[b][center][color=9e0b0f]yet from those flames
No light, but rather darkness visible[/color][/center][/b]
[center]- Milton, Paradise Lost[/center]

[center][img]http://epod.typepad.com/.a/6a0105371bb32c970b0120a5604483970c-750wi[/img][/center]

Ten years ago [b]Dagon IV, Emperor of Aldebaran[/b], covetous of the lands he did not rule and fearing his own mortality, enacted a heinous rite with the help of his closest lieutenants. What they did, exactly, is the source of constant speculation: some say they sacrificed the children of Aldebaran's capital, [b]Kuranes[/b], to the spider-god [b]Nyarlthos[/b] in exchange for a share in the deity's power. Others that he consumed the souls of the city's populace, increasing his might immensely, though at the price of being dependent on continual human sacrifice to survive. Others still maintain that Dagon found an ancient artifact of immense power and so ascended to become a demigod.

Whatever the Emperor and his circle of followers did, it caused the sun to shine an angry, dull red for ten full days, with no moon at night, only strange and sinister constellations. From the [b]Red Night[/b], which ruined crops and plunged the world into panicked chaos, the Emperor emerged as a being of immense power, whose armies swept over the other nations of Geryon. His circle of acolytes too had become something more than human, wielding powerful and dark magics, and in time became known as the [b]Perfecti[/b], his most fearsome servants.

The powerful kingdom of [b]Varyon[/b], neighbor and ancient rival to Aldebaran, was the first to be destroyed, crushed by Dagon's unexpected onslaught. After the shocking defeat and enslavement of Varyon, some nations bent the knee, others actively collaborated with the new god-emperor, but most were enslaved and destroyed in their turn. 

Aldebaran, once a rich and fertile riverland, slowly became a twisted, haunted place filled with the husks of once proud cities, now sinking into poisonous bogs and fens and haunted by monsters and demons. Where once was a thriving culture and economy, now there is only slavery amid ruins, and the omnipresent totems and shrines of the [b]Cult of Dagon[/b]. The citizens of Aldebaran are changed too.The Emperor's dreaded [b]Legions[/b] are made up of horrible mutants and abhumans, with bulging, vaguely insectoid eyes and sharpening mouthparts and claws. 

Now Dagon IV is now nearly master of all, ruling with the aid of his Perfecti. They enforce a strict caste system in the lands they control directly, and demand tribute in the form of children, woman and blood-slaves from the nations they've subjugated. Human sacrifice is offered to the god-emperor night and day in his haunted capital of Kuranes, and the nights grow longer and darker as the world itself begins to sicken. Strange, unpleasant plants and fungus have begun to spread beyond the borders of Aldebaran, and wildlife is becoming increasingly strange and violent.

Some, however, resist still. [b]The Scarred King[/b], the brother to the late King of Varyon Theophilius II, has continued to inflict defeats on the Legions, and is a legendary figure of hope to the masses chafing under Dagon's yoke. The situation of the rebels is growing desperate, but it is rumored the King has learned of [b]an ancient weapon[/b] capable of changing the course of this war. Risking all, he has assembled a fellowship of allies and friends to undertake a perilous mission to secure what may be the last hope of defeating Dagon.

-

Welcome!


This is a fantasy RP that takes place after the victory of the sinister God-Emperor Dagon over the fantasy world of Geryon. Players will write as characters who have been recruited by the Scarred King into the rebellion.

The setting is what I call "High Fantasy OOC/Low Fantasy IC", meaning that the world would have as many fantastic elements as we like, but there would be limited magic "on camera" in the IC, as both an aesthetic choice to keep magic... magical and mysterious, as well as to put a limit on IC power levels while allowing for maximum creativity and freedom OOCly. There will be no magic system and no 'canon' cosmology for this RP, so competing and mutually incompatible understandings of the world, gods, and magic are fine.

-It is (grim)dark fantasy RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world slowly succumbing to a mysterious darkness. 
-I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want [b]characters that feel like they inhabit a shared world[/b]. Players should collaborate heavily on designing their characters and the setting.
-[b]It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and rare. Rare.[/b]
[hider=More on Magic, Races and Cosmology]
A note on Magic: I am not a big fan on fixed magic rules or magic systems. I do want to stress that this is low(ish) fantasy. That means no armies of reanimated dead or golems, no legions of fireball casters, balrogs, etc. We're going to err on the side of how the LotR handled magic rather than say, D&D. Meaning, it is present and powerful, but mysterious and often indirect. 

This is what I call the Tolkien/GRR Martin approach to magic and religion. Magic is real, mysterious, and powerful, but for the most part takes place 'off-screen', and is for aesthetic purposes somewhat subdued or indirect. Likewise, the RP will take the GRR Martin approach to religion: there are as many religions as we can come up with here, but [i]we will leave it an open question as to whether any of them are true[/i]. [b]Conflicting mythos and cosmologies and visions of god(s) are encouraged.[/b]
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-It is vaguely 1600 AD tech. Gunpowder, muskets, cannon, etc all exist, though they are not used by the Empire of Aldebarran.
-original fantasy races are enouraged
-Inspired by Tolkien, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, Morrowind, Song of Ice and Fire...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table.
- [u][b]Advanced[/b][/u] writing standards.

Players can create characters from player-created nations that were conquered or are being conquered by Dagon, or ones which are still resisting Dagon's advance (though I will limit the latter category). Characters need not have heroic motives- mafias, pirate gangs, brigands, cults, etc, etc may all have in interest in defeating Dagon. Likewise, characters may be all manner of fantasy archetypes (including magic users) and races (preferably creative twists on or something different than the bog-standard human/dwarf/orc/gnome/elf lineup). World building will be a big part of this RP.

[b]Some details on Geryon[/b]

[u]Aldebaran[/u] A once-fertile riverland that has quickly turned into a dark and twisted place, more and more populated by abhumans and strange plants and beasts. Once great cities are now husks of themselves; many are being dismantled for metals and stones needed by the Legions. Dagon's capital of Kuranes is a center of economic activity, however, as slaves are marched in from all across Geryon either to serve as sacrifices or labor on the immense temple-palace the Emperor is constructing. The Empire has reorganized its caste system along the following lines:

The Perfecti: the nobility of the Empire, serving as priests, commanders, elite troops and administrators of conquered territories. Known for their cruelty, cannibalism and decadence, many sport horrifying mutations. They are stronger and faster than an average human, and many are skilled blood-mages. 

Aldebaran Legions: abhuman soldiers in service to Dagon, they are disciplined and brutal, fanatically devoted to their God-Emperor. Infamous for their ravenous, cannibalistic tendencies.

Slaves: the rest of the population is made up of various levels of slaves, many of whom are slowly mutating into servile, mindless beastmen as Aldebaran continues to decay.

[u]Varyon[/u] Large, human kingdom located amid the fertile valleys of the [b]Godsfang Mountains[/b], Varyon resisted Aldebaran expansionism for centuries, but was quickly crushed by the transformed Dagon. It is now ruled by brutality and fear, its cities burned, its farmlands collectivized to feed the soldiers and slaves of Aldebaran. It's population is harvested regularly for slaves and sacrifices to send to Kuranes. A collaborationist puppet regime 'rules' Varyon from its decimated capital of [b]Valens[/b]. [b]King Odyssion V[/b] and his circle of nobles (known as the [b]Marked[/b] for the brands they bear on their faces that denote them as servants of Dagon) ensure that quotas of feed, flesh and metals are met. In exchange for their service, they or their children can be raised to the status of a Perfecti.

The mountains and pine forests of Varyon are haunted by brutal rebels serving the Scarred King, who continues to elude capture by the Legions and has been a consistent thorn in the side of the pretender-king Odyssion. 

Being adjacent to Aldebarren, Varyon's forests and fields are beginning to twist and sicken as the blight that plagues Dagon's lands spreads beyond its borders.

[hider=Character Sheet]
Name:

Race:

Nationality/Nation description: 

Occupation: 

Religion:

Appearance: Description required, pictures optional.

Personality: 

Biography: 

Equipment: 

Skills:

Motivation:
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