[CENTRE][B][U]The Queen of Hearts[/U][/B] [I]A High Casual Fantasy Roleplay - GM'd by Marc[/I][/CENTRE] [HIDER=The Queen of Hearts]The history books tell us tales of the great nation of Sterthorpe and those who once called it home. An ancient land separated from the rest of the world, Sterthorpe was a place of magic and wonder. The nomads who wandered this beautiful place of rolling hills, valleys and great mountains were spiritually connected to the land. Their body was the soil, their voice the wind and their soul intertwined deeply with every living creature that shared their home in a grand network of life and death that connected them all together. A safe haven for not only regular creatures, but also those fantastical beings that the childrens tales have always spoke of. Dragons, fairies, giants and any other magical creature; they all lived together. The nomads had lived for eons, blessed with the gift of magic to help preserve and protect this land and all who dwell in it. It was a shame that they were unable to fulfil this duty. For generations, no human ever dared to cross the great sea and set foot on Sterthorpe. The continent was a place surrounded in secrets; secrets which harboured fear in the hearts and minds of the rest of the world. The brave man who lead a fleet to the shores of Sterthorpe would soon be known throughout the world as the man who broke down the barrier between the humans and the creatures of Sterthorpe. His name was Asvag II, a simple captain just looking for an adventure. He enterred this strange land with his men, offering peace and goods in exchange for a place for them to build a new home, start a new family and blisfully live the rest of their lives. The nomads welcomed them with open arms, and eventually a small colony of humans was set up along the eastern coast of Sterthorpe. Not all humans, however, came to Sterthorpe with peaceful intentions. The king of the mainlands from which Asvag hailed had sent his youngest prince, Henry, as well as a handful of his trusted councilmen including the grand maester, to Sterthorpe with the intention of investigating the land and determining its worth. While the group appeared innocent, the nomads sensed their intentions. Not being there nature to confront and blame, they sat back in the shadows while Prince Henry and his entourage slowly began to take influence over the land and its people. The magical creatures had began to share their secrets with the humans, entrusting them with the most detailed knowledge of magic and infusing them with the ability to wield it just as prominently as they could. With word of such power reaching the mainland, more and more people came to Sterthorpe to live and eventually Prince Henry was appointed the ambassador for humans. The humans built large cities, destroying forests and claiming the land that had once belonged to the magical creatures to make room for their castles and fortresses. Prince Henry quickly swayed the minds of his people, turning them against the magical creatures that had welcomed them into their home. The creatures turned to the nomads to save them, but they were nowhere to be seen. They were abandoned, left to fend against the armies of the self appointed King Henry of Sterthorpe. Magical creatures were slain and captured as slaves; forced to use their magic to create weapons and relics that would be distributed amongst the king's armies to hunt down the creatures that had fled to the furthest corners of the continent. King Henry became drunk with magic, a lunatic who enlisted powerful alchemists to toy with and experiment with the bodies and magic of the creatures that he had killed or enslaved. He became paranoid, using his newfound knowledge to create several magical towers a great distance off the coasts of his nation which emitted a barrier that halted all contact with the mainland. King Henry's obsession with power eventually lead to the ruin of his country. Those who lived in the castles and fortresses enjoyed the finer things in life, while the rest of the country fell to poverty and disease; all while the King's cruel guard oppressed and took advantage of the weak for their own gain. What was the King doing during all this time? He furiously sought for a way to accumulate an infinite level of power, but first he needed to be free of his mortal chains. Endless vitality and youth was what he seeked, and his search drove him mad. Unable to find the answers he sought, King Henry passed away, leaving the future of Sterthorpe to his eldest daughter; Margaret. A kind soul, it was Margaret's intention to restore Sterthorpe to it's former glory; a place of peace between humans and Magical creatures. However, the minds of the people were too wrapped in fear and delusion, so they staged a coup with Margaret's younger sister, Annabelle, to assassinate the new queen and put Annabelle on the throne. Annabelle, who shared the same fear of magical creatures as her people did, enforced even stricter rules upon her people out of her own paranoia. Under King Henry's rule, humans were entitled to use magical artifacts as they seemed fit. Annabelle declared that only those with a special permit direct from her Minister for Magic and Alchemy would be allowed to wield a magical artifact. Annabelle also shared her fathers thirst for power, continuing to search for the secrets to immortality while her nation crumbles beneath her. Both her people and the magical creatures of Sterthorpe fear and despise her. To the far north of Sterthorpe, in a small mining town at the base of the mountains, the seeds of rebellion have been planted by the grandson of the man who started it all, and this young leaders name is Asvag III.[/HIDER] Okay so we're doing this again. We're making this happen. Greetings people, I am Marc. For those of you that have never seen Queen of Hearts before, it was just a Fantasy RP me and a friend ran back on the old guild. It died and came back many many many times. Anyone who was a member of the old roleplays is probably reading this thinking "Oh God not again" but you know what they say; evil never dies. And with that in mind, here's a brief summary of what we will be doing in this roleplay. Our characters will all either be human or a magical creature living in the poverty ridden mining town of Holstur. The young Asvag has rallied our characters to his cause, a direct rebellion against the Queen. While the first part of the roleplay will be spent in Holstur, trying to overthrow the guards and reclaim the town for ourselves, we will be moving all across Sterthorpe as either a large group or in smaller groups depending on what happens in the roleplay. Well, I hope people find this interesting and I look forward to hearing from you! [B][U]Roleplay Rules[/U][/B] 1. [I]Basic roleplaying rules. No godmodding, metagaming, keep IC in the IC and OOC in the OOC.[/I] 2. [I]Be respectful to everyone. You don't have to like everyone, just as long as you treat everyone with respect and keep your feelings for them separate.[/I] 3. [I]You are allowed to disagree with me and my decisions, and I may consider changing it. In the end my decision is always final.[/I] 4. [I]You can have up to 3 characters, but the first has to be a part of the rebellion. That being said, please PM me before making an antagonist.[/I] 5. [I]You cannot roleplay until your character is accepted. Furthermore, any characters that are accepted can be directly controlled by me at any time you decide to break rule number 1.[/I] 6. [I]This is a high casual roleplay, but I'm not too fussy on post length. 1 paragraph minimum is still good for me. As long as your posts can be easily read and understand and further the development of your or anothers character and the story in some way.[/I] 7. [I]These rules can change or be added upon at any point. I probably forgot to add a few.[/I] [B][U]Race Information[/U][/B] One of the most common things in this roleplay is complete freedom over race. You can play as any fantasy based race you desire. We've had characters who were half dragon, fairies, demons, shapeshifters, undead. I'm really good for anything. Ofcoarse something like a demi-god or immortal being is a little out of the question, just be reasonable and we won't have much of an issue in terms of how you want to make your character. Ofcoarse there are two races that need to be explained; Humans and the Nomads. [U]Humans[/U] - Humans are a pretty standard race in every fantasy roleplay. In Queen of Hearts, humans are one of the only races that cannot instinctively tap into a source of magic. Instead humans have to wield relics crafted by magical creatures in order to assist them with tapping into their latent power. These special relics also enhance their power by a considerable deal and can have unique qualities depending on the creature that crafted them. Relics will be explained in the Magic section. [U]The Nomads[/U] - A mysterious race of humans that possess all the same qualities as humans, except for one. Regular humans are born being unable to connect to magic power no matter how hard they try, the Nomads are unique in the fact that no other race in existence is as tightly woven together with the power of magic as they are. Their power is incredible, but they are a peaceful race. As soon as the conflict between humans and magical creatures began, they disappeared into the shadows. Nomads are not a playable race. [U][B]Magic and Relics[/U][/B] The same with Races, I'm very lenient when it comes to magic and allow a lot of creativity. Most races are capable of wielding magic, but you don't have to. Human characters are given the ability to use relics to make up for their lack of magic. Other races are capable of using relics, but non-human characters can wield 1 relic only. Human characters can have 2, and one of them can be a Dragonscale Relic. Relics were designed for human use, so naturally a human will be more effective using a Relic than any other race. Relics are separated into power level based on the race which crafted them. They are; [U]Greenblade Fae Relics[/U] - Relics crafted by the wise Fae, who are in tune with nature. These Relics are commonly referred to as the weakest relic, but do not let their reputation fool you. The Fairies of the Greenblade forest infuse their Relics in powerful elemental magic. While they lack the raw power of other relics, they make up for it by giving the user greater control over their magic than any other Relic. This is what makes the Fae relics more versatile than others, as their power grows with their wielders knowledge of how to use them. Other traits of the Fae Relics include healing and enchantments as well as trickery and mind manipulation. They can also spiritually link their wielder to another beast, granting them the qualities of that creature. [U]Hellstone Orc Relics[/U] - Relics crafted by the strong and mighty Orcs, who value strength over all. These relics offer the least amount of control over magic power, rather just using it to vastly increase the physical form of their wielder. These Relics are usually in the form of regular blades and axes. A Hellstone Relic can grant it's wielder the brute strength needed to effortlessly break through defenses, or the agility and speed to outmaneuver any foe. They can turn your skin as hard as stone or grant you the knowledge to wield a weapon at a master level with little training. [U]Relics of the Lich King[/U] - Relics forged by the more darker races of Sterthorpe. Those who cling to the gates of hell and hide away in the shadows. These relics taint their wielders soul, letting them tap into the darkest of powers. A wielder of a Lich King Relic can raise the dead as their own personal army, place hexes and curses upon their enemies and even siphon the life directly from them. Some relics even allow them to directly blast their enemies with streams of arcane power. These relics are one of the more powerfull, but are quite taxing on the body to use continuously. [U]Dragonscale Relics[/U] - A relic forged by the all powerfull dragons of Sterthorpe, a race that is just as feared as the Nomads. They are considered legendary weapons and tools that are so deadly that the Queen only distributes them to her more renowned soldiers. These Relics offer their wielder control over magic as well as immense physical capabilities. All Dragonscale Relics are unique in what they offer to their user, as Dragons are a race that are almost as connected to Magic as the Nomads are. Some Dragonscale Relics allow their wielder to emulate a dragon itself, granting them skin as thick as their scales or allowing them to fly. Other Dragonscale Relics give their wielder supreme knowledge of the Arcane Arts and the ability to wield them. Dragonscale Relics are very taxing on the body and spirit to use continuously for a long period of time. [U]Nomad Relics[/U] - For the longest of time, the Nomad Relics were just a myth created by humans. People searched for them for years, but there was no trace. However, recently these ominious relics have started appearing more and more. Under the Queen's law, all Nomad Relics must be given to the Royal Guard. If there's even the slightest suspicion that anyone in Sterthorpe is harbouring one, the Royal Guard has been known to destroy entire towns in persuit of them. These weapons are beyond legendary and they offer unimaginable power to the human who dares to wield them. All the Nomad Relics that have been found have been distributed among the Queen and her trusted ministers. Very few people see the effect of a Nomad Relic and live to tell the tale. Nomad Relics are currently unavailable to players. [B][U]Character Sheet[/U][/B] This will come with the OOC [B][U]Character Roster[/U][/B] Also coming soon.