Artwork depicting the ambush of Isildur, from the Lord of the Rings. Also conveys the idea of what goes on in this RP. ;)TL;DR Summary:
- Medieval/Fantasy
- Five or so players will be accepted, preferably a mix of species, cultural differences, sex and so forth.
- I am doing a homegrown setting that allows people to invent stuff so they can more easily put together their characters and design what they need.
- The characters are all adopted children of an old ranger that have returned home to pay respects and bury him, only to find that a tyrannical ruler had him, and many others, killed.
- Characters are all similar in certain respects, but differences should be highlighted.
- No anthropomorphic animal type characters -- sorry, I can't deal with furries or lizardmen and the such.
- Plot will turn into an overall guerrilla war against said ruler as the adoptive children decide to take up the path of vengeance in a very Four Brothers/Magnificent Seven sort of way. I've also based this on more recent movies featuring King John as the villain; the Russell Crowe version of Robin Hood and "Ironclad." A bit of "Kingdom of Heaven" in there.
- Please post sheets in the OOC; there are instructions and a template provided there.
In Character Info:
Brand of the Nightwood was a local fixture in Bosfyrd, on the border of Vendland, though a remote one -- a woodsman known to occasionally appear with a story or an act of charity, a guide for those that were lost or otherwise in trouble in the forest and someone that kept bandits on their toes. He didn't spend much time in the towns surrounding the Nightwood itself, but he was known because of his skills and his essentially kind nature. He wasn't the most polished gem, but he was a fine person to know when there was trouble afoot. The old ranger had a reputation for his skill and an adventurous youth. He retired to the Nightwood and became a figure of remote charity -- he seemed to have a way with the stray children that seemed to show up in the area, incorrigables and the such that he took in. He was the place's sentinel, keeping a watch for monsters and other things in the forests, keeping bandits on their toes. He stayed out of local politics, but he always lent a helping hand.
There was a revolt against King Harold, and it was a powerful one that won a couple battles, humiliating the King in the field, forcing him to make concessions to his barons and other nobles.
Harold did not take the defeat well; he spent money he didn't really have to build an army to put his kingdom firmly in his authority, ignoring all the promises he made prior. One of the leaders, William of Barkstead, was a firm friend of Brand's and the old ranger took the man's two children under his wing to protect them from the bloody chevauchee of King Harold against his own nobility. This campaign of Harold, leading an army that included monstrous troops and dark magic users, was successful but left bodies and burned towns strewn about its wake. But, in the end, Harold had what he wanted; Baron William on a cross alongside the other leaders of the Barons' Revolt. That vengeance was good, but not enough -- the children, heirs, had to die so he could provide land and titles to his cronies. He was known as Harold the Bloody, his brutality and tyranny infamous. But it was what he wanted, the people cowed.
Except, not all were cowed. Brand of the Nightwood stayed out of the war, fearing the consequences that came to pas. King Harold's men came for Brand of Nightwood; they found a formidable old man, a warrior in the winter of his years. He did not mince his words when faced with the tyrant's warriors, though he did offer to have the children renounce their inheritance and raise them as his own, with no quarrel. However, there was no intenion to give the children up for torture, rape or whatever else the king's depraved killers could imagine. William entrusted them to him to keep safe, and Brand was a man of his word.
The olive branch was not enough for Harold's minions. It was a fight, but Brand lost against overwhelming odds, making a stand. He was in the winter of his life, but instead of living out those days in well-earned peace, he was brutally executed, though not without taking his toll from the enemy.
However, the Earl's children weren't the first orphans old Brand ever took in. They were merely the latest of a number of children that called him 'Father,' an array of siblings spread out over the world who made the journey to pay respects to their adoptive father, and to perhaps redress the injustice of his death...
Out of Character Info:
The characters here are family; they're all rangers that Brand of the Nightwood adopted, and they are back to bury the old man. Of course, the powers that be have already pissed them off considerably, but to add insult to injury, they will of course attempt to clarify that need for vengeance by trying to defile the body or disrupt the burial. Or perhaps, the characters need to steal the body back in the night from where it is displayed as a warning to others, thus creating a situation where they need to fight anyway. In any case, the opening scene will be a local priest risking all to give Brand a proper burial. The King's minions will come to disrupt it. Unknown to them, Brand's sons and daughters will be there, each a dangerous individual on their own, experienced rangers all.
The campaign will center around this band's involvement in the civil war, but they are also family. Adopted family of varying races (perhaps) and creeds, different from each other in many ways, but with a huge common ground -- the same man raised them, probably at the same time, though we should spread the ages out -- some of the characters are older and some are younger, over the span of perhaps twenty years or more.
While the characters are all rangers, that doesn't mean they're the same -- there's a great degree of diversity in the class, as well as multiclass options or prestige class types. I am not using D&D 3.5 rules or any ruleset, but I am using the template to sort of inform how we view our characters and their capabilities, if that makes sense.
For running the RP, I intend to share the GM responsibility a bit -- this is a collaborative process and while I have specific ideas on plot points, I want others to feel free to propose scenarios and quest-items and so forth, as well as to play the role of the antagonists (there will be many and varied) and to add to developing the setting our characters will be playing in. We should, above all, feel invested in this RP together and share a collective sense of ownership. On the other hand, I'll retain the ability to settle disputes as the thread owner, but I'm hoping we don't come to that.
In any case, I want to do a rockin' RP out of this.
