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An Earthen Lament is a dark fantasy roleplay in the vein of Dragon Age: Origins and The Witcher. It is a world that will be generated as player and GM involvement dictates, though the style will be dictated through the darkness that permeates throughout the setting. Staples of the setting are pretty cut-and-dry at the moment. Magic is heavily restricted and dictated by the religious wing of the current monarchy otherwise known as the Divine Order. The people of Lerenthia get more superstitious and wild as you go further south toward the frontier and marshlands.

General fantasy races exists such as dwarves and elves, but they serve in similar capacity as in the World of Dragon Age. Anything else will be explained periodically or be generated through discussions and plotting. Player Characters should be characters who are relatively fresh apprentice monster hunters. Writing expectations are flexible, but those accepted should expect to be able to write and format to an intermediate level. I'm not asking for novels, but imaginative and descriptive writing whether it be two paragraphs or seven. Only paramount rules are don't waste my time, don't be an asshole, and be patient.

All character proposals should be posted here before being accepted and migrated to the characters thread.




The marshes and swamps of southern Lerenthia is a dangerous place.

Several centuries ago, a group of heroes stood before a twisted evil, a dragon that had been corrupted by a growing darkness that had seeping out of the veil. The most popular version of the story claims that an abhorrent cult of sorcerers were responsible for corrupting the dragon's soul and mind and bringing doom upon the Kingdom of Féngarde. When the dragon and an army of tainted freemen came to the great city of Toranrath, it stood no chance against the dragon or its horde. If not for Aethelstan Meriweder and his sword, Dragonsbane, Toranrath and the Kingdoms of the Marshlands would have only been a footnote in the demise of all of Lerenthia, and maybe the world.

The Kings of Anemor, the human nobles of the lands north of the marshlands, have remembered this story for centuries. The Divine Order have used it as a cautionary tale to unchecked magic. The surviving petty lords of the marshlands look to it to define their superstition.

Some say that it is with the tragedy at Toranrath that every spellcaster has been judged not for their own character and magic, but the character of corrupted sorcerers and dark magic. In the years since, the world has changed into a more shrewd and oppressive place. The marshlands never restored the Kingdom of Féngarde proper, choosing to instead be divided into a confederacy of feudal states. Toranrath could never be rebuilt after dark magic cursed a dozen dynasties that tried to hold court in the ancient city until eventually its location became lost. The only remnants of the world before Toranrath are stories and the southern noble dynasty that arose from Aethelstan’s deeds. However, the decentralization in the marshlands has some merit of freedom. As superstitious and blunt as the southron humans may be, they are not as draconian as those in north within the dominion of the church and the dominion of Anemor. Mages and criminals alike have used the marshlands as a haven for a second life, though the former has found it far more difficult than the latter. Escaping the justicars and inquisitors is hard enough, but finding acceptance in a people prone to think you are a blood mage or necromancer us even more difficult. At the end of the day, mages will try despite the challenge.

It is now the 12th year of the current age. It is a hot summer and in the south, you and a handful of others have finally been assigned to a veteran master after being inducted into a society of monster hunters known as The Blackwarden You are accompanied by several other apprentices as you finally face the first trial of being a proper apprentice member of the order. But the dangers of your service are yet to reveal themselves.




The earliest documented people to craft civilization and culture in Lerenthia were not humans but rather Elvenkind, otherwise known in their native tongue as the Tylwyth Teg.

Ancient Elven history was traditionally oral rather than written, though what can be deciphered even today is that all elves in the greater realm of Escarion were derived from the goddess Lyriandae and the world tree, Bydcoeden, that connects the court of fae to the material plane. It is through Bydcoeden that the elves consorted with their gods eternal and where they built the greatest kingdom of the prehistoric age when humanity were still hunter-gatherers.

Through this kingdom, Môrogoed, the elves created a society of magic and wonder. However, the elves of Môrogoed were blinded by hubris and curiosity. Eventually, they lost Bydcoeden and their divinity with it. Môrogoed fell not long afterwards. A schism occurred between the elven clans and for centuries the elves waged war upon one another as beyond their home in Gwyrddmôr, the large expanse of forest and swamp that persisted in the southernmost areas of the continent. All the while humans had grown from their tribal beginnings into petty lords and kings. As this occurred, new threats rose to power and looked to the fall of Môrogoed as sign of weakness and opportunity.-Among these threats the greatest were the orcs of Baz Nulgakh. This would begin a struggle and subjugation that would last until the remaining elves called out to the human warlords for aid in a final act of desperation. The orcs were driven from Lerenthia and into the depths of the southron mountains to never be heard of again for centuries.

This is when recorded human history in Lerenthia begins.

The first human kings were tribal warlords whom had strong values of liberty and honor, though they would eventually come to lose faith in the elves they had liberated from the orcs. While it wouldn’t be until much later that they regarded elves as second class citizens within their lands, Lerenthian humans initially admired their elven neighbors--after all, it is they who educated them on the veil, magic, and the spirits beyond the material plane. For humans in Lerenthia, these pagan magicks would be their first exposure to the arcane. With human warlords and sorcerers becoming prominent north of the southron wilds, humans were steadily becoming the new inheritors of the continent. The earliest kingdoms were Féngarde and Anemor, respectively known as ones founded by the most powerful warrior-kings of the marshlands and lowlands. Among them were many others, but none would become as prominent as they. But with prominence comes attention from forces mystical and mundane alike.

The Imperial Sovereignty of Iliandur, a foreign power northeast across the Sea of Echoes, arrived on the shores of Marna several centuries later with a sword in one hand and a holy writ in the other. The highly organized and technologically superior imperials conquered the elves and humans of Lerenthia before the year was over and declared it a colonial province of their empire. It appeared that the humans from Lerenthia's sister continent had been played a better hand at that point of time. And for over one thousand years the imperials ruled Lerenthia. Only deposed when the over-extension of the empire led to a vulnerability that the Lerenthians spotted.

Lerenthians never accepted Imperial dominion. Not even after nearly two-thousand-years under the foot of the imperial magistrates.

Anemor had been traditionally ruled in its history by a variety of northron dynasties prior to the Imperial Conquest. The ruling dynasty of the great kingdom when the imperials arrived on the shores of Marna was House Caerwyn. The significance of the Caerwyns was wide and strong, with blood ties throughout many houses and a well-regarded leadership. Unfortunately, the imperial army came during a time when the realm was already involved in a long-fought conflict against the southron marshlanders. Divided and with forces exhausted, it was no surprise that the imperial forces of Iliandur won their conquest with little challenge. The Caerwyn bloodline would not survive the occupation.

It was a story that Lady Theudelinde of House Drache had never forgotten.


The only child of the Lord of Völkben, Theudelinde lived in a time where the Drachenian Dynasty was on the verge of destruction. It was through Theudelinde's sheer will that fate would be denied and destiny reborn.

The imperial magistrates had stripped the rights of the landed Lerenthian nobles for years, turning strong dynasties like Nlaughih, Irvine, and Drache into little more as petty lords of little significance. However, this had allowed Lerenthian barons and counts to become closer with them peasantry and for some members of these families to garner greater aspirations. Theudelinde, like many other ambitious young heirs, had gathered great clout with nobles, knights, and peasants alike—forging her own legend as a heroine of unparalleled honor and virtue. Many flocked to her banners when she rose her flag in rebellion, though perhaps this was in part due to the vast amount of energy her father put into arranging alliances and sowing descent from the Western Reaches to the Marshlands.

A domino effect occurred like a wildfire when Theudelinde demanded liberty and justice for all Lerenthians.

A weakened and ineffective imperial leadership led to corrupt actions, which after enough time was decried by the faith. When Lydus Sotericus, the head magistrate of Lerenthia, declared the faith tainted by a rebel insurrection it seemed that everything and everyone had turned on the imperial magistrates. When imperial soldiers burned down the Templum Ingens ad Caelo to purify the heresy from the capital, Inquisitors throughout the realm felt the cries of Helstar ignite in their souls in anger. The Divine Order would then in the coming weeks unite under a Grand Inquisitor who swore to bring the murder of the Grand Clerics to justice. With southron rebel leaders, Theudelinde in the west, and the surviving inquisitors in the east the rebellion converged. Even with Sotericus promising the Magicariums full protection and freedom wasn’t enough to stop the demise of imperialism.

A fact that was canonized when Theudelinde arrived in Amberaube and was crowned Queen.

Though, with this hard fought victory won, things had changed culturally and spiritually. The imperials had brought with them the Divine Faith of the Light, of the myths of paladins, and the belief of divine providence. The humans of Lerenthia were not going to return to warbands with loose, decentralized territory, or at least not those north of the marshlands.




Magic has always been present in Lerenthia. The first users of magic, the elves, have been practicing the use of arcane and druidic magic since before history was recorded by pen and parchment.

The earliest institutions of magic for humans were unorganized until Gorm the Wise created the Council of Sorcerers in a monolithic tower in a mountain vale near the ancient kingdoms of Féngarde and Gorthal. It was here that the greatest spellcasters came to be, until a falling out several centuries later led to the disbandment of the council, leaving human kings as the only sphere of influence through their court wizards. The council itself would never have a true successor, mostly due to surviving spellcasters believing themselves better suited to rule, influence, or gain wealth over serve as mediators between kings and conflicts within the greater realm. Those altruistic sorcerers whom remained in their shadow soon faded into obscurity.

When the imperial conquest (or renaissance, for those with pro-imperial sentiment) arrived in Lerenthia, they brought with them the structure of their church and the magical traditions of their homeland known as magicariums.

Magicariums were convenants of arcane study that had a depth of organization and philosophy, not dissimilar to the Council of Sorcerers in antiquity. With magical doctrines and centuries of imperial texts to go back upon, arcane study would find a resurgence despite the dubious nature of imperial law among the Lerenthian natives. While imperial magistrates observed the native-born nobles and their denizens, they did allow a certain freedom of study as long as it was a careful one. However, when tragedy struck in Toranrath this liberal acceptance changed and the Divine Order stepped in to oversee all magical study and with them a new writ was written by a cleric who came to be known as Zephrine that became accepted.


Zephrine, one of the heroes who stood against the corrupted forces that destroyed Toranrath, was a beloved figure and by the end of her life became known as the most influential member of the faith in Lerenthia. However, she was also controversial among the liberal members of the magicariums and southron independent convents. This is, of course, due to the fact that Zephrine's writs were believed to suppress magical freedoms. Whether her intention was to suppress mages after what she witnessed in the south is uncertain, though the fears of her critics became reality several centuries later.

The modern day Magicarium is seen as a dual-edged blade. It educates mages in arcane sorcery, but it also serves as almost a prison at the same time with the inquisitor's axe ready to swing at the slightest imprudence. Magic is now extremely litigated and schools of magic such as necromancy and conjuration have been banned following several incidents. Some see this as a “dark age”, but imperial rule has continued to be prominent in kingdoms such as Anemor in spite of the liberation two centuries ago--and that's just in the north. But how did Zephrine enforce her writs? How did the Drachenian Dynasty? Through faith, of course.

The Divine Order of the Light in Service of All Men against Darkness and Horror, often surmised as “The Divine Order” is the official religious body of humanity in both Lerenthia and Iliandur. It is also the magical arm of the faith through a knighthood of highly trained clerical knights. The Inquisition. A noble order trained in the divine and arcane, inquisitors are powerful spellcasters and heavily trained knights. They accept peasants, tradesmen, knights, and nobles into their order—as long as they pass the trials of becoming inquisitors proper. Though, in recent years it can be argued that the inquisitors have lost their path due to writs that have asked the inquisitors to rather than hunting evil to spend resources watching over mages who might become corrupt.

The role of Inquisitors becoming glorified mage-babysitters started following the incident centuries ago in Toranrath. An act of magic so terrible that it asked inquisitors to not only act as judicators throughout the realm but also contain magical threats no matter the cost of personal self. It is through this elevation that inquisitors are not only paladins of the highest skill, but also responsible for keeping the peace of magical responsibility out of fear that mages might tear open the veil once again and bring corruption to the material plane. It is due to this responsibility that they watch over the mages that study in magicariums in Anemor and hunt down ones who revolt from the faith’s strict laws. It is due to that reason that the skillsets of inquisitors have changed much in the last two dozen or so centuries. But before they watch over mages or seek out injustice, Inquisitors must like all clerical priests and knights alike must pass the Rites of Communion.

The Rites of Communion is a set of trials of faith and belief that occur upon deep seated meditation in a Cathedral of the Dawn's blessed hall, as they meet with the celestial spirits of the light after taking into a potion to incur transportation of their spiritual self into that of the Hall of Embers in the Celestial Plane. Tests of physical, spiritual, and mental skill are endured in this state--those who fail to pass never remember their trials and are often cast away. An Inquisitor is the soul of the righteous and holds fury against darkness; only a pure soul may find acceptance from the celestial patrons who grant them their powers.

Only after inquisitors have passed the trials can they begin arcane training through transcribed elven tomes. The rest is just experience and service to virtue through effort and prayer.




The Blackwarden is a dignified order of monster hunters, witch hunters, and unorthodox adventurers.

For some, the wardens have always existed. They are spoken of as mythic heroes, ruthless warriors, and at times, unspeakable boogeymen depending where you are in Lerenthia. Some treat them with respect and others with scorn due to the warden's methods of acting beyond king or country. Their strict adherence and extreme training conditions has made them some of the most capable combatants and investigators in the world, though with that comes a price. They are the south's equivelant to the Inquisition, though they are very very different.

The Blackwarden were supposedly established during the ancient era where elves were the dominant cultural force in all of Lerenthia. The ancient elves referred to them as “The Gwylwyr”, a denomination that meant watchers. Though, the order has evolved much since a few wayward highlanders banded together to protect the world from evil at the cost of personal self and personal liberty.

Wardens are beholden to The Path, a loosely defined set of values of duty that are paramount to service. A transcript of said values is written below.


In essence, every single warden of the order interprets this in some shape or form.

As the order is mostly decentralized, the code of conduct wardens live by is often followed to the best of a warden's ability. The various interpretations are called warding philosophies, which can be explained as a warden's credence and definitions of their tenants. Some wardens are consequentialists while others are deontologists, serving the main two branches of the aforementioned philosophies. Neither are inherently wrong, a fact that wardens recognize, though the two camps still debate over the proper interpretation of their code to this day.

These interpretations exist to arbitrate decisions not regarding the monsters or slavers they often come across, but rather of more human concerns. The steady amount of refugees from the north are often disguised and disenfranchised mages who seek the liberty of the south without fearing for the retribution of the more northern, imperialistic church. Prior to mages fleeing the north, during the era of Toranrath, wardens had no such problem so relatively speaking it is a very modern issue. Does a warden, who is committed to fighting witches and other dark magic, blame magic as a whole or do they judge the intent over the action? Ultimately, it is a question that no warden has an objective and absolute answer for.


Philosophical quandaries aside, wardens are sworn to protect people and fight against the dark forces that corrupt the world.

Aberrations, abominations, demons, and witches are as common of a warden's adversary as a bandit, slaver, or corrupt lord is. This can be challenging considering the fact that mages are a very rare fixture in the wardens. As a result to the world getting more and more twisted by the arcane and infernal wardens have found a solution over the last several centuries in alchemical experiments. While these reagents put into potions are supernatural at times, they are not things alien to this world; and as such they are not explicitly frowned upon by wardens who are innately superstitious or prejudicial. Wardens bear a high price, but to protect others, most seem to justify it.

The Blackwardens have no political connections, though some might say some noble houses often seek the attention of their support. While the trials of becoming a warden are undoubtedly rough and harrowing, there are two ways potential recruits are found.

The first method is the simplest, most traditional method in that they seek out orphaned children who fit the profile of survivors. Giving them a chance with the wardens allows them a chance for purpose and family, though not every child apprentice makes it to a fully-fledged member of the order. Many apprentices of this kind do not survive the trials to become a fully-fledged warden. It is a sad fate, but a common one.

The second method is the most well-known where recruitment liaisons scour the settlements of the marshlands, looking for people who have had their trial-by-fire and have earned the warden’s attention. People who are already skilled in a few talents that could be combed into a proper blackwarden. Dejected mercenaries, redeemed outlaws, shrewd rangers, and brilliant alchemists have all found family within the wardens, though getting their personal beliefs to change from the individual to the collective is the most challenging part of recruiting through this method.

Beyond these methods, there are other ways to join the order. Some adventurers seek out the wardens themselves. Others are liberated slaves. The wardens do not discriminate based on sex, race, or lifestyle as long as they are willing to put in the work to apprentice under a veteran warden, train at a warden stronghold, and make the effort to become a warden. When a blackwarden takes on an apprentice, they either train them from the ground up or expand on the skills they have already gathered over time.

Wardens are expected to be skilled combatants with at least one martial weapon and adept with two others. The average warden's kit includes a sword, shortbow, and a light mace. All wardens are generally from the south and know how to track monsters and beasts alike. Perhaps not on the level of a true ranger, but enough to get by. Not necessarily in making them. Wardens are trained in the use of bombs, potions, elixirs, and poultices. Warden's are aware that certain enemies are weak to things such as silver, cold iron, wyvern blood, salt, chalk inscriptions, spider acid, and fire. Finally, wardens are also required to understand not only their code of conduct, but how certain resistances work and how to solve supernatural events such as hauntings through non-magical means if at all possible.

If one is in the south, the chance of meeting a Blackwarden is expected at some point.




Over 10,000 Years Ago

The Elven Kingdom of Môrogoed is lost.​

5,000 Years Ago

The Council of Sorcerers is disbanded. The monolithic tower that housed them falls into decay.​

2,100 Years Ago

The Imperial Sovereignty of Iliandur arrives in Lerenthia and conquers it. The Emperor selects magistrates to govern its new territory and bring enlightenment to the faithless nobles who oppose their dominion.​

2,000 Years Ago

Toranrath is destroyed by the corrupted body of Sandalphon, an elder dragon. Several weeks later he is destroyed by Aethelstan Meriweder.​

1,932 Years Ago

Grand Cleric Zephrine dies in her sleep, days after Aethelstan does the same. This coincidence sparks superstitious gossip.​

200 Years Ago

After losing direct support from the mainland and suppressing various minor rebellions, imperial magistrates witness a weakness as the native nobility unite around the Drachenian Dynasty. After a long and arduous rebellion the magistrates are either driven out or put to the sword and Lerenthia falls back into native rule. The Kingdom of Anemor becomes independent under the Drachenian Dynasty and the southern lords return to their ways.​

165 Years Ago

Queen Theudelinde Drachen of Anemor dies after weeks of battling a summer sickness. Her eldest son, Anskar, is crowned her successor thus establishing the new royal lineage of Anemor.​

Current Year





If you have gotten this far, I commend you.

An Earthen Lament has a lot of information and it is constantly being added to. By this point you are expected to understand the general history of Lerenthia, the relation of magic in the setting, your character’s role, and about the Blackwarden—a major faction that play a major role in the story of the roleplay. As such this is the time for questions. If you do need help making a character, please let me know.

A character sheet will be provided shortly, but keep in mind I am looking for commitment. This is a small group thing. I'm looking for two-to-four additional people at this time.


Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by mickilennial
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@McMolly @Kuro @ComradeMaxx

Since y'all expressed interest in the group chat, here it will be.
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Kuro Sic Parvis Magna

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Pip Mark 3 is in the chat.

I mean, present.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Stitches
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Stitches

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Definitely interested in applying with a friend, if you're willing to have us both. I'm a fan of how you've focused on the 'other' continent that most imperial fantasies use as the colony instead of the original setting, and the tone really reminds me of Celtic mythology. My only request is that we may have a map of Lerenthia with the Southron provinces and Anemor's main cities to get a sense of place, and a timeline for a better visual aid of the overlapping events. For example, the war between the two kingdoms was only mentioned in passing - but it feels like a much larger and drawn out conflict than mentioned. Seeing how long it has been since Theudelinde's coronation would also help ground the setting a bit more as it'll give a sense of how potent imperial rule is in Lerenthia.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by mickilennial
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Definitely interested in applying with a friend, if you're willing to have us both. I'm a fan of how you've focused on the 'other' continent that most imperial fantasies use as the colony instead of the original setting, and the tone really reminds me of Celtic mythology. My only request is that we may have a map of Lerenthia with the Southron provinces and Anemor's main cities to get a sense of place, and a timeline for a better visual aid of the overlapping events. For example, the war between the two kingdoms was only mentioned in passing - but it feels like a much larger and drawn out conflict than mentioned. Seeing how long it has been since Theudelinde's coronation would also help ground the setting a bit more as it'll give a sense of how potent imperial rule is in Lerenthia.

Should both applications be good enough (as well as others who expressed interest), I might push the party to five apprentices, but that will be as far as I go. As for map, I don't have a fully realized version of that finished at this time, though I did draw something up sometime ago as a rough-rough draft. Changes will be aplenty going forward, of course.

Map

As for timeline, I'll add a section to the OOC as I do have a recent events and rough historic timeline as well.

Like I briefly said, most of this is just a foundation and the rest is developed as ideas come to me or others. Locations come with player-generated or GM-generated content, and I'm hoping to continue that kind of pace as there are so many corners of this I have not really developed yet.
1x Thank Thank
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Lmao @ "There Be Elves"

You mentioned a group chat, is there a discord server for this RP? Me and Dino have our character concepts roughed out but it's going to take a bit of back and forth to make sure they're alright with you. Similarly, if there's lots of worldbuilding going on, I wouldn't mind being a part of the conversation. I'm in GMT though so it might be a bit intermittent.
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Lmao @ "There Be Elves"

You mentioned a group chat, is there a discord server for this RP? Me and Dino have our character concepts roughed out but it's going to take a bit of back and forth to make sure they're alright with you. Similarly, if there's lots of worldbuilding going on, I wouldn't mind being a part of the conversation. I'm in GMT though so it might be a bit intermittent.

There's a Discord chat, yeah. Not a lot happening there yet, but hit me up and I'll send an invite.
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ooooh boy gimme those grimdark shenanigans

Gonna make an apprentice from the Southern Marsh like W A Y south
so far south he thinks the first thing you do to a dead body is knock out its teeth so it can't bite anyone if it rises again. A young man with a powerful aura of boogaloo about him.
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@Jarl Coolgruuf Very marshy of him.
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@Inkarnate lmao

So is the discord invite pm'd?
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by mickilennial
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Like I said, its a chat more than a server proper. Just a general way to get ideas going from tentative interested parties. I had an older one for a prototype RP but I deleted it quite sometime ago.
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__________________________________________
Abigail
_______________________________________________________________
17 | Female | Elf
_______________________________________________________________


D E T A I L E D A P P E A R A N C E

Short, athletic and hard on the edges, Abigail's physique was a result of countless years of hard work and poor eating. She hasn't got much of a womanly figure because of the malnutrition and makes up for it with her long blonde hair, but even that gets braided and tied up for her duties. She is unconcerned with her appearance but puts care into her armour and equipment. She hardly wears makeup and when she isn't gallivanting around the stronghold in her combat gear, she puts on whatever is easiest to wash and repair - mostly resulting in a good pair of boots and thick, sturdy but plain clothes. She wears her hair loosely tied to frame her face and is fond of hats or hoods to cover the scars of her docked elven ears. She has no tattoos and no piercings but her nose has already been broken, she's missing a couple teeth, and her knuckles, back and arms are littered with smallish scars. Two long purplish lines spread across her back in an incredibly narrow cross shape.
---P E R S O N A L I T Y

Abigail hates who she is. This is the crux of her psyche - from it, everything else emerges. Deep down within the guiltiest corner of her subconscious is a tiny, cold kernel of truth that reminds her that she is an elf. The rest of her identity is built around burying that kernel as deep as possible, depriving it of light or food, and praying to the Divine that it'll never become anything more than what it is now. This is not how kernels work. She is delaying the inevitable, and setting herself up for a cruel reality check when it germinates.

Because Abigail detests what she is, she's put substantial effort into protecting herself from the truth and hiding it from everyone else. She has the willpower of a stubborn mule and she hinges her self worth on how tough or strong she is, valuing a self-perceived notion of ‘heroism’ that revolves around knights in shining armour and indefatigable warriors above all else - because they aren't mages, and they certainly aren't elves. Because of this, she wrongly believes her strengths lie in her brute strength; in reality, she’s merely trying to avoid elven stereotype at the risk of her own safety. As one of the younger apprentices, she has an inferiority complex and she's quick to anger or get defensive. She has no qualms speaking her mind and in turn feels no shame asking silly questions. Because she's spent all her time and energy in improving her skills in battle, her academia suffers. It's a sore spot for her and the fastest way to ruffle her feathers. Because she does not understand or accept what has happened to her, she cannot truly grasp and live by the theology of the Path. This is her greatest shortcoming, and biggest obstacle to overcome should she wish to become a fully fledged warden.

This isn't to say that all Abigail can be is an unintelligent brute - she’s merely an inexperienced one who has a lot to learn about herself. The things she does the most are the things she has finely tuned. She’s so paranoid of being ‘found out’ that she’s become observant and wary. She objectively doesn’t weigh enough to stand her ground against larger opponents so her combat style is erratic, frenzied and unpredictable to compensate. That being said, her most impressive trait is her absolute tenacity. Abigail will keep trying and keep standing back up until somebody manages to stop her, which isn't as easy as a few stern words or heavy blows. She shows a bravery rarely seen in insecure girls and never shies away from a challenge. In brief, she has a potential for excellence - yet it is dogged down by her delusions and uncertainties.

---O R I G I N

Abigail was born onto a bed of reeds on the silty muck of a riverbank. She had no father so she had no family name to adhere to, and her mother died of complications during the birth. She was the orphaned child of a slave and an absentee and for the first decade of her life, the foetid camp in which her mother was confined had become her whole world, and her only parental figure was the slave master John Lording. It was he who had chosen her name. He was the one who raised her – and he was the one who would come to ruin her.

In this camp, river trout were caught, gutted, descaled, packed with small parcels of narcotics, delicately stitched together, smoked, and shipped out to larger riverside towns and their respective dealers. The workforce was primarily elven, for who would bat an eye if an elf went missing these days? It just so happened that one of the workers was pregnant and through some small miracle the babe survived the process. The rest of her life was saved by John Lording. He was a man of incredibly loose morals but only the most degenerate could want to cause misery to a child. For a while, Abigail was a catalyst between the elves and their masters. She was fed but without breast milk her growth was ultimately stunted and sickness was not uncommon, at which point the elves provided recommendations of herbal remedies to alleviate the pain. For a while, she invoked a surreal co-operation within a place of misery and torment. She learnt both her native tongue and the language of men. Once she grew older this treaty dissolved and she was taken under the slave master’s wing and turned into something different. If left to the elves, she might become dissident and start an uprising. John was not an inherently cruel and debase man but he believed strongly in a hierarchy and that a certain species could be regarded as property. He took the girl for his own.

Abigail was only five when she had her ears docked but she had wanted it to be done because she had been told that it would make her pretty. John explained that elves were dirty, primitive creatures that were better suited to manual labour than intellectual pursuit and that it had been their fault that magic had come to be. Nevertheless, John was charitable and he would try his best to ensure she had a better life. She could not be allowed to leave for she might tell somebody of the camp, and even if she did, what would she do on her own? Where would she go? How would she survive? It was safer in the tents, gutting fish, learning how to read and about the Divine. John would beat his workers mercilessly but only raised the whip in anger against his special child once – and the lash scars were a nauseating reminder of his overwhelming guilt. She was dirty, dishevelled, bigoted and often sick or injured, but she knew no other life and John could not provide anything more for the girl without risking his enterprise.

The confusion settled in when a Blackwarden following the trail of the drug problem in the north-eastern provinces of the Southron Confederacy came across the camp. All of a sudden, John’s ‘special child’ was not so special anymore. In his final moments on this earth he betrayed his pseudo-daughter and used her as a hostage, nearly slicing her throat open before tossing her aside and unceremoniously begging for his life, offering names in exchange for his freedom. The Blackwarden did not need names. He needed John’s head and the money that went with it. From then on, Abigail learnt that she had no true father and that the man was manipulating her. She was told that her life was cruel, unjust and a squalid existence. She was granted a chance at a better life. The Blackwardens needed fresh bodies. She was a clean slate if plucked directly from the camp and placed into the stronghold – she could be moulded to suit their ideals.

They weren’t expecting the anger.

Abigail had no parent, no source of guidance and two vastly conflicting systems of comprehending the world around her rattling around in her tumultuous brain just on the cusp of puberty. She was brought out of her tiny bubble and into an unfamiliar world where she spiralled out of control. She didn’t know who she was, so she doubled down on what she was taught. She didn’t feel like she could contain and control the flood of new and unfamiliar knowledge around her, so she was slow to pick up academia. Since she couldn’t get a say in her life Abigail obsessed over her body but since she was a Blackwarden’s Apprentice first and a girl second, she obsessed over physical prowess instead of superficial appearance. She dug her heels in and fought back against authorial figures trying to dictate her actions; not to send a message but because her sense of identity had been dictated by others for so long that she was desperate to figure out who she was. She kept her birth-name because it was hers but refused to take on any surname until she found one that was worthy.

Because of these problems Abigail stagnated in her training. She was confrontational, brazen and frustrated. She had the drive, potential and desire to become better but never had a consistent guiding figure to sit down and decipher her complexities. The situation was a delicate one. If she had more focused, one-to-one tuition there was a high chance that she’d be able to shed some of her childhood trauma and internalised bigotry, which in turn would open her up to the principles of the Path and greatly facilitate her progression into a formidable warden. She could receive that if the stronghold allowed her to begin her proper training as an apprentice under a veteran. But it was a gamble; if she rejected her tutor, or became too reckless in her desire to prove herself and consolidate her identity, she would no doubt incur the horrible consequences that weighed heavy on all the apprentices on the Path. But there were no other options within the Stronghold. She had to proceed; whether or not she would sink or swim was left to fate.

---E Q U I P M E N T
Values listed in number of full uses. No value = unlimited use. Uses can be rationed in times of crisis.

ON HER PERSON:
- Shortsword
- Buckler
- Hatchet
- Hunting Knife
- Dried Rations (7)
- Hip Flask (water)(10)
- Healing Potions (4)
- Soap on a Rope (50)
- Sharpening Stone (70)
- First Aid Kit
♦ Tweezers
♦ Wound Dressing (12)
♦ Bandages (12)
♦ Antiseptic (12)
♦ Pain-numbing Potions (4)
♦ Burn Salve (5)
♦ Safety Pins (6)
FOR A LONG JOURNEY:
- Tent (waterproof)
- Bedroll
- Spare Clothes
- Hammock
- Spare Rations (10)
- Second First Aid Kit (See Above)
- Spare Healing Potions (4)


---O T H E R

Can speak passable Elvish, though prone to errors.

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@Kuro @Heat What's the progress at for you guys?


To be honest, I haven't managed to get around to updating Pip's sheet for this rendition. I think it might be best for me to sit this version out.
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To be honest, I haven't managed to get around to updating Pip's sheet for this rendition. I think it might be best for me to sit this version out.

Alright. We've got plenty around and who knows how the story pans out later for openings.
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Alright, so while these are all fairly solid sheets, ultimately I can only pick three of four of the batch. Logistically speaking, one witcher warden isn’t going to be assigned five apprentices to take out into the field. I looked carefully at backstories, character tropes, combat styles, and there seemed to be a good depth of variety. There’s a lot to look at individually and unpack, but for the sake of keeping it simple I won't write out entire essays for why I picked certain characters over others.

Everybody took an aspect that I think could’ve been improved on, but generally all got the aesthetic I was going for. In the nature of keeping the party well-divided, I also decided to pick two female characters and two male.

As such I have accepted Louis and Thomas for the masculine roles and Sybil and Abigail for the feminine roles. This leaves Ragna out of contention, unfortunately. This was a difficult decision to make because, as pointed out to me, Abigail and Sybil both have the “anger small” dynamic and I don’t want too much overlap, however I justified this through the mere fact that both have two different fighting styles, backstories, and character arcs. How both characters adapt to the Blackwarden lifestyle interests me. In the future, slots may open up to non-warden roles, but for the time being this is it.

I'll start penning the prologue arc's opening post immediately.

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