Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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HeySeuss DJ Hot Carl

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Some badass forest battle artwork to help set the mood.

TL;DR Summary:


  • Medieval/Fantasy
  • 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.
  • Time is limited, so I'm not sure I want to do long posts here. Shall we try for five paragraphs or so of writing per post? Keep it moving with lots of back and forth?
  • I will use a very abbreviated character sheet system -- I prefer a stub with the basics, rather than something that takes a long time to write.
  • Discord Chat for brainstorming in realtime. - I honestly prefer to brainstorm in groups, so feel free to drop in. I think we can also help each other out on interaction and posting this way.

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, incorrigibles 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 Bloody Harold, 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 pass. 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 intention 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. His final stand was the stuff of saga, except there were no bards brave enough to compose a ballad for it. If anything, Brand's death snuffed out the lingering resistance. People resigned themselves to a fate under the heel of Bloody Harold.

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, each different from each other but siblings nonetheless, spread out over the world who made the journey to pay respects to their adoptive father...and to set right his murder.

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. We're tossing the D&D books here; so I am down the rangers that have a variety of different talents and abilities, though I'd like to see them develop in the course of the RP, rather than have fully grown badasses spring out of nowhere. The characters start as people coming together in grief. They are forged in the fire that comes afterward. That is to say, start them out kind of basic and narrate how they grow into the role.

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.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Sightseer
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I'm curious to see how short-form CSes work out, but I have high hopes!

Name: Ches
Race: (Wood) Elf
Faction/Unit: Brand's Brood
Location: (Recently returned to) Nightwood
Synopsis of Role: An elven druid raised by Brand following the death of her parents at the hands of an infamous necromancer.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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Hmm, tempted to cut my sheet to be shorter, but allot of that info was going to be dumped someplace for my reference least I forget it myself.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Cairo
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I'm having trouble getting into the Discord - the link just sends me to 'a strange place with no text channels'. Anyone else getting that? EDIT: Nevermind.

I like the character stubs. I might make two and then choose which one I go with based on what other people want - or I might just make one and leave it at that. We'll see.

EDIT AGAIN:

I decided.

Name: Harvey, the 'Scum Prince'
Race: Human
Faction/Unit: The Stoats
Location: The city of Ovragos
Synopsis of Role: Mouthy gang leader, taken in by Brand after picking his pockets as a street urchin.

Name: The Stoats
Type: Gang / Criminal Enterprise
Faction/Unit: Loyal to Harvey and themselves.
Synopsis of Role: Gang of thugs and thieves based in Ovragos who have their hands in illegal operations from smuggling to racketeering to robbery.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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Lore stub;

Name: The Webwood
Type: Magical Forest
Faction/Unit: Wildlands
Synopsis of Role: A crossroads that is home to fey spirits both benign or cruel, home of the damned and the forgotten- only the strong survive while the weak perish.

Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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HeySeuss DJ Hot Carl

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Lore stub;

Name: The Webwood
Type: Magical Forest
Faction/Unit: Wildlands
Synopsis of Role: A crossroads that is home to fey spirits both benign or cruel, home of the damned and the forgotten- only the strong survive while the weak perish.


For reference, this is best kept on the same page as the character sheets you guys post up. Stubs all in one post, and organized if possible. :)
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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<Snipped quote by GreivousKhan>

For reference, this is best kept on the same page as the character sheets you guys post up. Stubs all in one post, and organized if possible. :)


Ya was just posting it here for review. Since most people seem to be posting sheets here first.

Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Totally understood. People can just post the sheets over in the character tab.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Cycad
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Cycad Not A Palm.

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This still open?
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Name: The Ranger Barrows
Type: Location
Faction/Unit: Brand's Brood
Synopsis of Role: Deep in the Nightwood is a gathering place and burial ground for rangers since the misty beginnings of known history. The barrows are shrouded in truly ancient trees and it takes rangers, who know the tricks and the runes, to slip through, due to the defensive magic of the place. Rangers have been laid to rest in this place for a long time, with only other rangers able to read the faint carvings in the rocks that mark their burial places.

It is also a meeting ground, with rough amenities for someone to make camp there for quite some long time. It's not really a home, but a holdfast.

The place is defensible, if needs arise, but non-rangers have never been able to get through. It was Brand's wish to be buried here and it's the Brood's duty to see it done.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
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DELETED32084

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I shall join this tomorrow!!
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Legion02
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Legion02

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Name: Ellisandre of Arelith
Race: Dark Elf
Faction/Unit: Mage of The Nightborne
Location: Court of King Harold
Synopsis of Role: Mysterious mage from an infamous dark elven warband: The Nightborne, Azirel is a mage specializing in direct combative magic, necromancy and hexes. She commanded part of King Harold's troops with brutal effectivity during the Civil War.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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Had this up in the chat but will put it here so we can organize ages and such. Will be important for... early on really.

So are we working on ages atm?
I think Die would have been about eight years old when a 37-year-old Brand adopted him.

I think it was decided Brand was 60 years old when he died?
(edited)
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Cycad
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I heard mid sixties.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by magistur
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magistur byzantinophile

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Count me in
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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Btw, has any thought been put into the religion of the kingdom or lands around it? I had a pretty interesting idea. Religion also tends to be a huge facet of the middle ages.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by baraquiel
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baraquiel Angel of Moe *:・゚✧

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greetings fellow humans

i know the status says "jump-in", but is it really alright to just post a cs at the character tab and join without the gm's approval?
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Cycad
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Cycad Not A Palm.

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Blep
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by GreivousKhan
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