unpredictable, it seems to bend to laws no sane mind can comprehend. A blood-stained spiral carved into the south side of an old tree can summon a hurricane, the bones of a two-headed cat scattered in a fire can reveal the branching paths of the future. Muddy water, beholder eyes and a garbled rant can make a potion to cure near-sightedness. Every witch doctor and hedge wizard has his own brand of madness, encompassing everything from dancing naked in the moonlight to consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms to gain insight, and still... only a fool would deny their existence. Whether they are mad or brilliant, practitioners of sympathetic magic seem to have a sixth sense for what the whims of their magic require of them from day to day, and sometimes for the vagaries of other magic as well.

The main determinant of a sympathetic magic user's power is his intuition. The requirements for his spells change on a daily basis, and many require ponderous rituals in return for subtle effects. Unless he can guess them as quickly as they change, he can't do a thing. Many pick up herb-lore or woodsman skills just to get something out of all the time they spend collecting strange ingredients. Some even claim that the widely recognized chymist's guilds (chymistry being a collective term for alchemy and early chemistry) are actually hedge wizards in disguise, as their mercury-laden potions and scientific principles are baffling to many and oftentimes unreliable. In any case, the keen instincts of sympathetic magic users invariably grant them insights into things such as time, orientation, lies, and other such things, an ability that might seem like magic in itself.
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[b]Martial Combat and Technology:[/b]
Across the Fanged Islands, many schools of armed and unarmed combat vie for glory and wealthy patrons. So far, black powder weapons are only a distant gleam in the eye of the most accomplished chymists and engineers, and heavy cavalry will dominate the battlefield for a long time to come. Large scale battles follow the usual tactics of the late medieval era, although the use of artillery magics, flying beasts and inhumanly powerful warriors forces commanders to prepare for anything. In terms of personal combat, the humble sword remains a favourite of those who must be armed at all times, as carrying say, a halberd around in your everyday life is an inconvenience that would challenge even the most patient of warriors. Unconventional styles abound, of course, and everything from punch daggers to flying guillotines can be found in the arsenals of the eccentric. The general guideline is that it is not the weapon that makes the warrior - certain magical arms excepted.

Scholars of certain cultures claim to be able to harness an energy they refer to as ki, which is supposedly the basis of all truly skilled warriors' prowess. This philosophy has taken hold in certain areas of the Fanged Isles as well, where warriors meditate under waterfalls and balance on thin poles in order to become better warriors, somehow. Those who prefer actually training and participating in combat to improve their skill usually scoff at these methods and deride them as pure fantasy. The truth has not been confirmed, but since these communities survive at all, they must be doing [i]something[/i] right.

[b]Enchanted Items:[/b]
Enchanted items are rare, but not unheard of. More powerful items are exponentially rarer, but many nobles pride themselves on owning swords that never need sharpening, armour that maintains a bright silver sheen and throws off dirt and blood, and other such trinkets. Blades that are sharper than blades can be, bows that never run out of arrows, silk garments as resilient as steel - these are the things that are found in the hands of generals and warlords. The mightiest man-made artifacts are usually found in the hands of kings and emperors, and otherwise usually in the treasure hoards of kings and emperors. These are the flaming swords that cleave through steel like butter, the protective rings that turn aside blows long before they hit and so on.

When a magical creature, such as a dragon or a lich dies, its flesh still contains magical power, in a far purer and more refined form than that wizards draw from the air. Techniques have been developed, through lengthy and difficult rituals, to draw that power from the flesh and use it to imbue items with magical properties. The process is incredibly wasteful, requiring creatures of immense potency to create even basic magical gear, and even great artisan-mages often fail their task completely. 

Divine magical items are a different matter. Sometimes, a truly devout warrior will simply notice his blade cutting swifter, holding a better edge, or developing other qualities through the battles he experiences. A wizard might detect divine magic about the weapon and take note, but others will rarely notice, or even regard it as a figment of the warrior's imagination. None of that matters to the true believer, of course, as he knows his god is with him.
 
[b]Character Creation Guidelines:[/b]
[hider=Pay Close Attention]
[b]1) All Characters are Created Equal[/b]
I see many role playing characters that are blatant attempts at overpowering the rest of the party, generally so that the player can boss everyone around and never worry about losing a fight. Do not make a character with a bunch of questionable immunities or abusable powers. Unless you're deliberately making a weak character - which you certainly may - everyone in the party should be equally powerful in a fight. As a rough guideline, you (including all your gear, magic and pets) versus a mob of 30 peasants (with spears and crossbows) should be an even fight, whether you are a swordsman or a mage.

Your characters are very powerful compared to the average person, but you are not the greatest in the world (or you'd be archwizard of your own college, rather than watching the king's back), and you can certainly still die. You are not living legends, and going toe-to-toe with a full-grown dragon is not recommended. The strongest among you may be able to out-wrestle an ogre if you set your mind to it, however. On the other hand, you still have some room to grow. 

[b]2) Exercise Self-Restraint[/b]
I've left the setting deliberately vague, so you have the opportunity to define what sort of fantastic races might be commonly found around the Fanged Islands. However, I implore you to ask yourself, before choosing something exotic, why your character needs to be this outlandish race? How does it affect his personality and habits? How does it enrich the setting or the campaign? If it's just window dressing to a character that's just a human with a different hat, consider playing something less outlandish. I definitely do not want a party where not a single member can enter a town unnoticed. No uranium golems.

[b]3) Be Excellent to Each Other[/b]
Brooding loners that never interact with anyone have no place in a party, and nobody likes a haughty jerk - both of these popular archetypes should be avoided, unless you're certain that you can use them to enhance everyone's enjoyment. Not only that, but you should be certain that you can convince me that you can play them without being a detriment to the game, and that is a herculean task indeed! If I think a character is just going to turn the game into a campaign-sized stare-off or one long sneering contest, I won't accept them.
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Character Sheet, feel free to make additions if it seems necessary:
[hider=Username Here]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Position:[/b] (Your official rank and function at court, as well as your skills and abilties. Be sure to know more than just fighting - your learning may be as superhuman as your combat prowess!)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Text only, please. Bright colours offend my crotchety old sensibilities)
[b]Personality:[/b] (Include something about how the bugger relates to other people, as well)
[b]Backstory:[/b] (Include some notable achievements and explain how you ended up at court - especially if you're a filthy lowborn peasant. Those of you with a background in glory-making will probably also have friends in high places. Mention some places, if not your friends.)
[b]Notable Possessions:[/b] Was your sword commissioned from a legendary swordsmith for the price of a small castle? Put it down here. Go easy on the magical gear, though - that stuff is supposed to be rare, it doesn't increase your overall power, and having it severely reduces the fun of looting it later on.[/hider]

Feel free to add to and define parts of the setting, large or small - for accepted characters, the rest of the Fanged Isles will be designed around your additions - but try to avoid sweeping statements that limit the entire world. If your background includes the words "the world's only" or "the best in the world at", that's probably taking it too far. The Fanged Islands are big, and the world is bigger still. If you want to be the chess champion at court, that's fine, but avoid stuff like "the strongest mortal in all the realm" in a setting where there might be giants. Unless you're playing a giant. But even then.

Additionally, avoid giving too many traits to the king. He was left vague on purpose, so that every character could have their own reason to be loyal, without any of them ever being confirmed or denied. In general, it's better if you describe something in terms of your character's views, popular opinion and so forth. Makes it less likely for backgrounds to clash - I'm still gonna go with the characters I feel are best-written, but it makes for less jigging.

Last, but not least, ask questions! Communication is the key to a good, lasting campaign, whether you're playing pen & paper or play by post.