[center][IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n60/demetriknighthawk/L327062392.jpg[/IMG][/center]

[center][h3]Introduction[/h3][/center]

This world known as Gaia has existed in relative harmony for the past thousand years. Great kings and powerful sorcerers exist and have created monuments to stand the test of time. There have been several conquests and civil wars within the realm of the humans, and occasionally the humans have even battled the elusive elves and dwarves. Most of the monstrous ogres, trolls, dragons, demons, and such were slain centuries ago, with the survivors having cowered in the dark for so long that many humans have forgotten that they ever existed. At the end of the day though, war is rare and far between, with plague and famine near nonexistent and most of the peasants not even knowing what it is to feel terror. Disgusting.

Fortunately for the likes of us, the ones capable of and more than willing to fix this 'problem', a blight has befallen this world. This blight is a Dungeon Keeper, a dark overlord, the one destined to rally the forces of evil. What's more is that he is seeking out champions for his cause, and has issued out a summons. A summons for those like you.

[center][h3]The Roleplay[/h3][/center]

The emphasis of this roleplay is on the players' characters (more specifically their interactions with each other, and their actions during the various missions that they are sent on) rather than on the Dungeon Keeper. As such, the Dungeon Keeper will mostly be lurking in the darkest depths of the dungeon, plotting to himself and keeping his direct interactions to a minimum. Don't expect him to go out and fight with you in very many battles; he's far too lazy and fragile for that sort of thing. 

There might occasionally be some time in the dungeons where your characters have free time and can talk, plot against each other, try to harass the Master, and so on. But usually they will be assigned some sort of tasks by the master. When this happens I'll make a post explaining the orders, and then we'll fast forward through the journey because describing the walk to every mission would be boring. I'll describe in detail what is going on at the place the missions takes place at, and then you'll be able to go in and do the mission (or not) in any way that you want.

The majority of the Overlord's orders will be delivered via telepathy or through his officers, once he figures out which of you get things done best and would make the ideal leaders. Which brings me to my next point...

If your character does well and completes missions consistently and effectively (or at least moreso than the others) then the Dungeon Keeper might offer your character a reward. This could come in the form of him bestowing upon you additional powers, you receiving some sort of material reward, or him offering a promotion and potentially assigning some other peoples' characters as direct subordinates to yours. However, just because you are supposed to be in charge of a squad consisting of Toby the Demon and Bob the Ogre doesn't mean that those two have to obey your every whim. Every champion of the Dungeon Keeper has free will; they can what they want and directly go against any orders given to them (including those of the Overlord!), though constantly doing so will certainly have ramifications.

[center][h3]Ground Rules[/h3][/center]

1. First of all, the standard RP rules of no metagaming, godmodding, etc. apply. 

2. You are allowed to fight or plot against other players' characters. However, keep the above rule in mind.

3. Building off of rule 2, I'm going to trust you to talk to the other person OOC or via PM to figure out what the result of the fight will be, or to just go with the flow and potentially accept losing if the other person outwits you. I really don't want a situation where two people are arguing over who should win, but if that happens I'll mediate.

4. Not every fight has to result in somebody dying or getting wounded (one person could run away, or the fight could be broken up) but if a character does die, that person can either create a new character or talk to me about having the Dungeon Keeper bring their dead one back to life or something.

5. Just have fun! We're just writing a story here, you don't have to take it too seriously. Try to avoid heated arguments in the OOC and such.

[b][center]So now that that we've established those rules, here's some things to keep in mind that you CAN do:[/center][/b]

1. Your character can disobey the Dungeon Keeper's orders and try to do whatever he or she wants during a mission. Of course, the Dungeon Keeper/ more loyal champions may try to stop you, and blatantly disregarding his orders will almost always lead to a consequence of some sort, like a demotion, scolding, or 'fun' little trip to the prison/torture pit.

2. If your character is put in a squad under the command of another character, you can disobey that boss's orders just like you can disobey the Dungeon Keeper's. Granted, that person will no doubt be annoyed and might try to do something to return the slight.

3. Again, characters can fight one another. See the rules above.

4. You can attempt to have a mutiny to overthrow the Dungeon Keeper (hehe, it's advised to get some supporters first so that you even have a hope of success), but PM me first before we go down that route.

5. If you want to volunteer to help me out, I might let you control a good army/hero/town to RP against the rest of our evil characters.

[center][h3]The Dungeon[/h3][/center]

When I say 'the dungeon' I'm not just talking about a torture pit or prison, it refers to the entire lair of our Dungeon Keeper and horde of evil. This is our hideout. It's where we can stow away all the treasure that we pillage, lock away any live captives, and simply rest and live in safety. Humans or other enemies of evil will be rather reluctant to enter or attack our domain - and rightfully so - but they still may try to attack it and rid the world of our like. Naturally, we must defend our home at all costs if that ever happens.

The dungeon also exists to protect the Dungeon Heart, a great chunk of sheer malevolence that the Overlord has crystallized into physical form. This Dungeon Heart is the source of his power and if it is destroyed, disaster will ensue. As such, the Heart is safely kept in the well-protected depths of the dungeon where the Overlord makes his home. He is obviously rather reluctant to leave his Heart unattended, and he is stronger in its presence, and so the Overlord will be spending almost all of his time in the dungeon. He has you lot to go outside to do his bidding; only expect him to come out and help you in the most dire of circumstances.

As of the beginning of this roleplay, we have currently set up our dungeon inside of a cave system in the southernmost reaches of Ardebit. In some places it's frigid and in others it's hot and muggy, but it's habitable enough. Despite space being a little tight, the dungeon has numerous storage rooms, some basic furniture, and even a tavern. About everybody has also claimed a small section of the caves (or at least a little niche in a wall) as their own living quarters. That being said, our little community is ruled over and populated with anarchists, so be warned that there are a fair few denizens of the dungeon willing to go around violating others' space or trying to make off with their possessions.

[center][h3]The Land[/h3][/center]

The Overlord has first set his eyes on a region known as Ardebit: this area is a lush and peaceful little valley, dominated by a great human kingdom that has some civilizations of elves, dwarves, and orcs living in its shadow. Here is the map of Ardebit:

[hider=Ardebit][img]http://i.imgur.com/sJn7aAC.png[/img][/hider]

As you can see, the humans have spread like a blight across this land and they are everywhere, just waiting to enslaved or killed. They have driven the other races away to the very edges of the valley: the dwarves cower in their halls beneath the tallest mountain in the land, the elves have retreated into the depths of some forest, and the orcs skulk in the fooothills and mountains of the southeast. There is a mountain pass to the east, north of where the orcs are, that leads to some other lands. No doubt there are also many more regions across the sea to the north. Once Ardebit is nothing more than a bleak wasteland littered with bones and ash, perhaps the Dungeon Keeper will look to these other places to terrorize.

[center][h3]Credits[/h3][/center]

To start, this RP is a spinoff from a series called Dungeon Keepers, which has spanned across at least three forums and went on for something like 6 years, if not longer. BBeast and Lugubrious (and many others that aren't with us on RPGuild) have GM'd some of those RPs, and so I want to say thanks to them for the ride and for the inspiration.

The awesome banner at the top was made by knighthawk, and I'm the scrub that made the map of Ardebit on MSPaint. Speaking of Ardebit, Elitestpotato came up with that name.

Genni came up with the idea of making a spinoff of the aforementioned Dungeon Keepers series, and several others helped me plan it out. Thanks to all them!

And lastly thanks to all the rest of you, for joining this and helping to keep the RP alive.